Rare silentbob007 Posted June 30, 2012 #1 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Hi everyone … after a bit of deliberation about it, I’ve decided to try doing a “live” journal from Allure of the Seas leaving July 1, 2012. I will do my absolute best to answer questions, post photos, and describe my experiences through the cruise. As some members here know, I like to think about ways to save money when possible, so I’ll include any tips as they come along. I’m excited for this trip and this report, so I hope you’ll enjoy …. Background For this cruise, I will be traveling with my parents and my 14-year old niece. My parents and I are both D+ cruisers, and we are also both coming off of fairly recent long voyages (they were on the Radiance from Sydney to Honolulu in April and I was on the Serenade in Europe in May). This will be my niece’s third cruise, though her first on Royal Caribbean (she’s been on the Carnival Glory and the Celebrity Eclipse). My parents and I were on the Oasis last year on this same Western itinerary. Why did we book this cruise? Well, to be honest, it was a bit of a last-minute decision. There was decent (for summer) pricing during the WOW sale for this cruise leaving July 1 and my parents had been looking for a summer vacation on which they could invite my niece. Add into the mix that my dad and I both had companion fares that we needed to use for Delta by the end of July, and the deal was made even better. Of course, there’s also the ship … the Allure was about the only ship we’d consider cruising to the Caribbean right now simply because we are getting a bit tired of the “same old” ports. My dad was also interested in the Allure because he really wants to see Chicago. Booking In the end, we decided to book two inside guarantee cabins. We chose this route for several reasons … first, there were no quad-cabins left to book. Second, with the WOW sale, the two inside guarantee cabins we booked were about $400/pp less than any other type of assigned or guaranteed cabin. Basically, we just wanted to get on the ship. Once we decided to book, my dad called the travel agent we use (good perks) but could not get ahold of him and instead left a voicemail. I then went to the RCI website and put a hold on two guaranteed cabins just in case our TA did not get back to use before the prices went up. The TA called us up about 20 minutes later, took down our information, and promised to call back once he had the reservation in. A few minutes later, we received his call … to tell us that when he went to book, there was only one inside guarantee left at the sale price. While he was on the phone, I went online and released the two guarantees I had held. They immediately popped up as available on his side and he grabbed them. By this time (about 3 weeks before the cruise), both seatings of dining had become full, so we were forced to join MyTime Dining and pay gratuities up front. This was a little irritating, though we always add them to our account onboard anyway, so I guess it is a wash in the end. Our TA’s perks amounted to about $150 off for each cabin anyway. Now that we wee booked on the cruise, it was time to book airfare. My dad and I went on at the same time to book our two fares and companion fares. Of course, after he submitted his itinerary for purchase first, one of my legs ended up being “sold out” of available companion fares. In the end, he had to call Delta and transfer his booking to a different flight that we could both be on (an early morning return flight instead of a late morning one). Now with the cruise and flights taken care of, I went to make show reservations. Of course … many shows were already booked up except for very inconvenient times ( 7PM, 11 PM, etc). I’m hoping, as others have suggested, that the concierge will either be able to help us a) get reservations for shows or b) give us a pass to get into shows without reservations. It’s definitely less convenient to book late on this class of ship … I remember easily making desired reservations on Oasis because we were already booked when reservations were released. In terms of special activities we have planned, the only thing I’ve booked so far is tickets for the Prohibition Party. We are planning to go to Giovanni’s Table the first night with our BOGO D+ coupons, but I will try to reserve that onboard. My dad and niece are also contemplating the zipline in Labadee, though I think he wants her to try the one on the ship before he books the excursion. I may book a jetski tour on Labadee as I’ve never ridden one and figure this might be the best and safest time to try. July 1, 2012 - Allure Itinerary by cmong, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare silentbob007 Posted June 30, 2012 Author #2 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Now to get to the "LIVE" part .... :) June 30 My parents are out right now picking up my niece and making sure all of the paperwork is in order for travel (permission forms, etc). It is definitely a bit of a pain to take non-immediate family members out of the country ... which I guess is a good thing. Our flight tonight has me a little worried. We are flying into Fort Lauderdale today, as it is typically less stressful. However, as we used our companion fares with Delta, only one flight out today was available ... a late flight out of Indianapolis with a short connection (50 minutes) to get to the absolute last flight of the day out of Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. Ugh ... not only do we get to worry/rush, but we also don't arrive until about midnight. Not my preference, though I guess at least we are not having to get up for a 6:00 AM flight (which means a 2:30-3 wake-up time). We will be heading to the air port in a little over four hours, so in that time we'll be double-checking our documents, throwing last minute items into our suitcases, and just in general making sure we are ready to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topo Gigio Posted June 30, 2012 #3 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Did you guys end up in an inside or got an upgrade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman1118 Posted June 30, 2012 #4 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Now to get to the "LIVE" part .... :) June 30 My parents are out right now picking up my niece and making sure all of the paperwork is in order for travel (permission forms, etc). It is definitely a bit of a pain to take non-immediate family members out of the country ... which I guess is a good thing. Our flight tonight has me a little worried. We are flying into Fort Lauderdale today, as it is typically less stressful. However, as we used our companion fares with Delta, only one flight out today was available ... a late flight out of Indianapolis with a short connection (50 minutes) to get to the absolute last flight of the day out of Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. Ugh ... not only do we get to worry/rush, but we also don't arrive until about midnight. Not my preference, though I guess at least we are not having to get up for a 6:00 AM flight (which means a 2:30-3 wake-up time). We will be heading to the air port in a little over four hours, so in that time we'll be double-checking our documents, throwing last minute items into our suitcases, and just in general making sure we are ready to go. That is a stressful connection. When is the next flight to fort lauderdale if you miss your connection? Hope to see you at the meet and mingle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare silentbob007 Posted June 30, 2012 Author #5 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Did you guys end up in an inside or got an upgrade? We ended up getting upgraded to boardwalk balconies that were about 4 cabins apart on deck 11. We changed them to two boardwalk balconies next to each other (but not connecting) on deck 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare silentbob007 Posted June 30, 2012 Author #6 Share Posted June 30, 2012 That is a stressful connection. When is the next flight to fort lauderdale if you miss your connection? Hope to see you at the meet and mingle The next flight is the next morning with about 5 flights that could get us there before sailing and more if you consider Miami or other cities in Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lionesss Posted June 30, 2012 #7 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Can you find out the scoop on the new water slide in Labadee, and how much it will cost, and opening date? Safe travels Looking forward to your posts Sue and crew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseLover15 Posted June 30, 2012 #8 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Looking forward to your review. Will be boarding her in about 8 weeks and will live through your review for the coming week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigeagle12 Posted June 30, 2012 #9 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Weather in Atlanta today is HOT but clear .. your connection here should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvlgolflady Posted June 30, 2012 #10 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Thanks for the live report; I love reading the live ones. I will be on Allure again in October; my second time in the last boardwalk balcony on deck 10. Love this cabin. Happy sailing!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindy sails Posted June 30, 2012 #11 Share Posted June 30, 2012 I'm also on the Allure tomorrow & have a late flight that connects in Atlanta & arrives in Ft Lauderdale after 11 tonight. I tried stand by on an earlier flights but all were oversold. I agree that it's better than getting up in the middle of the night for an early flight. The good news is tomorrow at this time we'll be on the ship. Safe travels. Lindy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pasodancer Posted June 30, 2012 #12 Share Posted June 30, 2012 I'll be glued to this thread waiting for your updates............THANK YOU so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare silentbob007 Posted June 30, 2012 Author #13 Share Posted June 30, 2012 I'm also on the Allure tomorrow & have a late flight that connects in Atlanta & arrives in Ft Lauderdale after 11 tonight. I tried stand by on an earlier flights but all were oversold.I agree that it's better than getting up in the middle of the night for an early flight. The good news is tomorrow at this time we'll be on the ship. Safe travels. Lindy Thanks. You too. Perhaps we'll see each other tonight or tomorrow. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denamo Posted June 30, 2012 #14 Share Posted June 30, 2012 So glad you are posting a live Allure report. We will be boarding the Allure as you get off at the end of the week. Our reasons for booking the Allure are mirror image of yours down to a need to use airline ticket. We too had to book a much later flight out than usual. Hoping your Atlanta connection goes smoothly. Anxiously awaiting your report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindy sails Posted June 30, 2012 #15 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Sounds good. Here's hoping for on time connections and no storms in the mid west. Ohio got hit pretty hard with big storms & high winds yesterday, Lindy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suizas Posted June 30, 2012 #16 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Thanks so much for doing this! We too will be on the Allure (Western!) on August 12th, so I will be soaking up your review! Have been on Oasis and loved it -- looking forward to Ritas (we are signed up for a Fiesta) and my boys, the Doghouse! Can't wait to see what you do in Jamaica and Labadee..... Have a FANTASTIC week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iloverags2 Posted June 30, 2012 #17 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Looking forward to reading all about your trip! Just the planning of it has my head spinning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastiemom Posted June 30, 2012 #18 Share Posted June 30, 2012 I assume that your father is hesitant to book the ziplining until she tries it on the boat because he is worried that she won't like it. I have a 14 yo DD who is not extremely brave, but when she ziplined with us in Costa Rica this spring (it was a canopy one-high up, but over tree tops), she loved it, as did my other two kids and my niece and nephew (ranging in age from 8-11). They listed it as a highlight of their trip. I'll am looking forward to hearing what your niece really enjoyed on the Allure-we are traveling on the ship for Spring Break, and it would be nice to get some information from her for my kids. I'm espeically curious as to what you do in Falmouth, as that is the one port I'm still not sure what to do in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debde Posted June 30, 2012 #19 Share Posted June 30, 2012 You do some of the best reviews silentbob so I am also looking forward to it. Never been to Labadee yet so I'll live through your eyes for a bit!!:) Have fun!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazorbackIslandGirl Posted June 30, 2012 #20 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Thanks for taking all of us along with you on your Allure adventure!;) I am looking forward to the week ahead! Safe travels & happy sailing!!:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivavegas Posted June 30, 2012 #21 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Looking forward to hearing about your travels in the week ahead!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freo Posted June 30, 2012 #22 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Another "Live" trip report. :) Enjoy your cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare silentbob007 Posted June 30, 2012 Author #23 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Thanks for the well-wishes and encouragement everyone. We're sitting in the airport right now and it looks like our plane just landed in Indy. Fingers are crossed ... we got hit by some hard rain a few hours ago, but now it just seems hazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare silentbob007 Posted June 30, 2012 Author #24 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Our bags are packed, we're ready to go by cmong, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted June 30, 2012 #25 Share Posted June 30, 2012 We are so excited to be along for the ride. Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Have a fabulous vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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