Which Oasis Class Ship?

[LuCruise]

Looking at a cruise for 2021.

 

We've been on Allure and have Symphony booked for March coming up.

 

Yesterday we booked Harmony out of Port Canaveral as we've never been on that one and the dates/price worked for our date.  

Also considering Oasis (out of Fort Lauderdale) or Allure (out of Miami) as they are getting amped before 2021. Not sure what the ships are getting but our kids loved the waterslides, Sky Pad and Laser tag on Mariner.

 

Allure and Harmony are pretty much the same in price and Oasis is $100 more for the stateroom at which we are looking.

 

Which would you pick? Stick with Harmony which has great features and we know what is there?  Or take a chance on the amped features, which Royal so far has selected really well for Mariner and Navigator?

PS - Not sure if flights will be more from us from Ontario to Orlando as it's our March break and Disney is a popular vacation destination.

Edited December 14, 2018 by LuCruise

[Clarea]

Once amped, they will all be very similar.  Pick whatever shows /itinerary/price suits you.

[LuCruise]

Funny thing is...I often forget to check the itinerary as it's mostly about the ship for us. 😊

 

The one amp feature that is important is waterslides.  Is it pretty much given that Oasis and Allure will get these in one form or another?  Or not necessarily?

 

Just saw Grease on Independence.  Loved it and happy to see again, but I do wonder if its a bit much for our younger one (language, topic), even though she has seen the movie.

Love Mamma Mia.  Have seen it over 20 times so no issue seeing it again, and my younger one loves it too.  

Cats is not my first choice, but probably our kids would enjoy it.  

But don't they swap shows at dry dock?

[matj2000]

2.5 years is a long way off to be choosing and booking a vacation.

 

Who knows were you will be in that time?

 

Many things can happen.

 

Some of those ships will probably be repositioned also.

 

I would probably wait a while..

 

 

 

[LuCruise]

18 minutes ago, matj2000 said:

2.5 years is a long way off to be choosing and booking a vacation.

 

Who knows were you will be in that time?

 

Many things can happen.

 

Some of those ships will probably be repositioned also.

 

I would probably wait a while..

 

 

 

We always book refundable, so nothing to lose (and we have other cruises booked in the meantime).  And in the meantime, I can watch for price drops.

[lovescats5]

We always book as far out as possible because the prices seem to be better.  We always keep watch to see if prices go down but the rooms we book always seem to go up.

[Ourusualbeach]

HI Lu,

 

I was faced  with the same dilemma.  We ended back on Symphony.  It’s Saturday to Saturday itinerary worked better for us driving and saved an unpaid day if work.  Factoring that in price was within a couple hundred $.  We also liked the western itinerary as our cruise prior to that would be 2 eastern and a Bahamas. 

 

Between HM, AL and OA I found the prices fairly comparable.  I think the big thing will be flights. OC is also not as convenient to the port as MIA or FLL.  

 

Have you thought of doing a refundable deposit deposit on either OA or AL in addition to the HM until flights are released?

 

Both  OA  and AL will have had drydocks and have most of the Symphony features. We have OA booked for Christmas 2019 and AL for Christmas 2020.  The AL Christmas group rate I got was fantastic.  Paying less than I am on SY at spring break.  

 

 

[LuCruise]

9 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

HI Lu,

 

I was faced  with the same dilemma.  We ended back on Symphony.  It’s Saturday to Saturday itinerary worked better for us driving and saved an unpaid day if work.  Factoring that in price was within a couple hundred $.  We also liked the western itinerary as our cruise prior to that would be 2 eastern and a Bahamas. 

 

Between HM, AL and OA I found the prices fairly comparable.  I think the big thing will be flights. OC is also not as convenient to the port as MIA or FLL.  

 

Have you thought of doing a refundable deposit deposit on either OA or AL in addition to the HM until flights are released?

 

Both  OA  and AL will have had drydocks and have most of the Symphony features. We have OA booked for Christmas 2019 and AL for Christmas 2020.  The AL Christmas group rate I got was fantastic.  Paying less than I am on SY at spring break.  

 

 

That's great.  You'll get to try all 3!  We've been booking March break (7 days) and end of summer (4 days).  I didn't even check Symphony as that would have been our most recent Oasis class plus figured prices would be much more.   For us, Sun-Sun is better as that means our kids don't have to miss school on the Friday, but can see Sat departure if driving home (and you get Fri off beforehand).

 

Always wanted to try Harmony and it's currently booked but the flight to Orlando is my main concern.  Can't tell by price checking now as Pearson to Orlanda, FLL, or Miami are all stupid high (vs prices on opening day), but do you think that Orlando will be more since many go to Disney World (plus Disney cruises are out of there too)?  Agree with you as well in that the port is not near the airport.

 

Comparing each....For amenities, will assume all similar.  Would be disappointed if no waterslides.  All good price (for lower stateroom).  All are Sun-Sun.

• Allure Pro - different stops compared to recent cruises.  Miami departure, last time our PR room had both sofa bed and pullman (so each kid got their own spot)
• Allure Con - been on this ship before (but before dry dock) so most shows the same (e.g  Blue Planet, Aqua) other same experiences, hoping for good amped features but still a chance

 

• Harmony Pro - new ship to us, good itinerary (San Juan new to our family).  No unknowns as we know the amenities
• Harmony Con - departure port (45 min from Orlando airport, more expensive to fly?)

 

• Oasis Pro - new ship to us, FLL departure.
• Oasis Con - same itinerary as this upcoming March, Cats (unless they change Broadway show which seems likely from other thread), hoping for good amped features but still a chance

 

Didn't know they'd let you book more than one cruise for same date.  That's an option (but holds a lot of money up in deposit).  

Edited December 14, 2018 by LuCruise

[Dred pilot Roberts]

Try Jetblue nonstop from buffalo to Mco/Fll.  Will probably be much cheaper than air Canada from Toronto.  The drive is not bad.

[vacationlover_mn]

10 hours ago, lovescats5 said:

We always book as far out as possible because the prices seem to be better.  We always keep watch to see if prices go down but the rooms we book always seem to go up.

I always book out as far as we can afford, so that I always have something to research and plan 🙂. Planning is half the fun of the trip for me 🙂

[LuCruise]

3 hours ago, Dred pilot Roberts said:

Try Jetblue nonstop from buffalo to Mco/Fll.  Will probably be much cheaper than air Canada from Toronto.  The drive is not bad.

Thanks.  I'ts only a 2.5hr drive or so, so this is an option for us.

 

 

[LuCruise]

3 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

I always book out as far as we can afford, so that I always have something to research and plan 🙂. Planning is half the fun of the trip for me 🙂

Completely agree