Live from the Allure of the Seas - August 21-28, 2011

[goouchjac]

We just returned from our St. Maarten/St. Martin expedition. We went to Marigot and had a disappointing time there. It took a long time to get there due to traffic/construction, but what was really disappointing was lunch.

 

We stopped at a place near the taxi drop-off spot called Chez les Copains, a little café. Our food took over an hour to be served! By that time, plus the fact that we were late getting off the ship due to our friend's spa appointment running way long, we decided that since we wanted to do some shopping in Phillipsburg, we headed back over there then.

 

Philipsburg, for those who've been there before, is pretty much the same. It's a decent place to walk around and there are a great number of shops to enjoy. We made it a point to stop by the guavaberry rum place since DH wanted to stock up on some. He really likes it and often wears their T-shirt. :)

 

We picked up a few souvenirs and then took the water taxi back to the ship.

 

We're now relaxing for a bit. A bit before 5, we're going to head up to an upper deck to watch for "runners"... you know, those people who have to run to catch the ship before she sets sail. I don't know that St. Maarten will be as entertaining, but some ports that feature places like Carlos & Charlies or Señor Frogs can result in some entertainment as people who've lost all track of time hurry back to the ship, sometimes with their friends holding them up for support.

 

Schadenfreude, I know.

 

That's funny,,"the runners",,we call them that also and love to watch them hoofing it...:D:D

[goouchjac]

Hi

Can passengers watch american football somewhere on the ship?

I have a die hard New Orleans Saints fan brother coming on the Allure with me.

 

Thanks

Brenda

 

They most certainly can:cool:,,, hubby and friend can't wait till the game starts:eek:...

[Beccafcr]

You have to earn 2,000 points (with your SeaPass card in the slot machines). I don't know how the table games rate players, though. Each point represents $5 played through the machine. If, for example, you put in $20, and manage to play that same $20 for an hour, winning some and losing some as you go, you could earn lots of points.

 

Once a member of Club Royale, though, I'm not sure what all benefits there are. The ones that I have been told include not paying the 3% surcharge to get money from the casino on your SeaPass card, priority entrance to shows without having a reservation, and discounts/rebates on future cruise bookings (within the next year). In addition, the casino host gave me some free drink coupons, too.

 

Am i reading this right, for every $5 you spend, you get a point, and you need 2000 points to gain membership, so you have to spend thousands of dollars to gain membership to club royale?

Just wondering so i know if i need to rain my fiance in when we cruise!

[Crewzer33]

On Air is the sports bar.

[billiebob]

Hey Daghis,

 

Thanks for taking us our your cruise :D

 

Any chance you could find the 12 in by 12 in scrapbook with a picture of the Allure on it and take a picture?

 

I've been told it's on sale in the photo shop.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Are you just wanting a photo of the ALLURE? If so, I have one that I can download or even send to you. :)

[BonTXNY]

If you see Merion Mom, tell her I said hi! I'll be her roomie next week! I can't wait for our cruise! :D:D:D

 

Thanks for the ongoing review~ :)

 

Tell Carol I said hi and tell her to stay out of trouble :rolleyes: !! Have a spectacular cruise!

Daghis, thank you so much for posting and for the great pictures. Continue to enjoy!

[toothy26]

I am enjoying your reports and thank you very much for all the info on the promenade cabin. I'm really excited to go on the Allure.

[ZoeyVictoria]

Am i reading this right, for every $5 you spend, you get a point, and you need 2000 points to gain membership, so you have to spend thousands of dollars to gain membership to club royale?

Just wondering so i know if i need to rain my fiance in when we cruise!

 

You don't really have to spend thousands of dollars, you just have to be lucky enough to recycle your money through the machine over and over - it can be done :D

[Daghis]

Am i reading this right, for every $5 you spend, you get a point, and you need 2000 points to gain membership, so you have to spend thousands of dollars to gain membership to club royale?

Just wondering so i know if i need to rain my fiance in when we cruise!

 

It's about "play-through", so when you win, and you play your winnings, you're earning points on the casino's money.

 

I had a few really good wins that helped.

[Daghis]

I love the Champagne & Martini Bar! We have such a blast in there.

 

 

We are very well taken care of by Michelle and Gemma. They are among the friendliest cruise ship staff we've ever had! They provide great drink suggestions, keep my Diet Coke filled, and give us lots of trail mix, canapés, caviar, cookies, and chocolate covered strawberries.

 

 

If any of you should be sailing soon, please say hello for us from Marc, Barry, and Bryan.

 

 

Our drinks and snacks (in progress of being enjoyed)...

 

[Daghis]

Another couple of photos to share... First is another shot of the Allure of the Seas while docked in St. Maarten.

 

 

And here is a picture of yours truly at the restaurant in Marigot.

 

[Daghis]

Oh, and the current plan for Nassau is that we're heading there at full speed and will be there around 1:30 on Saturday (day 7). We'd stay until about 7. DS#1 and I are planning on heading to Atlantis to do the Aquaventure water park. It's still a short visit, but we might actually get a bit longer to enjoy it due to the later hours.

 

More news on our plans for Nassau as they develop.

[burrma]

another couple of photos to share... First is another shot of the allure of the seas while docked in st. Maarten.

 

 

and here is a picture of yours truly at the restaurant in marigot.

 

 

thanks!

[Familygoboston]

That's a neat Oasis shirt!! Did you get an Allure one too?

We don't usually shop much onboard, but I hear the logo wear shop and specialty shops sell out early! Thanks for a review...looks like you are all having a great time despite the weather situation!

[beachnative]

Daghis:

 

I am enjoying this thread....your photos and reflections are very entertaining.:)

 

You said that your i-Pad connections were spotty. How well is it working with the ship's wifi? We were on the Enchantment (New England sailing) and never quite figured out how to connect our i-Pad with the ship's wifi after redeeming our coupons. It worked great on 3-G Verizon all the way down the Chesapeake Bay and in the U.S. ports but we couldn't get coverage in Canada even though Verizon has towers there. We are fairly new to the i-Pad technology (never thought we'd enjoy it as much as we have) but don't have a clue how to download pictures to it unless we sync it with our laptop's i-Tunes.

 

Champagne and Martini Bar: have yet to visit that one but will do so after seeing your pictures. (Is it a non-smoking venue?)

[skrapngal]

Are you just wanting a photo of the ALLURE? If so, I have one that I can download or even send to you. :)

 

No, I want a photo of the album!!!

[fdthird]

Love the runners! On our Allure cruise in June I think we were in an elevator with the last two folks who got back

[CrusingJoe]

Was there any FOD/GLBT meetings?

[Daghis]

That's a neat Oasis shirt!! Did you get an Allure one too?

We don't usually shop much onboard, but I hear the logo wear shop and specialty shops sell out early! Thanks for a review...looks like you are all having a great time despite the weather situation!

 

Yup, I picked up the Allure shirt a couple of days ago. I like having the set now. :)

 

I wouldn't worry about them running out. The logo shop seems to be well stocked. I did pick up the shirts early only to ensure that I could get my size as sometimes that can be a problem. It certainly wasn't for the Allure of the Seas photo shirt in the picture, but they had far fewer XXL embroidered polo shirts which I also got.

[Daghis]

You said that your i-Pad connections were spotty. How well is it working with the ship's wifi?

In general, it works pretty well, but there are times when I'm unable to log in to the ship's wifi due to some problem with their servers. Right now, for instance, it's working absolutely great. It's working pretty fast, too, but it is early. :)

 

We are fairly new to the i-Pad technology (never thought we'd enjoy it as much as we have) but don't have a clue how to download pictures to it unless we sync it with our laptop's i-Tunes.

 

Take a look for the "Camera Connection Kit" (or some similar name) from Apple. It's a little plug-in device that allows you to connect a camera either via USB or else the SD card directly. It automatically brings up the Photos app and gives you the opportunity to import your pictures. I want to say it's somewhere between $40-60, but I don't recall specifically how much.

 

Champagne and Martini Bar: have yet to visit that one but will do so after seeing your pictures. (Is it a non-smoking venue?)

Yes, it is a non-smoking venue. That's a plus for us, but the primary reason we like it is that it's generally a quiet place to relax and enjoy each other's company. It does get a little noisy when there is active stuff going on on the Royal Promenade, but it's still enjoyable, even then.

[Daghis]

Was there any FOD/GLBT meetings?

 

It's interesting that you phrased it that way (both FoD and GLBT). There were two signs on the board by Guest Services. There is a "Friends of Dorothy" meeting at Blaze at 10:30 pm each night. I've not gone to that as I'm just not a Blaze kind of guy. :)

 

There's also an "LBGT" gathering in the Champagne & Martini Bar at 5:30 pm. I went once, but didn't notice any obvious group. I haven't been back at that time since as we've generally had dinner arrangements to get ready for.

[spammie]

Thank you so much once again for this great live review. We did a "family" cruise with my then 21 year old son and 23 year old daughter on Liberty of The Seas August 2009. We were celebrating my husband's cancer recovery from Stage IV "base of tongue" cancer. Our favorite spot was the Champagne bar because of Gemma. She is without a doubt the friendliest, best bartender we have had on any ship. I waitress part-time and I was a bartender for years so I do know a great bartender when I come across one. :) At the time she was getting ready to leave the Liberty and was being sent to the newest, biggest ship at the time - Oasis. She was very sad about it because she loved the ship she was on and they first had to go to Norway for training etc. She had no cold weather clothes. She had lots of people who visited her daily offering to send her jackets, sweaters etc.

 

I am so excited to see that she is on Allure!

[graciepuppy]

Thank you Daghis for this live report. You have a lot of us doing the Allure

9/11 following you closely.

 

Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries----can't wait! LOVE the photos!

 

[Daghis]

I just returned from a nice visit to the Vitality Spa to try out their Thermal Suite. I lost track of time and got back a bit late to the cabin from when I had said I would return, but I guess that's a good sign that I did manage to get relaxed. I may go back this evening after dinner since it's already paid for ($30 for the day).

 

Our excursion to the Aquaventure at Atlantis was canceled tomorrow due to damage from Irene at the park. Given the size of it, any damage to any part of it could easily shut down the whole attraction. I'm a little bit happy about that since I didn't want to feel rushed tomorrow evening.

 

For the person who was looking for the scrapbook package cover. I couldn't find it. I checked the photo area and asked one of the gentlemen working there, and I got a confused response as he didn't recognize the package. I know I've seen it before on previous sailings, so I know what you mean, but I haven't found it yet. I'll keep looking, though.

 

We went to the Crown & Anchor event this afternoon which included a couple quick acts from the Oceanaria performance (a couple high dives and a strength/balancing act), and then some words from the cruise director, the loyalty ambassador, and the captain.

 

Tonight is Izumi and I am really looking forward to that. Izumi was my favorite restaurant on the Oasis of the Seas, but with Samba Grill being such a wonderful surprise, Izumi has some competition during this cruise.

 

Earlier today, we saw one of the loyalty ambassadors to book another cruise in addition to the two NextCruise bookings I made after we boarded. I don't recall whether I mentioned it previously, so please forgive this if it's a repeat. I have a cruise booked on the Norwegian Spirit for next March. Now that I'm being rated by the casino, I'm hoping to get a good discount from Club Royale for a cruise on the Freedom of the Seas which I could take instead. So, right now I've got two cruises booked for that same week. Later on, when I know what offer Club Royale will make, I'll cancel one of them.

 

Here's a humorous story... We stopped by the spa yesterday for our friend to make a massage appointment. One of the spa staff was telling me about the teeth whitening process and giving me details about how it works. Another of the staff members chimed in, correcting her and adding her two cents. The first woman then got seemingly incensed at the other woman butting in (stealing her customer?) and gave a friendly sarcastic response. They went back and forth for a bit, trading slight barbs, all while not getting into a full cat fight in front of the passengers. It was amusing watching them do this, all while otherwise retaining their composure in front of us.

[skrapngal]

For the person who was looking for the scrapbook package cover. I couldn't find it. I checked the photo area and asked one of the gentlemen working there, and I got a confused response as he didn't recognize the package. I know I've seen it before on previous sailings, so I know what you mean, but I haven't found it yet. I'll keep looking, though.

 

I appreciate the effort. The only other place it might be is the workshop. That's where the scrapbooking classes are offered. I have a friend who took pictures of the scrapbooking kits, but apparently the album was not there on her cruise back in March... maybe they have moved it there now...

 

Less than 6 months til my very first cruise :D