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ellcee

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  1. Haha
    ellcee reacted to ScottD in Training for Allure: 10/15/23-10/22/23   
    Well you got me reeled in. I do find it very fitting that this journey begins on Friday the 13th. 
  2. Like
    ellcee reacted to twangster in Training for Allure: 10/15/23-10/22/23   
    Gotta give you credit, in your situation I would have given up the role of family travel agent a long time ago.  
    I also would have insisted everyone pays a deposit right at the start.  You find out very quickly who is really serious when they have some skin in the game.  
  3. Haha
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in Training for Allure: 10/15/23-10/22/23   
    You had me right here!! I am this person. I plan, and communicate the plan multiple times, and they still ask! Exasperating lol
  4. Haha
    ellcee reacted to asquared17 in Training for Allure: 10/15/23-10/22/23   
    I AM READY AND I AM HERE 
     
  5. Like
    ellcee reacted to Ampurp85 in Training for Allure: 10/15/23-10/22/23   
    Oh, I forgot to add I got the RUB emails on Aug 16th, so 60 days before sailing.
    It was:
    $1260 for CLS
    $1120 for OS
    $840 for 2BR GS/1BR AS
    $700 for GS
    $350 for JS
    $260 for US OV Balcony
    and $130 for Large OV Balcony
    Nothing for star class but it is still some CLS. I had put in bids but cancelled because if all the rooms cannot be upgraded, then none of the rooms should. I didn't want the headache. 🤣😭
  6. Like
    ellcee reacted to WAAAYTOOO in Training for Allure: 10/15/23-10/22/23   
    Well done !!!
  7. Love
    ellcee reacted to Ampurp85 in Training for Allure: 10/15/23-10/22/23   
    Day 44
    I was able to stay up the night before and get the earliest check-in time of 11am. By 11am the same day only 12pm and on was left. I had read that for some reason 11am is listed as the earliest time out of Galveston but they eventually update and move the 11am to 10:30. As it stands, I shall be actively looking for the earliest time for me so I can board early book our UDP dining times.
    Itenirary:
    Friday the 13th: train ride Texas Eagle 22
    Saturday the 14th: La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Galveston North at I-45 
    Sunday the 15th-22nd Allure of the Seas, Western Caribbean
    GALVESTON, TEXAS ROATAN, HONDURAS PUERTO COSTA MAYA, MEXICO COZUMEL, MEXICO Sunday the 22nd: train ride Texas Eagle 422
    Rooms:
    3 Aft OV balconies #12688, 12690, and 12674
    1 Aft interior #11275
    Excursions/amenities:
    Beach Snorkel in Costa Maya x3
    UDP x8
    Voom 3-device plans x2
    Water package 24 x 3, 12x1
    Premier Pass fiasco x 4
    This cruise is one of the Premier Pass Fiasco's, so everyone ended up with some OBC. When I changed the names around, they removed the OBC and had everyone's C&A status wrong. It got fixed and they added in extra OBC for the troubles. 
    I want to point out that I got this entire vacation for $1474pp. That is the cost for the cabin fare, grats, the UDP, internet, hotel, water package and train tickets. It is currently $1800 just for a balcony alone. I paid the old price of $267 for the UDP, got the water package for only $16 and $9. The hotel was half price on a BF deal meaning at two to a room, we paid $68/night. As I mention I got the train tickets on a group rate that helped us save 60% each ticket. I brought the multi device package for Voom, we have used it, and it works for us.
    The train allows two of each bag: checked, carry-on, and personal. But you don't have to worry about liquid sized. We are bringing wine from home. This is the first D+ sailing and I have decided to forego even the soda package as I am also prime. Speaking of....... my brother has the cruising bug and so I will spend this cruise making him prime. I like to gamble, I'm already prime for this and next year, so........
    We have lots of new travel accessories as the train ride requires lots of snacks and meal planning. I will post our new finds. 
  8. Wow
    ellcee reacted to Ampurp85 in Training for Allure: 10/15/23-10/22/23   
    This may a TLDR situation, but I am going to mention it all!!!
    This is a group cruise, in regard to planning it has been the group cruise from hell.
    Planning for the group is always a mess because apparently nobody has any money, but they do have money, they would rather just waste/spend my money.
    I communicate with everyone by an email chain. I found out that only my brother, the new vintage, and my mother's bff actually reads them. Whenever I send one, I eventually get a call from everyone else asking me to explain things. It is frustrating because now I know why there are issues. 
    Last year we went on Odyssey, and it was six of us and a bit of a mess. Still fun, but a mess. While on Odyssey everyone, not me, decided they wanted to sail Allure again because that first group cruise was the best. The reason was because it was a longer vacation since we did WDW/Universal and a cruise. Allure was sailing out of Texas and everyone, not me, thought it would be great to do a road trip there and extend the vacation. It was off to Next Cruise to secure 3 aft balconies and a little bit of OBC. We got of Odyssey the week before thanksgiving, so I waited until Dec to start looking for the best way to do this road trip. My brother suggested getting a luxury RV, that way we could take the hotel stays off the docket.
    We found a really nice 2020 Fleetwood Bounder that slept 8 people. I emailed the owner and asked about pricing and details. He agreed to rent it to us for 15 (two weeks or more gets a discounted day rate) days at $185/day, a $500 deposit and the cost of insurance and all the incidentals. Which would include gas, water, propane, and Wi-Fi to name a few. I put the deposit down at that price. In Jan after I came back from cruising, I emailed the guy to see about adding on 2 more days, the vintages wanted it. He stated that would be fine and then sent a doctored email that said I had agreed to $320/day and a $1000 deposit. It went from being $3,275 plus insurance to $5,800 plus insurance. 
    It was literally an email that he went into the thread and changed the amounts, as if I didn't have the original email. I was shocked because that wasn't what we agreed to, and I told him that. He said he raised the prices because he was renting the RVs more and if I didn't want to pay that, he would return my deposit and rent it to someone else for $500/day. I cancelled. At this point it was too late to try to rent anything at a decent price. I wasn't too keen on doing a road trip with four vintage women anyway. But a lot of them were disappointed. They wanted to just take cars and do the road trip, which I told them to do but I wasn't going to plan it because I could no longer get the time for it off. I heard a lot and dealt with lots of mood swings and such.
    My bff was very disappointed because he was amped for the road trip, and he really hates flying. So, he asked if we could catch the train or something. I looked into catching the train to Texas and........sure enough Amtrak goes. I would have preferred to fly but it was looking to be $600+ each plus the high Lyft/Uber cost from IAH. The train ride would be a full 24hrs and that seems like a lot but I asked around and everyone was excited. I was actually able to score a group rate of $150, each, round-trip on the Texas Eagle. We take the train to Longview and then a bus takes us to Galveston. The train normally leaves on time, but my brother and I are on the fence when it comes to the bus. We decided as a precaution we would rent two vehicles in Longview to complete the drive just in case we miss the bus. We would rather eat the cancellation fee, than to worry about trying to get a car the day of. Our train leaves on Friday the 13th and we are scheduled to arrive on Saturday the 14th at 2pm. The bus stop is pretty central to the port so that is a good thing. Our hotel is also not that far from the port. 
    Now on to the tomfoolery of planning with vintages and wishy-washy Bffs.
    I booked the rooms with a reduced deposit at NC. It was supposed to be six of us going but my mother's bff wanted her bff to come, so I put a random name on my mother's room to account for her and so they could have a 3+ room in case she did come. Nobody but my brother gave me their deposit money. They complained about the MDR the entire Odyssey sailing and regretted saying no to the UDP. They all said they wanted the UDP, internet, and some sort of beverage package for this cruise. I got the UDP during the BF sale for myself, my brother and mother. Then my mother's bff finally told me she was bringing her bff and she gave me the deposit and UDP money for them both. Right after vintage number 4 confirmed my mother informed me that she had invited a stranger along. 
    Said stranger was a guy she met online a little over a decade ago. She Skypes with him and tells him all about our vacations and he always wanted to cruise. She volunteered me to book his cruise and all of the other stuff. The group went from 6 to 8. This guy is legally blind and lives in New York. I helped him pay for his room and UDP through Royal and I just linked him with all of the rest of us. My mother thought we should just let him fly to Texas and then one of us go to the airport and pick him up. I had to explain to her why that was a dumb idea. I had to explain we were taking the train. There was no telling when we would get in. So, yes, let's just leave a legally blind vintage at the airport without any assistant for who knows however long. Plus we were looking at $90+ each way in rideshare cost. They don't ever want to spend no money, but you want to tack on two rideshare cost each way? After a bit of back and forth he will fly to Chicago the night before and ride the train with us.
    I let everyone know FP was in July and if I had to make FP, I was going to charge them all interest because as it was, I was on the hook for all purchases in total for 4 people. Now I talk to my Bff quite often but somehow, he waited until June to say he and his mother couldn't go. I was pissed. I asked him several times if he was sure, and he said yes. I had to call and configure the rooms. The cost of the cruise had doubled, and I didn't want to trigger a reprice, so I swapped out names, so the two of them would be on the same reservation that would cancel once I didn't make payment. I was later told that my bff was mad because they assumed I would pay for them to go and allow them to pay me later. I did this the first and second cruise/vacation and wasn't doing it again. 
    I informed everyone we would now be six. I normally make FP two-weeks before it was due but decided to wait until it was a week away. This was just in case they changed their mind and sure enough I heard from them 10 days before FP. My mother speculated that they tried to book something on their own and realized all the deals I got them and called to ask if it was completely cancelled. I said no but the consequences were they would have to share a room. My bff doesn't like sharing a room with his mother......at all. They made FP and the trip was on. 
     
     
  9. Love
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    Well, happy to report that we have landed (early too) and we’re almost home. Uneventful; but that is a good thing 🙂
  10. Haha
    ellcee reacted to SweetPea in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    😀 Batman checked in for our Oasis cruise this month and didn't notice the "you have 3 upcoming cruises" banner. He knows about Oasis obviously. He knows about Symphony in May. Hmmm, what could the 3rd be? 
    Full disclosure: i hid his readers before he started check in.  😬 🤭 
  11. Love
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    We are now on board, and our luggage is also on board! Thank you all for coming along with us again. 🙂

  12. Haha
    ellcee reacted to PPPJJ-GCVAB in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    Forgot you are like me…keeping secrets about cruises from Hubby!  Our cruise is Nov 6 and he was just told about it this past Tuesday night (8/29).  So by my calculations you have until October 26 to break the news!  😂 
  13. Haha
    ellcee reacted to SweetPea in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    On it! I love Barbados so much, and I'm bummed our sailing doesn't stop there.  However, since we'll be getting off (god willing) when you get on, i'll leave you an Easter Egg to find. I have 491 days to think about what that Easter Egg should be. Could be slightly dangerous. Could be funny. Will be amusing, though probably only to me. 😇
    Both 😃
    But, I'll be awaiting your full report on the stair light sitch on Odyssey. 😊
  14. Haha
    ellcee reacted to SweetPea in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    Oh our friend will tell you! 
    I had to clandestinely email her from the same room Batman & I were in together to put a hold on the cabin. And then the next day, i had to call her from my car outside my nail salon to process the deposit because i was finally alone 😆.
    He is not a fan of the GLs, so this should be good. However, it will be a birthday cruise for him and i think I'm going to sell it as his retirement cruise. Odds are about even, though lean slightly in my favor because i know exactly how to ask for what when ....  😂 
  15. Love
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    Yes lol. Ever since having the kids, I take a year off every few years. Our school board has a great plan for that. I have taken advantage of that over the last ten years and some. This is my last one though. After this year off, it will be the home stretch to retirement. And that “Hell to the Bell” cruise 😂
  16. Like
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    I think that wraps up everything for this cruise. Again, ask away if I forgot something. No sailing for us now until Odyssey for New Years. We are all pretty excited for that one!
    In the next few months, my sisters and I are headed to NYC for a girls trip, Hubby is headed to Arizona for a boys trip, and the freeloaders are going back to school 😁
  17. Love
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    Thank you all for the well wishes for a safe trip home. So far flight is still a go. And the best part? @PPPJJ-GCVAB every few years I take a year off, and this coming school year is my year off, so no classroom to go back to on Tuesday! 
  18. Haha
    ellcee reacted to Sweety in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    I book aft cabins only. Poor hubby credit card.
  19. Like
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    Thank you, and everyone else for coming along! It is always the interaction that makes it more fun! 
    We can, and we will on Voyager next July! And rest assured, the credit card will definitely not be on a dry spell. In fact, it will be quite busy. We have final payments coming up for Odyssey, Icon inaugural (possibly 🤞), and Oasis. 
    Nope. I told you that’s your job for your next live blog 😉
    Thank you for coming along! Next live blog in a few months 😊 and the Ranger cookies were not that good this cruise. They were really hard 😕
  20. Like
    ellcee reacted to OCSC Mike in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    Awww… thanks. Those cakes are just a nice touch to see. I always have a piece, of course, gotta try everything, lol, but it’s just average cake.
    This one from Alaska in 2018 was my favorite. Maybe not the most perfectly decorated icing mountains but I appreciated the effort & creativity.
     
     

  21. Like
  22. Like
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    Some final thoughts…the crew
    Each and every crew member that we have come across on this sailing has been fantastic! Some are overworked, you can tell. But that is not their fault, that is corporate cost cutting that has lead to that. More than one crew member has told us that as a result of recent changes, it does not leave them as much time to interact with guests, etc. But they are all doing their best, it shows. 
    Our dining room team has been wonderful. Our assistant waiter is also the WJ “washy washy” guy. He is so funny. Each evening, I look forward to his smile and conversations with him. That is probably one of the highlights of my MDR experience lol
    The suite concierge on board this sailing, Lorena, is a gem. So kind and attentive, and efficient. She has taken care of everything that we asked her for. Each night in the lounge, she is barely at her desk. She is always up and chatting with guests. The Diamond concierge, Jayson, is the same. We did not get to interact with him as much but from what I have heard, he and Lorena are both fantastic. They alternate between the two lounges. One month each. That seems to be what most of the concierges are doing these days. 
  23. Like
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    Some final thoughts…the ship
    You can probably already tell from some of the previous posts, I feel like this ship is just mid. This sailing completes the Freedom class ships for me. Compared to Freedom and Indy, this ship needs the amp. It’s tired. Everywhere from the cabins, hallways, common areas, it needs an update. The crew are amazing, the are working day in and day out, you alway see people cleaning and doing maintenance but the ship aging and it shows. 
    I would not say that we had a terrible time on this ship, but I also would have no desire to sail this ship again if it was a Caribbean or hot weather itinerary. I would be bored, and it does not have all the amenities that I have grown to love when cruising. I would do it again if it was a port intensive one, where I am not spending much time on the ship, then it would be perfectly fine. 
  24. Love
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    Some final thoughts…Itinerary 
    All 4 of us loved this itinerary!! Completely loved it! Not one single complaint other than we wished we had longer at certain locations. 
    We all had different favourite ports this sailing for different reasons. My favourite was Boston, followed closely by Bar Harbor, Portland, Saint John, and then Halifax. My top “Wow! I am speechless” port was probably at the sea caves in St Martins. My favourite eating port was probably a toss up between Boston and Portland. 
    Hubby really loved Bar Harbor. That was his favourite. And he and the girls really loved Peggy’s Cove. D17 is a city girl like me, so one of her favourites was also Boston. D15 being a nature girl, loved Cadillac Mountain, the sea caves, and yesterday at Peggy’s cove. 
    I would 100% do this itinerary again. And I would 100% do it again on a non-Oasis/QN class ship. Reason being that because it is so port intensive, and you are literally out all day in port, the evenings you just want to chill. I would have not liked to have to dress up for dinner, and catch some show at the theatre, Aqua Theater, or whatever each evening.
    This sailing just reaffirms our decision to do the Western Med on Voyager next year instead of Oasis. The small ships have less entertainment, but for port intensive itineraries, I like that. It takes away the pressure to have to do something, or feel like you are missing something. Most nights all 4 of us just had dinner and came back to the room to relax and process the day. It was different than our usual cruising routine, but perfect for the type of sailing that this was. 
  25. Like
    ellcee reacted to Lovetocruise2002 in From Canada…to Canada: Discovering Liberty, Eh? – LB 08/24/23 – 09/02/23   
    I heard! Lots of grumbling about that. I get it though, if I booked a cruise to Bermuda expecting hot weather and got Portland and Halifax (brrr…), and found out two days prior to sailing,  I would be a bit upset too. But on the flip side, Royal cannot control the weather, and you have to expect itinerary changes if you book during hurricane season. I cannot wait to book my “Hell to the bell” cruise the September that I retire! I could care less where that sailing ends up 😂
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