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Allure of the Seas first timer

ThePosse

By ThePosse,
in Royal Caribbean International

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ThePosse

ThePosse

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My wife and I and our two kids (8 & 4) will be sailing on Royal Caribbean for the first time as we will be on the Allure of the Seas in August. Just wondering what you experienced folks think of the ship and what are some of the can't misses for the trip. The kids are super excited

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one9marine

one9marine

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kids will like the Boardwalk. 6th floor aft. also that is where the amphitheater is. For Mom and Dad a nice mexican place (Rita's i think). Good guac and drinks. Also Johnny Rockets and The Smokehouse (hot dogs, brats, and sausages).

Central Park on the 8th floor is a nice oasis. Park Cafe is nice. Rising tide bar goes from 5th to 5th floors. Kinda neat for the ride. The little one will enjoy the Kids Zone on the pool deck

 

If i had to choose Allure is my favorite. Oasis basically the same except we like the eating options better on Allure.

Happy cruising!

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Pstreet12

Pstreet12

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With such a large group, make your reservations on line (in cruise planner which you can click on under your booking number) as soon as possible. I recommend making the entertainment reservations first and planning the eating times around the entertainment. There are a few afternoon ice shows--probably better for the kids because some of them are fairly late on the evening schedule.

For your large group, once you have booked the entertainment, you can write Royal and ask specifically for a table for 10. I'm sure you already have, but sometimes a second request before boarding gets better results. Once you are on board, go to the dining room--soon after boarding--and check the table you have been assigned (on your sea pass card). If it turns out not to be a table for 10, get in line immediately to explain your need and get it changed. The sooner you are in line, the more chance of getting it fixed.

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rmurray847

rmurray847

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With such a large group, make your reservations on line (in cruise planner which you can click on under your booking number) as soon as possible. I recommend making the entertainment reservations first and planning the eating times around the entertainment. There are a few afternoon ice shows--probably better for the kids because some of them are fairly late on the evening schedule.

For your large group, once you have booked the entertainment, you can write Royal and ask specifically for a table for 10. I'm sure you already have, but sometimes a second request before boarding gets better results. Once you are on board, go to the dining room--soon after boarding--and check the table you have been assigned (on your sea pass card). If it turns out not to be a table for 10, get in line immediately to explain your need and get it changed. The sooner you are in line, the more chance of getting it fixed.

THIS right here is all great advice! DO try to book all the reservations you can in advance, given the size of the group. One thing that confused us a little was the ability to only book one night at the Comedy Club. We like Comedy, so we wanted to go all the time. But when we got on the ship, we learned that it's the same act each night. (Should have guessed...it's a small club.) It's NOT for kids, but if the adults like comedy, do be sure to reserve in advance.

 

There are two ice shows, and you can reserve only for the "main" one. Do that...but don't ignore the "How To Train Your Dragon" show that will be announced once you're onboard. And for the kids, keep an eye out in your daily program for character parades and other appearances by folks like Shrek.

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LeeW

LeeW

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There is an ice show and water show that can be reserved. Do those. You can also go to later shows but won't be able to get reservations - if you want to do this just show up 45 minutes early and get in non-reservation line. In our case the headliner was Ronn Lucas but couldn't make a second reservation. When we got to the theater they had plenty of space and we didn't have to wait in the non-reservation line.

 

The second ice show "How to Train Your Dragon" is better and doesn't need reservations. Likewise the "Let You Entertain Me" water show with King Julian is during the day and great for kids. No reservations either.

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Arizona Cruz Chic

Arizona Cruz Chic

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We are excited as it’s a big family trip with my parents celebrating their 50th anniversary so a total of 10 us are going

 

Congrats to your parents! Its a huge milestone.

We just did that last year July (Allure) for our 50th anniversary taking the family there were 10 of us. The grands loved, loved, loved Labadee and deck 15 sports court. Everyone enjoyed being together every night at dinner talking about their days activities and what plans were on tap for the next day.

 

 

OP...you'll love the Allure!!!!

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js

js

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When are you sailing. We are a family of 19 and sailing August 12. Cannot wait. We are three days shy of Diamond on RCCL but never sailed the Oasis class.

 

Our ages range from 11-72. This ship seems to have it all for all ages! We have balcony cabins on Decks 6-8.

 

Happy planning!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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cruisinforabruising

cruisinforabruising

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We will be headed on our 4th trip to the Allure in May. 1st time no kids, second 3 and 10month old, third 2 and 5 year old, fourth and upcoming no kids. The adventure ocean program is great. You can drop the kids off early on some nights and they will feed them while you go to dinner or they have a program that they will get the kids from the dining room early while you finish your meal in peace. We've also done it on port days that we have left our kids on the ship while we go tool around on St. Martin (Just know the kids staff have no way of contacting you if something goes wrong).

 

Make your reservations ahead of time is a great suggestion but also be prepared to be flexible some of the shows run later so depending on how your kids are with bed time melt downs be prepared to just head back to the room. There is in room child care available but that is on a first come first serve availability so be sure to book that early on day 1 if you intend on using it.

 

Lastly, don't try to do everything. The ship is so big and has so many things to do that you will exhaust yourself trying to do them all (Nobody needs vacations from their vacation). Relax and don't feel guilty for dropping the kids off at adventure ocean. They will have a better time than you.

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Arizona Cruz Chic

Arizona Cruz Chic

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This is exactly what we are hoping for! Congratulations to you and your husband on 50 years

 

 

TYVM!

 

If I could offer a couple suggestions.....

 

We did a black shirt night for pictures, turned out very nice.

 

My son surprised us with custom T shirts with our name and occasion, it was fun for all of us to wear them on the same day, it made great photo shoots around the ship.

 

One other thing I did was to have one "date" with each grandchild at their favorite place on the ship, I did mini golf date, an ice cream date and a carousel date. They loved it.

 

***

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  • 2 weeks later...
CruzOMA

CruzOMA

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With 10 people for sure figure out how you will communicate with each other during the day. Maybe have a daily outline of events and designated meeting times/spots.

We were on Allure two weeks ago, there were six of us and it was a pain trying to stay in touch.

They do offer VOOM communication but at $16/day each that really is expensive for a big group.

FYI - you will see post-it notes on cabin doors recommended but from experience Allure is a BIG ship. Walking to a cabin just to find that someone is somewhere else is going to get old in a hurry.

Have a great time.

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