mrsmoku

Thanks.

I can't find my binder of stuff :( but K and I agree it was about $130 pp. TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!

No, but I will be on the Allure later in the year. I cannot wait!

have a great time! Are you going to write a review?? I'd love to read it if you are!

What was the cost pp of the day sail?

$130 pp is sticking in my head but I'm not entirely sure that is correct - I can look and let you know if I find it.

We paid ahead, over the phone since I like paying for everything early and I think we got a small discount for doing so.

The cab ride there and back was $40 for the both of us.

Sorry to bump up such an old thread but this was my ever first cruise. I looked out for my party and I on your pictures but we escaped you. That being said, we were at Maho Beach too! I'm so surprised we weren't caught on your camera!

How awesome! I have like 1000 pictures so you might be in a few! It was such a great vacation - I want to go on another one so badly!

Have you gone on another cruise since?

Ship - Allure of the Seas

Deck - 12

Stateroom # - 12723

Stateroom Category – B1 (Boardwalk Balcony)

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Mostly yes. Noise from Boardwalk during day and some nights but very quiet and dark starting around 11pm.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Great view. 50% Boardwalk, 50% ocean. Great viewing of AquaTheater movie and performances. Picture below

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal I think. Had two chairs and a little table

Was wind a problem? - No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - No

Any specific problems with this cabin? - None. Some may have issues with cabins directly across but just closing the sheer curtain during the day was enough and the heavy curtains at night if you are going to keep your light on.

Any other comments? - Just a few steps away from the "hidden" wing. Never ran into anyone up there so it was like a private balcony

View from the Balcony

just curious,

how does everyone know the captain(s) and have conversations with them? I've only seen the captain maybe twice each cruise hosting some sort of farewell thing and then disappearing immediately after that.

There is noise. Not much, especially since the sliding door really does work and cancels out most of the noise, but it wasn't completely quiet in the room during the day or when shows/movies were being played. We were in 12723 on Allure and could hear faint music from the Aquatheater during the shows or movie. After that though (around 11 if I remember correctly), it was very quiet and you could just hear the waves.

It wasn't distracting or noisy (to me) because I fall asleep easily and can't be woken but if you don't fall asleep easily (or noise keeps you from falling asleep) it could possibly be bothersome. You may also be so tired you don't even care!

Now, if you go further away from the Aquatheater towards mid ship, you may get the noise from the pool above you.

We LOVED our Boardwalk Balcony and would book it again in a second. If you do get it, just remember, that sliding glass door really does block out the noise.

Have fun!

You can check with Morningstar Charters. We arrived in St. Thomas early (9am) but they seem to base their schedule off of the cruise ships' schedule. We sailed to St.John's Honeymoon Bay and swam and ate before heading back. It was the absolute highlight of our cruise and we had the best time!

We prepaid and it was $130/pp - may be less if you're going out for less time though.

(I wrote a review and went into detail about the excursion if you are interested. The link is in my signature)

You may have to do a Royal excursion if all the charters are leaving earlier. I hope you have fun either way! And yes, I agree, 11 am is late! What time do you have to be back at the ship at?

 

 

However, I DID manage to snag an INCREDIBLE photo of the amazing carpet in the Lounge (don't laugh; I thought it was cool. For some reason, it evoked memories of Van Gogh's "Starry Night"...anyone else get that vibe? Or is it just me??!!)

 

 

 

We thought that same thing too when we were exploring!

Loving your review. I'm only on page 3 but it's already lots of fun to read!

Amazing review! Probably the best I have read in a while. It is refreshing to hear of some "negative" experiences (the jacket, port change, the tour lunch, etc.) without the classic "it ruined everything, RC sucks" mentality. For lack of a more elegant term **** happens, even on vacations, and it sounds like your positive attitudes didn't let anything get in the way.

 

I have the same cruise coming up this September and I cant wait!

 

Thank your husband for his service, I was in the Navy for 8 years.

Oh gosh! Thank you! That is such a great compliment!

It irrates me to no end when people say their entire vacation was ruined because the pool closed for 2 hours or they didn't have their favorite chicken at the WJ or something equally silly. Yep, s*** happens, even on vacation, but we don't let it ruin ours! When life gives you lemons, grab some vodka and throw a party!

You will have such a great time! Are you planning on writing a review?

I will. Thank you for your service too :)

Wow great review! We're heading on the Oasis in 3 weeks! :) Can I ask what the name of the tour was you went on in St. Thomas? It took you to St. John right? Thanks!!

I am soooo jealous!!!! Have a super great time!!!!

The excursion was a day sail by Morningstar Charters (http://www.morningstarcharter.com/). I looked for a second on their website but when we booked, I just emailed them and they got back to me with the times and prices and all that. Yes, they took us to Honeymoon Bay/Beach on St. John.

My mom and step-dad (both 70) will be cruising with us, but coming from a different part of the country. They've never really traveled, nor have they been on a cruise. This will be only the third time my mom has ever even flown on a plane. I already started putting their binder together. I think it will be very useful to them, especially to help ease the travel anxiety. I'm going to create a separate binder for my family.

Oh I think that will be super helpful! What a great idea! If we ever travel with family, I think I may do that also for them so they have all that info (and mostly so I don't have to answer 4000 questions!)

what stateroom were you in? I'm sure you must have said at some point in this review, but i must have missed it!! :)

 

the view from the stateroom is gorgeous - i didn't realize the boardwalk rooms can see the ocean!

 

.

We were in 12723 and I loved it! I think the amount of ocean is really dependent on the location of your room/balcony. We were 4 or 5 cabins away from the back of the ship. I say were were about 50% Boardwalk view and 50% Ocean view and it was perfect!

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. I really enjoyed reading it. I also like your tip to create a travel binder. I usually just have a travel folder, but sometimes I have so much information in it I can't lay my fingers on the piece of paper I'm looking for.

You're very welcome! I'm glad you liked it!

I had read someones review a while ago and they mentioned a travel binder so I figured I would try it too and see. I won't cruise without one now! Sounds like it will be very helpful to you as well!

Thank you for the review! I really enjoyed it!

You're welcome!

Thanks so much for sharing :D Loved your report and pictures.

You're welcome! Thanks for reading!

Other Stuff

Travel Binder:

I started a travel binder once we booked and found it to be very helpful! I printed out all of our confirmations for payments, excursions, reservations (you name it!) and brought it with us on the cruise. It was much easier than the folder I used on the Mariner and I was able to save stuff I wanted. I got a ½ inch binder and put some plastic sheets in there and it pretty much made itself. I suggest making a travel binder if you don’t/haven’t already.

Copy of Passport:

I know everyone has their own opinions on whether or not to bring their passport with them to ports but, if you’re interested or wondering, I bring a color copy of ours to port. K brings his military ID, just in case something happens, but I figure all of our important stuff if safer on the ship than with us.

I also make photocopies of all of our IDs, credit and debit cards, passports, marriage and birth certificates and leave it with someone (usually parents) who could be reached and fax it over to us in the case of an emergency. It might be overkill, but whatever.

SeaPass account:

We chose to put money on our SeaPass account before we cruised to help prevent the account withdraws after disembarkation. On the Mariner, they accidentally took out a few hundred more than our bill was for (causing our account to be wiped clean and a LONG few days of phone calls) and since we were headed to DisneyWorld, that wasn’t going to work. We will definitely do that again on our next cruise.

MyTimeDining and prepaid gratuities:

We chose to do MyTimeDining with prepaid gratuities. I think MyTimeDining is the best of both worlds because we could make reservations but we could also come when we pleased. We only waited for dinner once or twice and each time, it was no longer than a 10 minute wait. As for the prepaid gratuities, we didn’t think we were treated any different because of it, good or bad. It was just easier for us and I like to pay things beforehand.

Water:

We bought a 12 pack of water and slapped a luggage tag on it with some clear packing tape. I read on CC that some have been able to get it through and some weren’t so we decided to just take a gamble and see. Our water arrived with our bags! I don’t know if it makes a difference but it was SmartWater.

It’s big!:

Allure is big; there is no doubt about it. And there is soooo much stuff to do that it can be overwhelming. There was always something happening or something to try and it can become too much very quickly. I mentioned in my review quite a bit that K and I would just go to the pool and read or go back to the cabin early but it was a great way of relaxing and doing nothing. We are “active” vacationers - in the sense that we are always doing something while on vacation – so relaxing for a bit help us calm down and actually enjoy the vacation part of a vacation!

Jackets:

Ladies, if you get cold, pack a few sweaters or jackets! I thought the ship was cold, most notably in the theaters and MDR.

“Hidden Wings”:

Decks 12 and 11 (and possibly 10) have “hidden wings” on the stern. We frequented these often and only ran into another person once. They had shaded and full sun portions so we could relax out there and enjoy the wake. You have to walk all the way down the hallway, even though it looks like a dead end and then you’ll see the door to the hidden wing.

Video Postcard:

K and I found the video postcard recording room and decided to give it a go. It was fun and our parents liked their e-postcard we sent to them from the ship. We had to do a few takes though as we are both incredibly awkward on camera.

I'll add more if I think of anything else and please feel free to ask me any questions. I am going through my pictures and if I find any that I missed, I'll add them.

Thank you all so much for reading my review! It was a ton of fun to do and I'm glad everyone enjoyed it!

Thanks again!

Love,

G

Loved your review and all the pics! My wife and I are sailing on the Allure in May on a western cruise and have a boardwalk balcony one floor down and on the other side. The view from your room made me glad on the room my wife picked out, can't wait. We are also big Disney fans; did you do a Disney trip report too? Can't wait for the rest of your pics.

Glad to help!! I loved the view. If we booked again and couldn't get a full ocean balcony, I would definitely book the Boardwalk Balcony agan! I thought about writing a Disney review but I didn't take notes and we didn't have any dining reservations so I don't know how detailed it would be! Maybe though :)

Disembarking

Our last morning on the Allure was a sad one, as expected. We didn’t want it to be over and we weren’t the only ones! We decided to have breakfast in the MDR and for the first time for the entire cruise, we were seated with others at a table for 10. We didn’t mind sitting with other passengers but we’re glad we had our table for 2 for our meals in the MDR.

We had our normal breakfast of eggs, bacon, and sides and once done, we slowly made our way up to the room. Many people had already disembarked but many more were heading to the pool or to breakfast to savor the last few minutes of their vacation. All of the shops were closed, as was Starbucks, so definitely don’t wait until the last day to buy gifts or souvenirs. K and I walked around the Promenade for a bit but then decided to disembark and start the second leg of our vacation.

From ship to the terminal, it took 5 minutes. The terminal had separated the bags (how, I don’t know) and scattered them around the terminal so we all ended up in a slow, searching, shuffling walk while trying staying in line. Everyone was very nice and didn’t mind people jumping in and out of line so it wasn’t stressful at all. Our 3 bags were all in different piles but we (read: K) got them easily and we resumed our place in the line. Passports out, customs cleared, and we were on our way 10 minutes later. There were taxis all over so it only took a second to grab a taxi and head back to the hotel to pick up our car. From ship to taxi took 15 minutes easy.

We had the best time and have the greatest memories from sailing the Allure of the Seas!

I forgot to mention some things or they didn’t fit into cruise review so I’m working on an ‘Other’ post. It should be posted soon. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them and I will try to answer as much as I can!

My wife and I are first time cruisers and we booked cabin 12723 on Allure of the Seas for the May 12th Eastern sailing. We were so worried about the view we would have from this cabin so, on a whim, I searched these forums and saw that you guys had this same cabin! Now we're not worried and looking forward so much to this cruise! Thanks for all the pictures! Any tips we should know before we get there?

 

Thanks!

Matt & Heather

I'm glad I can help! I'm was worried when I booked the cabin too but someone sent me a pic he took from the same cabin and I got so excited!!

You will have an amazing time. I wish I could go again!

You're welcome for the pictures! I'm glad everyone seems to like them.

I'm working on a tips/forgotten things post so I'll make sure I post that soon. You may find something helpful!

I have a question. You did the Bernard's Tour right? the ship got in at 8am, but local time that's 9am right? I just got an email confirmation from Bernard to meet at 9am LOCAL TIME, then I realized I said we got into port at 8am SHIP TIME. Did you meet at 9 or 9:30?

I'm 99% certain we got off the ship as soon as possible and met the tour right away. K agrees. We were told not to switch our clocks and we were an hour off at Maho so I think we met as soon as we got in.

If you don't hear otherwise, I would suggest planning on getting off right away and walking to the meeting point to see. If you have some time to kill, the port shops are just seconds away.

Great review do you remember if Gemma was still at the Champagne Bar best bartender in the fleet

We didn't hit up the Champagne Bar this time :( but hopefully so!

We actually got really strong pours for the entire cruise whether it was at the MDR or the pool or at shows. A few times, I actually had K drink some down on mine so they could put more juice or soda in it!

Oooh looks so yummy! Except the fried seafood.

I know! It doesn't look appetizing at all! But those scallops...yum!

i just found your review!!

woo hoo!!! an allure eastern!! perfect..

 

that's a great tip about parking at the hampton!!

Seems that Allure Easterns are slow! Happy to help!

Yeah, we definitely scored there and Hampton said they have a security guard at night. Whether or not that's true, it was a small lot with only one way in and out so it seemed safe.

Day 7

Dinner

Goat cheese and tomato

The fried seafood

K’s dish

K’s dish 10 minutes later

Scallops

Apple Pie dessert