CruisinMikeD

The Allure is an amazing ship, and in my opinion, it needs no amplification. It's a literal resort on the water. Kids will definitely not be bored. Who needs waterslides when you have two Flowriders! I haven't yet been on the Navigator. It looks like tons of fun with the new amps, but might feel cramped. The Allure is so immense, to me it didn't feel overly crowded with a full ship. If you are cool with your original budget, then stick with the Allure.

Booked all my shows for Dec 11th Allure sailing.

I'll admit, me and my lady would be very disappointed if the Solarium were still closed on our upcoming cruise on the Allure. Very sorry to hear that's happening to you. We're looking forward to some quiet time on the Allure. Like everyone else, we paid a fair amount of money to use the ship, including the Solarium - our favorite spot. However, we won't let a closed Solarium ruin our cruise, as it's beyond our control. I would probably chat with guest services while onboard and explain that we were disappointed. Maybe they'd give us a couple of drink vouchers or a some on-board credit for the inconvenience, but that's about as much as I could expect them to do. Then I would use that onboard credit to get drinks and bring them to alternative quiet places, like our balcony, or Central Park, or some of the decks with loungers hidden at the ends of the hallways. If I were really upset about it, I could take the time to write a letter to the company explaining how the experience was sub-par due to the company's lack of proactive communication and bad planning, and hopefully, someone would read it and make some changes to better serve the guests in the future. You'd have to decide if it is worth the effort for this particular issue. Depends on how strongly you feel about it, and there is no wrong answer here in my opinion. But I get it, you're not getting the full experience that was promised, and it would be great to get something back for the trouble. Either way, it's best to not let it ruin a vacation. For what it's worth, I could think of worse things happening on a ship. For example, if a sewage pipe were leaking waste into my stateroom - that's a problem that would need to be addressed immediately. The minimal remedy for that is to move us into any available clean stateroom, and provide a refund/credit for any resulting downgrade and the inconvenience. I hope I never have to deal with that, but other cruisers have. Bottom line though, you're on a cruise ship and most everyone else isn't! Enjoy!

I'm interested in seeing more Speedtest results from the Allure now that Starlink is up and running. Please post 'em if ya got 'em!

@FSUFAN Very sorry to hear about the troubles on your cruise. I agree with the cruisers who recommend trying another ship. The Allure spoiled me and was one of the best vacations I ever had. To me, the Oasis-class ships are amazing feats of engineering, and well designed to separate the crowds. Just my opinion, but I would give that a try. I'm interested to hear more about your experience with The Key. We just bought it for our December sailing, expecting that we can jump some lines and get VIP seating at the shows without any trouble. It's beginning to sound like it may be more trouble than its worth. I was planning to book a trip on the Voyager after it moves to Galveston next year, but now I am not so sure. It sounds like the ship might be too small when it comes to crowds. It's also disappointing to hear that things are looking worn-out, even after the Royal Amplification.

Deluxe Bevvy Package for under $70 is a good price. Not a bad idea to book it. If it goes lower, you can always cancel and re-book it at the lower price. If you change your mind before your cruise, you can cancel the DBP and get a refund.

Is free all-day room service still included with The Key? I haven't seen this advertised, but if free all-day room service is included, that would be a really nice benefit, and might make it worth the extra cost. Has anyone used The Key for free room service, and if so, what ship?

@Tony Sky Your cruise plan is perfect. You don't need to spend a dime on anything extra, especially on an Oasis-class ship. There's too much to do on the Allure, and so many free places with tasty food. You're going to have an amazing time! My first time on the Allure, I had a similar plan. We decided late in the game to spend extra on alcohol/drinks a-la-carte, two shore excursions, and the Chef's Table. I also spent some money at the casino, but came away $100 ahead! Our post cruise bill for all involved: Chef's Table for 2: $200 (well worth every penny) Excursions: $450 (fun) Casino: -$100 (winnerwinner!) Alcohol/Drinks: $1,050 (oops) The extra money paid certainly enhanced my cruise, but I would have still enjoyed it had I decided not to spend anything extra. Hope this helps!

Yup. Expensive lessons are learned when the bill is settled up on the last day of the cruise.

Is lobster still served in the MDR on formal nights? I'd hate to miss out on lobster.

The Deluxe Drink Package on my cruise just dropped to $68! Conspiracy theory: someone from Royal is on this board reading my posts and dropped the price just enough for me to break even. They're thinking, "We're listening, here's an extra $13/day in savings for that one drink. You know you want it, so buy the DBP... you'll love it! Go get your drinks worry free... and come to the casino and play!" Well played Royal. Well played.

I agree, it's not a solution to do away with the drink package. (I mentioned a few reasons why in some previous posts.) The solution ultimately lies with the passenger to try something different on their next vacation if they're not happy. There are so many different options out there that it doesn't make sense for someone to launch a campaign to remove something that most cruisers enjoy.

I find the Refreshment Package is well worth the money - especially if you drink a lot of bottled water. Keep extra bottled water in your stateroom to drink overnight, so you don't need to get up out of bed. Bring bottled water with you on your shore excursions, especially in warm climates where you're away from bars/restaurants, to prevent dehydration. If you don't drink alcohol, and you want more than the basic free drinks, then the Refreshment Package is a must in my opinion. Fresh squeezed juice, lattes, sodas, smoothies, shakes, all included. You can drink most every non-alcoholic drink carefree. (The only exception I am aware of is the Starbucks kiosk - it's run as an actual Starbucks store and your package will not work there.) Also, as mentioned in previous posts, use your Refreshment Package at any meal in any restaurant. Have at that fresh juice or latte!

The people watching is a fun bonus for sure. For those who are not into hanging out with a crowd that drinks a lot, another viable solution is to pick a different ship/itinerary/cruise line better suited for the desired experience. I imagine the experience is much more subdued on lines like Cunard, Oceania, Silversea, etc., or Alaska itineraries? Royal has a fun mix of people, and in my experience, it's not as wild as Carnival. Carnival actually does have a hard drink limit of 15, but that doesn't seem to slow things down. A couple of fist fights from Carnival ships were posted online this year, but I'm not entirely sure if alcohol was a factor in those incidents.

^^ Good points there, and agreed, RCCL would lose out if they didn't sell the DBP. I imagine that Royal Caribbean has the best Financial Planning & Analysis people in the business. I'll use myself as a case for this. The DBP price on my upcoming sailing on Allure has been $73-$79 pp/night. I'm probably an average drinker while on vacation, and maybe I'd go a little heavier on a day or two. The math for me worked out to be ~$100 cheaper for the week a-la-carte vs DBP. I had to decide, "Do I go ahead anyway and buy the DBP, just in case I want a couple more drinks on a few days? After all, its only another $100." At that point, the DBP becomes an emotional purchase, rather than a value proposition. RCCL's pricing strategy is perfect - they're betting on average cruisers like me to pay a little more for my drinks up front, to calm my fear of missing out on a deal. Ultimately, with the DBP, I'd have paid for drinks that I never ended up having - which of course works out better for Royal. They need average and new cruisers buying the DBP at the $73+ price point. You know what would make me rowdy in a bad way? Raising the minimum bet to $20 at the craps tables. It's already bad enough that the odds are 1X and not 3X-4X-5X! Everyone keep buying those DBPs!

Having sailed on Allure, I did not have much trouble finding quiet places with no children. Got to love the Solarium - I could crash there all day. At first glance, Icon appears designed to isolate adult areas from family areas, arguably better than the Oasis-class ships. I like how Cloud 17 is far away from the boardwalk and appears isolated above the main pool deck. I can imagine it would be quieter than the Solarium on the Oasis-class ships. I'm looking forward to experiencing this!

In our case, the availability of a Deluxe Beverage Package won't change our habits. We're in vacation-mode - we planned for it, we're all-in, and we're ready to have fun! The real question is, "Does the Deluxe Beverage Package" save us any money? For some folks, it's a good deal, and for others, it's not. In our case, we're going to have about the same number of drinks on our vacation, package or not. I don't see any reason to get rid of the DBP, especially if the argument is that some people can't handle their booze. Habits don't change without tremendous effort and the willingness to make changes. If there are issues with a guest being rowdy, drunk, and ruining your enjoyment, then Guest Services would be the remedy for that. Removing the choice to buy a DBP will not fix wild inebriated guests.

For us, the refreshment package works better, then we buy alcohol as needed. In short, we don’t buy enough of the expensive drinks to break even on the deluxe package, so we don’t worry about buying whatever drinks we want a-la-carte. (Long explanation below.) We buy the refreshment package because we love coffee, smoothies, and fresh squeezed juice. We also drink a lot of bottled water: on excursions, in the room at night, etc. It’s a great deal for us at $23 pp/day. For alcohol, I can drink a fair amount, up to 10 in a day, but it’s not enjoyable for me to do this every day. My lady only drinks 1-3 a day at most, just enough to feel relaxed. I compared the cost between buying additional alcoholic drinks vs skipping the refreshment package and instead buying the deluxe drink package. For me, I calculated that we each need to drink at minimum 5 full-priced alcoholic drinks every day to break even on the deluxe drink package. We’re unable to buy 5 full-priced drinks each per day for our following reasons: 1. We bring two bottles of our own wine, and we will drink these with meals. Even if we get charged for corkage, it’s only $15 per bottle. 2. We will try the $8-$9 drink of the day every day. If we like it, we’ll have more than one. 3. We get mocktails included with the refreshment package, and we can spike them with an $8 shot. 4. Sometimes I prefer a beer, and that’s usually less than $10. 5. We’re not on the ship long enough on excursion days to buy enough full-priced drinks. Sometimes our excursions include a couple of drinks, or an open bar. 6. Chef’s Table! Do not go to the Chef’s table if you’re already buzzed - you may regret it. Champagne is INCLUDED while waiting. Glass of wine is INCLUDED with EACH course. That’s 6 glasses of wine/bubbly during the experience if I remember correctly. Last time I went, a guest was feeling “really good” when she arrived, and not so good when she made the wise choice of excusing herself from the table early to call it a night. 7. We don’t want to worry about drinking more for the sake of breaking even on the deluxe package. No need to worry about hangovers so we can be more active on the ship (flow rider, rock climbing) and on excursions. 8. If we want to get slammered… one day on our cruise is good enough for that, and usually the following day requires little to no alcohol. Pro-tip: Boozy Shakes. On Allure of the Seas, use your refreshment package to get a shake from Johnny Rockets, then walk over to Sabor and buy a shot from the bar. Mix and enjoy!