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

[beckeck1]

This is probably the best review I've ever read. More please!!:D

[nenner1]

Love your review and pictures:) I was wondering if you tried the cupcakes? If so what did you think and your opinion on where to get the best breakfast on board.

 

I know everyone dispises it but my vote is the windjammer. Most variety - even if you bring it back to your room.

 

Thanks for this thread, I am re-living our vacation through your pictures. What a great week this was!

 

I agree with Stags too! we just found the food fresher there, and of course you can't go wrong with all that variety. We found the crowds there not too bad at all, except for debarkation morning, which is to be expected.

 

I had heard about the great breakfast at Johnny Rockets and Solarium Bistro but we never made it there, so I don't know!

 

As far as the cupcakes go, YES! LOVED them! Sooo delicious! I have two regrets- the first is that we didn't get more, the second is that I didn't try a more exotic flavor. Brendan had Smores, Savannah Oreo, Sarah Vanilla Vanilla,and I had Coconut.

 

I couldn't wait for mine to "thaw" as everyone here had recommended- of course the ones we got were not very cold inside anyway. They were soft and moist- not dry. The buttercream icing is a meal in itself, so divine! But at 750 calories each, it's a good thing I only had one I guess!:o

[nenner1]

Yay, another great installment!

 

Dh doesn't like Starbucks, where is the next best place to get decent coffee (hopefully free)?

 

i'm going to say MDR. I don;t think I actually had any coffee excpet Satrbucks and MDR. But for some reason Ron said it was better in the MDR. It tasted fine to me, although I do like my coffee strong. :) Thanks for reading!!

 

LOving your review and photos. Your kids are adorable!! You seem like a wonderful family.

 

Thank you so much! I'm glad you are enjoying it! :)

 

Great review, it's making me SO excited for my November cruise!!!

 

Woohoo! It will be here before you know it! Thanks for stopping by! :)

[nenner1]

What are the ages for the children that have to get a wristband for their life boat station at pier check-in?

 

I think it's 12 and under (or just under 12)

 

My kids hated them and used to take them off. They had them reapplied anytime they used Adventure Ocean (which wasn't very often) and then took them off again after leaving. lol

 

Yes it is under 12. Basically once you hit the teen club they don't require you to wear them anymore.

 

I thought Sarah was going to have a problem with it, (and hers was quite tight!) but she didn't want to take off her "Shrek Cruise Ship" bracelet, even after we got home.

 

I think it is pretty funny that the writing on hers was worn off after a few days onboard. They didn't replace it.

 

Thank you both for reading!!!:)

 

Thank you for your fantastic review and photos, I love, love, love it! Can't wait to see everything in person in a couple of months :)

 

Well thank you so much for reading it, I am so glad you are enjoying it! Your turn will be here before you know it!!! :)

[nenner1]

Great review and nice photos!

Please post more photos.

Still got to wait 5 weeks until I get onboard the Allure, can't wait for my two weeks onboard.

 

So glad you are enjoying it! A B2B! Boy am I jealous! ;)

 

:)Hi

 

fantastic photos and report, really great.

 

We are on the Allure next Sunday, 9th - can't wait it looks fabulous.

 

thanks for taking the time doing this fab review!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to read! You will have an AMAZING cruise next week!!!:)

 

 

They were also showing a game in the aquatheatre earlier on.

 

Ron

 

Ooh, that sounds neat, I missed seeing that!

[rcipilot]

Enjoying your trip report and pictures. In Dec. found the parking and Beach access path to watch the Allure sail away. Definitely an ambitous undertaking using Google maps and a little luck. Great spot on the Inlet to watch the cruise ships leave.

[roe2ship]

This past month has been great with all the wonderful Oasis/Allure reviews with pictures, yours are so AMAZING, I love them. I am reading every word as I have just booked the Oasis for next Summer!! YAY!! I'M SOOOOO EXCITED!!!:D:D

[foxman23]

Great pics...thanks.

[nenner1]

This is probably the best review I've ever read. More please!!:D

 

Aw thank so much, there will be more tonight, I have a football game to go to. It's all written up but I still have to upload the pics. So don't go to bed early. LOL ;)

 

Enjoying your trip report and pictures. In Dec. found the parking and Beach access path to watch the Allure sail away. Definitely an ambitous undertaking using Google maps and a little luck. Great spot on the Inlet to watch the cruise ships leave.

 

Ambitious for sure! We were very lucky, and frankly when Ron parked I thought we were totally in the wrong place. :p Luckily I was wrong! Thanks for reading!!

 

This past month has been great with all the wonderful Oasis/Allure reviews with pictures, yours are so AMAZING, I love them. I am reading every word as I have just booked the Oasis for next Summer!! YAY!! I'M SOOOOO EXCITED!!!:D:D

 

Thanks so much for the compliments, I LIVED on the fantastic reviews that were posted before I left, so I'm tying to keep it going for others. It's wonderful to see everyone enjoying it so much!!!! :) You will LOVE Oasis!!!!

[nenner1]

Great pics...thanks.

 

Thank you so much for reading! :)

 

 

 

Just a quick note to everyone anxiously awaiting the next installment, I will get it up tonight. I already have it written but I still have to upload the pics and I have to leave now for a football game...so maybe 10 tonight or so. See you then! :)

 

Jen

[abjiloa]

Love, Love your review so far. The more details and pictures the better:)

[tomko2]

Thank you so much for reading! :)

 

 

 

Just a quick note to everyone anxiously awaiting the next installment, I will get it up tonight. I already have it written but I still have to upload the pics and I have to leave now for a football game...so maybe 10 tonight or so. See you then! :)

 

Jen

 

Your review is awesome as are the photos. Lovely looking family.

We are on the Allure Jan 3rd and learning all we can before we go.

Thanks for taking the time to do this for all of us.

Kathy:)

[billiebob]

I continue to enjoy your beautiful photos and amazing description of the ship and your family vacation. :D Thanks for taking all the time and effort to do this for all of us.

Only 8 days until we board the Allure. :):)

[skrapngal]

Thanks so much... reviews like yours will make the next five months a little more bearable!!!

 

Can you tell me where you got your Allure door decorations?

[time4me2fly]

Can you list some of the food available at the Boardwalk Bar?

 

I remember reading corn dogs...forgot if food there is no charge and know drinks must be purchased. Can guests with soda package get mugs filled there?

 

Thanks!

[sharonlacey]

Thanks for all the great pics. Thank you for getting us all ready for our next vacation.

 

Thanks again....Sharon;)

[livingis2me]

Can you list some of the food available at the Boardwalk Bar?

 

I remember reading corn dogs...forgot if food there is no charge and know drinks must be purchased. Can guests with soda package get mugs filled there?

 

Thanks!

We never checked to see if they had food at the Boardwalk Bar. I know I never saw anyone walking around with a corn dog or popcorn or anything like that. Yes, guest with soda packages can get their mug refilled there. I saw that happening a lot.

 

One quick note- they do not allow you to bring food into the aquatheater. Some people were able to get food in, but if they saw you with it they'd stop you.

 

Ron

[livingis2me]

Thanks so much... reviews like yours will make the next five months a little more bearable!!!

 

Can you tell me where you got your Allure door decorations?

 

I know she made most of them with her scrap booking kits. She got a couple from the dis. I'll make sure she comes on later and addresses this question better.

 

 

FYI everyone- Jen is currently working on a nice long update. She wanted to do it last night, but after putting a couple of hours into it she did not have enough to post a worthwhile update (according to her). I think she'll have it ready within the next hour or so. I hope...;)

[nenner1]

FYI everyone- Jen is currently working on a nice long update. She wanted to do it last night, but after putting a couple of hours into it she did not have enough to post a worthwhile update (according to her). I think she'll have it ready within the next hour or so. I hope...;)

 

Sorry All, I was so exhausted last night. I actually dozed off at the computer. :cool: I think you'l find it was worth the wait.....

 

:)

[nenner1]

We left the pools with enough time to head downstairs, get showered and dressed, and head down to Ice Games at Studio B. We had planned to arrive early but we did not get there as earlier as I would have liked. We arrived about 30 minutes prior to showtime. I thought all of the good seats would have been taken already and I was quite surprised to see front row seats on both sides of the ice still available! We headed to the right, and straight down to an empty front row! Score!

 

 

The seats facing the ice rink head on were almost completely full already. So if you want to sit facing the ice show vs. the sides of the rink, be sure to arrive extra early! I was pretty darn happy with the seats we ended up with, though!

 

The introductory scene-a video game monitor display referencing Challenger’s Arcade:

 

 

So, if you aren’t familiar with the theme of Ice Games, basically you are playing a big game of Monopoly and the properties around the board, instead of Park Place and Marvin Gardens are locations around the ship, like the arcade, Giovanni’s Table, On Air Club, and of course, Casino Royale.

 

If you prefer to not know details of the show, do skip head at this point (scroll till you see food!). There really isn’t much more to the story line, but if you want to be surprised, I won’t be offended!

 

The show begins with the introduction to the Monopoly theme, and introduction to Mr. Monopoly.

 

(I apologize for the blurriness of these photos, flash photography was prohibited and my camera-even the good one-is fairly limited in high action, low light situations)

 

 

 

 

The skating, I thought was good. I can hardly walk on the ice, so it’s always impressive to me. There were a few falls, sure, but a triple axel on a rink that small, with set pieces around? Pretty darn remarkable in my opinion.

After the Monopoly segment, imagine my surprise when Mr. Monopoly skated right up to me with a button and motioned for me to push it. How cool!!! I push the button and the sound of tumbling dice began, and voila!- we landed on Giovanni’s Table!

 

Oopsie! Caught a fall in progress…

 

[nenner1]

There is a cheeky duo in the Giovanni’s segment featuring a male diner with his drunken dinner date. It was pretty amusing to watch, although sometimes I did not know if she was stumbling on purpose or not.

 

 

The next roll of the dice brought us to the Boardwalk, and then on Air Club:

 

 

Then there was another pair skating routine that seemed very romantic classical. It was beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but it didn’t really fit with the theme of the show. We would find out later that this duo was a guest pair onboard so maybe this segment is not normally in the show.

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2011 by nenner1

[nenner1]

 

At one point they scrapped the button pushing and brought out a huge oversized pair of dice- the interaction between the skaters and the audience member rolling the dice was pretty funny!

 

 

I thought this show was really terrific and being in the front row was so worth the inconvenience of getting there early!

 

 

 

After the show, we stopped upstairs in the [promenade for some (more) Sorrento’s pizza for the kids. They have a make-your-own pizza bar where you can pick the toppings, but we were always pretty content with the offerings they had already prepared. Our kids’ tastes don’t go much beyond the standard cheese & pepperoni, but Brendan had a couple of pieces of Chicken and Potato Pizza and really liked it a lot. (Chicken and Potato? Strange combination!)

 

 

[nenner1]

 

 

Terrific service too- this staff member in particular was so friendly!

 

 

A stop by Promenade Café was also necessary for dessert- cookies! Brownies! Cinnamon Rolls!

 

 

Dinner!

 

 

[nenner1]

The Bridge Report. Really loved Capt. Zini’s video report from the bridge each day. But what we did miss so much on this ship is the channel on TV that shows the path the ship has taken and the current location and speed. Allure doesn’t have that. Since that info is covered in the Bridge report, but we personally like following the course, so we were bummed about that.

 

 

After the kids were done eating, it was back to Adventure Ocean for them, as Ron and I had dinner reservations tonight at Samba Grill!

 

 

 

Our reservation was fairly early- 7 PM. We had read that Samba Grill- which is actually located in a transformed Solarium Bistro can be very warm in the early evening due to its location in the glass walled solarium. I will say it was quite warm. Not as bad as we expected at first, but it seemed to get warmer and warmer as the night went by. Samba’s suggested dress is Smart Casual, so do keep the higher temperature in mind and dress as comfortably as you can. By the end of the meal we were flushed and sweaty. But then that might have been due to the drinks…..haha!

 

We arrived right on time for our reservation and upon checking in to the podium, Ron inquired about the 2-for-1 special. We had read in a review by Daghis a few weeks ago that on his cruise Samba Grill was offered at a reduced cost for 2 for 1! Since meals there are normally $25/pp, this brought the cost down to $12.50/pp. What a deal! This price is really a steal for this meal, but we had not seen the special advertised on our TV so we did not know if they were offering it on our cruise. Much to our delight the hostess said they were indeed offering the special. We had prepaid for our reservation, so she had to give us a refund and then re-charge us the half price rate, which she did and brought our new receipt to our table within minutes! Wonderful!

 

Now, I’m not positive they had actually advertised the special, or maybe it was because of the special, but Samba was quite busy! Busier than I expected, anyway, and it would get even busier as the evening progressed. The ambiance was lovely. We had not yet been inside Solarium Bistro but thought it was quite a pretty restaurant space. I don’t have great photos of the interior because I didn’t want to turn on my flash and blast everybody but this is a general overview:

 

 

The subtle lighting and tabletop flameless candles really added to the serene atmosphere. There was a little “creek” with tiny waterfalls running right by our table, which I loved!

 

 

It all sounds so tranquil to look at the photos and hear it described, but in actuality the atmosphere was festive. The music- Brazilian Samba, of course- was upbeat, rhythmic, and LOUD! Very loud. Too loud, actually at first. When we arrived the Brazilian dancer was performing, and the music is much louder while she is dancing. At first I wondered if it would remain at that decibel level the entire meal, Ron and I could hardly hear each other, even from across our tiny table. But yes, when the dance performance is finished, the music returns to a background volume, which I much preferred.

 

About the dancer though, she and her costumes were quite gorgeous. I know Savannah would have appreciated her outfit! LOL! And man that girl can DANCE! She danced, and danced, and DANCED for long periods, at a frantic pace that made me sweat bullets just watching! And she was in impossible looking 5 inch stilettos! Impressive without a doubt!

 

[nenner1]

Here is a video of the dancing! (Click on image to open video in new window or tab)

 

 

We had been seated at a nice two-top table in the center aisle of the restaurant. We were greeted, our drink orders were taken and we were given a bread basket of these tiny buttery rolls. These were sooo delicious. They were still so soft and doughy inside, but quite crispy outside. Yum!

 

 

 

The view right outside our table:

 

 

At Samba grill- like most of the Brazilian Steakhouse chains, there is an indicator on your table that tells the servers when you are ready for more meat, and when you do not want any more meat. At Samba, there is a light on your tabletop. It is clear, or neutral when you have not begun your main course yet (i.e. when you are eating from the Salad Bar), green when you are ready for more meat, and red when you want to stop. There is a little switch on it to push to change colors. A great system!

 

 

While we were waiting for our drinks, the dance stopped by. She asked if either of us wanted to learn the Samba! Actually if I had been less hot and in more comfortable shoes, I might have gone for it, but I declined. She did pose for a picture though! Some tables did take her up on the lessons, just a short little combination of footwork – she spent about 5 minutes per table teaching it. A nice touch!

 

 

(Yes, she even did costume changes throughout the night!)