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Preview/Review of Allure of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean Oct 13 - 20, 2013


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When we got to Windjammer, it was 12:30. There was a line up to get in. A gentleman (at least I thought he was a gentleman) pushing a stroller came up to me and ask "Is this the line up to get in?" I said yes to which he responded with a rather audible F word before storming back to the elevator bank, toddler still sleeping in stroller. Ok that kind of irked me a bit. Number 1, you are on vacation, what's your hurry?! Second, yes the Windjammers on the Oasis class ships are small relative to the passenger count BUT was that ground for profanity?? All he had to do was stand 4 people behind us, and 5 mins later you could have been walked to an empty table by the 7 or 8 wait staff members who were there to help you look for a free table. Man oh man!

 

We were hungry so I had a generous helping of yummy food.

 

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Meanwhile, 3 names were broadcasted on the PA a couple of times. The next time I looked up, we were on the move again. I later found out those 3 poor souls had missed the ship and had to rejoin 2 days later in St Thomas. How on earth could you miss the boat??? They broadcasted the all aboard time change 3 times in writing AND over PA...sigh.

 

After lunch it was time to wander around again.

 

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Never did get a chance to try this "elevator"

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More to come...

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Finally we could play ping pong up on an open deck without worrying about the wind. Yes an enclosed 2 sections of ping pong tables. DS wanted to play so we complied.

 

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After ping pong the boys wanted to head back to the pool again. This current pool seems to be their favorite. Not a day went by that they did not step inside.

 

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More to come...

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When we were checking in the day before, they handed us a sheet of paper indicating that the Nassau short stay will now be shorter by 1 hour on top of a delayed arrival in St Thomas 2 days later. The reason stated was - technical issues with the ship's top speed. I was also told while on board that they want to slow down a bit to save fuel.

 

Got a bit annoyed as I booked the only excursion that my son would ever want - NS86 Atlantis Aqua Adventure.

 

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Cutting an hour out of port call means the tour was cut short. Well they claimed that it was the same 5 hours but I was sure that we didn't get a full 5 hours. Not sure if that was the reason RCCL dropped the price of this tour a month or so before the cruise but my DS cares more about time spent vs $$ paid by his parents.

 

We got off the boat as the Carnival Ecstasy was backing into the dock. It was wet as it must have rained over night.

 

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Followed the crowd over to where the folks holding the waiver forms were. After quickly filling one out we were led to the buses that would take us over to Paradise Island. Got a bit of the history of Nassau from the bus driver in the short ride over.

 

Soon they dropped us off in front of the massive resort around 8:00. We were told the 3 time slots for shuttle back onto the ship. 11:00, 11:30 and 12:00. They gathered all of us for a description of the tour etc but since we already knew the place, we headed straight for the aquariums.

 

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Weather was a little grey still from the rain the night before but that didn't dampen our stay. We have been here a couple of times but ne'er stayed over. So enjoying the facilities was a first for all of us.

 

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Hmm lost children....

 

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More to come...

 

 

Andy -we too were on the cruise.. Wonderful time but felt time rather short in Nassau and disembarked to find no shoos open. Our biggest disappointment though and caused upset - our trip to Sawgrass Mills cancelled due to lack of numbers just on Saturday afternoon - was intending using that time it get shopping, make transfer to Miami airport before flying home to Scotland - meant left high and dry and ended up sitting in airport for hours on end!!

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...felt time rather short in Nassau and disembarked to find no shoos open...!

 

I also found out after the fact that Monday, 14 Oct was a holiday in Nassau so yeah that means no shops.:(

...Our biggest disappointment though and caused upset - our trip to Sawgrass Mills cancelled due to lack of numbers just on Saturday afternoon - was intending using that time it get shopping, make transfer to Miami airport before flying home to Scotland - meant left high and dry and ended up sitting in airport for hours on end!!

 

That really was disappointing especially you came so far away. Sawgrass Mills is a mall that I frequent and I always go there every other year. Florida was only 3 hours away by plane :p.

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Only time I get to put on my tux so really wasn't going to miss it. Remember the table assignment issue from the day before?

 

A bit of a background. There really were 4 families including mine on this trip. One family booked the cruise late and could only be slotted in for late seating. Since that family has a 6 yr old, having dinner at 8:30 was just not working out. So they had been pleading to the maitre'd to have theirs switched and put them together with us. Well, that family got their wish and was told that they would be dining with us starting tonight.

 

All 13 of us got to the MDR and found a table with 10 chairs/place settings and our waiter Laurentia had no idea about how the 13 ppl are going to fit ..PANIC!!!

 

A few ruffles later the dining room attendant came over, started pleading to us that our table only had 5 ppl on the computer so she had every right to put this family of 4 at our table. The only problem, the night before when the 3 families of 9 got sorted out at table 579, only 5 of us were registered on the dining room computer so on paper the family of 4 was able to be placed there. This I have to say was RCI's issue. It took us another 30 minutes before all got sorted out. That family of 4 got assigned a table across the dining room BUT to RCI's credit, they did fulfill the request of having us all dive at the same time.

 

Sorry no pictures cause I was pretty upset at the time and I actually couldn't remember what I ate that night. We literally shoved our food down because we had Ocean Aria to catch.

 

More to come...

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Don't mean to hijack your thread...really enjoying your pictures.

 

We were on the same cruise as you. FWIW...in a conversation with one of the crew, we asked about the reason for the reduced speed. We were told that Allure had experienced prop damage on one of the azipods. As a result, they were operating on reduced power. Unsure whether the 3rd azipod was actually functioning, or whether it was functioning with reduced power. In any case, this was the rockiest trip we've experienced on an Oasis class ship (4th time) and we speculated whether they were unable to use the stabilizers since that would produce additional drag that they couldn't afford due to reduced power. This seems like something that would take a dry-dock to repair so unsure if upcoming cruises will have the same restrictions.

 

Again, sorry for the hijack. Noticed you mentioned the reduced speed and wondering whether anyone else had heard any more details. Glad you enjoyed your trip! It was some of the best weather we've ever seen.

 

ATCMickey

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Don't mean to hijack your thread...really enjoying your pictures.

 

We were on the same cruise as you. FWIW...in a conversation with one of the crew, we asked about the reason for the reduced speed. We were told that Allure had experienced prop damage on one of the azipods. As a result, they were operating on reduced power. Unsure whether the 3rd azipod was actually functioning, or whether it was functioning with reduced power. In any case, this was the rockiest trip we've experienced on an Oasis class ship (4th time) and we speculated whether they were unable to use the stabilizers since that would produce additional drag that they couldn't afford due to reduced power. This seems like something that would take a dry-dock to repair so unsure if upcoming cruises will have the same restrictions.

 

Again, sorry for the hijack. Noticed you mentioned the reduced speed and wondering whether anyone else had heard any more details. Glad you enjoyed your trip! It was some of the best weather we've ever seen.

 

ATCMickey

 

That'd explain it. Although they do not necessary want to broadcast it. I guess they will have to run the azipods to the ground. As for the stabilizers, we were lucky they weren't required. I was monitoring the NHC Satellite for a couple of potential tropical depression that never materialized. St Thomas and St Maarten carried a forecast of thunderstorms up to an including our day of embarkation. It changed for the better later on.

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I lied. I did take pictures of my dinner. Just found them. I enjoyed my roast duck on first formal night.

 

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And as for our AW Igor, he noticed I turned down the bread offer 2 nights in a row and asked why. I said my doctor told me to cut down on gluten so he promptly when inside and got me a plate of assorted gluten free bread. This plate would be waiting for me from this day on.

 

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Oh btw, by now all 9 of us are on a first name basis with Laurentiu and Igor. Something I hadn't realized on other cruises - that they call you by name each and every night.

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Don't mean to hijack your thread...really enjoying your pictures....Again, sorry for the hijack....

 

ATCMickey

 

BTW No need to apologize. The reason why I do my review on the boards instead of in the review section is I wanted people, especially those on the same cruise, to chime in to offer their point of view. This is NOT my show and it's about sharing experiences.

 

Having said that, this thread is the quietest I have ever started/written on. Where is everyone? There were 1200 postings on the Roll Call and I had over 20 parties at the Meet and Mingle :(

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We had reservation tonight for the 8:30 show in the Aqua Theater. Was going head straight there but the humid weather and potential of getting my tux wet prompted me to make a side trip to our room first. Needed to slip into something more comfortable.

 

This was a first time on an Oasis class and of course the first time I get to see a water show. I have seen O at Vegas and The House of Dancing Water in Macao SAR but a first watching a similar show on a moving ship!!

 

They had cancelled the earlier show due to choppiness of the pool they were going to dive into. I suppose wouldn't want the divers to dive into a pool with inconsistent depth as the boat rocks :eek::eek:

 

Didn't have my good camera with me so this will have to make do

 

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These 2 guys were amazing

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More to come...

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Wait what day is this....let's look

 

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RCI is the only cruise line that I am aware that changes this on a daily basis. Waking up this morning was a must as we all had reservation for this:

 

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Enroute to the Adagio on 3rd (Pretty deserted at 7:45am on an at sea day)

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After breakfast, it's Meet and Mingle time at Dazzles at 8, followed by Boogie Boarding on 15 then C & A Recognition Party at Boardwalk on 6...Oh Zumba Dance Fitness on RP on 5...THAT's ALL IN THE MORNING :eek::eek: DW's highlighter was out (I hate that to the nth degree) I am the adventure/fly by seat of pants type. Why worry about what was on? Just explore!!

 

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Gift Exchange

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And mine from flossinstructor

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C&A Recognition party below with free Champagne

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Great review. We are leaving on Allure in 2 days (2 LOOOONG Days). I wonder if they are going to have the same surprise for us as far as the ship speed is concerned.

Did they offer you any compensation for the reduced port schedule? Not saying they should have to but curious if they offered anything. Your cruise issue was I guess not expected by them, but if they still have the same issues for any upcoming cruises it makes you wonder. If they still have the problem they should at the least let people know ahead of time so they can rethink their plans.

Edited by believer33323
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That'd explain it. Although they do not necessary want to broadcast it. I guess they will have to run the azipods to the ground. As for the stabilizers, we were lucky they weren't required. I was monitoring the NHC Satellite for a couple of potential tropical depression that never materialized. St Thomas and St Maarten carried a forecast of thunderstorms up to an including our day of embarkation. It changed for the better later on.

 

From my understanding, the center azipod was completely offline while the other two (starboard and port) handled propulsion for the entire trip. The trip was rockier than I expected, but then again I've never been aboard a cruise ship. At least the movement wasn't so severe they had to cancel all of the Oceanaria shows, which were absolutely amazing.

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Great review. We are leaving on Allure in 2 days (2 LOOOONG Days). I wonder if they are going to have the same surprise for us as far as the ship speed is concerned.

Did they offer you any compensation for the reduced port schedule? Not saying they should have to but curious if they offered anything. Your cruise issue was I guess not expected by them, but if they still have the same issues for any upcoming cruises it makes you wonder. If they still have the problem they should at the least let people know ahead of time so they can rethink their plans.

 

Good luck. I guess they really wouldn't have time to fix it as the ship would barely have time to turn round for another 6000 guests.

 

As for compensation, no such luck. The 1 hour shortage was not enough to cut the tour short. Just the time before and after the tour itself was cut short. However, apparently we didn't lose any shopping time cause Oct 14 was a holiday in Nassau and all the shops were closed.

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Sorry been busy at work all day so could keep this coming.

 

DS wanted to spend more time on the boogie board (not quite tall enough for stand up surfing) so he went there with his buddy while I continued touring the ship looking for interesting things. Also by then the sky had turned quite disgusting. Looked like we were heading right through a storm.

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Rain came fast so I decided to head indoor and took a long walk along Deck 12 and came across this stateroom. Wonder how much the people in there paid??

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Sat down for a quick coffee from the Promenade Cafe

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And another one here at the Solarium

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Looks like the storm we just passed through went away just as fast as it showed up. Sun is peeking through already :)

More to come...

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Took another stroll down the port side on the 5th deck and was just admiring these brightly colored boats (hoping as hell we wouldn't need to use them)

 

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Has anyone ever wondered what one is supposed to do inside these boats? Sit? Stand? Sqwat? Take a look at the furniture inside...

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Well, who goes on a Voyager/Freedom/Oasis ships and don't try this out. We need to take those first timers down to Studio B for something we normally would do back home in Canada out in the cold. Definitely NOT in short sleeves..

 

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Afterwards we spent some time back on Boardwalk and I went and grabbed a dog...yes complete with a gluten free bun.

 

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Here's another random ship Picture - a shot of the forward solarium:

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thanks, andy...as I had hoped, your review is helping me relive all the fun times from last week...I also had the roast duck, and it was great...I also enjoyed the roasted lamb I had one night...oh and the hot dogs on the Boardwalk, too...I usually do not eat hot dogs, but I tried 3 different kinds during the week and liked them all--my favorite was the Sicilian! what I didn't see (thank goodness) was the donut shop on Boardwalk--did you try that?

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