Stephen Banta Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 Good Evening Everyone. Out of nowhere last night at dinner w my wife's parents we decided to explore cruises to Europe instead of our normal Caribbean out of FL. We have narrowed it down to one on Allure and one on Independence. We probably lean toward the itinerary on Independence, but here is the problem. After we sailed on Odyssey my family thought we would never make the mistake of straying from Oasis Class again. Fast forward a couple years and here we are about to do it again. We felt like Odyssey was overcrowded and it wasn't even at 100%. I know there are a lot more ppl on Oasis Class, but it just seems like people are more spread out and not competing as much for space at any of the venues. We just got off of Symphony a couple weeks ago and apart from On Air, we never had trouble with overcrowding anywhere after the first day. So I guess I'm wondering if there are those of you out there that have been on both and would have any comments or advice. Thanks in Advance, Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She Sails Away Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 I definitely feel the Oasis class ships handle crowd dispersion better. So many neighborhoods, people spread out among them. Lots of elevators and stairs. So many dining choices, people aren't all hungry and piled at the same MDR at the same time. The ships are great about giving everyone room to go separate directions. I sailed Symphony in the Mediterranean this year and even though we spent a lot of time off the ship, we were so happy to have Symphony to come back to, to maximize during sea days, and have all those cool places to hang out in. We loved music in Central Park and watching Aqua Theater cast rehearsing a new show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 Oasis class is meant to hold a lot of pax but also have space. Indy is a smaller class and I know on the Caribbean sailings you can feel the capacity sometimes. It really depends on what you plan to do. If you will be off the ship a lot then the lack of entertainment options on Indy won't matter, neither will the slightly limited food offerings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 We love oasis class BUT it would be my last choice in the Mediterranean. It’s a waste of an oasis class with only one sea day. Europe is very port intensive and sea days are welcome to rest. We did the 12 night Holy Land/Greece/Turkey on Odyssey in 2022 and LOVED it! 3 sea days were awesome to relax. We recently decided against Independence in favor of Celebrity Apex solely due to itinerary for 2025. Apex Norwegian fjords was far better than Indy My bottom line advice: pick the itinerary you want. In Europe it’s all about the ports but make sure you get enough sea days to recuperate SebagoSue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Banta Posted January 9 Author Report Share Posted January 9 Thanks for the replies. This is an 8 night w 3 sea days. I'm probably overthinking it, but we were just so unhappy w Odyssey. Some cruisers are more about the ports than us I'm sure. We always enjoys whatever we come up with to do at the stops, but for us it's the time on the ship in the evenings that we most look forward to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 5 hours ago, Stephen Banta said: Thanks for the replies. This is an 8 night w 3 sea days. I'm probably overthinking it, but we were just so unhappy w Odyssey. Some cruisers are more about the ports than us I'm sure. We always enjoys whatever we come up with to do at the stops, but for us it's the time on the ship in the evenings that we most look forward to. Then let me throw out something a bit out of the box for you to consider. As @Jill says, Europe is generally about the ports (unless, like me, you're European and can visit the ports as regularly as those of you in North America can do the Caribbean), so the ship tends not to matter so much. However, since that doesn't fit your needs so well, could you perhaps consider one of Allure's transatlantic cruises at the start/end of her European season? That would give you plenty of sea days to enjoy but also the chance to visit a few European ports. Another alternative might be a back-to-back on Allure, which would let you spend more time on the ship, as you could do half the ports on the first week and half on the second week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxrunner Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 By looking at my signature area you can see what ships I've been on and where. We are destination over ship people. Having said that we have sailed on Allure and Freedom. They are more similar to each other as Quantum class is kind of it's own design. I felt like Allure was an evolutionary and bigger Freedom. We do also enjoy the Quantum experience but not everyone does. Cost and number of days are also a factor, if I got more days for less on Indy, I'd jump on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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