Allure OTS - 28-Jun, Western Med. Trip Report (photo-heavy)

This is my somewhat photo-heavy trip report of Allure Of The Seas doing the Western Meditteranea, departing Barcelona on 28-Jun-2015.

Dramatis Personae

• Alan - narrator, keen photographer. Never cruised before.
  
• Marie - my wife. Has cruised with her parents and the kids on two previous occasions
  
• Jenni - our daughter
  
• Cameron - our son
  
• John - Marie's Dad
  
• May - Marie's mum
  

My kids are of an age where they don't like having every detail of their lives posted online, so I am sure you will understand if they are only used minimally throughout the report. The net result is that many of the photographs will be scenics. But be warned, there are a lot of pictures!

We booked the cruise through a travel agent. For reasons I don't profess to understand I am not supposed to mention its name in here, but if it's acceptable then feel free to PM me for their name.

Our holiday started at Edinburgh Airport on the 0630 Ryanair flight to BCN. With the problems I had been reading about in the newspapers, that made us leave home about 0230 on the Sunday morning - it was hardly worth going to bed!

However, we got parked at Secure Airparks, we had a short delay waiting for the checkin to open but once it was open the self-service bag drop was wonderfully efficient. The new security system at EDI was also excellent and we were soon airside, waiting for our flight. To my relief the RyanAir flight was absolutely fine, and we soon found ourselves in BCN. The travel agent had arranged a private transfer, and we were met at the airport by someone holding up a card with our name on it. It made us feel really important, and more importantly we were rapidly whisked to the docks and were quickly checked onto the ship.

Oops! EDI needs to update their display PCs by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Ryanair's finest by Alan Potter, on Flickr

On the taxi (minibus). Don't like the finger gesture; it apparently means "peace" but I see it as somethign different. I guess that's what a generation gap is all about by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Ah, the ship.

by Alan Potter, on Flickr

This was my first ever cruise, I had no idea what to expect. It really just feels like an hotel; there is no sense of movement. It is like an extraordinarily well maintained hotel, beautifully clean and tidy and centred around an up-market tat bazaar.

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0015 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

I guess that RCI doesn't have perfect PCs either! by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Great to see another review from our cruise.

Keep going!

Joe

We had read here that it was wise to pack our swimming cozzies, so we were able to get out to the pool and enjoy a comparatively quiet time there. Sadly we didn't have sun cream with us (not allowed over 100ml in your hand baggage) so I was a little nervous about that. I wandered around and took some photos of the ship.

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0020-HDR by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Barcelona Harbour by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0023-HDR by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Barcelona Harbour by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Marie at the rather quiet poolside by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Central Park by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Studio B by Alan Potter, on Flickr

The Amber Theatre by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Crazy Golf by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0044-HDR by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0046 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0049 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

We had brought our two bottles of wine per stateroom. But then I realised that the security scan at the ship was before the Duty Free shops. So I went back off the ship and bought another couple of bottles of wine to enjoy during the week. It turns out that I needn't have bothered; I ended up taking three bottles back home with me. But it seemed a good idea at the time. I also bought a hat. To keep the sun off. You'll see it later, I look really stupid in it...

Then it was time for the muster drill. I have to say it seemed a little bit of a cheat to warn us "hey folks, there's going to be a simulation of a major, unexpected emergency in fifteen minutes". But what the heck, I played along. We gathered in the theatre, the Captain made a few jokes over the intercom, and we pretended that we would be this calm if we actually hit an iceberg. In the Med.

Muster Drill by Alan Potter, on Flickr

We went back to the pool deck (14) and I wandered around taking pics for a while

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0053 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0054 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0057 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Looking down on the Oceanaria Theatre by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0063 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0065 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0067 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0068 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Cabins overlooking the boardwalk by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0076 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0079-HDR by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Dinner came and went, the scale of the Main Dining Room simply amazing. We met our Head Waiter, our Waiter, and our barman ("peace and love, brother").

Next step was the Oceanaria show. Now, I must admit straight off that I am a theatre geek. And I was completely blown away. What these folk were doing was simply awesome. All the entertainment throughout the week was great, I can't single one show out over another. But this one, the first of the week, simply stunned me. So good.

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0092 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0094 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0099 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0105 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0107 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0111 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0113 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0115 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0122 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0144 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0155 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

This was bloomin' high!

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0157 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0159 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

We went for a little bit of a wander around the ship thereafter, but we had all had an early rise and were pretty tired. It was bed time.

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0178 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0161 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150628-WesternMedCruise-0180 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

End of day one...

Beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing :)

Great pictures so far. Thanks for sharing. The water in the aqua theatre must be mighty deep if they are jumping from that high.

Wonderful shots, colour is terrific. Keep them coming :)

Excellent photos were on the Allure in September, now i cannot wait. Please keep these photos coming.

Great photos. Following along. :)

Great photos! Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Thank you for the kind comments!

Day two dawned and we found ourselves in Palma de Mallorca.

Cruise Compass

(I've edited Day 1 to add a link to its Cruise Compass)

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0190-Pano by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Our plan had been that we would go on a walking tour of the city, but the effects of the lack of sleep the previous night meant that nobody was really keen on getting off the ship so early. We lay in bed longer than we expected and ended up having a lazy brunch in the Windjammer.

It's probably worth mentioning the cabin configuration too - we were on deck 12, with three outside rooms. One for Cameron and me, one for Marie and Jenni, and a third for Marie's parents. The rooms were all adjacent; my room and Marie's room were connecting rooms, and we had the three balconies opened up. So that was all rather pleasant.

Anyway, we had our brunch and got off the ship to get our shuttle bus. This is us in front of Allure:

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0207 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

This bus, I think, 5 euros each; there were frequent buses and we were dropped off at the waterfront just opposite the cathedral.

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0211 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0219 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

We went for a wander around, but by this time the temperatures were really high - 35C (95F) and we struggled in the heat.

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0224 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0228 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0232 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0241 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0242 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0243 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

We wandered around for a little while, but eventually everyone else decided to get the bus back to the ship. I stayed around to grab a few more pictures.

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0244 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0250 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

The road back to the port had several these wartime guns on display

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0255 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

And this hastily-grabbed shot through the bus window was probably the best picture I managed of the ship the entire week

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0264 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

And then it was time for our Meet and Mingle

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0278 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0279 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0280 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

At the Meet and Mingle we had a wee welcome speech and a buffet, a chance to chat to our fellow Cruise Critic members, and a raffle. One of the items was an art book that Jenni really wanted. When she didn't win it, one of the other Cruise Critic members (really sorry, I didn't catch your screen name!) was really kind and gave her the book. Thank you so much, it was hugely apreciated! What was really nice was that when this gentleman was given Jenni's raffle ticket, he later won a bottle of wine - beautiful!

It was formal night, so we all got on our glad rags and looked great for dinner. We didn't get many photos of that, though - there will be more from the photos of the second formal night. We were on the 1830 dinner slot. This was a little too early, but the 2100 slot was too late. But it did give us time to go out and do stuff after dinner.

In the evening we went again to the Oceanaria show. Last night some of the party had gone straight to bed, and our enthusing about the show made them want to come and see it. This time I left my camera in the stateroom, and we sat in the very front row.

And got very wet :-)

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0289 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

Good night!

Love seeing another picture review of the cruise we will take next month! Thank you for taking the time!

Thanks for the review and the lovely photos! I am going in september so I really appreciate this.

The road back to the port had several these wartime guns on display

 

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0255 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

 

And this hastily-grabbed shot through the bus window was probably the best picture I managed of the ship the entire week

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0264 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

 

And then it was time for our Meet and Mingle

 

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0278 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

 

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0279 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

 

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0280 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

 

At the Meet and Mingle we had a wee welcome speech and a buffet, a chance to chat to our fellow Cruise Critic members, and a raffle. One of the items was an art book that Jenni really wanted. When she didn't win it, one of the other Cruise Critic members (really sorry, I didn't catch your screen name!) was really kind and gave her the book. Thank you so much, it was hugely apreciated! What was really nice was that when this gentleman was given Jenni's raffle ticket, he later won a bottle of wine - beautiful!

 

It was formal night, so we all got on our glad rags and looked great for dinner. We didn't get many photos of that, though - there will be more from the photos of the second formal night. We were on the 1830 dinner slot. This was a little too early, but the 2100 slot was too late. But it did give us time to go out and do stuff after dinner.

 

In the evening we went again to the Oceanaria show. Last night some of the party had gone straight to bed, and our enthusing about the show made them want to come and see it. This time I left my camera in the stateroom, and we sat in the very front row.

 

And got very wet :-)

 

20150629-WesternMedCruise-0289 by Alan Potter, on Flickr

 

Good night!

Thanks for the great review, we sail on the 30th of August, can't wait you pictures make it so real now 😀

These photos are amazing! Subscribed! Can't wait to see the rest of your report!

Enjoying your review, your hat looks cool :)

I miss the Allure [emoji22]

Great pictures so far. Thanks for sharing. The water in the aqua theatre must be mighty deep if they are jumping from that high.

16' deep I believe. I was either told that or saw that on my depth gage when I took a scuba class in it.