CruzOMA

On 2/18 sailing we booked onboard the second night, all early times were taken for the rest of the week.

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.

We were able to use Luggage Valet leaving the Allure on 2/25. Thanks to all who provided info for three "mature" couples making their way off the ship.

We all filled out our LV forms writing on them asking that they please contact Southwest as our flight times were 11:20 AM and 11:30 AM was the official earliest flight for the service. We were all Southwest Rapid Rewards members and included our numbers just in case it was of benefit.

A word on the three different scenarios that occurred;

- one couple received their envelope and all was in order, the boarding passes were provided.

- one couple received their envelope with paperwork but the documents were marked "not a boarding document", they had to print boarding passes at the airport.

- we did not get an envelope but instead had a phone message that there was a problem, please come to Guest Services. That did not sit well on the last night of the cruise knowing that Guest Services was going to be a zoo. We went down and spoke to the person who floats at the entrance to Guest Services. She went in back and came out with our envelope and advised there was a print problem and we would need to print boarding passes at the airport, not the end of the world, just a glitch.

We all met in the morning for coffee and walked off the ship at 7:30 AM, got in a van at the taxi stand, printed boarding passes at the Southwest self-serve kiosks, and were walking down our concourse at the airport by 9:00 AM.

As we had been told, the walk-off at that time was not rushed and we were pretty much on the move the whole time until we were out of the terminal.

FYI - Mobile Passport was not working that morning but it didn't seem to matter.

We just left the Allure on 2/25. The smoke in the casino was the worst in my six cruises. There were six cruisers in our group, all frequent local casinos where smoking is allowed. Two in our group would not go back into the casino after first trying it, one tried to pick the less smokey times, three of us toughed it out for shorter periods than we would normally play.

If RCCL is basing smoking policy on revenue impact then at some point they will have to realize the revenue potential of non-smokers. I just checked and the US CDC estimates the smoking population at just over 15%, that is a lot lower than I expected. It looks like more non-smokers have to make their voices heard.

It seems to be a "tyranny of the minority" situation as a favored radio host puts it.

I must have missed them holding a gun to peoples head at Guys.

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Checked in on Allure 2/18, did pics for online, they still took a pic of each of us, it’s quick

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The poster brought up the "O" word and asked for our thoughts, I gave them mine. Maybe the need to mention "Dom" set me off, "nice wine" would have done it. Cake is good, I can deal with "cake" but it certainly doesn't do me like "Dom".

JSWolf - I think people are starting to have a little fun at your expense, and you have it coming.

Ostentatious at the thought of it, nice touch posting it here to get some extra mileage out of it.

RE: Freedom rant, I rest my case,,,

Viintages cocktails? For those who have been there, I’ve seen pictures of Vintages with a small number of liquor bottles on the backbar. Is it possible to get a mixed drink there?

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Debark,

Thanks dagunny, we have discussed doing early walk-off. Is the parade off the ship more like a forced march? We will be 3 “mature” couples making our way off. Are there opportunities to pull-up if needed?

I believe I read there are two gangways. Our cabins are midships, is there more/less walking by using fore/aft gangway?

Congrats on Pinnacle, not enough sand left in the egg timer to entertain anything like that :cool:

Debark Method In FLL?

We willboard on 2/18/18 so thank you for the current info.

How did youdebark once back in FLL? We need to get to the airport pretty quickly so tornbetween self-debark and dragging all of our luggage ourselves, or trusting ourluck to the normal process with the group numbers hoping we get or can attain alow number.

Youmentioned being paranoid, me too, so would like to nail it down.

FYI – old saying,“just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean someone is not out to get you”.

Thanksagain,

Looks like a few long time posters/cruisers (5K,10K Club) think they own the CC boards just like those of their ilk think they should own all manner of decorum aboard ship. Short-sighted, if it wasn’t for new posts, what would these saps have to do all day?

I printed our boarding docs for the Allure for 2/18;

"dagunny" posted today that you go on-board the Allure with a paper boarding pass and your real SeaPass card is on the door to your stateroom as per what my docs say. I agree with "dagunny" that security might be an issue but what this also means to me is that we have to go directly to our room at a time when stewards are likely frantically trying to turn the ship. Limited experience tells me that stewards don't appreciate that and for good reason. It also means that you need to go directly to your room if you would want to do anything that requires SeaPass, i.e. have a cocktail while waiting for your room and luggage.

The "Get Ready For Your Check-in" doc refers to using the Royal IQ app to track your luggage. OK interesting, reportedly the Royal IQ app does not work on Allure. I also have read in posts that Royal IQ worked OK for texting on-board some RCCL ships at a nominal cost. Is there really nothing comparable on Allure? I have been scouring these boards and have found no real answer to the question; "What do I need on the Allure if I only want to do on-board texting to cruisemates, at a cost less than VOOM?"

Got it, thanks again, the six of us are meeting this WE for final planning.

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ALSEAU thank you, it would be great if it works that way. One of our problems is no experience with this size ship so no idea of when the large luggage will be available in the terminal.

Crusinfantic, thank you, perhaps a bit devious but I like it. Problem is I was born paranoid so would fret about how many ways that could not work out and the consequences.

We have Guest Services on the top of our TODO list.

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Thanks John, that's encouraging.

This age thing just kind of creeps up on you and then there are these realizations that it is happening.

Getting the large bags through and off of ship is biggest concern. What would be an expected time for getting off the ship with "normal" debark process where we put luggage out on last night and pick up bags in port terminal the next morning?

We will be three 70+ couples starting to show our age, a few bad knees and a cane or two.

Self debark is dragging all bags from cabin through terminal correct?

We can do what’s needed but looking for the most painless option. Where is the first place we can flag down a porter? Thank you for your responses.

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I just found the info on Luggage Valet and it says that Southwest flights must be between 11:30 AM - 11:30 PM. We are scheduled on Southwest for an 11:20 AM flight. Has anyone had this situation and is 11:30 AM a hard and fast rule or will 11:20 AM be OK?

I'm also wondering now if RCL's ship to airport ground transportation is going to be a problem for that time??

Thank you for any help.

I was hoping that by posting I would find someone who has used the app and could give the onboard straight scoop. Hopefully someone will pick up on this. I'll find out for myself in ~three weeks.

This is from a “6 Features” post on blog - “The new Royal Caribbean app will allow for easy text communication, and no internet plan is required.

Unlike Royal Caribbean's previous smart phone app, Royal iQ, there is no additional cost to use the texting feature in the app. This means everyone can easily communicate onboard and synch up.”

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On app store it’s just called “Royal Caribbean International” ver 1.4.0. Here’s blog info - https://www.******************.com/2017/11/17/6-cool-features-coming-royal-caribbeans-new-smartphone-app. Thanks

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Has anyone used the new RCCL smartphone app that was implemented on Allure in 2017 and is rolling out to other ships? It looks like nice features and an answer to onboard messaging among passengers.

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