Allure CLS Detailed Trip Report with Many Pictures

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Allure CLS Detailed Trip Report with Many Pictures

 

Hello all! It’s been one winter storm after another… Last night into today - another big one… We have 16 inches on the ground with another shot of 4 to 6 inches tonight. Luckily, my office is closed and I am safe and sound at home. Snow is so beautiful when you do not have to leave your couch!

 

I thought that I would write a trip report on our 11/17/13 Allure of the Seas Western Caribbean cruise, which included the ports of Labadee, Jamaica, and Cozumel, to try to escape this cold weather at least mentally. I know I ate these reviews up like candy before our own cruise, so I am just paying it forward. (Thank you to everyone who has ever written a review or answered a question about the Allure or the ports!) There were 2 awesome Live Reviews during this cruise (Bugsy and Mr. Fun in the Sun) so the cruise itself was very well covered.

 

There will be food pictures. I am always sad when people say they “forgot” to get a picture before they started eating, but that happened to me a lot early in the cruise. I would not remember until we had all started eating and food half eaten does not look appetizing! Later in the cruise, my husband and friends started reminding me so I was able to get more food porn.

 

I did not take pictures of the compasses and notices or the menus. Honestly, I read the compass every night when we get back from dinner and then keep them in a pile for easy reference on the cruise, but they go in the trash before we leave the ship. I have too much paper around the house to bother bringing them home.

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

As an introduction, we are Phil and Debbie from MD. In the past few years, we have tried to cruise around once a year. I work full time as a paralegal and only get limited time off a year, and we like to go with the kids/grandkids to the beach once a year. Phil is a retired police major. We are in our mid to late 50s. This was our 10th cruise, 5th on Royal. We cruise with my childhood best friend and her husband, Maria and Frank. They live in NJ, where I lived many years ago. Our main mission when cruising is RELAXATION! Frank is a Vice President of a bank (but he is funny and fun and nothing like what you might think a banker would be) and Maria is a busy office manager. Between work, kids, and grandkids, we are all pretty busy and stressed. We always have a lot of fun and there is a lot of laughing. None of us are really beach people and don’t snorkel or scuba so we are kind of limited in excursions, especially in the Caribbean. It’s great that we are all on the same page though. A little sightseeing, relaxing on our balcony, reading, and eating and we are happy!

 

I do most of the research and planning, and then run things by the others to see what they think. I do try to get the best prices and look at all the options, but we don’t mind spoiling ourselves since we know we won’t be going on another cruise for a year. We actually got a price decrease on both the cruise ($200) and the hotel ($10 a night) after booking (so always keep doing fake bookings to check prices!) and our airfare was an unbelievable great deal (Air Tran $60 per person each way).

 

This will be a fair and honest assessment and description of events, but I was basically in heaven so there won’t be too many complaints. J These are only my own opinions and experiences and may not be the same as others. Also, if I say anything politically incorrect, please forgive me. I’m just a misplaced Jersey girl. If I get too boring, please just give me a nudge to move on or to stop with the pictures… I did take 4200 pictures so, even though it might seem like it, I am not actually posting all of them. It was just hard to choose. J I really can’t wait until our next cruise!! If you just want the cliff note version of the cruise: Food – great! Specialty restaurants – great! Entertainment – great! Service – great! Ship – great! Elevators – poor! If you have any questions, please ask away.

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Booking –

 

We booked this cruise on our last cruise November 2012 on the Enchantment out of Baltimore. It was our best experience with the Crown and Loyalty Department yet. The representative was helpful and nice. We did know exactly what and when we wanted though. We left there so excited about our next cruise. (We have had a representative in the past, when we asked for recommendations for our next cruise, suggest the same cruise we were on... LOL!) We did not book on board this time because we already had to book the Quantum the day booking opened in order to get our desired category and we also have a Hawaii cruise booked the opening day because there were certain rooms we wanted. (I’ve never had more than one cruise booked at a time and wondered what it would be like. Nice!!! But I found that I didn’t want to really look past the very next cruise anyway and have done zero research on those other ports.) We did put in a next cruise certificate, though, in case we change the May 2015 Hawaii cruise to Hawaii September 2015. (I have promised Phil a cruise to Hawaii if he stays married 10 years this time. Third time is the charm and he is getting close…J) Our booking was sent to our TA and we received $300 on board credit.

 

I will be honest and say that I did not have much interest in sailing on the Allure. All I had heard about the Oasis class made me really think it would not be for me. It just seemed too huge, with too many people. It could not run as smoothly as the smaller class ships, it could not be as beautiful as the smaller class ships, it would be too crowded. The service could not be as good. No way. Did anyone really need a park inside a ship?? No. Turns out it could run as smoothly, it could be as beautiful, it would not be too crowded, the service could be as good and, yes, we do need a park inside a ship. J Very frankly, I was amazed. Perfect, no, of course not. Wonderful, yes!!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Well, if we were going to do the Allure, then we were going to do her right. We knew that it was very likely this would be our only time on an Oasis class ship since the size of the ship made the itinerary pretty basic. Also, with the Quantum coming to NJ, she would likely be our “go to” ship when we weren’t doing any special cruises. When we left the C&A on the Enchantment, we were booked for 11/17/13 in a L1 Crown Loft Suite on the Allure of the Seas! One year to go! A lot of planning to do!!! We had suite 1710 and M&F had suite 1748 on the other side of the ship. ‘Perfect views at all times’ is our motto. J We would be sailing on the biggest cruise ship and 7th biggest ship in the world!!!! WOW!!!

 

One of my favorite pictures from our Enchantment cruise:

 

 

We booked all our show reservations the day they opened on line, which was in July. Of course, I just happened to be in the Outer Banks on vacation with my daughter and her family and had left my precious schedule at home. That schedule had been difficult to figure out the entertainment what and when in relation to dinner, but I felt like it all flowed well. Luckily, since I had worked on it for weeks, I pretty much knew what we wanted and the pre-booking went smoothly. I booked for our party of 4 as you can add others to your reservations. We also made reservations for Chops for dinner one night and Giovanni’s for lunch on embarkation day. I didn’t want to over book us and decided to wait until we got on board to see how the food was in the Main Dining Room before booking any others.

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Pre-Cruise –

 

You can skip these next few excerpts if you are not interested in pre-cruise information. J I actually did a lot of research on this aspect of our trip.

 

We decided to fly out on Friday afternoon to FL, so that we would have all day on Saturday for some sightseeing. M&F had not been to Fort Lauderdale or Miami ports before. As I mentioned, we got a great deal on the day flights opened for that date with Air Tran. It was only $60 a person each way out of BWI! M&F could not get that good a deal out of Philadelphia, so they booked the flight with us and drove down to MD. At check in 24 hours before the flight, I saw that there were Business Class upgrades available. In the vacation mode, I decided to surprise Phil and booked the upgrade. It was only an additional $166 for both of us. Well worth it for the extra room, boarding process, and no luggage fees (which would have been $120). I texted, emailed, and called Maria so that she could do the same. Lucky for her, she finally answered the phone so I could tell her about the upgrade we took so she could check in immediately because there were only a few seats left in Business Class! Phil was happy and Frank was happy and we were going on vacation in 24 hours!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

11/15/13 – Travel Day

 

On Friday, I worked a half day. I was excited and anxious to get out. I knew that I did not have a minute to spare because the limo was coming at 2 pm so I was desperate to get everything taken care of before I left. It was close, but I did get out on time and there were no traffic delays. I was home by 1:00, completed packing (I do not like to close the garment bag with my dresses until the last second, like that is going to keep them from getting wrinkled somehow…), and changed for travel. M&F got there by 1:45 with treats for the airplane, including Aunt Charlotte’s chocolate covered pretzels. Delicious!

 

We bought a Living Social deal for a round trip limo to and from BWI for $89. Seemed awesome, but then when I called to reserve, they added the fees, taxes, and gratuities, it came to $182. It was still a good price, so I stuck with it. Remember, when you split the cost between the 2 couples, it is not bad at all for the convenience. It was All Stretched Out Limo and they sent a really stretched out limo. Very nice!! He was a little early and very pleasant. P&F helped him load the car. The only problem with a limo is that there is not enough trunk space for that much luggage (2 checked pieces each person!), but it all worked out. The gratuity was included in the price and very hefty – I guess because it was just an airport run – but the guys tipped the driver extra. (I’m putting tips and stuff, not to pat ourselves on the back or suggest others should do so but because I am always wondering when and what others tip.) Our ride:

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Airport -

 

We used curbside check-in (tipped!) and it was a breeze. We waited while Phil got 2 cigarettes in – he is the only smoker in our group and we feel sorry for how he is always relegated to the outskirts of society due to his habit. We went through security. Phil always has issues, as he never seems to empty his pockets all the way, but surprisingly he went right through. I got patted down. Why?? I am a grandmother of 8… Anyway, if it makes our skies safer somehow, fine. Well, as I went to get our bags from the x-ray machine, one of the officers held up Phil’s bag and said to me “Is this yours??” I said “No” – because Lord knows what Phil had in it! But then, I reluctantly added because Phil was off still putting his shoes on, “Well, technically it is.” Luckily, it was only that the machine had turned off and they had to run it again and not the Tupperware of sugar he insists on bringing everywhere with us for his coffee… (I made him dump this before we left the ship because I was afraid in Florida, coming from Jamaica, they would think it was some kind of drugs. J He had used more than half of it, though, to his credit or non-credit.) Then, another officer says “Is this bag yours?” Ut oh, yes, this one was. “Do you have any liquids?” “No, of course not.” “Are you sure??” “Oh, wait, did I put my half empty soda bottle in there?” Uh, yes, I did. She shot me a stern look and nicely threw it out for me. J So sorry!!

 

We stopped and got a quick lunch and then it was just a few minutes until boarding. Our flight was at 4:18 pm. Called our kids and then we were on our way! Phil and I had seats 1 A and C and M&F had seats 3 A and C. There was quite a bit of turbulence, but the captain never came on and said anything. They just kept the seat belt sign on for a long while. I whispered to Phil, “Do you think it is so bad because we are so far up front?” He said, “Let’s tell ourselves that.” J

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We landed a little after 7 pm and got our luggage (after a bit of confusion on where it was coming out). Our pick up from the airport was through Larry Limos (found on the Florida board). I was aware that the airport, hotel, and port were all close by and private transportation was not necessary. Cabs are not too expensive and are readily available, but we liked the security of knowing we had our transportation arranged ahead of time. The driver called as soon as we landed, so he was very on the ball. He had a black Navigator and an Ipad with our name on it on the dashboard. Very cute! It was easy in and off we went. He knew a short cut through the parking garage – and paid the fee himself – to get us out of what seemed to be a hectic traffic jam at the airport. I don’t think a cab driver would have done that… Through our eMail correspondence with Larry Limos, I understood that the trips from the airport, hotel, and port were all to be paid automatically to the card I gave them and then our planned trip on Saturday would be paid separately to the driver, so I said my goodbyes to the driver while the men helped unload the luggage, and Maria and I went in to check in at the Hilton Marina. I was first in line and she was 2nd. Check in was a breeze and they were very nice. I had called them earlier in the day to let them know we were checking in after 7:30. As we were checking in, the people on a bus that had been unloading as we pulled up started getting in a long line behind us. Wow, dodged a bullet there and the upgrade to a limo paid for itself by helping us to miss out on that madhouse!

 

Phil and the limo driver were looking for me after I checked in. Apparently, I was supposed to pay the driver and it was not as I thought automatic. Ooopps! Then, the card I used did not work in the little card reader he had on his phone. I started to get a little nervous as he ran it and ran it. Then, I just gave him my debit card and that worked fine. I eMailed Larry’s Limo because I had wanted to use the original card for the points, but since I didn’t have a problem with any of the other pickups, I told them never mind when they speedily answered that they would work it out. The driver was so sweet because the invoice came up on his phone and it showed how the tip had been included and he asked if we wanted him to take off that tip since we had given him cash for a tip as well. No way, you are awesome! The cost for the airport pickup was $84 and included the pre-arranged tip.

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Hotel – Hilton Marina

 

I read such negative reviews on line (trip advisor, expedia, etc.) about this hotel – it was awful, it was dirty, it had bad service. I did not know what to do. I ended up asking the Ft. Lauderdale expert on the boards and she said was nice. People on our cruise board who had stayed there before said it was nice. I could not see how it could be so bad, right there on the marina, and it seemed perfect for our purposes. Since we don’t go to the beach, it seemed senseless to get a hotel on the beach – and I would want the ocean view if we did that. Anyway, I was very nervous, but took the chance. We booked rooms in the tower with a waterview and asked for a high floor. We got on the top 14th floor and it was perfect. The room was very nice and the views were awesome! Phil and I got a gorgeous corner room and the balcony went all the way around the side. The bell boy said it was the best room in the hotel in his opinion because of the view. I have to agree. As an aside, boy, was he nice! His name was Richard and he was so nice and personable. He even was nice to us when we came across him later in the weekend in the elevator. Bad service, my *ss!

 

I will say that I was not a fan of the bathroom. The doors were these hanging sliding things and you never felt like you had privacy. I did get more used to them by the end of the weekend, but, in my opinion, they should be replaced. Here is a picture of them:

 

 

 

There was a waterfall shower. The hotel was showing some wear and I could see where some people might be put off, but the views surely made up for any deficiencies. I would definitely stay there again. We had a view of the marina, the waterways, and the bridge and could even see the ocean in the distance. I booked on Hilton website for $199 a night and later had a price decrease of $10 a night.

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Dinner

 

I had researched restaurants because I knew we would be starving by the time we got there and would not want to have to search for a place to eat. The hotel restaurant seemed pretty pricy. I found that the Bimini Boatyard was nearby within walking distance and it got mostly good reviews on trip advisor. Some reviews were negative, but everyone raved about the bread, so I thought let’s go there. We received a reservation confirmation eMail shortly before the trip, and, when Phil looked at the menu, he said I know why we are going there! I vehemently protested and said it’s because it is nearby and I researched every restaurant and this has something for everyone in our party and, okay, it has delicious bread everyone says. J He knows I love bread. We checked with the concierge to make sure it really was within walking distance. There was a recent incident on a weekend trip to DC where I said from the steps of the Capital, “Oh look, the Lincoln Memorial is right there, we can walk it!” No one was happy with me because it was actually a few miles away… However, it was good exercise to get in shape for our cruise!

 

Anyway, the restaurant was actually within the realms of walking distance. And the bread was actually the most delicious thing in the world. Maria and I got burgers and fries that were excellent; Phil just got a salad, and Frank got a fish sandwich. We started our awesome trip with a huge Bahama Mama and it was wonderful!! We got the key lime pie for dessert. Might as well get used to having dessert every night with dinner!

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

After Dinner

 

While the restaurant was within walking distance, Phil wanted to take a cab back to the hotel so we could stop at a liquor store to pick up beer for the next 2 nights and Maria wanted some bottles of wine for the ship. She got 4 bottles – we took 2 on for them. Frank was so sweet and asked the cab driver if he wanted any soda and bought him a bottle of Coke.

 

After we got back, we went to the pool bar for a while. Service was not too good down there. I think they had a screw up on who was taking care of whom, but the huge Bahama Mama at the restaurant was about my limit anyway. It was so nice down there and we sat and talked for a while. Then, Phil and I sat on our balcony for a little longer after we called it a night. It was beautiful! I finally dragged myself to bed at midnight.

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Day 2 - Florida

 

As is my custom, the next morning, I got up to take sunrise pictures. It was cloudy and some rain was forecasted. It was still beautiful! Yachts were gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2014 by PhilNDebbieAtSea
pics not working

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Miami Stadium Tour

 

We had a 10 am pickup for our tour today. I got a call around 9:45 from the driver that he was there. Phil and I got down to the lobby before M&F. I saw a beautiful stretch white Lincoln on the side of the hotel driveway, but I thought that can’t be for us. I casually strolled down, afraid of looking stupid. It was raining a little at that point, so I did look stupid anyway. The driver didn’t notice me because I was really trying to be unobtrusive so I could see if our name was anywhere. Finally, I had to ask him if he was there for PhilNDebbieAtSea. He was horrified!!! He said, “You should have waved me up!!! You shouldn’t be standing in the rain!!” LOL, I couldn’t believe this could be for us!! I told him that we were waiting for our friends who should be right out and we would be right back. When M&F came down, I motioned to a dilapidated van and said this is our ride. But they had already seen the limo… J Again, I forgot to motion the driver up and walked down in the rain. I could never be rich…

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We were going to Miami for an 11 am scheduled tour of Marlins Stadium. Frank has been to a lot of stadiums across the U.S. and we try to stop by any professional stadiums when we are somewhere new. We hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast and Maria needed coffee badly, so we asked if the driver would stop at a Dunkin Donuts. He did and we apparently caused quite a ruckus in the shop. P&F went in to get the coffee and munchkins and everyone was staring at them. Finally, a woman asked them if they were with a bachelor party. Uh, no, on a stadium tour with our beautiful wives. (I added the beautiful wives part – that was something they should have said…) Maria was saying what a bad addiction her coffee habit was – she doesn’t like most coffee – even Starbucks or Keurig - and she desperately needs coffee in the morning. She couldn’t believe that I don’t drink coffee. I replied, “No, coffee is for grownups! I still can’t believe when I see my own kids smoking crack, I mean drinking coffee.”

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Stadium Tour

 

Miami was about 45 minutes away. We had ice tea/coffee and munchkins – much better than a bachelor party! The stadium tour was actually very good. Much better than the Nationals Stadium tour we had done in September. No offense to anyone - we just had a very talkative guide on that one that was giving us the low down on every painting on the wall. This guide was very good and hit all the good spots early on. There were a lot of people, about 15, making the elevator rides a bit uncomfortable (a harbinger of the future...). Of course, it rained while we were on the field, but most of the day was pretty nice.

 

 

 

 

Locker rooms were nice!

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Stadium Tour

 

Batting cage

 

 

The phone!

 

 

Nice view!

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phil getting a last minute (and long awaited) cigarette in:

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We had the driver take us to the Dolphins Stadium and we grabbed a picture. There was some kind of soccer championship game there so the guards were not nice and were not happy about us driving in and driving out. But we got a picture so we were happy.

 

 

 

 

[sauvichick]

Can't wait to read more!

[drmomsc]

Great review so far! I can't wait to get to the pics of your CL- we will be on the Oasis in 30 days in our first CL- I cannot wait!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Hard Rock Cafe

 

We had wanted to go drive to South Beach and were going to go to Hard Rock Café there. Frank gets his complete wardrobe from Hard Rocks we visit in various states and countries. J Unfortunately, the driver headed out to Hollywood to go to the Hard Rock there. Unfortunately, because we didn’t get to go to South Beach, but actually it was great that he did so because it was an awesome Hard Rock, so we were very glad he did go there. Wow, what an amazing place! It has a casino and hotel and it seemed more like an event. I had researched it for a place to stay in FL, but it seemed out of the way for what we wanted and was costly so I never even offered it as a choice. Maria said I should have and next time we will stay there! It was beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TVs in the bathroom mirrors????

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Can't wait to read more!

 

Thanks! Having a bit of trouble with photo bucket so taking longer than I thought. Hats off to everyone who has done this before!!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Great review so far! I can't wait to get to the pics of your CL- we will be on the Oasis in 30 days in our first CL- I cannot wait!

 

Thanks!! I can guarantee that you will absolutely LOVE it!!!!!!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Now, we were starting to run out of time with our 4 hours, but we were starving. We just wanted something quick for lunch so we asked the driver if he could stay a little later while we ran in a California Grill Pizza we passed. We were going to have him drop us off and take a taxi back to the hotel but this was more convenient. He didn’t mind and we were in and out in a jiff. The place was different than other California Grill Pizzas we have tried, but it was tasty. Funny mix up on the limo bill: It was $288 for the 4 hours, including gratuity. The guys gave him extra tip, he was nice. With him, I just signed a paper and he took an imprint of the card. He did not use a card reader like the other driver. Anyway, I assumed he would charge extra for the time we extended, but the pending charge to the limo company on my card was $288. Very nice of him! Then, the next day there was also a pending charge for $360 to an entity named, ‘Carefree Lifestyles’. What the heck was that? I didn’t freak out until it became a posted charge. By that time, I was on the ship and couldn’t call, so I put in a dispute online. I didn’t notice that eventually the $288 to the limo company never actually posted and went away. Yes, it was the fee that included an increased charge for the extra time. But the name was just so odd that I thought we had had a fraudulent charge - or Phil was doing something he shouldn’t! LOL! The scary part was being at sea and not being able to do anything about it! I did feel like a fool when I was finally back at home and could call. Oh yes, Larry Limos!

 

Beach view on the way back to the hotel: