Allure of the Seas 3/30/14 Review with photos and some video!

My wife and I are fresh back from another excellent Royal Caribbean Cruise. Over the course of the next few days, I will share with you some experiences, pictures and even some video of our time aboard.

This was our 3rd cruise. Our 1st was on the Oasis for our honeymoon and our 2nd was on the Jewel roughly a year ago.

Leaving New England and Arriving in Fort Lauderdale:

For the first time ever, we flew out of TF Greene in Providence. What a huge change of pace from flying out of Logan in Boston! We had a 10:35am flight which went non-stop to Fort Lauderdale. There wasn’t a line at the ticket counter and the TSA line was all of 8 people deep. Amazing. We’ll be remember that little gem next time. Like many, we flew down the day before our cruise in an effort to make it a more relaxed start to our vacation.

Despite a bumpy flight, we arrived on time and excited to get a move on things. We exited the plane and made way for baggage claim. On our way, we passed the security lines. Yes. Lines. Apparently they don’t have much room to accomdate all of the cruises on disembarkation day so they pen you up in two different places - moving you from one to he other prior to the TSA screening. It was not a pretty site. Lots of sun burnt miserable faces reminding me what I’ll feel like a week from now.

We arrived at baggage claim - it was a disaster. They had two carousels, each rotated at least 4 different arrivals. We stood there for 20 minutes watching the same bags cycle around. When finally another traveler yelled, “Providence, your bags are on #4!!” We followed the crowd of people and sure enough - there were our bags. The carousel did not say it was the Providence flight, all it said was, “Welcome To Fort Lauderdale” -- thanks, such a help.

We jumped in the short line for a cab and headed to the Marriott Renaissance Cruise Port Hotel. The Cab was roughly $18 with tip. I liked this hotel for a few reasons. The first being my credit card allowed me to use my points to cover our nights stay. The second being it’s location, there were some eateries in the area - and the beach was a 20-30 minute walk so we could watch the ships leave on Saturday.

We were assigned a room on the 10th floor. We had a downtown view, not a port view - however the windows near the elevator had a nice view of the port. We quickly dropped our bags and headed out for a late lunch. In my research, I had found a small chain of sub shops called Laspadas near the hotel. We enjoyed a pair of subs and headed back to the hotel to prepare for the walk over to the beach.

The walk is nice, going over the bridge you get a great view of all the ships in port. There are some very nice homes hidden down some of the side streets. We found our way to the public entry for the beach and made our way to the jetti.

It was overcast. There was a small crowd stretched along the rock wall waiting for the ships to sail. One by one they all made their way out of port. The sky was getting gloomier as a storm system moved in, so we made our way back to the hotel. One of the other perks to this hotel, there is a Walgreens right across the street.

The sun set as we made our way to Duffy’s Sports Bar. Roughly a 15 minute walk from the hotel. We weren’t too hungry, but it was nice to get out for a bit. We split an appetizer and had a few drinks. The prices were spot on. We enjoyed the atmosphere, it was not at all what I was expecting. Just as we were about to leave, the storms hit. Rain, thunder, lightning… it was on us. We waited for about 10 minutes and it let up enough for us to make our way back to the hotel. We got wet, but it could have been worse.

After a very long day, we got ready for bed. I passed out easily enough, but I kept waking up in the middle of the night looking at the alarm clock, wishing time would pass faster. I fell back asleep, only to wake up to a nice, clear morning in Fort Lauderdale!

up next... (photos and video, having an issue with flickr at the moment) breakfast, waiting, boarding, eating and of course - cruising!

View from the room

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My wife and I are fresh back from another excellent Royal Caribbean Cruise. Over the course of the next few days, I will share with you some experiences, pictures and even some video of our time aboard.

 

This was our 3rd cruise. Our 1st was on the Oasis for our honeymoon and our 2nd was on the Jewel roughly a year ago.

 

Leaving New England and Arriving in Fort Lauderdale:

For the first time ever, we flew out of TF Greene in Providence. What a huge change of pace from flying out of Logan in Boston! We had a 10:35am flight which went non-stop to Fort Lauderdale. There wasn’t a line at the ticket counter and the TSA line was all of 8 people deep. Amazing. We’ll be remember that little gem next time. Like many, we flew down the day before our cruise in an effort to make it a more relaxed start to our vacation.

 

Despite a bumpy flight, we arrived on time and excited to get a move on things. We exited the plane and made way for baggage claim. On our way, we passed the security lines. Yes. Lines. Apparently they don’t have much room to accomdate all of the cruises on disembarkation day so they pen you up in two different places - moving you from one to he other prior to the TSA screening. It was not a pretty site. Lots of sun burnt miserable faces reminding me what I’ll feel like a week from now.

 

We arrived at baggage claim - it was a disaster. They had two carousels, each rotated at least 4 different arrivals. We stood there for 20 minutes watching the same bags cycle around. When finally another traveler yelled, “Providence, your bags are on #4!!” We followed the crowd of people and sure enough - there were our bags. The carousel did not say it was the Providence flight, all it said was, “Welcome To Fort Lauderdale” -- thanks, such a help.

 

We jumped in the short line for a cab and headed to the Marriott Renaissance Cruise Port Hotel. The Cab was roughly $18 with tip. I liked this hotel for a few reasons. The first being my credit card allowed me to use my points to cover our nights stay. The second being it’s location, there were some eateries in the area - and the beach was a 20-30 minute walk so we could watch the ships leave on Saturday.

 

We were assigned a room on the 10th floor. We had a downtown view, not a port view - however the windows near the elevator had a nice view of the port. We quickly dropped our bags and headed out for a late lunch. In my research, I had found a small chain of sub shops called Laspadas near the hotel. We enjoyed a pair of subs and headed back to the hotel to prepare for the walk over to the beach.

 

The walk is nice, going over the bridge you get a great view of all the ships in port. There are some very nice homes hidden down some of the side streets. We found our way to the public entry for the beach and made our way to the jetti.

 

It was overcast. There was a small crowd stretched along the rock wall waiting for the ships to sail. One by one they all made their way out of port. The sky was getting gloomier as a storm system moved in, so we made our way back to the hotel. One of the other perks to this hotel, there is a Walgreens right across the street.

 

The sun set as we made our way to Duffy’s Sports Bar. Roughly a 15 minute walk from the hotel. We weren’t too hungry, but it was nice to get out for a bit. We split an appetizer and had a few drinks. The prices were spot on. We enjoyed the atmosphere, it was not at all what I was expecting. Just as we were about to leave, the storms hit. Rain, thunder, lightning… it was on us. We waited for about 10 minutes and it let up enough for us to make our way back to the hotel. We got wet, but it could have been worse.

 

After a very long day, we got ready for bed. I passed out easily enough, but I kept waking up in the middle of the night looking at the alarm clock, wishing time would pass faster. I fell back asleep, only to wake up to a nice, clear morning in Fort Lauderdale!

 

up next... (photos and video, having an issue with flickr at the moment) breakfast, waiting, boarding, eating and of course - cruising!

Great review so far!!! We will be on allure in 11 days and can't wait!!

Looking forward to ur pics!!

Thankyou for writing a review can't wait to hear more!

I do ask everybody a few questions because everybody has different answers and like to hear yours:

1- Did you find your stateroom to be on the warm side during the night, if so, which deck were you on and were you forward, mid, or aft?

2- Did you try the specialty restaurants, how were there, positives/negatives?

3- After the cabin steward cleans your room did he shut all the power in your stateroom using the main switch?

4- What was your favorite place to have lunch and why?

Thankyou for writing a review can't wait to hear more!

 

 

 

I do ask everybody a few questions because everybody has different answers and like to hear yours:

 

 

 

1- Did you find your stateroom to be on the warm side during the night, if so, which deck were you on and were you forward, mid, or aft?

 

 

 

2- Did you try the specialty restaurants, how were there, positives/negatives?

 

 

 

3- After the cabin steward cleans your room did he shut all the power in your stateroom using the main switch?

 

 

 

4- What was your favorite place to have lunch and why?

Hey there,

We never found the state room to be on the warm side. We were on deck 8. Port side forward. We ate at Giovanni's on embarkation day for lunch (more to come on that, can't say anything bad about it). The only other place we ate at was Izumi. The main switch was never touched. We ate at the windjammer for lunch mostly. We wanted to go to the dining room but never did. I'll get more into my thoughts on the windjammer as I continue to write. I ate there a lot so I think that says something.

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Thank you so much can't wait to hear the rest. :)

We are originally from Attleboro Ma. (now living in Utah) And TF Green has to be the least crowded airport we have EVER been through...We are sailing on the Allure in 208 days :D and cant wait...LOVE reading as many reviews and viewing as many pics and vids as possible. Cant wait to read the rest of yours....

Thanx Scott & Chris

We are originally from Attleboro Ma. (now living in Utah) And TF Green has to be the least crowded airport we have EVER been through...We are sailing on the Allure in 208 days :D and cant wait...LOVE reading as many reviews and viewing as many pics and vids as possible. Cant wait to read the rest of yours....

 

Thanx Scott & Chris

I'm still blown away how easy it was. I've never seen anything like it. And keep reading I've got some gems waiting to post. You're in for a treat!

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Looking forward to more of the review! Will be on the Allure in June!

Haha! The guy in the black shirt in the third picture is my husband! We got soaked from the waves hitting the rocks.

I'm still blown away how easy it was. I've never seen anything like it. And keep reading I've got some gems waiting to post. You're in for a treat!

 

 

 

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I'll second that. From Swansea, MA. Only fly out of Green. Had to fly out of Logan three times in my life and it was soly because the international destinations were so much cheaper. That and one of them was to England and it was a direct flight.

Nice job so far....more more more!!!

GREAT review! Another fan of TF GREEN...we use it when we go to CAPE COD and NEWPORT. Quite a "step-up" from the misery of the Ft Lauderdale airport.

Haha! The guy in the black shirt in the third picture is my husband! We got soaked from the waves hitting the rocks.

oh my god that's too funny - what a small world! my wife was the one that wasn't too pleased with crawling across the rocks!

As much as I loved TF Green, it's an hour drive for us. My wife's parents live about 15 minutes away, and they're happy to watch our cats and hold onto our car. But we live in Medford, and with no traffic, we can be at logan in 15 minutes! always a perk for a 7am flight... i'll be weighing the options.

2nd post coming shortly!

I have video, but apparently I cant post flickr video here, so i'll have to upload stuff to youtube for later viewing... I cant wait to post my DSLR pics! right now, it's been all point and shoot!

Day 1 - Departure Day:

I woke up early, excited to get the hell out of that hotel and onto that ship! I was up, showered/shaved which gave my wife more time to sleep - but not too much more :p. We left to grab some breakfast at the nearby Einstein Bros. We had never been to this chain before, but it came highly recommended by my boss. It was PACKED. And of course, with my luck, I stood behind the lady ordering two dozen bagel sandwiches. We waited in line for at least 25 minutes. I’ll admit, my bagel and cream cheese were delicious but what a ridiculous mob scene.

We brought our coffee back to the room and it was my wife's turn to freshen up. While she did that, I was putting on the luggage tags. A cab was slated to pick us up at the hotel for 10:30. It was 9 and we were making our way to the hotel lobby to check-out. We sat outside waiting for a short bit when we decided, “...let’s just cab it over now” - so I cancelled my pre-booked cab and we jumped in the one waiting in the parking lot. (He wasn’t waiting for anyone, I did not steal the cab incase you were wondering :p).

This is where the other perk to this hotel came in handy. The cab driver went around the back of the hotel and was able to go straight down the road that parallels Port Everglades. We went from hotel to pier in under 7 minutes. It was a $10 cab ride. We unloaded our bags with the porters and made way through security for check-in. There wasn’t a line to be seen. Except for deck 8, where we were staying.

After a brief wait, it was our turn. We handed over all our cruise documents and the attendant left to get our keys. Once he returned with our keys, I immediately noticed our premium drink package stickers were not on them. The attendant was shuffling things around, gave us 4 WOW cards (we’re lowly gold members), smiled and pointed us to our pre-boarding photo. It was such a rush, I didn’t even think to ask him about the stickers (more to come on this).

After the photo we were sent upstairs to wait. And wait we did with the other goldies. It wasn’t until 11:30 they started the boarding process. As usual, it was quick and painless. We weren’t the first herd to board, but we were on quick enough to rush to the far end of the promenade to speak with the folks handling the drink packages. I handed over our room keys and explained we had booked the premium drink package online. They matched our names with a very long print out and applied the stickers. They asked us to take our freestyle mugs and that was it. Done! We jumped on an elevator and made our way up to the pool deck for our ritual Lava Flows.

I remembered on the Oasis, things were insane on boarding day. The Park Café was ‘the’ place to go - and it was, because it was a zoo. So, this time around - I read a suggestion about Giovanni’s Table offering a great relaxing place for lunch. I booked us a 12:30 reservation. Easily the best thing I could have done. I don’t even remember what I ate, but sitting in Central Park, watching people scurry for seats outside of the Park Café. All while we sat there, relaxed with wine in hand. We were done shortly after 1:30 and it was time to get into our room.

We loved deck 8 on the Oasis, so I was happy to get another room on deck 8 on the Allure. It was a quick walk to our room. Our bags were already there and waiting. We had a D8 class room, #8170 directly across from the attendants facility. This was not a problem, even at the end of the cruise when they were bringing in all of the suitcases. It was a balcony room, which looked out over the port at the other ships. I remembered to pack an old pair of binoculars, which I used to scan the other ships. We unpacked and scanned the cruise compass. Then left to try out the FreeStyle machines.

Funny thing about the FreeStyle machines, people think they’ll work with standard glasses. I can see why, it looks like you’d be able to get whatever you’d want to drink. Not many people realize that the pre-paid mugs are micro chipped. There was a small line at the machines next to Sorrento’s. Many people in the line were trying unsuccessfully to fill their standard cups. I told the guy in front of me, who was with his young son, that the machines only work with the prepaid mugs. He ignored me, tried a few times and stood back. I put my mug into the slot and bam - beverage. After I walked away, he was trying again...some people...

Coming up next, muster drill and sail away...

2 questions if you don't mind:

1) what is this main switch people are asking about? Does it just cut the lights and outlets or the air too?

2) do you know if they would have correctly put the drink package sticker on the card where you would have picked up the freestyle mug?

Thank you!

Day 1 - Continued:

Our must drill was held in Blaze. We headed down early, hoping to get a seat closest to the exit, only to be stuck in the waaaaaay waaaay back. There’s a small private area, almost like a prison, with a few booths and a large table in the middle - that’s where they stuck us. We were there about 30 minutes early. We could not leave. We waited, and waited and waited. We could have gotten a drink in the amount of time we waited! Finally the place was filled, 4:30 struck and the muster drill began. We listened to the captains announcement and we watched the video. When it was time to be dismissed, we got out of the back room easily and were lucky to beat the big rush of people leaving.

I wanted to be on deck 14, on the wing over the bridge. I know this would be a tough space to lock down, so the wife and I took the stairs to 14 and walked down the hall. There was no one behind us or in front of us. We get outside, much to my delight we were the first people out there. We had a great spot and watched as we slowly made way out of port. A crowd of people showed up minutes later, people were annoyed, but acted civil.

As the ship pulled out, a private fishing boat was pretty close to the Allure. The coast guard kept calling for them to back away, but they continued on their path…

We floated by the last piece of land and we sailed out into the Ocean. We followed the thinning crowd and made way for the Champagne Bar - my wife’s favorite place for a drink.

The “guys” menu - in honor of Mad Men returning, I made sure to try as many of these as possible...

We took our drinks down to the jogging track, to watch the sun set behind us. Sadly, this was the only time we enjoyed time back there - I really wish I made it a point to enjoy it more.

We were still full from an amazing lunch at Giovanni’s, so we picked at a few things at the Windjammer, versus going to the MDR. A lot of people have issues with the Windjammer. I honestly think it’s a small step up from the main dining hall at any college. It’s not amazing, but the selection is fair, and if you’re creative enough you can mix things up from different stations to create your own dish.

After dinner we headed to our main event for the night…

My wife was VERY excited for this. She loved the movie and the songs. No surprise, I could care less. I was hoping to snooze more than I did :). In the end, my wife enjoyed it. She wasn’t thrilled with some of the casting, but didn’t think it took away from the production.

After the show we went to the Schooner Bar. A trivia game was being held, we wanted to walk to the bar. When one of the servers stopped us. “You can’t go through” - I thought he was joking. So we took another step and he put his hand out, and pointed behind us. “No, you can’t go through this way.” It dawned on me, he thought we were trying to walk passed the bar (which isn’t an option). So I nicely said we wanted to sit at the bar, and very grumpily he rolled his eyes and walked away. We went up to the bar, kind of laughing (and in disbelief) at what just happened. The guy was nasty, and there was no doubt about it. What was that guys problem? We ordered our drinks, and while they were being prepared the server returned to the bar shooting us nasty looks. So we grabbed our beverages and returned to our stateroom for the night.

Up next...Day 2 in the Bahamas, where we didn’t get off the boat!

2 questions if you don't mind:

 

1) what is this main switch people are asking about? Does it just cut the lights and outlets or the air too?

 

2) do you know if they would have correctly put the drink package sticker on the card where you would have picked up the freestyle mug?

 

Thank you!

When you enter your state room, you'll have a panel with a few different switches. a bathroom switch, and two switches for the main lighting and the 'mood' lighting that is aimed at the art. then there's one labeled the master switch. if you turn off the master switch, its my understanding it kills all power to the room...not just lights, but outlets too.

as far as the sticker is concerned, I'm not really sure. I was under the impression prior to boarding if you prepaid for the drink package, your card already had the sticker on it. however, I did recall some people having to check in with the stations in the promenade to confirm the reservation and have the sticker applied there. I'm not sure if the rep at check-in would have done it when he handed us our cards, or told us to go to the station on deck.

hope that helps, please let me know if anything else comes to mind!

Day 2 - Bahamas:

We woke up shortly after mooring. We got ready and headed down to the MDR for breakfast. We ordered a pair of mimosa's and made way for the buffet. The buffet isn’t anything fancy. It has your staples - eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, fruit, etc… We had gone to breakfast disguising our swimwear. After we ate, we made way for the pool deck. We set up shop at the beach pool.

We enjoyed the beach pool on the Oasis, so why fix what isn’t broken - right? As we approached the beach pool, it was obvious the water level was much higher than the on the Oasis. We had our fair share of loungers available, we sat in the front row briefly, the water level was under us. With our bags and floating flip flops...we moved back a row. The water came up pretty close, but it gave us plenty of clearance to put our things down without them getting soaked. Throughout the morning, the pools never filled up.

We left our spot for lunch at the Windjammer. We got a great window side table. We ate while looking down at the beautiful water as well as the homes on the coast. We could see Atlantis in the distance. After we ate, we made our way for the sports deck, where we got a better view of the resort.

We grabbed some drinks, enjoyed the sun and I did some boogie boarding on the flowrider. Just before it was my turn, it was solo riders only - once it was my turn to go, they split it off for shared riding. Just my luck! I’m 6’0” and 240lbs, lets just say I didn’t get to enjoy it very much. (I did on the last night of the cruise, more to come on that later!).

We walked to the solarium where we plopped down and relaxed some more. I jumped in the hot tub and made some new friends with some nice retired people from Virginia. They asked me all about Boston - from sports to the bombing, it was a very nice conversation. I asked them about Virginia, only to be told, “Well...it’s Virginia…” - HA! They were great.

After a short while, we ended up back at the Main Pool. The crowds were starting to fill up the ship and we ended up grabbing some seats poolside. We ordered some pina coladas and soaked up the sun...when this happened:

Yup, that guy is sitting in a hot tub, using a tablet that is “sealed” in a ziplock bag. To each their own, I suppose…

We weren’t out there very long, it was nap time! We crashed hard before dinner. All that sun and “1 or 2” drinks caught up to us. We woke up, freshened up - it was Formal Night afterall! I had rented a tux and shoes (I should back up here. On departure day, when we checked into our room, the tux was hanging in the closet but no shoes. I called the tailor, who asked my shoe size saying he’d be right up. He arrives with two shoes, neither of which were my size. I’m a 12.5/13. He brought me a 11 and 14.5. I tried the 14.5 first, it was massive. There was no way i could wear it. Next, I tried the 11. With the shoehorn and the power of Zeus I was able to squeeze into it. It hurt, it was tight and i could feel the seems unraveling. The tailor stated they only had 2 pairs of 13s on the ship, both of which were missing. He was out of anything higher than an 11. So he left me both pairs, but he didn’t charge me for the shoe rental). The tux was a little worse for the wear. The pants were great. The two shirts had dark mascara stains on them, one had food stains on the cuff as well as a busted button on the sleeve. The vest had a nice dark stain on it. I didn’t want to make an issue out of it, I put on the monkey suit and we made way for the promenade - we stopped to take a few pictures and headed for the MDR.

more to come!

We had planned to run like fools for Park Café upon boarding for the roast beef...but thanks to your suggestion, I just booked lunch at Gio's....:D

We had planned to run like fools for Park Café upon boarding for the roast beef...but thanks to your suggestion, I just booked lunch at Gio's....:D

You'll be glad you did! Save Park Café for sea day, or even a port day if you're not getting off the ship. Giovanni's is excellent, and for the price worth it. If the weather cooperates I urge you to sit outside. It's great for people watching, plus it really set the pace for our vacation.

Day 2: Continued

We were tended to immediately, I had made 6:45 reservations for every night using My Time Dining. As we were brought into the MDR, it was clear they didn’t turn anyone way for not wearing formal attire. Kids wearing flip flops and bright shirts, while the parents wore t-shirts and shorts. I know this is a touchy subject, so I’ll save my rant for the 2nd formal night, where the family sitting next to me really tested my patience.

We were seated along the railing, where we could see straight down to the first floor in the MDR. Our waiters greeted us and told us about the menu. Our bartender came by, asked if we had a drinking package. We smiled and told him we were. He smiled and said, “Excellent, what do you like to drink? I can bring you the menu, or I can make sure you stay within your allotment.” - he was fantastic the entire cruise. We usually had the cabernet every night (2-3 glasses, oops) while my wife mixed it up between the pinot and the cab. I don’t remember what we ate each night. I remember trying escargot on the 2nd formal night, but prior to that we were all over the place. We were very happy with our selections.

After each meal, Garry asked us if we wanted a dessert shot. He would tell us what it was and then ask if we’d want it on the side to mix in with coffee or on ice. The first night we wanted to mix it in with our coffee. However, the coffee never came - so we ended up just drinking it. Delicious stuff. The other nights we got it on the rocks to avoid another coffee snafu.

Since my feet were killing me (ladies, why on Earth do you do that to yourselves??) I decided to get out of my monkey suit, and my wife dressed down a bit. We made way for the casino. I had been more comfortable with craps, playing it on my iPhone - I was determined to play a real table. My wife found a cozy seat at a slot machine and we parted ways (but not for long). I played a few rounds of craps, doing pretty well and building my confidence in the game. It can be very intimidating if you don’t know what's going on. Its FAST. After playing for 10 minutes, my wife joined me - she had made her donation for the night. However, i was doubled up on my money. I played a little longer and watched my pile dwindle down just enough where I cashed out. On the way out, I decided to put a quick $50 down on black on the roulette table, of course red came up. It was fun at least!

We went for a few drinks before calling it a night.

Coming up: Day 3 - Sea Day, Room Service Breakfast and Poolside drinking

Day 3 - Sea Day:

The night before, we decided we wanted to get room service for breakfast. We ordered some of the basics and set the time for delivery. We set the time, and dozed off to sleep. Come morning, we were woken up by the stateroom phone. It was the Solarium calling to let us know our food was on its way. I was happy they called, gave us a little time to get decent! They arrived within minutes, placing the tray on the table in the state room. I gave the server a nice tip and I set up the meal on the balcony.

Bliss. No clinking silverware, no fuss, just the gentle sway of the mighty Allure and the beauty of the sea. I’ve never enjoyed terrible coffee so much.

We cleaned up after eating and packed up for the pool. It was a little after 8, and already seats were tough to come by. The hogs were out in full force. We were lucky enough to land a pair of loungers on the 2nd level by the main pool in the bleacher section. I waited for the bar to open up and started up on my drink of the morning the perfect patron margarita.

I told myself I’d stop after 3 before noon. Sadly, the poolside servers were very helpful in getting me to break that promise.

We beat the rush to the windjammer and headed for a quick lunch a little after 11:30am. I’ll openly admit, we left a few things out on our chair to “hold” them. We were gone for 25 minutes, and returned to a small group of younger people that thought moving our neighbors stuff was a good idea. Let’s just say one of the original people sitting next to us was pretty far along in her pregnancy and was not having any of it. The younger people moved on.

We didn’t stick around poolside very long. A few more drinks, a quick dip - I was ready to get out of the sun. We took a nice long nap, and before we knew it we were off to the MDR.

This time, we were seated next to an older retired couple. They were a little loud, annoying, but fun. They were bothering the very tolerable family on the other side of them, once they left - they were very interested in my wife and I. The husband was quiet, didn’t say much. Just held a big smile. But the wife… she was something. All that stuff you’re not supposed to talk about with new people, she didn’t care. After I let my guard down, the annoying part faded away. They were a funny couple. Finally, I let it slip it was my wife’s birthday the week before the trip, so she got up - and loudly requested everyone sing her happy birthday. Normally, the waiters do this. Nope. Not this time. She lead everyone in a nice long birthday song sing a long, and the waiters plopped down a slice of birthday dessert in front of my wife. It was something else. Finally, they asked us what room we were in. This is where we weren’t in any big rush to tell them. I said we were on the 8th deck, but the room number slipped my mind. They told us what room they were in...8168. They were immediately next to us. What luck! We never saw them again, but our bartender in the MDR told us they were quite the couple. The following night apparently the wife spilled her dessert drink all over the place. Never a dull moment!

After dinner we had reservations for Ocean Aria. We were there a little on the early side, but made sure we brought a drink to hold us over. We sat in the 4th row, dead center. The rows behind us were held for Suite guests. The show was good. We enjoyed it. Some people rave that it is a must see and you cannot miss it. I disagree. If you’ve seen Cirque, you can miss this and feel ok about your decision. The show is nearly identical to the show on the Oasis with some subtle changes. It’s neat in the light that you are sitting on the back of a ship, while at sea, watching an average performance. (Just wait until I tell you about my thoughts on Blue Planet...it will ruffle some feathers).

After the show, we were tired. We picked up some more drinks from the Champagne Bar and retreated to our stateroom for the night. We were excited for our next day in St. Thomas to get off the ship for a bit. We had signed up for the Champagne Sail and Snorkle.

Coming up Day 4: St. Thomas!