The Significantly Less Complete Food Lovers Guide to the Allure of the Seas

[BrianAlt]

Part 8: Jamaica mon!

 

In Jamaica you get a late start. The ship doesn’t back into the spot on the dock until after 9:30 AM and customs aren’t cleared till after 10 AM. Yes, I said, “back into the spot.” I felt like we were a car that was parallel parking. But the ship was even more maneuverable than a car! I almost expected to hear the back-up sound: beep-beep-beep-beep. It didn’t do that so I added my own sound effects instead.

 

We met back up with the Navigator of the Seas here in Falmouth. She had left with us from Fort Lauderdale a few days before, but they went the opposite route, stopping in Cozumel first and then Jamaica. Cozumel would be our next port.

 

Navigator of the Seas from the Allure as we backed up into port

 

View from my balcony – for those curious, we were on port side and starboard had port views! (your mileage may vary)

 

So it was 10 AM and it seemed like everyone was getting off of the ship. We were in our staterooms waiting to hear. There was an announcement and we couldn’t hear a word of it. We figured customs had been cleared, so we went to the elevators, all eight of us, together and hit the GANGWAY button. That’s a really nice feature on the Allure and Oasis. No need to guess which deck the gangway is on, just hit the gangway button on the elevator. So the elevator took us to Deck 3 and we got off and walked to the gangway. We were then admonished that we needed to leave the area and the ship had not been cleared yet. We really had no idea and I would have thought that the GANGWAY button on the elevator wouldn’t be active until the ship was cleared. So we went to the other side of the elevators and we were told we needed to leave there too. Five of us went up the stairs - my family and my mother-in-law. We were greeted by a horde of people on the stairs waiting to get off of the ship. No way to get up further. So we sat down on the stairs in front of everyone. Sorry to the people we cut in front of, but no idea what else we should have done. My parents and sister took the elevator up to the Promenade to wait there. (Okay, I guess we could have done that.)

 

After sitting for around two minutes, the ship was cleared and we headed off. We got to the security guy when my mother-in-law realized she forgot her passport. She started yelling at my wife that she forgot her passport. That makes sense to everyone, right? So she had to go back up to her room, get her passport and come back down. We were waiting for my parents anyway, so no big deal. Well, it was over 20 minutes before my mother-in-law reappeared and my parents showed up a little after her.

 

Normally this isn’t a big deal, but the tickets we got from Hilton Rose Hall (HRH), our destination for the day, said that we must board as soon as the ship is cleared in order to meet our bus to the resort. So I was in a bit of a rush to get to the bus. Plus I knew that we didn’t have that much time there, we’d have to head back to the ship around 4:30 PM. I saw a few people from the Roll Call that were also going to HRH and told them to hold the bus, we were waiting for a few people.

 

Finally we were all together again and we made our way out to the new Falmouth cruise port. It’s very nice looking and you can see the two ships surrounding the shops. There were crafts merchants set up in the middle of the square. Beware of the stilted men, you have to pay them to take a picture with them.

 

The shops, the ship and the stilted men

 

The people selling their wares

 

The walk from the pier to the buses is probably over half a mile, that is to say longer than you think it will be. I was expecting it to be easy to find our bus to HRH. What we got instead was CHAOS!

 

People waiting to meet their buses and vans

 

People getting on vans, hoping it’s the right one

 

Also we were waiting in the heat. If not for the tents I’m pretty sure we’d see many with heat stroke. Finally our bus pulled up and we got on and we headed for Hilton Rose Hall and we were on our way.

 

Next – Part 9: Hilton Rose Hall

[sailingawaysoon]

Thanks for the review. I can't wait for the next installment.

[Sunebeach]

Brian Alt "Beware of the stilted men, you have to pay them to take a picture with them."

this is true...and two or three dollars US is apparently not enough...we got the 'evil eye' when my DH handed them the money AFTER he snapped exactly TWO pics, one the flag they let me hold blew infront of my face...so he took two. You'd think we had just shoplifted...:eek:

 

PS.. Thanks Brian...looking forward to the "rest of the story"

[BrianAlt]

Yes, I didn't stop, but my son wanted to take a picture. So I had walked ahead without realizing they had stopped. When I saw that I was ahead of them I waited and my wife told me that he wanted to take a picture, but he would have to pay for it. I figured that was going to be the case.

[jillyfish]

Sorry for the delay, a bit under the weather.

 

Cruise withdrawal? :p I am sorry you are dealing with allergies but happy you are taking your time posting, I haven't had a chance to check in too frequently lately so I am savoring every post.

 

Congratulations on your Diamond status!!

 

How wonderful to have an extended family that enjoys traveling together!! I'm jealous. :o

[BrianAlt]

How wonderful to have an extended family that enjoys traveling together!! I'm jealous. :o

 

Who said that? ;):p:o

[beachbuddy]

There were eight of us in the cabana, so $25 per person. About the cheapest thing we did all cruise, other than have a beer. But I really wanted it for my parents, especially my dad. He doesn't do well in the heat, so I thought this would be good for him. Plus, a little luxury is worth it from time to time. I wouldn't do it every time, but if I had at least six people to split it with, then I'd go for it. Mmmm, maybe four. :D

 

Brian, splitting the cost is a great way to do it and I'm sure it was great to have for your parents and it's great for anyone that can't take the heat or the sun. For me and my husband it would be a waste of money because we really spend a lot of time in the water or walking around the island.

 

Really enjoying your review..........can't wait for more.

 

Patty

[beachbuddy]

Who said that? ;):p:o

 

LOL :D:D:D

 

Patty

[BrianAlt]

Part 9: Hilton Rose Hall

 

Our bus driver to Hilton Rose Hall was really great. He told us about the towns we were driving through, how Jamaica is divided into parishes that are like states, about the climate, about the license plates, all kinds of useless trivia. I asked if he would be our driver later and he said he would be. I made a mental note to tip him later and I did so for our entire party.

 

We were the first off the bus and went straight to the Concierge desk which is where we need to check into HRH, pay the balance and get our bracelets. We had signed up as a group with our Roll Call. You need a minimum of 16 people to sign up. We had exactly 16 from the Roll Call going to HRH: our eight, BobKat’s four and LKL&ME’s four. With that we would get 5% off of our bill. When I paid I asked about the discount and they said something to the effect, “yes, that’s the discount.” I knew it wasn’t in the balance, but I didn’t want to argue over 5%. We all agreed that we’d try to take care of it when we got home.

 

They also gave me a map and told me where we can eat. There were three different places we could eat: the buffet, the grill and a sit down fast food place. We ventured out to check out the place.

 

When you walk through the lobby you come to a set of doors with a giant patio that overlooks the pool.

 

Hilton Rose Hall pool – water aerobics in progress

 

This is a beautiful view, but there was no obvious way to get down, so we had to go back in to get downstairs. To the left of the patio entrance are some winding stairs. These will take you outside to the pool area. The pool was beautiful, but we all wanted the lazy river and/or the waterslides.

 

The lazy river area was not far to the right of the pool and was great. It was exactly what I was looking for from the day. When we got there the lounge chairs were pretty close to completely reserved by the hotel guests. BobKat had one of the workers move some chairs for them so they could sit by the lazy river. Getting eight seats together was going to be trickier. But the last row by the beach was completely available. These weren’t the nice padded chairs you can see in my pictures, but instead the vinyl slatted lounge chairs. They did the trick, especially since I think I sat on one for less than 10 minutes the entire day. They were also very close to one of the entrances to the lazy river.

 

Lazy river

 

I spent around 80% of the time we were there swimming in the lazy river. Okay, I didn’t swim. I floated. Around and around and around and around. I often went to the swim up bar and got the drink of the day, a Bam Bam. What is a Bam Bam? Well, I didn’t remember so I looked it up and found the following on the Hilton Rose Hall Facebook page:

 

In Jamaica, the term “Bam Bam” is sometimes used to express excitement, hence this drink was created to replicate this mood. To whip one up yourself (even though we wish we could for you!) – mix ½oz passion rum, ½oz coconut rum, ½oz apricot brandy, 2oz pineapple juice, 2oz orange juice, and a splash of both lemon juice and Grenadine – and BAM! You’ve got yourself one mood-enhancing cocktail! Cheers!

 

I had five of them. And I felt like I had at least five of them. Yes, I wasn’t feeling much pain.

 

For lunch I went to the buffet. The buffet was very nice. They had a pizza station, a grill where they made hamburgers and Jamaican hot dogs and several hot dishes. I had the fish and it was very good. After lunch it started to drizzle and my son and I played some giant Ping-Pong, a Ping-Pong game with a tennis ball, paddles and a cement table, and then we played bean bag toss. It started to rain heavier and the bean bags stopped sliding, making the game harder to play, but we had some fun.

 

Giant Ping-Pong and bean bag toss

 

I got back into the lazy river while it was still raining. That made it easy to get a tube. I was in less than 10 minutes and the sun came out. Then the river filled up with people.

 

At 4:30 we started getting ready to go back to the ship and it started to rain again, this time a lot heavier and steadier. It rained all the way back to the pier and slowed up just as we got there.

 

We got back on the ship and dinner in the MDR was nice again. I had the Malaysian Fish Soup which was tasty and the Surf and Turf - 2 slices of steak and three shrimp, mashed potatoes and green beans, very good.

 

I was supposed to go with the family to see the headliner show, Mo5aic, but I was too tired. I decided to go to bed early and I was asleep by 10:30, too much sun and definitely too many Bam Bams. Unfortunately I also missed The Quest, but I was ready for a great day at sea coming up!

 

For more pictures of Hilton Rose Hall, check out my photo blog on my friend’s site: A Photo Blog of Hilton Rose Hall Resort in Jamaica

 

Post cruise note: BobKat contacted the booker for Hilton Rose Hall and he credited our PayPal accounts with the 5% discount each. Thanks BobKat!

 

Next – Part 10: Rita’s Fiesta

[Familygoboston]

 

Post cruise note: BobKat contacted the booker for Hilton Rose Hall and he credited our PayPal accounts with the 5% discount each. Thanks BobKat!

 

Next – Part 10: Rita’s Fiesta

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Brian it's good to know they made it right...it definitively changed my 'tude about whether I would try this. My first thought was-" oh, they will never see that money" and I get why you wouldn't want to argue with them and ruin your vacation, but for 8 people that has to be significant dough! Now that we know the proprietor made good on the promise, CC'ers can trust we will have similar dealings in the future!:D

 

Behold the power of CC!;)

[BrianAlt]

Brian it's good to know they made it right...it definitively changed my 'tude about whether I would try this. My first thought was-" oh, they will never see that money" and I get why you wouldn't want to argue with them and ruin your vacation, but for 8 people that has to be significant dough! Now that we know the proprietor made good on the promise, CC'ers can trust we will have similar dealings in the future!:D

 

Behold the power of CC!;)

 

Agreed. I think it's actually the way it's supposed to work. The discount isn't coming from HRH, it's coming from the booking agent (jamaicaforaday.com). Two things have to happen to get the discount: 1) you have to show up and 2) at least 16 people have to show up. So there's no way of doing it except as a refund. But that should be made clear by the booking agent.

 

The refund for us was $28 and PayPal fees were taken out of that. So we got a little less than $27.

[QTMichele]

HRH looks nice! We have a stop on Falmouth in November - I'll add this to the suggested to dos I'm putting together for our group. Thanks for linking to Kaleigh too! Great pictures!

[Buffett fan]

I just looked at your friends blog and your pictures. Wish I was floating around that lazy river now!! Great pictures! :)

[BrianAlt]

I wish I was on the lazy river AND had a Bam Bam in my hand!!!

[hal2008]

Part 8: Jamaica mon!

 

The walk from the pier to the buses is probably over half a mile, that is to say longer than you think it will be. I was expecting it to be easy to find our bus to HRH. What we got instead was CHAOS!

 

People waiting to meet their buses and vans

 

People getting on vans, hoping it’s the right one

 

Also we were waiting in the heat. If not for the tents I’m pretty sure we’d see many with heat stroke.

 

 

Right on money about Chaos and Heat.

 

Our group was actually moved away from the tent to a traffic island (heat on top and fumes from sides) as there was a mixup between RCCL and local vendor and they were trying to find a bus that can accomodate people waiting. Will go to HRH if we ever go to Falmouth/MB again.

[CruizeCast]

Loving your trip report, as always. Can't wait to read the rest! BTW, that Arkansas trivia thing is weak. (But you can bet I'll remember it!)

[Cruiser0721]

Hey Brian, We were on the Oasis with you a couple of summers ago and we're going on the Allure in June. Having been on both now, what item on Allure, that is not on Oasis, would you suggest we NOT miss?

 

Sounds like you had a great time; we can't wait. Yes, we're taking the kids again; it's the only place we've found where our 15 year-old son actually gets enough to eat!

 

~ Ann :)

[BrianAlt]

Hi, Ann! Nice question. I'll make sure to answer that at the end, okay?

[beachbuddy]

Brian, what do they charge for a day pass at the Hilton Rose Hall? Love the photos!! It looks really nice there!!!

 

Patty

[BrianAlt]

Brian, what do they charge for a day pass at the Hilton Rose Hall? Love the photos!! It looks really nice there!!!

 

Patty

 

It's a great way to spend the day! Passes are $75 for adults and $55 for children and transportation is $15 for round trip bus. You can cab it yourself, but I think in this instance I would go with the bus. So $90 and $70.

[BrianAlt]

Expect my next installment to come out on Sunday. I have some other tasks that have taken precedence. Thanks for your patience and kind words.

[Buffett fan]

Expect my next installment to come out on Sunday. I have some other tasks that have taken precedence. Thanks for your patience and kind words.

 

 

No worries....that just gives us something to look forward to on Sunday :)

[knuckles]

Expect my next installment to come out on Sunday. I have some other tasks that have taken precedence. Thanks for your patience and kind words.

 

 

Hi Brian - loving the review as I will be back on the allure in June. Maybe it also has to do that I can relate to you, myself being a 50 year old Jew originally from Brooklyn. LOL

 

Quick questions about Rose Hall. It sounds like if you book the bus with them, there is only one time the buses leave the pier and then only one specific time they then return. If that is the case, want time do they leave to return to the ship. I imagine they give enough time, but obviously with this not being a RCCL excursion, you run the risk of being left behind.

 

As for the food, do you have access and unlimited options to sample all the different venues?

 

Thanks again in advance.

Knuckles

[BrianAlt]

Quick questions about Rose Hall. It sounds like if you book the bus with them, there is only one time the buses leave the pier and then only one specific time they then return. If that is the case, want time do they leave to return to the ship. I imagine they give enough time, but obviously with this not being a RCCL excursion, you run the risk of being left behind.

 

Always, but we were back more than 2 hours before the ship was scheduled to leave.

 

As for the food, do you have access and unlimited options to sample all the different venues?

 

Absolutely. You can eat as much as you want and at all 3 places if you want.

 

Have a GREAT cruise! :D

[Babyberger]

Hi Brian! I haven't been on here lately as we have opted to do a land vaca this year, so I was pleasantly surprised to see your review. You know I am a huge fan :)

 

So far it looks like you had a great time! Glad you got to see the Aqua Theater Suite, it absolutely made our vacation last year. Pictures just don't do it justice. Can't wait to read more and hear your thoughts on the rest of the food venues.

 

Melissa

 

 

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