Allure - Live August 28th to September 4th - Changes in Latitude Change my Attitude

[A&L_Ont]

Have you filled out your survey yet? We plan on doing ours tonight. I was thinking to paste the link to my review into one of the comments. You think they will notice.

 

 

It is worth a try, but I bet with all that they see weekly it might just be missed by accident or by choice.

 

We are going to do our survey tonight or tomorrow but I want to finish the cruise review first in case it jogs my memory about something.

[John&LaLa]

It is worth a try, but I bet with all that they see weekly it might just be missed by accident or by choice.

 

We are going to do our survey tonight or tomorrow but I want to finish the cruise review first in case it jogs my memory about something.

 

I ran out of stuff to talk about. ;)

 

I am in the follow up questions phase.

 

I may do one from the RS on Serenade next spring, or what it's like to spend 3 months on Oasis next fall. :eek:

 

see ya around

[A&L_Ont]

I ran out of stuff to talk about. ;)

 

I am in the follow up questions phase.

 

I may do one from the RS on Serenade next spring, or what it's like to spend 3 months on Oasis next fall. :eek:

 

see ya around

 

I'd love to write that review. :D See you on the boards John.

[A&L_Ont]

The Star Class.

 

This will be broken into a few different sections due to its detail and length.

 

This cruise was our first cruise with the new Star Class perks and with a Genie. Some of you already know that we have been on Oasis Class ships numerous times. Oasis 9 times and Allure 8 times. Almost all of those sailings were in Star Class Cabins, only before the perks that are offered now.

 

We have become more than familiar with the ship, the shows, the crew, and the processes long ago from these numerous sailings. Mainly because we had to do it all ourselves in the past. We are planners and we like to book things in advance. With a nine year old that is what we did again as we wanted specific dining times, as everyone knows with kids the longer it takes the unhappier they are.

 

To be 100% honest we booked the cabin we wanted and not for the perks. In reality the price of our "typical or normal" cabin has not changed, we are just given extra "freebies". We will gladly take them, but some of them we didn't overly utilize. For example we were in the suite lounge on embarkation day and disembarkation day and that was it. We have seen all the shows numerous times so to have a seat better than the normal suite seating really doesn't matter to us. We did use the specialty dining for Sabor (x2), Johnny Rockets, Giovanni's, and Chops (x2) and these are the places that we would have dined at regardless of a perk or not. We didn't use the laundry service but we did use the wifi packages, had custom hand made drinks one afternoon from the mobile beverage cart, and grabbed items from the fridge as needed. That was really nice just to grab a can of coke or a package on M&Ms etc and not have to worry about the over inflated bar charges. That is ironically funny considering our cabin choice.

[A&L_Ont]

Port Arrival, Genie Checkin and Process

 

We arrived at the port shortly after 11 am. We took SUV Uber to the port and it worked great. As it turned out our driver was from Haiti and his home was in Cap Haitian. He was excited to hear that we were going to Labadee. On a side note said he had only Ubered people to the port 3 times in total. It cost a bit more than a taxi but we had ice cold AC, comfort and most importantly didn't have that awkward wait for the taxi to show up to get us and then the occasional discussion with others waiting of who's cab it actually is. We will use uber to the port going forward.

 

Once we arrived at the port it was generally the same process as always. We had to tell a few porters that we were Star Class and then they stopped requesting our luggage. Once we entered the suite entrance Francesco, our Genie, along with two others were waiting for their respective guests.

 

After that we left our luggage right at the entrance with the other Genies and Francesco walked with us through the checkin process. We went through security X-ray, and over to checkin the same as always. You know, the white check list sheet. No, no, no and a few more nos and then sign the questionnaire. One swipe of Amex and off to the photo station. Owen got his muster station wrist band as well. From there we headed up escalator to the waiting area but since boarding had started we went directly to the gangway wth Frankie leading the way.

 

We continued to proceed to the RP and we were off to our cabin, or so we thought. We made small talk with Frankie along the way. He took us to the suite lounge and dropped us off as he went to see if our cabin was ready. As it turns out it wasn't. Either the guests prior to us were real messy or they left late. We never did find out the answer not that it really mattered.

 

We waited in the SL for 45 minutes for our cabin to be ready. Our steward Carmen found us when it was ready as Frankie had to welcome his other guests. So much from pier to cabin. Ugh, we just wanted to get away and have fun. By noon we were finally in our cabin and our bags were waiting for us. While we went through our process our luggage did as well, most likely for X-ray, and then made its way to our cabin. We had no luggage tags on it and it made its way just fine.

 

Leading up to the cruise we were originally in a CLS so had already had our shows and dinner reservations. We self cabin upgraded a couple of months to the Star Class and decided to keep our dinner reservations that were prepaid. We did cancel our prepaid drink programs and our money was refunded to our credit card well prior to our cruise. When onboard our prepaid dinners at Chops and Giovanni's were refunded by Frankie.

[Kcjarvis]

Port Arrival, Genie Checkin and Process

 

 

 

We arrived at the port shortly after 11 am. We took SUV Uber to the port and it worked great. As it turned out our driver was from Haiti and his home was in Cap Haitian. He was excited to hear that we were going to Labadee. On a side note said he had only Ubered people to the port 3 times in total. It cost a bit more than a taxi but we had ice cold AC, comfort and most importantly didn't have that awkward wait for the taxi to show up to get us and then the occasional discussion with others waiting of who's cab it actually is. We will use uber to the port going forward.

 

 

 

.

 

 

Excellent. Will use uber going forward also.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[John&LaLa]

It is worth a try, but I bet with all that they see weekly it might just be missed by accident or by choice.

 

We are going to do our survey tonight or tomorrow but I want to finish the cruise review first in case it jogs my memory about something.

 

Didn't get to post my link. The survey ended rather abruptly with no opportunity to add comments other than do you have anyone you would like to commend for their service. There was an opportunity in the beginning, but I thought I would get another chance. Oops.

 

Are you posting the compasses? I scanned mine last night, but not really sure of the best way to do it. Any suggestions?

 

FYI, I'm going to try and Scope a rocket launch this evening. Scheduled to go up at 7:05 Eastern, 2 hour launch window. :(

[A&L_Ont]

Excellent. Will use uber going forward also.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

We took uber to the port and a taxi to the airport after the cruise. This was our experience this trip.

 

Uber Ride- the driver was from Haiti. The car was a black Lexus SUV with ice cold AC, no music blaring, seat belts worked, and he was friendly and happy.

 

Taxi Ride - the driver was from Haiti. The car was an old cop car, windows were down because there was no AC, music was blaring, not all the seat belts worked, and he was friendly and happy.

 

 

Cost difference between the two was marginal. Comfort levels were not marginal. If there is a shortage of taxis from the port we will use uber as a fall back, but going forward we will use uber to get to the port from the hotel.

Edited September 8, 2016 by A&L_Ont

[roninone]

When looking for our 12 year anniversary card this July I found the perfect one. You might say I always think of cruising, and there is no problem with that IMHO. I had hoped it would do the trick. Oh, don't forget to turn on the sound.

 

https://vimeo.com/180254712

 

 

And then there is the last resort tactic I used of just stating "let's go on a cruise". She eventually folded like a house of cards. Actually it wasn't that easy, but I was successful. Hopefully your decision won't be as hard to make, as it was for Lisa.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

My husband got me the exact same card for our 20th in July! Loved it

[A&L_Ont]

My husband got me the exact same card for our 20th in July! Loved it

 

Great card isn't it.

[A&L_Ont]

Didn't get to post my link. The survey ended rather abruptly with no opportunity to add comments other than do you have anyone you would like to commend for their service. There was an opportunity in the beginning, but I thought I would get another chance. Oops.

 

Are you posting the compasses? I scanned mine last night, but not really sure of the best way to do it. Any suggestions?

 

FYI, I'm going to try and Scope a rocket launch this evening. Scheduled to go up at 7:05 Eastern, 2 hour launch window. :(

 

I will watch for the scope. It sucks that you couldn't put the link in your review. Thanks for the heads up so if I want to I should do it early in the survey.

 

I will be posting compasses on a separate thread, listing the ports and ship in the title. With in that thread I will put a link to the live thread. I will also put a link to the compasses in the live thread.

 

I hope this helps.

Edited September 8, 2016 by A&L_Ont

[secrui]

Port Arrival, Genie Checkin and Process

 

We arrived at the port shortly after 11 am. We took SUV Uber to the port and it worked great. As it turned out our driver was from Haiti and his home was in Cap Haitian. He was excited to hear that we were going to Labadee. On a side note said he had only Ubered people to the port 3 times in total. It cost a bit more than a taxi but we had ice cold AC, comfort and most importantly didn't have that awkward wait for the taxi to show up to get us and then the occasional discussion with others waiting of who's cab it actually is. We will use uber to the port going forward.

 

Once we arrived at the port it was generally the same process as always. We had to tell a few porters that we were Star Class and then they stopped requesting our luggage. Once we entered the suite entrance Francesco, our Genie, along with two others were waiting for their respective guests.

 

 

 

After that we left our luggage right at the entrance with the other Genies and Francesco walked with us through the checkin process. We went through security X-ray, and over to checkin the same as always. You know, the white check list sheet. No, no, no and a few more nos and then sign the questionnaire. One swipe of Amex and off to the photo station. Owen got his muster station wrist band as well. From there we headed up escalator to the waiting area but since boarding had started we went directly to the gangway wth Frankie leading the way.

 

We continued to proceed to the RP and we were off to our cabin, or so we thought. We made small talk with Frankie along the way. He took us to the suite lounge and dropped us off as he went to see if our cabin was ready. As it turns out it wasn't. Either the guests prior to us were real messy or they left late. We never did find out the answer not that it really mattered.

 

We waited in the SL for 45 minutes for our cabin to be ready. Our steward Carmen found us when it was ready as Frankie had to welcome his other guests. So much from pier to cabin. Ugh, we just wanted to get away and have fun. By noon we were finally in our cabin and our bags were waiting for us. While we went through our process our luggage did as well, most likely for X-ray, and then made its way to our cabin. We had no luggage tags on it and it made its way just fine.

 

Leading up to the cruise we were originally in a CLS so had already had our shows and dinner reservations. We self cabin upgraded a couple of months to the Star Class and decided to keep our dinner reservations that were prepaid. We did cancel our prepaid drink programs and our money was refunded to our credit card well prior to our cruise. When onboard our prepaid dinners at Chops and Giovanni's were refunded by Frankie.

 

Did you find out what happened to the passengers whose condition(s) required ALLURE to return to Port Everglades shortly after its departure?

[Rubywith]

Would appreciate Uber information. Looking for SUV. rwithington@sympatico.ca

[A&L_Ont]

Did you find out what happened to the passengers whose condition(s) required ALLURE to return to Port Everglades shortly after its departure?

 

No, never officially. I read the following on our roll call.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=50973290&postcount=832

Edited September 8, 2016 by A&L_Ont

[Tommy3putts]

Would appreciate Uber information. Looking for SUV. rwithington@sympatico.ca

 

 

 

Its a car service using a smartphone app. See http://www.uber.com

[secrui]

No, never officially. I read the following on our roll call.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=50973290&postcount=832

 

YIKES! I hope ROYAL CARIBBEAN and/or the Port Authority can assess fines. I can understand someone having a heart attack or other medical emergency, but to have people fighting, then jeopardize ship operations, is serious. To say nothing of probably having to pick up a pilot on the way back to port and a pilot again for the 2nd departure.

[A&L_Ont]

Would appreciate Uber information. Looking for SUV. rwithington@sympatico.ca

 

Its a car service using a smartphone app. See http://www.uber.com

 

Tommy3putts, thanks for giving the explanation for Ruby.

 

Ruby, Uber doesn't get you a specific person, it connects you with the type of vehicle you are requesting. If you check out their app, or website you can get a much better idea of how it works. We feel it is a great service and hopefully you will find it the same way.

[A&L_Ont]

YIKES! I hope ROYAL CARIBBEAN and/or the Port Authority can assess fines. I can understand someone having a heart attack or other medical emergency, but to have people fighting, then jeopardize ship operations, is serious. To say nothing of probably having to pick up a pilot on the way back to port and a pilot again for the 2nd departure.

 

In an ideal world that would be nice. I suspect RC would be just happy to have them off the ship before it got to be a bigger problem.

[A&L_Ont]

We received our pre cruise Genie survey approximately three weeks ahead of the cruise. I'm not exactly sure what their goal is with it... I guess it really is to give the Genie an idea of who we are but in reality it might just be to get the cruiser excited. We received an email directly from Frankie two weeks prior to our sailing. It was more thorough with any requests that we have, and a items list of things to be left at home. I thought it would suggest to not bring shampoo, conditioner and so forth. Boy was I wrong, what we received was the "prohibited items list".

 

 

 

That's unfortunate as Lisa had just got me this wonderful new axe that I was going to bring.

 

 

 

And I really know how to use it. Oh well, if pirates or zombies that can swim attack I guess we will have to rely on the crew. [emoji6] Don't forget your sound.

 

https://vimeo.com/182131608

 

 

One request we had was we wanted to rent the flowrider for the first night. He made the reservation for us. We also asked from some chips from Park Cafe and 10 small bags showed up. Lisa had asked for a few cans of ginger ale and a 12 pack showed up. He did hold a few seats for us prior to three shows. After our long dining experience at Giovanni's we asked Frankie to move up of 2 later dining times to an earlier time.

 

Frankie left us a deck phone to call him if we needed anything as well as a couple of his cards. We didn't use the loop system to contact Francesco. Lisa didn't want to drag her iPad everywhere just in case she wanted to contact him and during the day we were all in different locations. I just carried his business card in case I need to contact him.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited September 9, 2016 by A&L_Ont

[A&L_Ont]

Both he and Carmen, our lead steward, worked very well together as a team to make sure we were watched over. Carmen even noted to us the Frankie was concerned that he hadn't heard from us for close to 24 hours. When ever he stopped by the cabin, called us or stopped by a restaurant we were to be at we had always been just a bit quicker than him. He tried the deck phone as well but it was in our cabin and not with us. He did come and watch the flow riding the first night and also caught up with us there on another occasion. After the 3rd day he would call our cabin around 5 pm to check our evening plans, to see how our day was and if we needed anything. We were always good. He asked if we wanted to rent the flow rider another time, and we said to him he had already arranged it on our own. Again, it is not a big deal to us and we were always used to doing this on our own.

 

I guess for us, we are programmed to do it on our own and we did the same again this time. Our next Genie cruise will be in March on Harmony and we have concluded that if our room is ready on or not ready on embarkation day, we will have lunch first and then proceed to our cabin. Our boarding routine usually involved the immediate destruction of a few roast beef sandwiches at Park Cafe and we didn't even make it there once this week. [emoji33] We can do that again. [emoji6]

 

 

For a rookie cruisers or first time on Oasis Class cruisers, the help from a Genie can come in handy. It was nice to have a go to person if you needed something. When I asked if I could get an extra passcode for Voom and stream the answer was no though. That's ok as I used by D+ discount and spent $85 for a fourth passcode for my iPhone so I could always be connected for work and not have to do the log off dance. This is not a fault of Francesco, it is corporate decision making sure that guests don't give them away to friends in other cabins. Francesco also helped in reversing a JR milkshake charge, which is now supposedly included and wasn't previously in included.

 

We did joke with Frankie that he toughest task with us for the week was keeping up with us and trying to figure out what he could do for us. Francesco is a great guy and importantly we found him to a wonderful Genie. He found the right blend for our family and I know that he will find the right level for the cruiser that needs more attention or less attention. He also worked with Matt and Ron to surprise us with the wonderful cupcakes months after they had sailed. A classy move by the "boys" (thanks again guys) and a great thing for Frankie to help with well after the fact.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited September 9, 2016 by A&L_Ont

[A&L_Ont]

Oh, and that is me throwing the axe. I learned how to throw in Scotland.

[A&L_Ont]

Disembarkation went exceptional smooth. We meet Francesco in the SL at at 9:15. In 30 minutes we were sitting at our boarding gate at terminal 2 at FLL. Between our escort of the ship, luggage valet, the suite customs line, a short taxi line, and TSA pre check it was a super fast process.

 

Posted below are Star Class information sheets that we received at the beginning of our cruise.

 

Information at checkin.

 

 

 

Our weekly Planner which awaited in our Cabin.

 

 

 

I'm formation about the Star Class Program which was also in my ur cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[A&L_Ont]

For those that have asked my next cruise it will be on Harmony of the Seas, on November 12th, 2016. If you are looking forward to another cruise experience with me, you'd better start packing your imaginary bags in early November. It will be her first full Caribbean sailing when she arrives in Florida so there will be lots new features to see. Hopefully you will join us again.

 

I am already starting to day dream about that cruise. Lisa has the only white car in our house and I have already started to toy with the idea of painting the lower portion of her car and adding a few graphics, in honour of the Oasis Class. I'm not sure she'll like the idea, but I bet it will grow on her.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for cruising and following us. I will pick you up in November, if you are up for it.[emoji3]

 

Andrew

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[leaveitallbehind]

For those that have asked my next cruise it will be on Harmony of the Seas, on November 12th, 2016. If you are looking forward to another cruise experience with me, you'd better start packing your imaginary bags in early November. It will be her first full Caribbean sailing when she arrives in Florida so there will be lots new features to see. Hopefully you will join us again.

 

I am already starting to day dream about that cruise. Lisa has the only white car in our house and I have already started to toy with the idea of painting the lower portion of her car and adding a few graphics, in honour of the Oasis Class. I'm not sure she'll like the idea, but I bet it will grow on her.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for cruising and following us. I will pick you up in November, if you are up for it.[emoji3]

 

Andrew

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

.....which I thought was a vintage Mustang?? ;)

Edited September 10, 2016 by leaveitallbehind

[A&L_Ont]

LOL, that's "her" other white car.[emoji6] If I dare do anything to the 66 convertible I'd be a dead man.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk