LIVE: Allure Western 7/1-7/8/12 with SilentBob007 and family

[dz9yvr]

Carousel by cmong, on Flickr

 

Unfinished horse by cmong, on Flickr

 

Sailaway by cmong, on Flickr

 

Royal Promenade by cmong, on Flickr

 

Boardwalk by cmong, on Flickr

 

 

Hi Bob, We were also on the July 1 cruise. Do you remember when you took the pictures of the Carousel? Was it July 1 or July 2, morning or evening?

 

Thanks

[jlrn366419]

Did you notice if there were coke freestyle machines?

[megr1125]

Did you enjoy the Mariott Harbor Beach? How does it compare with the Renaissance (if you have stayed there)? My husband has reward points and we are trying to figure out which Mariott to stay at pre-cruise. We stayed at the Reniassance two years ago before our Oasis cruise and it was just fine. We arrived really late on Friday night, before our last cruise, so we just needed a place to stay. This time, assuming we can get an early enough flight, we plan on having most of the day to enjoy FLL, so having the beach might be nice. We appreaciate any input.

 

Not to step on Chris' excellent review...BUT as a lifetime marriott platinum member..the Harbor Beach Marriott is exponentially nicer than the Renaissance..Mr. Marriott spends the month of February at harbor beach..

 

i have stayed there (actually both places ) several times, and once in each i had that "florida smell" but it wasn't horrible.....

 

if you have the points, stay at harbor beach...

[jrljel]

Great review! I will be on Alllure in four days, can't wait! Did you happen to notice if they had the iPhones for rent onboard like they had on Oasis? I am with a group and we will definitely need them. Loved having them on Oasis and when we were on the inaugural of Allure, they didn't have them yet. Just wondering if they have them now.

[mgray5308]

Don't have my computer here, or I'd post it again for you, but you can find it here, post # 9

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1539995

Its in the port side shortly after leaving the beach hotel strip...there was actually someone riding it when my DH took this.

Thanks, I see the flowrider. It's pretty big. Amazing.

Loving your review. I hope to do the Oasis (Easter) next year or 2014.

[suizas]

Great review! I will be on Alllure in four days, can't wait! Did you happen to notice if they had the iPhones for rent onboard like they had on Oasis? I am with a group and we will definitely need them. Loved having them on Oasis and when we were on the inaugural of Allure, they didn't have them yet. Just wondering if they have them now.

 

FOUR DAYS!!! sweet! can you swing by the Flowriders and check to see if they are in 'full swing?' (peole doing tricks and such... not just boogie boarding?) Thanks, and enjoy your cruise!

 

~~ 25 days to go for us ~~

[silentbob007]

Hey Bob! Did you ever get to do the sailaway on the helipad? I remeber you saying it didn't happen in the first few days.

 

No, I never received an invite. Someone reported seeing guests out there, so maybe it was a suite-only gathering.

[silentbob007]

Hi Bob, We were also on the July 1 cruise. Do you remember when you took the pictures of the Carousel? Was it July 1 or July 2, morning or evening?

 

Thanks

 

I believe I took them on July 2nd in the morning while waiting for the C&A show at the Aqua Theater to start (right before the M&M).

[silentbob007]

Did you notice if there were coke freestyle machines?

 

I did not see any.

[silentbob007]

Great review! I will be on Alllure in four days, can't wait! Did you happen to notice if they had the iPhones for rent onboard like they had on Oasis? I am with a group and we will definitely need them. Loved having them on Oasis and when we were on the inaugural of Allure, they didn't have them yet. Just wondering if they have them now.

 

I'm pretty sure they did ... at several of the shows I noticed people fiddling with iPhones that looked like they had plans of the ship on them. I suppose they could have been personal phones.

[jrljel]

Thank you! I am sooo hoping that to be the case. I may do a live report while onboard but I'll wait and see how fast the internet connection is. Sometimes it is just too darn slow!

[Familygoboston]

Thanks, I see the flowrider. It's pretty big. Amazing.

Loving your review. I hope to do the Oasis (Easter) next year or 2014.

 

Thanks! I'm adding this one to my "list" to prepare for my Allure trip....this is why I love reviews!

 

One of the most amazing things about that Flowrider in the yard was not just that it must cost a mint to own one, but that it was occupying a primo waterfront lot:eek: The whole operation has to be a few mil just to catch a wave...wow!

Sorry for the hijack Bob!

[birdylady]

I assume this was because Giovanni’s is one of the choices for “manadatory” first night dining for those with a meal package.

 

So, EVERYONE that purchases a meal package MUST go to Giovanni's for dinner on the first night??? That's goning to make me rethink the meal package as I like to meet my MDR waiter and dining companions the first night (granted, will most likely be family only so the second part of the sentence may not matter :rolleyes: )

 

Day 2: At Sea

After all of the morning duties had been completed, we returned to a made-up cabin (having placed the card in our door slot when we left). From there came the decision … do we go to the Meet and Mingle down at the comedy club at 10:30, or go to the Crown and Anchor repeater party at the Aqua Theater at 10:15. I’ll admit it … I decided to go to the party while the other three went to the Meet and Mingle. They reported later that only 15-20 people showed up at the Meet and Mingle (with over 50 signed up) meaning there were plenty of prizes to go around (they returned to the cabin with two bottles of wine and some other gear).

 

I'm actually surprised that they would schedule M&M to coincide with the repeaters party.

 

Day 6: Cozumel

As has become our usual, we navigated through the port area, headed out the gate, and took a right to Puerta Maya (the Carnival pier). This is a much nicer shopping center than Royal Caribbean’s, though there has been progress made at the mall across the street. Puerta Maya, though, has many of the same shops found downtown (Cinco Soles with Pancho’s Backyard, Ron Jon, Cariloha, Diamonds International, etc). We shopped around for a bit, then grabbed lunch at Pancho’s Backyard.

Never knew about Puerta Maya. As my main goal for next year is to shop for more silver I was wondering how the shopping there was compared to downtown. Did you notice many 'independent' silver shops. How big an area (number of stores/blocks, etc..) is there in Puerta Maya compared to downtown?

 

BTW- Thank you for this wonderful review. I know I'll be referring back to it many times as I work on our May cruise.

 

Thanx,

Erika

[silentbob007]

Thank you! I am sooo hoping that to be the case. I may do a live report while onboard but I'll wait and see how fast the internet connection is. Sometimes it is just too darn slow!

 

During the day (sea days) it seemed to be a bit slow ... I'm guessing there is A LOT of traffic on it. In port or in the earlier morning it wasn't too bad ... though upload speeds are horrible if you want to add pictures.

[silentbob007]

So, EVERYONE that purchases a meal package MUST go to Giovanni's for dinner on the first night??? That's goning to make me rethink the meal package as I like to meet my MDR waiter and dining companions the first night (granted, will most likely be family only so the second part of the sentence may not matter :rolleyes: )

 

I don't think you can choose a couple of venues, but I'm fairly sure you have to go somewhere.

 

 

 

Never knew about Puerta Maya. As my main goal for next year is to shop for more silver I was wondering how the shopping there was compared to downtown. Did you notice many 'independent' silver shops. How big an area (number of stores/blocks, etc..) is there in Puerta Maya compared to downtown?

 

It has been a long time since I've gone downtown, but I'm sure there are many more stores there. However, Puerta Maya is decent sized. It is literally a few minutes once you get outside the port gate, so you might go over there early to check it out, then make a decision about whether or not you want to pay to go downtown.

[silentbob007]

If anyone is curious, here is the photobook I made from my pictures on Shutterfly ....

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/projectdetail.sfly?fid=20b438a16945ad2c2f762628e38c6d8e&sid=0CbuHLhyxYsWF8&key=0CbuHLhyxYsWF8&shareProjectTitle=Shared+photo+book+from+Christopher&pid=SFLY&cid=SHARE3PSJXX

 

I love Shutterfly in that they tend to have a free photo book coupon fairly often. Right now you can get a free book through their promotion with Anderson Cooper:

 

http://www.andersoncooper.com/category/shutterfly/

 

About $8 shipped is a great price for what you receive ... I don't even print photos anymore.

[marci22]

From the Boardwalk, we headed up to Deck 11 to visit the Concierge Lounge for a coffee...We stopped and talked to the concierge, and at my request, he placed a small sticker on my SeaPass card to allow us into shows without reservations (except comedy, I believe).

 

Which one was it? I asked and was told, "It is first come, first served". I wanted to say..."b-b-but SilentBob said you would!"

[silentbob007]

I forget his name, but it was the French one.

[marci22]

I forget his name, but it was the French one.

 

I think that's Rahim. He's the one who told me no.

[silentbob007]

Odd ... I have no idea why.

[dacsmom]

Thank you for the wonderful review and pictures. I enjoyed it very much.