Dinkachu

Wondering. If anyone sailed into Fort Lauderdale today....we are sailing out of Fort Lauderdale and we heard the seas may be rough. Of course I am hoping for a smooth sailing, but I am prepared to take Bonjne if it's going to be rough. Would appreciate if anyone could tell me first hand. Thanks so much!

We left Fort Lauderdale today on Allure and the departure was delayed, in great part to the rough seas and high winds. The boat is tossing and rocking far more than any ship I have ever been on . That being said, it does not bother me at all and I actually feel like I am being lulled to sleep by the sea.

They hubby, on the other hand, is wearing a sea sick patch behind his ear. The Oceania show was cancelled - too dangerous for the divers.

We were told we would leave port when it was 'safe' and we are now underway. The boat is rocking quite a bit, but that won't stop our fun.

Let us know how it goes!

 

If you can send a note on how hard the mattresses are and the room temperature at night- those are the only things I'm feeling worried about right now.

 

We will be getting on when you get off. Hard to believe that we are this close to sailing!

TEMPERATURE of the Cabin:

We've only been onboard a few hours, but so far - the room temperature is quite comfortable. We have a thermometer on our portable luggage scale and it is measuring 73 right now. We are in a Boardwalk balcony room.

MATTRESS:

The Mattresses are a different story. We stayed at a Hampton Inn for 2 nights and Embassy Suites for one night before this cruise, and well - compared to 2 hotels plus HOME, we are not thrilled with the mattresses. A quick nap this afternoon before muster drill and all 6 of us sailing agreed - we expected better mattresses after dry dock. These are fairly new, yet we found them hard, low and one has a discernible dip in on the right side. They are okay, but I would have considered bringing my pillow top mattress cover if I had realized they would be this hard. We live in Florida, so extra luggage is not an issues. We once sailed on a ship out of another state and purchased a mattress cover, then donated it after the cruise. I have back issues. Nothing a tylenol and a bit of maneuvering with the pillows won't help - certainly not going to let it spoil our cruise.

We will check back in in a few days after spending some time at sea and in port.

Perhaps a full night on the mattress will leave us pleasantly surprised.

Hopefully, the AC will continue to perform well. If not, we'll request a fan and wear fewer clothes.

Anyone on the allure just now. Do you know why she is still in port ?

One of the ship's officers told us there were delays due to Allure being last to leave port and a ship ahead of us was delayed.

The official announcement was that we would be leaving when it was 'safe' to begin our journey.

It was BLUSTERY in Ft. Lauderdale today. Oceania was cancelled. The ship is a rocking! But we don't mind one bit. A rough weather day at sea is better than a day on solid ground.

Have a great time and congrats on your son's graduation. We saw you left a little late, but it doesn't sound like it stopped your good spirits.

Allure was a bit late leaving the dock, but we enjoyed the extended sail away party. Our adventure on Allure began the minute we stepped on the boat. I actually was rolled onto the ship in my wheelchair by a kind RCI employee.

OFF WE GO... after a night in the Embassy Suites on 17th Street, our little family group of 6 is enjoying the swaying of this incredible ship (it is a blustery day in Ft. Lauderdale) as we make our way out to sea.

This is our 2nd trip on Allure - this time we are celebrating our son's college graduation. We had the same Boardwalk Balcony room 4 years ago for the same Christmas sailing!

I'll try to get a live review started tomorrow, but right now, I'm off to enjoy some of the sights!

I am currently sailing the Oasis of the Seas and our family of four found out on our 2nd evening that though we had pre paid for Izumi hibachi online at $30 per person we were informed we would have to pay $5 more to get chicken or a few other entrees or $10 more if we wanted something like steak. In effect the manager told me that nothing on the menu was $30 any more and we would have to pay more to eat there. I was pretty irritated since Royal Caribbean has had my money for 2 months only to tell me when I get on board I now owe more if I want to eat anything at the restaurant I prepaid for and am now sitting at. Another couple at our table was also pretty upset and stated they would not be cruising Royal Caribbean again. It was only after we made a pretty big stink about it that the manager agreed to accept our prepaid amount of $30 per person in order for us to stay and eat. When we first boarded I bought the five restaurant specialty dining package for $120. I was mistakenly charged for an extra person and had to have that charge removed as well. I was also overcharged for a drink in the comedy club although the menu said $10 the drinks are actually ringing at $10.95. Tonight we ate in Central Park 150 and my husband has the premium beverage package so he was offered the specialty martini and told it would be $3 more which was fine but when we actually got the bill he was charged $4 more (not including tip) It's not that the amounts are large it's the principle that all of the costs are being misstated. Our waiter told us that all of the specialty dining prices have been increased this week. Two days before I left I printed out all the prices and menus for specialty dining. Just a heads up that the menus online and the prices were wrong two days before sailing. Here are the current and new prices for specialty dining on oasis :

Chops was $39 now $45

CP150 was $40 now $45

Izumi Hibachi was $30 now $35

Giovanni's was $25 now $30

Solarium Bistro was $20 now $25

We had made a reservation for the Chef's Table but cancelled once we found out that the chefs table has been moved to deck 17 in an alcove between the Coastal Kitchen and suite lounge facing the bar. It is no longer in a private area and when I went up to look at it there was a baby crying in the lounge at 9 p.m. not a place I want to enjoy a $95 dinner and wine pairing.

In answer to the people who inevitably will blame me for being irritated about these issues, yes, I am enjoying my cruise. I always enjoy my cruises but I definitely am rethinking the reservation I made for Harmony next year. I just think that Royal Caribbean's corporate office makes too many changes too fast and no one really knows what's going on. I've seen it a lot on the ship this week. With the money I spend on suite accommodations, specialty dining and bar packages I might be better served to take a regular balcony cabin on a higher class of ship. I'm not saying that I will never sail on Royal again but I'm definitely going to think more carefully about other cruise lines than I have in the past. There have been too many changes for me and most of them are not good nor benefiting guests. I definitely got that feeling from a lot of the Diamond and Diamond Plus guests on board and their discussions with me in the lounge.

 

 

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Thanks for the warning. We booked the 4 specialty meal package 3 months ago on Allure - the day it opened and I prepaid for the restaurants for 6 of us. Now, I will be prepared to make a decision if they want extra money. We will have a plan in place - if we think it is worth it we will stay, or we'll walk out and go to Windjammer. I don't think it is fair to change prices on a pre- pay. We once went to Disney world and they had changed the prices for dinner at the castle, but since we had pre-paid for a vacation package - they honored our pre-raised price.

With apologies to Shakespeare, we are disregarding the many negative reviews and comments about poor food, service, etc. on RCI and even specifically Allure of the Seas. Our family of six has determined that we are are cruising with the attitude that we are 'looking to like' everything about the trip. It worked for Juliet, so we'll see if a 'looking to like' attitude will result in a successful trip.

We sail on Allure in 2 days to celebrate our son's college graduation. It will be our 2nd Christmas trip on Allure - our first was 4 years ago - and we've booked the same exact boardwalk cabins.

While every review is subjective, we'll try to give a report that is as objective as possible upon our return!

We loved our Allure Boardwalk balcony so much we've booked the same cabin for our cruise next week - we leave Dec. 20th.

You can see the water from the balcony, and the dive show was quite impressive from the balcony as well.

We enjoyed watching a movie on the balcony one evening - and there is always plenty of people watching!

Our only noise issues were Rita's Cantina on the two fiesta nights - but I believe they have now replaced Rita's with a more quiet Sabor. We were on deck 14, right where the biplane ends and we could hear the 'thump' when someone landed. It never bothered us - the hours were limited and we were usually out and about.

You can get a regular ocean view balcony on most ships, but you can only experience the Boardwalk on the Oasis class ships.

........"I only demand the BEST".................(and I don't want to pay for it!)............Try a higher end cruise line BUT you may have to PAY for that..............You don't buy a Chevy and expect a Rolls...................:rolleyes:

When we pay for a Lexus we don't expect a Rolls. But, we don't expect to get a Chevy either.

Been loyal to Royal - have a cruise booked in 5 days and another in March - but if the experience deteriorates to the point that it is not worth the price - we'll take your advice and cruise less often on a 'Rolls'.

We Leave Dec. 20th on Allure.

We would be most grateful if anyone has, and is willing to post, the cruise compasses for Allure's Easter Caribbean cruise - POST DRY DOCK.

We travel with a group that includes children, the elderly and one disabled person, so planning ahead really helps us get the most out of our cruise!

We've already packed 2 small tree, a 4ft blow up Penguin, door decorations, etc, for our Allure trip on the 20th.

The trees we take are small - battery operated trees. One sings. The other is a 'Charlie Brown' tree that plays the Peanuts theme.

Last time we were on Allure, the Penguin was highlighted in the cruise video.

It is fun to decorate and several others aboard seem to enjoy our decorations as well.

Sorry I can't figure out how to make the photos upright.. I guess posting pictures is rocket science to me.

We love cruising at Christmas - we're on Allure this year the 20th-27th.

We always bring wrapped gifts and have never had a problem. One year we had a singing Christmas tree for our young son, it was making noise through the box and they asked us to open it - but they let it right through once they saw what it was.

I don't have a clue about the alcohol though, as we are not drinkers.

We loved our boardwalk balcony room on Allure so much we are leaving next week for our 2nd cruise in the same cabin.

What do we love about being on the boardwalk:

- You get to see the dive shows and movies from your balcony

- There is always something going on to watch: shows, parties, people

- You can still see the ocean - just look past the ocean aria theater

- We were close to the action on boardwalk including easy access to snacks like the hot dogs, ice cream and donuts

- You can still get some sun and fresh air

You can get an ocean view on any ship - only Oasis class gives you the boardwalk. You CAN see the ocean out of the back of the ship.

We were on deck 14 - so we had no noise issues from the boardwalk when the doors to the balcony were shut. We could hear the 'thumps' from the zip line - but it was never an issue.

It may not be for everyone, but our family loves being in a boardwalk balcony and we are looking forward t boarding in a few days.

I am disabled and was cruising with 12 family members after a surgery that made sitting through a long evening meal virtually impossible. On previous RCI cruises I was been able to order dinner from the MDR menu and have it delivered to the balcony cabin, and I had planned to take all of my evening meals in the cabin. The rules had changed. Only people in suites could order room service from the MDR menu. I was limited to pizza, sandwiches, salads, light snacks from the new room service menu. On the 2nd night, the room service waiter offered to bring me meals from the MDR menu and did so for the next 4 nights. His was tipped well and my cruise experience was greatly enhanced by his kindness.

We had a 5 year old skate on Allure, but she did have kind of big feet. They did have small skates - depends on the size you need. The hours for open skating will be posted in the cruise compass. There were not a lot of hours available for guest to skate and we found it crowded, but the kids and big kids (adults) loved skating and being able to say they skated at sea.

We are considering purchasing a photo package for our upcoming Allure trip this December. We are a family of 6 traveling in 3 Boardwalk balcony staterooms to celebrate Christmas and our son's college graduation.

Does the photo package include all pictures for your group when the reservations are linked, or would they expect us to purchase 3 photo packages - one for each stateroom? We expect to take the majority of our photos together in groups, but know there will be some single and pair photos. If we had to purchase 3 separate photo packages - one for each stateroom - they would include many redundant photos, and the package would not be such a good deal. I can see where Royal may not want to include photos from more than one stateroom in each package.

Right now, I am leaning toward purchasing one package and making sure all group photos are on that sea pass, then purchase individual photos from the other staterooms separately.

Forgive me if this question has been asked before, I searched the RCI site and asked their online help person - who could not answer my question.

I did not find the answer I was looking for through a CC search either.

THANK YOU ! I am already packing!

I cannot begin to imagine why anyone would want a balcony facing in :confused:

You can look at the water on any balcony on any ship. Boardwalk balconies offer a truly unique view. You can turn your head slightly, and see the water from the open end of the ship. We watched movies, the dive show, and the activity on the boardwalk too. That is why we chose an in facing balcony.

We booked the same Boardwalk balcony we had 3 years ago for this Christmas. We love decorating the balcony (our 4 foot penguin made the cruise video) and we spend lots of time relaxing there.

Since it was December, heat and rain were not issues and that made the balcony a nice place to relax.

I addition to people watching, we enjoyed seeing the OCEANARIA diving show from the balcony. We were on floor 14 and had a great, bird's eye view of the high divers.

We also enjoyed watching a MOVIE from our balcony. We ordered pizza and snacks from room service and had a nice little evening.

We did breakfast on the balcony once, but found the table small for a full meal. It was okay for snacks.

We are booked on the 1st sea day on Allure's Christmas cruise,

They changed us 10.00 per person.

I called and they could not tell me which characters will appear on which days.

Always better to plan ahead than be disappointed later. You can cancel up to 24 hours ahead of time and get the fee back.

Smoke is especially irritating to those of us with allergies and asthma. We can't get anywhere near the casinos or smoking areas on a ship.

They tried a 'non-smoking' side to the Casino on Allure - but it does not work well.

While I wish they would have a separate smoking casino, RCI is courting foreign cruisers, and many of them are smokers, so I imagine Royal not be in a hurry to create a non-smoking casino.

Thank you for the information and link.

We are now re-thinking the cruise as a choice for our vow renewal.

We can get a nice chapel at a local 4 star beach resort for way less than 1,200 and more friends will be able to attend.

If we just wanted to celebrate our 25th anniversary in a conference room, we could do that for free.

I am disappointed to say the least.

I've been searching the RCCL website for 2 days to try to find out how to book the Vision of the Seas chapel for our 25th Wedding Anniversary Vow renewal.

I called the help line twice. Once I was put on hold for 20 minutes before the call dropped and the 2nd time the sweet young lady said she had no idea.

Has anyone booked the chapel on an RCCL ship? How did you go about doing so? Was there a charge? I know they are small, how can I find out how many people the chapel will hold? There will be 12 guest and ourselves - for a total of 14.

Thank you,

Lindy

3 members of our family have severe shellfish allergies. We cruise.

While the buffets are strictly off limits, the MDR is quite accommodating and do their best, but we err on the side of caution. If we don't feel secure about eating in the MDR, we ask for one of our pre-order Kosher meals.

One reason we like the larger boat, like Allure, is that there are so many activities that eating takes a back seat as something to do on a cruise. We emphasize the fun things we can do and make eating a passing necessity. If members of the group want to have a pig out in the buffet day, they do so. Last cruise, while they went to pig out, the allergy group took our safe cheese, crackers and fruit to Central Park for a 'picnic'. We though it was pretty special - there was a stringed quartet playing music in central park that night.

Here area a few things we do to cruise as safely as possible:

1. Prepare an allergy emergency kit with our doctor's input, like lots of benadryl (she gives a prescription with a higher dose), multiple epi pens, etc.

2. We contact the RCCL special needs department.

2. Request a REGULAR REFRIGERATOR in your stateroom. They currently have 'cool boxes' which do not keep food cold enough for a week. We literally bring a soft cooler of sealed portions of safe groceries onboard. I bring a copy of the email to special needs and a note from my doctor indicating it is a medical necessity.

3. We contact the dining department for our ship.

4. We meet the head water on day one and go over allergy information.

5. We order Kosher meals to be available on the ship. They are processed in a specially cleaned and inspected kitchen on shore. They are tasty and guaranteed shellfish free. I don't know if they contain eggs or nuts, but you can ask.

6. We pack non-allergic foods such as individual servings of things like: Baby bel cheeses, organic applesauce, safe crackers, etc. These provide snacks and meal sometimes when we are unsure of the food offered.

7. We NEVER eat anything ashore.

I would never try to sway you one way or the other - the risk is real.

Just sharing some ways we make cruising safer for our family with severe food allergies.

Theater Hints: I am actually going to write these directions down and take them along with us. I have never been anywhere near the front of this theater - and have always been directed to the back row. Thank you so much.

"Ok a side note for anybody in a wheelchair or that cant walk down stairs. When you enter in the theater on deck 4 stay to your right and follow the path way along the theater all the way until you see a door which will have a handicap symbol on it. Don't be scared, open the door go through it, make a left and you will see a glass elevator or let me say a hydraulic lift elevator that will take you down so you can sit in the front row of the theater and enjoy it like regular people get to. Don't worry because one of the staff actually said it didn't exist but which I smirked at and somehow found the same elevator that I always do and magically appeared in the front row!"