Dinkachu

Wait! My Cruise planner says Nassau on RCL's website for my cruise but I just checked the port schedule for Labadee. It has The Allure there during my cruise. What the heck? How do I confirm?

Every time we sail the Western caribbean it has a top in Labadee. Our eastern carib ports include Nassau.

Thanks so much for positing your review! We are traveling Allure soon with a wheelchair and I'll be looking for any accessible tips.

One question - did you notice public accessible bathrooms anywhere on the ship? We have an accessible stateroom, but the ship is so big there may be times when we are out and about and need to find one.

Last time on Allure, we did not need accessible bathrooms, so we did not notice.

Also, did you use any of the pools? Did you find them easily accessible? We did not do that last time either - and I understand the beach pool is accessible and there are lifts on one pool and one whirlpool.

Thank you.

I was given a pager on Indy 3 weeks ago because there was a 45 minute wait the second formal night.

I am debating making reservations for MTD on our upcoming cruise.

Did you have a reservation the night you had a 45 minute wait, or did you just walk up to the door?

Thank you.

We always take a case of bottled water and occasionally diet Dr Pepper (can't find it onboard).

We just print extra luggage tags and put them on the cases and they have arrived in our cabin with no issues at all.

Enjoy the cruise.

on the Oasis 2016

 

I have contacted Special Needy at Sea. They are telling me the electric wheel chair will go through a balcony room door fine. I want to know if any one has rented one and was able to have enough room to store it in the room? We didn't ask for a handicap room because the person can walk if need be but

I am afraid she will take too long to get to one spot to another . Plus tire out .

 

Do any of you have any other suggestions or ideas what to do here?

We cruise with a two people using a wheelchair and one scooter - on Allure, which is the sister ship to Oasis.

You must have a handicapped accessible room or a suite for a scooter. When you call to rent the scooter, Special Needs at Sea will ask which stateroom you are in and they will NOT deliver a scooter to a non-accessible room. There is no where to store and charge it on the ship. It would be a safety hazard in the hallway.

We used a non-accessible room for my mother-in-law and it was tight with the standard wheelchair. She had to stand for a moment when so we could push the chair through the door, then we folded it and stored it on one side of the bed.

Oasis and Allure are WONDERFUL ships that are very handicapped friendly. Every restaurant and entertainment venue has places for the wheelchairs.

Try to get an accessible room and then order the scooter.

If you cannot get an accessible room, you could check into one of those tiny scooters that folds, but I would check the dimensions on the first.

ENJOY YOUR CRUISE

We have eaten at Johnny Rockets on several RCI ships, many times with children.

Johnny Rockets only charges for the meals you order. If you want to feed your 2 and 5 year old from your plate they do not mind. They would not expect you to order 3 burgers for one cover charge, but sharing your meal should not be a problem. They give you endless fries and onion rings for the table.

Our 5 year old niece wanted her own burger and she ate more than the Grannies with us, so the 5.00 fee was not wasted.

Sounds delicious! Is the habachi open for lunch as well or is it exclusive only to the dinner reservations?

 

Thanks in advance:)

Our friends just ate at Izumi and said the Hibachi was only available at dinner time, not for lunch.

A recent thread has me thinking. There seems to be little tolerance for 'service' animals aboard cruise ships these days. Especially when the animals appear to provide no service beyond emotional support for the owners. Perhaps, pets should be permitted to cruise once again, as they have in the past.

In cruising days past, pets were welcome aboard. Their owners had to purchase tickets for them, and there were designated areas of the ship for pets to use.

We are not talking about the distant past either.

On our first cruise in the 1970's, there was a headliner act featuring a black panther and wild lynx. On that cruise, one elderly passenger traveled with a quiet and well mannered great dane.

The Emerald Seas, which we frequented out of Miami in the 1970's had several cats living aboard the ship. We enjoyed two small dogs one of the passengers had aboard one year.

Further back in cruise history, animals were frequent cruisers.

On the Titanic alone, there were cats, chickens, dogs, etc. Owners had to purchase tickets for them. A ticket for a canary, for example, cost the owner 25 cents.

The animals aboard Titanic included:

A King Charles Spaniel and an elderly Airedale Terrier, owned by William Carter,

Chow-Chow, a chow chow owned by Harry Anderson,

A champion French Bulldog called Gamin de Pycombe, owned by Robert W. Daniel, who had bought him in England for the very high price of £150 (£12,575 in 2012 prices) was on Titanic. So were a number of small pets, such as a

Kitty and another Airedale Terrier, owned by millionaire John Jacob Astor.

A Pomeranian owned by Margaret Bechstein Hays, which she kept in her cabin;

A dog owned by Elizabeth Rothschild, also kept in her cabin.

A Pekingese called Sun Yat Sen, owned by Henry Sleeper Harper and his wife Myra,

Frou-Frou, a Toy dog owned by Helen Bishop. The dog was allowed to stay in her cabin as the stewards considered it "too pretty" to put among the bigger dogs in the kennels.

There were probably more dogs aboard, but their details (and owners) have not survived. Passenger Charles Moore of Washington, D.C. made a last-minute change to his plans to transport aboard Titanic 100 English foxhounds, which he intended to use to start an English-style fox hunt in the Washington area.

As well as the dogs and cats, there were a number of birds aboard. Ella Holmes White of New York brought four roosters and six hens. Elizabeth Ramel Nye brought her yellow canary. Two dogs and a canary disembarked with the passengers who left the ship at Cherbourg, Titanic* '​s first port of call after Southampton. The animals travelled on their own tickets; even the canary that left at Cherbourg had to be paid for, to the tune of 25 US cents.[3]

Animals do still cruise today. Captain Johnny can be seen out and about on Allure of the Seas with his pet parrot.

Perhaps, if pets were allowed onboard, people who have emotional attachments to their pets, attachments that can be similar to those with people, would not need to insist that they are bringing aboard 'service animals'.

Royal could charge cruise fees based on the size of the pet and the could set limits on the size and type of pet that could travel. Certain portions of decks could be the 'pet deck'. (They do this at the Disney campground in Orlando - when we camp with our dog, we have to stay in the 'pet loop'). Keeping pets to a certain part of the ship would prevent allergy issues and keep the pet from interacting with those who want to cruise animal free.

Of course, there are those people who would still insist their pet is a service animal so that they can take it to off limits areas like the dining rooms. Allowing pets will not make a bit of difference in that regard.

I will be leaving my little dog home, but if I could purchase a ticket for him, I'd start packing his clothes.

I just booked our viewing of Mama Mia on an Allure Easter Itinerary and our choices were:

Day 1 (Sunday) at 8 pm

Day 2 (Monday) at 9:30 pm

Day 3 (Tuesday) at 6 pm

Enjoy your cruise!

One other important note I'm in a wheelchair and can answer any questions on accessibility issues too.

We are traveling with one wheelchair and one scooter. Any suggestions or advice concerning accessibility onboard would be appreciated.

Dining can be so subjective. But here are my favorites from the MDR on our last cruise:

APPETIZERS: Vidalia Onion Tart

LUNCH: Tutti Salad and Bread Bar (only on Sea Days)

MAIN COURSE: Rosemary Lamb Shank, Grilled Veal T-Bone

DESSERT: Key Lime Pie

We have previously attended both formal nights on every cruise.

While the MDR food is adequate, some of it even tasty, for mass catered food, we have seen a decline in variety and quality over the years. Even formal nights have suffered.

After perusing the menus for our upcoming cruise and finding the first formal night offerings 'nothing special' for our personal taste, we have opted to go to a specialty restaurant on the first formal night.

There are two men in our party who enjoy gorging themselves on small, formerly frozen, rubbery lobster tails. We ladies enjoy having the opportunity to have the family dress up and we cherish having formal night family photos, so we will be in the MDR on the 2nd formal night.

No open flame correct? That is how NCL does it. No onion volcanoes :(

There are no open flames on this Hibachi ... so no onion volcanoes.

You do get 1 or, for an additional fee, 2 proteins (choose Beef, Chicken, Lobster, Shrimp - or a combination). There are 3 sauces you can choose. And you get either a Soup or Ginger Salad, Rice or Noodles, Grilled Veggies, and a Dessert such as Ice Cream or a Small Pastry.

Additional fees if you add Sushi, Spring Rolls, Etc. You can also purchase Saki or Asian Beer or Special Cocktails.

We just brooked the Izumi Hibachi for Allure through the RCCL website.

You go to the Dining Option, and scroll down to Izumi Hibachi - click on that and they will ask for date and time. If the time you want is not available, they will let you know that you must choose another day and time. You will also be informed if there is a conflict with a show or other activity.

Dinner at Izumi (Hibachi Experience)

Izumi (Hibachi Experience)

INCREDIBLE ASIAN CUISINE – A LA CARTE

A fusion of fresh pan-Asian flavors served impeccably – that's Izumi.

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$30.00USD Adult

You purchased this item on 2015-09-04 22:27:39.

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It took me over 3 hours to get our meal reservations made on the website the other day.

Following the advice of helpful CC members, I cleared out the cookies and browsing history on my computer. I also waited until late, late at night - about 2 am, to try to book entertainment. It worked without a hitch.

Weekends and evenings after 5 seem to be the worst.

You can also call the website help number and they will help.

Enjoy your cruise.

This Rising Tide Bar Video is just too Funny not to share. Enjoy!

 

 

[YOUTUBE]X7BD08w2b7w[/YOUTUBE]

I really needed a smile tonight - thank you for sharing this.

My son called this song 'One ton tomato' when he was young.

is it this one? I see these in photo reviews all the time

This is the one we use all the time. I carry it aboard in my purse.

It is great because it has a place to recharge my kindle.

We've had mixed experiences in Windjammer.

Get there early for smaller lines and better seating choices - it is a bit small for such a large ship.

HIGHLIGHTS at WINDJAMMER: The SEAFOOD PAELLA (only available on the first day) is marvelous. The TUTTI SALAD during lunch at sea - it is really good too. While the burgers were awful, the FRENCH FRIES were pretty good, if you get them hot.

AVOID THESE: The HAMBURGERS are greasy, tasteless disc of frozen beef.

If you go for breakfast be aware that the EGGS are some powdered or frozen and worse than tasteless, they have a bad aftertaste. The omelets are no longer made to order (go to Wipeout cafe for good omelets)

The good news is that the choices are plentiful, and you should be able to find something everyone likes.

We made the decision to go with Allure because we've seen Cats more than once and the reviews of Cats on Oasis were not good.

Both ships are magnificent, so you really can't make a bad choice.

No, there are a good number of "free" venues.

 

Here is an old document that details the restaurants. Even though it's not 100% accurate anymore, what is marked as free is still free, and it should give you a good idea:

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/General_Info/Flyers/10020614_Allure_Specialty_Restaurant_Flyer.pdf

Thank you for posting this link.

This is the best list of eating venues I have seen so far.

I wish RCCL would update it and issue a new one.

I printed this one and made changes with a marker. I plan to take it with us on Allure.

What you did wrong was not call RCCL and make THEM do it for you. Seems you got the web site on a very bad day. If you are C&A, call them next time and ask for help.

 

RCCL's web site is really schizoid, in my opinion.

 

If you have this problem again, clear your browser history and cookies, so your browser doesn't give you an old page (that didn't work) before. Also, you might try refreshing the web page (little circular arrow up near the url address) if things start to stall.

 

Good luck! I'm glad you got it done, but what a painful experience!!!

I appreciate the suggestions with clearing browser history and cookies. I think I really am going to try booking entertainment in the middle of the night when the site is quiet - and if that doesn't work, I'll call RCCL and make them do the bookings.

We've cruised and LOVED RCCL for years.

I have never had such a frustrating experience reserving excursions and dining online. We've always booked everything online with no issues at all.

I spent over 3 hours today trying to get meals reserved for our Allure trip in Dec. We booked over a year ago and were supposed to have the EARLY set dining option, but somehow RCCL put us in MTD (travel agent showed us her request and confirmation for early dining in Oct 2014). We decided we'd just deal with MTD after she could not get it changed. I booked 3 specialty dinners and 4 MTD dinners.

The website froze several times and I had to start over. When it did work it was so slow. I spent a lot of time staring at little spinning arrows. Then, the site would red line us and say that 2 members of our party had 'unavailable reservations' as they were being 'updated'. (I am the only one doing any reservation changes for the whole party). Our dining selections disappeared 3 times. Finally, I got everything in the cart and it would not take our payment (tried 3 different cards - 2 are debit with good balances). I called the RCCL helpline twice and my TA once. I was ready to just bail on the trip, but it is our son's college graduation gift.

QUESTION: What am I doing wrong? I am getting ready to reserve our entertainment. Are there any tips or hints to make this experience better?

I am thinking of setting an alarm clock for 3 am to see if there is less traffic on the site. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Royal is very good about accommodating food allergies. Special Needs at RCCL suggested we stick to the MDR since we are dealing with severe food allergies. This was echoed by our doctors, who also suggested avoiding buffets.

We tried having meals pre-ordered the night before in the MDR and delivered to the Windjammer. Somedays, on some ships, it worked well. Other times, and on the bigger ships, not so much. They would have to go find the pre-order, it would arrive cold, or after everyone had eaten. It was clearly an inconvenience to the already busy staff, though they were pleasant enough and smiled while tracking down our food.

We found a solution that worked for us. We would pre-order the meal from the MDR with the head waiter the day before - letting them know when we would be by for it, and then, one of our party would pick it up and carry it up to Windjammer. It got there hot and fast that way.

One note - the MDR does NOT have trays, and they give your food on a glass plate with a cover to keep it warm. We have learned to take along some covered, and disposable, plastic containers and ziploc bags to make certain meals easier to transport. If you give them to the head waiter the night before, they will put the food in your containers for you. We used the ziplock bags for breads and some desserts like cookies.

It was easier to just eat in the MDR, and we do that most of the time, but once in a while, the family likes to eat in Windjammer, and this worked for us.

Enjoy the cruise.

ROOM SERVICE - Just be aware that if you order room service after 12 pm there is a small charge. We usually order something like a cheese and fruit tray and put it in our room fridge for a late snack.

WINDJAMMER - My guys will occasionally get sushi or something they want for a snack at Windjammer and store it in our room fridge for later. You just want to make sure it is something you will enjoy cold as there is no way to heat anything in your room.

Do they have cupcake classes on the Allure ?

We did the cupcake class on Allure and my friend and I have reserved it for the final day at Sea this Christmas on Allure.

The cupcakes are pre-made. You only get to keep the one you decorate. We bought a bacon one for the hubby.

Here are pictures of our Grannies decorating cupcakes on our last Allure Christmas Cruise.