cruisin_cutie216

Chapter 7: Starbucks, Setbacks, and a dinner debacle.

After completing a really relaxing nap, I had some time to kill before I needed to get ready for dinner. Tonight was the first formal night of the cruise so I needed extra time to look extra special.

I had come across this beautiful gem upon boarding the ship and I was itching to try it out!

A girl NEVER says no to Starbucks.

I grabbed a cake pop snack and munched on it while taking a stroll through the Royal Promenade. I liked that it felt just like I was walking through a very modern shopping mall. My eyes were still wide as saucers as I took in the environment. Its really fun to do some people watching on the Promenade because you'll see all types. Some were already dressed up fancy for dinner where others were still in comfy pants, shorts, and flip flops.

I left the camera in the stateroom so I was unable to snag some shots this time but vowed to do so on my next trip downstairs.

I headed upstairs to find that Sandy, Holly, and Sara were all preparing for dinner. And like the previous morning, getting ready was tight. But tonight it seemed a little more cramped than normal. After about 2 hours worth of primping and prepping, we were ready to head out for pictures before dinner. Rob picked me up as usual and I couldn't help but drool at how handsome he looked in his suit. We headed back down to the Promenade and got a couple shots at some of the pre set up back drops.

**TIP: If wanting to grab formal shots by the photographer during the formal night, I've found that it helps to do one of three things

1. Leave for your dinner seating early, check on the Cruise Compass (the daily newsletter that will be delievered to your stateroom each night or obtain one at guest services) as of to when the Captain has his welcome reception. There is complimentary champagne and you can meet the captain. Makes for a great memory/photo op.

2. Leave early for your dinner seating (depending on what time you're scheduled for) and snag pictures before it gets too crowded. Often times we went between the first dinner seating and ours and found that the lines were extremely long for some locations.

3. Snag your photos after dinner. There's usually a photographer set up outside the dining room. When other guests are headed to bed or to evening activities, you can get your photos then (and usually pretty quickly).

After photos had been taken and we had waded our way through the crowd, we met up with the group at the dining room. Tonight seemed to be a bit more than elegant than most nights.

For dinner, I selected my usual, Royal Shrimp Cocktail and for the main course, pork chops served with mushrooms and a gravy like sauce with steamed veggies.

While waiting for dinner I recieved a very wonderful surprise to my table....

Rob had purchased roses for me! I was so shocked that it brought tears to my eyes. There were six roses for the six months we had been together. I was touched! He always knows how to put a smile on my face.

Not long after my roses and appetizers arrived, the main course was served.

The pork chop was perfectly soft and moist and the sauce was very tasty as well. The veggies had a garlic flavoring to them and were quite tasty!

Now to desert.....this is where the debacle happens.

On the first night of our cruise, the head waiter came to our table and asked if anyone had any dietary restrictions. I mentioned that I had a peanut allergy but was able to manage it quite well. They made note of it and I thanked them for that.

On this particular night, they were serving the chocolate cake. I was SO excited for this as I had checked out the menu that afternoon on our in stateroom television (more on that later ;)). Our waitress came around and took our orders and I had stated that I wanted the chocolate cake. Her face fell. She replies "oh I'm sorry but, you cannot have the chocolate cake."

I was baffled.

So I asked why.

She stated that it COULD have nuts in it and would be hazordous. NOw mind you, I'm allergic to peanuts [which are a bean]. Cashews, almonds, and anything of the like, I can have to eat with no problem. I was very deflated and frustrated. She then said "I'll bring you two things". I was doubtful.

Of course just about everyone at the table ordered the chocolate cake and I took a look at it and there were NO NUTS....

Our waitress returns and she brings out a mango flavored sponge cake which was not the greatest [not a huge mango fan and the sauce that was on it threw my tastebuds out]. The second choice was Greek yogurt and some sort of mango garnish [not a huge fan of greek yogurt/yogurt period. the texture kinda makes me gag]. I was disappointed but what could I do?

After dinner, we all went to the picture stations as Sandy wanted a whole group picture of all of us. It was quite funny to watch the photographer manage to squeeze all 14 of us into one photo space but he managed to do it. [the picture came out amazing! I'll have to scan it back in!]

Now for the setback. If you remember from the beginning of the review I had mentioned that I had had foot surgery on my left foot in December and my doctor had placed a pin in my foot. Well, I hadn't worn heels since before my surgery and the dress I wore called for heels. So as to be expected, my foot was pretty angry and swollen by the end of the night. The rest of the group was going to go dancing at Dazzles and I decided that my foot was much too swollen to attend so I left a bit deflated and headed back to the room.

My frown soon turned into a smile when I was greeted by this super adorable puppy as courtesy of our room steward Rudy

Everyone smiles at a towel animal!

I headed off to bed to dream about tomorrow, our first actual sea day!!! I was so excited!!! But boy was I in for an interesting time...

And that my friends is...

gambee! you have been the inspiration for my review! what an awesome piece of work and very inspiring for me.

Rated: Yes I did like that we were separated from each other. It made seeing each other for dinner and other activities that much more special. Glad you're enjoying it!

akcruz: So glad you're enjoying it! Its been so much fun writing it and I cannot wait to share more with you all.

Should have more posted later this afternoon! Got lots to do today plus I'm recovering from an allergic reaction scare I had last night and I wanna make sure my post is as good as it can be! talk to you soon friends!

<3 Missy <3

Seaotter: There is a roll call for your sailing. Come over an join us. See you on aboard.http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1500777

(sorry cruising cutie216 for hijacking this)

no worries! Not a problem at all! I honestly did forget to post a link to the meet and mingles/roll calls in the previous post. Glad someone was able to do it!

Chapter 6: "we were in Florida last I checked!"

I never realized how cozy the beds are in the staterooms and I gotta say, I slept like a rock my first night onboard. The gentle rocking of the ship lulled and kept me to sleep throughout the night.

Its almost surreal waking up and you look over the top deck and realize you're in a completely different city in a completely different country/island. This morning we had docked in our first port of call, Nassau Bahamas. My mom had told me alot about Nassau as she had visited the island on her Royal Caribbean cruise.

I was much too excited to venture to the Windjammer for breakfast so I settled for some Disney Fairies fruit snacks that I had packed in my bag and a Chewy chocolate chip granola bar. I packed my tote bag with sunscreen, the camera, spending money and a wallet, seapass, and of course Ziggy came along as well.

Rob met me at my stateroom at 7:30 sharp and we proceeded to level 2 to the gangway. Getting off the ship was a swift process. When you get to the gangway entrance you present your sea pass to the kiosk and it is scanned. Remember that boarding photo that they snapped when we got checked in?That picture is in the sea pass and shows up on the screen when you leave the ship going into port and it appears again when you re-board the ship coming in from port. I thought this was a very good way of keeping track of passengers and also a very good measure of security.

Once we had made it off the ship, I found myself in beautiful Nassau. The weather was comfortably cool but it made it just warm enough to where I could either go with or without my hoodie. We decided to snap some photos as their were great opportunities to do so.

Ziggy and I happy as clams to be in Nassau!

Caught this amazing photo of the Allure as she sat in the dock.

Rob and I began to explore Nassau and we were puzzled as of to why many of the shops were still closed. Well of course, it was 8:00 in the morning and most , if not all, of the shops didn't open up until 10:30. Well nuts. Looks like we'd be spending a good chunk of our morning wandering the island until the shops opened. I used this opportunity to snap some photos. As soon as I began to do so, I saw a very familiar ship pulling into port.

The Disney Dream. She looked very majestic and regal pulling into port. I couldn't help but be a smidge jealous of the aqua coaster she had onboard. Rob could only remark that it went too slow :rolleyes:.

As I drooled over the Disney Dream, Rob persuaded me to head over to the pier and get more pictures of the Dream once it had docked. I managed to snag this picturesque shot of all three ships in the port.

Frontmost: Carnival Ecstasy. Middle: Disney Dream. Last: Allure of the Seas.

I got a bit of a chuckle at how much the Allure towered over the other ships in the port with her. It made it easy for me to find her!

By the time I had my pictures all done, the shops were starting to open up. We went by the MAC makeup store and I WAS IN HEAVEN! Being a dancer and a competitive figure skater, all I have is makeup! Being budget conscious, I didn't purchase anything here (ended up being the same price as in the states minus the tax of course).

We then saw a shop stall that had vendors selling these really pretty flower clips. I wanted to get something to wear with two of the dresses I had brought on board and what better accessory than a flower for my hair. I picked out a rather pretty faux orchid with a stone in the middle and then a trio of black faux lillies with stones as well. Altogether costing me $5. Not bad!

After the flower stall, we ventured over to Del Sol, the store that sells shirts and accessories that change color in the sun. I saw lots of cute things but settled on some rather adorable hair flowers that changed color in the sun. Total cost: $10.

At this point, my foot had started to bother me so we began to head back to the ship. On our way back we had to make our way through an open air mall where there were other vendors and a stage set up. On the stage was a caribbean drum band where you could get on stage with them and wear funny hats. Rob protested blatantly but I never pass up a photo op!

(I had them give him the feather hat tee hee hee!)

He was not too pleased with me but it was all in good fun!

On our way back to the ship we encountered this awesome sign and Ziggy decided that he wanted his special picture all by himself.

(he was a smidge tired...sheesh! and he worked SO hard....((sarcasm)))

Thought it was cool that the sign said 'welcome allure of the seas', seems very fitting.

None the less, we headed to the security shack and then back onto the ship. We timed it very well cause as soon as we were getting back on the ship, everyone was getting OFF. It made for re-emarkation a breeze.

Since we still weren't very hungry, we stopped at Cafe Promenade for a small bite to eat. I had a ham and cheese croissant, chocolate chip cookie, and a brownie. All three were very tasty and a delightful lunch. Rob opted for a peanut butter cookie and a mellow yellow from the Coke Freestyle machine.

At this point my foot was rather swollen so we headed to my stateroom for me to nap. We would only be in port til about 3:30 so I used this time to rest.

Up next: Starbucks, set backs, and dinner debacle.

I hve read ALOT of reviews and this one is the most enjoyable!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to post it. I'm glad you had a wonderful cruise and please thank your boyfreind for his service to our country.

You are very welcome! This will not be my last review as this is not my last cruise! In the process of planning a cruise for my mom for her birthday.

Loving your review & LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the pictures of you at the "Ball". Thank your boyfriend for his service. :)

Thanks for joining in. Always good to see some new faces that are enjoying the readings.

Robert says thank you for the wonderful words. He's the modest one out of the two of us. I can't help it, I'm one proud girlfriend.

Cool! Let me know what you think. Are you going to do a review as well?

Very good review so far!! I am doing a review at the moment, check it out!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1805969

I was on your sailing too!!! So cool to see the cruise from another perspective.

I think I'd be super jealous if I was sailing out of a port at the same time as the Allure and not on it! Also, I have to ask why you are staying in a separate room from your boyfriend?

Very good question! Being that the reservations were booked by Rob's grandpa and mom, they kept girls with girls and guys with guys. If we waned to get a stateroom on our own it was going to be at lease one grand for the both of us and we just didn't have the money. Not to mention the ressies were booked months in advance. We wanted to be on our own but couldn't this time.

Cruising Cutie 216, please, do me a big favor. Each and every time you cruise, regardless of what ship, submit a review like this one. I have enjoyed it tremendously.

 

You seem like such a fun person. Your look at cruising as a first timer is so refreshing. Thank you for the time and effort you have dedicated to this.

 

I wish for you many more years of wonderful cruises and look forward to your next review.

Will do! thank you for the wonderful words! I was a bit nervous as this is my first review but I'm really happy with it so far and its turned out amazing! I cannot wait to cruise again! So glad you've enjoyed :)

cruising cutie216: Please express our thanks to Rob for all his sevice from our large military family. Love the shots of you in Central Park.

Thank you! And of course, I'll thank him for you! Thank you to those in your family who've served as well.

OT Post: So back in February Rob and I attended our first military ball and I thought I would share some photos with you all [**this dress was SUPPOSED to be one of my formal night dresses but alas we couldn't find any ways to make it fit with the luggage. Next cruise though...]

In my parents living room. Taken by Rob's mom! She was so proud!

In the ballroom after dinner.

Enjoy!

Hello fellow DIS'er [i'm lilmissdisney216 on the DIS]!! Thoroughly enjoying your review!! Saw the Disney Dream on my last cruise on Royal Caribbean and I got a few shots of her!!!

so for whatever reason I went back to edit my post because my tags didn't go all the way through and I managed to delete everything I just wrote!! *head desk* Oy veigh! Well, here it goes again!

Chapter 5: "Well ya did say there was alot of food"

Once the luggage fiasco was finally over, we went back to change into bathing suits for much needed relaxation in the adults only pool, the Solarium. Since Rob isn't a huge party animal and I was really needing to relax after the excitement of traveling, we decided to skip the sail away party near the pool at the top deck.

For those of you who have experienced the Solarium, it is wonderful! Its a very calming and tranquil setting and it makes for a spectacular view of the sunset at night!

We find a few chairs to set our shoes, towels, and room keys on and we find a not too crowded hot tub with a perfectly picturesque view of the setting oceanic sun. I think we had the best seat in the house! The Solarium would become our best friend later on in the week. Suprisingly, the hot tub was oddly lukewarm for whirlpool but the massaging sensation was nice after hauling around heavy luggage for half the morning.

Upon reaching wrinkled raisin status, we decided to towel off and head back to our staterooms to prepare for dinner.

Now picture if you will, how 4 women managed to cram in front of ONE (that's right, ONE) vanity mirror and how we all managed to curl hair, spray hair, straighten hair, put on makeup, put on jewelry, get dressed, and readjust all in time to make it to our 8:30 seating. It was pretty tight!

Holly, Rob's middle sister, was ready early and already out and about with boyfriend Zac. They made it a habit each night to meet up with one another to take photos before dinner. Sara (Rob's younger sister), Sandy (Rob's mom) and myself all took turns getting ready in front of the vanity and managed to pace ourselves pretty nicely. I chose my favorite blue sundress that was perfectly island-y/cruise-y. I've had it since I was 13 years old and this proved to be my favorite dress during the cruise.

Once we were all perfectly ready, we headed down to the Main Dining Room (MDR) for dinner. We would be in the Adagio Dining Room, Level 3 with the 8:30 seating time. We all congregated together in the lobby while we waited for the doors to open (Myself, Rob, Zac, Brian [bf to Sara], Rob's dad Paul,Sandy, Sara, Holly, Aunt Nan, Chelsea and Adam [cousins to Rob], Uncle Brad, Uncle Tom, and Rob's grandpa). Right at 8:30 sharp, the doors were opened and I walked into the dining room.

It was everything I thought it would be.

Picturesque room that looked like it was straight out of a movie. A grand piano was set on the main stage which was later used during the cruise for the string quartet that played during our meal. We made our way to table 236 and I proceeded to admire the beautifully set place settings. Charming plates and neatly arrange flatware adorned the table along with wine glasses and water goblets. There was a wine menu at the center of the table but no one ordered wine at this seating. We were then greeted by our waitress and waiter, Krista and Ricardo. They paid close attention to our needs and served us promptly and acceptionally. The dining room was now filled with the chatter of other guests at tables and clank of silverware and glasses. Our waitress proceeded to take our orders for dinner. Each night, the menu was a different theme. Tonights theme was the Mojo Menu. We placed orders for main course and appetizers. Being a first time cruiser, I later learned you could order as many things as you wanted as far as appetizer, main course, and desert (gosh those sweat pants would have been handy during the formal dinner nights!)

I ordered the Royal Shrimp Cocktail for an appetizer and the Mojo Chicken for my main dish. The shrimp cocktail was very tasty and came out perfectly chilled on a bed of lettuce with an olive garnish. The serves poured cocktail sauce on the top if you desired.

The Mojo Chicken was VERY tasty! It was served with an orange garnish and an orange/ginger flavored sauce accompanied by steamed vegetables.

For desert, I ordered the BBB Creme Brulee. Wasn't to impressed by it and it ended up being one of my least favorite deserts on the cruise [and probably the first and last I had the option of choosing for myself but more on that later]. The taste of the dish was a bit, odd, compared to other creme brulees I had had in the past.

Our first dinner together!!

Once dinner had concluded, Rob and I headed to Central Park so that I could get some shots of myself with the Central Park sign at night.

Side story: Here in my state I'm a beauty queen and part of my duties as a titleholder are to visit various places representing my title. The queens take pictures at the various places they go during their reign and then at the end of the year the pageant director compiles them into a newsletter that goes out in the pageant system and sometimes get posted on Facebook. I had to get some shots of me in my "pageant gear". On our way up to Central Park from dinner, Rob decided to get a picture of me on one of the many staircases on the ship.

Behold! The dress I wore to dinner [sans sweater]!! Its my favorite sundress!

We then ventured into Central Park. The scene was breathtaking. Perfectly lit trees and plants with the gentle sound of crickets in the background. It felt like a fairy tale. Plus, every single plant and tree in the park....is LIVE! I could hardly believe it! They are cared for by 1 horticulturalist and 2 gardeners. Its so amazing to me that a team of three can care for all of those trees! The Park was far too picturesque for me to pass up the photo opportunity so thanks to Rob's awesome camera work, he got a few shots of me in the park.

I'm the Vana White of Central Park! (just kidding, I wish!)

My mom LOVED this picture! One of her favorites!

After my impromptu photo session, we decided to settle on a bench and take in the atmosphere. It was so romantic and comforting to sit in each others arms in one of the most beautiful parts of the ship. It felt like a dream and I never wanted to wake up.

All too soon, the sandman came knocking and Rob escorted his sleeping beauty back her stateroom for some much needed rest. After all, we had a huge day tomorrow.

Day 2

Port of Call: Nassau Bahamas.

And so concludes...

<3 Missy <3

well I messed up and managed to delete what I just posted ><. repost coming soon!

Thank you everyone for the wonderful feedback! I know I say thank you a lot but these comments mean a lot to me!

BillOH: YES! I was soo excited to see these chips as they're my favorite as well! So yummy especially with ranch dip (mmmmmmM!)

To the lady who's going on her first cruise for her wedding anniversary from the UK: Congratulations!! You will love it!! Get some pictures taken at the Picture This studio. Rob and I had some done on our cruise and they came out beautiful! A bit pricey and we won't get them in for another 6-8 weeks but I feel like it was worth it. If anyone has any feedback on this experience, please, feel free to share!

To Ziggy fans: Ziggy was an awesome cruise companion! He didn't go everywhere with us (i.e. he didn't dine with us in the MDR, I left in the room to rest and hang out with Elphie the Elephant and the towel animals) but when he did it was fun to have him explore with us and be apart of the memories. Ziggy even has his own blog which is still under construction. Details to soon follow!!!

My voyage was so much fun on the Allure and to those of you who are first timers or sailing on her soon, you are in for a treat. Its an amazing vessel and its always such an amazingly fun party! Enjoy it to the tee cause once its over its over and its so sad :-(. Here's to happy waves and cruisin to all you guys!!

I'll have more up later tonight, got tons to do today plus I want to try and get some video footage uploaded of my cabin. Should have that posted for you guys later today!

P.S. Who out there has a cruise critter like Ziggy? Let me know! If not, its cool! I've posted on the cruise critter thread, just curious.

<3 Missy <3

I was just on Allure last week and our Muster Station was C2 Blaze Nightclub. They all vary by deck/stateroom. You'll have your Muster on your Sea Pass card. I'll see if I can find a listing floating around somewhere.

Chapter 4.2: Let the Party Begin (cont'd)

Finally, one by one, each cruise ship began to depart the port.

First up, the Carnival Freedom

Then followed by Holland America

Then last but not least, the Allure of the Seas. Being on deck during the sailaway felt just like the movies. Laughing, cheering, waving, and calling to the people on land and telling them Bon Voyage!! It was such and exhilerating feeling that is so hard to describe. I could hardly believe that we were on our way to Nassau Bahamas! We all decided to get some pictures on the deck shortly after we had sailed off and the breeze had picked up considerably making for us girls having windblown hair (kinda looked like a Beyonce video in some pictures). Of course the guys didn't have this problem as they all had short hair.

Me and the girls! Aren't we cute!?

The guys looked super handsome here!

me with my honey <3

We were all so excited! We departed the SunDeck and all went exploring once more. We agreed we would all meet up again for dinner.

Since we had had a very exhausting travel day, Rob and I decided to head to the adult Solarium to relax and have a soak in the hot tub before having to be at dinner. First he wanted to change into his swimsuit. We headed back to his room, parted ways and I headed to mine to put on my suit. No sooner had I walked into my door, my phone rings with a call from Rob's stateroom.

Me: y'ello!

Rob: We have a problem.

Me: O_O...what is it?

Rob: everyone has their luggage but me.

I felt my heart race a bit. He didn't have his luggage yet and we had already set sail. I was sincerely hoping that his bag made it onto the ship and wasn't still sitting in the cruise terminal. What a fantastic way to start the vacation. He meets up with me again at my stateroom and we decide to kinda just explore the ship a bit more and then check back at his room once finished to see if his bag had turned up. We headed to the sports deck near the Windjammer Cafe and I wanted to get some shots of the Allure signage. [just realized this was taken pre departure so pretend the ocean is in the background XP]

I think everyone at some time or another if they've sailed the Allure or Oasis they've gotten this shot!

After doing some exploring, we head back to his room where his dad informs him that the cabin steward came by and said that security has his bag down on deck 2 and he has to venture down and collect it.

I'm a bit puzzled, what on earth could they have seized his bag for? We didn't pack any alcohol.

Then it hit me. Rob is a Mountain Dew fanatic and he learned that our ship wasn't going to carry the Dew so he brought his own six pack of bottles in his checked baggage. They seized it more than likely because it probably appeared to be alcohol on the scanner.

So a rather grumpy Rob and I head to deck 2 which is pretty much like no mans land, to collect his baggage. You would not BELIEVE how many pieces of luggage were down here!! So many! I could only imagine if every piece of luggage from every passenger had ended up here. Yikes!

After about 15 minutes, Rob was cleared and we headed back up to our deck so he could change. I couldn't help but do a little dance and sing a little song about his bag going to 'the naughty closet' but then again the rest of us did it to. He scowled at me but I told him "Hey, one day you're going to look back and laugh about this."

hey all! just was rudely awakened by a phonecall *grumble grumble* but I decided that since I can't fall back to sleep, now would be the perfect time to write some more of my review! Here we go!

Chapter 4: Let the Vacation Begin!!!

After my brief crafty moment, Rob and I decided to take a quick stroll to his room before muster drill started. I said goodbye for now to his mom, Sandy, whom had decided to get a quick nap in before muster drill (she liked to have her quiet). His sisters were already off exploring with their boyfriends so it left me.

Rob and I walked to his room and it was a bit different than the set up us girls had. He was sharing a room with his dad and the two boyfriends. They had an interior stateroom with a fold out couch and separatable [sp?] queen bed that turned into two twin beds. Needless to say, those guys were content with their set up. Me, having champagne tastes, couldn't see how they could sleep in a room with no balcony or any sort of view at all!! :eek: Darling boyfriend later informs me that you really are only in the room to sleep. I scoff at this and don't believe him (he ends up being right not even three hours into our trip! Go figure huh!)

We had just seated ourselves on the couch in the room when the captain comes over the PA to welcome us onboard and give us instructions as of to how the muster drill was to work. Being a first timer on the cruise, I found this to be a smidge scary but very important. Not to mention, I was looking forward to being able to see everyone in the crazy orange lifejackets and to maybe snap a picture. Plus, I had been a bit concerned that I couldn't seem to find our life jackets in our staterooms. This puzzling bit of information was soon explained by the captain that the lifejackets aren't stored in the cabins, they are at the muster stations and we would not be needing them for the drill. O_o...won't be needing them?! How on earth is my panicked little brain supposed to figure out how to put the darn thing on in the event of an emergency!? Well, captain knows best. He then explained that the muster is MANDATORY for all passengers to attend per maritime law. I thought, this is good. I don't wanna be THAT GUY during an emergency.

Rob and I decided to head out to the muster station since the drill was starting soon and I had remembered my station ID on my seapass [Muster Station C2] and Rob was C1. Sandy had joked in the terminal "well girls you won't be with your boys if we die!" (verry comforting...but it made me laugh). We parted ways and I headed into the Blaze Nightclub (deck 4 I believe) and was one of the first people there. There were crew members at the door scanning Seapasses as you entered as a way of keeping track of every passenger and stateroom that attended the drill. Ended up being a very nifty system overall.

Soon the alarm was sounded throughout the ship and people began pouring into the club. I tried saving booth seats for the rest of my stateroom but to no avail. The girls joined me at the station but we had no problem standing. We were directed to an informational safety video to watch on the screens in the club and once the video had ended and the captain dismissed us, we were free to go!

Once the muster ended, I reunited with Rob and the guys and us girls decided to head to the Sun Deck on deck 14 for the sailaway. I had been looking forward to this as I had read many reviews and wanted to see the house with its very own FlowRider. Plus the feeling of exhiliration and relaxation as soon as the ship had begun movement out of Port Everglades.

We reached the SunDeck and luckily it hadn't gotten crowded at all. We snagged a spot and I proceeded to whip out my camera and take some shots of the scenery. (they may be a smidge out of order, so my apologies)

the neighboring Carnival ship setting sail the same day as us. It was fun to wave to these guys from our deck!

caught this awesome shot of Ft. Lauderdale (you can see Rob looking through the binocculars in the reflection of the glass).

A Holland America Line [HAL]ship in port. You can see the Celebrity Cruises in the background.

could hardly believe that our ship had a heli-pad!! Super awesome!!

Ah, there's the FlowRider house!!! Love the person just chillin in their pink bathrobe. Classic!!

The wait to start moving felt like forever! Now believe me I was in a bit of a rush, I was ready to get my vacation started!! It was pretty cool to see all the homes and hotels that lined the ocean front and I had to wonder to myself 'what would I do if I had that much money to buy one of those houses?' I told Rob I wanted a FlowRider for my birthday. He chuckled and then replied with a deadpan "no." *sad face*

Since I can only do six pictures a post, I'm gonna have to do this entry in two parts! Keep the feedback coming and tell your friends!!!

<3 Missy <3

Love your enthusiasm Missy!

 

Looking forward to following your adventure.

thank you! so glad that you are enjoying it!!! I've been so excited to write my review. Its like reliving my cruise from start to finish, but the best part is..YOU GUYS ARE HERE!!!

Good Morning ~ this post gave me goosebumps. I can feel what you felt at this moment :) Enjoying your review. LOVE Oasis class!

I've fallen in love with the Oasis class as well! Firmly trying to convince my mom to cruise on the Allure in November for her birthday (kinda want to surprise her though..). Writing that post made me feel excited all over again. it was kind of a warm fuzzy feeling :)

I should have more posted soon friends! Just got home from work so I'll be uploading more to potobucket and posting more soon!!

<3 Missy <3

So I will be doing my best to try and get some videos up of the tour of my cabin and also some video I shot of central park as well. Just gotta get them rendered from my camera.

you've got me hooked!! I cannot wait to read more! I was thinking about taking a solo cruise myself in the future.

Side Post: Here's my luggage that I took on the cruise!!

The backpack acted as my carry on and the larger suitcase held all my clothes, shoes, accessories, and hair supplies.

My bag that had my figure skates in it have had an island theme for a while. I still have my cabin luggage tags on my bag, I can't find it in myself to take them off!!!

I always knew which bag was mine!!!!

Hey everyone, decided to continue my review. Got some time to kill until the boyfriend gets up to get ready for work and I have to get food ready!! All in the day in the life of a busy military girlfriend.

So I had a funny moment, I got up this morning to make my breakfast and I stood by the kitchen counter holding my plate waiting for someone to put food on it. *sigh* PCD has kicked in.

Chapter 3: Welcome Aboard!

Once we got into Port Everglades, we arrived curbside to luggage drop off. This seemed like a big mess. Luggage everywhere and people everywhere. In spite of it all, the porters did a great job in ensuring that everyone's luggage ended up in the correct places/spots. As anyone would do, I did look back occasionally trying to see if my bag had made it onto one of the trolleys, but alas, didn't see much.

Arriving into the cruise terminal felt like a college student arriving onto campus for the first time. It was HUGE. SO many people and lots of different lines to get us processed and registered for check in on the ship. We were smart, and printed our sign and sail documents and had them signed that morning at our hotel. All we had to do was give our credit cards for room charging and pose for our seapass pictures. Seapasses in hand and excitement in the air, we were off to get our first photo together. There were several stations for taking onboarding photos and several backdrops of the ship. It was very interesting to see the photographer's eyes grow wide as all 9 of us attempted to crowd into the small photography space. ((**Disclaimer: tried to take pictures in the cruise terminal but was so excited that it just didn't happen. I'm sorry friends!! I'm still kicking myself over that)).

After the photo was taken we headed to the second level of the terminal for that special moment: we were boarding the Allure of the Seas. My heart was racing a million miles a minute and I was so excited! I could hardly wait to get onboard and explore this AMAZING vessel. Walking onto the gangway seemed like it lasted forever. It went up and to the side and up some more. I was so wide eyed at my first view of the ship from the gangway. In fact, it kinda hurt my neck to peer up at her. We all stepped through the door and we were on the Royal Promenade. It was even better than the pictures!!! Tons of stores, restaurants, and staff members dressed in their neat uniforms greeting us and welcoming us. It not longer felt overwhelming, it felt sort of calming. I knew we were going to have the best service possible.

It was about 1230 at this point and we still had a little bit of time until our stateroom would be ready so we decided to head to Central Park to snag a bite to eat. Let me tell ya, BEWARE! This was one of the food venues open for lunch upon boarding and it was PACKED! It was very hard for all of us to snag a table but that was to be expected. We also decided to check out our options for drinks during our cruise. Rob and I are occasional social drinkers but we decided collectively that we were more concerned about having soft drinks and juice rather than alcohol. We purchased our soft drink package at a set up counter in Central Park and also got our souvenir mugs to be used with the Coke Freestyle machines located throughout the ship. We could also use the mugs at various bars located in the ship. The price was $6.50/per day totaling (with gratuities)= $52.33. Not bad for the entire cruise!!

After purchasing our drink mugs we headed back to Park Cafe to meet up with the group for our lunch. After waiting for about a few minutes, we got in and ordered our lunch. I had the Egg Salad sandwich with cheddar/sour cream chips and an Arnold Palmer. Ziggy decided to join us for lunch, he wanted to share with me.

Buut Egg Salad wasn't his forte. So he politely declined and allowed me to shoot another shot of my lunch (sans Ziggy)

(you can see the drink mug I got for my drink package in the background)

The egg salad was yummy though it felt like more ended up on my plate than inside my bread.

After lunch, we decided to explore the floors above Central Park and we wandered our way to my stateroom (Rob was in another stateroom down the hall and on the other side of the ship). Low and behold it was ready and our luggage was being delivered! Hurrah!!! Being so excited, I didn't snap many shots of the room but I did catch Ziggy out on our balcony catching a snooze...

OH Ziggy....

None the less, the view was spectacular and beautiful both day and night.

I could hardly believe that this was happening, even today it still feels like a dream.

Since our baggage had arrived, I proceeded to get out the decorations I had brought for our stateroom door. I picked up some cute little nic-nacs at Hobby Lobby the day before and was just ecstatic about how cute the door was going to look!!! After about 10 minutes of decorating...TAH DAH!!!

Super cute!!! Pretty soon it was time to head to muster drill at our assigned station and then the fun could begin!!!

More soon!! Enjoy friends!!!

<3 Missy <3

I believe that is if you do a special private photo shoot with a photographer, not the usual photos done around the ship.

My boyfriend and I had premium photos taken at Picture This on the Allure. We had photographers follow us around Central Park and the Boardwalk and they got pictures of us and we got them printed as part of a package that was separate from those at Get the Picture! (i.e. the ones we took with the picture this studio weren't loaded onto our seapasses and we have to wait 6-8 weeks to receive our prints. plus they cost a ton! {$575 dollars later...}) But, they looked amazing and beautiful. Very intimate photo shoot.

We did purchase a few of the photos that showed up in the picture folder but not all of them. It was around 349.95 for ALL the pictures in the folder and a photo cd. Separately I paid 19.95 for the ones around the ship and 12.95 for the one taken in port. Totaling to about 53.25 altogether.

Not a problem! I'll fiddle around with a few more sizes before my next entry! I really appreciate the feedback!

First timer, sailing this August on the Allure - eastern itinerary. Can't wait to read more of your review, hopefully in larger type if possible! Small type is tough on us old people! :)

should I keep the font that I used in the last posting or make it a bit larger? Still trying to decifer a larger font that works!