Another Allure Review ~ 9/22/2013

[flyawayca]

As I am sure most of you are aware already the Allure has a Starbucks located on the Promenade deck (deck 5).

 

The prices are your standard Starbucks prices. I was actually surprised to see they did not charge airport prices. But then again, that may depend on where you live.

 

I was sad to see that they sold out of the Pumpkin Spice Latte mix by day 3. No PSLs for me :(

 

I'm one of "those" people who only drink Starbucks coffees. I don't know what it is they do, but their mochas and lattes are the only ones I seem to like.

And guess what, this Starbucks accepts Starbucks giftcards!!

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[flyawayca]

No Chicago Dogs on the menu! :(

 

I got to try the Hotdog stand only once on my Allure cruise. There is so much food to eat! Amazingly how we plan our days around food. :)

 

I also plan my day around beer and wine and martini's. I find, due to limited selection/availability, Boddingtons and buy and take back to cabin and put in frig. I have to always have room steward empty my frig so I can have room for real beer. :eek:

 

You're right! No Chicago dogs. How could they do that??? They are famous for their dogs.

 

I forgot to mention that fridge in the cabin. It's nice to have. I noticed ours was almost empty already though. Is that normal? Maybe they realized people want to use it for their own stuff as well. Either way if they are willing to clear it out, even better to stock it with your favorites!

[flyawayca]

My group didn't have any children with us, but I couldn't help but notice how awesome the kids pool area was on this ship.

 

Yes, I did also see some adults in here who didn't appear to have any kids with them.

 

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[canadiancruiser13]

As I am sure most of you are aware already the Allure has a Starbucks located on the Promenade deck (deck 5).

 

The prices are your standard Starbucks prices. I was actually surprised to see they did not charge airport prices. But then again, that may depend on where you live.

 

I was sad to see that they sold out of the Pumpkin Spice Latte mix by day 3. No PSLs for me :(

 

I'm one of "those" people who only drink Starbucks coffees. I don't know what it is they do, but their mochas and lattes are the only ones I seem to like.

And guess what, this Starbucks accepts Starbucks giftcards!!

 

Amazing review - now I can't for the time we board in two and a half weeks. Thanks for sharing the photos you have taken.

[flyawayca]

Amazing review - now I can't for the time we board in two and a half weeks. Thanks for sharing the photos you have taken.

 

You are going to love this amazing ship. You can read all the reviews and see all the pictures and you will still be in complete awe when you board. I wish I could hide in your luggage :D

 

If there is anything specific you want to ask about feel free to ask!

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[canadiancruiser13]

You are going to love this amazing ship. You can read all the reviews and see all the pictures and you will still be in complete awe when you board. I wish I could hide in your luggage :D

 

If there is anything specific you want to ask about feel free to ask!

Wish I could pack you in the luggage - unfortunately there won't be any room for what I need to pack apart from our friends and work mates that want to go along. hehe - sorry

 

A question tho - not sure if you mention - which cabin did have and would you have an photos to share.

 

We had booked a D4 category 9686.

[shipshape sam]

Amazing review - now I can't for the time we board in two and a half weeks. Thanks for sharing the photos you have taken.

 

Allure when we sailed and as flyaway says Allure is great and you will be amazed by her!:)

 

Have a great sailing, try lots of things inluding doing nothing for at least one day. :)

 

And.............post your review with pictures!!

[flyawayca]

I watched the Madagascar Aqua Show on the last sea day from a distance.

 

It was really cute, I think they did a great job. The kids absolutely loved it. The characters came out into the stands and interacted with the kids.

 

The diving and dancing was fun. Made me feel like a kid again.

 

If you have young children this is a can't miss event.

 

Unfortunately we witnessed some guy (an older man in probably his 50s) trying to start a fight with someone. I don't know what he was so mad about but come on people, not only are you on a cruise, you are at a show for kids! Calm down, take a sip of your drink, and watch the show. :rolleyes:

 

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[flyawayca]

Wish I could pack you in the luggage - unfortunately there won't be any room for what I need to pack apart from our friends and work mates that want to go along. hehe - sorry

 

A question tho - not sure if you mention - which cabin did have and would you have an photos to share.

 

We had booked a D4 category 9686.

 

We were in room 12726. I don't remember which category though. D4? D1? But it was an ocean view balcony.

 

I do have pictures at the beginning of my review for it but they are small. I'll put a couple here for you...

 

 

[flyawayca]

Fountain shows they have a few different times in the Aqua Theater.

 

If you go to one I recommend the one that is done at night. The colors were pretty cool to watch. Plus the music was good.

 

Not a must do, but if you just want to sit and relax with a little entertainment check one out. It wasn't busy at all with plenty of seats.

 

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[flyawayca]

Like many RCI ships there is an ice skating rink.

 

There doesn't seem to be any bars to use for beginners, but many people just seem to hang on to the side ledge until they get used to the skates.

 

The ice isn't the best so don't expect to be able to do any great tricks. But it is still fun.

 

Fill out your waiver prior to the cruise to save some time :)

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[flyawayca]

On one of our days at sea my husband and I were sitting in the Windjammer getting lunch. Luckily we were sitting at a table by the window Starboard side.

 

While sitting we heard over the intercom "Oscar, Oscar, Oscar, Starboard side". Then a command for all crew to watch Starboard side. Because of Cruise Critic I knew that was code for Man Overboard.

 

All of the Windjammer staff made their way over towards our table and started looking out the window. A minute later we saw the red smoke flare and then I took this picture:

 

Then, slowly, we noticed the Allure starting to make a U-turn.

 

This is what could be seen from my seat Starboard side:

 

Everyone was trying to figure out what was going on.

 

The captain then reported that they received notice of a possible man overboard and they were going back to check.

 

After quite awhile we were back to where the smoke flare was and crew were looking for the possible man overboard. Shortly after sitting completely stopped in the water they sent out the rescue vessel.

 

 

On a side note - while completely stopped in the water this is the only time I could feel the ship rocking the entire cruise.

 

Okay, rescue vessel was sent out. They think they see something in the water and they approach.

 

What was it they found?? A tree trunk. With a bird on it.

 

Turns out we did not have a man overboard situation.

 

I do understand how a passenger could think they saw a person. I also understand why the ship had to go back for the possible overboard. But I do wonder how much this ended up costing RCI.

 

Some trivia - This ship uses 1 gallon of gas for every 38 feet it travels. And it refills once every two weeks in St. Marteen.

 

At any rate, it gave the comedians on the cruise some good material :D I'm just happy it wasn't an actual person.

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[flyawayca]

Sorry, my review is kind of all over the place. I'm actually working on it based on what pictures I come across first rather than by order I did or saw things :rolleyes:

 

The arcade is located on deck 15 aft near the teen area and by the Wipe Out Cafe.

 

I've heard horror stories of kids racking up very large debts on their SeaPass cards here so keep that in mind if you have kids!

 

I love Skeeball but the price was ridiculous. Like $2.50 a game. Don't companies know if the price is lower more people would use it? Or maybe they don't want lots of people to use it so it stays in better shape...

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[flyawayca]

The Comedy Club is located on deck 4. It's between Jazz on 4 and Studio B... near the casino.

 

I cannot believe how small the comedy club is. Such a large ship and such a small comedy club. I love going to the comedy clubs on cruise ships and was disappointed with the size of this one.

 

Make sure if you want to see a comedy show to make reservations. Everyone got turned away from the show without reservations because there just wasn't enough space.

 

This is one place where Carnival truly excels.

 

The comedians themselves were really good. Very funny. I liked how they played off one another and used current things specific to our cruise to play off of as well.

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[flyawayca]

This ship doesn't exactly have a lot of ocean views like most other ships.

 

The aft wake is mostly blocked because of the Aqua Theater. But you can still see it and get decent pictures if that is something you would like to do.

 

When a show is not going on head over to the side of the ship and follow the railing and head behind the theater.

 

Surprisingly hidden behind the Aqua Theater are two shuffle boards as well. (From my experience you couldn't actually use them because they leave equipment laying around back there).

 

Then you can get one of these pictures:

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[flyawayca]

This is one big casino. Pretty nice. It has pretty much anything you want, well except a view of the ocean. But other than that, if you like to gamble, this is your place.

 

I'm not a big gambler but I do like to check out the casinos.

 

Half of the casino allows smoking, the other half does not. Yes, smoke can get to the other side. But you can tell the difference between the sides. They do a decent job airing it out.

 

They showed some of the NFL and NCAA football games here.

 

 

 

 

I know you can never make money playing this quarter machine... but man it is addicting!

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[flyawayca]

I really liked the fitness center on this ship. It is really big.

 

They had a lot of treadmills and ellipticals. They also had a lot of freemotion weight machines and free weights. They had a large floor space as well for mat work, yoga, stretching, etc. I was impressed.

 

I worked out in the afternoon to avoid the crowds. It was never really busy.

 

I also got to watch those weightlifter guys from the Aqua Show work out ;)

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by flyawayca

[flyawayca]

Tomorrow I am going to try and get my reviews completed on Labadee, my RCI excursion in Jamaica, and my trip to Chankanaab Park.

 

Plus anything else I haven't got to on the ship. :)

[maureencruiser]

Did you do Rita's Fiesta?

 

Hijacking!

 

I was on this same cruise and I did the Fiesta the first night. It is at 6 that night and I believe 8:30 on Wednesday and Thursday. I took pics of the fiesta menu so I will post it for you, that includes the schedule. I had read here the food was not good, but, I really enjoyed it. Since it was just an hour after sailaway, it was not crowded. The dancing was fun, we got a lot of looky-loos while we were doing the various dances out on the Boardwalk. I liked it so much, I went back later just for the a la carte menu and found that not to be as good. I tried to order what I thought I had at the Fiesta, but, it was different. Probably my fault.

 

 

 

 

 

[Poorplaya]

Great review so far, thx for all the great pictures!!

[flyawayca]

Hijacking!

 

I was on this same cruise and I did the Fiesta the first night. It is at 6 that night and I believe 8:30 on Wednesday and Thursday. I took pics of the fiesta menu so I will post it for you, that includes the schedule. I had read here the food was not good, but, I really enjoyed it. Since it was just an hour after sailaway, it was not crowded. The dancing was fun, we got a lot of looky-loos while we were doing the various dances out on the Boardwalk. I liked it so much, I went back later just for the a la carte menu and found that not to be as good. I tried to order what I thought I had at the Fiesta, but, it was different. Probably my fault.

 

 

Thanks for adding your take! I wanted to try Rita's but decided not to because of the bad reviews. Sounds like the fiesta might be the best time to try it. :)

 

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[flyawayca]

Great review so far, thx for all the great pictures!!

 

Thank you!

 

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[cruiselife4me]

Great review! Love the pics and the food pics are making me sooo hungry!

[flyawayca]

Great review! Love the pics and the food pics are making me sooo hungry!

 

Thank you.

 

I think my stomach growled the whole time I worked on those pictures. I still haven't gotten used to being back and eating "normal". Surprisingly I only gained 1 1/2 lbs on the cruise. I think all the walking required helped!

 

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[cruiselife4me]

That's awesome-1 1/2 lbs! I try to loose before I go but that doesn't always work! Lol!

 

 

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