moopetguy

I'll be sailing on Anthem soon, and I'm wondering if it might be worth going on the All-Access Tour. I did it once before on Oasis in 2014, when it was longer at about 3-3.5 hours in duration (at the time, it included: Aquatheatre, galley, I-95, cold storage of food and beverages, engine control room, laundry, crew WJ, crew fitness room, and bridge).

Did they cut things out of the tour, or just hurry you along a bit more? Is this a case of "seen one, seen them all", or are things sufficiently distinct between the tours on these two classes of ships to make it worthwhile? Obviously, Q-class has some unique features/amenities, and if the tour includes some behind-the-scenes of those things, I'd definitely enjoy it.

10 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Off the top of my head, the highlights were duck a l'orange and prime rib.

 

I'll get the whole menu for you tomorrow.

Is it this menu? (This was the menu for the first formal night from Allure, in early December.)

I don't know about Brilliance specifically, but I have a lot of experience with Adventure Ocean. The group for 6-8 year olds is Explorers.

Sea day hours (complimentary) are typically 09:00-12:00 (morning session), 14:00-17:00 (afternoon session), and 19:00-22:00 (evening session). Late-night party zone available between 22:00-02:00 for an added cost.

"Adventure Dining" may be offered between 17:00-19:00 to bridge the afternoon and evening sessions. This is also complimentary, and the staff take the kids as a group to the Windjammer where they can have something simple like pizza or chicken nuggets for dinner. You must sign up for Adventure Dining by 17:00. Otherwise, the sessions are drop-off, pick-up any time, first come, first served based on available capacity.

Also complimentary -- the ability to drop off kids just outside the entrance of one of the MDRs (you can inquire about which deck number while onboard) about 10-20 minutes before the evening session starts (~18:40-18:50). Two Adventure Ocean crew members will wait for kids to be dropped off by parents and get signed in. They will then go to Adventure Ocean for the evening session. Convenient for parents/guardians to then return to the MDR to finish their dinner. You'll need to let the MDR waitstaff know you want to do this so they can prioritize the kids' meals.

Port day hours (complimentary): vary depending on the port arrival time. Sometimes they may have "early bird" hours prior to the normal start time of 09:00. Port day hours are all-day, typically until 17:00 or after whatever the all-aboard time is (kids will be taken to the Windjammer for lunch). On port days, there may or may not be Adventure Dining available for dinner and the evening session might start at 19:00 per usual, or later depending on the circumstances. Late-night party zone will still be available, for an added cost.

I hope that is helpful.

One thing about the Samba Grill that not everyone may be aware of -- you can request grilled pineapple. It's not listed on the menu and it wasn't offered to me, but it was available when I asked. I've been to land-based churrascarias before and the "gauchos" frequently bring the pineapple around, just like the various cuts of meat -- not so at Samba, at least during my visit.

Hi, when I was on board Allure for the Dec 2, 2018 Eastern Caribbean sailing (same itinerary as the one you mentioned), the formal nights were 2 and 6 (i.e. Labadee for the second one).

You can also try to infer the formal nights from the MDR menus, before you get on board. Launch the Royal app on your mobile device and take a look at the menus for the week -- you can look for the broiled lobster tail (for the second formal night).

One way I always like to think about it is in terms of the daily cost and value. $1700 more for a 7-night cruise ~= $243 per night (or about $61 per person, per night). Is that worth it to you? It wouldn't be to me, but I'm frugal 😉

I think you will also have more space with two interiors (2 x 166 sq ft vs. 267 sq ft, I think? Not counting the balcony). The added privacy and 2 bathrooms have already been mentioned...less chance of having to wait to use the toilet 🙂

If you switch to a non-refundable deposit, you might have to spend even more money if you want/need to buy trip cancellation insurance (e.g. if your credit card doesn't offer it).

I know I'm in the minority here, but we've been buying the all-digital package in advance for our last several cruises. For Liberty in 2016 it was $149.99 CAD (probably around $125 USD at the time) which I thought was a really good deal, for Navigator in 2017 it was $249.99 CAD (probably $200 USD), and for Allure in 2018 it was $314.99 CAD ($250 USD). For our Allure B2B we purchased the photo package for both cruises -- you get 50% off the package for the second cruise, so it was only $125 USD.

If it were just DW and me, I probably wouldn't consider it worthwhile, but with DD as well, it's a great chance to get a lot of family photos. We had over 250 photos taken during our first week. During our second cruise, we had relatives join us and their DD was in our cabin, so between the two families, we got almost 400 photos on the second package. It was really nice to get photos of our two families together.

The photos aren't all great -- some photographers on board are better than others -- but you get to know which ones are good and visit them more often 🙂

During my Allure B2B (Nov 25 and Dec 2, 2018), I had a cash account for both sailings and the casino cashier paid out cash directly from non-refundable OBC. I was surprised at that. The first time I went to the cashier, I actually asked for a $20 slot voucher (to test if it could be played and cashed out), but I just got handed a $20 bill. During subsequent visits over the two weeks, I simply asked for cash and there were absolutely no issues.

The 9-11 age range is precisely the Adventure Ocean "Voyagers" group, for which there are structured times and activities during each session (morning, afternoon, and evening which are complimentary, plus late-night party zone at extra cost). First-come, first-served, drop-off and pick-up any time during the session (you can also let older kids sign themselves out if you want).

Some ships may have a free hour or so in the arcade on the first night, which they call something like "Family Free Arcade". This is open to everyone; it's not supervised by the crew. The machines are just configured to allow free play for that time (obviously not the ones where you can earn tickets/win prizes, though).

Sometimes if there are few kids during an Adventure Ocean session (especially the late-night party zone), they may merge the Explorers (6-8) and Voyagers (9-11) together in one room.

1 minute ago, Mrsdigi said:

Ok we sail on March 29th on Harmony.  So who know what will happen mid cruise.  Lol

They’ll get kicked off in St. Thomas? 😊🤷‍♂️

I just got the email about 20 minutes ago. This is very unfortunate. Their Amplified program sounds great but many people will be sailing on ships currently offering DreamWorks which will be cancelled before they are scheduled for dry dock to undergo those improvements. So no Amplified and no DreamWorks for those people. It’s a net loss of activities. 

I’m on Allure right now and the DreamWorks program is as popular as ever. In particular, Trolls seems the most popular as the photo opportunities with Poppy and Branch have had the most people lined up - so much that they’ve had to cut the line off.

Hi everyone,

Can someone please help me out by letting me know which thread has a recent set of Cruise Compasses from Allure's current Western and/or Eastern itineraries? Inclusion of the Adventure Ocean Kids' Daily Planners (for ages 3-11) would be a bonus 

I tried using the forum search feature, but didn't come up with anything recent. I think this is because the search indexing is still running since the site re-launched this week. I have also not been very active on the forum for the last few months because life has been busy...otherwise I probably would have come across it myself already (sorry).

Thank you very much!

Remember from several years ago, when a common phrase (which became overused and a bit of a joke) was, "there's an app for that"?

Well..there isn't, not any more. 🙄

The latest update from the mods seems to suggest there's a possibility of app support being reintroduced. I really hope so. I won't be live-posting my 14-night cruise embarking next month without app support.

IMO, this issue needs greater visibility and more of us members need to be vocal about this.

App support is absolutely essential to me. I also find the mobile experience effectively unusable using Safari on an iPhone 7. I am going on a 14-night B2B next month and I will NOT be doing a live review (and probably not bothering to post at all, even on the roll call) if there is no app support available by that time. It's just too frustrating to access the forums on my iPhone.

I booked a Dec 2019 cruise a little over a month ago on Sept 3rd. I can access it via the Cruise Planner, but today, I can't add it to my "upcoming cruises" when logged into the main web site (the area for seeing upcoming and past cruises, updating your profile, doing online check-in, etc.). I hadn't tried before today to add it.

Not sure if it's related to their maintenance yesterday, but RCI has logged a ticket to try and resolve it :rolleyes:

What's worse is that my original booking ID "had to be cancelled" because they had some sort of problem with it after I requested it to be transferred to a TA. They had to create a new booking and move everything to it, before transferring to the TA :rolleyes: (That is how I found out about the problem in the first place...I couldn't add the cruise to my account using the old reservation number, but the new one didn't work either.)

That´s not correct, they used to have just one crew member assigned, but it was changed some years ago to two crew members. I don´t know when this changed, but it certainly did.

 

 

 

I think people need to be aware this was never a guaranteed service. It was always limited by the number of crew members willing to do this in their spare time. If nobody volunteered the service was not available. So nobody could ever count on this being available.

My apologies, I wasn’t aware that originally, only one crew member was assigned. My personal experience is from using the service nightly during two 7-night cruises in 2013 and 2014. We met the sitters in advance each time and felt very comfortable with them. We had the same pair of sitters for the entire sailing, and even saw them around the ship a few times.

And yes, it was never guaranteed to be available and I remember reading/hearing in advance about it being very limited. We went to GS pretty much immediately after boarding each time to maximize our chances, which worked out each time. It was also only available to a maximum of 2 hours on each occasion they were booked.

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DW and I were wondering if there was a complaint or if something actually happened to prompt the seemingly sudden change with little advance notice.

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I received the notice as well. It's unfortunate for those who may have been counting on the service being available. My family used it every night for two of our cruises when DD was younger, and we were always extremely satisfied with the crew members who provided the service.

This might be a silly question but where can I find the waivers? I didn’t see it in the online check in process. I’m leaving on oasis in a week and would love to have it done ahead of time.

If they do show up online, they have been on the same page as the online check-in.

I'm also wondering where the waivers have gone. The RCI online check-in site has been completely revised -- I just checked in for my Allure cruises yesterday and I saw no sign of the activity waivers, either on the web site or in the Royal iOS app. I rather liked getting them done in advance.

There is also now a separate SetSail Pass for each passenger (with a unique barcode).

Is the rate reflected on purchasing OBC the same rate it shows in the cruse planner with OBC received for booking ?

 

 

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No, they are set independently.

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I should check this issue out with the cruise line direct before travel.

 

The way I see it is that you are booking the first cruise for x passengers and you are booking the second cruise for x+1 passengers. The first cruise all passengers will be present at check in. It seems logical to me that the +1 can arrive quayside with parents for the second cruise but you should also all be there confirming the extra passenger is present that this is correct, the parents agree to the arrangement and the +1 can have a photo taken for the cruise card.

 

Confirmation in writing is an excellent way of confirming cruise line has agreed to the arrangement. I am of course just pondering this and the cruise line sorts out what is acceptable.

 

Regards John

Thank you, sound advice for sure. I actually called RCI this morning before posting to CC...which is largely where my understanding comes from. But we all know that you could get a different answer every time you call RCI, hence my original post to solicit the community's collective input and experience :)

Moopetguy, have a wonderful cruise with your cousin & family. I wasn't worried about the one child rooming with you but wanted to be sure they were added to your reservation as soon as you could so you didn't lose the opportunity to add them. .:)

Thank you! [emoji4] Both families are very excited at the prospect of cruising together. They will be new to RCI, having cruised just once on Carnival four years ago.

Also, I know it was only $25 of OBC but it’s too bad the referral program was recently discontinued. Never got a chance to take advantage of it. [emoji853]

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Your post was clear.

 

As I think about your situation, I can see that it *should* be no problem at the pier, but if I were in your situation, I would give up my wonderful easy turnaround status as a consecutive cruiser, and stay down at the terminal until they arrive, just in case. (and request that they get to the pier as early as possible. :D )

Thank you for your input [emoji4] I will definitely try to get them to arrive early [emoji23] I’ll keep in touch with them via text on turnaround/boarding day and make myself available at check-in if needed!

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I think his main question is if the parents can check the kid that will be the 4th in his room in at the pier without him having to be there. As B2B don't have to check in at the pier for the second cruise.

 

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Yes, that is my main question, but I've never been known to be concise ;):halo::D

Thank you for the replies!

No, my cousin's family has not booked yet and yes, I understand I'll need to add the third child to my stateroom as the fourth passenger right now (well, as soon as they have booked their cabin for 4). Thanks for the reminder about the muster station limit, that is understood.

I am in a 3V interior and there is a sofa bed, so it can accommodate up to 4 pax. The KSF promo ends on May 31st at 24:00 EDT so they are anticipating making a final decision within the next few days -- at which point I'll add the third child to my room as the fourth guest.