KnightsFan Posted June 19, 2018 #1 Share Posted June 19, 2018 (edited) I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to this question, but bear with me anyway. My wife and I have decided on a last minute (90-105 days out) cruise. Our choice is between the Brilliance of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas (we're in Orlando, so travel isn't a factor). For reference we sailed on the Oasis of the Seas for our honeymoon in March of ’17, we stopped at Cozumel, Labadee and Falmouth; we snorkeled in Cozumel and basically walked through Labadee, but were too hungover (Chef's Table with only four diners) to do our bike/hike in Falmouth. The Brilliance of the Seas is a five night and has two sea days with stops at Cozumel and Grand Cayman. The Allure of the Seas is a seven night and has three sea days with stops at Philipsburg, St. Maarten; San Juan, PR; Labadee, Haiti. The question is, which would you choose? Is it better to go with the Brilliance and apply the extra money to excursions, or is the Allure and those ports of call worth the extra money? Edited June 19, 2018 by KnightsFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelife Posted June 19, 2018 #2 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Definitely Allure. She is my favorite ship and those ports are better in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted June 19, 2018 #3 Share Posted June 19, 2018 If you are into lots of bells and whistles on the ship, go with Allure. If you want a more traditional cruising experience, where you don't have to make reservations for shows, go with Brilliance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiserking Posted June 19, 2018 #4 Share Posted June 19, 2018 7-day always beasts a 5 day cruise, plus the Allure is on a completely other level than Brilliance. Happy Cruising. Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txbirddog Posted June 19, 2018 #5 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Allure. No brainer. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stellarcam Posted June 19, 2018 #6 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Allure is the winner! Even though we live within 20 minutes of the Brilliance, we travel to either Port Canaveral to board the Oasis or Ft. Lauderdale to board the Allure. That being said, the Brilliance is a very beautiful ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denamo Posted June 19, 2018 #7 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Allure would be our first choice since it's a 7 day cruise. We have to fly to get to ship, so we like to make the most of our cruise days. Also, you have 2 more cruise days added to your cache. Either way, you may want to skip the Chef's Table this time. LOL!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightsFan Posted June 19, 2018 Author #8 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Definitely Allure. She is my favorite ship and those ports are better in my opinion. Even if we're just going to Maho Beach and walking up to Castilo San Felipe del Morro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelife Posted June 19, 2018 #9 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Even if we're just going to Maho Beach and walking up to Castilo San Felipe del Morro? Yep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightsFan Posted June 19, 2018 Author #10 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Either way, you may want to skip the Chef's Table this time. LOL!! :D We learned our lesson, don't let them open the second bottles!:') The lack of needing to fly makes the decision even harder! One's about 90 minutes and the other's about 3 hours, either way we leave morning of. Lovelife thanks! I know a lot of boricuas, so Puerto Rico is tempting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean Boy Posted June 19, 2018 #11 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Even if we're just going to Maho Beach and walking up to Castilo San Felipe del Morro? Yep Another Yep from me. And I wouldn't be giving it so much as a second thought no matter what the price difference is (which I think you didn't post). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo1098 Posted June 19, 2018 #12 Share Posted June 19, 2018 How much of a price difference are we talking about? I love the Allure but the Brilliance is nice for a smaller ship. I would enjoy either one but depending on the money I would agree with the others and go with Allure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actuarian Posted June 19, 2018 #13 Share Posted June 19, 2018 The Radiance Class ships are my favorite ships so I would pick the Brilliance if the two cruises were the same length. However, when the choice is between 5 nights and 7 nights, that changes everything. A seven night cruise on any Royal Caribbean ship beats a five night cruise on my favorite ship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightsFan Posted June 19, 2018 Author #14 Share Posted June 19, 2018 How much of a price difference are we talking about? I love the Allure but the Brilliance is nice for a smaller ship. I would enjoy either one but depending on the money I would agree with the others and go with Allure. Whoops missed a detail, it's about $500 cheaper on the Brilliance. The Brilliance would be an aft balcony, Allure a midship balcony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BirdTravels Posted June 19, 2018 #15 Share Posted June 19, 2018 If you survived the Oasis, definitely the Allure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuCruise Posted June 19, 2018 #16 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Allure! 7 days vs 5...plus Allure is amazing (which would be familiar with). Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted June 19, 2018 #17 Share Posted June 19, 2018 I don't enjoy Radiance class, because there is no "adult" tanning area..the Solarium is enclosed...no tanning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted June 19, 2018 #18 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Nothing wrong with brilliance but nothing really special, much rather do the newer larger and 7 nights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo1098 Posted June 19, 2018 #19 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Whoops missed a detail, it's about $500 cheaper on the Brilliance. The Brilliance would be an aft balcony, Allure a midship balcony. $500 total? if so that's $125 a day. I would probably go with Allure then. I've never done the aft balcony though so that is a little tempting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelife Posted June 19, 2018 #20 Share Posted June 19, 2018 We learned our lesson, don't let them open the second bottles!:') The lack of needing to fly makes the decision even harder! One's about 90 minutes and the other's about 3 hours, either way we leave morning of. Lovelife thanks! I know a lot of boricuas, so Puerto Rico is tempting. I don't personally know any boricuas but I do love visiting there. I head straight to Caficultura for an exceptional latte. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachammo Posted June 20, 2018 #21 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Brilliance on the aft I'd take the extra $500 and apply it to the 4 day cruise after the 5 day cruise and make it 9 total days B2B. Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted June 20, 2018 #22 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Brilliance on the aft I'd take the extra $500 and apply it to the 4 day cruise after the 5 day cruise and make it 9 total days B2B. I'm with you.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightsFan Posted June 20, 2018 Author #23 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Brilliance on the aft I'd take the extra $500 and apply it to the 4 day cruise after the 5 day cruise and make it 9 total days B2B. Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk Hah, I wish we had the vacation time for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted June 20, 2018 #24 Share Posted June 20, 2018 We had a great aft grand suite concierge n brilliance #1600 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted June 20, 2018 #25 Share Posted June 20, 2018 You've been on Oasis, so you know what Allure is like. Normally I would say take longer cruise. Grand Cayman is one of our favorite places to go, but so is St Maarten. I think I would be inclined to save the $500 for a future cruise. It really depends on what ports you want to visit and how much you like making reservations for onboard activities. If you really want to go to San Juan, you should fly there and cruise out of there. That way you get more time on the island plus get to visit a lot more islands (with the eastern itinerary) or the ABC islands (with a southern itinerary). This is MUCH better than a quick trip to San Juan/St Maarten. And the $500 would probably pay for the flights to San Juan from Orlando. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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