Allure of the Seas November 25, 2012 Post Thanksgiving

[DavyB]

Just booked my flight and hotel. Yeah!!!

 

Congrats. I still haven't booked my hotel. Anyone have any suggestions?

[NCRay]

Congrats. I still haven't booked my hotel. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

I found Red carpet Inn on Travelocity for under 100/night. (all taxes, etc). that includes free shuttle from Airport and to Port..

 

it's probably a dump... lol... I'll pull off the bed spread and not walk barefoot in the room.. (probably won't shower til i get on the ship either.. maybe just a sponge bath)..

[MattInFLL]

Well, I booked today so officially on board.

 

Formal is just not what it used to be in year's past. On a 7 day cruise, you will see more suits and tuxes than on the shorter cruise, but if you just want to do dress pants and dress shirt, you aren't going to be turned away. Remember that PP puts us all together at tables (at least in my experience).

 

Hotels - if you are just coming in the night before, and heading straight to the port, anything in the port or airport vicinity is fine. Check our Hyatt Place - I stayed at one recently and was impressed for the value for price. But if you have time to check things out in Lauderdale, you might want to be on the beach, or even one of the gay places. Royal Palms is fantastic - great aesthetic, extremely friendly staff and bar and restaurant on premises. I've done a few "staycations" there.

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone.

 

Matt

[colocop004]

Hey all, We are getting very exicted for the Post Thanksgiving Cruise! I am usually all over these boards, but work has had me running ion thirteen different directions lately!

 

This will be my 7th PPPT cruise and they only get better and better each year. My partner and I have made so many great friends on previous cruises, that we all return year after year!

 

Can't wait to meet new pipers and see old ones again!!

 

Kyle

[DavyB]

UGH!!! Still to far away. 118 days to go. I can't wait. :D I booked a hotel tonight. There will be 3 of us staying at the Crowne Plaza which is close to the airport as well as the port.

[bergen66]

Hi Everyone (and a few familiar faces!),

Just booked today. 4th Pied Piper, 3rd Post Thanksgiving. Had a blast on PP (Equinox) in the Mediterranean last week. Can't wait for this one! Going to arrive in FLL Friday early evening (2 nights at hotel). Still need to decide where. Hopefully there will be some sort of meet and greet at a bar somewhere. I liked the roommate discussion. I'll take one till dawn maybe.

Paul

[NCRay]

Well i'm working my ass off literally. down 30# or so from last year already. down multiple pant sizes too. This sailing is a benchmark toward my fitness goals. So it doesn't hurt my motivation knowing the ship will be full of all you sexy sweet men!!

I have one of those "turkey trot" 8k on Thanksgiving day so by sailing, I'll be looking forward to relaxing and kicking my heels up.. (hmm that didn't sound right.. )..

 

my work has somewhat normalized so i've been able to carve out time to work out.

Plus that "turning 50" thing. See ya'll in November!!

[MrShowBiz]

November just isn't going to get here quick enough!

 

Looking forward to meeting a bunch of great guys and having a blast !!:)

[bergen66]

Well i'm working my ass off literally. down 30# or so from last year already. down multiple pant sizes too. This sailing is a benchmark toward my fitness goals. So it doesn't hurt my motivation knowing the ship will be full of all you sexy sweet men!!

I have one of those "turkey trot" 8k on Thanksgiving day so by sailing, I'll be looking forward to relaxing and kicking my heels up.. (hmm that didn't sound right.. )..

 

my work has somewhat normalized so i've been able to carve out time to work out.

Plus that "turning 50" thing. See ya'll in November!!

 

That's great, Ray! Nice job! And 50 is the new 40 remember. And you kick your heels up all you want! I'll be doing the same!

[DavyB]

Hi Everyone (and a few familiar faces!),

Just booked today. 4th Pied Piper, 3rd Post Thanksgiving. Had a blast on PP (Equinox) in the Mediterranean last week. Can't wait for this one! Going to arrive in FLL Friday early evening (2 nights at hotel). Still need to decide where. Hopefully there will be some sort of meet and greet at a bar somewhere. I liked the roommate discussion. I'll take one till dawn maybe.

Paul

 

Hey Paul - It'll be great to see and sail with you again. I'm cruising with 2 friends this year. We'll be in Ft. Lauderdale Sat. night. We're staying at the Crowne Plaza the night before.

 

David

[NCRay]

Final invoice just came from PP today. Balance due 9/11/12.

 

I'm flying in the day before as well. Staying in some dump that offers free shuttle to/from port/airport.

 

i'll be sure to tear off the bedspread as soon as i get in the room and not walk barefooted on the carpet!!

[DavyB]

Final invoice just came from PP today. Balance due 9/11/12.

 

I'm flying in the day before as well. Staying in some dump that offers free shuttle to/from port/airport.

 

i'll be sure to tear off the bedspread as soon as i get in the room and not walk barefooted on the carpet!!

 

Maybe you could get your luggage shipped directly to the port. Who knows what could crawl in there. LOL Good Luck NCRay!! :D

[bergen66]

Hey Paul - It'll be great to see and sail with you again. I'm cruising with 2 friends this year. We'll be in Ft. Lauderdale Sat. night. We're staying at the Crowne Plaza the night before.

 

David

 

Will be great to see you and the others again, too, David! Anyone up for drinks on Saturday night somewhere? George's Alibi was always a fun place. The Crowne Plaza is by the airport, right? I'm staying 2 nights so I'm undecided. On the beach is my preference. I wanted the Marriott Beach Place but it's booked! Maybe do the Sheraton on the beach at the south end. Anyone have any other suggestions for places they've stayed on the beach? Checking flights now, too. The $200 flights from years past are a pipe dream now! One day $600, one day $400..gotta keep looking. Just a littel more than 3 months away!

Ray, you're going on Infinity in October I see. Looking forward to hearing about it. I booked the PP Fjords and Iceland on Infinity for June 2013. My withdrawal from the PP cruise 2 weeks ago made me book TWO PP cruises!

Paul

[DavyB]

Anyone up for drinks on Saturday night somewhere? George's Alibi was always a fun place.

Paul

 

I'll be up for drinks Saturday night. George's Alibi is fun. Let's plan it!!

[NCRay]

I'm up for something fun the night before. George's sounds good. Count me in.

[MattInFLL]

Doesn't PP usually suggest a place for the night before the cruise? Especially since this will be such a big group? Personally, I'd rather pick a place like Matty's which is a bit up the street from Georgies. Generally more fun.

[bergen66]

Doesn't PP usually suggest a place for the night before the cruise? Especially since this will be such a big group? Personally, I'd rather pick a place like Matty's which is a bit up the street from Georgies. Generally more fun.

 

Yes, let's see what they organize and publish. May as well go with that! As long as there is cold beer, doesn't matter to me!

[Roy&Adrian]

Hi,

This will be our third PP cruise. The others were to Bermuda and Hawaii, with relatively small numbers on ordinary sized ships. The cruise was made enjoyable by chatting in the pre-dinner bar and over dinner and the occasional trip organised by PP. Other than that, we were able to relax as you should on holiday. But I was wondering how you spend your time with PP's numerous activities on the world's largest ship? I know PP has Leslie Jordan doing a gig, hosting a game show and even a costume party? But how do you fit this in with the Allure's attempt at Chicago and the Blue Planet acrobatic show?

[MattInFLL]

i am wondering the same thing. I can get plenty of tips on the regular Allure entertainment from the Royal Caribbean boards, but having no clue when PP might be scheduling something seems to make it all guesswork. My hope is that Derek and company would not program their own gigs at the same time as a major ship event.

 

Personally just glad to have a number of sea days to explore Allure.

[Roy&Adrian]

On previous PP trips, we were told before hand about a private excursion (Bermuda) or pointed towards 3 Celebrity organised trips which the host thought we would like (Hawaii). Let's hope they'll provide forward information about PP's itinerary. Unfortunately, the PP website only makes reference to the 2009 post-thanksgiving trip, even though Leslie Jordan was on last year.

All I've heard about the Allure is that, if you're going to, you should try the zipline early on. After that, people become more adventurous and queues begin to form. It's probably the same for the flowrider, although I can imagine port days being quiet, if you don't get off the ship.

[Dante210]

Hi fellow Post Thanksgiving Cruisers. The Pre-Cruise Planner on Royal Caribbean's Web site should be available but isn't yet. Derek at PP checked into it and Royal Caribbean is having some issue with the site and are working on the issue. Hopefully, it will be available soon.

[hotdog647]

My partner and I decided at the last minute to take a cruise on Allure last week-the one with 2 extra days due to Isaac. I wanted to share a few things we noted about Allure.

 

We arrived at the terminal at 1130am and were on the ship within 10 minutes. There were over 6000 passengers on this cruise and the terminal is equipped to handle huge numbers efficiently. Moreso than at other terminals Royal Caribbean uses at Port Everglades. We did early walk off and cleared customs and immigration in 10 minutes ship to curbside.

 

We had heard about the small cabin size and limited storage space, and it is all true. There is plenty of hanging space in the closet, but limited shelf space above and below the safe. At the desk there were 3 drawers. There are 3 or 4 small cubby hole shelves in the bathroom.

 

The ship is so large that you don't feel like there are 6K other guests there with you. Abundant entertainment areas, places to eat, relax or play in the water make it feel less crowded than some smaller ships. You can always expect the Winjammer restaurant to be packed the first day at lunch, and the elevators will be at a premium after shows. This is the same on all Royal Caribbean ships.

 

The pools and hot tubs are open 24 hours and offer many opportunities. The steamrooms/sauna are coed, and cost $30 pp daily or $125 weekly as part of a spa package. There is a nice free workout area in the spa on deck 6 and a limited shower room is available down the spiral glass staircase to deck 5. Just in case anyone is interested.

 

You will see a lot of onboard activities listed for families and children, and since it was the last week of summer vacation they were everywhere. There was plenty of entertainment of all kinds onboard, but we were especially impressed with two brothers from South America who were dancers/divers/swimers/acrobats. I think the word is ripped, and I enjoyed seeing these two guys perform even in zebra striped leotards, even if the show was for kids. One don't-miss show is the main Aqua Theater show. These same 2 men do some truly amazing feats. Artistic. Stunning. Stimulating. See if you don't think the fine line between artistic beauty and pornography is just a thin film of spandex. Or maybe I'm just a dirty old man. Seriously, I wondered how many other women, or men, thought their act was a bit sexual in nature.

 

The complimentary restaurants feed masses of people. And there are several unique extra charge restaurants. A new Royal Caribbean fleet-wide menu will be implemented in the Main Dining Room on Allure in September. I spoke with the head chef in the Windjammer buffet and they will be changing their menu sometime after that later in the year. Two great standbys are the Park Cafe with their salads and signature roast beef sandwiches, and the Boardwalk Hot Dog stand. The Park Cafe has longer hours, including breakfast, but the Hot Dog stand has a huge selection. My partner stayed every time with a plain jane coney island dog with slaw. I preferred tasting each kind of juicy weiner. They were all good.

 

Since we drove to the port and luggage wasn't a problem, we took tuxes for the formal nights. Definitely we were in the minority, like 2 in 500 men. Actually there were about as many men in dressy shirts as suits, and a lot with just casual polo shirts. The second formal night we opted to go slacks and shirts and felt much more comfortable, especially outside with the humidity and heat. Use your judgement and wear whatever you feel comfortable in.

 

Two last things: With the large number of passengers on Allure, in Nassau, Cozumel and Falmouth they set up outside xray and scanning areas to prevent smuggling alcohol onto the ship and were pretty successful. We heard this is the norm where ever Allure or Oasis dock. Finally, Nov 28, scheduled for St. Thomas, should be a full moon. Take some time to go outside to the heliport or in one of the pools or hot tubs to enjoy the night. Our whole trip will be special.

 

If you have specific questions or something I can answer for you, drop me an email. FL352@aol.com. Doug

[Roy&Adrian]

Thanks for the comprehensive review, Doug - it sounds like you had an enjoyable trip. And it's nice to know ours won't start with a long wait in line to get on the ship. With 6000 other passengers, I did wonder how - and when - we would all get on board.

I have to agree with the entertainment - our last cruise on the Celebrity Century had so-so shows and dance reviews, but the stand out stars were the pair of gymnasts doing balancing tricks and hanging from ropes. They were only on for part of the shows but were amazing none the less. Diverting, as a bit of eye candy, but give me a bear with a smile any day (PS - I already have one)

[MattInFLL]

Hi guys - with a heavy heart I have to cancel this cruise. Some stuff has come up and I have to cancel one of my November cruises. Since the other cruise is reunion cruise with a bunch of friends, this one gets the cut. Maybe next year!

 

Enjoy!

[bergen66]

Still undecided about hotel. Thinking of Sheraton on the beach for 2 nights. Or the Marriott Beach Place. Anybody else have suggestions?