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Choosing between 2 Western Itineraries?


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I'm looking at cruises that sail to the Western Caribbean in January and I'm seeing that both Oasis and Allure sail to those places. The oasis will stop at labadee, Jamaica, and Cozumel while allure stops at perfect day, costa maya, Roatan, and Cozumel. Which is the better itinerary, if any? I would prefer ports that have more beach type activities or ones where you can just relax on the beach. Thanks!

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Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel is a great all-inclusive spot. Great food and drinks and a perfect way to spend a day on the beach. Perfect Day at Coco Cay has lots of beach, plus water parks and things to do if you don't just want to lay in the sand. Roaton is amazing and I highly recommend taking a private tour of the island with a local. My DH and I had our best port day ever there - I got to hug a sloth! So my vote is Allure.

Edited by Beav1279
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FWIW, I had the same choice and went with Oasis.  I am very excited about the extended dry dock in Oct/Nov, so feel like I am getting a new ship.  I concede that the ports are a bit better with Allure, but if you're just looking for a nice spot in the Caribbean many of the islands are similar.  

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6 hours ago, Beav1279 said:

Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel is a great all-inclusive spot. Great food and drinks and a perfect way to spend a day on the beach. Perfect Day at Coco Cay has lots of beach, plus water parks and things to do if you don't just want to lay in the sand. Roaton is amazing and I highly recommend taking a private tour of the island with a local. My DH and I had our best port day ever there - I got to hug a sloth! So my vote is Allure.

And you didn’t even mention my favorite beach day port, Costa Maya. We’ve been there three times. The first time, we just stayed in port on lounger chairs on the beach. Second time, we went snorkeling. Last time, we went to Maya Chan, an all exclusive beach resort. 

 

Go on the Allure. 

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9 hours ago, Vitesacd said:

I'm looking at cruises that sail to the Western Caribbean in January and I'm seeing that both Oasis and Allure sail to those places. The oasis will stop at labadee, Jamaica, and Cozumel while allure stops at perfect day, costa maya, Roatan, and Cozumel. Which is the better itinerary, if any? I would prefer ports that have more beach type activities or ones where you can just relax on the beach. Thanks!


The oasis will stop at labadee, Jamaica, and Cozumel:

 

Labadee is a great beach day -- it's actually my favorite beach day, as I don't have to arrange transportation or pay a dime for food or drinks (with drink package from the ship).


Jamaica is a horrible beach day -- the port area is all commercialized, and the area outside the gates is very poor with no nearby beach.

Cozumel is a good beach day, with options like Mr. Sanchos, Nachi Cocum, Money Bar Beach, etc., although I usually will go on a snorkel boat excursion that I book privately.

 

 

while allure stops at perfect day, costa maya, Roatan, and Cozumel:

Coco Cay is in line with Labadee -- if you don't do the water park or other extras, you can just walk to the beach and eat/drink for free (with drink package from the ship).

Costa Maya has a ton of restaurants/beach clubs along the Malecon (trolley or cab from port area) and the ultimate lazy beach day built by cruisers for cruisers at Maya Chan.  There is a problem with the sargassum seaweed that floats in, but most beaches do a pretty good job of raking it up.

 

Roatan has beautiful water for snorkeling, and Daniel Johnson's Monkey and Sloth Hangout is a great experience.

 

Cozumel is a good beach day, with options like Mr. Sanchos, Nachi Cocum, Money Bar Beach, etc., although I usually will go on a snorkel boat excursion that I book privately.



Personally, I prefer 3 port stops because I like more sea days, but I actively avoid itineraries that include Falmouth, Jamaica, because there is nothing within 30-45 minutes of the port.  (Seriously, WHAT were they thinking building a port stop there???)  I don't want to spend an hour or more of port day on a crowded bus going to my destination and then another hour-plus coming back. 

Given the two options, I'd personally choose Allure.  

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Harmony out of PC...does the itinerary of Allure, which I also prefer.  

 

Soooo tired of Labadee!  😞   Happy to see the alternate itinerary choice.  

 

Plus you are looking at four ports of call, versus 3 with Oasis.  

Edited by island lady
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9 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Maya Chan in Costa Maya and Victor Bodden tours in Roatan. 

 

Easy decision for us.

 

mac_tlc

 

Love Maya Chan!! Booked again for February.  🙂 

 

Have not tried Victor Bodden tours, will check it out...we usually take the little float boat from the cruise pier over to spend the day on the little island nearby.  

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9 hours ago, Vitesacd said:

I'm looking at cruises that sail to the Western Caribbean in January and I'm seeing that both Oasis and Allure sail to those places. The oasis will stop at labadee, Jamaica, and Cozumel while allure stops at perfect day, costa maya, Roatan, and Cozumel. Which is the better itinerary, if any? I would prefer ports that have more beach type activities or ones where you can just relax on the beach. Thanks!

I would do allure.  In Costa Maya, we go out to the beach close to the port, first time we went to Barefoot Beach, this time we are going to Nohach  Kay through IslandMarketing-it is an all inclusive.  In Roatan - been to West Bay 2x. First time loved it, 2nd time hated it so much.  Instead we are trying Beach Club Roatan through shoreexcursioneer.com.  In Cozumel, the ONLY place we ever go is Paradise Beach-so gorgeous there, grounds are beautiful, beach is gorgeous and the pool is awesome. They also do an AI now.  CocoCay - just a great beach day, we head to our favorite spot on the beach and chill all day.

 

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Costa Maya and a very relaxing day at Maya Chan.  Wonderful food and drinks.  Roatan-great zip lining, did clear bottom kayaking and snorkeling in Cozumel.  Haven't been to Coca Cay yet-that is scheduled for December.  

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Thanks for all the votes for Allure! I was doing a bit of research and am seeing that the allure is having propulsion issues, so I'm wondering if it'll be fixed by Jan 2020 as I don't want this to effect the cruise/itinerary. They have already modified itineraries until Oct 2019. 

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We were in the same dilemma trying to choose between the same two. The family vote was split 3 for allure 3 for oasis. We ended up flipping a coin and Oasis was the winner. I'm happy with oasis since it will have been recently refurbished and we love labadee! You can't go wrong with either, though!

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