We are thing about a cruise next April or May. Looking for any pros and cons about those big ships.
Anybody been on the Oasis class cruise ships?
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Only been on Radiance, and Freedom.
Radiance of the Seas to New Zealand.
Voyager of the Seas to New Caledonia.
Of the two, I preferred the smaller boat.
Pros for the bigger boat was more variety to do, Cons were more people lining up for those things.
Radiance of the Seas to New Zealand.
Voyager of the Seas to New Caledonia.
Of the two, I preferred the smaller boat.
Pros for the bigger boat was more variety to do, Cons were more people lining up for those things.
Pros: see "The Love Boat", "Out to Sea", "Table for Five" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blonds"
Cons: see "Titanic", "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Dead Calm"
Cons: see "Titanic", "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Dead Calm"
General rule for me.
The bigger the ship, the bigger the petri dish.
The bigger the ship, the bigger the petri dish.
Off my financial radar anyway, but being confinded in one place for days on end with that many people is somewhere I will never go.
Originally Posted By: 555
General rule for me. The bigger the ship, the bigger the petri dish.
People sure seem to get sick a lot on them, don't they?
General rule for me. The bigger the ship, the bigger the petri dish.
People sure seem to get sick a lot on them, don't they?
Never done RC, although hope to. I've done eight cruises, six Carnival and two Princess. Actually flipped a coin on an early cruise out of New Orleans-- took the Carnival Dream which was slightly bigger and newer than the Royal Caribbean ship running at that time and had the RC ship flood a day before the cruise. Royal Caribbean pulled out of the port until recently, so decision made. Loyalty points add up, and we're waiting patiently for rumors of consolidation of Princess/Carnival programs to take place.
Had we done RC, we would have run into lots of people who would have slammed Carnival as the Golden Corral of the Sea, complained about behavior, etc. Carnival loyalists point out that there are more free eating options than RC and that the largest RC ships are just too big. Heard the experience described as being trapped in a mall for a week.
Our experience with the Dream was that 130,000+ tons, it was large enough that people started backing up for eating, elevators and activities. Not sure what the experience on a ship twice that size would be.
I'm sure those RC mega ships have lots of wonders like ice skating rinks that Carnival lacks and I'm sure that entertainment is better. Getting tired of the comedy club and the always alike pseudo Broadway productions that seem middling Branson. The sameness of Carnival is catching up with the experience.
We choose Princess for the wider itineraries, better entertainment, and education on board. Their weak point is boring food with much less selection of freebies on the Lido deck.
We're curious about the RC mega ships and will have to give it a try. Think RC has reentered the NOLA market but not with the real big stuff.
Petri dish comments need a reply. We have a friend who is a nurse who won't set foot on a cruise ship. We went with her and a party of eight to an all inclusive in Punta Cana. Everyone but me got Norovirus. When a cruise ship gets hit it comes into port IN THE US and is a news story. Some of these all inclusives are permanent breeding grounds and since they're out of site in a foreign country escape detection. Cruise ship hygiene standards are much more careful and exceed the average restaurant chain as well-- sort of like air plane crashes get more publicity than car wrecks even though the risk is much smaller.
To sum up-- curious about those 200,000+ ton RC big boys and will have to give them a try, but the combo of Carnival and Princess have earned our loyalty. Carnival loyalists have generally tried RC and come back-- they point to little things like easily accessible soft serve/yogurt (something I miss on Princess) and better freebie food selections. I've had the good fortune to not sail during spring break so haven't found any of the Carnival experience to be that unruly. Carnival does have a sameness about it, as does Princess, so I'm looking forward to new experiences. At this stage, I'm more open to Royal Caribbean than Norwegian and hopefully within the next year or two.....
No such thing as bad cruising.
Had we done RC, we would have run into lots of people who would have slammed Carnival as the Golden Corral of the Sea, complained about behavior, etc. Carnival loyalists point out that there are more free eating options than RC and that the largest RC ships are just too big. Heard the experience described as being trapped in a mall for a week.
Our experience with the Dream was that 130,000+ tons, it was large enough that people started backing up for eating, elevators and activities. Not sure what the experience on a ship twice that size would be.
I'm sure those RC mega ships have lots of wonders like ice skating rinks that Carnival lacks and I'm sure that entertainment is better. Getting tired of the comedy club and the always alike pseudo Broadway productions that seem middling Branson. The sameness of Carnival is catching up with the experience.
We choose Princess for the wider itineraries, better entertainment, and education on board. Their weak point is boring food with much less selection of freebies on the Lido deck.
We're curious about the RC mega ships and will have to give it a try. Think RC has reentered the NOLA market but not with the real big stuff.
Petri dish comments need a reply. We have a friend who is a nurse who won't set foot on a cruise ship. We went with her and a party of eight to an all inclusive in Punta Cana. Everyone but me got Norovirus. When a cruise ship gets hit it comes into port IN THE US and is a news story. Some of these all inclusives are permanent breeding grounds and since they're out of site in a foreign country escape detection. Cruise ship hygiene standards are much more careful and exceed the average restaurant chain as well-- sort of like air plane crashes get more publicity than car wrecks even though the risk is much smaller.
To sum up-- curious about those 200,000+ ton RC big boys and will have to give them a try, but the combo of Carnival and Princess have earned our loyalty. Carnival loyalists have generally tried RC and come back-- they point to little things like easily accessible soft serve/yogurt (something I miss on Princess) and better freebie food selections. I've had the good fortune to not sail during spring break so haven't found any of the Carnival experience to be that unruly. Carnival does have a sameness about it, as does Princess, so I'm looking forward to new experiences. At this stage, I'm more open to Royal Caribbean than Norwegian and hopefully within the next year or two.....
No such thing as bad cruising.
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I've been on the Oasis and it was a very nice Cruise.
I usually ride on the cheaper, older Royal Caribbean boats nowadays (3/4 day trips to the Bahamas), and they still offer a nice experience.
I think every cruiser should experience it at least once, if they are avid cruisers or at least like going on a cruise every year or other year or so.
I usually ride on the cheaper, older Royal Caribbean boats nowadays (3/4 day trips to the Bahamas), and they still offer a nice experience.
I think every cruiser should experience it at least once, if they are avid cruisers or at least like going on a cruise every year or other year or so.
Allure of the Seas in April 2018 out of Florida/Fort Lauderdale
- none of us got sick from food poisoning
- did get sea sick one day (the boy and me, wife was fine); I had motion sickness feeling for about a week or two afterwards
- running track around the perimeter of the ship was cool, daily morning exercise. Did not use the gym facilities so cannot comment
- plenty of soft serve "ice cream" dispensers on the sun deck (two banks of 4 machines, another one at the Wipe-out cafe at the stern), lots to do, mini-putt, basketball, table tennis, "surfing", lots of age-appropriate pools & hot tubs
- entertainment was good, ice skating show, Mama Mia, Oceanaria diving/acrobatics on the back end pool (AquaTheatre), Ronn Lucas was a headliner ventriloquist (he was very approachable, talked to us in the WindJammer cafe the next day, and we even met up with him coincidentally on an open-top bus tour of Miama on the final day, talked with him a lot very nice man)
- seated evening dining was odd, I'm not used to that, we were seated at a large table with strangers and I'm not that social. The food & service was really good though
- went ice skating on a cruise ship
- when the ship was at port I think I was happiest, the ship was empty. The ports all feel the same and I feel are useless unless you have excursions planned and know what you are doing
- WindJammer cafe buffet was good, if you are a carnivore lots of meat, if you're a herbivore lots of veggies & fruits, if you're an omnivore even better. Service was good & friendly.
- other cafes served decent food, pizza, sandwiches, salads
- the tandoori lamb was ok but not like the tandoori clay oven at the local Indian restaurant, I think it's just simulated tandoori flavours
- the other "Indian" food was good, lots of mucous membrane production experiences
- the sheer size of these ships is obscene, while at port another Oasis class came in, quite the spectacle
- we had an indoor balcony room overlooking Central Park, in which there was nightly live music which was nice. There's birds living in the park too, which was funny.
- we felt the room was small for two adults one kid. Sofa bed deployed was a PITA. Washroom was decent considering these are all modular rooms. Room service/cleaning was excellent & friendly
- did neither rock climbing nor zip line, but they were available
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Just to clarify.
Petri dish refers to the entire ship. Elevator buttons, handrails, chairs, tables, floors, walls, door handles, buffet utensils, air, etc.
Multiple times of use by many hands(lungs), sometimes same hands(lungs) multiple times.
I do things and take risks where others would not.
If you enjoy cruising, do it. I don't mean to rag on it.
Just my 2 cents.
Petri dish refers to the entire ship. Elevator buttons, handrails, chairs, tables, floors, walls, door handles, buffet utensils, air, etc.
Multiple times of use by many hands(lungs), sometimes same hands(lungs) multiple times.
I do things and take risks where others would not.
If you enjoy cruising, do it. I don't mean to rag on it.
Just my 2 cents.
I get the willies just looking at one. What is the distance from the top deck to the water line ? Over a 140 - 50 feet. Thats a heck of a sail.
Originally Posted By: 555
General rule for me.
The bigger the ship, the bigger the petri dish.
Not always. My dad (almost 70) took a cruise a few years ago on a Princess (forgot which one), inside room, and he said it "smell like poop" the whole time.
Newer / recently renovate is probably going to be more hygienic, less food poisoning (my biggest concern) than older one.
General rule for me.
The bigger the ship, the bigger the petri dish.
Not always. My dad (almost 70) took a cruise a few years ago on a Princess (forgot which one), inside room, and he said it "smell like poop" the whole time.
Newer / recently renovate is probably going to be more hygienic, less food poisoning (my biggest concern) than older one.
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