mousefanmichelle
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2006
Hi there! My daughter and I just got off the Allure of the Seas yesterday in Ft. Lauderdale on and easter caribbean cruise. Earlier this year my dh and I cruised on the Carnival Vista on the 8 day southern caribbean cruise. I wanted to kind of talk and compare both ships.
They are both equally impressive sized ships.
They are both choppy and you cannot take certain floors all the way across the ships. Boarding on both was quick as was disembarking. I think the Carnival line went a bit quicker but not too much. At the ports getting on and off was a breeze on both ships.
The Allure is a gorgeous ship. The Vista is alright. Our room on the Vista seemed bigger - both were balcony rooms on starboard side, deck 7 for both cruises. The storage space (think closets) were better on the Vista as there was a huge cupboad door vs sliding doors on the Allure where you could only get to half of the closet at a time. The bathroom counter on the Vista was bigger than the Allure. The shower on the Allure had a glass shower doors, much better than a curtain on the Vista. The balcony on the Allure appeared bigger and you got a nice sized table with your 2 chairs. The beds are the same. The couch on the Allure seemed really worn and stained as was the carpet. The room was not the cleanest when we arrived either. The Vista stateroom was clean, and not worn.
For the win on the stateroom, I am going Carnival.
Lots of pools on the Allure - 5 in total I think. Less spas though. I did not like the kiddie area by the pool, I think it should have been seperated like on the Vista. I liked the water slides on the Vista as well that Allure did not have. Allure had the Flow Rider which my daughter had fun at. The Solarium, or adult only area could have used a bigger pool on the Allure. Vista does not have that but they do have the Havana pool which after 7pm anyone can use and no one was there during that time so Score!!
I felt like I was just being asked for money on the Allure for everything. Every time I turned around they were asking about specialty dining, i mean getting popcorn for a show was $2.50 and they charged a service fee on top of that too!!!!! That is crazy!
I loved Guys burgers, Pig and Anchor and the Blue Iguana on Carnival. Nice that you had those options. There were options on Allure too but nothing that I wanted. I thought Carnival offered more variety than Allure - at least when it comes to the free food options and I prefer their buffet as well.
The common areas like the Boardwalk and Central park on the Allure were fun and pretty. I wouldn't want a room balcony that faced those areas though. Just personal perference. If i am getting a balcony it's looking out at the ocean not people lol!
I felt the atmosphere on the Allure was very subdued. The cruise director was nearly non-existent. I feel the cruise director sets the tone and the Vista had a great one. I feel the cruisers on the Allure were more mature in age and things shut down early except for the pizza joint and some bars on the promanade deck.
Vista just more lively and the cruise director, Matt Mitchum, I believe was very energetic.
The shows on the Allure were def. better than the Vista. The performers were way more talented and professional than the Vista.
Overall both cruises were good but I realized I prefer Carnival over Royal. I just like the atmosphere better on Carnival and I already paid a fair amount for my trip, I don't want to be nickled and dimed especially for popcorn like they do on Royal. Can't go wrong with either and this is just one womans opinion so take it for what its worth.
They are both equally impressive sized ships.
They are both choppy and you cannot take certain floors all the way across the ships. Boarding on both was quick as was disembarking. I think the Carnival line went a bit quicker but not too much. At the ports getting on and off was a breeze on both ships.
The Allure is a gorgeous ship. The Vista is alright. Our room on the Vista seemed bigger - both were balcony rooms on starboard side, deck 7 for both cruises. The storage space (think closets) were better on the Vista as there was a huge cupboad door vs sliding doors on the Allure where you could only get to half of the closet at a time. The bathroom counter on the Vista was bigger than the Allure. The shower on the Allure had a glass shower doors, much better than a curtain on the Vista. The balcony on the Allure appeared bigger and you got a nice sized table with your 2 chairs. The beds are the same. The couch on the Allure seemed really worn and stained as was the carpet. The room was not the cleanest when we arrived either. The Vista stateroom was clean, and not worn.
For the win on the stateroom, I am going Carnival.
Lots of pools on the Allure - 5 in total I think. Less spas though. I did not like the kiddie area by the pool, I think it should have been seperated like on the Vista. I liked the water slides on the Vista as well that Allure did not have. Allure had the Flow Rider which my daughter had fun at. The Solarium, or adult only area could have used a bigger pool on the Allure. Vista does not have that but they do have the Havana pool which after 7pm anyone can use and no one was there during that time so Score!!
I felt like I was just being asked for money on the Allure for everything. Every time I turned around they were asking about specialty dining, i mean getting popcorn for a show was $2.50 and they charged a service fee on top of that too!!!!! That is crazy!
I loved Guys burgers, Pig and Anchor and the Blue Iguana on Carnival. Nice that you had those options. There were options on Allure too but nothing that I wanted. I thought Carnival offered more variety than Allure - at least when it comes to the free food options and I prefer their buffet as well.
The common areas like the Boardwalk and Central park on the Allure were fun and pretty. I wouldn't want a room balcony that faced those areas though. Just personal perference. If i am getting a balcony it's looking out at the ocean not people lol!
I felt the atmosphere on the Allure was very subdued. The cruise director was nearly non-existent. I feel the cruise director sets the tone and the Vista had a great one. I feel the cruisers on the Allure were more mature in age and things shut down early except for the pizza joint and some bars on the promanade deck.
Vista just more lively and the cruise director, Matt Mitchum, I believe was very energetic.
The shows on the Allure were def. better than the Vista. The performers were way more talented and professional than the Vista.
Overall both cruises were good but I realized I prefer Carnival over Royal. I just like the atmosphere better on Carnival and I already paid a fair amount for my trip, I don't want to be nickled and dimed especially for popcorn like they do on Royal. Can't go wrong with either and this is just one womans opinion so take it for what its worth.