Just a little negative about Allure

[twopats]

We just got off the 4/20 sailing and although the ship is gorgeous, the shows outstanding and amazing (especially Blue Planet), we will not be booking another cruise on this class of ship. It truly is like sailing on 17 story building as there is absolutely no motion or feeling of sailing whatsoever. Yes, you do look out at the sea and know are on a cruise, but it is like going to a land resort, albeit a wonderful resort! The ports obviously are overloaded with 5200 passengers from the Allure, but coupled with four or more other ships in the ports, just too many cruisers. However, we have friends who don't sail because they do not like the motion and have to wear those little patches so for them, this is the class of ship to book! Trish and Pat

[Cruisin' Along]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I have been considering Oasis or Allure. The ships sound intriguing but I've wondered if it would truly feel like a cruise for the same reasons that you mentioned.

[Chuggiebug]

We are preparing for our 4th cruise on the Oasis class(3rd on the Allure) and have never felt crowded!! We love them!

[Langley Cruisers]

Thank you for sharing your opinion; glad you had a good week. I, too, feel as you did - not really like a ship but more a building at sea. While I adore cruising, I will not sail on the big gal again. I tried it, didn't love it, will stay with Voyager class and Radiance class.

 

This is just my personal opinion. And we all have one. :D

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[KMagz]

Oasis class ships are wonderful and I'd cruise on them again if the price was right. But ... for *US* both Allure and Oasis were much more crowded than any of our other cruises on Voyager and Freedom class ships. The elevators, WindJammer, theaters, were notably congested. The Park Cafe can also be a challenge but mostly because the "flow" of people in and out was not well thought out IMO. Central Park, Promenade and Boardwalk much less crowded.

 

Again, great ships. But lots of people.

[LindaO]

If you want motion on the BIG ships... then you should have sailed last Thanksgiving... that group would have paid for a smoother sailing. Even the big ships feel motion if the conditions are 'right' With that said, I was surprised how much I liked sailing on the Allure... It was never crowded, elevators were easy, and with a little planning the day was a breeze. We opted to stay on the ship, with just a short walk off in one port. The ship was the destination for us...and that was just fine for us. I do have to say that it will probably be a once a year voyage for us -- we have the Oasis booked later this year. I really like all different ships... I'm glad you had a nice cruise... and hope you enjoy your future cruises!

[createcolorfun]

we too on the allure for thanksgiving had some "motion" days/nights. I was a little leery about going on a big ship with so many people (our first was the oasis in 2012) wondering how safe i would feel. I felt so safe, we booked another for our whole family on the Allure. I loved it. there was so much to do... On thanksgiving there were 1700 kids and never noticed it. there were a lot of people when the parades were going on, but no more than the other ships. I'll sale oasis/allure any day!!!

[janetz]

We have sailed both the Oasis and Allure. The ships are destinations on their own.

The most impressive thing for us were the shows. We had a great time but would not sail either again. Been there, done that.

They are not for everyone. ;)

[DCT61]

We sailed in a CLS on the OASIS in January. We were so impressed with the ship and the cabin, that we have booked the same room on the ALLURE for next year. There was just too much that we never got to do the first time. AMAZING ship. Our best cruise so far. And to think...we HATED the EXPLORER OF THE SEAS because we thought it was too big and we didn't feel connected to the sea.

[critterchick]

Thank you for sharing your opinion; glad you had a good week. I, too, feel as you did - not really like a ship but more a building at sea. While I adore cruising, I will not sail on the big gal again. I tried it, didn't love it, will stay with Voyager class and Radiance class.

 

This is just my personal opinion. And we all have one. :D

.

 

I'm with you, but prefer Vision to Voyager class. And I rather like the Freedom class, strangely enough.

 

We booked knowing that it would not be a traditional cruising experience. DH loved it and would like to go again some day. Me, not so much, at least not until I've crossed a lot of destinations off my bucket list.

[Esmerelda]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. We have done both the Oasis and the Allure (plus smaller ships), we totally enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Our last sailing was last year right after July 4 and honestly it never felt crowded to us at all. We all had a good time. We have the Allure booked again this September. I'm beyond excited. I think I like that class because I like all the exercise one gets going from different venues, levels, pools, etc. We are very active and fit and this ship helps this! LOL...(we are in our 50's) (I think I had lost 2-3 lbs by the time I got off of our last outing on this class)

 

I guess that's why its nice that cruise companies have so many different shapes and sizes because we all like different things.

 

:p

Edited April 30, 2014 by Esmerelda

[molsonschooner]

We just got off the 4/20 sailing and although the ship is gorgeous, the shows outstanding and amazing (especially Blue Planet), we will not be booking another cruise on this class of ship. It truly is like sailing on 17 story building as there is absolutely no motion or feeling of sailing whatsoever. Yes, you do look out at the sea and know are on a cruise, but it is like going to a land resort, albeit a wonderful resort! The ports obviously are overloaded with 5200 passengers from the Allure, but coupled with four or more other ships in the ports, just too many cruisers. However, we have friends who don't sail because they do not like the motion and have to wear those little patches so for them, this is the class of ship to book! Trish and Pat

 

I guess we must have been lucky when we cruised on the Oasis a couple years ago. It was so rough for the first 3 days that some of the crew was suffering from motion sickness. Walking down the corridors you would think everyone was drunk as the were leaning against the walls. I would hace liked it to be just a bit smoother

[racerxspeedy]

Hello - Sorry you had a less than "WOW" experience on Allure

 

I understand the feeling that the ports can seem crowded, but the main reason is not always the 5200 people on Allure. It's the ports

 

The ports that Allure goes to (St. Thomas, St Martin, Cozumel) can have 6 ships in port at one time. For example St Martin on 4-23 had Oasis and Celebrity Reflection = 9000 cruisers. Actually a great day to visit

 

On 4-24 St Martin saw: Adventure, Freedom, Royal Princess, Norwegian Sun, Carnival Sunshine, Celebrity Summit = 20,000 cruisers. Not a great

 

Its a good idea to look into the ship schedules before booking.

 

I love these ships and enjoy the ability to get the best of both worlds. I can get my cruise ship fix and an upscale resort feel at a reasonable cost. More food options and top notch entertainment is hard to beat.

 

I will book Allure, Oasis and Oasis 3 if the price is right in a heartbeat.

 

I will be doing Allure and Indy this fall again just to make sure - :)

 

Thanks for the great thread.

[Leezer]

I was on Oasis in March and I was amazed how much the ship did move! I thought I wouldn't feel a thing but it was rocking so much one day they closed things like the zip line. I joked my 2 year old had his own flow rider in the h20 zone with the water rushing from from side to the other! So I guess it all just depends on the weather!

 

 

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[matj2000]

I don't really have a big desire to go on the Oasis but my kids really want too.

It costs us more because we do separate cabins for kids and get a balcony for myself.

Plus the dates we sail are Spring Break & Thanksgiving so the prices run higher than average.

We rarely go to shows, don't shop, or organized activities.

I do the flowrider & rockwall usually once a cruise only to say I did it.

We like the sun, ports, booze, and dining which can be done on all ships.

If the prices come down for my dates, I could always switch but until then, I look for the best deals I can among all the cruise lines....

[Jllewy]

Just one more quick note! We first cruised back in the 80's on Rennaisance with only 116 passengers - fabulous beyond belief! Since then we have been on every size ship imaginable - you either love cruising or you don't. We took our first RCI just over a year ago(the Jewel out of Tampa) and fell in love with RCI (have cruised Crystal,Silverseas, Regent, etc.). I think they have a wonderful blend for all price points of cruisers & everyone blends together (except for those few very elitist snobs that everyone talks about), but every cruise line has a few of those - trust me! We were so thrilled during our transatlantic last fall on the Liberty that we got off for one day & then boarded Allure for week - loved every second of it! Will be doing a transatlantic on Allure in October 2015 - it's that good!

[abridalmaven]

I love that class of ship.

[papaflamingo]

It's interesting the difference in likes and dislikes. I love Oasis class. But I love ALL the classes for different reasons. Oasis class IS the destination. It's about being on the ship. We have done both Oasis and Allure twice each. Except for certain favorite ports, we don't leave the ship. But I find I never really feel the crowd on Oasis class. There is such a great selection for eating. I miss having all the options when I go on other ships. I love Johnnie Rockets for breakfast. Park Cafe for a quick lunch. 150 Central Park, etc.

I find, actually, that Voyager class seem most crowded. Freedom is large enough to better manage the crowd, and Vision class the passenger load is small enough to not feel the crowd. But Voyager class just seem too crowded.

Best part of RCI is there is something for everyone. Not "cookie cutter" like some of the other cruise lines. Each class of ship has a different experience.

[sunshine0503]

We were on that same sailing. It was our first time on the Allure and while I loved the ship, both DH and I said we would not sail on her again. It was just "too big" for us and we missed a lot of things that we have experienced and loved on the smaller ships (belly flop contest, pool games, etc that were held in the aqua theatre instead of the pool decks and I couldn't pull my kids away from the H2O zone to go see them). We truly enjoyed the Freedom! And still say that our favorite trip was the Adventure. So we booked another Adventure cruise for 2015. While I think my kids would love the Freedom more because of the H20 zone, I think they will be happy with going on another cruise, regardless. And my DH will be happy with a smaller ship.

[BillOh]

We just got off the 4/20 sailing and although the ship is gorgeous, the shows outstanding and amazing (especially Blue Planet), we will not be booking another cruise on this class of ship. It truly is like sailing on 17 story building as there is absolutely no motion or feeling of sailing whatsoever. Yes, you do look out at the sea and know are on a cruise, but it is like going to a land resort, albeit a wonderful resort! The ports obviously are overloaded with 5200 passengers from the Allure, but coupled with four or more other ships in the ports, just too many cruisers. However, we have friends who don't sail because they do not like the motion and have to wear those little patches so for them, this is the class of ship to book! Trish and Pat

 

 

 

Just an FYI based on 2 sailings. You do get less ship motion, but that does vary. In the same period in 2011 absolutely no motion the entire cruise. In my review I even mentioned that when we left Nassau I had to get up and walk to the rail to verify we had indeed left.

 

In 2013, same time period, we did experience "rougher" seas and could feel the ship move, but it was a pleasant sensation that we have come accustomed to.