AGSLC5

Very Excited.. I switched from a junior suite to a grand suite on the group cruise. I loved Coastal Kitchen on Quantum and I am happy to have it on Allure. Also want to get a Cabana in Labadee.. The Group Cruise is going to be great!

I understand about the walk. It is quite a hike to get all the way aft. I completely understand ! I also think you have an excellent point about being right under the pool deck. Good choice !

I was able to Save $300.00 for my Anthem cruise.. Also My Harmony Cruise!! Man Harmony I saved $1,500   I was able to get a crown loft suite for $4,500 when I originally had it for $6,000 man what a deal!!

I have it on good authority the price of our Allure of the Seas group cruise price went down too!

Yes she did ! ;)

So newer, lower, cruise rates on the RCI Allure Blog Cruise for 21 Feb 2016
Happy to help anyone look into booking - we have a great group of people going!

Stephanie I paid $3822 ($1911 each) and b/c I booked on April 15 I paid no taxes or port fees. With prepaid gratuities it ended up being $4021.50. I think that's right...very close if not exact. So, if you have paid $3100 already it's less than $1K to upgrade to a GS ! If you are going to do this do it immediately b/c the last of the new GS discussed above is still available (14730 I think)...at least it was when I checked earlier today. Both the room and the deck are bigger than the other GS on the Allure.
 
Considering all of the amenities that come with the GS I think it's a no-brainer for the difference in price...plus you're back with the Aqua Suites !
 
Good luck !

Of Course you can leave your Car at the port. It is expensive though it costs about $20.00 per day. If I were you I would look for a hotel that lets you park there for a week for free and has a shuttle to take you to the port.

Of Course you can leave your Car at the port. It is expensive though it costs about $20.00 per day. If I were you I would look for a hotel that lets you park there for a week for free and has a shuttle to take you to the port.

It should be noted even on ships that have the WOW bands (Quantum-class), you can still use SeaPass cards.

Doc, you are always welcome to join us when we have the extra large balcony and dinner table outside. Even with suites that's a rare amenity. The Royal Family Balcony on the Freedom was the ultimate ! I have never had a suite on an Oasis class so maybe that's more prevalent but so far, the Royal Family Suite on the aft was pretty great. Join us ANY time. We have one of the newly added Grand Suites (Aqua Suite area) on the aft on the Allure in Feb. If you're going on the Blog Group cruise come and see us !
 
I think JTI has it just right. If you are already a fan of eating at the specialty restaurants then this is going to be a value for you. If not, nada.

Right now this Is only done on Quantum class ships.. Quantum of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, and then Ovation of the Seas... Then When Harmony of the Seas is released it will be done on there as well

I guess we will have to wait and truly see, but my guess is you guys are correct.  They won't strip any of the existing perks of guest, staying in a GS, but add additional perks for differnet teirs of suites.  From a business stand point, if they do this it will help them maximize what they can charge for the larger suites, by offering more than just the amazing accommodations.  Think about it, what's a free beverage package cost RCCL for a suite guest, when they already have access to the Concierge Lounge?  Now that they are having more al acarte resteraunts, whats throwing in free dining in those spaces? For that matter, not charging the additional fee on all or a designated number per cruise, for the signature dining?
 
From a marketing standpoint it is a slippery slope, but could really end up being a rewarding move if they handle it right.  They would have to make sure the Perks for C&A stay beneficial and sperate from the suite amenities.  They would need to make sure they don't strip any of the existing perks for suite guests but make sure they promote what extras you get by booking more expensive accommodations.  If passengers are booking their top tier suites way out, it gives them much more budgetary predictability.  
 
Not all the time but sometimes, I am willing to spend whatever it takes to have an all-inclusive experience and as it stand right now RCCL doesn't really offer this in one clean package.  I personally can't wait to see what they do.  If handled correctly it could really encourage some people to spend a bit more up front to have a grander experience on their vacation.

The change in prices is more about them not fluctuating as much as they historically have.  Royal Caribbean does not want a cruise on Oasis of the Seas to sell for $800-1000 per person 1 year out and then turn up for $600 per person the month before.  They talk about "price integrity", which means they value their product at X and do not want it to drop dramatically.  It makes sense for those that book in advance because no one likes booking their cruise a year in advance only to find some people who booked at the last minute got it for half the price.  Plus it nets RC better revenues in general.

the Soda Package is included in the MDR. If you have the package you just show them your seapass card and instead of bringing you a can they bring you a fountain soda. Once you finish that glass and would like another they gladly bring you a refill.

the Soda Package is included in the MDR. If you have the package you just show them your seapass card and instead of bringing you a can they bring you a fountain soda. Once you finish that glass and would like another they gladly bring you a refill.

Whatever they decide to do, I hope the improve the food on Oasis. I was actually shocked that the food went from excellent (really - you must try the cold soups!) to too difficult to eat (duck leg quarter that was more bone than flesh, steak that was well marbled with gristle...). Some food that should have been hot arrived to our table cold. I didn't expect amazing food in the main dining room - in fact I expected it to be middle of the road, generic catering type food. Instead it was more like Junior High school cafeteria food. On the plus side, for a $17 up charge you can get a 9 ounce tenderloin steak from Chops.

Thanks, Stephanie. I am willing to withdraw my hypothesis re: lobster and thank you for your response. Maybe the Classic option will work just fine !!! Glad to hear it.

I don't want to bash TAs on this site since I know that an agency is the sponsor of this site (and I thank them for that !)....but I will say, with no malice intended, that booking yourself is always the right thing with RC. Since RC does NOT permit agencies to discount their cruises there is literally no advantage to using a TA for RC, IMO. Now, agencies CAN add their own incentives such as OBC (although it is always minimal from what I have seen)and paying for gratuities, specialty dining, drink packages, etc. but that has never been enough of an incentive to get me to bother with a TA for RC. That is NOT necessarily the case for other cruise lines !
 
As for getting a TA to hunt for price reductions for you, that is not going to happen. It is a LOT of work to do that. You have to check VERY often. I check at least DAILY and have been the recipient of MANY discounts that just pop up. As one blogger mentioned, when the BOGO offer first came out for a VERY brief time (not more than 1 day), they had not yet increased the cruise base price to compensate for the 1/2 off deal and I managed to catch it before they did....I ended up saving a LOAD on the January 2015 Oasis cruise. It turned out to be nearly free by the time they added the 1/2 off ("free" being a misnomer...there is no such thing as a FREE cruise). But you have to be diligent. If you want to catch a deal YOU have to do the work. Yes, a TA will go in and capture a discount if you let them know about it but why bother with that ? You can do it yourself ! ..and SHOULD.
 
If you want to be lazy and not do the work, you will probably NOT get the unpublished discounts or be able to take advantage of mistakes - and YES the cruise lines DO make mistakes from time-to-time - that come along periodically. One blogger mentioned a family room. I managed to snag a Royal Family Suite for my upcoming cruise on the Freedom LONG b4 it should have been released to the public. They hold those rooms to require a minimum number of people to book (usually 4 people is minimum. For some categories, it's 6!) but if those rooms don't sell close to the end, they will release them to "general inventory" which means that they will appear online and you can book that room with just 2 people (the same thing for handicapped (excuse me, ACCESSIBLE) rooms). I caught it on just the right day and even the [RC] agent who booked it for me commented that the room should not have been available for less than 4 people, that early. As soon as I booked my room they immediately moved all of the other Family Suites behind the "Not available for online booking" firewall. I just happened to see it b4 they caught their mistake.
 
So....checking the website becomes automatic, and fun, after a while. Make it a THING. You will be the recipient of unexpected windfalls. It's awesome.

Hi all-
 
booked myself as well on this group cruise - feel free to reach out to me if anyone else wants to book it - MEI does rock, lol

Stephanie (and anyone else who might be interested) my name is Raye. Thanks for asking.
 
It is always a no limit game. I have never seen them play a limit game on any ship. When I cruise out of San Juan the Marriott has a limit game at night but I've never seen one on a cruise ship. I just don't think there's enough people interested enough. Sometimes we have trouble just getting a no limit game going. ...and then sometimes, like on the transatlantic I took several years ago on the Jewel, we played all day every day and all night for 12 days. There was always a waiting list just to get on. You just never know !
 
I know what you're saying about the electronic tables. Lots of people don't like them b/c they feel that they are subject to "electronic whim" but I have never really had that concern. I usually do pretty well...I just like having a live dealer better...more personal.
 
I saw the hangover machine on the Oasis but never played it. Slot machines are nothing but money pits for me ! Now THERE'S where I think the machines can be set to exploit "electronic whim". If you enjoy poker and also table games then I recommend the Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em table game. It's one of my top 2 faves - the other being 3 card poker.
 
It is raining like crazy here in Okinawa. I will be here all week and it's supposed to rain the entire time I'm here....which sucks in more than 1 way since I will have to be outside climbing telecom towers most of the time ! Not looking forward to that very much !

Nope, I'm in first seating

I think we are just going to stick with what we have and save the money

Wow my brain is way off on that one LOL  Sorry for that

Having been on Oasis, Allure is sure to be a wonderful experience all around.  
 
If you're ever wondering where I am at any moment on this cruise, the answer is likely Sabor.