the shortened cruise trip on the aug 26,2012 allure of the sea, cabin #9311,9313

[Chicagocrooza]

So we just got back from our shortened (due to hurricane Isaac) 7 days to 5 days cruise onboard the allure of the sea. A lot of ppl had expressed their disappointment but we were happy with every way rcl had handled the situation and yes of course the communication at times were difficult (there are 6000+ passengers to take care of), but in the end, rcl had done a lot to ensure our inconveinece was compensated and taken care of.

 

Our family of 4. (2.5 yo and 5 yo) stayed in cabin 9311 and 9313. They are boardwalk balconies on deck 9 and they are connecting rooms so we can easily attend to the two kids. We had our balcony divider taken down by our cabin attendant so we could have a joint balcony. We did move the table and 2 chairs from one balcony to the other so we could have a larger table for our daily breakfast on the balcony. Room service was efficient and on time and every morning they would call before the delivery so we had enough time to at least put someclothes on before the knock on the door.

We are extremely happy with the location of our cabins and if we would do this ship again, we will definitely book these balcony cabins again. Later I will post some pictures I took from the balcony so you would have a better ideahow far you are from the aqua theatre and how far you are from johnny rockets on the boardwalk.

I will be posting some pictures from the cruise when I have time later tomorrow but if you are curious about these two rooms and any questions regarding this shortened trip, please feel free to ask.

 

CC

[xcell]

just as a curiosity question - was there a reason you picked two connecting balconies, rather than a js or higher. double the c&a points...

 

we also do connecting balcoies but usually, the grand parents are in the room beside us...

[Chicagocrooza]

oh originally we had booked the very last room aft on deck 14 ocean balcony for myself and my wife only. we had been wanting a vacation just for ourselves but after reading on this board for the final four weeks before sailing, we were feeling a little guilty for not taking them along given all these kids activities and such kids friendly ship.

 

so at first we were looking at quads but not many were available and to be honest quite expensive, so i started looking for a room just for the two of them, at the time, there were only two connecting rooms left n the ship and it would cost less (fiure this ??) probably because of last min booking??

 

to answer your question, we werent thinking bout c&a ppints and we were looking at two bathrooms and two balconies sure beat a js right?

 

yes we gave up a ocean balcony but we truely enjoyed the bw balconies.

[erbunny]

The very first revenue cruise for Allure was a 5 day, the Labadee Extravaganza. The crew did a marvelous job of cramming 7 days worth of shows into 5. How did this go onthis cruise?

[Chicagocrooza]

these are the numbers

 

js for the 4 of us would be in the high 5 thousands range

 

each bw balconies are about $2200 double occupancies

 

and if i remember correctly, if you add the sf, you get more real estate with the connecting rooms than the js. but the deciding factor was the two bathrooms and two showers....

 

 

we did not like the central balconies as much, they were much quieter but they were kind of boring in my opinion, i think thats probably why they are slightly cheaper than bw balconies. we enjoyed a drink at the bar at central park and usually some kind of nice breeze (forward location?) which you rarely experience at boardwalk.

[Chicagocrooza]

as far as shows, chicago had only two showings instead of 3 or 4. its hard for those who had to rebook but they were trying accomodate everyone.

business as usually and two sea days so everyone were trying to catch up on what they missed

[CleveRocks]

Traveling with a 9 year old and 12 year old, we opted for two connecting oceanview cabins (no balconies), 9102 and 9104 right at the bow of the ship ... our windows looked forward, with the bridge above us and the helipad in front of us.

 

I considered a JS but decided against it because of the privacy as well as the two bathrooms. Not privacy exactly, more separation. If the kids want to be boisterous and loud they can go next door; if they are at odds with each other they can each go to a separate space. It's the same reason that when we travel with them we prefer to stay places like Embassy Suites ... we all sleep in the bedroom at night but it's nice to have two separate rooms just to have the space and separation.

 

And let me tell you, two bathrooms was a VERY nice luxury!

[rstout]

We chose connecting BW balcony rooms 10711/10713 for our upcoming Allure cruise in march. The kids (7 and 8) are so excited to have their own space, it was cheaper than a JS, the kids will have their own beds, and we have more privacy, an extra bathroom and more space. Way more important to us than extra c&a points.

 

Were you able to watch the shows from your balcony? How was the noise?

[cruisinck]

I agree about the 2 rooms. We were on Oasis in July and had 9715 and 9717 with a 17 and 10 year old and it was alot cheaper especially since we had to book a adult in each cabin we got the diamond discount on both. :cool:

[hubofhockey]

We chose connecting BW balcony rooms 10711/10713 for our upcoming Allure cruise in march. The kids (7 and 8) are so excited to have their own space, it was cheaper than a JS, the kids will have their own beds, and we have more privacy, an extra bathroom and more space. Way more important to us than extra c&a points.

 

Were you able to watch the shows from your balcony? How was the noise?

 

We are doing the same on the Allure in Boardwalk balcony cabins (11323 & 11325). Our kids will be 15 & 13 and we were too late to get connecting rooms. But we'll have the balconies connect. We take cruises every other year with our kids and this is the first time we all won't be in one room.

[Chicagocrooza]

as fas as seeing the show at aqua theatre, it was perfect, we were pretty much in the middle of the boardwalk and we decided to sit back in our balcony and watched the aqua show on the first night, after dinner.

 

i assume the closer you are towards the aft, you will have a better and fuller sight of the whole show.

 

as far as noise, if you lock your balcony door, you will be ok, all the show ends aroumd 11pm, but you will hear it. our two kids sleep early like around 830 9pm, but the noise did not bother them.

[Chicagocrooza]

We are doing the same on the Allure in Boardwalk balcony cabins (11323 & 11325). Our kids will be 15 & 13 and we were too late to get connecting rooms. But we'll have the balconies connect. We take cruises every other year with our kids and this is the first time we all won't be in one room.

 

it is really nice to have the balconies connected becuase each one balcony only has two chairs and a small table, if there are 4 of you, and you enjoy spending time together eating breakfast, its best to move all chairs and tables to one balcony.

[Chicagocrooza]

not sure if it was the summer month or not, but allure and oasis seem to have very expensive quads rooms, they are not giving the 3rd and 4th a break.

 

i remember when i started pricing it out 4 weeks before sailing, the quads inside stateroom ( only thing available) was like $4800 for four and it was definitely cheaper two get two bw balcony rooms, if you dont take gratuities into consideration.

[mad-dog74]

Traveling with a 9 year old and 12 year old, we opted for two connecting oceanview cabins (no balconies), 9102 and 9104 right at the bow of the ship ... our windows looked forward, with the bridge above us and the helipad in front of us.

 

I considered a JS but decided against it because of the privacy as well as the two bathrooms. Not privacy exactly, more separation. If the kids want to be boisterous and loud they can go next door; if they are at odds with each other they can each go to a separate space. It's the same reason that when we travel with them we prefer to stay places like Embassy Suites ... we all sleep in the bedroom at night but it's nice to have two separate rooms just to have the space and separation.

 

And let me tell you, two bathrooms was a VERY nice luxury!

 

We have these same cabins booksed but on deck 8. How was the view and was the extra room noticeable? I've heard these rooms are somewhat larger because of the slanted wall. Also, some people would complain about motion being this far forward.... Was it noticeable? Laws of physic say the motion should be the some forward and aft... But the aft lovers won't ever mention that.

Edited September 5, 2012 by mad-dog74

[CleveRocks]

We have these same cabins booksed but on deck 8. How was the view and was the extra room noticeable? I've heard these rooms are somewhat larger because of the slanted wall. Also, some people would complain about motion being this far forward.... Was it noticeable? Laws of physic say the motion should be the some forward and aft... But the aft lovers won't ever mention that.

The last time I cruised before this was in 1993, so I can't really compare the size of these cabins to others. With the slanted wall, it provided an easy and obvious space to store our suitcases.

 

We enjoyed the view. Also, if you place your head near the bottom of the window and then turn to face skyward, you can see the bridge.

 

I could feel motion throughout the ship when we were at sea. I can't swear that I felt it more in our cabin then when we were at midship. Personally, I enjoyed the motion, as did my kids. And I'm someone who often gets seasick on small boats.

 

Before we sailed, my biggest concern about the cabins was that the location was so far forward, and so much of the facilities were so far aft. It wasn't the pain in the neck I thought it was going to be, but then again I don't mind walking.

 

I'd be happy to answer any other questions. Even with the shortened cruise, we had a great time and I would be happy to book these cabins again.

[Chicagocrooza]

I meant to report back about this unique shortened cruise, now that I just finished dinner, waiting for the rain to stop at the us open (was watching Andy vs. Del potro first set tie break) I am going to expand on how well we were treated by rccl during the whole isaac situation.

 

We arrived FLL on sat around 1:30 pm. As soon as I had my phone turned back on, 4 emails came thru (all four of us were under my email address). PHONE started ringing with the same messages that our 7 days cruise will be shortened to 5 days. Instead of boarding on the allure on the 26 th Sunday. It had been delayed to Tuesdays the 28th. After a call to customer service to confirm on this. I was immediately told that we would have $400 to spend on food per day for the four of us for Sunday and Monday, I will also receive $650 obc per cabin and also 10% paid fare credit towards future cruise.

Well, a little shocked but it sure beats boarding a rocking ship.

I originally booked the w hotel by the beach for one night before boarding on the allure on sat. The cs told me I would have to contact emergency response team for hotel arrangement for Sunday and Monday and no further info was provided to them at this point.

Fair enough, I spent three hrs and 50 mins waiting on the phone to get someone from that dept to pick up the phone, no luck, and my phone accidentally lost signal and at that poont, I was not going to worry about it becuase I knew at that point, rccl would take care of us, if not, I really would not mind paying for my own hotel stay, its the hurricane.

 

Fortunately enough w hotel gave me an upgraded 2 bedroom suite with an ocean view, I immediately booked extra two nights there becuase my two kids and wife were loving the hotel and the room.

 

On the second day, i had learned From this board that we would be reimbursed up to $125 per night. My stay was $200+ but then I also learned that we would get $125 per night per cabin and since all of us were stay at a 2 bedroom suite, we should be covered.

[Chicagocrooza]

We have these same cabins booksed but on deck 8. How was the view and was the extra room noticeable? I've heard these rooms are somewhat larger because of the slanted wall. Also, some people would complain about motion being this far forward.... Was it noticeable? Laws of physic say the motion should be the some forward and aft... But the aft lovers won't ever mention that.

 

I walked all over the ship, I ran 3 miles around those track every day and the forward of ship definitely had a lot more sway even on calm sea day. I have motion sickness so I am more aware of every movement than an average person. I did not get sick at all during my trip but its a lot more "calm" in the aft of the ship.

[Chicagocrooza]

Now I think rccl made the absolute best decision as far as allure of the sea was concern, the storm did not directly hit fll area but the wind was strong and the wave was big from what I could see from my hotel balcony. When I woke up Tuesday morning. The sea was calm and the sun was out, absolutely a 360 degrees turn around from the last two days.

[SRQfireman]

not sure if it was the summer month or not, but allure and oasis seem to have very expensive quads rooms, they are not giving the 3rd and 4th a break.

 

i remember when i started pricing it out 4 weeks before sailing, the quads inside stateroom ( only thing available) was like $4800 for four and it was definitely cheaper two get two bw balcony rooms, if you dont take gratuities into consideration.

I don't how this fits into the equation....please tell us what you mean by this. You had 4 people total right?

Edited September 5, 2012 by SRQfireman

[troyandcarol]

I think he was talking about having 2 staterooms you would have double gratuities with your cabin steward.

 

We were also on this sailing with a 3 year old little girl and we had cabin 10729 which is the very last boardwalk cabin and we loved it also!! Looking forward to hearing what else you have to say about our adventure :)

[Chicagocrooza]

You are right, prepaid gratuties would've been same regardless, 4 of us would have been the same whether we do one room or two rooms. But I tipped extra at the end of the cruise x 2 because our attendant took care of both of our cabins.

[Chicagocrooza]

I think he was talking about having 2 staterooms you would have double gratuities with your cabin steward.

 

We were also on this sailing with a 3 year old little girl and we had cabin 10729 which is the very last boardwalk cabin and we loved it also!! Looking forward to hearing what else you have to say about our adventure :)

 

Troy. I think you had absolutely the best cabin,not complaining about our rooms but I think the further back (aft) you are, the better view you would have on the aqua theatre

 

Agree.

 

 

 

.

[Ren1216]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise despite Isaac. :)

[storm1of4]

So has RCI paid you what you thought they would? $400 per day and $125 for two nights each htl stay. Were you paid in cash or credit refund? Was it a flat rate or did you have to show receipts?

[CleveRocks]

We have to mail in receipts for hotel and meals.