Allure review 2-26-17 to 3-5-17

[drrich2]

Hi:

 

Not our 1st rodeo, so gonna focus on a hodgepodge of points of interest. Married couple in their 40's with a little girl who turned 4 the day after we got back. Did the 7 day 'Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maarten' run; in Nassau did a Paradise Island excursion (skipped the snorkel; water was chilly & waves a bit rough on that side, with iron shore a little one could get pushed into), in St. Thomas a glass bottom boat plus wandering the grounds & looking at various indoor & outdoor aquarium/pen exhibits at Coral World, then riding a trolley (a bright red train that runs in regular traffic) around Philipsburg.

 

Flew non-stop from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale on Southwest airlines; 2 free checked bags apiece (we took 5), non-stop for fast travel good with a temperamental little one in tow. Pre-paid the shuttle to pier, and boarding went fairly fast.

 

If you want to see a few things that went wrong you might learn from, check this other thread Allure Valet Luggage Failure and other bits...

 

Allure of the Seas is a huge ship; it's so large it's hard to get a good photograph. That was easier docked at Labadee last year. From this cruise:

 

 

 

The Royal Promenade neighborhood is a great feature on Voyager-class and above; tends to draw us often on a cruise. We attended 2 Dreamworks character parades here, which our daughter Kadence enjoyed.

 

 

I'm cheap & asked for an inside stateroom; our Travel Agent offered a Promenade inside stateroom for $200 extra. I went for it. Deck 7, Room 599, so '7599.'

 

 

Edited March 9, 2017 by drrich2

[drrich2]

Views from our window onto the Promenade.

 

 

 

 

I've read that in these rooms you'd better be mindful if your drapes are open, people across the way can see in. Didn't look like it from ours...the view straight across.

 

 

This gave my wife & daughter people-watching opportunities. You can shut the drapes & seal the light out pretty well, but crack them for a natural 'night light' effect. Generally didn't have noise problems, except one night when there was some special event rocking the Promenade, and even then, though pretty loud in our room it ended sometime between 10 & 11 p.m. From my iPhone notes that day

 

This evening loud older pop music on promenade. Freak Out, Everlasting Love (the guy), good music I liked. That's the way, uh huh uh huh I like it. Not overwhelming in room by easily audible laying in bed and would interfere with sleep.

 

I plan to post more as I get to it.

[drrich2]

Central Park is a beautiful, serene place to walk through, if you want a lower key, less populated venue to get from end-to-end traversing the ship. It's also got some of the special restaurants. One of our 2 nights at Giovanni's, we ate 'outdoors' here. Nice view.

 

 

But for a kid, the Boardwalk on Deck 8 at the back of the ship rocks. The large AquaTheater with diving shows gets a lot of attention, but for a kid, don't forget the carousel, some structures to play around and climb inside at the back, and even a thing with holes you can throw 'bean bags' at.

 

 

 

 

 

[drrich2]

 

 

Outdoor space here is impressive.

 

 

 

 

That's a picture, not a movie. I don't get the fascination with these 'sawed off cars,' but little kids like them.

 

 

 

 

The water park for kids atop the ship is fun. This year Kadence was potty trained and not restricted to the toddler splash pool; she had a blast. There are 2 soft-serve frozen yogurt stations nearby.

 

 

 

 

Kadence decided this was 'her horsey.'

 

 

[drrich2]

The Dreamworks character appearances add a lot for a little kid; even some adults.

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoyed the Dreamworks Character Breakfast - the only time we hit the MDR all week (I'd booked 5 specialty restaurants; otherwise we ate in the Windjammer. No slam on the MDR; I'll explain later why things worked out that way).

 

 

[drrich2]

On Deck 14, front of ship, there's Adventure Ocean. Kadence resisted participating, but it looked like the kids involved were having a good time, and she really enjoyed the 2 hours she did spend, and got a pirate eye patch painted on.

 

 

Speaking of which, the next day she didn't let Jami clean it all off, so in some of the pics she looks like she's got a black eye. No need to call child protective services on us...

 

She's almost too old for the massive play room they've got. She's still too young to really get into the arcades in a big way, though she doesn't believe that.

 

 

And she is WAY too young for these games...(I read gambling is a tax on people who are bad at math, and I believe it. Invaders from the Planet Moolah indeed!).

 

 

It ain't a cruise without a towel animal.

 

 

Following up the dining thing. When we booked, I was told only late seating was available. Not good with a toddler. A request was put in for early eating, 5:30 p.m., but I never heard back until we boarded & saw we'd gotten the 5:30 p.m. By then, I'd booked the 5 special restaurant package, to give us flexibility, so I just kept that and we rolled with it. 'Fine dining' and a toddler aren't a great mix; turns out if you make it clear your kid is volatile and you want speed, they can prioritize you. Our 2nd time at Giovanni's, we were in & out in an hour flat (I timed it). Go, Giovanni's!!! (Which had good food; I had the grilled octopus, and the 2nd trip they even added lobster to our meal!).

 

More later.

 

Richard.

[drrich2]

Just remembered a major development. I don't recall if we requested it in advance via our Travel Agent, or it was that way automatically, but (drum roll please)...

 

The mini-bar was empty!!! And the crowd goes wild! Let there be dancing in the streets! Cue shouts of joy, happy tears and shrieks of gratitude.

 

Especially nice since I'd neglected to pack the duct tape and a length of rope to seal the little chamber of horrors. With an inside stateroom, it wouldn't have been practical to throw it off the balcony.

 

Last year, our little toddler discovered there were (grossly overpriced) M&M's in that accursed thing, leading to family strife and discord. If you have experienced the pain of an extended stay in a room with a very young child who doesn't understand why she can't have the candy that's right there, you know where I'm coming from.

 

Richard.

 

P.S.: I hate mini-bars.

[drrich2]

If you're considering an Oasis-class trip, here's an angle to consider. I skipped Harmony of the Seas not only to avoid the 'newest' expense, but to avoid the water slides until Kadence is older. I don't know if she'd even meet height requirements for any of them, but if she did, she'd have insisted on dragging one of us with her every time.

 

The excursion to Paradise Island in the Bahamas was nice. Fairly small 'island,' it seemed. Where people snorkeled was kinda rough, water-wise, and the iron shore along there plus seasonally chilly water led us to skip snorkeling...but some people did it. There's a modest sandy beach with some water 'toys' on shore for use; I didn't intend to go in, but our daughter insisted (even joining another family, which my wife then guilt-tripped me about till I went in, then she did, and surprisingly we all acclimated to the cold water better than I'd have ever thought). We also all sunburned pretty badly...although it did give Kadence 'rosy cheeks' for photos later.

 

 

 

 

 

Snorkelers (they use some food to attract fish for them):

 

Fun at the beach (we waded in; that's Kadence, joining another family (who we didn't know, but she'd proceed to stalk them the rest of the cruise and play with their 2 daughters).

[drrich2]

The Coral World excursion in St. Thomas entails a glass-bottomed boat (really, it's got windows; visibility was limited, a scuba diver swam around feeding some kind of cat food to draw fish, including a greedy remora).

 

 

 

A mix of yellow-tailed snapper and sergeant majors:

 

 

 

Then there're grounds on land with a shallow pool with sharks, an exhibit with sea turtles, some red-foot tortoises, a touch pool with starfish, sea cucumber, a pencil urchin and other things. Plus, there's a building with tanks inside, and down a pier an observatory-looking thing where to drop down a level to see more tanks, then another level to see windows into the surrounding sea.

 

 

[drrich2]

Plenty of iguanas around the grounds.

 

 

 

When we got to St. Maarten, we enjoyed some of the most picturesque views of the coast across the Caribbean sea I've seen. The only Caribbean sea views I've beheld to rival St. Maarten/St. Martin are off Barbados, and I still give it to St. M.

 

 

[drrich2]

The trolley excursion around Philipsburg is fun. In the past we've done the bus tour hitting both Dutch and French halves and offering some scenic photography opportunities, and that'd still be my go-to for a 1st time visit excursion, but this was a nice follow up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drrich2]

Tip for traveling with very young children who don't really understand about money; be aware of where the traps are. Traps will lead your kid to wear at your soul seeking over-priced added-cost extras.

 

1.) The dreaded mini-bar - this time it was empty, but that wasn't our experience on prior cruises.

 

2.) The small arcade where you walk through the hall into Adventure Ocean. It's got some machines where you pay to try to grab prizes.

 

3.) Another arcade - I don't remember for certain if it was on Deck 15 near the Wipeout Cafe, or 16 near the Windjammer, but you're apt to pass it going out on deck. This arcade is larger and seems to be for older kids.

 

4.) There's a candy store on the Boardwalk near the carousel. Yes, we got drug in there a few times.

 

5.) There's a make-your-own-plush-toy 'Pets at Sea' place on the Boardwalk; somehow despite looking in there we never had to pony up and get one.

 

By the way, people often ask about the photo package offerings on a particular cruise so I took this photo:

 

 

Prior to the cruise, I paid $249.99 for the all digital prints on a thumb drive package; didn't see a price for all digital + all prints on board, but prints were stuffed in our folder so I asked one of the floor staff. He told me for an extra $100 they'd let us have all the prints. I don't know if that's an official offering or not. Kadence didn't cooperate well with photos and we mainly wanted digital so I didn't take them up on it. Early in the cruise there was a $30 off coupon for that $299.99 digital prints package, but I still saved by purchasing online pre cruise.

 

There were a lot of photo stations operating on different days, even casual days. If you have a cooperative family, you can easily rack up enough professional shots to justify the cost of these packages.

 

Richard.

 

P.S.: I guess that's the end for now. If anyone has been waiting to reply until the main body of the review is continuous, well, it is.

[FloridaPalms]

Enjoying your review and pictures. Thank you for taking the time to post this. Your daughter is precious.

 

I'll be doing Allure eastern (St. Martin, San Juan, Labadee) on May 28th with my two teenage grandsons. I'm figuring they would enjoy Maho with the airplanes but I think I would enjoy the trolley tour. Does it do a loop and, if so, how long does it take? Hop on, hop off? Prices? Thank you.

 

~ Judy

[Destaw71835]

Enjoying your review

 

 

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[drrich2]

Our excursions were the Royal Caribbean ones. Just an e-mail receipt on the St. Maarten tour:

 

Explore Old Town Philipsburg by Trolley Train

 

It was $78 for Jami & I combined; Kadence was young enough her trip was free. It did bring us back; there was some place where people had the option to leave early & walk back to the ship, but I didn't do that. Here's Royal Caribbean's page on the tour, which gives a roughly 2 hour duration. Seemed like quite a bit of fun for 2 hours.

 

I forgot to mention in this thread (did in the other) we did the Everglades Airboat Ride excursion post-cruise; basically, we got put in the 1st departure group, all of us met in Studio B on Deck 4, we were led off, Customs wasn't crowded & went fast (I was surprised, but then, most passengers were still on the ship; it wasn't the huge, slow line getting off the ship I remember from a past cruise), and after that we got our bags, left the pier (or whatever you call it where we walk out after getting our bags), and instead of taking a shuttle bus to the airport, we asked somebody & were directed farther down, to where there was a bus for our tour.

 

We didn't get much advance guidance on where to meet the tour bus; wasn't hard to ask & find, but would've been nice to have a more clear-cut idea of what'd happen. The tour ended dropping us off at Fort Lauderdale; if you've got a late flight, it beats handing out at the airport for several hours. I'm now turned onto post-cruise ship excursions. The airboat trip around a portion of Everglades was interesting mainly to be able to say we've been on an airboat and to the Everglades; the alligator 'wrestling' (really handling & education) afterward entertained our daughter (she repeatedly asked if they were alive despite being told yes, and announced it every time one moved).

 

Regarding that coupon for $30 off the all digital photos $299.99 package; found it in our luggage. It applied when you purchased within the 1st 3 days of our cruise.

 

A few notes on traveling with a young child; we pretty much skip the MDR and don't attend shows. Jami attended a comedian's show & enjoyed it (Kadence was asleep in the room with me). Plan was attend Oceania, but it got cancelled at least twice due to weather (we've seen AquaTheater diving shows before; good, and can entertain a kid). Kadence and I watched dive performs practicing by day, so we sorta got to watch 'a show' anyway. Some may wonder whether you really enjoy a cruise with a very young child. My answer: yes, but you enjoy it differently. And travel does stress young & old, puts demands on young shoulders (e.g.: how to behave, when to act & do as told, etc...), and frays nerves. It will cost you and your child something to cruise; it will also give you valuable shared experiences. I had just turned 37 years old and was on our honeymoon the 1st time I set food outside the continental United States. Our daughter just turned 4, has been on 4 cruises and thus visited multiple foreign holdings in the Caribbean, and visited some U.S. destinations on my scuba diving land-based trips.

 

The ship stayed on ship's time (EST); it did not change to match island time, a factor when you need to be back on board by a certain time. I point this out because in the past I've seen it done either way, and those of you who book private excursions need to be mindful some Caribbean destinations don't observe daylight savings time.

 

Richard.

[drrich2]

Oh, forgot to mention, as others pointed out elsewhere, Royal Caribbean's got some big, beautiful, easy-to-navigate (get around in) ships, and Allure of the Seas is a nice place to be. If anyone new to cruising is concerned about how to get around the ship, here's my cheat sheet:

 

1.) Think big floating hotel with rows of rooms.

2.) Atop the ship, on Deck 15, you've got pools, the kids' H2O zone/water stuff, etc...and lounge chairs. And 2 soft-serve frozen yogurt machines.

3.) Atop the ship, on Deck 16, to the rear is the Windjammer, the big buffet.

4.) Front of the ship, lower decks, is the big theater where they do evening production shows (e.g.: musicals, dancing, performances, etc...).

5.) Rear of the ship, lower decks, is where main dining rooms tend to be. If you want to eat somewhat elegantly for no added charge, there you are.

6.) Running up mid-ship on Deck 5, the Royal Promenade is like a quaint Mainstream with a strip mall on either side. It's got Sorrentos for pizza, Cafe Promenade for cold snacks, and 2 free-style Coke machines.

7.) Above that, on Deck 6, to the butt end (aft, stern) of the ship, is the Boardwalk neighborhood with the carousel & the hot dog place, various shops, & at the rear the big AquaTheater with diving shows. There are rock climbing walls.

8.) On Deck 8, running mid-ship is Central Park, with walking paths through a well-vegetated, classy park lined with specialty restaurants (e.g.: Giovanni's, 150 Central Park) and IIRC the no-added charge Park Cafe (where people get the often-praised roast beef sandwiches).

9.) Deck 4, low in the ship, has Studio B (where the ice rink & ice shows happen) and a big casino.

10.) The rear of the ship topside has sort of a sports area; flow riders, mini-golf grounds, ping pong, basket ball, etc... I didn't even make it back there this trip.

 

The crew were quite good; I didn't meet a single objectionable one, and our state room attendant Mark Tatel took excellent care of us. And considering what's been discussed in other threads, nobody hit us up to rate them high on any surveys, nor were staff overbearing trying to sell us stuff.

 

Richard.

Edited March 10, 2017 by drrich2

[mattressking123]

That was not Paradise Island in the Bahamas. But your pictures are awesome! You actually took an excursion to Pearl Island.

[drrich2]

Thanks very much for the correction! Very good to know.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Very nice photos! Thanks for the feedback.

[FloridaPalms]

Our excursions were the Royal Caribbean ones. Just an e-mail receipt on the St. Maarten tour:

 

Explore Old Town Philipsburg by Trolley Train

 

It was $78 for Jami & I combined; Kadence was young enough her trip was free. It did bring us back; there was some place where people had the option to leave early & walk back to the ship, but I didn't do that. Here's Royal Caribbean's page on the tour, which gives a roughly 2 hour duration. Seemed like quite a bit of fun for 2 hours.

 

Thank you for replying with this info.

 

~ Judy

[shellster1]

Thanks for your review. Love the pictures! I enjoy reading reviews, especially ones with kids. It's always helpful to read tips from parents. I took my son on his first cruise when he was 3, and he's now obsessed just like me! It's a lot of fun as they grow up because they start really enjoying all the shows. Our favorites are the (PG rated) comedians. Alex loves the trivia contests, too. The beach excursions are always a hit as well. We started snorkeling around age 6, although I've seen younger kids out there with snorkel gear.

I agree with you about the mini bars!! My son is 9, and STILL doesn't understand how I could be so mean and deny him those M&M's when they are right there in front of him.

Oh, and the stuffed animal shop: Get this: We recently took a Carnival cruise. They actually had the audacity to announce OVER THE PA that the Build-a-Bear workshop was starting in 10 minutes.....

Needless to say, an hour later, I'm about $50 poorer.

My husband (the disciplinarian of us) doesn't do well on cruises, so it's always just me and the little guy....and I'm the sucker, so yeah, it's tricky to get around things. :)

So happy your family had a great time!!

[drrich2]

One of the fears the traveling parent faces is what if my kid gets away from me? Oh, say, a pre-schooler who's impulsive, strong-willed, not particularly compliant, the sort we, er, some other people have?

 

I don't know what various families would find to be 'best,' but the prospect of your kid getting lost on some island is daunting. Here's what I settled on and liked:

 

1.) Elsa Frozen Kid's ID Keychain. Looks really good, and she liked it a lot. The 'chain' is one of those like you see attached to pens at banks; sometime after the cruise it broke, but shouldn't be hard to replace. This took a good while to reach us, but it's worth it. Unlike some products, we have plenty of room for address as well as phone #'s to call us on the back.

 

2.) Road I.D. Bracelet - Fabric band, velcro closure, metal I.D. with a decent amount of info. you can put on it. Even got it in her favorite color, which helps encourage use.

 

3.) Safety Tat - You know those temporary tattoos you can get for kids, of dinosaurs, Frozen characters, Batman, butterflies, etc...? Well, turns out you can get custom-made ones that let you tattoo a cell phone # (or two, with one offering) onto your kid. I don't recall that we actually put one of these on her, but I've done the 'fun' temp. tattoos before, and they were easy to apply and lasted a pretty good while.

 

Until we can put GPS locator microchips in our kids, these type products may offer a little extra security. In theory, a separation situation should not occur, but I don't live on the planet 'Theory' or 'Should,' so...

 

Richard.

[Canukcruisenewbie]

We will be with our 3.75 year old on the Allure in April and he will have his muster bracelet on and if our cabin number isn't on it, I'll put it on it with a sharpie. I'm actually less worried about him on the ship since he will be with us or at AO, than I am at home on land when I go to amusement parks etc.

 

 

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[drrich2]

We had Kadence's sea pass card hole punched & put on a lanyard, but the lanyard had a quick release plastic buckle and being a kid she liked to mess with it, so it had a way of getting off.

 

Of course, that's an issue with most any product they wear, which is why ideally there's something to be said for having at least 2 forms of I.D. on them. We didn't all the time, but it's still a good idea...(do as I say, not as I do...).

 

Richard.

[jcc1025]

Love your post. My wife and I are very loyal to Royal and have done many cruises with them so we understand the "not the first rodeo" post. However this year we are taking our daughter and 3 1/2 year old grandson on the cruise. We have always been so amazed at how well their kids program is set up and are excited for him to experience it. With that said you brought up a couple of points, the mini bar for example that will be a big win. We have informed our daughter so she can advise the ship. Not sure we are ready to take him to specially dining just yet, she is going to book one of the ship babysitters for our special dinner nights. Having sailed both Oasis and Allure before, and love the ships, we have never viewed them thought the eyes of a four year old and you post has been a big help. Glad you had a good time and your little girl is so lucky to have such great parents.