clonegirl

Thanks for the update! We’re scheduled to be there on Christmas Day and have an excursion on the French side.

I would love a copy of the map, if you have time to share it with me. We’ll be in San Juan the week of Christmas. Thanks so much and happy holidays! Cntkg.campbell@ Gmail 

31 minutes ago, wahooker said:

My wife and I are in separate rooms because of kids but under the same booking 

For some bizarre reason, when she called about the Black Friday sale, they said they cant do the buy one get one half off because we are not sharing a room.

I have the same issue but we do have two separate reservation numbers. We’re in connecting rooms because of 4 kids. I’m hoping they have a deal works for us on Cyber Monday. 

We were on the March 16th Allure sailing and missed the nachos as well! I had them for lunch almost every sea day on Oasis. I didn't enjoy the Wipeout cafe nearly as much on this sailing. I ate there when convenient and hungry but never made a special trip there like on previous sailings.

We had to make basically the same decision for our upcoming spring break trip (Allure vs Indy). Having been on the Oasis, we decided to go on Allure. It was a hard decision, but in the end the amazing entertainment on Oasis class ships won us over. We absolutely loved the aqua theatre shows, production shows and comedy club on Oasis! Plus the ship is just beautiful. We had a family ocean view balcony on Oasis and are trying connecting Boardwalk balconies on Allure. These balconies were cheaper than the ocean view and we can still see the water through the aqua theatre. Hoping we don't miss our ocean view balcony too much.

We'll miss Labadee though! With the ages of our 4 kids (infant - 9), it limits our activities in port. So while we would have preferred Indy's itinerary, we decided ship activities were more important than ports for this particular vacation. Good luck with your decision. I'm sure you'll have a great time either way.

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.

What deck were you on? We have connecting Boardwalk balconies for our upcoming cruise on Allure. We leave in less than 4 weeks! I was already excited before viewing your pictures and now ....:) Not sure there's a word that captures my level of excitement and anticipation, especially with this miserable winter!

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I think we may forgo Giovanni's and try one of the other recommendations. After thinking about it, the kids are going to be too excited and giddy to sit through a sit-down meal for that long. They're usually great at restaurants but will be excited to explore the ship, ride the carousel, sign up for kids program, etc. I don't want to feel like we're rushing to get through a three course meal that we paid extra for.

I'm thinking about booking the Blue Lagoon beach break excursion for my family (myself, husband, kids 9, 8, 5, 9 months). However, the Allure is only in port from 8:00 am - 2:00 pm and the excursion leaves at 8:00 and states that it's approx 4 hours long.

Has anyone taken this excursion from the Allure? Is 4 hours long enough to enjoy it? Does that end up being around 2 hours of beach time? I'm not too excited about having all 4 kids ready for a 8:00 am excursion but at least it's our first port. I don't think that we'll waste time eating the lunch. We can get food once we're back on the ship.

I've really been struggling with what to do in Nassau since our stop is so short. I thought about just staying on the ship but this is our first port day. It's been a little over 2 years since our last cruise so we're really excited and itching to get back to the ocean and beach! Plus it's our little guys first trip to the beach so we want to have a nice time and make some great memories (for us and the older kids, I know he won't remember it :) ) I've also thought about going to Junkanoo beach but have read mixed reviews about it.

Blue Lagoon sounds wonderful. I'm just hesitant due to the short amount of time.

Anyway, any feedback or experiences you can share would be much appreciated!

Thanks for all of your responses and feedback. I really appreciate it. I think that we're going to go ahead and book this excursion. The only thing I'm second guessing now is whether to book this one or the excursion that also includes a scenic ferry trip around St. John. We wouldn't take advantage of that portion, but that excursion leaves earlier than this one. However, there's quite a few ships in port that day so the beach is going to be busy either way. I'm hoping that while the beach may be busy when we arrive that other people will have to head back to their ships earlier than this excursion ends. No matter what, it will be better than the frigid temps we've been experiencing at home this winter!

What dining places offer fresh squeezed juice on Allure? My husband is planning on getting the Replenish package and we wondering about the availability of juice. I remember it in the Windjammer on Oasis, but I don't think we'll eat breakfast very often in the Windjammer this time. Thanks!

On our first cruise with kids (ages 2 and 3 1/2), the kids were potty trained by day but still had to wear pull-ups at night. We did fine with the night, however, the kids each had an accident during naps. They would fall asleep on the way back from the beach and we just laid them in bed thinking that they wouldn't nap much longer. We should have learned after the first accident, but ended up with one more accident. Needless to say, we were really embarrassed but our room steward made us feel like it was no big deal. He changed the sheets right away and we gave him an extra tip and thank you that night. Anyway, long story just to let you know that we've been there and everything worked out okay. I'm sure they've seen worse and they've always been great with our kids.

My kids had to wear some type of nighttime undergarment till they were quite a bit older than most kids even though we tried many things to night train them. My pediatrician said that it's much more prevalent and common than parents talk about. I found that the older child "pull-ups" like "Pampers Underjams" or "Goodnights underpants" work much better than the toddler training pants. "Goodnights" also makes disposable bed mats that would be very easy to pack.

Hope you you have a wonderful time on your vacation!

I'm thinking about booking Giovanni's on Allure right after boarding. My husband and I will be traveling with our 4 kids (ages infant - 9) and I thought that may be a great way (and more relaxing) to start out the trip vs. fighting the crowds at Park Cafe and Windjammer with the kids. If I pre-book for my infant, the system charges him also. Since he's not eating any table foods yet, I was hoping he could come with us without paying.

If we book for 5 people, do you foresee there being a problem with space for him to sit in a highchair at the table with us or in a small stroller next to me? I wasn't sure how tightly the tables are packed in there. Thanks!

I also posted this over on the St. Thomas/St. John board but looking for some feedback from other parents. My husband and I are contemplating taking a "Self Explore St John" excursion through RCCL with our 4 young kids (9, 8, 5 and 9 months). It provides a ferry transport from the ship to St. John and back. Total excursion length is 6.5 hours.

Have of any of you taken kids to Trunk Bay? My initial thoughts are to go ahead and book this excursion but wanted to see if anyone had any experience they could share. Our kids are used to traveling and good with "going with the flow" while on vacation as long as they don't get hungry. The baby is used to be dragged around constantly due to the older siblings extremely busy schedules so I think he'll be fine napping in the stroller or on the beach.

Anyway, let me know if you've ever attempted St. Johns with kids and how it went. Thanks!

Has anyone participated in the "Self Explore St John" Excursion? My husband and I are contemplating going on this one with our 4 young kids (9, 8, 5 and 9 months). This will be our 3rd cruise with kids but the first without grandparents along. All of us usually just head to a beach on our own on port days. However, I'm not sure I want to try that with St. John. My husband really wants to spend some time snorkeling so I thought that he could snorkel from the beach at Trunk Bay while the kids and I swim and play in the sand. The 9 and 8 year old will also snorkel if the water is calm enough.

I would really like to visit St. John. Just wondering if we're crazy trying to do this with 4 kids. We took them on a NYC ferry ride tour for 3 hours this summer and they did great. Assuming if they can handle that then they'll be fine on the 45 min ferry.

Let me know if you have any experience or advice with this excursion. Thanks!

Thanks for the advice. It's definitely not a cheap fare, but I'm not sure that even exists with the family staterooms. We checked into adjoining ocean view and there's no guarantees left. We don't want to risk not having adjoining cabins. I wish we could watch the prices online for the family staterooms, but you have to call in for quotes as far as I know.

My husband and I are thinking about taking our family (us plus 4 kids) on a cruise over spring break. As of Tuesday, there were 5 family oceanview rooms available. I'm debating whether to book now or wait till January 1 since December 31st is final payment date. Do fares typically drop after final payment date? Is it worth the risk waiting another 13 days? Wondering how many people plan vacations during the busy holiday season. Advice? Thanks!