Mike sails the Western Caribbean on the Allure!!!

[unseemlygamer]

Hey guys, just tonight I came home from a western Caribbean cruise on the Allure of the Seas.

This sailing went to Cozumel, Falmouth and Labadee - but usually it's the other way around. I went on this cruise with my parents as my big high school graduation gift.

 

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Mike. I am 18 years old going on 19 in August. I live in Pennsylvania - about 65 miles north of Philly, and I have 2 sisters - Nicole (age 20) and Jessica (age 33). Just like the last cruise I was on, neither of my sisters went on this one - it was just me and my parents.

 

Some of you might remember the last cruise I was on, when I sailed the Eastern Caribbean for my 18th birthday. If you didn't see that, you can check it out right here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2248578

 

I will be reviewing this cruise, and I will also be editing vlogs to put up on my YouTube channel - MichaelsiCast.

 

If you remember my Eastern Caribbean review on the Oasis last year, I have some differences between that cruise and this cruise to point out:

- Nothing was hectic at the airport this time, and my luggage didn't get lost again ;)

- I hadn't been on the Allure before, but I'm not going to extensively tour it, because as of May 2015, the Oasis and Allure have become more identical, aside from a few small differences.

- I didn't get trapped on deck again! 😅

- The flight home from this cruise was even more delayed than last time 😖

 

So I hope to get started on this review and the vlogs by at least tomorrow morning. Stay tuned! :D

[DonnaK]

Can't wait Mike. Congratulations on your HS graduation!

[sisocialworker]

my DS just turned 18..we assume he will not be able to join the teen program...he love it...so what is your experience with this a lone 18yo on ship? thanks

[jk04]

Looking forward to the review! Will be interesting to read from a young person's point of view. :)

[Surfguyxxx]

Congratulations on your graduation!!! I'll be heading out 08/28 so any and all tips are most welcome. Looking forward to the read.

[BillOh]

Hey guys, just tonight I came home from a western Caribbean cruise on the Allure of the Seas.

This sailing went to Cozumel, Falmouth and Labadee - but usually it's the other way around.

 

Just to make sure I understand, the ship visited these ports in that order? Interesting, I wonder why the change in order. For the people trying hard to get to 100k posts, I'm asking out of curiousity, I don't need to know, I'm just nosy and too lazy to search. I'm sure I'll enjoy the rest of your posts.

[katiel53]

I'm looking forward to your review as we are sailing the same itinerary in January.

[unseemlygamer]

Can't wait Mike. Congratulations on your HS graduation!

 

Thanks!

[unseemlygamer]

Looking forward to the review! Will be interesting to read from a young person's point of view. :)

 

I had someone tell me that last time 😅

[cruiser82]

Looking forward to your review! My mom and I are sailing this itinerary in November so I'm looking forward to anything you can tell us about show times and formal nights, and if you happen to have the compasses that's even better!

[Lionesss]

Nice start to your review.

 

You caught my attention.

 

Looking forward to more.

 

Safe travels.

[unseemlygamer]

Saturday, July 9 - Pre-cruise stay

 

Around 4pm we left the house to drive down to the Courtyard Philadelphia Airport. We live in Pennsylvania - about 65 miles north of Philly, but due to traffic, it took us an hour and 45 minutes to get to the hotel.

 

 

The view of the courtyard from our balcony.

 

 

The lobby had a board displaying flights. Our flight the next morning wasn't shown yet.

 

 

We stayed in a 1 bedroom King Suite. While my parents had the bedroom, I had a sofa bed in the living room. The suite was rather small, but it was efficient enough. I didn't like that there was only one bathroom in the suite, which was next to the bedroom. And for some reason, the sink and mirror are on the outside. At first, I didn't think that we had a sink or mirror at all!

 

I always carry on my own in-flight entertainment, particularly a portable DVD player, my Game Boy, 3DS and some games. I also carried on my toiletries and some clothes, in the case that my luggage would get lost again, which thankfully didn't happen, but a set of clothes made my carry-on a lot heavier on me.

 

Tonight, after charging my electronics, which didn't take more than an hour, it took me a while for me to re-arrange my carry-on and pack my luggage. It also took me until well after midnight before I finally fell asleep.

 

Sunday, July 10 - Embarkation day

 

I woke up at 4:30. My parents still wanted to get more sleep, so I waited until 5:30 to get dressed and all ready.

 

We arrived at the Philly airport with plenty of time before our flight. When we reached our gate, I can't remember where exactly we got breakfast, but it was only a short walk away. I just got sausage and hash browns. Eggs suck.

 

Our flight was on time! :D

 

 

This plane is almost 5 years old. It just has the new livery introduced in 2013.

 

Edited July 19, 2016 by unseemlygamer

[unseemlygamer]

 

Our flight was to Miami. We departed 7 minutes ahead of schedule.

 

I watched Ghostbusters on my DVD player throughout the flight. Not long after I started watching the movie, beverage service began.

 

I opted for a Coke.

 

 

We landed in Miami about 20 to 30 minutes ahead of schedule. :D

It was a 5 to 10 minute walk to the baggage claim, and by that point, I really had to use the bathroom. The bags from this flight took a long time to arrive, and I killed some of that time with a restroom stop.

 

Thankfully, the airline did not lose my luggage. :)

 

We took an Uber from MIA to Port Everglades.

 

I had a welcome aboard photo taken.

 

 

We stayed in Crown Loft Suite 1726. I don't have images of it, but it's shown in my vlog. Once onboard the Allure, we all went up to the Suite Lounge/Coastal Kitchen. I went to the Windjammer as soon as I possibly could, to avoid the crowd.

 

Tempura, corn on the cob, vegetables and rice. I really don't like fish, but I guess tempura will have to do. Also, as you can see, I've got a rice problem.

 

[unseemlygamer]

I think these are supposed to be brownies, but I could never tell whether they were brownies or fudge, because they had the texture of fudge, and would melt on my fingers.

 

 

 

Back in the suite, I unpacked my bags and went around the ship before our muster drill. Our station was in the Silk dining room, so we weren't outside in the heat this time around.

And remember - washing your hands is always a must on a cruise :)

 

Following the drill, I went down to the pool deck to watch sail away.

 

For the first few days of the cruise, the pools were a big problem. Even at night, the water felt like bath water - that's how warm it was.

 

 

 

Also, I've always had a reputation for eating a LOT of ice cream cones from the self-serve machines on the pool deck, and on this cruise, I had SIX of them just on the second day, but today, I only had one. ;)

[Clarea]

Nice start, folllowing.:)

[unseemlygamer]

Later, I decided to walk through Central Park.

 

Can't get enough of it!

 

 

 

 

 

Around 7:30pm, I went down to the Boardwalk. My first stop was Johnny Rockets, for a shake and some fries. There weren't a lot of people in the restaurant, and the waiters weren't dancing tonight. Maybe it's not the best place to go at night.

 

I decided to go on the carousel, and then I explored the Boardwalk for a while before tonight's aqua show - OceanAria. While exploring Candy Beach, I met a Norwegian family, and saw them again on the sixth night. They speak English, but I know Swedish (therefore I understand Norwegian and Danish as well), so I kinda had some fun speaking with them. :D

They even called me "half-Swedish" 😅

 

As a suite guest, I didn't have to reserve for the show. When it was time for the show, we were passing the Florida Keys, and while it wasn't hot, it was still humid.

 

Pictures of the show will be in the next post.

[lovelife]

Following. Will be on same itinerary in a month!

[unseemlygamer]

 

 

 

 

 

Those aren't all the pictures I took - just the best ones. I didn't take pictures as much I took video of the show, as the setting I have on my camera can't take pictures while recording.

 

The show itself was fantastic - maybe even better than Oasis of Dreams, as this show had some quite impressive moves!

 

And so tomorrow is our first day at sea, headed to Cozumel. Stay tuned!

 

Video for this day:

[unseemlygamer]

Thanks everyone enjoying this review so far!

[vrock]

Following it is a very long time until December :) great job!

[UK Fan 78]

Following....great job so far!

[Many Ann]

Following, wonderful job so far! I will be traveling with two 18 yrs in Feb so nice to see thru your eyes[emoji3]

 

 

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[kbklcamp]

We are cruising with our high school graduate this summer, too. He's cruised several times and this will be fun to see through your eyes.

 

 

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[MNice99]

Following, love the review so far. We are going in February our youngest Son will be just 17, Can you give any fun tips for that too old for kids club but too young for the pubs age group?

 

 

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[packercruising]

Will check out your vlog, MichaelsiCast.

 

Thanks for the pics and review!