Dolby1000

Since I don't design ships for a living, not sure how they could bring about either of these items:

Outside seating for the WJ. We had this on the Brilliance and loved sitting in the morning sun for breakfast. We're on vacation from a cold climate and sitting in the fresh air while eating was such an enjoyment.

I know most of the fine dining (plus fee) restaurants are centered around Central Park, it would be nice if one of them had beautiful windows overlooking the ocean. As great as these ships are, there are precious few areas that overlook the very thing you are riding upon.

Dolby1000

On Labadee - do the roller coaster thingy. The views are fantastic, it is fun, generally not crowded.

Jamaica - check out the web site Jamicaforaday. They have many day passes at local hotels that include drinks, beach, lunch and pools. We did this and had a great day.

Cozumel - It costs $$$, but we did swim with dolphins and would do it again. We found it to be rewarding and special.

Dolby1000

"We also received a 2004 RCCL calendar and a letter from Adam G saying we were entered in the Diamond and above Quantum free cruise raffle."

When I read this I asked myself just how old was this review? Then I asked myself why would RCCL give out a 9 year old calendar? Then I glanced down at the date in the lower corner of my laptop and said oh. :p :D

We took this cruise years ago and loved every minute of it. AOS was a great ship and we enjoyed visiting all these islands. Next time on St. Martin, Maho beach is on the itinerary.

Thanks for the review, brought back a lot of pleasant memories.

Dolby1000

Key West:

 

With the backdrop of the setting sun and the appropriately named Sunshine Skyway Bridge all but a memory, day two was upon us and we were calling in Key West, Florida. Now, I live in Florida, take a cruise from Florida to travel to..... Florida. Don't judge. :p . But if truth be told, I have lived in Florida my whole life (26 years) and have never once been further south than South Beach in Miami. This port of call was a selling point for the both of us. As we woke up to the sun beaming rays of sunlight into our stateroom, we decided it was time to head to the Windjammer for Breakfast before heading out and about before we arrived in Key West. Again, this trip to the Windjammer was perfect. No lines, empty tables all around and wonderful food.

 

After fueling up for the day, it was time to head to Lattitudes to meet a group from this forum for a Cabin Crawl. This event took about 30 minutes and we had a group from every category of stateroom from Interior to Owners Suite participating for all to see. This was the first time participating in the event and I like being able to see all the different options in person because sometimes those pictures online aren't of your actual room. Who would have guessed? :eek:

 

Once the event was over, we all parted from this gathering and began doing our own thing again. Since our arrival in Key West wasn't until about 11:30am and clearance was after noon, we decided to grab some lunch then head off of the ship at about 12:30. This cruise we decided against booking any excursions as we just wanted to sit back and relax for 5 days and relax we did. Our mission in Key West was to go to the Southernmost Point. From where Brilliance docked to Southernmost Point is just a hair over a 1 mile walk one way. The walk there was very relaxing along Whitehead St and it was nice to soak up some of the history of my home state that I didn't know much about along the way. We passed places like the Truman Annex, The Oldest Schoolhouse and the Ernest Hemingway House and Museum. Once at the Southernmost point, we took our pictures and began a walk back along Duval St.

 

The walk back along Duval St was just as relaxing and enjoyable for us. Once we neared the shopping area we happened across a very unique store called "Abstracta". I almost walked right by it but my girlfriend caught it and from the outside it reminded me a little bit of the store "Obscura" on the Science Channel show called "Oddities". Once inside, though, we realized it wasn't the same sort of unique items, but still, very unique none-the-less. We spent the better part of an hour walking around in this store and finally settled on buying two different items for presents. They have all sorts of art pieces and décor for your house in this store and if you have never been to it, I HIGHLY recommend you walk around the store. The owner is a very, very nice gentlemen and will do anything to help you out. It is located at the corner of Duval St and Angela St.

 

After I was finished driving the other half up a wall from all the pictures I was taking, we headed back to the ship. Once back on board, we enjoyed the rest of our evening preparing for Formal Night and taking pictures. Of course this included going out on deck for sail away and to catch another sunset. The sunset started out promising as we had some cloud cover so I was expecting the sky to light up with vivid colors of orange, pink and purple. Sadly, clouds on the horizon had other plans but a beautiful sunset was still had.

 

Once the sail away was complete and the sun cast it's final ray on the day, it was time to reflect on the time spent in Key West over our dinner in the Main Dining Room. We both felt Key West was a great port to visit. There's a ton of history within walking distance to where the ship docks, plenty of bar life and of course, shopping for those who love shopping. The only negative I can think of, and this is being picky, is a few additional hours in port would have worked out great. But there was plenty of time for us to accomplish what we had in mind so I guess it doesn't even qualify as a negative, but more of a personal want.

 

After reflecting on our day in Key West over dinner and enjoying short conversations with Raveen, Katia and Anthony (Assistant Waiter, Waitress and Head Waiter in order) the evening was sadly coming to an end. And with it, another day was already in the books. But this left us with a positive outlook on day three. A day to spend at sea and really get to know this beautiful ship: Brilliance of the Seas.

 

Some images to leave you with from Key West.

 

Tank Island:

 

Whistle Bar/The Bull:

(Can you spot the beginner photographer error in panoramic photography? lol)

 

Sunset:

The stoplights don't match. :) The one street has a green while the cross street has a yellow. This is just a a nit-pick, took me forever to find the blue shorts guy even after someone posted it. I was searching for something, anything. I think it is a marvelous picture.

Great pics, really enjoying your review.

Dolby1000

Thank you to everyone sharing their stories. These are the reminders of why we cruise, not to encounter rude passengers, argue to chairs or clothes, but to experience something good in life. These stories should help our visitors see why cruising is so awesome and why we do it again and again.

:D:)

2nd story - I have to share. . . . . .

During our cruise out of San Juan, on the Adventure, we sat in the Dining room with two sisters from St. Thomas and couple from Australia and a third couple from Nova Scotia. My goodness, every night we fascinating conversations about living in the Midwest (us), eastern Canada, overseas and on the islands themselves. We learned so much about each other and our cultures. Nobody judged, we all just learned, which I just love to do! We had early seating and several times they had to (politely) ask us to leave as the late seating people were starting to arrive.

All of us were foodies and we loved sharing our dishes (like someone else said, Noro be darned). We shared many ideas and recipes (I have come to love poutine, not healthy, but awesome, Vegemite - not so much). During the cruise, we actually found a place (bar) on St. Martin owned by a Canadian couple that had poutine on their menu. So of course, we tried it and then had to tell our newly found friends how awesome it was. They were bummed they missed the place, but overjoyed that we tried it. Of course, we had two Labatts with it, just to make the experience complete. Only in the Caribbean, really! :p

Shortly before our cruise, there was a program on the food network hosted by Alton Brown about sailing through islands and discovering all sorts of local food. He was fascinated by something called "johnny cake", which differed on many of the islands. Feasting on Waves, that was it.

Anyway, on one of our last island visits, to St Thomas, one of the sisters came to the table, with you guessed it, johnny cake. So, now, not only were we sharing dishes on the menu, we were tasting actual island food. It was so much fun.

Dinner companions, only when cruising and making cruising great.

Thanks again for the stories, and let's keep'em coming!

Dolby1000

Since we have the "rude" thread going, I'd thought I'd ask the opposite, tell us a story about how someone you didn't know (hate to use the word stranger) helped make your cruise memorable in a good way.

I'll start

Last April, on the Allure, we were seated in a row of twos. You know, tables that only seat 2 all in row. There were seven of us, 6 couples, each at their own table, and a single woman of orient descent who did not speak English very well.

This was our third night in a row that the 7 us happened to be seated side-by-side. We enjoyed sharing our day and meeting each other. The single woman would smile a lot and share as best she could in her broken English. She was very warm, friendly and used to cruising alone. All of us smiled and laughed throughout each dinner course.

She had managed to win a rather nice bottle of champagne, we're still not quite sure how. After dinner, and before dessert, she had them open the champagne and had all of us toast to our wonderful cruise. It was so nice, seated with interesting people, strangers only days before, now being asked to share this lady's champagne. Smiles and gladness all around.

And that is cruising is all about. Meeting wonderful people and sharing a drink.

Dolby1000

I'm a bit late to the party, but great review, keep going.

I've passed through Lake Seneca, so I know right where it is.

Love your pictures. This brings me back to our cruise just last April.

Allure is just such a great ship, as this review, and many others attest, the ship IS the destination.

OWD

After just viewing a review of the fjords of Norway, now I have two cruises on my bucket list.

Excellent review, thank you so much for sharing.

OWD

I enjoyed the headliner show. I can't believe I didn't write down his name. Anyone from our roll call want to jump in here? Supposedly he has a Vegas act. Now, I'm no fan of Vegas and almost never go to casinos, so I don't know how impressive that is, but I liked the guy. He had a small Royal Caribbean orchestra behind him and he sang a lot of early 60's to 70s songs that a person my age would enjoy and made it interactive for the crowd. I did enjoy it.

I believe this sounds like Tony Tillman. He did Sammy Davis Jr. in a Rat pack show in Vegas. We had him on our cruise and he was great.

OWD

The end of the world

 

And just like that it was over. We exited the Bridge and walked back down the hallway and we were in the public area again right by the forward elevators. Our guide said goodbye and we were on our own. It was a rather abrupt ending to our three hours together. Some of us wished each other well etc. and we headed back to wherever we came from.

 

Now, if you read MiddleAgedDramaQueen’s Big Solo Allure review you might notice something missing from our tour compared to her tour. That’s right, the SWAG! We got no SWAG on our tour; no “All Access” badges and no RCCL bag. I found this interesting and I am curious to hear from others who have done the tour to see if there are other differences. It was not a deal breaker but I was going to put the bag to use and having the badge would have been kinda cool in a very geeky sort of way. But alas, there was no SWAG for us.

 

Was it worth it? I thought so. I had a great time on the tour. Got to see lots of interesting things and generally enjoyed the whole thing. After 10 months of researching the ship it was a really fun thing to do and in many ways it completed the whole process of me deciding on the Allure and being so interested in all aspects of the ship. It was also something I was glad my father in law got to do. He is extremely inquisitive by nature and he had a really good time as well as our friend Ross. It was a great morning for all of us.

 

One couple was on our tour. She had to “drag” her spouse to the tour. He wasn’t initially interested in doing it. Mid-way through I asked him how it was, he replied that he was very happy she made him do the tour.

 

My advice is if you think you would be interested in it and you can afford the price, go for it.

We took the tour as well, and now that I think of it, no swag either!

OWD

BTW: love reading your review, as I've also posted a recent review, other than the itinerary, it is like we took the same cruise! We did so many of the same things.

We were on the Allure the week before you (April 21) and had the soda packages as well.

The one machine by Sorrentos, the one on the right, never worked quite right during the entire trip. And the one on the left never had any ice.

These were are most common machines. They tried to fix the one the right at least twice, as in I was there while they were trying to fix it. I don't think they ever got it quite right.

We used the ones in the Windjammer far less often, and the one in the Wipe-out cafe only once with many problems. Only once did I encounter a machine that was out of Coke Zero, and it was late in the cruise.

Only had to wait once for someone, and this was late in the cruise, who seemed to have issues trying to figure it out.

OWD

 

 

After Karaoke we decided to head to the room and call it a night, it had been a very long day and we were beat. We had a great time in Grand Cayman, I got to hold a turtle how cool is that?!?!?! But the funny thing is that the Best port of this trip had yet to come, how much better could it get? Well my friends, it can get much better :)

 

 

 

I took this picture just before heading to bed

 

 

 

 

 

We had hope for better weather for Jamaica. Gambee had big plans for Jamaica!

 

 

Day 4, Finished!

 

 

I am exhausted... :D

All of your pictures are outstanding, but, really, this moon shot over the ocean and the reflection on the water is one of your best. Truly an amazing shot. I know you have your favorite shot, but I think this one is mine.

Thanks for sharing your adventure, loving the review.

OWD

Yet another review.

Yet another cruiser who puts my picture taking to shame.

Really outstanding photography, thank you for sharing. I could buy a book of these.

How do you get such great night time shots that pick up the colors so vividly? Do you use a tripod? I didn't see any evidence of a flash. Anyway, it is like we are there, really, really excellent work.

OWD

We've been (im)patiently waiting for you to get back.

Thank you for all your service. I think we are are supportive and thankful for what you do.

But, now, as for your review. . . . . .

Let's roll. . . . . . . . . .

OWD

I am loving this review. Your enthusiasm and enjoyment of your cruise is infectious! We don't leave for 5 weeks yet and now I really, really can't wait.

What do you do with the pineapple once the drink is gone? Do you cut it up and eat it or does it become to mushy? I'm gonna get my mitts on one of those.

Bad Ziggy! :( Alcohol is for adults and you look to be a bit young yet! :rolleyes:

Again, thanks for sharing this great review with us, I'm loving every post and looking forward to more. :):):)

OWD

We are on the Allure in April, so I am loving all these reviews! Please keep it coming and giving us your honest opinions and advises.

OWD

This happened years ago, on our first cruise on the Grandeur. But, it is a story that my DW and I will never forget.

So, like I said, this occurred on the Grandeur, when she was new, so back in the 1990s or so.

Back then, one of the entertainments was "horse" racing. Yes, horse racing on the ship. During a day at sea, a large mat, with six clear lanes, was laid out by the pool. 6 wooden horses, really, wooden horses housed on a small stick and a base, would be placed on the mats, numbered 1-6. Two dice would be rolled and the horses on the matching numbered lanes would move one space for each time their number was rolled. The was much betting for win, place and show. Each horse had to move about 12 spaces before it would cross the finish line. A tumbler was used to roll the dice and of course, whichever number you had bet on, was cheered loudly, doubly so when doubles came up. Each race took about 10 minutes or so and, normally, a bikini clad passenger was "volunteered" to roll the dice.

At the end of the first day, the 6 horses were "auctioned". You could buy a horse for the feature race on the last sea day. The winner of the race would win the pot created by the six successful bidders. Each owner, or team of owners, was encouraged to name and decorate their little wooden horse and carry it around the ship.

The number 4 horse was purchased by a large family group of Italians. There was much toasting and cheering over the purchased horse.

This group sat very near to us in the dining room. Each night they made a parade of marching into the dining room, parading their horse now adorned with Red, White and Green colors, with many of the family parading with Italian flags garnered from the waiters from on Italian night. The were loud and very enthusiastic about showing of their horse and toasted many a toast each evening to their "steed". They were very popular in the dining room. They were never offensive. Actually, they livened up the dining room very much with the enthusiasm over their soon to be wining horse. All tables around them became friends and even the waiters would involve the horse in the evening festivities. It became a nightly event. (Off the record, I miss those dining room days, when every night had a theme and each dinner was special, with singing and dancing waiters and a joyful time, but I digress. . . .)

Then, the day came, the day of the special race. The group gathered around the "track". Their "jockey", wearing a green, red and white outfit proudly stood by their entry. I am sure a lot of money was placed on proud number 4 to win the "Grandeur Cup".

All the entries lined up on the mat, each horse was actually decorated, but no team was as loud or ready for the win as the "Racing Italians" as they had so proudly named their team.

The race started.

I would love to end this tale with the exciting wire to wire account of a closely contested race between two proud fillies.

It wasn't meant to be. It was a blow out. And not for The Racing Italians. Not a single 4, not one, ever came up on the dice. As each throw ended, there was always a 2 and something else, but never a four. It was over in a few minutes and 2 won wire-to-wire, 4 never having gotten one step onto the mat. I had not bet on the race, but I felt crushed for the Racing Italians, never even having the chance to cheer their mighty entry onto the track.

As you can imagine, it was a very, very sober final evening meal for the Racing Italians. The horse was gone, the money was gone and noise was gone. I'll never forget how quiet that last meal was from that table. Their balloon had popped, their party had ended and the cruise was ending.

Maybe not crazy or wild, but certainly, one of the most interesting, and fun, time we've ever had on a cruise ship.

OWD

Go with an open mind. Some of the really hot shows, like the Lion King, which is truly awesome, rarely see any tickets here.

However, as a single traveler, you can scoop up some amazing seats. I got third row center for Driving Miss Daily with James Earl Jones (sigh) less than 90 minutes before show time. Another night I got 8th row center for Billy Elliott about 2 hours ahead of show time. Both for 50% off list price too.

And, David Letterman's Theater is in the same district, perhaps you can get lucky and get a last minute seat here.

Lots of great deals at the 1/2 booth, for last minutes shows, it can't be beat.

We'll be here, pretending to be patient, as we anxiously await the rest of your review.

Be safe, and, thank for you helping.

OWD

Thank you posting this review, off to a great start and can't wait for more.

We sail on Apr 21, so I love reading all Allure reviews.

OWD

4. I’ll probably get flamed here, but this cruise was probably a little too port intensive for me. I would have liked at least 1 more at sea day or have it be an 8 or 9 day cruise with the same ports. Maybe then I would have had the time to make it to all the bars!

We (DW and I) took the same cruise several years ago (December '08) and we had the same opinion. It was great to see so many islands but it can make for a tiring and not as relaxing as it could have been cruise for us. We did choose to see the shows, so of course, we stayed up too late at night and then tried to get up early for the next port and by the time we hit a sea day we were more tired than when the cruise started. So this was is very good point so that future AOS cruisers can make appropriate plans to balance port time with ship time.

Our next cruise is a 7 day on the Allure with only 3 ports which allows us several sea days.

This was a great review. You had lots of excellent pictures and it was like we were there. Thank you for sharing.

OWD (Ocean Wave Dave)

We are sailing on the Allure in April. I love the picture reviews. Please keep 'em coming.

Thanks

OWD (Ocean Wave Dave)

Been interested in going to NZ and taking a cruise out of Sydney. Since this trip was taken during early summer in the Southern Hemisphere, was the weather typical? I noticed the days were around 65-70 (F) and even cooler at the Sounds.

Would the weather be warmer in Jan/Feb/Mar or about the same?

Outstanding review, I always enjoy reviews with all the pictures, thank you for taking the time to share with us.

OWD

Please don't stop and continue just they way you are now. Great review and very interesting pictures. Perhaps I missed a previous post, but how did you get those special effects that make everything look like a Hollywood miniature? What a cool effect.

OWD

I lurk here mostly, but I had to say thank you for this review, one of the most entertaining that I've read.

We are on the Allure in April, and this review makes April way, way too far away.

Ocean Wave Dave (OWD)