“Live Review” ~ Allure of the Seas (Western): December 15-22, 2013

[Pebbles468]

On Sunday, we will be boarding Allure of the Seas! We are a family of 4 from Chicago; my husband and I are sailing with our 9-yr. old twins (boy/girl). Tomorrow we have an early morning flight out of O’Hare in Chicago and we are off to sunny Fort Lauderdale. There is a storm headed for the Midwest, we hope there will be no delay or cancellation of our flight so we can make it out of Chicago!

 

Pre-cruise we will be staying at The Renaissance Fort Lauderdale. We understand there are lots of restaurants within walking distance and also a few stores to stock up on some last minute items. We plan on buying a case of water for the week and hopefully it will make it to our room!

 

On the Allure, we will be staying in the Royal Family Suite, which has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms as well as a large balcony. One of the perks to staying in a suite is you can order off the MDR menu for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. I can’t wait to order breakfast and eat on our balcony!

 

We will stay connected through the “unlimited internet” package while on board. Although, I understand there may be some slow connectivity. We will see and report back!

 

Since we are sailing with kids, I will be able to provide pictures of all the Adventure Ocean planners, as well as the daily Cruise Compass.

 

Excursions Planned:

 

Labadee ~ We started contacting the Concierge (Fernando) about 3 months prior to our sailing to reserve a cabana. Since we are staying in a Suite, our cabana will be on Barefoot Beach. I began contacting the Concierge back in October and received word from Fernando that our request would be handled. I have to say even though we were so far out before our cruise, they took the time to contact me back. How fabulous was that! Over the Water Cabanas are $250, Hilltop $225, and a Standard Cabana is $175. We initially requested an Over the Water – but I’m not sure we’ll be on the beach the entire time. We may head back to the ship about 2 or 3pm, so a standard cabana would be fine for us.

 

Jamaica ~ We had a very difficult time figuring out what to do in Jamaica as well as who to book with. Our choices were …My Time N Place beach near the ship and just get back on the ship whenever we wanted; Secret Falls, although it is less crowded and not a tourist attraction, it didn’t look too exciting beyond jumping into the blue hole and swimming; Dunn’s River Falls, which is a 45 minute drive there … lots of tourists and then another 45 minute drive back with lunch along the way.

 

After much consideration and tossing around every possible idea, which included “winging it”, we ultimately decided to book a private excursion of Dunn’s River Falls with Courtney Taylor Tours. Truthfully, the idea that we have to be in a car for 1.5 hours round trip is still not well received by any of us! My husband and I went up the falls on our honeymoon cruise 12 years ago, and thought it would be fun to do this with the kids.

 

Cozumel ~ We are going to “wing it” here…. We like the idea of going to Mr. Sancho’s, pay as you go, but not sure what we will feel like doing until that day arrives. We also have the option of just wandering around, a little shopping, find a good restaurant and then go back to the ship while it’s empty.

 

We have connected with others in our roll call, and hope to meet up for sail away on the not so secret Deck 11 Aft. Day 2 the group has planned the Meet N Greet as well as a cabin crawl and slot pull.

 

Drinking/Dining:

 

My husband and I have planned the $20/day unlimited non-alcoholic drink package . We just don’t drink enough to make a larger package worth it. I may have an occasional Bloody Mary or glass of wine, but we also have access to the Concierge Lounge and a nightly happy hour. We will have to purchase this on the ship, as it never came up as an option for us online.

 

We chose early seating in the MDR. I liked the idea of My Time Dining, but my husband thought traditional might be less of a hassle as we wouldn’t have to worry about having to wait to be seated for dinner. We weren’t sure if we would receive the same level of service as we have with traditional dining, so that was a factor for us. We are hoping to get through dinner in the MDR in a lot less than 2 hours each night – we like to eat and get back to the fun. By speaking to Royal in advance, I requested gluten and sugar free for myself. I understand there are gluten free pizza options in Sorrento, as well as many sugar free desert options around the ship! This will be the first cruise I have special dining requirements… we’ll see how it goes!

 

We are planning on doing some specialty dining while on board. We decided against 150 Central Park and Chef’s Table because of the pre-fixe menu as we like to choose our own meals. We are looking forward to going to Johnny Rockets with the kids, and our kids LOVE LOVE LOVE sushi … so they want to go to Izumi. My husband and I are going to have an evening on our own while the kids are in Adventure Ocean. We made reservations for Chops for dinner and see the Adult Comedy Show! We haven't decided about Rita’s yet… perhaps that will be a possibility.

 

Starbucks will be used heavily during the week! We have our Gold card and will rack up our points this week!

 

Fortunately the propulsion issues do not affect the Western Itinerary, so hopefully there won’t be any issues that arise because of that.

 

We enjoyed following along with MrFuninTheSun and Bugsy on their recent sailing, and decided it would be fun to give this a try. No bendy buddy to tag along on our cruise, like MrFuninTheSun though… I’m sure the adventures of our twins will be enough for us! They are bringing their minions though … You never know what’s ahead!

 

That's all for now… Will post more as we leave for Florida in the morning. We hope you’ll follow along for another fun adventure on the Allure of the Seas!

Edited December 14, 2013 by Pebbles468

[tarajean1962]

Have so much fun!:D. I look forward to reading your report. We will be on the gorgeous Allure for the second time in January. I hope you love her as much as we do!:D. Your vacation sounds wonderful!

 

Tara

[mrpayroll]

Looking forward to following the live review as we will be on Allure ( western ) on January 26th.:)

[board57796]

Looking forward to sharing the ship with you!

[Brandonclan]

Now that it's finally here!!! (can't wait to say that myself!!)

 

Have a great time! Your going to have soooo much fun!!

 

In advance, thanks for taking us along.....

[WWbytheSEA]

Hi Pebbles. Was just in Chicago Monday thru Wednesday this week on business. So incredibly cold on Monday and Tuesday especially. You are getting out at the right time. Hope you and your family have a wonderful time. Looking forward to your trip review..

Edited December 14, 2013 by WWbytheSEA

[chee7]

Hi Pebbles,

 

From one Chicagoian to another I hope you have a great trip. It is starting to snow a little, but the heaviest snow is going to happen in the southern part of Illinois, so don't worry.:)

[anandaindonesia]

Bon voyage!

Will follow your "live" reviews.

[musicorn]

Oh you will have a ball. We did this cruise on the Oasis in September.

 

In Cozumel we went to Chankanaab Park and swam with the dolphins. There is a buffet in the restaurant where you can visit as often as you like during the day. This is for food and soda for I think it was $16 each. Great for kids who get hungry often during the day around water. For the big kids there is a swim up bar as well.

 

Have the best of time no matter what you decide to do.

[iCruise717]

Subscribing! Great pre-cruise post, can't wait to see what this upcoming week brings.

 

Safe travels and have fun! :D

[JamesEM]

Have a great cruise, looking forward to your reports because DW and I will be sailing on her this Fall. We were in Cozumel last month and purchase a Day Pass at Caribe Hotel which is located just off the International Pier and had a great visit.

[Keith1010]

Wishing you a wonderful time.

 

Keith

[Pebbles468]

Hi everyone! We arrived at the airport by 6 am and it is snowing very hard....but our plan is boarding and on schedule!!!

 

Our Starbucks card already getting a workout... Hubby and I consumed one while we waited.. and one for the plane!

 

Next report will be from Fort Lauderdale!

 

*waves*

[KirkNC]

Hope you have a great cruise!

[Clarea]

Hi everyone! We arrived at the airport by 6 am and it is snowing very hard....but our plan is boarding and on schedule!!!

 

Our Starbucks card already getting a workout... Hubby and I consumed one while we waited.. and one for the plane!

 

Next report will be from Fort Lauderdale!

 

*waves*

Good luck with the weather. We are a bit south of you, and got about 4" so far (still coming down), with ice. Not good for travel here.

[Pebbles468]

Good luck with the weather. We are a bit south of you, and got about 4" so far (still coming down), with ice. Not good for travel here.

 

Hi Clarea! Hope you do well with the storm. Visibility is poor but just about an inch here at O'Hare. We are very fortunate the storm stayed south!

 

Off we go.... See you soon....

[countess5]

I am onboard! Not actually onboard the ship but onboard for a week of posts!!:)

 

Leaving on Oasis January 25th, these live post get you through the waiting. Enjoyed MrFunInThe Sun when he posted from Allure.

 

Did the western Allure trip two years ago and enjoyed it. Just watch the last day at sea when you get in the upper part of the trip. Cold front dipped down and we spent the day in the fantastic solarium staying warm.

 

Bon voyage!!!!!:p

[3DBeach]

Have a wonderful trip!! Can't wait to read more.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Pebbles468]

We are currently in flight ... When did they cut out the inflight entertainment on United? UGGG Makes for a long flight with the kids. So we got the Wi-Fi to keep us all entertained.

 

The plane should be landing in about 40 minutes in Sunny Fort Lauderdale, which is 80 and sunny! Now as long as our bags reach FLL, we'll be set!

 

Check in again soon.... Bye for now... I have to give up the laptop to my daughter... my turn is over!

 

To anyone on our rollcall... see you soon!!

[stefani_]

I wish you had taken this cruise just a bit earlier so I could read all about it and see all the pics before i sailed myself :p Sounds like it'll be a great review! I won't be using internet on the ship so I'll catch up on this after. Have fun!

[LMaxwell]

 

To anyone on our rollcall... see you soon!!

 

Glad you got out of Chicago and hope your flight was otherwise uneventful. Welcome to warm south florida! I too am waiting for some family to come streaming in today and am very excited to board tomorrow. Hopefully I can wake up for the M&G and get to meet everyone from the roll call.

[tinaky1114]

We are currently in flight ... When did they cut out the inflight entertainment on United? UGGG Makes for a long flight with the kids. So we got the Wi-Fi to keep us all entertained.

 

The plane should be landing in about 40 minutes in Sunny Fort Lauderdale, which is 80 and sunny! Now as long as our bags reach FLL, we'll be set!

 

Check in again soon.... Bye for now... I have to give up the laptop to my daughter... my turn is over!

 

To anyone on our rollcall... see you soon!!

 

 

Glad you made your flight. I did as well. Settled in the Hilton Marina. Can't wait to finally meet you and your family. And to share our time on the Allure at the same time.

[Pebbles468]

The happy travelers finally landed, about 30 minutes late -- at least we are out of Chicago!

 

 

http://s1345.photobucket.com/user/bellaluna468/media/robert_zps34459840.jpg.html?filters[user]=138573235&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0

 

We were really worried with the storm that we may not make it as there are very few direct flights out of O'Hare to Fort Lauderdale. We were even contemplating changing flights to Friday night that would have gotten us in to Miami about 12:30 am then find a way to FLL... Glad we didn't take that alternative.

 

We got all our bags easily and it was a short wait for the cab line. The cab cost us $16.20 + tip for the 4 of us. It was a quick trip to the Renaissance.

 

 

 

 

Check in was very fast and we have a room with a view and free Wi-Fi. Fortunately, our room was ready!

 

 

 

Our room had a view of the ships in port.

 

http://s1345.photobucket.com/user/bellaluna468/media/view_zps5dfc3bfe.jpg.html

 

The room is pretty nice and very clean. Unfortunately we only have one sitting chair and the desk chair. Not conducive to snacking for the little ones -- I don't need to roll over on chippage... Once we settled in at the hotel and changed into more appropriate summer wear, we went exploring for lunch.

 

The location of the hotel is directly across the street from a Walgreens. There is a Starbucks, Cold Stone Creamery, Pei Wei Asian cuisine, and a Brick Oven Pizza Restaurant only a block away.

[Pebbles468]

Through CC, there was a reasonably priced seafood restaurant just down the street from the hotel, Kelly's Landing, New England Seafood. We looked at the menu online before we left.

 

They had great clam chowder, and Stone Crab claws (both not pictured... we devoured them before I remembered to take some pictures.)

 

Lobster Roll ~

 

 

Broiled Scallops

 

http://s1345.photobucket.com/user/bellaluna468/media/Scallops_zpsbb9300fe.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2

 

Cheeseburger

 

http://s1345.photobucket.com/user/bellaluna468/media/Burger_zps5387dbfb.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

 

Lunch was very good, portions were a little small though.

 

On the way back, we walked to Walgreens to pick up snacks for the room as well as a case of water ... We will see if it makes it to our suite with a tag on it. We seen the Hyatt Pier 66 across the bridge, which has a much better view of the ships in port.

 

We are resting up for our walk to Cold Stone Creamery later with the kids -- which may end up being dinner. We are so off our schedules, since we went to bed about 12:30am and up at 4:00am!

 

Hi LMaxwell & Tinaky!! Can't wait to meet you on the ship!

 

WWbythesea ... It was brutal cold when you flew through Chicago!!

 

musicorn...Chakanaab was fabulous! We swam with the dolphins on our honeymoon -- need to have our kids be a little better swimmers before we unload the dough to swim with them properly. Chakanaab is still an option though as we are winging it!

 

JamesEM... I may have to see how much the day pass costs.. that might be fun too!

 

Tarajean1962, MrPayroll, board57796, Brandonclan, chee7, anandaindonesia, icruise717, keith1010, WWbythesea, musicorn, JamesEM... Thanks for all coming along with us!

[tarajean1962]

OH MY GOSH! You guys must be jumping out of your shoes!:D. Thank you so much for taking us along with you! We sail in 5 weeks and I am truly living through you guys! I hope you get to post some pics of the RFS! We were upgraded to a CL suite and I am beyond excited! ( Insert happy dancing smiley). We have never been in a suite before and my husband says this is dangerous. I have no idea what he is talking about. :confused::D

 

Tara

 

P.S. I have the Barbie in your avatar.