Loganpaulsmom

Hank , 

thank you so much for this information. With only a short time we want to make sure that we able to see as much as possible. After posting this, I began to look at some other options and we may end up doing a private tour that we can cater towards all our needs. The only thing that has us not booking yet is the price. 

We have so much planned all ready that adding something else may be too much.

Christine

We are.. Kids are 17 (boy) , 16, (girl) while on this trip and 13 (boy).. 

First time to Europe for all of us and I am sure our nights we will be exhausted. We have SO much planned!

Hi all,

In 2 weeks my family and I are heading on our European cruise. For over 6 months I have been planning every detail for my family of 8. Originally, we planned on just walking around Cannes. But, now some of our group wants to head to Monte Carlo. The research I have done tells me that taking the train is a great option. A few weeks back I looked up trains and now that I am ready to book I cannot find any first class tickets or the times that we want. Do any of you have suggestions? 

The other option for us is to not go Monte Carlo at all but to take a half day Catamaran cruise. If anyone has a good company to go through for that I would be so appreciative. We have 3 teenagers with us so I am trying to do see the sites while having fun things for them to do as well.

Thank you in advance.

Christine

We just received the email today for our feb. Sailing. We are in a BA and bid on the penthouse..

I know it’s a vacation week and we probably won’t get it.. But, it would be awesome if we did..

we had to cancel last year because my husband found out he had cancer.. he’s cancer free now and to be in the haven would just make it even better!!!

Thank you so much! I tried looking it up before asking the question but couldn’t find it..

hi everyone,

my family and I are going on our second cruise in Feb. today we received the email to make an OFFER to upgrade our cabin.

has anyone done this?

if so have you low balled? and if you did , was your offer accepted?

experiences with suites and if they are really worth the extra money?

any and all info would be great.. we are so excited its getting so close.

thank you

Oh thank you.. that's a great idea.. would I. E able to use one if we got in on a Thursday but our cruise wasn't until Saturday?

Hi all,

This will be my second cruise in February and we are cruising on the Epic. Because we are coming from up North and because the price for airfare was SO expensive we are leaving 2 days before our cruise begins. However, our flight doesn't get in until after midnight and we booked hotel room in the Port area. The shuttles don't run after 10pm so we are limited as to ways to get to our hotel. Is it best to hire a car service? Rent a car? Use Uber or something like it? Or stay in Orlando instead and the morning of head to the port?

Also, we don't want to spend a fortune..

Any and all advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

Hi all and thanks for following. I have to say it wasn't the brightest idea for me to write this review with only a phone and iPad. I have no keyboard so it's like double the work.. lol

To answer some of your questions.

We were located in room 6618. I felt it was a great location. Equidistant between both sets of elevators and only 1 floor away from the infamous coke machine , for those getting the soda package.

As a matter of size think of it this say the average size of a reg. hotel room is 300 sq. ft. A reg. d2 balcony room is 182 sq.ft interior and I think 52 sq. ft. Exterior. So almost half as big..

Rooms were not overly cold. I tend to get lots of hot flashes and I am usually hot at night. I was comfortable. The shower water was always very hot though..

So let me continue day 1.. Prior to the cruise I had read about checking out the Spa the first day. Since it was on deck 6 of course I needed to go. I took a guided tour and have to say its impressive! It's 2 floors and gorgeous. There were stations and each one had a person telling you what their specialty was. I got hung up on the teeth whitening and she said if I booked with her that night she would throw in a free collegen eye treatment. I fell hook, line and sinker and said I needed to come back after I spoke to my husband. This was the first experience of " scam" I would encounter but unfortunately not the last.

I made my appt. for later that night.

While my hubby and my son checked out the pool I just had to unpack. I feel more settled that way. By the time I was done with that it was time for the muster drill. Which I though was done quickly. although it was out first encounter with a particular group from a particular country who thought they were the only ones cruising. ;)

Hubby Nd I checked out the windjammer. We are very fast because we left our group for a "minute".. Lol it was ok.. Nothing great.

I ran back for my teeth whitening appt. I say down and if was there that the girl informed me that for $149 this would last 3 weeks but for $285 I could use this stuff for a month and my teeth would keep for " up to" 4 years. I politely declined. However, I did make a massage appt. for myself and my sil's mom for the next morning.

I left and met hubby and my other family members and we registered the kids for kids club.

Just realizing that somehow we missed sail away. Lol

We had all these delusions of what we were going to do first night but after being up since 2:00am the day before we called it quits around 10:30 and headed back to our room.

We had picked up some pizza from Sorrentos. It was not good. I mean it's edible And it will do in a pinch but it's not something that I would run towards ( coming from Boston Nd Italian families maybe I'm just a pizza snob). Lol

We came back to our room all ready for us. Boris from Columbia was our steward. He was amazing! What a hard worker. This was the first time I saw what a hard long day these stewards have and it really made me Appreciate all his hard work during the week .

So that about wraps ups day 1.. Stay tuned for tomorrow.

Please feel free to ask me any questions.

So our day started very early ( try 3:00am early).. We had a 6:00am flight out of Logan in Boston to Washington and on to Ft. lauderdale.

We made it there early and grabbed cabs and headed to the Port.

First let me say it is quite a site to see the ship for the first time. It is massive and beautiful and hard to put into words.

We got out of our cabs and into line and the whole process probably only took 25 minutes and we were on our way to the gangway and onto the promenade.

We were all kind of clueless even though I felt like I had read enough and had a good idea where everything was I was still confused and the promenade was SO busy. We grabbed a coffee at the Cafe Promenade and since it was about 1:00 headed to our rooms.

I had been worried about packing for about a month. I knew the rooms would be a lot smaller than we were used to and I was afraid we would have no room. Usually, when going away I check to large suitcases, and take 3 smaller ones on the plane. This time, 2 large ones and just backpacks.

My first impressions were wow,they are small.but with the balcony it felt bigger but I will say as clean as our room was the sofa was filthy with stains and our room didn't come with a hair dryer.

( here is a very important tip..the hair dryers that are supplied have an ON button that you have to push in all the time in order for it to work. This makes it very difficult to style and dry your hair. My advice, take your own)..

I didn't realize how much my hands would hurt from typing.. So I will continue later..

]Hi all.. First let me begin by saying this was my parties first cruise. We spent about 3 months looking at cruises, researching and reading reviews and based on all of that we chose the Allure. The main reasons were the size, the kids clubs and from every review we read that a week was too short to see and do it all.

We are Disney travelers and used to going all the time so this was right up our alley.

Let me say that because had no comparison it is hard for me to say that maybe we just chose the wrong ship or if more probable we aren't the cruise people that we thought we were..

I am sure that this review will be a minority opinion but please remember that 1. I am a first time cruiser. And 2. This is just my humble opinion..

Traveling with us..4 adults, 3 children. Ages, 12, 10 and 8..

We had D2 balcony aft facing 6th deck midship rooms.

I will do the review by day..

Up next day 1..

First cruise..

First time in st. Maarten. We want to go to the beach.. Should we book our excursion through our cruise ship or can we do it on our own?

How long is the water taxi ride? Is the excursion to Orient Beach that includes lunch and a chair worth it?

Is there anything else we should know?

Thank you for all your opinions and options. We know that we don't have many hours but we wanted a room on the beach for a couple of response. We have 3 kids between us and if we go on the beach we want to be able to wash off the sand before our flight. We also want somewhere to store our belongings and we want to eat a nice brunch there as it will be Easter Sunday..

Hi all, with just about a month until my first cruise we are frantically trying to tie up all our loose ends. One of which is, we have a 3:00 flight out of Fort Lauderdale. But, with departing so early in the morning we are looking for a hotel on the beach that may allow us to to book a room for half a day so we can shower if we go to the beach etc.. Do any of you have any suggestions?

It Took me 3 days but I was finally able to read your review. It was excellent and since I am going on my first cruise on the Allure in April I'm confident that I now have all the facts I need.. Lol

Most of the info you need can be found on the RCI board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83

 

Excursions and activities that are "must do" are things that interest you, not what I say they are. If I said a must do event involved swimming, and you can't swim, kind of challenging, eh?

 

So, do some reading on the RCI board, and on the Ports board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

 

and also look at what excursions RCI offers on their website to identify some highlights that might interest you.

Yes, you are right I guess I was looking for maybe not your typical excursions some that maybe not everyone does. For example we aren't doing the Atlantis..for the amount of $$ it just doesn't sound like its worth it.. But then I saw something on blue lagoon.. Much cheaper and looks more our style..

I am actually looking for opinions with the realizations that they may not be my cup of tea.

There's so much info on this board and sometimes I get lost.. So I thought if I asked the questions that I'm really looking for answers then all my info would be under one thread..

Thanks for the info..

We sale the Allure April 13th.. First cruise for 7 of us..

I am a planner and have bee scouring over reviews and info for months. Now with 2 weeks left I still feel like I don't know anything..

When can I start to make reservations?

What are your absolute must do's?

What reservations do you absolutely make?

What excursions for Eastern Caribbean are favorites?

What do you think about the alcohol beverage package for someone that may only drink 3 drinks a day?

How do you play at the Casino? Can you bring cash?

We have 3 kids with us.. Am I going to have to get up at 7am to grab a chair by the pool?

I'm sure I will have more but for right now these are the ones I need to know the most..

I fist read thrip ugh your review. We are taking our first cruise in April aboard the Allure and are really excited abut it. We are "Bostonians" as well and this year our cruise coincides with the first anniversary of the bombings. Coincidently, we were in Disney last year during the bombings and I have to say it was very scary. I was calling all my friends as the marathon is yearly staple for many of us..

Enjoyed your take on this Cruise" I am completely excited for it..

Our spring break is Easter week this year too. We booked our cruise the week before and it seems to be the only one within a couple of weeks that is not discounted .. I'm assuming the cruise will be packed..

Am I correct that the sale is good for only new bookings? Our sailing seems to be the only one that I haven't seen any drop in price. In fact there has been a significant increase. With only about 2 weeks till final payment I'm thinking we got the best price we are going to get..

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=40009959&postcount=3

Thank you.. Phew.. He will eat.. Lol you can order that stuff in the MDR right? And 1 more? Completely opposite of him is his sister who is an adventurous eater. Can she eat from the adult menu?

Question? Is there a place to find the food choices for kids? I have a very picky 12 year old nephew who only eats a handful of things.. Definitely nothing like on the menus here..

I was just going to ask the same question. Our final payment is due in 2 weeks...our cruise is not only NOT on sale but it's like over $1000 more expensive for a d4 and we are in a d2.. Our cruise is the only one on our TA travel page not on sale.. Lol granted we are going the week of Easter.. Lol

Not to hijack but does anyone know if any of the hotels do day stays? Our flight isn't until 3:30 and it's Easter Sunday so we don't want to spend it in the airport..

We have decided since airfare is cheaper on Monday VS Sunday and we don't want to rush back home, to spend Sunday in Ft. Lauderdale. I know April rates are high for hotels. We are looking for a hotel preferably on the beach for Sunday. We would like to keep it no higher than $250. It is just my hubby and myself and we won't have a car. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks. Wanda

I am following this thread because we are looking at this too.. Although we actually leave Sunday.. But the 5 hours we have before ur plane leaves may be worth it to hang at the beach/pool.. Interested to see responses..