CrznTxn

Will be our eighth cruise on Allure out of Galveston. Each one has been great and have found something new to do each time we are aboard. Have cruised on her with each of our grown sons (separately of course) and grand kids and decided to go on this one before she goes back to Florida and short cruises (what a waste). I'll be the wild one on the zip line flipping, hanging upside down driving the staff crazy.

Sorry, since the pandemic there are no flowers for sale on Royal Caribbean. My wife is quite disappointed.

There is a mini "cooler" in the balcony staterooms but it is hit or miss on the actual cooling and there are no controls. You can request a medical refrigerator from the link above that is used in these circumstances.

1. What is your favorite specialty restaurant for a birthday meal? We are not super adventurous eaters. If you want standard specialty restaurant, Chops has the steaks, Sabor's has the Mexican food, Jamie's has the Italian and 150 some specialty which is really good. All of these we have visited and each unique and in our opinion, good. It is the dessert, in my opinion that really makes the meal. Go to the Royal website, go to Harmony in the ship listing, click on "Things to Do" and scroll down to the dining options. Each of the Restaurants has the menus and you can see what each offers. 2. What is your favorite breakfast/lunch spot? Second and Third Johnny Rockets for breakfast. Get there a little before 8:00 to really have no waiting. We eat there everyday. 3. What are your favorite non-water excursions for the 3 ports? Roatan: Book the Sloth tour. Very interactive and very good. Costa Maya: We haven't done much non-water tours at this port but they say the Mayan Ruins tour is good. Cozumel: If you take a non-water tour here it generally involves the larger two Mayan Ruins which are on the mainland and involves water transportation and bus rides which are very long. There are tours around the island that highlight the many things on the island and do not involve water. 4. What are your Favorite items to pack to make our week easier? Multiple USB outlet adapter for all the devices. We use a triple outlet adapter that plugs into an AC plug from IKEA that is inexpensive. 5. What is your must dos/advice for first time cruisers? Go to Dollar store and buy some simple, lightweight decorations that you can glue magnets on to decorate your door. Makes it easier to find amongst all the cabin doors that look the same. For general advice, do not try to do everything available on this trip, it is impossible and will only wear you out. Also look for the "Spyglass" displays scattered throughout the ship with little tidbits and information.

In Galveston they do not even ask your arrival time. You just go up and they put you in one of the dozen lines to check in. Two weeks ago I had an 11:00am boarding time, arrived at 10:30 and there was almost no line as they had started boarding early. Was onboard by 10:45.

We ran into the "3" person cabin not available when trying to book a cruise for my son and his two children, but if I chose the "4" person option then cabins were available. Due to this experience he decided to book with a competing cruise line that made the process easier. Royal is our "go to" cruise line but usually it is only the two or one of us going so it is quite easy for us. Our in-house travel agent (aka: wife) talks to Royal on all our cruises and we have had only had one glitch in all the sailings we have booked and that was solved by on-board staff in Next Cruise when we went to them.

In Galveston for Allure they have been painting on the ship's exterior on the dock side on our last two sailings. They have a motorized lift that the crew were using to get to the high places. It has looked really good lately. They were also varnishing some of the railings during the trip. Standard ongoing maintenance.

You can also use the free luggage transport service that Seattle offers to take your luggage from the ship and check it in directly to your flight without you having to carry it off or pick it up from the ship. Here are the details: https://www.portseattle.org/page/port-valet-enjoy-seattle-luggage-free

We have lost our decorations on the last two cruises we have taken this summer. The wife makes some really nice butterfly and lizard decorations from figures we purchase from Hobby Lobby and add magnets to the feet or back. This last cruise it was two out of the three decorations that were taken the final night just before we packed. There at dinner time but gone by 9:00pm. Will not stop us from going out and replacing them as it really makes the cabin easy to find but hope it is not a trend. Maybe it will subside once the majority of kids are back in school.

Put it in your carry on. Dealing with those folks is much easier than having your luggage go through the ship scanner and getting put in "time out".

To make it less expensive you can purchase one package for one device and pass it back and forth to the parties in your group. My wife and I have this arrangement and I use it during certain times for work and she uses it the other for her emails, texts and "games". We each have the other's email accounts on our phones (except my work) and so we are not out of touch during the voyage.

You can take your hair dryer and a curling iron on your trip. They do have a hair dryer in each cabin but if you want to use your particular brand, you can take it. My wife used to take her's but now uses the one in the cabin to save space in the suitcase.

We got off of Allure last Sunday and our (mine since the wife was already onboard) boarding started early and when I arrived at the terminal at 10:30 (the earliest time you could select was 11:00) they were already letting people onboard. The first several months of Allure have been especially rough with boarding and disembarkation but they have made progress and hopefully they have it under control now. Getting off was really easy and we were on the road by 8:00 (self-assist).

My son, who is a plus size person, uses the gym shower rooms on our cruises. They are much larger and he would rather go there then shower in the room.

Post COVID the flower purchases on RCCL have gone by the wayside. They will dress up the room with gaudy hanging cardboard disks and supply chocolate covered strawberries and beverages but NO FLOWERS! Just finished a 48th anniversary cruise and no flowers to be had. Before, I had them delivered to the room each cruise and I was a rock star in the wife's eyes (at least for that week).

Yes, Radiance only has photo prints available. My surprise is that Allure is still printing photos even though they have the digital kiosks available and you can get either. With RCCL trying to save money everywhere they can, I thought they would have stopped that by now.

1. YES! Very, very important! If you have a phone package that has Canada and Mexico you can go off of airplane mode in the Mexico ports but be sure to turn off Data Roaming (personal knowledge). On our excursions to the beach we usually find they have free WiFi and use that and put the phone back in airplane mode. 2. Yes, wife and I stay connected by this on the ship and message our kids at home (and others). 3. Yes, we use this all the time. 4. Yes, we see people wandering around all the time using it and bumping into others.

Will third not using the app. Even my wife who is an app guru will not use the app for the reservations, she pulls out her laptop. The app just does not work well. As far as the original question, we start checking 45 to 50 days out from sail date to see if the reservation window is open. We have waited sometimes for the 30th day and missed out on the best times.

If he goes and gets an account then you can call Royal and have them true up the points totals for him looking at his past cruises. On another note, thanks for the clarification. I thought that is how it worked but wanted to make sure.

Looking for clarity from ye ole (not old) wise ones out there on combined points with my spouse and I. We each have 32 sailings with her individual total being 320 points and mine being 318. My question is whether the points of each of our individual sailings (she has two separate and I have one separate) would be added to each other's total points? If they were added together we would have 336 points Her 320 points plus my 12 individual points or do they only show the highest total of the individual person? It is confusing on the website explanation and we are seeking wisdom going forward.

This is from the Royal Caribbean FAQ page. If your passport is expiring less than 6 months after the date of the cruise you can always use your birth certificate for US based sailings.

Since the end of the shutdown the wife an I have been going at a minimum of one per month clip. With work allowing remote work it has been a fantastic way to get out and enjoy life (and stretch the vacation days). The D+ and Casino perks are great for not having to get the UBP and we will be half way to Pinnacle after this month. Can't think of a more enjoyable way to spend our time. And we love meeting all the fellow cruisers.

Sorry, did not notice. We did not have a Next Cruise reservation waiting so did not look for it.

Yes! My wife brings her Mio orange flavoring onboard each cruise for her "mimosa's". No problems.