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

[Mom33]

They are actually the same.:) Every drink I tried was as good or even better than Starbucks on land. I love Pumpkin Spice Lattes and I had at least 3. I also had a great Java Chip Frap.:cool:

 

Ron

 

Thanks! I'm a Mocha Frap addict!!:D

[skrapngal]

Well ask and you shall receive, here is where you can go download it!!! :D

 

 

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

 

I agree about it being an awesome title!! :)

 

YOU ROCK!!! Thanks so much... am looking forward to the rest of the review :D

[pjtmay]

Wow! Thanks soo much for this awesome review! I'm soo excited. I do have a question. You said that your DH had some sodas that he brought on in his carryon. Did you have any problems getting them on? How many did he have etc? Did you bring any other beverages? :D

My kids don't drink many cokes so they don't need a soda pass but one a day would be nice. Just curious.

Thanks!

[BillOh]

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.

 

I asked this question on our May 1st cruise at the Q&A they did in the aqua theater. I was told it was coming, there had been a problem with the software, but it was coming soon. Well, that was 6 months ago. Seems an odd thing to have a problem with since its fleet wide, but oh well, I'm with you.

 

Great review so far. We travel without kids and for the most part avoid activities with a lot of kids, but I am enjoying how much your kids seemed to be enjoying this cruise. There is room on Allure for everyone.

Edited October 3, 2011 by BillOh

[livingis2me]

Wow! Thanks soo much for this awesome review! I'm soo excited. I do have a question. You said that your DH had some sodas that he brought on in his carryon. Did you have any problems getting them on? How many did he have etc? Did you bring any other beverages? :D

My kids don't drink many cokes so they don't need a soda pass but one a day would be nice. Just curious.

Thanks!

I had a pilot size case filled with 34 Coke Zeros. The kids each had about one a day, the rest were for me.:D No problem getting them on. I carried them on. Sent the case through the scanner. They had me walk over to the side to have another agent look through them to make sure they weren't anything other than sodas. I unzipped the bag for them they glanced at the soda and said enjoy your cruise. Zipped back up and after a one minute (or less) delay we were making our way to the gangway. :cool:

 

Do keep in mind that when you are carrying on cans of soda they can be quite heavy. It would be good to have a small suitcase on rollers. Also keep in mind that you'll have to lug it around until 1pm when the staterooms open. That was not a big deal to me. The fridge will be stocked with expensive snacks, waters and sodas. Just take those out. Find a shelf for them. If they are not out in the open make sure you inform the stateroom host where you have them so that you don't get charged.;) The fridge will hold about 12 cans at a time and it seemed to take about 8 hours for them to cool enough to enjoy without ice.

 

Ron

[Tootsiesmom]

YOU ROCK!!! Thanks so much... am looking forward to the rest of the review :D

 

All be careful with the web site shown in the above post - AVG alerted me that it has a virus http://www.4shared.com/photo/UX5GuzG...reserver.html? would suggest you not open it

Edited October 3, 2011 by Tootsiesmom

[BillOh]

I had a pilot size case filled with 34 Coke Zeros.

Ron

 

FYI, On Majesty they had Coke Zero at the self serve stations. I gave up buying the soda package after my wife and I had weight loss surgery and I don't like Diet coke, or Pepsi, but would consider getting it again on a ship that had Coke Zero.

[ILuvCruisin']

WOW!!! Wonderful Review...Can hardly wait for the rest!!!

[shaggyofwv]

I believe that this is the best review of any ship that I have read to date.

 

Of course, it helps that I am anxiously awaiting our cruise on Allure in May, 2012. It seems so far away, but we reserved it back in January so we are half of the way there! Woo hoo!

[nenner1]

I LOVE your door signs! Especially the boat goat!

 

Thanks so much!!!! I'm glad you like the Goat! It even has a name: Goldie the Goat...LMAO!!!:D

 

I am so enjoying your review! We are thinking of cruising on the Allure next spring and you are giving us a great inside view of the ship and what it has to offer.

 

One question I have has to do with Starbucks. Is the charge for their coffee drinks the same as ashore or do they have special prices for the ship? Thanks in advance.:)

 

Yep, like Ron said, prices and drinks are exactly the same! YUM!!! :)

 

YOU ROCK!!! Thanks so much... am looking forward to the rest of the review :D

 

You're welcome!!! :D

[nenner1]

Wow! Thanks soo much for this awesome review! I'm soo excited. I do have a question. You said that your DH had some sodas that he brought on in his carryon. Did you have any problems getting them on? How many did he have etc? Did you bring any other beverages? :D

My kids don't drink many cokes so they don't need a soda pass but one a day would be nice. Just curious.

Thanks!

 

Thank you so much for reading. Ron is the soda drinker in the family, so I'm glad he addressed your question above. THANKS RON! :) Those are the only beverages we brought- our kids liked the occasional soda- which they did get a few like Ron said, but they were certainly content to drink the flavored waters found in Park Cafe (and I think other places but Park Cafe is always where we got them. They especially liked the Strawberry Kiwi) :cool:

 

I asked this question on our May 1st cruise at the Q&A they did in the aqua theater. I was told it was coming, there had been a problem with the software, but it was coming soon. Well, that was 6 months ago. Seems an odd thing to have a problem with since its fleet wide, but oh well, I'm with you.

 

Thanks for reading Bill! Yours of course was among the great reviews that inspired me to throw my own experience out there! :) Such a shame that they haven't managed to get that software up & running yet, if they ever plan to ...

 

Great review so far. We travel without kids and for the most part avoid activities with a lot of kids, but I am enjoying how much your kids seemed to be enjoying this cruise. There is room on Allure for everyone.

I totally agree! Allure *absolutely* has something for everyone!

 

All be careful with the web site shown in the above post - AVG alerted me that it has a virus http://www.4shared.com/photo/UX5GuzG...reserver.html? would suggest you not open it

 

Thanks for the heads up! I have AVG too. I didn't get the warning but the file is not mine and it is from 4shared -which is a file sharing site, and like anything downloaded from the internet it should be scanned with a reputable anti-virus program before opening. I have never had trouble with this person's files before but better safe than sorry!

 

So glad you stopped by to join us! :)

[nenner1]

FYI, On Majesty they had Coke Zero at the self serve stations. I gave up buying the soda package after my wife and I had weight loss surgery and I don't like Diet coke, or Pepsi, but would consider getting it again on a ship that had Coke Zero.

 

Oh wow, Ron would LOVE that! :D Coke Zero is really hard to get anywhere- crazy since it tastes SOOOO much better than Diet Pepsi or Coke!

 

WOW!!! Wonderful Review...Can hardly wait for the rest!!!

THANK YOU so much! your review of Allure was one of many amazing reviews that inspired me and kept me so very excited for our cruise! So glad to have you "onboard" with us!!! :)

 

I believe that this is the best review of any ship that I have read to date.

 

Of course' date=' it helps that I am anxiously awaiting our cruise on Allure in May, 2012. It seems so far away, but we reserved it back in January so we are half of the way there! Woo hoo![/quote']

 

Thank you so much for reading!!!! It's a looong wait (we had booked this cruise in Feb 2010...19 LONG months out!) so I know how you are feeling! January will really be here before you know it! :)

 

 

I am just waiting for my pics to upload, the next installment is ready and will be up shortly!:)

[skrapngal]

All be careful with the web site shown in the above post - AVG alerted me that it has a virus http://www.4shared.com/photo/UX5GuzG...reserver.html? would suggest you not open it

 

Strange, my AVG didn't catch anything... and I haven't had any computer problems since downloading it.

[nenner1]

Tuesday September 20- Day 3- At Sea

 

 

Can you believe it? It’s already:

 

 

Today’s Forecast:

 

 

We had the first of three scheduled Character Breakfasts (CB) this morning. They were scheduled at 8AM which was a little early for all of us to be up showered, ready and downstairs. But we made it. We had booked all three CB opportunities available because we did not want to miss Shrek and gang. You see, each of the Character Breakfasts could have any of the three set of characters: Madagascar (King Julien, Alex, and Gloria), The Penguins, or Shrek (Shrek, Fiona, Puss N Boots). They do not do specific characters on set days, so you never know what you are going to get, so we booked all three. You can (and should!) book this online prior to your cruise, (look under Specialty Restaurants in your Cruise planner once dining reservations open up) and best of all it’s FREE!

 

As we headed downstairs to the Adagio Dining Room, we had gone to Deck 5 first, because that’s where we thought the CB was held. The doors there were shut, so we went down to Deck 4 and that’s where we found it. The line was quite long; it extended through the large Dining Room entrance and spilled out into the hallway. There was a staff member greeting at the end of the line, guiding guests with the character reservations over to the left and queuing up regular breakfast-goers to the right. We had arrived a tad late- about 8:05 or so, but with the huge line we would end up being later. It took about 10 minutes to work through the line to be seated.

 

The very elegant Adagio dining room:

 

 

 

One thing I had read was that the characters don’t necessarily come out right away (I think I read here once that they come out about 8:30). Here is what we discovered: they aren’t consistent. This breakfast was in FULL swing at 8:15 when we were seated- we almost missed Shrek!!! But their timing may be dictated by crowds- this breakfast was SUPER BUSY, and the characters were out early and moved FAST. The next CB we were at was not busy at all and the characters came out later and moved at a more leisurely pace. So the lesson learned is always be on time- strike that- early, and be prepared to go with the flow.

 

As we were led to our table, we could see the CB half of the dining room was packed full and that we had missed some things already. What we had missed was the introduction of Shrek . When the characters come out (which they do individually), they are introduced by an announcer and then they do a little dance. Like I said, we had already missed Shrek’s intro, unfortunately. After their intro, each character starts “working” the dining room, table by table, each from a different direction. They do travel methodically though so they won’t miss you, don’t worry!

 

As soon as we reached our table, Shrek was basically there. We had hardly decided where to even sit. Luckily we are Disney veterans and have done this Character Breakfast a time or two so it didn’t faze us a bit:

 

 

 

 

We were seated in a very nice area at the center of the left side of the Dining Room, on the “Bridge” overlooking the lower level. To better describe, the outer parts of the dining room are one section, then there is a center section that you pass over a small glass bridge to get to. It is in this center section that the characters do their dance, but they face towards the outside of the dining room, so they had our backs to us.

[nenner1]

We were seated in a very nice area at the center of the left side of the Dining Room, on the “Bridge” overlooking the lower level. To better describe, the outer parts of the dining room are one section, then there is a center section that you pass over a small glass bridge to get to. It is in this center section that the characters do their dance, but they face towards the outside of the dining room, so they had our backs to us.

 

We got settled in at our table, and out came Fiona! Like I mentioned they face out when they do the dance, and since our table was to the center, we got the backside of the dance but this is an example of the character introduction to which I was referring:

 

Video (click to play)

 

 

We were served our juice and coffee (they will try to sell you fresh squeezed OJ for $3.50 a glass but the regular stuff is free), and out came the chocolate pastries.

 

 

If you aren’t familiar, on Allure the Character Breakfast meal is chocolate themed. There are chocolate breads, pastries, chocolate sauce on waffles, even a chocolate milkshake (free!).

 

Here is the menu:

 

 

Our pastries were two sliced of chocolate bread (a little dry); chocolate muffins (also dry); a chocolate puff pastry (delish!), and a chocolate glazed sweet roll (did not try).

 

 

Chocolate milkshakes!

 

[nenner1]

Before we knew it Fiona had arrived:

 

 

 

 

If I can give any advice about Character Breakfasts, it’s to try and be ready when the character approaches your table. They were great here, as the character assistant would stop by and give you a heads up that your table was next, so you had plenty of time to scoot out chairs, get little ones out of high chairs/booster seats, remove napkins from laps, etc.

 

Puss N Boots was introduced next, here you can see how we were right behind the dance!

 

 

The kids get a little activity sheet (but no crayons????) and as each character visits your table they stamp the sheet, showing they had been there:

 

Rounding out the character visits, Puss n Boots had arrived to greet us:

 

[nenner1]

 

After we saw the characters, the food arrived!

 

Cheese omelet with bacon and the signature tomato half:

 

The omelet was very good!

 

Perfect Ganache Griddle:

 

 

It was pretty good. The same somewhat soggy waffles you find in the WJ, but with a chocolate/caramel banana sauce. It was good enough that I ate all of it anyway. I had asked for a side of bacon but didn’t get it. I also got gypped out of my tomato! LOL!

 

Fried Eggs over medium with hash browns, bacon, and guess what….

 

 

Even Sarah got a tomato!

 

 

We were all finished with breakfast by 9:15. Overall I think the Character Breakfast was wonderful. I wish it wasn’t so early in the morning, but it was worth it, for the kids or kids at heart!

 

After breakfast it was up to the pool deck for the girls, flowrider for the boys. I tried to take Sarah to the flowriders so we could watch the boys some, but she wanted no part of it:

 

[nenner1]

Much better, mom!

 

 

 

The cute kid loungers by the H20 zone:

 

 

Here ya go, the Beach pool at 11:23 AM on a Sea Day!!! (Yes it was a bit overcast still)

 

 

 

Sarah was tired, cranky, and a little overwhelmed so I took her back to the cabin for a little nap.

 

[nenner1]

In the early afternoon we decided to head down to Johnny Rockets for lunch. Down in the Boardwalk on Allure, it was quite busy. Seats were available in the diner right away, but there was a wait to sit out on the Boardwalk. That was OK with me because it was HOT out on the Boardwalk and after two very HOT meals at Rita’s and Samba I was ready for a cool place to eat.

 

(Somehow we didn’t take a daytime pic of JR- got this one from Google)

 

 

Unfortunately we were crunched in a tiny booth for 4 ( it would have more comfortably seated 2) with a chair at the end of the table for Sarah. It was tight. But we made the best of it. There is a cover charge to eat here- $4.95 for food, which includes a sandwich, family style fries and onion rings, and a dessert (apple pie or a sundae). All drinks (besides water) cost extra.

 

 

Johnny Rockets Menu: (photo courtesy of Beyondships.com)

 

 

Unlike Independence, the jukeboxes here actually seemed to play our selections!

 

 

Unlimited French Fries and Onion Rings- DELICIOUS!

 

[nenner1]

If you have never been to JR, when the music gets loud, expect entertainment! Servers, cooks, and other staff come out and dance for you!

Our waiter is always the one that can’t dance!

 

 

 

They do one dance inside and one outside. Outside got Stayin’ Alive, which was much more fun than our song Last Dance. Oh well…..by now we had: MILKSHAKES!

 

 

 

Real hand-dipped milkshakes- totally awesome!

 

 

Brendan and I had vanilla, Ron and Savannah chocolate. That was strange since I am the chocolate lover of the family and Ron usually prefers vanilla. I tasted both though, and the vanilla was indeed better. The chocolate did not have a very deep chocolatey flavor at all.

 

Here come the burgers:

 

 

Brendan and I had the Smokehouse: a single patty burger with Tillamook Cheddar, thick sliced Bacon, Onion rings, and Smokehouse BBQ-Ranch sauce:

 

[nenner1]

Continuing the game of this side of the table vs. that one, Ron and Savannah both chose the Rocket Double, two burger patties, two slices of Tillamook Cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion & special sauce.

 

Savannah’s with cheese & lettuce only:

 

Ron’s all the way:

 

 

And Sarah had some (unimpressive) Chicken Tenders:

 

 

Food was delicious! Greasy, fried diner food at its best!

 

Even though we were so totally full, who could pass up dessert? Savannah chose the Oreo sundae, the rest of us Apple Pie:

 

 

[nenner1]

We left Johnny Rockets totally bloated and completely the fullest we’d felt- probably ever. It was the turning point in bloating for the cruise for us- we felt much better as the days went by (and we also stopped trying to eat so much).

 

But try as you might, who could pass up a ride on the Carousel?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up Next: Classes Galore (Flash Mob and Kids’ Cupcake Decorating), and OceanAria!

[wingnutphl]

How could you not hop on the carousel?!?!?!! :D

[Tiatravel]

I am absolutely LOVING your review! I am hanging off your every word. We will be on the Allure in December and our situation is quite similar to yours. Our kids are 10 and 12 and will have their own cabin across the hall from us. My 12 yr old is as obsessed with reading your review as I am. In fact, she lets me know when you have updated it before I get the chance to check! We are not so patiently waiting to hear about the flash mob and cupcake decorating as they are both in the plans for us.

Thanks so much for doing this. It has made the waiting and planning a little more tolerable. Can't wait to read more!

 

Kristine

[metairiegal]

Oh, those milkshakes look sooooooo good! My mouth is watering right now! :p