Review: Allure Western 5/18/14

[erries]

Day 6 -- Cozumel

We ate breakfast this morning at Johnny Rockets, which was virtually deserted when we arrived but packed by the time we left. The food was decent but nothing spectacular; I was mildly disappointed in my pancakes. Our MDR waitress had been trying all week to get us to come to Johnny Rockets for breakfast, because that’s where she works in the mornings…and wouldn’t you know, today was her day off. :rolleyes:

 

We disembarked and made our way through the port shopping area to the taxi line. Our destination: Nachi Cocom, an all-inclusive private beach limited to 100 people per day. DH and the in-laws and I had been there once before, and we loved that it’s quiet and relaxing and not crowded no matter how many ships are in port. Taxi service from the International Pier for six people was $32 one way. Below is an excerpt from a review I did on the Cozumel board:

 

The food at Nachi was excellent, Manuel kept the drinks coming, the weather was nice, and the beach and resort facilities were clean. The chairs by the pool were fine, but the chairs under our palapa were really hard and uncomfortable. Staff members were walking around offering floating mats for an extra fee, and although we didn't rent any, I kind of wish we would've, just to put them on our chairs to sit on.

 

My husband snorkeled right off the beach and saw several kinds of tropical fish, a stingray and the legs or tail of a crab or lobster or something peeking out from under a rock/reef formation. Everyone on here always says there's no good snorkeling right off the beach, and I'm sure the paid excursion is much better, but both times we've been to Nachi Cocom, we've found that same small reef area and seen some pretty cool stuff. If you're taking snorkeling gear on your cruise anyway, bring it to Nachi and see what you can find. I heard a kid who had rented gear there say it was $8 for the day.

 

As for the food, I got the guacamole for an appetizer, my dad got wings, and everyone else got nachos. Everything was excellent, though my dad thought it was weird that they brought plain wings and buffalo sauce in a bottle that you had to put on yourself. I can't remember what all six of us got for lunch, but I got the mixed (chicken and beef) fajitas, which were great. Coconut ice cream for dessert right before we left was the perfect complement to the heavier food. Drinks were also good -- I'm pregnant, so mine were all virgin, but the virgin pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris were tasty. :) My husband started with Dos Equis and Corona and eventually just had Manuel bring him random Mexican beers he'd never tried before, and he liked them all.

 

The only negative thing to report is that there was a really rowdy group there that day, and they brought two big speakers hooked up to an iPod and blasted country music all morning. It was so loud that another couple asked to be moved farther up the beach and ended up next to us. We were about as far away as you could get and still had to raise our voices to talk; it was impossible to read or just relax. So many people from different palapas were complaining that I finally went over and politely asked if they'd be willing to turn it down a little. They were super friendly and accommodated immediately, so we thought the problem was solved...but after a few songs they turned it back up again. On our way to the covered pavilion area for lunch, we saw a sign posted by the pool with the facility rules, and one of the first on the list stated that Nachi Cocom does not "provide or allow" a wild spring break party atmosphere, and guests could be asked to leave, etc etc. (Obviously I'm paraphrasing.) This situation was definitely nothing as drastic as that, but we decided to try to maybe speak to a manager about the noise level after we finished lunch. But when we got back to our palapa, all was quiet. :cool: There was at least one other ship in port that day that had sailed from New Orleans or somewhere on central time and was leaving way earlier than Allure, so maybe they were from that ship and left after lunch. We didn't see or hear them the rest of the day, and it was blissfully quiet and peaceful -- the Nachi Cocom we signed up for -- the rest of the day.

 

This evening at dinner, our waitress asked if we were going to Blue Planet. When we said no, she told us all about how it’s her favorite show on the ship, it’s amazing, etc. By the end of her sales pitch, my mom was convinced, so she and I decided to go get in the standby line after dinner, and DH and his mom joined us. (I think my dad wandered off to go smoke a cigar up on the pool deck; my father-in-law probably went to bed!) The standby line ended up not being necessary; by the time we got over there, they were letting everyone in, and there was plenty of seating available. Much like Chicago, I ended up enjoying this way more than I thought I would. The set pieces are pretty incredible, and some of the stunts and illusions they do are really great. (For those who have seen it: I had heard so much about the tree, and yes, that was awesome, but my favorite part was the underwater sequence.) So keep an open mind about Blue Planet, even if it doesn’t sound like it would be your thing.

[erries]

Day 7 -- at sea

Boo hoo, last day. :( DH and I slept in and got breakfast at the Windjammer, then found the rest of our group at the pool. The in-laws were camped out at the main pool, my parents in the Solarium. I ended up drifting between the two, spending the majority of the day by the main pool but getting in the Solarium pool with my mom several times too. The weather was hot and sunny and perfect today; it was a great last sea day to just relax, lay out, read and swim.

 

DH and my dad went to Izumi for lunch and loved it. They’re both sushi lovers and said the sushi was really good. They also got sake, and between that and the bucket of beer they had already been drinking before lunch, they were feeling pretty good. :D I wanted to go to Park Café, but my mom wanted to go to the Windjammer, so we compromised; we swung by Park Café so I could get a panini and made-to-order salad (so good!), and I just took it into the Windjammer and ate there with her.

 

In the evening we went back to the room a little earlier than normal so we could pack and leave our luggage outside our door when we left for dinner. For dessert in the MDR I had the key lime pie, which some here have said has gone downhill…but I thought it was delicious. There wasn’t a whole lot going on this evening, and my parents and father-in-law turned in soon after dinner. DH and his mom and I spent our last waking hours wandering the ship and stopping into places we hadn’t spent much time yet -- Viking Crown Lounge (normally a favorite, but the music was too sleep-inducing), the jazz club (also sleepy music), and Blaze. This was hilarious -- we went into Blaze to see what was going on, and as soon as our eyes adjusted, we saw that we were almost literally the only people there. There was one guy at the bar and one woman dancing by herself on the dance floor. The DJ was blasting club music at full volume as if a crazy rave were happening -- but it was deserted. Oh well, A for effort!

 

Disembarkation

DH and I packed our last-minute stuff then left it in the room while we ran down to Park Café to get a quick breakfast. I had one of their McDonald’s-like breakfast sandwiches, which was okay but not great. We met up with the parents back at the room and started to head for our departure lounge, which I think was Dazzles for Platinum members. But DH noticed the electronic board while we were waiting for an elevator and saw that they were already calling our number; they must’ve been running early. So we just headed down to the Promenade and disembarked without having to wait at all.

 

The rest of the process was the usual drudgery: a lot of waiting around in the terminal building. We found our luggage quickly but waited a while to get through customs. We had arranged for private transportation to take us to the airport, and DH got in touch with the driver when we were through customs. He found us quickly and loaded us up.

 

We did something different this time: we found it was cheaper (even including the private transportation) to fly one-way into FLL and then one-way out of PBI in West Palm Beach. We had never been to that airport before, and oh my GOSH, it was so much easier and less stressful! We’re used to the chaos of FLL on departure day -- crazy long lines to check in, drop off luggage, and of course get through security. This was the polar opposite, and we were through everything, security included, in a flash. Don’t forget to check PBI when you’re booking flights.

 

Departing thoughts

Despite the few bumps in the road we had, this was a great cruise. I’m glad we finally convinced my parents to try cruising, and they had such a good time. In the weeks since, they’ve already started talking about their “next” one as if it’s a certainty. Mission accomplished!

 

A few notes on being Platinum I forgot to mention earlier: First, we did attend the Top Tier event, though I can’t remember which day it was. Of course I couldn’t take advantage of the free drinks, but it was alright. It was in the Amber Theater, and there was a short introduction by Ken Rush, followed by a brief address from the captain, followed by a song-and-dance number that included a medley of older songs I didn’t really know. (I recognized some of the same performers from Chicago and Blue Planet.) It wasn’t a bad way to kill an hour before dinner, but I don’t know that I’d go again.

 

Second, we were excited to take advantage of the better coupons offered to us as Platinum members, but then after the first day we promptly forgot all about them! I know it’s our own fault, but I think not having a physical coupon book in the room as a reminder made it an “out of sight, out of mind” type thing. On disembarkation morning when we got breakfast at Park Café, I tried to use the BOGO specialty coffee coupon to get cappuccinos for myself and my dad. After I ordered, one guy started making the drinks while another rang me out and swiped my card. Lo and behold -- no coupon. What? I explained that I was Platinum and hadn’t used any of my coupons all week, but he insisted that nothing was showing up, no discounts available. By the time the second guy had finished the drinks, we still hadn’t resolved it, so they finally gave up and just gave me the drinks for free. Later I found out that DH had tried to use a coupon for BOGO beer or something earlier in the week and was met with the same response. We never did find out what the deal was with this.

 

One of the main things that struck me after I got home from this cruise was how fast it seemed to go by. Maybe because we had skipped a year and had been looking forward to this for two long years; maybe because my parents were with us, and we did things a little differently to accommodate them. Or let’s face it: maybe because I’m pregnant and couldn’t drink. :rolleyes: Normally we spend quite a bit of time watching karaoke at the On Air Club, people-watching in the Promenade at the English pub, and grabbing pizza at Sorrento’s. This time I never set foot in the first two establishments at all and only got a single slice of pizza from Sorrento’s, on embarkation day. Also we normally go to the belly flop and sexy men competitions and spend some time watching the Flowriders, but due to the bad weather the first half of the trip, we ignored all that and spent our precious sunny moments parked by the pool. And I told myself I was finally going to get around to two of the free food venues I hadn’t tried on previous Oasis-class cruises -- the donut shop and the hot dog stand at the Boardwalk -- and never made it to either of those either. It just seemed like there weren’t as many days as there should’ve been; I only got to go to most of the free venues for breakfast and lunch once each, and we never set foot in the Schooner Bar, Vintages, the Champagne Bar, the fitness center, the spa, or any number of other places we normally frequent or at least visit once or twice. I don’t know how the week got away from me so quickly, but I feel like there was a LOT I didn’t have time to do.

 

This is all I can think to include right now, but I’ll come back and add more if I think of anything important (or if by some miracle I ever get my pictures sorted and ready to post). If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to ask. I wanted to write this review to “give back” to CC a little after asking literally hundreds of questions over the years and following dozens of other reviews. Hope you enjoyed it!