Fantasy vs. Allure

[Gary from PA]

 

 

Oh one more thing, from what I have "read" the crowds on the Dream/Fantasy are making much more nervous then they have did on the Oasis/Allure before I sailed it.

 

Missy

 

The only "crowds" I saw on the Dream were the children in the pool on the pool deck, during the sea days.

 

And that's normal for any Disney Cruise.

[e2011]

We have sailed on the Dream and the Oasis. Both ships are nice. As has been mentioned here there are no "big" crowds on the Oasis/Allure. To say they are crowded like the Venetian Hotel is hogwash. Yes the RCCL ships hold 5,500 guests but they are also 220,000 tons. The Dream/Fantasy ships are 128,000 tons and hold 4,000 guests. If you do the math its close to the same in people per sq. ft. And I can tell you from actual experince both ships are equally miserable if you are trying to go to the pool from 11-4 on an "at sea" day. Other than that scenario, both ships are equally easy to get around. So the real decision is based on if you want the WOW factor of Oasis/Allure or the Disney magic. Its a trade off because there is truly more to do for kids on the Oasis. And the Oasis has the Dreamworks characters so if your child loves Shrek, its a home run. If you want the Disney characters and the more refined, nostalgic cruising atmosphere you will like Disney. I highly recommend you try both and make up your own mind!

[Gary from PA]

If you want the Disney characters and the more refined, nostalgic cruising atmosphere you will like Disney. I highly recommend you try both and make up your own mind!

 

Exactly the same difference between staying at a Hotel resort in Las Vegas and being on a cruise ship at sea.

[e2011]

Exactly the same difference between staying at a Hotel resort in Las Vegas and being on a cruise ship at sea.

 

Thats funny! As a Las Vegas native I can tell you cruising on ANY ship is not like Las Vegas! But bring us your money next time you are out west., we will gladly take it!

[1ParticularHbr]

Thats funny! As a Las Vegas native I can tell you cruising on ANY ship is not like Las Vegas! But bring us your money next time you are out west., we will gladly take it!

 

I thought the same thing when I saw that post. The only thing that makes me think of Vegas on "other" ships vs. Disney is the casino ;)

[Gary from PA]

I thought the same thing when I saw that post. The only thing that makes me think of Vegas on "other" ships vs. Disney is the casino ;)

 

OK

 

What if I were to compare Oasis/Allure as a floating Las Vegas hotel ? :p

[1ParticularHbr]

OK

 

What if I were to compare Oasis/Allure as a floating Las Vegas hotel ? :p

 

I'll give you that one. Allure (and Oasis) do strive to create, as they put it "neighborhoods" which are similar to what some Las Vegas hotels do with their themes (i.e. New York New York, Paris, Bellagio). Also the Aqua Theater has a Cirque du Soleil feel. Disney does the same with their themed hotels but fortunately, they chose Luxury Cruiseliner theme for their ships :)

[Gary from PA]

I'll give you that one. Allure (and Oasis) do strive to create, as they put it "neighborhoods" which are similar to what some Las Vegas hotels do with their themes (i.e. New York New York, Paris, Bellagio). Also the Aqua Theater has a Cirque du Soleil feel. Disney does the same with their themed hotels but fortunately, they chose Luxury Cruiseliner theme for their ships :)

 

I could not have put it better then you inspite of me posting half a dozen times.:p

 

All the themed hotels in Vegas you mentioned can be put on a huge floating barge and called a "cruise ship" :D

[hardingk]

I am a diamond RCL C&A Member and have been on over 10 RCL cruises. We were supposed to sail Oasis back in 2010; however, I had to have an emergency surgery and had to cancel our sailing.

 

We sailed the Dream last September and are hooked on Disney!!! We have a 3yr old DD, and she constantly asks "when we are going back on the Mickey Ship"!! This was our first cruise on DCL and I too was concerned about not having elite frequent sailing status, but I was totally impressed by the boarding process! We did our online check in at the 90 day mark and got one of the first boarding times. We were on the ship within 45 mins of arriving at the pier.

 

Someday we will go back to RCL, but for now it's DCL for us, while DD is so into Disney!

[e2011]

I could not have put it better then you inspite of me posting half a dozen times.:p

 

All the themed hotels in Vegas you mentioned can be put on a huge floating barge and called a "cruise ship" :D

 

What???

[dogsambam]

I am feeling better with our choice of the Fantasy for next Spring Break. I do keep reading of that the Fantasy seems very crowded on the decks and in heavily travelled or visited events. Does anyone have any feedback with this, who have experienced it. On the Allure, and yes we have experienced it, we felt never a crowd, with the exception of the parades. If Royal Caribbean can do it on a ship with 6000 people, I just figured Disney could do it too. There are photos where the pools are almost wall to wall people and the water has a greyish tint. I just want to know what to expect.

[Friend100]

Allure/Oasis OTS is a much larger ship; Dream/Fantasy is even smaller than Freedom/Liberty/Indy OTS. On a larger ship there are just more different "neighbourhood" for people to hang out instead of all concentrated at a few places. There are places you will feel crowded, especially on sea day, but there are also place with less crowd.

 

Based solely on my experience on Liberty OTS and Disney Dream, I think RCI mega ship wins in this department, particularly, on the pool deck.

[1ParticularHbr]

We cruised on Allure in February and Dream last week. We felt far more crowded on the Disney ship than any RCI ship we've been on. Sail-away and Pirate night were wall to wall people on Disney. Disney has not yet mastered the "open space" concept that RCI does so well.

[Gary from PA]

Disney has not yet mastered the "open space" concept that RCI does so well.

 

You mean a hotel on a floating barge concept ?

[e2011]

I have done both the Oasis and Fantasy within 5 months of each other and both ships have their high points. I can tell you that after 225,000 tons of Oasis, every other ship seems small and crowded. Everyone yaps about the 5,400 guests but they forget its 225,000 tons! The Fantasy is a beautiful ship but like all ships in the 128,000 ton range, I was ready to get off after 7 days. In comparison I wanted to sell my home and move onto the Oasis! Bottom line is you cannot go wrong with either ship or cruise. (Platinum membership does mean something and you will not get those perks on Disney unless you get a concierge suite.) I will say the one bedroom suite we had on the Fantasy was the second best room we have ever had on a ship. (The best was the 2 bedroom suite on the NCL Epic.) Either way you will have fun and there is something to be said about trying a new cruise company and if you go Disney, go Fantasy or Dream! Since I have small children, I am happy to pay the premium price for Disney once in a while but our next 3 cruises are on RCL. We have done both the Dream and Fantasy and will probably hit them again in 2-3 years. And make no mistake.. when people on here try to convince you the Disney is more refined and elegant, please don't think you will not have massive crowds at the pools,that are full beyond capacity, people smoking on their cabin decks and drunks throwing empty cups on the floor. I witnessed all these things on the Fantasy just as on every other cruise ship. Its the nature of the beast. With 4,000 on the ship, X% will be what I call "unrefined citizens". The only ships I have been on with out that element is Seabourn and that is just a function of their extreme cost.

[e2011]

You mean a hotel on a floating barge concept ?

Oh Gary, you are obsessed with Las Vegas and a tenuous comparison between the Venetian and a cruise ship! LOL. Did you not like the Venetian? ALL cruise ships are "floating hotels". I'm with you, I love Disney, but they are not the be all, end all in cruise ships. Let me email you the photo I have from my Fantasy cruise last week where in the photo I captured the sign on the Mickey pool that says "22 person maximum" and there are 34 kids in the pool! Now thats typical Las Vegas!

[alaska_planner]

I have done both the Oasis and Fantasy within 5 months of each other and both ships have their high points. I can tell you that after 225,000 tons of Oasis, every other ship seems small and crowded. Everyone yaps about the 5,400 guests but they forget its 225,000 tons! The Fantasy is a beautiful ship but like all ships in the 128,000 ton range, I was ready to get off after 7 days. In comparison I wanted to sell my home and move onto the Oasis! Bottom line is you cannot go wrong with either ship or cruise. (Platinum membership does mean something and you will not get those perks on Disney unless you get a concierge suite.) I will say the one bedroom suite we had on the Fantasy was the second best room we have ever had on a ship. (The best was the 2 bedroom suite on the NCL Epic.) Either way you will have fun and there is something to be said about trying a new cruise company and if you go Disney, go Fantasy or Dream! Since I have small children, I am happy to pay the premium price for Disney once in a while but our next 3 cruises are on RCL. We have done both the Dream and Fantasy and will probably hit them again in 2-3 years. And make no mistake.. when people on here try to convince you the Disney is more refined and elegant, please don't think you will not have massive crowds at the pools,that are full beyond capacity, people smoking on their cabin decks and drunks throwing empty cups on the floor. I witnessed all these things on the Fantasy just as on every other cruise ship. Its the nature of the beast. With 4,000 on the ship, X% will be what I call "unrefined citizens". The only ships I have been on with out that element is Seabourn and that is just a function of their extreme cost.

 

glad to hear you liked the 1 bedroom

we'll be in a 1 br on the disney dream - 3 adults, my mom, sister and me.

i figured i'll share the main bed with my mom (not as weird as it sounds- it won't bother either of us to do that) and my sister can take the sofabed in the living room.

 

for what we're paying for the 4 day cruise, i could get a suite on the oasis/allure (actually 7 days in a suite on the allure is cheaper than 4 days on the dream), but we dont have 7 days available to cruise, so it has to be the relatively more expensive disney dream

[AF-1]

peacefrogdog. thank you for the great comparison. I have been on Allure and Feedom; and trying to decide about taking grandkids on Disney. Your review helped a lot. Thanks

[GBChicinMaine]

With the ages of your children? If they are in to the Mouse and his buddies or the princesses, etc. than I think the "magic" of the Disney ships is a no-brainer. Either way, I bet you'll have a brilliant time!

[AF-1]

With the ages of your children? If they are in to the Mouse and his buddies or the princesses, etc. than I think the "magic" of the Disney ships is a no-brainer. Either way, I bet you'll have a brilliant time!

My grandkids will be 4/6/10/13/15

[GBChicinMaine]

My grandkids will be 4/6/10/13/15

 

Oh, yes... I've got to go with Disney. There is something for all of them. Even better, it's all ultra-designed to be super age appropriate for each of them, individually.

 

What I loved the most about cruising with children on DCL? We had as much (or as little) time with our teens as we wanted. We had special family time (dinner, ports, castaway cay) but also had brilliant alone time with each other whle we knew our kids were safe, well-supervised and having the time of their lives.

 

It really is a win/win for everyone!:D

[war_eagle99]

Disney is a nice cruise like all other cruises but I would even choose the Navigator over Disney. It just ended up not being our thing and we like Disney World a lot.

 

We chose the Dream over the Allure and part of me regretted it the whole trip. We are still glad we tried Disney though. In the end it's just not the cruise for us. Too crowded and while our one yr old enjoyed meeting the characters and loved the splash zone he just isn't old enough to fully enjoy what the ship offers older kids.

 

We'll probably try again when he's older but it will be more for his enjoyment than anything. I'm not sure a Disney cruise will ever be the right choice for my wife and I.... Though a smiling happy child trumps all so if he ends up loving it we may too.

[AF-1]

We took our five grandkids on Freedom of the Seas last Dec; parked next to the Dream in Port Canaveral. They are about the same size; my grandkids had a ball, the two year old really didn't care much what he did; of course he won't remember it anyway. So my wife and I were thinking about taking the kids on a Disney ship. I know you shouldn't compare Royal Caribbean to Disney; so I rely on people who have been on the Dream or Fantasy. We were also thinking about taking them on Oasis/Allure. My wife and I both did Allure without kids. I loved the ship. We both commented how much the kids would love this ship; but now that the Dream and Fantasy are out; we have to make a choice. Thanks to all who have chimed in and given me feedback. I appreciate it.