Celebrity Reflection vs RCCL Oasis/Allure

[Jaime1958]

I am 55 and husband is 60. Only experience with Celebrity was Millenium when it was new. Would like to hear from those that can compare Oasis/Allure to Reflection regarding entertainment, food, and ship in general. Have a deposit for Reflection 02/2015.

[HazyDavy]

IMHO, these are two very different experiences. I have been on both.

 

Although the Oasis/Allure do a very good job of spreading people out so it doesn't feel as crowded/busy as you would think, its still pretty busy. Getting on and off was fairly easy, though lines can be long if you hit the right time getting back on board while in port. No such problems on Reflection.

 

We did specialty dining every night on the Allure and were in Blu and specialty dining on Reflection, so can't really comment on the MDR on either ship.

 

Specialty dining on Allure varied from excellent (Chef's table) to very good (Chops) to meh (others).

 

Generally I try to stay away from the buffets but was not impressed with buffet on Allure when I walked through it. Buffet on Reflection had decent sushi and some other good options.

 

Dining on the Reflection in Blu was very good and the specialty restaurants were very good.

 

General feel on the ships, Reflection generally more upscale and calm. Oasis/Allure is broken up into different neighborhoods which is nice.

 

If going with kids I would consider going back to Oasis/Allure, if just DW and I (mid 50's) no question we would choose Reflection or one of the other S class X ships.

 

Entertainment: Allure had Chicago, not a fan of that show, walked out about halfway through, followed by a bunch of others. The outside water/diving show is pretty cool as is the ice skate show. These are things that are not offered on Reflection, so if that's important to you.... Otherwise, plenty to do on both ships entertainment wise.

 

You could certainly have a great time on either one, and there's something to be said for experiencing the Oasis/Allure at least once, but if it was one or the other, my preference would be the Reflection.

[fgc15527]

Sailed both Reflection and Oasis. Entertainment on Oasis/Allure is fantastic. A full Broadway play, ice show, water show, Cirque ole, and comedian as well as a traditional musical revue. Reservations are made before boarding. Reflection can not compare. Everyone should sail Oasis/Allure once. The design is unbelievable. Our children and grandchildren loved this ship. The food was just okayon Oasis. There is a solarium for older guests at the front of the ship. It is a long walk from the front to the back. Reflection is a wonderful ship. A more sedate vacation. Celebrity food is far better than Royals.

[Cruising89143]

I have cruised on all three ships. Very different experience. All three ships have a wow factor but the Reflection is more subdued. The Oasis class does not feel crowded even when sailing at capacity.

 

Hands down the Oasis twins have the best entertainment. IMHO food is better across the board on Celebrity. We found service to be equal.

 

Celebrity has only one announcement per day which is the Captain's update while RCI has more for things like bingo, art auctions, etc. I have cruised a total of six weeks on the Oasis/Allure combined at different times of the year and there will always be plenty of kids on board. Not so much with Celebrity.

 

If you want a more relaxed vacation go with the Reflection. For a more active experience then the Oasis class. I have photos of all three ships in my link below. All are beautiful ships.

Edited February 5, 2014 by cruisingator2

[cruiserziggy]

We have been on all 3 and enjoyed them all. As others have said, Oasis class is much different experience from Celebrity S-Class. I agree with all of the other posters' comments.

 

If this helps, having been on both, we were faced with exactly the same question for an upcoming cruise later in the year with a few other families. We selected Reflection. It is more intimate (but certainly not small.) The Celebrity food is better. Overall, we found Celebrity a bit more refined.

[riclop]

Thats the easiest question.... OASIS/ALLURE.

[Cruise a holic]

I am 55 and husband is 60. Only experience with Celebrity was Millenium when it was new. Would like to hear from those that can compare Oasis/Allure to Reflection regarding entertainment, food, and ship in general. Have a deposit for Reflection 02/2015.

 

We just did a modified back to back on the Celebrity Silhouette then the Allure. The Silhouette is a twin to the Reflection which we have also sailed on. Each ship has its strenghts and weakness. Overall food on the Silhouette much better. The buffet is wonderful with so many more choices then the Allure. The buffett is also designed better on the Silhouette (reflection). The specialty restaurants also IMO are better on the Silhouette. The Martini bars and drinks overall much better on the Silhouette. The cabin and bathroom nicer on the Silhouette.

 

The entertainment on the Allure is fantastic and fair on Celebrity. The allure has so much more diverse entertainment including a broadway show (Chicago), an ice show, a water show, a comedy club ,Jazz club and of course the main spectacular show. This is in addition to the usual bar entertainment and karaoke shows. They also had some special shows, including a roaring 20's show which was a riot! You can reserve this in advance of the cruise so you never get closed out of a show.

 

Celebrity had a couple of production shows which were okay. A comedy venue which was good but much too crowded. The also had what I would consider second rate other shows. It reminded me of movies that had bungalow colony shows and vaudville acts. These included one man bands, puppets and other dated entertainment. The Allure overall is really as they say WOW. Shopping, the boardwalk, Central park, the Promenade. The sailing is so smooth you cannot believe you are on the high seas. Not sure if you enjoy other activities, but zip line, surfing flow rider, rock climbing wall and ice skating are also available on the Allure.

 

It depends upon what is important to you. You cannot go wrong with either ship!

Edited February 6, 2014 by Cruise a holic

[fridaythe13th]

IMHO, these are two very different experiences. I have been on both.

 

Although the Oasis/Allure do a very good job of spreading people out so it doesn't feel as crowded/busy as you would think, its still pretty busy. Getting on and off was fairly easy, though lines can be long if you hit the right time getting back on board while in port. No such problems on Reflection.

 

We did specialty dining every night on the Allure and were in Blu and specialty dining on Reflection, so can't really comment on the MDR on either ship.

 

Specialty dining on Allure varied from excellent (Chef's table) to very good (Chops) to meh (others).

 

Generally I try to stay away from the buffets but was not impressed with buffet on Allure when I walked through it. Buffet on Reflection had decent sushi and some other good options.

 

Dining on the Reflection in Blu was very good and the specialty restaurants were very good.

 

General feel on the ships, Reflection generally more upscale and calm. Oasis/Allure is broken up into different neighborhoods which is nice.

 

If going with kids I would consider going back to Oasis/Allure, if just DW and I (mid 50's) no question we would choose Reflection or one of the other S class X ships.

 

Entertainment: Allure had Chicago, not a fan of that show, walked out about halfway through, followed by a bunch of others. The outside water/diving show is pretty cool as is the ice skate show. These are things that are not offered on Reflection, so if that's important to you.... Otherwise, plenty to do on both ships entertainment wise.

 

You could certainly have a great time on either one, and there's something to be said for experiencing the Oasis/Allure at least once, but if it was one or the other, my preference would be the Reflection.

 

We walked out too!! Here I thought it was going to be fantastic and I was so disappointed. Glad we weren't the only ones who walked out.

[fridaythe13th]

I read this thread as we are sailing The Reflection in a couple of days. I have to agree with the buffet on Allure, not a great set up or choices, but always found something. They also had a line to get in and they would seat you, which was different.

[MVPinBoynton]

Since they are both very different experiences, you need to do both; so your decision is which to do first. We love both classes of ship and look forward to cruising both of them again. Since we have been to the Caribbean many times, we really enjoyed the Allure as the destination. I believe that you will enjoy either cruise. You just need to decide what type of a cruise you want. You can see lots of photos from our cruises on both ships on our website www.thepreismans.com. I don't know if it will make your decision any easier; but at least it will show you what you will miss if you choose one or the other. :D At least you can't make a wrong decision.

 

I will say that one reason to go with Reflection is that the pricing on the Oasis/Allure cruises could come down once the Anthem comes out in October. But time will tell. Good luck.

[cruisetimeforme]

I have sailed Allure and Reflection and also walked out on Chicago but loved the other shows. Had the Chefs table dining pkg so loved that and didn''t really do much mdr dining. We were on supposedly the lowest passenger count they had had to date but still found too many kids, strollers,etc for our taste. Had a really fun time and glad we did it once to see what the ship was like, especially enjoyed Central Park. BUT the smoke was awfull we couldn't even go to some of the lounges it really was disappointing in that regard. In the end it made me realize how much more we really do enjoy sailing Celebrity

[Tiggercat]

I have sailed on Reflection once and on Allure 5 times. We had a great time on Reflection...we were considered the young crowd (51 and 55)...but don't have the burning desire to go back. I would go on Allure again or on Oasis in a heartbeat! There is so much to do and so many different experiences that you cannot do it in one trip...or in 5! However, I am with the others...you should try all three!

[fridaythe13th]

Back from Reflection and it was an "older" crowd (not that we are young). We were a little disappointed in the overall experience but we liked the Allure so much more! Lots of wasted space on the Reflection and definitely not as much to do and/or see on the Reflection. The buffet was set up very similar to the Allure, confusing to me. Reflection did have 5 matinee's this sailing and usually only have 2 or 3. The lawn does seem like wasted space as I have read here on CC. We have been on the Eastern itinerary many times and picked the Reflection as our itinerary but ended up doing a couple of tours through the ship which were just okay. Looking forward to going on RC Oasis or Quantum, just for the ship itself!

[cruisetrail]

I am 55 and husband is 60. Only experience with Celebrity was Millenium when it was new. Would like to hear from those that can compare Oasis/Allure to Reflection regarding entertainment, food, and ship in general. Have a deposit for Reflection 02/2015.

 

The Allure is many space years above in every aspect except the buffet (Celebrity wins) and specialty dining - comparable.

[Cruise a holic]

Back from Reflection and it was an "older" crowd (not that we are young). We were a little disappointed in the overall experience but we liked the Allure so much more! Lots of wasted space on the Reflection and definitely not as much to do and/or see on the Reflection. The buffet was set up very similar to the Allure, confusing to me. Reflection did have 5 matinee's this sailing and usually only have 2 or 3. The lawn does seem like wasted space as I have read here on CC. We have been on the Eastern itinerary many times and picked the Reflection as our itinerary but ended up doing a couple of tours through the ship which were just okay. Looking forward to going on RC Oasis or Quantum, just for the ship itself!

As per my previous post, In January my DH and I sailed on the Silhouette one week, Reflections sister, then the following week, we sailed on the Allure. We enjoyed both for different reasons. The celebrity ship had a much better buffet in terms of the layout and the food. The speciality restaurants were also better on Celebrity. We loved the Martini and Molecular bars. The cabin on Celebrity was nicer and the bathroom bigger and more storage. While the crowd does attract an older crowd, many "super seniors", that could be a plus as kids aren't running up and down the halls and pushing every elevator button.

 

The Allure hands down had superior entertainment. We loved the shops and enjoyed the variety. The Promenade, Central Park and the Boardwalk. Nothing like that on Celebrity. However, so many kids running around. The cabin was ok on the Allure and on both ships service excellent. This is a great ship for families especially with people of all ages. The drinks were not nearly as good as celebrity as we tried multiple bars. The Martini bar on Allure was fair to poor most days.

 

The Allure, Oasis and soon the Quantum are truly destinations, you do not even have to get off of the ship to have a great vacation. I think we were very lucky to have the best of both worlds. I think when we travel with our family we prefer the RC ships, however if it is my DH and I, and other adults, Celebrity wins.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Cruise a holic

[poolwife]

We will be sailing on the Silhouette for the first time on March 2 and I am so looking forward to it.

 

I have also been on the Oasis and the Allure of the Seas and I can't figure out why everyone is talking about walking out of the "Chicago" show on the "Allure of the Seas". They just mentioned they walked out but not why they did. My husband and I thought it was great, very professional and the actors in it very talented. We loved it and could have seen it a second time in the week but that wasn't available to do.

 

Well, to each his own. Everything doesn't appeal to everyone.

[wahlct]

We've been on 3 cruise so far, Eclipse, Century, and Allure. All very different, with some similarities. All had great service in the restaurants and cabins, which really surprised me on Allure. Allure's service was lacking in the bars.

 

The buffet on Allure as mentioned before was disappointing. Even thought the sip was 2x the size of Eclipse, the buffet was the same size with a smaller selection, and the quality was not as good. MDR was equal on them in my opinion. The Allure has a lot more options for free dining, but we thought the burgers and pizza on Eclipse were better than on Allure. We've only done Chops on Allure so we have no comparison, but we were disappointed with it.

 

Entertainment on Allure is very good, with lots of options. We enjoyed nearly all the shows. As others mentioned, we walked out of Chicago too. We aren't big musical fans, and just did not enjoy it. We enjoyed the entertainment on Eclipse, but it was somewhat repetitive with the same cast all week.

 

Allure had far more bars, but we seemed to enjoy the ones on Eclipse better.

 

As for activities, Allure had far more to choose from. Having said that, we always felt like there was too much to choose from, lol.

 

For us, if we were going with a large group or our kids again, we'd go on Allure/Oasis in a heartbeat. When it's just my wife and I, we would choose an S-class if we can (we're booking the Summit later this year).

[Cruise a holic]

We will be sailing on the Silhouette for the first time on March 2 and I am so looking forward to it.

 

I have also been on the Oasis and the Allure of the Seas and I can't figure out why everyone is talking about walking out of the "Chicago" show on the "Allure of the Seas". They just mentioned they walked out but not why they did. My husband and I thought it was great, very professional and the actors in it very talented. We loved it and could have seen it a second time in the week but that wasn't available to do.

 

Well, to each his own. Everything doesn't appeal to everyone.

 

I agree with you- while I enjoy the show Hairspray which was on the Oasis, the second time (Jan 2014) we saw Chicago, I enjoyed it more. Mama Mia will be the show on the Quantum- I was hoping it would be Wicked.

 

As you say to each his own! Some people love Carnival, Princess and NCL- I do not. Nice to have so many choices.

[gold1953]

We all have different tastes and that is why there are different ships . We have sailed on both and would NEVER go back on the Oasis.

Food was not as good , service in the dining room ( select) was terrible. There were line ups for the buffet at lunch ( never on Celebrity)

Cabin was small

 

and there was no place to eat overlooking the ocean ( outside) We love being at sea . Central park did not do anything for us. We can eat in a park at home

 

But this is just us...others love the park

 

Our favorite Celebrity ship is the Reflection. It is not exactly a sister ship of the others as it is larger. We LOVE the expanded aft deck outside of the buffet!!!

[poolwife]

On the Silhouette - Does it have an eating area outside the back of the buffet like is mentioned in the previous post on the Reflection?

 

I thought they were the same just different names. What else is different about the two ships?

[cruisetrail]

On the Silhouette - Does it have an eating area outside the back of the buffet like is mentioned in the previous post on the Reflection? Yes, slightly different arrangement.

 

I thought they were the same just different names. What else is different about the two ships?

 

A semi-deck of cabins added

Dance club removed

2/5 of the front observation lounge taken up by added suites

Two more cabanas added to the grass area

Former front observation deck surrounded by full height fence

 

More passengers, less amenities, less public space.

[gold1953]

On the Silhouette - Does it have an eating area outside the back of the buffet like is mentioned in the previous post on the Reflection?

 

I thought they were the same just different names. What else is different about the two ships?

 

All of the Celebrity ships have the outside decks for eating. Reflection is larger .. .it is our favorite place to eat!!

[poolwife]

Thank you all for your comments. I will have to try "Reflection" some time.

I was deciding between Silhouette and Reflection but chose Silhouette because its itinerary goes to St. Kitts which we have never been to. We have been to the itinerary on Reflection a couple of times.

 

Reflection sounds real nice.

[cruisetimeforme]

Enjoy your cruise and please come back to share your thoughts

[hcat]

We absolutely loved Silhouette..having had two great cruises on her. No complaints...love BLU. Good choice of ship. We have not tried Reflection due to limited itins..

 

We hated Oasis in Sept.. except for the cabana we rented on labadee and Jamaica port. The ship was way too big, spread out and geared to families with children and active younger couples. Seemed like a shopping mall (not very upscale) with a food court,,,lots of wasted space and funky wind patterns on board...

 

Our dtr and her bf liiked it more than we did as did many others in their age group... but we could not wait to get off. Music was varied but not top notch as on other Royal C cruises in the past...pools very crowded and no really upscale dining experiences... All shows and events had to be pre-booked...Seemed like no one was really relaxing or savoring their cruise experience..just milling about like folks do at the local mall.

 

One nice feature was the am lounge for Diamonds and the evening gathering whihc does put celebrity to shame in all respects. Other than that happy to be on Equinox next fall!