24 Hours, 24 Photos, 24 Things to Do on the World's Largest Cruise Ship

[Dan Askin]

Interactive Feature: 24 Hours, 24 Things to Do on the World's Largest Cruise Ship ... from cupcake breakfasts to ogling eccentric stairwell art: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4259

[Dan Askin]

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask...

[Tyler80]

I thought this was good. Good job guys. A look at what can be done onboard Allure of the Seas for those who think there isn't enough already to do.

[Dan Askin]

I thought this was good. Good job guys. A look at what can be done onboard Allure of the Seas for those who think there isn't enough already to do.

 

Thanks Tyler, hopefully we've inspired you to dispense with sleep on your next cruise...

[Dan Askin]

*duplicate post

[AF-1]

Dan,, thanks for the pics; I will definitely hit my cabin for a few hours sleep per day; no more than a few. I want to walk till my legs get tired; which in very rare.

cheers

[Dan Askin]

Dan,, thanks for the pics; I will definitely hit my cabin for a few hours sleep per day; no more than a few. I want to walk till my legs get tired; which in very rare.

cheers

 

My colleague and I actually donned pedometers during our 44 hours onboard (two-night preview cruise). I hit 17 miles in less than two days ... think I may have broken a sweat once.

[ALSEAU]

My colleague and I actually donned pedometers during our 44 hours onboard (two-night preview cruise). I hit 17 miles in less than two days ... think I may have broken a sweat once.

 

Your time line brings back memories of our B2B on the Oasis. After we got home we talked about all the things we did and the things that we didn't do while on the ship for two weeks. The things we skipped were because we chose to take time to sleep and relax.

 

Did you take the steps all the time and not use the elevators? Was the 17 miles a goal or a neccessary effort to do your 24/2?

 

BTW as big as the ship is I don't think we walked 17 miles in a week. If we did we didn't notice it because we didn't feel like we were walking that far from one destination to another. Our cabin was forward in the bow on deck 7.

[Dan Askin]

Your time line brings back memories of our B2B on the Oasis. After we got home we talked about all the things we did and the things that we didn't do while on the ship for two weeks. The things we skipped were because we chose to take time to sleep and relax.

 

Did you take the steps all the time and not use the elevators? Was the 17 miles a goal or a neccessary effort to do your 24/2?

 

BTW as big as the ship is I don't think we walked 17 miles in a week. If we did we didn't notice it because we didn't feel like we were walking that far from one destination to another. Our cabin was forward in the bow on deck 7.

 

John and I collectively used elevators twice (here's a link to a pedometer story we published: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4244). Of course. the tallies are a bit skewed -- we were racing around the ship trying to cover everything in only 44 hours. We blogged while onboard (http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/blog/?p=1909), so there was a lot of mad dashing...

[ALSEAU]

John and I collectively used elevators twice (here's a link to a pedometer story we published: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4244). Of course. the tallies are a bit skewed -- we were racing around the ship trying to cover everything in only 44 hours. We blogged while onboard (http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/blog/?p=1909), so there was a lot of mad dashing...

 

Checking out these two links kinda makes your head spin. It seems unreal that two people on a two day cruise walked a total of 17 miles to cover as many shows, events and attractions that are available on these ships.

 

I know both of you had to enjoy the challenge. My questions are:

 

What surprised you both the most?

 

With your experiences - what did you think was the most unique thing about the Allure that you can't experience on other cruise ships?

 

What was the most fun thing you did on the ship besides visiting all the bars?

 

Did either of you karaoe?

 

What was the most annoying thing about the ship?

 

What do you think RCI could have done that they didn't do?

[Dan Askin]

Checking out these two links kinda makes your head spin. It seems unreal that two people on a two day cruise walked a total of 17 miles to cover as many shows, events and attractions that are available on these ships.

 

I know both of you had to enjoy the challenge. My questions are:

 

What surprised you both the most?

 

With your experiences - what did you think was the most unique thing about the Allure that you can't experience on other cruise ships?

 

What was the most fun thing you did on the ship besides visiting all the bars?

 

Did either of you karaoke?

 

What was the most annoying thing about the ship?

 

What do you think RCI could have done that they didn't do?

 

17 miles was just my total -- John went for 11-odd. First off, sorry for the delayed response to your questions, but here goes:

 

Having been so well-schooled on the ship's features/layout during last year's Oasis coverage, there weren't any huge surprises. Might sound insignificant, but the in-cabin tweaks -- iPod dock w/ speaker, triple prong outlet on top of (rather than below) the vanity -- really stood out.

 

It's hard to describe, in a sentence or two, the planetary distance between Oasis-class ships and other cruise ships. When you're inside, it doesn't feel all that different from Freedom-class vessels. You've got your Royal Promenade, casino, main dining room, etc. But wandering around Central Park or the Boardwalk, which were created by slicing a corridor down the center of the ship, is surreal. I had a conversation with a cruise ship horticulturalist(!).

 

I like chatting it up with the crew, so I had a good time peppering Alvaro, a Johnny Rockets staffer from Peru, with questions. And despite my own general lack of interest in cruise ship entertainment (not a fan of song and dance), the AquaTheater show was really impressive.

 

Our key cards didn't work at first, which was irksome ... but this was a fluffer cruise, and so the perfect time to work out such kinks. One other thing to keep in mind: Since you've basically lost a big swath of the top deck, there have been some open deck space complaints (especially on sunny Caribbean days).

 

My one concern on an Allure/Oasis cruise is that, as my colleague said, the consumer is really, really in the crosshairs. More than any other line, the extra-fee options -- Samba Grill, Giovanni's Table, 150 Central Park, Vintages, Izumi, Rita's Cantina, Coach store, Guess boutique, many other retail shops, candy shop, ice cream parlor, cupcake cupboard, late-night room service fee, build-a-pet ... and so on -- are everywhere. While I certainly don't think it would be a problem to steer clear of all these added fees, the reminders of their existence are unceasing.