Live from Allure of the Seas - August 25, 2013

[debshomespun]

Marc--Thankyou for taking us all along for the journey. Very informative! Makes the wait for our cruise on Allure (4-6-14) a little easier! I can't wait to eat at Samba Grill. They have the best dessert. Also looking forward to those roast beef sandwiches at Park Cafe. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Hard to believe you are home already. Of probably went even quicker for you!

[Daghis]

We had the cabana next to you in Labadee :D

Hello, cabana-neighbor! :D

[Daghis]

It was hard sleeping last night as I had gotten used to the bed on the ship. Then, going into the shower without having the circular doors seemed odd.

 

Indeed, the week did seem to go by quickly. I tried to enjoy every moment to make it last, but it still came to an end. And now it's back to work... well, tomorrow anyway. I get today to try and feel better. (I seem to have a minor head cold that came on the last night of the cruise.)

[leaveitallbehind]

It was hard sleeping last night as I had gotten used to the bed on the ship. Then, going into the shower without having the circular doors seemed odd.

 

Indeed, the week did seem to go by quickly. I tried to enjoy every moment to make it last, but it still came to an end. And now it's back to work... well, tomorrow anyway. I get today to try and feel better. (I seem to have a minor head cold that came on the last night of the cruise.)

 

The unfortunate, but typical, back to reality after a great cruise blues! (and hope your cold passes quickly). But not too long until your next one on Indy in March - always a nice thing to look forward to.

 

Too bad we will miss you by a couple of weeks on that one!

[sky0000547]

Thanks for the live review and answering the questions posted. I will be on the Allure on Sunday and have taken a lot of the information onboard.

[Angelsea57]

Thank you for taking us along on your cruise.

Pictures and postings were very good.

Are you going to post more pictures of the cruise??

Thanks.

[Daghis]

I just have a few more pictures to share.

 

I had commented that the divider on one side of the balcony was not as wide as the rest. If you look at this one on the right-hand side:

 

 

This is what pretty much all the balcony dividers look like. However, on the left-hand side of the balcony in 11323 (and I think other cabins similarly, such as 10323, 12323, and xx723 on the other side, except there it'd be the right-hand side), the divider is narrower:

 

 

You should keep this in mind if you are going to book adjacent cabins (11321 and 11323 or similar pairings as previously described) and want to open the divider.

[Daghis]

Here are a couple shots from Labadee.

 

Here's a panoramic view of Nellie's Beach from our cabana:

 

 

And here's a panoramic view of Labadee from the pier:

 

[Daghis]

Now a few shots of the view from our Boardwalk Balcony cabin (11323):

 

 

 

 

[Daghis]

And, lastly, this is another scavenger hunt photo. I wasn't planning on posting any others until I put together the whole document, but I think this shot is really pretty.

 

[Daghis]

I've uploaded the Cruise Compasses and other interesting information (except for Day 6's specials... didn't seem to save that sheet) here: Cruise Compasses (62 pages, 119 MB PDF)

[Brandonclan]

Nice job! Thanks for all the info and the "ride along"

[ALSEAU]

I've uploaded the Cruise Compasses and other interesting information (except for Day 6's specials... didn't seem to save that sheet) here: Cruise Compasses (62 pages, 119 MB PDF)

 

Thanks for taking the time to post this review and pictures. We will be on board in 4 weeks and can't get enough visuals of this beautiful ship,

 

One question did you get a chance to spend some time in the Schooner Lounge and if so how was the entertainment?

[jdvmd]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post during your vacation!

Question: Can you describe Michelle to me? We met a sommelier several years ago on the Vision to Alaska and then were reunited with her two more times on different ships in the Caribbean. It has been several years since we last saw her. Wonder if this is the same Michelle?

[Daghis]

One question did you get a chance to spend some time in the Schooner Lounge and if so how was the entertainment?

 

No, we didn't spend time there, but from when I saw the piano entertainer in there, it didn't seem to have as much energy as I've seen in the past with other performers.

 

Question: Can you describe Michelle to me? We met a sommelier several years ago on the Vision to Alaska and then were reunited with her two more times on different ships in the Caribbean. It has been several years since we last saw her. Wonder if this is the same Michelle?

 

Here's a picture of her with Gemma from our cruise two years ago. Bryan took a picture of her from this cruise, but I don't have his photos yet.

 

 

Michelle is the one on the left.

[EWM]

Great review and pictures...Your pictures from the board walk balcony bring back a lot of great memories:) as we had cabin 11329 on our Allure cruise a couple of years ago....really enjoyed this location and views.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for the picture! That's not the same Michelle.

[relaxatsea]

Thank you for your great review and photos!

 

I was especially interested to see your photos of the balcony dividers since we will be sailing on Allure in November with family members and we have booked 12721 and 12723.

 

This gives us a good idea of what to expect.

 

Glad you had such a great time and we can't wait to follow in your footsteps!

[jcc1025]

Great posts. We will be there in November. One question? In looking at the ship webcam it looks like the Flow Rider on the Allure is not operational. After Oasis I will looking forward to another fun afternoon there but recently every time I look at the webcam it is not working?

[Daghis]

The FlowRider web cam on Allure of the Seas doesn't appear to be working. If you look at the top right of the picture, you'll see it's stuck on 7/28 shortly after midnight.

 

Both FlowRiders were working just fine during our cruise.

[Angelsea57]

And, lastly, this is another scavenger hunt photo. I wasn't planning on posting any others until I put together the whole document, but I think this shot is really pretty.

 

Looks like the whirlpool by the solarium..

Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures.

[janetz]

Looks like the whirlpool by the solarium..

Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures.

 

 

I was in that one. Wish I was right now also. :D

[Artemis]

Daghis, I loved re-living our shared week aboard Allure through your live posts. It was pretty fabulous, wasn't it? We've never met, but I "virtually" remember you from your Freedom scav hunt, which I so admired. And now I love your Allure one! Are you including the dog sniffing the air vent?! I'm bummed at myself that I didn't participate in the "small wonders" scavenger hunt the ship sponsored. Did you? I had to check your daily Compass collection (awesome contribution!) to remind myself what was so important to cause me to miss it...it was at 3:30 PM when we were in Falmouth. I was back on board, but have no idea what I was doing. C'est la vie while cruising!

 

Thanks for your great reporting. Happy cruising!

[Daghis]

Thanks!

 

Are you including the dog sniffing the air vent?!

No, I didn't have my camera with me for that one. It would have been good otherwise.

 

I'm bummed at myself that I didn't participate in the "small wonders" scavenger hunt the ship sponsored. Did you?

No, I didn't. I did meet up with someone who was seeking them out, but I think he was only up to 16 of each kind.

[Daghis]

Seeing the Park West Gallery thread resurrection reminded me of something I wanted to comment on.

 

I was disappointed by the unsolicited advertising we got repeatedly during the week for the onboard art auction. We received a flyer on the first day in our cabin, then a note addressed to me on the cabin door because I'm a "Gold" member (I was actually "Emerald"), then a voicemail on the phone, then another note addressed to me on the cabin door because I'm a "VIP", and lastly another voicemail on the phone. It was ridiculous!

 

Another disappointment (while I'm on a roll, I guess), which has been shared by others in the past, is the ship-wide bingo announcements. I wasn't planning on playing any bingo during this cruise, and the announcements over the PA helped confirm my decision not to play.