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Just boarded Allure this morning…wow! Fastest boarding I’ve ever experienced in over thirty years of cruising. Never been on an oasis class ship before so was prepared for longer wait times, but from the time my husband’s cousin dropped us off at the (incredible, beautiful, new) terminal it took 7 minutes from curb to getting on the ship. So impressed so far!

Thanks everyone! How early before the show should you arrive at the theater?

We are sailing on Allure tomorrow and over the last few days our suite concierge has booked a couple dining and show reservations for us. I have never been on a ship before that required reservations for shows in the various venues…how does it work? Will there be tickets for these reservations in our stateroom? Will they have specific seats assigned to us or is it general admission? Is it all one big line to get in, or is there a separate line for people who already have reservations (or are in suites?). How early should you be there with a reservation? Sorry for so many questions…I tried asking the concierge some of this over email but didn’t really get a clear answer. Thanks!

So true about people not knowing. Our cruise on Allure leaves tomorrow…I snagged the earliest check in time possible on the day check in opened back in December. Meanwhile my SIL (who has never cruised before) waited til a couple weeks ago to check in for herself and BIL and was “so happy the latest check in time was the only one still available…why would you want to get there any earlier than you have to just to sit around and wait?”. I was so baffled by that statement til I realized she was probably imagining it more like checking in for a flight and couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to sit and hang out at the airport for five hours or so before departure.

Our Allure sailing is this Sunday. I received an email from the Suite Concierge. It mentioned that entertainment reservations can be booked by them once on board. It also stated that they could book Coastal Kitchen for us, and to please “reach out” if we were interested. I replied to the email a day ago and have not heard back. Do they typically respond to email replies? I took that phrase “reach out” to mean that they could book CK before boarding (unlike entertainment reservations)…does anyone know if this is true or if you have to wait til after boarding for that too?

On Oasis class ships, what locations serve fresh squeezed juices and smoothies?

My SIL just completed her and BIL check in for our Allure cruise next month (I did mine and my husbands a few weeks ago). She said an alert or something came up on her screen saying masks were required during the check in process. I don’t recall seeing this same message when I checked in. Are they still requiring masks at check in and/or on board? I can’t find anything that indicates this on RC’s site. We will be sailing out of Galveston. Appreciate any info, thanks.

Sorry, I’m sure this has been answered somewhere before but I’ve done several searches and haven’t found anything. Our upcoming cruise will be our first one with the DBP. How is this indicated on your card? I’ve seen both a sticker or something printed on the card as answers on RC’s website. And if it’s something like a sticker that has to be added, where do you go to get it? Is it automatically put on at check in, or do you have to stop somewhere like concierge once onboard? Thanks so much for your help!

When I open the app for our Feb 5 Allure sailing, I see two separate muster stations. When I pull up the actual Set Sail Pass, it shows F2 (which I believe is correct) for my and my husband’s passes. However, if I click on the little life preserver safety icon, it says mine is E4. This happens to be my BIL and SIL’s muster station. We linked reservations, but are in very different areas of the ship. Is this going to be a problem for me completing the online safety briefing, if the app “thinks” my station is the wrong one?

So excited that our cruise we booked in August is almost here! This will be our first cruise on an Oasis class ship (Allure). We purchased a cabin for my BIL and SIL as well. They have even less cruising experience than we do (SIL has never been on a cruise). We got them the “balcony guarantee” category, and they’ve recently been assigned #10251. Anyone been in this general area and have any info to share? Looking at deck plans it appears it may be above Central Park, but it’s hard to tell for sure. My BIL can be sensitive to noise, so I guess that’s my biggest concern if this is a noisy area. Any info is appreciated, thanks.

1) Seeing diapered children/babies in the pool. 2) People who just can’t wait til they get to a table and start eating as they’re moving along in the buffet line (last cruise even saw a woman lick salad dressing off her fingers and then proceed on down the line grabbing all the tongs/handles that the next person has to touch).

Thanks so much for taking the time to write out such a thoughtful and informative response . I think someday we will probably give Star Class a try. My husband and I aren’t retired, but we are self employed (dentists) with no paid vacation…so for us the most expensive part of any trip is missing work, which is the same regardless of what cabin we choose. Thinking about it that way might help justify trying Star Class a little more… Now if only Royal decided they needed an onboard dentist…

That’s a good idea. I’ve never considered a shorter cruise before since I live quite a ways from the nearest port and I’m also lazy (don’t like the thought of the effort of unpacking and re-packing my suitcase too close together). But maybe it’s worth it just to try Star class.

Thanks so much to everyone for the replies. Lots of valuable info and perspectives. It sounds like since I’m always just booking a room for two that perhaps Star Class (for me) may not be worth the large extra per person cost. I can definitely see, though, how at some point it could make sense the more people that are added to the room. I guess I also should be planning a little farther in the future for the best deals too…the last two cruises I booked were within five months of sail date. Sounds like it pays to be an early bird.

I agree, have a CLS on Allure coming up in Feb, and I’m definitely looking forward to it. I just read other people’s posts about Genies and Duxiana mattresses and wonder if I’m missing out

Very helpful, thanks! Sorry for the ignorance…but are those per room or per person prices? I’m always pricing rooms for just two people so I’m unaware of how it fluctuates when you add more. Also, how do you know when release day is for any given sailing?

Thanks! I never would have guessed you’d get such a good deal during spring break…I always assume those weeks, along with winter break and summer are the most expensive. We generally go during times like early Feb, late September, etc…assuming (perhaps wrongly) that those are the cheapest times.

Thanks! Is the ATS 2-bedroom generally the “cheapest” Star Class suite? I tend to scroll past any type of suite with two bedrooms since it’s just my husband and me, but perhaps if it was the only way for me to ever try Star Class I should check it out.

I realize there are many different factors that go into this and some may have been unique one-time situations that won’t occur again, but I’m just curious in general what is the lowest price anyone has snagged (or even just seen) a Star Class suite for, let’s say for a 6-8 day cruise? For purposes of this discussion I’m talking about original reservations, not Royal Ups to Star Class from a different category. If you could include ship, roughly what time of year/season it was, or any other details you think are important that would be great too. Thanks!

That all makes a lot of sense…never considered any of that before. Thanks so much for all the helpful info!

Very helpful, thanks! I’m sure they had valid reasons for removing them on the newer ships but it seems an interesting choice as I would have guessed they generated quite a bit of revenue from those two suites.

Thanks! So those aren’t on Symphony, Harmony, or Wonder? What type of suite replaced them on the newer ships?

Apologies if this has been asked before—I searched all over and couldn’t find anything—but I’m confused about these categories called “owners panoramic” and “grand panoramic suites”. I have been doing a lot of research and looking at future bookings for a long time and never heard of these til recently. I was on a third party website that shows all the floorplans of different RCCL rooms (looking up our own crown loft suite floorplan plan for our Feb cruise on Allure) where I saw plans for those two I mentioned above. On every hypothetical booking I’ve ever searched—including those two years or more in the future—I’ve never seen either of those available as an option to book. Are they very few in number? What ships are they on, and where on the ship are they located? For anyone who’s stayed in one in the past, how did they compare to other Star class suites? Looks like they have pretty neat, unique layouts. Any info would be appreciated, thanks.

Just two: Vision and the Song of Norway But soon to add Allure and Quantum next year.

Does anyone know if you can “Royal Up” within a suite category? For instance if you are already in Sky Class, is it possible to move to a different type of suite that is also Sky Class, or is moving up to Star Class (which I would assume is nearly impossible) the only option?