Nov 4, Allure of the Seas, Western Caribbean - A Review and Complete Pictorial Guide!

[gambee]

After the show mom and I still had a little bit of energy in us, so we decided to go to the Jacuzzi. I had another glass of wine and then we left. I did not bring my Nex camera this time, I did not want to risk it getting damaged, so instead I brought my underwater camera. Initially we wanted to go to the concaved jacuzzis but when we got there we noticed they were closed. So we went back the beach pool jacuzzi, there was another couple there, it was very peaceful, but somewhat windy.

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed there for about 40 minutes and then headed down to the room. When we got out I had to get mom her towel and bring it close to the Jacuzzi because I was afraid of her getting sick. It was a little cold and you never know, she is not used to that wind and neither am I.

[gambee]

When we got to the room we were exsousted, but so very happy. We had a grin from side to side it was like a dream come true for both of us. The bf was in the room and he had ordered room service. He got some food for himself and a cheese plate with a sandwich for mom and I.

 

Fried fish for the bf

 

and his dessert, I think it was a berry chocolate tart.

 

my cheese plate

 

and sandwich

 

 

As he ate in the room, mom and I headed to our precious balcony, poured some more wine (the bottle of Nobilo was almost gone by then :rolleyes:) and took the cheese plate to the balcony. Those there are my lactose pills, I am intolerant and sickly addicted to cheese, ironic...

 

 

 

This was the life we deserved and we both knew it, I put some music on, not too loud I am aware of my neighbors and I don't want to put a dent on anyones vacation. I check my emails and downloaded some 800 pictures into my computer. We also compressed some of the pictures and send it to the family, this became a ritual twice a day. I would send on average 60 pictures to about 15 people a day, I became very good at it.

 

Which brings me to my next point, wifi on the ship.

 

Edited November 13, 2012 by gambee

[reallyhooked]

Ok folks, that's it for now I have to get breakfast and work on the next set of pictures. Feel free to tell me how you like it so far? Less details maybe? or keep it the way its going?

 

Thanks for joining in :)

 

 

I am so enjoying your review. My bags are already packed.

 

Joyce:D

[gambee]

 

This are the package available at RCCL

 

Base rate is $.65 per minute or choose from one of our prepaid packages:

$35** for* 60 minutes

$55* *for* 100 minutes

$75** for* 150 minutes

$100 for* 250 minutes

$150 for* 500 minutes

 

We decided to buy the the 500 minute one, the reason why we did this was because the bf needed to be connected with the university and mom needed to be connected to her family and more particular with her mom. And I guess I could use Facebook a little more often, after all we had no excursions in Labadee and Jamiaca so we could splurge a little on the internet package. After doing the math you end up paying less than half a minute, it comes out to $0.30 a minute vs $0.65 a minute. We ended up using all but $5 out of the package, overall it was a great deal and I don't regret buying it at all.

 

 

 

I have some more info on the wifi, but I will get into that later. I am exhausted, this really takes it out of you. I am going to play a little with some videos, its been years since I play with iMovie. I get a usable video out of it I will post it tonight.

 

 

I hope everyone is enjoying this a lot, because I am drained… But I love that I can share my vacation with other people that appreciate it.

 

Thanks for following.

 

This pretty much wraps up day 1.

[Eng23]

Hmmmm. I miss one day and now you are up to 11 pages! I think I got my whole review done in 11 pages and you are at the end of Day 1 in 11 pages. Great job you are doing and I also am loving your photo's. You may not be a professional photographer but you should be. By the way, you must have had a unique perspective of the Oceanaria show from the "Secret Balcony". I watched the show from the Aqua Theater and thought it was impressive how the performers came up out of the water during the show. Of course I learned afterwards how the show was done and all the support staff (divers) were underwater. It must have been neat to observe that from above. Keep up the good work! :)

[BettyPC]

I just found your review & am LOVING IT. I had to comment on this - I was laughing... I do exactly the same thing - ginger gum, bonine, bracelet, the patch... Great job - I thank you for all your hard work on this! I especially loved the picture of the 5 ships in port - amazing the size of the RCCL ship!

 

 

 

 

Ok guys Like I promised let me just get this boring part out of the way, before I go to work. That way tomorrow I can start the fun part :-).

 

So that last week before boarding was a little hectic, bf with all those test and in addition to that I have a tendency of getting sick before every mayor trip I do, I think it's due to anxiety. So of course this trip was no exception, I was having some migraines and to combat them I took excetrin migraine(the only OTC pill that works). Well long story short I ended up messing up my stomach maybe from too much meds and stress, to the point that I had to call in sick from work on Thursday and just take care of myself. My neighbor made a huge chicken noodle soup that lasted for those days and that is all I ate during those days just to baby the stomach. But like every other trip I end up getting better the closer the travel day is.

 

On Friday I got a hair cut, I was in need of one for some time. But I was holding on for it to be closer to the cruise so I could look my best. Unfortunately the lady took way too much off, but what can you do, its not like I could glue it back on. Haven't you notice how gray your hair looks after a hair cut? Well unfortunately that's my case, but nothing that a little coloring can't fix, shhhhhhh that's my little secret ;). I also tried dieting that last week, but it ended up being a total bust, by the second day I failed to keep my strict diet. So yeah no pounds were lost prior picture madness, I think I actually put some on, oh well, lol.

 

Packing was done the day before the cruise and mostly by mom and bf. He usually takes care of all the packing, a few years ago we visited Europe for 2 weeks and I wanted to fit all my clothes in my backpack, this was during the end of November. Needless to say I did not accomplish this, the camera alone took 1/4 of the bag :D, in the end I was glad he packed, it was so cold in Paris and we needed the extra clothes. Funny note he ended getting us both sick, stubborn as he is, he refused to wear a jacked at the top of the Eiffel tower and yeah the rest is history.

 

Anyway back to the story, we all had our own packing list mom had one, he had one and I had one (he always has one prepared in case of an spontaneous trip, lol), so theoretically we would need 10 bags to fit everyones desires and wishes :rolleyes: (try putting 10 bags into that tinny cabin). I packed my back pack with my essentials, camera of course, cables, chargers, laptop, ect. I also took care of all the documentation and the anti nausea.

 

Here is my list;

 

Door decorations!

Print documents

bring empty sport bottle

Binocular*

all nausea medication

sun block

Hat

Bring highlighter pen

bring shamppo, soap and conditioner

tape for door decorations*

AAA batería for underwater cam

Bring 2 cameras with all lenses, chargers and cables.

tripod

Snorkel equipment

Small umbrellas

suit, sport coat and good cloths

shoes for rock climbing

sleeping pills

excetrin migrane

Anti-Acid meds

Lactose meds

 

 

This was our folder for documents.

 

I have mentioned before our anti nausea medication. Both mom and I are prone to get motion sickness, so we rather stock up with every possible option than have to experience a bad day at sea. We took Bonine(it works very good for us and does not make us sleepy at all), ginger pills, the pressure bracelets and also scopolamine patches (not in the picture). Obviously we don't take/use everything at the same time, but they are there just in case we need them. Some might call it overkill, but we don't think so, rather be safe than sorry.

 

The medicine bag. I ended using the medicine bag as my camera bag, I love how light this bag is, very easy to travel with. I think its over 15yrs old, she's not pretty, but she is very handy.

[knots4crewzing]

Fantastic review!!!!!! I'm clinging onto every word and pictures. Gorgeous pictures!!

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this all together. Take as long as you want...... as you can see we aren't sailing the beautiful Allure until next May:D

 

Thank you again:)

[Newwbeee]

OMG I love this review - Thank you so much for all the hard work.

 

I'm going on the Allure Dec 2nd SO EXCITED! I so appreciate a good planner!

[slh182]

I love your review. Thank you for sharing your experience. The pictures are great.

[gvlgolflady]

Gambee, I just returned from my second cruise on the Allure and your wonderful photos show me things that I have never seen. Thanks for a great review. I too love the hall from the casino to Studio B. Can't wait for the remainder of your review. Thanks

[Mapleleaf5]

 

 

 

I really regret not getting one of these, I love red velvet!

 

Great review! Yummmm What do they charge for the cupcakes?

[beachbuddy]

Gambee, What a great review. I know everyone has told you but I'll say it again..."your photos are gorgeous"!!!! I'm loving every minute of reading your review and photos!!! We're on the Allure Dec 2nd and Dec 9th. First time on an Oasis ship and first time doing a B2B. Can't wait.

[gambee]

Hmmmm. I miss one day and now you are up to 11 pages! I think I got my whole review done in 11 pages and you are at the end of Day 1 in 11 pages. Great job you are doing and I also am loving your photo's. You may not be a professional photographer but you should be. By the way, you must have had a unique perspective of the Oceanaria show from the "Secret Balcony". I watched the show from the Aqua Theater and thought it was impressive how the performers came up out of the water during the show. Of course I learned afterwards how the show was done and all the support staff (divers) were underwater. It must have been neat to observe that from above. Keep up the good work! :)

 

Yeah I ended up posting much more pictures than I thought I would. There are a lot of pictures that I really like, that is the main problem. Thanks for the nice comment, its greatly appreciated. I am definitely looking into getting into that field of work. The aft balcony was great for Oceanaria, you can see a lot of what goes on behind the scenes.

 

I just found your review & am LOVING IT. I had to comment on this - I was laughing... I do exactly the same thing - ginger gum, bonine, bracelet, the patch... Great job - I thank you for all your hard work on this! I especially loved the picture of the 5 ships in port - amazing the size of the RCCL ship!

 

Yeah I much rather be safe than sorry and bring extra meds. Thanks for joining in :)

[gambee]

Fantastic review!!!!!! I'm clinging onto every word and pictures. Gorgeous pictures!!

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this all together. Take as long as you want...... as you can see we aren't sailing the beautiful Allure until next May:D

 

Thank you again:)

 

lol, I am not sure that many people agree with you on the take as long as you like part. But I won't rush through it, I want to deliver good material all the way till the end. Thanks for your nice comment :D

 

OMG I love this review - Thank you so much for all the hard work.

 

I'm going on the Allure Dec 2nd SO EXCITED! I so appreciate a good planner!

 

You're welcome, I am sure you will love your cruise, enjoy the review :)

Edited November 14, 2012 by gambee

[gambee]

I love your review. Thank you for sharing your experience. The pictures are great.

 

Thank you :)

 

Gambee, I just returned from my second cruise on the Allure and your wonderful photos show me things that I have never seen. Thanks for a great review. I too love the hall from the casino to Studio B. Can't wait for the remainder of your review. Thanks

 

That is one of the things I loved about that ship, every day I would see something different and I am sure I missed a lot of things. I appreciate you taking the time to read my review. :)

[gambee]

Great review! Yummmm What do they charge for the cupcakes?

 

Thank you.

 

I believe $2.25 or $2.50 per cup cake and they offer package as well.

 

Gambee, What a great review. I know everyone has told you but I'll say it again..."your photos are gorgeous"!!!! I'm loving every minute of reading your review and photos!!! We're on the Allure Dec 2nd and Dec 9th. First time on an Oasis ship and first time doing a B2B. Can't wait.

 

OMG B2B I would LOVE to that. Never hesitate to comment on something, it gives me encouragement to keep on going strong.

 

Thank you for your comment :)

[gambee]

So as it seems I pretty much forgot everything I knew about video editing, I've spend a few hours catching up with the software and I still have much work to do as far as the videos goes.

 

The good news is that I have separated all the day 2 pictures and edited them. Tomorrow I work all day, but I will bring my computer to work and try to start writing my day two. Just a spoiler, it was a very funny day. Well more like painful for me, but it will be funny for you :D

 

Please feel free to leave your comments, questions or input, it is always welcomed. I will reply from my phone as the day goes by.

 

Have a good night everyone and don't let the bed bugs bite :D

Edited November 14, 2012 by gambee

[knots4crewzing]

You have a nice night too!:)

[BecciBoo]

 

Have a good night everyone and don't let the bed bugs bite :D

 

Love love loving it! My Mom said that to me every night of my life for the first 10 years or so. Sorta like "UPSA DAISY". I love the old cliche's. Love your photos as well, keep them coming!:D

[funfamilyof6]

Gambee you are sooooo talented. I love your pictures, great detail!!!! I laughed so much when I read the part about your safe spa choice. Several years ago, for my birthday, my husband gave me a certificate for a spa treatment. Let's just say I never used it and my husband learned a lesson on what not to buy me. :o :eek: :)

 

Keep up the great work, we are all enjoying it!!!

[mdhill]

LOVING this so far. My fiance came across your review today and told me to take a look. I love the pictures & the thorough details. It's making us very excited for our honeymoon cruise on Allure December 30!! :D

Excited to read more!

[BearBear69]

lol, I am not sure that many people agree with you on the take as long as you like part. But I won't rush through it, I want to deliver good material all the way till the end. Thanks for your nice comment :D

 

 

Dont rush!.....take as long as you wish and dont stress over us all chompin at the bit to want more and more :)

 

...we want you to keep your job, your relations, your family, pets, and bank account......

 

....we will be patient.

Edited November 14, 2012 by BearBear69

[dmwnc1959]

I highly recommend Giovanni's just stay away from those Lamb shops.

 

It is actually on my extensive 'Where to Eat Each Meal' graph twice; once for embarkation lunch and the next evening for dinner. Looking forward to it even MORE!!! :D

[BillOh]

Initially we wanted to go to the concaved jacuzzis but when we got there we noticed they were closed. So we went back the beach pool jacuzzi, there was another couple there, it was very peaceful, but somewhat windy.

 

You should have went to the solarium hot tub, its empty in there at night and shielded from the wind. They have both canitlivered tubs closed at the same time? That irritates me, my biggest complaint with Royal Caribbean is when they service their hot tubs. My wife and I are use to a soak before bed. It wouldn't kill them to wait until midnight to do some of the work. Sometimes at night we have to check 4 or 5 hot tubs to find one open. Its a ritual any more.

[gambee]

Love love loving it! My Mom said that to me every night of my life for the first 10 years or so. Sorta like "UPSA DAISY". I love the old cliche's. Love your photos as well, keep them coming!:D

 

Thank you :-)

 

Gambee you are sooooo talented. I love your pictures, great detail!!!! I laughed so much when I read the part about your safe spa choice. Several years ago, for my birthday, my husband gave me a certificate for a spa treatment. Let's just say I never used it and my husband learned a lesson on what not to buy me. :o :eek: :)

 

Keep up the great work, we are all enjoying it!!!

 

Yeah the spa was really intimidating for me, but it ended up being very nice. Ill mention it later on.