Is it Live or is it Memorex?- Allure of the Seas Review September 18-25 with Pics!

[livingis2me]

[quote name='yj2cute']I can't believe how empty those decks are. What time was that? No chair hogs? Unbelievable.[/quote]
Most of the photos around the pool decks were between 9-10am. The Solarium photos were around 10-11am. We never had a problem coming up with decent chairs or loungers around the pools for the entire cruise.:cool:

Ron

[yj2cute]

[quote name='livingis2me']Most of the photos around the pool decks were between 9-10am. The Solarium photos were around 10-11am. We never had a problem coming up with decent chairs or loungers around the pools for the entire cruise.:cool:

Ron[/QUOTE]

That is amazing, and a pleasant surprise. I hope it holds true when I cruise in January.

Oh, BTW, AMAZING review. I love it. Thanks so much! :)

[nenner1]

[quote name='tampadee']How early were you up for breakfast? I keep hearing how crowded the Windjammer is.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='livingis2me']It was about 8:15am. Windjammer never really seemed all that busy except on embarkation and debarkation days. The restaurant crowd meters that they show on the flat screen information stations lie.;) The meter always had Windjammer in the red and most of the time it should be in the yellow. Park Cafe was always slammed except very early in the morning. That one should always be red on the meter. At least on or cruise...

Ron[/QUOTE]

Nope it was quite a bit later than that.

The picture of the "crowd" int he WJ was taken at 9:08 AM.

:D

[nenner1]

[quote name='livingis2me']Most of the photos around the pool decks were between 9-10am. The Solarium photos were around 10-11am. We never had a problem coming up with decent chairs or loungers around the pools for the entire cruise.:cool:

Ron[/QUOTE]

These times are right on. The pics by the main and sports pools were taken at 9:42/43 AM and the Solarium at 10:55 AM.:D

[negrilbride]

This has made my Friday awesome! Thanks for taking so much time already to share your trip with us! Only 2 weeks until we set sail!

I have a couple questions for you.

1. How did "How to Train Your Dragon on Ice" compare with "Ice Games?"
2. Do you have a template you'd be willing to share for your life preserver door signs? They are ADORABLE!

[Duzzy]

Wonderful review!

[joand452]

Was Ken Rush thrown into the pool after the belly flop contest? He was during our cruise and he made a huge deal about wearing white shorts. I noticed he was wearing white shorts again. Maybe the toss is pre-planned!

I can't believe the pool decks and solarium were so empty! The solarium never had empty chairs when we cruised in March -- must be a busier time. We always head up to the top deck, anyway. More breeze and quieter!

I'm sorry your review is coming to an end; I've enjoyed reading it. Do you have any Disney trips planned? I'll read your trip reports on the DISboards (I'm a member there, too, but mostly a lurker).

[1stTimeCruiser2008]

I have a question about cupcake decorating I'm hoping you can help with. I loved the pictures of the class with your girls:D

Our booking window opened up but there are only 4 classes scheduled:confused:...three of them are on the sea days at 5:00 and the last one on the Jamaica day at 4:00. Unfortunately we eat early at 5:30 to get to the early shows so 5:00 doesn't really work and I don't think we'll be back in time from our Jamaica excursion to make the 4:00 on that day:(

Is that really all they have to offer for kids?:confused:

They have a lot more sessions for adults. (Please don't flame me anyone)...you mentioned the kids class was more tailored for younger kids...my daughter will be close to 10 years old. Could she tag along to the adult class? It's too bad there isn't anything in between. She likes the more complicated designs...we're big fans of cupcake wars:D

Thanks!!

[Twibes]

This review was excellent. Good job, hats off to you, loved every minute of it. I left the screen open for the last few days so I read about 5 or 6 pages a day, very entertaining seeing the photos! I have to laugh, because everytime I found myself reading this, I was already eating something yet still felt hungry from all of the food images. Thanks for taking the time to post this! :D

[nenner1]

[quote name='metairiegal']Did you notice in your picture of Central Park that the butterflies look like a hidden Mickey? I just asked dh if he could see it and he said yes, so it's not just me. Or, is it? :D[/QUOTE]

LOVE it!!! :)

[quote name='joand452']Your server in Giovanni's wasn't by chance Mihai from Romania? He's tall, dark hair and quite handsome. And a very outgoing personality. He was our server on Mariner of the Seas in 2005, and I've judged just about every wait team against him since then.[/quote]

Nope, gosh I wish I could remember better. It might have been Anthony or Antonio or Andres? Started with an A. We couldn't read his name tag- the type on it is so small and with the dark lighting- LOL forget about it! He had a thick accent too and had to repeat it twice for the people at the next table.

[quote]On our Allure cruise, we were given lunch at Giovanni's on turnaround day (we were on a B2B). I couldn't believe that Mihai was our server again! He'd left RCI for a couple of years to open a restaurant in Romania, but came back to RCI to earn some money, he said. [/quote]

Aw, that's awesome!!!! :)

[quote]I probably have a picture of him somewhere, but thought maybe his name would ring a bell. All the servers we had on Allure were excellent -- in each and every venue. Hope the same holds true for Oasis in March![/QUOTE]

Well all I can say is there are more than one excellent servers in Giovanni's!!:D

[quote name='sharonlacey']Cant thank you enough for bringing us all on your vacation.

Thanks again...............Sharon;)[/QUOTE]

Thank you for reading!!! Glad you are having fun! :)

[nenner1]

[quote name='BballinQT24']Those desserts look delicious! Still enjoying the review and looking forward to more![/QUOTE]

Yum. I agree. It may be 7:56 AM here, but I would kill for some of that Tiramisu about right now!;)

[quote name='shamda']Wow, what a great review and such enjoyable pictures. You certainly have a beautiful family and it looks like everyone had such a great time! I am sure your kids will remember this trip fondly for a long long time. Thanks again![/QUOTE]

Thanks so much for the compliments and for reading! I'm so glad you like the review!:)

[quote name='tomko2'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=blue]Your review is wonderful. You seem like such a lovely person with a beautiful, caring family; wishing all things good for you and yours.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]I was anxiously awaiting Giovanni's Table review and you covered all my questions. :D[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]Many, many thanks for doing this great review.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]Kathy:)[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]Allure of the Seas Jan 2012[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Thank you so much! Kathy:) I'm so glad you are liking it, I lived off Allure reviews in anticipation of our cruise and I'm so happy to be able to pay it forward for everyone else! :D

[nenner1]

[quote name='OklaCruiserMom']Finally hit the end (so far)! I've read this whole thread and am loving your review. So much detail and positive, constructive evaluation of your experiences! I am taking my kids on this same trip in late May, and I am taking careful mental notes. My kids will be 18, 18, and 11 at sailing, and parent-wise, it's just me. I know the girls will be able to look after The Boy, but I am wondering about taking advantage of the kids' club services, at least a little.

Oh definitely do take advantage of it- we found the staff to be really great and the kids got a lot of personal attention!

[quote]I'm confused about how it works. Is it free?Cost $ only after certain hours? Have to sign up way ahead of time? Drop in any time? [/quote]

MOST of the time, yes. There are certain hours that carry a fee. For instance after 10 PM is "after hours" and costs $6/hr per child. Also some meal time sessions cost additional due to the staff having to feed the kids- it seemed so pricey to us ($7.95 per child for the 12-2 session) and they just get regular Windjammer food- not Johnny Rockets like they do on some other ships. Plus if you want to do a lunch session that includes food (Sea days IIRC) you have to have the child checked into the club and signed up for it in advance - I think it was by 11 AM.

As far as regular club-going, yes you can drop in anytime they are open, which is pretty much from 8 AM-2 AM. :D Hope that helps some, if you have any other questions let me know!

[quote]Your family is so cute and it looks like your kids were pleasant and happy most of the time. Mine can do more than their share of bickering, despite the girls' advanced age, but I'm praying they have too much fun to get cranky. [/quote]

LOL, thank you, but yes mine had their moments too-not many of them though I'm happy to say! They did enjoy getting to spread out and do what they wanted (Brendan in the flowrider, Savannah in the club, Sarah in the H20 zone. ) and not have to be together all of the time! LOL! ;)

[quote]If it's ok, I might pm you later with specific questions about the ports. This will be our first cruise, first time to any of these locations.

Thanks for taking the time to do this review, and looking forward to the rest!!![/QUOTE]

Sure, I'm happy to help any way I can! :D Thanks for reading it!!!

[quote name='KKB']It has taken me several days to finish it all!
Could you tell my the price for Capt. Alan's?
THX![/QUOTE]

LOL, tell me about it, some days I wonder if I'll ever get it done! Ha ha!

I see Ron listed the individual prices for you, (Thanks Ron!) we paid a total of $258 for all 5 of us, including tranportation! :)

[quote name='NeuroQueen']The adorable picture of Sarah crashed on the couch in complete exhaustion with her blanky is EXACTLY how we felt after our cruise on Oasis. We tried to do it all and we are way too old for such behavior![/quote]

:D I totally agree! I thought if anyone could do it, it would be us! Nope, just not possible! Ha ha!


[quote]I totally agree With you regarding Chops. We had a so so dinner in there as well. Our service was lousy at best and the steaks were like shoe leather. Our dinner in Giovannis, however, was just like yours, exceptional. I was so disappointed in Chops as I had looked so forward to it. The next night back in the MDR the head waiter came over and asked where we were the nite before and we told him Chops. He asked how it was and my friend gave him the scoop. He immediately had our sea passes refunded. I was mortified but it shows what great customer service RCI provides. Hate to see your review coming to an end. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The kids are precious and it's obvious you all are cruisers at heart![/QUOTE]

That's awesome that they did that for you! It is such a shame, as Chops was just over the top amazing on Indy. So glad that like us, in your instance Giovanni's more than made up for it! :) Thanks so much for reading!!!

[nenner1]

[quote name='Raybettn']Thanks so much for your wonderful narrative. We're sailing on the Allure in October 2012 BTB, so hoping to do everything twice! And I know we'll be referring back to your blog. You and your family are troopers!

Thanks again!![/QUOTE]

Awesome! I would so love a B2B! So glad this is able to help you plan! :)
Thanks so much for reading!!

[quote name='CamaCama']Looking forward to more!!![/QUOTE]

Thanks! I hope to deliver more today!! :)

[quote name='1stTimeCruiser2008']Awesome review!!! I'm hooked on your Disboards review too. Great job...can't wait to hear more:D[/QUOTE]

Thank you! Boy am I way behind over there! I hope to update both today. Before I clean the kitchen. Ugh! (hahaha!) :D

[nenner1]

[quote name='Animal Rescue']Sounds like you and the family had a great day here. Could you tell me approximately how deep the water is there? Our DD doesn't like deep water to snorkel in, and if I'm understanding correctly, you can go more towards a beach area where the water is more shallow? Also, were there only a handful of turtles or were there many? She would love to see the turtles, but we would hope that we'd see quite a number of them instead of just a few.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Animal Rescue']I have a few more questions for you. Could you provide more details of Capt. Alan's excursion? How did you book it originally? What mode of transportation did you use for getting to his location (and then back to the pier) and how much per person did it cost? What were the times for arrival and departure for this excursion? After checking out his website, there aren't any prices for snorkeling trips unless there's a minimum number of people. Do you remember an approximate price per person for the tour? Again, could you give me an estimation on water depth at each snorkeling spot?

Thanks for the info. Great review, by the way.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='livingis2me']We booked Captain Alan's through his website captainalan dot com. The prices are listed in the ask and book section. $69 per person and $39 for under 12. I think it was free for Sarah (3 y/o). The transportation was arranged through Captains Alan's and it was $12 per person round trip. We had to pay a $14 per person deposit via paypal and the balance in cash at his dock. Very reasonable in my opinion.:cool: The pick up time was a half hour prior (8:15am) to the excursion time usually 8:45 am local time. But they will usually adjust to the arrival time of the ships in port. Sometimes they also do a trip at 9:45 am or 1 pm local time if they need to do a second trip because they are full on the first trip. They have a calendar with excursion start times listed on their website.

Depth of snorkeling stops on Capt. Alan's was about 6-10' around Creole Rock and the other snorkeling spot was 8-12'. There was no where to stand on the bottom and the shallower ares had coral that you could not stand on. He will provide a noodle to hold you up if you'd like. Hope this helps.:)

Ron[/QUOTE]

Animal Rescue, thank you so much for reading. I hope Ron's answers helped you! :):)

And thank you Ron for jumping in to help when I am unable to! I hate it when life gets in the way of cruise daydreaming, planning, and review writing!

:cool:

[nenner1]

[quote name='Mama2Tay']Jen,

You mentioned buying Brendan an arcade card. Is it different on the Allure because on the other ships we just added money to the kids seapass card for the arcade.

Thank you!
Laurie[/QUOTE]

[quote name='livingis2me']Actually it was on the sea pass card. I handled that for Brendan while Jen was busy taking photos of the arcade. I think she got confused with all our disney trips where they use a play card in the arcades.

Ron[/QUOTE]

Sorry, Laurie- I should have written that better! :) No it is not a separate card, I did mean, put arcade money on his Sea Pass! Like Ron said though he was doing that, I was taking pics. Haha!

We also had a coupon in our coupon book that we found after the fact for $5 more Aracade Play if you buy $10, which is what we bought. Ron took it down to guest services to see if they could apply it- and not only did they, but we actually got an extra $10. That was super nice of them-our experience with RCCL customer service comtinues to be just awesome. :)

[quote name='Babyberger']LOVE the pineapple chair hogs!!! No one better mess with those pineapples :D[/quote]

I know, right! It was so funny, to me anyway! I still laugh when I see that!! :p

[quote]Thanks for the heads up about the How To Train Your Dragon ice show. When I realized there were no tickets for this show I immediately started to worry if we would have a hard time seeing it. I will make sure we get there nice and early! [/quote]

Yes, I'd say at least 45 minutes early. We were about 30 minutes early, maybe just under 30 minutes. They do perform it twice though, and we were at the first one.

I will say just as a general rule on our cruise- the "first" of everything seemed the busiest- shows, performances, etc. I know the trend is usually things get busier as the week goes on (and some things did, like the Zip Line and Flowriders) but I continue to give the advice to go out and do whatever at the first opportunity-because you never know when the "second" show won't go on. More on that coming up as well. :cool:

[quote]Thanks once again for sharing you vacation with us! It really amps up the excitement level!!![/QUOTE]

Well thank you for reading! Enjoy your cruise planning!! :)

[nenner1]

I can't believe how empty those decks are. What time was that? No chair hogs? Unbelievable.

 

That is amazing, and a pleasant surprise. I hope it holds true when I cruise in January.

 

Oh, BTW, AMAZING review. I love it. Thanks so much! :)

 

I know, I couldn't believe it either, especially since it was such a gorgeous day. I had read how busy it was up on the pool decks during the summer cruises and really expected the worst but was so surprised to find the opposite of my expectations.

 

Thanks so much for reading, I'm glad you are enjoying it!!:)

 

This has made my Friday awesome! Thanks for taking so much time already to share your trip with us! Only 2 weeks until we set sail!

 

Oh! So exciting!!! I'll try to get done by then! LOL!! :cool:

 

I have a couple questions for you.

 

1. How did "How to Train Your Dragon on Ice" compare with "Ice Games?"

 

It didn't. Ice Games is by far the better show. I know it gets mixed reviews on here, but I really loved it. The skating was much, much more involved during Ice Games than during HTTYD. In fact, there wasn't all that much actual skating in HTTYD, a lot of characters even just walking on the ice and a lot more story development (and ice downtime, if that makes sense?). The difficulty level of the actual skating was much higher in Ice Games too. There weren't a lot of jumps and tricks in HTTYD. I still say see both if you can, but if you have to pick one over the other it's Ice Games hands down! :)

 

 

2. Do you have a template you'd be willing to share for your life preserver door signs? They are ADORABLE!

 

Sure! I didn't make that design, but here is where you can download it!!

 

http://www.4shared.com/photo/UX5GuzGp/Allure_of_the_Seas_preserver.html?

 

Thanks again for stopping by! :)

[negrilbride]

 

 

Sure! I didn't make that design, but here is where you can download it!!

 

http://www.4shared.com/photo/UX5GuzGp/Allure_of_the_Seas_preserver.html?

 

 

Thanks so much for all your help! The preservers are adorable! Also I'm amazed at your patience and your heart oriented toward helping others! It takes a special person to sit down and reply to EVERY question and post! (And I am not trying to create more work for you by posting this, so PLEASE do not feel like you have to respond haha!)

[nenner1]

Wonderful review!

 

Thanks so much for reading!!! :)

 

Was Ken Rush thrown into the pool after the belly flop contest? He was during our cruise and he made a huge deal about wearing white shorts. I noticed he was wearing white shorts again. Maybe the toss is pre-planned!

 

Yep, must be, we got the white shorts lament also! LOL!

 

I can't believe the pool decks and solarium were so empty! The solarium never had empty chairs when we cruised in March -- must be a busier time. We always head up to the top deck, anyway. More breeze and quieter!

 

It was really strange, being such a beautiful- dare I say perfect- day for pool going and sunning. I think they were all just at Park Cafe. That place was always just so stinking busy!! Haha!

 

I'm sorry your review is coming to an end; I've enjoyed reading it. Do you have any Disney trips planned? I'll read your trip reports on the DISboards (I'm a member there, too, but mostly a lurker).

 

Thanks Joan, me too. I do put more stuff up on the Disboards, the posts there can handle many more pictures so you might see a few things you didn't here. We are cruising on the Fantasy next year and are excited for that. We will be doing a short visit to WDW before that cruise and we usually also go in the spring (Feb/March) but I think this year we are going to wait out the Fantasyland renovations and go when most of that is open later next year. Can't wait for that!!!:cool:

 

I have a question about cupcake decorating I'm hoping you can help with. I loved the pictures of the class with your girls.

 

Our booking window opened up but there are only 4 classes scheduled:confused:...three of them are on the sea days at 5:00 and the last one on the Jamaica day at 4:00. Unfortunately we eat early at 5:30 to get to the early shows so 5:00 doesn't really work and I don't think we'll be back in time from our Jamaica excursion to make the 4:00 on that day.

 

Is that really all they have to offer for kids?

 

Oh no, that does stink! :( Seems quite late to me! Our options were earlier in the afternoon 2:00 and 3:30 are the specific times I remember seeing (ours was at 3:30)

 

have a lot more sessions for adults. (Please don't flame me anyone)...you mentioned the kids class was more tailored for younger kids...my daughter will be close to 10 years old. Could she tag along to the adult class? It's too bad there isn't anything in between. She likes the more complicated designs...we're big fans of cupcake wars.

 

Thanks!!

 

I absolutely understand! That's frustrating. I don't know if there are other options once onboard time-wise. We didn't check since we already had ours booked up. I do remember reading pon a review somebody once had their child class changed to adult- or was it vice versa and so they didn't end up going. (QTMichele maybe?) So changes could still happen.

 

As far as your 10 y/o in the adult class, I am not sure if they would permit it but if so, absolutely I think she could handle it. The kids class was way below Savannah's capability (she's 10 too) even though she is not one to play around in the kitchen much at home. She was disappointed they didn't get to even use pastry bags to do any piping. I would say yes, you certainly could just reserve one of the adult classes for her in the time slots that work better for you. I can't imagine RCCL saying no....;) Hopefully that doesn't start a big flame war (see Dreamworks Breakfast and Concierge Lounge threads..hahaha!) :p

[nenner1]

This review was excellent. Good job, hats off to you, loved every minute of it. I left the screen open for the last few days so I read about 5 or 6 pages a day, very entertaining seeing the photos! I have to laugh, because everytime I found myself reading this, I was already eating something yet still felt hungry from all of the food images. Thanks for taking the time to post this! :D

 

LOL! Me too! :p The day I did the Giovann's review I made Ron go grill steaks for dinner!!! No, it just wasn't the same (it was good, but the atmosphere was lacking) LOL and the service too, although at least Brendan did the dishes! LOL!

 

Thanks so much for reading!!:)

 

Thanks so much for all your help! The preservers are adorable! Also I'm amazed at your patience and your heart oriented toward helping others! It takes a special person to sit down and reply to EVERY question and post! (And I am not trying to create more work for you by posting this, so PLEASE do not feel like you have to respond haha!)

 

Aww, you are so welcome Vanessa! I am so very thankful for this amazing resource here on Cruise Critic- we never could have gotten so much out of our cruise without the tips and advice from those who come before us and for that I am so grateful. This is my way of giving back to those who come after me, and every person it helps, or just enjoys the read makes it all worthwhile!:o

 

And now, I'm off to get working on the next part. :D Or maybe get breakfast. Mmm...I would love some of those chocolate caramel waffles right about now!

 

BBL, everyone!:)

[Mama2Tay]

Actually it was on the sea pass card. I handled that for Brendan while Jen was busy taking photos of the arcade. I think she got confused with all our disney trips where they use a play card in the arcades.:o

 

Ron

 

 

Thanks Ron! I just wanted to make sure nothing had changed with that.

[yj2cute]

delete

Edited October 24, 2011 by yj2cute

[funNsun4me]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience.

 

Can you tell me how far in advance you need to show up for the shows that you reserve and also approx how much time is needed for a relaxing dinner in the dining room.

[AlanAllyn]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience.

 

Can you tell me how far in advance you need to show up for the shows that you reserve and also approx how much time is needed for a relaxing dinner in the dining room.

 

You need to be at shows 15 minutes early; they let those without reservations in shortly after that. If you are particular about seats, then come half an hour early.

 

Dinner in the MDR often takes up to two hours. On the first night, our waiter asked what pace we wanted to be served and we were out in 0ne hour, 15 minutes each night (as we wished). If you have a show that is close after dinner, tell the waiter and they try to accommodate you.

[funNsun4me]

You need to be at shows 15 minutes early; they let those without reservations in shortly after that. If you are particular about seats, then come half an hour early.

 

Dinner in the MDR often takes up to two hours. On the first night, our waiter asked what pace we wanted to be served and we were out in 0ne hour, 15 minutes each night (as we wished). If you have a show that is close after dinner, tell the waiter and they try to accommodate you.

 

Thanks for jumping in with a quick reply:)

[metairiegal]

More, please. :)