Gears

Thought I would start this thread for fun.  We just got off a ship that I won't name (would not want @twangster to accuse me of blasphemy again ?) and I found myself missing RC desperately. So here goes...
You know that you are loyal to Royal when:
1. You catch yourself constantly referring to the buffet on the unnamed non RC ship as Windjammer. 
2. Every ship you see in the distance looks like an Oasis class ship to you.
3. You stare longingly at every RC ship that you are docked next to and wish you were on it instead. Then you snap pics of it for @Matt's Friday photos even though you are not sailing RC.
4. You catch yourself comparing every single little thing to RC and thinking RC does it better.  Then you start promoting RC to the rest of your sailing party and some crew members. ?
5. You find yourself wanting your sailing to end so you can quickly get on to your next RC cruise! March can't come soon enough!
 
How about the rest of you who love RC? How did you know? 

I was speaking with a Crown & Anchor Rep earlier this morning (C&A points were wrong).  At the end of our chat he said he wanted to remind me of a new perk for D+ that was just added this month.  D+ now includes a free spa treatment !  Apparently this excludes Medi Spa so I'm not sure what it does include but, hey !  I had not heard anything about this anywhere before this morning.
I asked if this new perk is permanent - yes.  I asked if this new perk applies to all D+ in the cabin, even if both are D+ - yes.
It's so nice to have a new perk.  It's been a while !

With the poor use of the Language, this can't be directly from Royal.  It must be from a third party or just flat out inaccurate.  Has anyone seen a correspondence written this poorly from any above board business let alone one as conscientious as RCCL? 

Loriann,
Here's another consideration to take into account, how long will the Allure be in port and how long the excursion will be. Depending on the tides, currents and winds, the ferry ride can take 45 minutes up to 1.5 hours. The ferry goes into Playa Del Carmen (PDC) and PDC is about an hour from the ruins. Sometimes, the excursion tour bus will stop along the way at resorts to pick up additional customers, which will add time. As you can see,  just getting to and from Tulum can take up to 5/6 hours. Add the time at Tulum and you may be cutting it close. 
By the way, welcome aboard, feel free to ask as many questions as you like. You will find a wealth of information here from many seasoned/sun tanned Royal Caribbean cruisers!

This is a 'pick your pain' situation. 
A. Go with your current docs and cross your fingers. If you run into problems you will wish you got those stinking passports.
B. Deal with the near term battle of getting passports. Relax on your vacation.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure anywhere here will be able to give you a conclusive answer, because there is a certain level of subjectivity to what they accept.  That is to say that someone may have been rejected under simliar circumstances, while others may have been given the go-ahead with documents that had more significant discrepancies.
That in mind, my gut is that you'll probably be alright, however my gut doesn't matter here.  What matters is a combination of the requirements (which are a tad fuzzy) and how they're enforced.  You can read here the exact verbiage we got from CBP as well as some of the ambiguities around using a birth certificate.
I'd do one of the two following things to shore up your chances.
Bring more supporting documentation. Have anything with your photo, or even just your DOB which also uses both of your middle names?  Bring it.  If it's a government issued ID, great, but even if it's not - just bring other documents that will, in the event they ask about this (they may not), tie the name on that birth ciertificate with the information on that drivers licence (or vice-versa). As others have mentioned, get a passport.  I know this isn't the one you want to hear, but it's the best possible thing to do.  You'll have no question at that point with regard to your documentation, and you'll prepared in the event that you were to miss the ship, have to leave the cruise early due to a medical emergency, etc.  Being in another country without a passport probably isn't a good time.  They're good for ten years, so divide that cost out across ten years and it's quite reasonable.   Let us know how it ends up working out.  Good luck!

The best way to be sure will be to have a passport.
If you do not have a passport and you willing to pay extra 60 $ for expedite process you can use this service and get it ready for your travel , once you have it you can make sure the name on the passport is identical to the reservation (if not , you can ask RC to change the name)  .
https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/services/expedited.html
Regarding if it will work as RC told you with the driving license/birth certificate   , I can not answer , one of the most problematic thing in RC is to get firm answer  from them.
Hope it will work well for you (most of the chances it will) 

A life size model would be hundreds of metres long...

FAQs say VPNs should work.
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-internet-wifi-speed
Security policy settings on your company's end may prevent it from working also (like where the traffic is coming from).

We've met him as well. My wife and I are trying to figure out how we can do this...

I've sailed both and those ships are practically identical. I would sail either one again any day. That being said, I always fly from DTW, and it is way easier and cheaper to get a flight to MCO than MIA. However, the terminal in Miami is way easier and faster to get to than Port Canerval from the airport.  You could look at it in terms of by saving $375 sailing Allure is that your difference in airfare? Or is it actually more than $375 to sail Oasis because you have to factor in the approx. 45min way to the terminal? Sorry, now I've created more questions for you. Lol. 
Not sure if entertainment choices play a role in your selection but Oasis has Cats and Allure has Mama Mia. Both have their own RC production and the aqua and ice shows are different but still very similar.
In the end, if it were me, I would probably pick Allure over Oasis only because I prefer the ease of getting to the pier. But either way, you wouldn't be missing out much by picking one over the other.  What I would do is sit down and break down all the costs of each ship, factoring the airfare, cost of transportation, and cruise fare. And then factor in the pieces you can't put a price on like ease of getting to the ship, options for flight times etc. Hope that helps a bit and doesn't add to your decision making already ?

Time to plan another cruise!

The "fine print" is worth noting on those packages, won't get the alcohol on board if sailing out of Galveston and isn't available on 15 ships:
 

I like Invicta watches, and have quite a few.  That said, I never purchase one onboard.  If I see one I really want, I will make note of the model number and then check Amazon when I get home.  Always cheaper.
 
 

you broke the first rule of Fight Club

Best way for us Canucks...
Get a US based bank account and a USD credit card. Most of our banks offer this (RBC does). You can usually get an account (again, based in the US) and a no fee USD credit card. The account will generally have a fee, but what you will save very much offsets the fee.
Open a $USD account in Canada, move funds from your $CDN account to your $USD account using your online banking (this is where your conversion happens), then transfer the USD funds from your Canadian based account to your USD account based in the US (again, in your online banking), then pay your USD credit card from your USD account in the US. It's all online, no physical bank.
The best conversion rate is achieved by transferring online from your $CDN account to your $USD account based in Canada (have to do it at some point!). No crappy exchange rate from your $CDN credit card and no foreign exchange fees on top of that. What you will save more than covers the monthly account fees for the US based account multifold. 

We've takin' it over...Hochberg just thinks he runs it. Website updates from an igloo around the tree line...

Speak for yourself.  I resemble that image.  In the late 80s I was grilling a steak in Iqualit at -45.  Poor grill took forever.  

We're back! The wedding was amazing, and we had an absolutely incredible honeymoon. We both really enjoyed the Allure, and agreed that the two weeks were much needed. We didn't feel rushed to do everything on the ship, and the crew was absolutely amazing. If you're going to be boarding soon, visit Antony and Rex in the Schooner as well as Li and Marlon in the Pub! 
A few stray thoughts I had - 
I was really, really impressed with the Oasis class. With most other ships that I've sailed on, they always seemed smaller in person after seeing them on YouTube. That was not the case with this ship. However, as others have mentioned, I really missed being able to see the ocean. It's easy to forget you're on a cruise ship.  All of that said, unless I was cruising with family (particularly family that includes younger family members) or with a very large group, I don't know that I'd book the Oasis class again for just one week.  If you are planning a honeymoon and want to sail on the Oasis class, I very highly recommend either considering sailing a B2B or sailing in a suite.  Our first morning on board, we booked a spa appointment for a couples massage. 10/10 highly recommend - book early morning (8 AM appointment) to save a little bit of $$! It was the best possible way to start the cruise after a stressful day of (same day!) travel following our wedding!  We dined at every specialty restaurant except for Chops (we've done it before) and Samba Grill (not big meat eaters)... and I guess Chef's Table, too, if you count that - I don't think we ever had a bad meal on board, even in the MDR and Windjammer. Our favorite specialty was Izumi (both the hibachi and sushi experiences) as well as Giovanni's Table. They still have a filet on the menu, which my husband (!!) greatly enjoyed. 150 Central Park was also a really wonderful experience and worth doing at least once. We had fun trying all the salts, and the Cucumber Martini really is as good as people have described.  Don't forget the champagne bar! They have a lot of really fun and tasty martinis that are worth a try if you have the drink package!  Food and drink fatigue is so, so real.  Sabor guacamole also really is as good as people have mentioned, but we struggled to eat there for dinner - it's SO MUCH FOOD! We went more than once on Sea Days just to sit at the bar and have guac and margaritas, and that was our lunch!  Not ship related, but port related - If you're going to do anything in Costa Maya that isn't a ship/third party excursion and you want to leave the port, just plan on taking a taxi door to door if you know specifically where  you're going. We had a pretty negative experience on the shuttle. Taxis are $2/pp whereas the shuttle is $3/pp. Walk out of the port area, and immediately there is a taxi stand. Taxis are readily available to bring you back to port as well. I'm sure I'll think of more, but this is off the top of my head. If you have any questions, let me know! :D

When we boarded Allure, they accidentally skipped Diamond and went straight to Emerald 

After checking in at the Cruise Terminal, you will be directed to sit with other guests in the same C&A level as you.  When boarding begins, they board from highest C&A level down to lowest.  
So being in C&A (even at Gold) means you get to board before the unwashed masses non-C&A members.

I see your point, but they need tourism to return.  It is their lifeline.

We've never used anything other than USD. Just take enough on an excursion that you think you need and leave the rest in the safe.
 
I wouldn't be too keen on using a credit card unless I reallllly had to. From a point of view of 'issue avoidance' leave it in the safe...helps prevent a $10,000 cash advance transaction that's not yours from giving you a migraine.
 
Also, many credit cards also have a service fee tacked onto a foreign exchange transaction.
 
Just have an awareness of what the general exchange rate is so that you know you're not getting ripped off. Going beyond that and it turns into more worry than a vacation.

{sarasm:ON} Great first post. {/sarcasm:OFF}