Allure of the Seas - Photo Journal - April 17-24, 2016

[Pratique]

My wife and I sailed Allure of the Seas a few weeks ago on the western itinerary and had an amazing time on this magnificent ship. Now we are going through cruise withdrawal, so it is time to share some photos including scenes from the All Access Tour. Please pardon the blurry images taken with a smartphone (maybe next time I'll bring a proper camera, but probably not), and I resisted taking food pics because those just make me hungry again.

 

Off we go...

 

Day 1 - Hilton Garden Inn Dania Beach. Comfortable and within walking distance of a large strip mall, which came in handy after DW realized that she forgot to pack sandals. On Sunday mornings Ross opens at 9:00 am, an hour before most of the other stores, which include K-Mart, Marshalls, Sports Authority, and - for your pre-cruise shopping convenience - The Home Depot. Hey, you never know.

 

 

Port Everglades, Terminal 18. About to board the largest cruise ship in service in the world. If I had $1.3 billion, Allure of the Seas is the ship I would build too.

 

 

Suite Lounge, Deck 17. On board and waiting for the room to be ready.

 

[Pratique]

CLS Stateroom 1738. What can I say, these suites are incredible. 1738 faces aft and is immediately next to RLS 1740.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful flower arrangement was waiting. Pre-ordered this just two days before the cruise. The flowers lasted for the entire cruise, but by Day 7 were starting to wilt a little bit. It really helped brighten up the room and my wife was thrilled to get them.

 

[Pratique]

1738 connects with 1740 so the closet arrangement is a little different from the other CLS rooms. The closet on the left has cubbies and the closet on the right is for hanging garments.

 

 

 

 

Leaving port.

 

 

 

[Pratique]

Sports Deck.

 

 

South Florida. See you again in a week.

 

 

 

 

 

[Pratique]

Day 1 sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

Library.

 

 

Cabanas, Suite Sun Deck.

 

[Pratique]

Day 2 - At sea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pratique]

Day 3 - Labadee.

 

 

 

 

Welcome party.

 

 

 

[Pratique]

Labadee sail away on the bow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pratique]

Day 3 sunset.

 

 

[Pratique]

Day 4 - Falmouth. Arriving at Falmouth.

 

 

Liberty is already here.

 

 

 

 

 

[Pratique]

End of day stragglers.

 

 

Liberty leaving first, headed for Grand Cayman. We will see her again in Cozumel in two days.

 

 

Day 5 - At sea. Sunrise near Grand Cayman.

 

 

 

[Pratique]

Day 5 - At sea. All Access Tour. Dinner prep begins at 9:00 am on Deck 5 galley.

 

 

 

 

30,000 rolls a day.

 

 

 

Still busy with breakfast service on Deck 4 galley.

 

[Pratique]

 

This is where all of the provisions are loaded on Deck 2.

 

 

 

 

Provision master.

 

 

One of six walk-in freezers. On Day 5 it is pretty empty, reflecting the fact that very little of the food on board is frozen.

 

[Pratique]

This is where they keep the good stuff.

 

 

 

Engine Control Room, Deck 2.

 

 

 

I-95, Deck 2.

 

 

Crew Mess, Deck 2.

 

[Pratique]

Laundry, Decks 1, 0 and TW.

 

 

 

The ship has two tailors for crew uniforms.

 

 

 

 

This thing is a giant tower washer. Towels enter at the far end and are washed as they move along the tube.

 

[Pratique]

In the bowels of the ship below Deck 0.

 

 

Amber Theater.

 

 

Backstage.

 

 

 

 

One of three crew bars. This one is the nighttime party zone.

 

[Pratique]

Second of three crew bars.

 

 

 

Going onto the helipad.

 

 

Just below the helipad is the third of the three crew bars. This is where the smokers hang out.

 

 

 

[Pratique]

 

View from the bridge.

 

 

The bridge.

 

 

The navigation officers keep us on course. There are always at least three officers on the bridge at all times, including one manning the security operations center. Up to 12 officers during port maneuvers.

 

 

 

[Pratique]

Ship's navigation radar. Not to be confused with the weather radar and the wave height radar. Many radars on board. We are heading west northwest, and there is traffic at our 7 o'clock position.

 

 

Electronic charts and GPS positioning system. We are northwest of Grand Cayman headed toward Cozumel. Note that we are poking along at 14 knots. If we were sailing at full speed (24 knots) we would be in Cozumel before midnight, waaaaaay too early.

 

 

Good luck charm.

 

 

Watercolor version of a very famous photograph.

 

 

 

Port bridge wing.

 

Edited May 14, 2016 by Pratique

[Pratique]

Lots of room to run around on the bridge. Everything about Allure of the Seas is big.

 

 

 

View from the bridge wing.

 

 

Engine control panel. There are four bow thrusters and three azipods to propel the ship.

 

 

Very cool ship model on Deck 15 aft elevator lobby.

 

 

[Pratique]

 

 

 

Critters.

 

 

Day 6 - Cozumel. Once again we meet up with Liberty.

 

 

[micmacmissy]

Wow, very cool! I would love to do that all access tour...looks like it was very interesting.

 

Do you book that onboard? Cost? How long was it?

 

We're going on Allure April 2017...can barely wait!

[Pratique]

Wow, very cool! I would love to do that all access tour...looks like it was very interesting.

 

Do you book that onboard? Cost? How long was it?

 

We're going on Allure April 2017...can barely wait!

 

The tour was well worth it. I booked before the cruise but you can book on board. They offered two tours a day on each of the three sea days. It was $150 per person. Again, well worth it. Oh and it was about three hours long.

Edited May 14, 2016 by Pratique

[Pratique]

Call me a purist (or a stick in the mud or whatever) but I think the water slides ruin the appearance of the ship. Apparently Royal Caribbean agrees, which is why they held out so long. But customers demand them, so...

 

 

Another neighbor for the day.

 

 

 

 

 

I see a whale tail lurking.

 

Edited May 14, 2016 by Pratique

[Pratique]

 

In the box on the bottom are the lucky coins that every ship carries for good luck.

 

 

Another perfect day.

 

 

 

Up close and personal with Liberty from Deck 16.