dathy

So about 2 hrs ago I get an email letting me know that Allure's itinerary for July 30 has been changed. Ship is leaving at midnight, not 4:30. Ports are being visited on different days at different times. Sea days changing. Oh boy this is fun. I can imagine RCCL's phone lines for folks that have excursions booked. :o

Reason RCCL gives? "We will be conducting important system maintenance."

Does anyone have any "insider" info on what they will be conducting?

Thanks to all!

In the travel business, a private balcony simply means that you do not have to share the balcony with another traveler. Cruise ships have cameras. Plenty of cameras. Nothing else to say.

Take your M Life card with you on the ship. Go to the casino and ask for the casino host. Give the person your card. That's it. Have a great cruise.

I bring pump soap. I hate those stupid little bars of soap in the stateroom bathroom. I also bring a can of Lysol and spray the bathroom. I also bring clorox or lysol wipies and wipe down the remote control, the phone and the door handles in the stateroom. I just have always done this when I travel.

And don't eat a lot of sugar EVER!

Oh, and very important. If you do decide to go with the Verizon option, you have to do it before you sail. I would do it while you are driving to the port or the night before since 611 can be slow sometimes. Once the ship sails, you get into international water VERY quickly. I would not rely on that as an option. And keep the international Verizon number handy 011-1-908-559-4899 if you have any problems.

Funny, I started cruising years ago when there was absolutely no connectivity on any ship (except for $10.99/minute phone calls from the stateroom) so that business people could never get a hold of me. How times have changed! :)

Long time Verizon customer, and too many RCCL cruises to count. :) Here's a few things to keep in mind:

1. Without using ship's wifi, you will have no access to text other people that you are with. We use imessage and kik, which runs off of wifi connectivity.

2. On the ship Verizon charges .50 for each text message received and .05 for each text message you sent. You can check this through Verizon international calling plans. Just put the name of the ship in the search area. Just make sure if you use this option you know how to turn your data off so you don't continually get charged!

3. We constantly use the wifi text messaging since we have different staterooms and everyone goes their own way. It's a great way to stay in touch.

4. In Nassau, you can go to Starbucks. It's right off the port. Make a right on that street when you get out of the terminal. I think it's Bay Street. Walk down about 3 blocks and go left. Starbucks will be on your right side. Ask anyone where it is. There are also seats upstairs. They have free wifi, although it can be pretty slow. Bahamas Tel is not exactly the quickest. :)

Have a great cruise!

Here's a simple possibility: food combos. I have been on beyond so many cruises and have seen what kids eat! :o And I know what mine have eaten over the years... For this reason we ALWAYS carry pepto and immodium tablets as well as ginger candy and ginger tea whenever and whereever we travel, cruise ship or not. And this applies to adults too when you combine the alcohol, etc. Also the motion from the ship can affect. Not fun, I know, but that's why we always come prepared! Happy cruising!

I agree with cb at sea. Forget wasting your color ink. When you get out curbside, just give the porters your cabin info. They have blank tags for your luggage all the time. No problem!

Also, you are allowed to bring your own wine on the ship. I can't remember how many bottles. The ship will just charge a corkage fee. What they will do is the first time it is opened, your cabin number will go on the bottle. No matter which dining room you are in, specialty or regular, you can just tell the wait staff, and they will go and get your bottle. I don't know if this is helpful to those who may be undecided re drink packages. :)

Here's my take on any drink package. Congrats to those who can make it worth it! I so envy you guys! For you, definitely worth it. I also agree that it's a great way to try out different alcoholic drinks. Very smart way actually. After having gone on so many RCCL cruises, so many, I am one of those Crown & Anchor people. During C&A get togethers, I am pretty sure wine or some sort of alcohol is free. Also from 4-7, or something like that, in the C&A lounge, wine or some other sort of alcohol is also free. We always bring our own refillable and insulated water bottle (got it at Costco), since cold, filtered water is also free at every bar, restaurant, etc. I think you already have figured out where I am going with this one... Also after having done sooooo many cruises, we have learned the very hard way a long time ago that sea air, totally different foods and desserts than what we normally eat, and the motion on the ship combined with alcohol, esp different types of alcohol will eventually leave us drained, and I mean REALLY drained, sluggish and incredibly tired to the point of missing much-wanted excursions or ship activities. As a result, boring, I know, but we really do limit, and I mean limit our alcohol on the ship to a very small amount. We also found that a large consumption of soda will also wreck havoc on ourselves as well as our kids by having them bounce off walls and other assorted items when combined with other high sugar stuff found all over cruise ships. True we can dump them off at the kids camp, but eventually we have to pick them up... Like I said in the beginning, I so envy those of you who can not only drink on the ship, but mix alcohol. That's a real RCCL WOW moment! However, I have met many, many people since RCCL started the drink packages who regretted indulging to the point of no return because they had the drink package. Let's just say that these peoples' WOW moment was not so WOW. For these reasons, we prefer to pay as we go and skip the drink packages. :)

Hi everyone. I have to respond to what I have read here. I am especially saddened reading stories from those who have gained and had difficulty losing. I am not a nutritionist, but am very knowledgeable and have guided many people through their own individual journeys of weight gain/loss. I also have years of experience cruising, 70+ on 5 major cruise lines. So, been there and definitely done that. Weight is lost in the kitchen. As a result, on a cruise ship, unless you eat completely clean, it is soooooo hard not to gain some weight no matter how hard you exercise. To those who didn't gain any weight - congrats! You are definitely in the minority!! :) On a cruise ship what may look healthy food wise, trust me, is definitely not!. A simple suggestion for when you return - Give yourself at least a week to ten days before you get on that scale and/or book a drs appt! You were on vacation! It's okay here or there to gain a few pounds. Just say to yourself once you get on the scale, that it's time to get back on track if you did gain weight. The worst thing you can do is to shame yourself after your cruise. That's why I suggest staying away from the scale. Eventually, if you did gain some weight, you will loose it - just remember your "why" and work from that. Happy cruising!

Hello: Does anyone know if you can rent the ice arena on Allure and how much it costs? Who would I contact about this? Has anyone ever done this?

Thanks! Cathy

Hi. Unless I missed something? Grand Cayman is tender. Oasis/Allure too big. No port build out to accommodate those ships. Have not docked there. Have to stick to Freedom or smaller class to get to GC. Have a great cruise no matter what ship you choose!