A month to the Allure!

[jd99]

We will be sailing on our first RCL ship - the Allure - in less than a month! Getting very excited as we have spent hours and hours on Cruise Critic, the kids have watched vlog after vlog and we are trying to prepare as best we can.

 

Having cruised only Disney previously (20 times) we are of course a little nervous and hoping that we love Royal as much. Given that the kids no longer stand in line for characters nor spend any amount of time in the clubs on the ship, a bigger ship with better pools and more activities seemed to be in order.

 

I keep reading reviews of people who compare Disney with Royal and there are three misconceptions that I want to dispel right here and now.

 

1. Disney employers area all happy, service oriented wunderkinds. Yes the service overall on Disney is very good, but we started looking at other lines about 3 cruises ago when we got tired of the over-the-top fakeness of much of the service and then on our last cruise when we had the single-worst service experience of our lifetimes when a head server repeatedly insulted one of our children at dinner in one of those *** moments that you think you aren't really experiencing.

 

2. Disney doesn't try to sell you anything extra. Oh please. if that was the case, my onboard charges wouldn't average 1500 for a normal 7 night cruise. Water packages, wine packages, spa services, merchandise, etc. etc. Sure they give you free coke but that is just about the only thing that is free.

 

3. No one gets drunk on a Disney ship. LOL. HAhaHA and LMAO. I have seen some of the drunkest people ever anywhere on some of our sailings.

 

Don't get me wrong, I still love Disney cruising but the false narrative that I keep reading has me even more excited about Royal than before we started planning. Many Disney loyalists talk about their Oasis or Allure sailings in relatively glowing terms and nit pick some differences. But given that for me customer service is number one of what I'm looking for, I truly think I'm going to be pleasantly surprised on Royal since my expectations are somewhere between cautiously optimistic and hopeful.

[Lionesss]

We sailed the Disney Magic as our first family cruise almost 10 years ago.

 

At that time we thought nothing would compare.

 

We had a category 7 and on RCI Mariner the following year we were able to get a similar price for a grand suite.

 

Now mind you soda is not included, and you could not carryon alcohol on RCI (except for wine now).

 

The food, shows and activities were just as fun.

 

We love Labadee as much as we loved Castaway Cay.

 

We are now getting ready for our 7 RCI cruise and are sailing the Allure in three weeks.

 

We love the Crown loft suites, and cannot wait till sailing.

Disney, yes is phenomenal and so is the price.

 

Enjoy, we do.

 

Safe travels.

[Yorkvillain]

Have fun. The Allure is amazing. Just know that RCI has those same annoying upsell salespeople. I've learned to block them out and walk right past them.

 

Your kids will love the ship!

[jd99]

Have fun. The Allure is amazing. Just know that RCI has those same annoying upsell salespeople. I've learned to block them out and walk right past them.

 

Your kids will love the ship!

 

 

Thanks to all!

 

I've just read a lot of reviews from folks comparing who complain about the upsell on Royal and I'm thinking "did they really sail on Disney?" Because you start getting hit with the water, beer and wine packages as you are walking to lunch at boarding!

[rkkunk]

We have only done 3 Disney cruises on 3 different ships and loved them all. Always had great service. We finally could not afford their prices anymore and jumped over to RCCL.

 

We have done 3 RCCL cruises on 2 different ships. Two of those cruises were on the Allure. We LOVE the Allure! So many things to do. Ocean Aria and the ice skating shows were awesome. (Oh, and we saw Mama Mia and liked that, too) Love the Royal Promenade. My DH and DS enjoy the flow riders and we ALL have fun on the zip line. Central Park is amazing! We liked Labadee but still like Castaway Cay better. Pretty much all of the crew members that we met were great. Try Giovanni's if you like Italian, so good! We have done it for lunch and dinner.

 

As long as you are okay with the big cruise ships I think your family will enjoy it. The first time we had a balcony room on one of the humps. This last cruise we had a GS for the price you pay for a balcony on Disney and it had lots of fun perks.

 

Hope that you enjoy it!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[jd99]

We have only done 3 Disney cruises on 3 different ships and loved them all. Always had great service. We finally could not afford their prices anymore and jumped over to RCCL.

 

We have done 3 RCCL cruises on 2 different ships. Two of those cruises were on the Allure. We LOVE the Allure! So many things to do. Ocean Aria and the ice skating shows were awesome. (Oh, and we saw Mama Mia and liked that, too) Love the Royal Promenade. My DH and DS enjoy the flow riders and we ALL have fun on the zip line. Central Park is amazing! We liked Labadee but still like Castaway Cay better. Pretty much all of the crew members that we met were great. Try Giovanni's if you like Italian, so good! We have done it for lunch and dinner.

 

As long as you are okay with the big cruise ships I think your family will enjoy it. The first time we had a balcony room on one of the humps. This last cruise we had a GS for the price you pay for a balcony on Disney and it had lots of fun perks.

 

Hope that you enjoy it!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Thank you!!!!! We booked an ocean view balcony on the 8th deck because I like the idea of walking through Central Park regularly. We have booked Giovanni's, Chops & Izumi. We priced this cruise (eastern itinerary with St. Kitts) vs. DCL Fantasy the same week. We have two cabins (balcony and across the hall inside for the kids) for 50 percent the cost of one regular verandah cabin on the Fantasy.

[Ashleyregas]

Sounds like I'm on the same cruise. I did Oasis two years ago and doing Allure for the first time. I think you and the family will love it!

[villager70]

We will be sailing on our first RCL ship - the Allure - in less than a month! Getting very excited as we have spent hours and hours on Cruise Critic, the kids have watched vlog after vlog and we are trying to prepare as best we can.

 

Having cruised only Disney previously (20 times) we are of course a little nervous and hoping that we love Royal as much. Given that the kids no longer stand in line for characters nor spend any amount of time in the clubs on the ship, a bigger ship with better pools and more activities seemed to be in order.

 

I keep reading reviews of people who compare Disney with Royal and there are three misconceptions that I want to dispel right here and now.

 

1. Disney employers area all happy, service oriented wunderkinds. Yes the service overall on Disney is very good, but we started looking at other lines about 3 cruises ago when we got tired of the over-the-top fakeness of much of the service and then on our last cruise when we had the single-worst service experience of our lifetimes when a head server repeatedly insulted one of our children at dinner in one of those *** moments that you think you aren't really experiencing.

 

2. Disney doesn't try to sell you anything extra. Oh please. if that was the case, my onboard charges wouldn't average 1500 for a normal 7 night cruise. Water packages, wine packages, spa services, merchandise, etc. etc. Sure they give you free coke but that is just about the only thing that is free.

 

3. No one gets drunk on a Disney ship. LOL. HAhaHA and LMAO. I have seen some of the drunkest people ever anywhere on some of our sailings.

 

Don't get me wrong, I still love Disney cruising but the false narrative that I keep reading has me even more excited about Royal than before we started planning. Many Disney loyalists talk about their Oasis or Allure sailings in relatively glowing terms and nit pick some differences. But given that for me customer service is number one of what I'm looking for, I truly think I'm going to be pleasantly surprised on Royal since my expectations are somewhere between cautiously optimistic and hopeful.

 

Thought you might like this link. This is a great video of the ship . We will be on the Allure again 9-11 and the Oasis 10-29. It is the Oasis but the same ship except decor

 

https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=0Jch1Q-FrI0&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dch1QhHZCf9Q%26feature%3Dshare

Edited July 17, 2016 by villager70

[jd99]

Thought you might like this link. This is a great video of the ship . We will be on the Allure again 9-11 and the Oasis 10-29. It is the Oasis but the same ship except decor

 

https://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=0Jch1Q-FrI0&u=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dch1QhHZCf9Q%26feature%3Dshare

 

Thank you! Not sure how I hadn't seen that video yet considering how much youtube stalking I've been doing!

[kearney]

Have you signed up for the meet n mingle event on this cruise. You might check into that. It is a way of meeting others who will be on the same sailing. .... share notes.

 

We are going in Sept on Allure. We did Oasis last fall. I have to admit I was hesitant to go on a large ship. I found the Freedom class to be a bit too large. But Oasis class is so well designed it does not feel crowded. I think that is because they have a few more elevators and they seem to be a bit larger. My husband had leg surgery not long ago and stairs are just not an option for him. with Central Park, the board walk and promenade being on different decks... it spreads out the crowds. Now if it is a rainy day, that might be different... but Oasis class is perfect for the Caribbean. Now one thing... the ship is internally focused, so having an ocean view cabin is a good idea. Smaller ships like the Radiance are more externally oriented with ocean views from many if not most public areas.

 

We have not done Disney cruises. Frankly we do not have children and are not into characters. There is such a diverse group of people on the Oasis class. With the combination of sports/physical activities and nice separation from areas focused on children's activities from adult activities.. it works very well for a wide range of people.

 

Have a good cruise

[bigsky]

Have done Disney and Royal. Went on her sister ship the Oasis in the Fall and loved it so much, getting ready to go on the Allure as well. I think you will all love her and how much money you saved as well :D

 

Did you sign up for the shows? Nice if you can figure that out. So many people on board, but so spread out.

 

Great choice of deck 8! We had deck 6 and loved it!! (boardwalk) Easy access to places we spent much time at. This time we're also going to be on 8.

Heard good things about Giovanni's. We're also going there.

 

You will always find people to complain about something. No cruise is perfect. Some better than others though.

 

Enjoy!!

[jd99]

Have done Disney and Royal. Went on her sister ship the Oasis in the Fall and loved it so much, getting ready to go on the Allure as well. I think you will all love her and how much money you saved as well :D

 

Did you sign up for the shows? Nice if you can figure that out. So many people on board, but so spread out.

 

Great choice of deck 8! We had deck 6 and loved it!! (boardwalk) Easy access to places we spent much time at. This time we're also going to be on 8.

Heard good things about Giovanni's. We're also going there.

 

You will always find people to complain about something. No cruise is perfect. Some better than others though.

 

Enjoy!!

 

Thank you! We have already reserved all shows. Love Mama Mia as we have seen it on Broadway a couple of times and the kids love it so looking forward to that as well as OceanAria for sure.