Just off the Allure - Jan 9th Sailing

[WhiteSoxFan]

Just off aand waiting for the flight home. We did express departure and walked off the ship at 6:30, taxi to the airport and standing in line at Southwest at 6:50. Another half hour and we were through security.

 

We arrived at the terminal last Sunday a little after 11:00. By the time we checked-in, had our photo and made it upstairs they were just a few minutes short of calling the Platinum C & A members. The cabins were ready just before 1:00, I joked about our bags being there already and, as I was putting the key into the door, our first two bags arrived followed by the other three a few minutes later. By 2:00PM were had everything put away and were ready to explore.

 

The ship is beautiful, all I can say is that the pictures do not do it justice. The cabins are tight but managable. The service was outhstanding the shows top notch. Chicago is the best show I have ever seen at sea. Pletny to do but it seemed that a lot of the late night activites started much later than on other cruises I have taken, maybe I'm just getting old.

 

The food, as much as everyone seems to complain, was good. The solarium was my daughter's favorite and we were ther a couple of times each for breakfast and lunch. Park cafe has a nice selection, we were there a couple of times for lunch and breakfast. We hit JR's once for breakfast, it was OK. The advantage is that at least the omlette is fresh. We were only in the WJ once and it was for breakfast. The usual selection, very crowded. As others have said, with so many other otions you can pretty much avoid this place altogether. MDR food was good, Rita's for lunch - very good. We also hit Chop's once, great as usual. My take on the RCI food. If you don't like the MDR then the Allure (and Oasis) is for you. So many pay dining options with better food.

 

We did make it into Nassau for the first time. Not that this is really that big a deal. The weather was good, not great. We had a few cool days and pretty cloudy on the return trip.

 

The ship did roll a lot, for those that say you can't feel any movement in a ship this size - you are wrong. It wasn't bad, nor was it enough to make anyone sick but you definitely knew your were at sea. It wasn't so much front-to-back up and down as it was a rolling movement. Looking out the windows in the solarium you could really see it as the horizon line would go halfway up the windows then drop out of site.

 

I have all the Compasses and, when I get caught up, I will post them with some of the pictures I took.

 

If you have any ??, ask away.

[mon1jan1]

Just off aand waiting for the flight home. We did express departure and walked off the ship at 6:30, taxi to the airport and standing in line at Southwest at 6:50. Another half hour and we were through security.

 

We arrived at the terminal last Sunday a little after 11:00. By the time we checked-in, had our photo and made it upstairs they were just a few minutes short of calling the Platinum C & A members. The cabins were ready just before 1:00, I joked about our bags being there already and, as I was putting the key into the door, our first two bags arrived followed by the other three a few minutes later. By 2:00PM were had everything put away and were ready to explore.

 

The ship is beautiful, all I can say is that the pictures do not do it justice. The cabins are tight but managable. The service was outhstanding the shows top notch. Chicago is the best show I have ever seen at sea. Pletny to do but it seemed that a lot of the late night activites started much later than on other cruises I have taken, maybe I'm just getting old.

 

The food, as much as everyone seems to complain, was good. The solarium was my daughter's favorite and we were ther a couple of times each for breakfast and lunch. Park cafe has a nice selection, we were there a couple of times for lunch and breakfast. We hit JR's once for breakfast, it was OK. The advantage is that at least the omlette is fresh. We were only in the WJ once and it was for breakfast. The usual selection, very crowded. As others have said, with so many other otions you can pretty much avoid this place altogether. MDR food was good, Rita's for lunch - very good. We also hit Chop's once, great as usual. My take on the RCI food. If you don't like the MDR then the Allure (and Oasis) is for you. So many pay dining options with better food.

 

We did make it into Nassau for the first time. Not that this is really that big a deal. The weather was good, not great. We had a few cool days and pretty cloudy on the return trip.

 

The ship did roll a lot, for those that say you can't feel any movement in a ship this size - you are wrong. It wasn't bad, nor was it enough to make anyone sick but you definitely knew your were at sea. It wasn't so much front-to-back up and down as it was a rolling movement. Looking out the windows in the solarium you could really see it as the horizon line would go halfway up the windows then drop out of site.

 

I have all the Compasses and, when I get caught up, I will post them with some of the pictures I took.

 

If you have any ??, ask away.

 

Welcome back! What sort of items do they having in the Solarium for breakfast and/or lunch? When I was on the Oasis last year I didn't even make it to that dining venue because there were so many other choices. In the last year I've started eating much healthier.

Thanks for all the info you provided already. I love reading the reviews. I'm on the 3/13 sailing. Can't wait.

[Turn4]

Sorry to hear you are no longer on the ship but that does mean we are one week closer. Glad to hear you had great time. Looking forward to our trip in March. May sound a little silly, do you have any balcony pics which may show the bulkhead above. Planning our balcony decorations.......

[AF-1]

thanks for your review; sounds like it will be fun. in your opinion, what was your favorite thing that you did or favorite food establishment that you visited?

[WhiteSoxFan]

Sorry to hear you are no longer on the ship but that does mean we are one week closer. Glad to hear you had great time. Looking forward to our trip in March. May sound a little silly, do you have any balcony pics which may show the bulkhead above. Planning our balcony decorations.......

 

Sorry, no.

 

thanks for your review; sounds like it will be fun. in your opinion, what was your favorite thing that you did or favorite food establishment that you visited?

 

Tough question. Of course Chops was excellent, we ate "outside" they have a patio area but it is somewhat glass enclosed, very nice eating there. Had a nice lunch at Rita's. I would say that the party they have at Rita's one night during the cruise looked like fun and was hopping. We did not attend, but I wish we had. We'll hit it next time. ;)

 

I don't know that I can say any one thing on the ship was my favorite. I though Chicago was great, Oceanaria very entertaining. The Quest was fun, but not the best, I've seen other CD's do a better job. The Love and Marriage show was really funny. The touch screen monitors that they haev at the elevator lobbies are the greatest thing. They should try to retrofit every ship with those.

[deniuh]

thanks for your review; sounds like it will be fun. in your opinion, what was your favorite thing that you did or favorite food establishment that you visited?

 

Sorry to hijack the OP's thread but I just got off Allure as well. Our favorite dining experience was 150 Central Park. It is not to be missed! Allure is a wonderful ship, there are so many favorites that I don't know where to start. Just take some time and walk the entire ship so that you can become familiar with the layout earlier, rather than later. You are in for a treat!!

[petefromboston]

Glad you had a great trip. Looking forward to seeing the Cruise Compasses.

[AF-1]

Thank you for the response to my questions. I have to say; it is very exciting to go on this ship; knowing beforehand that it will be a great trip, regardless of the weather; there will be so much to do that the ship is the destination and not the caribbean. cheers

[KissaKay]

Welcome home, can't wait to see the compasses!

[lizmit]

Welcome back and thanks for posting.

I'm really looking forward to seeing your Compass.

~ Liz

[KissaKay]

I "know" it's been asked on other threads, but which nights were your formal nights? I'm working on our online reservations....and it "may" be useful to know! Thanks!!!

[WhiteSoxFan]

Our formal nights were Monday and Friday, Friday night was also the night that they served the Fisherman's Platter (Lobster & Shrimp).

[KissaKay]

Thank you! Was Friday "worth it?"

[JillinCalgary]

That is so awesome! Thanks for the review! We just booked for Christmas - sadly December 25th is a looooooong time away :-( Oh well, just more to look forward to :-)

 

You mentioned a daughter. Are your kids young? We'll be travelling with our three who will be 12, 10 and 7 at sailing. Will it be as wonderful for the kids as it will be for us? We're very excited!

[WhiteSoxFan]

That is so awesome! Thanks for the review! We just booked for Christmas - sadly December 25th is a looooooong time away :-( Oh well, just more to look forward to :-)

 

You mentioned a daughter. Are your kids young? We'll be travelling with our three who will be 12, 10 and 7 at sailing. Will it be as wonderful for the kids as it will be for us? We're very excited!

19, it was her first cruise that should couldn't to Adventure Ocean. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to meet anyone but RC did a great job with activities for the 18-20+ group. There were 500 18-20's on the ship, I guess since it was winter break from college.

[sbwmail]

...what fun! So glad you guys had a great time and thanks again for the wonderful review and answering all my questions! I'm looking forward to the photos of course.

I just saw a post from a facebook friend saying he and his family are at the airport, flying to the Disney Dream Christening! I wish I could be there too. All these magnificent new ships!

[Tinkerdevil]

19, it was her first cruise that should couldn't to Adventure Ocean. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to meet anyone but RC did a great job with activities for the 18-20+ group. There were 500 18-20's on the ship, I guess since it was winter break from college.

 

I was one of those who was in the 18-20+ and had a great time hanging out with WhiteSoxFan's daughter as well as about 5 others who were in this age group. Our fearless leader (Mike Pack) was wonderful and chose to highlight activities that he (as a 25 y/o) would enjoy doing were he a passenger. Overall I think they have done a great job including those who are in the 'in-between' age and those who are of age but are not much for drinking.

[caribbeanfever]

It sounds like you had a wonderful time. We went on Oasis this past October and enjoyed it so much we are taking our parents and some of our adult children that, like us, didn't get enough, on the Allure this October. Anxiously awaiting your compasses. It will probably answer my question, but do you know what time Johnny Rockets opened for dinner? We went to Chops on Oasis for dinner once and Johnny Rockets for lunch once but were thinking of going there for an early dinner one night.

[Gatorman85]

Did any of your kids sleep on the pull out sofa ? Was it comfortable or the typical lousy sleeper sofa with the bar in the middle ?

[Cruising89143]

Just off aand waiting for the flight home. We did express departure and walked off the ship at 6:30, taxi to the airport and standing in line at Southwest at 6:50. Another half hour and we were through security.

 

We arrived at the terminal last Sunday a little after 11:00. By the time we checked-in, had our photo and made it upstairs they were just a few minutes short of calling the Platinum C & A members. The cabins were ready just before 1:00, I joked about our bags being there already and, as I was putting the key into the door, our first two bags arrived followed by the other three a few minutes later. By 2:00PM were had everything put away and were ready to explore.

 

The ship is beautiful, all I can say is that the pictures do not do it justice. The cabins are tight but managable. The service was outhstanding the shows top notch. Chicago is the best show I have ever seen at sea. Pletny to do but it seemed that a lot of the late night activites started much later than on other cruises I have taken, maybe I'm just getting old.

 

The food, as much as everyone seems to complain, was good. The solarium was my daughter's favorite and we were ther a couple of times each for breakfast and lunch. Park cafe has a nice selection, we were there a couple of times for lunch and breakfast. We hit JR's once for breakfast, it was OK. The advantage is that at least the omlette is fresh. We were only in the WJ once and it was for breakfast. The usual selection, very crowded. As others have said, with so many other otions you can pretty much avoid this place altogether. MDR food was good, Rita's for lunch - very good. We also hit Chop's once, great as usual. My take on the RCI food. If you don't like the MDR then the Allure (and Oasis) is for you. So many pay dining options with better food.

 

We did make it into Nassau for the first time. Not that this is really that big a deal. The weather was good, not great. We had a few cool days and pretty cloudy on the return trip.

 

The ship did roll a lot, for those that say you can't feel any movement in a ship this size - you are wrong. It wasn't bad, nor was it enough to make anyone sick but you definitely knew your were at sea. It wasn't so much front-to-back up and down as it was a rolling movement. Looking out the windows in the solarium you could really see it as the horizon line would go halfway up the windows then drop out of site.

 

I have all the Compasses and, when I get caught up, I will post them with some of the pictures I took.

 

If you have any ??, ask away.

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise. I agree that the ship moved last week. This week, no movement at all so far. The seas are very calm. Seems like a younger more active crowd this week.

 

I will post my thoughts when I return along with my photos. So far though it's a great ship and we have booked two more cruises on the Allure.

[WhiteSoxFan]

Did any of your kids sleep on the pull out sofa ? Was it comfortable or the typical lousy sleeper sofa with the bar in the middle ?

 

Yes, my 19yo daughter slept on the sofa. I also layed down on it. It was quite comfortable and firm. She was cold the first night as she only had a light blanket but we talked to our room steward and he put a duvet on it for the rest of the cruise.

[Gatorman85]

Yes, my 19yo daughter slept on the sofa. I also layed down on it. It was quite comfortable and firm. She was cold the first night as she only had a light blanket but we talked to our room steward and he put a duvet on it for the rest of the cruise.

 

Thanks fellow white sox fan. I carry the Sox flag down here in FLA. I think KW did a great job in the off season. Glad Paulie and AJ are back. We had the honor of having AJ at our tailgate for the Gators vs Georgia game in Jax this year. He is a fellow gator fan. I went to the series in 05. Fantastic obviously.

I appreciate the info on the bed. My 15 yr old likes the pullman. Glad the sofa bed is comfy for sleeping. Most of the time a sofa bed does not sleep well.

[sbwmail]

For a third person in a balcony cabin, was there a pullman in addition to the sofa?

[vickiw0318]

The various cabins have different configurations. Look at the deck plan to see what the sleeping arrangements are for a particular cabin.

[WhiteSoxFan]

For a third person in a balcony cabin, was there a pullman in addition to the sofa?

 

Susan, as Vicki stated there are different configurations. There are some cabins which have a pullman in addition to the sofa bed. They are shown on the deck plans. The deck with the triangle are sofa bed, the with diamonds have a pullman and sofa bed. Which cabin do you have reserved?

 

I apologize for not getting the Compasses scanned yet. I prefer to scan then at work as it is much easier. I'll get them done soon.