Haven't cruised in 26 years

[Uchylisa]

It was recommended I move post from th first timers board to this page.

My husband and I are taking our kids on the Allure of the Seas right after my son Graduates from High School we depart on June 12.

The only time i cruised was when I was 17, and I had the time of my life.

I'm interested to see how much has changed. I remember lots of ice sculptures and carvings in watermelons and a midnight buffet after the show got out every night. My mom made us take Papaya enzymes so we could eat more. I"d love to hear about other cruise tricks you seasoned veterans know about.

 

We have 2 connecting Boardwalk Balcony rooms and my in laws are just down the hallway in a similar room on the 9th deck.

We plan to stay the night at the Embassy Suite in FLL the night before we depart. We still need to purchase airfare from Portland and are hoping it will drop in price as it's ridiculously high right now.

 

Wondering if anyone has any particular tips about the Allure and also what the status of motion sickness is on theses HUGE ships. When we went in 1990 we wore sea bands and had no problem until the day I decided I didn't really need them and took them off. Alter spending hours in the bathroom on a day at sea, i became a believer, so I have bought Sea Bands for my family. Do they still work well or do i need to bring dramamine as well.

__________________

[Ourusualbeach]

Sadly you will no longer find the ice or watermelon carvings and the midnight buffets are gone as well.

 

Make sure that you book all of your shows in advance.

[BillOh]

Sadly you will no longer find the ice or watermelon carvings and the midnight buffets are gone as well.

 

Make sure that you book all of your shows in advance.

 

The ice and watermelon sculptures make occasional appearances, but not like they did as recently as even 10 years ago when I started. Allure is amazing it its own right though. To the OP, find and join your roll call group. You have 150 days to research!

 

Wow, an Allure roll call 150 days out and only 2 posts!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2297766

Edited January 12, 2016 by BillOh

[paigebeverly]

We will be on the same cruise. It will be me, my husband, and 14 year old daughter. Kind of a entering into high school present for her. We are on deck 8 boardwalk balcony 8327. We have never been on the Allure but have the Navigator.

 

I roll call was started..so far its just me and one other on it.

[bubba83]

I would pack back up motion sickness meds just to be on the safe side, you don't know if the sea bands would work for everyone....

[knittinggirl]

Comparing the artwork on Princess to Royal Ships, I much prefer Royal Caribbean. I wonder if they're moving away from the fruit sculptures because the art is so good.

[WEGL81]

Allure is a HUGE ship and motion is not an issue, even in rough seas. Walking in some areas you would be hard pressed to believe it is a ship. I guess bringing sea bands would be a good idea, but it would have to be a heck of a storm to get that ship to rock.

[tserface]

There are no more midnight buffets, but there is still always something to eat. I think the problem was that a lot of people came to take pictures, but very few people ate all the food and it got really expensive to waste the food and the staff's time setting it all up. I think they got tired of everyone asking if they could have one of the ice sculptures after they melt. :)

 

There is a ton to do on the Allure. We especially like the water shows and the theater shows are much more produced. There are other fun specialties as well (for example, we liked the roast beef sandwiches at Park Cafe). The Promenade is very cool and there's always something happening out there.

 

The new ships are so big that motion sickness will not likely be an issue, but I've heard something as easy as ginger ale or the ginger pills you can get are an easy way to calm the tummy.

 

You will be amazed at how much this ship trumps anything you could have been on 26 years ago. It is massive and amazing.

 

Remember, when you go to the dining room you can order anything you want and as much as you want, but you will usually have to ask. If your son is just graduating I bet he can put away a few appetizers or desserts and maybe even more than on entree. There's no extra charge for ordering extra food if you see more than one thing you like.

 

I recommend you take some time to walk around the whole ship when you get on (after lunch at the buffet of course) and just take note of where everything is located. That way you won't miss anything once the busyness and fun begin and you start your vacation. My wife always takes the time to take a lot of pictures before everyone gets on and starts milling about. You can usually get on the ship around 11a regardless of what they tell you in emails.

 

Tom

[Summerknight]

We have been cruising 19 years and SO much has changed. I think this will be a wonderful trip for your family. Your son is very lucky. We don't take our children til they graduate college!!

[QueenofKrakatoa]

For motion sickness, I recommend Queasy Drops. They're made by a company called Three Lollies, and they originally created Preggie Pops to help with morning sickness. The Queasy Drops are incredibly effective, I keep them on hand for everything from motion sickness to generalized nausea. I'm going to take a couple boxes with me on my Alaskan cruise this summer, it'll be my son's first cruise and I'm not sure if he'll get motion sickness or not. In any case, I find that Allure and Oasis' sizes help in that regard; they're so large that you hardly feel the motion. At least that was my experience.

[Uchylisa]

I know at my age I'd never be able to eat a midnight buffet, so I won't miss that! But my son often eats dinner at 6 with us, then another plate of food around 8:30, and then something at 11:00 before bed. Will he be able to find food late, at no additional charge?

Keep the advise coming , I'm gonna go look for that role call.

[welshrich]

I know at my age I'd never be able to eat a midnight buffet, so I won't miss that! But my son often eats dinner at 6 with us, then another plate of food around 8:30, and then something at 11:00 before bed. Will he be able to find food late, at no additional charge?

Keep the advise coming , I'm gonna go look for that role call.

 

Hi

 

Yes, he can get pizza at 11pm at Sorrento's on the Promenade, it's nice on here as they do made to order too. there are also 24hr snacks at Cafe Promenade.

[Uchylisa]

I told him there would be a big buffet at midnight and he was very excited about that, so I'll eeze it to him gently over the next several months. He'll be ok with pizza as a substitute for late night buffet. Now I just read in another thread that there will be no balloon twisters and I have no idea how to break that to him!;):p:p

[h20skibum]

You will love the Allure. It is nothing like what they had 26 years ago.

 

Although a little over a year old, you may want to check out Harry's review of the Allure. It is one of the best reviews around, and you will find a lot of information about what to expect.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2146596

 

As others have said, be sure to book your shows ahead of time.

 

Enjoy

[mellowmarshmom]

We sailed on liberty of the seas, still the 3rd largest ship in the world. I was surprised at how much movement I felt. We got prescriptions for scopolamine patches that go behind the ear and last 3 days a patch. Other than dry mouth, no side effects for me or my husband. We asked the dr for extra patches because we were snorkeling, cave tubing, a lot of water activities and we did need the extra patches after all.

[Biker19]

We sailed on liberty of the seas, still the 3rd largest ship in the world.

Not anymore since the debut of Quantum class for RCI and Escape class for NCL.

 

In the grand scheme of things there's not much difference between the Allure and say Quantum or Freedom class. You get enough wave action their differences at the water level are not big enough to make much diff in terms of movement.