mbk999

My TA actually raved about Rose Island when we booked our April trip and looked at us a little funny when we said we weren't doing a Nassau excursion.   Since we didn't have a sea day on the itinerary, we treated Nassau as a pseudo sea day.  I had printed out a Frommer's walking guide for Nassau and we did that for a couple of hours in the AM and then spent the afternoon on the ship.  The Fort was pretty cool and the architecture (and colors) of the government buildings were nice.    For a beach day,  I know others have had good experiences at the British Colonial Hilton, which is walking distance from the port.   

2 hours ago, KLAconQueso said:

We're back! The wedding was amazing, and we had an absolutely incredible honeymoon. We both really enjoyed the Allure, and agreed that the two weeks were much needed. We didn't feel rushed to do everything on the ship, and the crew was absolutely amazing. If you're going to be boarding soon, visit Antony and Rex in the Schooner as well as Li and Marlon in the Pub! 

A few stray thoughts I had - 

• I was really, really impressed with the Oasis class. With most other ships that I've sailed on, they always seemed smaller in person after seeing them on YouTube. That was not the case with this ship. However, as others have mentioned, I really missed being able to see the ocean. It's easy to forget you're on a cruise ship. 
• All of that said, unless I was cruising with family (particularly family that includes younger family members) or with a very large group, I don't know that I'd book the Oasis class again for just one week. 
• If you are planning a honeymoon and want to sail on the Oasis class, I very highly recommend either considering sailing a B2B or sailing in a suite. 
• Our first morning on board, we booked a spa appointment for a couples massage. 10/10 highly recommend - book early morning (8 AM appointment) to save a little bit of $$! It was the best possible way to start the cruise after a stressful day of (same day!) travel following our wedding! 
• We dined at every specialty restaurant except for Chops (we've done it before) and Samba Grill (not big meat eaters)... and I guess Chef's Table, too, if you count that - I don't think we ever had a bad meal on board, even in the MDR and Windjammer. Our favorite specialty was Izumi (both the hibachi and sushi experiences) as well as Giovanni's Table. They still have a filet on the menu, which my husband (!!) greatly enjoyed. 150 Central Park was also a really wonderful experience and worth doing at least once. We had fun trying all the salts, and the Cucumber Martini really is as good as people have described. 
• Don't forget the champagne bar! They have a lot of really fun and tasty martinis that are worth a try if you have the drink package! 
• Food and drink fatigue is so, so real. 
• Sabor guacamole also really is as good as people have mentioned, but we struggled to eat there for dinner - it's SO MUCH FOOD! We went more than once on Sea Days just to sit at the bar and have guac and margaritas, and that was our lunch! 
• Not ship related, but port related - If you're going to do anything in Costa Maya that isn't a ship/third party excursion and you want to leave the port, just plan on taking a taxi door to door if you know specifically where  you're going. We had a pretty negative experience on the shuttle. Taxis are $2/pp whereas the shuttle is $3/pp. Walk out of the port area, and immediately there is a taxi stand. Taxis are readily available to bring you back to port as well.

I'm sure I'll think of more, but this is off the top of my head. If you have any questions, let me know! :D

Welcome back and congrats!   Thanks for the stray thoughts on the Allure (we are sailing in Oct for our 25th).  I had read and listened to lots of posts about being disconnected to the sea so we booked an ocean facing balcony as one of my favorite stress releases is watching the ocean water go by on the sea days.   I'm curious about comment #2 on not booking again for just a week.  I'm guessing that's because there's just too much to do and you can't fit it all in.  

Pretty nice pictures.  Even when I have business in Miami I try to fly to FLL, hate the Miami airport...

2 hours ago, twangster said:

Seems like October 2018 sailings remain in Ft Lauderdale.  November 5 2018 she sails from Miami for the first time. 

The last Ft Lauderdale sailing returns to Ft Lauderdale on Nov 4.  Her next sailing departs Miami the next day, Nov 5 as a 6 night.  She then returns to the regular 7 night Sunday departures from Miami.  So they are not changing arrival and departure ports during the cruise, they have a night off to move to Miami.  Most likely to keep it a closed loop cruise, otherwise there are implications to having different embarkation and debarkation ports for a cruise.

Thanks for the info.  Sorry to make you search, I should have looked at the schedule from the start.  Since we'll be flying Southwest or Jet Blue, it's a lot simpler going in and out of FLL than it is Miami.    

2 hours ago, Matt said:

Allure is just moving to the new terminal in Miami with Symphony.

When is that move?   I'm booked on an Oct 18 sailing on the Allure.  Not that it's a huge distance between Miami and FLL but it would definitely alter travel and hotel plans.  

I was going to say do a Frommer's type walking tour until I read the whole post and saw the mobility issues.  Stay on the ship, or at least, wait for the initial wave of people to disembark, then head out for a walk around the shops, maybe grab some ice cream.  I'd treat it like a sea day (hopefully there will be a breeze).  We did that same cruise back in April and the only thing missing was a sea day.  

6 hours ago, Matt said:

How to find which groups are on your Royal Caribbean cruise

And low and behold there is a psuedo-chartered event, a book signing/convention with meet the author events.  At first glance a series of gothic romance novellas (http://www.1001darknights.com/events/)   not my cup of tea but clearly someone's....

Just now, DocLC said:

Then the nonalcohol package, which is the one I opt for, sounds like it makes the most sense. 

worked out fine in April.  If I broke out the spreadsheet and looked at it per drink, might save $50 for the week by not getting it.  But then I'd just be keeping a mental calculation going in my head and I'm trying to purge as much stress as possible while on-board.  

1 hour ago, Matt said:

How to find which groups are on your Royal Caribbean cruise

Thanks Matt.  That posting predates my discovery of your blog.

14 hours ago, DocLC said:

If she had any interest in a couple of glasses of wine per day or a couple of margaritas, the package at the current prices could be beneficial financially. If she won't drink alcohol at all, then your plan makes sense. 

Non-alcoholic drinks.  lots of bottled water, fresh squeezed oj every day.  I pretty much break even (couple pool drinks, pre-dinner cocktail, glass of wine, after dinner drink).  I know RCI makes a little money off of her but i just look at it as a convenience factor of not having an additional bill at the end. 

When we were dating, my wife worked at an office where I knew most of the co-workers and significant others.  Half the fun of sending flowers to the office was getting the other guys in trouble....

Back to cruising, I am the vacation planner (with input and lots of interest from my wife).  As such, it always amazes me, talking with people on the trip or after other trips, they don't know/can't remember the name of the ship (often it's just Royal Caribbean or Carnival), don't know the ports they will go to, or even the basic geography.   We were sailing from Grand Cayman to Cozumel once and I was listening to a group on the pool deck  talking about how excited they were to finally see Acapulco.  All they knew was that they were going to Mexico and just assumed it would be Acapulco.   

As I listened to the podcast on the morning commute, i was mentally calculating the options as to how best to work it, but then I heard Matt mention the exemption.  My plan was the deluxe for me and the refreshment package for my wife anyway so it sounds like I can still do that.  Bit of a pain to have to call and get the exemption but not unlike mailing in a rebate check after a purchase.

Interesting point on the charter issue, how does one check that?

Thanks for the input!  

I'm in the midst of looking at a quick trip on the Brilliance of the Seas out of Tampa in Jan or Feb, depending on if schedules can align.  It would be a first on the Radiance class but my question is more geared towards the Brilliance herself as I think she is due for drydock later in 2018.  Has anyone had any recent experience sailing her?   I'd imagine the ship needs a refresh but I'd be surprised if it didn't still look great.  Also, it would be a first sail out of Tampa for us. I'm assuming Port to Airport is about a 30-40 minute trip but I was looking to confirm that assumption and if the port was notorious for being slow on disembarkation.    Thanks, Brian

I agree that 12:30 is doable but likely stressful.  You'd almost for sure need to self carry your luggage, then there's the transportation to MCO (uber?  shuttle?  rental).  For a mid-morning weekend at MCO, security could be 45-60 minutes.  

2 hours ago, Matt said:

If memory serves me correctly, charging for baggage was a means of combating a one-time high oil prices (which have all come back down).

That's exactly when I remember it starting, about the same time I started to embrace Southwest Airlines.  

Thank you for the updates Kansas Cruiser, it seems like you've certainly made the best of a stressful situation.  IMO RCI appears to have handled this as well as can be expected.  I hope things work out/worked out for you departing the ship but I have a feeling the 2000 fellow passengers will take a "me first" attitude.  We were delayed nearly 5 hours getting to Canaveral once due to a medical emergency and I thought RCI handled it well then too.   Ship to shore charges were cancelled and internet was free, allowing people to re-book travel arrangements as necessary.   The next day was a different matter, lots of people jostling to be the first off the ship, frustrations running high, verbal altercations, as if they were the only ones of the 4000 who were inconvenienced.  Actually very sad to watch people act like that but sadly I wasn't surprised.   I hope things aren't/weren't like that for you. 

On 8/19/2017 at 9:38 AM, Shoshiep said:

Hi all. We are sailing on the Allure Oct 15th route and trying to wrap our heads around the new itinerary change. We booked this cruise specifically because of the St Thomas port and Nassau ports. We will be taking our 4 kids ages 9-16 and one of the main reasons was to visit the Aquaventure water park at Atlantis. Now with the change we will arriving in port at 7am and leaving at 1pm. The water park opens at 9, but is it worth it to spend so much on tickets to only be there a few hours. Has anyone else done the water park in a few hours, what time should we plan on needing to leave the park to get back to the ship in time before it sails. 

A second question, any suggestions on what to see in San Juan with the kids? We loved St Thomas/St Johns and are pretty disappointed to not be seeing those fabulous beaches. 

Thanks

While I have not done Atlantis, from everything I've heard from people who have done that on either with an excursion, I wouldn't do it for the short amount of time.  My co-worker stood in line for 45 min just to get the waterpark pass.  Plus, if the ship is leaving at 1300, you'll probably have to leave by 1130-1200.  That's a lot of $$ for a few hours.     Self guided walking tour around Nassau instead?  A poor substitute for a fun waterpark but the Queen's Staircase and the Fort is kind of cool if you've never seen it.  Sorry for the itinerary change, hope you're able to come up with some alternative activities.  

Was on the Enchantment in April, good ship for a quick getaway.  She's older and a little rusty in spots (outside) but clean and comfortable.  Nice pool deck and it shouldn't be crowded during the day since a lot / most will be off ship.   We loved Coco Cay, and since the Enchantment is on the smaller side, Coco Cay shouldn't be crowded at all.  Snorkeling equipment rentals will run around $30.  The MDR was decent, WIndjammer actually very good, and Chops was okay.  Someone mentioned the Schooner Bar, I really liked the Sidecar there.    You also mentioned something to do in Miami.  While we stayed in Fort Lauderdale, my co-worker had a port stop in Miami and visited Vizcaya Museum & Gardens and they really enjoyed that.   Have fun. 

I second the bike idea.  There's also a lot to do within walking distance.  Bars, shops, museums...     El Siboney Restaurant has good Cuban food, it's a few blocks off Duval.  

22 hours ago, DocLC said:

@mbk999 - thanks for reporting back!

We rented exclusively through Enterprise and were quite happy with them on this route. As for Boston, if one is able to walk, the best option might be to take a cab or Uber over to the Freedom Trail (about 3 miles) and simply walk it. I've only done the HoHo bus once in Europe and won't likely do them again largely because of the experience you've reported. They're fine if you just want a bus trip that takes in the sights, but they're often inefficient if you actually want to get on and off a lot.

That's what they said they'd do next time, rent from Enterprise.   The bus sounded nightmarish as people were apparently waiting over an hour to "hop back on"  Then the bus driver threw the current passengers under the bus by blaming them for not hopping off. 

Spoke with my neighbors yesterday and they just got off the 9 Day New England/Canada cruise on the Grandeur and they loved it.  The ship was in good shape and looked nice, the staff was really good.   The MDR food was good not great.  Their comment was that the descriptions don't always match the actual product but it was good none the less.  Said it was a mix of 60+ couples and younger families  (they are in their late 40s with a high school and college junior).  The kids did not participate in any of the clubs or get togethers but they are book worms and are happy relaxing with a book, watching the ocean go by.   Their least favorite port was Boston.  They did the hop on/hop off tour bus but never got off because the "hop back on" lines were too long and they didn't want to get stuck.   Loved Bar Harbor.    One of the Canadian stops (can't remember which) they had rented a car from Hertz and did a self driving tour but said don't do Hertz.  While it's the closest to the port, it's a one man band seasonal office  and the one man was woefully inefficient.   At one of the Canadian ports (sorry can't remember which) there was a popular beach/bay that was mobbed with people and off road parking was over a mile away.    But the scenery at each were great (according to them).  They did say to bring a jacket as they weren't quite prepared for how chilly it could be.

One thing they wouldn't do again is get inside cabins.  Clean and efficient but very small (older ship).  Side note:  I thought the oceanview on the Enchantment (same class) was ample for two people.    

Hope this helps.   As with anything, there was good and bad but their first comment to us was "you have to go on this cruise".   

And they absolutely loved going under the bridges.   They actually didn't do the MDR the first night in order to stay on deck and watch as they sailed under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

19 hours ago, Jason.H. said:

I wish they would make all the indoor places (casino) non-smoking. Just about have to throw clothing away after playing in there. Can't wash them and if I put them near other clothes then they all smell like smoke. 

My wife tends to bring plastic bags to keep the dirty clothes and I'll use one just to separate my "casino clothes".  She won't set foot in there due to just the lingering smell so if I go one night, I'll have to stick the clothes in the separate bag and shower to get rid of the smoke smell.  Though I guess in the end I wind up saving $ since because of all that, I don't go as much as I normally would.  I'd love a 100% smoke-free environment but I can't see this taking hold any time soon.   So for now, I'm happy to have a smoke free room and balcony and we just avoid the smoking areas.   

2 minutes ago, DocLC said:

Rightfully so after Episodes I and II. I give III a pass because at least the ending was good. 

Agreed....

I don't have first hand knowledge so this is a bit like an on-line review but my co-worker and his family went on the Grandeur in April (pre-refurb) and had nothing but good things to say.  They have two middle school age girls and all have multiple cruises under their belts.  They did all the family activities: shows, trivia, scavenger hunts, etc and indicated that they were never wanting for things to do.  I know it's second hand but the best I've got.

We are actually pet sitting for some neighbors next week as they depart on the Grandeur for what sounds like the same itinerary you are looking at.  I'll see what they have to say when they return.