BearClaw28

Really wished I had known this a few months ago. I gotta start using my AMEX benefits more. Or at least figuring out what they are.

Thank you for a great and informative review. My husband and I are sailing on Allure on July 23. Bringing our oldest granddaughter (age 11). This will be her first cruise.

 

Have cruised many times but I appreciate the tip about taking pics of the daily compass so you don't have to carry it. Never thought of doing that. So thanks again.

 

 

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This was really one of the best unintended tips that I figured out doing this review. Without fail every day or night somebody in my party would have a question that I could answer by bringing up the compass pics on my phone.

Also as a matter of safety, the compass has emergency numbers (US Embassy, Port Agent, Local Law Enforcement) for every port and the All Aboard time. I for one know that I never make note of those numbers before I get off the ship.

Will be leaving on October 1!

Thank you much for this awesome review. Loved the pictures and I'm a planaholic so the pictures helped me already decide what's for dinner 😂

Can you remember what the cruise directors name is? First and last if you remember. On the first day the cruise compass may have included the pictures and names of all the officers and heads of departments.

Thanks so much!

Thanks! Our cruise directors name was Mitch. I honestly didn't have much contact with him. The most was when he hosted the Love and Marriage game show. Not sure of his last name and I couldn't find it in the Compass. I posted all of them in the review. Maybe you'll have better luck.

Just wondering if you called uber before your trip to set things up or just when you called after getting your luggage. Never have done uber, but I am set up with the app. Thanks. We leave in 13 days.

I didn't prearrange any rides with uber, I "called" for an UberXL when I was ready to be picked up. It was honestly the most convenient thing.

When at the airport the commercial pickup area is close to each terminal.

Uber is cheaper than a hotel transfer to the pier.

Pickup area at pier at end of cruise is right as you exit the terminal after going through customs.

Enjoyed your review! What were the prices of pictures? Trying to decide if we should get the package or not. TIA!

 

 

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I'm sorry but I don't have that information. I vaguely remember something like $149 for 10 pics and the digital prints. We only bought 5 and I think we paid around $60? If I can find out I'll get back to you.

Amazing review. Thanks for sharing. It's nice seeing all the MDR pictures too. Brings back memories like 'hey, i remember having that'. Looks like you had a great cruise. We were on Allure and loved it.

Thank you! I love looking back at food pics too. We really had a great time. I'd definitely sail her again.

Thanks for the review.

You're welcome. Hope you liked it.

I don't think I've ever enjoyed a review so much. Thank you for all of the food photos! It's really helpful to see how the various dishes look. And your commentary was fantastic. Thank you!

Thanks! That's very kind of you to say.

Ok, not done yet.

Day 8 - Disembarkation

Woke up around 6:30 and we were already docked. Turned my phone off airplane mode and got a bunch of non imessages. With VOOM I was well connected all trip. Don't know if that's good or bad. Got ready and went up to windjammer for breakfast. It was already pretty busy. I think it closed at 8am. Lot of people already making their way off the ship. Since we had the latest time, we took our time. But we had to be out of our cabin around 9am. So we went back down to our cabins and packed up our carry on bags. Left our cabins by 9am and went to the Silk dining room to wait with the rest of my family.

It was a little bittersweet sitting around talking about the cruise and trying to figure out when we'd see each other again since we rarely do. Finally by aunt, uncle and family had their numbers called and we had to say goodbye. My parents and I were left to wait for another 10 minutes before we were called. We were literally the last ones called. They basically said "Ok, everyone else, get out now!". Exited the ship on the Royal Promenade level, down the ramps and into the terminal. Had to wait on line to get down to the main level where the luggage and customs were. Finally made it down and we could see our luggage from the escalator as they were by our number and there weren't many bags left. Grabbed bags and got on the customs/exit line. Took about 20 minutes. You could probably call your uber when you're close to the end of the line. I waited until we were through customs and exited the building so we waited 15 minutes for our uber. Customs was quick and painless. They didn't open anything or look through any bags. As soon as we exited the building the pickup area was right in front. I ran into my cousins there waiting for their uber. Since we were the last ones off (there were literally nobody behind us on the customs line) the waiting areas weren't that full. Just waited at curb for a few minutes and the car was there. Got the the airport within 15 minutes and off to the Delta Sky Club for a few hours before we could board.

Well that ends my trip on the Allure. It really was a great time. The boat is great and so big with so much to do. The crew was amazing. Very helpful and friendly. The food was above average, just wish there were hot items available past 9pm, other than Sorrentos pizza. Entertainment was very good. I did the survey that RCL wants you to do after I got home and I more or less gave them solid 8, 9 and 10's. Though they weren't too happy with the few 8's I gave because they asked for follow up.

Thanks to everyone who followed and I hope you found my review informative and not too boring. It was nice having you along for the ride. I'm actually going on a cruise to Alaska on July 14 but on Norwegian this time. Don't know if I'll have time for that in depth of a review but I would like to compare and contrast. Plus I'll definitely take pics of menus and food again. I'll also be on excursions at every stop unlike this trip. Well look me up on the NCL board next month if you want to hear about it. ;)

If anyone has any questions about this cruise I'd be happy to answer them if I can. To all those going on the Allure in the near future, have an amazing time!

Dessert

If Key Lime Pie is on the menu I'm ordering it. Especially in Florida. Very Good. My favorite dessert.

My cousin had the sugar free key lime. Here's a pic. I had no interest.

After dinner we gave our waiters their tips and thanked them for taking such good care of us. They were very grateful.

Luggage that was to be picked up and taken off boat had to be outside our cabins by 11pm. So my parents and I headed up to finish packing. The shows that night were the comedians in the Amber Theater. No reservations for the family friendly show at 9pm and the adult show at 10:45pm. We had to rush to make the 9pm show. Got our bags outside (don't forget to leave change of clothes for the next day) and I saw our steward so I gave him $40 for our 2 cabins. Again, I don't know if this is good or bad but it seemed appropriate. He was happy and thanked us.

Went down to walk thru the Royal Promenade and ended up stopping to look for watches for my nephews. Ended up only buying one g-force watch because there was only one in the size I needed. Then to the theater which was packed. Found my parents seats and I stood in the back. The opening comic was just finishing up when we got there. I was wondering how the main comic would tone down his act for the family show. He even mentioned this. Not surprisingly he did a very good job and everyone had a lot of laughs.

By the end of the show it was already past 10pm so we just waked through the Royal Promenade again and headed to the aft elevators to go back to our cabins. Very mellow last day and night.

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I ordered the Pan Seared Bay Scallops and Chorizo - very good

The French Onion Soup - it was average.

Fish and Seafood Mash - very good. The fried fish on this ship is outstanding. I don't know if it's the batter or what but I really enjoyed it. Fish is moist and I could just eat that and be happy.

My cousin had the Lamb Shank which I would normally get but we had lamb chops the night before. He said it was very good.

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Day 7 - At Sea

As the last full day of the cruise everyone just wanted to relax, sleep in and do anything that they might have missed or wanted to do again. I made it up to windjammer around 10 and met up with most of my family. We picked out an area in windjammer to sit and always tried to sit there in case anyone else came in. We just hung out and had a very leisurely breakfast.

After that we scattered around the boat. I was intent on going out by the pool and getting some sun as it was another beautiful sunny day. Chairs weren't hard to get. Yeah there were some hogs but it didn't matter. Found one on deck 16 looking out on the water. At one point you could see Cuba on the starboard side as we passed by. Judging by the buildings we saw we assumed it was Havana. After having one or two pina coladas I had to walk around. I went to the flow rider and zip line to watch. Ended up meeting some family there. When they were done they wanted to go to Madagascar Aqua Show so we went down to the Boardwalk. There are no reservations for this show so it's first come first serve. It was already packed by the time we got there. Standing room is always available so I just stood in back to watch. Kids would love this show and most adults too as it was very entertaining with diving and gymnastics. Here are a few pics:

From there I grabbed a bite to eat at windjammer and then went with my parents to the photo gallery on 6. It was very busy with everyone going through their binders. Kinda impressive with how organized it is. We didn't take many pics so we only purchased a handful. If you buy fewer than 10 pics you can only get prints and not the digital copy. That was a little annoying. From there we went down a level to guest services to settle our bill. Just wanted to verify our charges before they were charged to my credit card on file.

I went back to my cabin to start sorting thru things before I packed. They give you papers for disembarking earlier in the week. They include choosing the time you get off ship, how your bags are handled (self, pickup or straight to the airport) and customs form. I asked for a late departure as we were headed straight to airport but for a 2:45pm flight. That afternoon our cabin steward left number tags for our luggage if we planned on having them picked up that night. They go from 1-65. The later the number the later your bags would be put out the next day. I had number 63 which meant our bags would be out there by 10:50am.

While sorting thru things I took pics of the in room menus. Not sure if I've posted these before but here you go.

After cleaning and sorting things out I got ready for dinner. Oh yeah, they also give you 2 envelopes for tipping above and beyond any crew members. Our group decided to tip our head waiter $20 and assistant waiter $10 for every table we occupied which were tables 800-804. So $100 and $50. That's in addition to the automatic gratuities. I have no idea if this is too much, too little or what but that's what we decided was appropriate for what we deemed to be excellent service.

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I was on Allure a week ago flying down to FLL from NY. I used UberXL with 3 people and a lot of luggage.

Commercial pickup area at FLL is within 50 yards of any terminal.

I had an Explorer, a Durango and a Tahoe pick us up on the 3 legs and there was more than enough room for our luggage. You should be fine with 4 people. For 6 adults and 3 kids you'll need 2 UberXL's.

Uber was cheaper than arranged transportation from hotel to port. But some hotels have a free shuttle from airport to hotel.

Pickup for Uber coming from port is right where you get out of customs. Very easy.

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Ok after dinner we needed to walk it off a little before the Blue Planet show at 8:30. My mom, aunt and some cousins wanted to go to the $10 sale in the middle of the Royal Promenade. So I went with to make sure my mom was ok in that throng. People are animals. As soon as the sale opened it was like a pack of wolves at feeding time. Thanks to the time spent at the sale we ended up sitting on the side of the stage for the show. Here's a tip: make sure you get seats in the middle of the theater for this show. It was probably the best show of the week. Most of the cast of Mamma Mia was in it. It was very action packed and highly choreographed. A lot of aerial stuff too. Very entertaining. But sitting on the side I definitely missed a lot.

Here's a few pics:

After the show we walked around a little then some of us went to see the comedians in Comedy Live again. This was our reserved show so we went right in and sat front and center. Always a dangerous place to sit in a comedy club. I have one cousin who loves Comedy and laughs really loud. So of course the comedian started talking to him. The first comic was much better this time but kinda let his set drag. The second comic was great again. It wasn't a fully attended show but we all had a great time just the same.

From there everyone went to bed. I wandered into casino but it was much quieter so I didn't stay long. I was tired anyway and went to bed.

This guy was waiting for me when I got to cabin.

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So I ordered the New England Clam Chowder - Very good.

The Seafood Ceviche - eh nothing special.

Roasted Rack of Lamb - perfectly cooked medium rare. Very tasty.

Someone ordered the Chicken Gyoza for the table. They were pretty good

For dessert I had the Strawberry Kiwi Pavlova. The hard part is like a hard meringue. It was the sweetest thing I had all week. Could only eat a few bites.

I took a pic of the Warm Chocolate Cake but didn't have any. I heard it was good.

This was the best overall meal I had on the ship. I was ridiculously stuffed. The fact I ate lunch 3 hours earlier didn't help.

Now I want to go back a little. My cousin took a different tour than us. He took the "Climb the Coba Pyramid and Cenote Swim". Pretty self explanatory. They had to get on a boat and take a fairly bumpy 30-40 minute trip to the mainland before taking a bus for another hour to the pyramid. He said the were a little rushed at the pyramid and his wife just let him and their son climb it at their pace so they wouldn't have to wait for her. With how hot it was I'm glad I chose the tour I did. They didn't get back until 5:30.

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This Tapatalk app is pretty good but it just did something pretty stupid. I just typed out a post with a full set of pics but put my phone down for a second to look something up on my laptop before I posted. When I went back to phone the app refreshed and I lost what I had typed. Now I'm annoyed.

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I headed straight for my cabin so I could peel off my shirt and grab my water bottles before meeting up in windjammer. Drank a ton of water and lemonade before I grazed a bit. I was trying to save some room for Boardwalk Dog House, which I hadn't tried yet. After sitting with my parents and telling them about the tour I excused myself and headed to the Boardwalk. As expected it was pretty empty with everybody on shore. I grabbed a couple dogs and went back to my cabin. Now I forget what I got but I think it was a German dog and maybe... ah I don't want to guess because I really only liked the German one. Here are pics:

After I ate I took as cold of a shower as I could and sat in bed to work on this review. As I remember correctly it didn't last long as I fell asleep. The 5:30pm dinner seating was ok but some days it was just too early. This was one of those nights. I woke up in a daze and the clock said 5:45. For a good minute I wondered if blowing off dinner was an option. It wasn't so I got dressed and headed downstairs. Amazingly enough I wasn't close to being the last one at the table. I apologized to our waiters since they'd have to rush our service to accommodate our tardiness. They were very understanding. The rest of my family showed up shortly after.

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The last stop on the tour was of the Mayan Cocoa Company. Not going to get too in depth about it. They talked about the history of chocolate in that region. They had a demonstration on how to make chocolate and they had some samples of the base chocolate and mole'. Then to the store that's always at the end of these things. I'm a sucker so I bought some bars.

Here are some pics:

I don't know what the parrots were doing there. By the way, did you catch the big iguana in the ruins pics?

Got back on bus and headed back to port. I mentioned this earlier but walking onto the pier it's like a maze the way the stores are set up. I was walking around just to check it out and found myself walking in circles. Stores are what you'd expect, a bunch of jewelry, souvenirs and a duty free shop. There's a Senor Frogs for those who enjoy that. I was drained and just headed back to the ship.

As I mentioned earlier there were 2 cruise ships docked at the pier, the Allure and the Liberty of the Seas. Here's a pic:

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Here are some pics of the ruins:

Tour was pretty interesting. Overall we were there about 90 minutes. There's a little bit of walking on sometimes uneven terrain.

From there we got back on the bus and drove around the island for a little while. We went along the coast which was very pretty. We ended up stopping at a very picturesque view of some rocks overlooking the water. We were just there for 10-15 minutes.

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Woke up at 7:30am. I had to meet the rest of my family on the dock for our excursion. By 8am I was in Windjammer scarfing down whatever I could. Started heading for the gangway by 8:20. Again I took the elevator to the gangway floor (3rd) and walked down to the 2nd. I feel like I'm doing something wrong that I'm not getting off on the gangway floor but this was my routine getting off the ship every time. RCL had people selling bottled water and vitamin water near the elevator. I grabbed 2 waters. Didn't want to take the chance.

Met up with some of my cousins and we started walking on the pier and towards the pier exit where all the excursions were to meet. When you get to the exit, it bottlenecks to a single point where they have some kinda dog sniffing bags. This seemed odd and kind of for show. What exactly did they think people on the cruise ships were trying to smuggle into Mexico?!? But whatever. Got thru the exit around 8:45 and started looking for where my tour was meeting. We were going on the "Cozumel Mayan Ruins and Island Overview" tour. It was a little chaotic, especially with 2 ships docked at the same time. Had to ask a few RCL employees and eventually found our meeting point. Now at the pier they had small boats and tender type boats waiting to take people on tours. One of my cousins took a much longer tour involving a boat ride to the mainland. I'll describe that one later just to give people an idea.

Forgot to mention the weather. It was very cloudy with rain seemingly imminent. And it was SOOOO Hot and Humid. We were all dripping in sweat just standing there waiting for the tour to get going. Some guy started going around putting name tags on some members of our group, with "Jesus" on them. Turns out that this was our tour guide, not a religious fanatic, and he was staking out 44 people to be on his tour bus. The others would go with the other tour guide on another bus. We walked through the labyrinth that was the port shopping area and to the exit where our tour bus would be. Thank God the AC was working well on our bus. I heard from cousins who ended up on the other bus that the AC wasn't working well on theirs.

Cozumel is a small island. The roads are single lane and kinda go around the island. After 20 minutes we reached our destination. Got off the bus and walked to the entrance of the ruins where there's a small building with bathrooms, a shop and I think a restaurant. There was no additional charge to enter but if you wanted to take movies with a phone or camera, it was an extra $3 that would had to pay before entering. It was still very hot and now the sun was coming out. No rain other than a few sprinkles though despite the threatening clouds.

Ok sorry for the long delay. Real life keeps getting in the way. Being on vacation is so much better. Going to try and bang the rest of this out tonight.

Day 6 - Cozumel Mexico

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Your reviews state you've been in the casino a few nights... How is the payout? Do you normally win, break even, lose, etc? We will be there in a month and love to gamble, but don't want try it out if the slots are tight and never pay out.

Overall I lost about $1000. I lost most in the first few nights playing craps. Got tired of the weak odds and didn't play again after day 3. Played roulette a little bit and tried the Texas Hold Em game. Other than that I played mainly poker, cash game on the electronic table. I was so card dead and couldn't catch anything. I enjoyed myself though, met other card players who played multiple nights. Didn't play slots. I wasn't on the ship on the cruise company's dime so I didn't feel a need to play their "rigged" games more than I did. Every game is adjusted to be in the house's favor even more than in on land casinos. The rake on the poker game was an absurd 10% of every pot with no cap. That's what you get when you're a captive audience.

This is probably a really stupid question, but when it rains does central park area get wet because the top is open? I'm just wondering if the carousel area and the floors get slippery.

Not a stupid question at all. I was wondering the same thing as I had a Central Park Balcony cabin and worried about keeping anything on the balcony in case it rained. I really didn't see anything that would have prevented those areas from getting wet in the case of rain.

I had the Royal Chocolate Cake and coffee. It was good but I was pretty full and just had a bite.

I took pics of the creme brûlée and the baked Alaska. I didn't try either on this night but the people who did enjoyed them.

As I said it was the second formal night. They have 2 photographers set up with backdrops as soon you enter the hallway leading to the dining room. This was one of rare times we used their services. They also have photographer set ups by the staircase on the aft side of the Royal Promenade and by car near rising tide.

After dinner and pictures most of us changed clothes before the Headliner Show in Amber Theater.

The Headliner on this cruise was an act called Impact. They were finalists on the show America's Got Talent. I'm not really sure how to describe their act. They're musicians (drums, guitars, piano) but there are also whips involved. It's basically 3 guys running around playing music, dancing and performing. It was an interesting show and they definitely put the effort in as evidenced by the sweat they were producing (beware if you sit in the first few rows). But we all kind of had the same reaction that it was missing something. It missed a flow to the show. I'm assuming on AGT they had a 5 minute segment every show. I think the problem was extending their act to run for a continuous 45 minutes while also integrating an audience. Definitely talented performers but the show is a work in progress.

Here's a pic of the 3 main guys drumming:

I forgot to mention in the previous nights that they had decade musical reviews on the Royal Promenade. There's a stage overlooking the middle of the Promenade and they had performers (mainly from Mamma Mia cast) come out to sing and dance to songs from the 80's, 70's and 50&60's each night. It gets very crowded and loud. 70's disco night was a little rowdy.

After the Headliner show my group went down to the Promenade and walked around, got some pizza and people watched until they turned in early because most of us were going on an excursion in Cozumel the next morning. I went to casino until 2am then straight to bed.

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