Question about Allure cabins

[tink218]

My husband and I are going on our first Allure cruise. We have always traveled in Junior Suites on our other cruises, Freedom class and also on Jewel of the Seas. I booked an ocean view balcony cabin on our Allure cruise departing on Oct. 22nd. Do you think I will regret it? It is only $1000.00 more to upgrade to a JS. My husband is a tall guy and enjoys time on the balcony, as do I. will we have enough room on the smaller balcony? Really second guessing myself here. Are the beds the same size in both state rooms.

 

Thank you for any input. I am really looking forward to this cruise. We plan on staying on the ship and just enjoying all it has to offer.

[katiel53]

It depends upon how much importance you place on the extra sized room and balcony as to whether you will be happy with a standard cabin. The beds are the same size as far as I can tell. We have sailed in JS on other cruses and in an ocean view balcony on Allure as well as a Boardwalk view balcony on Allure.

 

It's really strange in that we always have a balcony at least on other ships. I loved having the Boardwalk view balcony on Allure. I don't know if it's because this type cabin is only available on Oasis class ships that I have sailed, or if it's some other reason.

 

Our first Allure was a Boardwalk view and it was the 3rd cabin from the aft so on our balcony we could see the ocean and also what was going on on the Boardwalk. Our second one, which was last month was an ocean view balcony and it was pretty much the same as all the other ocean balconies we've had on other ships.

 

When we sail Allure again, we will be going back to the Boardwalk balcony. I guess it's because it is available on limited ships whereas the regular balconies are available on so many others. Additionally, there is so much to do on Allure, that I didn't miss the larger stateroom that comes with the JS.

[rmurray847]

My husband and I are going on our first Allure cruise. We have always traveled in Junior Suites on our other cruises, Freedom class and also on Jewel of the Seas. I booked an ocean view balcony cabin on our Allure cruise departing on Oct. 22nd. Do you think I will regret it? It is only $1000.00 more to upgrade to a JS. My husband is a tall guy and enjoys time on the balcony, as do I. will we have enough room on the smaller balcony? Really second guessing myself here. Are the beds the same size in both state rooms.

 

Thank you for any input. I am really looking forward to this cruise. We plan on staying on the ship and just enjoying all it has to offer.

Tough to answer since I have no idea how important $1000 is to you. For us, it would not be worth it. The balconies are fairly small. With two chairs and a small table, there isn't much extra room. I'm only 5'11", but did not feel cramped or unable to stretch my legs. Not sure how this compares to your husband.

 

I absolutely would NOT pay $1000 extra for the tiny bit of extra cabin space. To me, your question comes down to the balcony, and how valuable that space is.

[cb at sea]

If all you do is sit and read or talk, or stand at the rail and ocean gaze, the balcony will be ample for the 2 of you. Of course, it's not as wide as a JS balcony (or cabin!), but is the extra width worth $1000 to you? I do prefer the extra bathroom space and tub in a JS.

[tink218]

Thank you all for your input. My husband made the final decision and we upgraded to the junior suite. He is the one that really enjoys the bigger balcony and the bigger stateroom. I know the bathroom situation will be better for him with the full tub/ shower too. He is 6'3" and likes the extra room. We are happy with the decision and look forward to this cruise. It ended up only being a little over $700 to upgrade, so not too bad.

[Merion_Mom]

Thank you all for your input. My husband made the final decision and we upgraded to the junior suite. He is the one that really enjoys the bigger balcony and the bigger stateroom. I know the bathroom situation will be better for him with the full tub/ shower too. He is 6'3" and likes the extra room. We are happy with the decision and look forward to this cruise. It ended up only being a little over $700 to upgrade, so not too bad.

Isn't it funny how $700 doesn't look too bad when you were expecting $1000? ;)

[tink218]

Isn't it funny how $700 doesn't look too bad when you were expecting $1000? ;)

You are so right!!! Now that we are retired, we are enjoying traveling. My husband worked 80-90 hours a week as a police officer and he said he is going to spend his money how he wants to now! That $300 less looks bettter to me because now I have more to put away for the next trip, our anniversary cruise in February on Celebrity Silhouette!

[Tripelite]

One of the best things about a JS (in my opinion) is the ability to eat at the excellent Coastal Kitchen (no charge, and house wine, some beer, and some other drinks were included). We ate there four out of seven nights on the Allure, and it was our favorite place on the ship.

Edited September 4, 2017 by Tripelite
Clarified free drink availability

[David0422]

One of the best things about a JS (in my opinion) is the ability to eat at Coastal Kitchen (no charge, and wine, beer, and some other drinks included). We ate there four out of seven nights on the Allure, and it was our favorite place on the ship.

 

Just off Allure, 8/13 sailing and stayed in Junior Suite, 8644. Starboard side, in the hump with a large balcony that had 2 chairs and a table for dining as well as 2 lounge chairs. The suite is extremely large, definitely worth the additional $700, not to mention the walk in closet and full bath tub. I never took a bath the entire week, always opted for the shower, but I still enjoyed the much larger space as compared to the showers in previous RC cabins.

 

Yes, Coastal Kitchen was great, ate there for 5 nights. Ask to be seated with either Joe or Arizona as your waiters. They are great, as well as Suzanah who was also excellent. Only had one bad waiter the entire week in CK but I do not want to mention his name. My only issue about CK is that if you are in a JS, you have to call the morning of to reserve your dinner time. My experience was that after day 2, the later evening times were usually taken so we had to eat earlier than I hoped for. When I spoke to my suite concierge (Anastasia?), she told me that we could do it 24 hours in advance but they would never allow me to do this for the following evening as I was leaving the previous dinner seating. So it ended up interfering with whatever evening activities we had planned in advance. We did eat one night in the MDR, it was Italian night and the chicken marsala was delicious. Also ate Izumi Hibachi and that was very good as well.

 

Let me tell you why you want to be on deck eight; as you walk down the long corridor from the stairwell areas you never have to worry about the traffic or doors opening in the interior of the ship because for the most part, there are no interior cabins on this deck because you are walking against the shared wall with the Central Park dining and drinking venues. Also, deck eight was convenient not only for Central Park, but only a few decks from 5/6 which is where you tend to congregate for many reasons. Deck 6 has the fabulous Boardwalk area as well as the Schooner bar which is where we would wind down most evenings sipping on a cocktail (I had drink package, see other threads) and listening to the piana player that usually went on until around 1 a. m. or so.

 

Other must do's:

Eat breakfast at Johnny Rockets, free and very good

Eat breakfast in the MDR, this was the first cruise we consistently did this and was never disappointed.

If you like being pampered while on vacation, spend the extra money to access the 5th floor Spa facilities.

The Spa and workout entrance was located on deck 6, which is also convenient to deck 8 but you can only access the Spa stairs down to 5 from the general Spa entrance area, deck 6.

If the Eagles tribute band is onboard, do not miss this show.

Mama Mia was excellent and every bit as good as the production at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas years ago.

Stay away from Windjammer, we were fortunate and only ate there twice the entire cruise. One bkfst, one lunch.

If you like specialty coffees, fresh squeezed orange juice, tropical drinks, mixed drinks and wine, then at least one of you should purchase the deluxe drink package.

 

Think that covers everything, but be sure to book a cabin in the hump of the ship. Not all JS are on the hump and I would definitely recommend 8644. If you have one assigned already, you can always change to any open cabin in your category for no increase.

[Pstreet12]

I think you'll be pleased you upgraded. The cabins on the Oasis ships are extra small compared to the regular cabins on Freedom class ships. If you've enjoyed the extra space of a junior suite on Freedom Class, you'll REALLY enjoy it on Oasis class.

[MikeBTN]

Thank you all for your input. My husband made the final decision and we upgraded to the junior suite. He is the one that really enjoys the bigger balcony and the bigger stateroom. I know the bathroom situation will be better for him with the full tub/ shower too. He is 6'3" and likes the extra room. We are happy with the decision and look forward to this cruise. It ended up only being a little over $700 to upgrade, so not too bad.

 

That's a good price for 50% larger room & balcony, larger bathroom (with a tub, if that's important), more storage, and access to Coastal Kitchen for dinner, and other benefits that come with the JS.

[tink218]

Just off Allure, 8/13 sailing and stayed in Junior Suite, 8644. Starboard side, in the hump with a large balcony that had 2 chairs and a table for dining as well as 2 lounge chairs. The suite is extremely large, definitely worth the additional $700, not to mention the walk in closet and full bath tub. I never took a bath the entire week, always opted for the shower, but I still enjoyed the much larger space as compared to the showers in previous RC cabins.

 

Yes, Coastal Kitchen was great, ate there for 5 nights. Ask to be seated with either Joe or Arizona as your waiters. They are great, as well as Suzanah who was also excellent. Only had one bad waiter the entire week in CK but I do not want to mention his name. My only issue about CK is that if you are in a JS, you have to call the morning of to reserve your dinner time. My experience was that after day 2, the later evening times were usually taken so we had to eat earlier than I hoped for. When I spoke to my suite concierge (Anastasia?), she told me that we could do it 24 hours in advance but they would never allow me to do this for the following evening as I was leaving the previous dinner seating. So it ended up interfering with whatever evening activities we had planned in advance. We did eat one night in the MDR, it was Italian night and the chicken marsala was delicious. Also ate Izumi Hibachi and that was very good as well.

 

Let me tell you why you want to be on deck eight; as you walk down the long corridor from the stairwell areas you never have to worry about the traffic or doors opening in the interior of the ship because for the most part, there are no interior cabins on this deck because you are walking against the shared wall with the Central Park dining and drinking venues. Also, deck eight was convenient not only for Central Park, but only a few decks from 5/6 which is where you tend to congregate for many reasons. Deck 6 has the fabulous Boardwalk area as well as the Schooner bar which is where we would wind down most evenings sipping on a cocktail (I had drink package, see other threads) and listening to the piana player that usually went on until around 1 a. m. or so.

 

Other must do's:

Eat breakfast at Johnny Rockets, free and very good

Eat breakfast in the MDR, this was the first cruise we consistently did this and was never disappointed.

If you like being pampered while on vacation, spend the extra money to access the 5th floor Spa facilities.

The Spa and workout entrance was located on deck 6, which is also convenient to deck 8 but you can only access the Spa stairs down to 5 from the general Spa entrance area, deck 6.

If the Eagles tribute band is onboard, do not miss this show.

Mama Mia was excellent and every bit as good as the production at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas years ago.

Stay away from Windjammer, we were fortunate and only ate there twice the entire cruise. One bkfst, one lunch.

If you like specialty coffees, fresh squeezed orange juice, tropical drinks, mixed drinks and wine, then at least one of you should purchase the deluxe drink package.

 

Think that covers everything, but be sure to book a cabin in the hump of the ship. Not all JS are on the hump and I would definitely recommend 8644. If you have one assigned already, you can always change to any open cabin in your category for no increase.

Wow, thank you so much for you helpful information! We have room 7636 on the hump. We are very pleased with our upgrade and are very excited about our cruise. We bought the 4 night dinner package, but now I am thinking of cutting it down, being able to eat at CK is exciting. The agent I spoke to told me I may not get in depending on how busy it was. Did you find it difficult, we like to eat early due to my husband's medication.

[tink218]

That's a good price for 50% larger room & balcony, larger bathroom (with a tub, if that's important), more storage, and access to Coastal Kitchen for dinner, and other benefits that come with the JS.

I thought it was pretty good too. I see you are from Nashville! We live in Murfreesboro. Moved here 4 years ago when we retired to live near some of our grandchildren. Moved from Massachusetts.

[David0422]

Wow, thank you so much for you helpful information! We have room 7636 on the hump. We are very pleased with our upgrade and are very excited about our cruise. We bought the 4 night dinner package, but now I am thinking of cutting it down, being able to eat at CK is exciting. The agent I spoke to told me I may not get in depending on how busy it was. Did you find it difficult, we like to eat early due to my husband's medication.

 

tink218, I find it odd that the agent told you that you may not get into CK. Dinner (only) at CK is one of the perks of being in the JS. I am sure you can eat there as many nights as you wish and if you like to eat early, then I bet you will get your desired times. It was only when we wanted to eat later, 8 or later, that we were shut out and had to settle for 6:30 - 7-ish.

I would definitely not buy a 4 night specialty dinner package when you have CK available all nights. They have a traditional menu that does not change but there are other selections that change nightly.

Also, here is a tip that I learned on CC. You definitely need to eat CK the first night because that is filet mignon night.

 

any other questions, fire away.

[Merion_Mom]

tink218, I find it odd that the agent told you that you may not get into CK. Dinner (only) at CK is one of the perks of being in the JS. I am sure you can eat there as many nights as you wish and if you like to eat early, then I bet you will get your desired times. It was only when we wanted to eat later, 8 or later, that we were shut out and had to settle for 6:30 - 7-ish.

I would definitely not buy a 4 night specialty dinner package when you have CK available all nights. They have a traditional menu that does not change but there are other selections that change nightly.

Also, here is a tip that I learned on CC. You definitely need to eat CK the first night because that is filet mignon night.

 

any other questions, fire away.

You may find it odd, as it IS a perk of JS on Oasis and Quantum class ships, but in practicality, there are quite a few reports of JS passengers being told that CK is full.

[MikeBTN]

Wow, thank you so much for you helpful information! We have room 7636 on the hump. We are very pleased with our upgrade and are very excited about our cruise. We bought the 4 night dinner package, but now I am thinking of cutting it down, being able to eat at CK is exciting. The agent I spoke to told me I may not get in depending on how busy it was. Did you find it difficult, we like to eat early due to my husband's medication.

 

We were in a JS on Oasis last year - last sea day we tried to change our reserved dining time and were told they were booked solid. So we just ate at our reserved time. Other than that no problems. After boarding head up to Coastal Kitchen and feel free to make reservations for the week and you shouldn't have an issue. I'm guessing those that have had issues probably tried to make same-day reservations or were walk-in.

 

I was also surprised at how many in a JS had no idea they had access to CK until mid-way through the week!

[dccramer]

I'm 6'3 and there is plenty of room for me. We are going on the Allure for the 2nd tome and have a balcony over Central Park. I don't think it's worth the extra money because we only sleep in our state room.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

[David0422]

We were in a JS on Oasis last year - last sea day we tried to change our reserved dining time and were told they were booked solid. So we just ate at our reserved time. Other than that no problems. After boarding head up to Coastal Kitchen and feel free to make reservations for the week and you shouldn't have an issue. I'm guessing those that have had issues probably tried to make same-day reservations or were walk-in.

 

I was also surprised at how many in a JS had no idea they had access to CK until mid-way through the week!

 

As I stated earlier, we were never shut out at CK, but we were definitely not allowed to make our reservation for the evening dinner in CK until that morning. We would call every morning, leave a message and they would call back within about 15 minutes and either confirm the time I had given or give us available dining times for the evening.

Great comment about going up to CK as soon as you board on Sunday and make your reservation for the evening. If they allow you to do the whole week, then go for it. Also, the views of the ocean are beautiful at sunset in CK.

 

Another small issue was that our SeaPass never opened the door at CK and we always had to be buzzed in. Spoke to other JS diners and they all had this same experience. In a way it makes you feel unwelcome, but since it is a perk of the JS class, then you need to overlook this small inconvenience.

 

Also, the dress code was all over the place in CK at night, including shorts. Some $%&$ individual who was a loud mouth slob every night in CK was definitely a casino high roller but it was disappointing to see him one evening with Mitch, the cruise director dining with him in CK. He was definitely catered to by RCI but he definitely did not adhere to dress code.

How did I know he was a casino high roller, well all you had to do was sit within 10 yards of him at dinner and you knew his entire life.

[yuvraj]

 

Yes, Coastal Kitchen was great, ate there for 5 nights. Ask to be seated with either Joe or Arizona as your waiters. They are great, as well as Suzanah who was also excellent. Only had one bad waiter the entire week in CK but I do not want to mention his name. My only issue about CK is that if you are in a JS, you have to call the morning of to reserve your dinner time. My experience was that after day 2, the later evening times were usually taken so we had to eat earlier than I hoped for. When I spoke to my suite concierge (Anastasia?), she told me that we could do it 24 hours in advance but they would never allow me to do this for the following evening as I was leaving the previous dinner seating. So it ended up interfering with whatever evening activities we had planned in advance. We did eat one night in the MDR, it was Italian night and the chicken marsala was delicious. Also ate Izumi Hibachi and that was very good as well.

 

 

We were in a regular suite but noticed that when a JS guest tried to pre-book coastal kitchen for a whole week, they were declined and informed they could only book on the day subject to availability.

 

It is as if JS suite guests have lower priority. Personally RCI should either remove this perk and make Coastal Kitchen available to all suite and JS guests on equal terms.

[Clarea]

... It is as if JS suite guests have lower priority. ...

I believe that is the case.

[tink218]

I am fine with having to make a reservation day by day. I am happy that we are able to try it. Maybe for our next cruise it will convince my husband we should book a full suite!!! I am hoping we like the Allure enough to book it again.

[tink218]

Okay, after ready everything to my husband and talking about Coastal Kitchen, he had me call to see how much it would cost to upgrade to a Grand Suite! It was only $202.00!!! So, my very inexpensive balcony cruise,that I was happy with has now gone to what we usually pay for a cruise, but in a GS. My husband is happy and that is all that matters to me. We are in suite 6660 and that is fine. We have never stayed in a full suite so now I need to know what the perks are. So, if anyone can help, I appreciate it.

[Clarea]

Okay, after ready everything to my husband and talking about Coastal Kitchen, he had me call to see how much it would cost to upgrade to a Grand Suite! It was only $202.00!!! So, my very inexpensive balcony cruise,that I was happy with has now gone to what we usually pay for a cruise, but in a GS. My husband is happy and that is all that matters to me. We are in suite 6660 and that is fine. We have never stayed in a full suite so now I need to know what the perks are. So, if anyone can help, I appreciate it.

If we are still talking about Allure, see Sky Class perks here:

 

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Suites/16049781_RSC_Trade_Flyer.pdf

[tink218]

If we are still talking about Allure, see Sky Class perks here:

 

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Suites/16049781_RSC_Trade_Flyer.pdf

Yes, Allure it is! I looked at that, but not quite understanding the perks, beyond the CK and concierge services. No matter, still excited. Jim is happpy and excited so all is good. I do appreciate all the input here and look forward to our first Oasis class cruise.

[David0422]

Okay, after ready everything to my husband and talking about Coastal Kitchen, he had me call to see how much it would cost to upgrade to a Grand Suite! It was only $202.00!!! So, my very inexpensive balcony cruise,that I was happy with has now gone to what we usually pay for a cruise, but in a GS. My husband is happy and that is all that matters to me. We are in suite 6660 and that is fine. We have never stayed in a full suite so now I need to know what the perks are. So, if anyone can help, I appreciate it.

 

awesome, but out of my league.

 

Bob has shown you the way.

 

definitely think about backing out of that 4 night specialty dinner pax