Anthem or Allure, or Mariner and a couple extra nights in Orlando

[smilesntravels]

2 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

A four night on Mariner would be called by some a party cruise, it would be my last choice, although we love Mariner.. We have been on Allure, Oasis, and Symphony four times.  Three have been transatlantics and one Caribbean. We have the Harmony transatlantic booked for this Oct.  You can see we love Oasis Class. Even though it carries 6000+ passengers it rarely feels crowded. It is much larger than Anthem and has more dining venues and I would say more shows and things to do. Even though it is a older ship it is in top shape.  We just spent about two months trying to decide between Odyssey April 2022 transatlantic and Allure April 2022 transatlantic, we picked Allure once again. Pretty sure the Harmony TA in Oct. will be cancelled.  Picking either Allure or Anthem will end up being a great cruise.  The two extra nights might lean me towards Anthem, but probably not.If I was in your shoes I would be watching  Anthem and Allure YouTube videos all night .happy cruising

Oh lucky you for doing all those transatlantics!  I keep wanting to do one.  Last year was no, of course, and even most of this year.  One of these days, but either the itinerary is too long (over 15 nights) or leaving out of Spain or Italy (not interested.)  I want to leave out of Amsterdam or South Hampton so we could visit Stonehenge.  Amsterdam I've been to many times, but it would be nice to cruise out of there.  Or I find a ship I like but it's either too long or has only one port of call, or no stops to the Canary Islands or Azores, which I must see.  Then I start thinking about a British Isles cruise, and then somehow end up booking another Caribbean cruise, lol.

 

So you think the Oct TA will be cancelled?  Why did you pick Allure over the Odyssey for 2022 TA-the itinerary or the ship itself?  Even though there are newer ships, for a while now I've found the Allure alluring...lol.

[lovescats5]

1. We loved Anthem and are looking at Allure for 2023.  That being said, I feel there is more to do on Q class although there are more food choices on Oasis class.  We tend to cruise off season with a now teen ager granddaughter.  Have not see all that many kids regardless of ship.  Not a fan of DW, took our kids (now 43 & 40) to Disneyland many times and for our big Disney World trip they were unimpressed.  We spend 2 days at Epicot and 2 days at the World village, or whatever it is called.  Not a fan of waiting in line.  Hope you make a final decision on which cruise to take.  

[Sunshine3601]

9 hours ago, smilesntravels said:

Thanks Sunshine.  I actually like the larger balcony cabins on Anthem, and already priced them.  So a few people now say they'd pick the 9 nt.  It is what I want- a longer cruise with more sea days, and Labadee.  I would love to say that I've been to Haiti, even if it is their private closed off section.

 

Well we would do 3-4 nights in Orlando.  But 4-5 would be better, that's why I thought maybe do the four night cruise  But now I'm thinking no to that.  I agree one day isn't enough, but also thought if we don't have a lot of time to at least spend one whole day at DW.  Thanks for your opinion on the Anthem.  I now know it was the Aqua show on Allure that I'd like to see, and the Rock of Ages show (or something like that) on the Anthem is what didn't appeal to me.  Anyway, all the responses are helping me to decide.

The large balconies are very nice too.  As you are new to Royal one thing to note.  If you book now and see the price cheaper in the future you can call customer service and request a reprice.

Just a week or 2 ago I called and saved $295 on a sailing I booked for Anthem march 2022.  

If you decide to do the NYE cruise it is best to book now as holiday sailings usually sell quick.  I suspect once people see cruises are sailing of the US they will sell out really fast for holiday sailings.

 

[smilesntravels]

10 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

The large balconies are very nice too.  As you are new to Royal one thing to note.  If you book now and see the price cheaper in the future you can call customer service and request a reprice.

Just a week or 2 ago I called and saved $295 on a sailing I booked for Anthem march 2022.  

If you decide to do the NYE cruise it is best to book now as holiday sailings usually sell quick.  I suspect once people see cruises are sailing of the US they will sell out really fast for holiday sailings.

 

I've been reading these boards off and on for years and have heard people mention that about the price drop?  Is that only for RCI?  I book through an online agency, and the woman who books us is a friend/acquantaince in real life so I trust her, but I don't want to bombard her questions or special requests.  

We actually did two cruises a week before Christmas, so it wasn't a holiday cruise but in the holiday season and all decorated (which I planned so it wouldn't be super crowded, full of kids and a higher price.)

I was leaning towards the NYE cruise since a few of you mentioned that it might be better since it's longer and you like that ship better.  You can't say why?  Just because.  But the seven night Allure would give us about four nights in Orlando for DW, etc.  No I wouldn't go for one or two nights.  Three at a minimum, but prefer four.  Anyway, I've been wanting to go there forever and it would be nice to finally see it in the fall.  Sorry to ramble!  I'm not one of those people that write one sentence responses 🙂 .

[Ourusualbeach]

41 minutes ago, smilesntravels said:

I've been reading these boards off and on for years and have heard people mention that about the price drop?  Is that only for RCI?  I book through an online agency, and the woman who books us is a friend/acquantaince in real life

Most agencies will allow you to reprice your booking.  Royal allows it up to final payment and agencies can call Royal and get yours repriced up until final payment.  If the agency is providing you with OBC they may reduce the amount of OBC if you get the price reduced. 

[smilesntravels]

23 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Most agencies will allow you to reprice your booking.  Royal allows it up to final payment and agencies can call Royal and get yours repriced up until final payment.  If the agency is providing you with OBC they may reduce the amount of OBC if you get the price reduced. 

Okay, thanks.  I see so many on here that mention 'final payment.'    I see final payment mentioned pretty often.  I don't quite understand.  We book a cruise and then pay for it.  I see on one of my online cruising agencies when they list their specials and sometimes it says 'reduced deposits.'  I guess a lot of people pay for a cruise in payments???   We do maybe one a year- book it a month or so before it leaves, once I finally make up my mind.

Edited May 8, 2021 by smilesntravels
grammar

[smilesntravels]

On 5/6/2021 at 10:41 PM, lovescats5 said:

1. We loved Anthem and are looking at Allure for 2023.  That being said, I feel there is more to do on Q class although there are more food choices on Oasis class.  We tend to cruise off season with a now teen ager granddaughter.  Have not see all that many kids regardless of ship.  Not a fan of DW, took our kids (now 43 & 40) to Disneyland many times and for our big Disney World trip they were unimpressed.  We spend 2 days at Epicot and 2 days at the World village, or whatever it is called.  Not a fan of waiting in line.  Hope you make a final decision on which cruise to take.  

Thanks lovescats.  I love cats, too.  it's one of those things.  I always pictured DW as larger and more impressive, compared to Disneyland so would like to see it.  I don't like lines either, but it's been years since I've been to an amusement park.  So, cruise to relax and 3-4 nights for DW and Epcot or Animal Kingdom.

I had it in my head that Allure would be a beautiful ship mostly because of the Boardwalk and Central Park area, but a few so far said they like the Anthem better.  I guess I'll figure it out soon.  All the responses have helped.

And yesterday I saw a post about NY & NJ keeping the port closed for many more months.  Hopefully that is just a rumor and not true.

[Ourusualbeach]

36 minutes ago, smilesntravels said:

Okay, thanks.  I see so many on here that mention 'final payment.'    I see final payment mentioned pretty often.  I don't quite understand.  We book a cruise and then pay for it.  I see on one of my online cruising agencies when they list their specials and sometimes it says 'reduced deposits.'  I guess a lot of people pay for a cruise in payments???   We do maybe one a year- book it a month or so before it leaves, once I finally make up my mind.

You end up paying in full because you are booking a month before you sail.  Many of us book our cruise 2 years or more before sail date so only a deposit is required to hold the cabin and lock in the price (you can get it adjusted downward if it drops) and then pay the balance 90 days prior to sailing.