perfect match

On 5/3/2024 at 2:25 PM, Dolby1000 said:

We have arrived at the Hampton Inn Cocoa Beach. Drive wasn’t too bad, we took a few back roads to avoid I4. Very nice day. 

Pictures of the loaded car, thinking we could bring a whole lot more. NOT says the DW.

Picture of the room and the scenery outside our door and balcony. That is the Allure in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

We were on Allure in that picture! It was our turn around day. 😎 We will be on Wonder in September. Can’t wait!

On 5/4/2024 at 6:04 PM, OCSC Mike said:

Moved here 24 years ago and still haven't been there. 🙈

Moved here 20 years ago and still haven’t been there. Need to make that happen. 
We keep saying we’re going to plan a trip but it hasn’t happened yet. 

Good to see you cruising again. We’re just off Allure so have been playing catch up with life in general and can now finally start catching up with Cruise Critic. I’m looking forward to following you on your Alaska adventure! 

@little britain, I’ sorry to hear that your vacation had to end on such a bad note. It really is an awful that security isn’t a whole lot better as it seems obvious that the person/people who took your belongings were not first time thieves. It probably won’t be their last time either. I am glad to hear that you were able to get replacement documents so that you were able to get replacement travel documents and flights to enable you to get home.  Hopefully you have all of the necessary documentation to satisfy your insurance provider and are able to get quick reimbursement  for your losses  

On a positive note I’d like to thank you for all of your input into Laurie’s review. I enjoy hearing about the same cruise through several different people’s eyes and this review was no exception.

@Rogueperson I have enjoyed your input here, too. I think that once I’m rested up from my own post cruise tiredness I’m going to have to head over to the Virgin Voyages board and check out

your review.

I hope my sleepy brain hasn’t forgotten any other cruisers who contributed in some way to this review. If so, I apologize to you for my poor memory. I have really enjoyed following along here. This is the only review I’ve managed to keep up with over the past week so thank you again, @laurieal, for another informative and entertaining review!

Laurie, glad that you were able to get home safely. We got home from Allure yesterday and I am very happy to be retired so I didn’t have to go back to work today! 
 

I wish I could find another pink octopus cat toy so I could send you the real thing but I’m afraid this picture of my cat’s slightly used and well loved one will have to do.

We were waving from our balcony on deck 8. 👋🏼😀

We are home now and ready to follow along with your TA adventures. 

I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your Wellie. It’s never easy to lose a pet, especially one who has been with you for so long. 
 

We were docked next to you in Nassau on Saturday on Allure. We waved, did you see us? We didn’t even know you were aboard!

On 4/29/2024 at 7:52 AM, lovesthebeach2 said:

Sounds wonderful! I’m still trying to nudge my DH to do longer B2B cruises….so far we did 27 nights on Odyssey, one was a TA which he thinks are boring. 
I’ll be following along!

Your DH sounds like my DH. I have to keep him busy on just one sea day to keep him happy. I can’t imagine what he’d be like on a TA!

On 5/3/2024 at 3:35 PM, xpcdoojk said:

So far I am the oldest Flowrider. Not a good thing

Maybe not for the Best of the Best but if you’re getting older and still enjoying the Flowrider, I’d say that’s apretty good thing! 😀

On 5/2/2024 at 7:26 AM, firefly333 said:

I must be the only person here who really hates the hassle of packing up and moving cabins. 

You’re definitely not alone. We’re on Allure doing a 4/3 B2B right now. I’m very glad we have the same cabin. We’ve only done one B2B where we had to move. That move went well but I think it’s so much easier we stay in the same cabin. 
 

I don’t think we will do another B2 with short cruises.I’d rather book a longer cruise.

6 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

So it's like calling RC customer service and asking a general question... you get 3 different answers from 3 different reps. 🙄

Yep, I’ve encountered my share of that lately. 

Internet today was better than yesterday, but not much.  The quality we’re getting for it is it worth the price we’re paying for it. I’d do a speed test for you but it would take to long.

My snorkeling excursion was ship sponsored. It was run by a well known dive shop in Nassau, Stuart Cove’s. I have used them before for scuba trips so I knew who I was booking with. They have always  done a good job with the excursions I’ve been on. What they’re not good at is getting back on time. Our 5 hour  excursion took 7.5 hours.  I know from previous personal experience that their excursion frequently are late getting back to the ship. 😱.
 

The snorkeling itself was pretty good. Not the best I’ve ever done but certainly enjoyable. Lots of fish, some spotted eagle rays and even the Atlas Underwater statue. 

18 hours ago, laurieal said:

That is one cute octopus! I bought a similar one while I was on Wonder because it reminded me of my avatar. I keep it close to my work desk, so I’m always thinking about my next vacation 😊 

My cats have a very cute pink octopus 🐙 toy. I’ll post a picture of it when I get home. 

I’m not seeing any of the pictures you posted on this page.Could be the wonky Allure internet. It keeps going out today

This night 🦉 was up at 5:45 AM today to go snorkeling 🤿 and did not manage to fit in a nap today!  Ocean Aria was awesome tonight. I’m going to bed now which is way earlier than normal for me.

19 hours ago, little britain said:

I know Cats gets a bad press. 
Well, it was standing room only. 
And we saw less than 5 people leave. 
They got a standing ovation.

It’s one of the best shows I’ve seen on a RCI ship ( that’s fighting talk) 

 

 

 

We love Cats, especially with a great cast which it sounds like you have! We’re on Allure now though so we’ll be heading to Mama Mia shortly. 😎

@laurieal, you had me scared too. All I could think of was that you had some bad sushi! I’m very allergic to seafood so if I were foolish enough to have tried eating that meal the hospital is where I would have ended up for sure. I’m glad you’re ok and it was just a normal sushi and saki coma that you were in.
 

Now, those chocolate donuts you’ve been talking about, you know, the yummy 😋 ones with no calories? Well, they have then here too! I had one as part of my breakfast in your honor I had to! 😋😂 It was good. I mar have to have another one tomorrow. Maybe I’ll even remember to take a picture of it before I eat it. 

16 hours ago, Jimbo said:

I always think those sand art guys are just showing pre recorded video and really not doing any real drawing in the sand when I see guys doing stuff like this. Just can't believe they can do pictures like this  so fast like they appear to do.

I would have to be just behind them up on stage to believe they are really doing pictures like this so fast.

Jimbo, I’ve seen sand artists a number of times in settings where we were able to see the sand artist work up close and personal. I was able to see them actually working with the sand in the tray, no screens or video involved. It is amazing to me what these artists are able to do. 
 

I can’t vouch for the artists that we’ve seen on cruise ships but I can tell you that the artists I have seen up close were most definitely creating their art in real time. The next time you get to see a sand artist just sit back and enjoy the show!

Sue, thank you very much for sharing your cruise with us. I have enjoyed following along with you through the winning, the losing, the teenagers, and all of the other adventures along the way. 
 

Safe travels going home.

15 hours ago, laurieal said:

Don’t be like me. Don’t take it to the kitchen. It’s a trap!

I plan to learn from your experience! 😀

• Sue, you’re my hero! I am very impressed with your success in the casino. I have a lot of luck in the casino, too. Unfortunately mine is all BAD luck! I go in the casino. The casino takes my money. 🤷‍♀️

We get our first crystal block next week on Allure! I’m excited! I hope I don’t drop ours on the kitchen floor. 😱

12 hours ago, Lionesss said:

The crew called it Turtle Beach. 
But two years ago we were at another beach where the fisherman cleaned their catch and dumped fish remnants in the water  with more turtles feasting. 
 

Sad this happened to us. 
 

Be safe. 

I’m sad for you that you didn’t get to see any turtles this time around. There is a different beach on e that is called Turtle Beach. I haven’t been there. The sign at the beach where we went said Playa Piscado. The same spot was listed on Google Maps as Playa Piscado/Playa Grandi. Whatever you want to call the place it was an awesome place to swim with turtles.

The one drawback I saw with the place was that as a local fisherman’s beach, it was a place that you would not want to leave anything laying around there unless someone from your party was there guarding your things. Our guide was very familiar with the beach and was fluent in the local dialect. We thoroughly enjoyed our day there and had absolutely no problems at all. I would go back there without a second thought.

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

We loved Odyssey when we were on her in 2022.  We had almost the same cabin... We were in 10326

We were in the same neighborhood on Odyssey as well, in 10724. We loved it there! 
 

1 hour ago, Joe33472 said:

Wow!   This looks like a great time.  We don't typically do Teppanyaki on land, so this was the only specialty restaurant we didn't book.    The view looks fantastic

We haven’t booked Teppanyaki on a ship yet, but do occasionally go on land. I am now wishing that we had booked there when we were on Odyssey! Now I’m going to have to book another cruise on Odyssey so we can do that! 😂😎

On 4/22/2024 at 7:38 AM, Joe33472 said:

The HDMI option on the TV, along with the Internet is working great.   Watching Today show using Xfinity Stream.   Slowly putting ourselves together for brunch. 

 

 

 

 

 I really need to think about getting myself a USB to lightning cable before our September cruise. I have a very full schedule the next few days and even Amazon won’t get one here in time for our Allure sailing. I do plan to bring and try my Firestick. We’ll see how that goes.

On 4/23/2024 at 6:44 AM, Joe33472 said:

Good morning!  Ship was rocking a little last night and it's overcast and the sea has whitecaps.   

 

Charging my watch on the wall just makes me smile.   Not only does it save space on the desk area, it's just fun to look at.  Wonder how I could do this at home 🤣

 

Heading off soon to Windjammer to check it out.  

 

 

I love your watch charging on the wall! 😂 

Laurie, that is one very cute little cat! 😻😻😻

She doesn’t need that one orange cat brain cell, she’ll get by in life on cuteness alone! 

Thank you for the great pictures and videos from Hideaway! 

9 hours ago, Lionesss said:

Random pictures from the spouse Olympus water camera of missing turtles excursion.

Sue, do you know what beach your tour company took you to?  We  booked privately and saw plenty of turtles! Our guide did say that timing is everything because the turtles know when the local fishermen come back to shore and will be cleaning their catch. That’s a dinner bell for the turtles!

Since you didn’t get to see any turtles, I wanted to share one of mine with you. Enjoy!

Thank you very much for sharing your Panama Canal cruise with us. I really enjoyed sailing along with you!

Lioness strikes again! Congratulations on another handpay jackpot!

Laurie, I love your suitcase set up. What a great example of where there’s a will there’s a way! 
 

The solo travelers meet and greet looked like a lot of fun. I’m guessing that you will have a whole group of new friends for life by the end of this cruise.