First time cruiser - Allure of the Seas, any hints or tips?

[Skyeblue13]

Hi all,

 

So excited, just booked our flights to Orlando and am in the process of booking our cruise on the Allure of the Seas, Eastern Caribbean cruise, departing 14 April 2013. We are travelling from Australia and plan to spend a couple of weeks in Orlando before the cruise, then probably rent a car and drive to FL and book in somewhere there the night before (to save any stress and my sanity lol)

 

I would really appreciate any advice you can give me - we are a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children) and will probably book a D1 stateroom, are some floors better than others in regards to noise etc?

 

Thank you so much for your help.

[Skyeblue13]

anyone?

[mtsnd1900]

Where to begin...

Spending a few weeks in Orlando before the trip - very nice, sure you have some spots picked out, places to stay. Looking to stay in the land of the mouse (Disney) will do better price wise if you stay off property, but that is a whole different discussion / board.

 

As for the Allure - Ship is a monster, as you must know. Room near the elevator banks is beneficial, will save time walking the long hallways. Recommend not taking the deck directly under the sports deck.

 

check out what is above / below any room you are considering by looking here http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/Main/index.php

use the click and drag style, drag floor plans over one another. Avoid a public area above / below you, dont select a room right next to the maid stations, etc. basically, make sure to have all passenger rooms above, below, next and in front of you.

 

Join the roll call, will get a lot of info from there. The roll calls are available under the board - royal - allure - your sailing week.

 

Make reservations for shows as soon as they come out, check your RCCI online page often. the Aqua Theater shows should be seen early, as high seas may cancel them. if you wait, you may not see them.

 

Make dinner reservations along with the show reservations. not sure on kids ages or if you plan to do specialty restaurants, we loved them and thought they were worth the extra money.

 

Again, book both there as soon as you can. you will not be able to book comedy shows for under 18, but you should still go.

 

make sure to have all documents, as well as someone at home with access so your documents incase you need them.

 

Arrive at the port early - may be told you have a 1pm boarding time, get there at 9am. enjoy the first day on the ship!

 

Any more, scour the boards and will get many pointers. there are multiple strings dedicated to it.

 

Enjoy.

[lrn2cruise]

What an exciting trip for you! Coming from Australia is HUGE!

 

What do you plan to do in Orlando? I can tell you, if you do Disney, I recommend staying on site. There are buses that take you to each park and you do not have to worry about driving. We did Universal last year after our cruise. There are on site hotels there too and would add ease of the parks. The Universal hotel are $$$$$ though. We just did La Quinta Universal because we just blew a lot of bucks on the cruise. We got a great rate on priceline

 

I think if you ask more specifics, others can help answer more questions for you

[ncyankee]

There are several reviews posted right now of the Allure with lots of great photo's. I'd read thru them. We sail in 2 weeks -- can't wait.

[Skyeblue13]

thanks so very much everyone, will go check out all the other threads - so many helpful people and so much useful information here.

 

We have been to Disney before, probably about 10 yrs ago. We are thinking of staying at the Hilton, Bonnet Creek - they seem to get good reviews and have free shuttles to the parks. Can't wait! :)

[S.A.M.J.R.]

For more Disney information, check out disboards.com. It's message board setup about Disney.

[BillOh]

The Eastern itinerary your on is a lot of fun, we are going on it for the 2nd time. As far as floors and noise, I like high up by the pool, but I like to keep one deck of isolation between me and the pool so I'm returning to deck 12 again, but this time further aft that I was last time.

[jakesmom04]

We will be sailing with you. There is a ongoing chatter on the Allure page (Meet&Mingle).

Join us over there. Welcome aboard.

[Griff4AU]

Timely thread. Thanks. We're regular cruisers, but we've never sailed RCL. We booked at the last minute and we'll be on the Freedom on Sunday (10th).

 

Are there any RCL tips for someone coming over from primarily Princess? Foe example, I tell the "new to Princess but not cruising" crowd that MUTS, Ultimate Balcony Dining (if you have a balcony) and Chef's Table are great things to do that not everyone knows about.

 

 

Are there any similar "Hey, you should do this" tips for RCL or the Freedom?