RobInMN

Most of the reason I need to plug anything in is for charging devices. Instead of plugging in multiple single-device charger plugs, I travel everywhere with this (recently replaced an older version that had no USB-C): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BX3V6ZZX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 And in Europe and cruise ships with: A few of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058EG0KC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 And a couple of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YDF8GCT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

This has been our experience. So a completely different show.

No. Post dry-dock, she has a 4 night on April 11th, and a 5 night on April 15th, then an missing 7 days before starting the Western Mediterranean itinerary on April 27th.

Yes, as @Ourusualbeach said, it's totally subjective. For some it's worth it at 4+ times that amount. For us, no it's not. A couple years ago, during COVID, we decided we wanted to experience it (cruised this last September). We waited until a new season of cruises were released and I went through almost every cruise of all the Oasis class ships, and as you probably realize, Galveston appears to be the least expensive. Allure is typically a "discounted" ship since she hasn't been amplified yet. When I booked, Allure was in Galveston. So I was able to book 4 adults on a 7 night, in a 2BR AquaTheater suite for $2100 pp on Allure out of Galveston. At the time I booked, I figured that the included WiFi, DBP, UDP, and gratuities was worth about $150/pp/pd or about $1050/pp per week (intrinsic value), so the cruise itself was about $1050/pp per week also. A tip for the Genie needs to be added on top of that. Everything else is subjective. It's definitely nice to have reserved show seats with your drinks waiting for you. Being escorted passed almost any line. Snacks & drinks waiting in your room every afternoon. Bridge and Gallery tours (not the same as the All Access). That's just the "standard" stuff. There's threads here where people talk about other things you can ask for (we didn't take any advantage of special requests), that can certainly add to the experience. We had a great time, our Genie was awesome! It was definitely worth what we paid for it, but at today's prices, I don't know if we'd be doing it again. But that's us. I just looked at Sept 2025. 2 BR AquaTheater on Harmony is 2x for an 8 night, and a just a bit more than we paid for a 6 night. A 7 night on Oasis is ~3600. These are actually better prices than I've been seeing on other sailings on other ships, some of which were easily 4x what we paid for the same room. So, if you'd like to do it, I'd suggest looking as soon as the cruises drop, so you'd be looking at 2 years out. The prices will never be cheaper. And be flexible on ship/departure port and date.

We did the Grand Danube. This could be booked as a single cruise or as individual cruises, so essentially a B2B. We also booked the Pre and a Post. We ended up having the same CM the entire time (and she was awesome!) There were local guides as well. That said, after the first week, some of the people only on the first week had a post, and prior to the second week some of the people only on the second week had a pre. Also, after our cruise, there were actually 2 post options. Obviously, 1 CM can not do all of them. I can not confirm personally, but the way it sounded, there were other AMA CMs with those people on the other pre/post optional packages. We've only done the 1 AMA cruise where we did a pre/post, but from how it appears to me, and from talking to our CM, I believe the way it normally works on AMA is that a CM will do a 1 week cruise with the pre & post packages (if the cruise has them). then they will have some time off (week or 2?) and then do it again. if you were to stay on the same ship for multiple B2B cruises, you'd probably see 3 different CMs over the course of 3 weeks. Our CM went from home to Prague, where she was with us for 3 days. She was on the ship for 2 weeks, then the Brasov/Bucharest for 4 days. Her husband actually met her the last day in Bucharest, and she was going home after.

Still looks better than the Norwegian Epic, That thing is absolutely hideous.

See my post above (quoted below). I think the captain just misspoke. They would not do 2 drydocks in a year, and there is nothing in her schedule that would remotely suggest one.

We put our pre and post cruise excursion gratuities for the Cruise Director/Manager on our account on the ship when we did all our gratuities and the end of the cruise and then had that charged to our CC

Obviously the original Amp plan was for a Bionic Bar, but I completely agree about the BB and it shouldn't take much to change that plan to a TikiBar like on Utopia. Pretty sure the plan for the Diamond Lounge is for Wonderland.

Yes, almost all. But there are occasional ones like the Mozart & Strauss concert in Vienna. That was an additional cost.

1Password also quit auto-filling

Don't get too stressed about selecting. If you've never been on an AMA cruise before, I am pretty sure the picking of excursions before hand is just to gauge interest for lining up an appropriate number of tour guides for the different options. You are not locked in and can change your mind at the last minute. When it comes to getting your colored ticket, there is no verification that you are doing what you may have selected pre-cruise. At least for the included ones. The optional ones with extra fees could very well be different. I have no idea.

Only because the OS won't let you enable the HotSpot when airplane mode is turned on. By turning off Mobile Data, it can't use your cellular data connection for the hotspot, and it will force it to use the WiFi. It might use the WiFi anyway, but I'm not risking it. 🙂 BTW, they aren't calling it tethering. I believe there is tethering, but that is something different. This is actually hotspotting your WiFi connection.

I have this one, but any remote that you can program should be fine. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088Y2JFHB/

If you have an Android phone, specifically Samsung Galaxy models, you can WiFi hotspot your WiFi connection. Apparently this is not an option for iPhones. and I can't speak for other android phones. Might be a good idea to set up your WiFi hotspot ahead of time. You can't have Airplane mode on, so turn that off. To make sure you don't cellular roam the hotspot, I turn off Mobile Data. Then connect other devices to your phone's hotspot. I've done this on a number of cruises and other trips now, including using my Firestick. We travel with a universal remote, so we can program it to whatever TV the cruise ship or hotel has (Mostly Samsung and LG) so that we can change the input source. Not all TVs have a button. On newer ships (like Odyssey and newer), you may have to unplug the TV from the wired network, and then reboot it (unplug it and back in). This will prevent the custom home screen launcher app from running which can block you from selecting an input even with a universal remote.

@UDChE89, what a beautiful day! When we were there, it was a bit overcast. But maybe a little nicer than when @CastleCritic was there. Agree! We loved Prague! And while I was also not a fan of the Kromwell, The Brasov extension was worth it. Speaking of Vukovar. We visited in 2005. And here's a comparison to 2023: My full trip review if you're interested:

ok, we're 11 pages in of discussing Cats! I think it's time for: (sorry, It's all I can hear in my head any time I hear of Cats!)

I do not believe that Royal has put anything out there publicly yet, but there have been various posts in different threads where people have posted things. And when I was on allure in September, the Allure Hotel Director strongly implied it during the Top Tier event and specifically stated that Sabor and Champagne Bar were both going to be replaced, which is part of the Amplification plan. Then later, 2 Genies specially said "amplification" during the bridge tour. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe that people have said that a 6.5 week dry dock is 1-2 weeks longer than a normal dry dock should be for that age of a ship. Keep in mind, when the dry dock was cancelled at the beginning of COVID, it was only 5(?) weeks out. Most of the materials (like the Ultimate Abyss) would have already been manufactured and likely at the shipyard waiting. Some things (like thousands of Samsung TVs), could possibly have been sold (presumably at a huge loss), but there's probably a warehouse somewhere in or near Cadiz that is storing a lot of stuff for the amplification.

It's already been confirmed that Allure is going to be amplified early in 2025. This is the Amplification. This thread was just updated 2 days ago: And tidbits in multiple posts in this thread.

Here's a couple threads that might help in choosing which port:

We' e never experienced anything personally, but I've read posts from people on pre-drydock cruises talking about getting a head start on things that don't actually require being completely passenger-less and in a dry dock. Things like ripping out carpet or closing venues that might be getting an overhaul and starting to remove stuff. Even closing parts of the pool deck and stripping off the surface.

She's doing a 12 night from Miami to Barcelona Feb10-22. Her next cruise listed is a 4 night out of Barcelona on April 11. 6.5 weeks later. From that point, she's doing the Western Med route until Oct 26 (Barcelona round trip Oct 19-26, but only 3 might from Rome to Barcelona on the 23rd). So likely TA back to Florida after that, just not posted yet.

This. WiFi included would be pretty much the only reason I would pay more for the Sky JS vs. the normal JS. Without that, I don't see any reason to pay extra.

Correction: Consumers of Corporations' products pay all the taxes. It's built into the prices of the goods & services.

The prices are all posted online. Just select a cruise and click the "Dates & Prices" tab