Allure of the Seas, Eastern Caribbean Review! 9/16/12

[mrsmoku]

Welcome to my Allure of the Seas Review! My husband and I sailed on September 16, 2012 and had the best time! I've delayed writing a review but hope that it's still enjoyable and helpful to other CCs! Let me know if you have any questions and I will try my best to answer them!!

 

 

Background

 

My husband, K, and I went on the Allure of the Seas on September 16, 2012. It was actually our delayed honeymoon as we had gotten married in summer of 2011 but weren’t able to go on a honeymoon right away. We went on the Mariner of the Seas back in 2009 together and loved it so much. So when it came time to plan our honeymoon, a cruise it was! I wanted the ports while K wanted the ship so once we saw that the Allure had both a great itinerary and was THE coolest ship ever, we booked it and the planning had begun! We were on the Eastern Itinerary, leaving from Ft. Lauderdale and stopping in Nassau, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.

 

Pre-Cruise

 

We stayed at the Hampton Inn on 12th Avenue, just minutes away from the cruise port. I had found a great deal online and a quick call confirmed that we can leave our car there for the week for an additional $50. I was also informed that there was a shuttle offered from the hotel to the port in the morning. Check in was easy and our room was clean and quiet which was a godsend after a rough 10 hour car ride. After a quick nap, we headed out in search of food. After driving around for a while, we decided to try 84 Thai Food Inc at the Southland Shopping Center that was across from the hotel. It was delicious and highly recommended if you like Thai food! The food was fresh and flavorful and we left happy and full. There was a grocery store in the shopping center so we popped in for a minute to grab some last minute things. Of course, we forgot to sign up for the shuttle so that night we called and booked a taxi to pick us up in the morning.

 

Breakfast was the standard fare of hot breakfast foods and it was apparent that this hotel was very popular with cruise passengers. At some point, we realized that if you smashed your forehead to the glass window in our room and craned your next to the left, you could see just the bow of the Allure, so we spent a good 15 minutes taking turns getting headaches for a glimpse of the ship. She was a beauty.

 

The taxi came promptly at 10:15 am and we were off!

 

Embarkation

 

We arrived at the port at 10:30 am and were able to hand over our bags right away. I had heard horror stories about the port baggage handlers but we did not run into any trouble and everyone was very nice and considerate. Check in was very fast and after we were given our SeaPass cards, we took our boarding picture and were sent upstairs to wait. This was when we noticed that K didn’t have ‘Gold Member’ stamped on the bottom of his card but we weren’t really all that bothered by it. After a short 30 minute wait, we were boarding the Allure of the Seas and our vacation had officially begun!!

 

The ship from our taxi!

 

No line! Checking in

 

Waiting to board! As you can see, this terminal is MASSIVE!

[GTO-Girl]

We will be on the Allure for the first time in November. Everytime I see one of these reviews I get so excited!!!

 

Can't wait for the rest of it!!!

[slh182]

I'm going on the Allure next week. I love reviews. Thank you.

[mrsmoku]

Day 1

 

Wow. Seriously, it was all we could say for hours! The ship is massive and grand and it gets bigger the more you explore.

 

First stop was the MDR as I was watching the New Menu threads to see if we were going to be the first passengers with Allure’s new menu…and we were! We then headed over to Central Park to check out those roast beef sandwiches that are held in such high regard!

 

Park Café was very busy and with one glance at the roast beef sandwiches, I knew I wasn’t going to like them. We decided to get two anyway to taste test them but we ended up abandoning them and enjoying our chips. (I can already hear the people with pitchforks coming after us!) Now, neither of us are food snobs and we‘ll try everything once, but I have a ‘thing’ with meat and K likes his roast beef sandwiches with thinner slices of meat and Au Jus. This sandwich is a hunk of roast beef on a roll. Just, FYI. So, we enjoyed the scenery (for 5 minutes) until K’s stomach decided we were going to the Windjammer.

 

Note: My husband’s stomach is a bottomless pit. We spend equivalent to a 4 person family on groceries, can barely keep food in the house, and going out to eat requires taking out a loan or having a meal before the meal. He eats THAT much - Royal Caribbean probably loses money feeding him.

So off to the Windjammer we went! We piled our plates up high and easily found a seat in the ever expanding crowd of people. The food was better than expected and always being replenished and kept warm. Although we didn’t mind the Windjammer, this was one of just a few times we ate here as there are so many dining options onboard.

 

After our Windjammer feast, we decided to head over to our stateroom to see if it was ready even though it was just after noon. It took us a second to figure out how to get there, as some hallways and floors don’t always allow you to walk from stern to bow but it was apparent that we weren’t the only ones. The interactive maps were great and after a short stop at one of them, we expertly made our way to our stateroom. As we passed the Promenade, we were amazed to see that passengers were STILL boarding the ship in large quantities. We were told that Allure was sailing with just shy of 6,000 passengers but it never felt like it.

 

Our stateroom was located on the 12th deck towards the stern, room number 12723. We chose the Boardwalk Balcony to get the best of both worlds – a nice balcony looking down at the excitement of the Boardwalk plus a great view of the ocean and wake. As the cruise progressed, we found ourselves more and more happy with our choice and I wouldn’t hesitate to book a Boardwalk Balcony again.

 

We were pleasantly surprised with the space of our room! It was big (well, in cruise terms)! We immediately unpacked and sent off my husband’s jacket for dry cleaning. Again, we were pleasantly surprised with the amount of room! Our suitcases even fit under the bed and gave us “so much more room for activities”. Our Gold Member booklet was on the bed along with our welcome info and our Day 1 Cruise Compass.

 

I always forget to take photos of the room on the first day so here is our room on Day 3. Ignore the mess.

 

Nice big closet! These are actually from Day 1 – that’s why it’s so clean!

 

More storage space!

 

At 4:30 pm, we had our mandatory muster drill. Each deck had a location to meet and watch the short emergency video and our meeting location was the Aqua Theater. After the muster drill, we ran up to the bow to watch us pull out of port!

 

We booked Rita’s Fiesta for that night at 6 pm thinking it would be a great way to meet some other cruisers and have some good Mexican food. Unfortunately, it really wasn’t very good or very lively, despite the crew’s attempts to get everyone involved. The ticket price included 3 drinks each so we enjoyed our margaritas and beer and headed off to explore the ship.

 

Not too many were in a Fiesta mood

 

Our Fiesta Dessert

 

Before going to bed around 10 pm, we looked outside and noticed that we had stopped moving. Out in the distance, I could see 2 more cruises ships also stopped. I immediately thought we had already made it to Nassau but it seemed too soon and we weren’t docked. (Actually, I immediately thought “Pirates!” but soon realized Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom aren’t REALLY pirates and we probably didn’t want to actually meet actual, legit pirates.) But the few people I saw didn’t seem bothered or didn’t notice we had stopped so we went to sleep knowing that tomorrow was our first port call – Nassau!

 

Note: K told me in the morning that right after I had fallen asleep, he was awoken by the intercom system announcing a “Code something” 3 times and reading a list of names to check in at Guest Services. Meant nothing to him so he went back to sleep.

[mrsmoku]

More pictures from our Exploration

 

MDR Chandelier (swoon!)

 

Looking down at the Boardwalk

 

Casino Royale

 

Pool chairs

 

Theater

 

Central Park -

 

 

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I was going through review withdrawal. I'm glad you got yours posted later rather than sooner as we seem to have an Allure shortage lately! Your pictures are wonderful Keep it coming! We will be on the Eastern Itinerary in April.

 

Now I will sit back and enjoy the show.:)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report.

[sleepless]

Great review and pictures. DH and I will be on the Allure in July.

[SeminoleFan]

Wonderful start! Can't wait for more. Thank you.

[Wildcatfish]

Enjoying your review! Looking forward to the rest of your vacation!

[mrsmoku]

Day 2

 

We woke up at 7 am for our first port day in Nassau, Bahamas! We did not book anything in Nassau and had no intention of going to Atlantis so we weren’t in any real hurry to get off the ship. I did print out the walking tour and we intended to get some breakfast and get off the ship and enjoy Nassau…but we were still at sea. Yes, that is correct; we were still cruising full speed ahead with no land in sight.

 

We decided to keep with the plan so we got dressed for Nassau and headed to the Windjammer for some breakfast. It was becoming apparent that we weren’t docking so we got our swimsuits and checked out the pools. We found ourselves on some of the comfiest loungers ever (not the ones with the plastic slats that leave ugly marks and stretch all weird ways) and opened up our books just in time for the Captain to make an announcement. Turns out that code K heard/didn’t hear was very important.

 

The Captain informed us that we had missed Nassau because the night before, a passenger went overboard. The ship stopped to turn around and look for her and, because of the search efforts, we would have to skip Nassau and head straight to St. Thomas. We would see if there was room for us to stop in Nassau on the way back but there was no guarantee.

 

This, as you can imagine, is something most people aren’t prepared to hear. It was very quiet as we all took in what happened and it seemed that the fun was lost for a few hours that day as people were soaking in the information. We later gathered more information from other passengers telling us and overhearing comments but I won’t expand on it anymore than I already have since I didn’t know her or her situation and I don’t even want to guess at what happened.

 

We ordered some drinks and lounged around the pool for the rest of the morning. We managed to find a place where my chair was in part sun while his was in full sun which was perfect. K loves to be in the sun baking away while I can’t say in full sun for too long without becoming a lobster.

 

Yummy!

 

We decided to try the MDR for lunch. When we got there, we were turned away because K didn’t have on a collared shirt. We quickly changed and were able to be seated for lunch before they closed. We were sat at a table for two and given our menus. Unfortunately, I wasn’t being smart so I didn’t take a picture of the menu (but I do have pictures of the food)!

 

MDR Lunch

 

 

For 2nd lunch, we tried the Boardwalk Dog House on the Boardwalk. They had 6 different types of hot and condiment choices like grilled onions, sauerkraut, and grilled bell peppers. It was very busy during lunch and all day on sea days. The hot dogs were delicious and many passengers left with multiple hot dogs.

 

Hot dogs

 

We had given Ks military jacket and shirt to our room steward to be dry cleaned and pressed for that night’s formal night and his clothes had been dropped off while we were eating. Unfortunately, his shirt had 3 broken buttons and his jacket was missing one of the three gold decorative buttons. We let our room steward, Al, know but there wasn’t enough time to get them fixed before dinner. Al was very sorry and asked us to give him the clothes early the next morning and he would make sure they were fixed before the next formal night.

 

We went downstairs a little early to take photos. They were passing out champagne flutes so we sipped on them while we waited in line and I was happy to see that there were more photo options than just the drop down background. We were able to get photos on the staircases and car. They offered other locations but we were starving and ready for dinner.

 

Fancy Photo on the Staircase

 

 

This was our first night dining in the MDR with My Time Dining and we were seated in the back at a table for two. We were the first cruise to have the new menu and we really enjoyed it! All the food was prepared very well and very tasty and we were never given a cold or old dish. The only issue was the wait time between the courses. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue but we had Chicago booked for 10:30 pm and wanted to make sure we could make it on time. I didn’t take picture of the menu or food (sorry!) but we ate a lot of food and it was all amazing.

 

I had booked all our shows prior to the cruise. I wasn’t sure I liked it and I’m still not sure I like it that much. The idea is a great idea – just like having tickets to a show back on land – but it was hard to guess what time we would be hungry and how late we wanted to stay up each night for the entire week. Anyway, I booked Chicago for 10:30 pm that night and we had just enough time to change and head down to the theater. Now I’m not a fan of musicals but we heard so many great reviews on the show that we decided to give it a try. It was so great! Even K liked it, and that’s saying a lot because he fell asleep at the Nutcracker. The theater was packed and the cast was very talented. Someone near us said it was just as good as the Broadway play and I believe it. We were both blown away by the talent and entertainment.

 

Theater filling up before the show

 

The show lasted until after midnight and we were ready for bed! The next morning was another sea day and we planning on relaxing all day!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

LOL! My DH fell asleep at the Nutcracker, too. But we have seen Chicago on stage and he liked it. I can't wait to see it again!

 

I have the DVD. It helps to see it first so you can sit back and enjoy the show without trying to figure out the story line.

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review, great photo's. Thanks for posting.

[AussieVisi2r]

Great review thanks. :p Keep it coming.

[Verfai]

Day 2

Fancy Photo on the Staircase

 

 

 

I usually wait for the end of the review but this picture deserves on big:

WOW & NICE!!! :D

Edited January 12, 2013 by Verfai

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I usually wait for the end of the review but this picture deserves on big:

WOW & NICE!!! :D

 

Agreed! You are a darling couple.:cool:

[Matisse05]

Great pics & review!!!:) Thanks for sharing especially since Allure/Oasis reviews have been a little scarce lately.

[Chicky2181]

Day 2

 

 

The Captain informed us that we had missed Nassau because the night before, a passenger went overboard. The ship stopped to turn around and look for her and, because of the search efforts, we would have to skip Nassau and head straight to St. Thomas. We would see if there was room for us to stop in Nassau on the way back but there was no guarantee.

 

This, as you can imagine, is something most people aren’t prepared to hear. It was very quiet as we all took in what happened and it seemed that the fun was lost for a few hours that day as people were soaking in the information. We later gathered more information from other passengers telling us and overhearing comments but I won’t expand on it anymore than I already have since I didn’t know her or her situation and I don’t even want to guess at what happened.

]

 

 

We had a very similar situation on our 2007 FOS sailing. Young man fell overboard on the first night, but it wasn't until the next morning that they discovered he was missing. I can remember sitting in the WJ having breakfast and they kept calling for this young man over the PA system. Then I notice the trail of water being the ship started to arch. I just knew at that moment we were turning around. We had to turn around and do a search. Unfortunately he was never found. We lost a port and it was very somber for most of the cruise. The family disembarked in San Juan. it was very sad.

[Arizona Laura]

I usually wait for the end of the review but this picture deserves on big:

WOW & NICE!!! :D

 

Count me in too! Great pic!!

 

Laura

[mszmek]

Thanks for posting your review! I look forward to the rest!

[mrsmoku]

Thanks guys! I'm glad everyone is enjoying it! It makes me want to book a cruise again so badly!

 

Sorry for the delay. We found a new truck for K and had to act fast. Unfortunately, we were about 15 minutes late and someone else snatched it up... but the 49ers won last night and all was right in the world again :)

[mrsmoku]

Day 3

 

We woke up well rested and relaxed and decided to try out the MDR for breakfast. We were sat together with two other groups and were able to order right away. Across the MDR, the children’s character breakfast was getting underway. The usual breakfast was being served and we both dined on eggs, bacon, and other yummy breakfast foods.

 

We spend the morning lounging by the pool and enjoyed the views in the Solarium. There were a few chair hogs around the pool but with the amount of chairs, it was pretty unnoticeable. I didn’t see any crew members enforcing the 30 minute rule but again, there weren't enough chair hogs to make an impact. After enjoying the pool and our drinks, we decided to relocate to the Solarium.

 

The Solarium was gorgeous and so relaxing but there was no wind. No wind at all. It reminded me of greenhouse but we found a few chairs up at the front and tested it out. It was amazing to look down and see the ocean and bow but it was hot! The sun was baking everyone through the glass and the wind wasn’t able to enter. So, it was exactly like a greenhouse.

 

Solarium

 

By this time, I had really started to notice the ship moving side to side. I’m not sure if it was because we were speeding to get to St. Thomas or what, but I was getting sicker by the minute and the Solarium was not where I should be. We packed up like there was a fire and headed towards wind. We ended up on the forward most place passengers were allowed on the bow. It was one deck below the greenhouse, um Solarium, and had to wings on the side for passengers (we were also here for sail away). This was much better for wind but the sea sickness wasn’t calming. After downing a bottle of water and standing in full wind, we figured it was time for food.

 

We ate a late lunch at the Windjammer and it was crowded. K easily filled up a plate or three and I snacked on bread and other random items and swallowed Dramamine like it was candy. The sea sickness settled so we took a look at our Cruise Compass to help plan the rest of the day. The cast of Ocean Aria was offering an Aqua Theater Backstage Tour that afternoon and we were both very interested and planned on catching it.

 

We got to the Aqua Theater Backstage Tour a little late but we were still able to still participate. We had watched part of Ocean Aria the first night from our balcony and had the show booked for that night. The Backstage tour walked us through the dressing rooms and prop rooms used by the cast of the Ocean Aria show. The high dive “tunnel” was open so we all were able to stick our head up there and get nauseous thinking about climbing up it! I highly recommend this tour if you are interested in the backstage doings of the show.

 

Up the high dive “tunnel”. Yikes!

 

I know you’re probably reading this and thinking, “Last paragraph she was so sea sick she was lying flat on the deck, drinking water, and getting wind burn and now she’s climbing around in narrow spaces with no wind and warm humid air…” I know. I even find my activities odd for someone who gets sea sick. (I know this because my mother gets car/plane/sea/elevator/walking/etc. sick and well, I grew up with her and I know what her limits are.) With that said, I don’t think I actually get sea sick. Or maybe I do and I just get ‘waves’ of it (pardon the pun, couldn’t help myself). But I grew up sailing and boating and have never had a problem. I ride elevators and elevator rides, love roller coasters, and think nothing of reading my book in the back seat of car in summer while driving a long and windy road. But whatever I was suffering from just a few sentences ago has gone, but will strike again, and then leave me in peace for the rest of the cruise.

 

After the Backstage Tour, we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. We had Ocean Aria reservations for 7:30 pm and wanted to catch the Love and Marriage Game Show later. It was casual night again so we got ready and waited for a table.

 

Note: Attire is a BIG topic on CC (as I’m sure you all know). Everyone wants to know what’s appropriate and what’s not and disagreements often break out on whether it’s acceptable to wear pajama pants to the MDR on casual night. My mom told us before we went on the Mariner to dress like we would if we were going to a Country Club or a Yacht Club. This made sense so we based our wardrobe on that idea then, and it worked, so we did the same for the Allure.

 

If anyone is interested, I brought lots of dresses (and one pair of nice jeans with a cute top) and either flats or wedges and K brought (read: I packed) khaki and tan slacks and casual polo shirts specifically for dinners and the occasional lunch. I would say that 70% of people were dressed similar to us, 15% dressed a little more fancy and the remaining 15% dressed in swimsuit cover ups and laundry day clothes. I did not notice any pajama pants.

 

While we waited for a table, the sea sickness came back in full force. I had worn my high wedges that night so I required K to hold my shoulders conga line style while we walked to the table. After ordering our starters, I took a turn for the worse and wobbled my way into the kitchen in search of a trash can. There, a super sweet crew member cut me up a green Granny Smith apple and escorted me back to my table. Supposedly, eating Granny Smith apples is supposed to help with sea sickness so I started chowing down. K went to go get me those hideous black wrist bands while I munched on my apples. (If you’re keeping count, I now have had a few doses more than recommended of Dramamine, eaten two Granny Smith apples, and am the new owner of two black wrist bands. I will win this war.) The apples and wrist band seemed to be helping so I ordered the Caprise salad and gave my other dishes to K. Our waiter kept the Caprise salads coming which I was very thankful for and K enjoyed his MASSIVE dinner. (Our waiter informed K that he could really order anything he wanted off the menu so K usually ordered an entrée for a starter and then 2 more entrees for his entrée.)

 

By the end of dinner, I had started to feel better so we went ahead with our plans to go see Ocean Aria. We arrived a little late but were still able to find some seats before the main show started. K went to get us some ice cream at the shop on the Boardwalk and we watched the show in totally amazement. We forgot that we were on a ship in the middle of the ocean. The cast dove and swung and flipped off of everything and the show was very entertaining.

 

Insane

 

No words

 

Diving sequence

 

The bravest man on the ship

 

The Love and Marriage Game Show was next on our list so we followed the crowd heading to the theater and quickly found great seats. My sea sickness had disappeared so we ordered the special drink and were prepared to enjoy the show. We had never been to one so we weren’t 100% sure what to expect. It was hilarious. We won’t ever miss it again. We still quote things to this day and I’m laughing as I type this. We had the best group of married couples and even the host and emcee couldn’t keep it together sometimes. We both had tears running down our face and people were falling out of their seats laughing. It was a great time.

 

The Captain had announced earlier that we would be arriving in St. Thomas an hour before scheduled but would still leave at the same time so we made our way back to the cabin to go to sleep and get ready for our exciting day in St. Thomas. It was a very fun and eventful sea day and we were excited for our first port stop in St. Thomas!

[Steve in DC]

Sailing on Allure this summer, it will be my first ever cruise. This review is very helpful. Sorry you didn't feel well.

[duncanmaria]

Fantastic review and images! Thanks so much for sharing!

[dreamer976]

mrsmoku, you mentioned that K was turned away from lunch in the MDR for not wearing a collared shirt. I thought collared shirts were only required for men at dinner, not breakfast or lunch. Was he wearing a tank top, or are tees now not allowed either?

 

Loving your review so far by the way. Thanks so much for taking the time to do it.