Allure CLS Detailed Trip Report with Many Pictures

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We had the full breakfast 2 or 3 times during the cruise and it was great. Next time you should try it! They had these cool serving pieces, all curvy, that fit into each other. No matter what you got, two things or three things, they fit the dishes together to make up your complete breakfast. Yeah, it's the little things that amuse me.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh wow! That does look so cute and fun!! Will definitely try it next time!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

I'm so glad to have come across your review, we are booked at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina for 03/11 after a 4-day on the LOS. We were a bit worried after seeing the reviews online but seeing this has put my mind to rest, great review ! :)

 

 

Yes, scary isn't it?! But we really enjoyed our stay!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[janeyzee]

Slot Pull –

 

He and Janey had gotten some prizes from the casino manager. There were pretty many people participating. Everyone put in $15 and got 5 pulls. There was a lot of cheering and laughing. We ended up “winning” in total $14.60 each, so pretty much breaking even. Everyone donated the .60 cents to the Make a Wish Foundation and pretty many people donated all of their winnings so Bugsy and Janey ended up bringing a good bit of money to the Make a Wish! Lovely! Top winner got a little trophy. I came in like 3rd and got a t-shirt. Phil even got a key chain.

 

Although I'd love to take credit for all of that, it was Bugsy and Wendy (Breezy) who organized it and got the prizes for the winners. I did, however, help Wendy keep score and contributed my pink boa for all to wear, and I was also the winner of the trophy! I had a pull worth $120 and another at $12 I think, so I had the most money won. Not that we took any of it home, it was still a thrill to win it! And it all went to a great cause in the end.

[janeyzee]

 

 

 

In this shot, you are standing right next to our cabana. Darrell had knee problems unexpectedly and we were going to get a hillside then settled for the "on the sand" cabana you see here on the right. He never would have made it up those steps. Wasn't sure how I'd like this one but we actually loved it. Our cabana steward stopped by constantly so drinks were never a problem. I would have sent a few up to you had I known!

Edited February 17, 2014 by janeyzee

[Cupcrazy]

Fantastic report & pictures! Thank you so much for taking the time to post this great thread.

I can't wait until I board Allure in October!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Although I'd love to take credit for all of that, it was Bugsy and Wendy (Breezy) who organized it and got the prizes for the winners. I did, however, help Wendy keep score and contributed my pink boa for all to wear, and I was also the winner of the trophy! I had a pull worth $120 and another at $12 I think, so I had the most money won. Not that we took any of it home, it was still a thrill to win it! And it all went to a great cause in the end.

 

Yes, that's right! It was Wendy who helpe and you were the winner! It as fun and it was nice that it went to a good cause as well!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

In this shot, you are standing right next to our cabana. Darrell had knee problems unexpectedly and we were going to get a hillside then settled for the "on the sand" cabana you see here on the right. He never would have made it up those steps. Wasn't sure how I'd like this one but we actually loved it. Our cabana steward stopped by constantly so drinks were never a problem. I would have sent a few up to you had I known!

 

Yes, those steps were much more difficult than I expected. That is great that you were able to get drinks more easily. I guess maybe the attendant got tired of coming to check on us as we were gone most of the morning. How was the heat in the cabana on the beach? We were thinking that it might have been a bit cooler on the beach or over the water with more of a breeze.

 

I hope Darrell's knees are better!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Fantastic report & pictures! Thank you so much for taking the time to post this great thread.

I can't wait until I board Allure in October!

 

Thank you for your nice comment! I hope you have a great cruise!

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We also got a couple of drinks in the pineapples that they were selling on the boardwalk – you have to, right? Phil had them make up something and he just pointed to what liquors he wanted in it. M&F got a pina colada and I got a mango mai tai. Loving the mango on this trip! (Though I didn't like the Mango Lava Flow for some reason...) With the drink package, they charged about $4.75 for just the pineapple part of it.

 

 

 

Our boys are too cute!

 

 

[janeyzee]

Anybody know what cruise line and ship that is with the round window? The smallest of the bunch.

 

That is a Seabourn ship. I really liked the looks of it. (whoops, just saw someone else answered the question and I don't know how to delete my post)

Edited February 17, 2014 by janeyzee

[janeyzee]

Yes, those steps were much more difficult than I expected. That is great that you were able to get drinks more easily. I guess maybe the attendant got tired of coming to check on us as we were gone most of the morning. How was the heat in the cabana on the beach? We were thinking that it might have been a bit cooler on the beach or over the water with more of a breeze.

 

I hope Darrell's knees are better!

 

Thanks, yes his knee was better by the end of the cruise after all the shots he got the morning OF the cruise, in an emergency clinic. Wasn't sure we'd make the cruise, but we did!

 

Our cabana was shady the entire time as I recall. It was a warm day, but our fan helped and I took a few dips in the water. Darrell couldn't because of his knee. He never would have made it back out with that slippery sand. I think we were shaded by trees too, so maybe that helped. Surprisingly it was a good location, the only cabana on that side of the walkway so it stayed private even being right on the sand and next to the sidewalk. Rahim came to check on us a few times, he was such a nice guy.

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We finally found the Britto store. I had seen on some reviews that there was a journal in this store with the artwork on the cover and thought that would be something our 2 older granddaughters would enjoy (7 and 10). For some reason, we didn’t notice the store previously. It was tucked away in Central Park. M&F found it and brought m there. Once inside, I inadvertently took some pictures inside. They didn’t like that… After they told me no pictures, I remember the same thing had happened Middle Aged Drama Queen. :) It was a bright happy store. I also got a key chain for myself. Loved the bright colors. M&F went back later and got me a journal for our next cruse to keep notes. So nice!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We went to the Cupcake Cupboard when we were exploring the ship. I bought a cupcake. I actually never got to eat it because I was too full. It kept staring at me in the cabin but anytime I was there, I was never hungry. Next time! They had a lot of cute stuff there for sale for little girls. I had already gotten the 2 older girls – and would have LOVED to buy them more – so I could only get our newest grandbaby, Charlotte, something. It was an adorable onesie that said “Cupcake Cutie”. It was a 12 months size and she was only 5 months at the time, but I figured it will fit her soon. Maria has 2 daughters pregnant right now. They only had one outfit left in newborn size. Even though they don’t know the sex of the babies, she was going to buy one for each of them in case they have girls because the outfit was that adorable. The girl working behind the counter said she would check to see if they had anymore and to check back later. We kept going back, but they didn’t have any more in that size. Maria gave the girl one of her wow cards because she went over and beyond trying to get that for her, checking all different places that might have had it. Miss Charlee sweetly agreed to model the outfit for you:

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We also looked for our photos in the photo shop today. M&F wanted to see the shot taken by the ship’s photographer of them and Shrek on the helipad. We looked everywhere for it, but couldn’t find it. We have been cruising long enough to be brave enough to say “no, thanks” to the numerous photo requests, so there weren’t too many to find. The electronics involved in the face recognition is pretty cool. It was only batting 50/50 for us, though. They checked back a few times and then finally had to get it checked on. While they were looking, I found the ship’s photograph of Phil on the zipline in our folder and bought that for him. It was cute as it had all the facts of the zipline with the date and place on it and made a nice souvenir of the experience for him.

 

On the way back to our Crown Loft Suite, we ran into this little guy. :)

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We didn’t go to many of the typical cruise shows, such as sexy man, belly flop, love and marriage, cake demonstration, port talks, etc. We have done all of those before – and loved them! – but we were more about relaxing and exploring the ship. When we were on the Enchantment last year, we got a chance to do a lot of the ship shows and really enjoyed seeing them again, but it made us not feel like we HAD to see them on this ship. I’m sorry if this is boring for people who want to hear about all of those things.

 

At sunset, we got a couple of Mango Mai Tai’s from Lucy at the Viking Crown Lounge. Phil had become good friends with her by this time. One time, he went in there and she said, “Mr. Pheeeel, we were just talking about you” in reference to a couple sitting there. She was so cute! Often, Phil would take both our cards to the VCL to get 2 beers and she was fine with it. She always ran them both up separately and he signed both. When we came in to the Lounge this time, she said, “Mr. Pheeeel, I have your 2 Coors Light for you!” We said, “We are feeling tropical today!” and ordered 2 mango mai tais. I remembered that I forgot my camera – we were going to M&F’s balcony for sunset – so I had to run back to the room. Phil went to help open the door and Lucy started yelling, “Mr. Pheeel, Mr. Pheeeel, I’m making your mai tais!” We were laughing and Phil went back to explain. When he went to get and pay for the mai tais, she also gave him the beers she had pulled for him. Perfect! Loved her and took good care of her. It was so convenient having the VCL there. Don't think I can say that enough!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

2nd Formal Night –

 

I love formal night. I hardly ever get dressed up in my real life. Phil and M&F clean up very nicely!

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Eten, our waiter, gave us the cookbooks we ordered on Tuesday. Yes, I know, another rookie move, getting the cookbooks. But we really wanted to and Eten was so personable that we just had to do it. Plus, the book was signed by the Chef and then Eten and Artee both signed it for us. Very nice!

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Dinner was the seafood platter with the lobster, shrimp, etc. Phil said the shrimp was great. Maria got the 3 cheese tortellini, while I got the prime rib, which was delicious. Frank and Phil each got the seafood platter and split a prime rib. Then, the waiter brought Frank another seafood platter. Frank couldn’t finish it. They said the lobster was on the dry side. There was baked Alaska for dessert, one of my favorites. Yummy! Some of us had the white chocolate mousse. The cooks came out dancing tonight. Fun! The after dinner shot was Slippery Nipple. It is made with butterscotch. As much as I hate saying the name (LOL), it was delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

We had reservations for the Headliner show, which was Mosaic, but we decided not to go as we were tired and went to bed after dinner. Except Phil – he went back out to the casino. Re the casino, Phil usually gambles, but he did not gamble much this cruise, which means he didn’t win anything -- but he also didn’t lose anything. :) There was just so much to do and he enjoyed our loft room so much that he really didn’t go as much as usual.

 

 

 

 

Next up - Cozumel!

[readytolose]

Absolutely loving your review! We have a long wait until we can board the Allure but all of these reviews are helping to pass the time. I usually read on my iPad in bed before falling asleep. It really helps me have some nice cruise dreams.

 

We will be getting the drink package and I'm curious how they handled the after dinner shots. Did they serve them in the souvenir shot glass or just a regular shot glass. We love getting the after dinner shots so we are glad they are included in the package, just curious how that works.

 

Also, do you remember how much the cook book was? I would love that!

 

Thanks, and keep up the great work!

 

Chris

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Thanks, yes his knee was better by the end of the cruise after all the shots he got the morning OF the cruise, in an emergency clinic. Wasn't sure we'd make the cruise, but we did!

 

 

 

Our cabana was shady the entire time as I recall. It was a warm day, but our fan helped and I took a few dips in the water. Darrell couldn't because of his knee. He never would have made it back out with that slippery sand. I think we were shaded by trees too, so maybe that helped. Surprisingly it was a good location, the only cabana on that side of the walkway so it stayed private even being right on the sand and next to the sidewalk. Rahim came to check on us a few times, he was such a nice guy.

 

 

I agree, Rahim was awesome! That must have been so scary with his knees!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[rifky]

Hello! It is $30 per phone for the entire cruise. It is a pretty good deal as long as you don't break or lose it!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thank you for the info I'm definitely getting it, as I'm going with my 2 daughters, 23 and 15, I don't want to spend my entire vacation looking for them. ;)