Allure/Oasis vs Anthem

Hello all,

I'm trying to decide on a cruise far in the future (almost a year from now) and can't decide between putting a deposit down and taking the Anthem out of NJ or riding the Allure or Oasis out of Florida.

I live in New England so ease and affordability of transport to NJ over Miami is a plus. I have ridden both the Allure and the Oasis before and even though the Anthem is newer I'm wary of the limited amount of open air space it seems to have compared to the bigger, older ships. Thoughts? Has anyone here ridden both? Is the Anthem stuffy relative to the Allure/Oasis? I feel like I would miss Central Park. Cannot decide if I should spring for a new ship and a new itinerary or take the same ol' route on the same ol' boats I've done before just because I know what I'm getting.

Thanks in advance :)

I have sailed all three of the ships that you mentioned and prefer Oasis class ships, but have sailed Anthem multiple times because it is just a 4 hour drive from home. Anthem is very different but it has a lot to offer. We love the entertainment on Anthem and the only area we don't like is the Esplanade, it is narrow and gets very crowded. Sailing from a colder climate does keep you indoors more, but that hasn't bothered us.

You have to try it for yourself and decide.

Anthem is nice for winter vacation. But it's different from any ship where we have been with lots of technology involved.

will be going on Allure Easter for the 4th time, have done Anthem and Quantum. IMHO there is no comparison, Allure hands down, if for nothing else the dining room experience. But there is LOTS more. Allure all the way!:cool:

We've sailed Allure once and Anthem 3x (we live near Philly). While we enjoyed Allure, we loved Anthem! There is so much to do. IFly, Northstar, escape room, bumper cars, roller skating, circus school... I actually liked the different feel of Anthem. I get tired of the same old thing, so the change of layout was nice.

Having said that, we are sailing Allure this summer because our kids haven't sailed her yet.

We are frequent cruisers and absolutely love the Quantum class. We have sailed all three - Quantum, Ovation and Anthem. We have also sailed Oasis and Harmony and are not super big fans. We like Transatlantic cruises on the big boys but not such a fan for Caribbean cruises. The problem with the Esplanade is when they set up tables for sails in there. That is when it gets so crowded. However the sales in the Royal Promenade also cause a lot of conjestion.

That said, any of those ships would be a great choice!

Thank you all for the input. I ended up deciding to book a trip on the new Symphony of the Seas. Figured I would miss all the open space too much.