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Review - Allue OTS - Sept 29 - Oct 6, 2013 w/ photographs

Cuizer2

By Cuizer2,
in Royal Caribbean International

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dacsmom

dacsmom

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Thank you for the wonderful review. I like reading reviews from solo cruisers since I frequently cruise alone. Your pictures were beautiful. I am looking at the Allure next October, I am a FOS fan and thought this ship might be a bit too big for my tastes, I try to do everything on a vacation and come home exhausted. I think I will give it a try.

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liberiben

liberiben

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One of the videos is also of you. Do you know the OP or did you just give them permission to post all these pictures of you?

No to both questions, my husband said the same thing about privacy issues, but I personally don't mind, now if it was my 6 year old DD that would be another story.

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laedw

laedw

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Wednesday, October 2, 2013 – St. Thomas

 

 

We arrive in St. Thomas at 10am and dock in Crown Bay, not Havensight where most of the ships dock. It is a nice place to dock if you like shipping containers, but not so great if you want to be near anything touristy. We are the only ship here today. Havensight is completely devoid of cruise ships.

 

 

This morning I received quite a surprise on my balcony. Something was stuck under the table and when I went out to investigate I realized it was a little girl’s underwear. Good thing I am traveling solo. Finding something like that on one’s balcony could be rather hard to explain. It obviously blew in overnight. So I figure it belongs to someone in a balcony cabin forward of me. However, my room steward tells me that there are no little girls in his section.

 

 

 

Since I just want to go to Coral World I am in no hurry. Eventually I head out around 11am and find out that the taxis don’t want to leave without a full load. So it is close to noon before I actually am on my way to Coral World with a group of about nine people who are going to Coki Beach (which is right next door to Coral World). On the way to Coral World I get a good view of the Havensight dock and that is when I realize that we are the only ship visiting St. Thomas today.

 

 

Coral World reminds me of a miniature Aquarium of the Pacific (which is located in Long Beach, California) but without the big aquariums. Coral World has aquariums, but none that are super sized. The entrance fee to Coral World is $19 and a locker rental is three dollars plus a ten dollar deposit. Coral World has a building that is out in the ocean and surrounded by a reef. Downstairs are glass windows looking out into the reef and the wild fish that call that reef home. It is a great idea, however, this is ocean water (not filtered water) and though the water is fairly clear, it is not crystal clear. So the view into the natural world is not that great today.

 

 

 

After that I went into the lorikeet enclosure. Even before I bought any nectar I had three lorikeets on me. They were friendly and hungry (or perhaps friendly because they were hungry).

 

 

There is also a stingray pool, a touch pool and a shark encounter pool. However, though they let people walk in the shark exhibit (for a price), they will not allow people to put their hands in the water while standing outside the exhibit, which eliminated any photographs I wanted to take (I have a waterproof camera).

 

 

 

After touring Coral World I head next door to Coki Beach. It is a nice crescent shaped beach with rocks that attract fish at each end. The beach vendors were selling dog biscuits to people that want to feed the fish (I didn’t see any dogfish). The only problem is the dog biscuits are the same color and shape (more or less) as my skin. So a parrot fish came over to me to get a snack, only I didn’t have any biscuits (dog or otherwise). Since parrot fish make their living by munching on coral, I decided that for my finger’s sake it would be a good idea to gently chase away the fish.

 

 

 

So after walking up and down Coki Beach (in the water) I head back to Coral World (the admission ticket is a wrist band which includes in and out privileges) to shower in fresh water and change back into street clothes and wait for our taxi to come back, which it does when the driver said she would be there. On the way back the taxi driver stops at a well-known place for obtaining pictures of both Havensight and Crown Bay.

 

 

 

Once back on the ship I take another shower and rest until dinner time.

 

Since the ship does not dock in Havensight, can you take a taxi to the downtown/shopping area?

 

I'm enjoying your review and the photos. Thank you very much.

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mailmama

mailmama

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Thanks for taking the time to do this review. The pictures made it so wonderful but then also your sense of humor was great too!! Can you tell me more about the diamond lounge? I will be sailing as diamond next May on the Allure. Your photos really make me want to pack and leave now!!

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Posted (edited)
Since the ship does not dock in Havensight, can you take a taxi to the downtown/shopping area?

 

I'm enjoying your review and the photos. Thank you very much.

 

Yes, there were a couple that hitched a ride on the taxi that took the rest of us to Coki Beach. I forget how much it costs. However, I was at the same dock in 2010 and took a picture of the posted taxi fares ...

 

Taxirates.jpg

 

Its that per person language that makes things difficult. If the taxi can charge $7 from one person for the trip, and the taxi can hold four, then the driver wants to fill the taxi with four so that instead of only $7 the driver gets $28 for the same trip.

Edited by Cuizer2
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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Thanks for taking the time to do this review. The pictures made it so wonderful but then also your sense of humor was great too!! Can you tell me more about the diamond lounge? I will be sailing as diamond next May on the Allure. Your photos really make me want to pack and leave now!!

 

Access to the Diamond Lounge is 24/7. You just put your room key in the slot on the wall just to the left of the door and then open the door. To get out you push a button on the inside.

 

It might be a good spot for observing the parades. I realized that too late and did try that.

 

The pre-dinner drinks are not served in the Diamond Lounge. They are served at a nearby bar, but I don't recall the name of the bar.

 

You can get a continental breakfast in the morning. There is coffee and ice water. You can get orange juice, but you have to ask for it.

 

It was never crowded when I was there. I was there for breakfast most mornings and popped in a few times during the day and in the evening.

 

What else would you like to know about it?

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Below is a link to a slide show of all 387 photographs originally posted with the review. Because of a change in the terms of use by Photobucket (where the photographs used to be hosted), those pictures will no longer be visible after August 16, 2017.

 

Just click on the link below. Then click on the left & right arrows below the photograph on the right, or click on the photograph to the right to see a larger image (in some cases, only the vertical images will be larger). Use the left and right arrows to move through the album. If you clicked on the photo in the upper right is a double arrow to go full screen and an “X” to exit the slideshow.

 

https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-nkzhcN/i-ZLWGh68

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