Another cruiser just off the Allure

[jakesmom04]

While traveling on the slow rising tidal star wars bar thingy, which we had pretty much to ourselves, we spoke with the RCCL rep controlling our ride, Nicki. Nicki, who also hosts the comedy show, lives in Miami and it was a real treat talking with her.

 

We also just loved Nichole (Nicki).....she was just crazy. She had us all making faces and acting crazy while they were doing a taping with security and Brooks.

[Dolby1000]

Day 6 – Cozumel

 

We had an exciting half-day in front of us. Even though I was up late the night before, there I was, back on our balcony, getting sunrise pictures over this small island.

 

 

Since we had a bit of a strenuous morning ahead, we decided to stoke up at breakfast and went to the Windjammer. This was one of the few meals that was a disappointment. We should have stuck with the Park Café or tried the Solarium (which we had totally forgotten about). Everything that needed to be warm or hot was cold, not lukewarm, but cold. I hate having to put cold butter on cold waffles. Since DW is a diabetic we wanted to good strong breakfast and we ended up eating just enough to get us by. Thankfully, there was fresh fruit and some pastries, so DW was ready for the morning.

 

Which, was, swimming with dolphins. Something was always wanted to do.

 

A bit of a side note here, when we booked this excursion, it took place at Chankanaab National Park. Two weeks before the cruise it was changed to Dolphinaris. Not sure why the change. With the new venue, they also threw in lunch. But unless it included a Kummelweck, we weren’t interested.

 

Our swim time was 9:30 AM. Dolphinaris is only about 10-15 minutes away and we easily found the guides in the mall next to the pier.

 

Once you arrive, it is $3 for a locker, which I recommend, as you cannot take anything into the pool with you, including wedding rings. We did not know this, but thankfully, after 27 years, mine was able to slip off my finger, as were DW’s. I kidded her that I was now free from 27 years of bondage. She knew I was kidding. We tease each other all the time. Really, we do. Seriously, I was kidding.

 

No sun tan lotion is allowed either, if you put some on, you have to shower it off. Which was fine with me since I didn’t put any on anyway. The hard decision was what to do with my glasses. I am very near sighted and didn’t want to miss anything. Also, they gave you goggles to have underwater dolphin viewing that barely fitted over my glasses and I didn’t want them to break.

 

There are some small storage boxes at the pool, so you can store some stuff, like towels and such, there. At the end, I decided against the glasses. I think it worked out pretty well.

 

We opted for the “swimming” with the dolphins, which included being pulled by one.

 

So, we got into our life vests (mandatory) and our group of 8 made for the pool. We got some instruction from the trainer, which all of us promptly forgot. But, in a nutshell, here is what we were going to get:

We would be in a line and the dolphin (by now we knew her name was Olympia) would swim by and we could touch it or pet it as it moved. We could also use the goggles to view her underwater where her true beauty and grace would be apparent. Don't forget to do this!!

Then, Olympia would give us each a kiss on the cheek and on the lips and we would dance with her. Finally, we would swim out into the pool and she would swim by and offer us her fins and then give us a pull across the pool.

 

This was a truly awesome experience. I have dreamed of touching and interacting with a dolphin for decades. The skin is so smooth and they are quite large when you get up close, but we were never frightened or scared.

 

What was funny was that the first two people in the pool said it was, and I quote, “freezing”. I grew up in a lake house in Wisconsin. Putting the pier in the lake required us to actually get in the lake. In May, or late April. That, my friends, is water that can be defined as "freezing". This water was merely slightly cool and you got used to it almost immediately.

 

Being kissed by the dolphin, while I was single again (remember, I had taken my wedding ring off), thankfully, DW is not one for jealousy.

 

 

So, of course, DW had to dance with it.

 

 

Ever been pulled by a dolphin? For maximum speed, be sure to straighten your arms.

 

 

My turn:

 

 

And, yes, the dolphin swim package itself is $99, where they make their profit is in the video and CD of pictures, as you cannot take pictures with your camera. Again, we knew this. Not a surprise. And, yes, we popped for the CDs and the video, because, when are we going to do this again? Is it expensive, very much so, but the smiles on DW face during this time are more priceless so we opted for the items. And, I don’t regret it.

 

Continued. . . . . .

[Dolby1000]

We skipped the lunch and returned to the ship and ate at the Dog House (DW had to drag me away from the Park Café, but I was able to snarf some chips and, course, a fruit cup). Actually, the sausages were quite good. They each had the good “snap” a quality dog must have. DW had the Sicilian and added sauerkraut to it (ewwwww) and I had the Smoke House dog with some mustard. We are from Chicago, so ketchup on any type of a dog is verboten.

 

We spent the balance of the day at the pool. I finished the Wheel of Ice and started on my second book. Dinner was back in the dining room with Mary Lee and I failed to notate what we had. I know we enjoyed it, and the company around us. Another couple had also swam with dolphins and we shared our experiences.

 

We walked, again, on Deck 15 and noticed two things, the seas were finally looking like actual seas and the wind was now much stronger on these decks. Even though the seas were slightly heavier, you didn’t feel them on the Allure, she still sailed steadily on. Even though we walked by the pools to listen to the quartet playing central park, we both stayed dry.

 

Then it was on to our final show. Somehow we had missed, or not noticed, How to Train Your Dragon on ice and several movies, including The Croones and Skyfall and, I think, a couple of others and there were several more fountain shows too.

 

But our final show was Blue Planet. Like OceanAria, there really is no plot and truthfully, I didn’t get the whole Blue Planet theme. What we did get was more singing, trapezing, trampolineing, and generally that sort of stuff. This was new casts first formal appearance. As usual, the talent here is amazing, and although I may not get the artistic themes of the show, I do get the talent and amazing tricks these guys and gals perform.

 

The next day was a sea day, so we finished the day hottubbing in the cantilevered hot tubs. Tomorrow was to be our last day and the week was finishing up all too quickly.

[Dolby1000]

Besides the live music, Allure also hosts a huge art collection.

 

Quick Quiz - What is the theme of the art on the ship? And, yes, there is an official theme, and a rather good one, at that.

 

So, all week long I was taking random pictures of various art pieces. Most of them are displayed along the 4 stairwells located next to each elevator bank. One of the joys of taking the stairs was discovering landings with different pieces of art.

 

I have posted all my pictures from the cruise on my Photobucket. But, I'm not sure how to share the link, I don't think this one will work:

 

http://s1157.photobucket.com/

 

If some could try that and let me know if it works or not I'd appreciate it. But here are six examples of the ship's art. I know one is horribly out of focus, but it was one of my favorites.

 

 

Second favorite:

 

 

Other examples:

 

 

 

 

[Domb23]

We went off the see the Rising Tide bar. How many of you think that the design of the Rising Tide bar comes from this vehicle from Star Wars – Return of the Jedi.

 

Love the review!! Love the Star Wars reference!!!

[Dolby1000]

I forgot that I had taken a short walk that afternoon. Here are some pictures from that walk:

 

The Allure from the walkway along the main road:

 

 

Trying to find our Cabin, we are on deck 8, third row from the bottom, our balcony has a towel for a tablecloth. The one with the towel on the right. We are three decks up from the crew life rafts, the barrel looking things.

 

 

Close up, again, the towel on the right.

 

 

Dolphinaris overview:

 

 

I never grow tired of looking at our ship:

 

 

No, NOT THAT ONE, THIS ONE!

 

[fridaythe13th]

We just booked and I started a list of "what not to miss". I enjoyed your review and pictures. Saw "our" cabin from your zip line pictures and it looks like it will be perfect for us. Let the countdown begin.....

[Dolby1000]

Day 7 – Is it almost over already!?!?

 

All too soon it was Saturday and the trip was nearly over. Our breakfast was a combination of favorites from the Park Café and the Promenade Café. We tried to make them last. Really, I could take the Park Café home with me. I would even be willing, once home, to actually pay for the items. Yes, yes I would. Sadly, we’ll have to go back to sea to re-discover these wonderful places.

 

We saved one last event for this day and it was the behind the scenes tour. It is $150 a person so it is not cheap. You get to see:

Galley for the main dining room

All the food storage areas

Route 95

All the laundry facilities

Main Engineering Control Room

Crew bars and cafeteria

Go out on the helipad

Bridge

 

It takes over 3 hours, so be prepared to give up a serious portion of your day. Several recent cruise reviewers have posted pictures from this tour, so I have only a couple to add.

 

Preparing Shepard's Pie for the next day:

 

 

Appetizers for that night (I had the second one from the right in the fifth row)

 

 

Baking rolls:

 

 

Steak anyone:

 

 

Blueprint type map in Engineering control room:

 

 

Monitors, monitors, monitors:

 

 

Continued. . . .

[Dolby1000]

I tried to get a good picture of Rt 95, but all the luggage carts were out and I didn't get a decent picture.

 

How many washers do you see:

 

 

Tree from Blue Planet:

 

 

Coils of rope to hold the ship in port:

 

 

Biggest chain I've ever seen:

 

 

Interior maps for the crew:

 

 

Enjoying a drink in the bar under the helipad, the Britto bar.

 

 

Continued. . . .

[Dolby1000]

Looking NE from the helipad:

 

 

Bridge Controls:

 

 

Azipod controls:

 

 

The bridge has a picture of those azipods:

 

 

Steering wheel, it is really small:

 

 

Us on the bridge:

 

 

Actually, the bridge is the roomiest place on the ship. All the controls were in the center and on the wings, there was a lot of open space.

 

Continued. . . .

[Dolby1000]

Helipad from the Bridge:

 

 

It takes over 3 hours, so be prepared to give up a serious portion of your day. Several recent cruise reviewers have posted pictures from this tour, so I have only a couple to add.

 

We then had lunch at, all together now, the Park Café.

 

It was windy on deck, as we were now traveling east and into the wind. Still we were able to find some chairs and spend several hours relaxing, reading, swimming and having those last few drinks.

 

But wait, there was one last event, one last activity to enjoy. Remember, I had qualified for the final table at the poker event. Could I win and get that free cruise, or would I go out and get nothing.

 

So, in the least fair moment of the cruise, DW held back packing (she doesn’t understand poker and had no interest in watching) I went down to the casino, at 5PM to take on the other qualifying winners.

 

We sat at a table centrally located in the casino, where anyone could watch. There were 5 players and the payouts would be 3rd ($550), 2nd ($1100) and 1st – free cruise. Three of us had about $12,000, another had about $19,000 and the leader had $23,000. How she got that much is beyond me.

 

I had position number 4, there were 3 other gentleman who knew each other quite well, a mysterious lady who had all those chips and who sat to my right in position three.

 

The blinds started at $100/$200 but would go up quickly. We had 6:45 dinner reservations and I had not yet showered, knowing how smoky the casino could get, even on the non-smoking time.

 

So, not surprisingly, the woman, who spoke very little English, started to try and bully the table. She also tried a few tricks, like string betting, but the dealer and the casino manager quickly put a halt to it. The problem was none of us was getting anything to work with. In fact, myself and the player to my left kept getting twos. Two/Eight, Two/Jack, Two/Seven, Two/Six and Two/Five, all these hands were all in a row. Even if she was bluffing, we had nothing to call her with.

 

Finally, the guy in position two took her on in a hand and beat her and she had to show that she was betting pretty much anything. This works if you have good luck, can go really bad, really fast, if that luck changes.

 

My pile of chips was slowly falling when I got my first pocket pair, 8’s. I would get pocket 8’s 5 times. Four times I would play them and lose. The one time I didn’t play them is the one time an 8 came up on the flop. Overall, though, I don’t think these hands would not have made much of a difference.

 

Finally, I won a couple of small pots in order to stay in game. Enough to keep me making the blinds.

 

Then the hand I still don’t understand. The guy in spot 2 got into another hand with the lady. He had already beaten her twice. This time, we all knew he had a strong hand. And, to this point, no one had had more than 2 pair of anything. No straights, flushes, or even three of a kind had come up. Well, he went all in and she called. He had two pair and she had 10 high. None of us could understand her call, even if she thought he was bluffing, even a small bluff would have beaten her 10 high. It made no sense, but we liked it because she was out and we were one away from the money.

 

Now, the three other guys left were clearly trying to get me out. I was always on shaky ground as my hands just stunk. However, their hands weren’t much better, this dealer was cold. I ended up going all in 4 times, was behind all four times, and lucked out with a pair each time and survived. It was just pure luck. The guy in seat five was bleeding (chips, not blood) heavily and went all in when I actually had a strong hand of pocket jacks. I called as did another player and I tripled up.

 

I was now in the money, all the pressure was really off. Even though I now had about $26,000 in chips, the blinds were $6000/$3000, so I only had 4 hands I could play. As is my normal luck during my monthly games, I get this far and the cards go cold. My next three hands were all Two – something. Even with three plays, there was very little I could do.

 

I went all in with Queen/Eight, suited and was called and he had Jack/Nine suited. This time, I was ahead. So, of course, he paired the Nine and the Jack and I missed. Ended up coming in third, earning $550 for a $150 investment. If only my stocks would do so well.

 

By now it was almost 7, oh no, don’t want to miss our final dinner. I rushed back to the room, so I don’t know who won, not that it mattered to me in the least. I was well ahead.

 

Quickly showered and ran down to the dining room and the hostess was able to find us spot with Mary Lee, who was ready for us with her customary smile. DW had the Atlantic salmon and I tried the NY Strip steak. I also had the appetizer they were putting together earlier that day when we toured the kitchens. As for the steak, again, from Chicago, and this time, I don’t know what they served me, but it sure as heck wasn’t a NY Strip. Strip steaks are rectangular, the cover the length of the bone they come from. I had some sort of circular cut. It was good, but I doubt it was an actual strip steak. I have some sort of frozen strawberry brulee thingy that was too rich. DW just had ice cream. Still we enjoyed dinner very much and again, had some wonderful company.

 

We got back to the cabin and met up with Jean on last time. DW finished up the packing while I ran back to the dining room to deliver WOW cards to Mary Lee and Noriel. I liked them that much. They are a perfect dining room team, attentive, friendly, and work hard to make your dining room and pleasant and relaxed time.

 

Okay, packing done, suitcases out. Did I say that we used the Luggage Valet program? Okay, I’ll say it now, we did use the Luggage Valet program. For suite guests, it is complementary, $20 otherwise but I’d easily pay $20 for it.

 

I had had some concern trying to sign us up for it as the form for it only wanted on Flight Reservation number. Makes sense, parties tend to fly together, as a rule. But in our case, I had used miles for my flight and my Visa Card for DWs, so we each had an individual flight number. Here is where Fernando, one of the two Concierges, was able to help us out. He took our information and when we got our departure information, everything was correct, each having the right flight confirmation number on it.

 

If you qualify (you need to be on a major airline and you need to leave after a certain time), use this program. It is very, very helpful.

 

So, bags out, what was there to do but do a final walk through all the decks of the ship and begin our goodbyes. We took our time and strolled from deck 17 down through deck 5, thinking about all the good times we had had. We stopped at the Aqua theater and watched one last fountain show. Even though the wind was up and the seas were not so calm, the Allure held steady for Port Lauderdale.

 

DW went to bed and I decided to gamble a bit of my winnings in the casino. I played a table game, think a blackjack, let ride or three card poker environment. This one was Texas Hold’em where you played against the dealer. The betting was a bit complex, but I quickly got a hold of it. You put in an ante and a blind bet, and you could play an independent trips or better bet. That one is a real sucker and I choose not to play it. The cards are dealt and you can check or bet on whether you think you can beat the dealer. At this juncture the bet is 3 or 4 times the ante. Then there is a flop and if you have not yet bet, the bet is 2x the ante. Then the turn and river and turned and the bet is equal to your ante, or you can fold and lose both the ante and the blind. The dealer needs Ace/King, or something like that, to qualify. If they don’t qualify, the ante bet is paid and the rest is all pushed (you get them back). If the dealer qualifies and you beat them, your payout depends on how big of a hand you have. If the dealer wins, you lose the ante, blind and bet. If you played Trips or better and you have that, you win regardless of what the dealer has.

 

I started with a $100 and played for about an hour, not really winning but not losing too much either. Then the dealer got on an incredible, whole statistically monstrously improbable hot streak. In order, and these were all wins for the house:

Three of a kind, Three of a kind, Pair of Aces, Three of a Kind, 2 pair of Aces and Jacks, Straight, flush, straight, three of a kind and straight. Now, I didn’t play every hand, but several of us lost quite a few hands here. I was getting low on chips and I got dealt pocket 10s. I did the 4x bet and hit a ten on the river. After the turn and river, the board had 8,10, 2, 3, Jack. The only hand that could beat me was 9/7 for a straight. The dealer turned over 9/7, the 10th big hand in a row for the dealer. I left, as did the three left on the table. The statistical probability of the dealer, or anyone, hitting that many hands in a row, especially the 9/7, was quite improbable. I only lost $100, so I was still up and I knew enough to take my losses and leave. Others at the table lost quite a bit more.

 

So, to bed, ending our last full day of the cruise.

 

Tomorrow – going home and final thoughts.

 

OWD

[Dolby1000]

Tomorrow – going home and final thoughts.

 

Our flight was at 12:15 and we had a bit of a tight connection. We would leave from FLL and get to Tampa (maybe 30 minutes in the air) and then make a 45 minute connection to MDW.

 

Using the Valet program, we could not leave the ship until 8:00AM. I was a bit apprehensive about waiting too long and getting caught in a nightmarish custom line. Breakfast would be served 6:30 – 8:30 in the main dining room on deck 3 and in the WJ.

 

We arose around 6:45 and went straight to breakfast in the main dining room. At 7AM there was no line and we were immediately seated. They started debarkation around 7:15. We ate our last meal. At least travel out of FL today wouldn’t be a problem, the weather was quiet.

 

When we left the dining room around 7:45 there was a line out the door. So, if you want breakfast the last day, be early.

 

I waited until 8:15 and then told DW, again, it is going to be a day of waiting, might as well wait at the airport as here. She agreed and we departed the ship around 8:20. We had no issues departing, other than we didn’t want to. There was a long line for customs already. There were only 4 agents on duty. For the record, I do not know if this is normal or not. I watched the agents process passengers and I saw no evidence of deliberate slowness. Some people got through quickly, others took a few minutes, one group of passengers was hauled away to a separate area with a guard. I have no idea what that was all about.

 

It took only 45 minutes. Of course, we saved time by not having to look for any baggage. Once we got to an agent, it took less than 2 minutes for us to get through. We had brought no jewelry, hadn’t won scads and scads of cash and, of course, we hadn’t visited any farms nor did we have any meat or produce. The agent was polite, cheerful and respectful. I have no complaints here.

 

We took a cab to the airport, $11.20 before tip. The security line at the airport was non-existent. There were 6 open lines and 4 of them were empty. We already had our boarding passes and they were “A”s, which on Southwest is happy happy. We were sitting down at the gate by 9:30 and had an almost 3 hour wait here. But, it was an unstressful wait.

 

Our flight was fully boarded at 12:05 and we thought we were going to get an early departure. So, making our connection would be easier and I had already looked up the gate and it was only 2 gates from our arrival gate. Until the ground agent came aboard and started looking for 1, yes just 1 damn volunteer to take a later flight. Really, you couldn’t have done this at the gate, and how are you going to get just 1? It took 20 minutes to sort this out and we left 10 minutes late.

 

However, it all turned out alright in the end. We were only 5 minutes late into TPW and our second flight was waiting, not even boarding yet.

 

This second flight was about the roughest flight I’ve had in a long time. The pilot even had the flight attendants sit down for well over the first half of it. There was weather over Georgia and there was no smooth altitude.

 

But, we arrived at Midway about 10 minutes early and DW and I wondered if the Luggage Valet had been able to work even with a connecting flight. Well it worked and our bags were very quickly on the belt.

 

We made it home and the trip was over.

 

Final thoughts:

The Allure of the Seas and RCCL delivered for us once again. We needed a week of being away from the stress of home and to give us moments of enjoyment, merriment, and excitement. I am not the cheerleader type, but we remain fans of RCCL and won't sail anyone else.

 

The posters of Cruise Critic remain an outstanding resource to help us get the most out of the cruise.

 

Favorite Moments:

All the shows, every single one of them which, as you recall, was a big reason we booked this ship

Surprise sing along in the WJ on day 1

Our unexpected swim (see day 2)

The coaster on Labadee

Hilton on Jamaica

Dolphin Swimming in Cozumel

Mary Lee and Noriel

Zip Lining at Sea

Sing a long Grease

Having a suite

 

Isn’t that a list, huh? I could add a whole lot more but I cut myself off.

 

Least favorite moments:

Waiting on our second bag

Slow dining room the first night

Windjammer breakfast

Ken Rush on stage

 

And that’s it, pretty small list here. And none of these things impacted our experience on the Allure in any significant manner.

 

Things we missed:

Skyfall on the Aqua theater

The Croons in the Aqua theater

Any parade in the Promenade

Eating or even sitting in the Solarium

Chocolate breakfast

Character moments, well, we don't have kids anyway

Trying the pizza

Using one of the secret balconies, other than sail away

Using the suite sun deck

Sail away from any port on deck 14

Several Sprite Zero flavors in the Freestyle machines

How to Train Your Dragon Ice Show

Mini-golf

 

So, as much as we did lots of things, we need to go back and pick up on these missed items. We wanted to do it all, but like many before us have said, you just can't. On the right side, what we did do we loved every minute of it so there are no regrets.

 

Two last thoughts (and, for the record, these are not to be taken as serious posts)

 

If you are walking, especially in a buffet area, and you see something, or come across something, or see a sale in the Promenade, or want ice cream by the pool, really if you see anything, please do NOT perform the “stop and spin”. There are people behind you and thankfully, I narrowly avoided the people who, while walking in front of you, do the “stop and spin” and can’t figure out why you are giving them dirty looks as you perform all sorts of gyrations trying to not only miss them, but also not spill your drink or food on them. I saw several hits and a couple of spilled drinks and spilled plates of food caused by the “stop and spin”. Now, the ship is so amazing and has so many wonderful things, that you will find yourself wanting to perform the “stop and spin”. Please, let’s avoid any more spilled drinks (those cause the worse arguments, by the way), move to the side of the walkway and then stop and stare. And, trust me; you will do this many times during your cruise.

 

Secondly, if you want to put sun screen on yourself or your children, and I do support this, put in on in the cabin first. It takes 10-15 minutes for sunscreen to become effective and if you wait until you’re in the sun, you’re too late. Also, please do not put your two small children in the aisle next to the shower by the children’s pool. Here’s an important thought, this is a walkway and people really don’t want to run down your children, but if you totally block this walkway putting on said sunscreen, you cause the “stop” part of the “stop and spin” maneuver and accidents happen. If you must put sun screen on while on deck, move aside to let others through.

 

Remember, you are sharing this cruise with over 5,000 other passengers. If you keep that in mind, everyone can have a better time.

 

I think that's it. I took over 600 pictures and wrote 32 pages of text in a word document, no wonder this took so long.

 

I wish for everyone who's cruising, no matter what ship you are one, to have as great of time as we had, and then come back here and tell us all about it.

 

Ocean Wave Dave

[Peeker28]

I'm so sad your trip is over

[petesweet]

Things we missed:

Skyfall on the Aqua theater

The Croons in the Aqua theater

Any parade in the Promenade

Eating or even sitting in the Solarium

Chocolate breakfast

Character moments, well, we don't have kids anyway

Trying the pizza

Using one of the secret balconies, other than sail away

Using the suite sun deck

Sail away from any port on deck 14

Several Sprite Zero flavors in the Freestyle machines

How to Train Your Dragon Ice Show

Mini-golf

 

So, as much as we did lots of things, we need to go back and pick up on these missed items.

 

Good case for a B2B if it can be done. When I went on the Oasis, I knew I needed two weeks straight on this ship.

Thanks for a delightful review.

Kathy

[fridaythe13th]

What is the chocolate breakfast?

 

The picture of what looks like frosted donuts is what and where do you get them?

 

Should I really do a B2B? Wait until I tell DH (shhhhhhh) we have to! ;)

[Clarea]

What is the chocolate breakfast?

 

The picture of what looks like frosted donuts is what and where do you get them?

 

Should I really do a B2B? Wait until I tell DH (shhhhhhh) we have to! ;)

The have chocolate croissants, chocolate pancakes, etc. It's usually one morning per 7 day cruise, but I've occasionally seen it more than once.

[Rcarper4001]

Day 6 – Cozumel

 

We had an exciting half-day in front of us. Even though I was up late the night before, there I was, back on our balcony, getting sunrise pictures over this small island.

 

 

Since we had a bit of a strenuous morning ahead, we decided to stoke up at breakfast and went to the Windjammer. This was one of the few meals that was a disappointment. We should have stuck with the Park Café or tried the Solarium (which we had totally forgotten about). Everything that needed to be warm or hot was cold, not lukewarm, but cold. I hate having to put cold butter on cold waffles. Since DW is a diabetic we wanted to good strong breakfast and we ended up eating just enough to get us by. Thankfully, there was fresh fruit and some pastries, so DW was ready for the morning.

 

Which, was, swimming with dolphins. Something was always wanted to do.

 

A bit of a side note here, when we booked this excursion, it took place at Chankanaab National Park. Two weeks before the cruise it was changed to Dolphinaris. Not sure why the change. With the new venue, they also threw in lunch. But unless it included a Kummelweck, we weren’t interested.

 

Our swim time was 9:30 AM. Dolphinaris is only about 10-15 minutes away and we easily found the guides in the mall next to the pier.

 

Once you arrive, it is $3 for a locker, which I recommend, as you cannot take anything into the pool with you, including wedding rings. We did not know this, but thankfully, after 27 years, mine was able to slip off my finger, as were DW’s. I kidded her that I was now free from 27 years of bondage. She knew I was kidding. We tease each other all the time. Really, we do. Seriously, I was kidding.

 

No sun tan lotion is allowed either, if you put some on, you have to shower it off. Which was fine with me since I didn’t put any on anyway. The hard decision was what to do with my glasses. I am very near sighted and didn’t want to miss anything. Also, they gave you goggles to have underwater dolphin viewing that barely fitted over my glasses and I didn’t want them to break.

 

There are some small storage boxes at the pool, so you can store some stuff, like towels and such, there. At the end, I decided against the glasses. I think it worked out pretty well.

 

We opted for the “swimming” with the dolphins, which included being pulled by one.

 

So, we got into our life vests (mandatory) and our group of 8 made for the pool. We got some instruction from the trainer, which all of us promptly forgot. But, in a nutshell, here is what we were going to get:

We would be in a line and the dolphin (by now we knew her name was Olympia) would swim by and we could touch it or pet it as it moved. We could also use the goggles to view her underwater where her true beauty and grace would be apparent. Don't forget to do this!!

Then, Olympia would give us each a kiss on the cheek and on the lips and we would dance with her. Finally, we would swim out into the pool and she would swim by and offer us her fins and then give us a pull across the pool.

 

This was a truly awesome experience. I have dreamed of touching and interacting with a dolphin for decades. The skin is so smooth and they are quite large when you get up close, but we were never frightened or scared.

 

What was funny was that the first two people in the pool said it was, and I quote, “freezing”. I grew up in a lake house in Wisconsin. Putting the pier in the lake required us to actually get in the lake. In May, or late April. That, my friends, is water that can be defined as "freezing". This water was merely slightly cool and you got used to it almost immediately.

 

Being kissed by the dolphin, while I was single again (remember, I had taken my wedding ring off), thankfully, DW is not one for jealousy.

 

 

So, of course, DW had to dance with it.

 

 

Ever been pulled by a dolphin? For maximum speed, be sure to straighten your arms.

 

 

My turn:

 

 

And, yes, the dolphin swim package itself is $99, where they make their profit is in the video and CD of pictures, as you cannot take pictures with your camera. Again, we knew this. Not a surprise. And, yes, we popped for the CDs and the video, because, when are we going to do this again? Is it expensive, very much so, but the smiles on DW face during this time are more priceless so we opted for the items. And, I don’t regret it.

 

Continued. . . . . .

 

Great review! We are going to be swimming with the dolplins. Do you remember how much the CD of pictures cost? Your review has help with my planning. 97 days :)

[Adam185]

Great review. We set sail on this itinerary in 3 weeks.

 

Quick question- how did you get to the Helipad for sail away from Labadee? I thought it was off limits. Thanks.

[alaska_planner]

 

At 3 PM I went to the casino to try my hand at the Texas Hold’em poker tournament. The one where the winner gets the “free” cruise on the Oasis in December to participate in the bigger tournament.

 

Readers, I’m now going to go into a bit of a poker paragraph, feel free to go to the next post when we go to dinner at Giovanni’s table.

 

There were 8 players and surprisingly, they split us up into two groups of 4, with the winner of each group moving onto the final table on Saturday. It costs $100 to enter for $1000 in chips with the initial blinds at $25/$50. During the first four rounds you could re-buy for $50 another $1000 in chips at any time you had $1000 or less. The blinds went up every 10 minutes and they went up very quickly.

 

So, I was in position three, there were two gentlemen to my left and a woman who pretended to speak very little English to my right. She immediately did a re-buy and started with $2000, this was allowed. The men decided to start at the $1000 and see what transpired. Obviously, the purposed of the re-buys was to try and build higher pots and more payouts. The casino needed to make “X” before the tourney qualified for the free cruise. There would be two more qualifiers, on Thursday and Saturday, before the final table at 5PM on Saturday.

 

The woman (she was no lady based on her language) used her $2000 to initially bully the table and take the first 4 or 5 hands in row. Not an uncommon strategy but not one I normally take. Initially, I take a very conservative stand and try to get reads on my co-players. I will play strong hands, but I won’t take too many risks.

 

After she won the first few hands, other players began to call her, including myself. We began to erode her lead and player 1 and player 3 (me) began to be up in chips. Player 2 began to have poor luck as he had several good starting hands that ended up being second best. He did a rebuy during the third blind. I caught a straight and took a large sum from the woman and she lost a lot of her chips to player one on a stupid play. I knew player 1 had a strong hand and if she had been paying attention, she would have saved herself some agony. On the river, she had position, and he checked, but after he checked I noticed that he moved his hands towards his chips, in anticipation of her betting, which she always did. He had lain a trap for her and I saw it coming. She put in a strong bet and he came of the top and went all-in. Without really thinking about his play, she went all in and got beat. He had trips (pocket Queens with a queen on the board) to her two pair. She failed to play the player and player only her hand. We now knew her weakness and player 1 and I took the rest of her chips.

 

In between, player 2’s luck didn’t change. By the end of the fourth round, he was out and it was just us three. You could do an add-in of $1000 in chips at this time and the three of us did so. Blinds were now $200/$400, so it was moving fast.

 

Shortly after the break, player one did in player 4 and it was down to us two. We traded chips for several hands, neither gaining an advantage. But, I noticed the types of hands he was playing, raising on any medium hand and slow playing stronger hands. I don’t play a lot of poker, but what I have learned is to understand and play your opponent is as important as playing your hands. For example, I was dealer so he would be first to play. Blinds were at $500/$1000 and we were about even in chips of around $5000 each. He raised to $2000. This told me he had a medium hand. I had played my normal tight poker and I knew he knew that about me. I had the 6 of clubs and the 3 of diamonds. Fold, right, the strategy says that to play 6/3 off suit is not a smart play. But, I’ve also learned that sometimes, you have to play such a hand, to let others see that you don’t only play Ace/King and such. One on one, well, I decided, it was time to play something different.

 

The board came up with Ace/Four/Eight, all different suits. There was no obvious straight on the board and no flush. He made the mistake of checking, which he had done anytime he missed his mid-range hand. If he had bet there, I likely would have folded, but he showed weakness. I did not put him on an Ace. So, here is where the bluff was set up. I immediately went all in. Nothing, no hemming and hawing, just showed some impatience, like I couldn’t wait to bet. He believed I had an Ace since I had played those types of hands. He immediately folded and I took a bit of a chip lead. This is called a bluff. I rarely am able to bluff my friends in my monthly games, but since we didn’t know each other, I pulled it off here beautifully.

 

So, the next hand I had Queen/Nine of hearts and raised it $1000. He called. The board flopped Nine/Five/Two, of which two were hearts. I had a pair of nines with a rather strong queen kicker. I went all in and after a minute of thinking, player one called. He had Nine/Ten off suit. I had him out-kicked. The turn and river blanked, I avoid a ten, which meant that I had now qualified for the final table and only invested $150 to get there. We played for 75 minutes and I had a great time. Any time I play poker, I learn more about reading my opponents and today’s game had some good lessons. And, I was one step closer to that free cruise.

 

The three of us, the woman and player one met up in the bar. The woman went on and on boasting how she was number one on sort of poker online site. Don't ask me which one, I've never heard of it. Well, I thought to myself, if you are that good, you would have wiped the floor with me, so I knew she was telling fish stories. I don't play online because you can't get a read on your opponent, something she had failed to do, with all her experience and all. Just goes to show, poker is mainly a game of luck and I had some good luck on this day.

 

Continued. . . . .

 

 

wow!!! that was surprisingly interesting, though i don't know ANYTHING about poker.........your description makes me really want to learn! :)

[cruisebabe50]

Sounds like a great vacation! We are going on the Freedom in July for the second time. Still haven't braved the new "Mega" Ships yet. Sounds wonderful though!

[Bella O]

Wonderful review! Just wondering if you used the conierge lounge, specifically for cocktail hour? Wondering how crowded it gets on the Allure. I know they have made to order breakfast/lunch but it doesn't seem you tried that this time. Based on your review and others, think we will avoid WJ!

[Dolby1000]

What is the chocolate breakfast?

 

The picture of what looks like frosted donuts is what and where do you get them?

 

Should I really do a B2B? Wait until I tell DH (shhhhhhh) we have to! ;)

 

 

Those donuts are only found at Café Promenade and are White Chocolate frosted. You will find donuts at Boardwalk Donuts, but not those particular ones.

 

The chocolate breakfast was on the sea day after Falmouth, but I have to go and re-check that. It is a character breakfast, so it is popular with families.

 

OWD

[Dolby1000]

Great review! We are going to be swimming with the dolplins. Do you remember how much the CD of pictures cost? Your review has help with my planning. 97 days :)

 

The photo and DVD package was $239, admittedly, a rip-off when compared to the $99 excursion itself.

 

Yes, it is blackmail, but, what else can you do? However, the memories which are priceless, and the pictures and the DVD will be a constant reminder, so, yes, I would pay it again.

 

Next time, we can just do the excursion and not worry about paying for the pictures.

 

OWD

[Dolby1000]

Great review. We set sail on this itinerary in 3 weeks.

 

Quick question- how did you get to the Helipad for sail away from Labadee? I thought it was off limits. Thanks.

 

It is a Captain's invitation party to Diamond (not sure if it is Diamond plus) members and to an everyone in a suite. We were in 8660, a suite, which is how we got the invite.

 

You also can get out there via the behind the scenes tour, but you are at sea for that moment.

 

OWD

[beachlovergirl]

It is a Captain's invitation party to Diamond (not sure if it is Diamond plus) members and to an everyone in a suite. We were in 8660, a suite, which is how we got the invite.

 

You also can get out there via the behind the scenes tour, but you are at sea for that moment.

 

OWD

 

 

Just Suites and Diamond Plus, not Diamond.

 

Dee