Nov 4, Allure of the Seas, Western Caribbean - A Review and Complete Pictorial Guide!

I very much enjoyed coming home from a long day at work and reading the newest installment of your excellent review. I ope your Mother enjoys her holiday back at home. Where is home, if you don't mind me asking?

Home is Colombia. I am glad you're enjoying the review.

Now I am going to get started on separating the Labadee pictures.

Home is Colombia. I am glad you're enjoying the review.

 

 

Now I am going to get started on separating the Labadee pictures.

Good morning

Looking forward to seeing Labadee. It's been a long time since we were there. I'm sure things have changed quite a bit

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we sat there I noticed that I did not even shave that morning, I was having so much fun that I completely forgot to shave. We also talked about the long wait to get into the MDR because the photographers hold the line, but what some people don't know is that you can just go around them and that is exactly what we did. No one said anything, so its all good, but we did pass about 10 people that were waiting for their pictures to be taken.

 

We only had a few pictures taken of us during the entire cruise, but I never bought one. That is why I carry my tripod with me, so I can get all my pictures just by setting the camera on timer. In most cases all the results are satisfactory, no need for professional pictures for us.

 

Another topic that came up was walkie takkies, I have no problem with them. But what I do however have an issue with is when parents let their children use them as toys. While waiting to be seated for dinner a little very cute girl was playing with one and interrupting a conversation that was going on between some people that were trying to find each other. The girl kept making silly noises and eventually the people decided to change channels. I am sure the other people were pretty irritated.

 

By the way I forgot to mention that in the MDR you can only get your meats medium rare or medium well. There was a long thread here in CC about this topic, this was never an issue for mom and I, but it was for my bf. He rarely eats red meat and when he does, he likes it extremely well over done, so he never ordered meat in the MDR, but he did in other venues, ill get into that later.

 

Once again I want to comment about the musicians in the crown, they were so much fun, some people even requested songs while others danced away. The place was not crowded at all, but everyone there had the right attitude, it was a great time.

We also LOVED the Viking Crown Lounge...that was our go-to place on the Oasis...so looking forward to it on the Allure. Loved the band on the Oasis they were fabulous!

Day 3

Compass

Day 3

Specials

Labadee;

That morning we woke up very early at around 6:45, we wanted to see the ship pull into shore. When we went to the balcony the ship had already arrived and just had started to turn. As soon as it turned and started backing in, you knew it was going to be a very very hot day. The sun was beaming into that balcony, that second we knew that it was going to be impossible to eat room service there like we had planned.

As the ship backed into port I tried staying in the balcony the longest possible, but I was sweating so much that I was forced inside. Mom and I decided to go to Johnny Rockets for breakfast, so we got ready and left. My bf stayed behind, he had a very different plan for that day, it was very likely that we would only meet for dinner. Like I stated before, he hates the heat, so the beach was out of the question.

These little rafts/sailboats were out in the distance. This pictures were taken with the zoom lens and cropped 100%. I am not sure but I think RCCL must have very good security measures to prevent unauthorized people to enter the complex. It is however very sad that in a country with such poverty and you come in this massive food filled vessel. A part of me did not feel right. But I had chosen to go there, so nothing to complain about. They had to be over a mile away, all I saw were dots.

At Johnny Rockets we decided to sit inside it was very hot and this coming from someone who lives in south florida. Ironically everyone was sitting outside, I guess that worked out in our favor. The menu was limited, but it had everything one would like to eat. Remember that this venue is free for breakfast.

This is what we ordered, please don't ask me what they are, because I have no idea. It was very complicated to order there, plus I rarely eat breakfast at home anyway. The food was very good, hot and the service was friendly and polite.

Mom loved the potatoes.

Some kind of muffin.

I guess this a good time to talk about Izumi and Ritas, I know there is a cover charge of Izumi, but I am not sure about Rita's. I think its the same. Anyway what I am to write next is just my opinion and nothing more. As you can see from my report I don't mind paying more for better/different food. It does not matter if you want to charge me a la carte (Vintages) or flat rate (chops, 150 ect), but what I do however a big problem with is when you want to charge me both cover fee and a la carte pricing. Let me explain you why, I was dying to try Izumi, but mom hates sushi and I did not want to go alone. I saw no reason on paying for her cover charge if she was not going to eat. She might of had maybe a bite of something, but nothing more. I would much rather them charge $0.25-$.75 per item than charge me a cover charge, I bet it all evens out at the end. But I think it's more of a psychological thing. I spoke to two other couples and they agreed that was the reason they did not try it. I even though of going for lunch with only a $3 cover, but again I thought it would not be fair for me. You just can't have it both ways RCCL, I believe they should just pick one way to charge.

I know many can say, "well they give you free edamame and miso soup", in my case I really don't care for either and the cost of those two is nearly next to nothing anyway.

This last argument is solely directed towards Izumi, the marketing location of the venue is horrible. They placed it next to one of the most amazing buffets at sea. What is my encouragement to try it? On our last sea day at sea, I said screw it, I begrudgingly decided to pay the cover charge and try it. Once I got to Izumi I decided to just check out what they had in the buffet first and after 1 second of thinking I knew I was going straight to the buffet. They had so much to pick from and mom would be happier in the buffet. The location of Izumi is a total bust. Maybe it would of been much more profitable in the Royal Promenade, there are no specialty restaurants in that area. Just a thought…

As far as Rita's goes well I had no intentions on eating tacos in a ship that stopped in Cozumel, simple as that. I believe they are having a hard time filling that venue, why else would they host the fiesta event on two nights with all that liquor. I don't think many people are willing to pay that much extra for tacos and is this coming from a taco lover.

I actually think they should of used Rita's space for Izumi and were Izumi is they should of extended the buffet seating space. But I guess it would of been less profitable for the company, anyway its just a thought.

I hope everyone is still enjoy our journey and that I have not bored you by now.

I could read your reviews all day - LOVE THEM <3

I could read your reviews all day - LOVE THEM <3

:);):cool:

After we fished our breakfast we took the elevator down to the gangway, it was on deck 3 and you had to go through a long corridor of inside staterooms. A few of the passengers were trying to go the opposite way, my guess is that they were going to go eat breakfast, it was hard for them to get to the elevator.

Then we got to an electric staircase inside the ship, very cool, I loved it. There was one problem with it, at the end of the staircase people pilled up and it could be a little dangerous for those getting off, they had nowhere to go. They had an RCCL employee there guiding people to avoid an injury.

We went through the security check point, I had to take off my glasses and hat and simple as that we where in Haiti. IT WAS HOT!!!!!!!!!!!

That one chair had a cup holder.

They were cleaning or painting that space, you will notice later on what a great job they did.

Our plan for Labadee was simple. We wanted to go to adrenaline beach, and by we I meant I :D. Why adrenaline beach? I thought it would be a really cool place to see the people zip-lining and my mom likes when the ocean has some waves. The beaches on the other sides seemed to have waters that are too calm and in addition to that most people seem to frequent that side more. I though we had a better chance at a more relaxing day at adrenaline.

I had no plans on walking in that heat, so we caught one those little tractors and we were on our way. The shuttle stops on all the other beaches first and Adrenaline beach last. That was great for us, because I wanted a short tour of the property.

Here is something that was completely new for both of us and remember my mom spends more time on CC than me. There is another zipline in the Labadee, our guess is that is the practice line for those who are going to the main zip line. The people on it went extremely fast, it looked like a lot of fun.

First stop was barefoot beach

then we passed the kids play area

We never stopped at Neiles(bad spelling I think) beach, that was our second choice to stay.

Next we passed through the main circle, but not stopped.

Next up we drove through the market, let me just something here, this place is HUGE. I never thought it was going to be so big. Most other reviews did not make note of the length of it, I think it took the tractor like 2-3 minutes to go through it. You go all the way up hill and then back down. The bf actually went there and bought of wood pieces that I will show later and he said the environment was extremely stressful. Good thing I never went there. A lot of high pressure sales tactics.

This is the only picture I took of Columbus Cove, we dropped some people there and turned around to drive back to the main circle.

These are on our way back again through the market. Sorry about the fuzzy pictures, but the shuttle kept shaking, it was hard to get a clear shot.

The gates to the main circle.

Next we stopped and we got off, we went through an Arch and headed towards adrenaline beach. In the way we passed the buffet, it was closed at the time and the eating area.

We were very lucky to find a very nice spot under the shade of a palm tree, I am not sure if I have mentioned this before but shade is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for us. Mom has had skin cancer and I am prone for it as well.

So you might ask if you both are prone to skin cancer why not get a clam shell? Well feel free to look at my review of the ncl sky and you will notice that we hate them. They get SO HOT that you eventually have to leave them, its like a mini sauna in there. We much rather be in the open where the wind can flow freely from all directions cooling you down. We had a great spot and the beach was not crowded at all, it got a little more later on, but overall it was the perfect beach for us.

Just a side note. Make sure you bring cash to tip the chair attendants.

I forgot to mention something, that morning my searched everywhere for our sunscreens, we brought 3 of them, but somehow we lost them all. Maybe at the pool, who knows, we do that from time to time. So the first thing we did once we got off the ship was to purchase a sun screen. If I don't use any I burn horribly. Long story short, we paid $8 for this tinny thing!!! Make sure you bring your own.

Then we started to people watch and enjoy the view. People were already zip-lining.

I loved her beach dress.

I loved this little guy, although I have to say, he was a little camera shy.

Time was 9:15am

Then I went for a little walk to see if I could get a better view of the property.

You can see that my theory of waves was not exactly accurate, that wall pretty much stopped them completely. In any case mom never made use of the water, it was too cold for her.

What a fabulous review, I think it is the best one I have ever read. The details and photos are amazing. Well done.

There where little fish all over the place.

They have beach attendants selling drinks.

Then I went back to our little piece of heaven and started talking to mom about many things. Among them we discussed who gets selected to work there, our guess was that it was all probably based on connections. Some of the chair attendants were making good money that day. We also noticed how RCCL has the clam shells for free, while NCL charges $30 for them and place them horribly crowded in a tinny beach. Thumbs up RCCL.

Later on I took a short nap, after I woke up I was ready for some water. So I left mom with all my electronics, made sure she was awake and headed towards the water. The water was cold, typical Caribbean ocean temperature, the beaches in Ft. Lauderdale get very warm in the summer months, we are spoiled. Once I started walking into the water I noticed how rocky and filled of shells it was. It was very hard to walk in there, a good pair of water shoes are a must in that beach. I am not sure how the other ones are on the other side of the peninsula, but this one was pretty bad. A guy next next to me said somewhat loudly "you figure if they are buying a beach they would buy one with sand in it", he could not had said it more perfectly.

In any case I just wanted to cool down a little, I stayed in there for a few minute and once I noticed my body temperature had gone down I went back to our spot.