TCBFlash

On 3/2/2023 at 5:17 PM, phoenix_dream said:

The main problem is the amount of difference is rarely "a bit more" but rather substantially more. 

Not only is the difference in price substantially more than the NRD, but the prices for the NRD are quite high as well. I expected prices to go up after the cruise industry was shut down and impacted due to COVID, but these prices are crazy high.  And with all of the cutbacks in service, it's making cruising less desirable.  We just can't justify committing $900 non refundable dollars for a $4500 cruise over two years away.  I'll take the advice of some on this thread and check out Princess or Holland America. Otherwise, we will have to look into other vacation options I guess.

On 12/28/2022 at 9:33 AM, rucruisn2 said:

We booked with this company pre- Covid.  Cancelled when Covid was really rearing it's ugly head.  Then the next day all cruises were cancelled.  The agency refused to refund the deposit penalty they bury in their fine print.  Still don't have my money but you can bet I'll never book with them again. 

Same thing happened to us.  Celebrity cancelled our cruise and refunded our full cruise price.  The TA proceeded to bill our credit card their $100 cancellation fee.  Excuse me, we didn't cancel, Celebrity did.  I contacted them and they said they would waive it if we rebooked with them.  So we did hoping that things would be better in 2021.  Celebrity cancelled again and the TA tried to charge us again.  I contacted the credit card company this time and they took care of it.  I won't deal with them again. 

Just booked SV 10269 on Edge for April 2021.  I'm hoping cruising is back to "normal" by then.  Has anyone stayed in this cabin? Any photos? I'm reading that people have requested loungers and am wondering if this balcony would have room for 1 or 2.  I know it's a long way off but since our Equinox cruise got cancelled this is giving me something to look forward to. 

On 3/14/2020 at 7:15 PM, crusinthrough said:

 

I have not seen an increase in prices since FCC started being issued.  The cruises I have been looking at in 2021 and 2022 are the exact same price since the sale in Feb ended.  Its likely prices will not go down but I don't see an increase now.  In addition,  the 25% would potentially cover the difference in price between current prices and the price that was originally paid for the cancelled cruise. 

I can tell you that for us to book  for the same week next year equal to what we had (veranda cabin with 4 perks) the cost is an additional $1050 after using the 125% FCC. And that would only be a $300 OBC and we had $500.  

So we will be taking the refund. 

6 hours ago, mafig said:

I haven't cancelled yet.

I suppose if I had, I might be on here posting that others should also.  It would make me feel better about my decision.

 

Or maybe I'd let others decide for themselves.

 

 

I am not sure how this thread took off in the politics and age and hygiene direction, but I totally agree with this comment. People should do what's best for them and not worry about what others are doing.

10 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Up until last week when we embarked on our cruise to the Caribbean, I think I would have agreed with you.  However, after disembarking yesterday from a ship that was only 2/3's full, I realized a couple of things:

1.  Though there are some things to consider and be aware of, the hype has created unrealistic fear and down right panic.

2.  This is not just about company greed.  It's about the preservation of thousands of jobs and livelihoods and if a little OBC helps with that, then it's a good thing.

 

The decision to cancel is personal based on individual circumstances and I would never try to sway one way or the other but I do think the decision should be based on rational thought as opposed to paralyzing fear.

 

If one is in a high risk category, makes sense to cancel.  If one is in a situation such that they cannot risk a prolonged quarantine, makes sense to cancel.  If neither of those apply to a given situation, then what is the harm in offering a little incentive to keep calm and sail on.... Just my opinion of course.

Very well said and I totally agree.  

I prefer bed by balcony so we don’t have to sideways shuffle between the bed and closet

 

 

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I agree with this. ^

New builds confirmed

Quantum class (Spectrum) 2019

Quantum class 2020

Oasis 5 2021

Icon class 2022

Icon class 2024

Thanks for the info!

We were just on Allure and on the third day we received a note in our cabin that there was luggage still missing that was last seen at the pier. So even though it is rare, it can happen. Not sure if it ever turned up but I wouldn't take a chance and check it.

Thanks for your report, we will be sailing on The Allure in June. I know you mention all the chairs being reserved around the pools early but are there other chairs free later in the morning further away from the pools/top deck etc? I have 2 teens who won't be up early, I like to sit on the balcony until we are all ready to go to the pool area, we don't mind being away from the actual pools.

I'm not sure what the situation was on the deck above the pools. I know there were a lot of chairs up there but I'm not sure what time they were "occupied". The ones by the pool definitely go first. I don't know what time you have in mind to head up there, but I will say that it got worse later in the week. You may want to head up there and have the teens meet you. Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

On freedom now. Today I went up to the pool at 8am. It is a sea day. All the chairs had towels on them. Me my husband and another couple had 4 chairs. There was another 2 chairs next to us with towels on them. Didn't see anybody. The 4 in our party went to the hot tub. Came back, there were 2 people in the 2 chairs.

 

About 15 minutes later 2 girls come over and start shouting at the girls in the chairs. From what I heard, the 2 girls that were occupying the chairs were sitting on the side by the tables waiting for loungers. Saw the towels on the 2 chairs were there and no people for about 40 minutes. I guess they said something to the pool guy. He didn't do anything so the girls took the towels off.

 

So the two girls come screaming at them. Say they were up at 6:30 am to put the towels there. And there bag was there. And that they were there but went up to change. (They weren't there. And neither was their bag). So they scream at the girl. Call her the "c" word. Among other things. Then proceed to threaten her in front of the pool guy. I mean really in her face. Thought she was going to hit her. The pool guy calls security. While waiting for them. She threatens the girl for a second time. So the girl being threatened again asks the pool guy to get security. She is scared. The other girl is screaming. Security comes up. The crazy girl is still going on. And her friend too. The security guy doesn't do anything except pull 2 loungers over for the crazy girls. But they weren't moving. So the girls got up and left. The other 2 plopped in the chairs laughing and going on & on about how security didn't do anything about them.

 

They need to really do something about this. It could've gotten really out of hand.

I just don't understand why the cruise lines don't enforce the pool attendants doing their JOBS. This is a huge problem on all of the ships, and it's not really the job of the passengers to police the situation. If the pool attendants would just set a precedent and remove towels that are left unattended, the problem would diminish. People would come to realize that if they don't actually sit their butts IN the chairs, they will lose them. Now I'm not talking a run to get something to eat or go in the pool for a little bit. I'm talking about the ones who get up at the crack of dawn to stake out their chairs, and go back to bed and return many hours later. When I am on vacation, I want to relax, not worry about conflict over pool chairs.

I might be mistaken but I thought the price for the water taxi was $7 for the day

 

 

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Yes it is for the day. We used it for one round trip but they do give you a band so you can go back and forth if you want to.

Renee, where did you rent beach chairs?

We went to the Holland House Hotel. We have gone there in the past and really liked them. It is $25 for 2 beach chairs, an umbrella and a bucket of beer (4 Coronas or you can mix in bottled water). You also have use of the restrooms and they gave us a wifi password. There were several areas of the beach that were also offering chair packages, but we like the Holland House. It's not a far walk from the water taxi.

We were there in Feb. The port is open. Water taxi is running. Beach area still shows hurricane damage but stores and restaurants are open. We were told by the cruise line that the French side was still heavily damaged. We "helped the economy" by enjoying several beers at Sharkey's.

We were just there first week of April. This pretty much is still the case. We rented beach chairs for the day and did some shopping and enjoyed it very much.

I haven't been on an Oasis Class yet but will in April 2020, however, the LOS is a beautiful ship and plenty to see and do. We didn't need to make reservations on our cruise last July which was nice. Loved the Royal Promenade entertainment. They had a 4th of July Party when we were on it. I can't judge the Allure having not been on her until 2020 yet I am sure I will enjoy our cruise and the entertainment etc. I do prefer ships such as the Freedom & Radiance Class. They are a perfect size.

If I could make a suggestion to you regarding shows - if you are interested in seeing any of them make reservations ahead of time. I prefer the traditional way of going to dinner and then a show, but it is much different on Oasis class. If you do not have a reservation, you need to get in a stand by line and then about 10 minutes before showtime, they open the doors to fill in the empty seats. It can be pandemonium with people running around to get seats. It's personally one of the things I dislike about Oasis class ships. However, with the amount of people on board, there is no way they could accommodate them all doing it the traditional way. Enjoy the Allure!

You can take a water taxi from the pier to get to the main shopping area. It's $7.00 per person round trip. Once you get off at the dock, you can walk to the shopping. It's all right there. We were just there last week, and all of the stores are open for business following the hurricane. There is also a beach right there where you can rent chairs and umbrellas. If you want to go to Maho Beach, you can pick up a taxi near the docs. We didn't do this, so I'm not sure how much it costs, but from what I understand, you can rent beach chairs on Maho beach too.

Thanks for this review. I was debating on booking Oasis or Allure for my September cruise and because of this, I think I will go with Allure. I have been on Oasis and Harmony and will be on Symphony in a week - so I guess - why not cruise Allure.

I have to say that the entire staff on the Allure was very friendly and treated us well. On Oasis, I felt like the staff was overworked and just not as "eager to please" as we are used to. This kind of turned me off to the Oasis class because I thought maybe the big busy ship had something to do with it. However, I did. not feel that way at all on Allure. I would recommend trying it out, since you've tried all of the others. Have a great time!

If you had a 6 pm reservation for dinner, what time did you book the shows?

 

We have 5:45, would 8 pm give us enough time to make the shows, or should we do later?

Our shows were all at 9:00 and 9:30 and worked out well. With a 5:45 dinner you should be able to make an 8:00 show, especially if you are eating in a smaller group. You can also let the waiter know you have a show and they should work to get you out in time. Just remember that if you have reservations, you will want to arrive before they open the doors for people without reservations.

And also, the only shows on our cruise at 8:00 were Mamma Mia the first night and Blue Planet on night 6. All of the others were 8:30 or later.

Central Park, Boardwalk, Aquatheater, and a bunch of food venues.

 

On the other hand, you will get shows without reservations needed, a very nice outside promenade and a Viking Crown you can still enjoy.

I second this. The Freedom class is my favorite. It did not feel small at all.

I also like the main pool area/activities better on Freedom class. On Oasis, the pool areas are all separated.

Here is my review of our recent cruise on the Allure of the Seas. This was cruise #13 for DH and I, and the second on an Oasis class ship. The Oasis of the Seas wasn't our favorite ship, but we booked Allure as part of a family group of 13. Overall I have to say that the Allure was much better than the Oasis for us. We had a great time. The weather was perfect and the seas were amazingly calm. Here are some of the highlights.

EMBARKATION - We arrived at the pier around 10:30 a.m. Our bags were checked quickly and we went inside. Even though we completed our check-in online we still had to stand in line and go to the desk. The re-took our pictures and re-printed our set sail passes, so I'm not sure what the online check in saved us, but it went relatively quickly. We stood in another line, but were able to board fairly quickly. The set sail pass acted as our sea pass card until we were able to get the physical cards when our cabin was ready, which was at 1:00.

The first thing we did was to head to the dining room to try and make arrangements for our group of 13 to sit together for dinner. We all had reservations for My Time Dining and were willing to sit at two tables if they could be next to each other. The lady in the MDR (I wish I had gotten her name) was not very helpful at all. Even though we were all booked for 6:00, she told us that unless we showed up at 5:30 or 8:00 that she could not accommodate us. 4 of us had First Night Done Right, and the other 9 went to Deck 3 for MTD that evening. To be continued.

DINING - Our group of 4 ate at 2 specialty restaurants and the other 5 nights in the MDR.

First Night Done Right - Giovanni's - We purchased FNDR at 7:00. We were assigned to Giovanni's. The service was fantastic and the food was excellent. We tried a variety of appetizers and the only thing we didn't care for was the pork belly. We all had the filet for our entree, but my son and I wanted to try the shrimp. The waiter offered to put a couple of shrimp on the plate for us so that we could try both. We were not disappointed. I would definitely recommend Giovanni's.

Chops - My son turned 25 on this cruise and wanted to have his birthday dinner in Chops. We chose a table outside. The service was good for the most part. The waiter seemed to have too many tables, so the service was slow, but that was actually OK with us, because it was very relaxing. All of the appetizers were excellent. We all ordered filet again and it was also excellent. Mine was a little undercooked, but the waiter quickly offered to take it back and cook it a little longer and it came back perfect. The side dishes are sharable, and we ordered a variety of them. Everything was very tasty. The desserts were also very good. It was a great experience overall. I would recommend Chops.

MDR - My Time Dining - The other 9 in our party ate at the MDR the first night while we were in Giovanni's. They liked their waiter, Johnny very much, so they stopped at the desk outside the American Icon (deck 3) on the way out to see if they could get him for the remaining nights. My sister spoke to Sundeep (not sure if I have the spelling right) and explained that there were 13 of us. He honored our 6:00 reservations, combined our party, and assigned us 2 tables next to each other for the rest of the week with Johnny. Every night after that, we showed up at 6:00 and were immediately seated. Two thumbs up for Sundeep.

Johnny was very accommodating and friendly and lots of fun. The drink service was not very good in the MDR. We often had to wait a long time for drinks. The dinner service was a little slow, but it was not really a problem except that dinner took almost 2 hours most nights. That could be because of the size of our party. It was all good though.

The food was just OK in most cases. The variety was good, but the quality has gone down quite a bit over the years. The general feedback from our group was that the pastas were good, the beef not so much, chicken dishes were good, and the fish hit or miss. I did have to send back the Mahi Mahi (2 of us did so, but the other 2 said theirs was fine) but the waiter was very accommodating and offered to bring something else. The bottom line is that we never left the MDR hungry, so that's a plus. The food in the specialty restaurants is so much better though without a doubt. So I guess you get what you pay for.

DRINK PACKAGE - All of the adults in our group except one had the drink package. Some got more of their money's worth than others. There is not clear answer if it is "worth it" or not. To me, it was worth the convenience of not worrying about it. And since they make both adults in the cabin purchase it, we didn't have a choice for just one of us to get it, so we both got it.

ENTERTAINMENT - We saw all of the shows except for the comedy shows. I recommend reservations, even though you may not know exactly what you want to do ahead of time, it is wise to book something. If you don't have a reservation, you can get in a stand by line and they will open the doors about 10 minutes before show time for whatever seats are left. We did this once for Blue Planet in the Amber Theater because we wanted to try and get an earlier show than we booked. It was pandemonium when they opened the doors and people were running around like crazy to try and get seats. It was so stressful that we left and came back for our reserved time. It was much easier that way. I'm not sure what they could do different, but this is one of the things I dislike about the Oasis class ships is the way the shows are handled. But with the number of people on the ship, they can't accommodate everyone in the traditional way.

Mamma Mia - This was a 2 1/2 hour show with an intermission. The first half was really good. The story moved along and the singing was awesome. The second half for me dragged on and got a little boring. The music was good and the cast was very talented. It was just a little long.

Ocean Aria Aqua Show - Amazing and very entertaining. We loved everything about it. I definitely recommend seeing it.

Headliner - This week's headliner was an entertainer named Tony Tillman. He did some singing, dancing and some comedy. He was not bad, but not that great either. I would give him about a 7 out of 10. It was worth the time.

Ice Games Ice Show - This is always a good show I think. We enjoyed it.

Blue Planet - This show had the cast from Mamma Mia and the Aqua Show. There was a tree that came alive, where the people were part of the tree that was very cool. There was an underwater scene and also a trampoline scene that were all very entertaining. Overall, it was a very good show.

BARS - We visited several of the bars during the week.

Rising Tide - This was one of my favorites. It goes up and down between the Royal Promenade (Deck 5) and Central Park (Deck 8). It's small, but a nice area to have a drink. We recognized the bartender, Andrew from a previous cruise on Liberty. He was a lot of fun.

Schooner Bar - There was a piano player in the Schooner that was very good. We spend a good part of the late evening in there one night. He was very good at getting the crowd involved.

Vintages - We went in one night and the place was empty. It didn't seem like it was ever very busy.

Bow & Stern - This is located on the Royal Promenade. There was a guitar player in there at night who was pretty good.

POOL AREA - I have to admit, this one of my least favorite things about the Oasis class ships. I don't like that there are separate pool areas. We spent most of the week at the beach pool. We missed out on all of the poolside activities that we usually enjoy because I think they must have been at a different pool area. The pools were packed and the chair hogs were the worst I have ever seen. There were towels and miscellaneous items on a majority of the chairs before the sun even came up. We pretty much had to be in our chairs by 7:15 or 7:30, which is a little early for my liking on vacation. We usually got about 8 chairs for our group of 13 and I'm happy to say they were all occupied for the most part. Since all 13 of us weren't sitting all at the same time, it worked out perfectly. I can't say the same about the countless number of chairs that sat empty covered in towels for hours and hours. One set of chairs even had an article of clothing clipped to each one, including some men's underwear. I guess they wanted to make sure no one sat in "their" reserved chairs! lol

I do wish the pool attendants had done a better job of removing items that have been abandoned so that people who actually want to use the chairs, could do so. They finally did enforce it on the last sea day, and were actually patrolling the pool area and removing chair hog towels/items. This is one area I think they need to improve.

The bar service was very good at the pool. We never had a problem finding someone when we wanted to get a drink. However, one of the negatives here was the amount of empty glasses, water bottles, cans, etc that were left lying around. They did not do a good job of cleaning up. I wish they would have been more aware of the "garbage" or at least had a cart with a tub available where we could put the dirty cups.

DISEMBARKATION - We had an early flight out of FLL (9:55 am) so we carried our bags off. We walked off around 7:30 and the process went very smoothly. There were lines at customs, but they moved pretty quickly. We were in a taxi before 8:00 and made it to the airport in plenty of time to make our flight.

We had a great week and really enjoyed the Allure. Even though it was Easter/Spring Break and there were a lot of kids and teens on board, it was really not a problem for us. The last night they seemed to be out in full force, but nothing out of the norm during the week. I hope you enjoyed my review.

Saw Mama Mia on the Allure in 2012. Am sailing on her again July 1 - 8, 2018.

Would appreciate it if you would respond when the show was available on your cruise. What days of the cruise and times of the show.

Thank you

Walter

Mamma Mia was shown on Day 1 at 8:00 p.m., Day 2 at 9:30 p.m., and Day 3 at 5:00 p.m. It runs about 2 1/2 hours with an intermission (I think it was 15 minutes or so)

We're just off Allure and on the last sea day they FINALLY started removing towels that were left unattended. We were in our chairs at 7:30 (much earlier than I wanted to be on may last day of vacation) but it was kind of amusing to watch. One family returned after at least 3 hours of emptiness and were told by others who had been sitting there that the crew removed their stuff. The conversation between the teenager and her dad -

Teenager - Did someone steal our chairs again?

Dad - I guess the crew removed our towels.

Oh the nerve. The sad thing is that the entitled teenager actually had no issue with hogging those chairs for whenever she decide to roll out of bed to come and use them. It's an "all about me" world we live in.

I do wish the crew had done a better job of removing items in unattended chairs throughout the week. It's really not a hard thing to do when you see a row of chairs with only towels on them and not one person anywhere near them.

Watch for a half hour.

 

Take towels off chair.

 

Relax.

 

Use towels so chair hog can't return and then gets charged.

 

If someone comes back hours later, shrug your shoulders and feign ignorance.

 

Laugh and enjoy your drink as the angry chair hog turns around and huffs away.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this advice.

Maybe they remove them because they tip individuals in cash?

I certainly hope this is the case. Shame on anyone who would not tip the cabin stewards and dining room staff!

I believe it varies by ship. We are on Allure and I was able to get $43 per day during the Black Friday sale. I have not seen it that low since. $45 - $48 is what it has been running. As others have said, you can cancel and rebook if it becomes lower.