Allure Sept 30, 2012 - The Most Disorganized Review Ever

[swwake]

HAHA!! I didn't even mean it that way, but now that I re read it, :eek: LOLLLLL!

Oh my goodness, this is the funniest thing I've read in a long while!

[whataboutport]

Oh my goodness, this is the funniest thing I've read in a long while!

But it could possibly happen! :eek: So I WILL wear a tank. How many times did you go until you didn't fall anymore?

[swwake]

But it could possibly happen! :eek: So I WILL wear a tank. How many times did you go until you didn't fall anymore?

I still fall 90% of the time. It's normal. you just lose your balance and fall. If you don't want to fall, just sit down where you are. You'll just be gracefully glided up to the top of the wave.

[Eng23]

Thanks for the compliments Harold! I do hope we get to cruise with you again sometime - maybe 2014?

 

As hard as I've tried, Chris won't accept any additional crew members on our sailing excursion. (I think he's trying to be romantic!)

 

 

 

I understand completely! :D

[whataboutport]

I still fall 90% of the time. It's normal. you just lose your balance and fall. If you don't want to fall, just sit down where you are. You'll just be gracefully glided up to the top of the wave.

Awesome! Thanks :)

[swwake]

Just checking out my new signature ;)

[luv2sail7]

Hey Susan - you are both going to have such a good time on your flotilla! I read that in an earlier message of yours but just did not have the time to write you back then.

My husband and I have "bare boated" in Greece two times as well as in Croatia, Australia, New Zealand, the Grenadines and the BVIs. We have not done the flotilla, but the group we saw with Sunsail going out of Lefkas - western part of Greece - looked like a lot of fun. And nice to have someone helping with the Mediterranean style anchoring/mooring. That was the toughest part to deal with on our trip with just the two of us, but we got pretty good by week 2. Enjoy your trip and post a trip report! Love reading your reports.

[swwake]

Hey Susan - you are both going to have such a good time on your flotilla! I read that in an earlier message of yours but just did not have the time to write you back then.

My husband and I have "bare boated" in Greece two times as well as in Croatia, Australia, New Zealand, the Grenadines and the BVIs. We have not done the flotilla, but the group we saw with Sunsail going out of Lefkas - western part of Greece - looked like a lot of fun. And nice to have someone helping with the Mediterranean style anchoring/mooring. That was the toughest part to deal with on our trip with just the two of us, but we got pretty good by week 2. Enjoy your trip and post a trip report! Love reading your reports.

Thanks so much. We have never sailed before, but this travel group looks like it's great for "beginners". We start next Sunday on getting our sailing certifications here on Lake Travis in Austin. We are currently trying to nail down our air travel and hotels before and after (very similar to a cruise!). If you have any tips to share, I'd love to hear them. Also, including Athens touring tips, as we will be there 1 day before and 1 day after.

 

We are doing a 2-week Saronic Islands route leaving Epidavros.

Edited March 6, 2013 by swwake

[Eng23]

Thanks so much. We have never sailed before, but this travel group looks like it's great for "beginners". We start next Sunday on getting our sailing certifications here on Lake Travis in Austin. We are currently trying to nail down our air travel and hotels before and after (very similar to a cruise!). If you have any tips to share, I'd love to hear them. Also, including Athens touring tips, as we will be there 1 day before and 1 day after.

 

We are doing a 2-week Saronic Islands route leaving Epidavros.

Hi Susan and Chris!! I figured I should resurrect your review because I have a question for you guys. When in 2015 do you want to sail on the Quantum of the Seas????? One more question. Are you still sure you don't need an extra deck hand for your Greek Islands Adventure??? :D

Edited April 17, 2013 by Eng23

[Eng23]

I'm so excited about the Quantum I don't even know why I quoted that particular post!! :D

Edited April 17, 2013 by Eng23

[swwake]

Hi Susan and Chris!! I figured I should resurrect your review because I have a question for you guys. When in 2015 do you want to sail on the Quantum of the Seas????? One more question. Are you still sure you don't need an extra deck hand for your Greek Islands Adventure??? :D

Harold! Yes, you're cracking me up. I was watching the Quantum videos and exploring the ship today. I was thinking it's kinda cool, then I got an email from Chris saying "Man that thing looks cool."

 

I think we'd like to do a couple of nights in NYC (I've only been there for 2 nights and he's never been) then an 8-day QoS. I saw that C&A members get to start booking end of May.

 

Why do you want to wait until 2015? ;)

 

Sailing - would love it if you were along - on another boat in the flotilla - haha! :)

[Eng23]

Harold! Yes, you're cracking me up. I was watching the Quantum videos and exploring the ship today. I was thinking it's kinda cool, then I got an email from Chris saying "Man that thing looks cool."

 

I think we'd like to do a couple of nights in NYC (I've only been there for 2 nights and he's never been) then an 8-day QoS. I saw that C&A members get to start booking end of May.

 

Why do you want to wait until 2015? ;)

 

Sailing - would love it if you were along - on another boat in the flotilla - haha! :)

Heya! Well Quantum is going into service late in the year Oct./Nov. next year. So I figured 2015 spring time might be a good time of year to sail from NYC. The NYC area in the winter can cause alot of headaches weather wise (unless you really like snow). Plus if we go during the right time of year in 2015, for me I can do it as a new retiree and celebrate the easy life of being retired. :D

 

Dang!!! All I have is a kayak. Would that work for your flotilla? You could attach a rope and tow me behind you??? I'm a pretty good cook. I know how to swab the deck. I don't eat much. I don't drink much. Ahhhh I know you don't believe that last one. I still can't go on your boat can I???:rolleyes:

[swwake]

Heya! Well Quantum is going into service late in the year Oct./Nov. next year. So I figured 2015 spring time might be a good time of year to sail from NYC. The NYC area in the winter can cause alot of headaches weather wise (unless you really like snow). Plus if we go during the right time of year in 2015, for me I can do it as a new retiree and celebrate the easy life of being retired. :D

 

Dang!!! All I have is a kayak. Would that work for your flotilla? You could attach a rope and tow me behind you??? I'm a pretty good cook. I know how to swab the deck. I don't eat much. I don't drink much. Ahhhh I know you don't believe that last one. I still can't go on your boat can I???:rolleyes:

Ahh, I heard Fall but had forgotten, and you make a good point about the NY weather. I agree with you about going spring but for me it would have to be after 4/15. Yay for retirement! Let's keep talking about it for sure and maybe we can make it work where we're on the same ship at the same time again.

 

I guess maybe we'll have to do our Oasis Class B2B (that I've always wanted to do) for our 2014 vacation :)

 

I am not sure who drinks more - you or me (on vacation). If we go by body weight, it may be me!

[Eng23]

Ahh, I heard Fall but had forgotten, and you make a good point about the NY weather. I agree with you about going spring but for me it would have to be after 4/15. Yay for retirement! Let's keep talking about it for sure and maybe we can make it work where we're on the same ship at the same time again.

 

I guess maybe we'll have to do our Oasis Class B2B (that I've always wanted to do) for our 2014 vacation :)

 

I am not sure who drinks more - you or me (on vacation). If we go by body weight, it may be me!

Hi Susan. To go on Quantum after 4/15 is no problem. I was thinking May or June as I will be retired by the end of May 2015. Don't you think a cruise would be a great retirement present?

I've already dropped the idea to Al (ALSEAU) so we will have to keep this idea going.

I have yet to decide on my 2014 cruise schedule yet. I go on my first cruise for this year next month and then have 2 consecutive cruises in September this year. I'm going on the Allure again and then the Majesty right after that.

I was kinda thinking that by body weight you might be right because I can only tell I have had alot to drink by the hat that might be on my head! That is if I notice the hat!?!?!?! :D

[Adam185]

As we walked out onto the Boardwalk, we recognized the familiar carved horses in various stages, Zoltar was calling for us, and the carousel was in the distance. But we were a little hungry, and we could smell...

 

The Boardwalk Dog House!

 

(We had stopped by Park Cafe looking for a famous roast beef sandwich while in Central Park, but the lines were pretty long already, so we waited.)

 

TIP: The touch boards at the elevator banks will list the dining venues and how busy they are at any given time. They don't list the Boardwalk Dog House. So chances are you can always get a hot dog pretty quickly.

 

We checked out the menu - who even KNEW there were 7 varieties of hot dogs in the world? I got a Coney Island Dog and Chris got a Big Apple (chicken with apples in a parmesan/cheddar baguette). Mine was a hot dog. And that's all I needed at the moment. Chris liked his dog, but said the bread was extra hard and hurt the roof of his mouth.

 

We enjoyed it, and we stopped back by later in the week for another (different) dog each. I had the German (pork and marjoram in a caraway seed baguette). I thought it was good. I didn't get the saurkraut with it, and I'm sure that would have changed the flavor, depending on your liking.

 

Bellies full, it was off to Rita's. We checked in at the podium, and they took our reservation (selected night and room number), handwritten on a napkin. We kept checking our Personal Calendar on our TV after that (a few times a day) and never saw the reservation. We checked at the Guest Services desk one day and they said "those TVs don't always work right. You'll have to check at Rita's." So we went back to Rita's and asked someone. She said she was sure our reservation was fine, but she didn't have access to it so she would ask her manager to verify and he would call us later that night or in the morning. We never got a call, and the TV never showed it. When trying to make a new reservation on the TV, it showed sold out for our selected night. We'll see how that goes when we show up on Day 4.

 

Ok, so all dinner reservations made, we explored the ship a little and when it got close to 1pm, we headed to check out our room (and drop off our backpacks, change to swimsuits, etc.). This was our first cruise as Platinum members, and this greeted us:

It was a nice surprise. There was some kind of astronaut food (dried fruit) or something (never opened), some shortbread cookies (which were yummy and hit the spot later in the week for a quick carb fix), and a nice "welcome back" note.

 

There were a few other paperwork items, like our Cruise Compass, Meet & Mingle invitations, and maybe more. And there was a note with a refillable soda mug saying our pre-ordered drinks had been fully delivered. One problem. I had ordered and paid for 8 bottles of water. So when our room steward, Hopeton from Jamaica, introduced himself and asked if everything was ok, he said he would get right on it. He had to contact Bar Services. We left our room before the water situation was fixed, but left a note on the note they had left us, and by the time we returned to our room that evening, we had our water.

 

Time to check out our room. We had Superior Ocean View Stateroom #8624. Starboard side. Between the humps.

 

The room was great. On Oasis Class ships, the rooms alternate between bed by the balcony and bed by the closet. Our bed was by the balcony.

 

 

We loved everything about our room. Nice size. Clean. Easy to move around. Lots of storage. The view was great and the humps forward and aft did not obstruct the view. We loved being on Deck 8 - so convenient to Central Park and our favorite bar, the Trellis Bar.

 

Negatives: It was a long, boring walk from either the forward or aft stairs/elevators. After experiencing this, we would choose a room closer to the stairs. If you need to walk the length of the ship in that case, at least you can choose to walk it on a deck with some activity (promenade, Central Park, even the pool deck), rather than a long hallway full of doors.

 

The only other negative was that our "soap holder" (for lack of a better descriptor) was broken and wouldn't hold our toiletries. By about Day 3, they got that fixed and we were fine. Nothing really to complain about.

 

Now, for the moment we'd been waiting for...(I bet you can guess)

 

Great review. We are sailing in less than 6 weeks. We have cabin 8620, just 2 cabins away. Can't wait!

[swwake]

Great review. We are sailing in less than 6 weeks. We have cabin 8620, just 2 cabins away. Can't wait!

You will have a blast!! We loved our location. Try out that Trellis bar in Central Park for your before dinner cocktails. :)

[swwake]

Hi Susan. To go on Quantum after 4/15 is no problem. I was thinking May or June as I will be retired by the end of May 2015. Don't you think a cruise would be a great retirement present?

I've already dropped the idea to Al (ALSEAU) so we will have to keep this idea going.

I have yet to decide on my 2014 cruise schedule yet. I go on my first cruise for this year next month and then have 2 consecutive cruises in September this year. I'm going on the Allure again and then the Majesty right after that.

I was kinda thinking that by body weight you might be right because I can only tell I have had alot to drink by the hat that might be on my head! That is if I notice the hat!?!?!?! :D

Not sure if you saw my comment directed at you on that other thread. I think we have found our 2014 cruise! And no airfare required :)

 

As for that one smarty pants over there who thinks he knows the Flowrider, it'll be interesting to hear his comments after my post.

[Eng23]

Not sure if you saw my comment directed at you on that other thread. I think we have found our 2014 cruise! And no airfare required :)

 

As for that one smarty pants over there who thinks he knows the Flowrider, it'll be interesting to hear his comments after my post.

I'm gonna guess it's the thread about the Navigator out of Galveston and the Flowrider? I have not seen your post yet. I'll go look. :)

[swwake]

Just checking in with anyone who read this review/trip report. We are back from our Greek vacation and there is some info in a link in my signature, in case you're interested. I am happy to answer any questions about this amazing trip.

 

Harold - any progress on planning 2014 and 2015 cruises? We are kinda waiting "on hold" right now, just not wanting to plan a huge vacation after we just returned from one. Lots of options...

[Eng23]

Just checking in with anyone who read this review/trip report. We are back from our Greek vacation and there is some info in a link in my signature, in case you're interested. I am happy to answer any questions about this amazing trip.

 

Harold - any progress on planning 2014 and 2015 cruises? We are kinda waiting "on hold" right now, just not wanting to plan a huge vacation after we just returned from one. Lots of options...

Hi Susan!!!!! :) Welcome back! I hope you and Chris had a great time sailing the Greek Islands. Well so far for 2014 I have a sailing on the Carnival Breeze booked in September. Still have some planning to do for early 2014. As far as 2015, I can't say yet. May of 2015 is when I am scheduled to retire but, there is also a chance that I might take an early retirement if the department offers that option. If I retire early which could be possibly any time in 2014 that might cause me to reset all my plans. I already have a job offer on the table for when I do retire.

 

I have also noticed that your cruising options from Texas are improving with other cruiselines using the terminal in Houston as well as the cruises from Galveston. Once my crystal ball for my employment becomes clearer later this year I will let you know what's going on. I'll be sure to check out your link for the great adventure you just returned from! :D

[Eng23]

Oh! One more thing, since I am pretty much going solo on the Allure in a couple of months I think I am going to get alot of Flowrider time in......:)

[swwake]

Oh! One more thing, since I am pretty much going solo on the Allure in a couple of months I think I am going to get alot of Flowrider time in......:)

That sounds like a DREAM to me! I'm jealous!

 

Keep me posted on those future plans. We may (quite possibly will) end up on a ship with you!

[Eng23]

That sounds like a DREAM to me! I'm jealous!

 

Keep me posted on those future plans. We may (quite possibly will) end up on a ship with you!

Just keep an eye out for my countdown clocks! :) Keep me posted about when you might be doing your Texas cruise so that if it works out I can put in for the time off if need be. :D

[Eng23]

Just in case you might be interested about the Carnival Breeze cruise, it is from Miami Sept. 21, 2014. It will be me my friend Buddy that you met on the Allure and a group of other friends from Virginia. We all just cruised on the Carnival Glory this past May and had a blast! I know. I know. I'm doing cruises on Carnival now too. :rolleyes:

[swwake]

Just keep an eye out for my countdown clocks! :) Keep me posted about when you might be doing your Texas cruise so that if it works out I can put in for the time off if need be. :D

 

Will do! Tossing lots of things around right now, and obviously we can't do it all! Some ideas:

 

- another flotilla, taking our daughter this time, same route

- a caribbean flotilla, possibly BVI

- B2B Allure or Oasis

- Dave and David (from our Allure cruise) want to do Quantum, but want to do it late fall when it first sails. Cold!

- You want to do Quantum, possibly May 2015

- family beach trip, rent house, take the dogs

- order and take EuroDelivery on a BMW - add Munich, Berlin and Prague, or drive through Italy toward Greece prior to the flotilla above

- Disney Food and Wine/Universal Haunted Horror Nights (October 2014)

- cruise on Navigator out of Galveston

 

So we are all over the place and all up in the air as of right now. Have to look at our time and money travel budgets, as well as coordinating with friends like you, Harold!