Cheapo dad’s trip report on Allure of the Seas sailing December 14, 2014

[LikesToRaceCars]

LOL, I am male but I agree the conversation may be more amusing or creepy depending on your perspective if I were not.

 

I am looking forward to the Alaska cruise and plan on taking a ton of pictures. I am traveling with my father and this will be his third Alaskan cruise and my first. Being away from home, work, and seeing new things is always fun for me ;).

[blonde375]

Harry, I know I am late to the party, but I just spent the last 2 days reading your trip report/review. LOVED it! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and PHOTOS!!! You have helped my family immensely!

[SMHCPA]

Subscribing so I can finish reading this later - love your writing/compulsive planning style!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[anesthetist2be]

2 years later and people are still following your review. I found it and read it every night before bed. I am booked on Harmony in 2017 and I cant wait. I think its time for you too book another cruise so we can have another review or more Blah blah blah and PICTURES!! Loved it!

[harryfat1]

Harry, I know I am late to the party, but I just spent the last 2 days reading your trip report/review. LOVED it! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and PHOTOS!!! You have helped my family immensely!

 

Subscribing so I can finish reading this later - love your writing/compulsive planning style!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

2 years later and people are still following your review. I found it and read it every night before bed. I am booked on Harmony in 2017 and I cant wait. I think its time for you too book another cruise so we can have another review or more Blah blah blah and PICTURES!! Loved it!

 

Hi, everyone,

 

I am so sorry I did not reply sooner as I never received a notification that someone had posted to this thread so I never knew there had been comments the past couple weeks. I came back to the boards to check up on my roll call and only then did I realize there had been comments last month.

 

I make it a personal commitment to reply back to as many posters as I can so don’t want people to think I abandoned this thread.

 

Glad the cruise info is still useful and entertaining to folks that are reading months after the cruise is over. Guess the crazy aunt scenario applies to all cruises?

 

We are still planning on a December cruise this year. As luck will have it, we will see Allure and Harmony at some of the ports. You know I will take pictures of them and knowing their butts are bigger than our butts. Sigh!

 

You all have a great upcoming cruise.

[lisabbscott]

Bump! This review should be a sticky at the top of the RC board. So thorough and entertaining. For the last two weeks I have looked forward to reading it each night.

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Forums mobile app

[Yorkvillain]

A classic review resurrected!

[KiwiGal117]

Glad to hear that there wi be another one coming soon!! Can't wait!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[harryfat1]

Bump! This review should be a sticky at the top of the RC board. So thorough and entertaining. For the last two weeks I have looked forward to reading it each night.

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Forums mobile app

 

Hi,

 

Thank you for the compliment and I’m happy to know the trip report I posted almost two years ago is still entertaining people today.

 

As part of the mutual admiration society, I have to compliment you on couple areas:

 

1) Going deep in the archives and pulling up an old trip report from awhile back

2) Reading it for two weeks on a trip report where most of the info is outdated/obsolete. The ADHD in me won’t have the patience to slog through something this long. I would just zip through the photos in an hour and be done

 

Hopefully there’s something in the trip report that is useful for your future cruises

[harryfat1]

A classic review resurrected!

 

Glad to hear that there wi be another one coming soon!! Can't wait!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Hi, Folks,

 

Thank you for the kind words.

 

Yes, we will be on a cruise in two months. It’s been almost two years since we last sailed on the Allure. We are all looking forward to another cruise vacation.

 

Most likely I will write a trip report after the cruise but do keep in mind that most sequels in books and movies suck big time so chances are the my sequel will suck as well.

[Ourusualbeach]

Hi, Folks,

 

Thank you for the kind words.

 

Yes, we will be on a cruise in two months. It’s been almost two years since we last sailed on the Allure. We are all looking forward to another cruise vacation.

 

Most likely I will write a trip report after the cruise but do keep in mind that most sequels in books and movies suck big time so chances are the my sequel will suck as well.

 

Harry, as long as you keep the same writer and cast I'm sure your review will be just as entertaining and informative as this one was.

 

Wish we had been able to keep this cruise but your review will be the next best thing to being there in person.:)

[stickyshocker]

Hi, Folks,

 

 

 

Thank you for the kind words.

 

 

 

Yes, we will be on a cruise in two months. It’s been almost two years since we last sailed on the Allure. We are all looking forward to another cruise vacation.

 

 

 

Most likely I will write a trip report after the cruise but do keep in mind that most sequels in books and movies suck big time so chances are the my sequel will suck as well.

 

 

 

.. I was invited at some church anniversary event today and during the ongoing solemn service/preach/session i decided to check CC and stumbled on this thread..To make it short, I laughed out loud!!(can't help it) got the death stare from the wife, kids chuckled and i'm here now at my abode doing the dishes:) .. figure:)

Thanks bud! awesome trip report!

[harryfat1]

Harry, as long as you keep the same writer and cast I'm sure your review will be just as entertaining and informative as this one was.

 

Wish we had been able to keep this cruise but your review will be the next best thing to being there in person.:)

 

Hi, Ken,

 

I missed chatting with you in our roll call. Sorry you had to cancel but then again looking at your upcoming cruises, I don’t feel bad for you as you have Allure and Harmony coming up in early 2017.

 

Have a great time on your upcoming cruises.

[harryfat1]

.. I was invited at some church anniversary event today and during the ongoing solemn service/preach/session i decided to check CC and stumbled on this thread..To make it short, I laughed out loud!!(can't help it) got the death stare from the wife, kids chuckled and i'm here now at my abode doing the dishes:) .. figure:)

Thanks bud! awesome trip report!

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for the compliment on the trip report.

 

Guess it could have been worst – if you were to read the trip report at a funeral service and laughed out loud during the eulogy. You would be doing far worst chores than washing the dishes...:p

[Coralc]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the compliment on the trip report.

 

Guess it could have been worst – if you were to read the trip report at a funeral service and laughed out loud during the eulogy. You would be doing far worst chores than washing the dishes...:p

 

Hi Harry! I will be looking forward to your next review! :D

 

We just sailed on Liberty out of Galveston a few weeks ago. Non-stop flights out of Oakland on SWA are much shorter than flights to Florida. We liked it. We will probably try Liberty again, since Royal Caribbean isn't sailing out of New Orleans anymore. :D

 

~Patti :)

[harryfat1]

Hi Harry! I will be looking forward to your next review! :D

 

We just sailed on Liberty out of Galveston a few weeks ago. Non-stop flights out of Oakland on SWA are much shorter than flights to Florida. We liked it. We will probably try Liberty again, since Royal Caribbean isn't sailing out of New Orleans anymore. :D

 

~Patti :)

 

Hi, Patti,

 

It’s nice to hear from you again. Hope all is well and you had a nice cruise sailing out of Galveston.

 

I totally agree with you on the pain of flying from CA to FL. I am already dreading the flight back post cruise. Even with a direct flight, it’ll be six plus hours spent on the plane before getting back home late at night in December.

 

The biggest reason why we haven’t tried the southern Caribbean cruise is the long flight time to get there from CA. As I get older, my butt becomes more flat and it’s harder to sit for a long period of time.

 

At any rate, I will try and remember to take few pics of the trees on the cruise for your viewing pleasure. But since there’s no central park on the Freedom, the only tree I will likely see is the fake Christmas tree at the RP…:p

[cruisersssm]

Loved this review! Thanks for sharing

 

Sent from my Arc using Forums mobile app

[tinkertwo]

Hi, Folks,

 

Thank you for the kind words.

 

Yes, we will be on a cruise in two months. It’s been almost two years since we last sailed on the Allure. We are all looking forward to another cruise vacation.

 

Most likely I will write a trip report after the cruise but do keep in mind that most sequels in books and movies suck big time so chances are the my sequel will suck as well.

 

Oh YES! More please. Reading your review was one of the deciding factors in our booking with RCCL. I look forward to reading more from you and looking at all the pictures you post......so, once again, more please! :)

[stickyshocker]

Hi,

 

 

 

Thanks for the compliment on the trip report.

 

 

 

Guess it could have been worst – if you were to read the trip report at a funeral service and laughed out loud during the eulogy. You would be doing far worst chores than washing the dishes...:p

 

 

 

Well as motivated as i am to catch up with your report and to avert any further snafu ( almost had it at the board room), i will have to read this at the comfort of my basement (Neverending Story style).[emoji851]

[harryfat1]

Loved this review! Thanks for sharing

 

Sent from my Arc using Forums mobile app

 

Oh YES! More please. Reading your review was one of the deciding factors in our booking with RCCL. I look forward to reading more from you and looking at all the pictures you post......so, once again, more please! :)

 

Hi,

 

Thanks you both for compliments. Glad you folks found the info useful.

 

Too bad I can’t get a referral fee for you booking a cruise due to my influence. Royal has a referral program but it’s impossible to implement unless you are close family member as it requires the knowledge of another person’s birthdates. Who is going to give that out unless you are family member?

 

Anyway, enjoy your upcoming cruise with Royal. Hopefully I didn’t steer you wrong and you ended up with a cruise vacation you didn't enjoy.

[harryfat1]

Well as motivated as i am to catch up with your report and to avert any further snafu ( almost had it at the board room), i will have to read this at the comfort of my basement (Neverending Story style).[emoji851]

 

You seem to be very good at finding interesting places to read cruise critics. Maybe you should contact Southwest Airlines and sell them on some ideas for their “Wanna get away?” commercials where people get into embarrassing situations and need to get away for awhile.

 

This actually raises an interesting topic - where do people read cruise critics forum? Has anyone ever done a survey or poll to find out?

 

Do people mostly read cruise critics in the more traditional (meaning “acceptable”) settings such as living room/computer room? Or they read while commuting in cars/trains/subway/ferries? Or they try to multitask (politically correct way of saying they are bored) and read while at church/work/meetings/family gatherings?

 

Or we can get into more raunchy humor (oh, yes, my type) and ask how many people read this while on the toilet? Let’s see some hands out there. I can’t be the only person doing so. Which is why you NEVER borrow someone else’s cell phone as you never know where it was just few minutes ago – if you get my drift.

 

Guess in your case, if you laugh out loud reading cc while on the toilet at work with your coworkers just outside the stalls, you can be a star for two commercials. One is Southwest’s “Wanna get away” and the other is the Geico commercial because “It’s what you do”…

 

In my Allure trip report, I talked about urinals and I think I just found a new topic for the next trip report! That’s the maturity & sophistication level of my writing style. :p

[CaptnG]

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[TravelingCircusof5]

I am really loving your trip report. Your children must be so patient and respectful to do all that touring around/ 'small wonder' with the grown ups stuff and don't seem to complain about anything.

 

When I view this ship, I just keep thinking how it looks exactly like an Asian Shopping Mall. We lived (as foreigners) in China for 7 years recently and China and Singapore have the most gorgeous malls - all glass and chrome luxury and SOOO tall. That is exactly what this page reminds me of - specifically "grand gateway' (english name) in Shanghai. These ships are gorgeous, but they really do seem to look for like Malls than tropical escapes. How does it feel when you are There?

 

Makes me miss a good mall actually.... I hate US malls.

 

One thing about taking so many pictures is afterward, especially now when it’s basically one month after the fact, I don’t remember on some pictures why I took it (too many brain cell have died since the Christmas and New Year parties). Like this one for example, no idea why I took this picture other than to show the glass elevator?

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

I am really loving your trip report. Your children must be so patient and respectful to do all that touring around/ 'small wonder' with the grown ups stuff and don't seem to complain about anything.

 

When I view this ship, I just keep thinking how it looks exactly like an Asian Shopping Mall. We lived (as foreigners) in China for 7 years recently and China and Singapore have the most gorgeous malls - all glass and chrome luxury and SOOO tall. That is exactly what this page reminds me of - specifically "grand gateway' (english name) in Shanghai. These ships are gorgeous, but they really do seem to look for like Malls than tropical escapes. How does it feel when you are There?

 

Makes me miss a good mall actually.... I hate US malls.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for the compliment. Happy to hear you are enjoying the trip report, even if it’s 2 years ago when we last sailed on the Allure.

 

As luck have it, we are leaving for the airport today for FLL for another cruise so perfect timing to catch me before I leave town as I am too cheap to pay for Internet while on the ship.

 

It’s been too long since we last cruised so we are all excited to start a brand new vacation. My kids have been trained/brain washed to appreciate the things we like – exploring new places and seeing new things.

 

Yes, the Asian malls floors stack on top of each other due to lack of space so they build them vertically. Shopping in Asia is a different experience than back in the US.

 

Have fun on your cruise planning.

[dani negreanu]

Harry,

 

Eagerly awaiting your next trip report.

 

Wishing you and all your family an enjoyable and amazing cruise :)