Have you done any other RCCL ships? We did Allure of the Seas a couple years ago, and really enjoyed it much more than the Disney Fantasy. It also felt way less crowded, despite the significantly higher number of passengers.
The Icon class ships are even bigger, and curious to how crowded it felt. And when you say it was the funnest ship, apart from the waterpark-esque stuff on the top of the ship (which my wife and I, personally, arenāt interested in), what other things did that include?
@QwertySC - I did not have enough cruises on the books and now we are going on the RCL Oasis of the Seas 7-night Bahamas & Perfect Day from Bayone on 10/11/26 and a RCL Wonder of the Seas 4-night Bahamas & Perfect Day out of Miami on 1/15/27. Also my Star of the Seas next April goes out of PC.
No WDW trips on the horizon yet but I think Iāve covered the cruise bases 
Iām glad you liked it!
We sailed on Star last September, and are doing it again this September. Weāve sailed on RCL more than 20 times, on ships of all sizes. When we got off the Star we said weāve got a new favorite class of ships - for us 65+ folk.`
We agree it never seemed crowded. The configuration of what public spaces are where, and how you can move from one to another, is truly unique and helps spread people out. There were so many different complimentary food places around the ship, we were glad to have a 7-night cruise to try so many. The three big shows (theater, ice, and water) were great, with many showtimes in the week. Plus, the whole ship is so colorful!!
We just tack on a couple days before the cruise, and itās enough for me to hit the highlights or new things.
I am pretty seriously considering this with our Star of the Seas trip since itās out of PC. I booked this when it opened over a year ago (before the ship even debuted) so I didnāt even quite realize that it went out of PC! We usually take long 7+ day trips but I think my kids are big enough to do something for 3-4 days now. But we probably have to decide WDW or Universalā¦ Decisions!
Fill me in on this please! (And @mkmuzzy too if youāve sailed on it!)
We just booked an 8 night on the Allure for next June with a southern Caribbean and Perfect Day itinerary. This is DSās pick for the family vacation after he graduates high school. The only other cruise weāve done is a 3 night on the Disney Dream to Nassau and Castaway Cay so donāt know much about RCL.
Iāve only done Star and Oasis on Royal. Despite having such a large capacity, we rarely felt crowded on Star. Treasure felt much more crowded to us. The only line we waited in was for aqua show seating. Even for embarkation, we arrived at 11 and basically walked right through check in and onto the ship.
In terms of fun, it really does feel fun for all ages to me. We did slides, pool, rock climbing, minigolf, flowrider, skating, etc. with my daughter, but my spouse and I had a great time as adults as well. The shows were excellent. There is live music everywhere and of all varieties - classical, jazz, dueling pianos, 90s rock, silent disco, karaoke, Latin, etc. There are bars with specialty drinks everywhere (and good mocktails for people like me who donāt drink much). The casino was nice because its was half smoking and half nonsmoking and the air filtration system seemed pretty good.Lots of activities and a good variety of activities - trivia, bingo, towel folding, exercise classes, dance lessons, family games, adult games, adult comedy. It felt like they took everything I loved about Oasis and made it better. More complementary food. More access to the ocean. Better flow. The staff was also fantastic.
I would say itās probably not the most relaxing ship, except maybe in the Aquadome area. The decor is vibrant, the pools areas can be loud, etc. Itās also (similar to Oasis) possibly challenging for people with mobility issues just due to the length of the ship.
Weāve done a couple of 2 days at WDW before 2 cruises and it is surprisingly great. Like a mini bonus vacation. Weāve also done Kennedy Space Center and Cocoa Beach, which was also really nice. I figure I should get my moneyās worth if Iām flying to Orlando.
We were on Allure pre-amplification, so I think there will be even more for kids than there was before. (Which was actually fine for us, since we werenāt there for the kid things anyhow.) But the ship was really beautiful, and despite having so many people on board, it rarely felt crowded. We would always find places to be or things to do which was away from the crowds. (A favorite evening tradition became going to the Dog House each night and having a night-time Brat!)
Since it was our first cruise, we didnāt have anything to compare it to, and it took a couple days to kind of get into the groove. It was only 4 nights. I think, if we had been on a cruise before, we would have immediately figured it out and enjoyed things sooner.
The entertainment was greatā¦between the ice skating show, Mamma Mia, the other āoriginalā show, not to mention the diving show (which we didnāt make it to but had intended to see), there always seemed like there was something more to do.
We didnāt do any specialty dining, but we didnāt have anything to complain about the food that we were served in the main dining room. Was it the best food ever? No. But it was quite tasty.
I did go running on the promenade a couple times early, which was actually quite beautiful with very few others around. (Although, views are mostly obstructed of the ocean by the life boats!!!) I also did karaoke. That was a first for me, and I really enjoyed it. By the third night, we were finding ourselves at a jazz club vibe with our friends, and another time listening to a pianists in Central Park.
I would say it went like this.
Day 1: Wow! The ship is massive! How do you know where you are going?
Day 2: Wow! This ship really is beautiful. So much to see!
Day 3: Wow! There is so much to do. How can we get it all done!
Day 4: Wow! What great fun and relaxing as well!
How does it compare to other ships? Well, I only have the Disney Fantasy to go by. But the Fantasy, by comparison, always felt crowded and overrun by kids, with the exception of Castaway Cay day, when we stayed on the ship so that we almost had it to ourselves! But the layout is weird, and it feels small by comparison. Length wise, it is similar in size, but the Allure is about 3 times the width as the Fantasy, and like 3 or 4 decks taller.
Iām not saying the experience on the Allure was perfect. But we honestly had better service on our Allure sailing than on our Fantasy sailing. Our Fantasy cruise made it so Disney is one and done for us. But Allure is what made is decide we wanted to do more cruises. Fantasy was our second cruise. But our third will be back on RCCL with Independence of the Seas (a nine nighter!), which size-wise, sits sort of right in between the Fantasy and the Allure.
I would have no qualms booking another cruise on Allure if the destination was right. 4 nights wasnāt enough to even begin to touch all there was to do. So, an 8 night should be a great time. (I donāt know if they are still doing Mamma Mia, but I felt the quality of the production was on par with the shows we saw on the Fantasy. However, Disney DOES make seeing their shows much easier than on Allure. Due to only being 4 nights, you had to scramble to get in to see the show. It was nice to not have to ābookā the shows ahead of time on Fantasy. Not sure if with a 8 nighter if that will be a problem.)
Sorry, we havenāt been on the Allure. Weāve been on the Oasis 3 times, and once each on the Harmony and the Wonder (all the same Oasis class). We enjoyed that class. All of those cruises were pre-Covid, except for the Wonder which was last June. My memories of them have become mixed together, except for the main Broadway type show - and Wonder did not have one. 
A bit about us: DH and I are now retired. Our first ever cruise was 4 nights on the Disney Magic in Jan 2005, when our sons were just-turned-19 and almost 15. It was a way to sample a cruise and see if we liked to cruise. We loved it! But due to price and teen boys who werenāt into Disney, we did RCL (and one Celebrity) after that. The last one with the boys was our first Oasis cruise in 2014. When we started sailing on RCL, we were focused on costs and went on smaller ships (Grandeur, Sovereign). Over time, we got into their bigger and bigger, and newer, ships, with an occasional smaller one for specific destinations. We now like the Freedom class or bigger.
We like RCL for having a product/experience we like for the price we pay. We donāt do the upcharge dining.
Agreed! It is so easy to take nice, long naps in the Overlook. 
I agree with your whole post. I forgot about the āaccess to the oceanā - being able to see the ocean from inside the Promenade or Central Park. 
Nicely said (your entire post). 
For an easy way to see what the activities are during a typical RCL cruise, you can view the daily planner listings on the Royal app. Just change the ship and then select a cruise happening now or in the next few weeks. It will show all the food places, most with menus. It will list all the times, places, and costs for activities, entertainment, excursions, shops, spa, and fitness.
Like Disney, the calendar doesnāt get completely populated until closer to the sailing date.
Thank you for the write up! We are over a year out at this point, so Iāll have plenty of time to read up on and learn about the ship. The time does go by fast! On our one and only cruise, I got over or close to 20,000 steps each day, even on the ship because we were doing so much.
Great tip!! Thank you too!
I want to do this and make my own 5K in the middle of the ocean to see how my Strava map looks!
I have not been on the Allure only the Oasis twice (and going again this year). But I have been on the Dream and I have to say that the Oasis always felt less crowded. Allure/Oasis can hold more than the Dream but I think the setup spreads people out much more. Also for whatever reason Disney likes to create more artificial scarceness at their events so character greetings, trivia, etc. always felt jammed. You will love the Allure! Iām excited for you.
And I donāt think many people will dispute that Coco Cay is better than Castaway Cay.
I wish I had had a better experience on RCCL - you are all making it sound magnificent. I routinely check Carnival, Disney, and NCL for voyages, but rarely consider RCCL.
I would love another DCL 4-5n for the shows, characters, and rotational dining. But my girls really want a bells-and-whistles activities cruise next. I am looking at Carnival Mardi Gras and Celebration for next summer. If I canāt find what I want, I suppose I will look at these ones.
DH and DS23 just took a 5-n on NCL Escape and had a blast. They are lobbying for another NCL.
I donāt recall, but which ship were you on with RCCL?
When we arrived at Castaway Cay, we looked and were like, āUm. Weāll just stay on the ship.ā We were very glad we did! Taking advantage of the ship while hardly anyone was on board was probably our best day.
It was funny, though, because that evening, all the crew were asking us how much we loved Castaway Cay, and when we said we stayed on the ship, they were like, āOh, that was a smart idea.ā
I had to look at my TR
Voyager of the Seas.
That was the trip when
In other newsā¦ weād been letting the kids have some freedoms walking around the ship and back to their rooms etc. Thatās over. An employee started chatting up one of my daughters and asked her for her phone number. She didnāt answer him, but he followed her to her room. She realized how dumb it was to lead him right to her room.
She has a connecting room with us and she immediately told DH who was in the room. Before they finished the story, there was a knock on our door and the guy was there and asked DH if we had called maintenance. Um. No.
We are deciding if we want to talk to someone in security. We do not have the guys name. It happened so fast. I wonder if he was thinking about opening the door between our room and the room he saw her go in. I am very paranoid to begin with. But now NO ONE is going to be hanging out alone in the room.
Oh! I can see why that would taint your view. Although, to be fair, I think that could happen on any cruise lineā¦or anywhere! We had a (somewhat) similar experience at the Magic Kingdom once years ago, and it kind of tainted our view for a while of ever going on Tom Sawyerās Island!