Allure Live, January 27 to February 3. - Where my Beaches At?

[cluv123]

Thank you so much for the great review....it has made the waiting for our cruise to get here somewhat bearable from the frozen tundra in the BOLD NORTH!! 

 

We will be boarding this weekend on the same itinerary...if you have the cruise compasses i would love to see them.

 

Thanks again!! 

[A&L_Ont]

7 hours ago, cluv123 said:

Thank you so much for the great review....it has made the waiting for our cruise to get here somewhat bearable from the frozen tundra in the BOLD NORTH!! 

 

We will be boarding this weekend on the same itinerary...if you have the cruise compasses i would love to see them.

 

Thanks again!! 

 

I have the Compasses but work and the weather has been a gong show. Supposed to have budget meetings today but it’s actually been freezing rain right now here since 4:30. Hopefully have them posted by Friday, if not tomorrow.  They are on the corner of my desk, awaiting me. 

 

Final thoughts are in in my head just have to type them out. 

 

Thanks for holding on folks. 

 

Edit it to add:  Owen just got another day off school with cancelled busses.  He’ll be happy when he wakes. 

Edited February 6, 2019 by A&L_Ont

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

I have the Compasses but work and the weather has been a gong show. Supposed to have budget meetings,to but it’s actually freezing rain right now here. Hopefully have them posted by Friday, if not tomorrow.  They have made it home safe and sound though and are on the corner of my desk. 

 

Final thoughts are in in my head just have to type them out. 

 

Thanks for holding on folks. 

Owens really racking up those snow days this year.  Saw that schools and busses were cancelled West of Toronto today.  Busses only for us.

[A&L_Ont]

Owens really racking up those snow days this year.  Saw that schools and busses were cancelled West of Toronto today.  Busses only for us.

He has had 5 in the last 13 days, and none previous to that all year. Good thing is his Science project for Thursday is done and his math test was yesterday. Playoffs start on Friday night so I guess today isn’t a bad day off for him. He can always read before any PS4 action.

[dpostman]

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

He has had 5 in the last 13 days, and none previous to that all year. Good thing is his Science project for Thursday is done and his math test was yesterday. Playoffs start on Friday night so I guess today isn’t a bad day off for him. He can always read before any PS4 action.

 

 

Snow days have been adding up here on the east coast as well.  I work in a Hospital so I drive a Wrangler with Studded Duratracs = No snow days for me.  My wife is a School Principle so she gets to "Work from home" on snow days.  But yesterday I took her TLX in the shop and the loaner they gave me was the SH-AWD version of the TLX... Well that was fun.  I'll take her car in for service anytime 😉    I know this is OT and only mention it cause I think you're a car guy 😉

 

dp

[A&L_Ont]

We are all settled in today here at home. This is my last post before my final thoughts. The last few days we have gone from record lows, to record highs, to 12 hours of freezing rain today. Owen’s school was cancelled again and I worked from home today. The photos alone will show you why. Sure looks pretty but what a PIA. 

 

Early morning ice on our Japanese Maple. 

 

 

 

Early afternoon ice on the same tree. We have had more freezing rain since then.  Thankfully we have a full farm back up generator if there is a loss of power from ice damage etc. If by chance that happens it fires immediately but I have to head to Sharon’s and my moms to get their generators up and running. Happy moms are almost as good as a happy wife. 

 

 

 

And this is what our road looked like. I was only the second car all was out all day as it was sheet ice.  You could have skated on it. 

 

 

 

For those that wished for a final Lucy sighting here she is. Late afternoon she eventually came out from the barn for a rub. You might notice here claws were on full traction control. 

 

 

 

Eventually around 3pm the Township grader made it to our road and pealed off a layer of ice making the road more passable. When it went by, all I could think of was frozen drinks like Daquaris, Miami Vice and Mudslides. The only problem; you would not want a Mudslide mixed by Joe, the grader operator.  Might have some grit to it, like spinach. 

 

Edited February 7, 2019 by A&L_Ont

[MTLCRUISER72]

Thanks for the great review! I missed a few days and was able to catch up. You had me at Camshaft! Happy you guy's enjoyed your cruise. 

 

 

Mike

[A&L_Ont]

It’s now time for final thoughts on our sailing. I’m going to cover what was new to us this sailing, and a few stand out items. 

 

The Miami Airport.  Sure it isn’t FLL, but it was easy to navigate. We considered using Uber but took a Taxi instead to the hotel. We had an awesome driver and with the flat rate it was “almost” cheaper per mile than some of our Port Everglades sailings. Especially when you consider it is much further in distance. 

 

Pre-stay hotel. I have responded to the email I received from the JW Marriott Marquis after our stay. I will report back if I hear from them and what their response is. It is in a great location close to the port, the room was wonderful once we got into it, and that is the problem. Once we got into it.  Hopefully I have good news to share later. 

 

New Terminal A in Miami. Wow. It is amazing. New.  Bright.  Easy to navigate. If you thought T18 in PE was nice, this is the ABC, easy as 123 of cruise terminals.  Our Uber driver had no issues once we cleared the Miami Marathon. It was strange not clearing the security gate on the drive into the port like in PE. Shaved off a few minutes on the drive. The only small glitch on the drive was the hairpin turn on the final approach to the terminal drop zone.  That added a few minutes to the drive. If you have cruised from the new Terminal before you will get it. If you haven’t yet, you will understand when you get dropped off. Sail away views were spectacular.  

 

Ship condition.  It really hasn’t changed much since August. If you look around you will see things that need some paint and polish. With it having another year until dry dock, I could only imagine what Oasis might look like today. That being said, it didn’t  detract from the great crew that we met and the shows we saw along the way. 

 

And that brings the topic shows to the forefront.  We finally saw all of Mamma Mia.  We only made it the intermission in August as Owen was getting tired. This time we made it through the entire show. Very well done. Even I was tapping my toes and singing along. 

 

The 70s Dance Party on the RTB was fun.  That being said once was enough.  Comedy was hilarious to us, some were offended. Ocean Aria diving show is still a favourite.  Lisa and I both commented that we missed the music from the diving show on Harmony, but honestly it’s the cast that we are there to see. Matt Yee in the Schooner Bar was laughter that hurt while others fled the bar. My type of humour.  Lisa said the pool band was good as well. As entertaining as Chair Hogs can be they need to be culled. RC, pick up your game. 

 

As for ports I’m only going to talk about Saint Maarten. They have come a long way from Irma but they still have a way to go. You didn’t have to look hard to see damage.  We didn’t even leave the Boardwalk and it was evident. That being said the ladies on beach were still pimping aloe foot and back massages, beach bags and sundresses. The stray dogs were still hanging out and the locals were as resourceful as always to part you from your money.  It would be abnormal if they didn’t.

 

On the water taxi ride back to the ship I spotted the old Lekkerbek's Restaurant Airplane. It was damaged by Irma and has now been relocated to the marina area, along with damaged boats that are waiting to be disposed of. 

 

How it looked before Irma. 

 

 

 

And today it sits with damaged boats. 

 

 

 

Disembarkation.  Facial recognition customs; the only three words I have to say. Wow again.  We took a taxi back to the airport and it went just as smooth as our first trip. Twenty minutes from Customs to the airport checkin.  We always prefer to use Uber but there are times when the taxi is the fallback. 

 

If we had to give it a score, we concluded a 9 out of 10.  Yes, there were a few small things here and there but if you added them all up it might be equal to one point. 

 

Hopefully you all enjoyed the ride and will tag along next time we are live. 

 

 

Final photo. Why not another sunset to close it out. 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2019 by A&L_Ont

[A&L_Ont]

11 minutes ago, MTLCRUISER72 said:

Thanks for the great review! I missed a few days and was able to catch up. You had me at Camshaft! Happy you guy's enjoyed your cruise. 

 

 

Mike

 

I knew there were a few that would get it. It’s the first thing I thought of. 

Edited February 7, 2019 by A&L_Ont

[A&L_Ont]

And finally for those looking for Compasses. I will post them tomorrow in a spectate thread, with a link to them here.  

[zdad59]

32 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

The 70s Dance Party on the RTB was fun.  That being said once was enough.  Comedy was hilarious to us, some were offended. Ocean Aria diving show is still a favourite.  Lisa and I both commented that we missed the music from the diving show on Harmony, but honestly it’s the cast that we are there to see. Matt Yee in the Schooner Bar was laughter that hurt while others fled the bar. My type of humour.  Lisa said the pool band was good as well. As entertaining as Chair Hogs can be they need to be culled. RC, pick up your game. 

 

 

If I ever get my bar/cruise ship band together, this will definitely be our name.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for our band......THE CHAIR HOGS"

 

BTW....Awesome review

Edited February 7, 2019 by zdad59

[Ourusualbeach]

Thanks Andrew for taking us along.  See you in 31 days.😀

[A&L_Ont]

1 hour ago, zdad59 said:

 

If I ever get my bar/cruise ship band together, this will definitely be our name.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for our band......THE CHAIR HOGS"

 

BTW....Awesome review

 

Also a good trivia team name. 

[A&L_Ont]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Thanks Andrew for taking us along.  See you in 31 days.😀

 

Indeed. Just added Sharon you our Symphony cruise, 402 days today. 401 to fly day. She’s excited. 

 

Not as excited as me, in 31 days. 🙂

Edited February 7, 2019 by A&L_Ont

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Thanks for another great review! I enjoy catching up on what's been going on with you and your family and Lucy as much as I do the ship review. Stay warm up there!

[A&L_Ont]

For those that wanted to see the Compasses, here you go. First to send $1,000 cryptocurrency gets them. 

 

 

 

Kidding. I will up load them shortly and add link here to them. 

Edited February 7, 2019 by A&L_Ont

[Pratique]

8 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

For those that wanted to see the Compasses, here you go. First to send $1,000 cryptocurrency gets them.

What, not in Spanish like the TSA love note?

 

Did you ever tell us who the captain was?

[A&L_Ont]

Here is a link to the Compasses.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2632346-allure-compasses-st-maarten-san-juan-labadee-jan-27-to-feb-2-2019/

[molsonschooner]

thanks Andrew for another delightful review. Boy, the weather sure sucks here in Ontario now.

[vettecruiser1]

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

For those that wanted to see the Compasses, here you go. First to send $1,000 cryptocurrency gets them. 

 

 

 

Kidding. I will up load them shortly and add link here to them. 

Did you happen to notice at any of the bars during your trip if they offered the 10 drink Card, usually around day 4 or 5.  I did not see it listed anywhere in the compass.  Sometimes its there and sometimes it just advertised at the bars.

[A&L_Ont]

1 hour ago, vettecruiser1 said:

Did you happen to notice at any of the bars during your trip if they offered the 10 drink Card, usually around day 4 or 5.  I did not see it listed anywhere in the compass.  Sometimes its there and sometimes it just advertised at the bars.

 

Sorry vettecruiser I didn't see it or hear it mentioned.  Since we had the drink package I wasn't really looking for it either.

[A&L_Ont]

3 hours ago, Pratique said:

What, not in Spanish like the TSA love note?

 

Did you ever tell us who the captain was?

 

No.  Olvidé quién era el capitán, pero él es canadiense. Desde Winnipeg Manitoba.

[TPCRUISER2]

Andrew, Enjoyed your review as usual. I just hope we get another live review in 31 days??? Already looking forward to it! Thanks again!

[Luvmypups]

Thanks again Andrew! Stay Warm.


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[CruiserTK]

Thanks for your, as usual, great review. Hopefully you will review your March trip as well.