Allure Review - September 28th - By A Smuggler

[sonicbuffalo]

I had to take a break since my brother and his wife came to visit us the day after our cruise ended. He lives in San Diego, and doesn't get out this way very often. I will try to get a few more pictures up this morning. Thanks for being patient.

[sonicbuffalo]

We kept seeing tis yellow gunk on the ocean as we traveled, and I was wondering if it is from dumping waste in the water from cruise ships? Does anyone know what it is? It really spoils a beautiful ocean as we cruised by lots of it....yucky!

 

[sonicbuffalo]

A big rock poking out from under the water as we neared St. Thomas. In case any of you were wondering, this is the Eastern Itinerary. We love going to St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. I think the Lady Allure needs to start going to a few different ports though. The Eastern and Westen are getting worn out.

 

 

Here's a look up towards the bridge. What a huge ship? We loved it, as we were celebrating our 35th Anniversary!

 

 

My wonderful wife as we entered the shopping area near the pier in St. Thomas.

 

 

Can you spot the iguana? In the backgroundis more of that yellow gunk....not sure what it is but there is a lot of it on the ocean.

 

[sonicbuffalo]

This lady rolled down her window and was welcoming us to the island. She was very friendly and loved getting her picture taken. We enjoyed her very friendly demeanor.

 

Edited October 9, 2014 by sonicbuffalo

[sonicbuffalo]

The runway at the small airport on St. Thomas. They can only land the smaller airplanes on this island. We were starting to climb up the mountain and had stellar weather.

 

 

I don't like to judge people, but on our tour, which we arranged once we got to town in St. Thomas to the shopping district, was a little strange. We were on a open air bus with two other couples. One of the couples were definitely gay men, and one of them was in his late 70's I would say, and his life partner (hmmmn) was probably in his 40's or early 50's. We all said that this was his sugar daddy. The younger one was very open about all the new stuff they had been buying. New curved screen TV (60 Inch), new boat, new this and that. They both wore diamond rings. They were nice but it was obvious the younger one was after the older fellows money. I didn't take their picture though. This next shot is again of the runway of the airport from the other end.

 

[sonicbuffalo]

The Allure docks in Crown Point, which I don't like as much as Havensight. My wife likes Havensight better too. Rumour is that Royal Caribbean docks there to save money from port charges. Every time we've seen the Allure of Oasis in St. Thomas, we've seen them docked there.

 

 

This is a picture of neighboring islands. I love the views we got from up there. Our tour guide was ok, but didn't take us to Megans Bay...we only got to see it from the Mountain Top. That's ok, if you don't plan on having a beach day. We knew the next day we would be at Orient Beach in St. Maarten so we didn't mind too much.

 

[sonicbuffalo]

Definitely Megan's Bay. We swam there once and it was great. Not this time though as we had to get some Carnival cruisers back to their ship by 3:30.

 

 

 

The Carnival Ship and the Norwegian Getaway docked in Havensight.

 

[sonicbuffalo]

Here's the Lady Allure docked in Crown Pointe. It's quite a ways from Havensight.

 

 

 

Definitely from Mountaintop.

 

[sunrise&set]

Really enjoying your review and pics! I also love St Thomas and St Maarten :)

[sonicbuffalo]

Another view of the mural painted on the side of Norwegians Getaway.

 

 

Our friend the iguana, with a background of yuck. That's the yellow crap we saw in the ocean.

 

 

 

Sunset as we were leaving beautiful St. Thomas.

 

[comxkid]

We kept seeing tis yellow gunk on the ocean as we traveled, and I was wondering if it is from dumping waste in the water from cruise ships? Does anyone know what it is? It really spoils a beautiful ocean as we cruised by lots of it....yucky!

 

 

Looks like Sargassum:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargassum

[Lionesss]

Very, very well done.

 

Excellent review.

 

Hmmmm

 

Havent sailed the Eastern route since Disney (5 cruises ago).

 

Your thread makes me want to try it again.

 

Great pictures.

 

Thanks

 

Sea Ya

[mrchips14]

Can you walk from where you docked to Havensight area?

 

Thanks

[icsys]

We kept seeing tis yellow gunk on the ocean as we traveled, and I was wondering if it is from dumping waste in the water from cruise ships? Does anyone know what it is? It really spoils a beautiful ocean as we cruised by lots of it....yucky!

 

 

Yep, that's Sargassum, also called gulfweed. A brown free-floating mass of algae/seaweed common in the western Atlantic Ocean.

 

Can't quite identify the face though.

[sonicbuffalo]

Looks like Sargassum:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargassum

 

Thanks for that...I feel better knowing it isn't pollution.

[sonicbuffalo]

Can you walk from where you docked to Havensight area?

 

Thanks

 

No...you'd have to take a taxi....way too far....but Crown Pointe does have a shopping area that is modern....but not as extensive as the Havensight shopping area.

[sonicbuffalo]

Very, very well done.

 

Excellent review.

 

Hmmmm

 

Havent sailed the Eastern route since Disney (5 cruises ago).

 

Your thread makes me want to try it again.

 

Great pictures.

 

Thanks

 

Sea Ya

 

Thanks for the compliment. I will try and do a review of the shows we saw as we go along. I'll review Chicago first in my next post later on when my brother leaves today.

[awhcruiser]

Thanks for the info. We have been to Nassau before and are aware of the vendors, etc. We plan to walk to Junkanoo. Hopefully we won't encounter any idiots.

I had my sunglasses on and as I walked past him, he said,"What are you looking at Fu&%'er? I was totally taken by surprise as we had walked to Junkanoo Beach several times in the past with no problem. Also, when you get off the ship in Nassau, the mobs of vendors bug the living hell out of you. They try everything in their power to try and get you to take a tour, an excursion, buy this, and buy that....they border on being rude, and sometimes they just cross that border. I'm not a fan of Nassau. St. Thomas and St. Maarten were great....but I'll pass on Nassau next time if our ship goes there.

[sonicbuffalo]

Yep, that's Sargassum, also called gulfweed. A brown free-floating mass of algae/seaweed common in the western Atlantic Ocean.

 

Can't quite identify the face though.

 

Thanks again....I had never heard about it before but I'm glad it isn't pollution from the islands or cruise ships!

[sonicbuffalo]

Thanks for the info. We have been to Nassau before and are aware of the vendors, etc. We plan to walk to Junkanoo. Hopefully we won't encounter any idiots.

 

Have a great cruise! Remember to stay on the beaten path....more of the review and pictures later on today!

[CorDave]

Thanks for the info. We have been to Nassau before and are aware of the vendors, etc. We plan to walk to Junkanoo. Hopefully we won't encounter any idiots.

 

 

When we went to Nassau on Allure we did the Tru Bahamian Food Tour...It was amazing!!! It's #1 on Trip Advisor and I agree. What a great way to spend the few hours that you are in Nassau. The tour guide and owner Alanna is amazing! Well worth looking in to :) We couldn't do this when we went on the Oasis as it gets to Nassau on Sunday and there is not a tour on Sundays

Edited October 10, 2014 by CorDave

[sonicbuffalo]

When we went to Nassau on Allure we did the Tru Bahamian Food Tour...It was amazing!!! It's #1 on Trip Advisor and I agree. What a great way to spend the few hours that you are in Nassau. The tour guide and owner Alanna is amazing! Well worth looking in to :) We couldn't do this when we went on the Oasis as it gets to Nassau on Sunday and there is not a tour on Sundays

 

Thanks for the heads up on that excursion. Was it a ship sponsored tour? It does sound like fun!

[sonicbuffalo]

We had Chicago, The Musical, booked for the first night. The set was very scaled back, and the singers didn't dissapoint. For those of you who haven't booked it, but want to see it...keep these things in mind. The show only runs 3 or 4 nights out of the 7 you're onboard. We saw empty seats the first night, so you can get in usually. Reviews from others we talked too were hit and miss. Some liked it, and others thought it wasn't that good. I think the actng and singing were good, if not stellar. Keep in mind that they made an announcement that it is recommended for mature audiences, and the only was Royal could get permission to perform Chicago was if they stayed true to the script. That means there are adult situations and some adult language in the script that have to be in there. That being said, I wasn't offended by any of it. I would rate it a 3 star production out of 5. It's worth seeing.

[sonicbuffalo]

We were scheduled to see Ocean Aria in the Aqua Theater the following night. We decided to walk to the Aqua Theater directly after seeing Chicago. We didn't realize we would get there right as it was starting. we stood and watched the entire show which is as much about gymnastics and trampolines as it was about high dives. It is a very diverse show and very thrilling watching the artists perform their high dives and acrobatics. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the show. This freed up our next night. I highly recommend everyone go to see the show if possible. It was a Vegas style show, which I will say over and over again when it comes to the shows we saw. The entertainment on The Allure was fantastic. It helped to make up for the mediocre food. You will deifnitely enjoy the entertainment.

[debbs0723]

Enjoying your review and candor. Taking this exact trip on November 23rd. Planning to stay on the boat in Nassau. Have been there before and just not dying to do anything. At most we would walk to junkanoo also. Your post about the lady that kept sleeping in your room was awesome.

 

Debbie