excited2019

 I couldn't resist reading this thread but  instead I wrote down  my comment on my first cruise ship  onboard  Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas  April of 2019, I am looking forward on my second cruise on May of 2020 via Symphony of the Seas, I really enjoyed the cruise 100%.

hello friends,  first and foremost  my apology if I am not on the  proper thread/forum, my question is ,  my next cruise vacation will be in Hawaii next year, I did my first cruise on-board Allure of the Seas  last April 28th 2019 western caribbean itenirary.

I am not yet a Canadian citizen but just a holder of  canadian permanent resident card  as of this writing,  part of the hawaii cruise  itenirary is the french polynesia,  Bora-bora and tahiti,  do I  need a  visa on these places that I have mentioned. BTW, I only have a USA non-immigrant visa and a canadian  permanent resident card. I highly  appreciate feedbacks from friends in this forum. thank you in advanced.

hello friends, We have just completed our 7 day western caribbean cruise onboard the Allure of the Seas, the stateroom that we have on deck 3 was a perfect spot we could hardly hear noises along the hallway and the corridor. It was a fantastic experience, I am looking forward  for my next cruise in 2021, my preference would   be  Harmony of the Seas  or Symphony of the Seas..

On 4/26/2019 at 2:35 AM, Sancho_proudfoot said:

 

 

#1. Absolutely. I take two meds daily for hypertension, never had an issue with having my tablets on board.

 

#2. Very probably no issues with arriving early. Never sailed from Miami, but have ftom numerous other ports, both in the US and elsewhere, and have never known times to be enforced.

aw, thank you for the info Sancho_proudfoot

hello friendly people,  my question could be a little bit off topic, I could'nt find  any thread for  my question, anyhow,   #1. can I bring 2 kinds of prescription medication for myself  #2. my scheduled appointment time  for my set sail pass is at 3:30 to 4:00 PM, is it possible to arrive early and be processed at 12:00 noon or  at anytime before my appointment time, my port of call is at Miami Florida  at Royal Caribbean Allure of the seas.. Thank you  in advanced.

15 hours ago, MWBearFan said:

Definitely agree with arriving a day early and staying overnight if at all possible.  Depending on where you live vs the cruise port flying out is ideal.  Our first cruise was last October and we decided to drive 16+ hours from Indiana to Orlando two days prior and and drove the final 3 hours the morning of embarkation.  Never again we were still recovering when we finally got to the ship.  never again.  You want to arrive at your ship well rested and ready to relax and enjoy your tropical vacation.  It's an experience you will never forget, and likely will be hooked as we were.  

 

Try not to over plan, focus on enjoying the moments and keep in mind that anything you may miss out on you can do on your next cruise.  Go with the flow, do what you want (within the rules of course :P) Experience new things.  You can do as much or as little as you want.  7 days is a good length of time you should have at least a couple sea days to explore the ship.  Our October cruise on the Victory was just 4 days and we had a blast but wished we could have had more time to explore.   We are also booked on the Breeze for an 8 day cruise in 2021.  

 

Treat the staff with respect and take time to interact with them, they work hard to make your vacation special, and they are away from their families for long stretches of time.  The interaction is welcome and makes them feel appreciated.  

 

Pay attention to time when in port. Ships time trumps local time if they say be back on board by a set time be there and good practice to be back a little early.  If your not on the ship when it's ready to leave it will leave without you.  You don't want to be one of those people running down the port watching their ship sail away.  That said on our cruise it did seem that they were a little lenient in this area as the ship didn't set sail right at the time just don't rely on that leniency.  

 

Be sure to bring plenty of sunscreen, and meds you think you'll need like motion sickness, aspirin, Tums, etc.  While you can buy on the ship it's marked up cause they know they got you.  Packing is a balance of bringing just what you need without over doing it.  Where that balance lies depends on the person.  One tip though is to plan versatile wardrobe that can be modified/accessorized to have variety. Plus you'll probably spend more time on the cruise in your swim wear than regular clothes, and you can wear the same outfit for multiple elegant nights again think versatility over quantity.  

 

Cruising has a learning curve and the best teacher is experience.  We learned things good and bad on our first cruise that we'll carry into our next cruise and so on.  

thank you MWBearfan

20 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

Hello excited! First off, Allure is an amazing choice for your first cruise!  The ship itself is quite a destination. I recommend you visit the specific ports of call area of the forums for advice on these two destinations. You will find reviews already posted and you will attract better answers if you want to post specific questions. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/102-costa-maya/

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/15-roatan/

Thank you KmomChicago..

hello friendly people,  this is our first time cruise with my family of 5 (party of 5), we will be on a western caribbean cruise onboard  the Allure of the Seas for 7 days, we have  decided to booked via the RCI website the Atlantis Paradise resort in Nassau Bahamas,   and we book  externally through the resort itself on Cozumel, nothing on Costa Maya and Roatan Honduras, any travel advice and tips if we would go and explore Costa Maya and Honduras on our own, any safety tips for first time travellers. can't wait any longer for this once in a lifetime experience. Thanks in advanced.

^ cb at sea  -  thank you so much for the info..   woahooo...    🙂

Hello guys, do you have any ideas about this cabin interior, Thank you.

oh thank you for your reply, my apology if I got you confused,  I think you're right, I believe this is the traditional fixed dining, since this is our first time cruise, I've got no idea,  I was thinking If this is an out of pocket expenses for the fixed dining, I visited the RCCL website and it says about the specialty restaurants that needs to be booked in advanced. Anyhow, my question  has been answered. Again, thank you so much.  🙂

Hello, I am uncertain if this is the right thread for my questions, we have an upcoming 7 day cruise on April 2019 through RCCL Allure of the Seas, on my contract it says that we have a reserved dining at 5:30 for a family of 5, is the  scheduled dining needs to be paid on the last day of the cruise.  I am a little bit confused on how this scheduled dining works. Also, what is the nearest hotel closest to the port in Miami, Florida. Thank you so much.