billyboy41

@SydneyCruisingFamily Thank you for all the information you provided for this tour.  We did indeed take the tour and all the normal stops were open on Easter.   It was great experience, and our guide - John Wellington, was absolutely fabulous.  He provided great commentary for the tour, and kept it all fun and interesting for all of us.   The sights were unbelievable.   

We also got some extra time on the tour, as the ship could not make port in Dunedin.   Our tour was redirected to Christchurch to meet the ship the next day.  Our tour guide, John, was fantastic with the issue, and arranged a more scenic ride to Christchurch, and great accommodations and dinner once we arrived.  We also got a brief tour of Christchurch CBD prior to returning to the ship.  

I just noticed you had a post in the Ovation Apr 15th repositioning thread.  We are also on that cruise.  Hope you are having a great time - we are.  Perhaps we can meet up?   

Thanks again!

@SydneyCruisingFamily Thanks again for the great info.  We have a couple additional questions...

We realize that the second day of the tour will be Easter Sunday, and I am reading that many shops and other attractions in Dunedin (and NZ in general) may/will be closed, and there are some laws about what can be open on Easter.   Given this, do you think places the tour stops at on the second day would be open or closed.  

Also, do you know or remember the name of the tour company that provided the tour.  I asked Royal and they would not provide it.  If possible, I would like to reach out to them to get their input.   

If many of the second day places are going to be closed, and it becomes mostly just a long bus ride, we may opt to cancel out of the tour.   

Again, thank you for your help and the info you have provided.  

SydneyCruisingFamily - Thank you very much for your write-up and pictures.  It gave us a lot more info on the tour and we are really excited.   A couple questions..

• Did you have (or feel the need to have) hiking gear, poles, etc or was the walking portion easy enough to handle?
• About what time did you return to the ship in Dunedin.  Is there any time to wander there?

Thank again!

Thanks all for your comments.  We decided to book the excursion and are looking forward to it.  

thanks all for your comments.  We decided to book the tour and are really looking forward to it.  

Thanks for the info.  It is a Royal sponsored excursion, so if we are delayed they will wait or take care of us.  

We are considering the Royal Caribbean Multi-Day Adventures - Queenstown - Milford/Dunedin on our upcoming New Zealand cruise and were wondering if anybody has done this, and what the experience was, and is it worth it.  This is a 2 day adventure where we are dropped off at Milford Sound and see the sound, go to Queenstown overnight, and end up in Dunedin to catch up with the ship.  We appreciate your thoughts.  Note - I am crossposting this into the Australia / New Zealand thread as well.   Thanks in advance

We are considering the Royal Caribbean Multi-Day Adventures - Queenstown - Milford/Dunedin on our New Zealand cruise and were wondering if anybody has done this, and what the experience was, and is it worth it.  This is a 2 day adventure where we are dropped off at Milford Sound and see the sound, go to Queenstown overnight, and end up in Dunedin to catch up with the ship.  We appreciate your thoughts.  Note - I am crossposting this into the Main Royal thread as well.   Thanks in advance

here is a better link...

sorry, Hallux - that's not the one we saw.  Thanks for posting though.  The one we saw showed how they created the "hole" and the engineers working inside (if . remember correctly).  Funny, my wife remembered the same thing.... 

I found it - this is the one we saw....

Quite interesting. 

if I remember correctly, Allure went into "wet dock" shortly after initial launch to fix an issue with the "pods" sometime in early 2014.  There were a number of videos about the entire process, which was pretty cool on how they did it - creating a "hole in the water" to allow the engineers to complete the repair      I am looking to see if I can find the video and will post if I do.  Others, if you find it, please post.  

2 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Try ChiPaul's live postings they just returned.... same itinerary.

 

bon voayge

Bo1953, thanks for the link (it had what I was looking for) and thanks to ChiPaul for the informative review.   Now to do some detail planning for our trip.  4 weeks to go. 

We are sailing on Edge Apr 7th (San Juan, Tortola, Philipsburg itinerary) and are looking for recent dailies to help plan our activities.   Appreciate any info you can share.

Thanks,

Bill

We had them on Allure last fall.

If you really like it, the recipe can be found online, or in the Oasis cookbook. We make them at home and they are a big hit.

We are scheduled to leave on Allure Aug 24th and received the following text about boarding times. We then received a call on my mobile with the same information about 5 minutes later. We usually look to board our cruises about 11:00 AM, and beat the crowd for lunch, then explore. We are Diamond, so it says we can check in at 12:30. At this point, I am still planning to check in about 11:00 AM and hope to be on board by 11:30.

Gotta say - i would be very unhappy if I had to wait until 3:00 to check in.

I've also seen a couple other messages about Allure departing late the last few sailings. I wonder if this is the reason why - more people getting on late....

Anyways - below is the text message we received.

----------------------

S: Check-in Notice: Allure of the Seas, August 24, 2014 Hello, this is Royal Caribbean International. We would like to provide you with important information regarding your upcoming sailing on Allure of the Seas, on Sunday, August 24 from Port Everglades. To enhance your check-in and boarding experience, we invite you to plan to arrive at the terminal based on your assigned decks - see timing below. We invite our Suite, Crown & Anchor Pinnacle, Diamond Plus, Diamond, Emerald and Platinum guests to arrive anytime between 12:30 PM and 4:00 PM. All other guests should refer to the timing based on your deck. Guests on deck 3 & 14 should check-in at 1:30 PM. Guests on deck 7, 11, & 12 should check-in at 2:30 PM. Guests on deck 10 should check-in at 12:30 PM. Guests on deck 6, 8, & 9 should check-in at 3:00 PM. We look forward to welcoming you onboard the Allure of the Seas. To confirm: reply with YES and send.

Sandi...We can hardly wait to set sail Feb. 2, especially now after reading your enjoyable and informative review...THANK YOU!!! :D:D

Many "thanks" to you, Terry, and to your wife, for all the time you've devoted (and she's allowed you to devote....haha) to this fantastic, extremely helpful review. Great job...although I suspect this "job" has also been a "joy" for you...your love of traveling shows. Also, a very Happy "belated" Anniversary, to you both! We booked this same cruise/itinerary (sailing 9/5) this past week, (to celebrate our 33rd anniversary) and I'm still doing my "happy dance"! I've spent the last day and a half reading each and every blog of yours....very enjoyable, and the pictures are simply SUPER!! :D

You are one amazing guy, Trainman, to share this journey that both you and Carol have completed. Rest in Peace, Carol. Will think of "you" every time we set sail on the high seas!

And, now, we anxiously await your next adventure on THE ALLURE!!!! Can't wait to hear all about it in January!!!! Take care, Jim, and give your pups a X and O for all of us!!