Cheapo dad’s trip report on Allure of the Seas sailing December 14, 2014

[harryfat1]

You can hit somebody with this lamb shank and do some damage as it’s huge and can be used as a weapon

 

 

 

Time to say goodbye to our waiter (on the left) and asst. waiter to the right

 

 

We received 5 WOW cards (think they missed one?) at the docks on boarding day to give to worker at the cruise that we thought did a fine job. I gave each of them one card but they didn’t seem as thrilled about it as I thought they would. Instead, they wanted make sure I give them high marks on the online survey.

 

Guess that is ranked higher in their performance than a wow card. Can any veteran RCI cruise comment on the difference on how they are graded between the wow card and the online survey?

 

I thought the wow card would mean more as they require me to write down what the worker did that was exceptional, which I took time out of my busy day 7 to write. The online survey was just bunch of clicks and numbers after the fact. Maybe that is how they are graded on a ship wide basis? If that's the case, why make guests do all the extra work on the wow card?

[harryfat1]

After dinner, we had to rush over to deck 5 for the 7:45 PM parade – the Farewell Move it, Move it parade. For the most part, it’s the short version of the original parade so if you are thinking of missing 1 of the 2 parades, miss the second one as the first one is much more elaborate. The only thing additional with the second one is they have the captain come out, along with few staff members to say goodbye, but the content of the parade is shorten in the second one.

 

Didn’t take too many pictures as it’s mostly repeats. Just couple of the captain walking by and the workers

 

 

 

 

So why I bother including this blurry picture? Basically the captain makes a speech at the Rising Tide bar to thank everyone for coming on the cruise and then he ascends to the top. I have already mentioned in the previous posts that I thought RCI captains are much more extrovert compared to Carnival captains and they seem to like to interact with the passengers. Like the picture above with captain coming by to give high 5’s to people standing by the parade route and also this picture as the bar is ascending, the captain is making a last ditch effort to bend down and still wave to the people before he disappears.

 

These 2 pictures tell me that he really likes to interact with the people. If he felt forced to do so, he would just wave past the passengers without the need to give high 5’s and while standing at the bar, he could easily just wave or talk to other fellow staff members instead of trying to duck down and wave to the very last person he can possibly see. These are above and beyond what he was required to do as a captain and I appreciate that as a passenger.

 

 

One last note about the parade, we tried standing on the ground level of the parade route this time and even though my younger son (shortest member of the family) was standing at the edge, other people butted in and crowed him out so he couldn’t see once the parade started. So if you have shorter kids, be sure to stand by the Focus area staircase instead as there’s no way anyone can butt in front of you there.

[cruisemeister8]

Alrighty, last reserved show out and done. Back to RP to buy the souvenirs from the gift shop (aka visiting uncle once more – he gets the most attention on last day of the cruise). As I mentioned before, gold level crown and anchor repeat cruisers have certain discounts available to them, one of which is 10% RCI logo stuff if you buy more than $25. Sorry, they don’t count the $10 t-shirts as part of the $25 – we checked. So do bundle your purchases in one big bulk to take advantage of the savings, which unfortunately typically means waiting until day 7 when you have to stand in line to pay.

 

Speaking of discounts, another gold member discount available is BOGO milk shake at Johnny Rockets. My kids have been looking forward to getting that so off we go to JR to get those after we were done visiting the uncle in prison.

 

Oh, heck, let me just scan and upload the gold member benefits so people know what they can get instead of me saying it line by line.

 

 

 

Here's another CHEAPO tip. So sorry, frugal tip, that even a CPA can appreciate. Since the aforementioned discounts are loaded on to each C&A member's card (whichever heirarchy level you are - peasant to royalty) you can actually use the discount more than once in your party. I usually like to go visit the uncle in prison early on in the trip to get the good stuff before it possibly sells out. I use the discount on one card. Then on Day 7, I go back for one more look to make sure I didn't forget anything I wanted. Use the discount on 2nd person's card for that purchase. We've used both discounts for shakes over at cousin Johnny's on two occasions during the week. And we've used both discounts at the crazy aunt's basement. Just pay with the appropriate card. It has saved quite a bit. And if you worry about one particular card being the master card (no pun intended) to treat the party, just link all the cards together to one account. Easy peasy.

 

One other thought that I've had in reading your report. You're not really as cheapo of a dad as you claim. We may need you to relinquish the title. After all, you did get nice boardwalk balcony rooms. If you were truly a cheapo dad, you would have had the clan down in inside steerage. LOL.

 

Since there is not much time left in the trip, I want to finally ask about what I've been waiting for. Didn't your boys want to ride the zip line? Or the flowrider? Or the rock wall? These seem like prime activities for their age group.

 

Adorable family pictures, by the way. Your wife looks just like her mother. Your younger son looks just like your wife and shares her expressions. And your older son looks just like you and shares your expressions. No denying those kids.

 

Again, this has been a fun report.

[soccerdad72]

I'm getting bummed out that your trip (and therefore, the trip report), is coming to an end. :o

[Going Coastal]

Have also enjoyed your report very much, especially the pictures. Just a gentle reminder that those Diamond members you talk about probably enjoy their freebies as much as you do yours.

Thanks for helping us get to know Allure.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[harryfat1]

Here's another CHEAPO tip. So sorry, frugal tip, that even a CPA can appreciate. Since the aforementioned discounts are loaded on to each C&A member's card (whichever heirarchy level you are - peasant to royalty) you can actually use the discount more than once in your party. I usually like to go visit the uncle in prison early on in the trip to get the good stuff before it possibly sells out. I use the discount on one card. Then on Day 7, I go back for one more look to make sure I didn't forget anything I wanted. Use the discount on 2nd person's card for that purchase. We've used both discounts for shakes over at cousin Johnny's on two occasions during the week. And we've used both discounts at the crazy aunt's basement. Just pay with the appropriate card. It has saved quite a bit. And if you worry about one particular card being the master card (no pun intended) to treat the party, just link all the cards together to one account. Easy peasy.

 

One other thought that I've had in reading your report. You're not really as cheapo of a dad as you claim. We may need you to relinquish the title. After all, you did get nice boardwalk balcony rooms. If you were truly a cheapo dad, you would have had the clan down in inside steerage. LOL.

 

Since there is not much time left in the trip, I want to finally ask about what I've been waiting for. Didn't your boys want to ride the zip line? Or the flowrider? Or the rock wall? These seem like prime activities for their age group.

 

Adorable family pictures, by the way. Your wife looks just like her mother. Your younger son looks just like your wife and shares her expressions. And your older son looks just like you and shares your expressions. No denying those kids.

 

Again, this has been a fun report.

 

Well, being a cheapo dad, I wasn’t looking to use the 10% off any purchases of $25+ more than once. The hope was to buy something between $25 to $30 and then use the coupon once and be done. Not a big spender like you that goes back on day 7 and pile on another $25+. One and done.

 

We had OBC from the travel agent and shareholder discounts in all 3 cabins because 3 of us are shareholders and we also have the RCI credit card redemption points so we had fair amount of OBC to spend. My final bill from the cruise ship board expense was $23 for all 3 cabins, after all the OBC and tours and gratuities were netted. Would have been lower or nil if the wife and kids hadn’t asked for the $14.99 glow accessory. That wasn’t in my original calculated budget.

 

If you recall from my original post, we started with the 4 of us in one cabin. Then we moved to 2 cabins as my older one kept growing taller and taller by the day. My wife and felt bad if he had to sleep on a sofa for all 7 nights of the cruise so we went over to 2 connecting cabins at central park view (no balcony just the basic view). The way RCI did the pricing for our cruise, they couldn’t sell those CP view cabins so they were cheaper compared to the basic ocean view cabins. The only thing cheaper than CP view cabins were the PR view cabins, which we had on the Mariner and wanted to do something different that only Allure has.

 

AFTER we made final payments for the 2 CP view cabins, RCI has excess cabins they couldn’t fill so they started dropping prices. But once you paid your final payment to RCI, not like they are going you the money back so it worked out such that we had to pay $20/pp to “upgrade” from CP view to Boardwalk balcony. Just got lucky to have checked the prices at that point.

Our final “out the door price” per person on the cruise was $855. A steal for B1 balcony, not counting $50/pp OBC from TA.

 

I just checked the same week for December 13, 2015 on Allure sailing, same B1 balcony is currently going for $1,387/pp, $500+ more person for what we paid or $2K+ for family of 4. Just a matter of being lucky at the right time or else you folks will be seeing whole lot daily central park picture of plants (and dirt) from the area instead of Boardwalk and secret balcony – well, maybe Coralc will enjoy it more…

 

Can’t do interior cabin. I get motion sick easily. I need to walk around with a sea band wristband on the rocky ocean days (not on this cruise but others). I need to see something out of the cabin. I took the subway to work for first 5 years of my career and have to sit in the subway in the proper facing position or else I get off the train with a buzzing headache wanting to throw up even before getting to work so money savings can only go so far. At minimum, inside PR view cabins. That was what we had on the Mariner. This is only second time in my 14 cruises history that we had a balcony (which came from steep discounts, unintended benefit).

 

Cheapo dad is in reference to Christmas week sailing the following week. We would have had to pay $3K+ last year if we were good parents and let them in school for the week and cruised on Christmas week instead. I just looked up the Allure December 20 sailing, one week after the previous quote above. Same exact B1 cabin, now the greedy scum sucking pigs of RCI wants $2,439/pp for a B1 balcony on Christmas week. So do the math if $2,439 - $1,387(see above) = $1K difference or $4K for family of 4.

 

You ask yourself if $4K is worth 1 week of school during before the holiday break? That’s where cheapo dad comes in, not the $2.99 key chain I won’t buy…

 

Both of the boys wear glasses and they won’t allow glasses on the zip line and they didn’t find it particularly thrilling if they couldn’t see. My wife wanted to do the zip line but after watching various people scream as they let go and landing hard with a big thump on the green pad, she changed her mind. Guess the boys could have done the junior circuit side of the flow rider where you just did the boogie board, but neither showed any interest whenever we go by it. They both did rock climbing back here as there’s an area not to far which has indoor thing so that wasn’t high on their list of things to do either.

 

I will talk about it at the end with summary but the younger one wants to do Anthem of the Seas somewhere in the distant future. The older one already did the indoor fly thing as there’s one in bay area but younger not yet tried. We will see.

 

Not done with report yet. Still has a short version day 8 to do – maybe even a picture or two (well, short by my definition, maybe long by others). When we get near end of day 8, that’s when the fat lady will be front and center on stage singing away. For now, she is still humming away in the backstage somewhere…

[harryfat1]

I'm getting bummed out that your trip (and therefore, the trip report), is coming to an end. :o

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

Not done yet. Just a tad more to go. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the expectation for the end of this report has been premature.

[harryfat1]

Have also enjoyed your report very much, especially the pictures. Just a gentle reminder that those Diamond members you talk about probably enjoy their freebies as much as you do yours.

Thanks for helping us get to know Allure.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks for the compliment and glad you enjoyed the pictures.

 

Hehe, just the peasant class cruiser complaining about the nobility class as I doubt in my lifetime I will ever make it to the Diamond level on RCI’s caste system because we don’t cruise that often.

[harryfat1]

Here’s the crowd after the parade

 

 

 

 

So afterward, we went back to the cabin and packed the suitcase. We came on the ship with four suitcases, one per person. Getting off the ship, we had to re-organize things such that we had one more night to stay in FLL so we took out the one last remaining set of clean underwear/socks to put in one suitcase and hen the rest are old clothes. That way when we get to the hotel for one night, we won’t need to open the other 3 luggage – or so the theory goes.

 

Around 9 PM, we had to go back to the photo area to visit the crazy aunt one last time to check on her (aka getting the pictures that we special ordered earlier in the day). Here’s something that I never saw being mentioned on the boards but I encountered so just wanted a heads-up. As gold members, I thought the kids privileges are the same as the gold level adults. Not so. Other words, some discounts, like the BOGO discount for milk shake at JR or buy one and second at 50% off picture discounts apply to adult gold members but not kids gold members even though they have sailed in the past and in theory should be granted the exact same rights as the adult –not as if they piggy back on my account and never having sailed before.

 

The reason that is important is the buy one and get the second picture at 50% off only works once per person per cruise. So I ordered 2 pictures on my card account and then since the pictures showed up on our online account, I had my son’s account pay the 2 other pictures. Well, my 2 pictures got the discounts but his didn’t. Even after we talk to the staff member working behind the desk, they try to apply the code, but the software rejects it. So my wife had to use her card to buy the picture using her buy one and get the second one at 50%off privilege in order to redeem it. Good thing we only wanted 4 pictures in total or else if we wanted 6, the kids can’t use their gold member discounts on photos.

 

I couldn’t figure out why while at the cruise as I granted all 6 sail cards the charging privileges so my son’s card was active in buying everything and they did charge the full price for the 2 pictures to his account originally before we voided it. Only after coming home and searching through the huge pile of crap paper I brought home did I find a single piece of paper that has “youth member gold level” privileges. So that meant RCI treats gold level members differently depending on age.

 

 

So for those at home thinking of piggy backing the kids gold level privileges like I was, think again as they get useless crap like 25% coffee beverage service. REALLY? How many junior level cruisers (especially under 10) go around drinking specialty coffee? Talk about let’s give them “privileges” that they will NEVER use. Maybe there is some really pampered kid out there but they also get a 10% off Y-Spa treatment (whatever that is). Other words, they don’t get any “useful” stuff like BOGO milk shake at JR – only adults get that. I would argue that JR coupon would be much more useful for youth cruisers than specialty coffee, especially under 10. Just like kids clubs, they need to break up the group and not just one big blob mess of under 18 as “youth” as kids 16 has way different needs than kids ages of 5.

 

At any rate, took a while to finally sort out the discounts for the pictures and we went back upstairs to finalize the packing. Saddest part of the cruise for most people is seeing the luggage outside

 

[harryfat1]

So it’s almost 10:30 by then and it’s time for the last show of the cruise. The comedy show. Now, as I mentioned in previous posts, RCI is not very family friendly in only allowing 18+ year old to book comedy acts during the cruise. WHY? You would think any decent comedian could have funny stuff without being raunchy. Especially on a ship that has Chicago as its main Broadway show, you would think they will open up at least 3 of the 16 comedy time slots for both adults and youth members.

 

Here is a picture of the comedy act from the Carnival cruise we took. See how each comedian has family time and non-family time that night?

 

 

RCI only has family time at the very very end of the cruise, on day 7 at 10:30 PM for one show only and no reservations for that show. Now let’s think about the logic of this for a minute. First you won’t allow kids under 18 to book or attend any comedy shows on the cruise at the comedy club, while those shows are on during the more family friendly times of 7:30 or 8 PM on most nights. Then when you finally let the kids attend, you set the show time at WHEN? 10:30 PM on the last night? What idiotic planning is that? Do they really wish the kids don’t go to any comedy show?

 

On average, the younger cruisers go to sleep early and on top of that, they have it on day 7 at late night when some people have to get up early next day at 6:30 for the express walk off departure. So this is total dumb lack of caring for the younger cruiser crowd. In that sense, Carnival is leaps and bound over RCI. I made a comment on the online survey which I am sure was promptly ignored.

 

Just couple quick blurry pics from comedy show as there’s nothing to photograph. Just a guy standing there.

 

 

 

The show was over around 11:20 PM and the younger one said he wants to try the pizza at Sorrento’s as he never had a chance. So we walked up to deck 5 at the RP and got a slice of pizza (and glass of water)for him to bring back to cabin to eat. Here is the pizza at the place but he ate his slice before I had a chance to take a picture of it. He said it was good but I think many reviewers here don’t like them as they have better pizzas back home.

 

 

Water area inside Sorrento’s

 

[rainsrabble]

Enjoying your review. We were supposed to sail Allure this March but I got out voted and are hitting Diagon Alley at Universal instead. So the Allure trip has to wait a whole year. So I got to live vicariously through your review. I'm sure they will be changing out the entertainment. I don't know if they still plan on switching her to dynamic dining since the roll out on Quantum was so poorly received. Anyhow dry dock is around the corner so Allure will never be the same ship. I loved the pictures of your beautiful family. You are so blessed. Thank you for sharing them with us.

 

As a mom I wanted to drop you a line about pulling the kids out of school. Like your wife I take the kids education very seriously. We don't mess around all year. However at least once a year I pull them out for a vacation. Usually in either March or September. One main reason is because of the exorbitant cost saving which you noted earlier. Makes our vacation dollars stretch. But the second reason I give my kids is that there is more to education than school. You can only learn so much in a classroom. I consider the trips we take to be an educational experience. From learning how to plan and budget well to how to interact with different cultures. Not to mention all the things we learn about where we go. And the value of family time has incalculable value. Just thought you could pull out my reasoning next time you negotiate time out of school with your wife.

[harryfat1]

So went back to cabin and by time the pizza was eaten and all bathroom activities were done, it was around 12 midnight before the kids went to sleep. Again, I complain about the timing of the 10:30PM show as being too late for families on day 7 as it's around midnight by time they got to sleep. I took the cell phones out of the safe as we barely used it the entire trip. Started charging it as I know we will need a full charge come day 8 when we face the real world. Made sure the customs and decoration forms are completed. All done.

 

Then went out to the boardwalk balcony one last time for few night shots as that will be the last time I will see the area in lit up at night. The magical Mr. Toad’s cruise adventure is coming to an end soon. As this was just few days before Christmas, looking around at 12:45 AM, remind me of the poem, “Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse”. Well, maybe a mouse or few humans are still partying somewhere on the ship but the Boardwalk sure is peaceful and quiet with maybe one or two cabins still having the lights on.

 

 

 

 

 

Last picture and time to shut it down and call it a day

 

 

This concludes the day 7 part of the trip report. But this is not the end yet. I have read many trip reports where on day 8, they end the whole thing with 1 paragraph of them waking up and doing the self-checkout at 7 AM and grabbing taxi to airport by 8 AM and end of story.

 

Huh? But how and what and why? Too many question unanswered from an anal planner that has no idea what it looks like to disembark. I want to know what happens step by step on getting off the ship.

 

That’s not my style to just end it in few sentences. You know I would painfully show you every stupid step of the process in getting off and maybe include a picture or two long the way...

 

The fat lady is warming up in the background and humming but not on the stage singing yet.

[Coralc]

Yes, thank you....I LIKE the Central Park photos of plants and dirt. :D;):D

[Cruisin' Along]

The fat lady is warming up in the background and humming but not on the stage singing yet.

 

It's going to be sad when the fat lady is on stage singing! :mad:

 

I proclaim your TR my all time favorite. It's been educational, humorous and just plain fun. My family has asked me numerous times what I was laughing at while reading your TR. I had to share your latest escapades with them each day!

 

I don't know that I will ever cruise the Allure so it's been fun seeing the ship through your camera with you and your family. Thanks for taking the time to write this TR.

[Disney Sheep]

Thanks for the heads up wrt the differences between Gold kid member benefits and Gold adult members. In some ways if the kids were in the same cabin as the parents and paying a reduced rate for being passengers 3 and 4, this system might make sense... Sort of. but you paid for a second cabin, and we will be paying for a second cabin just for our kids, so I am personally not pleased that my kids won't get the benefit of the BOGO milkshakes etc. and when it comes to pictures, it is because I have kids that I might want to buy more!

 

Oh well. But on the bright side, I am still enjoying your review, and learning stuff too.

 

And my friend was very appreciative of your info about where to find water and drinks at no additional charge, so thanks again.

[harryfat1]

Enjoying your review. We were supposed to sail Allure this March but I got out voted and are hitting Diagon Alley at Universal instead. So the Allure trip has to wait a whole year. So I got to live vicariously through your review. I'm sure they will be changing out the entertainment. I don't know if they still plan on switching her to dynamic dining since the roll out on Quantum was so poorly received. Anyhow dry dock is around the corner so Allure will never be the same ship. I loved the pictures of your beautiful family. You are so blessed. Thank you for sharing them with us.

 

As a mom I wanted to drop you a line about pulling the kids out of school. Like your wife I take the kids education very seriously. We don't mess around all year. However at least once a year I pull them out for a vacation. Usually in either March or September. One main reason is because of the exorbitant cost saving which you noted earlier. Makes our vacation dollars stretch. But the second reason I give my kids is that there is more to education than school. You can only learn so much in a classroom. I consider the trips we take to be an educational experience. From learning how to plan and budget well to how to interact with different cultures. Not to mention all the things we learn about where we go. And the value of family time has incalculable value. Just thought you could pull out my reasoning next time you negotiate time out of school with your wife.

 

Thanks for the kind words and your perspective on taking the kids out of school. It’s not my preference to take them out of school but when the price gap is so large, it’s hard not to as the $3K+ difference means that’s money for next vacation. Do look forward to a day when they are in college and then I can cruise in the off seasons and do it at the low rates.

 

Universal is a nice place to be. I like theme parks as you can tell from my report. If we cruise on the Freedom somewhere down the road, we might hit Universal for couple day’s pre or post cruise. I looked at Disney cruise also. No way do I want to pay that much for older kids. Maybe if they were 5 years old but now with them all grown up, too much of Disney premium is wasted on them.

 

Depending on what they do with Oasis 3, you might be sailing on the brand new Oasis 3 next year so waiting may not turn out to be a bad thing.

 

I noticed on your info that you have been with cc for almost 3 years but this is only your second post. I am honored that you chose to leave such a nice note here. Glad I was able to take you along for a virtual cruise.

 

Have a great vacation in Orlando and a great cruise whenever you guys decide to take it.

[harryfat1]

It's going to be sad when the fat lady is on stage singing! :mad:

 

I proclaim your TR my all time favorite. It's been educational' date=' humorous and just plain fun. My family has asked me numerous times what I was laughing at while reading your TR. I had to share your latest escapades with them each day!

 

I don't know that I will ever cruise the Allure so it's been fun seeing the ship through your camera with you and your family. Thanks for taking the time to write this TR.[/quote']

 

Thank you for the compliment. You do realize I am not done, done, yet, right? We stayed 1 night in FLL post cruise so I still have some stuff to share.

 

I almost feel like you are writing my obituary before I kicked the bucket.

 

This remind me of that Monty Python movie where they say the guy is dead and he said "I am not dead" and the other guy said, "yes, you are" and clubs him in the head...

 

If every cruise day is like 10 years of living life (feels that long given how long it takes me to write it) and I can live to be 80 years old (8 days), at age of 70, you are already writing my obituary talking about my life’s work. Not yet…

 

As my new auditor friend said yesterday, you need to qualify your statement with so far since we still have another 10 years (1 day) to go…

[harryfat1]

Thanks for the heads up wrt the differences between Gold kid member benefits and Gold adult members. In some ways if the kids were in the same cabin as the parents and paying a reduced rate for being passengers 3 and 4, this system might make sense... Sort of. but you paid for a second cabin, and we will be paying for a second cabin just for our kids, so I am personally not pleased that my kids won't get the benefit of the BOGO milkshakes etc. and when it comes to pictures, it is because I have kids that I might want to buy more!

 

Oh well. But on the bright side, I am still enjoying your review, and learning stuff too.

 

And my friend was very appreciative of your info about where to find water and drinks at no additional charge, so thanks again.

 

But to me the system of kids and adult level should be the same – minus the alcohol of course. The reward system is for the previous cruise and not current cruise. Other than staying at suites or cruising solo, everyone gets the same number of “points” for every night they cruise.

 

If an adult was the 3rd or 4th passenger, they would get the same 7 points of credit on for sailing on the Allure just as the first 2 adults in the cabin, so that shouldn’t matter based on age. I do know that kids can piggyback on parent’s higher level if they are under 18, but at the minimum they should have the basic gold level membership perks because RCI does not charge less money based on kids age.

 

Should be the same as frequent flier mileage points system on airlines. You paid money to get a seat, you get mileage points, regardless you are 7 or 70.

 

I have not seen this being discussed perhaps because 1) Many people on the boards don’t have kids under 18 at the gold level 2) They don’t buy milk shakes and pictures like I do and never need any of their gold level perks. So I didn’t even know about it and I had to question the lady at the photo counter as why my son’s photo orders were charged extra money compared to mine.

 

Any rate, glad to be of help to you and your friend.

[JamesEM]

In response to your question as what is the difference between WOW Cards and the online survey, the WOW Cards are redeemed for gifts from RCL, and the online survey determines if an employee gets fired, retained, or promoted.

[Cruisin' Along]

"You do realize I am not done, done, yet, right? We stayed 1 night in FLL post cruise so I still have some stuff to share."

 

 

Well okay then. You've done a great TR......SO FAR! That's always subject to change, of course, even with one day left to go! ;)

 

So, if you have one day (10 years) left - keep the fat lady from singing!

Edited February 6, 2015 by Cruisin' Along

[jewel825]

Harry, I'm really enjoying your review. I was on the Allure 2 years ago and had a blast. My kids are the same ages as yours (11 and 13) but girls. It's funny how different our experiences were on board! My kids loved the zipline, the rock wall and at the flow rider and the kids club. However, they only saw 2 of the shows the entire week. It just goes to show how many different activities are available and how crazy different everyone experiences can be. You have me curious to try new things I never thought of!

 

We are going on the Freedom for Spring Break this year and I really appreciated your tips on different ways to save money. I had no idea that the kids card didn't have the same discounts as the adults. That's cruddy! Sad to see your review coming to an end. I feel the same let down you felt when it was time to get off. Thanks again for taking the time for writing such a fun review.

[cruisemeister8]

Thanks for the interesting explanations and logic to your cabin choices and activities.

 

You are so right about the family friendly comic. Too late for kids, yes, but also too late for anyone who doesn't necessarily appreciate the filth that an adult show degrades into. I never understood why just because a show is labeled adult, it grants some sort of right, or there's some sort of cardinal rule among the brotherhood of comedians that every other word has to start with F. A skilled comedian should certainly be able to find ways to tell funny stories about adult situations to an adult audience using everyday language. Innuendo is funny. A barrage of crude filth is not. And because the term adult has come to equal X-rated, I would rather see the family friendly show, kids or not. Too bad Royal doesn't take this into consideration like they used to.

 

You pointed to your experience on Carnival. That is how I remember it from our first couple of RCI cruises. The family show in the evening and the adult show later. We went to both one time just to see the difference. The comedian told the same stories both shows! Yet at the 2nd show, those bleeped words found their way into every sentence. Why do they think that makes it funnier?

 

I guess I must be getting old and grumpy. No wait! I still find Harry's CPA humor and bathroom elephants funny!

[harryfat1]

In response to your question as what is the difference between WOW Cards and the online survey, the WOW Cards are redeemed for gifts from RCL, and the online survey determines if an employee gets fired, retained, or promoted.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Next time I will just do the online survey instead of messing around with the wow card – that takes a lot more time to do & it’s done during my precious vacation time.

[harryfat1]

"You do realize I am not done' date=' done, yet, right? We stayed 1 night in FLL post cruise so I still have some stuff to share."[/color']

 

 

Well okay then. You've done a great TR......SO FAR! That's always subject to change, of course, even with one day left to go! ;)

 

So, if you have one day (10 years) left - keep the fat lady from singing!

 

Thanks again for the kind words. Somewhere down the road, need to have the fast lady sing so the new cruisers that will be sailing soon can have the entire package of info and then I can go and plan my next vacation – summer time road trip. I am the cruiser and my wife is the road trip type where we drive 1,000+ miles each way to wherever to see the country during the summer.

 

The time I spent on this trip report has taken the time away from that trip planning so I need to get going on that soon. Then later on, need to decide if we want to do a cruise in 2015 or not because I am not paying the greedy gravy sucking scum pigs of RCI and other cruise lines the huge $3K+ premium to sail on Christmas week.

[harryfat1]

Harry, I'm really enjoying your review. I was on the Allure 2 years ago and had a blast. My kids are the same ages as yours (11 and 13) but girls. It's funny how different our experiences were on board! My kids loved the zipline, the rock wall and at the flow rider and the kids club. However, they only saw 2 of the shows the entire week. It just goes to show how many different activities are available and how crazy different everyone experiences can be. You have me curious to try new things I never thought of!

 

We are going on the Freedom for Spring Break this year and I really appreciated your tips on different ways to save money. I had no idea that the kids card didn't have the same discounts as the adults. That's cruddy! Sad to see your review coming to an end. I feel the same let down you felt when it was time to get off. Thanks again for taking the time for writing such a fun review.

 

Thanks for the compliment. Glad the trip report is helpful in bringing back good memories. I am sure I will be in same boat (pun intended) later on when I read another cruisers’ review of the Allure and said, Yeah, we did that when we were on the ship.

 

Every cruiser has different experience than someone else. That’s what’s so great about cruise vacations. Even on same ship/same sailing, we may experience the same weather (rain) but what we do all day long can be so different, especially on these mega ships that has so much to offer, we all have different experiences afterward. Happy to have shared ours with you and others.

 

Hey, I just noticed from your signature that we shared 3 cruise ship experiences from our cruise history. Very cool.

 

Have a great Spring break cruise. Until my wife and I both retire, we will never be able to take any Spring break vacation due to our occupation.