Cheapo dad’s trip report on Allure of the Seas sailing December 14, 2014

[Lovincruisin1321]

Thanks for all your input. I will forge ahead and read your report to the end. Your great writing is wonderful and entertaining.

 

My thoughts exactly on knocking it down to the Voyager Class.

 

Can't wait to read on your next voyage!

[Coralc]

Thanks Harry! Canon manual has now been loaded onto Ipod Touch. I finally figured out how to put it in Ibooks, so it is accessible offline. I also downloaded the color pencil sketch app for the Ipod camera.

 

I like the Ipod, because I am a little bit cheap as well, and I hate monthly service fees, which it does not have. I have a $10/month (100 free minutes)elcheapo flip phone, if I desire to make a call or someone calls me.

 

I think I am all set for the Panama Canal cruise at the end of the month. I am ready to experiment with the camera, now armed with the manual Thanks again for your motivational thread, encouragement and assistance!

 

New job? Best wishes in your future endeavors. :D:):D

 

~Patti :)

Edited April 3, 2015 by Coralc

[harryfat1]

Thanks Harry! Canon manual has now been loaded onto Ipod Touch. I finally figured out how to put it in Ibooks, so it is accessible offline. I also downloaded the color pencil sketch app for the Ipod camera.

 

I like the Ipod, because I am a little bit cheap as well, and I hate monthly service fees, which it does not have. I have a $10/month (100 free minutes)elcheapo flip phone, if I desire to make a call or someone calls me.

 

I think I am all set for the Panama Canal cruise at the end of the month. I am ready to experiment with the camera, now armed with the manual Thanks again for your motivational thread, encouragement and assistance!

 

New job? Best wishes in your future endeavors.

 

~Patti :)

 

Hi, Patti,

 

Great to hear from you again.

 

Wow, Panama Canal cruise. That’s great. It’s definitely on my bucket list. Just can never do it while kids are in school as most of the ships that traverse it are doing it on repo time on April and October. Neither of which is workable for families with kids.

 

As for the camera, I would suggest you go up to Hayward hills or the shoreline area to take some sample pictures to practice few times to have an idea on what some of the controls are. I believe your zoom camera is a newer version of mine by 2 generations. Try to take a picture of the moon while you are out in the middle of the ocean. I wanted to do it on our cruise but we ran into mostly bad weather/cloudy skies and I could never find a good clear night spot so these are 2 pictures taken from the camera here in Bay area.

 

You can go into the menu in the camera and turn on the digital zoom and it lets you zoom in crazy close to the moon. These were taken as is, no Photoshop or cropping. Just need to hold your camera on something steady as it will move a lot given the mega zoom. I took them with my elbow on the hood of the car in the driveway.

 

 

 

The ipod touch is nice. We have one. But the screen is kind of small to read the manual. Later on you might want to switch to a 7 or 8 inch tablet. Costco sells the Samsung tablet for less than $200.

 

Yeah, switching job so no long vacations this year – postponing the driving trip until later. Received a spam email from RCI yesterday saying their 2016 holiday cruise schedule is out. Took a quick look and the Freedom of the Seas sailing sounds promising for December 2016 so might book that for now until we see something better.

 

Might even write a sequel to the Cheapo dad trip report for the Freedom – just plagiarize my own work and copy/paste what I wrote for the Allure onto the Freedom and then slap on some pictures of new “dirt” while on the Freedom and call it a day. Two years from now, people won’t remember all the peasant and crazy aunt jokes so it’ll be good as new…:p

 

Have a WONDERFUL cruise on the Panama Canal. Come back and share some pics…

[Coralc]

Cool moon photos! You are right, I should practice. We are in the Hayward hills. Full moon tonight, maybe I will practice. :D And the manual is readable on the Ipod. When they come out with a tablet with a paperwhite screen for all of my books; I will think about getting one.

 

The Panama Canal is a truly amazing example of 100+ year old technology, that works just as well today as it did then. It really is something that people should make an effort to experience when they have the oportunity.

 

Thanks again for your fantastic review. And there are many, many people that find it rewarding and full of immensely useful information for planning their Allure or Oasis cruises. :D:):D

[K3nn7]

Thanks for a very nice trip report, Harry! Even tought i had to break of the reading and looking (it was getting late at night/early in the morning :p), i made it through :D Really love your sense of humor!

[harryfat1]

Thanks for a very nice trip report, Harry! Even tought i had to break of the reading and looking (it was getting late at night/early in the morning :p), i made it through :D Really love your sense of humor!

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for the compliment. Glad you like the trip report. I steal my jokes from other movies and books and late night talk shows.

 

I see that you are not going to sail on the Allure in the near future based on your cruise listing so you just read the info for pleasure. I am truly honored that you stuck through the whole report as it’s very long. Thank you for leaving a feedback.

 

If you liked this trip report, you will also like my next one in late 2016 as I have no creativity so I will just copy and paste this trip report and just change the name of the ship from Allure to Freedom. Maybe switch up the crazy aunt and the prison uncle to pretend to have something new. So keep an eye for that later on for that if you enjoyed the jokes from this one…:p

 

Have great cruises on your long list. Let me know how you liked Bermuda next month. That’s on my list of places I want to see.

[gr82cu2]

I have email notification whenever someone post on this thread so I will always be around to talk to anyone that has any questions after the fact, matters not if it’s days/weeks/months later. Be happy to help.

 

Hi Harry!

 

It's me, gr82cu2 :) I just finished reading your trip report (up to this posting, anyway). I want to thank you for taking an incredible amount of time uploading pictures and telling in great detail all about your cruise. It's hard to believe it was only a 7 night cruise!

 

We will be boarding Allure this coming Saturday for the TA. Usually when I read trip reports I come away with more questions that I started with but that is not the case with your review, as you were incredibly thorough and descriptive. I have one simple question. Since there are no paper coupons for the C&A "perks" did you have to tell the waiter to apply the discount? For example, if we were in a bar and ordered 2 glasses of wine or beer, do we have to ask them to apply the discount or is it just automatic when they swipe the S&S card?

 

I was excited for this cruise anyway but after reading your review (it took a few days!) I'm even more excited. We thought we would never cruise on a ship this large but we got a fantastic deal and couldn't pass it up. We are combining the TA with an extended stay in Europe. So very excited!

 

You and your family are just awesome in every sense of the word. Truly awesome! We also have 2 sons but they grew into men who have married and have their own lives now. I wish we could have afforded (even a cheapo trip :) ) to have the memories with them that you have with your sons.

 

Keep on cruising! And keep on writing trip reports. I would read yours even if I had zero intention of going on the same ship or itinerary. You manage to combine informative and hilarious together at the same time. Thanks again!

[harryfat1]

Hi Harry!

 

It's me, gr82cu2 :) I just finished reading your trip report (up to this posting, anyway). I want to thank you for taking an incredible amount of time uploading pictures and telling in great detail all about your cruise. It's hard to believe it was only a 7 night cruise!

 

We will be boarding Allure this coming Saturday for the TA. Usually when I read trip reports I come away with more questions that I started with but that is not the case with your review, as you were incredibly thorough and descriptive. I have one simple question. Since there are no paper coupons for the C&A "perks" did you have to tell the waiter to apply the discount? For example, if we were in a bar and ordered 2 glasses of wine or beer, do we have to ask them to apply the discount or is it just automatic when they swipe the S&S card?

 

I was excited for this cruise anyway but after reading your review (it took a few days!) I'm even more excited. We thought we would never cruise on a ship this large but we got a fantastic deal and couldn't pass it up. We are combining the TA with an extended stay in Europe. So very excited!

 

You and your family are just awesome in every sense of the word. Truly awesome! We also have 2 sons but they grew into men who have married and have their own lives now. I wish we could have afforded (even a cheapo trip :) ) to have the memories with them that you have with your sons.

 

Keep on cruising! And keep on writing trip reports. I would read yours even if I had zero intention of going on the same ship or itinerary. You manage to combine informative and hilarious together at the same time. Thanks again!

 

Hi, Janet,

 

Thanks for the kind words. You are going to inflate my ego up to the size of my waist line, not an easy thing to do.

 

Yes, I stretched out our 7 day cruise in my report to be more like 10+ day cruise. Part of being a cheapo dad – make whatever you have last longer. Be it vacation or food at home.

 

Wow, another TA cruiser. Think your cruise will have a lot of cc folks in it. How big is your meet and mingle? Ask around at the event how many people are going to join the “Friends of Excel” meetings? I have conversed with many folks on your TA the past few months. Can’t believe it’s going to happen this weekend.

 

As for the discounts, I had read in my research that some people didn’t get the discounts if they didn’t tell the servers about it. So I made sure to mention it when we gave our cards for the drinks and the server said,”I got you covered, Mon, no worries.” So think it may be up to the individual workers to press an extra key on the screen register to apply the coupon. Some are more up to speed and others maybe lazy. So I would just mention it to them “just in case”. Can’t hurt.

 

Think anyone and everyone will be excited with a TA on the mega ship and then extended stay in Europe afterward. Very nice. Glad my info was helpful. Be sure to check on the secret balcony area ASAP as I read others have posted that RCI is planning to work in the area during the TA so your access might be limited toward the end of the cruise.

 

Have a great cruise if I don’t talk to you before you leave – ask anything else not covered in my ramblings if necessary prior to this weekend. Hopefully I will hear or read about the TA from you or someone else in either this posting or your own future trip report.

 

Oh, we have decided on Freedom of the Seas sailing for next year as it’s perfect in not taking the kids out of school and still be in reasonable cost range since it’s not a Christmas Day sailing. I will just recycle my dumb jokes on my next trip report as people won’t remember them 20 months from now. Maybe I will sue myself for plagiarism...:p

Edited April 14, 2015 by harryfat1
Still learning to type with my left toe and dealing with typos...

[Ourusualbeach]

 

Oh, we have decided on Freedom of the Seas sailing for next year as it’s perfect in not taking the kids out of school and still be in reasonable cost range since it’s not a Christmas Day sailing. I will just recycle my dumb jokes on my next trip report as people won’t remember them 20 months from now. Maybe I will sue myself for plagiarism...:p

 

Hi Harry, great review as others have said love your humor.

 

Another cheap dad here looking for deals in order to cruise twice a year. I think we may be on the same Freedom sailing...the 6 day Dec 18'th to 24'th. It worked out great as the kids are out that entire week before Christmas and there were a few cruises not priced with the Christmas premium.

[gr82cu2]

 

Wow, another TA cruiser. Think your cruise will have a lot of cc folks in it. How big is your meet and mingle? Ask around at the event how many people are going to join the “Friends of Excel” meetings? I have conversed with many folks on your TA the past few months. Can’t believe it’s going to happen this weekend.

 

As for the discounts, I had read in my research that some people didn’t get the discounts if they didn’t tell the servers about it. So I made sure to mention it when we gave our cards for the drinks and the server said,”I got you covered, Mon, no worries.” So think it may be up to the individual workers to press an extra key on the screen register to apply the coupon. Some are more up to speed and others maybe lazy. So I would just mention it to them “just in case”. Can’t hurt.

 

Maybe I will sue myself for plagiarism...:p

 

I'm almost ashamed to admit I didn't join the roll call for this one. Usually I do but also usually we book much, much earlier than we did this time. We only booked this cruise late in February when I came across the low, low, low fare. I did look at the roll call here and it seemed as though pretty much everyone on there was bonded and I'm not one to butt in :)

 

Thanks for the info. about the discounts. We'll have to remember to let the waiters know when it's sitting unused on our cards.

 

We are another couple that thought these mega ships wouldn't be for us but for a TA I think this ship will be perfect. Lots of things to do during 10 sea days! I just hope it doesn't get too cold out there in the middle of the Atlantic. We did a TA at this time last year and it got pretty darn chilly out there. We'll check out the not so secret secret balconies right away. We have a port side ocean view balcony so there will be lots of water gazing in our future :)

 

As for suing yourself for plagiarism, I bet there are a few lawyers around here that could help you with that. :cool:

[harryfat1]

I'm almost ashamed to admit I didn't join the roll call for this one. Usually I do but also usually we book much, much earlier than we did this time. We only booked this cruise late in February when I came across the low, low, low fare. I did look at the roll call here and it seemed as though pretty much everyone on there was bonded and I'm not one to butt in :)

 

Thanks for the info. about the discounts. We'll have to remember to let the waiters know when it's sitting unused on our cards.

 

We are another couple that thought these mega ships wouldn't be for us but for a TA I think this ship will be perfect. Lots of things to do during 10 sea days! I just hope it doesn't get too cold out there in the middle of the Atlantic. We did a TA at this time last year and it got pretty darn chilly out there. We'll check out the not so secret secret balconies right away. We have a port side ocean view balcony so there will be lots of water gazing in our future :)

 

As for suing yourself for plagiarism, I bet there are a few lawyers around here that could help you with that. :cool:

 

I assume for the TA the weather will get progressively cooler as you head more north during the trip so do most of your outdoor activities in the beginning – such as pool and water show and zip lines while it’s still warm. Then the second half when the weather is colder, you can do the ice skating and small wonders and visiting the crazy aunt/prison uncle at the RP.

 

Be sure to request the web cam wave for this Sunday and wear something colorful so you guys will stand out in the video.

 

OK, no meet and mingle for you guys but at least make it to the captain’s welcome back party for the repeat passengers and get couple glasses of free booze. I didn’t make it to our M&M either. I was pretty active in our roll call but couldn’t get up that early for the M&M event.

 

Take a picture of the aqua theater from the stage. They typically won’t let you get on the platform barring special occasions such as the welcome back event so take advantage of that.

[harryfat1]

Hi Harry, great review as others have said love your humor.

 

Another cheap dad here looking for deals in order to cruise twice a year. I think we may be on the same Freedom sailing...the 6 day Dec 18'th to 24'th. It worked out great as the kids are out that entire week before Christmas and there were a few cruises not priced with the Christmas premium.

 

Hi, Ken,

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

Yeah, we officially reserved the cruise today so it’s great to have a cruise planned, even though it’s 20 months away.

 

I have a feeling this sailing will be boat/ship load (bad pun intended) of kids and families full of cheapo dads and moms. We all know the extreme high cost to sail during the kids’ vacation breaks and it’s only once every 7 or years where the holidays are on Sunday and we can sail during the kids’ vacation week and not have to pay a premium price.

 

You and I are the anal crowd to check that far out and book our cruise. Wouldn’t surprise me as time goes on, especially come beginning of next year when other families plan for their 2016 holidays and finds this cruise for the low price/perfect fit for kids vacation time, the cabins will be snatched up and prices start to go up.

 

Maybe for this cruise, we will have a “Friends of cheapo dad/mom” support meetings to discuss why we picked this cruise over others that cost twice as much sailing on Christmas Day…

[Ourusualbeach]

Hi, Ken,

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

Yeah, we officially reserved the cruise today so it’s great to have a cruise planned, even though it’s 20 months away.

 

I have a feeling this sailing will be boat/ship load (bad pun intended) of kids and families full of cheapo dads and moms. We all know the extreme high cost to sail during the kids’ vacation breaks and it’s only once every 7 or years where the holidays are on Sunday and we can sail during the kids’ vacation week and not have to pay a premium price.

 

You and I are the anal crowd to check that far out and book our cruise. Wouldn’t surprise me as time goes on, especially come beginning of next year when other families plan for their 2016 holidays and finds this cruise for the low price/perfect fit for kids vacation time, the cabins will be snatched up and prices start to go up.

 

Maybe for this cruise, we will have a “Friends of cheapo dad/mom” support meetings to discuss why we picked this cruise over others that cost twice as much sailing on Christmas Day…

 

 

I was surprised when I saw you post about your kids being out that week. When I realized what was going to happen (last December) I knew hat all of Ontario would be out for the week but I checked a couple of states (NY and FL) and their school schedules showed them in school right up until the Friday.

 

It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out. If there are a lot of states that are out this week then prices will certainly rise in a hurry. I looked at pricing from last year and he cruises right before Christmas had some pretty good price drop/upgrade opportunities. Kind of hoping for that as we booked a pair of promenade cabins to keep the cost low and hoping to be able to grab an upgrade.

 

Love your idea of a support group.

 

Talk to you more in the coming 20 months. I've started a roll call already

Edited April 15, 2015 by Ourusualbeach

[AMB1]

Hello Harry,

 

I am de-lurking to make my first CC post. Thank you for your report. It has entertained and informed me for about 10 days now!

 

We usually sail on DCL a but I have been thinking it is time to branch out since our kids are getting older. I was trying to figure out how RCL works when your trip report popped up in response to one of my search questions. Now I have all the answers and I have been inspired to book the Oasis.

 

We have one more DCL cruise (because we can't pass up a Star Wars themed cruise), but then we are making the jump to RCL. I think the Oasis class will really suit our family well.

 

Thank you for such a wonderful report. I look forward to reading your next one.

[harryfat1]

Hello Harry,

 

I am de-lurking to make my first CC post. Thank you for your report. It has entertained and informed me for about 10 days now!

 

We usually sail on DCL a but I have been thinking it is time to branch out since our kids are getting older. I was trying to figure out how RCL works when your trip report popped up in response to one of my search questions. Now I have all the answers and I have been inspired to book the Oasis.

 

We have one more DCL cruise (because we can't pass up a Star Wars themed cruise), but then we are making the jump to RCL. I think the Oasis class will really suit our family well.

 

Thank you for such a wonderful report. I look forward to reading your next one.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for the kind words. I am honored you have de-cloaked in posting your first comment here on the boards on my trip report. Do hope you continue to comment on other people’s posts as well going forward. Soon you will be a regular and argue with others blue to your face on what the dress code etiquette should be on formal nights.

 

Yes, if there is another ship out there that is similar to what the Disney cruise offers, I think it’s the Oasis class. I have always wanted to sail on the Disney cruise ship once just to check it off my bucket list but every time I compare prices, I walk away as Disney charges a premium that is too rich for cheapo dad’s pocket book. It costs more to do a 3 nights Disney cruise than my 7 day Allure cruise. Not going to happen for me.

 

So it took you 10 days to read through the info. Sometimes I wondered how long it takes for someone from start to end to finish. Guess if you average around 100 posts per day, it’ll take you 10+ days.

 

As for my next trip report, it’ll just be a duplicate of this one. Plan to go into MS Word and do a replace of any “Allure” word with “Freedom”. Since it’ll be around the same holiday period, everything else will be similar. I might get “creative” and switch the crazy aunt and felon uncle in the next report and call it “new and improved”.

 

Have fun on your next Disney cruise and enjoy your cruise planning on the Oasis class ship. If you wait until next year, you can sail on the new Harmony. Come back with questions if you need help. Glad to assist.

[AMB1]

Hi Harry,

 

I post over on a certain DCL board, so I am very familiar with the topics that set people off (attire, chair hogs, smoking on balconies etc. ). It is kind of amusing to see the same debates over here.

 

I was very close to booking the Harmony because it will be new and have water slides, but there was a $1,000 price difference and, with the current exchange rate on our Canadian dollar, I thought I had best lock in the Oasis. I have booked for March 2017, which will be our first time travelling during March Break. I have always avoided school breaks, but I think by booking two years in advance we are avoiding some of the price gouging that goes on.

 

I am so glad you explained where you family ate each meal. I keep reading how crowded the Windjammer buffet is, so I know it will be important to branch out into other dining venues. Based on your report, I can start compiling a list of breakfast and lunch options that are "included" in our cruise fare (I refuse to say "free").

 

Good luck planning your road trip!

[harryfat1]

Hi Harry,

 

I post over on a certain DCL board, so I am very familiar with the topics that set people off (attire, chair hogs, smoking on balconies etc. ). It is kind of amusing to see the same debates over here.

 

I was very close to booking the Harmony because it will be new and have water slides, but there was a $1,000 price difference and, with the current exchange rate on our Canadian dollar, I thought I had best lock in the Oasis. I have booked for March 2017, which will be our first time travelling during March Break. I have always avoided school breaks, but I think by booking two years in advance we are avoiding some of the price gouging that goes on.

 

I am so glad you explained where you family ate each meal. I keep reading how crowded the Windjammer buffet is, so I know it will be important to branch out into other dining venues. Based on your report, I can start compiling a list of breakfast and lunch options that are "included" in our cruise fare (I refuse to say "free").

 

Good luck planning your road trip!

 

I used to be active on the Disney boards when I was planning for the Disneyworld visits – been there four times. Lost count how many times we have been to Disneyland as we had annual passes for couple years and we went there on every kids’ school vacation days. Still in touch with a dentist family that I met on the Disney boards from 18 years ago.

 

Wow, two years out cruise booking. I thought I was bad with 20 months out. I am not surprised that Harmony is priced higher as everyone wants to be on the newest and the greatest. You might want to keep an eye on the Allure sailing prices going forward as people want to be on the Harmony, that might leave Allure cabins unfilled and RCI will need to drop the price on the Allure.

 

It will be interesting for our 2016 cruise in that when we sail away, we will see Allure across the port and when we come back on the 6 day cruise, we will see Harmony when we disembark. So we will see the 2 mega ships during our cruise but we won’t be on either. Will be very sad in not able to yell across the port “our butt is bigger than your butt” to either ships.

 

Windjammer is bad on day 1. So be sure to get to the pier early. Try to be there by 10:30. That will give you enough time to check in and be amongst the first batch to be on the ship. Then after few obligatory pictures at the Royal Promenade and the whole family gawking at the water fountain, head straight to Windjammer. If you don’t then you will have to stand in line for awhile.

 

The rest of the cruise for breakfast, Johnny Rocket is never full for breakfast and you can always do main dining room so you can avoid the crowd some of the time. Crowding is subjective and it all depends on timing. If you can get the family up early to eat before the rest of the ship is awake, you can go anywhere without a line.

 

As for a list of places, here are couple sample scans of what time the restaurants are open on sea days versus port days. You can see any restaurants that has $ on it is not included in the base price. Hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything else.

 

 

[dani negreanu]

Dear Harry,

 

I'd very much like your help in order to "activate" my DH, Aaron. Remember the name? :)

 

DH isn't keen on cruising, but agrees to tag along once in a year. He luckily escaped melanoma, but is always traveling with long sleeves and pants & very strong sunscreen.

 

In our upcoming cruise on Allure, we've been invited to join my dear cousin (DC, lives in Germany, while we live in Israel), who will be 60 in July, so DH is making an exception to cruise twice in the same year.... BUT, we've been to almost all the ports -- Rome, Barcelona & Napoli (including ALL the surroundings), whereas DC and her DH have never been. The plan is for me to join them, and Aaron will stay on ship.

 

He is interested in photography and all forms of art - painting, sculpting.

I'll be grateful for any ideas for him to pass the time during port days. And, yes, I've made a copy of your list of "small wonders".

I'll add that his English speaking isn't so good, so all the games are out.

 

Many thanks in advance, Dani[ela]

[harryfat1]

Dear Harry,

 

I'd very much like your help in order to "activate" my DH, Aaron. Remember the name? :)

 

DH isn't keen on cruising, but agrees to tag along once in a year. He luckily escaped melanoma, but is always traveling with long sleeves and pants & very strong sunscreen.

 

In our upcoming cruise on Allure, we've been invited to join my dear cousin (DC, lives in Germany, while we live in Israel), who will be 60 in July, so DH is making an exception to cruise twice in the same year.... BUT, we've been to almost all the ports -- Rome, Barcelona & Napoli (including ALL the surroundings), whereas DC and her DH have never been. The plan is for me to join them, and Aaron will stay on ship.

 

He is interested in photography and all forms of art - painting, sculpting.

I'll be grateful for any ideas for him to pass the time during port days. And, yes, I've made a copy of your list of "small wonders".

I'll add that his English speaking isn't so good, so all the games are out.

 

Many thanks in advance, Dani[ela]

 

Hi, Dani,

 

Very nice to hear from you again. You are closer to your Allure cruise now that she is on her way to Europe.

 

As for what to do on the ship during port days, there is not much planned activities on port days as they assume most of the people will be off the ship. Obviously I don’t know exactly what activities will be available for the European itinerary but if you look at the scans I did for the 3 ports for our cruise, you can see there is a limited type of activities on board. Many of them are the “trivia” types that might not work for him due to language barrier.

 

All the shops will be closed during port day dockings. The only thing open would be the food places and the pool/sports area but given his skin condition, he can’t stay out long.

 

You already know about the small wonders. Maybe your Aaron can hang out by Central Park for a bit while drinking coffee and take pictures there if he likes to photograph things. For most part, he will have the ship by himself and some people like to take pictures of empty areas.

 

I know you said you have been to all the ports that Allure will sail to, but you can get a different photo perspective of the city from the ship/pier overlooking the city. Other words, he may have been to Barcelona before but if he is not a big cruise person, he may not have pictures of the city from 150 feet above the pier looking at it.

 

Don’t know where the ships will dock at each port and whether the port area will be scenic with cruise port malls or if it will be industrial area? He can walk around deck 5’s jogging track taking pictures of each port area similar to what we did for our Falmouth on day 4. Or he can find some shady area on deck 15 to take longer range photos of the port area if it’s scenic.

 

If the some of the ports he can walk off (assuming it’s not industrial container ports) the ship to explore the pier area, he can take pictures of the ship after walking 15 minutes away. If he prefers to stay on the ship, guess there is enough art work on each deck of the ship and in front of each MDR decks for him to walk around and see.

 

If he is more sports oriented, obviously there is the gym for working out or rock climbing and the 2 Flowriders but he would need to be covered up pretty well from the sun – guess it will depend on what hours those are opened during the port days and if the sun is shining in that area. If he wants to just observe, he can sit in the stands of flow riders and watch people wipe out in the shade. Or he can ice skate or watch others like myself trying to skate.

 

Think that’s all the ideas I can come up with. All else fails, just grab a book and sit in solarium in the shade with an ice tea and take a nap looking at the water. Give him my list and if he has any follow up questions on what to do, let me know. Have a great cruise if we don’t speak again. Come back and let me know afterward on what he did on port days.

 

Day 6 day time ship activities:

 

 

Day 4:

 

 

Day 3:

 

[dani negreanu]

Many many thanks for your time, Harry. I knew I could count on u, as an only daughter of a bean counter :)

 

Your advice is much valued and appreciated -- I'll expect then lots & lots of (dirt) pictures :D

 

I was not aware that there r not many activities on port days, and rightly so.

 

BTW, if you're wondering, looking at my signature, whether Aaron was with me on the Galapagos trip - NO. The strong Equadorean sun is definitely not for him, but Galapagos was my childhood dream, and DC graciously tagged along with me - and I had to spend a week shopping in NY with her. A win-win all around ;).

 

Best, Dani

[10th Anniversary]

WOW Harry!!!! What an amazing "report". I really enjoyed all the pictures and reading about each day in detail... especially the blah, blah, blah, blah. I must admit my own ADHD kicked in from time to time but I re-focused and made it all the way through the 58 pages. I am not a bean counter, but I would describe myself as extremely OCD and I immediately smiled at your spreadsheet. Count me in as a member of the "Excel / Word Spreadsheet support group". I pre-plan too researching each port in detail to find things we can do for free or a cheaper, inexpensive price. I would consider myself a "cheap-o mom".

 

My husband and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary next year and I was looking for a cruise for just the 2 of us to take... and I was trying to decide between Carnival Sunshine; another trip on Freedom; or Allure. I have always been impressed by Oasis and Allure, but was afraid of the "too crowded" feel and wondered if it was "too big"... but after your review... I'm pleased to say ... we will be sailing on Allure next year, May 2016, to celebrate our anniversary. Your report convinced us to give it a try. :D Thank you!!!! From one cruiser to another... A great BIG Thank You for all the detail, pictures, thought, jokes, and blah, blah, blah that you put into your report. It is very much appreciated!!

[harryfat1]

WOW Harry!!!! What an amazing "report". I really enjoyed all the pictures and reading about each day in detail... especially the blah, blah, blah, blah. I must admit my own ADHD kicked in from time to time but I re-focused and made it all the way through the 58 pages. I am not a bean counter, but I would describe myself as extremely OCD and I immediately smiled at your spreadsheet. Count me in as a member of the "Excel / Word Spreadsheet support group". I pre-plan too researching each port in detail to find things we can do for free or a cheaper, inexpensive price. I would consider myself a "cheap-o mom".

 

My husband and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary next year and I was looking for a cruise for just the 2 of us to take... and I was trying to decide between Carnival Sunshine; another trip on Freedom; or Allure. I have always been impressed by Oasis and Allure, but was afraid of the "too crowded" feel and wondered if it was "too big"... but after your review... I'm pleased to say ... we will be sailing on Allure next year, May 2016, to celebrate our anniversary. Your report convinced us to give it a try. :D Thank you!!!! From one cruiser to another... A great BIG Thank You for all the detail, pictures, thought, jokes, and blah, blah, blah that you put into your report. It is very much appreciated!!

 

Hi,

 

Thank you for the very kind words. Glad you found the info helpful and enjoyable to read. Especially now it’s ballooned to 58 pages. You definitely need to go on a cruise after all that reading but I see you have many planned, including a back to back on the Freedom – my next cruise. But it’s too far away and I am not in the cruise planning mood yet.

 

Maybe you can write a trip report when you are done and I can read about your vacation on the freedom to get me more excited about my cruise. So will you now change your sign on name to 20th anniversary instead?

 

Glad to hear that my info has influenced you to book the Allure. The ship can be crowded at certain places but you can easily avoid that if you want or join in as part of the festivities. I rather have the option to do either the fun or tranquility than being on a ship that is too quiet as I can’t generate my own parade and fun atmosphere but I can get away from it if I don’t want to socialize.

 

Happy to know even after 4+ months after I wrote this report, it’s still useful to people planning future cruises. Sometimes during those late nights when I was uploading the pictures and writing the dumb jokes, often wondered if anyone will read all the gibberish and if they will found it to be useful. Glad to know the info was helpful to you.

 

Have a great cruise on the Freedom and Allure. Try to leave one or two bar stools unbroken by time we sail on the Freedom next year. Keep the 20th anniversary party down to a legal noise limit…

[russianmom]

EXCELLENT review, great detail and great pictures.

 

We are making the jump from NCL to RCCL and my kids have been begging for one of the mega ships. We're looking at the Med on Allure.

 

I'm a super anal/OCD planner too so hopefully there's room for 1 more in the support group! :D

[spinnaker2]

What a fun read!

Your exuberance and your lovely family made the posts great entertainment.

Thanks for taking us along!

[harryfat1]

EXCELLENT review, great detail and great pictures.

 

We are making the jump from NCL to RCCL and my kids have been begging for one of the mega ships. We're looking at the Med on Allure.

 

I'm a super anal/OCD planner too so hopefully there's room for 1 more in the support group! :D

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed reading all the info even though not all of it will apply to you as you folks are going to the Mediterranean.

 

Just keep in mind that the Allure may not be the typical Royal Caribbean experience given its size so whether it’s good or bad, you might want to do another Royal ship afterward to have a truer feel on what they offer as these mega ship distorts the experience somewhat.

 

There’s always room for the support group. Just like Jell-O…

 

Have a great cruise and hope your family enjoys Allure as much as we did.