Another cruiser just off the Allure

[Dolby1000]

Just got home tonight from 7 outstanding days on the Allure. I do plan on posting a review, but it will take several days to put together all my notes and pics.

Overall, a 9.5 out of 10, just a great experience. I know there are a lot of Allure reviews out there, but one more couldn't hurt.

 

Not to sound like a broken record, loved the ship, loved the shows, loved the food (damn that roast beef sandwich is addicting, I'm having withdrawal already), really liked our Western itinerary.

 

Potential Titles are:

 

Day 0 - Is this Miami or Kansas? Or, we're not even on the cruise ship yet and already I have to do laundry!!

 

Day 1 - You put your elbows where? Or, met Art, he is going to follow you around the next 7 days.

 

Day 2 - Osso Buco is what? Or, what do you do with the 6 of clubs and the 3 of diamonds?

 

Day 3 - Whee!! Or, Barefoot doesn't mean bare feet.

 

Day 4 - There is always one. Or, we do nothing at all.

 

Day 5 - C day, or, we improve on the doing nothing thingy.

 

Day 6 - Who is Olympia, or, how much for Vanilla?

 

Day 7 - How survive a case of the "2"s, or, wait, how many more sandwiches can I have?

 

Day 8 - Homeward and final notes.

 

Please let me know if anyone has any questions. I do hope to post pictures, so it might be a few days before I can get started.

 

Finally, a quick call out to Gambee and Kanscocoa (I hope I spelled that right, I'm tying this half asleep), your reviews of the Allure and other ships really helped put our trip together. I cannot thank you enough!

 

OWD

[jaredsmom]

Looking forward to your review...I get to enjoy Allure beginning next Sunday:D

[mechcc]

We were on the Allure in Oct & loved her. We just got back today from the Carnival Magic & met up with the Allure in Cozumal. We wanted to go back to the Allure after our shore excursion. Did you feel the seas sailing from Cozumal that evening? We did but the seas didn't seem that rough.

[alaska_planner]

looking forward to your review!! :)

[Keith1010]

enjoyed your post.

 

Keith

[Lionesss]

Very nice start..........

Waiting for more.

Sea Ya

[LBumb]

all set

[Susiecruisey]

cant wait!!!!!

[Dolby1000]

We were on the Allure in Oct & loved her. We just got back today from the Carnival Magic & met up with the Allure in Cozumal. We wanted to go back to the Allure after our shore excursion. Did you feel the seas sailing from Cozumal that evening? We did but the seas didn't seem that rough.

 

We noticed the seas were actually acting like the sea out side of Cozumel. We were on deck 8, from which we could see actual waves and some white caps, but really, nothing unusual for that area.

 

But on the Allure, we didn't feel a thing, seriously, not a thing. We were in the dining room and felt nothing. Blue Planet went off without a hitch.

 

Allure is the smoothest sailing ship we've ever been on.

[beej]

Okay, I'm here, so let the show and tell begin or where are they hiding now!

[KansCocoa]

Just got home tonight from 7 outstanding days on the Allure. I do plan on posting a review, but it will take several days to put together all my notes and pics.

Overall, a 9.5 out of 10, just a great experience. I know there are a lot of Allure reviews out there, but one more couldn't hurt.

 

Not to sound like a broken record, loved the ship, loved the shows, loved the food (damn that roast beef sandwich is addicting, I'm having withdrawal already), really liked our Western itinerary.

 

 

Finally, a quick call out to Gambee and Kanscocoa (I hope I spelled that right, I'm tying this half asleep), your reviews of the Allure and other ships really helped put our trip together. I cannot thank you enough!

 

OWD

 

Thank you! And you're welcome! I'm glad my review helped - and I am SUPER glad you had a GREAT time! Isn't the Allure just grand?! I can't wait for another review - there's never too many reviews, as it helps us either plan - or relive - or dream - about cruising!

[reney313]

Never too many reviews on Allure for me....I still have 8 1/2 months before my sailing. Looking forward to reading....it sounds great already!

[sylveve]

We arrived back home on Sunday from the Allure.

I agree, it was great, in fact it is definitely in my top 3 of about 25 cruises.

Entertainment was great all of them, maybe one of the comedians wasn't too good, but who cares.!!!!

Cabin (Balcony D4 6262 was smaller than anticipated and only had 3 Drawers but enought hanging space with plenty of hangers). However, the position was perfect especially for people who can't walk too far.

The staff (everyone we came in contact with) were super and very helpful and polite.

I wish we were still there even though I thought the food was just OK except for the Wednesday Night Rack of Lamb in MDR which was superb.

If you cannot enjoy this ship, then stay away and watch TV.

[Dolby1000]

Okay, let me see if I can start this. I've never posted pictures on a post before, so this is to see if I can do it.

 

 

This is a picture of the Oasis of the Seas from a nearby bridge.

[Dolby1000]

So, the following posts, of which there are likely to be many, will be a journal of our experiences while sailing on the Allure of the Seas. I bow my head to reviewers like Gambee and KanScocoa who have provided outstanding and highly entertaining reviews of this ship. So, I’ll try to keep it entertaining, but my style of writing is not a breezy or humorous. Nor do we seem to find the same type of adventures and crisis that seem to befall these writers, and of course, it is these adventures that make their reports so much fun to read. So, I will do my best, and perhaps, be able to provide an amusing thought or adventure or two. Let’s begin!

 

Six o’clock already I was just in the middle of a dream. . . . . . . .(name the song/band)

 

Actually, it was 4:45 and we were awakening to our dream, our dream of sailing on the Allure of the Seas. Our ship would be leaving on Sunday, April 21 and going on the western Caribbean swing. It was now 4:46 AM on Saturday and we were arriving a day early to get the travel portion of the trip out of the way. Even though it was very early, no snooze button needed today!

 

Who are we? Well, there is just myself and my DW. We are both in our 50’s and have 5 previous cruises on RCCL under our belts. Our last cruise was 5 years ago on the Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan. Previously, we had sailed on the Grandeur in April ’97, Rhapsody in Feb. ’99, Serenade Nov. ’03 and the Brilliance in Apr.’07, that one, the Brilliance had been our favorite as it went to the Panama Canal, a big thing on my “bucket” list.

 

Last fall we had no trips scheduled anywhere. DW knows I always like to have something, anything, to look forward to. I begin to read about the Oasis and the Allure and was intrigued by their size. DW said that she agreed a cruise sounded good, around our anniversary in early April. We also agreed that we wanted to avoid a cruise with lots of ports as they tend to get tiresome of late nights and early port days. I came across the western Caribbean itineraries for Allure and Oasis, with only 3 ports of call, sounded promising. We had not been to any of these ports. Twice we have tried to get to Labadee, only to have the port cancelled due to political unrest or heavy seas (before they built the pier) and we had never been to Jamaica or Cozumel.

 

Prices around our actual anniversary (April 5) were quite high as it was Easter week. When I looked two week out, they came down considerably. We also have to be aware of DW’s work schedule because she works in accounting and has to be there for every month’s close. This limits the weeks we can travel. So, since we wanted the western itinerary and the 3rd week of April, Allure it was.

 

I kidded DW that we were actually skipping a class of ships, going from the Brilliance (which I think is Radiance class) directly to the Oasis class, we skipped the Freedom class. So, we’re going to have to make that one up later. However, I was very excited to be on the Allure. One of the attractions were the shows. I know that RCCL puts a lot of effort into their shows so I was looking forward to the various options open to us on the Allure.

 

Next question, what cabin to choose? Well, we are, minimally, balcony snobs. Then, for the Panama Canal cruise, we were able to get a junior suite. Since we sailed the Adventure in late November, we got a great deal on a Grand Suite and we found ourselves to now be Grand Suite snobs. After pouring over budgets, we decided to go for the GS. I liked their location on the ship, mid-aft, near stairs and the elevators. Knowing that this ship is 17 decks high, I looked for something in the center and we choose 8660. This is an ideal location as you can walk up or down to most things, except maybe the pool and sports zone. It is on the same deck as Central Park and gives you immediate access to such wonderful places as the Park Café (sigh) (again, sigh).

 

Once the date and cabin were set, all that there was left to do was make the payments and wait. And wait. And wait, through a nasty winter and even worse spring. I also joined our meet and mingle team on Cruise Critic. This was very helpful as starting in February, we started posting daily if the reservations had opened up. Reservations you say?

 

Let’s talk about that for just sec (I know, you want pictures, well, hold’on, I got ‘em coming). In trade, I am a Project Manager. I plan. I plan everything. Oh boy do I plan. I really tend to annoy those who don’t plan. And travelers, you can put us in two groups, planners (me, yeah) and those who most enjoy the “just go” philosophy. And you know who you are. Well, ships like the Allure and the Oasis are built for planners. RCCL is really good at providing lots of entertainment options. As this was the allure (see what I did there) for us sailing, I wanted to get the most out of our time on the ship. So, God Bless the people at RCCL, they gave me an excuse to plan! I needed to plan our dinners and our shows so that we could see as much as we could see. And, if you are not a planner, well, then prepare for disappointment as you are going to miss out on some stuff. For these ships – advantage – the planners! And, really, if you want to see a show or eat in a restaurant, plan beforehand. If you wait until you get on the ship you may not get the time you want, or horrors, you may miss out completely. In all seriousness, even if you are not a planner, and I do get that, do spend the time to make reservations for the not-to-be-missed stuff. You can do it on the website and reserving show times there is open to all cruisers equally, it is not a suite perk.

 

So, plan I did. I choose my time dining as, and I have said this before, early dinner is too early and late dinner is too late. Most of our dinners I scheduled between 6:30 and 7:00 as that would give one enough time to make a later show. We were not too interested in the add-on restaurants, other than Giovanni’s table and this we did leave open until we were on the cruise. Which ended up possibly being a mistake that I’ll get into on day 1 or day 2.

 

So, in February we did our show schedule. It was a bit difficult to work everything in, and we did not see everything, even with all my wonderful planning! But, here is the show schedule I put together:

Day 1 – OceanAria at 9:00 PM (first show of the cruise)

Day 2 – Chicago at 10:30 PM

Day 3 – Comedy club at 9:30

Day 4 – Headliner early show

Day 5 – Ice Games early show

Day 6 – Blue Planet late show

Day 7 – no show – had to pack!

 

So, now I had my dining and show schedule set, all we needed to do was wait through March and most of April and we were good to go!

 

Of course, those weeks dragged on endlessly. Mother Nature was also being nasty as in the Midwest spring just would not come. We live in Lisle, IL (suburb of Chicago) and winter will not let go. So, all we could do was dream of at least a week of warmer weather. Between March 1 and April 20, when we left, March was colder than January, we got rain/snow 2 out of every 3 days, it averaged 15-20 degrees below normal (some days our high was lower than the average low) and, then, 2 days before we left, we got 9 inches of rain in 27 hours. It was hard just to get out of Lisle as so many roads and areas were flooded. Our house was fine, there was some leakage from a seam somewhere on our roof, but this was wind driven and once the winds shifted, we stayed dry. Our small development area drains really well, so although it was hard to get into our sub-division, once there, our roads were passable and our basements dry.

 

Adding to the pre-vacation stress was that my MIL had a stroke two weeks before we left. It was only touch and go for a day and, long story short, we had her settled in a rehab facility and she was stable and in recovery mode before we left. My SIL and BIL came into town while we were away to check in on her and everything was fine, well, as fine as it could be. With their blessings, we decided to go. And, I’ll get the end here, when we returned everything remained the same, in rehab, slow recovery, so we didn’t miss anything.

 

So, finally, where was I, oh yes, coming into our dream. DW and I decided that once we left the house around 5AM on Saturday, all our troubles would be put behind us and we would focus only on enjoying the next 8 days. I did the mistake of following the Fort Lauderdale weather forecast, and after several sunny, beautiful days, the same storm system that ravaged our area was going to stall a cold front somewhere over FL, so now rain, in the form of thunderstorms, was now in the forecast. Sigh, really, don’t need to see any more rain for a long, long time. Well, only a 50% chance, so we’ll cross our fingers.

 

We get on I355 south, heading towards Midway and the traffic report gives out all sorts of accidents, slippery spots, and other wonderful good news about the Saturday morning traffic. Seems that the temps had gotten just below freezing and some drizzle, combined with already damp conditions, had iced up the roads! Well, by now, the sky was clear and sun was coming up and thankfully, our road conditions were fine.

 

We arrived at Midway around 5:30 for our 7:30 flight. I had already checked us in and we had “A” boarding passes, so I was assured of my important aisle seat. No issues regarding checking in or getting through security and the flight departed about 15 minutes late due to needing de-icing, in late April, no less!

 

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale about 20 minutes late due to having to fly well east over the ocean as opposed to coming in from the west. Our second suitcase was 5th from the last, but, at least both of them arrived. Found taxi and asked him to take us to the Hyatt at Pier 66, our place to stay for one night.

 

It was not raining, in fact, skies were pretty clear and the sun was warm. The cab driver asked if we wanted air-conditioning but we said no, we wanted to fell the warm breeze, it was nice to feel it after months and months of being cold. It was only 5 minutes to the hotel and we got there around 12:30. Check in time was 4PM, but they gave us a nice room overlooking the canal right when we arrived, which was much appreciated.

 

Soon we were in shorts and at the pool restaurant. Although the service was a tad slow the food itself was surprisingly good for a pool bar place. We had fruit salad (we love fruit salad) and a chicken Panini that was superb, with a sun-dried tomato aioli that was a killer.

 

I took these the next morning during a persistent drizzle.

 

 

 

 

We wanted to take a swim, but DW had forgotten her spare pair of reading glasses and a Walgreens was only “just across the bridge”. Well, how long could that take? Well, it is a long bridge and my DW doesn’t walk that fast and, of course, we need to stop and take pictures along the way. So, our quick trip to Walgreens for reading glasses took almost an hour. But, like I said, we got some decent pictures of the 6 ships in port and watched, from afar, a bit of the air show.

 

Finally, here now, are some pictures from the bridge.

 

 

 

 

Continued in a future post. . . . . . .

 

OWD

[Dolby1000]

Day 0 - Continued. . . . . .

 

By now, it was past 3PM, and I really, really, really, really, really, really wanted to see some of the cruise ships leave Fort Lauderdale. Heck, I’ve been watching them for weeks and I needed to see this live. It was one of the reasons we stayed at the Hyatt since it was so close to the beach. Poor DW was tired though and after climbing over the bridge on the return trip from Walgreens, I could tell I was pushing things a bit. But, we really didn’t think we had a lot of time to spare as I expected ships to start to leave around 4 – 4:30 PM. But, DW is a trooper and we walked on. It really wasn't that far, but the area is a bit difficult to navigate and find the right beach entrance. So, without a great map, I took us the long way around! And, it was hot, and of course, we aren't used to it. We had water and soda on us, and we had used sunscreen, but still it was a bit of a walk for DW.

 

We made it! I found DW a place to rest and started taking pictures of the area. It was nearing 4PM and many others were gathering on the beach to watch the parade. Someone pointed out to sea and asked, is that a submarine? Why, yes, yes it was.

 

 

A picture of the cruise ships from the beach.

 

 

 

We kept looking in the port. Nothing moved. Really, nothing was moving. The crowd continued to gather, and strangely enough, many of them were on our meet and mingle, yet somehow we failed to recognize each other. The sun was hot, but what was that dark area forming to the northwest?

 

The darkness started to spread. I knew it likely was a thunderstorm, but I hoped the sea breeze would keep it inland, and for awhile, it looked like that would happen. For awhile. Was that thunder?

 

Now, during our walk to the beach, I did notice that there was nothing between the beach and the hotel to provide us cover. All the buildings are condos and there aren’t any public areas one could take cover during a storm. It was beach or hotel, I didn’t see anything inbetween. So, now, it became a race, would some ship, any FREAKING SHIP YOU HEAR ME, leave the port before the weather moved through.

 

We heard the alarm bells go off on the Oasis right at 4:30, so I knew that they would leave around 5PM. Then, the Carnival Freedom fired up and started to move. It looked like she would be first out of the waterway. She gracefully (and I don’t care what line you are, cruise ships move gracefully) navigated past the Oasis and turned into the channel. We decided to stay as the skies became darker, and darker and now, damn it, you could see the lightning. Words not appropriate for this board left my lips.

 

Here are my pictures of the Carnival Freedom leaving port. You can see the dark skies behind.

 

 

 

 

By now, the storm was imminent. We quickly tried to flee the beach but it was too late. We had hardly left the beach and gotten into the sub-division behind the condos when the storm broke.

 

Here is where I think, no, I know I did something foolish. Running, well, walking quickly as DW cannot run, I noticed a parking garage we could have taken shelter in. Upon reflection we really should have done that. The worst of the storm was rather short lived and we would have been far safer there than trying to hoof it back to the Hyatt. I was most concerned about the lightning as I know Florida leads the US in the number of people killed by lightning strikes and we were seriously exposed.

 

Thankfully, no lightning was ever close to us, not nearer than 3 miles by my count, but, still close enough that we really needed to have protected ourselves better. Not something I will ever do to us again. I remember looking back towards the channel at one point and there was the Oasis, midway through the channel, towering over all the little buildings around us. She was leaving the port while the storm was in full blow, so it couldn't have been that bad.

 

Except, the next day, during the meet and mingle, other cruisers who were at the beach told us that there were actual tornado warnings for the storm. Tornado warnings, like you might see in Kansas regularly, but surely not in Miami! Now, I’m from the Midwest, and I know a funnel cloud when I see one. I didn't see one. Nor were the winds that bad and there was no hail, which traditionally accompanies a storm of tornadic proportions. If there was rotation spotted on radar, it was in a cell not close to where we were. Still, I can brag about being outside during a tornado warning and surviving.

 

However, it did rain hard and by the time we were back at the hotel, we were as soaked as if we had just gone swimming anyway. Drat, I could have gone swimming and I missed that opportunity! Normally, I don’t mind a little rain or getting wet, but DW is a diabetic and she wears an insulin pump that requires a PDM device that she keeps in a fanny pack. The one she had on was not water resistant, it is black leather and took a direct hit as we were walking into the wind, hence, walking into the rain. Thankfully, we had the Walgreen’s bag for the glasses and the sunscreen and we wrapped her PDM in that and it stayed dry. However, all her little papers, the PDM manual and her diary for her blood sugar numbers were thoroughly soaked. As were our passports. So, she was pretty upset, and our shoes were thoroughly soaked, and I mean inside and out, and there was no way they would dry before we needed to leave in the morning. Of course, it was her favorite pair of shoes on top of that. She was a little pissed at DH (that would be me). Not the way I wanted to start us out.

 

I told her the papers would dry, just leave them out and not touch them too much, the shoes would dry and would be fine and look back that we had a bit of an adventure and a story to tell. She calmed a little. The critical item, the PDM, was not wet at all, so everything being wet was an annoyance, sure, but not an end all to the trip.

 

Our poor soaking wet shoes.

 

 

 

We showered and changed into dry clothes. She and I both had a spare set of shoes, so there was no need to run out and get new ones. Here are our poor, soaking wet shoes, a reminder of our little adventure. Looking through the book of hotel features, I found out the marina had a laundry, so I could put our clothes through the dryer and that issue would be delt with. We only had on t-shirts and shorts, so nothing that we couldn’t put through the dryer anyway. I took that task upon myself. See, here is the hallway to the laundry room.

 

We had dinner reservations that evening at Grille 66, which is located at the Hyatt but not IN the Hyatt. Of course, it was still raining, not heavily, but hard enough that DW didn’t want to dash through it. We waited about 10 minutes after our reservation and the rain lightened up enough so that we made it to the restaurant with only a few drops.

 

Dinner was great, I had NY strip steak and DW had halibut and we both shared the Caesar Salad. We enjoyed visiting with a couple next to us that were from NYC (Queens) and had a wonderful time. DW relaxed, we had a few drinks and shared dessert. It was all better.

 

I dried the clothes and decided that I had to try that pool. So I put on my bathing suit and had a wonderful swim (the pool is open 24 hours). I returned to the room and DW was already in bed, it was a long day. I joined her and we went to sleep, dreaming of our exciting days to come.

 

End of day one.

 

OWD

[Familygoboston]

Now that I'm done writing, another photo review to read...bookmarking...thanks for sharing! Too bad ya didn't like it:rolleyes:

[Dolby1000]

Here are a few left over pictures from Day 0:

 

The bridge at pier 66 in an open position:

 

 

Picture of the canal, complete with thumb added:

 

 

Celebrity ship from the beach

 

 

Couple more of the Carnival passage:

 

 

 

Waiting for the skies to clear to get to Grille 66

 

 

Day 1 coming up!

 

OWD

[Keith1010]

Enjoying the photos and the write ups.

 

Keith

[Peeker28]

YAY!! I love these reviews I learn something new everytime I read one!!

[rcrdale]

Are you able to get the cruise compasses scanned if you have them? We (DW and I) will be on a B2B on the Allure the end of November and I already have the Eastern Caribbean compasses, now I need the Western Caribbean compasses. This way I can, as you did, plan everything ahead.

 

Great start to your review and I look forward to reading more!

:D

[tarajean1962]

Sorry for the rocky start to your trip. I'm more than sure that it will gt better though!:) Your dinner sounds delicious.

 

Tara

[petesweet]

Subscribing

[Dolby1000]

Are you able to get the cruise compasses scanned if you have them? We (DW and I) will be on a B2B on the Allure the end of November and I already have the Eastern Caribbean compasses, now I need the Western Caribbean compasses. This way I can, as you did, plan everything ahead.

 

Great start to your review and I look forward to reading more!

:D

 

Yes, I can scan them, but I won't be able to until next week. Still going through my 600 or so pictures.

 

OWD

[Dolby1000]

Sorry, it looks like I won't finish day 1 today. So, here are a few pictures from Day 1 to keep everyone interested:

 

Looking up from the Promenade:

 

 

Fort Lauderdale:

 

 

Solarium pool:

 

 

Southeast from the cruise ship - clouds are from the morning rain showers:

 

 

Sports Pool reflection in the Viking Crown lounge windows:

 

 

Port Lauderdale channel to the sea: