We booked this holiday cruise last year at the same time of year, because I wanted to maximize my vacation days but also sail on one of the biggest ships. We would have gone on Symphony but we liked the itinerary of this week better. In retrospect, we should have looked at which days the ships would be at which ports, because being in Puerto Rico (an American port) on an American holiday was a bad idea. It made the day feel very rushed. We wanted to sail on an Oasis class ship, because our first cruise was a Vision class ship. So, smallest to largest. I have heard that the Oasis class ships are too big, and I am surprised to admit that I agree. The problem with these ships is that the "common" areas, such as the Centrum, the Schooner Bar, the Central Park area, and yes, even the Boardwalk, don't really face "out". They direct your attention "inwards" to the center of the ship. To me, a cruise is about the ocean, and it would be nice to be able to sit and look out at the ocean without having to be up on the noisy pool deck. The smaller ships had common areas with comfortable chairs where you could look out at the ocean from inside. The staff on Allure was amazing, however. From the cruise director staff to the stateroom attendants, almost everyone seemed perky and upbeat, and genuinely happy to see us every day.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Chop's Grille
5 out of 5
We got to eat at Chops' Grille as a complimentary perk for booking with our travel agent. Normally, this restaurant is $60 per person, so we felt that this would be a good value, and also we like eating steak. The waiter was attentive but not overwhelmingly so, and only once did he ask us a question while we had a bite of food in our mouths. The food was delicious; while we both ordered 6 oz steaks we got 9 oz steaks. This was one time that I wished we could take leftovers home, because it was delicious! I would definitely eat here again on a complimentary meal.
Sorrento's
3 out of 5
The pizza was not available as often as we expected it to be, and the quality of it was more like cheap box pizza than pizza from a restaurant. There were 4 flavors to choose from, which essentially boiled down to cheese, pepperoni, caribbean (which was like hawaiian but with different spices), and something with a lot of vegetables on it. The crust was tough, as if the dough had been manipulated too much. I only ate here once, and that was enough. My husband wanted pizza a second time and I went to Cafe Promenade and got a prepackaged sandwich, which I felt was much tastier.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We played a lot of trivia, and our team won the progressive trivia. We loved Claudio, who hosted the progressive trivia, and Dewi and Fernanda, who hosted other trivia sessions. We tried the zip line once, and my husband did the "Try Dive". The pools and hot tubs were really crowded, so we didn't spend a lot of time there.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The headliner show, "Edge Effect", was fantastic! They were an a capella group and had amazing voices and were quite entertaining. Blue Planet and Mamma Mia were also quite splendid. The pianist in the Schooner Bar was a great pianist, but I wasn't fond of his vocals.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room attendant, Carl, was great! He quickly assessed our needs, and when we asked for extra hangers, he had them within about 10 minutes (which was about 2 hours faster than we really expected.) We had brought our own mattress toppers, since I am like the princess and the pea, and he didn't bat an eye at them laid out on the bed as they were expanding. When we came back from dinner, they had been installed under the sheets. The other attendants in the nearby rooms recognized us and always smiled at us and greeted us, asking how our cruise was going, joining in when we invited them in some of our joking around, and generally making us feel very welcome.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This was a balcony room on the starboard side of the ship, almost near the center of the ship, on deck 12. The room had a 2 person loveseat which supposedly could fold out to a bed, but we didn't test that as we had no need for it. The room was adjoining to the next room, but as we did not know the people in the adjacent room, the door stayed locked. Unfortunately, the door DID allow a lot more sound to come through than we would have liked, so even though cruise ship walls are already thin, we were very acutely aware of every argument and whining child from that room. Fortunately there were only three episodes of this, and it wasn't really enough to ruin our vacation.
Ship tip
Get the refreshment or deluxe drink package, but you don't need to carry your cup around. You can get soda at any bar on the ship, and also virgin pina coladas and daiquiris, and even milkshakes at Johnny Rockets!
We took a double decker tour bus around the Dutch side of the island. They showed us where the border to the French side of the islands was, but we did not go over there. The tour took us to a rhum factory, Maho beach, and a cheese store. Maho beach was exceptionally crowded and we were really bad we had already decided not to go there, since there were so many people that we wouldn't even have had room to lay out a beach towel. The planes were coming in overhead, mostly smaller planes, as the bigger planes don't leave until after 4pm, according to the tour guide. After the bus tour, we wandered around the port area and played pokemon go for a couple of hours, mingled with wandering in and out of the shops, but not buying much.
We visited Puerto Rico on Thanksgiving day, so most of the things we wanted to do were closed. We did get to go into a few shops in Old San Juan, but mostly we played Pokemon Go. There wasn't a confined "port area" like there is at many ports, with all of the traditional tourist trap shops like Diamonds International, Cariloha, Del Sol, etc. Those shops may have been around but they weren't "in your face" the way they are at most ports. There is a Walgreens right at the end of the pier, and a CVS about a block away from that.
We rented a kayak, snorkeled, swam, played pokemon go, and had lunch. Kayaks were $15 to rent, snorkeling was free as long as you had your own equipment, or you could buy equipment for about $80. Lunch was hot dogs and hamburgers with other traditional picnic fare; they did pull out some ribs at some point as well. The artisan's market is very high pressure, though they tell you "no pressure, no pressure" every time. Every booth has mostly the same stuff, though occasionally you can find something unique. I will be in Labadee in February and I will avoid the artisan's market like the plague. It was very uncomfortable.
I completely agree with you on the drawbacks of the large ship. I had an excellent cruise on allure and would do it again in a heartbeat if the opportunity presented itself but I think I do prefer the smaller ships
Just a heads up for your next cruise if you take an Oasis class, there are chairs in some areas around the outdoor running track you can sit and watch the ocean quietly. There is also areas on deck 14 if you go to the end of the hall at the front which is part of the solarium that is also always quite and you can relax watching the ocean. We found this while on Harmony
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
