"Live" from Allure of the Seas: Feb 27th - March 5th

[binro01]

I'm gonna try my hand at this, I will also be doing a vlog of our trip, so I will have tons of video and tons of pictures for this thread.

We travel out to Fort Lauderdale on Feb 25th, once we hopefully get "Negative" COVID tests. (That's the only thing that can derail this train)

I will also plan on posting some pre-cruise stuff over the next few days before boarding.

I have taken some cues from @Sea Dog & @John&LaLa and put together an Itinerary video as well as a Hype video to get this thread started in a proper manner. So sit back and join me and my wife Sheryl on our belated 25th Anniversary cruise (thank you COVID).

A little about me and the wife. We took our first cruise in 2000 on Costa cruises out of Port Canaveral on the now being scrapped Costa Victoria. It was a magical experience, and my wife actually cried when we got off the ship. Soon thereafter (for a young family) we went on a second voyage on Royal Caribbean's Viking Serenade  out of Los Angeles in 2001.

Then there was a long void of travels for us. We had twins. And things got hectic and life took over.

Then when the twins turned 12 we started up cruising again and have been traveling every year and then some, racking up 7 more cruises (2 on Carnival, 3 on NCL and 2 on Princess). We have this trip on Allure coming up and one on Navigator in April, and plan on signing up for one more on this trip at the Next Cruise desk.

We love food and have signed up for the unlimited dining package, so expect lots of food pics. We also love entertainment, so expect some shots from the different shows. I'm also an avid photographer so lots of other random photos. We are not big drinkers so, those pics of tropical drinks will be a little less prevalent.

Menus will be photographed and shown, as well as compasses

Feel free to ask any questions, and I will try to get to them a couple times a day.

 

So without further adieu, the Cruise Itinerary video with the help of Google Earth!
 

 

[binro01]

Cruise Hype Video, to get us pumped up for this "Live" review.
 

 

[binro01]

Oh this will be also one of the first "Mask Optional" so there is that as well!

[Sea Dog]

15 minutes ago, binro01 said:

I'm gonna try my hand at this.

I have taken some cues from @Sea Dog & @John&LaLa and put together an Itinerary video as well as a Hype video.
 

 

Great start? Thank you for the shoutout and I look forward to following along on your great cruise. Great job on your Google Earth video. Aren’t we those  fun?

One question where did you find the promotional video of Allure? Did you get that from Royal? I had trouble finding promo video of Explorer for our cruise. I need to get some of Symphony and Liberty for our upcoming cruises.

 

13 minutes ago, binro01 said:

Cruise Hype Video, to get us pumped up for this "Live" review.
 

 

 

Very nice. Well done. Looking forward to seeing more. Bon Voyage!

[RhondaC]

What type of room are you in?  I'm trying to decide between CP or Boardwalk Balcony for our upcoming September sailing.  Looking forward to your updates!

 

[binro01]

2 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

One question where did you find the promotional video of Allure

I was able to track down the video via a google search and came across Royal's Press Center. There is a video section.

With some magic with VLC, I was able to download the video to my desktop.

Here is the link to the Allure B-Roll, you might get lucky for other ships.
https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/video/170/allure-of-the-seas-b-roll/

[binro01]

3 minutes ago, RhondaC said:

What type of room are you in?  I'm trying to decide between CP or Boardwalk Balcony for our upcoming September sailing.  Looking forward to your updates!

 

We originally booked a GTY Neighborhood Balcony, and then did a self upgrade (Not RoyalUp) to a GTY Oceanview Balcony for just $110.00 more. We were assigned to Cabin 12566 and very happy with its location. (near elevators, mid ship, cabins above, below and to the sides of us, basically exactly what I would have choses if I wasn't a cheapskate.)

[binro01]

9 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Liberty

https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/video/223/liberty-of-the-seas-b-roll/
 

10 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Symphony

Symphony has a ton of B-Roll videos, The search on this page will guide you. https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/videos/

[zencruisers]

I look forward to following along. Thank you for taking the time to share.

 

[Sadebud]

Looking forward to following. Bon Voyage!

[jgris90]

On this Cruise Also ! pending negative covid tests which this week seems like a challenge as it seems a lot of people around us is positive so we are in lock down !

 

Booked guaranteed balcony a few days ago and was lucky enough to get side by side connecting on deck 12.

 

Anyone know if booking specialty dining on board is better ?? right now its $47 per person for giovannis 

[binro01]

10 minutes ago, jgris90 said:

Anyone know if booking specialty dining on board is better ?? right now its $47 per person for giovannis

You might get some promo's on day one. That seems to be when you might see some good offers, or near the end of the cruise if specialty dining bookings are soft.

Most promo's though are for packages. If you are only planning one night of specialty dining, then just book it through the planner so you have your choice of day and time right now, but if you are open to a package, maybe wait till on board.

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, binro01 said:

https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/video/223/liberty-of-the-seas-b-roll/
 

Symphony has a ton of B-Roll videos, The search on this page will guide you. https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/videos/

Thank you so much! I want to register with Royal Caribbean as a content provider to get video. I’ve started my own YouTube channel in hopes of doing informative reviews of my cruises in the future. 
 

VLC is a great tool to have in your video toolbox.

[binro01]

40 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Thank you so much! I want to register with Royal Caribbean as a content provider to get video. I’ve started my own YouTube channel in hopes of doing informative reviews of my cruises in the future. 
 

VLC is a great tool to have in your video toolbox.

Not a problem. I'm new to this video/audio production thing. Learning as I go, but I'm excellent at Google, and I have an ability to learn. It will be fun to hone the new skills with my cruise vacations. From following on here, I know that you worked in broadcast TV, so any hints or tricks will be much appreciated.

Edited February 22, 2022 by binro01

[h20skibum]

Great start.  We will be getting on Allure as you get off, then sailing her again two months later.

 

Were all the promo videos from Royal for this ship?  Since I have sailed most of the Oasis class ships, my keen eye noticed a couple of the pieces of the video were from Oasis (pre-amp).  I will enjoy being back on Allure with those wide open Boardwalk spaces.  
 

Have a safe and enjoyable cruise.

 

Edited to add: I saw the link you provided for the B roll.  It is funny that Royal did have some shots of Oasis.  Makes sense, because they were almost identical at the time.

Edited February 22, 2022 by h20skibum

[binro01]

24 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Great start.  We will be getting on Allure as you get off, then sailing her again two months later.

 

Were all the promo videos from Royal for this ship?  Since I have sailed most of the Oasis class ships, my keen eye noticed a couple of the pieces of the video were from Oasis (pre-amp).  I will enjoy being back on Allure with those wide open Boardwalk spaces.  
 

Have a safe and enjoyable cruise.

 

Edited to add: I saw the link you provided for the B roll.  It is funny that Royal did have some shots of Oasis.  Makes sense, because they were almost identical at the time.

Yea.. I noticed that too! A little to late though. Funny how even people at the Royal Caribbean press assets office can't tell their ships apart as well as us customers.

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, binro01 said:

Not a problem. I'm new to this video/audio production thing. Learning as I go, but I'm excellent at Google, and I have an ability to learn. It will be fun to hone the new skills with my cruise vacations. From following on here, I know that you worked in broadcast TV, so any hints or tricks will be much appreciated.

I'd be happy to help to you. It looks like you are off to great start. What video editing program are you using? The animated lower thirds looked good. There are so many plug in effects out there that you can really put a lot of production value into any video.

[binro01]

2 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

What video editing program are you using?

I'm using HitFilm Express. (With the Content Creator Plug-Ins)

[binro01]

8 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

The animated lower thirds looked good.

Cool thing about video, like photography, the golden ratio still applies for composition.

[Sea Dog]

3 minutes ago, binro01 said:

I'm using HitFilm Express. (With the Content Creator Plug-Ins)

Interesting I'm not familiar with that program but my philosophy is that if you have a program you are comfortable with use it. I have been editing in Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects for about 20 years and  Avid  for 10 years. There are a lot of good editing programs out there.

Thanks for the links. Unfortunately Royal only supplies the You Tube links with a 480p resolution nothing HD. I'm sure if I can get authorized through their press center I can get access to their HD material. Fingers crossed.

[binro01]

2 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Adobe Premiere Pro

Since I'm new to this game, wasn't ready to put money down on the Adobe subscription model. I'm sure if this takes off, I will transition to a more sophisticated piece of software. Once you learn the jargon for the effect you are looking to accomplish, then it's just a matter of interface, and I'm still in the learning the jargon phase to accomplish a technique phase.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, binro01 said:

Since I'm new to this game, wasn't ready to put money down on the Adobe subscription model. I'm sure if this takes off, I will transition to a more sophisticated piece of software. Once you learn the jargon for the effect you are looking to accomplish, then it's just a matter of interface, and I'm still in the learning the jargon phase to accomplish a technique phase.

I agree. I hate that premiere is subscription based. I say work with what you know. Once you decide if you want to kick it up a notch you can invest in those more detailed programs.

[homedepot124]

We just came home from six days on Allure.  Hope you have a great trip.

[SG65CB]

Please please do hype videos like that for my cruises! I'll get you the dates!  😃😃

 

A Google Earth itinerary video would be good too. Thanks in advance!!

[binro01]

We have scheduled testing at a rapid test site here in Utah before our flight on Friday but it’s always good to be prepared for a visit from Murphy.
 

I tell you, that man loves to participate in our adventures and impose his laws on us even though he is an unwanted guest.