Family Review - Allure, July 10: 4 Adults, 2 Young Kids, 1 Room

[figgyva]

I am so sorry this happened to you!! I know it's OT- but there is no excuse for this.

I work at a cooperative preschool ( a different parent assists the teacher in the class every day). At our school usually 1/4 to 1/3 of the parents are dads and easily in 10-15 percent of our families dad is the primary caregiver( but we live in progressive & expensive MA- parent making the most $ goes to work in those rare cases when it's affordable for one to stay home. !) It is so important for us to treat all parents equally. For instance, if a child is anxious to go home I always say " mom or dad or nanny will be here soon " ( if I don't know who is coming).

Hopefully, your note will remind others to treat caregiving dads with more respect!

 

Thanks for the sentiment. Neither DW nor I are the primary caregivers (thanks to MIL for that), so we both do a lot of balancing of work and family life. I just came to recognize a certain bias early on when DD1 was very little and probably just read into things a bit. (Hey, why can't Dr. Dad recommend the Robitussin?)

 

I'm very familiar with progressive & expensive MA! I went to school up that way and have family in Natick (and who, unfortunately, introduced DD1 to American Girl at the Natick Mall...you can't get much worse than that). By the sound of it, we should consider relocating. I live in kind-of-progressive & expensive VA and had DD1 in a Coop Preschool (DD2 starts in the fall). Let's just say that DW sees being in a room full of little kids as being worse than giving birth, so the Coop duties usually fall to me. I'm like the only Dad who is regularly there. I actually make a point of showing up for the board meetings just so the Dads are represented! I swear, the Moms (usually at-home caregivers...in DC Metro, the one getting paid is almost always the man) just use the time to get away from the kids and harp on the Dads. I go just to defend my gender and have a great time doing it. They love me, I'm sure! :D

 

Mom and Dad both have important roles to play, and one is always better than the other in doing some things. I suppose that I just like pushing the boundaries a bit and stepping on some toes from time to time.

[Redheada]

I am not sure if you actually got to see them but I am not a huge country fan either but to date the Texas Tenors are by far the best headliner entertainment I have seen on any ship. I do hope you at least got to hear a little of them! I LOVED THEM! :)

 

Headliners (Texas Tenors):

To DW, I said, "Hey, the headliners this week are called the Texas Tenors. Wanna go?" With a wink and a nod, I waited for the pure look of disgust to cross her face. With all due respect to all of the Texans out there, some of whom I know and a couple I count as friends, we really don't look to Texas as a primary entertainment draw for our limited free time. Throw "Tenors" in the mix, and all the sudden, I'm imagining three guys in cowboy hats and chaps walking onto stage, tipping their hats to the audience, and then entering into a thrilling rendition of some campfire story about the injured horse they had to kill, with a long-drawn operatic telling of the horse's suffering (and their suffering for his suffering). Sorry, just telling it how it is.

 

Sure enough, with the roll of her eyes and a turn of her head, I knew that the Headliners show wasn't in our future. Of course, we did walk by the theater during the show, and guess what we saw on the electronic board? Three fellas in cowboy hats. It would've only been better if there was a horse in the background.

 

More entertainment coming later, including the ice shows and movies. Also, I have some more photos that I'll try to get up. I see light at the end of the tunnel! Alllmooost thererereeeee. (Yeah, wrong studio again, but I think 20 years before the right studio even existed is all right.)

[JMB123]

I'm glad that it's helpful! So much on CC is focused on the adults that I thought that it would be good to give a more parental perspective (though, I would love to have a more non-parent perspective, as well!).

 

I don't recall any age limits being posted, only times (8 PM was the late time, but we broke that rule a couple nights without any scolding or dirty looks). Your 4 yo would probably still be OK but I'm betting that your 6 yo would probably get bored pretty quick. That said, siblings would probably do great in there. DD1 played with DD2 in there and had a grand time. So, I would say that you could give it a shot.

 

It sounds great; thanks for the info. I'm hoping the kids will do kid's club (they have in the past), but we're going Christmas week and my oldest doesn't do good in crowds and is overwhelmed easily if there are a lot of kids in there. So, I'm looking for places they can play at off-times.

 

What time did it open? They are early risers and it's often hard to find something to do with them first thing in the morning. Although, it seems like it won't be as much of an issue on this ship!

 

Again, I really appreciate all of the great info!!!

[figgyva]

It sounds great; thanks for the info. I'm hoping the kids will do kid's club (they have in the past), but we're going Christmas week and my oldest doesn't do good in crowds and is overwhelmed easily if there are a lot of kids in there. So, I'm looking for places they can play at off-times.

 

What time did it open? They are early risers and it's often hard to find something to do with them first thing in the morning. Although, it seems like it won't be as much of an issue on this ship!

 

Again, I really appreciate all of the great info!!!

 

It opens at 9 AM, so may not work for early risers. We would just check out the Fisher Price toys and they would play with those while we got ready. But, if you're interested in letting another adult (or three in my case!) sleep in, I would suggest that you take them to the Boardwalk on early mornings. The little playground outside Rita's would be a great diversion and you could grab a little breakfast/coffee at Johnny Rockets. You could also treat the tikes to donuts if you're so inclined (though, they won't even see them if you're not).

[figgyva]

I promised a few more photos, so here you go!

 

 

This is a shot from our balcony on the port side after we docked in St. Thomas. The kids next door were feeding the gulls, so we had a lot of them flying by.

 

 

A look down Emerald Beach in St. Thomas. You can see how open it was and how calm the water is. There was only the most mild of waves coming up on the beach. It's a public beach, so you don't have to rent chairs, but you can if you like. We found a few at the Best Western that had complete shade, so that was nice for us.

 

 

The other side of Emerald Beach, with Tony in his Baywatch shorts. If you haven't read about my disdain for Tony and his ability to embarrass men into keeping their shirts on, then check out my review of Emerald Beach on the St. Thomas board. "[He] handles everything on this side of the beach." I'm sure that he does.

 

 

For folks who are interested, here is a shot of what the safari taxis look like in St. Thomas. You can also see proof that enclosed taxis exist in the form of the red and white van. Taxi drivers in St. Thomas drove me crazy with their incessant pleas for you to get on. They represented my least favorite port experience of the trip.

 

 

A view of the water from Orange Fever at Orient Beach in St. Martin. The only topless people in this photo are male, I swear.

 

 

Just to give folks some perspective, here's a wide view of how high the Zip Line is above the Boardwalk. It starts on the blue platform at the top of the photo.

[Jenjer]

Your a rockstar thanks this is great.

 

We did Freedom this year in a Family Ocean Veiw and were amazed with the space. Although we keep warning the kids, they won't get a cabin that large again until they are paying :)

[seapad]

Figgyva - thanks much for such a great and detail review. Really help us out a lot in planning. We are kind of similar. Family of 4 adults and 1 kid of 4 years old.

We are (grandpartents), travelling with son and daughter in law and grandkid, from Seattle. Will be on Allure in Sept.

We are wondering if we should also pack along a childseat - do you know if this is required to travel in taxicabs or shuttle in Fort Lauderdale?

we plan to take a shuttle or taxicab whichever is available (is there 1 that can accomdate all 5 of us?) from FLL airport to the Emassy Suites, and then back from port to hotel.

Thanks for the tip.

P.S. we are not on a package with Embassy Suites, so we probably will need to grab any transportation available at the FLL airport. Any suggestions?

[figgyva]

Figgyva - thanks much for such a great and detail review. Really help us out a lot in planning. We are kind of similar. Family of 4 adults and 1 kid of 4 years old.

We are (grandpartents), travelling with son and daughter in law and grandkid, from Seattle. Will be on Allure in Sept.

We are wondering if we should also pack along a childseat - do you know if this is required to travel in taxicabs or shuttle in Fort Lauderdale?

we plan to take a shuttle or taxicab whichever is available (is there 1 that can accomdate all 5 of us?) from FLL airport to the Emassy Suites, and then back from port to hotel.

Thanks for the tip.

P.S. we are not on a package with Embassy Suites, so we probably will need to grab any transportation available at the FLL airport. Any suggestions?

 

I'm happy to help as much as I can. I'm a pretty comfortable traveler with the kids, so I hope that I can pass on a little of that comfort.

 

The car seat question is a VERY hotly debated topic on the Family Cruising board. But, I'll just go to the heart of your question as to whether it's required. In our experience, no, drivers do not require it. That's not to say that it's legal (I really have no clue), but we have never had a driver in any U.S. jurisdiction require us to use a car seat, and Fort Lauderdale was no exception. We generally do not bother with them (I say as I cringe at the spite being sent my way from many folks on the Family Cruising forum). Having traveled to South America on many occasions with the kids, we've become accustomed to holding the kids when even seat belts are unavailable, so having a seat belt is kind of a luxury in and of itself.

 

That said, at four years old, I'm betting that the grandkid would be in a booster seat (or at least very close to doing so). Since they're not so bulky, I would consider just bringing along the booster base if that will help your son and DIL be more comfortable. That will make a taxi seat belt more comfortable for the kid while making the 10 minute trip a little safer.

 

As for cabs, it seems that there are a bunch of minivans that can accommodate all of you. In my experience, you may need to wait for a bit, but the dispatcher at the airport should be able to locate one. Since you don't have the cruise package at the Embassy Suites, then the taxi will be the most cost effective way to get there. Getting the minivan taxis back to the hotel will be easy. The dispatchers at the port have a line of them ready and ask how many you have in your party. They will direct you accordingly.

 

Have a great cruise!

[figgyva]

Your a rockstar thanks this is great.

 

We did Freedom this year in a Family Ocean Veiw and were amazed with the space. Although we keep warning the kids, they won't get a cabin that large again until they are paying :)

 

Too funny! I actually felt like we were spoiling the kids with such a grand space for them to move around in. Like I said earlier, if we weren't trying to fit six into one room, I'm not sure that I could justify getting it. But, I also don't know if we could go back to a "normal" stateroom either. It'll be an interesting, and fun, dilemma to work through!

[AlanAllyn]

Figgyva - thanks much for such a great and detail review. Really help us out a lot in planning. We are kind of similar. Family of 4 adults and 1 kid of 4 years old.

We are (grandpartents), travelling with son and daughter in law and grandkid, from Seattle. Will be on Allure in Sept.

We are wondering if we should also pack along a childseat - do you know if this is required to travel in taxicabs or shuttle in Fort Lauderdale?

we plan to take a shuttle or taxicab whichever is available (is there 1 that can accomdate all 5 of us?) from FLL airport to the Emassy Suites, and then back from port to hotel.

Thanks for the tip.

P.S. we are not on a package with Embassy Suites, so we probably will need to grab any transportation available at the FLL airport. Any suggestions?

Link to Florida seat belt law

http://www.dmvflorida.org/seat-belt-laws.shtml

[seapad]

figgyva

Thanks so much! Yes, we will bring what's adeqauate and safe. Your info helps!

[amc80]

The pools are not shaped like Po, Fiona doesn’t sing in the shows, and Vikings don’t go running around asking, “What’s in your wallet?”

 

Hahahahaha.

[ansmom]

I have a dumb question, you have to call to book these rooms right? We have 5 in our family and I've only just started gathering info and getting prices for a cruise not yet planned but on the site I can only put 4 in a room...so just wanted to check if there was any way to get prices online for them.

 

Great review by the way!

[QTMichele]

I have a dumb question, you have to call to book these rooms right? We have 5 in our family and I've only just started gathering info and getting prices for a cruise not yet planned but on the site I can only put 4 in a room...so just wanted to check if there was any way to get prices online for them.

 

Great review by the way!

 

Not a dumb question. :)

 

Yes, you have to call to book family staterooms unless Royal releases them closer to sail date.

[Babyberger]

I have a dumb question, you have to call to book these rooms right? We have 5 in our family and I've only just started gathering info and getting prices for a cruise not yet planned but on the site I can only put 4 in a room...so just wanted to check if there was any way to get prices online for them.

 

Great review by the way!

 

You can also receive a quote for these rooms via Live Chat on the RCI website. It is a life saver for me when my kids are running wild and I know a phone conversation is hard. Also you can then email yourself a transcript of the conversation. It really is a great tool that I utilize often :)

[ansmom]

You can also receive a quote for these rooms via Live Chat on the RCI website. It is a life saver for me when my kids are running wild and I know a phone conversation is hard. Also you can then email yourself a transcript of the conversation. It really is a great tool that I utilize often :)

 

Thanks for the tip!

[obsessedsc]

Thanks! I was just showing some photos from the cruise and have a couple with us all in St. Martin. It was such a pleasure to meet your family!

 

I would love to see your review, especially since you did some things that we didn't with a little one. I've relayed your thoughts about Trunk Bay and I know that a lot of folks would like to know your thoughts about Bernard's tour (as would I)!

 

we have been to trunk bay. would love to know how you did this with a little one, considering when we go next summer we will have a 9month old and would love to go back to our favorite place in the world!

[figgyva]

Wow, it has been a busy weekend. I figure that I'll be done in a couple more postings. For now, let's continue with some of the entertainment.

 

Ice Games!:

This was an interesting concept, Monopoly on Ice, though I couldn’t help but feel like I was in a thinly veiled advertisement for Royal premiums, those that cost you more money than you’ve already paid. Hey, Giovanni’s Table looks like so much fun! I got to roll the dice on one sequence, and we ended up in the Casino Royale. I hope that everyone in Studio B forgave me when I started laughing after they started ice dancing to “Money Makes the World Go Around” from Cabaret. What a great way to sell the casino by playing a song about the corruption that money reaps!

 

Then, the “special guests” came out. This time, the Russians, under the guide of “Parasailing in Labadee.” They did what I assume was a great kite flying act on ice to some very peaceful music, but I couldn’t help but channel Enya’s “Sail Away” as I steadily drifted to sleep. “Sail away, sail away, sail away.” Romanians, they were not.

 

Also, skaters were falling all over the place during the show. Aren’t they supposed to be professionals, or something? There seemed to be one spot in the middle of the ice that no one could navigate without stumbling. I felt like yelling for the micro-Zamboni to come out and clean the ice. At the very least, don’t they have a water boy with a spray bottle and a rag to clean it up? If not, I say hire one. I woke up when I started imagining that I was at the best NASCAR race I could ever imagine (not that I’ve ever been into NASCAR, but you only go to watch the crashes, right?).

 

As for the kids, they loved the show. We were in the front row, starboard side, and it was great. Sure, the middle would’ve been nice, except that there were two people over there saving 100 seats. Hmmm.

 

How to Train Your Dragon Ice Show:

Here we are in Studio B. Let’s just go ahead and sit down right…”Seat’s taken.” Um, OK, how about over here…”Seat’s taken.” But, we found seats eventually, this time on the port side, second row, near the center. Pretty good, but with kids, it didn’t matter. They were high the entire time anyway.

 

But then, an older Latin woman sat down next to use. I glanced over and knew that trouble was in the air. Trust me, when you marry a Latin woman, you instantly gain this innate perception of when things in the world are just not right, and usually you can tell if the problem is male or female. If you don’t believe me, watch a Spanish soap opera some time and just give it an hour. You see how the women act. Yeah, true stories, all of them. You can learn a lot from those shows when you’re a man.

 

So, she proceeds to glare at the gentleman in front of us, next to an empty seat. She stands up, glances over at him, and says in Spanish, “And what about this seat?” Even in English, you can tell where this is going. He had no clue what she was saying, and simply responded, “She went to the bathroom.” Yeah, sure. If you look on CC, you’ll see that as the standard response you should use when saving a seat for someone. So convenient! A few minutes later, she’s starts huffing and puffing next to me, and says, in Spanish again, “And now?” He doesn’t even look at her this time, only repeating his line. I start feeling a hot flash on my right side. It’s like flame crawling up my skin, approaching my larynx, threatening to release itself in a poor Spanish rendition of Dr. Evil’s “Shush it.” (OK, wrong studio, but at least I’m getting back to connected actors.) I hold back until I hear the Spanish tirade next to me, to no one in particular, about how saving seats is not permitted, he can’t do that, where’s someone for me to complain to, just go ahead and take that seat, I’m just going to sit down.” So, she get’s up and proceeds to try and sit in his seat. All the while, I notice him waving to his lady friend at the other side of the theater (yeah, just went to the ladies room, right). Finally, I couldn’t help it anymore, and just explained in my poor Spanish, “She’s right there and coming over.” “It’s not allowed!” “It’s not a problem! Just calm down and give it up.” It’s funny, because once she realized there was someone else around who understood her, she shut up. Good thing, too, because the show was starting.

 

OK, back to the review. If your kids loved HTTYD, then go get them a box of Sorrento’s and head on over the Studio B when this is one. They may have a kiddie overdose, but it will be better than the Chipmunks on coffee drinks (Wrong studio, again. I gotta come back around at some point). DD2 still talks about how Toothless was flying over the ice. While it’s the same crew as Ice Games!, no one fell! Shocking…they must have hired the water boy.

 

Movies:

A little discussed fact is that Allure has a 3D projector in the main theater, and it’s pretty good. Our sailing was just a few weeks after Kung Fu Panda 2 came out, so DD1 and I were excited to see it. Of course, DD2 didn’t know because she’s too young for 3D. So, we were all excited to find out that they were going to show the movie…on Day 2 while we would be in Nassau. Really? That’s when you’re going to show the movies, Royal? That makes a whole lot of sense.

 

Never fear, they ended up showing it two more times, and on an at-sea day. So, we got to see it and had a great time…until the kid behind us started screaming for his mommy. I don’t know what’s worse, having a screaming kid wanting his mommy (when mommy clearly left him with other children DD1’s age), or listening to people yelling at the poor siblings who were getting berated about it during the movie. Please, do your kids and the rest of us a favor, don’t ditch your children in a movie theater. If I had seen Mommy afterwards, I would’ve had to go Daddy on her. It probably wouldn’t have ended with me seeing a doctor, but it would’ve made for a better story on CC than this one.

 

I saw past Cruise Compasses that showed multiple Dreamworks 3D movies getting shown in the theater, but on our trip, we didn't catch anything else. When I took a look at the old compasses, I realized that they also had Megamind, Shrek Forever After, and Journey to the End of the Earth. But, I think that one movie was probably enough.

 

An interesting twist was showing a movie in the Aqua Theater. One evening, I wanted to go to The Quest, and DW wanted to go see Limitless in the Aqua Theater (Bradley Cooper isn’t so hot that we have to miss The Quest, is he? I guess that he is) Anyway, the setup is kind of strange. You can’t really move the chairs, and they’re all focused on the stage, but the screens are on the far wings of the stage, so you have to sit at an awkward angle to watch. Then, the sound is coming from the middle of the stage, so it’s all messed up. Add to that a pretty sorry excuse for a movie, and DW agreed that we should’ve gone to The Quest. That said, it was actually nice just to chill outside and watch a movie late at night. DW and I just had a nice chat and cuddle, and that was a whole lot better than one (or both) of us displaying our underwear to satisfy Ken Rush’s garment fetish.

 

Finally, there is a Dreamworks channel on the stateroom TV. I know, a bunch of you CC folks are saying, “Don’t turn on the TV, you’re on a cruise.” Look, with young kids, sometimes the TV is the only thing that will get you showered and dressed in the morning. Pipe down! The Dreamworks channel tended to show older Dreamworks animated movies, but they occupied the kids when they needed to be occupied.

 

Move It! Move It! Parade:

It’s a parade, it’s on the Royal Promenade. Kids will love it…everyone from Dreamworks is there. I wasn’t thrilled, but I had also followed CC advice to view it from the Schooner Bar. Not a great perspective on the show. I was also ticked off at Royal for scheduling the CC M&M in near conflict with the parade, so we couldn’t stay in the M&M for long. Also, Mr. Rush was unable to show up to hand us our key chains because he was too busy preparing for the parade. Bum.

[Silverman]

Excellent review! Spit my soda out a few times reading it. Really like your writing skills. If you dont mind, could you tell me what you use for white noise?

[bliss_fully_happy]

How much was the rental on the second phone? That is such an awesome idea. I am so stealing that one!

[spcopps]

You can also receive a quote for these rooms via Live Chat on the RCI website. It is a life saver for me when my kids are running wild and I know a phone conversation is hard. Also you can then email yourself a transcript of the conversation. It really is a great tool that I utilize often :)

 

 

I have tried the live chat "several" times at different times of the day and it always says "unavailable please call ...". Is there a better time to use it than others? TIA

[charliegirlac]

Loving your review!! Lots of great info and i love your sense of humour!

[figgyva]

How much was the rental on the second phone? That is such an awesome idea. I am so stealing that one!

 

Please do...we stole it from someone else here on CC.

 

The phone is $25 for the week. Be forewarned that Royal doesn't give you a tutorial or anything to help you figure out how to use the darned thing. The last thing that we wanted to was to spend time figuring it out, but we eventually figured out how to dial the two phones and how to navigate the menus to call the last number.

[figgyva]

Loving your review!! Lots of great info and i love your sense of humour!

 

Thanks, so much! I've had a great time putting it together. It has been like reliving the whole vacation, so I appreciate having the opportunity to share with the whole community!

 

I'm almost done. I think that I have some notes on gratuity thoughts for families, disembarkation, and some final miscellaneous remarks. Thank you to everyone for sticking around with me as I get through it all!

[DEERINH2O]

Thank you so much for the review.. I love reading it...Although I no longer have small children, actually all of mine are adults living on their own. I do hope to have grandchildren one day and will take them cruising.

 

I was attracted to the 6 people in a room and then I got sucked in. I love reading it, so keep it coming.

 

Thanks again,

Kathy