CaptainD

DH is Gold. I am Platinum. Called RCI because I noticed our luggage tags showed Gold. They said it automatically shows the lower level, but that it wouldn’t make any diff. on the luggage tags. For grins, I decided to also call Crown & Anchor Society. She said the same thing, but then also asked “did you say your traveling companion is your husband?” I confirmed, and then she said she would make him a Platinum too. Bam!

After two trips on Allure, I enjoy reading the reviews and looking at the pictures from others, I enjoy learning about or seeing something I didn't see in my two trips,. I haven't found that yet, but I felt compelled to comment on your frequent use of very wide angle lenses. In many cases it adds quite a different perpectives. Its almost like seeing something that I didn't see although I did, I just didn't look at it like that. Quite enjoyable in many cases. I did two meet and mingles in this room, but didn't look at it like this.

BillOh - My DH and I were married on the Allure in the Dazzles Lounge while in port @ Ft. Lauderdale on 5/1/11. Your name looks familiar, but based on your signature, your cruise was the week after mine. (?)

For those who are still trying to figure out the value of buying individual drinks vs. buying a package, here is a breakdown of individual drink prices:

Basically, there are a couple of wines by the glass for $7, some are $8, but most are $9, and some are higher.

Fru-fru drinks, including hard teas/lemonades average $8.

Frozen fru-fru drinks average $7.50, as do champagne cocktails and bloody mary-type drinks.

Martinis average $9.

After dinner drinks average $6.75.

American beers average $5.

Beers of the world average $4.75.

Plus a 15% gratuity for all the above.

My wife and I are home this morning from this weeks Freedom Cruise. We both bought the Premium Package. I am more of a drinker than her and we had our kids with us so I was a little leery about purchasing. As for whether or we or RCCL came out ahead I would say I probably came out a little ahead while my wife fell short. I read these post for weeks leading up to the cruise and I have a point to make that is not usually made. Cruising, to me, is about having whatever you want whenever you want it. The package took away a small level of stress and made the cruise more enjoyable and convenient. I cannot emphasize enough how nice it is to grab a bottled water whenever you walked by a bar. I will say that I get a little dehydrated on these cruises due to the lack of water and not having it readily available. Walking around, I always had a water with me. I would get one to take to the room at bed time and drink it as soon as I woke up. I felt better the whole week than usual. As for the alcohol, I am mainly a beer drinker. It is nice to grab one any time and to try new things that you might not otherwise. I also had mixed drinks at dinner that I might not have normally had. I think people get too hung up on the dollar value point of view and lose sight of the convenience and care free attitude it creates. I goes nicely with the notion of "free food" and "free deserts" that we all experience. You don't see people calculating whether or not they made their food "quota". Nothing is free and believe it or not, we are paying for our food as well. It is also nice not to have every drink you had all week listed on your account that is viewable to everyone on the stateroom TV. I did say that my wife fell short of her "quota" but she probably had a few that she wouldn't have otherwise as well as trying some new things. TIP for those considering ULTIMATE over PREMIUM. The Premium does not include the coffee. The free coffee in the Promenade is actually quite good but they serve it in very tiny cups. If you are one who likes large coffees in the AM or PM, plan on making several coffee trips to fill these tiny cups. They also don't have those little cardboard protectors to keep from burning your hands. You'll have to wrap with napkins. The Starbucks has nice large cups with those cardboard things. ANOTHER TIP. Review your final statement carefully. Either on your TV or by getting a copy the night before you leave. I was charged twice for drinks in the MDR that should have been included in the package. It was only $14 but that was enough for me to stand in line at guest services to have them removed.

Well stated!

We're getting married onboard the Allure on 5/1. Of course, this means I won't be able to get back to you with any comments/thoughts regarding our experience in time for your ceremony. But, we have chosen the Dazzles because of pics provided to us by our wedding coordinator. The pics she provided of the chapel were bland/ordinary. We're expecting six sailing guests (maybe 4 more soon) and 10 non-sailing guests (we limited it to 10 because we didn't want to pay for a reception, after all, the 7-day cruise IS the reception!).