---> !!ALLURE OTS REVIEW!! <--- Complete Pictorial Guide! [Jun 29, 2013]

[BillOh]

Well hello there, long time :). I am really looking forward to this review, can't wait to see what Mike brings to the table.

 

Speaking of puns, this might qualify.

[swim13]

Looking forward to your review. It's very nice of you to give mention to those who inspired you to do a great review. :)

 

Woohoo! Thank you, those people deserved a dedication!

 

Great start!!! Looking forward to this review!!!:):)

 

Hope to keep seeing you here! =D

 

I'm looking forward to this review! We are doing this itinerary next year on the Oasis but I love reviews in general :)

 

This itinerary is worth it just for Labadee! Hope you stick around, I love reviews too, you can never get enough pictures of this beautiful ship!!

 

Now I have another review to read. You young guys ROCK!!!!

 

Subbing!!

 

Haha thanks!!

 

Sorry for the off-topic question, but did you decide to go to UCF? I go there!:D

 

Thats fine! Well I got accepted but I can't afford 4 years of out-of-state tuition there so I chose to stay up in NY for two years and then transfer to UCF! I can't wait to get to that school, its amazing.

 

Nice picture! The colors are very vibrant!

 

Thanks, I love the Southwest livery!

 

I saw the movie, and read half of the book. Did you end up reading the entire book? I saw very little similarities between the 2... Although I have to saw, the movie is AMAZING!!!

 

I think I might as well finish reading the book.

 

The movie was so good! From what I've read so far, there really are very few connections. I still have to finish reading the book too! =P

 

Those four FP&L smokestacks at Port Everglades will be gone next week. Just saying.

 

I heard, that stinks since they've become such an icon. Do you know what they were used for and why they are being demolished?

 

I am enjoying your review and pictures! You're off to a great start. :cool:

 

Thank you!

 

love your review

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Thank you!

 

I've savored every word and picture of Gambee's reviews and now I'm loving yours too. Thanks so much for all the work you both are putting in for our enjoyment.

 

Your pictures are amazing. I was on Allure a few weeks ago and I'm not recognizing many of your pictures. I guess I'll have to hurry back, it seems that there is more exploring to do!

 

Thanks for coming along! I savored every Gambee review as well, he is the one who really inspired me to do this review and I'm sure you will notice similarities!

 

Great review and amazing pictures

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

Thank you!

 

Another Bill in the same boat (pun intended) I enjoy reading reviews from different perspectives and either seeing pictures of or hearing new things even after 2 times on Allure. Plus there is always watching to see what's new. I'll enjoy the review, I think the 3rd of this class will be out before I go back on Allure again.

 

This is a pun friendly thread! =P I can't wait to see if there will be changes to the 3rd Oasis class ship, I tried to get answers on the All-Access Tour but the only thing I got was the 2016 date which we already knew.

[swim13]

Day 1 Cruise Compass & Shopping Guide -

I finally got all of Day 1 scanned!

 

 

 

[swim13]

 

 

 

DAY 1 DONE.

[SharkCruiser24]

Your review is awesome so far!! I celebrated my high school graduation on Mariner of the Seas a few years ago. And don't knock your own pictures they are terrific and very creative! Your review actually made me consider changing my honeymoon from the Jewel to Allure/Oasis, but alas I shall remain on the Jewel. I am going to find my way onto these ships one of these days. I can't wait for the rest of your review!

[KITKAT0229]

Subscribing - great so far!

[Rcarper4001]

Thanks for the review. My two girls swim for a USA club in State College, PA. We have to take our yearly vacation after the eastern zone meet in August and before short course training starts. We our going on the Oasis on August 17 sailing. I have reviewed the cruise compass for the Oasis and see they have lap swimming in the sports pool. I keep joking with my kids that they can keep up their training on the ship, but the pool is so short as soon as they would do a flip turn they would be at the other end.

 

Ron

[jhnsnfamily]

Loving your review! And your pictures are fantastic! I've read Gambees' review ... I've read Kanscocoa's ... I've read Randy's and I've read Familygoboston's ... i've read others too but cannot remember their screennames! Keep it coming! We will be on her next year with lots of young men and one young lady* ranging in age from 13 to 24 ... it is nice to hear your point of view! (*along with their parents, myself included!)

 

Keep it coming! :D and thanks ... I wrote a lengthy review last year on our Carnival Freedom cruise ... it's a lot of work, so thanks in advance!

Edited July 10, 2013 by jhnsnfamily

[swim13]

SEA DAY

The Aqua Day -

 

Welcome to round 2 (or 3 I guess if you add in the pre-cruise day =D)! So today was kind of an explore and relax kind of day. I didn't bring my camera with me all morning or afternoon, that's crazy for me!!! Anyway, I was up early this morning because my mom, Jeff (stepdad), and I were going to our first Meet & Mingle. I was excited for this because I would meet some of the people I have been talking to for months (4bunns - Paul, and mringenoldus - Maureen)! We were also excited to participate in the gift exchange because we got a glass flower from the Corning Museum of Glass and were eager to give it to someone. We received a gift from Sweetest Sin (Maine)! Thank you if you are reading, we love all the gifts from Maine! Alice from RCI was basically running the event and she was hysterical! Her favorite username was Sweetest Sin! It was funny when the group of 12 was under the username of The 4 of us told her their user! =P I got to talk to Maureen and she even gave me a card for graduation and a gift, how awesome is that?! Thanks again Maureen! I also won the Wonderful Book of Art on the Allure! I will try and remember to post a picture of it by the end of the review.

 

After that we went back to the room and I got a Cherry Vanilla Coke in my soda package cup and then we headed up to the pool. There were plenty of loungers available, seriously it was great. The pool deck was super windy though. On RCI you have to use your card to check out a towel and if you don't return it with your card by the end of the cruise, you will be charged $25. Honestly that's a great idea for the cruise line! The ice cream by the pool area always had some kind of line, I wish they had more than 2 machines... They also need to work on the consistency of the ice cream, it was often extremely soft and basically melted within a minute, sometimes it came out as liquid! =P Oh and of course the Adventure Ocean kids were in the hot tub's with their cones and ice cream all over their faces...you always have to watch out for those AO kids! =P

 

Now I'm not exactly sure what the pool water is kept clean with, it may be chlorine, bromine, or even salt but I really could not tell! All I know is that is was awesome, I'm thinking it was bromine because it did not have the pungent chlorine smell and it definitely didn't taste like salt water. Either way, they are perfect. I remember the pools on Carnival were salt water and it was just horrible. Even with 5 main pools, (4 in the middle of the ship and 1 in the Solarium) they could become pretty crowded although there was always enough room to get in.

 

My friend Matt and I ended up walking down to Central Park to have lunch at the Park Café. That place became one of our favorite places to eat! I had another roast beef sandwich and a salad, both incredible. I don't want to be mean but we seriously watched this kid run in the Café at least 4 times and he came out with something new every time...maybe this is the new Windjammer? =P Back to the story, so I also loved being able to have salt and vinegar chips there! They have Doritos, Ruffles, and regular chips! There may even be another kind of chips but I didn't pay attention, I always went for the salt & vinegar, lol! The inside seemed to always be crowded so we always ate outside which I'm not complaining about, its was great! I will tell you right now that I have always had lunch and breakfast in the Windjammer (or whatever their called on the other lines) and on this cruise I seriously only ate at the buffet TWICE, both only for breakfast! There were just too many great free options. I couldn't believe this by the end of the cruise, it just seems crazy because I've never experienced this on past cruises.

 

At this time we started to head for BINGO! Everyone was buying the $67 Big Kahuna while I was the cheapo, looking around like a beggar buying the $22 4-pack game. =P It was really a fun experience, I didn't win anything and actually an Indian kid and another American kid won the middle and big prize respectively, how cool?! No one won the grand prize but Big Daddy Ca$h assured us that we could come tomorrow for a prize no less than $3,000! It was kind of funny listening to people start screaming in joy after the first number was called, I mean I'm pretty sure most people get the first number, haha!

 

So now I covered most of the day that I didn't have pictures for. Now I will go on to post the Cruise Compass for Day 2 and then start posting some pictures and continue with the night! Please join along and comment!

 

Day 2 Cruise Compass & Cruise Specials

 

 

Edited July 11, 2013 by swim13

[swim13]

 

 

 

OKAY NOW STARTING THE NIGHT OF DAY 2!! Please leave some comments, I feel a little lonely here! =D

[swim13]

So where were we?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahh okay now I remember, sorry the ship is so extraordinary thats it easy to forget the details! I went back to meet my family at the cabin to get ready for the night. Like I said before, we had the late dinner so it was nice to not feel rushed and we could go relax somewhere for awhile. I was very excited for tonight, hell when was I not excited on this cruise?? Okay so anyway, we made our way down to the Boardwalk because we were going to eat at Rita's tonight and catch the Ocean Aria show after! I will start the pictures off on the way to dinner and I remembered the camera for some food porn for everyone to enjoy! Then I will stop and write about the Ocean Aria show and then post some more!

 

Waiting for mom to get ready, actually just kidding! She was usually waiting for Jeff and I to finish getting ready, isn't that crazy?! =P

 

 

This is why I love having a balcony, looking down to the different shades of my favorite color at any time without hearing a bunch of gibberish around you (sorry to the Spanish speaking folks reading!)

 

 

Ahhhh here is the only picture of my brothers Central Park View cabin you will see, I'm so sorry I forgot to take more! I was used as the bait to go across the hall to get my brother and his partner and had my camera for some reason. By the way, the window seat is AWESOME! It was deep and very comfortable, with a great view too.

 

 

Here's one of your only sunset pictures from the cruise, looks like RCI needs to start cleaning that pesky salt off the glass balcony partitioners.

 

 

We stopped by Dazzles for some reason...this is where the RCI Meet & Mingle events are held on the Oasis class ships.

 

 

[swim13]

This is looking up toward the staircase on deck 16! I don't know why but I thought the dresses looked kind of cool, at least they made for a good picture or two.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at all of this pollution!!!!

 

 

 

 

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Just such wonderful photos. They bring back such happy memories being as we were on the same cruise. You are writing an awesome review. Keep it coming.

[congpert2]

Too post today to read ... This is fantastic.

Edited July 11, 2013 by congpert2

[swim13]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just in case you forgot what ship I was reviewing, I decided to take a picture of the beautiful Allure of the Seas logo on one of the giant screens near the Aqua Theater! =P

[swim13]

The parents were relaxing at the bar in front of the Aqua Theater before dinner while us "young" ones were watching the cast of Ocean Aria practice for the two shows tonight! They were phenomenal and very entertaining even during practice!

 

 

How cool would it be to climb the rock wall's at night?!

 

 

 

COMING UP NEXT: Rita's Cantina Review!:)

[JohnSnowGOT]

OMG!!

 

I am loving your Pictures............such a fresh perspective!!! The Allure is such an amazing ship....your doing it right!

Thank you so much

Edited July 11, 2013 by JohnSnowGOT

[swim13]

Welcome to

Rita's

Cantina!

 

I will start off saying that I think Rita's Cantina is like the Park Café before it became famous from its roast beef sandwiches and Cruise Critic praise! The theming is wonderful, the food was terrific, and the wait staff is just like you would expect in any of the other specialty restaurants.

 

You don't make any reservations to get in, you just show up! Usually there are table's open, when we were eating, there were many tables available. You pay a cover charge (service fee) of I believe $3 per person and then pay for what you want to eat and drink, just like a normal restaurant on land minus the cover. The chips and salsa are great, I know its just corn tortilla chips but they really are pretty good! Tonight I got my first drink that wasn't free or included in the soda package, I got a Berry Banana Smoothie, virgin of course. =P It was very good and I love the fancy plastic they come in, haha! I ordered the Grilled Chicken (which I guess is actually just a chicken quesadilla) for my main entrée, extremely good and a safe bet if you are a little skeptical about Mexican food. There were some kind of peppers in it too so it had a nice kick to it, the cheese was perfectly melted and the chicken must have been marinated! Am I making your mouth water yet?! For dessert, I set the trend by ordering a churro with ice cream on the side!

 

I was mesmerized by the lights in Rita's so expect a few pictures of just lights and nothing much more, haha!

 

I almost forgot to mention that I rode the carousel before dinner and it really was pretty sweet, even for an 18 year old! =P It was the only time I got the chance to ride it but I wish I got to ride it at least twice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berry Banana Smoothie, mmmmmmmm!

 

 

 

 

Sorry, there is a bite taken out of the top one! It looked way too good and I just got excited and forgot to take a picture before I started to indulge =P

 

 

 

 

Also, my apologies in advanced, I didn't carry a tripod so some of the night pictures may be slightly blurry.

[swim13]

Originally we planned to just walk to the show right after dinner although we ended up eating faster than expected. We walked back to the cabin to change and went to the casino for a few minutes and then headed back to the Boardwalk for the show. I took a picture of one of the pieces of art in one of the stairwells, I loved some of the pictures they had! Of course we had a towel animal back at the room as well. Edy used my sunglasses

 

Just kidding, he used my moms! =D

 

4 hours away from me!

 

 

 

 

NEXT UP: Ocean Aria! :D

[jenson47]

Keep up the good review. Thanks for letting me cruise through you. I have a 11 month old and won't be on a cruise for many years. Did you get to pick this as your graduation gift?

[swim13]

Welcome to

OCEAN

ARIA!

 

WOW what a special and unique venue! Most teens my age and younger don't get in to the shows but I honestly love them and RCI definitely has TOP NOTCH shows as well as the best performers! The Aqua Theater is probably my favorite entertainment venue on the ship, you will find nothing else like it on the 7 seas.. I remember seeing the first renderings of the Aqua Theater and couldn't believe that it would be built on a ship, I almost felt like it would never be built, you know like how Dubailand never got built?! >:[ Anyway, we had reservations for the show at 10:30 but we arrived about 25 minutes early and picked up a great place to sit! We were on one of the benches which were surprisingly comfortable! Make sure you arrive more than 15 minutes before the show if you have reservations because otherwise you will be fighting for a seat with the people who didn't make reservations. The show is one of the best shows I have ever seen, on a ship or land. I've been pretty lucky to see some very good shows in Vegas and Orlando, especially the aria show in Downtown Disney and I have to say Ocean Aria is just as good. The performers are of Olympic caliber and it doesn't surprise me! The pool is 17.9 Ft. deep, can you believe that?! I loved the water jets and the lighting, it was perfect.

 

Now you may wonder how a large and deep pool can survive rough seas, well they engineered three platforms that can rise and lower whenever. There is one in the middle that they will raise if the seas get ruff, it acts as a buffer so the water doesn't splash around as much. The two large windows above each of the rock wall's are rooms for show technicians who choreograph all the lighting and music, etc. every show! One thing I loved is that at the end of all the shows, the cruise director Allan Brooks always had the crowd have a round of applause for everyone behind the scenes! Oh and ever wonder how the performers dive and you can never see them come back up? They swim under the small curtains the hang over the edges on the left and right side, each side has a diver that stays under water to make sure everything goes smooth.

 

So I went to bed early tonight since I planned to get up early to catch us coming in to Labadee, Haiti! Now I wanted to get a time lapse coming in so I set an alarm to get up 30 minutes prior to arriving at port but I was slightly disappointed to see we got in about an hour early! My friend Matt ended up going to the club Blaze and met a few people at the 18-20 (I believe it was 18-20 age group) party. People always complain about my age group not having a specific club but I found that Blaze was PERFECT for my age group! More on Blaze later. At this point, I was having one of those moments where you feel like you're on top of the world! I told my mom that I was having the best time ever!

 

The only other note I had about today was that at this point at the end of Day 2, I have yet to eat at the Windjammer! Lets the pictures begin!

 

 

 

This and the Apple logo are my favorite logo's in the world 8-]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope I'm not breaking any rules posting a few pictures from the show! No flash was used in the making of these pictures! If I am breaking any rules though, moderators please feel free to take the ones of the show down!

[swim13]

 

 

 

 

 

 

This image is BLURRY but I wanted to post it because of the colors!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alright DAY 2 has come to an end. I hope you enjoyed your journey through the second day with me! Tomorrow we arrive in Labadee, Haiti, my favorite port of the cruise!! I have a ton of great pictures for you tomorrow. I will respond to everyone later tonight. PLEASE JOIN IN AND COMMENT! Gambee where are you?! =D

 

Goodnight everyone!

[Cupcrazy]

 

I'm glad I was able to see the infamous stacks before they are demolished!

 

Fantastic review & pictures!! I am taking the same itinerary on Oasis in October so I'm looking forward to your review of the ports.

 

I'm going to be sad when the candy canes are gone. I loved seeing them from the plane when landing at FLL.

[swtonu]

Such an amazing ship! Love your review!

[CruisinAg]

Great review. You've got a good eye for photography. Don't worry about not eating at the buffet. I never even entered the Windjammer on my Oasis cruise and don't expect to on my Allure one!