Return to Allure - A different review.

[BillOh]

I'm nervous about Allure's size for an older/sedentary person. Can you give your thoughts on crowds and the flow of people, or times when any locations are less crowded than others?

 

We'll be on Allure this summer. Our family had cruised many times in the past, and had expecially enjoyed RCL. We'll be burying DH's ashes at sea in accordance with his wishes (through RCL). I know our kids aged 21 through 27 will be busy all week, but I don't know if it's going to take me an hour to get from my cabin to the promenade. I have a few months to get in shape though!

 

I never really had any problems with crowds on this ship either time. Once I finally get the review on the ship I'll discuss that more! The only time I had problems with crowds it involved stupid people. There were thousands of really nice people on board and a handful of stupid ones that I kept seeing.

[Familygoboston]

I'm nervous about Allure's size for an older/sedentary person. Can you give your thoughts on crowds and the flow of people, or times when any locations are less crowded than others?

 

We'll be on Allure this summer. Our family had cruised many times in the past, and had expecially enjoyed RCL. We'll be burying DH's ashes at sea in accordance with his wishes (through RCL). I know our kids aged 21 through 27 will be busy all week, but I don't know if it's going to take me an hour to get from my cabin to the promenade. I have a few months to get in shape though!

The beauty is that there really aren't crowds, outside of muster drill, and the emptying of a full theater. If you wait in your seat, even 2 minutes, the crowd will disapate and the walking out will be less crowded.

 

The rest of the time, the biggest problem I found with older folks I saw, was confusion over where to go, which could cause some back tracking. If you are really good with directions, you probably won't have an issue. I am terrible figuring my way around (anywhere!!:p) and I studied the deck plans before I left and also printed the colored deck plans for public decks to keep in my cabin. That way I could plan where I needed to go before I left and that eliminated the back tracking.

I don't like crowds, so I also used the computer wayfinders in the stairwells to figure out which dining venues were quiet. The solarium cafe was very high up, but if you take the forward elevator, its a very short walk from the satirwell/elevator area to the Solarium, and the Solarium was very un crowded at meals. My teen DD found the WJ not only a little crowded, but lots of cross traffic and young people moving around very quickly and unpredicatably. (Im sure she was one of them:rolleyes:)

 

I think you will love these these ships...they are built for all ages to enjoy...we saw so many multi generational families!:D

[BillOh]

I'm back at work, I hoped to get some more pics up at lunch, but my work has my photo storage place blocked! When I last left off we had enjoyed the long awaited sailaway. As we were heading back to the hotel we noticed Caribbean Princess turned around and returned to port. We heard through the grape vine that there was a medical emergency on board. I think , but am not sure that ship was on a TA, so best it happened early.

 

We got back to the Hyatt and explored the grounds. I really love their pool area. After recognizing the AZ cruisers, I introduced my wife and I. They invited us to their pre-cruise dinner at the Bimini Boat yard. It was a beautiful night on their patio and with live music it just felt so good to be on vacation. It was about a mile walk over the 17th bridge to get to it, but it was such a pleasant night for a walk. The food there was good and I think I enjoyed my first Coors light of the week. When I booked the Hyatt I was just going to take a cab to the pier but AZ Karoke Girl (Lisa) organized a limo/van service to the peir for 10:30am. We also got the email stating not to arrive at the pie before 12:30, but based on the reports of the 4/21 roll call group, we said BS to that!.

 

 

 

The walk back to the Hyatt proved to be a big adventure though. We sat next to Lisa and her husband Steve at dinner. Some of their group drove to Dinner, Lisa and Steve walked so we walked back with them on this absolutely beautiful night. We were about 2/3rds the way up the hill headed back and I saw another group of walkers coming over the hill. Two young guys on rental bicycles suddenly darted around them. I am a runner/cyclist and I would say they were easily doing 20mph + as they crested the hill. I quickly jumped to the side and my wife says I yelled, "They are coming fast!"

I barely got out of the way and I think the first cyclist barely made it between Steve and I and then he realized he had no where to go and hit Lisa straight on at full speed. His head hit her square in the jaw and knocked her backwards on to the sidewalk where her head was driven. Without going into gory details it was clear she was hurt and wasn't walking off the bridge. I had the only cell phone in the group and called 911.

 

I actually applied for a 911 operator's job once, but didn't get it, but this was the 2nd time in my life I've called 911 and gotten a STUPID operator. That statement may anger some people as I'm sure most of these people are great at their job, but we were about to be disappointed with the emergency services in that area. I hope they review the tape but I was fairly calm and tried to give the operator clear concise information. Here is the call to the best of my recollection.

 

OPERATOR: 911 what is your emergency?

 

Me: There has been a pedestrian/bicycle collision on the 17th St Bridge. A lady has been hit, has a head injury and is bleeding, we need an ambulance. We are on the sidewalk on the north side of the bridge

 

911: She was riding a bike?

 

Me: No She was walking and was hit by a bicycle.

 

911: Was she driving a car?

 

Me: No she was walking and was hit by a bike.

 

911: What direction was she traveling on the bike?

 

It probably only took 1-2 minutes to get the point to her. Other's nearby said I was perfectly clear but they could sense my frustration with the operator. It was probably 6 minutes before a fire engine and rescue squad showed up. I assume the personnel that arrived gave competent medical care, but once they got her ready to transport they seemed unusually puzzled on how to get her 6 feet from the sidewalk into the ambulance over the guardrail. It was clear she wasn't going to walk. They really did take too long to figure this out.

 

When they left to the ER, that left my wife and I, one Fire Engine, and the South African tourist (male early 20s) that was on the bike and hit her. He really was a nice kid that stayed around and helped out. I felt bad for him a bit. The fire engine started to leave and I expressed my concern that if they left, what was to keep this kid here? We were told to wait till the police arrived. It was 30 minutes after the 911 call and it was starting to rain. The fireman finally volunteered to take the boy's info, but he had no ID on him. finally as they engine was about to leave, Paul Blart, Mall cop arrived. (Again, I normally have the full respect for law enforcement) He said he had thought the accident was under the bridge. Oh, I don't know, don't you think the flashing lights of a fire engine and ambulance would have been a clue? He basically did nothing except write down our names and send us on our way.

 

I was too tired and shook up to use the pool that night so we turned in for the night. I will tell you Lisa did make it through the ER process and did join us on the ship the next day. When I get home tonight I will finally get this review on the ship.

Edited May 7, 2013 by BillOh

[trev71]

Bill, Glad the coke zero machine was the worst of your worries on the ship. I am going on the allure this sunday. So if that is my worst thing i will have happen to me I will be ok and will just drink regular diet coke from the bars,

ive watched videos on the internet about the coke machines so i hopefully wont be the one holding up the lines ..

[BecciBoo]

Woohoo another Allure review.....reading with baited breath for more.....but then the accident:(.....so sad on the first day of the trip. Sorry for Lisa and waiting to hear a good report on her recovery.

Feel free to come on over to our roll call Bill...any help will be appreciated.

[BillOh]

Bill, Glad the coke zero machine was the worst of your worries on the ship. I am going on the allure this sunday. So if that is my worst thing i will have happen to me I will be ok and will just drink regular diet coke from the bars,

ive watched videos on the internet about the coke machines so i hopefully wont be the one holding up the lines ..

 

One small tip on the Freestyle machines. I have heard the cups have an RFID chip in them. That technology is supposed to be good enough to easily pick up the info, but at the place you put your cup is a steel circle. Your cup must be in almost the exact center for the machine to register it. If you hold it up at all, or a piece of ice falls under the cup, it won't be red. Not a difficult process to master, it did slow things down just a little on the first day. I was very forgiving of people the first day. Watching people walk around in sheer awe of their surroundings is fun.

[rcrdale]

 

 

I actually applied for a 911 operator's job once, but didn't get it, but this was the 2nd time in my life I've called 911 and gotten a STUPID operator. That statement may anger some people as I'm sure most of these people are great at their job, but we were about to be disappointed with the emergency services in that area. I hope they review the tape but I was fairly calm and tried to give the operator clear concise information. Here is the call to the best of my recollection.

 

OPERATOR: 911 what is your emergency?

 

Me: There has been a pedestrian/bicycle collision on the 17th St Bridge. A lady has been hit, has a head injury and is bleeding, we need an ambulance. We are on the sidewalk on the north side of the bridge

 

911: She was riding a bike?

 

Me: No She was walking and was hit by a bicycle.

 

911: Was she driving a car?

 

Me: No she was walking and was hit by a bike.

 

911: What direction was she traveling on the bike?

 

I am a 911 dispatcher and I just have to put my 2 cents in here. Most of the public don't understand what goes on when they call 911. If it is a medical emergency, auto accident, bicycle accident, pedestrian struck, etc... we use what is called EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatch). There are scripted questions that we HAVE to ask, otherwise we get in trouble. Yes, some of the questions seem insignificant, but they do help us send the correct response of help. Not all calls get an ambulance and a medic responding lights and sirens. Some just get an ambulance responding with lights and sirens and some get an ambulance non emergency. I have been a dispatcher for 16 years so I understand where you are coming from. But please understand, unless you have done it from the other side of the phone, don't just say the dispatcher was stupid. We have rules and regulations that we must follow and they might not always make sense.

 

Ok, sorry to go on about that. I really am enjoying your review. I have been planning our Allure cruise for over 500 days, and we are now at 201 days. I am a planner when it comes to our cruises and hope to get some good information from you. Thanks for taking the time to do a review.

[Az's Cruising Nana]

Glad you are writing this I am going thru roll call withdrawal.

 

To pickup the accident story as a healthcare person I was less then impressed with the hospital ER. But let me back up a minute.....you have a person with a potential head injury and not only do you not put a collar around someones neck that has bounced off the sidewalk but the first thing you do is make them stand and ask them to step over the barrier between the road and the sidewalk??? The hospital skated around a head CT initially but luckily Lisa spoke up and demanded they do one. Had she not I would have. Better to know there is not a head bleed when you are going to be on a cruise ship for seven days. They then stated she did not have a concussion but the symptoms lingered for several days that too was misdiagnosed.

 

The unfortunate thing is the accident could have been avoidable as there clearly was a nice bike lane alongside the bridge. The other disturbing fact was the police were totally undisturbed the individiual had no ID on him. I know full well it is not against the law not to carry ID but I thought it was treated all to casual that a tourist from another country was not carrying any ID. Also apparently it is not against the law to cause injury to another. Fortunately Lisa is a resiliant person and made the best of a bad situation.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review Bill. Hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread for a brief minute there.......we were so grateful you and Gina were there to help out that night.

 

Sue

[BillOh]

Ok, sorry to go on about that. I really am enjoying your review. I have been planning our Allure cruise for over 500 days, and we are now at 201 days. I am a planner when it comes to our cruises and hope to get some good information from you. Thanks for taking the time to do a review.

 

I'm glad you did and your explanation is welcome.

[denamo]

Glad you are writing this I am going thru roll call withdrawal.

 

Sue

 

Ditto!! We too were on the Allure for this cruise. So glad I have something more to remind me what a great cruise this one was. :)

Love the pics' date=' Bill! [/color']

[Peeker28]

Bill, If I may hijack this for a moment to ask a question... Has anyone used the ships laundry services? Do you get the items back next day or is it 2 days? Trying to decide if it's worth it to use or not. :D

[rcrdale]

Bill, If I may hijack this for a moment to ask a question... Has anyone used the ships laundry services? Do you get the items back next day or is it 2 days? Trying to decide if it's worth it to use or not. :D

 

Good question, since we are doing a B2B and flying to Florida, so we have to watch how much clothes we bring. I am sure we will be using the laundry services on board.

[Clarea]

Bill, If I may hijack this for a moment to ask a question... Has anyone used the ships laundry services? Do you get the items back next day or is it 2 days? Trying to decide if it's worth it to use or not. :D

Normal service is next day. You can pay more to get laundry back on the same day.

[Peeker28]

Good question, since we are doing a B2B and flying to Florida, so we have to watch how much clothes we bring. I am sure we will be using the laundry services on board.

I'm sooo jealous you are doing a B2B! I hope you have a blast

[sharod]

Bill, If I may hijack this for a moment to ask a question... Has anyone used the ships laundry services? Do you get the items back next day or is it 2 days? Trying to decide if it's worth it to use or not. :D

 

We just used this service. I believe that if you turn it in before 5:00pm, you get it back the next day by 5:00pm. If you want it the same day, add 50% to your bill.

[tarajean1962]

:eek:Wow! Poor Lisa!! Thank goodness she was able to cruise with you guys. Can't wait to read more. We also have a very, very cool roll call for our September cruise on the Oasis!:D I hope they turn out as fun!

 

 

Tara

[Truluv]

Really enjoying your review, and all the kind people who gave me crowd-tips.

 

I've started a tip-sheet and I'm cutting and pasting everyone's suggestions for Allure. It will give me something to review on the plane to Florida this summer!

 

It's fortunate you were there to help Lisa. I was glad that you mentioned she made the cruise, or I would have been worrying until your next installment.

 

Can't wait to hear about the rest of the week.

[quantumleap]

Now to a picture I don't think has ever been posted here. I got to this point and still couldn't find the beach access. I had to ask the guard at the gated community. This has to be one of the most poorly placed signs I have seen.

 

 

Bill, a unique question to go with your unique picture...I see from Google Street View that there is a bike rack just outside of this gate - do you recall if there were any other bike racks at the end of this path (closer to the beach), or on the beach itself?

 

Thanks!

 

-(Another) Bill :D

[Rcarper4001]

Looking foward to your review. Great start so far.

[BillOh]

Bill, a unique question to go with your unique picture...I see from Google Street View that there is a bike rack just outside of this gate - do you recall if there were any other bike racks at the end of this path (closer to the beach), or on the beach itself?

 

Thanks!

 

-(Another) Bill :D

 

 

 

I just saw the one bike rack, looks like it had room for about 8 bikes. I saw two there that day.

[BillOh]

There have been a lot of pictures of the boarding process at terminal 18, so I think I'll skip the photos for that. We took two vans pulling trailers to the port and arrived around 11am. We sat in traffic for about 10 minutes till we were able to get to the terminal . As usual there were lots of friendly people to direct you to the next place. Security was fast and friendly. some of our group may have taken wine aboard. We did not. I didn't, but didn't hear any problems. We got checked in by 11:15 and were on board by 12:30 (We are emerald, the gold and others were about 15 minutes behind us.

 

Lets talk Park Cafe and the Roast Beef Sandwich. When I was preparing for my first trip on Allure in 2013, this was the big secret. The Windjammer is too crowded and this was a great alternative. Well the secret is out. If you weren't one of the first on the ship the line was out the door of the park Cafe and you couldn't find a place to sit. We made a bee-line for the stairs at the aft end of the promenade and walked out to the boardwalk and got a Brat and hotdog at the Dog joint. for 10 minutes we were the only ones there. Our tradition on this ship is to get the hot tog and then hit the beach pool. There are some bathrooms on deck 15 near the pool that have room to change into the swimsuits we had in our carry ons. We had the pool almost to our selves for an hour. We stayed there till 2:30 avoiding the crowded halls getting to the rooms. Since this paragraph is about the Roast Beef Sandwich, I'll tell you I didn't have one the first time, so this was one of the things I had to do this time. After we did get to our room and found our bags already there we unpacked and walked down to Central park around 4pm. There was no line and we walked in and finally had the famous sandwich. I love meat, I love salt, so I loved it! Many of the photos you see here, the beef looks more rare than it really was because of the red warming lights they use here. I found it to be consistently a medium well. We had late dining (8:30) The Park Cafe is open until around 6pm, so we would go get a sandwich as a snack to hold us till dinner. They also have my favorite bags of chips here, the Ruffles Cheddar Sour Cream ones!

 

Ok, back to the room. In 2011 we had a deck 12 Ocean View Balcony on the starboard side near the front. I like deck 12 as it provides a one deck buffer between us and the pool. We spend a lot of time on deck 15. The only problem with this room was one night each cruise they have a dance party in the solarium and the noise was horrendous until 3am. Our average to bed time was 1am.

 

We enjoyed the Oceanaria show a lot in 2011, and I noticed the public balconies on deck 11 and 12 were never crowded, so I booked the last Oceanview balcony on the starboard side of deck 12. 12728 I think. We used the back deck as our own semi private balcony and watched the show from here. If you have never seen the show, do it from the theater for the full effect. It was fun to see how things were done from the higher perspective. We also saw cast tryouts/practice all week.

 

I booked this room over a year ago and I started worrying about my choice as the arthritis in my back was acting up this spring. It is almost exactly 100 yards back to this cabin from the elevators. I imagine I walked this 5-6 times a day all weeks, so that would be almost a mile of walking. I was feeling great by cruise time and this cabin helped us burn calories. If you have mobility issues, you may not want this one. We loved it, excellent views and 2 balconies!

 

I'll continue from home tonight with more pictures.

[Familygoboston]

Bill, If I may hijack this for a moment to ask a question... Has anyone used the ships laundry services? Do you get the items back next day or is it 2 days? Trying to decide if it's worth it to use or not. :D

 

The bag special on Day 4 doesn't get back till Day 6- so don't use that for anything you need right away!

 

Bill- I have to agree about Park Cafe- we were sitting outside enjoying lunch at Giovannis and the crowds there were incredible! People were circling the Giovanni's tables looking for places to sit. I like your new idea, because as we were finishing lunch at about 1:30- the place was nearly deserted. So if you can hold off ( with a dog or another snack) and wait till later, there are fewer folks around. Just beware- everything shuts down for muster drill between 4:15 and about 4:45 so don't wait too long:eek:

 

Sorry Lisa had an accident- that sounds just awful. And with all due respect to our emergency personnel, they do sound awful on the phone...have you heard the calls from that horrible situation with the kidnapped women there in OH? The poor woman needs someone just to empathize and calm her down...she's just been released from a madmans house after 10 years! I understand protocol, but it sounds terribly insensitive! If you have not heard the news Bill, check it out when you get home! Glad those ladies are alive...what an ordeal!

 

Sorry to get OT! Back to the exciting Allure!

 

Ps hope you are not minding us popping in with advice etc!

Edited May 7, 2013 by Familygoboston

[Cruz77]

I just love being a lurker on some of the Allure reviews. I am jotting down some key points I see given here. Get to pier by 10:30, hot dogs instead of beef sammies. Was the hotel you stayed at hyatt place??? Just curious. Can't wait to read more.

[BillOh]

Let me throw up a few pics, its raining so I can't mow the lawn! I mentioned the Roast Beef from Park Ave. Here is my first one.

 

Jumping back a bit, after unpacking it was about time for Muster. Our Muster was of course in the Aqua Theater. I say of course because I wanted to be on the port bridge wing deck 14 for sailaway. We got to Muster early so we could make a fast getaway as I knew the fastest route to go to those two points. By now everyone knows what the Muster is and how it is run today. Before the pre-recorded video messages a crew member spoke and I assume he was talking about some safety related items. If I sound racist, so be it, but if your going to have a person address a crowd in English dealing with important matters have him be a native English speaker or at least understandable. I could only understand a few words. (my hearing is not great either) He kept talking about getting a wristband for your keys so if there is an emergency the staff can bring your keys to you at the emergency stations. Ok, rant over. As soon as the video was over, I bolted, wife in tow down the Boardwalk, up one flight of stairs to deck 7 port, went the lenght of the ship on deck 7. (People were jamming the elevators near the boardwalk) and we walked the 6 decks up to deck 14 and we made our way out onto the Bridge wing. One couple was already there, but he wasn't in my spot, so I staked out my turf for sailaway. Next to us was Carnival Freedom. I enjoyed looking down on her ;)

We left before her, so I assume she did eventually leave. :D In the next few minutes it did get more crowded, but nothing could move me from my spot! That reminds me after hitting send, I am going to portfever.com and looking for my photo. This view below is of the Hyatt Pier 66 we stayed at. I believe one of the web cams is here too. We stayed facing east and couldn't see this area, but I know some of my cruisemates have photos of Allure from here.

 

Speaking of wecams, In 2011 I didn't know where the web cam was, so the picture of Gina and I waving, we look lost. I believe the main web cam is here somewhere. Can anyone see it? The shirtless guy with his arm outsretched has an air horn that you probably hear when you watch the cam.

 

Edited May 7, 2013 by BillOh

[BillOh]

Oh yes, I also mentioned we spent much of our first time onboard at the Beach Pool. Below I introduce you to the Godmother of the Beach Pool, my wife Gina. Did I mention she lost 40 pounds since Thanksgiving to get to her goal weight?