Happy_Traveler_2008

Even with pre-purchased tickets, there’s still a wait in line since the house is small so they control the number of people allowed inside. You have to go through security check so no big bags or they have to be checked. Line moves slowly inside as well so be prepared to spend up to 2 hours if you want to see everything. Very moving experience and well worth the visit.

I did the POA cruise and really enjoyed it. The overnight stays allowed me to rent a car and sightsee on our own. Got to see all the major islands in just 7 days. Loved the different lei making classes on board too.

Thanks for sharing! I’ll use this information for my upcoming cruise. While I’ve been to Paris before and visited all the major attractions, my parents will be seeing Paris for the first time. This guide will help maximize our short time in the city.

Hi,

My ship will dock at 6 AM. Will I be able to make the 11:20 flight at FCO if I book a private transport? Thanks.

For anyone who's interested, I've posted pictures of the ship, schedules, menus and food items on the River Ambassador in my online album. The free gifts we received on board were: water bottle, lip balm, hand cream, small tube of perfume, recipe cards, photos of the staff and a couple of postcards. All excursions were included except for 2 optional ones: tour of Waterloo at Brussels and Dutch cooking class at Heusden.

https://goo.gl/photos/NkQzBQvYvu5JMbAw7

We got off the ship today and the process was quick and easy. Had breakfast and then left our luggage behind while we visited the Rijks Museum. Came back at 12:15 to have the final lunch on board. Saw some of the new group of guests have arrived for lunch as well. Picked up our luggage on the dock and walked to our hotel afterwards. It was an excellent cruise with the most attentive staff. We had beautiful weather all week, just a morning shower while we were at Keukenhof. The highlights are the windmills, tulips and other flowers at Keukenhof. Thoroughly enjoyed the visit to Rubens House as well. Had such a wonderful cruise and would definitely consider sailing on Uniworld again.

By the way, if you are staying in Amsterdam afterwards and like ethnic food, definitely try the Max Amsterdam. We had the Indonesian tasting menu for 37 euros each and the food were both plentiful and absolutely delicious. Even though we were beyond full, we couldn't bear to leave food behind. It's located off Herengracht street, near Dam Square.

The ship will stay overnight in Heusden so you can still do the bike ride on your own. Order the Dutch style veal chop. It is absolutely amazing.

Had the 7 course dinner at Atomium and that was nice. Options at Village day in Heusden are bike ride, bakery class or cheese factory tour.

If you want to see Rubens House at Antwerp, you need to sign up right before first night's dinner since space is limited to 15 people. I highly recommend it.

We did the Brussels city tour with Botanical Garden and that was very informative. Also a small castle on site.

Captain is John. Hotel director is Sylvia. Cruise director is Jessi. They announced the optional excursions during the first afternoon. Don't know if they had enough people signed up.

Just finished our third day of the cruise. Weather this week has been perfect. A little chilly in the morning, low 40s, but warming up to mid 50s and even mid 60s today. Still need a good jacket for late March departure. The ship is wonderful. Room is small so two of us can't cross the room at same time. However, the closet space is well organized so all our clothes fit without a problem. Toiletries are good but no conditioner. Hair dryer is strong. Only 1 US outlet in the room plus one in the bathroom. Front desk can lend you a converter. Daily freebies start with water bottles, the lip balm, then hand cream and recipe cards tonight. Staff are extremely helpful. Got a blanket and cappuccino while watching the ship depart Antwerp today. 90 guests on board but we don't feel crowded at all. Food is excellent! Although choice is very limited at dinner, everything is delicious! Breakfast and lunch are buffet style. The tours have been very informative and entertaining. They take place in the morning and bring us back for lunch. Then we can take shuttles at 2 or 3 pm back to Brussels or Antwerp. 2 optional tour are Waterloo from Brussels for 75 euros or Dutch cooking class for 80 euros.

The only minor complaint is that the ship's satellite wifi is often down and not stable. There is free wifi in parts of Brussels and Antwerp.

We went to Ghent and Bruges on our own by taking the train and spent 6 hours or so in each city and had a great time.

Love the experience so far and can't stand the thought of leaving!

Thanks for the advice. I'll try to provide update during the cruise.

Hi,

We are taking this cruise on March 26th and staying 3 nights before in Brussels and 2 nights after in Amsterdam on our own. I've made dinner reservation for the Atomium in Brussels and bought tickets to the Anne Frank's Museum in Amsterdam. Plan to do a day trip to Bruges and Ghent as well and visit the Rijks and Van Gogh Museum.

Are there other attractions and/or restaurants that you would recommend? Is there anything we need to know about the River Ambassador ship before we leave? Thanks.

Hi,

I'm booked on the Holland & Belgium at Tulip Time cruise. I don't see any optional tours in my Cruise Companion. Does that mean all the excursions are covered? Thanks.

Lunch is not included although there is free time on top of Mystic Mountain to buy food there.

You will probably have no time to spend at the beach then. Which is a shame since the facilities are quite nice.

My boyfriend and I were on the Allure of the Seas last week and took the RCL excursion for Dunns River Falls and Bobsled. We both loved it although the tour is a bit expensive. We gathered at the pier at 8:15 but didn't get to leave til about 8:50. It was a small van and our guide Salvia entertained us during the hour long ride to Mystic Mountain. We took the 15-20 minute Sky Ride up the mountain and admired the views along the way. There was a short wait for the bobsled. I was able to keep a bag around my feet. The ride is short, about 2 minutes long but it was great fun going down the mountain and taking the quick and sharp turns. At the end, the bobsled is automatically pulled back to the starting spot so I had a chance to do quick video then. Afterwards we had about 45 minutes of leisure time for eating and shopping. We took pictures by the infinity pool and admired the view of Ochos Rios in the distance. There was a bit of delay getting back to the van for some passengers since the Sky Train had a bit of an issue. We bought fruits from the local seller while waiting for them to show up.

It was then a quick 5 minute ride to Dunns River Falls. We changed into swimming gear and left everything behind. Some people had waterproof cameras with them. There is locker for rent at the falls if you want to bring some cash with you for the end of the trip to tip the guides or do some souvenir shopping within the park. Hang on to glasses along the way since they could be easily lost and would require the park staff to look for them in the water.

We followed the guide for about a hour or so up the falls. It was a very wet experience and a lot of fun but you have to be pretty agile to make the trip. The videographer took pictures and videos of the group and sold the DVD to us for $40 each. If you are in good shape, this is a good excursion to consider. We got back to the ship right before 3:30 pm so no more time to shop in the port.

I didn't finish Mamma Mia but it was over 2.5 hours long with a 10 minute intermission. Not all shows can be reserved in advance so check the daily Compass for the additional shows like How to Train Your Dragon Ice Show or the Madagascar Aqua Show.

I would recommend that you make daily dinner reservations to avoid waiting in line. We didn't always show up for dinner and some time came early or a little later without an issue.

As part of the Central Park balcony perk, we ate at Giovanni's for lunch. The menu is limited to 2 choices for appetizer, entree and dessert.

Hi, I'm just starting your review now and after 2 cruises on Allure and more recently one on Oasis, this is turning to be a very important statement, perhaps more so than the first few years of this class. I was annoyed to miss the aquatheater show the first night on Oasis.

Aqua show was cancelled for our first night and we had to reschedule well. Do that in the first sea day to make sure you can get reserved seats. Reservation to dining room should also be made in advance to avoid waiting. We were able to get seats quickly once we check in.

It's my first time on Allure so I don't know if that's normal or not. May depend on the number of ships in port

I would think 7:30 or 7:45 should be safe enough since the airport is close by.

Left my room at 7:50 and did the self debarkation. Cleared customs and got into the taxi at 8:06 am. Very smooth and quick!

The family friendly Comedy show is funnier. The evening farewell parade is nice to see. The flowrider show by crew is great to watch!

I had the refreshment package and enjoyed the creamice mocha, chai latte and Virginia pina colada the most. The fresh squeezed OJ Is nice too.

I saw a few at the end of the Cove but didn't go near them. There was so much going on that is hard to have time to relax!😅

On my final sea day on the beautiful Allure. There is so much to see and do. First time trying the boogie board on the Flowrider and loved it! OceanAria was fantastic and saw it twice. Check your show reservations when you arrive since they changed one of my shows and I had to reschedule. Cruise Compass doesn't always list the correct show times so you need to listen for the announcements and check your Personal calendar on TV.

Ice shows including Monopoly and How to train your dragon are fun. Headliner is the comedic Elton John tribute artist, Joel Mason. Comedy act with Miguel Washington was okay. Blue Planet music was an odd mix but the stage set and costumes are great. Aerobic act in pseudo underwater scene is fun to watch. Also enjoyed the Madagascar Aqua show on final sea day.

Do not miss the Quest slow since it's absolutely hilarious! Worth staying up late to see it. Battle of the Sexes is fun too.

Food on board is hit and miss. Some good things at Windjammer and dining room but most were just okay. Donut night at Windjammer is very good. We also had lunch at Solarium Bistro and breakfast at Park Cafe. Do not eat breakfast in main dining room on Labadee day since the kitchen is short staffed and we waited an hour for our food before giving up.

The crew is constantly cleaning the public areas because of norovirus outbreak in the last cruise.

We did the Tulum and Beach Break excursion at Cozumel and loved it but a few passengers did get sick on the choppy ferry ride. The bobsled and Dunns Falls Climb was excellent as well. Loved the ship and wouldn't mind coming back again! Rented a floating mat at Labadee and relaxed at Columbus Cove.

Our cabin was in Central Park on 10th floor. The location is convenient but there is less privacy and can get muggy often. Internet speed is good for uploading even videos. All in all, it's been a nice vacation!

We took the RCL Tulum and Beach Break excursion yesterday and loved it. Boarded the ferry at 8 am and it was a 45 minute ride. Since it was a bit choppy, several passengers got sick towards the end of the ride. Crew was ready with barf bags and trash can. Even offered rubbing alcohol cotton ball to help alleviate the nausea. Eat light breakfast if you are concerned. But since lunch is at 2 pm, be prepared. There was 15 minute walk from ferry to bus parking lot with a break to take pictures. Bus ride takes about an hour but we stopped for 25 minutes for toilet break and shopping at a local arts and crafts shop.

We arrived at Tulum at 11:15. Walk to entrance was another 10 minutes. Guide gave a 45 minute talk and we had about 90 minutes free time to explore. Tulum is bigger than I thought with many interesting buildings to see. The surrounding view of the Caribbean Sea is beautiful! Well worth the long ferry and bus ride to get there. Very little shade there so bring sun protection, sun umbrella and water. Guide did give us one free water.

We left at 1:30 to go to Los Lirios for buffet lunch and beach break. Got there at 2 pm. Grab food quickly since they didn't refill items. Was able to use the cabanas and loungers on the beach for free. Beach is long and beautiful but pretty windy. Saw several people parasailing. We left at 4 pm and arrived back at the ship at 6:15.

I have also been able to get the Shareholder credit on my 2 Celebrity and RCL cruises. The OBC I receive came directly from the TA so that made them eligible.