Cheapo dad’s trip report on Allure of the Seas sailing December 14, 2014

[harryfat1]

:D SMILE, Harry! :D

 

I'm still here...keep talking!

 

I was smiling before I had some sand fly into my mouth….

[harryfat1]

Thanks for the info on the tour-we are thinking of booking it for our trip in March-we're swimming with the sting rays in grand cayman the day before and not interested in snorkeling, No way the kids are going to survive a 8 hr tour to Tulum-my husband I have been there already so no need to have miserable kids

 

Yes, the Tulum tour is pretty harsh even for adults from the reviews I read. Many kids would not be happy campers on that ferry ride in rough seas.

[harryfat1]

I'm still here and still enjoying your posts. I'm dreading the end of them almost as much as I dreaded the end of my cruise. I guess it's pretty sad that reading your latest posts is one of the highlights of my day😊

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks for reading along. We all need to finish one cruise before we can get off the ship and talk about it with other fellow cruisers and then plan for the next one. Rinse and repeat. For us planners, the fun starts when we do the price check/research on the cruise so we do have to say goodbye to one and before we can say hello to another.

 

You make it sound like reading my posts is like eating something full of bad cholesterol – bad for you but it’s fun. Harry is the bacon equivalent of trip report writers…

[harryfat1]

Talk about ADHD, all I see in this is BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!

How about actually getting to your report. Oh wait, I'm no longer interested!

 

Thanks for you feedback. That’s the difference between a reader of the report versus the writer.

 

As a reader, I look at what I want and skip all the parts I care not about. I can have all the ADHD I want. As a writer, unless I just enjoy talking to myself and read my own dumb jokes, I like to hear comments from folks in a dialog. Especially if I can help them answer whatever cruise questions they have, that’s the whole purpose of doing this.

 

It’s like hosting a party versus attending a party. If you attend a party, you can just sit in the corner and do your thing and nobody cares if you have ADHD or not. If you are the host, you like to mingle and chat with the people taking the time to be there and making sure they have the food/drinks/answer all their questions so there will be a dialog involved.

 

Different perspectives.

[harryfat1]

I think you win Harry for most pictures in a review...perfect :D

 

I work with a guy who is an admitted chocolate snob. According to him, the less sugar the better (too bitter for me), and therefore also the higher the price. He's brought back very expensive chocolate from Brussels and Switzerland that I think is a complete waste of money, but that he absolutely loves. He would have been in heaven at your chocolate stop. To each his own I guess.

 

We took a lot pictures on the trip as it was special event to us. We don’t cruise every few months like the veteran cruisers on the boards so this was a big wow experience for us.

 

Originally I wasn’t planning on uploading this many pictures out here – they were reserved for my Shutterfly fly web page that I forward to only to my friends and family. But as I read comments from folks that are following along the storyline even though they will never set sail on the Allure, I changed my plan and added in more pictures as if they will never sail on the ship, at least I can do is show them what I saw.

 

The pictures are here. Already done. Not like I had to go out and paid money to take more. Just the extra time needed to sort and upload them to be ready for posting. Most people taking pictures like to share their pictures. It’s an ice breaker to start a conversation.

 

I think they say in the presentation the typical American chocolate bar is less than 15% cocoa. European chocolate have higher %. I forgot what % are the ones they are selling as I wasn’t going to buy one at $5 a pop.

[harryfat1]

We're not bored, Harry. We're the kind of lurkers / readers who save comment until the end. LOL!

 

I appreciated seeing the whole tour through your camera. Now I don't have to go. Seen rocks; done that. Ha ha. No seriously, I read all the stories in your sign pictures. I do the same thing on tours. Take pictures of all the informational signs to read later. Between the environment and the tour guide yapping, my brain turns to mush to 'learn' anything on vacation. I'm also guilty of keeping all the informational pamphlets and free maps that tourist traps are famous for handing out. But I digress.

 

I agree with you that 15 minutes at the beach is a jip. It's more like a 'photo opportunity' that many of these tours slip into their descriptive language. Been on a few of them and have learned to read between the lines of the description. But the chocolate place did look interesting. It's no Hershey or Ghiradelli; but I didn't know it was there. So thank you for that. And I loved the picture of your boys sampling the varieties of chocolate next to each colored wrapper. It speaks volumes. You have a very lovely family.

 

Hi,

 

I figure you would be interested in all my pictures as we have been talking about them. I tossed my free Cozumel map as I knew I had a picture of one from the bus driver but I typically keep maps of many places we visited. Hey, even brought home the list of small wonders that I no longer needed so I can scan for a fellow cruiser (guess whom am I looking at?)…

 

I had read in the Cozumel boards there is a smaller chocolate factory that is more family run and they give you an in depth tour of the place. Costs $10/pp for the 60 minutes tour and limited to 12 people so you need to reserve way ahead of time. Maybe an option for people who is looking for something different to do in Cozumel.

 

http://www.kaokaochocolatefactorytour.com/checkAvailability.aspx#.VM0eEZ3F98G

 

I know they would limit us at 15 minutes at the beach area because the tour companies don't get paid on the side to take us to a beach to see rocks. But they had to include this "throw in" phase as part of the island tour. The stop at the chocolate place has money on the back end so they are willing to be there for total of 55 minutes between our first and last picture. But that tour could have been 40 minutes and I could have used the extra 15 minutes at the beach.

Edited January 31, 2015 by harryfat1

[harryfat1]

I'm late to the party but I'm smiling as I read this review. You might be cheap, you might be anal, but you are funny!! I think you should have taken the role of Cruise Director and led all the cruisers who were waiting to board in a wave and a YMCA dance! You'd have been a hit.

 

Thanks for the kind words. If you read along, I might have another amusing quip or two buried in there somewhere within the several hundred blah blah comments.

[harryfat1]

I always knew - somehow' date=' somewhere - there was a situation where it would be just fine to brag about one's butt being bigger. You found it! :D[/quote']

 

Let’s just say maturity isn’t my strong suit. My wife always complains that she has 2 sons but 3 kids in the household and the oldest one is the worst one to manage…

[harryfat1]

Thanks again to everyone’s feedback. Since this is my first online in “real time”, good to have comments.

 

Onward we go on rest of day 6.

 

Baby blue behind – would that make Allure a “he”?

 

 

Look, more towing lines. Haha, just checking to see anyone is reading this. Mooring lines…

 

 

Difference in crowd compared to this morning’s mad rush of crowd getting out for their 9 AM tour.

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Bet you all are sick of seeing mooring lines, eh? Did I mention I like them?

 

 

Make sure you don’t get on the wrong ship

 

 

Look at the Allure, we have 3 entrances to get back/out of the ship. One for crew, two for guests

 

[harryfat1]

So we are back on the ship and washed up and get ready to eat a late lunch. But before that a quick detour to guess where? Bingo - secret balcony to take couple pics of the pier area. Switched out of the bigger cameras as they are heavy and tiresome after the morning tour around our necks. Only using the underwater camera for these pictures and of the food at the buffet as I typically prefer to be less intrusive when it comes to shooting food pics in buffet.

 

Shoving the SLR underneath the glass and putting my face below it might not be a good experience for other cruisers trying to get food next to my face…

 

Our pier and the Princess/Carnival pier in the background

 

 

 

Navigator of the Seas

 

 

OK, enough pics. Time to have a late lunch. Don’t need any stinking apps from a fancy touch screen computer to know that the windjammer is not crowded after 2 PM on a port day.

 

Oh, by the way, forgot to attach the day 6 activity guide, in case anyone is interested in staying on board. Not much happening as they assume most of the people are off the ship.

 

[harryfat1]

Lunch time

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

 

Grab a drink. Any drink. Like RCI’s way of having the buffet refreshment ready. Carnival is DIY.

 

 

OK, so for dessert, I tried the mango sticky rice as I never had it before. Figure, why not? Best time to try is at the buffets on the cruise. Ate the whole thing before I realized I didn’t take a picture of it (crap) and was too lazy to go back into the line to take a new one – remember nonprofessional trip report. Just try it on your cruise.

 

 

So in the grand scheme of cruise planning, since we didn’t get a chance to use the pool yet for the cruise and our original plan to use the pool on day 4 was washed out by the big storm, figure this afternoon would be a good chance to do it as many people should still be off the ship on a port day afternoon. Then look out the window of windjammer after lunch – guess what we saw? Yeap, you guessed it, RAIN! WTH? This is ridiculous. Seems like it only rained on port days.

 

You know what? The hell with the rain, we are going into the pool since we will be wet anyway and we have nothing else to do. So went back to the cabin and changed and went to the pool. The in-laws passed as they rather chill out at the solarium than be in the cold pool in the rain. Thus it was only the four of us.

[harryfat1]

The younger one doesn’t like to swim in salt water pool so we passed on the beach pool as that one is salt water. The sports pool typically has events happening so figure we skip that one as well. So ended up at the main pool. When we got to the pool, there were only few kids in the area and after a while, they left and the four of us had the pool to ourselves. Unlike all the pictures of the Allure swimming pool where you see tons of people in the pool on a sunny sea day afternoon forming a “human soup” bowl, we had plenty of space to do whatever we wanted.

 

The one challenge of swimming when it’s wet outside is the towels outside can get wet also so I had to put our shirts inside the towel and wrap it as a sandwich. Next time I need to request extra towels at the towel station so I will have more dry towels when we come out of the water. Things you don’t think about ahead of time.

 

Looks pretty wet on the top deck and no one sitting in these chairs

 

 

More ship butt shots – Carnival Magic and her corporate cousin, Emerald Princess on the other side

 

 

Pool rules

 

 

Few kids were in the pool but they left shortly thereafter

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

So we are all in the water, which is a tad cold as you first walk in as shown on my son’s face. But you get used to it after 30 seconds or so.

 

 

Not too many people around us

 

 

Got water drop on the lens

 

 

Here comes another rain cloud above us which dumped more rain/shower on us few minutes after I took this picture

 

[harryfat1]

What’s the point of underwater camera if I didn’t show few underwater shots:

 

 

 

 

 

Hey, where did everybody go? Ohh, they are still down there

 

 

[splash_in_the_water]

nice pics, looks fun, even with a little rain!

[harryfat1]

OK, wave to dad from above as I walk out to take few pics of the area while they remain in the pool

 

 

No “human soup” in the pool today. Our version of the “family pool” as in the whole pool belong to our family

 

 

OK, I am up on the top deck. Pick a chair. Any chair. No competition for deck chair on rainy afternoon. No chair hogs to be seen

 

 

Similar situation looking over this side

 

[harryfat1]

Few more pics of Carnival/Princess across the way

 

 

Close up butt shot for the aft balcony fans

 

 

 

Looking over at the kiddie pool, not much happening there either. People rather be in the hot tub soaking in the warm water instead

 

[harryfat1]

OK, moving over to the side and taking few pics of the Navigator across the pier. I could compare once again who is bigger but we already know the answer

 

 

If you sailed on the Navigator, you can’t get these shots on your ship as they must be taken from outside the ship

 

 

I like this picture as it tells a story. See the waiter over there at the Navigator on the left? He is having a conversation in Tagalog to another fellow Filipino waiter across the pier here on the Allure, just to my right (not in picture) as they must know each other to have a conversation across the way. I thought that was neat to be able to do that with someone you know across the pier talking 100 feet high and across the pier. Since the Allure is only out here every other week, the most they can talk to each other this way is every 2 weeks.

 

 

Looks like they have more swimmers in the Navigator’s main pool but also more people in their hot tub

 

 

Moving back to the Allure, the "not-much-needed" sun shade umbrellas for today

 

Edited January 31, 2015 by harryfat1

[harryfat1]

OK, enough of pics standing in the cold misty weather. Back to the water. Here is another picture of the crane (aka the rocket launcher/harpoon)

 

 

 

Just not too many people in the background

 

 

After a while, we decided we have enough of the cold water. Time to leave and get warmed up at the hot tubs

 

 

Here is the view of the pool that that we came from as looking back from the hot tub. About as empty as you can get

 

[harryfat1]

Ahhh, much warmer over here in the hot tub

 

 

A nice gentlemen offered to take a picture of us while he was in the tub with us

 

 

Then the in-laws came over to check up on us and we had one more picture taken from the other side

 

 

After a while longer in the hot tub, it was time to leave and shower and get ready for dinner. But before that, we had to stop by for the free ice cream cone from the machine as we walk back to the cabin

[harryfat1]

nice pics, looks fun, even with a little rain!

 

Thanks for the compliment.

 

Yes, as it turned out, it was nice to be in the pool. Between the rain and port day, we basically had the pool to ourselves - not an easy task on a mega ship with thousands of people.

 

It wasn't a big heavy storm like it was in Falmouth as that might be a different experience.

 

In case anyone else encountered rain on your cruise, if it doesn't look too bad, go ahead and go outside. There should be very few people by the pool area and you get to take some unique pictures

[Thoie]

Still reading with rapt attention - another 70-odd days before I'll be on the Allure :)

[janeyzee]

 

We then made our way up here. Wonder if this is reserved for private group functions as it has tables and seats and would be a nice spot for group meetings/social gatherings

 

 

When we were there, we sat up there at the bar and got served and watched the zipliners. Maybe they don't keep it open all day? But we had a drink there and relaxed probably in 2012.