Loriann

We just got back from our first time on the Allure and our first RC cruise (after sailing on Disney). We LOVED this cruise. The service was at least as good as Disney, if not better.

As far as dining, the Windjammer ended up being one of our favorite places to eat, breakfast, lunch or dinner. Breakfast on Port days was very busy, but if you are an early riser you won't have a problem. I also ate at the Park Cafe for breakfast (and lunch on embarkation day) and really liked that too.

We ate at Sabor, and I really don't think you need an advance reservation for that one, it never seemed to be very crowded. It was very good though!

And we also have 2 non-milk drinkers....be sure to speak to the manager at any of your restaurants. We found the Almond Milk, but missed out on many dessert opportunities because we waited until the end of the cruise to find the manager of the Windjammer. He was so accommodating, and brought my daughter a delicious piece of cake.

We have 2 staterooms...can the people in the other stateroom from who I'm booking this under, use the same plan?

1 minute ago, LetsTryThisTech said:

Are you needing all the devices at the same time? It is by the number of active devices at a time. Saw you have 4 devices but only need 2 at a time you could use the 2 device plan for example.

Thank you!

Responding to my own thread....just found a great explanation on this blog which has answered my questions. If you have any advice or experience, please let me know! Thank you! 

We are a family of 4 sailing on the Allure. We will need 3-4 devices for this trip. I haven't used internet at sea before....it looks like I can pick 4 devices, but I need to order that all under one person to get the best discount. (Rather than each family member ordering a single device). Will we need to let RC know which device we want per person (some want phone, some want laptop), or do we just turn on which device we want and the system figures it out? Thanks for any help on this!

We are planning to bring bottles of wine on board the Allure, and I'm wondering what happens to them while we are on the ship. If we want them for dinner, do they keep them for us somewhere, or do we need to transport them to our room and back every time? (And do they fit in the room refrigerators?). 

If they keep them, can we get to them from the MDR as well as speciality restaurants?

And is there a corkage fee? If we bring a corkscrew on board and uncork it ourselves, can we then ask them to keep it for us for dinners (if that's how it works)?

Thanks for any help on this!

Our first RC cruise is in less than 2 weeks! I just did our online registration, and there were set times for arriving at the terminal. I may have waited too long to do this, but the earliest available was 1:30-2. I was planning to board before noon, as I've heard the lines are longer as the day goes on. Will they let us board prior to 1:30 if we get there earlier, or will they make us wait until that time?

Question about prepaid gratuities for dining....I prepaid our gratuities before the price jump happened, and I'm assuming the servers are included in these gratuities (correct me if I'm wrong!). My question is....if we decide to dine at a specialty restaurant, are we expected to tip those servers at the time of the meal? Or are their gratuities also included in what I prepaid? I didn't know if prepaid was just for MDR dining, and I'd be double tipping if we ate at a speciality restaurant. (As in the MDR server would be getting a gratuity anyway even though we didn't eat there, and I'd still need to tip the speciality restaurant server).

Whew! Thanks!

Are there any current updates for this? We are sailing on Allure on 2/25.

Thanks for everyone's replies! I really wasn't looking forward to buying new sandals for me and each of my teenage daughters!

I read that flip flops are not allowed in the MDR (maybe specialty restaurants as well?), but I wondered if dressy flip flops were acceptable, ones that have a little "bling". Otherwise we will need to do some shopping soon!

We will be in Falmouth for the first time, and considering an excursion that has the option of lunch at a place called Scotchies. I'm wondering if we should do that, or skip it and have lunch closer to the ship if there are good options there?

On 12/4/2017 at 2:36 PM, Goofyfanatic said:

Also you can pay $25 per person and the luggage will be taken from your room right to the plane. You will only need to lug your carry on with you. They bring your the tags for your luggage AND your boarding pass. For $50 my wife an I loved the convenience.

For this fee, do you have to retrieve your bags in FLL and go through airline check in, or do the bags get put right on the plane and you don't see the bags again until you get off your plane?

7 hours ago, Matt said:

Full disclosure: I've never taken the ferry personally

However, I have heard enough negative stories about the ferry to have purposefully avoided it for that very reason.

I can't say for certain, but I would think you would be best served going into it with a plan.  First, I'd wait until the day of Cozumel to book.  See what the channel looks like.  If it's choppy and/or very windy, I wouldn't go.  Second, regardless of weather, if you do go, I'd take over the counter seasick medication, such as Bonine. 

Great advice Matt! See the conditions the morning of and then make a decision. Can you book same day? I didn't know if there would be enough time before the ferry left.

5 hours ago, rjac said:

Loriann,

Here's another consideration to take into account, how long will the Allure be in port and how long the excursion will be. Depending on the tides, currents and winds, the ferry ride can take 45 minutes up to 1.5 hours. The ferry goes into Playa Del Carmen (PDC) and PDC is about an hour from the ruins. Sometimes, the excursion tour bus will stop along the way at resorts to pick up additional customers, which will add time. As you can see,  just getting to and from Tulum can take up to 5/6 hours. Add the time at Tulum and you may be cutting it close. 

By the way, welcome aboard, feel free to ask as many questions as you like. You will find a wealth of information here from many seasoned/sun tanned Royal Caribbean cruisers!

Thanks everyone! Rjac, we are scheduled to be in port from 8am-7pm, and the excursion is 8 hours. I didn't realize the bus could stop at other spots to pick up passengers, or that the seas could make the ferry ride longer. All great info that I can take into account!

We are sailing on the Allure of the Seas in Feb, and the Tulum ruins sounds beautiful. But the reviews consistently mention seasickness on the ferry ride. Is this really a significant issue? I would hate to ruin a fun day 

We are cruising for the first time in February on the Allure of the Seas. Our girls are asking for a dolphin shore excursion, and it looks like it's offered at Falmouth and Cozumel. Anyone have an opinion on which is better? 

Thank you! I did send an email to the specials needs people, and I will try to get one of those forms too. Thank you!

We are cruising on RC for the first time in February on the Allure. I am deciding whether to do a dining package because I know we want to do some included dining as well, plus the Hibachi which is not included in the package, but my question has to do with making a reservation. 

I went to make a reservation at the Hibachi, and it came up as $45/pp. Is this a flat fee and our whole meal is included, as in sushi too? Is this just the main Hibachi entree? Would our bill be $45/pp and that's it plus alcohol?

Then went to make a reservation at Sabor as this looked to be an a la carte menu (and less expensive) and that came up at $19/pp. Do we have to pay up front for this? Am I wrong in thinking it's a la carte? Is that a flat fee for the whole meal?

Any info is greatly appreciated in this! I guess I assumed that if we didn't do a dining package, that we made a (no fee) reservation and then paid for our meal, what we actually ordered, once the meal was done!

We will be on the Allure in February (first time on RC). Two people in my party are lactose intolerant, and I did mention this when I booked. It sounds like the staff is knowledgeable about which foods are okay to eat and which are not,  but my question is what kinds of options are there? For example, we have cruised DCL, and they had substitutions on board so that they could make pancakes, waffles, desserts....even  ice cream! Is RC this accommodating? There is a difference between hearing that "No that item doesn't work for you" and "We can make you something that works!" Thanks for any thoughts!