Jump to content

Treehouse of Horror MMXXl-Allure of the Seas Oct 31st 2021- Nov 7th 2021


Ampurp85

Recommended Posts

My title comes from my favorite show and the fact that we actually set sail on Halloween. My favorite holiday, which is weird because I don't like to be scared. I have been vacillating on whether I would do a live blog. I am not sure it will be so live because I am on vacation and I thought there are already enough. However, I had to remind myself that each person indeed a snowflake. While it may seem like there are enough blogs about the various offerings and ships; each experience has been different. So let's get it started in here......

As I write this, my cruise is 107 days away......

Ship and Date: Allure of the Seas Oct 31st-Nov 7th

Departure and Ports: Port Canaveral...PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN.......CHARLOTTE AMALIE, ST. THOMAS........PERFECT DAY AT COCOCAY

 

Cabin: GT-9644 Grand Suite - 2 Bedroom's...aka SKY CLASS

People: Originally 3 and now 5; Me, my brother, my mother, our bff and his mother.....all over 30

Plans: 2 days at WDW, 2 Days at Universal, then 7 Night cruise

Hotel: Floridays resort Orlando, 3 Bedroom suite Oct 24th-Oct 31st

Cruise planner: Guacamole and Sushi classes x2, refreshment packagex1, Snorkel all day CocoCayx3

Intro:

So I booked this cruise in Feb of 2020 on a whim. Got an incredible deal on this sky class suite. Then Covid happened and the 4 cruises I had planned before this were cancelled. I was afraid this one would fall through the cracks but thankfully it looks like a go! We were taking this cruise as a late birthday present to our mother. We decided to grant her wish of attending both theme parks. This had been my mother's dream vacation for as long as I could remember and as 2020 went on, we realized we should try to do all the things we love, when we can. So I planned theme parks visit before the cruise, we would definitely need to relax after battling both WDW and Universal. In late Aug 2020 bff's mother had a mild heart attack, coupled with Covid; thankfully she survived but we all lost people. That was a rough year for all and bff mentioned he wish he could afford to take his mom on vacation. As the vacation planner, I went to work. Having been on these boards and learning from some of the best, I found the perfect solution. At the time, Sept 20' it was $1400pp just to book an interior on Allure. This wasn't a bad price but they wouldn't be able to eat in CK, visit the lounge or enjoy the suite deck with us. I started a topic about possibly adding them to our suite as it holds 8. Thankfully, I was able to add them at the 3rd person rate of $859pp. Now came the hard part, telling my mother. She had met bff but never his mother, she was going to have to spend 2 weeks with her. I probably should have ran this by her before we said okay but I am a sucker for helping people live their best life.  Thankfully they met and become best friends.

So I guess I should start off by saying a few things. Most of the time I travel solo, I am fat, and normally a very bougie girl. That means at least a 4-star hotel and 1st class on domestic flights. I only get 3 weeks of vacation a year and prefer experiences over things. However, none of the rest of my travel party is like that. My brother would fly on top of a wheel if he could pay something like $5. It is not that he is cheap... it is that he is a gourmand and a nice whiskey drinker, so he would rather spend his money on that. The most expensive airline ticket he brought was to Osaka round trip at $627. Our bff and his mother have never taken a vacation...bff went on a business trip to Orlando and snuck in a day at the theme park once. We took (aka paid for everything) our mother to Italy in 2017 and that was her only vacation and first time flying. I said all that to say I lost the battle for a decent airline and class. .....we are flying Spirit airline. I flew them once because of an AA accident and definitely missed all the accoutrements I am used too. I have been told that while service is still bare-bones, they have gotten better. I am use to everything being included in flight price so it was weird to have to bundle up to get checked bags and a carry-on. I also upgraded so I can have what they consider their first class....a Big Seat. We have the first flight of the day, which means it should be on-time and thankfully we aren't flying in the day of the cruise.

So none of them have ever been on RCG and 3 have never even been on a cruise. Both mothers are occasion drinkers aka they will have champagne on New years, maybe a glass of wine at fancy dinner. Outside of that they only drink sparkling water and sometimes juices. Brother and bff are heavy-ish drinkers, I like smoothies and stuff. I was on the phone with a rep and she wouldn't allow 3 refresh packages and 2 DBP. Tried another rep and was same answer. Tried the third time and rep was willing to reverse it, 3 at UBP and 2 at refreshment. Since the mother's don't really drink anything, even though they said yes, $29(w gratuity) a day was too much of an obligation for them. They would be forcing themselves to drink just to get monies worth. After a little back and forth we decided to just supplement the suite lounge a la cart. Leaving me with the only beverage package because I needs my frozen drinks and such. We originally had a 3 night dining package. My brother doesn't eat red meat, both mothers decided they were going to eat tons of junk at the theme park and lighter on the cruise. BFF is funny, he doesn't fool with "business" aka vegetables or anything frou frou. So we cancelled the 3 night dining package as 3/5 people at any given time didn't like the choices. My brother and bff are fans of sushi, so they are signed up for that class and the guacamole one as well. After showing some menus, we plan to eat at CK at least 5 nights. Try the Windjammer, if it is open during our sailing and do a la cart at whatever specialty restaurant floats our boat. I would prefer if we could take care of this beforehand but 5 adults, 5 different personalities. Right now we only have snorkeling at CocoCay as a paid excursion. We figured after the parks, the ship is our destination.

As things progress I plan to update this blog. I expect a lot of food pictures....maybe a few of us if I feel like it.?

Thanks for reading TTFN

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

103 days to go....

I should forewarn all of you reading this that I will be putting prices, math and numbers in my blog. I personally like knowing what something cost, it helps in my planning.

I contacted my TA at MEI to put final payment through this week. It won't be due until Aug 2nd but I don't like to push things off to the deadline. My travel companions and I are getting together for dinner this week. The plan is to try to get them to agree on some CP items, so I can purchase early and save.

Our pre-crusie, all theme park stay will be at Floriday's Resort Orlando. My plan was to stay at the Hyatt House across from Universal Orlando Resort, since there were only 3 of us. When we added the 2 extra people, they wanted to stay together and do an AirBnB...I didn't want to have to cook and clean, etc on vacation. I went about looking for something that would make all of us happy. It just so happen I was searching for this during black Friday and came across Floriday's. We are staying in a 3-bedroom, 2 bathroom suite with all the fixins'.  At 1,300 square feet we will have plenty of space to be free, while enjoying hotel-like amenities. I was able to score a deal of $221/N with early check in, late check out and free breakfast for 2 adults. I really wanted early/late check in and out because of how our plane arrives and because I knew it was a possibility we might not be able to check in early for the cruise. With RCG pushing departure back to 7pm on Allure and the earliest check-in time possibly being at 1pm, this really worked out in my favor. Score one for being overly cautious. Original plan was to rent a car, but at over $800 before fees, gas and insurance we decided nobody really wanted to drive in Florida traffic. The resort offers a shuttle to Disney and other attractions but we plan to use Uber and Lyft, I don't like waiting for other people on shuttles. Our plan is to be at the parks all day. The resort is located at 12562 International Dr Orlando and if anybody has any suggestions for good restaurants, I would definitely appreciate them. ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Our pre-crusie, all theme park stay will be at Floriday's Resort Orlando. My plan was to stay at the Hyatt House across from Universal Orlando Resort,. Our plan is to be at the parks all day. The resort is located at 12562 International Dr Orlando and if anybody has any suggestions for good restaurants, I would definitely appreciate them. ?

If you like Mexican food try Antojitos at Universal Citywalk. And of course VooDoo donuts for dessert. Yum!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@cdixon22I honestly cannot think of a person who doesn't like Mexican food in some capacity, thanks for the suggestions. Is VooDoo donuts that place that has a donut with a chili on top? I saw a YouTube review awhile back about Universal reopening and the girl tried some weird donuts, like a donut grilled cheese.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

@cdixon22I honestly cannot think of a person who doesn't like Mexican food in some capacity, thanks for the suggestions. Is VooDoo donuts that place that has a donut with a chili on top? I saw a YouTube review awhile back about Universal reopening and the girl tried some weird donuts, like a donut grilled cheese.

Ha - no nothing too weird. Some with bacon and some with cereal, etc. The special universal studios orange one is my favorite-filled with vanilla pudding. ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Day 90..............also my sweet baby Senator Meowkin's 1st birthday

 

So I checked in for our cruise today, got the 1pm slot. BFF and his mother haven't received their passports yet but should sometime in the next week or so. So their check-in is not 100% complete; but at least our arrival time is set. I have setsail pass for the rest of us and like that it says Sky class and also that we will be getting a gold card. I can say that regardless of all the uncertainty, sort of restrictive protocols, and looming testing requirements we are still very excited. The plan so far is to hit up either CVS or Walgreens for our pre-boarding test either that Thursday or Friday since we will already be in Florida before we sail. I hate to contribute to waste but I think I will by a box of disposable mask, since I will not be able to wash my reusable ones on the ship. I know the sailing isn't until Oct and things may change but I would appreciate any info on testing sites by people who live in FL or will visit before us.

20210418_083819.thumb.jpg.1ff3e3cd034638f1821bc8ad6bff1765.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a link Matt's posted in another thread. https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/community-based-testing-sites/index.html

 

My experience was testing at my local CVS for travel in mid July, no problem. I sheduled PCR and antigen test and wasn't charged (as of yet).  I haven't done the research to determine if I'll be billed for it later as it wouldn't affect whether or not I took the test, but going in it all appeared to be at no charge. Will update here if I get a bill. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Day 73...........

So last week I saw that a 2br aqua suite was available and thought about upgrading. But by the time I made my decision, the WOW sale happened and I was out of luck. I consoled myself with the notion that star class is better on full capacity ships ? I also realized that I probably will never get a better deal than what I paid for this room. I snagged this room for $7100 for 5 people and that includes taxes, port fees and gratuity.......$400 worth of OBC. With the WOW sale it was going to be $11,930. So I keep reminding myself that when others get price adjustments, I had already snagged a pretty good deal.

Our Guac and Sushi making classes have been cancelled. I guess the CDC believes they can't happen because of social distancing but it makes absolutely no sense. Thankfully we didn't want to do the UDP because it has also been sold out from our sailing for over a week now. I kept hearing that because Windjammer isn't open for dinner the specialty restaurants have been slammed and reservations are wonky. Can't wait to get my concierge email so I can have them get us a standing CK reservation each night. I keep hearing conflicting reports of whether the SL is open 11-11pm. On the 8/8 sailing they said there was only a happy hour from 4-8pm.  Hopefully that was a first revenue-cruise-back kink because people currently on the 8/15 sailing say that it is, just that they have to go out to make drinks. We have a stop in St. Thomas so it looks like our sailing will be vax only. Really looking forward to this vacation, after 2 years it is much needed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Day 58......

 

Super excited with less than 2 months to go, although it won't officially be real until I step on the ship. It is nice to countdown and the closer it gets the more real it becomes. The UDP has come back for this sailing, with the current CP sale it is only $196pp. They are also selling the Key but I pretty sure they will cancel it. They are selling Beach club passes for $179. Even though I am afraid of heights, I ended up booking the Up, Up and Away helium balloon ride for us, its $74pp. This is wishful thinking as I don't know what the weather will be like at CocoCay in Nov. On my FB roll call a bunch of people have had to cancel because their children don't meet vax requirements. I also have heard the Royal Up emails have started to go out. I am always checking the current sale for price drops and I noticed a lot of suite are available, a few months ago nothing was left. 

In Chicago we would have very little issue getting a covid test in the appropriate time frame. However, we will be in Orlando visiting the theme parks prior to our cruise. We decided against renting a car, no one wanted to drive in Florida traffic, so it might be hard to find a testing locating near our resort. Factor that in with the possibility of RCG going to 2-day testing and we decided it will be better to just do the BinaxNow home test. I tried the test as I had to have a negative test for conference. It was very easy and stress free. My company gave each one of us a 2pk. Since they do 24/7 proctoring and I am both a night owl and early bird, I had no issue with getting someone. They recommend having 2 test pp in case something happens. I purchased a 6pk yesterday and my brother purchased a 6pk today. That will give us 12 test to be split amongst 5 people. The 6pk cost $164.44 with overnight shipping, that averages out to about $55pp. I am very much sure that will not be a better deal then trying to get tested at the pier, at an urgent care or at an airport. I have a S2S in Jan and will be able to use the 2 left over test if testing is still needed. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Day 48.......

My Emed test came on sept 7th since it was a holiday weekend. I forgot that they also apply taxes to the shipment which brought the total to $179.93 per 6pk or $59.98 per person. I read a couple of live blogs where people who scheduled PCR/antigen test didn't get their results in time and had to pay $200+ for results at the airport or port. That's too much stress to be dealing with when I am supposed to be on vacation. They have the lot number and dates on the actual box it comes in and with the 3 month extension my test expires Jan 5th 2022. This really sucks because my Indy cruise leaves the 10th and I have 2 left over test that I was planning to use. Since we got the home proctored test, we decided it makes no sense to cut into our days at WDW trying to find a facility to do the required test. We all have 5G phones and there should be no issues with connection...hopefully. They also opened boarding up: our original time was 1pm and we switched that to 12:30pm but because we are in a suite, we plan to board an hour early. We also have a new tab on the app that says Be ready to board, this is a review of the health and safety protocols...which seems like the October protocols based on the information presented. Luggage and packing cubes have been moved to bedroom closet, they are eagerly waiting to be put into commission. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Day 32.......

Well technically it is only 25 days to vacation as we start are Disney World vacation on the 25th of October......

October protocols were released and there were no changes. New boarding times did open up and I was finally able to snag a noon boarding time. BFF and BFF's mother have finally received their passports and I was able to update their check-in. Just a note: they made an appointment with the post office, paid for not only expedited service but also next day delivery and it took 8 weeks start to finish. Each one was over $200, which considering it took a while still, wasn't worth it IMHO. BFF was upset because his coworker applied in early Aug and received passport Sept 25th without paying extra. So as far as passports go YMMV. Some of our party decided they would like to pee their pants and be chased by maniacs so they purchased tickets to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal on Oct 29th. I love Halloween and will be dressing up when we board the ship, my go-to for Halloween has always been Harley Quinn....not the new movie version with the pink and blue hair and general craziness. But the black and red jester from the late 90s and early 2000s cartoon and comics. However that requires make-up and in the FL humidity.....nope. So I am going to keep it simple and go as a witch, while BFF with be a Day of the Dead witch. My brother is vacillating between Jesus and his go-to, nice ghost. If you are wondering what a nice ghost is, it is a ghost that sings showtunes and talks in a Broadway-style voice. My mother will be a 1940s nurse and BFF mother is an actual nurse, so she is wearing her scrubs. Eagerly awaiting the passage of time until I actually step foot on my first RCG cruise ship in over two years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Day 12......

Technically I am 5 days away from vacation. But 12 from sailing away. Possibly 7 days away from getting our concierge email.

We uploaded our Vax cards into the app. I keep checking the menus, the Windjammer doesn't show for dinner, so it looks like our sailing is still under 50%. I was hoping to do two whole weeks with just a backpack and carry-on luggage. I don't know why I thought that was happening. Maybe I was a bit delusional and hopeful. I had a recent physical and I have lost of 50lbs since this whole covid thing started. I figured since all my clothes are smaller, I could fit more in the luggage.....then I remember I was going on a cruise. The appropriate amount of compression capris and summer dresses start to add up. So I now have a luggage(carry-on), a weekender, and a backpack. Still pretty light packing, if I do say so myself.

All the apps are downloaded and ready, luggage tags and set sail passes are printed. My sweet baby Senator Meowkin's left today to be with her babysitter. I sent her there early, so that she could get used to her while we are still here in case problems arise. Everyone but mother, last day was this past Monday, has to work in some capacity until we fly out. Appointments for mani's and pedi's are scheduled for Friday. We will be some of the first people, regular none vlogger types, to try Disney's new Genie+  and Lightning Lane experience. The app has all my suggestions and when we step into the park on Mon the 25th, they will have "planned" our day. I think Disney stole RCG idea. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is basically a spying A.I. that will hopefully make your Disney experience much smoother.

The Lightening Lanes(LL) have replaced FastPast and for $15 each day it allows you to use fast lanes to board the rides. Some rides will have a la carte LL that can be purchased for in-demand rides. It has a max cost of $15, each, and you can buy 2 of these a day regardless of how many parks you visit. You can schedule and pay for all of this in the app. You can use LL for like 40 rides across all the parks.

So the new Genie+ app ask you about the things you like based on categories and interest. After you answer all of those questions the app will use these preferences in conjunction with real time data, categorical data, and past data. So once you step foot in the park it will populate your day with recommendations and give you real time information. It will take into consideration where you are, what pace you are walking, and how things are running. It will do this for everyone and therefore, you shouldn't have to worry about the information being wrong since it is personalized for you. You can make dining reservations and it will schedule rides/entertainment around them. It will tell you wait times and tell if a ride will have a lower wait time later.  You can do as little or as much as you want and it will be constantly updating. It went live yesterday and while I am at my hair appointment I plan to watch vlogs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 5....

I received my email from the concierge on Sunday. I let them know that we would like dinner at CK around 8 and all the shows booked after that. I have not heard back from  but hopefully I won't have to book anything when I board.

Now pre-travel...

Let me say I am never traveling Spirit again, if we vacation together again, I will make sure we fly a real airline. The flight was 40min delayed, they changed terminals 15min before boarding and they had us line up to board before the plan had disembarked. We had checked bags and they were 45min delayed in getting them on the baggage terminal. So in total two hours and forty-five minutes after we were supposed to land, we were in an Uber to our resort. So it was a fully wasted day because by the time we got to the resort, unpacked and ate it was 6pm so no WDW. I was pretty bummed but it is, what it is.

Today we are heading to WDW, going to try out the new LL(Lighting Lanes) and the Genie service.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 3......

I heard back from the concierge and they have a tentative plan for my week.  Hopefully everything is great and I get the times I want. The app has updated day one to include some offerings. I also noticed that the Windjammer now has evening times, so I am assuming this sailing is at or over 50%. Even though I stressed day in and day out that we needed our physical vax card to board, someone didn't bring theirs and is having it mailed to the resort. Now let's talk about this resort......

After spending 3 nights here so far I would give it maybe a 6.8/10. The resort is is very roomy with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. We also have a washer/dryer, kitchen with limited kitchen equipment and a ship size balcony. The balcony really bothers me as it is only big enough to hold 3 people when the room could hold up to 10 people. The logic in that baffles me. The beds are a meh, some are firm an others offer no support. The kitchen has a single cup coffee maker, a few plates and utensils but hardly any pots or pans to cook with. The washer and dryer is quite laughable as we can only fit maybe 4 of our pool towels in the washer at a time. I think the worst thing is that there is no maid service, if you want the room cleaned you have to do it yourself or pay $45-60 each time and they only empty the garbage and supply towels during this process. I found all of this funny because it is a resort designed for families, imagine if you have a group of 8 with children; you would be spending most of your vacation cleaning or washing and drying.

My plan was to ride a few rides, catch a few shows and eat a bunch of Disney treats. We spent so much time try to corral 2 members of our party that I only ate 1 item from 2/4 parks. The corn dogs at Casey's Corner and the Lunch Tart at Woody's Lunchbox. Never got to try any Mickey treat or Dole whips. We had 3 days booked for Disney and I was excited to try out their new Genie/Genie + service. We lost a day due to all the delays so we were determine to make up the difference. Side bar I am a solo traveler, if the plan is to leave at 8am, I expect it to be followed through and I am a stickler on time. We have never been on time  for anything. Genie planned our day and kept glitching because they weren't consistent at all. With so many people in the park, we weren't able to do but 3 things on our planned itinerary and I personally felt it was a complete waste of money as the first day we rode 4 rides across 2 parks and saw zero shows. Yesterday I left the rest of the party and was able to ride 8 rides across 2 parks using the Genie + service. So this service replaced fast pass but it is nothing but a money grabbing scheme. With Genie+ you pay $15pp per day and you make reservation to skip the standby lines. You can only make 1 reservation at a time or every 2 hours, then after you check in you can make another. The most popular rides have a la cart pricing, so you can't use the $15 Genie + to book Space Mountain, you will pay $7-15 pp to book. So basically if you want to bypass the long lines and ride the popular rides you have to pay $15 + individual prices. So you could easily add another $140 on top of your park hopper ticket price per person to be able to enjoy the parks.

Today is another shitshow as we were suppose to leave at 6:30am, we had an hour early access, to get to Universal. But I started writing this entry at 6:30 so of course we haven't left.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

I think the worst thing is that there is no maid service, if you want the room cleaned you have to do it yourself or pay $45-60 each time and they only empty the garbage and supply towels during this process.

Forgive me for not remembering....but where is this hotel ?  Is it a Disney property ?

This is one of my biggest peeves right now.  Of course I understand the whole plague scare and all of that but basically the fear of physical contact-contracting COVID has long ago been debunked and yet the service industry is still using that scare factor to simply reduce services and STILL charge the same price OR MORE.  It's really unacceptable.  Businesses are cutting costs and customers are just accepting it.  Sorry you are experiencing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm with you on the traveling solo. I know what I'm getting into when I travel with a group and I just resign myself to the fact that I'm on someone else's time schedule. I won't even agree to be the ringleader or make the decisions because it will frustrate me when no one sticks to the plans anyways.

For me, it's all about maximizing my time and getting the most out of the day, especially at the theme parks. I've really only encountered a handful of others who have the same mindset.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

I won't even agree to be the ringleader or make the decisions because it will frustrate me when no one sticks to the plans anyways.

Yep this is me unless I'm doing Disneyland alone or with just one other. I keep a list in my notes of which rides I do per visit and anything under 15 was the result of poor time management. On days when I'm alone, I get so much more done! (Best ever - 28 rides on Nov 1, 2018, lol)

Sorry you had a rough start, @Ampurp85, I so hope your day turned around at Universal! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@WAAAYTOOOThe Floriday's Resort, it is a Disney Good neighbor hotel that is really designed for large families. Don't get me wrong it is a nice clean place but with Covid rules and such it is hard to get what you want.

Today we did Universal and I did what I wanted and was able to do all the rides in both parks by 2:30. Then a horrible downpour happened and we all ended up soaked and decided to call it a day. None of us want to be sick with the rain and constant cold, wet, and hot temps from going in and out of the rides. We decide to just eat the cost of Halloween horror night tickets and stay in until we leave for our cruise Sun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 0...Embarkment day!!

 

So we are currently packing up the last stragglers and getting ready to head out for breakfast. In a few hours we will embark on my first cruise in over 2 years and the rest of my traveling parties first cruise ever. Everyone is beyond excited and although we planned to get a good nights rest, many of us have been up since around 6am. We have tags on the luggage, printouts of negative test and set sail passes, and we have watched the E-Muster. FB says this sailing will be around 3300 which is over 50% and I am glad to be able to sail on a reduce capacity oasis class sailing.

My plan is to update our progress a little bit after we check-in but don't hold me to that. I may be having so much fun and forget.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greetings from the Allure!!!

So I am going to do a lite entry. We arrived much later than I wanted, will go into detail about that later. The line was longer than it should have been for 11:15am and there were quite a few people who didn't have 12pm boarding or priority but they let them on. We had a problem because there was 5 of us in the room and we waited quite a bit. We started at 11:17 and was on the ship by 11:48 and eating in Windjammer about 3 minutes later. Our rooms were ready at 1:04 and the suite is amazing. Crew have been amazing and little to no lines have been anywhere. Currently enjoying several sparkling wines in the Suite lounge, will be leaving to check out the ship before sail away. I will say people have NOT been doing the eMuster, at about 4pm there where 300 guest who hadn't completed it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Greetings from the Allure!!!

So I am going to do a lite entry. We arrived much later than I wanted, will go into detail about that later. The line was longer than it should have been for 11:15am and there were quite a few people who didn't have 12pm boarding or priority but they let them on. We had a problem because there was 5 of us in the room and we waited quite a bit. We started at 11:17 and was on the ship by 11:48 and eating in Windjammer about 3 minutes later. Our rooms were ready at 1:04 and the suite is amazing. Crew have been amazing and little to no lines have been anywhere. Currently enjoying several sparkling wines in the Suite lounge, will be leaving to check out the ship before sail away. I will say people have NOT been doing the eMuster, at about 4pm there where 300 guest who hadn't completed it.

So glad you finally made it !!!  I know you're going to have an amazing time.  ENJOY !!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I decided I will add any pictures when I get home. I am beyond happy to be back on a cruise. The first day was amazing.

After going back to the rooms, we put away our belongings and met our stateroom attendant Arturo. He was so happy to meet us and knew us by name. My party members found this to be amazing, I hated to burst their bubbles and inform them about the check-in. You know, where they take your picture, so the crew can easily identify you. We told him about the sleeping arrangements and I gave him a gift to get us off on the right foot.... well that was already happening as crew all throughout have been amazing.

We are in a 2br suite on deck 9, and I can confirm the sofa bed is a nice sleeping situation. Sky class have beautiful royal purple cards. My brother quickly messed up and figured out how to make an espresso, while many of us showered and got dressed. We met Cory the CD and he told us not miss anything, I told him we already failed, he laughed out of courtesy. I had a tequila sunrise and a lemon drop, plus so much sparkling wine. We explored the ship until our 8pm standing reservations at CK. Many children and adults were dressed for Halloween, I had on a festive headband and a black dress to look like a witch. I just loved that on our floor there was a group of upper aged women dressed like 1920s hookers and loving it...flapper dresses and fishnet stockings. Later in the night they rung our doorbell several times in confusion, they had a great Halloween and first night on the ship.

Sail away was prompt at 7pm and we couldn't even feel the ship move, if we hadn't been watching, we wouldn't have know we had left. Soon as we sat for dinner, we started to feel everything, ship has been doing 20/23 knots so maybe that is why. We did pop into the Halloween party and it was a little meh, I heard the parade is a lot better. They say we have a little over 3000 on board but other than a bit of a traffic jam trying to capture the promenade Halloween decorations, I don't feel it.

Everyone of you who loves CK is right!!!!

The staff were amazing. We had the filet, cauliflower, branzino and grilled chicken. Nothing was disappointing. We ended up taking dessert back to the room because we were stuffed. Since our time was at 8pm, it wasn't full at all and we had a wonderful table, with an amazing view. After checking out the Halloween Bash and getting a drink at Beloros, we retired to the room and sat on the balcony until we decide it was bed time.

Suite lounge has the 11-11pm and if you are like my party who tips well, they allow you to take the drinks to go. They knew us and our room number the second time we came in for dinner. I can't say too much how amazing the crew have been. You can see genuine smiles in their eyes even with the mask. They will make great recommendations and they are beyond helpful if you need it.

We are getting ready for breakfast. Today's only plans are the Headliner and casino. I will post more later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@SpeedNoodlesI will when we head that way later, im currently on the suite deck enjoying the views and a Mai Tai.

@WAAAYTOOO  The first timers have fatigue. They tried so much food and drinks the first night, I said to pace yourself, that they are feeling it today. I'm the only person that made it to breakfast.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay so lets talk about day 2 which was another sea day. Nobody made it to breakfast because they did too much the night before. They promised they were coming and I waited almost 45min in CK for them. I ended up eating alone. The same thing happened for lunch. This has been a current occurrence on this vacation, only reiterating why I cruise and vacation solo. We spent the day exploring the ship, mostly separate, lounging on the suite deck and our balcony. I had drinks at the sand bar and the suite bar, they were stronger at the suite bar. I hit the casino and hit a small jackpot so I am up right now....we will see if it continues that way for the remainder of the cruise

So I am going to post this as it has put a major damper on my trip

In my younger years I was a waitress, I always tip well and take care of those who take care of me. I still tip when service is basic too. Having been in that position, I have a standard of service that makes experiences amazing to me. I know from serving that each person has a style and I think the mark of a wonderful server is to read the room. My biggest pet peeve is servers who speak to guest like they are stupid, ordering things for them, constantly at the table and interrupting conversations, etc. Since most of the party is newbies, we came to a collective and ate in the MDR night 2. I felt our waiter was extra, he tried to read the menu to us, kept mentioning about giving a 10/10 and brought food he liked to the table for us to try....which is fine but he kept pestering us to try it and standing around, hoovering waiting. He delivered the food and started talking so by the time we started eating, at least in my case, the food was barely warm. I told my party this rubbed me the wrong way and my preference was to enjoy my meal with little interaction and then go to the headliner show. They got super offended with me because they felt he wasn't doing anything wrong. They basically said I was a horrible person because I suggested they tip him and I tip the assistant waiter. None of them are talking to me because they wouldn't allow me to explain why I didn't enjoy this service. They have felt like all the crew have been extra but suggestion something is not the same as saying "no, no, you don't get that, try this." I mention my irritation after the ordering process and then again when he wouldn't stop talking after delivering the food. I think it is rude to eat when the waiter is there asking questions. I was basically reamed out for not having sympathy for this guy and could only sit through a little bit of the Headliners because I couldn't rally. I basically went back to the room and cried all night. I mean we have been late to everything, they have complained and wasted my money and time. Yet I make two comments and I am implied to be prejudice and the worst. I don't want to spend any time with them as no one cared about embarrassing me, they tried to force me into saying my peeves while he was standing there.

Everyone's perspective is different, so maybe I was wrong, has anyone else experienced this and felt that way? I have never experienced anything like this, so the plan is to go to the casino and see if that will turn my emotions around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Everyone's perspective is different, so maybe I was wrong, has anyone else experienced this and felt that way? I have never experienced anything like this, so the plan is to go to the casino and see if that will turn my emotions around.

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I hope you're able to salvage the rest of your cruise and and enjoy the time you have left. My DH would go apoplectic if a waiter did that to us. If we need something we'll ask for it. And the party that came with you are terribly inconsiderate and disrespectful wasting your time waiting around for them. 😒

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am really so sorry to hear that things got off to a rocky start.  I know HOW MUCH you have planned, stressed, prepared and PAID getting ready for this cruise.  I could feel the excitement and your love for cruising in your words and I know you wanted to share all of it with your family.  There is just NOTHING worse than putting so much energy into something for OTHERS and then having them totally not appreciate your effort at all.

I happen to agree with you about servers.  I love when they are friendly and interested in helping but I don't want to engage in small talk with them.  I don't really enjoy discussing "how my day went" with them.  If I ask for suggestions for food, that is one thing but I don't really care about their opinions as I am usually very VERY familiar with the menu(s) and usually know what I want.  If I have a question, I will ask.  Take my order, deliver the food and be gone.

Having been the organizer of many group cruises, this is what I have discovered.  I will NOT try and organize peoples' daily activities.  I will decide what I want to do, invite anyone who would like to participate to come along or join me later, and then do whatever the f'k I want to do.  Another thing I have learned is that when my family disagrees with my opinion on something (my daughter is a die-hard vaxxer) I just avoid that topic and try and talk about something else.  That's about all you can do.

I truly hope this will not discourage you from doing family or group cruises again.  It is really a lot of fun to have friends and family around but it just isn't worth my sanity to be in charge of their activities.  I hope that your family enjoys the cruise and that it gets better for all of you over the next few days.  It sounds like they all made the classic mistake of hitting it too hard on the first day/night and then paying the price.  I spend waaaytooo much money for a cruise to lose time to that kind of poor decision !!!

My best to you and to your family.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...