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I concur, all of my recent cruises have had plenty of photo ops.

Glad to see you decided to go! Happy sails and thanks for taking us along. 🙂

Even funnier, it's incorrect French! "Unis" needs to be capitalized. For shame, Royal IT department!! 🤣 Every once in a while the main website redirects me to the Australian site, but this is a new one to me. 🙂

For what it's worth ... one of my earliest cruises was a company cruise where nobody paid but nobody had any say over their cabin. I had an inside cabin, and I learned that without a balcony, it just isn't worth it for me. As for your choices here: I prefer the Oasis to the Harmony, but in this case I think I might vote Harmony.

I respect your opinion, and respectfully disagree. 🙂 We get the 100 digital photo package for at least one cruise per year, and we consider it a great investment. But we never purchase beverage packages and seldom get dining packages, so ... different strokes for different folks!

Yep! One of the many reasons why the Mariner is my favorite Voyager ship, hands down. 🙂

Agreed. I think the most recent I've personally done was Whitney Houston. 😄

DH and I feel the same about tables for just us. We always go to the dining room on embarkation day and check out our table--the table number is listed on your card, so once you get to your cabin and retrieve your card you'll know where to find it. Most of the time it is indeed a two-person, but if not, we go to the podium at the entrance and ask about getting it switched. Sometimes we find that it's a four-person table but we're the only ones assigned to it, which is actually better!

Although I would also choose the Adventure in this particular scenario, as a hardcore Mariner fan I feel compelled to come to her defense a bit. 😁 The Voyager class ships, including Adventure and Mariner, are indeed sister ships, but they're no longer identical since the "amplifying" process started. Each ship now has distinct characteristics, and the Mariner has something we really love that the Adventure lacks: the Sky Pad, which is a virtual reality bungee trampoline attraction. And the Adventure isn't larger than the Mariner. They are virtually identical, but the Mariner is something like one foot longer. 😉 Still, as I said ... in this particular case, I totally agree that the Adventure is the way to go!

Thank you for catching that, my phrasing was not clear at all. 🙂 And yes, that was what I was trying to say: Western Caribbean (i.e. Eastern coast of Mexico). As you probably know, the water off of the Western coast of Mexico is far less clear. Just so-so for diving, snorkeling hardly worth it IMHO.

Count me as one more who has done both itineraries multiple times, and enjoys both. The Allure is one of my favorite ships in the fleet, so I'm admittedly biased, but I would personally choose that route. You don't mention what kinds of port activities you enjoy, but if you're into diving or snorkeling, the Western route is DEFINITELY the way to go.

Oops, sorry, was that your card I used at the local Walmart? My bad. 😁 Seriously though, I hope you get it figured out and your Royal Up dreams come true!

That will depend on a wide variety of factors, from the port in question to who happens to be working that day. 😉 Since it's technically against policy, you might get away with it or you might not. If you want to play it safe, you can always have them board with you rather than vice versa.

DH got one too, but I didn't. I told him he wasn't allowed to go without me, so he'll just have to risk getting kicked off of the cruise we're not on. 😁

Granted, I've only been cruising since 2004, so maybe there was some "golden age" of rule breaking that I missed out on ... but I think you hit the nail on the head, they are following their own rules, which has always been the case on every cruise line I've tried. I understand that you're disappointed and frustrated, but I'm sure you realize that you're not being penalized for wanting to cruise with your friends. You're being penalized for not verifying dates before you made your payment. It's a tough way to learn the lesson, but I'm guessing you won't make that mistake again!

I never miss Samba when I'm on the Allure, and I'm also a big fan of 150 Central Park on any ship 🙂 The only one I've been disappointed with on Allure is Sabor. Not horrible, but not worth paying extra.

Unfortunately, there's no way to guarantee a two-person table or any other request, so "definitely" isn't an option ... however, there are some ways to come pretty close if you choose traditional dining. The first is obviously to request a table for two when you book your cruise, or through your travel agent. But in my experience, that's kind of hit or miss. Like you, we really like to dine alone, so on embarkation day we always make our way to the dining room and check out our table assignment. It's printed on your key card, so once you get access to your cabin and get your cards, you'll see your table number. If we're seated at a larger table, we go to the podium at the entrance of the dining room and request a switch. Occasionally we find that we've been seated at a four-person table but we're the only ones assigned to it, which in some ways is even better than a two-person table. Again, this isn't a guarantee, but it has always worked for us.

I also have fond memories of the Sovereign. It was my first grand suite and I thought I'd hit the pinnacle of luxury. 😄

Ohhh boy, I can only imagine how awkward. 😳 Sorry you had to deal with that. Congratulations on your wedding and I look forward to following along!

Deck 7 is less than ideal since you can't cut directly across from one passenger hallway to the other, but as others have said, 6 is a pretty good location. There's one night called "formal" and another usually called "dress to impress" or "dress your best." And yes, there is a wide range of attire, but relatively little true formal wear. To be fair, my last Allure cruise had several families celebrating what appeared to be quinceaneras, so they were dressed to the nines. But that is definitely not the norm. 🙂

Most of the Allure's specialty dining is the same restaurants you find in the rest of the fleet, but there is one notable exception that we never miss: Samba Grill. It's located in the Solarium Bistro and only open for dinner. It's a Brazilian steakhouse where they come around to your table with all-you-can-eat meats that they shave directly onto your plate (similar to the Fogo de Chao chain, if you've been there. They also have a Mexican place, Sabor, but it's never been better than just so-so in my experience. Those are the only two that are somewhat unique. That being said ... probably my favorite place to eat on ANY ship is 150 Central Park.

I have a friend on the ship right now. I'll report back next week if nobody else beats me to it. 🙂

Thank you for sharing your experience. So sorry for your loss. Best wishes to your daughter and granddaughter.

A good tip whether it's Royal Up or booking a guarantee cabin: do your research, decide which cabin in that category is the least desirable (for you), and decide if you would be content with that cabin assignment. If so, and anything better is just an extra perk, go for it! If not, then ... yeah, buyer beware.

Yeah, I'm glad that most ships offer you the choice. For people like us who primarily use our photos for digital photo frames, social media etc., the digital version makes a lot more sense, but I know you're not alone in preferring the hard copy prints!