fsuhockette

At what point did you feel comfortable putting your kids across the hall in an interior?  Once they hit 13 and become "adults" it gets pricey real quick.  ;P 

Thanks in advance for the insight.

1 minute ago, kimkatmom said:

We have these same cabins booked for April. We are traveling with my daughter and grandson (15 months).  Can you tell me if there were any lifeboats blocking the view.

Lifeboats weren't blocking the view but they were right below us.   That said, we just got off Allure and did two connecting rooms on deck 14 and those had an extended roof over the balconies and I much preferred the location we had on deck 7 to 14.  I think you'll enjoy the location - its easy to get to the main decks and kids club. 

We wanted to do go to El Yunque and booked a trip thru the cruise ship - the El Yunque Drive (hike isn't available).  However, I'm not sure its going to be our cup of tea.  There's 5 of us - 2 adults, 3 kids (11, 10, 5).  We'd love to have time to wander around a bit and explore the rainforest without being drive about.  Anyone know of any other options?  Port time is 7a-2p.

On 12/5/2018 at 8:25 PM, mattb31 said:

Puerto Rico

 

I originally wasn't very sure what we would do in San Juan since it's not really a beach stop. We decided to pass on any excursions here and we scoped out places on Google Maps beforehand. I book marked different sites and we walked around the city. If you are fine with walking around, Old San Juan is very walkable, and you'll be able to see a lot of the city in the time the ship is there. I was surprised how hot it actually was. We probably walked around from 9am - 12pm and the heat index had to be around 90-95 degrees.

 

One thing I learned pretty quickly was that there are A LOT of stray cats in Old San Juan.

 

 

 

I think I was most impressed with the architecture and colors of Old San Juan. The city was just a pleasant place to be and on top of that it was super clean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also came across the famous Puerto Rican flag door. We've seen many pictures of it and it had intrigued me because the building itself is abandoned but the door was painted with the Puerto Rican flag. When we arrived we found the door was painted with the flag but devoid of color.

 

Because of the economic and social problems, as well as the recovery from Hurricane Maria, the flag is being left without color as a symbol of solidarity. The idea is that by Puerto Ricans coming together, the colors will shine brighter than ever. I thought that was pretty cool.

 

 

This was one of the first stops I had been at on any cruise that wasn't really a beach stop, and I thought it was great. Old San Juan has so much history, so many great restaurants, and so many cool sites that it was a nice break from the norm.

 Hi there- any chance you could send me info on your walking tour that you did?  Your pics look great and we're headed to San Juan in a few weeks - would love to do a walking tour with my family (2 adults 3 kids - 11, 10 & 5) and this looks perfect.  

Does Allure have a way to text with other guests aboard?  Trying to decide if its worth getting the internet package for our kids to keep in touch with us or if there's a free option through the app.  The reps say no but I swear I've seen it on here that there is something available.  If it is available - how does it work?  Thanks!

We will be traveling the first part of February with our 11, 10 and 5 year olds. What is the best option? They are all fairly well traveled and will do/try anything.

Yes sorry. That’s the one. The rep said it’s no bigger but I thought it may be. Any idea how much bigger it’d be?

Can anyone tell me if mini-suite 12236 is a larger balcony bc of the bump out?

I booked the Bliss for Feb 2019. Two B8s for the five of us. I really wanted Harmony and to return to RCCL but the price on RCCL, while was less for the cruise fare, by the time I factored in the UBP and soda for the kids, as well as speciality dining, NCL was less. I keep watching both for sales.

I booked our family of 5 on the Bliss but keep teetering on it. Is anyone else concerned about the pool space? We will be cruising the E. Caribbean and Im slightly concerned pool space will be lacking.

Trying to be a little more helpful...

 

The situation with cabins directly above the Waterfront on deck 9 is likely to be very similar to all other ships since the Breakaway. Not exactly the same, if only because venues themselves are different, but issues are likely to be similar.

 

I can only be of limited help, as I’ve never stayed in such a room on deck 9. However, from memory of other reports I believe that there isn’t much, if any, problem with noise from the restaurants. However, I do recall people having issues if they are directly above the music venue opposite La Cucina on these ships. I’d certainly want to avoid that sort of area on the Bliss, but as far as I can tell at the moment, I don’t believe that there is a major problem elsewhere.

Thank you so much for your helpful and thoughtful response. It's much appreciated!

LOL. That's a pretty hard question to answer since the ship doesn't exist yet.

Is it though Harvey? Isn't Bliss the same as Escape? Therefore, wouldn't Escape have the same setup with the Waterfront? Thanks for the help... :rolleyes:

Hi.

We just booked a trip on the Bliss - adjoining rooms on Deck 9 - above Waterfront Dining. Has anyone heard of whether or not thats loud or an annoying spot to be? I did a search but found nothing. We spend a lot of time on our balcony and want it to be peaceful. Thanks!

If you've been reading this thread you have been reading outdated and incorrect information as the this thread was from 2013.

 

Kids are welcome any time.

Doh...my bad

We are traveling next week on Allure. We will be taking our kids to SR as much as possible. They are 3, 8, 9 and are well behaved and love good food.

However, I noticed on cruise planner it says, on the Chops page:

Kids 5 and under eat for free.

Kids 6-12 years old eat for less. Ask about our kids specialty dining prices onboard

It says nothing about kids not being welcomed or only prior to 7p.

And further digging shows:

Food & Beverage

Q: Are children allowed to dine in our Specialty Restaurants?

A: Children younger than 13 must be accompanied by an adult. Plus, kids ages 6-12 now dine at our specialty restaurants for only $8, and kids 5 and under eat free! Little sailors get their very own menu – a round-up of kid-friendly favorites from the "grownups" menu. Reservations can be made online or onboard at the restaurant based on availability.

If you have a Costco membership, check there. We scored the Hyatt Place for $170 thru them. They have partnerships with Hyatt and Best Westerns. Their prices couldn't be beat!

Another vote for Fury!

Could someone help me out with an email to get help with dining reservations for a party of 9? I've called RCCL and travel agents and can get nowhere. I swear I saw on here there's an email you can contact to get assistance. TIA!

We have two connecting balcony rooms on an upcoming allure cruise. We went with it vs. a family room b/c two bathrooms, double balcony (with divider removed), and ability to shut the door if the little one needs a quiet nap.

Well, I kinda agree with you there. For adults there's the zip lines at Labadee and Dunn River Falls or Blue Hole out of Falmouth. I wouldn't take children on either. But otherwise, it's beach days at port for both there.

 

Still with the crew you're shuttling around look into Chankanaab and Discover Mexico. There's also a small set of "ruins" and a small village at El Cedral, which is down from Discover Mexico about 2 or 3 kilometers. Since taxis aren't that expensive you might consider dropping everyone off at Chank and then take some to both Discover Mexico and El Cedral. for a portion of the time. Have the dolphin swimmers book a time through the ship. That can give you a better idea of where to be when.

Thanks for the feedback. I'd love to get in most of what everyone's looking for in Mexico since the other ports are bound to be beach days or ship days.

Do the Discover Mexico/Chankanaab route. Google both for websites. There's a discount. Lots of culture stuff and scale models of historical landmarks and ruins sites to entertain a 9 yr old and a 7 yr old. Plus Chank is where MIL can see the dolphins and everyone else can enjoy the beach and watertoys.

 

Where else are you going? Belize is a good stop for ruins.

We are going to Labadee and Falmouth. Neither have much that I'm excited for. We're traveling with our family of 5, my ILs (late 70s) and SIL and BIL.

My 9yo son wants to see ruins.

My 7yo son wants to see anything but ruins.

My 2yo is along for the ride.

My MIL wants to take the to swim with dolphins.

My husband and I are flexible.

Is there anywhere that has ruins, dolphins, beach?

Ages range from 3y-70y. We'd like to do a Dolphin swim somewhere along our cruise but it doesn't have to be in Cozumel.

We currently have 2 oceanview balcony cabins on Allure (3 in one room and 2 in the other). We saved $480 with this sale and we already had a screamin' good deal. However, had we switched to the FB for the 5 of us it was taxes only for the kids - making that room $3300. DH decided he'd rather pay $730 for two cabins and two balconies vs the large FB. This one actually worked out for us.

What is the earliest you'd book a flight leaving out of MCO after Epic cruise out of Port Canaveral?