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My view Allure of the seas May15-22, 2016

Norway2
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Norway2

Norway2

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Hello Everyone! First I want to thank you all for answering my questions and for all the advice I learned here before my trip. Just to give you a little back round I had only cruised 3 times before my trip. I went on the SS Norway twice back in the 1980's when I was in my 20's and at that time she was the biggest ship in the world. I also took a quick 3 nights back in 2008 on Sovereign of the Seas before she was retired. Over the years I have taken many land vacations while my children were growing up. Now it was time for me to take a girls only trip with my BFF and her Mom. My DH doesn't like cruises so we set out to plan our trip.

 

In October 2015 I did all kinds of research to decide where we would go. I looked into Hawaii, Aruba, St. Thomas and Bermuda as well as cruises. We ended up deciding on the cruise as it includes so much and you only have to unpack once. It's only a three hour plane ride to FLL and that worked for all of us. We chose the Allure as it was the best value for the money and a destination in of itself, so we booked it.

 

I was in charge of all the bookings for specialty restaurants, shows and excursions. I enjoyed the planning process and found the website very easy to use. We booked the premium drink package for all of us. I ended up cancelling it when the 20% off showed up and rebooking at a savings of over $200 dollars! We booked in a Grand Suite 7654 and were in Sky Class. This proved to be an excellent decision on our part.

 

So, on May 13th I headed over to my BFF's house in Boston and stayed over as our flight to FLL was heading out early on the 14th. I brought a bottle of champagne and we toasted to a great upcoming vacation! The next morning we headed out to the airport at 7:15AM. We had a nonstop flight to FLL from Boston which only took 3 hours. After our arrival we took a taxi from the airport to the Renaissance Cruise Port Hotel. We were able to check in right away, dropped our bags in the room and headed for the bar to start our vacation. The rooms are nice and clean and the location was just right. We enjoyed some lunch and then my sister in law came to visit at the hotel. She lives in Pompano Beach. We went to dinner at Kelly's Landing, came back for a night cap and went to bed.

 

We got up around 9 had some breakfast and headed to the cruise port about 10:30 via taxi. There was no traffic and we handed our luggage off to the porters and headed inside terminal 18! We walked right up to the Suite check in desk and were handed our SeePass Cards within minutes. Off we went to the Suite waiting area where we only stayed about 15 minutes before boarding the ship. Embarkation was quick and painless, what a suite life!

 

Once on board we headed to Boleros and had the first drink of the cruise a Margarita! We then went up to deck 15 and enjoyed the sunshine and breeze as we waited for the rooms to be ready. We didn't eat as we had a big breakfast that morning. Rooms were ready at 2PM so we headed down to deck 7 to check out our room. It was beautiful, two twin beds, pullout couch, big closet, lots of storage and a double balcony. Our water package was in the room along with a welcome fruit basket and some Champaign and wine and chocolate covered strawberries I had ordered to be delivered.

 

We met our room steward Anka and she helped retrieve our luggage. We had to ask for our robes as only one was hanging in the closet and we also asked for extra pillows. These items were quickly delivered and we started to unpack. We then went back up to deck 15. I checked in with the concierge on deck 17 in the Suite lounge to confirm our standard cabana for Labadee which I had requested via email about a month before the cruise. Everything was in order so we left for the muster drill. The drill was a bit chaotic as our screens were not working but was over quickly. We missed sail away due to the muster drill and we were already headed for Miami by the time we got back to the room to sit on the balcony.

 

To be continued.................

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Norway2

Norway2

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Continuing,

 

On a side note we did get two pieces of luggage delivered to our room that were not ours. Our room steward took them to the correct rooms. When we got onboard people were trying to sell us things like beverage packages and dining packages, we just said all set and moved on.

 

After enjoying the sea for a while and having a few cocktails we headed to the casino and played for a little while. We originally had the 8:30 MDR seating but when we got our SeaPass cards we had been changed to MTD. This was okay with us as we had 5 nights booked in the specialty restaurants, so we let it slide.

 

We headed to the American Icon Grill and as we were suite guests got sat right away, although the line was not very long. It was about 7:30, our waiter was good and brought us our food in a timely manner. I just had the shrimp cocktail (okay) a salad (good) and the beef sliders that night as I wasn't too hungry. The sliders are small but I was full when done.

 

We headed back down to the casino and went to bed about 11PM, tired from traveling. Monday I woke up early as I had a pedicure and manicure starting at 8:45. I was not harassed to buy anything but one item was suggested. I enjoyed both services and headed back to the room where we ordered room service for breakfast. We are able to order off the dining room menu as we were in a suite and it was good. Some got eggs over easy, bacon, hash browns and bagels. I don't know what it was but they always brought us one or more extra plates of food. I don't know if they just messed it up or this was intentional. It happened every time we ordered room service.

 

We headed out to the sun suite deck on 17 where we learned we didn't need to bring towels as they were supplied up there. (We had got two each from the pool deck unknowingly. There is a bar up there, nice loungers, a shower and 4 cabana type areas as well as soft chairs for looking out at the pool deck. The bartender up there is excellent and we enjoyed our time with her throughout the week.

 

To be continued

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Norway2

Norway2

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continuing,

 

After laying out in the sun all day with a beautiful breeze we headed back to the room to get ready for our first specialty restaurant Chopps Grill at 6PM. We were seated immediately and handed our menus. The staff were great and we all enjoyed our meals. The jumbo shrimp cocktail, ceasear salad and filet for me. My BFF got lobster and filet, can't remember what her Mom got but we were so stuffed we did not eat dessert! The meal was excellent! We all then headed off to the casino and went to see Momma Mia at 9:30. It is a 5two and a half hour show and was fantastic! The singers were great and I loved the end when they just sing some Abba songs and everyone was dancing! We headed back to the casino and then went to bed.

 

Day 3 Labadee Haiti!

 

We woke up and had room service again for breakfast, this would soon become our routine. We headed off the ship about 10:30 to our waiting cabana on Barefoot Beach. We hitched a ride on the golf cart and were delivered right to the beach. We had a standard cabana which comes with two lounge chairs, sofa, fan, even an outlet so you can plug in your phone! It also came with a cooler with water bottles and two mats for floating in the water. It was very hot so Mom did not join us and stayed on the ship. We had an excellent attendant and had our first drink of the day. We then went into the water which was spectacular and floated around for a while. The buffet was good, I took my plate back to the cabana to eat. It was so peaceful there I loved it! We enjoyed the water a lot that day because of the heat and got quite good color to start our tans. We headed back to the ship about 4 and went to our room to get ready for Giovanni's at 6.

 

Giovanni's was good. I got the baked shrimp along with a salad and then I had the chocolate cake for dessert. Our waiter was excellent and the bar service was good as well. We all headed to the casino and I went to see Oceanaria which was great. It amazes me how they dive from the top of the ship into that little pool. I then went back to the casino for a little while and then headed off to bed.

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seafoy

seafoy

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Thanks for commenting about your spa pedicure....was contemplating getting on the ship as the price was not outrageous, but could not find a review anywhere! I would not like getting hassled buying products, so nice to hear that wasn't the case. Will be on the ship in a little over a week, so will enjoy hearing the rest of your review.

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Hackpba

Hackpba

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Thanks for sharing your Allure experience. I will be on Allure in 10 days!

 

Seems you are visiting the casino quite a bit. Let's hear more about how those visits are going for you ....

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mkam2821

mkam2821

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My first cruise was the Norway in 1998. There will never be a ship like that again! We are sailing Allure in Feb.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

UGH Feeling like a dinosaur as my first cruise was on the Norway in the late 1970's!!

Sailing on the Allure in December!

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jamesr3939

jamesr3939

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UGH Feeling like a dinosaur as my first cruise was on the Norway in the late 1970's!!

Sailing on the Allure in December!

 

Wow, did she have sails?

 

Just kidding, I found her so steeped in history it was amazing.

 

Did they still have the original swimming pool working?

 

When we went they had closed it off, but there were a couple of places where you could go and catch a glimpse of it.

 

She really gave you a look at how it must have been to sail in the days when there were different classes of passengers who were really segregated.

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Norway2

Norway2

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Thanks to all who are following along! I loved the Norway she was so grand and had so much history. I was very saddened when they scrapped her, it just didn't seem right. They did save her bow though. I digress.

 

Day 4 Falmouth Jamaica

 

We woke up about 9 and as usual had room service for breakfast. We had booked an excursion through RC for the Rose Hall Hilton. We went to the Amber Theatre about 10 to meet up with our group. We were the first group called and headed off the ship. It is a long walk from the pier to where we met up with the tour guide. It was a little confusing as other groups were there for other tours with the same company but they separated us into lines. We got our bracelets and headed to the air conditioned bus. Our driver was great and the tour guide gave us the history of Jamaica while we rode a half hour to our destination. The excursion included the bus ride, four hours at the hotel, drinks, towels and food. There is a pool, lazy river, beach and bathrooms. Our guide gave us a tour of the property. My BFF got us a cabana on the beach for $60! It included two loungers two chairs a table, water and an attendant. She brought s our drinks every 20 minutes and took our food order and delivered It right to the cabana! The water was shallow but very refreshing and the wind was blowing all day keeping us cool. We got back about 4:30, did some shopping and headed back to the ship.

 

We did MTD that night and had an excellent server named Krista, if you can ask for her she was excellent. We didn't have to wait at all (loved being in a suite). We all had filet that night and my BFF had lobster too. We went to the casino again, blew off the headliner show and headed to bed. All that sun and drinking makes you tired. We were up and down in the casino, but more on that later!:)

Edited by Norway2
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Bdchili

Bdchili

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Continuing,

 

On a side note we did get two pieces of luggage delivered to our room that were not ours. Our room steward took them to the correct rooms. When we got onboard people were trying to sell us things like beverage packages and dining packages, we just said all set and moved on.

 

After enjoying the sea for a while and having a few cocktails we headed to the casino and played for a little while. We originally had the 8:30 MDR seating but when we got our SeaPass cards we had been changed to MTD. This was okay with us as we had 5 nights booked in the specialty restaurants, so we let it slide.

 

We headed to the American Icon Grill and as we were suite guests got sat right away, although the line was not very long. It was about 7:30, our waiter was good and brought us our food in a timely manner. I just had the shrimp cocktail (okay) a salad (good) and the beef sliders that night as I wasn't too hungry. The sliders are small but I was full when done.

 

We headed back down to the casino and went to bed about 11PM, tired from traveling. Monday I woke up early as I had a pedicure and manicure starting at 8:45. I was not harassed to buy anything but one item was suggested. I enjoyed both services and headed back to the room where we ordered room service for breakfast. We are able to order off the dining room menu as we were in a suite and it was good. Some got eggs over easy, bacon, hash browns and bagels. I don't know what it was but they always brought us one or more extra plates of food. I don't know if they just messed it up or this was intentional. It happened every time we ordered room service.

 

We headed out to the sun suite deck on 17 where we learned we didn't need to bring towels as they were supplied up there. (We had got two each from the pool deck unknowingly. There is a bar up there, nice loungers, a shower and 4 cabana type areas as well as soft chairs for looking out at the pool deck. The bartender up there is excellent and we enjoyed our time with her throughout the week.

 

To be continued

 

Curious , do you remember the bartenders names on the suite deck?

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Tru_blu68

Tru_blu68

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Thanks to all who are following along! I loved the Norway she was so grand and had so much history. I was very saddened when they scrapped her, it just didn't seem right. They did save her bow though. I digress.

 

 

 

Day 4 Falmouth Jamaica

 

 

 

We woke up about 9 and as usual had room service for breakfast. We had booked an excursion through RC for the Rose Hall Hilton. We went to the Amber Theatre about 10 to meet up with our group. We were the first group called and headed off the ship. It is a long walk from the pier to where we met up with the tour guide. It was a little confusing as other groups were there for other tours with the same company but they separated us into lines. We got our bracelets and headed to the air conditioned bus. Our driver was great and the tour guide gave us the history of Jamaica while we rode a half hour to our destination. The excursion included the bus ride, four hours at the hotel, drinks, towels and food. There is a pool, lazy river, beach and bathrooms. Our guide gave us a tour of the property. My BFF got us a cabana on the beach for $60! It included two loungers two chairs a table, water and an attendant. She brought s our drinks every 20 minutes and took our food order and delivered It right to the cabana! The water was shallow but very refreshing and the wind was blowing all day keeping us cool. We got back about 4:30, did some shopping and headed back to the ship.

 

 

 

We did MTD that night and had an excellent server named Krista, if you can ask for her she was excellent. We didn't have to wait at all (loved being in a suite). We all had filet that night and my BFF had lobster too. We went to the casino again, blew off the headliner show and headed to bed. All that sun and drinking makes you tired. We were up and down in the casino, but more on that later!:)

 

 

Do you have pictures of the cabana? Do you book it at the property?

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Norway2

Norway2

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The person who did breaks was Alex, the regular bartender was a woman. I believe her name was something like Aleandra. I'm not good at remembering names but she was excellent and came around with fruit cups for us as well!

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Norway2

Norway2

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Sorry I don't remember the TV brand. Didn't use it much. I do have pictures of the cabana, I just need to figure out how to upload them. I will try tomorrow as I am away from home at the moment. Thanks for following!

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