ALLURE // LIVE REVIEW / Sept. 2-9 Sail Away With Meee?

[joand452]

At least your rope had aglets on it! You won't have to worry about it shredding/fraying, which you would if you cut a piece from the Schooner Bar!!

 

We haven't gone back on Princess since that last cruise. We found we enjoy the nightlife ('cuz we're such partiers--NOT) more on Royal. Just more things to do. Although we have seen some really good acts (hypnotists and magicians) on our Princess cruises, but things were pretty quiet at night on Ruby Princess. And (this was my big bone of contention) their version of WJ, Horizon Court, at least on ships older than Regal and Royal Princesses, is awful! Just a tiny alcove off the seating area. I much prefer the Royal version, where there are different stations, so you don't have to stand in a cafeteria line (also Carnival Vista and HAL Zuiderdam). I just want to get my food and get out! I understand Celebrity has the same layout as Royal--I'll see in December!

 

The buffet is pretty much all I find to complain about on a ship, so... YMMV!

[zenathon]

Hey meg. U keep an eye on A...she can be a wild one!! [emoji12]

 

 

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[TEGL]

We hereeee. Note to self: Remember to always book starboard for Caribbean. Ugh.

 

I'm so glad to hear you say this. We leave next Sunday and we have a Starboard balcony but Ive been second guessing myself since we booked because I didn't even look to see what side would have better views when I choose our cabin. I was thinking I needed to get the port side. YAY!

 

On another not your Sabor lunch looked amazing. DH and I were drooling over it the other night. We have always talked about going but have never made it. Is it worth getting the package for $22/pp or should we just go and pay al a carte? Im not sure if Sabor is worth $44.

[lcookie]

Enjoying following along, looking forward to hopefully more dining room menu's. I am still on the fence about the dining packages and the specialty dining. I really want to do Giovannis, 150 Central Park, Samba?, and Chops. We debated on the ultimate dining package, but seeing some of the dining room menu's they don't look all that bad to me. I am almost thinking of doing the 4 night package and do the buffet or dining room the other nights. Such decisions.

 

 

If you download the Royal App you can look at the dining menu on your phone for each day. This helped me decide on how may specialty dining days package I wanted to get.

[lcookie]

Love seeing other young people on here! My fiance and I are 22 and 24, and have done multiple cruises together...did a full write up of ours last year on Liberty! We will be on Allure on the 16th and you know I will be gathering all the info to do a review! Not doing live though, because we love putting our phones on airplane mode and cutting off from the world for a week!

Enjoying your review so far and enjoy the rest of your trip!

PS - Coming from a flowrider addict lol... I do the advanced Stand up early every morning. On Allure since their are two waves, they have boogie going early in the morning as well... lines are shorter... just don't share my secret! haha

 

 

And I thought I was the only one thinking about the early morning flow rider experience.

[Megtheblackbelt]

Hey meg. U keep an eye on A...she can be a wild one!! [emoji12]

 

 

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Is this Mark?!! Hi, if so! *waves* And I am! Promise!

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

Coming to you live from Labadeeee!

 

 

It was myself and Josh’s first time at Labadee, as well as A and F^2’s. It was C and FIL’s third time in Labadee. I will report back later with an extensive review of what we did today/thoughts/tips. Promise!

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

We were on the Allure 2016 , it's great to come along again with you! Thanks to you & DH for the reviews. It helped with the waiting for our cruise to be able to tag along with you & your family on your cruise. I'm on the Harmony next month with the WORLD FAMOUS KING OF THE LIVE REVIEWS....Andrew!:D:cool:

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

Stacie:D

 

 

Woot, woot! Who knows, Josh and I may show up on that boat with y’all... [emoji57]

 

Thanks so much for reading along! :)

 

I'm so glad to hear you say this. We leave next Sunday and we have a Starboard balcony but Ive been second guessing myself since we booked because I didn't even look to see what side would have better views when I choose our cabin. I was thinking I needed to get the port side. YAY!

 

 

 

On another not your Sabor lunch looked amazing. DH and I were drooling over it the other night. We have always talked about going but have never made it. Is it worth getting the package for $22/pp or should we just go and pay al a carte? Im not sure if Sabor is worth $44.

 

 

Yessss, Starboard is definitely better (in my opinion). You’ll - if the Cap’n does what he has done on all of our Caribbean cruises - be facing port every time you dock. We personally prefer facing port. More interesting to see!

 

If you go to lunch - which I’m pretty sure has the same menu as dinner? - it is $15 a person + gratuity. You get a TON of food. Personalized guac/salsa, endless chips, appetizers, the entree, and a desert. It’s honestly way too much food for any one person to finish. We really love Spanish/Mexican food, so we always partake in Sabor. If you’re going on Allure, make sure to ask for “Z”. She is half the fun! :)

 

At least your rope had aglets on it! You won't have to worry about it shredding/fraying, which you would if you cut a piece from the Schooner Bar!!

 

 

 

We haven't gone back on Princess since that last cruise. We found we enjoy the nightlife ('cuz we're such partiers--NOT) more on Royal. Just more things to do. Although we have seen some really good acts (hypnotists and magicians) on our Princess cruises, but things were pretty quiet at night on Ruby Princess. And (this was my big bone of contention) their version of WJ, Horizon Court, at least on ships older than Regal and Royal Princesses, is awful! Just a tiny alcove off the seating area. I much prefer the Royal version, where there are different stations, so you don't have to stand in a cafeteria line (also Carnival Vista and HAL Zuiderdam). I just want to get my food and get out! I understand Celebrity has the same layout as Royal--I'll see in December!

 

 

 

The buffet is pretty much all I find to complain about on a ship, so... YMMV!

 

 

I’m a super basic eater, so I think honestly I’d be fine on whatever line (food wise). Give me ‘tatoes and rice and I’m happy. Or “make your own tacos”. I’m uneventful when it comes to food. And I really do think that I get burnt out, eating-wise, on cruises. I just eat all the junk food in sight and then day 2 or 3 I’m like “oh wow, those grapes and apple slices look bomb!”. Haha.

 

As for nightlife, Royal is always hit or miss for us, but we also don’t have any experience on other lines to compare it to. I really loved Mama Mia the other night, but despised Cats on Oasis. My biggest gripe with Royal is that they have us make reservations ahead of time, and then we show up earlyyyy, and the venues are too small to hold even all of those who made reservations! This makes no sense to me. Or if you want to see karaoke, or “family feud” or any of that - better show up 45 mins before the show starts and sit around just so you have a seat! Booo.

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

Overview of Labadee/Thoughts from first time visitors, as well as repeat visitors:

 

Myself, Josh, A, and F^2 were first time visitors to Labadee. F^2 did not want to get into a swim suit, but rather just wanted to get off the boat and see what all Labadee is about. F^2 would end up walking back to the boat about 45 minutes after arriving to the beach (no idea what the beach is called, just that it’s right in front of the inflatable park).

 

FIL and C have now been to Labadee 3 times (just for informational purposes, I am telling y’all this).

 

We decided we would just do a beach day. Josh and I were interested in the zip line, but at the end of the day, just couldn’t justify the $100 (even on sale!) cost. Josh and I are not big beach-goers. We live in St. Petersburg, FL, which is surrounded by beaches... and I think the last time we went to the beach was about 2 years ago (?). They just aren’t our thing. But today, they would be our thing.

 

We were allowed to get off the ship at 9:30 A.M. We all decided to sleep in, and actually ended up getting off the ship around 10:30. We walked down the dock, and took the ferry boat over to the beaches (again, no idea what they’re called). Most people - once off the boat - would keep on walking to the left side of the inflatable park. We decided to be rebels and plant ourselves right under the water slide right in front of the inflatable park. Josh and FIL dragged 6 chairs from the opposite side of the beach, and laid them in the shade under the water slide. F^2 just planted his butt and watched us all in the water for a little before deciding to walk back (remember! the ferry ONLY goes one way. You can take the ferry over, but it does not take people back).

 

Josh, C, A, FIL, and myself all lathered up with a crap ton of SPF and headed into the water. Eventually a bar boy wearing a box of Labadoozies in cups you had to purchase ($3.99?) walked over. We all bought the cup, and I even tried the Labadoozie. I’ve no ide what’s inside it, but it is extremely fruit-y/sweet. Not the best drink I’ve ever had, but it was good! The cups are nice souvenir cups, and I honestly don’t think $3.99 is a terrible price (thanks FIL for buying mine! I was in the water and didn’t have my card when the bar dude came around).

 

One thing my family didn’t really like about Labadee/wished they would implement is having bar people walk around to take drink orders. Maybe we just weren’t on the right beach for this, and they do it in other areas? But they weren’t doing it where we were at. Even though we had all purchased the special cups on the beach, we would have to get out of the water and walk up to find a bar every time we wanted water/soda/alcohol. Odd. Having people designated to one area doing re-fills of drinks only seems logical. *shrugs*

 

Now let’s talk about the beach we were on. The beach/water in front of the inflatable park is filllllled with seaweed, which I don’t recommend walking in, lest you have swim shoes on. There were sharp shells hidden under the seaweed that of course you cannot see. I could only walk out far enough to have water up to my mid-section (I’m 5 foot 2) before the seaweed started. Maybe this is different on other beaches, I dunno. We made the best of it! There are tons of little critters in the sand - from crabs to sea urchins, etc. Pretty cool, but also kinda creepy if you’re not used to the little guys.

 

F^2 walked back to the ship about 45 mins after arriving. Of course, understandably, it was incredibly hot to be out and not be inside of the water.

 

I will note here that if you are going to a beach on Labadee with an elderly person or young child, that the walks from certain points on the island back to the boat can be considerably long. We saw some trams running, but they were always leaving when we went to ask where they were heading, so maybe one of these takes people back to the boat? If so - there certainly aren’t very many.

 

The walk back to the ship was long-ish and incredibly hot, but we did stop at 2 bars on the way back. One of the bars has swings around it for seats which was pretty cool.

 

All in all, I think the scenery of Labadee is beautiful! I’m just not sure that if you live in a beach area like we all do that there is anything here that you couldn’t do at home. I understand that many people travel from other countries, or from the Northern US, so things like jet skis, beaches, etc., are novelties. But for us, other than the beautiful scenery, it was just an average beach day with average sand, and pretty water (where it’s not filled with seaweed).

 

We did not eat the lunch on the beach, so I cannot comment on it. But, considering the food comes from off the ship, I’m sure it’s the familiar WJ quality everyone is used to.

 

The ferry ride is very hot while you are sitting there waiting for the boat to fill. I would recommend bringing a bottle of water off the ship to drink on the boat. I would also recommend applying sunscreen BEFORE you get off the cruise ship, as once you are off, it is either a decently long walk, or a hot boat ride before you find respite from the heat.

 

Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll try to answer. :)

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

On a random note - Josh and I always like the $10 sales for the cool ship-specific shirts that have the diagram/stats of the ship you’re on on the back of them. They are - unfortunately - not included in the sale this year. *huffs* Instead of being 2/$20, we’re having to buy at the standard 2/$30. Boo. Lame. Dislike.

 

Oh [emoji228]!

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

We have Samba Grill booked for dinner tonight, and then “Blue Planet” for later. My body is readyyyy for the fooood.

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

There is an elderly couple sitting across the way from me in the Champagne Bar - just sitting there, relaxing, holding hands, and reading their Kindles. Cute, elderly couples make my heart so happy. People watching on cruise ships is the best. [emoji24]❤️

 

 

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[mom2tcdx2]

If you download the Royal App you can look at the dining menu on your phone for each day. This helped me decide on how may specialty dining days package I wanted to get.

 

Thanks for the reminder, I completely forgot that I could see them there. Have them all but day 5 for some reason, honestly after day 2 I am not super crazy about them. May stick with our original plan of the specialty stuff.

Edited September 7, 2018 by mom2tcdx2

[Megtheblackbelt]

BTW - tonight - night #6 - is formal night #2. For anyone wondering/classy enough to partake. #notme

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

Samba Grill Mini Review:

 

Samba is not an actual physical location of a restaurant onboard, rather they transform the Solarium Bistro into Samba Grill come evening time. If you’re going to do this, I suggest you go later in the evening as the sun is ridiculous in the early evening, while you’re trying to eat (Solarium Bistro walls are all windows).

 

You first start off with an appetizer buffet. Once you are finished with appetizers, you turn your “button” over to “READY” for meat. I believe there were 8 (?) different meat choices. The ones I specifically remember were: Chicken wrapped in bacon, sausage, lamb, skirt steak, ribs, filet... and I forget the rest. It’s honestly a ridiculous amount of meat, but that is the point of going to a Brazilian steakhouse haha. I loved everything! Obviously you need to arrive hungry, because it’s all you can eat. I would recommend going earlier in the cruise - one of the first 3 days or so - when you’re still excited about unlimited food, and not so burnt out from constantly eating. I would also suggest booking this on a non-port day, as more than likely you’ll have spent the day in port and you’ll be tiiiiired. Samba Grill is not a place to be exhausted, lemme y’all that.

 

Here are some photos of the food:

 

Salad and shrimp ceviche for appetizers -

 

 

Little tong things you use to pull off meat -

 

 

Chicken wrapped in bacon / some kind of steak that cut like butter / lamb -

 

 

Dude cutting some kind of steak -

 

 

Banana bread pudding for desert (was meh) -

 

 

All in all, it was a good dinner. I think we would have enjoyed it earlier on in the cruise a bit more, though, because the novelty of “oooooh, unlimited food!!” is still new and fresh.

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

ALSO! The knife they give you at Samba is ridiculous. I picked it up for the first time and was like “[emoji33],” that’s heavy. Basically they give you an incredibly heavy/sharp knife, albeit you don’t really need it because everything is so tender.

 

 

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[eel]

BTW - tonight - night #6 - is formal night #2. For anyone wondering/classy enough to partake. #notme

 

 

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Wondering how formal was formal night? I usually wear a sports jacket, shirt and tie (and pants too!). I am thinking about ditching the sports jacket for this cruise. Does that seem reasonable based on the way people dressed on your cruise?

[Megtheblackbelt]

Wondering how formal was formal night? I usually wear a sports jacket, shirt and tie (and pants too!). I am thinking about ditching the sports jacket for this cruise. Does that seem reasonable based on the way people dressed on your cruise?

 

 

 

I would say so! Most men were wearing slacks and a polo, no jacket. My husband wore a long sleeved button down, jeans, and a pair of dress shoes. :)

 

 

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[TEGL]

If you go to lunch - which I’m pretty sure has the same menu as dinner? - it is $15 a person + gratuity. You get a TON of food. Personalized guac/salsa, endless chips, appetizers, the entree, and a desert. It’s honestly way too much food for any one person to finish. We really love Spanish/Mexican food, so we always partake in Sabor. If you’re going on Allure, make sure to ask for “Z”. She is half the fun!

Thanks for the info. Then the sale of $22/pp is more than the regular price. And yes we would only be interested in lunch (traveling with an autistic 4yo so dinner will be very routine at the MDR for us!) We are from San Diego and of course LOVE mexican food (true mexican food) so Sabor has always caught our eye. We will for sure try it out for lunch this sailing and ask for 'Z' We are doing the exact same cruise just leaving on the 16th, can't wait. THANKS a ton for the info :)

[A&L_Ont]

Also, Andrew. October 20’th. Harmony. *scratches head* Might have to stop by Next Cruise again and seee wassup. [emoji57]

 

Let’s see.:confused:

 

We were on the Allure 2016 , it's great to come along again with you! Thanks to you & DH for the reviews. It helped with the waiting for our cruise to be able to tag along with you & your family on your cruise. I'm on the Harmony next month with the WORLD FAMOUS KING OF THE LIVE REVIEWS....Andrew!:D:cool:

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Stacie:D

 

LOL, infamous is more like it. ;)

[Megtheblackbelt]

Let’s see.:confused:

 

 

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

Blue Planet was good! Not amazing, but still very entertaining. Now that I’ve seen it once, I’m not sure I’d see it again unless I was desperate for something to do. I dunno, to each their own. The lady sitting in front of me recording the entire thing on her phone, obstructing my view with her bright cell screen might have something to do with my “meh” review. *shrugs*

 

 

 

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[joand452]

At least it was just her cell phone and not her iPad! That really burns my butt! [emoji91]

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

At least it was just her cell phone and not her iPad! That really burns my butt! [emoji91]

 

 

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There are announcements made every 2 minutes before the show starts saying “No recording allowed” as well as “Please keep your devices put away”. It is beyooond me how people can be so inconsiderate. *facepalm* If it we’re an iPad instead of a cell, my inner old lady would have come out and it would not have been swell. [emoji854]

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

You ever go back through all the photos you’ve taken over the cruise and find an odd photo that you have no idea why you took it/what it’s for? Well, here’s mine:

 

 

🤷🏻

 

 

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