Is it Live or is it Memorex?- Allure of the Seas Review September 18-25 with Pics!

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Thursday September 22- Day 5- St. Maarten

 

Can you believe it’s already

 

 

I can’t!

 

We had already docked in Phillipsburg, St. Maarten when I awoke this morning. Initially skies were blue and it looked to be a gorgeous day in the islands:

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a few dark rainclouds scattered here and there. Nothing too ominous. Here’s my breakfast on the balcony: a Pumpkin Spice Latte, yum yum!

 

 

Today we had booked a charter independently with Captain Alan (http://www.captainalan.com). We had read about the Three-island snorkeling tour here on the St. Maarten port boards in 2009 and previously went on the same trip with him in 2010. Even though conditions weren’t great on that excursion, we had so much fun we decided we had to do it again. It is easy to book online through their website, and they even offer a clothes optional version of the trip for those of you who like to get a bit nekkid!

 

We had to meet near the pier at 8:15 AM so we had to hurry up. As soon as we stepped off the ship, we could see it was raining in a nice even strip along the boat. It wasn’t raining anywhere else but where we needed to walk. In fact I don’t even think it was raining up by the bow. The stern was getting pretty soaked though. It’s a big ship, you know. LOL.

 

The little shower didn’t hinder us at all. We were going to get wet anyway, right? (Oh boy, were we!)

 

We stopped for a quick mandatory picture at the famous Welcome to St. Maarten sign. I was thinking maybe we should do this on the way back but now I’m so glad we didn’t. As it turns out, we didn’t have a working camera on the way back!!

 

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Looking back at the private for-Allure-only rain shower:

 

 

We arrived right on time, and it turns out most of our group had assembled and we headed for the taxi to take us to the marina. The taxi ride to Oyster Pond took about 20 minutes. Once we arrived at the dock, we took care of a little bit of paperwork, paid the remaining balance, and got fitted for our gear. It was so much easier to do this here than on the boat!

 

 

 

 

 

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Meanwhile Captain Alan got the boat ready for us. We were on the Awesome last time, but we would be on the smaller (and more powerful) scarab “La Bonne Vie” this time around (translation: the good life). This boat looked great, as it had a lot of bow seating and we discovered on the last trip that that’s where all the fun is! We would not be disappointed! We had to wait a short while for one more group to join us, in all it was three groups of folks, our family, a group of three gals from California that were a whole lot of fun, and another friendly, older family group from Allure.

 

 

When it was time to board the kids scurried right up to the front of the bow seats. There was plenty of room for all five of us plus the three girls up front. It was to be quite a ride!

 

 

 

It turns out there was a storm a brewing in the Caribbean. It wasn’t a serious one but it would evolve into Tropical Storm Ophelia. The disturbance was causing choppy seas (Alan said 5-7 ft. swells) so it made for quite a bouncy ride around the island. The kids- LOVED IT! And so did everyone else!

 

 

 

Sarah called it a roller coaster boat ride, and she pretty much nailed it with that description. The most fun I’d pretty much had anywhere. It was thrilling!

 

Here’s some video of Captain Alan’s Wild Ride!

 

(Video- click picture below to play)

 

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And what Sarah thought about it:

(Video- click picture below to play)

 

 

The pictures really don’t do the waves justice, but I didn’t want to have my camera out during the really high waves since it isn’t a waterproof camera, and we were getting splashed pretty good up there. I kept it rolled up in my towel, in a death grip when we weren’t going slow enough to have it out.

 

 

We rode all the way around the north side of the island to Creole Rock, where there is a spectacular reef with amazing snorkeling!

 

 

Ready to go!!!

 

 

I took Sarah so Ron could go on the little tour with Alan. He showed everybody the great spots to snorkel at and the gorgeous sea life. Ron said it was right up there with the barrier reef at Cayman Islands as the best snorkeling he’d ever seen!

 

 

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Meanwhile, the two other kids cruised around and I dealt with Sarah. She got in the water briefly but got cold (it was still overcast out and a bit windy) and wanted to get back in the boat. I was so thankful that one lady from the other family group had stayed on; I would not have been able to get Sarah back onboard without her help! She was so nice, but didn’t speak English much so we couldn’t have much of a conversation. I tried, LOL, but I only had 2 years of Spanish. Haha!

 

 

The island of Anguilla in the distance. Both Anguilla and St. Barths are close enough for a day trip.

 

 

Back on our side of the pond:

 

 

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Before too long, everyone made their way back to the boat and we headed to the next stop, which is absolute favorite beach of all time, anywhere ever: Happy Bay Beach.

 

 

 

We had been here before on our last Capt Alan’s trip. It is just beautiful. It is secluded and rustic, and being on the French side, beachgoers tend to let it all hang out. We’d explained to the kids before about nude beaches and they thankfully acted mature and ignored the few nudists that were out this day. Generally our experience has been that when they see kids approach, the nude sunbathers will cover up or turn over. With the exception of one guy who was strutting his stuff, it was pretty much a non-event.

 

Even on an overcast day, just beautiful!

 

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On Happy Bay Beach is where the mud bath is held, a tradition with Capt. Alan’s trips- it started on the island of Tintamarre- which is now a protected nature preserve. The special mix of minerals is great to slather on your skin and hair and let dry it really does noticeably exfoliate a bit, leaving your skin smooth and silky. Legend is it will give you 10 extra years to live… not sure about that one but it’s worth the shot, right?

 

Captain Alan shows us the mineral mud prior to mixing it and explains how to apply it:

 

 

 

 

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Everyone had fun playing in the mud!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As if on cue, the sun came out just in time to dry us up like mummies!

 

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After applying the mud, we all relaxed on the beach for awhile. Ron and Sarah built a nice sand castle, complete with windows, stairs, and a slide (as all good sand castles must have!).

 

It’s just paradise!

 

 

 

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All too soon, it was time to rinse off the mud and make our way back on the boat. We still had one more snorkeling and one more island stop to go!

Capt. Alan rigged up a little rope for the kids to grab, as the waves were so big they were having trouble holding on. This helped a lot!

 

 

I believe this is Grand Case:

 

 

Our next snorkeling spot was a little reef close to the main island. It’s hard to tell from the map, but I believe it may have been Anse Marcel. Ron let me go first this time since I got so little snorkeling time at Creole Rock. I thought it was just amazing! The reef is just gorgeous. Tropical fish everywhere corals, amazing colors. Fantastic. After a bit I went back so Ron could get in. He said this reef was not as amazing as Creole Rock, boy I sure thought it was pretty great though!!

 

 

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Meanwhile, back on the boat this kids enjoyed their little snack: Be advised that his website states just that: “little” snack, and he isn’t kidding, it’s basically just a pack of crackers. We didn’t really care though! (There is also an open cooler filled with sodas, water and beer!)

 

 

Something’s burning up there….

 

 

We were shortly on our way to our third and final stop, Pinel Island. This used to be an old French penal colony. Really? Someone please tell me what I have to do to go be punished here!

 

 

 

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The resort on the island was closed, due to it being off-season. Even though it was totally closed and abandoned, no doors or locks, just a sign that said “Respect My Place” Awesome.

 

 

 

 

Looking back towards Cul De-Sac/Orient Bay.

 

 

What a gorgeous place!!!

 

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Of course Pinel Island was the calm before the storm, so to speak. As we headed back towards Oyster pond, the seas were rougher than before. More watercraft were out, causing us to encounter some large wakes. We were having a blast plowing into these HUGE waves, the airtime was amazing. What a thrill!!!

 

But before long we hit a wave that took even Capt. Alan by surprise! We plowed right into a gigantic swell, and the wave crashed right over the bow, washing those of us sitting up there right off of our seats! It was like a real life tidal wave! It was super fun, until I realized I still had my camera in my lap, wrapped up in my now completely drenched RCCL towel! OMG!

 

....Oopsie. It was my own fault; Alan had warned us we should put anything that shouldn’t get wet underneath in the cabin. We weren’t the only ones to lose a camera, though, the group of ladies from Cali also had theirs with them, and it was soaked now too! Neither of our cameras would turn on now.

 

The last picture taken with my Canon Powershot S3IS, may it rest in pieces…

 

 

Since there wasn’t anything we could do about our cameras, it was back up into the bow to enjoy the rest of the exhilarating ride back! It was just so awesome I can’t put it into words! And we were laughing hysterically at the huge pool of water at the back of the boat that had been washed aboard with the wave. Swimming around in it was soda cans, snorkeling equipment, sunglasses, sunscreen containers and other debris. It was freakin’ hilarious!!! And of course Alan, who has a great sense of humor, was loving it as much as we were!

 

We were so bummed to see this half day trip come to an end. Truly, the best excursion evaaah. Can’t recommend Capt. Alan’s enough. Try it, you won’t be sorry! (Waterproof cameras only. Seriously.);)

 

So after bring dropped back at the Marina, we all piled back in the van to head back to the port area. The three girls got their camera to turn back on but ours was pretty unresponsive. I guess we would be going camera shopping once we got back into town.

 

One thing that sucked was all of our towels got drenched so we were carrying a 40 pound bag of wet towels around, hindering our shopping. Plus we were dropped in the area right by the port- not the main shopping area of Phillipsburg. If we wanted to go into “town” so to speak we’d all have to ride the water taxi, and lugging six wet…dripping, completely soaked towels would not be fun. So we stuck to the little shopping area right where we were- it had one…one electronics and camera store.

 

We didn’t have a lot of cash, and although we had a backup credit card, of course, we didn’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary. I am the type that likes to do a lot of research before buying anything electronic and especially cameras, so I felt uncomfortable having to shop uninformed. Even though I was wanting to buy a DSLR anyway we didn’t even entertain the thought of such a large purchase at this time. Instead we just wanted to grab a cheap point & shoot to get us through the rest of the cruise. Of course when I asked the price of one Canon model I was looking at, it was nearly $300- for a P&S!! Ack! I told the guy I was hoping for something under $100. He looked at me like I was crazy. LOL.

 

So Ron and I began discussing if we should just pick up a camera onboard the ship, and lo and behold the salesman told me they did have one $99 deal- for a Nikon Coolpix S3100, with a case and a 2 GB memory card. Sold. LOL.

 

I was afraid we’d just been had and imagined that we’d just bought a $39 camera for $100 but when we checked the prices back home -although it is an older model- the prices were actually comparable. So…we kind of really did get a deal. And it turns out the cameras in the shop onboard were all over $250, so we were really happy about our purchase in the end.

 

Back onboard, we headed to Park Café for some lunch. All I had was my flip video cam since the new camera had to charge. So here’s our lunch!!!

 

(Video- click picture below to play)

 

 

Up next: more fun onboard and Giovanni’s Table

[nenner1]

Does the MDR have the same problem with the table for 2s being so close together? :confused:

 

Gosh, I wish I had noticed. I didn't I'm sorry. :( The MDR, especially MTD area seemed spacious. Of course we were always seated at a 6-top table.

 

I experienced this with MTD in the MDR. I didn't like it at all. It was like actually having table mates. There a few inches between tables at best. We were having conversation with the folks next to us, it's like they were seated with us. I don't think it's a problem with traditional dining.

 

:(I guess it is an issue in MTD then. That is such a bummer. Don;t get me wrong, I like to meet people and stuff it's just at dinner we want to relax and let it all hang out (figuratively of course! haha!)

 

Thanks so much for reading!!! :)

 

Thank You for the great review love the pics and all the info. We will be sailing the Allure in 5 weeks:D

 

You're welcome! So glad you are enjoying it! The next few weeks will fly by until it's your turn!! :D

[nenner1]

We will be traditional dining in the MDR. I hope tables aren't too close together.

 

Hopefully it's Ok down there. :o For sure there was enough space between the larger tables. I'm not sure how many smaller tables they have in traditional since they tend to put smaller parties together down there.

 

You're welcome for the picture. :)

 

Sorry to hear about your experience at Chop's. Our meal there was fantastic; however, out meal at Giovanni's was just okay. On the other hand, our experience at Chop's on the Mariner was just okay - we almost didn't book it for the Allure! Go figure??!

 

Keep up the great work!

 

Thanks!!! It's funny how it can be somewhat inconsistent like that. It wasn't a bad meal by any means, I think the last time we were in Chops it was just so over the top amazing that we had kind of built it up in our heads. ;)

 

Thanks for your amazing review and pictures. I can't wait to go!!

 

Thanks so much for reading! So glad you are enjoying it! :)

[metairiegal]

I think I would have died on that boat ride! :eek: :p

 

We have traditional dining and I am hoping for a table for 2 not too too close to another table but looks like that might not happen.

 

We are thinking of buying a Nikon Coolpix S6100. How did you wind up liking the older version? Just curious.

 

What else is there right where the ship docks in St. Martin? Anything or is it best to take the water taxi to town?

 

Still lovin' your review. Here AND over "there!" Don't want to miss anything! ;)

Edited October 11, 2011 by metairiegal

[skrapngal]

Still lovin' your review. Here AND over "there!" Don't want to miss anything! ;)

 

Is it the same review over there? Anyway you could post a link?

[Momto5]

Looks like an awesome excursion. My youngest would be terrified though. Like on our boat on Georgian Bay in the summer-lol.

 

We had a similar camera disaster at Disney. My Nikon D40 crapped out suddenly. During the afternoon parade. In the Magic Kingdom-day 2 of our trip. Are you KIDDING me?

 

Sent DH out that night to buy a new one. He calls me at 830 pm, telling me he can't find one. Where are you dear? At the outlet mall. Are you kidding me again! That's for purses, shoes and last year's fashions. Go to a Target!!

 

He wisely did. And got us a Canon p and s which we still use when we want something portable. The Nikon? Not fixable, cheaper to buy a new one. Got a D60, with the extended warranty. Still love the Canon though, it does the trick when space is tight.

 

Loving your review. Hoping to do one of the Explorer next March. Are you using Photobucket to get the pix on here?

Edited October 11, 2011 by Momto5

[time4me2fly]

Wow after that review, I think Captain Alan is going to get lots of business!

 

Your trip with Captain Alan looks and sounded like a GREAT trip. Last time I booked an independent snorkeling trip was in St Thomas with Yacht Adventures on "Island Girl". I was very disappointed. I said I wouldn't book another, but after seeing your trip with Captain Alan, I've changed my mind. Thanks for the review.

[star453]

Fantastic review:)

[wingnutphl]

Hmm I didn't have any PG thoughts about that mud and Capt. Alan. ;)

 

Can't wait for the rest of the review!

[joand452]

Sorry about the camera. I had a Canon IS3, too, and it crapped out on us at Disney World a couple of years ago. It still worked, but the pictures were all grainy. Fortunately, at that time, it was my "back up" camera -- I had a Nikon D60 by then. Now I also have a Panasonic Lumix p&s -- which is what I took to Disney on our last trip since I didn't feel like carrying the Nikon (those things get heavy!). I've been there plenty of times, but still took over 500 pics!!

 

Anyway, I was going to make a suggestion about your camera. Did you dry it thoroughly after it soaking? I suggest you take out the battery, leave the battery compartment door open and submerge everything in dry rice for a few days. It may be too late to help now, but it wouldn't hurt. After a few days, recharge the battery (that should be in the rice, too) and see if it will turn on again. I've never had to do this with a camera (knock on wood), but have done it with plenty of cell phones! Good luck!

 

Still loving your review!!

[livingis2me]

Loved Capt. Alan's. Definitely want to do that again on next year's cruise!:D

 

Ron

[Pinkbaby01]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Your review is awesome! My family will be sailing on the Allure in April 2012 and this was so helpful. This will be our first Cruise on RCI and we are really looking forward to it!

[sorento]

Thanks for the awesome review.I will be cruising on the Allure this Sunday with 25 family and friends.