Looks like a very fun evening! I am really wanting to sail this ship!!!
Oh you sure should! You wont regret it! Such an awesome cruise!!!
The kids look like they are having a blast! How cool that you ran into Sarah's group on their field trip! (Oh, and I spotted Minnie on Sarah's "bed"!)
Oh my goodness, Minnie went through quite the ordeal. More on that coming up!
Yes Sarah had a lot of fun- this was her first time in a real kid's club and not the nursery. We didnt know they would be going on little "field trips" like that. It even looked fun to me- LOL!
Hi! Welcome Back!
Looks like the kid's club was having a great space walk! What cuties!
Thanks girl! LOL, I am slowly coming around, I was in quite a post holiday work and clean and organize funk there. We aren't quite done, there are still some old baby toys to go through and donate. Maybe this weekend....
It sounds like your kids had a great time at the Oceaneer's club? Fun character interaction. Not sure what to think about that towel bat!
They did! LOL about the bat, I thought the same thing.
Pic of Sara eating the fancy mousse out of the fancy glass is adorable!
Hee hee, I'm wishing I had some of the mousse right about now. Mmmmm!
hhhhmmmmm......no "Mon-kee" kissin on my upcomin adventure
What? NONE? Now what fun is that? LOL!
see below trip report ...in my signature .....and follow along if ya want -
(or will there be??
)
That's more like it!
But
b 4 I go, any suggestions on what
hmmmmm
how I say.......
what adult beverages I should try???
(I am relying on your expertise here since you have been on this adventure while yours truely havent yet)
meaning:
I tried my very first Miata (did I spell that right) while in Maui last month....
also I tried my very first Mango 'rita.....
and bananna /macadamia nut pancakes in Oahu.....
so any food recommendations as well??
I appreciate any suggestions -
Been real......
ok....we now return you to your regular scheduled programming
.
THANK YOU .....and yes.....all of ye can chime in if ya want.
T.T.F.N.
LOL, let's see I'm always down for a good Bushwhacker or Painkiller! Those are more of an "Eastern" Caribbean drink to me than a Western though. To me, the Westerns are all bout the Te-KILL-ya! So Ritas of all kind, all around!
Just found this thread and have been reading for the last 2 days. WOW!!
Thanks for stopping by! So glad you are enjoying it!
What a ship!! We have just got off our first cruise on the Disney Dream in December for 4 nights and seen this boat at Nassau. We could not believe the size of the Allure!!
She is a monster, no doubt about it!
We had a great time on the Disney Dream and could not see and do everything we wanted on this cruise. We would be lost on a boat that size and would not know what to do first.
Oh I agree- 4 days is not enough. That is why we decided to forego the Dream for now and wait for the Fantasy. We just cant go below 7 night cruises anymore! Haha! Actually the ship wasn't too bad- it was easy to get to know what was where- although I think having sailed on a RCCL Freedom class ship prior helped keep us oriented. I didn't find going up and down the ship bad but sometimes I dreaded going aft to forward and vice versa. It wasn't bad when walking through the Promenade or Central Park but those long boring stateroom hallway walks- I thought I was in a never ending tunnel!
When I seen the Allure I was thinking a cruise on a boat that size would cost to much but it sounds like it may be cheaper than booking a cruise on the Fantasy?
for sure, it can be depending on when you book. Our cruise on Allure (2 rooms Cat D2 and L) cost a little over $4700. And our Fantasy cruise? Cost almost identical. Of course our Fantasy cruise was booked waaay back when - we got in the unannounced pre-TA booking period last Feb. and got a great deal. The prices are a lot higher now.
For the most part RCCL prices on the big ships are like
DCL- they start at the lowest tier and continue to go up. So book as early as you can for the best deals!
We have alot to think about now thanks for this thread.
I can't wait until you post more about your trip!!
We have friends going on the same Fantasy cruise your going on.
Awesome, we are starting to get excited for the Fantasy! it still seems so long off, and until she actually starts her voyages she doesn't seem quite real to me yet.
Holy Catch Up batman.. I dont mean the kind I put on a burger.. wow I have been so busy I have missed so much.. But iM back.. and as I was reading E kept looking over my shoulders going, we NEED to get on that boat.. ya think!
Ummm...yea you guys do! 9/22/13? Yes?
I like you are so glad the holidays are over. I think when we do so much for the darn holidays its hard to enjoy them. Now I can get back to business. Work, gym and trip reports! Maybe not in that order LOL
Ha, I hear you, I am just totally wiped out. Next year I actually get the week before Christmas off- previously unheard of in postal land. I'm gonna need it, next year is my year to host!
Sav loved Elfis so much she begged me to do it next year. Not sure I'll be as creative as you. You don't mind if I reuse some of your awesome ideas do you? LOL! Elfis redux! Ah, but yeah for now- so glad its over!
Thank you for this awesome thread! We booked a B2B on the Allure for Spring Break 2013! It's going to be soooooo awesome. 1 week without the kids (just DH and I) and then 1 week with the kids!!! We just cannot wait.
450 days to go!
Oh I am so envious- a B2B is for sure the way to go on Allure! And that sounds like the perfect way to do it- family experience one week and the adult/couple experience the other! Awesome!!!
It will be here before you know it!
Loving the trip report! However, I am super confused about the drink situation. Where can you get free soda?
So glad you are enjoying the report! Unfortunately there is no free soda on RCCL- or any of the other lines. That is a perk exclusive to DCL as far as I am aware.
Do you have to buy a card or something? I drink a ton of diet coke, like whenever I am eating. No drink stations like Disney, where do I go for my fix?
Yep, a soda card is available for purchase. The fountain soda package entitles you to unlimited refills at any the our bars or lounges, Windjammer Café, Main Dining Room and the private island destinations (Labadee/Coco Cay). A complimentary Coca-Cola souvenir cup is included as part of every fountain soda package. The cost of a fountain soda package is determined by the length of your stay, with an average daily cost of $6.50 for adults and $4.50 for children* plus gratuity. (*Child prices available for kids under 18.) The fountain soda package is sold for the entire length of the cruise vacation only.
Some places soda costs extra even when you have a soda card. Johnny Rockets, for example.
My husband, like you HAS to have his soda. And since he prefers Coke Zero- which they don't have onboard anyway, we chose to bring a case onboard with us. This is allowed, you just have to carry it by hand onto the ship.
So he chose to just bring his own instead of doing the package. Cheaper too. LOL!
And...if you look at your photos of Ritas and central park, are those stateroom right above there?
Yes, they sure are! There are Central Park and Boardwalk Balcony rooms and also Promenade View (window) rooms!
So you could have a veranda that faces the inside of the ship? Are those way cheaper?
Not really. They should be if you ask me. But they aren;t much cheaper than an oceanview balcony. Oceanview balcony rooms do book fast on this ship, but often the Central Park and Boardwalk balconies are the last available room categories since their price is a little high (considering). You do have to be careful when in those rooms, since you can see right into the room across from yours (and they into your room- LOL). That is one complaint I;ve read about. But a great value would be the Boardwalk Balcony rooms towards the very back of the ship- they also provide a view of the Aquatheater and the ocean out behind the ship!
Thanks! Keep the report coming!
You're very welcome! Hope it helps a bit!
ok, I leave on my DIS Eastern Cruise in 60 days and can't wait for your updates! I bet you are doing this on purpose to drive me batty ...
LOL, not on purpose but you're right, I do still have a lot to get to.
If I don't have it done by then....ay.....don;t say that! LOL!
Thanks for another update. King Julian is one of my favorite characters. I don't have a clue why but I have a stuffed version of him on my monitor at work.
Oh! You will love the Let You Entertain Me show from the last day! Its King Julien-centric and a lot of fun!
I wouldn't be able to sit through Chicago. I hated that movie with a passion. Well I don't like Renee Zellweger so maybe that is why I don't like the movie but if I were to watch the live show it would probably bring back bad memories of her so I would have passed
haha! I tried to watch the movie several times and it never failed to put me to sleep! I knew that would happen again in the show if we went! LOL!
I am really tempted to try a RCCL cruise after our
Disney cruise since we live in Texas and can easily get to the Galveston port. My main concern with RCCL is the clothing the entertainment people wear during the shows. Are they overly skimpy? I don't want my kids seeing that stuff.
No, not really. I've seen worse at our local dance competitions. I know CHICAGO is the only RCCL production show to have a "R" rating (not really but they do discourage children) and the costuming I have seen in photos is exactly what I posted- so not too risque. There were some two piece and cutout- style showgilrl/type Rockette style bodysuit with feathers and sequins type costumes and obviously there were swimsuits in the Aquatheater productions but no G strings, thongs, or excessively plunging cleavage. Certainly no nudity at all. At the productions we have seen- all have been appropriate for all ages including costuming. i have lots of pics of the shows we did attend- well except one becuase I was right in front of the mixer and well- there is a camera story to go along with that- but I will scour the net for some pics of that show as well and post them here so you can see.
What IS inappropriate though is some of the swimwear up on deck.
Thongs are allowed and what was really criminal is that they were always on the people you wouldn't want to see them on, KWIM?
Allure had a very heavy foreign passenger makeup- lots of folke from Europe and South America where the motto for swimwear is less is more. LOL. Luckily though we did not see the thongs much away from the main, sports, and beach pools. The H20 zone was safe.
When my wife was 21 we went to Vegas for her bday (I know I know Vegas defines skimpy) but we chose shows that allowed kids 5 and up. Well one show which was people impersonating famous singers like Michael Jackson, Christina Agularia, Tina Turner, etc... was for ages 5 and up and ALL of the dancers were wearing thongs and bra tops. We were up hauled. Good thing we didn't have kids there at the time. I would never take my kids to Vegas anyway but I always worry about that when I book vacations with entertainment and what impression the cast will have on my kids. Any thoughts?
Yikes, yeah that is over the top for sure. You wont see that! I think on this ship it is much more geared to families than a lot of the other RCCL ships too. There were some bra top with big flowing skirt combinations on Blue Planet but nothing really too tacky that I remember. In addition, I have no clue how they kept the bathingsuits on so taut in the dive shows, but they did. No Janet Jackson-esque wardrobe malfunctions! We found everything we saw family friendly. Hopefully my pics will have captured a lot of the costuming so you can get an idea!
Oh and my daughter loves Justice (she is 8) and she has some of the outfits your older daughter has I think. The funny thing is she'll only wear blue/boy colors. While my youngest girl who is 3 will only wear pink so it looks very similar to your kids. My boy is just now 2 months old so not exactly the same age demographic.
Ha ha! We are starting to move out of the Justice phase a bit now and into (eek) the Abercrombie, Hollister, Aeropostale deal. Ugh! I love to match the girls clothes too but Sav will have no part of that anymore. LOL! And yep- like yours my little one is a pink lover too!
Thanks so much for reading! Glad you are enjoying it!
ive only been on a 3day RCCL and they wear nothing less than you would see on a beach, done a 8day on Carnival and they too show nothing more than what you would see whileon the beach for that matter either.
Yup, agree. Did they have as many g strings and banana hammocks up on the pool deck on Carny? There was quite a bit of it on Allure.
