Jerri8806

Where is everyone finding the character breakfasts? I'm surprised to hear that it's available for booking for an August cruise, because I can't find it anywhere for my June cruise.

You have to dig around a little to find it. I think it is in the onboard experiences section, like where the Barbie experience thing is. And when I booked it last night it was still saying that there was a $10 charge, but when I actually made the reservation it popped up "no charge".

Oh now I am curious.

I am curious, too. I have only ever heard good things about him and my one experience with him was excellent.

Based on that logic isn't there hamburgers, ice cream, coffee and food in included venues. I think the charge is wonderful because it gets the kiddies out of the MDR making for a more quiet experience for us adults AND why should I supplement a kids program.

I don really understand what you mean by supplementing a kids program. If you look at it that way, buying your cruise ticket is supplementing kids programs. And my kids' tickets are supplementing all sorts of adult programs . You are saying that kids should have to pay extra to be kept away from adults ? Its a family cruise and the kids have just as much right to be there as the grown ups. It's not even like kids pay a reduced price to sail. And also, this particular activity doesn't cost RCI anything extra. It's the same breakfast that everyone else gets and character interactions are included with your cruise ticket. I agree that there should be a kids area or whatever in the MDR so that adults can have grown up time or whatever, but by that logic the kids breakfast should still be free! How about having a floor of the MDR set aside for families and having characters show up every morning ? That would eliminate the complicated reservation system and would allow kids to have a fun place to go every morning while giving the adults a kid-free zone.

If I am understanding how this Captain rotation thing works, it looks like I will have Captain Johnny on my cruise on May 25, 2014 which makes me extremely happy! My mom and I had him back in 2004 on the Mariner and he was great! When I took my husband on the Mariner a few years later we missed his rotation. I haven't had a Captain that I have loved as much as I loved Captain Johnny! I know my little boys will get a kick out of his "Good morning, good morning, good morning!" :D

I actually heard back from RCI about this one (I sent an email a few weeks ago). They have decided to postpone the charge until Sept. 1, meaning that if you book the dining before Sept. 1, no matter when your sail date is, you will not have to pay the charge. We are on the Thanksgiving Allure sailing, and the lady I spoke with assured me that the dining for our sailing will be up prior to Sept. 1. Anyhow, it's not a complete victory, but it does help many of us who booked prior to the charge being announced.

Thanks for the update! I just went and booked our reservation for the character breakfast! I might as well do it while it is still free! I do not mind there being things that the cruise line charges extra for. I especially understand them charging for specialty restaurants like Johnny Rockets and Ben and Jerrys. But to charge for a breakfast that is normally free only because the characters will be there is ridiculous. If you are going to charge then there needs to be something extra there besides the characters. They are around the ship for free all the time.

@runner 15 km, is there no public beach access at Cable beach?

@ Tip, thanks for the info. I will definitely be checking that beach out. It sounds like a good fit for us!

@CB at Sea, I agree that the planned excursions are too expensive and not worth it. I will be looking for some guide books!

Thanks for all of the advice!

Hello everyone! I am new to Cruise Critic and new to this group! I am cruising on the Allure on 5/25 and am beyond excited! This will be my 4th RCI cruise and my 5th cruise overall. I went on the Carnival Fantasy back in 2010 because it ports in my home state and I was VERY disappointed! I felt like I wasted my money and kept comparing it to RCI the entire time! I am RCI for life now! I may try Disney one day for the kids, but every time I entertain that idea I just end up back on RCI . I love them!

My family and I (including my two small boys) are cruising to the Eastern Caribbean May 25 on RCI Allure of the Seas. We will be going to Nassau, St Thomas and St Marteen. In the past we have always reserved beach excursions through RCI. I have done some research and it seems a lot of people just get taxis to go to the beach. We did this in Nassau in 2010 and it worked out nicely. We only spent like $20 for 4 people. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which is better or safer? I was considering maybe doing the jitney (sp?) To Cable beach in Nassau, a taxi to Sapphire Beach in St Thomas, and maybe finding a nice beach to go to in St Marteen as well. Advice would be greatly appreciated!:)

I posted something about it on their Facebook page and they said the added fee was to "better manage the high demand of this incredibly popular offering" and that the menu will be staying the same. I understand wanting to do something about the demand, but AT LEAST give us something worth paying extra for! Special food, sodas, MIMOSAS (for parents only lol) etc. I think if there is such a high demand for it, why not offer it more days? Why start charging for it? This is one step above having to pay for a cheeseburger in the windjammer to me. And speaking of the Windjammer, it looks like that is where we will be having our breakfast every morning now! I will be trying the INCLUDED Johnny Rockets breakfast, though! Unless they start charging for that too!

This is a big time bummer. I have been trying and trying to add this to our reservation on the Allure of the Seas in May. I still can't find it on their website. I don't want my kids to miss out on it, but at the same time it doesn't seem like it would be worth paying $10 a person for. Do you pay for it when you make your reservation or when you get on the ship? I have never reserved anything that costs money before.

Wow, I am really glad I found this on here! The only time I have ever cruised with one of my children was on the Carnival Fantasy. Besides the fact that my son (10 months old at the time) was too young to participate in anything, I was pretty disappointed with their kids program. I am going on the Allure in May and will be cruising with my now 4 year old son and my 2 year old son. I know to expect more from RCI than Carnival anyway, but I have still been kind of nervous about leaving them with the Adventure Ocean crew and everything. Reading this has made me feel alot better!