rcrdale

Both are 1st generation Voyager class ships (the balconies are larger in the 2nd generation ships and are less enclosed). The biggest difference apart from artwork is the working marine lab currently staffed by U. Florida on the Explorer. The talks by the marine people are said to be really good. I don't know if it will continue operating in Australia.

I've been on the Explorer twice and they don't have the lab anymore.

You have more room in your cabin and on the balcony, you have a bathtub and shower combo instead of just the shower, and if you are a Crown and Anchor member, you get double points.

Is it worth the extra money, that would be up to you. My wife and I have always done a balcony and have had a center hump balcony, a corner aft balcony and a aft JS balcony. Yes, the JS was nicer because of extra room and the double points, but to me a regular balcony is just as nice.

Thanks for the help. :)

I am looking to do a family cruise during the summer of 2015. Most of our family has cruised on RCCL and want to go to Bermuda for a family reunion cruise. We want the 7 night cruise to Bermuda (have done the Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda before). Does anyone know when they summer schedule will come out? I can't find anything past August 2014 for Bermuda.

Thanks,

:)

We did a Thanksgiving cruise last year on the Allure and we had over 1500 kids onboard. Hopefully not quite as bad this year as we will be on the Adventure of the Seas over Thanksgiving.

As most others have said, yes they have a traditional turkey dinner in the MDR on Thanksgiving.

RCCL is non smoking on the balconies and indoor places. You can still smoke on the pool deck and deck 4 outside on one of the sides.

Has anyone every had a problem with Larry's Private Car and Limo? We used them on our recent cruise and had a serious issue with them. I had to pay extra when they picked us up at the port to go to the airport. I have tried emailing them and have not gotten any results.

Trying to find out if them charging extra after pre-booking with them is something they do a lot of. Very upset with the and I guess if I don't hear back from them, my next step will be contacting the Florida Better Business Bureau.

Here is my wife trying to watch the sunrise with me. I always am an early riser and love going out to watch the sunrise. My wife, not so much! lol

You'd complain too if you went through as much trouble as I did to get finally find and book this Blue Lagoon Excursion, with several weeks of frustrating emails, phone calls, and internet searches. But hey, feel free to jump to conclusions and assume I have no reason to be upset. Well played.

 

And to reiterate, I'm not in the we-want-compensation camp, just stating that I am miffed about the whole thing, and evidently we take our vacations and the money we spend on them (and the time and effort in planning them) a whole lot more seriously than most people on here. We lead miserable daily lives and these trips are one of the only bright spots, so that's honestly why we feel that way.

 

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You lead miserable lives, but yet this is the third cruise you went on this year. I wish I had your miserable life!

No, that is your choice. There are many other options for beaches. There are options for lower cost. There are options for no cost. There are options available on the ship.

 

I get that you're annoyed that your originally scheduled excursion now is not possible, but you aren't "stuck" paying $40 an hour for beach use either, that is what you are choosing to do with your time at Nassau.

 

If that's what you think is the best option why get off the ship? You can have the pool deck mostly to yourself and have waiter service with none of the crowds, lines, schlep of Nassau. I'm not sure what spending $120 to sit near the water gives you when you can do it more comfortably on the ship for free. :confused:

 

Don't let one minor negative of a vacation outweigh all the other positives. :cool:

I was thinking the same thing! I'm just happy to be on vacation, losing an hour here or an hour there is not really a crisis to me. Live for today, for tomorrow is not guarunteed as I have found out over the last couple of years.

Thanks for the live thread. I will be checking in every day. I will be on her in 2 weeks for 2 weeks (lol). Hope you have a great cruise.

I would love to see them add the soda package along with it. I would definately get it then.

Try this, the east coast departures thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=415

From everything I have heard, the Escargot is not on the menus anymore. You have to ask your waiter for them, and you should get them. Hopefully we will have them on the Allure in 3 weeks.

Allure - Oct 20th Sailing - No Escargot.

As I will be on the Allure in a few weeks, did you specifically ask for it or it just wasn't on the menu? I have heard you need to ask your waiter for it.

Too all the people demanding that RCCL let everyone know that yes they do have a problem with the propulsion system. My question is this, when they do announce that there is a problem and that some port of calls might be shortened, how is that going to change anything? We are all aware that there are people reporting there is an issue. That the last 2 eastern itineraries have had reduced port times in Nassau and St Thomas.

I don't understand how having RCCL admit there is a problem changes anything. We will still have shortened times in Nassau and St Thomas reguardless.

As I stated in an earlier post, after I saw that they had changed the times a second time, I called and changed my private excursions to be on the safe side.

Maybe I just don't get it. :confused:

How would Cruise Critic folks fix a ship's propulsion issue?

I agree with this. I know it is something that people are worried about. But, IT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD!!!! People, you will be on vacation. Just sit back and relax. I am doing a B2B on the Allure in less than a month and I had some things planned for St. Thomas and Nassau. I just changed my plans, no big deal.

I guess people are just setting things up for "what will you give me because my vacation has been ruined by this".

Maybe RCCL should just cancel everyone's cruises and send the ship to Europe to get fixed. Let it be out of service for a few weeks and see how many people start complaining. You are still getting your cruise, just losing a few hours in port. Big Deal.

Let the flaming begin. :)

You can pre-book it. It is with the specialty dining. It was called Dreamworks Character Dining. We have it booked for both weeks on our upcoming B2B.

Yes, they have it on freedom...

 

I'm curious with orange sprite so will try this...

 

I like ginger ale so might as well experiment on mixing this..

 

Diet coke with vanilla and orange?

You mean you can mix 3 different flavors instead of just 2?

Yes, I pick diet coke and orange flavoring, fill cup 1/2 way then switch to vanilla flavoring to fill it the rest of the way.

Diet coke with raspberry and vanilla or diet coke with orange and vanilla.

I have 46 days until I will be drinking one of those again!!!

What was up with the Batman and Superman? Loving your review and your pictures. Can't wait to see the ship in person in 51 days!!!!

Thanks for the information on the wind tastings! I'll pass it along to my better half.

Besides the Chef's Table, is there any wine tasting events on the Allure? My wife would really like to try a wine tasting event. She just recently got into drinking wine and wants to try some different ones and learn about the wines.

I heard if you buy the package before the cruise you can't get your cups right away on the ship and you have to wait for them. Do you know if that is true?

If you buy the soda package pre-cruise (I always do), you get the cup when you get access to your cabin. Instead of having a sticker on your card, the coca-cola wording is imprinted on your card (no sticker to lose).

Enjoying your review. Wondering if the kids clubs are open the first night. Were they on your cruise?

I am getting ready to go on the Allure in November and from reading all the Allure threads, I believe some recently posted that the Kids Clubs don't open til day 2.