Royal Caribbean and the Allure of the Seas: the good and the not-so-good

Wow. This post ended up being really long. (Remember me wondering what I was going to fill this blog with this winter?) This is another of those "cruisers posts", so if you're not, you can get an extra hour's sleep tonight by skipping it. ;-)

I was happy to receive so many emails when I posted that we were bound for the Allure OTS. Many people said that they had cruised on the Allure and loved it; others said that they wanted to cruise on the Allure and were looking forward to me comparing the Allure to Princess ships.  Well, I'm afraid you might be disappointed about that.  I'm not going to do a comparison to Princess; the experiences are just too different.  But that's not a bad thing, and I've been trying to come up with an analogy that explains what I feel an Allure cruise is all about, and this is the best I can do...

A traditional cruise, such as on Princess or Holland America or Celebrity is like a traditional cell phone. They might have few extras, just as a traditional cell phone might have texting or a few games. But mostly they're for people who enjoy the simple act of cruising. 

The Allure is like a smart phone. It's more expensive and once you get on the ship, it's almost impossible not to spend more...a lot more. And cruising is maybe just 10% of the total experience, just as phoning is just 10% of a smartphone experience. If you're not going to enjoy a lot of what it offers, then there's no reason to go. 

In the end, I think G and I like the dumb phones of cruising. That's just who we are. That doesn't mean we didn't love our week on the Allure; we did, but only because we embraced so much of what it had to offer.  And we'll probably make a point of taking a future cruise on the Oasis OTS, just to see a different set of shows. But we were wise not to book back to back cruises on the Allure, as over 100 people do every week; we are burned out after just 7 days. 

So, end of analogy, and now I'll just state some thoughts about Royal Caribbean and specifically the Allure.  Although we hadn't been on Royal Caribbean in five years, this cruise served to remind us of those things about the cruise line that we really liked...and those things that led us to start cruising on other lines.

The good:  The Entertainment

The entertainment was far and away the best we have ever seen on a ship. I'm sure there might be better entertainment in Las Vegas or New York City, but we don't frequent those cities. The entertainment was certainly better than we can see at home, and was made even better by the huge number of options available. 

The Allure was hopping from early morning until almost early the next morning.  On sea days, there were so many appealing options to choose from that sometimes we ran from one to another while other times we just had to prioritize. OceanAria in the Aqua Theater and Blue Planet and the ice show were our favorites, closely followed by Chicago. Even the "filler" shows were of a higher quality than we've seen on other cruise ships. There was live music all around the ship sea day afternoons and all evenings (and you know we loved that).

I really enjoyed all the line dancing dance classes in the Royal Promenade: party line dancing, flash mob dance classes, Beyoncé, Michael Jackson and disco line dancing.  What I would have loved to do (but it didn't make the cut) was go to water aerobics, or attend a jewelry making class, or go ice skating. While Princess' ever present trivia was available, it was far less visible, though I'm not sure if it was offered less frequently or just overshadowed by so many other options. Ditto the "game shows"; they were on the schedule but were way overshadowed by the live music and quality entertainment that we enjoy more. 

Live music, live music, live music. Everywhere. All the time. Loved it!

Surprisingly enjoyable was watching other people enjoy themselves. I was highly entertained by the zip line and flow riders. I could have spent hours on the Boardwalk watching the little ones enjoy the family-focused entertainment.  The Allure is really competing with Disney when it comes to family entertainment.  I loved that they had programs starting with babies under one year old and a splash area for babies in swim diapers. I'd recommend the Allure for anyone with kids. No one will ever be bored!

There are so many activities on the sea days that it was hard to choose which ones to do. Jewelry making, scrap booking, dance classes of all sorts, live music all around the ship, ice skating and all the other sporty type activities, trivia, games...you name it, they had it. 

I could go on and on about the entertainment, but I'll just leave it at: it's the best part of a cruise on the Allure. 

The good:  everything else

The Allure had the friendliest, most welcoming crew I've ever encountered.  It's like they're trying to compete with Disney and make the Allure the happiest place on earth. In fact, it's exactly like that. 

Service was top notch everywhere on the ship. It's far more casual than on Princess or (especially) Holland America, but that's not a bad thing. It's simply service in a more casual, more familiar way. 

The ship is gorgeous. The art is creative and clever and really enhances the cruise experience. 

There are plenty of unused loungers any time of the day on a sea day. There are almost none available near a pool, however. I think that having to check out pool towels deserves part of the credit. People are far less likely to hog a chair with a towel when it might cost them $25 if the towel ends up missing. 

Speaking of pools, and hot tubs...there are many and they are huge. They are also well used. On sea days, they become a mass of humanity.  (Side bar:  body art is here to stay, folks. I've never seen so many tattoos). 

The Solarium is beautiful and big and adults only and FREE!  Very nice. The food in the Solarium Bistro, as on much of the ship, is hit and miss, but we generally found something good to eat there. 

The walking/jogging track is wonderful. And because it's a single use area without views of the ocean (for the most part), there are far fewer "strollers and meanderers" than on normal promenade decks. People are there with a purpose in mind, and that makes it safer for everyone. Loved the encouraging Burma Shave-style signage!

That levitating bar, the Rising Tide...I'm still in awe about that one. Who thought to put this on a cruise ship?  Amazing. 

Central Park. Trees and bird song and crickets and lot of real plants and strolling paths between the trees. Pretty by day but magical at night. 

The Boardwalk. It really feels like a Coney Island-style boardwalk. It's fun for kids and adults alike. I loved the vibe back there. 

The Sports Deck. Didn't expect to even venture back there and ended up loving it. The Flow Riders, the zip line, the sports court...I hope I never hear another person say "I don't go on a cruise to surf or rock climb". Neither do I, and I didn't, but I still enjoyed watching others having fun doing it. 

Dazzles nightclub. Gorgeous with beautiful views of the Boardwalk at night. 

The Aqua Theater. Part of this belongs in entertainment, as it's the venue for OceanAria, but it's used for a lot of other fun things too (like the 50s/60s night party, and movies). Beautiful architecture and well used too. 

Many pools and hot tubs, and huge ones too, with nice views.  And on sea days they were full. But there were lots of them, fresh and salt water, to choose from. 

Our cabin was huge (it was a large inside cabin). The beds were divine. There was a firm mattress topped with a 2" memory foam pad in a separate bag. This could be removed if you wanted it to, but the bottom line is that the bed came with it as the default and it could be removed easily. The pillows, the bedding were all great and in perfect condition (side bar here:  when I think of some of the rags we've encountered for sheets on the Emerald Princess it makes me think we've been highly tolerant).  The interactive TV was incredible (but we had to call to make reservations by phone to book a table in Adagio).  The shower was very nicely sized with no shower curtain. I could bend over to pick up the soap without hitting my head on the shower door (nice!). 

Our cabin location was perfect. We were in 12547, close to the Solarium and the front elevators. I would stay in that area again. It was such a respite to leave a noisy part of the ship, get off the elevator and enter that quiet enclave of our short passenger cabin area. Deep sighs of relief then. 

However, this was definitely a case where we simply like more that which we are used to. We have the easiest time getting and staying organized on the Emerald Princess simply because we've had so much practice. 

Royal Caribbean (as well as Celebrity and Azamara Club Cruises) have teamed with AT&T to offer great cell phone, texting and data packages as greatly reduced rates. In addition, RC offers an unlimited Internet package (it was $179 for our cruise ($199 for unlimited video streaming). In today's attached world, it's nice that they have options for those passengers who want them. Also, on the Allure, passengers could access airline websites and print boarding passes for FREE!!

The digital displays throughout the ship were perfect for pointing out what there was to do, restaurant availability, nearest bathrooms, etc. 

The ship is large, but after the first couple of days we really did know our way around it, and could get around easily once we learned to use the passenger cabin corridors to quickly get to the front or aft elevator banks. 

The elevators (24 of them for passenger use) were plentiful and fast. 7 times out of 10 they arrived with no one in them. On a ship with nearly 6000 passengers, that's impressive. 

The bathrooms in the pool areas had interesting signage:

Embarkation was very fast (we were on board by 11:15am) and disembarkation wasn't bad, considering the number of people that they needed to get off the ship. The trouble began at customs, but that's not RC's fault. 

The ship was in perfect condition. Nothing more to add here. 

We loved the diversity of the passengers. Young and old, many of them (maybe 50%) from outside the US. People come from all over the world to cruise the Allure. There were many large family groups of 20 more people traveling together. That really added to the "specialness" of the cruise. Diamond Concierge Ana told us that Brazil makes up the single biggest passenger group outside the US, and they come on board and spend, spend, spend. Apparently many come during Carnaval, to get away from Rio, and when they do, they clean out the stores and buy a lot of Brasilian artist Britto's works (he has a ship on board). Smart RC...very smart. 

I love that RC recognizes loyalty levels from Celebrity and Azamara Club Cruises. This is such a smart strategy. With only 6 RC cruises, we were getting $75 of free drinks every night of the cruise, and access to the Diamond Lounge for free specialty coffees all day and continental breakfast. We also got some other things, like 30 minutes of free Internet, BOGO drinks, % off on purchases, etc. but the single biggest value is the free drinks. It will be quite hard to go back to Princess' $5 drinks at the Elite lounge. And the minibar is no compensation...we got the value of the minibar in free specialty coffees and drinks every day of our cruise. 

This is a RC thing, not just Allure, but we loved the way the Diamond Concierge was in the Diamond Club every morning for several hours, and then in the Diamond Lounge for 3.5 hours every evening.  Ana was incredible at her job, and made a point of coming around to all of us each evening to ask us about our day. It was the first night when we asked her how to get the free Internet perk, and she got on her laptop and printed out access codes and instructions right then and there. She was highly visible and valuable, but she could be, because she was just one member of the loyalty program team. RC has one person managing the future cruise and loyalty program on board, but with two staff members for each function. And the future cruise people can provide information and bookings for RC's other brands, Celebrity and Azamara Club Cruises. They don't keep the brands apart as CCL does (although that might be changing).  I just can't say enough how forward thinking this is. RC can hook passengers when they're young and keep them in the "family" by offering them one of their other brands when RC doesn't meet their needs.  

Royal Caribbean is building three new ships- two Quantum Class ships and one more Oasis Class ship. These big ships sail full 52 weeks a year. Note to self:  buy RCI stock. 

The not-so-good

We had food availability and quality issues all week, punctuated by the day we returned from the beach on St.Martin at 3.45pm and the buffet was closed and didn't re-open until 6:15pm. That's craziness. Sure, we could have had pizza or a hot dog or sandwiches for free, or paid extra for a hamburger at Johnny Rockets, but we wanted something hot and healthy. At sail away, standing on the Allure across from people standing on the Royal Princess, we wanted to shout, "Send us some food!"  It was painful knowing that they were enjoying that wonderful Royal Princess buffet and we had...hot dogs. Ouch!

Though a few food items were excellent, overall, the food was not the best (one lady we've talked with at the Embassy Suites said it was the worst she'd ever had, but I won't go that far. I've eaten my own cooking!). Overall, it was cheap food beautifully presented. The Allure boasts over 20 restaurants, and perhaps the extra cost ones had better food, but we were on a mission to not pay for a single specialty restaurant. We wanted to know what it was like to just use complimentary dining, and now we know. It's hard. We were hungry so we'd eat crap and then felt worse for it. 

There are between 8000 and 9000 people on this ship, in including crew. If you're looking for quiet time, or alone time, it's tough to find. We felt herded around quite a bit, especially when leaving the ship in port and getting back on later in the day. Signs told us to board based on cabin location, and there were escalators and guides and security was the tightest I'd ever seen. Those things are good, but they're not good too. We were never unaware that we were on the world's largest cruise ship. 

Another good thing turned not-so-good: the frenetic pace on board. Sure, we could have sat on deck and read a book, but why be on that cruise if that's all you're going to do? We kept busy every minute of every day, and were finishing up dinner after 10pm sometimes and then going to another late show. We'd never do that on Princess. We disembarked the ship exhausted, and I picked up a bad cold on the last day.  We drank too much and ate too little healthy food. We could NOT spend two weeks let alone four months on the Allure. 

But we LOVED the one week we spent on her and would do it again...after our Check Liver Soon lights go out. :-)

Production show Blue Planet on the Allure OTS

These photos simply do not do this show justice, but I'm posting them just so you can get just a bit of an idea about the amazing aerial performance and visual effects of Blue Planet.

Before the show opens, this globe is rotating above the stage. 

An aerial performer is lowered from above the stage. 

The fabric covering the globe framework onto which the map is projected is lifted away as the globe is raised, and then lowered as performers do aerial poses from it.  

G leaned over to me and whispered, "there are performers in the tree."  I didn't see it until they started to move. 

This was the coolest part. A screen was artistically pulled up to cover the stage, and the aerialists behind it looked like they were moving in water while underwater sea life was projected on the screen. 

This was very hard to photograph, but, behind the rocks were trampolines in the shape of a V with a flat bottom. The trampolinists were doing amazing jumps and intricate flips, and would bounce sideways from one side of the V to the other instead of just up and down. 

I can't imagine the cost to produce and present this show, but it was the most amazing one I've ever seen on a ship, and could only be done at all because of the size of the stage on the Allure. 

Zip lining on the Allure OTS

The first video is G zip lining. The second one was taken while we had lunch in the Windjammer on Saturday. It shows all the activity going on on the Sports Deck and, looking down, the Boardwalk. If you look closely, you'll see the Royal Princess in the background sailing just behind is in our starboard side.

Sea day videos on the Allure OTS

Rising Tide, the levitating bar on the Allure OTS

Live music on the. Boardwalk

Model of the Allure of the Seas

Not the easiest to see, as these were taken through a glass display case, but they each show something I've posted about more clearly than I could describe. 

This shows the Solarium (the glassed roof area), and the cantilevered hot tub on the starboard (right) side of the ship. If you look closely under the middle glass roof panel, you'll see the Solarium pool in the middle of the ship, and a hot tub on the starboard side. There's a hot tub on the port (left) side too, and a second cantilevered hot tub on the port side. 

This shows how the ship is somewhat figure-8 shaped, with two sides and open in the middle down to Cental Park.

The back of the ship showing the middle area open down to the Boardwalk, and the Sports Deck area with two flow riders (one hidden), the sports court and putt putt golf, and the Aqua Theater at the very back.

That it holds together, that it stays afloat, that it doesn't tip over is truly mind boggling. 

Carousel horse sculptures on the Boardwalk

I loved these...four different sculptures depicting the process of hand carving a carousel horse. 

Disembarkation from the Allure OTS and check in at...the Embassy Suites

It was just after midnight by the time we put our four large suitcases outside our cabin door to be picked up and taken off of the ship this morning. I was feeling a bit guilty about that, but saw lots of other suitcases still in the corridor too. Royal Caribbean asks that suitcases be out by 11pm, but...well, there you are. It's just another indication that we are tired bordering on exhausted. Thank God our travel plans for the day would take us only as far as the Embassy Suites, about two miles away. 

We slept in a bit and didn't vacate our cabin until almost 9am. The yin for the yang that our cabins weren't available until 1pm the day we embarked is that they aren't pushing us out of our cabin at 8am either. Somehow, we either didn't get (not likely) or lost (very likely) our disembarkation information. We had our luggage tags (group number 59) but I couldn't find anything else in the cabin that gave us the schedule for breakfast. We rolled our carry ons up to the Solarium Bistro but (no surprise) it was closed. The Windjammer buffet was a long way to go without knowing for certain it was open, and the digital displays around the ship that typically showed dining options were focused solely on disembarkation groups. So G settled me in a lounger in the Solarium and went off in search of food (which has been a common theme this week). He came back with pastries and muffins and (God bless him!) decaf coffee with cream. Breakfast was served!

The Allure was docked opposite of last week, and our view from the Solarium was of the Port Everglades entrance channel and the condos of Harbour Isles. Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours, and by 11am we were walking into the terminal. And then the fun began. 

We found our luggage easily. What we couldn't find was the end of the immigration and customs line. Honestly, an area the size of a football field was filled with people pushing their luggage around in an indiscernable order. We decided that G would stay with the luggage and I would wander around in search of the end of the line, and then he would join me when I got close to him. I got close to him in about 20 minutes; 40 minutes later we were finally through the process and walking out of the terminal. 

A police officer tried to argue with me that four people didn't need a minivan taxi and we could hold our luggage in our laps...until G walked up pushing the same amount I had, and we were ushered into the minivan line. A few minutes later we were dropped off at our next destination, the Embassy Suites on 17th Street. 

It was only around noon at that point, and we were asked if we wanted the first available room or a room on the east side of the hotel overlooking Port Everglades and the cruise ships. For a one night stay, it would have been easy to take the first available and be settled in it sooner rather than later, but we're here longer than that and were a bit fussier. Although we were told it might take until 4pm, we decided to wait. 

After we checked five of our bags with the bell hop, and we settled G with the remaining bags containing the laptop, our valuables and our dirty clothes, I headed over to Publix supermarket just behind the Embassy Suites in search of laundry detergent, salty snacks and Reese's peanut butter cups for G, and fuzzy water, sugar free hard candy and popcorn for me. Fuzzy water. I was desperate for fuzzy water. 

While I was gone, G checked out the laundry room situation. We knew the Embassy Suites had one...I had phoned to confirm months ago, as that was the most important criterion. We knew we'd be disembarking today with lots of dirties. I returned, carrying double bagged detergent in one hand and a double bagged 2 liter bottle of fuzzy water and the snacks in the other, and passing all the crew members with the same thing in mind, I felt on totally familiar ground. G led me up to the 10th floor laundry room, his choice of the three available ones, only because it had a large conference table next to it which would be good for folding clothes. 

So there we went, even more laden. Now, this was a laundry "room" in name only; in reality they had shoved a washer and dryer into the ice machine room, and while a sticker on the washer and dryer stated they were emptied twice daily and not worth breaking into, I'm pretty sure they weren't cleaned nearly that often. But beggars...

It was quite a thrill to squeeze past the ice machine to get to the washer. Every time I passed through, my center of gravity would activate the ice machine and I'd get cubes shot down my backside. The only outlet in the area was on the other side of the washer, so I plugged in my iPhone and- really, this is my life- leaned against the concrete wall as I texted and emailed. The twins' mom informed me that they needed to build medieval castles for a school project, and she needed ideas please, so there I was, standing in this hot little ugly room, Googling "medieval castle design" and sending her some ideas about fire throwing catapults and holes in the castle floor over a moat for a toilet.  I was two miles and a world away from the cruise ships I'd been on for 19 days. 

Note the wet clothing draped over the carry on. Luxury living!

At 3pm, we received a call that our room was ready. G went down to get the luggage and keys, and I rounded up everything else, including wet laundry I didn't want to put in the dryer, and met him at our room. We could have kissed the floor (yuck! but you get my drift), we were so glad to get all of our "stuff" in one place. G immediately tuned both TVs to the NASCAR Championship race, we noted we could see the Royal Princess directly from our room and the Allure and a Seaborn ship if we looked to the right, and talked ourselves out of walking down to the drawbridge to watch sail away, and into viewing it from our cool, comfy room with one eye on the race. 

The Royal Princess as seen from our room

The Allure OTS and a Seaborn ship (much smaller)

We only received 30 minutes of Internet each on the Allure, and that didn't last long. I'll spend some time over the next couple of days uploading some of the photos and videos I have from the Allure of the Seas and St. Martin, and to publish some final thoughts about our week on the world's largest cruise ship. 

Our next stop, as some of you have probably guessed, is the Emerald Princess on Tuesday, November 19th.  I'll try not to embarrass myself and kiss the Piazza floor as we board, but, wow, we are ready to "go home"!!!

Life is good!

Day 19: At Sea

Prepared Saturday evening, November 16th

Oh my. Another day at sea. Did we have the energy to survive it? I'll admit...we were wearing down a bit, but unwilling to give up. We were having so much fun!!!

Once again, we stopped by the Diamond Club for lattes, and then went to the Adagio for breakfast. We're finally hitting our stride on this, and figuring out our logistics on this monster of a ship. I have to comment here about the three story dining room on the Allure...it's not quiet, and it's not calm, but it is really the friendliest dining room I've ever seen. By the time we get to our table, we are greeted by name and welcomed to the dining room at least four times. It's kind of like having a meal with a large family; it's not elegant, and it's not restful, but it's fun, and they have the system down where it's actually quite efficient. 

After breakfast, we wandered over to the future cruise desk and considered buying two more Next Cruise Credits, but opted not to.  We already have two that we purchased on the Mariner OTS a few years ago, and although we're certain to take another Royal Caribbean cruise, it's less likely that we would book multiple cruises at one time. 

Our next stop was the Boardwalk where we ticked another complimentary eatery off our list by having donuts at Boardwalk Donuts. Mine was Key Lime and delish!!  I love watching the little kids on the Boardwalk. There's been a face painter and balloon artist out there for a few hours on every sea day, and evenings on port days. The face painter does really exotic stuff, and it's fun to watch the kids contemplate and consider when choosing what how they want to be painted from her slew of photos. For the really little ones, she'd paint their forearms instead. And the balloon artist was incredible- the most exotic balloon animals I'd ever seen. Both experiences were free, and, along with the carousel, make the Boardwalk a fun place for kids and a charming place for adults. 

While we were back there, cruise director Ken, Captain Johnny, the Hotel Director and Chief Engineer were having a Q&A session in the Aqua Theater, so we walked up a level to the side of the climbing wall that was not currently in use to sit in two comfortable looking teak chairs we saw up there. And made another find; there are several teak chairs up there around the side from the climbing wall that were quiet and shaded and totally unused. I don't think people know they are back there. If we were to do another cruise on this ship, we'd start out on Day 1 familiar with "our" places on this ship and that would be so much easier!

Since we were so close (and that's a consideration on this ship; we find ourselves planning our day geographically instead of being impromptu), we went down to the walking/jogging track and walked a mile. It's not that we don't get plenty of walking simply going from Point A to Point B; we simply enjoy the walking track on this ship. While we were out there, in those few bump outs where we could see the ocean, we saw lots of flying fish. It's nice to feel connected to the ocean while on this ship 

Once again we found ourselves on the Sports Deck on Deck 15 at the back of the ship, and spent at least an hour enjoying the flow rider. I knew that I couldn't try it as it would drive my contacts right off my eyeballs, but I think G was considering it. In the end, he didn't, but he wants it known that he almost did. He had already decided to bypass the climbing wall, though, simply because we have easy access to one at home. 

We went to the Windjammer Buffet for lunch, and sat right at the back while we enjoyed watching the zip line. I can't state enough how much we enjoyed watching people do these activities, even when not participating in them ourselves. 

Back down to the Boardwalk, where the Allure OTS orchestra was playing jazz, and that was a joy. These guys are so talented and so much fun. When they announced at the end that they'd be back at 3:30pm to play marches, we knew we'd have to be there. And we were. There was a pirate festival and a family talent show  in the Aqua Theater and the whole atmosphere was so much fun.  I liked it all far more than I ever thought I would. 

G went back to the cabin to prepare for the evening, but I went first to a Beyoncé dance class in the Royal Promenade (30 years married and I can still strut to Single Ladies). What a blast. Finally I had to break away to get to the Amber Theater when the doors opened for our final entertainment performance of the cruise, Blue Planet. We had 5pm reservations for this show, and though the time wasn't the best for us, we knew we had to see this show, which people have said is the best production show on any cruise ship EVER. We had been advised to sit in one of the first few rows in the middle, and so we did.

Honestly, we didn't know where to look first. Aerialists were coming from the ceiling of the theater, swinging out over the audience, trampoline artists were bouncing side to side and up and down. At one point, a sheer blue fabric screen was pulled up in a semicircle fashion to cover the stage, and aerialists behind it appeared to be swimming under the water as images of fish and jelly fish and bubbles were projected on the screen. Absolutely stunning. I'll do an entire post of photos from the show, as it deserves its own billing. 

Then, free drinks in the Diamond Lounge with our, by now, good friends Gus and Karen and Jeff and Candy, then dinner (no reservations, we were quickly seated with our same wonderful waitstaff), then to a final comedy show at 10:30pm in the Amber Theater. It was 11:30pm when we finally made it back to the cabin to pack. 

Yes, pack (which, frankly, we get a bit more sloppy at every time we do it on this trip). We're on the move again. Stay tuned!

Photo 1:  the Japanese menu at breakfast. The Allure features menus in 9 different languages. 

Photo 2:  face painting on the Boardwalk

Photo 3:  putt putt was busy today!

Photo 4:  finally, a glimpse of the Royal Princess which left St. Martin before us but ended up behind us. 

Day 18: At Sea

Prepared Friday evening, November 15th

I was so looking forward to a down day without a schedule. Silly me...I'm on the Allure OTS! There are NO down days on the world's largest cruise ship! In fact, the daily activities guide is so chocked full of activities that, instead of being two pages double-sided, as on most cruise ships, the daily Compass on the Allure is four pages double sided. No shortage of fun here!

We went to breakfast in the dining room for the first time, and I was impressed by the variety of food on the menu. I had fruit, and an egg beater omelet, but when our friends from the Royal Princess who we were dining with ordered the chocolate banana bread, and it was delivered on a rectangle-shaped plate with other chocolate goodies, I had to have a taste. The pastry and baked goods on this ship have been wonderful!

After breakfast, we wandered the ship a bit to see the public areas we'd not get visited, such as the card room (huge, and it was full) and the library (not huge, but certainly large enough). We made our way down to the walking track and realized then that it was a hot, sunny and beautiful day (that was our first time outside). I do love the walking/jogging track on the Allure. It's not a true promenade because the life boats hang down and block the view of the ocean in most places, but there are some bump outs between the life boats, and a lovely area on the stern with several teak chairs.

We climbed up one level to Deck 6 and walked out to the Boardwalk neighborhood, and, in a real case of "when was the last time you did something for the first time?" we both rode the beautiful carousel which was hand made in Mansfield, Ohio. I love the sound of the carousel which lends an air of amusement park fun to the Boardwalk. By then the hot dog stand was open, and we each had a hot dog (mine was made from chicken and apple- yummy). While we were sitting there eating them, we watched the zip liners overhead and decided it was time for another first. We had signed waivers for all the on board activities on line before we left home, and I'm glad we did, as it meant less paperwork on the ship. G geared up and went first, as I videoed him, then I went and then he went again while I took still shots. I was so impressed with the crew members of the Sports Team on board the Allure (in fact, I've been so impressed with every crew member and officer we've interacted with on board, but that's a subject for another post). They were so helpful and fun and reassuring. The zip line is over very quickly...it just goes across the ship above the Boardwalk, but we just had to do it. My biggest fear was not the height but the landing on the other end, but all went well.

By then we had started to work up another appetite, and so went all the way forward on the ship to the Solarium Bistro for a healthy lunch (to make up for the chocolate banana bread at breakfast and pre-lunch hot dog). Finally it was time to check out the two flow riders at the back of the ship, and we spent the rest of the afternoon back there. There are a small set of bleachers set up for spectators at each flow rider, and we sat on there for a couple of hours watching first the boogie board flow rider, and then the surfing flow rider as one after another our fellow passengers risked dignity and injury as they attempted to conquer the "wave". If I hadn't been impressed with the Allure's Sports Team before that point, I certainly would have been from watching them work with passengers young and old, big and little, with huge amounts of patience and humor. The sun was warm but the breeze cool, great music pumped on the Sports Deck and we had some of the best fun we've had lately sitting up there and enjoying it all. (Remember this point for a later post when I wrap up my thoughts about cruising on the Allure of the Seas).

We pulled ourselves away to get cleaned up for our 5:00pm drinking session...er, Diamond Lounge. Our cruise was made so much better by the two couples we'd met on the very first evening and enjoyed talking with every night thereafter. It's amazing how sometimes things just click like that.

We had made reservations for the Comedy Club show that night at 7pm. It featured two comedians, Dave Williamson and Eric Lyden. Now, you know my feelings about ship comics usually range between indifference and despite, but these guys were the BEST! When Eric joked that he needed GPS to follow his wife's conversations, G pointed right at me. I have a feeling I'll be hearing about that again. 

Afterwards, dinner (it was formal night, so it was lobster and prime rib), and then listening to live music, walking "home" through Central Park and collapsing into bed.

Restful, this cruise is not. But fun...oh yeah.

Photo 1: G on the carousel

Photo 2: G on the zip line

(I did these things too, but the photos of me aren't on my iPhone)

Photo 3: I used to think that the pools on the Royal Princess were crowded, but now I have a new frame of reference!

Photo 4: tonight's towel animal: the ubiquitous hanging monkey

Day 17: St. Martin

Prepared Thursday evening, November 14th

We had not been to St. Martin in over 8 years and so, in addition to, of course, being on the world's biggest cruise ship, on this cruise we were most looking forward to being on St. Martin again.

And, sidebar: in case you're wondering why it was that we were on all these islands- Grand Cayman, Cozumel and St Martin- eight years ago...G was away for two years for the War in Iraq and we hadn't seen each other for 7 months when we finally returned home. He had a couple of months of leave and adjustment time before he had to return to work. We spent 63 nights on cruises, all booked last minute, all in the Caribbean. Eastern, Western, Southern, out of Galveston, Fort Lauderdale and San Juan...we did it all that winter.

So, back to today...we were so pleased to see the Royal Princess docked right next to the Allure OTS this morning, and we went up to the Sun Deck above the bridge to take a really good up close look at the aft end of the Royal Princess. It's funny how we can see a ship much more closely when we're not on the ship. We always enjoy being in port with ships we've sailed on in the past, but when it's a ship we've just recently been on, or are about to go on, it's especially fun.

We had breakfast in the Solarium Bistro...with many people off the ship already, there was no line at all, and we've learned what food is good there (huge bowls of fruit, including papaya, and excellent varieties of muesli) and which to avoid (the reheated pancakes and cafeteria scrambled eggs). And I always enjoy the two flavors of enhanced water and love that the Allure offers somethin besides the usual cruise ship drink options of water, ice tea or lemonade.

It had been so long since we'd been in St. Martin that the entire area around the cruise ship pier was new to us. In fact, we remember our first visit where we walked into Phillipsburg from the ship and it was like taking our lives in our hands. Like Yacht Haven Grande in St. Thomas, or the Renaissance resort in Curaçao, these are improvements that not only make the pier area prettier but safer too.

St. Martin is one island governed by two nationalities: St. Marteen is the Dutch side, where the cruise ships dock, and St. Martin is the French side. All that marks passing from one country to the other is a sign on the side of the road, and cars and people move freely (as in, there are no barriers at all) between one side and the other. We'd already done the French town of Marigot and the infamous Orient Beach, known for its topless (and less) sunbathing. But on this trip we had one mission in mind: to get to Maho Beach on the Dutch side of the island.

Leaving the ship and walking to the end of the pier, it was obvious, seeing the Allure and the Royal Princess side by side, that the Allure is bit longer than the Royal Princess but a heckuva lot wider. It has to be, to accommodate two separate sides of ship with central neighborhoods. But it's hard to comprehend the difference until you see them side by side.

There is a well organized taxi dispatch area just beyond the shops at the cruise port, divided up by destination, and there were lots of people waning to go to. Maho Beach. We did hit a bit of a glitch with one taxi driver when he tried to squeeze one more person than he had seats into his minivan, but we spotted that and sent him on his way, waiting for the next taxi driver. The fare was between $8 and $10 per person each way, and I was astounded by 1.) how long it took to get there (it looks so close on a map; and 2) how congested and developed St. Martin has become. Now, for the best idea of the appeal of Maho Beach, better than any of the videos I will post in a couple of day, go to YouTube and search on
Maho Beach and KLM. The appeal of Maho Beach is that it is located right at the end (and I mean the VERY end) of St. Martin's only runway. There is the beach, then a two lane road, then the chain link fence at the end of the runway. When planes, especially large ones, land or take off, the force of wind expelled sends towels, beach bags, even people tumbling into the ocean. The biggest show of all comes on Saturdays, when the vacation week starts and the 747's from the Netherlands, France and the US land.

Great fun!

What I didn't realize from the YouTube videos is that Maho is not a deserted stretch of beach with a fence on one side. No, Maho must be one of the most congested, biggest parties I've ever seen. Anchored by a beach bar on either end (we chose the more popular Sunset Bar), it is one wild time, with lots of drinking and sun burning, punctuated by planes taking off and landing to cheers and applause. The arrival times of the next several flights are hand written on a surfboard with chalk, but knowing the flights could arrive early, a yell goes up whenever anyone sees one on the horizon to alert the boozing spectators.

Almost immediately, we found new BFFs Gus and Karen, and Jeff and Candy, with whom we've been the mainstays of the Diamond Lounge every night during free drinks. We then met Candy (really. Another one) and Tom and made our way through, well, I forget how many exactly, but several buckets of six beers each. After all, it was hot out there! We had a huge discussion about what time we needed to be back on the ship, which was complicated because the Allure had never changed time, remaining in EST, although St. Thomas and St. Martin were actually on hour ahead of EST (which is, what? Atlantic Standard Time?).

Finally, though, the taxi drivers were warning us we needed to get back to the ship, because traffic would be heavy, and they were right (although they had started saying that right after lunch). Thinking the Royal Princess would sail at 5pm AST, I was up on the Sun Deck over the bridge at 4pm Allure time, but saw the Royal's gangways still out. So we had time for a quick clean up (and G squeezed in a hot tub- quelle surprise!) and we up on the Sun Deck at 6pm when the Royal Princess did finally sail, right at sunset, and what a spectacular sight that was! It sat for a minute, after it backed out, as if it was posing for us, and such a pretty lady she is, too.

Then, we were off to Blaze for the Diamond Lounge drinks (oh my), before another cruise highlight, the ice show, called Ice Games. Yes, a figure skating show. On a ship. Actually, this concept was not new to the Allure and Oasis; we'd seen the ice show several years ago on the Mariner of the Sea. But that this can be done at all, and done at the level the skaters are performing is just amazing. Honestly, the entertainment alone, this show and OceanAria and Kenny James and Chicago and more good stuff to come were alone worth the price of the cruise. We had fantastic seats, and I can recommend sitting in the first row, middle on the right side of the ice, because I was involved in the show (no, not on the ice, thank God, but from my seat) and the skaters were whizzing by so close to us we would get a cold breeze each time they did.

For dinner that night, we returned to the Adagio Dining Room as a walk in. I have to say I'm most impressed by the way Royal Caribbean handles My Time Dining, which is like Princess' Anytime Dining where you can dine at any time, not at traditional early or late dining. We have never waited and have always been seated in the section of the same wait staff (the incomparable Althea and Marlon). Like on Holland America, it's nice that the person seating us addresses us by name, and, when we are seated, we are welcomed back by name by our waitstaff.

We followed up dinner with live music (there must have been 8 different choices happening concurrently around the ship), and our new favorite way of ending the evening- a stroll through Central Park before bed.

Just another incredible day in paradise!

Photo 1: the aft starboard suites on the Royal Princess

Photo 2: the America's Cup sailing yacht excursion

Photo 3: the Royal Princess (on the right) is big but the Allure OTS is HUGE!

Photo 4: flight arrival times posted at the Sunset Bar

Photo 5: Maho Beach

Evening- St. Thomas

Prepared Wednesday evening, November 13th

Wow. This ship is a party. Everything they do here is on a huge scale, and tonight's entertainment was no different.

We were in the Diamond Lounge at 5pm to have drinks with our friends, but left at 6:30pm to go up to the a Sun Deck over the bridge to watch sail away after dark from St. Thomas. Amazingly, there was no wind up there for quite a while, and we watched as the Allure gently started to push away from and back away from the dock at Crown Bay. The lights on the hillsides made St. Thomas look spectacular, and we stayed up there while we sailed out past Water Island until we hit open water and the winds picked up.

We were left with not enough time to eat a full meal, so we returned to the Diamond Lounge for one more drink and a few hors doerves to tide us over, and then left to go into the Amber Theater right next door. Tonight's entertainment was singer Kenny James, backed by the full Allure OTS orchestra, and you know how we live that kind of thing. Also backing him was his son Trevor on bass, and the entire show was really wonderful. Kenny put on a high energy act, and sang a lot of songs from Motown and Lionel Ritchie as well as others. At one point, just his son accompanied him for a song and that was really special. All in all, an incredible show, on a different level than most cruise ship entertainment, like most of what RC does on the Allure.

Right afterwards, at 9:45pm was the 70s Disco parade on the Royal Promenade. Now, I was expecting a theme party along the lines of Princess' disco night party, but, oh my, I could not have been more wrong. This was a huge production. It started with two of the lead singers from Chicago singing about 15-20 minutes of disco songs from various points overlooking the Royal Promenade. Then, right in front of where we were, over the Bow and Stern pub, this huge globe ball that is ways there split open and out came what looked like a ferris wheel. Slowly (we couldn't believe we were seeing this), the "ferris wheel" started to unroll, and out came a long stage that was over the people below in the Royal Promenade. Who thinks up this stuff??

Out came cruise director Ken Rush dressed in a John Travolta white suit and LED sunglasses, and then all the dancers from Chicago appeared behind him or on other bump outs above the Royal Promenade and the party kicked off in full force. Eventually, dancers dressed like the Village People appeared on Rising Tide, the levitating bar, and performed several of their hits. Unfortunately, this is where my phone battery died, because I could have videoed this whole thing, it was so fun. And meanwhile, light up rings and bracelets and T-shirts were being thrown into the dancing crowd below, and G turned to me and said, "This ship is Vegas and DisneyWorld and Mardi Gras all in one package," and it really is. Everything is done in a huge way, and we're loving it for one week, but we are going to get off this ship exhausted!

Afterwards, we walked back to the Boardwalk (quiet tonight) and then forward through Central Park (I do love it), and since there was no music right then, we could hear the sound of crickets they have playing over the speakers. During the day they play bird songs, although the assistant cruise director has told us that occasionally they get a real bird in Central Park, and when they do they try to catch it and care for it until the ship returns to the port where the bird got on board so as to not mess with the normal fauna of the islands.

At just after 11pm, we've fallen into bed. We have to do this all over again tomorrow, and have to get some rest!

Photo 1: sunset in St. Thomas through the glass roof of the Solarium

Photo 2: sail away from St. Thomas after dark

Photo 3: Kenny James and his son Trevor perform