Allure photo review from Galveston, Dec 18-23 -- 4 kids, an Artic cold front and relocating Central Park

[dwHokie]

1 hour ago, Vacationdreamer<>< said:

Love your TR.  We are parents to six and found cruising "late" in life for the oldest ones.  We would have done many more.  Taking 5 of the 6 on a Voyager OTS in May with the same itinerary.  I appreciate this on many levels!

 

Very welcome...we feel like we waited for the perfect time for the younger ones, but certainly the older boys missed out a bit...but catching up now as best we can!  Have a great trip!

 

54 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Thanks for taking the time to post the review and pics. 

 

13 minutes ago, Fontaid said:

Thoroughly enjoyed your review. Thanks for posting it along with the pics. I know this took a significant amount of time. I hope your home survived the frigid weather as well.

 

No problem at all, great to have a documentary to look back on in the future as well.  And again, I've learned a ton from these forums so happy to give back in any small way I can.

 

No major issues when we got home (thanks for asking), other than my "smart" thermostat decided to turn off the heat downstairs for the last few days since we weren't around...right when we needed it to keep all the pipes warm.  It was 54 degrees in the house downstairs when we walked in!  Will probably lose a few plants outside as we didn't get them covered until we got home, but could have been worse.

[mcgore83]

Great review!  You have a beautiful family!  Thank you for sharing!

[wreckem2013]

A large portion of the plants are going to have to be replaced. Most of the plants cannot tolerate less than 40 for to long and the ship was in Galveston for 12 hours with windchills in the negatives to single digits. They salvaged and trimmed back what they could but Central Park definitely took a major hit.

 

 

Be thankful you were only had to deal with the cold front leaving the ship, the Christmas cruise had a lot of weather(first day all outdoor activities were closed, first two sea days outdoor activities were limited due to wind and rain) and entertainment issues(all but one the original Aqua shows got canceled and rescheduled for later in the week, and it appears all showings of Momma Mia have been canceled).

Edited December 29, 2022 by wreckem2013

[wreckem2013]

3 minutes ago, wreckem2013 said:

 

 

Edited December 29, 2022 by wreckem2013

[SWACruising]

Loving the review, thanks. We sail Allure the end of March and this provides lots of useful information

[dwHokie]

15 hours ago, mcgore83 said:

Great review!  You have a beautiful family!  Thank you for sharing!

 

Thank you so much!

 

2 hours ago, SWACruising said:

Loving the review, thanks. We sail Allure the end of March and this provides lots of useful information

 

You bet, no problem at all.

[dwHokie]

Day 6 -- Disembarkation

 

We leveraged the assisted luggage option given the kids and luggage for 6, so our scheduled time to depart the ship was 9 - 9:15am.  We were supposed to be out of our room by 8am and in a public space our our departure lounge (Amber theater).  We had things packed up easily by then as we had to have the large luggage out the night before by 10pm.  We stopped by the Amber theater to drop off our backpacks and I took the kids to Windjammer one last time (Mom stayed to watch our stuff).  It was packed, but we did enjoy a nice last breakfast.  Note that they did have some coffee / beverages and very light breakfast fare (muffins, croissants) in the Amber theater.

 

 

We headed back to relieve Mom so she could grab something to eat, arriving back to the Amber theater by 8:45am.  At that point we realized they were already calling out #30 on the baggage tags and we were #22.  So they were well ahead of the printed schedule, just a heads up if you want to get off as early as possible.  We were in no hurry since we were driving home, but Allison decided she would just get breakfast on the way home so we headed off the ship at that point (it was 8:50am).

 

They had us walking directly to the running track outside the Amber theater and then walking back to the middle of the ship outside.  That would not have normally been an issue...but here's the weather we were walking outside in:

 

 

The wind was substantial with a 3 degree wind chill!!  I can only think they didn't want to open the doors midship due to the wind and wanting to not impact the promenade.  We didn't have to wait long and at least we were in the sun.

 

We walked right through immigration with a cursory check of the kids birth certificates (they didn't even check our passports) though they did ask our 8 year old to name everyone in our party.  😄

 

We easily found our luggage, there was a line of porters to help and we walked right through the final customs check.  I jogged to the South lot since the kids were waiting outside and had no issues pulling right up to where our luggage was staged.  The car was loaded and we were driving away at 9:15am.  Again, just a very efficient process and the new terminal made it very, very easy.  Here was the view of the water / white caps that day driving across the bridge in Galveston.

 

 

 

We were back home in Round Rock just after 1pm.

 

Final thoughts:

 

We had an amazing cruise together.  The kids absolutely loved it.  We have a tradition of going to the beach every summer which the kids love.  After we returned home, my wife asked the kids if they had to pick one vacation between the beach and a cruise which they would select and it was a resounding vote for a cruise.

 

The service we experienced from all RCL employees was the highlight of the trip.  Just can't say enough about how well we were treated by everyone from our cabin steward to our waiters to the bartenders to the folks in the kids club.  I certainly felt like it was better than our last cruise this past summer (which wasn't bad).

 

The new terminal in Galveston and having an Oasis class ship less than a 4 hour drive from home is a gamechanger for us and it could not have been easier.  We can't wait for next December on Harmony.

 

I was a little concerned on cruising on an un-amplified ship after cruising on Harmony, but we honestly didn't miss the water slides / Ultimate Abyss...there is just so much to do.  The view from the boardwalk without the Abyss was much better and I liked the solarium on the Allure.  We also preferred El Loco Fresh to Mini Bites.  We did miss Jamie's and the fact that there are only 2 ping pong tables in the back vs. 4 on Harmony as they were always packed.  With all that said, I wouldn't hesitate to sail on Allure again as she is in great shape and I didn't notice any differences in upkeep vs. Harmony.

 

My only ask for RCL is they consider alternate itineraries for us here in Galveston.  Would love to be able to get to Coco Cay or at least some other alternate ports from here other than Roatan, Cozumel and Costa Maya, even if it meant a 9 or 10 day cruise.

 

Thanks for following along and I'm happy to answer any questions.

 

-Dan

[footzz]

25 minutes ago, dwHokie said:

My only ask for RCL is they consider alternate itineraries for us here in Galveston.  Would love to be able to get to Coco Cay or at least some other alternate ports from here other than Roatan, Cozumel and Costa Maya, even if it meant a 9 or 10 day cruise.

 

 

You're in luck. RCL will be going to Coco Cay from Galveston starting in Feb. 2023. Although it will be the Radience OTS instead of the Allure.

[JupiterTwo]

1 hour ago, dwHokie said:

My only ask for RCL is they consider alternate itineraries for us here in Galveston.  Would love to be able to get to Coco Cay or at least some other alternate ports from here other than Roatan, Cozumel and Costa Maya, even if it meant a 9 or 10 day cruise.

Prior to COVID-19, RCL used to alternate between Cozumel-Roatan-Costa Maya and Cozumel-Grand Cayman-Jamaica.

 

Still not great, but at least there were two choices.

[quantumleap]

9 hours ago, dwHokie said:

My only ask for RCL is they consider alternate itineraries for us here in Galveston.  Would love to be able to get to Coco Cay or at least some other alternate ports from here other than Roatan, Cozumel and Costa Maya, even if it meant a 9 or 10 day cruise.

 

Thanks for following along and I'm happy to answer any questions.

 

-Dan

 

If you are willing to roll the dice a bit during the 2024 hurricane season, the Harmony of the Seas will have a series of 8 day sailings, leaving from Galveston, that do stop at Coco Cay...these are the departure dates for those specific cruises:

 

Jul 20, 2024

Aug 3, 2024

Aug 17, 2024

Sep 14, 2024

Oct 12, 2024

Nov 9, 2024

 

Oh, and thanks for the great review, we are looking forward to sailing the Allure out of Galveston in a few months!

 

[perfect match]

Dan, thank you for a great review! I enjoyed cruising along with you and your family. Can’t wait  till the next time! 😀🛳

[JamesEM]

Thanks for the review and photos, and the information about the excursion in Costa Maya. 

[graciekelli]

I loved your review and pictures.  It brought so many great memories of cruising with our kids.  Those days are over as they have all grown-up.  I am looking forward to cruising with the grandkids once they get a little older.  Thank you for putting this all together.

[dwHokie]

Thank you all for the information on Coco Cay and alternate ports out of Galveston.  Interestingly, I had read a post about Coco Cay and stopped by Next Cruise...none of the printed itineraries had been updated yet and the gentleman there I talked to was not aware of any alternate ports yet.  But great to know they're out there now.

[dwHokie]

9 hours ago, perfect match said:

Dan, thank you for a great review! I enjoyed cruising along with you and your family. Can’t wait  till the next time! 😀🛳

 

You are certainly welcome and we can't wait until next December...need someone in the family to plan one for all of us again as well (Christy -- hint, hint  😀)

[dwHokie]

9 hours ago, JamesEM said:

Thanks for the review and photos, and the information about the excursion in Costa Maya. 

 

No problem at all, had fun reliving the trip.

 

3 hours ago, graciekelli said:

I loved your review and pictures.  It brought so many great memories of cruising with our kids.  Those days are over as they have all grown-up.  I am looking forward to cruising with the grandkids once they get a little older.  Thank you for putting this all together.

 

Thank you and you're welcome!  We hope we're planting the seed with our kids as well.

[Kellie in Texas]

We are about to head to Galveston for five days on Adventure OTS -- myself, DH, DS age 30 and his fiancee, and DS age 21. Starting with oldest son's high school graduation, we have picked special cruises for celebrations. June 2011 was our first Alaska cruise; June 2016 when he graduated from college was a Baltics cruise from Copenhagen. When DS21 graduated from high school in June 2020, it was going to be Alaska again but it got Covid-ed out (twice!), so that cruise was this past June and celebrated high school graduation and completion of sophomore year of college.  😄  I've been asking him where he wants to go when he graduates from college but no word yet. We've sprinkled additional cruises over the years but we like celebrating the big events with cruises.  My son's fiancee has never cruised before so it will be fun to see her reactions to everything. 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Kellie in Texas

[t18c97]

Thanks for your review and thoughts of the cruise. 

[TKATeacher]

Thanks for the great review - really enjoyed it!  Our 4 kids are 10 years older than yours, but a similar 9 year age span - currently 26, 25, 20, and 17. We started cruising when our youngest was 3. First cruise was a 3 night out of Florida after a Disney trip, and we were all hooked.  It has been a wonderful way to vacation for our family with just the perfect blend of do and relax and together and apart to keep everyone happy.  Our oldest wed in October, and he and his new wife enjoyed their honeymoon cruise! Our next adventure this summer is a Greek Isles trip with just us and the younger two.

[#55worktoplay]

Great review, thanks for sharing.

 

Your kids are adorable, I especially liked the two older ones with their hands on the little ones shoulders in the early pictures. Beautiful family. 

[SHIP TRAVELER]

Thanks for the Review.  We are going in Feb on the Allure and have just realized that the new terminal is not near the old terminal and therefore EZ parking our old "go to" is not the best option now.  My DH was wondering how much you paid for the south lot if you can recall.  Also when did you reserve the South lot? It looks like some of the other places are now charging for shuttles so this is a new world to us.  We have not sailed out of Galveston in a while so any parking hints from any one are appreciated.

[SHIP TRAVELER]

I guess the question I needed to ask about near pier terminal parking is "how long is the walk and how long did it take you"?  Is there a good sidewalk or did you have to walk in the street?

[dwHokie]

On 12/30/2022 at 4:08 PM, t18c97 said:

Thanks for your review and thoughts of the cruise. 

 

You are certainly welcome.

 

On 12/30/2022 at 7:11 PM, TKATeacher said:

Thanks for the great review - really enjoyed it!  Our 4 kids are 10 years older than yours, but a similar 9 year age span - currently 26, 25, 20, and 17. We started cruising when our youngest was 3. First cruise was a 3 night out of Florida after a Disney trip, and we were all hooked.  It has been a wonderful way to vacation for our family with just the perfect blend of do and relax and together and apart to keep everyone happy.  Our oldest wed in October, and he and his new wife enjoyed their honeymoon cruise! Our next adventure this summer is a Greek Isles trip with just us and the younger two.

 

Awesome to hear and no problem.  We truly enjoy cruising with the kids and it's awesome to see them enjoy it as much as we do.  Sounds like a very similar story with your family...thank you for sharing.

[dwHokie]

1 hour ago, #55worktoplay said:

Great review, thanks for sharing.

 

Your kids are adorable, I especially liked the two older ones with their hands on the little ones shoulders in the early pictures. Beautiful family. 

 

Thank you so much, really appreciate it.  They're good kids.

[dwHokie]

1 hour ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

Thanks for the Review.  We are going in Feb on the Allure and have just realized that the new terminal is not near the old terminal and therefore EZ parking our old "go to" is not the best option now.  My DH was wondering how much you paid for the south lot if you can recall.  Also when did you reserve the South lot? It looks like some of the other places are now charging for shuttles so this is a new world to us.  We have not sailed out of Galveston in a while so any parking hints from any one are appreciated.

 

It was $100 + tax and I only booked it a week in advance.  But when I booked, the North lot was full and only the South lot and Pier 14 were available. 

 

1 hour ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

I guess the question I needed to ask about near pier terminal parking is "how long is the walk and how long did it take you"?  Is there a good sidewalk or did you have to walk in the street?

 

It was less than 5 minutes walk from the South lot to the terminal (I did get a spot right near the entrance as there were plenty of spots).  With 4 kids, the proximity and not needing to do / wait for a shuttle with the kids and all the luggage was worth the extra $$ to us.  This was especially helpful the day we got back with sub-zero temperatures as I was able to get them back in the car very fast.  See my earlier post around embarkation and the parking map which hopefully helps...and the first picture there is a good vantage point of how far it is from the South lot to the terminal.

 

There is no sidewalk and you do have to cross one street internal to the cruise port only between the North and South lots.  The rest you're just walking through the South and North lots to get to the terminal.  I will be booking the South lot again when we cruise from Galveston next...it was super easy.

 

I've also seen some other posts on here with coupon codes to save $10 and $20 on port of Galveston parking.