On Allure currently. Some issues.

[clskinsfan]

This is our first cruise on an Oasis class ship. We boarded Allure yesterday. And while the ship is amazing and the food has actually been far better than I expected after reading some recent reviews, there are some issues. This is the last cruise for Allure until she transfers to Galveston. The Solarium is closed. And has been since we boarded. They have jackhammered the entire pool tike out of it. Rumors are it will be closed the entire cruise. They also have one of the other pools closed this morning. The Solarium situation is unacceptable as it is the only adult only area on the ship. There was no prior warning of it either. Nothing was said before the cruise. There are stacks of teak stain lined up in certain areas. So it is clear they intend to use the week transfer to Galveston as a mini dry dock. We are disappointed so far to say the least. 

[time4u2go]

That's pretty rough.  I'd be upset too.

[jalves]

Just to be clear, it's only the Solarium that is affected?  No problems with other areas of the ship?

[Ocean Boy]

I would be pretty unhappy to not have use of the solarium for an entire week.

[ScubaCat3]

As I posted elsewhere, my Samba reservation was canceled at the last minute. I was told by the suite concierge that Samba and Solarium Bistro were closed this week due to unexpected maintenance. 
 

I expect they want to make a good first impression when they begin service from Galveston so this week’s guests will have some issues like this. 

[Esmerelda]

Yes, we are onboard now also. We were never notified about this area being closed either. This was where we would have spent most everyday at. I'm beyond disappointed in RC that they did not notify anyone of this issue beforehand. This was probably planned for a while. This lack of communication left a very bad taste in my mouth. 😕

[smokeybandit]

It happens. When major stuff needs fixed, they fix it.

[clskinsfan]

8 minutes ago, jalves said:

Just to be clear, it's only the Solarium that is affected?  No problems with other areas of the ship?

They just started jackhammering one of the other pools now as well. That will closed for the week as well according to an employee we spoke with. We will still have a blast. But a warning to those planning to book a pre transfer cruise, might want to rethink. 

[clskinsfan]

1 minute ago, smokeybandit said:

It happens. When major stuff needs fixed, they fix it.

No. This isn't something needed fixed. This is a mini refit. 

[nelblu]

I''d be pissed.   

Edited October 30, 2022 by nelblu

[Ocean Boy]

4 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

It happens. When major stuff needs fixed, they fix it.

This sounds like maintenance that was planned well in advance. A bit of notice about the solarium not being available would have been nice. That is hardly some obscure venue on the ship.

 

I was a bit annoyed on one of my sailings when they closed it one afternoon on a sea day for a private party.

[not-enough-cruising]

4 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

No. This isn't something needed fixed. This is a mini refit. 

You don’t know that; when I was on Allure earlier this year, there were multiple areas in the Solarium where tiles were missing (covers with orange cones) and other places where large blocks of tile were uneven and presented a pretty bad tripping hazard. 
 

Regardless, it sucks for all those onboard right now, and should have been communicated pre-embarkation. 

Edited October 30, 2022 by not-enough-cruising

[CaptainBazz]

A similar thing happened to us on an NCL cruise a few years ago...all of the deck above the pool was closed and they spent the week sanding and replacing the flooring...passengers banded together and spoke to the Captain and then logged a mass complaint to NCL...result was we all got a FCC for the full amount of the cruise. Get a group together and complain properly...you never know what may happen.

[zoepipes]

I would be disappointed but would try not to let it ruin the cruise - 

[lcpagejr]

Totally unacceptable....without prior communication!! At a minimum a letter should have been in your cabin explaining the emergency repair need. 

 

We've been on cruises where crew have closed portions of sun deck to do repair work...but we always had an option to use the other side to get from point A to point B

 

Now a days it seems customer service/communication is a after thought 

Edited October 30, 2022 by lcpagejr

[mo&fran]

We just got off Allure a week ago, and I saw a lot of crew cleaning and polishing.

I Imagine her arrival in Galveston will be a big event , what with the new terminal, and the first Oasis class in port.

 Too bad the could not do the work when there are no passengers on board.

[Seekup]

I would be so mad. The Solarium is a big reason why I prefer RC over NCL. 

[smokeybandit]

9 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

 Too bad the could not do the work when there are no passengers on board.

 

But other than drydock, there's never a time, save for 1 hour on turnaround day, that there are no passengers on board.

[Ourusualbeach]

21 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 

But other than drydock, there's never a time, save for 1 hour on turnaround day, that there are no passengers on board.

In this case they have 3 days as she sails empty from Florida to Galveston.  passengers depart Sunday Moring and then new passengers board on Wednesday for the 4 day trade event sailing.  Regular sailings start at the conclusion of the Trade event.

 

 

[ARandomTraveler]

33 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

We just got off Allure a week ago, and I saw a lot of crew cleaning and polishing.

I Imagine her arrival in Galveston will be a big event , what with the new terminal, and the first Oasis class in port.

 Too bad the could not do the work when there are no passengers on board.

 

23 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

 

But other than drydock, there's never a time, save for 1 hour on turnaround day, that there are no passengers on board.

Then they should have made this a discounted cruise with notice to people who booked it that major public areas would be closed and pools would be unavailable. 
 

This is totally unacceptable to charge full price for a cruise with these areas under construction. 

Edited October 30, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, ARandomTraveler said:

The  they should have made this a discounted cruise with the notice to people who booked it that major public areas would be closed and pools would be unavailable. 
 

This is totally unacceptable to charge full price for a cruise with these areas under construction. 

A letter to MB's office may yield an FCC towards a future cruise

Edited October 30, 2022 by Ourusualbeach

[ScubaCat3]

21 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

In this case they have 3 days as she sails empty from Florida to Galveston.  passengers depart Sunday Moring and then new passengers board on Wednesday for the 4 day trade event sailing.  Regular sailings start at the conclusion of the Trade event.

 

 

Minor point - the current cruise ends on Saturday (Nov 5th), so that gives them a little more time.
 

I suspect they planned to do all the work during the down time but once the person who was in charge of actually doing the work saw the job he/she gave them a more realistic time line and the plans were changed. 

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, ScubaCat3 said:

Minor point - the current cruise ends on Saturday (Nov 5th), so that gives them a little more time.
 

I suspect they planned to do all the work during the down time but once the person who was in charge of actually doing the work saw the job he/she gave them a more realistic time line and the plans were changed. 

My bad, just assumed it ended on Sunday.  Gets them an extra day.  I am assuming that they will want everything open and shiny for the Trade Event sailing

[Esmerelda]

One other issue as well…on same sailing.  The beach pool is also closed.  This is a zero entry pool for people with younger kids.  We overheard a set of parents this morning with 2 kids under 5 saying how it would have been nice had they been notified of this closure.  I’m sorry,  RC needs to get their act together.  It’s like they are upgrading the ship for Galveston but In the meantime, we have paid a lot to be on here just as the people in Galveston have.  Not cool RC once again…! 
 

 

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, clskinsfan said:

They just started jackhammering one of the other pools now as well. That will closed for the week as well according to an employee we spoke with. We will still have a blast. But a warning to those planning to book a pre transfer cruise, might want to rethink. 

That is not right to be closing down the solarium and now jack hammering another pool.   I would definitely be complaining.

Is the ship sailing at full capacity this week?