Heckah

You can get extra key cards when you get on board.  My wife and I earn free sailings and I'll book myself and one daughter in my room and her and the other in hers.  Then we get the extra keys when we get on board.

We went on the Allure last Thanksgiving and loved it so much we booked it again April vacation.  It feels crowded at times (by the theater after the show lets out for example), but never overwhelming.  Most of the time you have no idea there are 6500 people on board.

When I was on Vision of the Seas last month they had this horrendous Royal Caribbean teen rom/com type movie that I couldn't stop watching because it was hilariously bad.  

Of course, just take a draw from your seapass in a slot machine.

I thought the internet on Allure was excellent.  I was able to stream hockey playoff games they weren't showing on the ship.  There were some dropouts and buffering, but it was fine.  For emailing and working in google drive you'll have no issues.

I have been on Allure twice and absolutely love that ship.  It doesn't feel crowded by any means.  Obviously, there are times when it feels more crowded than others (elevators near the theater after a show etc...). 

It wasn't all that difficult to manage getting around the ship once you get the lay of the land, you just have to make a conscious effort to know the location of where you are and where you are going.

We had zero problems finding chairs by the pool when we wanted and getting into shows without reservations.  Make sure you reserve specialty dining restaurants in advance and you will be good. 

I've been on Allure twice and have never had a problem getting into the shows I wanted to see without reservations.  

So, there was a restaurant in the Costa Maya port area where you could smoke at the bar.  I didn't leave the port area.  In Cozumel, I did an excursion at Chankanaab Park and saw no one smoking.  I brought a vape pen and used that with no issues.

Here is a shot from last Friday.

You are at the whim at what the service the ship uses decides to show.  I was on last week and we got game one of the Bruins-Panthers, but just before game two started it flipped to an NBA game.  I was able to watch on ESPN+ on my phone with no problem.

13 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

If your girlfriend has a valid passport, you'll be fine...until you get back.

No dice, but plenty of potential girlfriends on board...=)  J/K

Anyway, it took over an hour on the phone, but it's all set.  Girls are across the hall so that part is fine.  Had to pay for their room, but once my wife's drink package, dining reservations and excursions were refunded it was a wash.

THe only pain was having all of DD14's stuff canceled because she switched rooms, but her non alcoholic beverage package ended up being on sale when I rebooked it.  Still having an issue with an excursion but we'll figure it out on board at this point.

We are going to be on the Allure of the Seas trip 4/16 out of Galveston.  Long story short, my wife had something come up and she can't go and she has insisted that myself and DD14 and DD12 still go.

We have two rooms booked, both Casino at Seas comps.  Mine got us a balcony that my wife and I were going to stay in and my wife has an inside cabin across the hall that the girls are staying in.  We also have her reserved for the drink package.

Is it best to call ahead and cancel her (and what would happen to the comped inside) or is it best for her to no show?

Thanks, obviously this has put us in a bit of a panic.

Fine, I'll be the one to ask....

Obviously, there is the new law in Mexico about smoking.  I was curious if there were any smoking areas in the port area of Costa Maya?  How about private beaches in the area that have smoking areas?  

Thanks

It was on the Allure in November, one table available in the non smoking section.  They hand deal it there, which I've never seen before.  I love Let It Ride.

As far as tips and tricks go, I found the ship remarkably easy to navigate.  

Just sort of keep tabs on which end of the ship your destination is going to be.  It's best to cross from front to back or visa versa on decks 4, 5, 8 and 15, otherwise you have to walk through a labyrinth of rooms. 

Aqua show was walk in.  We showed up at 6:59 for a 7pm show and there were plenty of seats available.  It was the same show each time.

My daughter went to every ice show with two friends, mostly without reservations at all.  We got our Mama Mia reservations as soon as we got on the ship (our sailing didn't allow for booking before boarding, same with dining but the times weren't ideal)

I can't speak to D+ or arriving early,  but we were probably on the ship 15 minutes after walking into the terminal.  It was super easy.

In the MDR on the Allure I mostly wore a golf shirt, khaki shorts and flip flops.

Not many were dressed up outside of formal nights, and we saw plenty of people casual on the formal nights too.

I don't believe Uber is allowed in the port area, but Lyft is.  We took a Lyft from the terminal to Denny's in Galveston for breakfast then went to IAH.  It was 192.67 with tip from the Denny's.  We had to take Lyft XL because there were four of us with luggage.

We were on the second trip at the new terminal so the Lyft driver was a bit confused where to go, but I bet they know better now.

We uber'd from IAH to Galveston the night before.  I thought about a car service, and I'm glad we just winged it with Uber because our flight was delayed two hours.

I don't believe Uber is allowed to go to the Galveston Terminal, so we took a Lyft from the hotel.  Took a Lyft from the port to a Denny's for breakfast than an Uber to the airport.

Probably about $350 all in, we had to take Uber and Lyft XL's with four people and luggage.  We are doing it again in April and starting with a couple of days in Houston, so we will Uber and Lyft again. 

We flew into IAH and Uber'ed to our hotel in Galveston, then we took a Lyft to the terminal from the hotel the next morning.

Uber was $170 each way with tip to an from IAH (which is further away from Hobby).

The hotel had a shuttle they were going to charge $40 for but they gave us the wrong time so we took a Lyft which was $19.00 after trip.

All these prices are UberXL and LyftXL because we had four people with bags. 

Just now, Crazy planning mom said:

Can you reserve any shows now?

No, you can reserve as soon as you get on board with the app.  Ice show was walk in last week when I went and so was the diving show.  Had no problem getting Mama Mia reservations.

So I'm kind of new to all of this so apologies if the questions are stupid. I hit Prime on my most recent cruise and I have a certificate with a bunch of different dates on them. Will I get updated ones as time goes on with a similar deal (I currently have free oceanview or balcony depending on the cruise with a $750 trade-in and $250 in free play) or is this the best one I'm going to get?

I also booked a cruise while on the ship before I realized how close I was to the freebie. Can I transfer those credits with the free room (My wife has a $500 trade-in or a free inside or oceanview, I'd want to upgrade that one).

Do I get to pick the room or am I stuck with what they give me? Thanks, I want to be somewhat knowledgeable before I make a decision.

Thanks

According to that review, I believe the "circle" is for unvaccinated children.  If your kids will be vaxxed, they won't have to be in the circle.

It was cool to do for the experience.  Salad bar was terrific, the rolls were great, the meats were OK, not the best, but certainly not terrible.  That pineapple though was incredible!    

3 minutes ago, PistolPete13 said:

 

I think the confusion may be that a few of the elevators (2 or 4, I don't remember) in the forward bank went up floors 17 and 18 (Haven).  The other remaining elevators in that forward bank topped on of the 16th floor.  Of course the crew elevator is a nice perk especially for before/after shows. 

I'm almost positive all 8 elevators went to at least 17 which is the only place you can access the Haven.  I think the confusion is the one elevator that is specifically in the Haven.  But that Haven elevator stays in the Haven proper.  You can take it from the bar to the sundeck etc...but you couldn't use it to go to the 8th floor for example.  Believe me, we would have killed for a special elevator after the muster drill... 😃