My thoughts after May 5 2013 cruise on the Allure

[PatrickCruises123]

Sorry, got bogged down in a discussion on the differences in the ports.

 

My wife read this post and thought it had a negative tone to it and she's right. I was attempting to point out non-people related "suggestions" that I had for RCCL and went a little too far in that direction.

 

Now for the good stuff.

The people are amazing. They work so hard, 7 days a week for months at a time. I felt compelled to give several of them extra tips and also accolades in my letter to RCCL. I left that part out of this thread because it contained specific names and positions on the ship.

 

We hardly felt the ship move at all during the cruise. The seas were calm and the ship is so large that you had to keep reminding yourself you were at sea instead of staying in a hotel on land. We ate dinner one night at Giovanni's Table and it was amazing. The main dinning room was awesome as to be expected. The Windjammer was the usual excellence you'd find on an RCCL ship.

 

Dazzles is very cool so you'd want to check that out if you get a chance. The two deck Solarium at the front of the ship is very cool and they did 2 special Dj events there at night during the cruise.

 

One suggestion for anyone going on that ship, do the all access tour. It's $150 a person but it was amazing. Definitely worth the money. It was 4 hours long and they took us all through the ship, from the laundry area at the very bottom of the ship to the engine control room, crew areas and the bridge and everything in between. There's a whole other city of people and activities on the ship that the typical guest will never see.

 

All in all, the best cruise yet and this was my 6th cruise total. I was caught off guard by some minor things during the cruise and on one excursion but they were small in the grand scheme of things.

[awhcruiser]

What about private excursions? We never book any through the cruise line.

 

This is from a letter I just mailed to RCCL

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

1. Your ship is amazing (I did the all access tour) and your crew is just as amazing as the ship.

 

2. The one problem with going on the Allure of the Seas is having to use Port Everglades.

a. It was difficult to find

b. There is no parking garage next to the terminal like there should be (a parking garage a block or two away doesn’t count; see Port Canaveral for reference on how to do it the right way)

c. Last and definitely the big problem is the layout of the terminal when you return after the cruise. The design is horrible. Customs is as slow as watching paint dry and to put the customs part of the disembarkation as the last step is backwards. We should have come from the ship, pass through customs (eventually) and THEN gone to our luggage. I was literally amazed at how incredibly poorly this was designed and this was the expensive port I had heard such great things about. Absolutely amazed at the poor design. Again, see Port Canaveral on how to do it correctly.

 

3. Excursions. Your selection is awesome but you’re missing one important thing. DETAILS. If I sign up for an excursion, I want to know A-Z on that excursion. And I do mean literally A to Z. Where is it, who’s running it, are there lockers, what about money, what about taxis, how long is it (an accurate time), if it includes food, when is it served, what is the food, is there anything on the menu for vegetarians; basically anything you could think of regarding the excursion, I want to know it. Example. In Cozumel, we did the helmet dive. The actual dive itself, the part in the water, awesome. The rest of it sucked bad. We had no idea that it required a taxi both ways, no idea if there were lockers so we didn’t bring any money. We were given a damn sales pitch to buy stuff as soon as we got there; which I absolutely cannot stand! There was snorkeling available which wasn’t mentioned in the description of the excursion. We were initially told we’d have to stay there for hours before they would pay for us to take a taxi back to the ship. Our time in the water was about 15 minutes; way too short. In short, I’m not doing another excursion in Cozumel if you guys are just going to farm this stuff out to locals that run such a crappy operation and bug us for money the second they see us. I was never a big fan of Cozumel because of the constant begging and this excursion experience sure didn’t help.

 

4. Cruise photos. Your process for deciding and purchasing pictures is a mess. We had to wait until day 7 to make the arrangements and then that morning after they opened up, half of the ship seemed to be there with us trying to look through and decide on pictures. You need signage that explains how the digital pictures on disc works and how you actually order it, which is apparently through the kiosk. The one person we did talk too wasn’t any help. We literally had to figure it out on our own. I would suggest you spend some quality time re-thinking how to handle the cruise photo ordering process.

 

5. The Blaze nightclub and the Scratch Djs as guest entertainers.

a. My first though on “Blaze” was that it was a stupid name, I would have called it Velvet or something else with a better ring to it. The biggest problem with Blaze is that it was designed by someone who doesn’t know anything about clubs. You need high ceilings for the lights to be effective, haze and fog machines in the correct places, proper subs and top end speakers, dance floor size and shape, Dj booth location, etc. I’ve been a Dj for 25 years and vast majority of what I saw in Blaze is NOT how I would have done it. It seems like Blaze was an afterthought. It’s one level, low ceilings, cramped, crappy equipment, poor booth location, etc. A good example to follow would have been the nightclub on the Freedom of the Seas.

b. The other area that needs improvement is you guys need to be more selective on these “scratch” Djs you bring on board. I’ve seen two of them now (one on Freedom of the Seas and now on the Allure of the Seas) and while they can “scratch” and beatmix (most of the time), their programming is not up to speed. This is nothing against them, they’re just young and inexperienced. It takes years in the clubs to learn how to read a crowd and know what to play and most importantly, what NOT to play. The guest Dj on Allure was at times very good, such as when he was doing the disco party warm up in the Promenade. At other times such as the Absolute 20 party, his song selection had me scratching my head. There’s just no substitute for experience and having some Dj that can “scratch” means nothing if he can’t program to go with it.

 

My overall vacation was great, these just operational areas that need improvements.

 

[PatrickCruises123]

I wouldn't even know where to start with that. I had booked the excursions months ahead of time with RCCL. It's a business, I know they get their cut and I'm good with that. Easier on me to just pay them ahead of time and not worry about it.

 

My only complaint was the lack of specifics on the excursions.

 

We did the wave rider jet ski tour in Labadee. I wanted to stay on that jet ski for hours; loved that one. Very good excursion.

 

We did the 1700's Great House tour in Falmouth. That one was great too but RCCL didn't mention that the included lunch was at the end of the excursion. Again, it's all about the details. ;)

 

We did the helmet dive in Cozumel. That one was where I had the problem; I went into details in my letter to RCCL.

[chazg]

I wouldn't even know where to start with that. I had booked the excursions months ahead of time with RCCL. It's a business, I know they get their cut and I'm good with that. Easier on me to just pay them ahead of time and not worry about it.

 

My only complaint was the lack of specifics on the excursions.

 

We did the wave rider jet ski tour in Labadee. I wanted to stay on that jet ski for hours; loved that one. Very good excursion.

 

We did the 1700's Great House tour in Falmouth. That one was great too but RCCL didn't mention that the included lunch was at the end of the excursion. Again, it's all about the details. ;)

 

We did the helmet dive in Cozumel. That one was where I had the problem; I went into details in my letter to RCCL.

 

If they printed all the details on every Excursion, It would take several days to read them before deciding. The best thing to do would be to go to the Excursion desk when you get on board and ask your questions then. If you don't get the answer you like the cancel it!

[PatrickCruises123]

They don't have to print/post "all" of the details but they could definitely give more than they currently do. For example, tell us if lockers are provided. On an excursion where the meal is included, tell us *when* the meal is served, such as towards the end of a 3+ hour excursion.

 

I'm just talking about a little bit of common sense. From a guest standpoint, I shouldn't have to go to the excursion desk just to ask a question about details that they should have already provided in the description of the excursion in the first place.

 

Makes you wonder if any of the executives from RCCL ever do the undercover boss idea and secret shop their own company by going on a cruise as a regular tourist.

[time4u2go]

I live in FT Lauderdale and there is both a lot and a garage at Port Everglades, sorry you didn't see it.

Even with the construction, all you have to do is take I 595. Period.

 

You are bragging about Canaveral as you live close to it.

I'm bragging about Port Everglades for the same reason.

 

I'm sure when I get up to Canaveral Friday and I screw up getting there, Nothing will be right and I will just blame it on the Port, the signage, and my GPS.

 

Where exactly is the garage? I'm not doubting you, but when I look on Google maps satellite, I don't see a garage. Perhaps it's newer than the satellite photo?

 

Ed: Upon further review, I do see a garage to the southeast, adjacent to port 19. Is this what you are referring to?

[PatrickCruises123]

I'm attaching a good aerial view of the terminal and garage. This actually talks to the differences between Canaveral and Everglades. To me, this one is much more straightforward. You can see how close the garage is to the building I labeled as main terminal.

[Fla Mike]

Where exactly is the garage? I'm not doubting you, but when I look on Google maps satellite, I don't see a garage. Perhaps it's newer than the satellite photo?

 

Ed: Upon further review, I do see a garage to the southeast, adjacent to port 19. Is this what you are referring to?

 

The garage is attached to the HAL/Carnival terminal, not sure the number. It is directly across the street from RCI terminal, I believe it is called the Midport garage

[abridalmaven]

This is from a letter I just mailed to RCCL

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

1. Your ship is amazing (I did the all access tour) and your crew is just as amazing as the ship.

 

2. The one problem with going on the Allure of the Seas is having to use Port Everglades.

a. It was difficult to find

b. There is no parking garage next to the terminal like there should be (a parking garage a block or two away doesn’t count; see Port Canaveral for reference on how to do it the right way)

c. Last and definitely the big problem is the layout of the terminal when you return after the cruise. The design is horrible. Customs is as slow as watching paint dry and to put the customs part of the disembarkation as the last step is backwards. We should have come from the ship, pass through customs (eventually) and THEN gone to our luggage. I was literally amazed at how incredibly poorly this was designed and this was the expensive port I had heard such great things about. Absolutely amazed at the poor design. Again, see Port Canaveral on how to do it correctly.

 

3. Excursions. Your selection is awesome but you’re missing one important thing. DETAILS. If I sign up for an excursion, I want to know A-Z on that excursion. And I do mean literally A to Z. Where is it, who’s running it, are there lockers, what about money, what about taxis, how long is it (an accurate time), if it includes food, when is it served, what is the food, is there anything on the menu for vegetarians; basically anything you could think of regarding the excursion, I want to know it. Example. In Cozumel, we did the helmet dive. The actual dive itself, the part in the water, awesome. The rest of it sucked bad. We had no idea that it required a taxi both ways, no idea if there were lockers so we didn’t bring any money. We were given a damn sales pitch to buy stuff as soon as we got there; which I absolutely cannot stand! There was snorkeling available which wasn’t mentioned in the description of the excursion. We were initially told we’d have to stay there for hours before they would pay for us to take a taxi back to the ship. Our time in the water was about 15 minutes; way too short. In short, I’m not doing another excursion in Cozumel if you guys are just going to farm this stuff out to locals that run such a crappy operation and bug us for money the second they see us. I was never a big fan of Cozumel because of the constant begging and this excursion experience sure didn’t help.

 

4. Cruise photos. Your process for deciding and purchasing pictures is a mess. We had to wait until day 7 to make the arrangements and then that morning after they opened up, half of the ship seemed to be there with us trying to look through and decide on pictures. You need signage that explains how the digital pictures on disc works and how you actually order it, which is apparently through the kiosk. The one person we did talk too wasn’t any help. We literally had to figure it out on our own. I would suggest you spend some quality time re-thinking how to handle the cruise photo ordering process.

 

5. The Blaze nightclub and the Scratch Djs as guest entertainers.

a. My first though on “Blaze” was that it was a stupid name, I would have called it Velvet or something else with a better ring to it. The biggest problem with Blaze is that it was designed by someone who doesn’t know anything about clubs. You need high ceilings for the lights to be effective, haze and fog machines in the correct places, proper subs and top end speakers, dance floor size and shape, Dj booth location, etc. I’ve been a Dj for 25 years and vast majority of what I saw in Blaze is NOT how I would have done it. It seems like Blaze was an afterthought. It’s one level, low ceilings, cramped, crappy equipment, poor booth location, etc. A good example to follow would have been the nightclub on the Freedom of the Seas.

b. The other area that needs improvement is you guys need to be more selective on these “scratch” Djs you bring on board. I’ve seen two of them now (one on Freedom of the Seas and now on the Allure of the Seas) and while they can “scratch” and beatmix (most of the time), their programming is not up to speed. This is nothing against them, they’re just young and inexperienced. It takes years in the clubs to learn how to read a crowd and know what to play and most importantly, what NOT to play. The guest Dj on Allure was at times very good, such as when he was doing the disco party warm up in the Promenade. At other times such as the Absolute 20 party, his song selection had me scratching my head. There’s just no substitute for experience and having some Dj that can “scratch” means nothing if he can’t program to go with it.

 

My overall vacation was great, these just operational areas that need improvements.

 

 

We parked in the lot next to the pier, did you miss that?

Hard to find? You can see the ship from a distance.

[PatrickCruises123]

yes, you can see the ship from a distance but navigating through the maze of roads and construction as you come off 595 is what i was referring to.

 

yes, parked in the lot next to the terminal but I was expecting a garage similar to canaveral; i even posted an aerial view of canaveral.

 

if i could have allure as the ship but canaveral as the port, that would be the winner.

[The Viking]

They don't have to print/post "all" of the details but they could definitely give more than they currently do. For example, tell us if lockers are provided. On an excursion where the meal is included, tell us *when* the meal is served, such as towards the end of a 3+ hour excursion.

 

On some very popular excursions they have several busses going. They may change the route for some busses so they will not have all, say 200 people, for lunch at a place which can only serve 100 at a time. I would not be surprised if they find they have so many on the waiting list that they decide to add more busses on particular days if possible.

 

I also know I would rather be without the awfull lunches they give you on the tours if it is at the end because then I prefer to get my own or get it on the ship.

[abridalmaven]

yes, you can see the ship from a distance but navigating through the maze of roads and construction as you come off 595 is what i was referring to.

 

yes, parked in the lot next to the terminal but I was expecting a garage similar to canaveral; i even posted an aerial view of canaveral.

 

if i could have allure as the ship but canaveral as the port, that would be the winner.

We have no issue one way or another about open air parking, a garage is not a requirement.

As for 595 we were on the Oasis 3 years ago and there was no construction, so RCI is not to blame for the roads. And even without the use of our GPS we just followed the signs and found it easily. After the construction is done there will be no issue again.

[Ocean Boy]

I disagree about Port Everglades as I think it is about as easy to use as you can get. But I totally agree about the excursions. Though we do not do many ship sponsored trips when we do I want much more information. If nothing else I want to get a sense of whether I feel it is worth the price or not. And I plan my port days long before I get on the ship so waiting to board and then ask questions is out of the question.

[PatrickCruises123]

I like the ease of being able to just book the big excursions ahead of time and then not worrying about it.

 

On our Aug 2010 Freedom of the Seas cruise out of Port Canaveral, we missed out on the jet skis at Labadee because we didn't book them ahead of time and they were sold out by the time we got on the ship.

 

Btw. I love the fact that this message board exists. :)

[Cindy]

This is from a letter I just mailed to RCCL

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

 

 

3. Excursions. Your selection is awesome but you’re missing one important thing. DETAILS. If I sign up for an excursion, I want to know A-Z on that excursion. And I do mean literally A to Z. Where is it, who’s running it, are there lockers, what about money, what about taxis, how long is it (an accurate time), if it includes food, when is it served, what is the food, is there anything on the menu for vegetarians; basically anything you could think of regarding the excursion, I want to know it. Example. In Cozumel, we did the helmet dive. The actual dive itself, the part in the water, awesome. The rest of it sucked bad. We had no idea that it required a taxi both ways, no idea if there were lockers so we didn’t bring any money. We were given a damn sales pitch to buy stuff as soon as we got there; which I absolutely cannot stand! There was snorkeling available which wasn’t mentioned in the description of the excursion. We were initially told we’d have to stay there for hours before they would pay for us to take a taxi back to the ship. Our time in the water was about 15 minutes; way too short. In short, I’m not doing another excursion in Cozumel if you guys are just going to farm this stuff out to locals that run such a crappy operation and bug us for money the second they see us. I was never a big fan of Cozumel because of the constant begging and this excursion experience sure didn’t help.

 

 

 

I absolutely agree! We took a L-O-N-G excursion in Cozumel last month that disappointed us from beginning to end -- if the description had been more accurate and detailed, we never would have selected it. I felt like I was being held in captivity, and if I could have figured out how to ditch the tour and get us back to the ship I would have done so without a second thought!

[Jon in the ATL]

Port Everglades is a cinch over Port Canaveral. Proximity to the airport cannot be beat.

In terms of excursions, we never book those all day 7-13 hour trips. Sure, they might be interesting, but we're on vacation and like to be flexible.

[noshoobie]

Snap, snap,. . . . . . . .back to the positives. LOL

[PatrickCruises123]

The two things I used the most on the cruise were the premium alcohol package and the $149 unlimited internet.

That premium alcohol package was the ticket. It was so nice not having to worry about how many drinks I had already purchased or planned to purchase and trying to keep a running total in my head like with previous cruises. Just walk up, put the sea pass on the bar so they can see the logo and then start ordering. They do still make you sign the paperwork but it has zeros on it for all the dollar amounts. The good thing about still requiring the paperwork is that it gave me the chance to give an extra tip to our favorite bartender in the Bow & Stern pub.

The internet on Allure was sweet. I was impressed by the speeds and bandwidth compared to previous cruises on older ships. I saw SO many people walking around the ship with their iPhones checking email and doing usual stuff as if they weren't at sea but back at home walking around a mall or something.

Very cool.

Between the awesome ship, the amazing crew, unlimited drinks and great wifi, I was set. :D

[ucfpirate]

[quote name='mkmom514']The photo for facial recognition is taken at check-in when you get your sea pass (at least on Oasis and Allure). The photo in front of the ship is not used for that and is definitely optional.[/quote]

Hmmm, on day 4 when we noticed no pictures were in our binder we asked the person working at the photo shop and he asked us if we had the picture taken in front of the fake ship when boarding the ship for the first time. We told him no and he said well you have to have that picture taken for the facial recognition software to work. We were able to find all of our pictures on the walls.

[PatrickCruises123]

You'll notice that if you have one of the pro pictures taken where they scan your card, those show up in the binder the next day. The other pictures that are taken in various places and they don't scan your sea pass card, those have to be added to your account either through their facial recognition software or you have to find them on the wall and take them to a crew member who can scan the bar code at the bottom of the picture and manually add it to your account. I had to do that with several pictures before purchasing the CD at the end of the cruise.

[hazeleyez3]

[quote name='webboy634'][SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]3. Excursions. Your selection is awesome but you’re missing one important thing. DETAILS. If I sign up for an excursion, I want to know A-Z on that excursion. And I do mean literally A to Z. Where is it, who’s running it, are there lockers, what about money, what about taxis, how long is it (an accurate time), if it includes food, when is it served, what is the food, is there anything on the menu for vegetarians; basically anything you could think of regarding the excursion, I want to know it. Example. In Cozumel, we did the helmet dive. The actual dive itself, the part in the water, awesome. The rest of it sucked bad. We had no idea that it required a taxi both ways, no idea if there were lockers so we didn’t bring any money. We were given a damn sales pitch to buy stuff as soon as we got there; which I absolutely cannot stand! There was snorkeling available which wasn’t mentioned in the description of the excursion. We were initially told we’d have to stay there for hours before they would pay for us to take a taxi back to the ship. Our time in the water was about 15 minutes; way too short. In short, I’m not doing another excursion in Cozumel if you guys are just going to farm this stuff out to locals that run such a crappy operation and bug us for money the second they see us. I was never a big fan of Cozumel because of the constant begging and this excursion experience sure didn’t help.[/FONT][/SIZE] [/quote]

This is the description of the helmet dive...

[COLOR=Black][B][U]Overview:[/U][/B][B][/B]Sea Trek helmet diving is the easiest, most comfortable way to explore Cozumel's pristine underwater world. Walking and breathing are the only skills required. You’ll wear an astronaut-style helmet that provides a continuous air supply while you’re under water and keeps your head and shoulders dry. During your trek, you will become part of the underwater world and explore beautiful coral formations and sea critters of all shapes and sizes. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][/COLOR]
[FONT="Verdana"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Black"][U][B]Highlights:[/[/B]U]
[LIST]
[*]Wear an astronaut-style Sea Trek helmet and dive into Cozumel’s underwater world
[*]Relax beachside after your diving experience or go snorkeling
[COLOR="Red"][*]Enjoy 2 complimentary beverages
[*]5 minute walk to downtown Cozumel[/COLOR]
[/LIST][/COLOR] [/SIZE][/FONT]
[B][U][COLOR=black]Full Description:[/COLOR][/U][/B][B][/B][COLOR=black]After a short briefing on equipment, safety and communication, you will head to the Sea Trek platform right off the beach. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Your experienced guide outfits you with an astronaut-style helmet that provides a continuous air supply while you’re under water. The specially designed helmet keeps your head and shoulders dry the entire dive. Your hair stays put, make-up on, and you can even wear your prescription glasses! A certified Sea Trek guide will be with you every step of the way, providing assistance and assuring a fun-filled adventure.[/COLOR]


[COLOR=black]During your trek, you will become part of the underwater world. Explore beautiful coral formations and sea critters of all shapes and sizes.[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]A half-hour later, it’s back up to the dry land.[/COLOR] [COLOR=black]Spend the rest of your Cozumel helmet diving excursion relaxing beachside, or swap your helmet for the complimentary snorkeling equipment and dive back into the water[/COLOR].

[COLOR=red]The tour includes snorkel equipment, snorkeling access at "Jeannie’s", lockers for personal belongings, fresh water and 2 complimentary beverages (soda, beer or national drinks).[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black][/COLOR][COLOR=black]The Sea Trek helmet diving tour is conveniently located within walking distance (5 minutes) to all of Cozumel's downtown shops, restaurants and bars.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][/COLOR]
[COLOR=red][B]Approximate Duration:[/B]
2 hour(s)[/COLOR]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[LIST]
[*]There is no mention of transportation being included.
[*]Next to the description on their website it says it is approximately 2 hours long.
[*]It says that you are only underwater for 30 minutes.
[*]There is no mention of food, only two free drinks.
[*]It says that snorkeling equipment is available and included in the price.
[*]It says that lockers are available.
[/LIST]