Not so "LIVE" Allure of the Seas Review with PIX!

[liberiben]

Thanks! x5 means 5 times concentrate :)

[QTMichele]

Hi Michele!

Thank you so much for taking the time to post these awesome pictures! I have a question about the car rental....did you rent from Orlando airport or somewhere else? Why did you choose to return the car to FLL airport rather than near the pier? Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

 

I rented from Orlando airport because that's where our flight arrived. For the drop off, I had read that the airport is right next to the pier, so I figured it would be just as easy (it was). Plus, I rented through Priceline and returning it to the airport was the easiest way to enter the return information. There may be a closer rental agency than the airport in Ft. Lauderdale, but, honestly, I didn't feel like taking more time to research it, especially since it's just a 5 or 10 minute drive, depending upon traffic.

 

ooh! I thought of a question! ;)

 

Did you see anywhere onboard that had iced tea other than Windjammer? (you didn't mention Park Cafe had it)..what about Promenade Cafe, Sorrentos, The Dog House or Solarium Bistro?

 

Thanks!!! :D

 

I did not, but that doesn't mean it's not there. I do know that it's not dispensed from the flavored water/juice/lemonade machines, at least not that I saw.

[QTMichele]

Is the flavored water free?

 

Sure is! :)

 

Thanks! x5 means 5 times concentrate :)

 

Thanks! The labelling talked about the sugar free sweeteners being X5 sweeter - guess that is a simple way of saying it's a 5:1 ratio? Regardless, the water was good. It did have a slight aftertaste that I'm not crazy about with artificial sweeteners, but it was still good. :)

[sharod]

ooh! I thought of a question! ;)

 

Did you see anywhere onboard that had iced tea other than Windjammer? (you didn't mention Park Cafe had it)..what about Promenade Cafe, Sorrentos, The Dog House or Solarium Bistro?

 

Thanks!!! :D

 

I believe the Wipe Out Cafe had it.

 

Hey Michele, did you have the Drink of the Day on Friday? It was a Guavaberry Colada in the bamboo drink container. DELICIOUS!!!! I seriously need to get the ingredients to mix up this concoction!

[QTMichele]

It's SHOW TIME!

 

Tonight's show is Ice Games in Studio B. We enjoyed the show. It was bright and colorful with a bit of humor. The skaters did a fantastic job, with only one fall. The size of the rink continues to amaze me.

 

 

Sorry, no ice show pictures.

 

After the show, we went to Giovanni's for dinner. This was such a comfortable and relaxed venue with good food! I would recommend it, especially for the price ($15pp for dinner).

 

Our waiter was friendly, but a little pushy. A gentleman seated at the table next to us wanted a glass of wine, but the waiter kept urging him to buy the $150 bottle of wine because "it is a better value." No big deal for us, but it was almost comical listening to the sales pitch.

 

When it was our turn to order, our waiter implied that we could order either the pasta or the entree. I ordered pasta - the crab stuffed ravioli. It was plenty for me. The ravioli was good and rich tasting, but was sitting in oil (it's supposed to be served that way, but I'm not a fan of a lot of oil/butter). Dessert was included as well.

 

I was a little disappointed in the dining experience, mostly because I wanted a little more of "this and that" instead of just the ravioli. On the other hand, I really wasn't hungry enough to order an entree. I would absolutely go again, but I would go HUNGRY!

 

 

Giovanni's Menu (get our your magnifying glass!)

 

 

 

Our invitation/reservation reminder for Giovanni's stated that the dress was casual; however, as this night was formal night, we saw people dressed nicely (I didn't see any true formal attire).

 

Throughout the ship, people were dressed in shorts to formal attire. We saw it all!

 

After dinner, we explored the ship a little more, then went back to the stateroom to relax on our balcony. We found this waiting for us:

 

 

Tomorrow is our first sea day - we'll be sleeping in and touring the ship. MORE PICTURES and comments coming soon!

[QTMichele]

I believe the Wipe Out Cafe had it.

 

Hey Michele, did you have the Drink of the Day on Friday? It was a Guavaberry Colada in the bamboo drink container. DELICIOUS!!!! I seriously need to get the ingredients to mix up this concoction!

 

Our bartender brought me a "strawberry margarita" one evening... oops! It was a guavaberry colada! YUM!!! We had one in St. Martin too... even better!!! I'm kicking myself now for not buying the guavaberry rum. Just divine. :)

[joecat]

Thank you for the awesome pictures and great tips in your review. we cannot wait until November for our Allure experience.

[BrianAlt]

Sorry, no ice show pictures.

 

Tease! :p

[sharod]

I'm kicking myself now for not buying the guavaberry rum. Just divine. :)

 

When I get home from work, I am going to check it out on-line. I am sure it can be purchased somewhere! I will also check my local liqueur store.

[QTMichele]

Tease! :p

 

WRONG!

 

THIS is a tease:

 

[BrianAlt]

WRONG!

 

THIS is a tease:

 

Careful, I got a reprimand for posting a picture from The Quest. :confused:

[QTMichele]

Day 2 - Sea Day

 

We're really getting our R&R by this point and wake up at 10:00.

 

10:00am?!!!

 

Our Meet and Mingle begins at 10:15am!!!

 

Thankfully I look incredible after rolling out of bed after a night of drinking adult beverages. I made it to Dazzles only a few minutes late.

 

Our M&M was well attended, and I was able to meet a few people I had been chatting with over the past 10 months. It was nice, and the staff that attended were great. They gave away great prizes, none of which I won (unless you count the little notebook that everyone gets).

 

Dazzles Entrance

 

View from the back of Dazzles looking towards the entrance

 

View of the Boardwalk from Dazzles

 

After the M&M, I met Jason for breakfast - er, lunch - at the Park Cafe.

 

[negrilbride]

The pizza was good for a snack, but don't expect gourmet pizza. I'm a fan of NY style pizza and this definitely wasn't that! A nice addition to this Sorrento's is the option to "build your own" pizza.

 

After Sorrento's, we went back to the Solarium for a little reading and a nap or two. Tonight we will see Ice Games at 7:30, then dinner at Giovanni's at 8:30.

 

Based on our cruise on the Oasis, I totally agree with your assessment of Sorrentos. It was fine for a snack, but was definitely not a high quality pizza. It kind of reminded me of gas station pizza. Still tasty, but I think RCI could do better here.

 

Could it really be that much more expensive to make real, fresh, hand-tossed pizza? I guess it would take longer which may be the issue.

[QTMichele]

More Park Cafe Photos

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the morning (what was left of it by this point) and afternoon was spent at the upper pool deck and the Solarium. We took time out to have a bite to eat at the Solarium Bistro and the Windjammer (a little of this and a little of that). Overall, the food is decent to pretty good. Remember, I tend to look on the bright side when I don't have to cook.

 

Here are some pictures of the pool deck.

 

 

[QTMichele]

More pools

 

 

 

 

 

 

[QTMichele]

 

 

 

 

 

[bosox284]

Loving the review so far! Just out of curiosity, did you by any chance take pictures of the cruise compass? I know someone posted them back in January, but I'm just curious if it varied greatly compared to that one.

[QTMichele]

We decided to skip the main dining room tonight in favor of the more relaxed Windjammer. Jason had never had dinner in the Windjammer before, and I had been happy with the experience on the Freedom. Our experience was fine, but the major differences that I found were no table clothes on the table and the food seemed limited. It was a good casual dining experience for our mood though.

 

This is a good time to write about the main dining room. We chose My Time Dining as I wanted to give it a try and felt like this was the ship to try it on with all the different shows and alternate dining venues we scheduled. With the exception of taking a few photos of the dining room, we never stepped foot into it and never tried the food there.

 

GASP!

 

I regret it to some degree because I was looking forward to the experience of MTD. On the other hand, I'll get to try it in February 2012!

 

 

After our "gourmet" Windjammer fest, we went to the Ice Cream Parlor for dessert. It filled the sweet tooth void and was pretty good.

 

Ice Cream Parlor

 

Decisions, decisions

 

 

 

YUM!

 

After our treat, I decided to treat myself to another cruise. Off to the Loyalty Ambassador's office we went!

 

 

There is an appointment book on a table for appointment requests if you select the "decide now" option (you'll need a date and ship to do this option). Or, you can fill out a form for "decide later." We opted for the decide later. With this option, it costs us $100 per person deposit plus we'll receive $100 OBC. We also received two "friends and family" certificates good for OBC (amount determined by cruise length). These certificates must be used within 30 days.

 

Up next: The Rising Tide Bar

[QTMichele]

Careful, I got a reprimand for posting a picture from The Quest. :confused:

 

Why and by whom? I know you weren't the first person to post a Quest picture, and definitely not the last.

 

Loving the review so far! Just out of curiosity, did you by any chance take pictures of the cruise compass? I know someone posted them back in January, but I'm just curious if it varied greatly compared to that one.

 

I have all the compasses! :) I have no plans to scan them in because of time constraints, but I'd be happy to look up information for you. From the compasses I saw posted a few months ago, these don't seem to vary too much - just some of the entertainment.

[AlanAllyn]

When did you take those daytime pool pictures? The pools seem to be almost empty. You put them in the middle of your discussion of a sea day.

[samoyedlover24]

Were the elevators fast on Allure? I can't imagine taking the stairs from a Loft Suite all the way down to the dining room on Deck 3!:eek::D

[MamaPuggle]

Michele. Thanks for taking the time to do your review. I'm enjoying every post and can't wait for the next one. Very entertaining. I'm also curious when those pool pics were taken. The pool was pretty empty. You mentioned the solarium. Did you go often? I enjoy the sun can you still get a tan in that area? Do you have to keep moving to catch the rays? My DH and i will be sailing kidless too. I'm feeling guilty leaving them behind. But I'm sure this will wear off after the first drink. I know that after reading all the posts about the allure I'll never want to sail on any other ship class again We can't wait to sail. :)

[QTMichele]

When did you take those daytime pool pictures? The pools seem to be almost empty. You put them in the middle of your discussion of a sea day.

 

The pools were empty on sea days - I couldn't believe it! ;)

 

Seriously, I took those either upon boarding or during port days. Some of my pictures are "out of order" in my review because I believe they'll make more sense grouped by topic. Posting the pictures in the order I took them would be a disaster. :p

 

Were the elevators fast on Allure? I can't imagine taking the stairs from a Loft Suite all the way down to the dining room on Deck 3!:D

 

We had absolutely no problems with the elevators. We were initially planning on taking the stairs most of the time, but my husband hurt his back mid-week so we took the "safe" route. Have a great time in your loft suite!!! I say take the stairs - it's great exercise and will keep you living longer so you can continue to cruise! ;)

 

Michele. Thanks for taking the time to do your review. I'm enjoying every post and can't wait for the next one. Very entertaining. I'm also curious when those pool pics were taken. The pool was pretty empty. You mentioned the solarium. Did you go often? I enjoy the sun can you still get a tan in that area? Do you have to keep moving to catch the rays? My DH and i will be sailing kidless too. I'm feeling guilty leaving them behind. But I'm sure this will wear off after the first drink. I know that after reading all the posts about the allure I'll never want to sail on any other ship class again We can't wait to sail. :)

 

Thanks!

 

I posted my explanation for the pool just above. Port days were great days to spend on the ship if you wanted space.

 

We went to the Solarium almost every day. It could get pretty crowded, but there were almost always loungers available. The glass roof allows for tanning - don't worry about that! Plus, it's not all glass, there are large spaces open to the sky. I used 50 spf sunscreen, but still had to take care not to burn. You won't have to keep moving to catch the rays. :)

 

I'll post more on my feelings about the ship in my summary, so stay tuned! I will share with you now that I felt incredibly homesick for my kids - there are just so many things to do as a FAMILY on the ship. We're all going next year, so I didn't feel too guilty - I just missed them a bunch. It didn't help that my 2 year old was really sick just before we left. Thankfully, they were all in good hands.

 

***

 

Okay, all, I want to post more, but I'm not sure that I'm going to have time tonight. My kiddies are still awake and they shouldn't be. Plus, my laundry is growing again. Sigh.

 

Thanks for reading!

[bionicman97]

I swear, every time I come to read this review, I leave hungry again :eek:;):D

[crmallett]

Great review. I love the pics. I can't wait until my cruise!!!