rstout

Our kids loved the Allure, and I'm sure your DS will love the Oasis, as well. We decided to take two nights on the cruise and allow our kids to eat with Adventure Ocean (or feed them in the buffet ahead of time and take them to AO afterwards) so that we could have an adult dinner in two specialty restaurants. It was a nice way to feel like we were getting a couple of upscale hours to ourselves during our vacation, and frankly, our kids really loved doing that. They always begged to go to AO.

If you do decide to take your son, then I think Chops would be a good option as far as food.

The cost of the package is probably the same for adults and children...kids can drink a lot of frozen drinks.

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/shared_assets/pdf/menus/beverage_packages.pdf

Thanks for the heads up. Our Character Breakfast reservation for our Apr 27th cruise has disappeared from our reservations list and this option is not available to book anymore....:confused:

Did you have a printout showing the reservation? If so bring it with you and you should be fine. I doubt they will charge you.

You can't book How To Train Your Dragon before your cruise - just look for the times in the Compass when onboard. The character breakfast should show up as an option to book. They have three on the Allure during the week (each has different characters, and you won't know which characters you'll see ahead of time). Sometimes that shows up later than the other dining/show reservations, so keep looking for it.

We have had shells taken from us that were stored in our bag (went through x-ray) while getting onto the ship.

We went to Atlantis on a cruise when my kids were 6 and 7, so they were certainly not big enough to do all of the slides. But they did many, and they loved it. 9 and 11 is a perfect age to go. There are things to do for all age and adventure levels.

It is very safe to take a taxi to Atlantis - we've done it several times, and you will likely share a van with others. And there are always taxis there waiting to take you back to the ship when you are done.

As far as a single parent taking a 5 and 7 yo to the waterpark, there are many pools there to have fun in, and the lazy river, but honestly I would not spend the money if you are skipping the slides. There are other hotels in the Bahamas that sell day passes that you could go to (Check out the ports of call board).

The Comfort Suites option seems to work best for families of four as far as cost savings. It's a bit of an extra hassle, but it wasn't too bad (you check in and out at the same time, and walk right across the street to Atlantis to get your wristbands).

Take a taxi to the Comfort Suites, which is right next to Atlantis. Book it for the day you are in Nassau and you check in and out at the same time - they are very used to cruise passengers doing this (unless you want to use the room later on to get changed, in which case you would check out later). You will get tickets that you will exchange for wristbands once at Atlantis - they will tell you where to go to do this. It's all pretty straightforward. Just make sure to leave plenty of time to get back to the ship. There are always taxis lined up outside of Atlantis to take you back to the ship. We found the cost savings over ship excursions well worth the minor inconvenience, but how much you save depends on the number of people in your party (four works out well), and the time of year you go.

I was probably most affected by the noise, as I am a light sleeper. My kids slept through it no problem. We were so tired at the end of the day that we all fell asleep quickly; it just took me a bit longer. We stayed in 10711 and 10713, which was probably less noisy than being right up against the theater. The doors do muffle most of the sound but you definitely can hear the shows and movies.

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No charge and they are really good. This is the first thing we ate when we got on the Allure. No line and a great treat while wandering the ship on the first day!

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We've booked 2 OVS the last 3 cruises but haven't gotten double the points. Wondering about this???? I thought double points were only for JS and above

You don't get double points for booking two rooms. Double points are for the suites.

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I would consider that the cost difference is the price of another cruise. You will feel like you're on vacation no matter which cruise line you select, especially with Alaska. I don't feel like you will be "missing out" if you choose another line to save money, especially if you can go on another vacation with that money! The kids will love the cruise no matter which you choose.

I am really sorry this happened to you...I experience migraines, as well, but not to the extent that you do. Sometimes when you live with a condition that you know how to manage you don't think about bringing a doctor's note on board with you, because it's not something that occurs to you, or hasn't been an issue that has required a note in the past. Royal Caribbean will always act to protect their customers and the safety of the people on board, and will trust the guidance of their medical team and lawyers over what you say every day of the week if there are any legal concerns. I would suggest e-mailing Mr. Goldstein with Royal Caribbean (agoldstein@rccl.com). We had an issue with my son on our Allure cruise, and I received a very quick response from Customer Service when I e-mailed him. They were very courteous.

Definitely two adjoining balcony rooms. You have more room, more privacy, beds for all (as opposed to pullmans and couches) and two bathrooms. You miss the extra cruise credit, but the other benefits are worth it for me.

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I think you should definitely try it. Just do your research to stay at a highly rated resort. Even when we stay at AI resorts we still try to do excursions at least once to get out and see the country and do something different.

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Posted January 20 on a thread about the Disney Dream

 

So noro was definitely on board. I've never heard of Disney noro on the news as much as you do Royal, Carnival, NCL. But with the number of folks in Medical plus the doctors reaction, it was in full force. I wonder what the number is. BTW, there was no charge for the medical service we received due to the diagnosis.

My son got noro on the Disney Dream a couple of years ago. We were on a B2B, and he showed the symptoms on the second leg of the trip. We heard after we got home that others on the ship had it, as well. I think the cruiselines only have to report it if a certain number of passengers have the virus, and depending on how many go to medical to actually report it....

The NOS has the Promenade, which I always love on RCCL ships. The pools are lit at night and you can always find nightlife in the bars and clubs. It's not the neon lights of the carnival ships, but a bit nicer IMO.

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I've been on both the Carnival Dream and the Navigator. I would definitely choose the Navigator. RCCL ships in general are laid out better...we did not like the design of the Dream at all. I saw your post on the Carnival Board and saw that you previously sailed on the Conquest. I would give RCCL a try to see how you like it. The Navigator is going through dry dock right now, and it looks like it will be really nice. Food is so subjective - I wouldn't choose one or the other with food in mind. You can read a hundred reviews, and some will like Carnival, others RCCL, and some will say it varies by ship.

I'm not sure what time you dock or what time your excursion is, but the tour operators are well aware of when the ships dock (and I assume you told them you are on the Independence). It won't be a problem. If you have a tour that starts at the same time the ship docks, just try to be one of the first to disembark. They will wait for you.

We were in BW balcony cabins 10711 and 10713 on the Allure and could hear noise when there were aqua shows and movies going on late at night. If you go to bed late, it is not a big deal. We had kids with us so we tended to go to bed a bit earlier (although much later than they would normally at home). The kids weren't bothered by the noise, but I am a light sleeper so I occasionally had a slight problem trying to fall asleep. It wasn't a huge deal. We could see the ocean and the theater, but not well enough that we sat out and watched shows. We preferred to sit in the theater for that. You do have to keep the curtains closed when changing - not a big deal for us. On our cruise, the benefit of having the extra space of two cabins, the light and space of the balcony, and the cost savings of the interior balcony were what were important to us. I'd try something else next time and obviously prefer the oceanview balcony, but I'm glad we tried it at least once.

The aqua show is a don't miss. We saw Blue Planet and a comedian, which were very good. Missed our Ice Games reservation, but caught the How to Train Your Dragon ice show and the Dreamworks characters aqua show late in the week, neither of which you make reservations for. We purposely missed Chicago...just weren't that interested. We also managed to sneak in a movie in the theater!

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And I would add that it is advisable to book shows (and possibly restaurants) that you absolutely know you want to go to. You can always make changes to (or cancel) your reservations once onboard, but some shows will book up, and you don't want to have to wait in the standby line if you can avoid it. I am generally a planner, but didn't really like this aspect of preparing for our Allure trip either (on cruises I like to be more laid back, especially when I already have to plan excursions). It wound up not being a huge deal - I just had to make sure I kept track of whether we had a show that night (your schedule is on your TV in your room, so it's pretty easy).

I would definitely give the Freedom a try:

- It's a longer cruise

- You are saving money

- It really is a GREAT ship for kids. The pool area/splash zone are really fun. Plus there is ice skating, etc. The kids clubs are fun. My kids have been on three different cruise lines (including Disney and RCCL) and always like the kids clubs. They are also very into video games. They would have been thrilled if we left them to play on the computers on the Dream for hours. There is less of that on the RCCL ships - I seem to recall them actually playing more. But they also made more friends and interacted with other kids more, and begged to go every day.

- Activities for adults are great, too. For ex., if you sign up for Anytime Dining, the Adventure Ocean counselors will take your son directly to Adventure Ocean when he's done eating so you can enjoy the rest of your dinner, go to a show, etc.

I would go with the Freedom for a first time cruise. We took our kids on their first cruise on the Freedom when they were 3 and 4 and they LOVED it. It will give you more ports (plus GC), is less expensive, and there is still a ton to do, but it's less overwhelming than Oasis/Allure for first time cruisers. It is a great ship.

Freedom is big but layed out so well that it doesn't feel too crowded. We were on two Carnival ships after the Freedom and they both felt more crowded to us because they are just not layed out as well...Royal Caribbean does a much better job of dispersing passenger flow.

We haven't been to Labadee in years, before they built it up as much as they have. But there are a lot of activities there - it is a nice place to go.

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We have been on both the Freedom and the Allure and both are great ships. I would ask whether most in your party have cruised before and what the price difference is. If most are new cruisers, and the price difference is substantial, I would go with the Freedom. The Allure is a whole different ball game when it comes to cruise ships, and the Freedom gives you more of the classic cruising experience, while still providing the fun Royal Caribbean touches we all know and love (the flow rider, climbing wall, ice shows, etc.) If most are seasoned cruisers, and you want to blow them away, then go with the Allure. Our last cruise was on the Allure, and we are going back on the Liberty next year. We still love the Freedom class. You can't really go wrong either way.

There is also a little cafe with small sandwiches, pastries, etc open 24 hours on RCCL ships. There are multiple free dining options besides the MDR, as well as the many specialty restaurants. The Oasis is an amazing ship...just go with an open mind rather than trying to look for the differences and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!

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