Vancity Cruiser

Very disappointing.  I thought the idea was to increase capacity as more ships are visiting more often.  With the $62 charge, Hideaway won't fill like the capacity on the other beaches so it's just an exclusivity play.  A poor mans beach Club.  Pay for the beach on the private island.  That's RCI for us.
 
Eighty bucks my week in May.
 

I hope they leave Allure alone, I like the ship as is.  
It is so easy to forget what the original Oasis of the Seas was like prior to her amplification that is until you get on Allure. I for one enjoy the contrast having that one Oasis Class ship that stands alone and is representative of the original class of ship design.  For those who want all the toys and slides they can choose from 5 other Oasis Class ships and for those who want an Oasis Class experience on the original design they have Allure.
Royal leave Allure as is.  Do not amplify this ship, the ship is great just as it is in its original design. 

As Allure is the original configuration, and not as many toys as the newer ships, it seems there was a lower percentage of families with children sailing on-board the times we sailed.  This is NOT a quantitive assessment, but didn't seem as crazy as Wonder, Symphony, Oasis....  Could be the times we sailed, but seemed tamer.  Not sure if others have this subjective observation.  

I would not go that far...but it is better than Cats.

Worst?  That's like deciding on the worst brick of gold.  Some might prefer all other Oasis Class over her while others might place her at the top of their list.  I think it's seldom that someone sails her and has the feeling they are on the worst of anything.

Looking forward to being on Allure very soon.  For us, it's a plus that the ship doesn't have some of what the newer or amplified ships have.  We aren't at all interested in a lot of what is on a ship now.  For us, it's dining, shows, music and bars, excursions (if the ports are interesting or we haven't already been there).  

One thing I really appreciated about Allure versus the other Oasis class ships is that the darn slides aren't blocking your view out the aft! It still feels fresh and fun. As others say, it depends on what you value. You want slides? You're going to be disappointed on Allure.

Every ship in every class of ship is unique and different in it's own way. Just because Allure of the Seas didn't get it's royal amplification yet doesn't necessarily make it the worst Oasis class ship. I would be happy to sail on her, or any ship for that matter.

tl;dr 
We’re frugal and are reaping the benefits of decades of planning   
My wife is going on five cruises in 2024.  I’m with her on four of them.  In addition, we’ve already booked an 11 night in January 2025 on Odyssey.  We are waiting for the rest of 2025 to be released to book a few more.  

This is how we do it:
We are firmly middle class, mid-50s.  I have 6 weeks pto and my wife technically has unlimited, but I’m reality takes 4-4 1/2 weeks a year. 
 
While not “rich” as typically defined, we have no debt…none, zero, nada. We own our home outright.  Neither of us drink or smoke, and I can’t remember the last time we ate out other than on a cruise.  We do have an off-grid camp and land in northern Maine that we go to as much as possible, but we always seem to end up working when we go there. 
 
We worked our asses off for 30 years to get to the point where we are now.  Our plan was always to raise the kids (now 23, 30, and 32) then enjoy life as much as we can while still funding our retirement (I’m retiring in 6 years when I turn 60). 
 
We typically book interior cabins and usually disembark with a zero balance because we don’t pay for anything extra. ….although we did reserve Chops on our cruise on Explorer next month because my wife is turning 56 that day.  

We’ve changed cruises from Florida to New Jersey because even after eating the change fee, it’s cheaper than flying to Florida.  
 
So that’s how we do it…..well…in addition I’ve been working 70 hours a week since April, and my wife has a second job.  That helps. 
 
 

We arent what I would call 'frequent' cruisers (2 last year, this year, 3 next year). The things you mention are certainly applicable.
- I watch my amex for offers. The last few years I have gotten $500 back on $1500 spend with RC and 25k Membership rewards points on $1000 spend. This is fairly esoteric and maybe not an answer to your question but it mitigates the expense for us
- Live 'near' cruise port. Canaveral is a 5.5 hour drive for us. We stay near MCO night before cruise. It seems each drive gets longer fwiw (which probably has more to do with age than anything)
- Focus on older ships for our itinerary. We have Allure and Utopia booked, but mostly we go on Voyager and Freedom class ships
- Think through on board spending. We have always gotten DBP and UDP, but starting next year we will start analyzing that closer. They are pricing us out of some things.
- We 'replaced' land based vacations. I used to take 3+ trips to vegas yearly along with multiple Biloxi trips and another land based trip a year. Ironically enough, I got priced out of that and with what I am seeing from RC there is a decent chance I get priced out of this after next year. 
- I have tons of PTO that I will never use, and I can work remotely so long as I have decent internet. Starlink really helped with this.
It's a very valid question. Seeing others who do double digit cruises a year and I wonder how they manage. These are some of the things we have done to support our comparatively light cruise schedule.

I don't know that you'd consider us frequent cruisers.   We try to cruise 3-4 times a year (wish we could afford more).
I use all of my PTO for cruises, and try to get one in between Christmas and New Years when my office is closed for the Holidays.
A big key for us, is booking way in advance, usually as soon as bookings become available, to get the best prices, and working with a good TA that often has great group rates available.    I've recently started getting casino comps after making prime on my last cruise, so will be taking my first comped cruise in February. 

1997 On Grandeur of the Seas.  On the same trip we went to Labadee.  We had to tender at both.  We enjoyed Labadee more.  Next Saturday we sail on Mariner and hit both those ports again 26 years later!

I always get the vibe pass when cruising NCL but that is due to lack of of pool area and whirlpools on NCL. The big difference is it is a quiet relaxing area, I will not pay extra for this 'party zone' at Coco Cay but I am fine with the free beaches and Oasis pool.

$132NZD pp for us on Harmony next September.
I'm too old for D.J music so I will skip paying for this one to avoid having my ears assaulted. 😀
The beach club is $535NZD pp so I don't think we will be doing that either.
We are not really beach people so I suspect we will just get off the ship and have a wander around and get back on,

I know a lot of people on this board say that they would never pay Disney prices, but having looked at both the new Royal ships and the new Disney ships and prices are not far off. And Disney includes a lot more onboard than Royal does. Adult beach is included at Castaway Cay.

That's what I thought !  Didn't they say that this new beach was going to be complimentary ?  Of course, this doesn't surprise me at all, but I guess I am a bit disappointed since they originally said it would be included in your cruise fare.

Because it was originally touted as included.

Pardon my ignorance but why did I think this was going to be "included"?  And yes I know that is absurd for anyone paying attention.

I gave it some consideration for my March 2 Odyssey booking, and then I read about the poolside DJ.  Nope, not my idea of a relaxing beach day.

I am not ok with them charging for it. I wouldn't pay it. 

I'm sure the OP will be back at any moment to clarify.............
 

Being a retiree, I would entertain accepting the offer. I always book through air2sea. I wonder if that would be refunded as wel?

Great point, as was OPs and others who tried to explain. Getting back to cruising, let's  just embrace the point that cruisers should be culturally sensitive wherever they travel and respect local customs since they are guests. Or just stay on the ship. We can't fix governments; we can be good world citizens.

I'm sure the OP will be back at any moment to clarify.............
 

I'm sure the OP will be back at any moment to clarify.............