My Allure Trip Journal- 5/27/12: There IS No Reader's Digest Version!

[Craving A Cruise]

Hello again!

....I burst out of the bathroom ready to conk some heads together if they were the ones making that racket, but what I discovered was Daughter J. jumping up and down and shrieking with joy. Guest Services had called and told her that she could meet Hiccup after the first How To Train Your Dragon ice show on Saturday. She was ecstatic, to say the very least. I have not yet emailed the corporate head honcho boss guy whose name everybody throws around here, but I can't currently remember (- Oh yeah, Adam, how could I forget?) but I plan to. And I plan to tell him that of all the good food, good service, fun entertainment, amazing piece of machinery/art that is this ship, and everything else we experienced this whole week, that one small gesture that probably meant little or nothing to them, topped it all for my special little girl. More than they will ever know. :)

 

Aaaaaaaw, this part brought tears to my eyes.

 

As the auntie of a child with autism, I completely understand how this special gesture made an impact on your entire family. Sometimes it's just the little things that turn out to be the BIG things!!! I hope that your sweet daughter "J" enjoyed the Meet n' greet and that you have photos to share with us.. :D:p

 

 

Continue on....as you were...back to the story....

 

~Karen

[Woch2331]

the driver ("Sugar," if you're interested)

 

We had Sugar on our tour in St Maarten also.

Nice guy but always talked while looking back at us..

Made our daughter-in-law very nervous!

But, was very entertaining.

 

[BillOh]

Hello all. I'm totally peeved right now, because I just spent a solid hour and a half typing my next installment about St. Maarten, which I don't normally do right here on the thread, and one wrong keystroke and it's gone. Feeeel my frustration!!! Grrrrr!

It was a work of genius, too. I'll see if I can recreate it, but it's going to take some time. SIGH!!

 

It's my fault, I jinxed it, I've been waiting for that day. I'm anxious to read about your Bernard's tour. We did that tour in 2011 and loved it, but looking at their website, it looks to me like they have shortened up the stay on my two favorite places, so I might just take a cab to Orient Beach, then Maho.

[OklaCruiserMom]

What a great review! Loved the yellow dress, and you all looked awesome on formal night! It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun. What is a vacation without a tantrum here or there (at least that is what I told my husband when I had mine ha ha) :D

 

Hi, thank you! We did have a great time overall. I was working with the pictures yesterday, and I thought that despite the most glaring moments when the kids were cranky or I was cranky, it really was completely awesome. I love that quote, and will definitely have to remember it, to help take future vacation tantrums in stride: What's a vacation without a tantrum here or there? :)

 

OklaCruiserMom, Thank you for your awesome review. I love your writing style, it's so colorful and very captivating.

 

I basically happened upon your review today at the beginning of my lunch hour ... I was reading, laughing, and munchin' away. Thank goodness I had my own little cubby area to myself!! :eek: :p

 

Haha! Lunchtime entertainment- glad I could provide it. I have a habit of reading when I eat, too.

 

It's my fault, I jinxed it, I've been waiting for that day. I'm anxious to read about your Bernard's tour. We did that tour in 2011 and loved it, but looking at their website, it looks to me like they have shortened up the stay on my two favorite places, so I might just take a cab to Orient Beach, then Maho.

 

I'm not sure if the beach stops were normally that short, of if we got started a little late, but it was really a pretty nice intro for a first-timer. Serious beachgoers would have been completely disappointed, I'm pretty sure. I plan to have a section at the end with things I've learned, things I would do differently etc, but I will go ahead and say that if I returned to St. Maarten, I would probably just choose a cab and go to a couple of the beaches. Thanks for reading!

 

 

And again, thanks to all who have given feedback on my review, whether I was able to respond to you specifically or not. It is all very much appreciated, and I'm really glad I've been able to entertain and inform you! But we're not finished yet- there's plenty more to come. Also, more pictures! (next post)

[OklaCruiserMom]

 

Iguanas!!

 

Calvin's Table

 

 

 

 

Temporary tattoo??!!

 

 

 

 

 

The view from my lounge chair!

[OklaCruiserMom]

 

The dead crab

 

 

Serafina's counter... nom nom nom!

 

 

Shanny discovered she loves snorkeling!

 

 

Duck!!!

 

 

 

 

All of us were worn out!

 

 

These were just the highlights- again, try this link for the whole album on my Fb page. Don't know if you have to be my Fb friend to see it, but I'll friend you if you ID yourself as a CCer and fan of my review. Haha!

 

http://www.facebook.com/deeanne.dillard?ref=tn_tnmn#!/media/set/?set=a.597845457515.2044867.176402356&type=1

[jakesmom04]

So loved this review...you are an amazing mom in my opinion. I have taken my 2 daughters on land vacations by myself and was totally overwhelmed! I couldn't imagine a cruise.

[I'm Charming]

How funny - trying to take the caps lock off I killed my response twice. At least it was supposed to be short and sweet.

 

Thank you for the non-condenced version of your cruise. The photos are wonderful.

[newcrew42]

Love it! Please tell me there is more to come....

[Coolcruise02]

Still loving it!!

 

One comment: I have never heard of ships security taking away sea shells. I have brought home many over the years, including big conch shells and NEVER had a problem!

 

Sorry for your daughter, as my shells are some of my best memories.

 

PS: love the comment about conking your kids heads together; you sound like MY mom!! :)

[miridj]

SO FINALLY THE MOMENT I HAD BEEN WAITING FOR!! I'm soooo happy your girl got to see Hiccups!!! I was.. like... THIS GOTTA HAPPEN!!! Anyway be sure to send that email!!! I hope to see it on Royal WOW of the Week!!!! :)

 

https://www.facebook.com/royalcaribbean/app_231230213604416

 

Amazing review btw!! :) You're a really good writer!

[Meriflower]

Great and entertaining review! Looks like you all had alot of fun and made wonderful memories. I think you need to take more cruises and write reviews afterwards! :)

[StlGal]

One comment: I have never heard of ships security taking away sea shells. I have brought home many over the years, including big conch shells and NEVER had a problem!

 

Sorry for your daughter, as my shells are some of my best memories.

 

The last two cruises prior to the last one we went on the ship's security has scanned our bags and taken away our shells both times. We don't even attempt to bring them onboard anymore. :(

[Coolcruise02]

The last two cruises prior to the last one we went on the ship's security has scanned our bags and taken away our shells both times. We don't even attempt to bring them onboard anymore. :(

 

WOW, I wonder what the reason is? Maybe people leave them behind and they stink up the cabins! :)

[mommaof 3]

Love your trip journal! You really are an entertaining writer, it's something you should persue. And your kids are darling! Time flies by, and I'm sure this wasn't an easy trip to do, but I'm sure you'll always treasure these memories.

 

Really, you've handled things so well - the last big trips I've planned I end up being the one having the meltdown a day or two in.:( I have all these unrealistic expectations, and then the when my kids act like their normal (and reasonably well behaved) selves, instead of perfect, I lose it, lol. It's embarrassing - be glad all you've done is interrupt a few pics!

 

Can't wait to read the rest!

[Host Faith]

LOVE your review, you're a fantastic writer and you have a beautiful family. I'm so happy you and your children enjoyed your time on the Allure. Can't wait to read more! :)

[OklaCruiserMom]

Hey all. Just wanted to let you know I'll be working on the next post soon, but in the meantime I just sent the following email to Adam G. We'll see what happens.

 

Dear Mr. Goldstein,

 

Hi. My name is DeeAnne xxxxxxx, and I am a single mom of three children, whom I recently took with me on an Eastern itinerary sailing of Allure, 5/27/12. It was our first cruise, although I hope it won't be our last.

 

I just wanted to tell you that although the food was good, the service wonderful, the ship clean and beautiful, and the ports gorgeous and amazing, there was one incident on this trip that was really very special, and I wanted to share it with you.

 

 

One of my twin 18 year old daughters is developmentally delayed, and although she does not have severe disabilities, she operates emotionally at a level about 4-6 years younger than her true age. She loves Disney and DreamWorks with a passion, and would love to someday work for one of those companies if she could.

 

 

The only thing she really cared about on this trip was the characters, but especially the character of Hiccup, from How to Train Your Dragon. She had been watching the ice show on YouTube for months, in addition to the parades and everything else she could find. Well, her first opportunity to see him was the first parade of the trip, and she was really excited. Unfortunately however, we got there a little late and got a really poor viewing spot at the last minute (all the way at the end of the promenade, practically in the elevator lobby).

 

 

Well, very few of the characters came all the way down to our spot. She spotted Hiccup about halfway down the Promenade, but he never came anywhere near us, and she was absolutely heartbroken. She cried for practically 20 minutes after the parade ended. I tried to explain to her that she'd see him in the ice show and that we would make sure to stake out a better spot for the final parade, but she was still so bitterly disappointed.

 

 

She asked me if there was anyone I could talk to, and I didn't have much hope, because I know Hiccup is a face character and not a head character, so he wouldn't have any meet-n-greets like the others. But I went to Guest Services. I first spoke with a girl from China, whose name I'm not sure of, sorry) but she was very kind and said she would contact the DreamWorks coordinator and see what she could do, and get back to me. A couple of days went by and we hadn't heard anything, so I returned to Guest Services, and this time spoke with Jorge from Brazil. He was very efficient and seemed much more serious about helping to make this happen.

 

 

On the day of the St. Maarten stop, we returned to the ship and hadn't been there very long when we got a call from GS that Jasmine would have an unofficial meet-n-greet with Hiccup after the first ice show performance on Saturday!!! She was so completely ecstatic. You just wouldn't believe how happy this made her.

 

 

We waited after the ice show on Saturday and spoke to one of the tech people standing there and he asked if we'd spoken to anybody, and we told him GS had told us to wait. He called back to the back and then told us Hiccup was coming out. Joey Russell, the performer, (I've googled him) came out and talked to Jasmine for a few minutes, took several pictures, and just could not have been more of a doll! I know he had to be in a hurry to rest and prepare for the next show, but he was so patient and kind, and acted like he had all the time in the world. Please see the attached pictures.

 

 

So, long story short, your Guest Services department, DreamWorks team, and Joey Russell made this the trip of a lifetime for my special little girl, and I just wanted to say... Thank You. From the bottom of our hearts. This may seem like such a small thing, but it was the world's biggest WOW for us.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1647724

 

 

Sincerely,

DeeAnne xxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxx

Lone Grove, OK 73443

xxxxxxxx@yahoo.com

580-xxx-xxxx

[reallyitsmema]

What a beautiful letter! I am glad your daughter was able to meet Hiccup.

 

I have been enjoying your review. You have a wonderful family.:)

[SliderNc]

I enjoying reading most reviews on here and hearing about family stories as this is something that I hope to have with my family someday. Currently, it's just my DW and I and we really enjoy cruising. My father worked in the industry for about 50 years or so and we cruised every summer at least 2-3 weeks.

 

Looking forward to your next parts coming up. Your family is adorable and if there was a Mom of the Year competition, you'd be a shoe-in for it.

[Familygoboston]

Ok so I've laughed..now I cry! What a lovely letter, and how wonderful they would accommodate your daughters wish to see her favorite character! I've heard that RCLs special needs department is excellent, clearly there is a company wide effort to make "whishes come true" for special children!:D

[OklaCruiserMom]

Hello all! Continuing...

*

So we had received the news that Daughter J. would get to meet her favorite character after the first ice show performance, and there was general happiness all around. For some reason I cannot fathom, knowing what was scheduled for the evening (namely Rita’s Fiesta), I decided it would be a good idea to go to Park Café and get a Roast Beef Sandwich. Still as good as the first bite! I swear, I could have lived

on those things. Then I went to Guest Services to get new cards for myself and Daughter S. because the sunscreen had rubbed the letters off ours. (In case you’re interested.) When I returned to the room, The Boy seemed to think he was starving, and he thought a visit to Boardwalk Dog House was in order. And so it was that he had two Coney Island dogs, and I (again, reasons unfathomable) tried a Wunderdog. The kids were vegging out and watching a movie. I realized I had now missed all sailaways except the first one. We killed time for a while, because the kids wanted to go to WJ before Rita’s. Yes, that’s right- they don’t care for Mexican food.

 

*

So we went to WJ. After all, the kids had a pressing date with their oft-repeated chicken nuggets, French fries, spaghetti, and burgers. I do NOT know what had come over me at this point, but for some reason I had a couple small bites of some other things, (the little garlic-y mozzarella balls were particularly good) and tried a lemon tart. Then we went to Boardwalk to kill time until the Fiesta. They rode the carousel again and we checked out the candy shop. We hadn’t spent quite as much money as I had planned for, so I thought they could have a little candy. (Which, of course, they needed like Custer needed more Indians, but parents do crazy things sometimes.) So they decided they just had to have some gummy bears, and J. got some Reese’s pieces and cherry candies. We went to check out. I had seen the number on the screen for the customer in front of us and had begun to get concerned. When the staff member put their candy on the scales, I almost choked. I don’t think I remember seeing a specific price for the candy in any of the reviews I’ve read, but I think it’s about $0.75 an ounce! The total for the junk the kids bought- $26.00! (In case you’re interested.)

*

We also checked out the Pets At Sea shop. There was one somewhat negative incident that occurred in here. In addition to her other issues, Daughter J. is blind in her left eye due to an injury at about age 8 from a flying fork. (I know, it’s a hideous story.) So the Pets at Sea shop is pretty small, and Jazz was walking around looking at the animals, and there was this large older lady just kind of standing in the middle of the room, staring around, blocking traffic. Jas didn’t see her there and kind of bumped into her, and she said something snippy. (“Knock me over, kids, please!”) I wish I’d told her what was what, or maybe I should have apologized and explained, but I just grabbed Jas’s elbow and tried to steer her out of the Old Dear’s way.

*

So finally we went to the Fiesta. We waited in line, checked in, and received our drink bracelets and Fiesta souvenirs. The Boy got a little sombrero and the girls and I got a little flashing rubber spikey ball on a necklace. (About the drink bracelets, they put a little plastic tabbed wristband on you, either green or red depending on your drink being alcoholic or not, and you give the staff one of the tabs each time you order a drink, in case you’re interested.) We were seated in the far corner near the kitchen entrance, but it was ok, because I wasn’t sure how J. and The Boy would do with the noise level. Neither of them is super comfortable with “loud” but I figured it would be ok. They took our first drink order. As mentioned in other reviews, the wait staff acts like you can only have margaritas, and for the first one, I kind of took them at their word and had a mango one. It was pretty good, but the lady at the next table had something that looked much better, and I resolved to ask her what it was and order that for the next one.

 

 

*

The entertainment began- they had everybody do a train through the restaurant area and out into the Boardwalk. They snagged one person at a time from each table until almost everyone was on their feet. J. and The Boy flatly refused to get up (they’re such party poopers) but Daughter S. and I joined the crowd. I made one or two circuits through the restaurant and went back to the table, (I could be a party pooper, too) but she went all the way out to the outside area. Then when that song was over, everybody returned to their table and they started bringing food. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that much of the food they brought to our table would go to waste, and I feel kind of guilty for even booking this, but I mainly did it because I thought the 3-drink thing was a steal.

 

*

They brought the chips and salsa, which I thought was pretty darn good, though some reviewers on CC have panned it. Naturally, the kids didn’t try any. SIGH! We were all pretty tired and a little sunburned after two port days in a row, but I had hoped they would perk up a little. Daughter J. finally smiled when they played what we call the “football game” song. You know the one- “…na na-na na, HEY! …” It probably has a real name, but I don’t know it. Anyway, then they brought a little dish of pico, sour cream, and guacamole. The pico was good, the guacamole fair, but I was so full. Then they brought flour tortillas and a dish of fajita filling- I think it was mixed beef and chicken with onions and peppers, but it may have been just beef. I went ahead and made one fajita and ate it, and it was reasonably tasty, although not the best I’ve ever had. Finally they brought a dessert tray with flan, churros, and tortillas wrapped around bananas, along with some chocolate dipping sauce. We had never tried churros or flan before, and we didn’t know what to expect, nor do we have anything to compare them to, but Shannon and I had been looking forward to trying them. They didn’t seem to be anything terribly special.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*

I feel like I’m being unfairly negative about the food here- I’m sure it was good, but I was so ridiculously full already, I couldn’t give it a fair evaluation! The kids didn’t really try much of anything, although Daughter S. did try the churros. And speaking of her, remember when I said early on that she didn’t enjoy the virgin margarita I had bought for her, but she later found a flavor she really loved? This was where she found it, and it was virgin strawberry margarita. She was kind of in love with that drink, and thankfully she used all three of her drink tabs.

The Boy was so dehydrated from all the swimming and snorkeling, all he wanted was “water! More water!” and Daughter J. might have had some water and one Sprite. So in addition to not being able to really give the food a chance, the drink deal was a bust too. I ended up having all three of mine (the drink I mentioned earlier, that the lady at the next table had ordered, turned out to be a B-52, I think, which I luuuuuvvved. :D My final drink was a regular ‘rita. It was super strong and I took it back and asked them to weaken it, and then I think they gave me a virgin one, because I couldn’t taste anything at all in that one. Who knows?)

*

While everybody was eating, but more toward the end, they grabbed a contestant from most tables and had a dance-off, first the women, then the men. They asked where everybody was from and then seemed to try to pick a song that “went with” that state, but I could be misinterpreting. The contestants all got a shot of tequila afterwards. One lady had some serious moves and seemed to be the most popular dancer of our Fiesta. The guys were goofy, as always. One young man had enjoyed his drinks quite a lot, apparently, and tried to take his shirt off! The host quickly put a stop to that. (I can’t remember the host’s name, but he was pretty funny.) So all in all, for us, on this particular occasion, Rita’s Fiesta was fun, but a pretty big waste of money for us, but with more enthusiastic, hungry, and energetic dinner companions, it would

have been a fantastic deal.

*

So we took Daughter J. and The Boy back to the room, and Daughter S. and I returned to the Aquatheater to wait for the Sing-Along Grease movie. First, they were having a 50s and 60s Rock n Roll Dance Party, which was a lot of fun to watch and listen to. The lady who had been the best dancer at our Fiesta showed off her moves here too, and she seemed to be gaining a following. She really was an enthusiastic dancer.

*

So then Grease came on, and we watched and sang along, and it was kind of tricky trying to figure out whether there were really that many people actually singing in the Aquatheater! It sounded like quite a lot of people, but I didn’t think there would be that many people who would like that type of thing. I thought maybe they had added extra voices to the sing-along lyrics. I thought surely we were the only nerds! I never did look behind me to see how full it was, but when it was over and we were leaving, it seemed that there had been a good crowd, so I guess outdoor sing-along movies are more popular than I thought! When it was over, we were tired and looking forward to winding up our trip with a couple of leisurely sea days in a row.

*

 

Next post, we’ll see how leisurely they turned out to be!

Edited June 13, 2012 by OklaCruiserMom

[happyiam]

I was going to wait until the end before posting again, but you made one of my favorite reviewers cry (Familygoboston) and I just wanted to add she wasn't alone. Many people talk about having a WOW moment but it was so nice to see what you wrote to show your appreciation. It was great that you made that extra effort so your daughter could meet Hiccup.You are giving wonderful Mom examples to your children (and to others.) It has been a pleasure reading this.

[Familygoboston]

Hello all! Continuing...

*

Daughter J. finally smiled when they played what we call the “football game” song. You know the one- “…na na-na na, HEY! …” It probably has a real name, but I don’t know it.

It's by Gary Glitter...It's really known as the "hey" song, so shes not too far off;) Unfortunately, they stopped playing it at our NE Patriots FB games because there were allegations/convictions:confused: of pedophilia by the singer:eek: Too bad, because it is a great song for that!

 

]I feel like I’m being unfairly negative about the food here- I’m sure it was good, but I was so ridiculously full already, I couldn’t give it a fair evaluation! The kids didn’t really try much of anything, although Daughter S. did try the churros. And speaking of her, remember when I said early on that she didn’t enjoy the virgin margarita I had bought for her, but she later found a flavor she really loved? This was where she found it, and it was virgin strawberry margarita. She was kind of in love with that drink, and thankfully she used all three of her drink tabs.

[/font][/size]

 

My teens fave too...they call the Strawberry smoothies, I often get them myself because alcohol just makes me sleepy in the sun!

[cmoose]

Can' wait to hear about the last few days.......

[LBumb]

great job