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My Week On The GREATEST Ship In The World! Allure OTS 10/30/11: A Pictorial Review!

DarthGrady

By DarthGrady,
in Royal Caribbean International

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jakenashleysmom

jakenashleysmom

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Well thank the good lord for that shaving bar in the shower! I always forget how difficult it is to shave your legs in those showers, especially if you have rough seas! Sorry if this is TMI but whoever thought of that bar is brilliant!!!;)

 

Oh and your review is fab, as usual!

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Just a curiosity question:

 

As a Diamond member, why did you choose an interior room? I guess it affords you the luxury to go on more cruises with interior pricing; It's just surprising to see. Most Diamond or Diamond+ posts I've read, you'd think an interior room was similar to staff accommodations.

 

Even with the Diamond balcony discount, the interior rooms are still cheaper. I'm more of a quantity over quality type of cruiser. I would prefer to do 5-6 cruises a year in the lower category rooms than cruise less in balcony rooms or suites. We do occasionally get ocean views and balconies (and suites even less frequently), but only if its a tremendously good deal.

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Day 1, Continued

 

 

Even though the ship is tremendously huge I found it very easy to navigate through. They did an excellent job signing things and keeping guests oriented. I also enjoyed being on such a new ship with everything working as designed. We had our first meal onboard in the Park Café, the roast beef sandwiches were excellent. The eatery reminded me of the Seaview Café on the Radiance which was another favorite spot of mine.

 

I headed to the Sun Deck and watched our departure from Port Everglades. After leaving the channel we were hit by some very high winds and the open decks were closed. Our serving staff at dinner was awesome. We were scheduled to see the Aqua Theater show that first evening, but the bad weather and high winds caused it to be cancelled. So we went to the Amber Theater and watched a 3D move instead. The audio and video quality was outstanding.

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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Other than the engines, I think the ship looks very nice.

 

Interesting. I think the bow is way too short and disproportional to the rest of the "box". Those three tier decks on the bow superstructure are also very plain looking. But as I said.... just my opinion.

 

Now back to the magnificent ALLURE......

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tispwisp

tispwisp

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Great review! We've been on the fence about booking this ship as it seemed almost too big and thought we may miss the ship feel. But after seeing your pics, I think we're just going to have to try it! Looks like it would be an awesome experience!

 

Thank you for taking the time to post your pictures and review! It is much appreciated!

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Day 2, Nassau:

 

I woke up around noon, no rush really. I don’t even bother getting off the ship in Nassau anymore. Enjoying the sparsely populated ship is much more desirable than dealing with the crowds and junk peddling locals. My wife and I had lunchfast at the Wipeout Café. I love their pretzel dogs. I spent most of the day in and around the Solarium and the cantilevered hot tubs. The other ships in port seemed almost miniscule compared to our Allure.

 

I watched sail away from Nassau at the Sun Deck again. There was an Aida ship parked next to us. Apparently their dress code is a bit different than ours. I saw two different women sunning topless, and no one seemed to think much of it. You have to love those relaxed European sensibilities. I can’t wait for our Puritanical country to catch up. We waved goodbye to the Bahamas and set sail for St. Thomas. We all spent some time in the Viking Crown before leaving for the ice show.

 

We all watched the “Ice Games” show in Studio B. It was well done, just like the other ice shows I have seen on Freedom of the Seas. It did seem a bit like a commercial as most of the sets depicted were locations around the ship. After the show we all went back to the cabins to get into our Halloween costumes.

 

The crew did a great job of dressing the ship up for Halloween. They changed the Promenades lighting to orange and had cobwebs, balloons and other props placed about. We had dinner in our costumes, which was a new experience for me. They also converted the Blaze disco into a walk through haunted house. We waited in line for it, and it was okay but nothing spectacular. We missed the costume parade on the Promenade, but I saw it later on TV. Some of the costumes people brought were very impressive.

 

After the haunted house my friend and I smoked cigars up in the suite guest sunning area. It is the only place on the entire ship where cigar smoking is allowed, and only after 7 PM. The whole situation is totally unacceptable since a cold, windy deck is no place for fine cigar smoking. It makes no sense that the smaller Freedom Class has lovely cigar lounges, but the gigantic Oasis Class does not. There should be some small lounge on the ship where folks can enjoy their stogies. That open deck up top is an insult. They even have two humidors on board selling sticks just to throw some more salt into the wound.

 

Later that night we all went to the Amber Theater again and watched Saw 3D. The movie was terrible, but it wasn’t Royal Caribbean’s fault. The producers should be ashamed of themselves. It was obvious that they were just wringing every last drop of profit out of the franchise with no regard for quality.

 

In Nassau

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DarthGrady

DarthGrady

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Day 3, At Sea:

 

My wife and I began our first sea day at the Crown and Anchor reception in the Aqua Theater. They had free champagne and a few mixed drinks. Captain Johnny welcomed us on board and they also had a high diving demonstration.

 

We had lunch in the main dining room. They have an excellent “create your own salad” bar. It has just about everything you could want in a salad, and it tastes fantastic. They also have regular menu items available.

 

In the afternoon my wife had a fun time on the Zip Line, and I had a drink while riding the Rising Tide Bar. We stopped into the Diamond Lounge early, right at 5 when it opened. It is much more crowded at 5 than it is at 7 when we usually went. One of the crew told us that we were some of the youngest Diamond members they have seen who actually “earned it” (referring to kids of Diamond members). I’m not sure if this was a jibe at the new policy (which allows children into the lounge) or not, but thankfully no one brought any kids in there during our sailing.

 

We went to see Chicago in the Amber Theater prior to dinner. It was very well done, but not really something I enjoyed. Not because of anything with the cast or musicians, I’m just not big on musical theater. We then had a nice dinner in the main dining room, and tried again to have cigars up in the wind tunnel. It was an early night in preparation of our arrival in St. Thomas the next morning.

 

Captain Johnny talking at the Crown and Anchor reception

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Virtopia

Virtopia

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Even with the Diamond balcony discount, the interior rooms are still cheaper. I'm more of a quantity over quality type of cruiser. I would prefer to do 5-6 cruises a year in the lower category rooms than cruise less in balcony rooms or suites. We do occasionally get ocean views and balconies (and suites even less frequently), but only if its a tremendously good deal.

 

Thanks! I appreciate the answer :)

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Virtopia

Virtopia

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I also agree with your Nassau post ... my Allure cruise will hit there as the first port and it will be my 3rd time there. As much as I love Atlantis, I've already crossed it off my bucket list of places to visit, so I'm looking forward to staying onboard as well.

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