canyoncam
original Bambi &Thumper
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2011
- Messages
- 991
I just wanted to post a few of my personal observations that might be helpful.
Cabins: We had oceanview balconies on deck 8. The beds are set up so every other room has them by the balcony door alternating with by the closet. We had connecting rooms and so I saw plus and minus to both layouts. By the closet it had a larger sofa but with the beds separated made it hard to get in closet. By the balcony you felt you had more space, but with beds separated one could be sleeping close to the drapes. My parents had one set of shelves that was more of a cabinet and an extra glass shelf in bathroom. Don't know why as we all had same category if rooms.
Food: EXCELLENT!!! My only bad meal was the last night and just a poor call in my part. We did My time dining. I had reservations every night and with our large group had the same servers sever night and they were awesome. Only ate at Giovanni as far as the specialty restaurants and absolutely loved it....a TON of food! You cannot possibly eat at every single eatery as there are not enough meals times on a seven night cruise!
Entertainment: Good talent but personally I thought they were a bit strange. And as we were warned don't take the kiddos to CHICAGO unless you want them to grow up fast!
Pools: I always get in before breakfast so enjoyed them usually as the sole occupant. They do get crowded by midday but usually able to find a few chairs, especially if you go up a deck.
Ship: We all know this is a HUGE ship! Do not think you'll see it all. LOVED Central park. Recommend you take the free walking tour offered the first few days. Takes about 45 minutes and you may be in sun for part of it but I thought it was quite informative. Not a detail to plants but more of how they created the park itself. The Boardwalk was cool too. The secret decks on decks 11, 12 & 14 were usually empty with some of the best views. One thing I have noticed on all three of my DISNEY FANTASY sailings was an order be the public restrooms midway through cruise. The Allure never smelled to me.
Drink packages: Only one of the ten of us had one. Most of us only have two to three drinks a day. I would say four alcohol (upper price range) or six beers and two waters would be break even for the $55 a day package. By the last day the one who had the package wasn't even asked for his card when asking for bottled waters! I understand not swiping it but was surprised they didn't even look for sticker!
That's all I can think if for now but I may come up with something else. Oh and my ticker is from 'tis trip. Did not rebook. Really liked the trip but might like a smaller ship for my next trip. And defiantly not taking nine other people next time!!!
Cabins: We had oceanview balconies on deck 8. The beds are set up so every other room has them by the balcony door alternating with by the closet. We had connecting rooms and so I saw plus and minus to both layouts. By the closet it had a larger sofa but with the beds separated made it hard to get in closet. By the balcony you felt you had more space, but with beds separated one could be sleeping close to the drapes. My parents had one set of shelves that was more of a cabinet and an extra glass shelf in bathroom. Don't know why as we all had same category if rooms.
Food: EXCELLENT!!! My only bad meal was the last night and just a poor call in my part. We did My time dining. I had reservations every night and with our large group had the same servers sever night and they were awesome. Only ate at Giovanni as far as the specialty restaurants and absolutely loved it....a TON of food! You cannot possibly eat at every single eatery as there are not enough meals times on a seven night cruise!
Entertainment: Good talent but personally I thought they were a bit strange. And as we were warned don't take the kiddos to CHICAGO unless you want them to grow up fast!
Pools: I always get in before breakfast so enjoyed them usually as the sole occupant. They do get crowded by midday but usually able to find a few chairs, especially if you go up a deck.
Ship: We all know this is a HUGE ship! Do not think you'll see it all. LOVED Central park. Recommend you take the free walking tour offered the first few days. Takes about 45 minutes and you may be in sun for part of it but I thought it was quite informative. Not a detail to plants but more of how they created the park itself. The Boardwalk was cool too. The secret decks on decks 11, 12 & 14 were usually empty with some of the best views. One thing I have noticed on all three of my DISNEY FANTASY sailings was an order be the public restrooms midway through cruise. The Allure never smelled to me.
Drink packages: Only one of the ten of us had one. Most of us only have two to three drinks a day. I would say four alcohol (upper price range) or six beers and two waters would be break even for the $55 a day package. By the last day the one who had the package wasn't even asked for his card when asking for bottled waters! I understand not swiping it but was surprised they didn't even look for sticker!
That's all I can think if for now but I may come up with something else. Oh and my ticker is from 'tis trip. Did not rebook. Really liked the trip but might like a smaller ship for my next trip. And defiantly not taking nine other people next time!!!
Thanks for your story. We are going on the Allure in April 2015. It is our first RCL cruise, we wanted to go on the "big ship". 
Mostly it was 20% off martinis. Since I do like a dirty martini it worked well for me
