LHARTWICK

Is the coffee worth the hassle of dealing with the vendors? I've always heard the Blue Mountain Coffee is very good. Will be there in a couple of weeks. Have been several times, but have never purchased the coffee - was always ready to get back on the ship and get out of Jamaica.

Guess noone has an answer?? Would like to know as well.

At one point I wondered which ride we were in line for - LOL!!

And usually the loud and rude crowd are the adults! I've seen adults act far worse than any of the kids.

We always do self-assist w/CCL out of Galveston with no issues, but the instructions they provide are very clear. We need off of the ship early since we have a long drive, so self-assist works best for us. We are light packers, too! Yes - zig-zag ramps in terminal. And the floors are super smooth concrete so rolling bags are super easy to push/pull!

On Allure this week we went to GS to have ours punched. We used to laugh at people who used lanyards, but now we’ve joined them after discovering how much handier it is. To each their own - not necessary to put others down for using them.

Just disembarked this morning. Facial recognition monitors are now in place so no issue there. Debarkation itself was kind of a mess. I heard a number of people talking about how disorganized it was, at least for those of us doing self-assist - which seemed to be most of the passengers! Going by the letters we received in our stateroom, we weren’t sure if we could wait in our stateroom until disembarkation began or not. It was clear as mud as someone else put it. The letters indicated different groups for self-assist passengers, however we weren’t assigned a group. The app just said beginning at 8AM we could leave whenever we were ready. We went ahead and went to deck 5 about 7:45 AM and got in the long line. However, once the departure process started, the line moved pretty quickly. As for embarkation, it went very well. Once we arrived at the terminal we never had to sit down - just walked in, went through the processes (security & check-in) and we were on our way. We were prepared for it to be a mess, but we were very pleased with how smoothly our first day went! Enjoyed the cruise - only negatives for us were requiring reservations for shows (which is silly and unnecessary) and the bed. Bed was horrible……..HORRIBLE! I even had a Klymit pad with me, but it didn’t make much difference. Ship, crew, and food were all great!

Exactly my thoughts as well. We board this Sunday. I don't look for embarkation to be any better for this first full cruise out of Galveston. Hoping for the best but will be packing patience!!! I'll try to remember to give a report when we return.

Looks like Allure is back out in the Gulf now. Adventure has taken her spot at the RCCL terminal. According to ship tracker, Allure is headed to Cozumel, expected to arrive tomorrow.

Same here! This pics bring tears to my eyes - and I'm not even kidding! I don't kid about cruising....... Allure will be a completely different class of ship for us. Ready to do my embarkation day exploring!

We drive to/from Galveston often for cruises - will be doing so again this weekend. Our route is US59/69 once we get through Texarkana. As you get into Houston, take Exits 610 East then 32A going to Galveston. That will avoid tolls. Coming back, take Exits 40B and 20A returning from Galveston. These are my cheaters!

I wish CCL would inform the stewards that P/D can drop off their luggage as soon as they board. They don't seem to be aware, at least not all of them are, and get irritated when we do so. But still glad to get the e-mail yesterday - another step in the right direction. About time really......

We sailed on Vista October 8. Only issue we had was low water pressure one day. Had plenty of hot water for the duration of the cruise. I guess we got lucky. I hope we get just as lucky on our December sailing. CCL really should address the problems she's having - hopefully they will do so very soon.

Deluxe OV is probably our favorite cabin since the extra 1/2 bath makes the cabin that much larger. And the extra bath makes getting ready so much easier for two people (or more) in the cabin. Sad that CCL will no longer put these on their ships. In AK we always get an inside cabin and just go up on deck for the views. We've talked to other cruisers on AK cruises who have balcony cabins, but they didn't use them - they were up on deck with us! LOL! Bottom line - get the cabin you want at the price point you want. Only YOU can make the best decision for your cruise. People are always asking me which cabin is best, and that's my answer.

Couldn't have said it better. May memories of your blessed wife comfort you in the days to come! We appreciate you taking us along. Prayers to you and your family! ♥️

This is why I don't get in the ship pools/whirlpools. OMG! 😆 I hope the Solarium is up and running again by the time the Allure gets to Galveston. We are on the November 13 sailing.

That's disappointing - and not necessary at this point. Silly really. But I guess we'll go with the flow if we want to see the show! 😊

The variety can be overwhelming, as I want to try all of them! On the Vista a couple of weeks ago, I tried one that had a coffee flavor - can't remember the exact name of it. OMG - it was sooooooooooo good!!! Always a line for these cakes at peak times for sure. Agree - wish they would offer some of these at dinner, as CCL's dessert selection is quite pitiful now. Thank goodness they still have the melting cake!

Just ordered my Klymit to try in a couple of weeks on RCCL. Thanks!

That's the way I read it, too. They weren't checking them anyway - at least they didn't check ours.

For sure. The one we REALLY miss is William Lee Martin (Cowboy Bill). He was hilarious WITHOUT being so vulgar. I think he's doing too well on land to return to CCL. Loved Caroline Picard, too. Have seen her many times. Chas Elstner was with us on the Vista a couple of weeks ago - I must say we enjoyed his shows. Same for Cee Jay Jones.

Do you just place it under the sheet? Or do you ask steward to add it during first night's turndown?

Would love to know more about this topper - on another ship 2 weeks ago, and mattress was misery! Steward did what he could, but was little help.

Exact same for us. Plus, since we booked very close to departure, we didn't get an early boarding time like we are used to. I guess we shall see how it goes - will pack extra patience for embarkation day as usual!