Allure January 26, 2014. A short review, and some photos

I loved it. The end. :p

Here is a link to my Flickr set of Allure photos

OK, I do have a few more things to say but with the abundance of fabulous photo reviews of this cruise, I didn't think I could do as good of a job, but here is my limited summary. Random thoughts in no particular order.

It was not a relaxing vacation. There is SO much to do on this ship, and I'm pretty darn sure I did a good chunk of it. I got home wishing I had another week on the ship, so that I could spend a little time in the solarium just chilling out.

Boardwalk balconies are noisy when there is something going on outside. Period. Don't think you can close the balcony door and shut out the sounds of the Aqua Theater. You can't. That being said, I LOVED the view of the Boardwalk, but would probably pick a cabin closer to the elevator the next time. We were steps away from the secret balcony but I didn't get too much time out there because I was always running around doing something, usually taking photos.

Blue Planet, Chicago, Comedy Live, and Ocean Aria were all fabulous. My favorite show was Ocean Aria. I would see Ocean Aria and Blue Planet again (and again and again), but would probably skip Chicago next time. I've seen the Broadway production, and was disappointed at just how much had been cut out. I knew that going in though, and it was still good, just not worth seeing again. The best place to see Blue Planet was the front part of the balcony - awesome seats!

The cabin had less storage space than my balcony cabin on the Jewel of the Seas the week earlier. I'm really glad I did my research so we had a cabin with the beds by the balcony because I can't imagine having to get into that closet if the bed was right next to it. Would it really have been so hard to get nightstands with drawers? The Jewel had twice as many drawers in the desk/vanity area. I ended up using some of my eBags packing cubes as "drawers" because of the lack of space, and just piled them on the sofa.

Our cabin steward was one of the worst I've had.

As far as the ports go, this was my first time to Labadee and I liked it a lot, but I prefer Coco Cay. I did the zip line (my first time doing that) and WOW, what fun. I thought the beaches were very crowded so I'll probably try to go back on a smaller ship next time.

The frozen yogurt machines on the pool deck were my favorite location for an afternoon snack :D

The Move it Move it parade was fun to watch but get there early for a good seat. We were there 45 minutes ahead of time, and a few minutes before the parade a woman came along and stood right next to us, blocking our view of the entire parade coming towards us, and blocking the view of small children standing right behind her. We asked her to move and she wouldn't, just saying "I'm standing in front of a pole". WTH????? :confused: That doesn't mean you're not blocking the view of 20 flippin' people who have all been here almost an hour lady. I ended up calling over one of the crew working security and he made her move over next to one of the shopping kiosks. Ha! She gave us dirty looks throughout the parade, but at least I could SEE the parade. Sheesh!

The Strawberry Kiwi flavored water in the Solarium Cafe (and another place I can't remember) was really really good. I think they should add this to all their ships. I enjoyed the Solarium Cafe for lunch. We only ate in the Windjammer one time, on Labadee day when we knew it wouldn't be as crowded. It was even smaller than I'd imagined. What the heck was Royal Caribbean thinking when they designed that place :confused: The chicken salad at Johnny Rockets was terrible. Chops and Giovannis were both spectacular for the food, and mediocre for the service. Service in the MDR was awful. Two cruises in a row had the worst service ever in a MDR and I just don't know what to blame it on. The waiters just didn't seem to care about anything.

I liked the walking track, and next time I'll spend less time taking 2000 photos and more time strolling the deck and looking at the wake from the aft of that deck. It was so peaceful out there.

Central Park is a lot windier than I thought it would be.

The headliner show was Mo5aic. If you ever get a chance to see these guys, do it! They were awesome!

The Prohibition Party was great fun, and I was disappointed that there was such a low turnout for it. Seriously people, it's fun. Go!

Ice Games was a good show, but unless you're in the very front row, don't plan on getting good photos.

We paid for the photo package, a special the first three days of the cruise gave you a CD with all your photos for $309.95 plus you got the prints for an extra $50 (instead of the regular price of $100 for the prints). I think we ended up with about 220 prints between the two of us. There was a glitch one night with their system, so we never got the digital copies of the photos from the prohibition party (although we did get the hard copies). I have a request in with the photo company right now, but it's been a while and I haven't heard back yet.

I wish I'd spent more time in Dazzles. We had our CC meet & greet in there and I really liked it as a place to go dancing, I just never had the chance to go dancing

I just want to give a shout out to Swim13, VegasChic, and WhiteSoxFan for their fabulous photo threads. If any of my photos look really familiar, I probably used theirs as inspiration.

Also, a shout out to LittleMissMagic. Although she hasn't been on the Allure (yet) her photos taken at Oh-dark-thirty on the Royal Princess inspired me to drag my butt out of bed one morning to get some shots of the ship when nobody else was around.

Finally, to MaureenCruiser whose review was so entertaining, this one's for you :D

I'm digging the quality of your photo of Ocean Aria. What settings did you use? Did you use a tripod? It's so clear for such a dark setting.

Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing

I'm digging the quality of your photo of Ocean Aria. What settings did you use? Did you use a tripod? It's so clear for such a dark setting.

Thank you. This is where my shout out to VegasChic comes in. I'd asked her the same thing about her Ocean Aria photos, and because of her answer (camera set to ISO 5000) I went out and bought a new camera with a higher ISO capability :eek: :D

I'd planned to wait until my birthday in a few months for the new camera purchase, but decided that it would be a shame to waste the Allure trip with a less than stellar camera. What I got isn't top of the line, but it is a good camera, a Canon 70D. The vast majority of my dark/indoor photos were taken with the ISO set at 4000 or 5000, and in this case, 6400. If you try to lighten them, or blow them up too large, there is some noise, but it's so much better than my old camera would have done.

I didn't use a tripod for this show - the action would have been too fast anyway, to use a slower shutter speed.

One more comment about entertainment (can't believe I almost forgot this).

I thought Ken Rush did a great job as Cruise Director. I know he gets mixed reviews on here, but I thought he was energetic and fun.

Also, he now wins the prize for the funniest line by a Cruise Director ever, "I can't get out of the pool, I'm wearing white shorts", said after being pushed into the pool at the end of the belly flop competition. :eek:

Is there a lounge chair area to just sit out and watch the wake in peace and quiet?

Awesome. Period. :)

I have one question though. Which place do you see the parade from?

Thank you!

Is there a lounge chair area to just sit out and watch the wake in peace and quiet?

Yes, there are lounge chairs at the back of the walking track, not many, but both times that I was out there, they weren't full. I don't think most people know about that area.

Awesome. Period. :)

 

I have one question though. Which place do you see the parade from?

 

Thank you!

They have chairs set up all along the parade route. We sat in front of the Bow & Stern pub, but for a different view, getting a front row seat up at the Schooner Bar would have been a good option as well.

wow!!!!!! Great pictures!

One of your pictures you are straight down on the aqua theater. How were you able to get that view?

A few of these pictures I would actually buy the editing is so great! I sent my GF a link to the britto shoes and said YOU need these! :D

Thank you for sharing.

Michael

... They have chairs set up all along the parade route. We sat in front of the Bow & Stern pub, but for a different view, getting a front row seat up at the Schooner Bar would have been a good option as well.

Thanks!

I really must make a note of this.

While my heart is young and excited to see the parade, my memory is so old I keep forgeting many (important) things. :)

Thanks again!

Sent using Tapatalk. Sorry for typho.

wow!!!!!! Great pictures!

 

One of your pictures you are straight down on the aqua theater. How were you able to get that view?

 

Michael

Just keep going up, and back, until you can't go up or back any more, then look down :D It was behind the area where the flowriders are. There are some deck chairs back there. I had to ask the couple who was sitting up in the chairs in the exact center of the ship if they minded me squeezing by for a few seconds to take a photo and they were very nice about it. If they'd been laying down or sleeping I'd have just come back later, but happily I didn't have to.

Yes, there are lounge chairs at the back of the walking track, not many, but both times that I was out there, they weren't full. I don't think most people know about that area.

 

Well, I guess they're not the full length "lounge" chairs, but they are wooden deck chairs perfect to relax and look out at the water.

Nice job. We were on your sailing and agree with all your points, well maybe except Mo5aic. I thought the Knudsen brothers were better. :D Anyway, this was our second time on Allure and after looking at your photos it reminded me of what we didn't do this time and we did a lot. :eek: If we ever do Allure again it will have to be B2B but to us there are too many other ships out there to keep doing the same one over and over. Great photos. It gave me a reprieve from this:

Forecast tomorrow: More.

Just keep going up, and back, until you can't go up or back any more, then look down :D It was behind the area where the flowriders are. There are some deck chairs back there. I had to ask the couple who was sitting up in the chairs in the exact center of the ship if they minded me squeezing by for a few seconds to take a photo and they were very nice about it. If they'd been laying down or sleeping I'd have just come back later, but happily I didn't have to.

Hi Karen,

Thank you for the tip on where to get that shot! Do you mind sharing what type of camera you used and which editing software?

Hi Karen,

 

Thank you for the tip on where to get that shot! Do you mind sharing what type of camera you used and which editing software?

I have a Canon 70D, a Christmas present from Santa :D with a Canon 18-135mm lens, and I use PhotoShop CS3, only because I've been too lazy to shop around for something newer/better. I've had the same software for years :o

A handful of the photos may have been taken with my Canon Powershot SD790 IS, or my Canon D10 (Coz underwater pics)

Nice job. We were on your sailing and agree with all your points, well maybe except Mo5aic. I thought the Knudsen brothers were better. :D Anyway, this was our second time on Allure and after looking at your photos it reminded me of what we didn't do this time and we did a lot. :eek: If we ever do Allure again it will have to be B2B but to us there are too many other ships out there to keep doing the same one over and over. Great photos. It gave me a reprieve from this:

 

Forecast tomorrow: More.

Thank you :)

I had to Google, so I found the Knudsens and I still like Mo5aic :)

I'll probably go on the Allure again, in another five or six years. I have way too many other cruises on my list to do before then. I still haven't done Alaska, or the Panama Canal, or Northern Europe, or... well, you get the idea.

It probably won't help you if I tell you it was almost 80 in San Antonio today :D

Thanks for the review.

Thank you :)

 

I had to Google, so I found the Knudsens and I still like Mo5aic :)

 

I'll probably go on the Allure again, in another five or six years. I have way too many other cruises on my list to do before then. I still haven't done Alaska, or the Panama Canal, or Northern Europe, or... well, you get the idea.

 

It probably won't help you if I tell you it was almost 80 in San Antonio today :D

No, not helping at all but it's got me looking for a last minute deal. ;) Again, great pics.

Finally, to MaureenCruiser whose review was so entertaining, this one's for you :D

 

:D:D My boyfriends! :D:D So, apparently, you and I have the exact same taste in men as in luggage. I'm glad you loved Lady Allure. I can't wait to go back! Maybe my birthday again this year! Thanks for posting this great review

Great photos............

The photos you posted on Flickr are fantastic. I really love the unique perspective you used for each. (I am not a professional photographer so I am having trouble explaining.) I liked what you focused in on. It gives me ideas for my Allure sailing . Where was that photo of the spiral lighting taken? Dazzles?

Wow, staggering photos. I've only seen a few but they are awesome.

Great pictures and review. Nice job!

Rick & Lorraine

Great photos. Thank you for sharing. I am looking forward to my first sailing on Allure!:D

Karen, your photos are spectacular! Thanks for letting us take a peek at your Flickr album. We're on the Allure for the first time next spring so I also took note of your comments. Very helpful!