FManke

Where has he been?

See Darkcabbie, I told you I was going to leave it to an expert! Gravy on fries are half way to poutine, just add the cheese curds! Now you're talking! YUM!

I'll take it!

I'll leave this one to an expert. Coneyraven, this one is all yours.

And don't the sale prices usually indicate that the savings are a % off of on ship prices?

True

That's a good plan. I did the same and wound up rebooking my refreshment plan, 3 excursions and three specialty dinners and saved about $200. With your sailing dates I would imagine it will go on sale, later in the year. Just as an example though, the refreshment package is on sale for the third time now since I booked in Feb.

Make it a virgin and spicy and I'm all in!

You might have better luck as it gets closer to sailing. If they have a 4th of July sale, you know they are going to have a Labor Day sale.

Man, you are old!

I guess if your from Maryland, you put that on everything!

Bought these on your recommendation, rjac! Only 96 days left before I can use them!

I don't know, but I'd like them to run a contest to see how many days the site can go without it crashing or freezing up!

I'd say mine is going to be the first drink I have on my very first cruise! (Non alcoholic, of course)

They can get any espresso type drinks on the refreshment package, just not from a branded Starbucks shop on board. Sorry I don't know specifically about Allure, but somebody should be along shortly to help you more with specifics.

Sorry I missed that. You are right about the Ritz-Carlton name. Alone it is just a name. I guess the only difference is that it truly looks like a ship, rather than the barge like vessels of a river cruise. Still interesting that a least someone is looking at building smaller ships again, albeit with a price range that most of us could not afford. At least not afford to cruise as much as some of us like to cruise.

We will have jackets with us, since it will be Oct in New England/Canada. I was asking more just in general for shirt types for myself as I am always hot. I guess mostly polos and throw in a light sweater, just in case. Although we are expecting it to be fairly cool, I've heard from some, it can actual be anywhere from cold to very warm that time of year. I guess a last minute check of the weather will be a must, before packing.

I did read that article, pretty interesting. And your right, less people and a bigger ship means more space. If you haven't already, you should check out the article online about the cruise ship Ritz-Carlton is launching in 2019. Small, all suites and I'm sure, very expensive. Looks pretty nice for when one of us hits the Lotto!

I know this is probably an objective question, but, what is the general temperature on board the ships, in the common areas? Is it what you would expect in a typical office or retail building? Does it depend on the location of the ship, like a warm or cool weather destination?

In that case, my father in law has been on a few and has spoke highly of Viking River Cruises, for what it's worth.

From everything that I've seen, it seems like the river cruises are really directed towards adults. I think kids would be really bored on one. But that's just my uneducated opinion.

Wow, that's really saying something!

I know that they offer it on our Oct sailing on Serenade.

I actually heard the movie about 8 times before I actually saw it for the first time. We had it on dvd and my sons watched it to and from a family vacation to upper Michigan. I got to listen from the drivers seat.

I believe it does have the name of the "owner" on it. As long as whoever's name is on the card, orders the drink, whatever you do with the drink after that is up to them.