Royal Caribbean Cruises
 

Our friends are doing a Western Caribbean cruise in Dec. on the "Allure of the Seas and wanted to know if we were interested. The ship looks absolutely amazing. We have never cruised on a ship that big and we were thinking that we might be overwhelmed. We also have a trip to Cancun planned the first week of Dec. and we're not sure if we want to travel again that soon after Cancun. Has anybody been on this ship or any other large cruise ships?

Hi Jack, we've been on several Royal Carribean cruises but no other lines to compare to. We were really impressed with the first one (I think it was Mariner of the Seas, not one of the brand new boats), food was great, service was second to none. Cruises are not my favorite thing, but we had a blast, it was amazing to me how big the boats are...unless we were near the nose of the ship, I couldn't even tell we were moving. Tons of stuff to do, never bored, that's for sure. I read plenty of reviews of the Allure and Oasis of the Seas (we were thinking of booking another) and everything I've read about those ships is that they have to be seen to be believed, they are incredible. Anyway, you may want to read up on one of the cruise forums, you'll find plenty of information on the newer royal carribean ships, but everyone I've ever known has had a great experience on R.C.

http://www.charterworld.com/news/wp-...ps-of-2011.jpg

Both of them together... 1/2 million tons of displacement right there.

They are really spectacular pieces of engineering. As audioguy stated, those two RC ships get great reviews.

We have been on many cruises, and the big ones can get a bit overwhelming. Cruises are mindless vacations that require little preparation. The RC crusies we have been on were very good, but we prefer the smaller ships Windstar, Seabourn for their intimacy and superior service and cuisene. We have done Princess, Norwegian, Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, and Disney when the girls were younger. Also Windstar, and Seabourn, our favorites.

Of the big Cruise lines our preference is Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise lines, In that order (Lot's of South American passengers on the last 2 Norwegian we did with rude wild kids runamuk)
Holland American for an older clients who like old style cruising, and Disney great with kids, and Carnival if you want to party like it's 1999. :^)

I hope this helps,
Jim

I've been on three cruises on RC in the past 18 months. Most recently on "Freedom Of The Seas". Freedom is a huge ship, but one size smaller than "Allure Of The Seas". We loved it.
I heard that the two biggest RC ships, Allure & Oasis, can't get into all the ports because of it's size. That could be a factor for me, however my wife definitely wants to try Allure or Oasis. I've heard they're massive.
If i enjoy the company of the friends that were doing the inviting, I would't hesitate to try out that ship.:yes:

We have done about 13 cruises with RCCL and another 3 with Celebrity. We have not yet been on the Oasis or Allure but will be hitting one of them this winter. We enjoy the weather, entertainment and relaxing and reading.. The new ships are so large you don't even know you are on a ship and it does not feel crowded.

It is the best bang for your buck vacation you can take.

Jim

Personally, I'm Cruised out; too many bad experiences on too many lines. YMMV :dunno:

+1... I like the idea you don't have to keep changing hotels... as if you were on land.. plus entertainment is always at hand....

:scratch2:.. interesting Ivan, you're one of the few I've encountered that has that perspective. Yes, bad experiences do occur, I've heard of them, but sufficiently so to make you stay away? That is uncommon..

I feel a new thread coming on!...

That was a minor problem on our Western Car. cruise last Dec. At Grand Cayman and Belize we had to anchor out and be tendered in to port. It wasn't as much of a pain as I thought it would be. The Royal Caribbean cruise is able to dock at all three (Labadee, Falmouth Jamaica, and Cozumel.