Solo on the Allure - My Thoughts

[maureencruiser]

Great review so far. OK ... here's the first question ... if you partied as much on the rest of the cruise as you did on day one ... how is that that you're still in possession of enough energy to start posting at 1:00 a.m.?

 

 

Look at my signature - my cruise was September 22! I just recovered! :D

[Rako20]

Fantastic review, lovin every minute of it keep it coming

[Yorkvillain]

Hey, you're my biggest fan! Maybe my only fan and I wouldn't have expected it considering where you're from and your interests. Just so you know what I mean, here is my license plate!

 

 

Haha. We loved how those Giants-Pats Super Bowls turned out for us! But I love Belichick. I hope the Pats make it this year because there is no way my horrific team is going anywhere anytime soon.

 

Now when I read your posts I'm going to read them in my head with a thick Boston accent.

[Snooksi]

After my delays and the late arrival and my taxi driver getting lost, I was starving. The hotel gave me a menu for a place called Doughboys and I ordered food. I went to the hotel lobby to get something to drink while I waited for the delivery and while discussing with the clerk whether or not Gingerale has caffeine, I said (muttered, really), I'd really like a glass of milk. He immediately went over to his little Starbucks setup that he had and poured me a big glass of milk at no charge. So sweet.

 

Well, since this is a cruise board, I know you all expect a little food porn and I have no intention of letting you down.

 

I had the Caesar salad.

 

 

Buttery garlic knots.

 

 

And spaghetti with meat sauce, which if you look closely, you will see they also included a few meat balls.

 

I had brought my two friends along.

 

And they had brought their two friends along to scare the room steward.

 

 

 

After I ate, I checked my two bottles of wine and they had survived the flight, so, shortly after that, I hit the hay and started dreaming about the Allure.

 

 

OMG, YOU CRACK ME UP!! I think it's the "friends OF the friends"!!! Would have scared me!!! LOL

 

I have been waiting and WAITING for you to post your review. I'm so excited and can't wait to go along on your vacation while I await mine!!! Just wanted to say "Hi!" and now I'm going back to finish reading!! LOVE IT so far and can't wait for it all!!!

 

Hope you had a FANTABULOUS time!!

[maureencruiser]

Now when I read your posts I'm going to read them in my head with a thick Boston accent.

 

Oh yes, the thickest! It's wicked pissah!! I drank 3 Maaaaaghaaaaritas! :D

[maureencruiser]

OMG, YOU CRACK ME UP!! I think it's the "friends OF the friends"!!! Would have scared me!!! LOL

 

I have been waiting and WAITING for you to post your review.

Hope you had a FANTABULOUS time!!

 

Hi, Sorry, When I turned on my phone Sunday, I found out my Mom had been hospitalized while I was away. I spent the first week after the cruise going from work to the hospital. :( Now, she has been moved to a nursing home for rehab.:( But, she is getting stronger and is in better spirits! :)

[cruise pup]

Can't wait to read more. You are a delight and must be so much fun to cruise with. Your pre-cruise spaghetti dinner reminded me of a similar experience last November when I was sailing the Independence t/a. I stayed in Southampton, England the night before at a budget hotel. There was a McDonald's next door that I thought i'd try but it was closed for renovations. The desk clerk showed me a bunch of take-away menus and I landed up ordering a beautiful Indian dinner. The price was cheap and there's no tipping since the delivery men earn a salary (same is true in a pub). They were very nice at the hotel and invited me to used the closed down breakfast area and avail myself to the dishes and cutlery. As if that wasn't enough I was told just to leave them and they will be tended to in the morning.

[maureencruiser]

Ok, so I walked/staggered/stumbled back to my cabin and it was only 7:30pm. I collapsed down on the bed just for a second to rest my eyes ;) and the next thing i know,

 

BANG!!

 

 

 

 

[maureencruiser]

I swear to God, someone had to have come into my cabin and slammed the door. I jumped up off the bed, covering my naughty bits, heart pounding and breathing heavily. There was no one there. I looked out into the hallway, no one. Holy Moly!!

 

Ok, so, I checked my watch. It was 8:15 and I had reservations for OceanAria at 9. So, I pulled myself together, brushed my teeth (Why was my breath so limey?) and off I went. The Aqua Theater is also on Deck 6, so, I walked past Rita's, quiet now and no Macedonians in sight.

 

When I got there, there was a line for people without reservations. I laughed and pointed at them as I sauntered by. The staff scanned my Seapass card to verify my reservation and I was golden. I tried to get some pictures of the show, but, they didn't come out and there was too much to see to worry about pictures. This one of the Aqua Theater itself came out the best,

 

 

OMG, This show is awesome! The best I have ever seen! I loved it so much, I came back at 10:45 and saw it again. I had to endure being in the no reservation line being laughed and pointed at, but, it was well worth it!! Sharks patrol these waters!

 

Do not miss this show, I came back another night and saw it for the third time, loved it!

 

On my way back to my cabin, I stopped in the shops and took a few pictures.

 

 

 

My first encounter with the Dreamworks characters, certainly not my last!

 

 

Hmmm....Candy!

 

[maureencruiser]

More Yummy!

 

They even had the penny candy of my (misbegotten) youth!

 

Finally, at 11:30, I returned to my cabin. I think my two friends might have gotten into the Margaritas as well.

 

 

 

I pulled them together and awarded them my flashing necklace, which flashed for six whole days, finally petering out on Saturday.

 

 

So, that was Day 1. Was I lonely? NO! Was I bored? HELL NO!! Did I fall overboard? Noooo, but, around 2am, they started paging someone to report to Guest services. They paged about every 10 minutes or so, 3 or 4 times total. Finally, they stopped paging and I fell asleep. Then, around 3:30,

 

 

Bang!!

[maureencruiser]

Can't wait to read more. You are a delight and must be so much fun to cruise with. They were very nice at the hotel and invited me to used the closed down breakfast area and avail myself to the dishes and cutlery. As if that wasn't enough I was told just to leave them and they will be tended to in the morning.

 

You're right, I AM a delight! :p I find that I meet the nicest people when I travel. If you go out looking for trouble, you will find it. If you go out with an open heart (haaaaaaht, that's for Yorkvillian) and an open mind, you will meet the same. This reminds me of my favorite quote. It's from Mark Twain and it is actually the only quote that I ever memorized.

 

[Yorkvillain]

So, that was Day 1. Was I lonely? NO! Was I bored? HELL NO!! Did I fall overboard? Noooo, but, around 2am, they started paging someone to report to Guest services. They paged about every 10 minutes or so, 3 or 4 times total. Finally, they stopped paging and I fell asleep. Then, around 3:30,

 

 

Bang!!

 

Wow, what an action packed day one!

[Snooksi]

Hi, Sorry, When I turned on my phone Sunday, I found out my Mom had been hospitalized while I was away. I spent the first week after the cruise going from work to the hospital. :( Now, she has been moved to a nursing home for rehab.:( But, she is getting stronger and is in better spirits! :)

 

So sorry to hear your mom was ill, especially while you were gone. But it sounds like she must be doing better and I hope the rehab goes well for her. Hope she gets to go home quickly!! Will be thinking and praying for you both!

 

I had to go up to St Louis for a few days and my first day back, I broke my foot. How, you ask? Why, I was practicing my high dive for the next Olympics and it accidentally hit the platform during my quadrazillion somersault looptie doop. Actually, it wasn't nearly as spectacular and I broke it STANDING UP from my desk chair!! Can you believe it? What a KLUTZ. My foot was completely asleep and so much so that I didn't know it and had no feeling in it whatsoever. So, my legs moved but my foot wouldn't and it bent completely in half and SNAP!! So STUPID and won't be back to normal until this boot is off and after 2 wks of PT, which won't be until right before we leave for our cruise. Thank goodness I'll be back to normal by then. LIFE and all of its absurdities...UGH!!

 

Well, glad to read you had a great time on your cruise. I can't wait for you to come back and write MORE!! I'm having a blast, so far, and your pictures are AWESOME!!!

 

Wishing your mom a quick recovery!!!!

 

Oh and Day One was PHENOMENAL and even ended with a BANG!! I can hardly wait to read what happened on Day TWO!

Edited October 13, 2013 by Snooksi

[maureencruiser]

Day 2 or the Day I discovered I've been using the wrong Monopoly tokens my whole life !

 

The day dawned misty and mystical, like something the ancient mariners of yore would have seen.

 

Oh, no, wait, it didn't. I just had the air conditioner blasting so cold in my cabin that I made my lens fog up. Hold on.

 

That's more like it.

 

I was up early, so, I went to Johnny Rockets for breakfast. Breakfast there is free, excuse me, it is INCLUDED in your fare. I thought I took pictures there, but, I guess I didn't. I must have been so hungry, I didn't bother. Don't forget, I drank, ate my dinner at 6pm the night before.

 

I ate outside and right after I ordered, who should come along, but, my friend Cynthia, from the hotel, and the cab......:p

 

We had a nice breakfast together. I enjoyed the breakfast there much more than the one at the Windjammer. I ate here 2 or 3 times, but, they close at 9am and the beds were so comfy, I usually wasn't up that early.

 

After we ate, Cynthia went for a walk and I don't recall what I did, but, we had the Meet n Mingle at 9:30 complete with a gift exchange.

 

The M&M was nice, it was nice meeting folks from the roll call in person. Most of them had met the night before at Bimini , but, there were a few stragglers like me. Zach, the assistant cruise director, gave a nice talk and gave away prizes for answering RC trivia. Then, we had the gift exchange, This is the bounty I came away with.

 

 

 

 

The Flamingo Tervis Tumbler was my gift exchange from Norm and Dee, thanks again, guys! I won the RC mug for knowing when RC was founded. Well, I was off by a year, but, I was close. The dark blue thing is either a wallet or a fanny pack, haven't figured it out yet. I won two of them and gave one to another woman from my roll call cause I'm cool like that! :D The light blue thing is a notepad with a pen that I think you're supposed to wear around your neck, haven't figured it out yet.

 

We were supposed to have the cabin crawl right after the M&M, but, RC had scheduled an event at 10:15 for C&A members and I really wanted to see that, so, I bailed. Sorry guys. My cabin was supposed to be the first one, you know, so, the people in the Owner's Suite could see how the poor folks live.

 

But, I found out the C&A show was going to feature the strong men from OceanAria and trust me, ladies, you do not want to miss this! Since I had already seen their act, I was able to focus on taking pictures this time. Hubba Hubba!

 

So, Natalie (Yes, that Natalie, shhhh...she's reading this thread) and I made our way to the Aqua Theater.

[Snooksi]

I'm still dying LAUGHING over the early morning dawn picture!! Thought, for a minute, you woke before the sun.

 

You crack me up. Did the "friends" recover from their margarita hangovers? One can only imagine what was going on in your cabin while you were gone. :p

 

Keep it coming and LOVING your review!!!!

Edited October 13, 2013 by Snooksi

[maureencruiser]

On our way there, we ran into some new friends!

 

 

I guess I am like a small child. I just cannot resist big, fuzzy animals. I had my picture taken with every single character I could find. Contrary to what some have posted, they do let you take pictures with your own camera. In fact, the character's handlers take your camera and take your picture then the ship's photographer takes his pic. It is all very nice, especially for families that can't spend that kind of money on pictures.

 

I have never seen the Madagascar movies, so, I was not familiar with these characters. But, I have since learned they are Julien, King of the lemurs and Alex the Lion. The other one is Mort and although I don't know what he is, he is very cute. Is he a baby chipmunk? That doesn't seem very Madagascarian. The movies were showing on the TV and in the 3-D theater, but, I didn't see much of them, just enough to learn their names.

 

On to the show!

 

 

What's that man doing way up there? He's not going to jump, is he??

 

 

Oh no, please don't! The pool is too small!!

 

 

Too late to turn back now!

 

 

Now, they said these two are brothers, I don't know about that and I don't care!

 

Ladies, pay attention!

 

[maureencruiser]

Impressive!

 

 

 

Just me and my brother, hanging out!

 

 

Sometimes, I make him fly!

 

 

 

 

UmmmHummmm

 

[maureencruiser]

Sometimes I hold my brother using only my feet!

 

 

And then I lower him.

 

 

Really low

 

 

The lowest of the low

[maureencruiser]

Sometimes I hold my brother using only my neck!

 

 

 

 

 

Then, I bend him like pretzel

 

 

He's really bendy!

 

 

OK, Mom says put your brother down

 

 

I'm a good boy, so I put him down.

 

[maureencruiser]

I put my brother down.

 

Bye, bye!

 

 

Then, the Captain and the Hotel Director came out and put on an equally impressive (???????) show of strength!

 

 

First, some cool moves!

 

 

Getting ready for the magic!

 

WOW!!

 

[maureencruiser]

Amazing!!

 

 

 

The finale!

 

 

After their speeches, we got to come up onto the stage for a unique look at the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

Those of you that have been on the ship know that the red stoplights you can see next to the rock climbing walls and the one waaay at the end of the boardwalk are to let the divers know NOT to dive because the floor is raised. In fact, the guests are now walking ON the water. The floor can be lowered 16 feet so they can dive.

 

Nice view of the wall, the suite balconies and the gec, the geck, the lizards!

 

[maureencruiser]

Actually, it wasn't nearly as spectacular and I broke it STANDING UP from my desk chair!! Can you believe it? What a KLUTZ. My foot was completely asleep and so much so that I didn't know it and had no feeling in it whatsoever. So, my legs moved but my foot wouldn't and it bent completely in half and SNAP!!

 

Oh and Day One was PHENOMENAL and even ended with a BANG!! I can hardly wait to read what happened on Day TWO!

 

OMG, That is horrific! Like that college basketball player who broke his leg last year on live TV! Louisville? Now, you've got me thinking, did I ever come back to that second bang? CC froze up on me for a while, so, I had a few glasses of wine. Hmmm, I better check!

[maureencruiser]

I'm still dying LAUGHING over the early morning dawn picture!! Thought, for a minute, you woke before the sun.

 

You crack me up. Did the "friends" recover from their margarita hangovers? One can only imagine what was going on in your cabin while you were gone. :p

 

Keep it coming and LOVING your review!!!!

 

Oh my, are you implying that they are friends with benefits! I never thought of that! The Panda is from a drug company called Anda. When my coworker and I took our Enchantment cruise, we took him and said we would come up with a better name than Anda. We didn't until The plane ride home when it hit me. Geoffrey, after our two favorite crew members.

 

Now, the dinosaur doesn't have a name either, he is from another drug company and I hoped to name him during this cruise, but, I didn't. I thought about Allure the Dinosure, but, it doesn't suit him. Any suggestions? Well, if he and Geoffrey are a couple, that would explain why dinosaurs are extinct. And the pandas aren't exactly flourishing, either. :D

[peteukmcr]

Loving your review, thanks so much. Bringing back great memories of our May sailing. Glad you reminded me of the food at Rita's Fiesta because after 3 margaritas I can't :D

[Pemcorgimum]

Thanks for such a fun review. You make it sound as if we are there with you!

 

Not sailed solo since 2007 when I had a not very nice cruise on P&O( my one and only, never to be repeated cruise with them!) which put me off solo cruising but think I may venture back now with RC. Thanks for giving me the confidence to do it.