Shrek Takes On Mickey: The Dreamworks Experience Aboard Allure of the Seas 9/18-25

[iloverags2]

Your family is so stinkin' cute! Loving your report, and really appreciate the side-by-side comparison of RCI and DCL.

MORE!!! (Please???!!!???)

[UGAFan0829]

What a cool report! I'm definitley subbin' as I've often wondered what it would be like to cruise with RC, so I'm very excited to read the comparisons! Keep it coming!!

[LimoFam5]

How were these? Did your kids enjoy them? How do you feel the youth couclers compared to Disney's?

[mnrhannah07]

Great TR so far! After I started reading this one I had to go back and read your other Trip reports! Your kids are so cute and seem like really good kids, heck any kid is good if they are willing to switch off babysitting duty! ((info from last Trip Report!)) My husband and I got pregnant a few months after we were married((not planned, but wasnt doing anything to avoid it!)) and we are wanting to wait a few more years for our next and you trip report is giving us more reason to wait, the older our son gets before we have our next, the more mature he will be for babysitting duty on future cruises!!!!!! lol

[Señor DonDuck]

Woo hoo, day 1! Kudos for the terminal pics.

[mnrhannah07]

Double Post

[tony64]

Love the report
BUt I think it's not curb to boarding that counts, it's curb to buffet that really matters.

[karajeboo]

Originally Posted by tony64

Love the report
BUt I think it's not curb to boarding that counts, it's curb to buffet that really matters.

Hey, just cause you just finished a TR that was all about double eating, doesn't mean that you should compare them all to that!

[livingis2me]

Originally Posted by tony64

Love the report
BUt I think it's not curb to boarding that counts, it's curb to buffet that really matters.

Ha Ha! I'm with you on that one. No worries there, Windjammer is open as soon as you board. We had something else in mind to tempt us away from the buffet. ....but you'll have to wait to hear all about it.
Ron

[Jennifer48]

Hi Jen! I love reading your cruise trip reports, even if this one isn't on the Mickey ship! Your family is so adorable and you tell it like it is. Can't wait to hear further comparisons!

[JKSWonder]

Originally Posted by nenner1;42847702I mean I thought with the Shrek tie-in and everything maybe to expect at least something like this:

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie8pPDfeXIE"

Welcome To Duloc[/URL]

No? Point- Mickey.

Tally

Shrek - 5
Mickey- 8

Hehehe!!! Now, if they actually had done something like that I would have definitely awarded Shrek some points!

[nenner1]

Originally Posted by anewmac

I saw you on cruise critic and was all ***? where is my invite then saw you were going to post here too so I waited.. impatiently lol... yeah so ready!

Girl, your response almost needed it's own post. You know when I copied and pasted it into word, it was 4 pages, right?

But maybe that' my fault for getting so far behind. LOL!

I LOVE THAT you get into this Ron.. wish my hubby would!

Sometimes it's good, sometimes at 6:30 AM when all you want to do is sleep you don't want to hear "Thye've given up on you, you're on page 2. You really need to get an installment up before everyone stops reading. You do know you got that part wrong, right it was (insert whatever activity, food, place) we liked, not (insert other thing here). You got your points all wrong..blah blah blah"

Just kidding, you know I luv ya hun!

And there goes the Mouse in the lead

Do you think he'll stay there??? wink wink!

Exactly.. I need this disclaimer on my trip report lol I may steal it too

Feel Free...hey speaking of, don't hate me cause I can't keep up with my reading. I am way behind in everyone's TR's and I'm so sorry. But those CC people are so dang demanding! I have to keep that one going at a good pace since they really will abandon you. Disers are much more forgiving.

BUT I have a 3 day weekend so I hope to catch up an all the great trippes then!

If we didnt have to add in the cost of flying to the east coast, we would definatly be looking at RCCL or Mickey again. But add 1G there and that cuts my DOTD budget in half. unless we ditch the kids of course, which i have been tempted to do.. but then I remenmber they will pick out my senior citizen home.

You're preaching to the choir, sista. That's why Disneyland for us has been probably pushed back another year. Airfare is crazy!!!

whats a Stuckey?

Stuckey's is like a southern road trip mecca. Back in the day (70's) they were everywhere, part restaurant, part truck stop, part convenience store. They were known for their pecan roll-or really pecan anything, I think they started in GA. But they were everywhere in FL off the interstates. it was *the* next place to stop, with billboards all over proclaiming "X miles until the next Stuckey's" They are pretty sparse in central FL now, but last time we were up in north FL still some of them there.

i think this is the best idea ever, we were on the other side (starboard? you know me and my ship definations) for sailaway wish i would have thought to be port side to maybe see us on it when we sailed LOL oh wel always next time

Yes, definitely. I thought about it a lot before we left, it actually wasn't our first choice for where we wanted to be. Our room was starboard so our own balcony was out, and where we wanted to go, the sundeck or "wings" on Deck 14 over the bridge are now too heavily populated, plus if you are at the front of the ship, once you pass the camera that's is. If you are on the back like we were they can keep on ya until you are totally out of focus.

And you did notice how small the C.Freedom looked from Allure, right? That became the butt of the comedian's joke later in the week- literally. stay tuned, LOL!

aww its like that fish from nemo that helps nemo get away and is gasping for breath in the dentist office.. minus that this is real and nemos a cartoon but you know i mean lol

YES, it was! And it was quite big, I know the photo doesn't show perspective but it was probably 8-10 inches long or so. It looked fake all covered in sand like that. It wasn't.

lets be real no one can touch the disney horns. they all sounds like loud farts, and i live in house of 3 boys i know any and ever fart humor and sound there is!

Then you are gonna LOVE Ron's solution to the smokers on the balcony next to us!!!

i see you I see you.. lol

Ha ha, That's pretty good! It was impossible on my iphone! I'm glad you found me!

Ha, do they have that at downtown disneyworld? I dont remember it.

No, not at DTD, but I think it is at Citywalk at Universal. I'm pretty sure.

ya whats with mickey and his time scheduals. Freddy and Shrek are alike

Yeah that is all kinds of messed up. Ron is right, about that, I will have to revise my points. I was really hoping that port arrival mess on DCL would have been scrapped by now, but I guess they are still going with it. Boo.

We had the same issue, I wasnted to say of course we didnt put alcohol in the carryon.. duh we put it on shoes in the suitcase LMAO So did you all sneak any on?

No, we didn't. We just budgeted ourselves a nice chunk for bat bills, and actually we did pretty good. Ron didn't buy the beer bucket he thought he was gonna and I pretty much kept it to about 1 drink per day. OK On average 1.5-2/day. Not bad really. One thing about Allure, there wasn't as much sitting around and relaxing (with or without) a drink on this boat- so many activities we were always on the go!

now that looks organized,... a certain red white and blue funnel could learn a thing or 2

LOL!

at least they made it zig zag and not 1 steep line.

They had to, if it had been just one ramp it would have been too steep to climb!

aww here you would have thought Donkey or someone jack...wagon would be there to say hi

No kidding. One thing quite disappointing- none of the characters that physically walked on 4 legs were there, Donkey was the most notable omission. They also didn't have the zebra or giraffe from Madagascar. I guess figuring out to do with those 2 extra limbs on the costume was more than RCCL wanted to figure out.

ya but the whole not getting to bring alcohol on board.. we should be really given negative points for that one.. Could you not even do wine like Carni? Please tell me there was some sneakage going on???

Nope, no wine...nuttin! You go on DRY baby! And no, we really didn't sneak. I just didn't want to deal with the "naughty" room and the mixers onboard were not great anyway(the world's grossest OJ- blech!). I just like rolling up to a bar (or better yet when they come to me!) and being served, it always tastes better when you don't make it, right?

Originally Posted by wilma-bride

Jen, am all caught up with the report. Lovin' that guy pulling a mooner at the Oasis - how funny was that. I thought Brendan's face was a picture when he realised what was going on I still can't get over the size of the ship - I still think the DCL ships are much, much more attractive-looking; dainty and very pretty

They are better looking from the outside for sure! the inside...well..... we'll get to that!

Will be back soon to check for an update (can't work out the whole time difference thing - it must be 4.30pm where you are now, right)

Sorry! Yes, you are right about the time. I am a little backwards myself due to working nights.

There will be more soon!

Originally Posted by MAGICFOR2

I admit I am looking at that Carnival 8 night Southern too for June. It is half the price of DCL, and it would be a "fall back" if the kids bail on us again - we are doing something fun if we can't see our grandkids. (I'm truly hoping we don't need to do this) A Southern just seems so exotic!

It does, those ports are just awesome!!! I got a look at that "family" stateroom Ron wants to cram us all in though...yikes, it is no bigger than a regular one. Not sure I could handle all 5 of us in a space that small!

Jenn, Funny about the bees!

Hehe, it is really, REALLY high up there!

Originally Posted by MAGICFOR2

You stayed in the same hotel we did before our RCCL last Fall. I liked it, except the service coming back was a little "meh."

Yeah, it wasn't bad- just a little further away from everything and that awful air freshener! That shopping plaza across the street was quite convenient!

Gotta love some Gump, but those prices for that size serving is crazy!

Yes, very high. And we weren't really paying attention to the prices much at the time, we must have already been in cruse mode LOL so when we got the bill it was like "oh *^%#%&!"

Sorry you didn't get any sleep, but you got a beautiful pic of the Allure coming in!You must have really had butterflies when you saw that!

Ohmigosh, so so exciting!!!

Originally Posted by livingis2me

C'mon Jen... With as quick and easy as that check in was, that's worth way more than a point. Right??? On the boat before 11:30. Um, extra point(s)!!!!

As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure Mickey loses points for how they (mis)handle this process.

My scorecard shows Shrek, duh... winning!!!!

Ron

Easy there, Charlie, cool your tiger blood. You are right. I guess I am still holding out hope DCL will change things back..or do something....but for now, yes Shrek does deserve another point, duly noted.

REVISED TALLY:

Shrek-6
Mickey-8

Originally Posted by sftnslky

joining...can't wait for more.

Thanks so much for reading!

Originally Posted by karajeboo

I totally agree! The whole idea of sitting.... and waiting.... and waiting..... in the DCL terminal definitely loses points in my book. Maybe if they had a food court or a BAR!!!! Hey, nothing wrong with bloody marys before boarding!

YES! THAT is whjat's missing! Kara- you're a genius! You need to call them up and tell them about it ASAP. What a win/win! They make tons of money off us, and we no longer gripe about the time and the wait because we are loaded! Ingenious!!!

Something tells me that in the next couple of years, there will be no bringing booze on DCL. They tried it a couple months ago and people freaked. So I think they are planning on rolling out the changes a different way. Mark my words, by 2014 there will be no bring your own booze.

Sadly, I think you are right. I'm actually surprised they backed down this time. I agree eventually they will cut it off altogether.

en - I can't believe how virtually empty that terminal looks!!! Especially considering there is a small town on that ship!!!! And only 1/2 hour curb to ship? Incredible!!!! Definitely double points to Shrek.

Yep it was pretty painless. I honestly don't know how they get it turned around that fast in order to begin boarding at or even before 11 AM. There is an awesome show on TLC or sometimes on the Planet Green channel called Extreme Cruise Ship which shows what they go through on turnaround day. It's actually filmed on sister ship Oasis but no less amazing.

If you ever catch it showing, be sure to watch it or DVR it! It's a show any cruise fan would enjoy. Here's the sneak peek on youtube.

Oh, and Duloc? Girllllllllll, you've got issues!!!!

Originally Posted by iloverags2

Your family is so stinkin' cute! Loving your report, and really appreciate the side-by-side comparison of RCI and DCL.

MORE!!! (Please???!!!???)

Oh thank you so much, I'm so glad you are enjoying it! There will be more soon, I promise!!!!

Originally Posted by UGAFan0829

What a cool report! I'm definitley subbin' as I've often wondered what it would be like to cruise with RC, so I'm very excited to read the comparisons! Keep it coming!!

Thank so much for reading! I think you'll find out lots of interesting stuff.

Originally Posted by LimoFam5

How were these? Did your kids enjoy them? How do you feel the youth couclers compared to Disney's?

The kids clubs were good! this was our first time using them on RCCL, and we don't have a lot negative to say, except we don't like the hours (sometimes they close during the afternoon for a couple of hours, and when they don't, they have a lunch session that has a charge, I believe $7.95), also anything after 10 PM is a cost of $6/hour. Our older kids loved it so much we let them stay after hours a few times, the $$ racks up quick for multiple kids. They were begging to go there, and Savannah would have stayed all day and all night if we'd have let her. There aren't nearly as many kids as on Disney, so they do get more individual attention. The 9-11 group averaged only about 10 kids at a time. The 3-5 group was slightly more populated, averaging around 15 kids at prime time in the evening. During the day both clubs were sparsely populated (often 5 or less kids). The youth counselors seem very similar to DCL's. In fact we were told on our last cruise that DCL and RCCL's youth program staff is trained by/obtained from the same company. I will have a lot more specifics coming up, with a lot of pictures.

Originally Posted by mnrhannah07

Great TR so far! After I started reading this one I had to go back and read your other Trip reports! Your kids are so cute and seem like really good kids, heck any kid is good if they are willing to switch off babysitting duty! ((info from last Trip Report!))

Aw, thanks!! I'm so glad you enjoyed them! So many awesome memories!!!

My husband and I got pregnant a few months after we were married((not planned, but wasnt doing anything to avoid it!)) and we are wanting to wait a few more years for our next and you trip report is giving us more reason to wait, the older our son gets before we have our next, the more mature he will be for babysitting duty on future cruises!!!!!! lol

Yes! Perfect plan! As much as they love their little sister, they were glad to finally not have to do ANY babysitting duties this time around. I did ask them to help me keep an eye on Sarah in the H20 play zone, she's a maniac! LOL!!! Glad this helps tide you over until your family's cruise!

Originally Posted by Señor DonDuck

Woo hoo, day 1! Kudos for the terminal pics.

Yep, now the real good stuff! I actually have to do a bit more writing because I want to present the next part a little differently over here. So hang in there!!

Originally Posted by tony64

Love the report
BUt I think it's not curb to boarding that counts, it's curb to buffet that really matters.

Oh yeah!!!! We didn't wait too long to start stuffing our faces, promise!!!!

Originally Posted by karajeboo

Hey, just cause you just finished a TR that was all about double eating, doesn't mean that you should compare them all to that!

LOL!!!! You guys are gonna get a run for your money!!!!

Originally Posted by livingis2me

Ha Ha! I'm with you on that one.No worries there, Windjammer is open as soon as you board.We had something else in mind to tempt us away from the buffet. ....but you'll have to wait to hear all about it.
Ron

Hopefully not too long of a wait, work has been brutal this week. Hang in there everyone, it's coming....oh is it coming!!!

Originally Posted by Jennifer48

Hi Jen! I love reading your cruise trip reports, even if this one isn't on the Mickey ship!Your family is so adorable and you tell it like it is. Can't wait to hear further comparisons! :

Yay! So glad to have you join us Jennifer!!!! it will be interesting for sure! We always seem to have some adventures, this one is no different!!!

Originally Posted by JKSWonder

Hehehe!!! Now, if they actually had done something like that I would have definitely awarded Shrek some points!

Heck yeah!!! It was a bit anti-climactic but many people's jaws were dropping as they entered...at the glory of the....

(dun dun dun)

ROYAL PROMENADE! That's what's up next!! I just have to scour my pics, I wasn't smart enough to focus on one area at a time on one day, they are all scattered over the days and we took THOUSANDS of pictures!!!

[Skyw]

I am liken this report better the the CC one!!!! More fun!!
They are a little more reserved over there.

[Jathanis]

Definitely subbing this one - needed a good read to decide if the next cruise was on the Dream/Fantasy, or if I could talk DW into one of these monster ships!

(BTW, you had me at the Duloc bit!)

[knewton64]

Getting caught up -




T.T.F.N.