Allure of the Seas Feb 7, 2016, Super Bowl Cruise Review

[Tommy3putts]

We just finished our 7 night cruise aboard the Allure of the Seas (Feb 7-14). Overall with a few exceptions, this was a great cruise!

 

This review is written from the perspective of a DINK couple. (I'm mid 50s, W is late 40s). We are relatively new to Cruising. I've been on three, W two. (Good news is she has the cruise bug so more cruises are in our future).

 

We've travelled extensively in Europe but most of those have been land vacations. We like to indulge in a drink or two, meet new friends and avoid too much interaction with cracker crunchers. Most of my jabs at kids below are meant in jest. We knew full well that kids would be on the Allure when we booked the cruise.

 

Overall Cruise Summary--4 out of 5 beers. [emoji481][emoji481][emoji481][emoji481]. We loved the Allure. It was a great cruise experience; with one or two exceptions. WOULD we sail on her again? Absolutely! WILL we sail on her again? Probably not. She's a magnificent lady, but overall not our style.

 

Loved the itinerary! Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel and three days at sea. We reserved a Cabana at Nellie's beach in Labadee, booked a day at Jewel Paradise Cove--an all inclusive resort--in Fallmouth; and booked a tour of Tulum with Tours Plaza in Cozumel. All were great choices. Thoroughly loved the three days at sea.

 

We self disembarked. The ship arrived at 5:15 am with first passengers departing at 6:30. We walked off the ship at 6:45 to no crowds and hopped in a cab. We were checking in our luggage at the airport 15 minutes later.

 

THE GOOD, THE BAD and THE UGLY

 

The good (if not great)--

 

Bars, Specialty Restaurants, MDR, Stateroom, Staff Friendliness and Self Disembark.

 

We especially enjoyed viewing SuperBowl 50 at the various venues throughout the ship. They had the game on at the Aqua Theater but it was unusually cold so most people watched the game in Studio B or one of the bars. Great job by the crew!

 

The bad--

 

Embarking at second floor area of terminal 18. The RCI staff roped off sections to segregate boarding groups. It was confusing and often tough to move around. Have fun trying to get to the restroom from the far side of the terminal.

 

Smoking area on port side on deck 15. Non smokers have to traverse through a smoking area on the port side or go through ankle biter hell on the Starboard side. It can't be a pleasant area for the smokers either. Finally there is no real feasible area for a cigar and glass of scotch at night. (I'm not a cigarette smoker but enjoy an occasional cigar on vacation)

 

The ugly--

 

Windjammer Market is awful! This was by far the biggest negative, for us. It's poorly designed, food marginal and often cold. You're constantly bumping into other passengers when trying to get food. We only ate there twice during our cruise. It is however, a great place to get a quick coffee refill in the mornings.

 

 

THE BARS of ALLURE

 

I thought I would add my .02 about the bars on the Allure. I went to almost every bar. I missed Balero and Blaze, those aren't really my style anymore. I prefer outside bars as far away from kids as possible to sit and enjoy the views and meet new friends. Here is my rating of the bars on Allure. These are my views and certainly YMMV depending on weather and chemistry of your fellow passengers.

 

THE BEST

Solarium, Wipeout and Trellis bars. The Solarium and Wipeout bars are up on deck 15 and provided great views and opportunities to meet new friends. The Wipeout has the better views, but it also has the biggest exposure to kids. It wasn't as bad as other bars, and the watching passengers try to master the Flowriders, is very entertaining. The Solarium Bar is a the front and the only true bar on the ship where access by Cheerio tossers is restricted. The Trellis bar is a great quiet outdoor bar in the Central Park on deck 8. Friendly bartenders and a great place to meet new friends

 

HONORABLE MENTION

Vintages (deck 8), Schooner(deck 6), Rising Tide (decks 5 & 8) are great bars for evening beer, wine and cocktails. Vintages had great wine, Schooner is great piano bar and the Rising Tide is a unique experience to see multiple levels of the ship

 

THE "Meh" BARS

Dazzles--Great location and views and great band. No table service when we were there.

Sabor--Boardwalk (deck 6), too crowded during the day and right in the middle of rugrat row.

On Air--Good bar service but not a good selection of sports programming and I'm not a karaoke fan

Bow and Stern--(Promenade deck 5). Great beer selection, not a great location and only one tv. I love Irish and British pubs, but this one just didn't have the feel for me.

Mast Bar--(starboard deck 16)-- Good outdoor location with good views and friendly bartenders. Too close to kiddie pool.

Sky Bar(port deck 16)--Smoking bar. Good outdoor location with good views, this would be a better spot for cigar smokers at night.

 

THE DISAPPOINTMENT BARS

The Pool Bar (deck 15-port--the walk of smoke)

Sand Bar (Paste-eater hell)--next to kiddie pool

Champaign Bar--probably the biggest disappointment for me. Service wasn't great. No beer selection at all (I know not a beer bar)

 

Conclusion--We really enjoyed the cruise and highly recommend the Allure. In the long run it just seems that we are looking for an wee bit smaller ship and a wee bit older demographic. We've sailed Celebrity previously and that seems to be a better fit for us. In fact we have a Westbound TA booked for this October!

 

Cheers

Tom W.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report. We had a similar feeling about the Pool Bar smoke.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[JB3]

We just finished our 7 night cruise aboard the Allure of the Seas (Feb 7-14). Overall with a few exceptions, this was a great cruise!

 

This review is written from the perspective of a DINK couple. (I'm mid 50s, W is late 40s). We are relatively new to Cruising. I've been on three, W two. (Good news is she has the cruise bug so more cruises are in our future).

 

We've travelled extensively in Europe but most of those have been land vacations. We like to indulge in a drink or two, meet new friends and avoid too much interaction with cracker crunchers. Most of my jabs at kids below are meant in jest. We knew full well that kids would be on the Allure when we booked the cruise.

 

Overall Cruise Summary--4 out of 5 beers. [emoji481][emoji481][emoji481][emoji481]. We loved the Allure. It was a great cruise experience; with one or two exceptions. WOULD we sail on her again? Absolutely! WILL we sail on her again? Probably not. She's a magnificent lady, but overall not our style.

 

Loved the itinerary! Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel and three days at sea. We reserved a Cabana at Nellie's beach in Labadee, booked a day at Jewel Paradise Cove--an all inclusive resort--in Fallmouth; and booked a tour of Tulum with Tours Plaza in Cozumel. All were great choices. Thoroughly loved the three days at sea.

 

We self disembarked. The ship arrived at 5:15 am with first passengers departing at 6:30. We walked off the ship at 6:45 to no crowds and hopped in a cab. We were checking in our luggage at the airport 15 minutes later.

 

THE GOOD, THE BAD and THE UGLY

 

The good (if not great)--

 

Bars, Specialty Restaurants, MDR, Stateroom, Staff Friendliness and Self Disembark.

 

We especially enjoyed viewing SuperBowl 50 at the various venues throughout the ship. They had the game on at the Aqua Theater but it was unusually cold so most people watched the game in Studio B or one of the bars. Great job by the crew!

 

The bad--

 

Embarking at second floor area of terminal 18. The RCI staff roped off sections to segregate boarding groups. It was confusing and often tough to move around. Have fun trying to get to the restroom from the far side of the terminal.

 

Smoking area on port side on deck 15. Non smokers have to traverse through a smoking area on the port side or go through ankle biter hell on the Starboard side. It can't be a pleasant area for the smokers either. Finally there is no real feasible area for a cigar and glass of scotch at night. (I'm not a cigarette smoker but enjoy an occasional cigar on vacation)

 

The ugly--

 

Windjammer Market is awful! This was by far the biggest negative, for us. It's poorly designed, food marginal and often cold. You're constantly bumping into other passengers when trying to get food. We only ate there twice during our cruise. It is however, a great place to get a quick coffee refill in the mornings.

 

 

THE BARS of ALLURE

 

I thought I would add my .02 about the bars on the Allure. I went to almost every bar. I missed Balero and Blaze, those aren't really my style anymore. I prefer outside bars as far away from kids as possible to sit and enjoy the views and meet new friends. Here is my rating of the bars on Allure. These are my views and certainly YMMV depending on weather and chemistry of your fellow passengers.

 

THE BEST

Solarium, Wipeout and Trellis bars. The Solarium and Wipeout bars are up on deck 15 and provided great views and opportunities to meet new friends. The Wipeout has the better views, but it also has the biggest exposure to kids. It wasn't as bad as other bars, and the watching passengers try to master the Flowriders, is very entertaining. The Solarium Bar is a the front and the only true bar on the ship where access by Cheerio tossers is restricted. The Trellis bar is a great quiet outdoor bar in the Central Park on deck 8. Friendly bartenders and a great place to meet new friends

 

HONORABLE MENTION

Vintages (deck 8), Schooner(deck 6), Rising Tide (decks 5 & 8) are great bars for evening beer, wine and cocktails. Vintages had great wine, Schooner is great piano bar and the Rising Tide is a unique experience to see multiple levels of the ship

 

THE "Meh" BARS

Dazzles--Great location and views and great band. No table service when we were there.

Sabor--Boardwalk (deck 6), too crowded during the day and right in the middle of rugrat row.

On Air--Good bar service but not a good selection of sports programming and I'm not a karaoke fan

Bow and Stern--(Promenade deck 5). Great beer selection, not a great location and only one tv. I love Irish and British pubs, but this one just didn't have the feel for me.

Mast Bar--(starboard deck 16)-- Good outdoor location with good views and friendly bartenders. Too close to kiddie pool.

Sky Bar(port deck 16)--Smoking bar. Good outdoor location with good views, this would be a better spot for cigar smokers at night.

 

THE DISAPPOINTMENT BARS

The Pool Bar (deck 15-port--the walk of smoke)

Sand Bar (Paste-eater hell)--next to kiddie pool

Champaign Bar--probably the biggest disappointment for me. Service wasn't great. No beer selection at all (I know not a beer bar)

 

Conclusion--We really enjoyed the cruise and highly recommend the Allure. In the long run it just seems that we are looking for an wee bit smaller ship and a wee bit older demographic. We've sailed Celebrity previously and that seems to be a better fit for us. In fact we have a Westbound TA booked for this October!

 

Cheers

Tom W.

 

We were on the same cruise! Great summary! We loved the ship, and found it to be a bit overwhelming at first, but also very impressive.

 

I agree... the Windjammer was a mess! Especially the first day. I've never seen the buffet that bad in 23 cruises. We got off of the elevator to go have lunch there on the first day, and got right back on, and went to the Park Café where it was nice, quiet, and calm. We ate at the Windjammer for lunch a few of the other days though. We got there each time right at 11:30 when they opened. It was empty, and all of the food was hot, fresh, and really good.

 

The Royal Caribbean staff entertainment on this ship was by far the best we've ever seen. We especially enjoyed Mama Mia. The other skating, water, acrobatics shows, etc... all were pretty amazing. We didn't even have time to see and do all that we wanted. Another time!

 

The only thing we had an issue with on this cruise was that there seemed to be a severe lack of bar staff! The cruise lines can make loads of $$$ on drinks, and it seems like they'd even depend on that, but we found it really hard to get a drink. Often the Schooner bar, just as an example, would be full of people, yet there would only be one bar waiter and one bartender.

 

We did the self-assist dis-embark also, and loved it. So easy and fast! We got on the elevator to leave at 7am, and we were in a cab heading to the airport by 7:15. (Then we were able to get on an earlier flight, and got home a few hours earlier than we'd planned! Bonus!)

 

Royal Caribbean is by far our favorite cruise line. Loved this ship, and really love all of the ships. I want to sail the Enchantment sometime soon. I'm excited that the Empress will be back. I'd like to do the Oasis at some point too... but I just don't want to see Cats! Once that changes, maybe we'll book the Oasis. Oh, the small things in life on which to base decisions! ha :-)

Edited February 17, 2016 by JB3

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Thanks for your review - we board Allure in 52 days!

 

Barb

[Thetrail]

We just finished our 7 night cruise aboard the Allure of the Seas (Feb 7-14). Overall with a few exceptions, this was a great cruise!

 

This review is written from the perspective of a DINK couple. (I'm mid 50s, W is late 40s). We are relatively new to Cruising. I've been on three, W two. (Good news is she has the cruise bug so more cruises are in our future).

 

We've travelled extensively in Europe but most of those have been land vacations. We like to indulge in a drink or two, meet new friends and avoid too much interaction with cracker crunchers. Most of my jabs at kids below are meant in jest. We knew full well that kids would be on the Allure when we booked the cruise.

 

Overall Cruise Summary--4 out of 5 beers. [emoji481][emoji481][emoji481][emoji481]. We loved the Allure. It was a great cruise experience; with one or two exceptions. WOULD we sail on her again? Absolutely! WILL we sail on her again? Probably not. She's a magnificent lady, but overall not our style.

 

Loved the itinerary! Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel and three days at sea. We reserved a Cabana at Nellie's beach in Labadee, booked a day at Jewel Paradise Cove--an all inclusive resort--in Fallmouth; and booked a tour of Tulum with Tours Plaza in Cozumel. All were great choices. Thoroughly loved the three days at sea.

 

We self disembarked. The ship arrived at 5:15 am with first passengers departing at 6:30. We walked off the ship at 6:45 to no crowds and hopped in a cab. We were checking in our luggage at the airport 15 minutes later.

 

THE GOOD, THE BAD and THE UGLY

 

The good (if not great)--

 

Bars, Specialty Restaurants, MDR, Stateroom, Staff Friendliness and Self Disembark.

 

We especially enjoyed viewing SuperBowl 50 at the various venues throughout the ship. They had the game on at the Aqua Theater but it was unusually cold so most people watched the game in Studio B or one of the bars. Great job by the crew!

 

The bad--

 

Embarking at second floor area of terminal 18. The RCI staff roped off sections to segregate boarding groups. It was confusing and often tough to move around. Have fun trying to get to the restroom from the far side of the terminal.

 

Smoking area on port side on deck 15. Non smokers have to traverse through a smoking area on the port side or go through ankle biter hell on the Starboard side. It can't be a pleasant area for the smokers either. Finally there is no real feasible area for a cigar and glass of scotch at night. (I'm not a cigarette smoker but enjoy an occasional cigar on vacation)

 

The ugly--

 

Windjammer Market is awful! This was by far the biggest negative, for us. It's poorly designed, food marginal and often cold. You're constantly bumping into other passengers when trying to get food. We only ate there twice during our cruise. It is however, a great place to get a quick coffee refill in the mornings.

 

 

THE BARS of ALLURE

 

I thought I would add my .02 about the bars on the Allure. I went to almost every bar. I missed Balero and Blaze, those aren't really my style anymore. I prefer outside bars as far away from kids as possible to sit and enjoy the views and meet new friends. Here is my rating of the bars on Allure. These are my views and certainly YMMV depending on weather and chemistry of your fellow passengers.

 

THE BEST

Solarium, Wipeout and Trellis bars. The Solarium and Wipeout bars are up on deck 15 and provided great views and opportunities to meet new friends. The Wipeout has the better views, but it also has the biggest exposure to kids. It wasn't as bad as other bars, and the watching passengers try to master the Flowriders, is very entertaining. The Solarium Bar is a the front and the only true bar on the ship where access by Cheerio tossers is restricted. The Trellis bar is a great quiet outdoor bar in the Central Park on deck 8. Friendly bartenders and a great place to meet new friends

 

HONORABLE MENTION

Vintages (deck 8), Schooner(deck 6), Rising Tide (decks 5 & 8) are great bars for evening beer, wine and cocktails. Vintages had great wine, Schooner is great piano bar and the Rising Tide is a unique experience to see multiple levels of the ship

 

THE "Meh" BARS

Dazzles--Great location and views and great band. No table service when we were there.

Sabor--Boardwalk (deck 6), too crowded during the day and right in the middle of rugrat row.

On Air--Good bar service but not a good selection of sports programming and I'm not a karaoke fan

Bow and Stern--(Promenade deck 5). Great beer selection, not a great location and only one tv. I love Irish and British pubs, but this one just didn't have the feel for me.

Mast Bar--(starboard deck 16)-- Good outdoor location with good views and friendly bartenders. Too close to kiddie pool.

Sky Bar(port deck 16)--Smoking bar. Good outdoor location with good views, this would be a better spot for cigar smokers at night.

 

THE DISAPPOINTMENT BARS

The Pool Bar (deck 15-port--the walk of smoke)

Sand Bar (Paste-eater hell)--next to kiddie pool

Champaign Bar--probably the biggest disappointment for me. Service wasn't great. No beer selection at all (I know not a beer bar)

 

Conclusion--We really enjoyed the cruise and highly recommend the Allure. In the long run it just seems that we are looking for an wee bit smaller ship and a wee bit older demographic. We've sailed Celebrity previously and that seems to be a better fit for us. In fact we have a Westbound TA booked for this October!

 

Cheers

Tom W.

Glad you could experience the Allure! Late 50's here and although we love every size and class of RCL ship can honestly say Oasis class are our personal favorite....Oasis 5 cruises Allure 7!......Happy cruising.......K.O.....:)

[Tommy3putts]

 

 

 

The only thing we had an issue with on this cruise was that there seemed to be a severe lack of bar staff! The cruise lines can make loads of $$$ on drinks, and it seems like they'd even depend on that, but we found it really hard to get a drink. Often the Schooner bar, just as an example, would be full of people, yet there would only be one bar waiter and one bartender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Royal Caribbean is by far our favorite cruise line. Loved this ship, and really love all of the ships. I want to sail the Enchantment sometime soon. I'm excited that the Empress will be back. I'd like to do the Oasis at some point too... but I just don't want to see Cats! Once that changes, maybe we'll book the Oasis. Oh, the small things in life on which to base decisions! ha :-)

 

 

Agree with your bar service comments. For the most part we found the bar service pretty good. The Schooner bar and Dazzles being the exception. As busy as those venues get they needed more servers for guests.

 

Celebrity is our preferred cruise line, it just seems a better fit. With that said we do hope to take some cruises on smaller RCI ships and a Quantum class ship in the future.

[Tommy3putts]

Glad you could experience the Allure! Late 50's here and although we love every size and class of RCL ship can honestly say Oasis class are our personal favorite....Oasis 5 cruises Allure 7!......Happy cruising.......K.O.....:)

 

 

We met several older couples who love the Oasis class and we're doing b2b cruises. I met one 72 year old gentleman who was doing 7 weeks on the Allure. Oh by the way he has mastered the Flowrider as well. Amazing.

[Midwestgal]

Thanks for the review , I board on Sunday!

 

How did you find your beds , comfy or way to hard?

[Tommy3putts]

Ours were fine. We were in JS 10-636.

[Cyclospora]

Great review. I'd love to hear what you thought of your excursions :)

[DrD]

You forgot the best part: The Broncos won!!!

[Tommy3putts]

Great review. I'd love to hear what you thought of your excursions :)

 

 

Labadee was a big surprise for me. I really enjoyed the day. We reserved a Cabana at Nellie's beach and the wife did the zip line. (Did a review in the private island forum)

 

In Jamaica we booked a day at Jewel Paradise Cove--an all inclusive resort. We booked it through "resorts for a day" It was about a 45-60 minute ride by van from Falmouth. (See my review in Jamaica port of call).

 

In Cozumel we booked a tour of Tulum with Tours Plaza. Great company. Patrick was a great knowledgeable guide. Note that you must go to the ferry terminal and then take a 45-50 ferry ride to Playa Del Carmen. Tulum is a 45-60 van ride from there. (See my review in Cozumel port of call).

 

Tom

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Thank you so much for the review. I'll be on the Allure in 4 days.

 

I was on the Oasis last May so I know what to expect, but it's nice to hear about the Allure from another perspective. I plan to avoid the WJ for lunch, and limit my breakfast stops to the port days. Thanks again.

Edited February 17, 2016 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[Tommy3putts]

Thank you so much for the review. I'll be on the Allure in 4 days.

 

I was on the Oasis last May so I know what to expect, but it's nice to hear about the Allure from another perspective. I plan to avoid the WJ for lunch, and limit my breakfast stops to the port days. Thanks again.

 

 

Thank you.

 

As a result of the chaos in WJ, I did breakfast in the Wipeout Cafe, Park Cafe and MDR. All great options and far better food and service than in WJ.

[Cyclospora]

Labadee was a big surprise for me. I really enjoyed the day. We reserved a Cabana at Nellie's beach and the wife did the zip line. (Did a review in the private island forum)

 

In Jamaica we booked a day at Jewel Paradise Cove--an all inclusive resort. We booked it through "resorts for a day" It was about a 45-60 minute ride by van from Falmouth. (See my review in Jamaica port of call).

 

In Cozumel we booked a tour of Tulum with Tours Plaza. Great company. Patrick was a great knowledgeable guide. Note that you must go to the ferry terminal and then take a 45-50 ferry ride to Playa Del Carmen. Tulum is a 45-60 van ride from there. (See my review in Cozumel port of call).

 

Tom

 

Many thanks! :)

[Wivian]

The Solarium Bar is a the front and the only true bar on the ship where access by Cheerio tossers is restricted.

 

:D Cheerio tossers [emoji3]

 

Thank you for this post. Going to Allure on September.

Edited February 18, 2016 by Wivian

[wallstreet_jim]

My bride of 31 years and I were on this cruise. This was cruise #15 for us. Great time. Tom's comments sound like those of a narcissist, but that's how it goes when you only care about yourself. Here's my take:

 

Great stuff: The entertainment. People were dancing in the aisles to Mamma Mia. Top notch cast, well choreographed, A+. Same with Jeff Tracta...did a fantastic show with impressions. Even the Blue Planet show, which I thought would be a nonstarter turned out to also be wonderful.

 

Good stuff: The main dining room. We chose to skip the specialty restaurants this time around, and exclusively dined at 6 PM in the main. Fantastic. I was impressed with the food quality.

 

Good stuff: Ship cleanliness and staff. Good experience all around. No noro outbreaks or excessive illnesses on board this cruise.

 

Good stuff: Salsa and salsa shore excursion in Cozumel. Let's put it this way...the liquor just kept on pouring...

 

Good stuff: Bar service. My wife and I don't drink a lot, so the times we did were a good experience. We will be Diamond next cruise so that opens up the Diamond lounge, which is all we'll ever need...

 

Good stuff: Not a lot of strollers and electric scooters. Those can be troublesome, and the low number made things go smoother.

 

Good stuff: Bar entertainment. Bow and Stern was a blast. They had a guitar player (name escapes me right now) who happened to also be on our Oasis cruise in Feb 2015. Fantastic time. Very entertaining. Same with Boleros. There was a large Latin crowd on the ship (I suspect because of Fat Tuesday...more on holidays later) and they frequented it often. Very lively.

 

Good stuff: Labadee. We had a fun time there (we always do).

 

Average stuff: Kid traffic was typical, and was limited to the upper deck areas around the pool, Adventure Ocean (naturally), the sports area aft, and the Boardwalk aft. Nothing my wife and I felt was out of the ordinary. Kid load seemed about average as well. We were told the ship was at 103% of capacity, so probably parents toting along their kids and using the pulldown beds or sofas.

 

Average stuff: Windjammers. You have to keep your expectations in check here. A good place to go, however, if you have peculiar dietary needs (they have a wide selection). What we did pleasantly find was that the Windjammer was mirroring what was in the main dining room, which included the (ahhhhhh) flourless chocolate cake! We stole a few pieces and brought them back to the room for a (very late) night snack...

 

Poor stuff: Passengers. Namely, they did not adhere to any sort of dress code for dinner. The main dining hall has degraded into a fast food restaurant mentality for many cruisers. That's sad, because it's the one time you have the time to really do it up right. I realize it's tough if you have kids or limited funds. At least show up with a button shirt and pants. If I had pictures you would be horrified by what we saw while we ate!

 

Poor stuff: Smoking area. The one thing I agree with Tommy. Poor strategic placement of the smoking area pretty much guarantees you get your 1 cigarette dose every time you walk through (a note to European and Asian cruisers - Royal typically opens up most of the ship to smoking, so if that's not your thing, beware!).

 

Poor stuff: Falmouth, Jamaica. This is a sleazy port. Once you get outside the gated shop area near the dock, you really need to beware. This is one stop I HIGHLY recommend using the RCL tours if you want to go to Dunn's River Falls, etc.

 

Poor stuff: Whiny New Yorkers. If you know what Howard's mom sounds like on The Big Bang Theory, then I do not need to say anything more. This is a CRUISE, so have some fun for Christ's sake!

 

Misc notes: We hit four holidays for this cruise...Asian New Year (2/8), Fat Tuesday (2/9), Ash Wednesday (2/10), and Valentine's Day (2/14 - but we were disembarking that day!). Thus the mix of passengers was skewed. There were somewhere around 800-900 Asians on this cruise, so something like 2.4 billion pictures were taken on 141,254 selfie sticks. There were also a large number of Latin passengers who, I think, were doing the Carnivale theme on Fat Tuesday. It made for some interesting people watching, which was both entertaining and once in a while frustrating. But a cruise ship is truly a melting pot of cultures, and you need to have an open mind during a cruise.

 

Bonus great stuff: My bride of 31+ years. We had one of the best vacations in decades. Love her dearly...

 

Fun fact: We went in the gift shop on the main promenade on day 1 and noticed the condom rack was full. By the last day it was empty! Tells me many cruisers knew how to have a good time (the goal of any cruise!).

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[Tommy3putts]

My bride of 31 years and I were on this cruise. This was cruise #15 for us. Great time. Tom's comments sound like those of a narcissist, but that's how it goes when you only care about yourself.

 

 

Wow. Narcissist? I'm honored. Not sure how you came up with that conclusion. Especially since I read your review that was posted to my review. Think you should have proof read your own review along with the personal attack in your post you before you posted. Too funny. Happy cruising.

[rykaydad]

Misc notes: We hit four holidays for this cruise...Asian New Year (2/8), Fat Tuesday (2/9), Ash Wednesday (2/10), and Valentine's Day (2/14 - but we were disembarking that day!). Thus the mix of passengers was skewed. There were somewhere around 800-900 Asians on this cruise, so something like 2.4 billion pictures were taken on 141,254 selfie sticks. There were also a large number of Latin passengers who, I think, were doing the Carnivale theme on Fat Tuesday. It made for some interesting people watching, which was both entertaining and once in a while frustrating. But a cruise ship is truly a melting pot of cultures, and you need to have an open mind during a cruise.

 

Bonus great stuff: My bride of 31+ years. We had one of the best vacations in decades. Love her dearly...

 

Fun fact: We went in the gift shop on the main promenade on day 1 and noticed the condom rack was full. By the last day it was empty! Tells me many cruisers knew how to have a good time (the goal of any cruise!).

 

My wife and I were on the same cruise. We couldn't agree more with your selfie sticks comment. Full Disclosure: I'm a "Banana Asian" (yellow on the outside, white on the inside) and we were the middle couple in the Love and Marriage game.

 

I didn't notice your "Fun Fact", but maybe that's because I was "fixed" many years ago.