flamtapgt

Cool! I can see our balcony in this photo! 

In return, here's a photo of Adventure heading into the setting sun at the same time: 

Cool! I can see our balcony in this photo! 

In return, here's a photo of Adventure heading into the setting sun at the same time: 

Cool! I can see our balcony in this photo! 

In return, here's a photo of Adventure heading into the setting sun at the same time: 

Cool! I can see our balcony in this photo! 

In return, here's a photo of Adventure heading into the setting sun at the same time: 

We stayed at the Hilton FL Marina on the 21st using points. Our rooms weren't ready until 4:30 and 5:30, and there is a lot of construction/renovation going on. (Lots of people sitting around the lobby waiting for rooms!) Rooms were nice though, and they gave us a free breakfast to make up for the troubles. 
The other hotels mentioned are in a better location for last minute shopping at Publix, etc. 

We'll be on this cruise as well! Can't wait! 
Flamtap 

Yes! Looking forward to it! ( 5 - adults & teens) 

flamtap

Was checking cruise planner today and Chill Island cabana for December Holiday cruise on Allure is listed at $2000! ?

On both sides of the canal there have been ships at anchor waiting to transit the canal.  This leads to the question how long do they have to wait?  
Bill Benny offered that the typical wait time without a reservation can be up to ~ 36 hours.  Timing varies based on demand and how many ships have reservations.    Typical volume is forty ships per day.  
The new locks don't have locomotives.  Each ship is allocated two tugs, one forward, one aft.  They do all the control, forward or aft or lateral movements that the locomotives do in the original canal.
The entire Panama Canal system uses gravity.  There are no pumps.  Water flows from Gatun Lake into upper lock chambers then to the next lock chamber down to the ocean.  This area of the Americas receives a lot of rain, it always has.  The Chagres River which was dammed to create Gatun Lake flowed into the ocean.  The man made Gatun Lake is a reservoir that flows water into the locks as they operate replacing the natural draining of the Chagres River into the sea.  
Too much rain isn't a serious issue as spillways can dissipate excess water.  If nature changed rainfall amounts downwards there are concerns about a lack of rain impacting canal operations.  If there was a major change in weather patterns that denied the region the rain it normally receives it is conceivable the canal would reduce operations compared to how it operates today.  
Gatun Lake is freshwater.  It also supplies drinking water to millions of people.  Gatun Lake has Crocodiles and Caiman.  
The canal generates around 3 billion USD in revenue annually.  Roughly half of this goes to the Panamanian treasury and half is consumed by the canal for operational use and development.
 

Day 1
IT'S CRUISE DAY!!!
But first, more Queen Mary pictures in daylight.

The Queen Mary was a fast ship.  Faster than today's cruise ships of this size or larger.  She routinely cruised at over 28 knots and during sea trials she reached just over 32 knots.






This enclosed promenade deck would have been popular on those cold North Atlantic winter crossings.


The Verandah Grill towards the aft of the ship was an extra cost restaurant.  In other words the concept of specialty dining started decades before modern cruise lines embraced the idea.

During World War II the Queen Mary was put into service as a troop carrier bringing troops back and forth between the US. and Britain.   She was painted grey and earned the name the Grey Ghost.  Her top speeds allowed her to elude german u-boats. 
On one crossing she carried a staggering 15,740 service personnel with a crew of 943 for a total of 16,683 souls on board.  That remains the highest count ever carried by any vessel, a record that is unlikely to ever be broken.   

During this time they removed all the fine china and crystal and converted every square inch to the goal of maximizing space for the troops.  Gone were the cabin class 1st class accommodations, it was all about squeezing troops on board.  During the war when she was a troop carrier he was fitted with anti aircraft guns.

A lego model has been constructed and is on display in a room called the shipyard.


Sir Winston Churchill would routinely sail her during the war to coordinate efforts with the allies. In this photo he is sitting by this very fireplace.

How about these lifeboats?


The bridge:







The Captain's quarters have been preserved in their original condition.



She even had a fitness center back in the day with modern exercise equipment.



If you ever get the chance I highly recommend a stay on the Queen Mary.


 

There's also a Science Channel "Impossible Engineering" episode about building Harmony: 
https://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/impossible-engineering/full-episodes/worlds-biggest-cruise-ship?

 

There's also a Science Channel "Impossible Engineering" episode about building Harmony: 
https://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/impossible-engineering/full-episodes/worlds-biggest-cruise-ship?

 

There are a couple card games we have that we really enjoy playing as a family: "Five Crowns" and "Wacky Six". (both are variations of games you can play with standard decks.) 
We like them because they don't take up much room, and they're quick to teach to new players (unlike Settlers or many other board games).
These are best for adults or teens. 
flamtap

There are a couple card games we have that we really enjoy playing as a family: "Five Crowns" and "Wacky Six". (both are variations of games you can play with standard decks.) 
We like them because they don't take up much room, and they're quick to teach to new players (unlike Settlers or many other board games).
These are best for adults or teens. 
flamtap

I believe it will be closed on the ship but they do have an excursion desk on CocoCay that you can visit to purchase the waterpark admission and other CocoCay activities.

flamtapgt - Allure - December 22, 2019. Thanks for compiling this!

Tag Tool, all the editing skills I need.
http://www3.zansstuff.com/luggage-tags
 

flamtapgt - Allure - December 22, 2019. Thanks for compiling this!

Your credit card needs to be linked to your onboard account, meaning that's what you set up when you checked in for the cruise.
Then you will sit at a slot machine and insert your SetSail pass.  

Select ACCOUNT.

Then select PERSONAL BANKER.

You will be asked for your PIN number.  If you haven't set one up then it will default to your birthday as MMDD.

You will then select TRANSFERS.

Select ROOM CHARGE.

Then you can select a preset amount or select OTHER and enter in your own dollar amount.

You are asked to confirm the charge.

Success!  Added to the slot machine.

From there you hit COLLECT on the machine and it will print out a ticket.

 

For our 12/28/2019 visit I reserved at $521 for chill island. Since then I have seen them as high as $1699!!!!   Most remaining cabanas (chill island are sold out) are $1299. 
flamtap 

Seen this posted on Facebook and thought it would be a great guide for first timers on Allure. The lady that put this together spent some time and thought into it.
 
GUIDE - Allure of the Seas 01-19-20.pdf

OBTW the float mats are great, but beware.  The location of the private beach for the cabanas, is close to where the kayaks are, and more often than not we found ourselves near the rope lines by the kayaks if we closed our eyes for 5 mins.  The rope line between the two is filled with seaweed.
If you do want to snorkel. it is great.  
The one thing I give a hands up to RCL is they have really invested in lifeguards.  There has to be at least 3 life guard stations/platforms in the water.  They have designed it in a way you can leap frog from 1 to the next without being tired.
Cabana area has a rock jeddy wall, and there are tiny lobsters that hang out in the rocks.  
The sand is superfine, so you do not need water shoes.  
We were there in July and didn't feel like the sand was too hot to walk on.  
@adidassler  we did Coco Cay once during the 1st week of November.  It is cool in the a.m. there, especially in a cabana since it is shaded.  The water temp will be fine, but I would take a cover up for the early a.m.    

We tipped 25 upon arrival, after she delivered our 1st drink.  We gave another 50  at the end of the day for a total of 75.  However, we only had 5 in our cabana, had we had 8, we would have tipped much more.   
The thing is we had an amazing cabana attendant.  I would say she was at our cabana every 10 mins. due to how it worked for us.  1 or 2 people would be in the cabana and order a drink while the others were in the water snorkeling or kayaking.  They would come back to the cabana as she was delivering a drink and ask for a drink for themselves.  See above that during the day you get fruit platters, food, and fruit kebabs.  She also cleaned up empty food containers (they come in biodegradeable  containers).  If not delivering drinks to us, she would re-fold all of the towels on our loungers, or re-fit our towel clips on the loungers, so sand was not an issue on our towels.
If you have a crappy attendant than tip accordingly.
Things we did learn during the day was,  1). You will feel for the food/bev people.  We docked @7:30 and you could see staff walking off the ship.  Late in the day, a RCL staff member brought over our drink order.  We looked at him, and said do you work in the Champagne bar (Adventure) he said yes.  He went onto say that the staff we saw walking off at 7:30, would be back in the bars on the ship that night.  2). Our cabana attendant stated it is not the same for them as the cruise ship.  They sign a 4 week contract.  3). The reason that right now according to our cabana attendant was that they cannot hire fast enough and they need the food/bev employees from the ship to meet the demand. 4). Most of them are from the Bahamas, and at night they have a boat that comes over at 6 p.m. so employees with family in that area can go home.  It comes back again at 11 pm and 6 a.m the next morning.   Our attendant said she goes home every Sunday for dinner, but lives on the island every night.
The question here impo is how this will impact the employees on the island when they expand the hours to 8 at night?  That is a much longer day.
 
 

You get 2 floating mats, but no snorkel gear.  The floating mats will be there at the cabana when you arrive.  
Your cabana number is assigned now.  It use to be that you would go to the shore excursion desk on day of debarkation to reserve a particular cabana, but when we were there they said that is no longer the policy.  Their reasoning is that sometimes they will have 2 ships in port on 1 day.  It would be too difficult to do this.  IE Anthem might leave on Friday, and Lady G leaves on Thursday, but both would be there the same day.  Thus, Lady G's passengers would get the 1st picks, and Anthem would get what was left over.  Instead, RCL will assign according to the date the cabana was purchased.  IOWS, you could have booked the cruise 2 yrs out, and the cabana only 5 mos. out,  it is when you booked the actual cabana.  
I am not sure, but I believe the same is true if you cancel and rebook at a lower price, because it is now considered a new booking.
The night prior they will leave in your cabin the map to get to the cabana station.  At the cabana, you just state your last name and they will give you a wrist band for entry.  They have melon and pineapple water to greet you when you check in.
We were cabana number 10.  It is the farthest out on the front row.  It is a great cabana because it gets a nice breeze due to its location.  On the tip of the lagoon area, by the rocks.  However, it is a bit of a walk to the restrooms, the over water bar, and going to the pool.  @5 mins.  The snorkel shack is also a little bit of a trek,.  The tram stop is right in front of the cabana area.  
Our attendant was amazing.  In the a.m. they will bring you a fruit tray, and the lunch menu.  Order as much or as little as you want.  Try the funnel cake.  I had the greek salad and it was very good.  In the mid afternoon they will bring you fruit kebabs.  The attendant, at least ours will track you down if you order a drink instead of leaving it in the cabana.  IE I ordered a drink and stated I was going to the bathroom so she could leave it in the cabana.  I walked out of the bathroom and there she was drink on a tray waiting for me.  My SIL ordered a drink and decided to go in the water while waiting, all of the sudden she heard Ms. Lisa with a drink on the tray.  
We paid for snorkel gear on the cruise planner and my husband loved snorkeling there.  I would say he was probably snorkeling 5 hrs out of the 8 hrs there.  
The safes are there for you to use, but honestly I don't see any reason to use them.  Your attendant really keeps an eye on the cabana, checking in every 15--20 mins.  
They have limited amount of blue tooth speakers, so that would be the only thing I would bring with you to the cabana.
If you have any mobility issues, such as needing a beach scooter, I would contact RCL and see if you can get cabana number 1. 
Finally, many people talk about the seagulls stealing food, and that is true when you are at the main dining area, however, in the cabana we had no issues at all.  A). The cabana is covered and that does not make it worth while to swoop in.  B). The beach area is the farthest out from the food areas and the bulk of the lounge chairs, so it is not worth it to them for the slim pickings.   However, that doesn't mean a jerk in another cabana will take a bag of chips into the water and find it funny to have them swoop in.
All in all, it was a perfect day in the cabana and have no regrets paying for it,

@adidassler We had the Chill island cabana in July.  There will be 8 towels in the cabana waiting for you, so there is no need to check them out on the ship.  Just like they will have the cooler filled with ice and water.