Cruises- allure of the seas or odyssey or msc

[Amy2000]

Hi, looking at Mediterranean cruise for next July 2025- never cruised before. 10 and 15 year old dcs also. All itineraries look good ( Greek isle more complex due to tenders)
options
-med cruise with allure of the seas royal Caribbean
-italy and Greek isles - oydessey- royal Caribbean
-med cruise - seascape - msc

So many options hard to choose- leaning towards allure or odyssey ( some reviews say odyssey crowded as smaller pools- no water slides)

Anyone been on any of them

any advice would be gratefully received!
thank you

I have been on Allure of the Seas. It is huge. Lots to do onboard.

If you've never cruised before, I think any of those ships would be good. I'd probably go with whichever has the best itinerary, or suits your budget best.

Watch out for any extras - what drinks are included, are there service charges to pay on top of the base price (Royal Caribbean add $18 pp per day to your account, but I think MSC include service in the base price) and so on?

Sometimes people are drawn by the idea of lots to do on the ship, but if your cruise is port intensive, it may not be all that necessary to have all the whistles and bells. Also, check out the kids club, what are the reviews like? Will your children be in same club, or different ones, and does that matter to you? Even if your child doesn't want to go to the club, it can be good to go once on the first da, just to meet other kids. Then they (especially the teen) might just want to hang out for the rest of the cruise, rather than go to particular activities/club meetings.

Thank you for the replies - definitely some good things to think about as there is only 1 sea day so realistically I’m not sure we would have time for all the ship activities anyway.
I will have a look at the clubs as well. Hoping to go with another family as the dcs will be in different clubs/ age group friends.
I will look at the tipping also for both.
thank you

Exlporer of th seas is cheapest but older smaller ship

Check facilities on board. I didn’t like royal Caribbean (explorer of the seas) because there were no food options by the pool. Other cruises ships we’ve been on all had fast food options by the pool so no need to get dressed and go to the buffet.

for the same sort of family informal vibe I preferred Carnival cruises

Thank you- the smaller ships do seem to have less food options general.
travel agent said to expect rcl ship to be crowded and hectic in summer hols as so popular with families ! Odyssey seems to have less pool area.