Mini “LIVE” , Allure from Galveston 12/4

[niksmom630]

40 minutes ago, mom4mom said:

I wasn’t aware that we need special access into deck 17 but I hate to start with the Grand Loft first as that’s the one everyone wants to see and I’m afraid they’d drop out after that one. Thanks for your suggestion to use the less crowded forward elevators. Since the lowest deck cabin I have is on deck 6, I think I’ll suggest meeting in front of the carousel near the donut place and go up from there. Most people don’t mind walking up a deck or two and then only those who need it will use the elevators. 
 

I can’t wait to get back on the Allure again. Thanks for sharing your travels with us. 

 

ha, I thought of that, saving the best for last has its merits. 😉 By special access I mean you can’t enter the hallway to the cabins on deck 17 without having a cabin on deck 17. You can exit the elevator there which is by Coastal kitchen. Or at least it used to be that way. Perhaps some of our past CL suite occupants could confirm? 

[Luckynana]

7 hours ago, niksmom630 said:

Perfect last day at sea…..

10:30 am and still many open seats in the Solarium and on the pool deck.  I’m still befuddled by this, but in a good way 😉 
 

 

 

 

This is a rarity, one of which I have yet to find on a cruise...

[niksmom630]

3 hours ago, Luckynana said:

This is a rarity, one of which I have yet to find on a cruise...

 A thing of beauty 💕

[scottasp]

6 hours ago, niksmom630 said:

 

ha, I thought of that, saving the best for last has its merits. 😉 By special access I mean you can’t enter the hallway to the cabins on deck 17 without having a cabin on deck 17. You can exit the elevator there which is by Coastal kitchen. Or at least it used to be that way. Perhaps some of our past CL suite occupants could confirm? 

What is  CL suite. I have only had balcony and lower level cabins. Thanks for the review we are taking the family on Jan 15th. Most have not been on oasis class ship yet. I have some royal up oppertunities we are looking at. We have about 18 going in 8 cabins.

[Ozark_Kid]

8 hours ago, niksmom630 said:

How can  the ship be ready for 11a.m.  Boarding times if the last group getting off is just walking off at 10:40?

Our boarding time in January Allure is 10am. Is 11am the easiest time this month?  

When we had an early boarding time on Allure in Ft Lauderdale last November they checked us in and then we were put in a waiting section for about 20 minutes. 

[Coralc]

2 hours ago, scottasp said:

What is  CL suite. I have only had balcony and lower level cabins. Thanks for the review we are taking the family on Jan 15th. Most have not been on oasis class ship yet. I have some royal up oppertunities we are looking at. We have about 18 going in 8 cabins.

Crown Loft Suite.

[Lionesss]

Having stayed in a CL suite on Oasis, Allure and Symphony, we found the doors to be open by CK when CK was serving meals.  They used the service elevator in the back of the ship.

 

All other times it was open.

 

Just an FYI

 

[niksmom630]

Debarkation was a breeze. Left the cabin at 7:45, short ramp walk off the ship and into the terminal (unlike FFL  or  Miami where you do quite a bit of winding around) shuttles were lined  up outside and we were at the parking garage and on our way by 8:15. Carrying off luggage is very doable here. I think bags needed to be out by 9 pm… 

 

 

there were people lined up on deck 5 waiting to walk off at 6 am when I went to grab coffee….Not sure exactly when they started walking off….

 

speaking of coffee, if you are an early riser, there was no place to get coffee until 6 a.m. and that was at Cafe Promenade. They were not open 24 hours on day 7. They closed at 2 a.m.

 

windjammer wasn’t open until 6:30 a.m. 

 

Hence it was pretty crowded on Deck 5 this morning between the early walkoffs lining up and  people in search of coffee….
 

 

[niksmom630]

10 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Our boarding time in January Allure is 10am. Is 11am the easiest time this month?  

When we had an early boarding time on Allure in Ft Lauderdale last November they checked us in and then we were put in a waiting section for about 20 minutes. 

that’s hard to say…..before boarding times were assigned, we always showed up around 10:30 (Miami, FFL) and were able to board 11/11:30 ish. 
 

I know at Galveston (in addition to check in times) they did allow people to board based on Loyalty tiers and suites, pinnacle, the Key. 
 

I don’t know how you could be boarding at 10 if people are still getting off, but maybe they accelerate the departure times. 
 

I’d be happy with a 10 am check in time 😊

[Tricia28]

Can you tell me what nights were formal nights? We may dress up more than usual as we are going on the Christmas sailing.

[BonTexasNY]

1 hour ago, niksmom630 said:

that’s hard to say…..before boarding times were assigned, we always showed up around 10:30 (Miami, FFL) and were able to board 11/11:30 ish. 
 

I know at Galveston (in addition to check in times) they did allow people to board based on Loyalty tiers and suites, pinnacle, the Key. 
 

I don’t know how you could be boarding at 10 if people are still getting off, but maybe they accelerate the departure times. 
 

I’d be happy with a 10 am check in time 😊

Thank you for posting such a wonderful review.  Pictures outstanding.

What did you think of the new Galveston terminal?  

[Ocean Boy]

41 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said:

 

What did you think of the new Galveston terminal?  

I would like the new Galveston terminal so much better if Allure was not there.😆😇

[longhorn2004]

:We did the self luggage disembarkation. Our time was 8:30-9AM, they let us off early, the Amber room was almost empty by 7:30. From gangway , through the terminal to sidewalk in 9 minutes and yes I timed it. 

 

Deeply impressed with how Royal processes you quickly when departing and arriving. Carnival, take note. 

 

To the OP, nice pictures, and reviews. I know we must have passed each other a couple times on this cruise. 

[Luckynana]

Great review..thank you for taking us along😀

[macsails]

It was in fact a GREAT REVIEW of the Allure.  Many thanks nicksmom630!   We are set to sail on Allure's Feb. 12 departure.  We are lowly Diamond members and have never sailed on an Oasis class ship or in a suite. You have given me many things to look forward to seeing and doing in Feb.  Thanks again.

[niksmom630]

3 hours ago, Tricia28 said:

Can you tell me what nights were formal nights? We may dress up more than usual as we are going on the Christmas sailing.

Night 2 and night 6. We saw lots of people dressed up in holiday garb. Even a family who took a photo in Christmas pajamas. Great idea! 

[niksmom630]

Just a few more photos and then I’ll wrap this up! 
 

Observations, thoughts and tips…..

 

- saw a lot of Christmas “door” decor on this sailing. It was our first cruise taken between thanksgiving and Christmas, and while I feel like I’ve lost a valuable week of shopping and planning for the holiday, I really enjoyed the atmosphere. Cheers to the occupants of this cabin who made it easy for us to recognize which side if the ship we were on! 
 

 

Does anyone use Royal Caribbean  online anymore? I guess we did in the early days of  cruising to check in for  flights and print boarding passes, but I can’t imagine why anyone would use it now, unless you didn’t want to purchase Wi-Fi…. In any event, I think I recall paying for it back in the day…. Maybe for a block of minutes? 🤔 geez, I’m dating myself 😂
 

well, if you are looking for it, it’s well hidden on  deck 8 forward, down an interior hallway 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

- the big t-shirt sail was day 7 on the Royal promenade. Advertised as 2/$30. Of course there was other “sale” stuff as well, but I suggest packing some patience, or at least be a few cocktails in before you tackle these crowds 🍹🍹🍹🍹

 

 

- there was also a salute to the military event on day 7 at 12:30 (I think that was the correct time) My brother in law went and said it was very moving.  🥹 The cruise director made the announcement and when I heard they were playing Taps and that one of the singers from Mamna Mia was going to singing the national anthem, I knew I’d be a blubbering mess. These types of recognition events always get me 😢  they wrapped up recognizing first responders also. 

 

also learned that they conduct these salute to the military events weekly now. 🤗 

[cruiser52forever]

On 12/9/2022 at 2:05 AM, firefly333 said:

I agree it's not anything I like to be seated with a party of 5 family. 

 

And as I said when he came over I asked next week if i can sit with not a group or family.

 

Btw i ate in the WJ the previous 2 nights. Which is why we hadnt eaten together before last night. ... 

 

Because I received a item not how I expected ... just the poblano soup without the corn and chorizo I'm at fault? I'm as glad as you all not to eat together again. Who wants to horn in on a family of 5. Not me. 

You did nothing wrong.   Good for you for speaking up.  There are always two sides to a story. 

[niksmom630]

2 hours ago, macsails said:

It was in fact a GREAT REVIEW of the Allure.  Many thanks nicksmom630!   We are set to sail on Allure's Feb. 12 departure.  We are lowly Diamond members and have never sailed on an Oasis class ship or in a suite. You have given me many things to look forward to seeing and doing in Feb.  Thanks again.

Oasis class is pretty amazing. Especially the first few times. Enjoy the suite sun deck and coastal kitchen. Two of my favorite spots on sea days 💕

 

we had a crown loft suite on Allure in 2019, I know I did a live review but I’ve  not updated my signature in awhile. That was an extraordinary sailing thanks to Hurricane Dorian when our 7 night turned into 10 nights! 

Edited December 12, 2022 by niksmom630
Typo

[Ocean Boy]

3 minutes ago, niksmom630 said:

Oasis class is pretty amazing. Edie sully the first few times. Enjoy the suite sun deck and coastal kitchen. Two of my favorite spots on sea days 💕

 

we had a crown loft suite on Allure in 2019, I know I did a live review but I’ve  not updated my signature in awhile. That was an extraordinary sailing thanks to Hurricane Dorian when our 7 night turned into 10 nights! 

Three extra nights in a CL suite sounds awesome.

[niksmom630]

2 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Three extra nights in a CL suite sounds awesome.

it was nothing short of amazing. 🤩 Thanks to my TA who somehow managed to snag the cabin for a week at a rock bottom price to begin with! 
 

we are pretty typical ocean view balcony cruisers, with an occasional Jr. Suite or Grand on very special occasions, so it was quite a treat! 

[Jingerwoppy]

We were on the same cruise and it was our first time on a ship larger than LOTS.

 

Parking

Used Indoor Parking and they were ok. Issue is that at the terminal the # of slots the parking services are relegated to appears to be 1 per service. As stated before, this means that each service has to wait for clearance. Our delay was exacerbated by one of the other Indoor Parking shuttle drivers cutting in ahead of us and making us wait longer. In addition, the shuttles are relegated to a lane that includes cars dropping off luggage - shuttles should have their own lane. This was also a problem when debarking.

 

Embarkation

It took longer than the prior terminal but overall it wasn't that bad considering how many people were getting on. They did have 2 of the metal detectors closed down which was a surprise - it's the biggest ship so I thought they'd have all of them open. Went to the WJ for lunch and it was crowded as expected but we did find a table.

 

Shows

Great as usual. Saw the ice show 3 times. Reserved 1 and did standby the other 2. After the first performance, there were always seats still available when the show started. 

 

Food and MDR

As expected. We don't do specialty dining so we ate in the WJ and MDR. We found the table on our card and showed up there for dinner the first night. They came and told us we were at the wrong table and moved us to another table. Our card said table 506 and the app showed 506. They moved us to 513 and a couple of days later the app updated.

 

General Thoughts on Oasis Class

- The park is nice but I'd prefer a deck like LOTS  that has more seating on the sides in the shade.  

- Seemed more crowded at times but a lot of the time the promenade actually seemed less crowded than LOTS. 

- We are laid back cruisers so we don't see that the claim about "all the extra things to do" is relevant to us. We don't eat at the specialty restaurants or zip line so after a day or so we've done all the "extra" things. 

- We were surprised at the cleanliness of the ship with all the people on it.

- Room attendant was great as were the MDR staff and all the other staff we encountered.

 

Disembarkation

Off time was 9:40 but we were called about 8:50. They then closed the gangway for about 25 minutes. It was raining when we exited. Proceeded to the slot where our shuttle was supposed to be and found out that they had shuffled all the shuttle services to different slots that morning. We had a long line waiting for our shuttle and several people just walked up and cut in line. And again the shuttles being held up by cars dropping off and picking up people so we had to wait between shuttles. From getting in line to disembark on deck 5, it took us 1 hour and 37 minutes to get to our car at Indoor Parking. 

 

 

[BonTexasNY]

23 minutes ago, Jingerwoppy said:

We were on the same cruise and it was our first time on a ship larger than LOTS.

 

Parking

Used Indoor Parking and they were ok. Issue is that at the terminal the # of slots the parking services are relegated to appears to be 1 per service. As stated before, this means that each service has to wait for clearance. Our delay was exacerbated by one of the other Indoor Parking shuttle drivers cutting in ahead of us and making us wait longer. In addition, the shuttles are relegated to a lane that includes cars dropping off luggage - shuttles should have their own lane. This was also a problem when debarking.

 

Embarkation

It took longer than the prior terminal but overall it wasn't that bad considering how many people were getting on. They did have 2 of the metal detectors closed down which was a surprise - it's the biggest ship so I thought they'd have all of them open. Went to the WJ for lunch and it was crowded as expected but we did find a table.

 

Shows

Great as usual. Saw the ice show 3 times. Reserved 1 and did standby the other 2. After the first performance, there were always seats still available when the show started. 

 

Food and MDR

As expected. We don't do specialty dining so we ate in the WJ and MDR. We found the table on our card and showed up there for dinner the first night. They came and told us we were at the wrong table and moved us to another table. Our card said table 506 and the app showed 506. They moved us to 513 and a couple of days later the app updated.

 

General Thoughts on Oasis Class

- The park is nice but I'd prefer a deck like LOTS  that has more seating on the sides in the shade.  

- Seemed more crowded at times but a lot of the time the promenade actually seemed less crowded than LOTS. 

- We are laid back cruisers so we don't see that the claim about "all the extra things to do" is relevant to us. We don't eat at the specialty restaurants or zip line so after a day or so we've done all the "extra" things. 

- We were surprised at the cleanliness of the ship with all the people on it.

- Room attendant was great as were the MDR staff and all the other staff we encountered.

 

Disembarkation

Off time was 9:40 but we were called about 8:50. They then closed the gangway for about 25 minutes. It was raining when we exited. Proceeded to the slot where our shuttle was supposed to be and found out that they had shuffled all the shuttle services to different slots that morning. We had a long line waiting for our shuttle and several people just walked up and cut in line. And again the shuttles being held up by cars dropping off and picking up people so we had to wait between shuttles. From getting in line to disembark on deck 5, it took us 1 hour and 37 minutes to get to our car at Indoor Parking. 

 

 

Thanks for all the info.  Do you know if there's a specific line to get taxis when you disembark?  Our hotel is keeping our car for the duration of our cruise, so we have to cab it to and from the terminal.  Hotel doesn't have a shuttle.  TIA

[longhorn2004]

31 minutes ago, Jingerwoppy said:

We were on the same cruise and it was our first time on a ship larger than LOTS.

 

Parking

Used Indoor Parking and they were ok. Issue is that at the terminal the # of slots the parking services are relegated to appears to be 1 per service. As stated before, this means that each service has to wait for clearance. Our delay was exacerbated by one of the other Indoor Parking shuttle drivers cutting in ahead of us and making us wait longer. In addition, the shuttles are relegated to a lane that includes cars dropping off luggage - shuttles should have their own lane. This was also a problem when debarking.

 

Embarkation

It took longer than the prior terminal but overall it wasn't that bad considering how many people were getting on. They did have 2 of the metal detectors closed down which was a surprise - it's the biggest ship so I thought they'd have all of them open. Went to the WJ for lunch and it was crowded as expected but we did find a table.

 

Shows

Great as usual. Saw the ice show 3 times. Reserved 1 and did standby the other 2. After the first performance, there were always seats still available when the show started. 

 

Food and MDR

As expected. We don't do specialty dining so we ate in the WJ and MDR. We found the table on our card and showed up there for dinner the first night. They came and told us we were at the wrong table and moved us to another table. Our card said table 506 and the app showed 506. They moved us to 513 and a couple of days later the app updated.

 

General Thoughts on Oasis Class

- The park is nice but I'd prefer a deck like LOTS  that has more seating on the sides in the shade.  

- Seemed more crowded at times but a lot of the time the promenade actually seemed less crowded than LOTS. 

- We are laid back cruisers so we don't see that the claim about "all the extra things to do" is relevant to us. We don't eat at the specialty restaurants or zip line so after a day or so we've done all the "extra" things. 

- We were surprised at the cleanliness of the ship with all the people on it.

- Room attendant was great as were the MDR staff and all the other staff we encountered.

 

Disembarkation

Off time was 9:40 but we were called about 8:50. They then closed the gangway for about 25 minutes. It was raining when we exited. Proceeded to the slot where our shuttle was supposed to be and found out that they had shuffled all the shuttle services to different slots that morning. We had a long line waiting for our shuttle and several people just walked up and cut in line. And again the shuttles being held up by cars dropping off and picking up people so we had to wait between shuttles. From getting in line to disembark on deck 5, it took us 1 hour and 37 minutes to get to our car at Indoor Parking. 

 

 

Next time get the North Lot. A little more expensive but the walk to the car beats waiting for a shuttle.