The Scurvy Pirate

Not "benefits" per se, but the room is larger and "feels" much bigger, more like a normal size hotel room on land.  The room has a full size tub/shower, a big walk-in closet, a bigger balcony and lots of drawer/storage space. 

As JamesEM says, it is a central location for all carriage companies, maybe a 5 minute walk from the port.  All zones are good and having lived here 30+ years, all of the stories the drivers tell you are the same, pretty much no matter the zone. About 20 years ago it switched to the lottery.  As hard as it is to believe, they had found issues of political "graft" when a company would submit their annual carriage permit and it was amazing the same two companies got the "best" zones year after year...  the lottery eliminates that.  If you want to go to a particular zone (for example rainbow row or battery park) you can take a "rickshaw" bicycle tour where the person drives you around, but that is pretty much limited to 2 people.

I simply used the boarding pass once I got on the Allure last fall.  Not a big deal at all.  Actually, after the 1st one the bartender took my number and didn't ask for it again.  Maybe because he saw I had the package and more of a hassle to get my number each time for later input when it really didn't matter.

If not used on the previous cruise at all (i.e. never activated), there is a chance you may be able to use it.

The children's crown and anchor benefits includes an "extra" $25 arcade credit when you purchase $50 in arcade credits.  I understand that in order to get this benefit you may have to purchase the $50 credit at one time, not that the child spent more than $50 over the entire length of the cruise.  On the cruise planner it has a promotion of paying $80 to get $100 in arcade credits.  Has anyone ever bought the prepaid arcade credit and then also received the extra $25 C&A benefit?

Two adults want to book a Boardwalk Balcony cabin on the Allure which currently offers the dine, drink and discover perk.  This perk includes the free Classic Soda Package for both adults.  For medical reasons Adult #1 cannot drink alcohol.  If Adult #2 calls RCI to buy the Deluxe Beverage Package (understanding there is no “credit” for the free Classic Soda Package), will RCI “require” Adult #1 to purchase the Refreshment Package or will they be allowed to simply keep the free Classic Soda Package?  Has anyone had any experience in this situation?

21 minutes ago, James Baird said:

Royal may have to cancel the program after my cruise in June!!

Many have tried (including me) and all have failed...

Not sure there will be any sailings on the bigger ships.  Symphony is in Miami, Harmony in Port Canavaral, Allure is in the Mediterranean and Oasis is in New Jersey.  Freedom is in San Juan and Liberty in Galveston.  I think Allure comes back in late November/December to Port Everglades.  Not many options for RCI out of Florida, unless you want to pay more to be on the newer ships.

Did you happen to save any of the inserts that showed the cost of internet packages, beverage package, coffee card, etc. once on board?

Are there no cruises out of Port Everglades for June - October 2020?

Mine showed up on the list today as well, but when you actually went to buy them they said "not available".

On 12/4/2018 at 8:35 AM, cincychad said:

Thanks.  I'll give that a try.  Would you mind sharing that email?

 

Wonder if they had any luck with the direct e-mail approach....

I have been having the same problem with a cruise next October on Allure.  The 5 night plan has been listed but "unavailable".  Today the 4 day plan reappeared but is also "unavailable"...  Same as you, when I called, they said it was "sold out" and even though it was on the planner, it was not available for purchase.  Clearly an IT issue as there is no way they are sold out across the entire cruise line...

I will be on the Allure November 2019 and the same thing just happened.  They were there Monday but gone yesterday.  I did notice the increases in the 3 day (up $9.00) and the ultimate $168 to $199 right after the Black Friday non-"sale".  The 4 and 5 day had been the "normal" $115 and $125 before they disappeared.  Maybe they have pulled them to increase the prices, so when they do the Christmas sale it will seem like you are getting a good deal...

I thought that under the "old" program, if you previously paid for an upgrade to a junior suite at less than full rate that you didn't get double points...

So, if I bid to change from a balcony to a sky or star class suite, do I get the benefits of the suite (free internet, drink package, meal package, Coastal Kitchen, priority debarkation, etc.)?  I guess the devil will be in the details...

Was on the Allure 10/6/18.  We did a behind the scenes kitchen tour with a lunch.  Not sure of the price, but somehow the maitre d worked it out so it counted as meal on our specialty meal package.  If you have never done a kitchen tour it was pretty interesting.  Lots of industrial stainless steel.  Amazing to actually see all the food prep that has to take place.  Not sure I would do it a second time though, but interesting if you haven't done it before.

You can now bring your own on board.  You can take up to Twelve 17oz cans/bottles of non-alcoholic beverages as a carry on, as of a policy change effective September 1, 2018.

Be aware that sometimes "cancelling" a credit card can negatively impact your credit score... assuming no annual fee, its sometimes better to just keep the account open, as it increases your debt to available credit ratio, which oddly enough can increase your credit score.

Children aged 21 and under are included, even if not in the same stateroom.

I thought I had read where if you eat at a specialty restaurant, the daily "gratuity" that would have been attributed to the MDR dinner service gets instead added to the specialty restaurant servers. If that is the case, would that be the equivalent of a triple tip? They get that portion of the daily dinner gratuity, some portion of the 18% gratuity, and then your cash "tip" on top of that? If the daily gratuity is not transferred to the specialty restaurant servers, then the MDR staff gets a "tip" for not serving you, which seems odd...

I just re-purchased it for the Allure 10/7/18 sailing. $72/pp. It had jumped from $85 to $95 in June, and then back down to $90 in July. 1st time I have seen it on sale since I booked the cruise over 1.5 years ago... 4 and 5 night are still full price.

Can you save/post the cruise planners? I am going in October and it would be most helpful.

On the App for Allure for the 10/7 cruise it shows the filet on night #4.

When we were on Harmony last year, filet night was night #1 in the CK but when we were on Allure this year, they had moved filet night to night #4. They said that the "word" had gotten out about night #1 being filet night so they changed it.

I am sailing in October and was working on reservations, etc., switching to Night #4 would definitely impact dinner reservations. I wonder if anyone who has been on the Allure Western route since May of this year could confirm?