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

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

I'm not able to see any of the latest photos starting with the shrimp cocktail.

Anybody have any suggestions as to what the problem might be please?

Thanks for any help.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[cruzegurl104]

What a great review!! I'm doing the Western route on my Oasis cruise!!! Your pictures are great! Thanks so much for sharing!!

 

:)

[swim13]

Where did everyone go?! =P If you were wondering where I went, I was working all day and it was super crowded! Luckily I have all of Day 5 done (pictures and documents scanned) so I can start writing it soon. I am heading to the gym for a quick workout and once I get home and take a shower, you will be enjoying pictures from July 4th and you will even get to see a CROWN LOFT SUITE!!!! =D

 

See you soon, friends!

[Familygoboston]

After a slightly crazed family reunion (1/2 of which I hosted) I'm finally getting caught up on my CC reviews! Nice job Mike! Loving all your photos. Congratulations on your graduation, we just did a graduation cruise on Allure (early tho, in April) and my girls loved it!:D

 

I know where you live,;) will be going by it many, many, many more times :rolleyes: when I have to drive the through way from MA to RIT for my just graduated daughter to go to college this fall! I'm even considering a night in the finger lakes area after we drop her off; ill be too weepy to stay in Rochester:( I hear its a lovely place to visit...need to find a nice B&B there.

 

Looking forward to catching up on the rest! Great job and best of luck with your plans in the fall!

[hondarr9]

Great review! I'm actually from Rochester. Seneca lake is not too far. Glad you enjoyed the Allure!

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[bigkauhuna]

Thank you for the review. It is one of the better reviews done. You being 18 and just starting in your mature life you have a very good eye for photography. Again thank you very much for the review.

[swim13]

SEA DAY

The Suite Life! -

 

 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

 

Welcome to Day 5! This is the day it starts to become real, you begin to realize you are nearing the end of your vacation and you become a little sad because you're having such an awesome time and don't want to go home!!

 

I had to wake up and meet my new friends from cruise critic this morning for the cabin crawl! I woke up a little late and realized I never wrote down where we were meeting! Activate full panic mode. So here I am, leaving the cabin only 5 minutes before we were supposed to meet, not knowing where I am going on the worlds largest cruise ship! =P I was thinking that it may be the MDR so I went there first, didn't see them. I decided to go to the Amber Theater next, all closed up. Hmmm! Ah, for some reason the Solarium rang a bell and I went up there. No one was to be found besides adults relaxed, sipping a Bloody Mary, and reading! Crap! I was so mad at myself because I really wanted to see everyone again, I told them I was coming and bringing $5 for the poker hand and didn't want to let them down, and to see Maureen and her Loft Suite! So what should I do when I'm feeling a little down? Check out the Promenade I guess, after all it was a favorite place of mine and I wasn't going to waste a minute on this ship! You won't believe who I found near Starbucks! What a relief!!! Luckily they waited a little for more people and I don't know how I made it from my cabin the middle of the ship to the lower part of the back to the front and then all the way up to the Solarium and then back to the middle of the Promenade in a mere 10 mins! And the only running I was doing was running late! Luckily there were no kids playing elevator tag and all the huge foreign groups had already got up to the pool deck's! =P

 

The cabin crawl was really fun, we got to see a bunch of ocean view balcony cabins, one central park view balcony, and the accessible crown loft suite! =D You should have seen all of our faces light up when we walked in! What an incredible place to live for a week.

 

I will start showing you some pictures of the view from the Central Park balcony then move on to the CLS! Oh and of course the cruise compass first!

 

Day 5 Cruise Compass & Specials

 

 

Edited July 16, 2013 by swim13

[kelleigh229]

I'm finally caught up! Mike, this review is amazing. LOVE your pictures! I love your enthusiasm - it's contagious. I'm dying to take my little boy on either Allure or Oasis...target for that one is 2015, but your pictures are making me want to scrap my 2014 Freedom scheming and go right to Allure. Great job and I can't wait to read more.

[swim13]

 

 

[swim13]

View from a Central Park View Balcony!

 

 

[swim13]

Cabin #1742 - Accessible Loft Suite!

P.S. Thank you so much mringenoldus aka Maureen for opening your amazing room for us to come and see, it really is an awesome place to stay! Maureen and I had been talking for a while on the roll call and as a retired teacher, she was very excited that I had graduated! Listen to this, she gave me a card and an awesome gift that I already used for graduating!!! Maureen took her grandson, nephew, and I out to eat after the cabin crawl. She initially took me to the concierge club (suite guests only) to have some lunch but they don't set out food until 12 so we went down to Johnny Rockets! Thank you so much for my lunch too!! Maureen is really an awesome person and I hope we get the chance to cruise on the same sailing once again!

 

Here is the very expansive hallway leading to all the loft suites!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[swim13]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shhh, I took a sneak peak at the balcony of the Royal Loft Suite next door, what a HUGE balcony, it even has a hot tub. It's almost too big!!

 

 

 

 

[swim13]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[swim13]

Concierge Club

 

 

 

 

Maureen and I were trying to get pictures of some of the zip-liners going down!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[swim13]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[swim13]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vpat48]

What an awesome review. Bummed that it is wrapping up

[swim13]

 

 

 

 

The rest of the day, I don't remember! I'm so sorry everyone, I knew this would happen at some point. I do know that it was a pool day, my friend Matt and I were most likely checking out some of the girls behind our sunglasses and getting some free ice cream, shh! =P

 

We had the Ice Game's show in Studio B tonight before dinner! I was excited for this show because I still remember how awesome the ice show was on our cruise on the Freedom of the Seas back in 2006!! Once again we saw an amazing show aboard the beautiful Allure. In fact I will just tell you right now that every single show we went to was phenomenal. The skill these people have is unbelievable. I felt like I was watching an Olympic showcase, I will not spoil it because you seriously need to check this show out! I wish I also saw the other ice show which is themed to the movie How To Train Your Dragon.

 

 

 

[swim13]

I think I've neglected to mention where we sat in the MDR during this cruise. Normally we would sit near the center of the MDR where the grand opening is but we got stuck way far away on this cruise! It had it's pro's and con's. The pro's were the exclusivity and extremely easy access, we could just use the entrance near the stairs on the 4th deck and our table was right there. We also sat next to a window. The con was not being able to see the beautiful three story opening and missing the two dinner shows! Other than that, we had great staff! Gunnel and Suellen were awesome, I'm actually Facebook friends with Suellen! =P Tonight was the second formal night, we missed the first so we were sure to make this one. It was also LOBSTER TAIL and Baked Alaska night! Don't worry, I have some pictures for ya!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we all went up to the pool decks for some reason and I got some night shots of the sports pool.

 

 

 

 

 

[swim13]

Now the next three pictures of the night were really random and I just took them on the way back to the room. I think the last one is my cup I got from a drink I treated myself to for the 4th! It was a mix of Piña Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri I believe. I still use the cup, it has my favorite logo on it and lights up with my favorite color! =D

 

Tonight my friends and I all went to QUEST!! Wow was that fun!! I believe a cc member from our roll call was the leader of one group. If you are 18 or older, don't miss this! I really don't want to spoil it for you but there were many people there and the time passed by very fast! We went to the club after that and then a late night trip to the Promenade and Central Park!

 

 

 

 

 

[swim13]

Day 5 is done! I know it was a really light picture day but don't worry, Mexico will be a very fun day with lots of pictures! This was also the day I figured out that my camera had special filters built in to the camera so I played around with that and I think some of the pictures turned out great, I can't wait to share them!

 

I will respond to everyone's comments and then Day 5 is officially over! I hope you had a great 4th of July! :D

[swim13]

Looks YUMMY!! I LOVE shrimp cocktail and thanks to your info, I look forward to eating it every night!!

 

I've read so many horrific reviews about the food and I just don't understand them. Your pictures look awesome and the food looks delicious!!

 

Enjoying your review sooooooooo much. THANK YOU AGAIN for taking the time to do it. I'm so excited about our upcoming cruise that I can't contain myself!!

 

Well thank you so much for enjoying my review so much!! =D You are going to love the food, I really don't why people don't like it! Maybe they are just trying to look for something to complain about?! =P

 

I am so going to love this party...Do you happen to know which night this fell on? I will be on the Eastern itinerary and trying to figure out my evening entertainment and really do not want to miss this show. Thanks=D

 

It was the 4th night, the night we left Jamaica! I'm not sure if it will be the same night on the Eastern but don't worry. Just check the cruise compass every morning or even look at the interactive screens! It was fun!

 

Great review & your pictures are awesome! I too purchased the NEX F3 after seeing Gambee's reviews. I am happy to see that pictures are awesome even with the kit lens. I am getting excited about our second Allure cruise next May. We went on the Western specifically to go to Labadee & the zip line on the first one. It is so worth every penny for the zip line. Doing the Eastern route next. Keep up the great review and congratulations on your graduation!

 

Thank you so much! Yeah the NEX F3 is the best!

 

Hi all!

 

I'm not able to see any of the latest photos starting with the shrimp cocktail.

Anybody have any suggestions as to what the problem might be please?

Thanks for any help.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Hmm thats strange! I know one time some of the pictures weren't showing up for me but it was just because my internet connection wasn't very good. Can you see them now? I hope so!

 

What a great review!! I'm doing the Western route on my Oasis cruise!!! Your pictures are great! Thanks so much for sharing!!

 

:)

 

Thank YOU so much for being involved!

 

After a slightly crazed family reunion (1/2 of which I hosted) I'm finally getting caught up on my CC reviews! Nice job Mike! Loving all your photos. Congratulations on your graduation, we just did a graduation cruise on Allure (early tho, in April) and my girls loved it!:D

 

I know where you live,;) will be going by it many, many, many more times :rolleyes: when I have to drive the through way from MA to RIT for my just graduated daughter to go to college this fall! I'm even considering a night in the finger lakes area after we drop her off; ill be too weepy to stay in Rochester:( I hear its a lovely place to visit...need to find a nice B&B there.

 

Looking forward to catching up on the rest! Great job and best of luck with your plans in the fall!

 

Thanks so much! I will actually be going to school very close to RIT and I have a coworker off to RIT! I even know a swimmer at RIT! =P There are MANY B&B around Seneca lake, you will have no issue! Check out the Glen Harbor Hotel, I know it's not a B&B but it is a very nice place to stay.

 

Great review! I'm actually from Rochester. Seneca lake is not too far. Glad you enjoyed the Allure!

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

I will be living in Rochester in just a few months! What a great city, I really love the fact that there is a Carrabba's Italian Grill there! Please tell me you have been?!

 

Thank you for the review. It is one of the better reviews done. You being 18 and just starting in your mature life you have a very good eye for photography. Again thank you very much for the review.

 

Thank you very much!

 

I'm finally caught up! Mike, this review is amazing. LOVE your pictures! I love your enthusiasm - it's contagious. I'm dying to take my little boy on either Allure or Oasis...target for that one is 2015, but your pictures are making me want to scrap my 2014 Freedom scheming and go right to Allure. Great job and I can't wait to read more.

 

Thanks!!! You are going to love either ship but I would probably just go for Allure since its new and bigger! =D You can always go back to Freedom!

 

What an awesome review. Bummed that it is wrapping up

 

Thanks!!

[PathfinderEss]

Really enjoying your review and wonderful pictures. Thanks:)

[LisaT91403]

Your review is excellent! I was a swimmer too (12 years!), but it was a long, long time ago! Being a pool lifeguard and teaching swimming were my first jobs!

 

Thank you so much! Yeah the NEX F3 is the best!

 

I am a terrible photographer, and only use my iPhone for pictures. I know nothing about photography. How difficult is it to learn how to use the NEX F3? I'm wondering if it might be a good "in between" for me (better than my iPhone, but not as big/heavy/sophisticated as a DSLR). My iPhone is just so slooooow...I miss half the things my 5 year old is doing because it takes too long to take a picture!

[Peachy59]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this amazing review. :D The photos are wonderful! BTW, I live near where they film "The Walking Dead" in Georgia!:eek: