Just off the Allure 8/5-8/12 - Quick review and highlights

[Skippy]

We are off the Allure and it was a nice relaxing trip. I’ll give a quick rundown of the highs and lows. This was a family trip for us, with dh, ds10 and dd7. It was our 5th cruise and the kids 3rd cruise.

 

Embarkation/debarkation

Our flight landed around 11 and we took an Uber over to the port. We went through security and then the line for signing in was pretty long. We must have waiting at least 45 mins or so. After that we boarded and went to the room.

We did self debarking because of our 9:30 flight. We had breakfast at 5:45 and then got in line for the self debarking. They started letting us off at 6:50 or so. Customs was pretty quick and we didn’t have to wait at all. We got our Uber and arrived at the airport about 7:30.

 

 

The Ship

The ship itself was pretty amazing. Nice decor, easy to navigate, nice views of the Caribbean. After a few days it didn’t seem so big.

As far as things to do on the ship. We kept ourselves busy for the most part with the pool and strolling around. We did do the rock climbing and ice skating. The ice skating sessions were on the last sea day and we got to skate for about 25 mins. I felt like we spent a lot of time waiting for things to happen. You definitely have to get to the shows early even if you have reservations. We did see some people get turned away for the comedy shows because they showed up late even though they had reservations. They thought they could show up when the show started and were trying to argue with the staff member.

The elevators seemed to have their own agenda. We’d be waiting for one and it would skip the floor entirely. The elevators got crowded after the shows and people kept trying to cram in.

 

The Shows

All the shows were great to watch. My favorites were the skating show and Ocean Aria. The kids loved these as well. Blue Planet was good too although my kids thought there was too much singing. Our headliner show was Edge Effect which is an Acapalla group and they were very impressive. I don’t know if the headliner show repeats each week or if it’s a different one for each cruise.

We also saw the How to train your dragon on ice and the Let us entertain you aqua show. Both were cute. Mamma Mia was really good as well. I preferred this one over the Saturday Night Fever from Liberty of the Seas.

 

The Food

We ate breakfast and lunch and Saturday dinner in the Windjammer. Each meal had a good variety of food. I always found stuff I liked. The kids liked the pizza from sorrentos and the fruit cups from park cafe. I didn’t get a chance to try all the hot dog varieties at the boardwalk dog house but the one we tasted was good.

We had my time dining at the mdr. We sat at a different table each night. Slim (one of the hosts)was able to get us a window seat a couple of times and the kids liked that. The spaghetti Bolognese, lasagna and chicken parmigiana were great selections for the picky eaters in my family. The filet mignon was very tender (order it medium rare). I liked the lobster tail on the 2nd formal night and our server brought me a 2nd one which was nice.

 

Ports

We opted to stay on the ship in St. Marten and enjoy the empty pool deck.

In San Juan, we went to the Forts and then wandered around to the fountain and ate at El Jiberito. Great food at this place. My kids liked walking around the forts. It’s huge. If you have a National Park pass you can use it there. If you have a 4th grader you can sign up for the free pass. Otherwise it’s 7 per adult and kids under 15 are free.

We hit the beach in Labadee and it was nice. Be sure to get there early because it gets crowded. We arrived to the beach about 10:30. We stayed until 3. They had a buffet set up with chicken, ribs, burgers and hot dogs. Lunch was served from 12-2.

The kids enjoyed playing in the sand and made some friends at the beach. We were on the cove side directly across from the dock.

 

Anyway, I’m happy to answer questions you might have.

[Luminated67]

Thanks for the informative review, your remarks about the lifts is a bit concerning as my son is in a chair and might feel hemmed in if the lift gets too crowded.

 

Being in the UK we might find it tricky reserving seating for the shows as I’m sure there’s only a few spaces for disabled guesses and the five hour time difference could see us missing out.

[bryanjaync]

Have often were the fountain shows at the Aqua Theater. Did they show many movies at night there?

[beryl patricia]

Hi did they have a carnival parade down the promenade?

 

Thanks

Gill

[Skippy]

Thanks for the informative review, your remarks about the lifts is a bit concerning as my son is in a chair and might feel hemmed in if the lift gets too crowded.

 

Being in the UK we might find it tricky reserving seating for the shows as I’m sure there’s only a few spaces for disabled guesses and the five hour time difference could see us missing out.

 

 

 

When we were on the lift with people in scooters or wheelchairs, everyone made sure to give them room to enter and exit. You can make reservations for the show, but seating is first come first serve. If you get to the show 30 mins before starting, you will find seating in the row reserved for wheelchairs.

[Skippy]

Have often were the fountain shows at the Aqua Theater. Did they show many movies at night there?

 

 

I don’t recall the number of fountain shows or movies. Ocean Aria showed quite a few times during the week and I highly recommend watching that show.

[Skippy]

Hi did they have a carnival parade down the promenade?

 

Thanks

Gill

 

 

 

They had a character parade with the dreamworks characters on either the first or second sea day.

[Skippy]

If you like those warm baked cookies with ice cream on top (like the ones at BJ’s restaurant or Cheddars in the states) they had that in the mdr on Thursday.