Margaritaville at Sea Islander vs Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas

The Margaritaville at Sea Islander was built in 2000. It was renovated in 2024. The Islander formerly sailed as the Costa Atlantica before it was brought to the Margaritaville fleet. It's 10 years older than the Allure of the Seas, which was built in 2010. Allure of the Seas will undergo a $100 million rennovation in February to April 2025. They'll add water and dry slides, new restaurants and bars, and rennovated spaces.

Comparison Overview

• Ship Size
• Number of Passengers
• Food and Restaurants
• Bars and Drinks
• Pools and Hot Tubs
• Ship Features and Activities
• Cruise Costs
• Onboard Costs

Ship Size

The Islander is considered a small size ship. Coming in at 960 feet long and 127 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.7 football fields, as wide as 2.4 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 11-story building. Compared to the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas, the Islander is 62% smaller in terms of overall tons.

Number of Passengers

Margaritaville at Sea Islander holds 61% fewer passengers than the Allure of the Seas based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Islander has less space per person compared to the Allure of the Seas.

The Allure of the Seas uses a neighborhood layout to break up large crowds across the ship, often making it feel less crowded.

	Margaritaville at Sea Islander	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
Class	MAS Spirit	Oasis
Gross Tonnage	85,619	225,282
Length	960	1,187
Beam/Width	127	215
Passenger Decks	11	16
Passengers (double occupancy)	2,114	5,484
Crew	920	2,200
Passenger to Crew Ratio	2.3	2.5
Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger)	40	42

Food and Restaurants

Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.

The Islander has twelve different dining options like Mexican Cutie Cantina, Islander Dining Room, and Cheeseburger in Paradise Burger Bar. Of those options, six are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other six options have an additional fee.

The Allure of the Seas has thirteen more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Izumi Hibachi & Sushi, Solarium Bistro, and Johnny Rockets. thirteen of these restaurants are complementary and the other twelve have an additional fee.

If you like having a variety of places to eat, the Allure of the Seas might be a better choice. It has 108% more dining options than the Islander.

Both ships have a similar number of paid versus included dining options.

	Margaritaville at Sea Islander	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
Total Dining Options	12	25
Complimentary Dining Options:	6	13
Additional Fee Dining Options:	6	12
% of Included Options	50%	52%
	See the options	See the options

Bars and Drinks

The Margaritaville at Sea Islander has 9 fewer bars than the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas. The Islander has 12 bars like Bubbles Up Lounge and Champagne Bar, LandShark Bar and Lookout and The Far Side Lounge. On Islander, you can grab a drink at 21 different bars such as On Air Club, Rising Tide Bar and Wipeout Bar.

Margaritaville at Sea Islander	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
•5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar • Bubbles Up Lounge and Champagne Bar • Coral Reef Lounge • Flip Flop Atrium Bar • Havana Daydreamin' Sports Bar and Lounge • Hemisphere Dancer Craft Spirits • Hot, Hot, Hot Night Club • JWB Prime Lounge • LandShark Bar and Lookout • Love and Luck Casino Bar • The Far Side Lounge • The Tiki Bar	•Blaze • Boleros • Casino Bar • Champagne Bar • Comedy Live • Dazzles • English Pub • Mast Bar • On Air Club • Pool Bar • Rising Tide Bar • Sabor Bar • Sand Bar • Schooner Bar • Sky Bar • Solarium Bar • Suite Lounge • Suite Sun Deck Bar • Trellis Bar • Vintages • Wipeout Bar

In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship. Most Royal Caribbean ships also have Coke Freestyle machines where you can make 100 different flavor combinations.

You can check out recent the bar menus for the Islander and the Allure of the Seas below.

Pools and Hot Tubs

Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Margaritaville at Sea Islander has a total of 3 pools and 3 hot tubs.

Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas has more pools than the Islander and more hot tubs.

Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools and one of the hot tubs are adults only on Islander.

	Margaritaville at Sea Islander	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
Total Pools	3	4
Pools - General Access	2	3
Pools - Adults Only	1	1
Pools - Exclusive		0
Total Hot Tubs	3	6
Hot Tubs - General Access	2	4
Hot Tubs - Adults Only	1	2
Hot Tubs - Exclusive		0

Ship Features and Activities

Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. You might up paying more while on board the Islander. Only 69% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Allure of the Seas, 83% of the activities are included at no additional cost.

	Margaritaville at Sea Islander	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
Adult Only Relaxation Area	✓	✓
Aquatheater	✗	✓
Arcade	✓	✓
Basketball	✗	✓
Carousel	✗	✓
Casino	✓	✓
Climbing Wall	✗	✓
Comedy Club	✗	✓
Comedy Show	✓	✗
Dry kid's play area	✓	✗
Fitness Center	✓	✓
FlowRider	✗	✓
Ice Skating	✗	✓
Mini golf	✓	✓
Pickleball	✓	✗
Pool-side Movies	✓	✓
Shows - Broadway play	✗	✓
Shows - musical review	✓	✓
Spa	✓	✓
Splash park	✓	✓
Waterslide	✓	✗
Zip Line	✗	✓
	Learn more	Learn more

Cruise Costs

Margaritaville at Sea and Royal Caribbean are both considered "Mainstream" cruise lines. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.

Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on Margaritaville at Sea Islander will likely be cheaper than on Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas.

Onboard Costs

Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.

Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.

The table below will help you compare onboard prices to see if you might spend more on a specific ship.

	Margaritaville at Sea Islander	Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas
Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day)	$18.00	$18.50
Tip added to drinks & services	18%	18%
Soda Price	$2.95	$3.50
Domestic Beer Price	$8.50 See drink menus	$8.25 See drink menus
Drink Package Price	64.99	$77 - $118 Learn more
Internet Plan	$17.99 per device per day	$19 to $30 per device per day
*Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates.

Royal Caribbean uses dynamic pricing, which means the pricing for many things will vary per sailing. The daily gratuities and tip are consistent across the fleet, but the pricing for the drink package, internet, and excursions will change. The only way to know your price is to consult the Royal Caribbean cruise planner once you're booked.

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