Newby questions: RCCL Allure next week

I know I've seen answers to all three of these questions on here before, but for some reason now I can't find them when I need them! Some help would be very much appreciated :)

We are sailing on the Allure on Sunday out of FLL. Three questions:

1) The cruise documents say to show up after 12pm, but I've seen on here that people show up often by 10am and are able to board. Is that frequent cruisers with special status, or will first-timers like us be able to board that early?

2) Our hotel (courtyard marriott) has a free cruise port shuttle. I've seen people say that the hotel shuttles should be avoided. Is that the case, and why? Is it because they are too slow or arrive to late?

3) I can't seem to find information on which nights are formal nights. Any ideas?

Thank you all!

You can show up at 10am if you like, they will check you in and send you to the waiting area until boarding starts.

Sometimes the hotel shuttles wait to fill up, and go to more than one cruise terminal, so it could take longer to get to the ship. If the hotel is close to the port, a taxi will be around $20 or so, which might be worth it to some to avoid the potential delay of the hotel shuttle.

When the ship opens for embarkation, there is a priority to the boarding.

But once the crowd dissipates, you will be able to just walk on, and I've never seen that take to long.

*Roughly*, they start boarding between 10:30 and 11am, so if you get there after 11, you'll probably just walk on.

Not sure why people think the hotel shuttle should be avoided- we've used them many times for FLL departures. I'd use it in a second, it's free. You may have to schedule a time that you'd like to be on that bus, though.

Typically, formal nights are #2 and 5 or 6.

Let me relate our negative experience with a hotel shuttle. First, it wasn't free. It was $15 per person, but that wasn't an issue with us. The worst thing is that the hotel did not load the luggage in the order that the shuttle unloaded people at the ships. We were on the Allure and it was the last stop for the shuttle. Our luggage was the last to be loaded onto the shuttle which tows a trailer behind the bus. So every time we stopped at a ship, hubby had to get off the shuttle and make sure our luggage wasn't unloaded at the wrong ship. Everyone had to do the same thing just to be safe. It took 45 minutes to make the rounds before we arrived at the Allure. What was disappointing was that the Allure is the first ship we saw when we entered the port so we wrongly assumed we would be dropped off first. A cab is so much easier.

Enjoy your cruise. The Allure is a WOW ship and you'll want to sail her again.

Just a heads up that if you are on the 4/30 sailing, you may not want to arrive too early. We will be later than normal getting on. I got this email today:

"We would like to provide you with important information regarding your upcoming sailing onboard Allure of the Seas departing on April 30, 2017. The ship will be required to conduct a U.S. Coast Guard inspection. This inspection must be completed before boarding for your cruise may begin. To enhance your check-in and boarding experience, we ask that you arrive at the terminal after 12:00 PM. As stated in your cruise documents, your check-in window is between 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM. Royal Caribbean would like to remind all guests Allure of the Seas will depart at 4:00 PM, and all guests must be checked in and onboard 60 minutes prior to sail time."

We were on a Princess cruise the end of March. The Regal had a Coast Guard inspection. Wish we'd known this before showing up. They weren't taking any passengers into the terminal. Spent a good hour in line outside the terminal and another hour plus in the terminal waiting for boarding. It was after 1:00 before we were on board. :p

The Oasis class terminal is head and shoulders above the Princess terminal we embarked from. There really isn't another cruise terminal that can compare. Looking forward to a family Allure cruise the end of May!

Just a heads up that if you are on the 4/30 sailing, you may not want to arrive too early. We will be later than normal getting on. I got this email today:

"We would like to provide you with important information regarding your upcoming sailing onboard Allure of the Seas departing on April 30, 2017. The ship will be required to conduct a U.S. Coast Guard inspection. This inspection must be comped before boarding for your cruise may begin. To enhance your check-in and boarding experience, we ask that you arrive at the terminal after 12:00 PM. As stated in your cruise documents, your check-in window is between 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM. Royal Caribbean would like to remind all guests Allure of the Seas will depart at 4:00 PM, and all guests must be checked in and onboard 60 minutes prior to sail time."

I am glad the inspection is this coming weekend,as we are on it the following week.

We always went early but since on our last Allure cruise we switched it up and boarded late.

We now always check in about a half hour prior to final boarding. We never give up our luggage, never see a photo crew and just walk right up to our room ready to go!

Thanks for all the information everyone! CC message boards are fantastic.

I'm disappointed to hear that boarding will be delayed due to Coast Guard. If everyone will start boarding at 12pm, then I guess it makes sense to show up a bit later than that. Am I right that the Windjammer stops serving lunch at about 3pm? If so, do you think showing up around 1:30pm will give enough time to board and still get lunch?

Food is available in several places besides the Windjammer for late lunch. Park Cafe, Sorrento's, Cafe Promenade, and probably the grill up on deck 15. Don't remember the name, sorry.

Taxi at most will cost $20. Their only concern is you (and your party) and your ship/pier and getting you there promptly.

OTOH, we have done the hotel shuttles. We have had to wait for it to fill up, etc etc. Never again, I will taxi every time and spend the $20.

The last time I was in FLL I took a hotel shuttle, which was free, and was the only one on it.

I am glad the inspection is this coming weekend,as we are on it the following week.

I was thinking the same thing!! ;) sorry for those this coming week though

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1) The cruise documents say to show up after 12pm, but I've seen on here that people show up often by 10am and are able to board. Is that frequent cruisers with special status, or will first-timers like us be able to board that early?

 

2) Our hotel (courtyard marriott) has a free cruise port shuttle. I've seen people say that the hotel shuttles should be avoided. Is that the case, and why? Is it because they are too slow or arrive to late?

 

3) I can't seem to find information on which nights are formal nights. Any ideas?

 

Thank you all!

I am also sailing on the Allure next week and the answers to your questions have unique answers for this particular sailing. On April 30, the Allure is scheduled to have an annual coast guard inspection so it will be boarding late. They sent out an email advising passengers that boarding will be delayed. As for the hotel shuttle, I am almost certain that the Allure is the ONLY ship in port that day! Not sure why, it seems rare for only one ship to sail out of Port Everglades on a Sunday but that is what I saw on a port schedule. So it shouldn't be an issue with the shuttles stopping at multiple ships. Not sure about formal nights, based on my past sailings with RC, there will be two optional formal nights.

The answer about 1 ship in Port Everglades is that it's past seasonal cruises in the Caribbean. HAL and Princess have gone to their summer locations, and X will soon follow. Saturdays are pretty empty now too.