KnightsFan

Carnival has apparently been able to work around any issues.

 

https://www.carnival.com/fun-activities/redfrog-pub-brewery

Oh that's cool. Well hopefully RCI borrows that idea. It'd be neat to see them take inspiration from their history, ports and crew members; part of craft beer's allure to me is the sense of place it can create.

A couple of kegs wouldn't cut it and most craft breweries couldn't keep up with the demand. He was actually promoting an onboard brewery with his bosses.

That's ridiculous, plenty of craft breweries can keep enough production going to distribute across their region, there's no reason they couldn't keep a cruise shop supplied. The more likely answer is that RCI has a contract with macrobrewers that excludes craft beers, and RCI wants it fleet wide rather than only on a couple of ships.

Saying that I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years we start seeing the AB owned "craft" breweries representes on board.

And I doubt an on board microbrewery would be feasible due to the complexities of alcohol taxes in the various ports.

Were you on the Eastern or Western Caribbean itinerary?

Did you see Blue Planet, was it any good?

It looks like they put it up 60-days ahead of time. Right now the last departure date for any of the ships is August 24ish.

Like everybody else said, they're just budgeting you for a two hour meal, they won't hold you there though. You can leave whenever you're finished.

And don't worry about the early dinners, they are something to be embraced aboard a cruise ship. Have a light breakfast, light lunch, delicious filling dinner and cup of coffee before evening entertainment then have a pre-bed slice of pizza or sandwich.

A rental car is going to be your best bet. If you take the Florida Turnpike you can avoid a lot of traffic and have an easy route: Interstate 4 East to Florida Turnpike to Interstate 595 East to the port. Tolls will be about $14. The trip should only take you about 3 and a half hours.

But you should definitely check the cost of a Southwest flight from MCO to FLL. Oftentimes they can be found for the same cost as a rental car, and they allow each passenger to check two bags for free.

The good news for future travelers (World Cup 2026) is that there's a high speed rail line being built between MCO and Fort Lauderdale.

I would not rule out Chef's table. You could talk with the chef ahead of time and see what he can do to accommodate you. We went twice on our last cruise and he changed up the menu for us the second time.

Chops and Giovanni's is great if you are looking for a heavier meal. Steaks were great at both and you can get an intimate feeling at both restaurants. I was incredibly disappointed in Samba. The sides were a buffet and it felt like you were in a cafeteria. Hibachi is fun and food is delicious, it is just loud. We like doing it for lunch on a sea day. There isn't anything that is similar to 150 in the ambiance, in my opinion.

We ruled out the Chef's Table because of the cost, and last year when we did it aboard the Oasis we spent the entire next day recovering! :fever::fever::fever:

How was the taste of Samba's sides? They're usually the difference between an OK and a great churrascaria.

My wife and I are cruising on the Allure of the Seas in September, we've already done a snorkel excursion in Coz, and are trying to save some money by not doing an excursion. What can we do instead?

What's the best specialty restaurant, besides the Chef's Table? My wife is allergic to dairy so we're thinking either Samba, 150 Central Park or Chops, we enjoyed 150 Central Park on the Oasis last year but thought we'd try something new.

Is Samba or Chops worth it compared to 150 Central Park?

The Allure will have two formal nights: Eastern Caribbean they're nights 2 and 6; Western Caribbean they're nights 2 and 5.

Here's the RCI definitions for attire, your husband would probably be fine in nicer shorts (not jeans, not cargo shorts) in the MDR except on formal nights.

• Casual: You’re on vacation – relax! Jeans, polos, sundresses and blouses are all the right amount of laid back. Please keep swimwear to the Pool Deck. Shorts are welcomed for breakfast and lunch.
  

• Smart Casual: Think of this as a step up from your typical dinner wear. Dress to impress with collared shirts, dresses, skirts and blouses, or pantsuits. Jackets, sports coats and blazers are snazzy and welcomed.
  

• Formal: Make it a night out in your best black-tie look – suits and ties, tuxedos, cocktail dresses or evening gowns. There can be 1-3 formal nights during a sailing and is at the ship’s discretion.
  

Worst case scenario, you're not allowed off the ship in a port that requires a passport valid for another X-months.

But CBP should let you back into the country.

Walk around Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. Walk around downtown Winter Park. If you're flying Southwest you could also just get to the airport extra early and enjoy a nice dinner/lunch at Cask & Larder, a delicious local restaurant that moved into MCO last year.

11 nights at the end of March. This could mean Spring Break right? I'm from the UK where we don't have Spring Break so would never have thought to factor this in!

Pretty much every sailing from March until August is going to be kid heavy. Spring Breaks go from March until the end of April and then private schools in many areas start summer breaks in May.

The weather is likely to be very nice.

Thanks for helping clarify our thoughts, y'all. :D

We were able to look at a different week and it was only $300 more for the Allure than the Brilliance. And in our minds the extra two days are each worth $100 more, and so are all the extras aboard the Oasis Class.

Now to start on the shore excursions in Roatan and Costa Maya. :cool:

Balconies are wonderful if you're the relaxing and private type. You get to enjoy the sun and waves, but without Sally yelling at Aedan to quit running.

For the cost of a decent dinner, why not give it a shot?

Never mind, thought you were upgrading for an ocean view to a balcony. My last point still stands, why not give it a try?

The ships bearing relative to the wind and waves may have reduced the pitch, yaw and roll of the Liberty so you didn't notice it, where-as the Elation may have been taking the waves straight on the side.

Depends on time of year. 90-105 days out puts you at the end of September-mid October. If the seas are rough (much more likely in the Gulf at the peak of hurricane season), then the aft cabins on Brilliance can get quite rocky. If you choose Brilliance, I'd try for something more mid-ship. If what you were looking at was one of the cabins that are actually on the tail of the ship, the movement is even more pronounced. An eastern itinerary on Allure gives yo a lot more wiggle room to avoid any storms/rough seas.

I didn't even think about the sea condition in regards to the cabin. Another thing to add to the "considerations" list. Thank you.

When we first started cruising I looked at the lists on here and we took a door organizer, a highlighter, a jacket, ziplock bags, magnetic clips and a lanyard. All of which were not used, and in fact stayed in the luggage the entire time. At the end of the trip, I ended up throwing most of them away just to free up room for stuff we'd purchased. Definitely a waste of space for us.

The jacket thing is the most confounding to me. With as many people as they fit onto a cruise ship for a Caribbean itinerary it's impossible to get it below 78°.

There seem to be a hundred different lists of things you should take on a cruise, and a thousand posts asking about them.

But what common item people include on those did/do you find yourself never using?

Did you take up precious suitcase room with a door organizer that sat empty? Did the highlighter never make it out of your bag?

Brilliance on the aft

 

I'd take the extra $500 and apply it to the 4 day cruise after the 5 day cruise and make it 9 total days B2B.

 

 

 

 

 

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Hah, I wish we had the vacation time for that!

The last 3 sailings on RCL (all in the last 12 months) we have gotten 2-4 towel animals and we have two kids (5 & 8). Received 3 on our 9-night Anthem a few weeks ago.

That's a shame. I guess time is tight for stewards now.

Ah the famous Disney company “What Time is the 3 o’clock Parade?” Customer Service analogy. A favorite of mine.

 

 

 

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I was transport so we used "When are fireworks?" or "When does the park open/close?" for our training, but the parade is the old standby.

How much of a price difference are we talking about? I love the Allure but the Brilliance is nice for a smaller ship. I would enjoy either one but depending on the money I would agree with the others and go with Allure.

Whoops missed a detail, it's about $500 cheaper on the Brilliance.

The Brilliance would be an aft balcony, Allure a midship balcony.

We took a waiter's friend (corkscrew with a foil cutter) on the Oasis last year without hassle. The steward can also get you one.

Passengers go through a metal detector.

Either way, you may want to skip the Chef's Table this time. LOL!! :D

We learned our lesson, don't let them open the second bottles!:') The lack of needing to fly makes the decision even harder! One's about 90 minutes and the other's about 3 hours, either way we leave morning of.

Lovelife thanks! I know a lot of boricuas, so Puerto Rico is tempting.