Allure of the seas- Eastern- april 15-22nd Review

[obsessedsc]

Her Name is Anna and she is by far the best I have ever seen in 22 cruises! RCI should use her as the poster child for their Royal Service.

 

yes! we wow'ed her!!

[Buffett fan]

I think it would have been worth it if it were a better beach day. it was still a little cool and the ocean was rough the day we were there. If you have never been to atlantis, you should definately go! There are lots of other ways to go to atlantis. Day pass at the atlantis through atlantis and through the comfort suites( i think). I dont know how much cheaper it really ends up being though. We could have stayed 2 hr longer than we did but because of the baby and the weather we chose to go back to the ship where we could eat for free vs. staying there and paying for a lunch! Hope that helps! If we didnt go to atlantis we would have stayed on the ship!

 

We were on the Allure in February and weren’t originally going to get off the ship in the Bahamas. We debated on whether to stay on the ship and explore the beautiful Allure or go to Atlantis. I really wanted to see Atlantis as I figured I would never stay there. We did one of the day passes through a Royal Caribbean shore excursion. There were several to choose from, but we did one where we did a self guided tour and then could have some beach/pool time (did not do the aqua park). I'd heard several things about Atlantis (it’s overcrowded, you wait in line for everything, it’s too much money), so my expectations were at mid-level. Like Obsessedsc, the weather wasn’t that great when we first got there, but I was determined to at least see the resort. Like I said, I figured that would be my one and only visit. The transportation there was easy and fast. Definitely no complaints. Once we got there, we walked around on our own and the first thing we found were the baby stingrays….that was enough to make my day! I have snorkeled with stingrays in Grand Cayman before and just love them! Afterwards, we walked around a bit more and enjoyed all of the amazing scenery and grounds when we stumbled upon the aquarium. OH MY GOSH! Again, my expectations were mid-level. I felt like a kid in a candy store! I was giddy! :D:) I probably took about 150 pictures just wandering around in the aquarium. It was amazing! Now I knew for sure that our money had been well spent! After we tooled around more of the resort for a bit (we probably only covered about 1/3), the sun had come out and it turned into a beautiful day. We took a ton of pictures and decided that we would definitely love to come back and bring the kids. We’ll just have to wait until we hit the lottery first…because I’m not going to give up a cruise to go to Atlantis. Everyone has limitations.;) After a bit, we decided to grab lunch (eating there was definitely not cheap) and take a little nap by the beach area. We snoozed a little and then walked around to some of the shops. I treated myself to a few things to remember Atlantis by and made our way back to the Allure. So…my two cents, definitely worth at least seeing depending on your tastes. Maybe it’s because our expectations were mid-level, but we both loved it! And once we’re independently wealthy, we’d like to go stay at Atlantis with the kids. On top of cruising several times a year! :D:):p

[obsessedsc]

We woke up and headed to the character breakfast! This was another one of our favorite parts of the trip and the best breakfast we had!! My son was in awe of the characters!

 

I dressed him in a cute little outfit with animals to fit the theme!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

then we napped and then headed to the pool deck where we found the rest of the family!!

[obsessedsc]

One of my favorite parts of a cruise is the music they play out by the pool. Once we got settled in our seats me and DS went to go dance and i videoed a song so that when i've got the winter blues i can watch and feel like i'm back there!

 

 

My mom had bought this pool for DS at her house and we laughed at the size when we first opened it and then before she returned it, I found this idea in a review on cc. By this point we had enough of the baby splash zone and this was fun to change it up. I took the pool to the side of the beach pool and used his bucket to fill it. Once I got it set up so many people were commenting on what a great idea! Of course my DH was rolling his eyes because he thought i was being a little high maintenance.

 

 

We found my parents in these seats and they just happened to have 2 more right next to them! They were about to move to the shade but stayed with us a little while to see how my idea turned out!

 

Then my mom and brother went to our fav pool in the solarium!

 

 

We lasted about 45 minutes- an hr with DS's attention span and I took the pool (if you do this be very careful because the pool area is slippery) to the shower close by and dumped it in the drain!

 

Then we went back to the room to change clothes and went to get lunch at Johnny Rockets!

 

 

next up: more of our last day: Let you entertain me show, last ride on the carousel, date night for me and DH (mini bar crawl, samba, and hot tub)!

[Just The 3 Of Us]

I am so enjoying your review and pics. Your son is just simply adorable!!!

[Motleu]

Fabulous review!

[obsessedsc]

We went to the aquatheater for the Let You Entertain Me show. We stood in the back instead of trying to sit with DS. He really enjoyed it (and we enjoyed watching him)!

 

 

Gloria was my favorite in this show! loved her bikini!

 

DS and I took a last ride on the carousel! I loved the frog prince and we are tiger fans so those are the 2 he rode!

 

 

we went back to the room and got ready for our date while DS took nap #2. My mom was going to start babysitting around 4!

[obsessedsc]

we started date night at the schooner bar

 

I got a perfect patron margarita (one of my favorites) and DH got crown and coke. The bartender here was really nice and made sure to introduce herself! Wish we had a chance to go more than once!

 

 

 

Next up was boleros! Boleros was our favorite bar on the Freedom of the Seas. We went there every night on that cruise! I had the BEST coconut mojito (I have craved it a few times since i've been home)!!! And the waiter made me a pretty yellow rose out of tissue paper!!

 

 

Next was the champagne and martini bar. I just got a glass of champagne. Earlier in the week, before going to chicago, I got a balini from here and it was delicious (expensive, but delicious)! DH still had his drink from boleros.

 

(and there's my yellow flower)

 

I had to take a picture of this guy...i think he's so sweet

 

 

Next we got on the Rising Tide!!

 

DH got another crown and coke and I tried the rising tide martini (not my favorite drink and it tinted my teeth blue)!

 

We were all out of time so we didnt make it to the Bow and Stern and I had hoped to make it to the viking crown again but oh well! We really enjoyed ourselves and people were excited to see us out relaxing and having fun without the baby!!

 

We had 6:00 reservations at Samba!

[obsessedsc]

Samba was really good and romantic! The food could have been bad and we would have still had fun but it was really good! Our favorite was the pork! We had our salads, 3 different meats (filet, tenderloin and pork) and then i'm sure our bellies and taste buds would have allowed us to keep going a little longer but we had to get DS from the parents at 8 so that they could eat so we stopped and had dessert!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[obsessedsc]

While my parents and brother ate dinner in the MDR we gave DS his bedtime bottle and then I packed everything up! We were able to condense our suit cases.

 

Once we were packed DS was still wide awake and went to help his grammie and papa finish packing. DH, my brother and I went to the cantilevered hot tub. We had about 5 minutes of silence and then a pack of teens came in and spoiled that but it was funny listening to them and talking about how it seems like we were just that age! We walked through the solarium one last time and then headed to get some sleep!

 

 

Departure: Express Walk off

 

When we started we had 2 carry ons, a diaper bag, 3 rolling suit cases, a duffle bag, a pack n play and a garmet bag. Because we used a lot of the baby's supplies and we just rolled everything dirty up we condensed it to 2 carry offs (1 of them= the diaper bag), and 3 rolling suitcases and the pack n play. We decided we were going to express walk off. This is how we prefered to leave but were nervous with all the extra stuff. I warned everyone that we would all have our hands full and it wouldnt be fun for a short while and not to pick at each other!

 

My dad carried the pack n play. I had the baby in the stroller, the carry off and a rolling suitcase. DH had the other 2 rollings and a bag. We met at 6:30 outside our door in the lobby area and we went to deck 5. We were in our cars before 7am.

 

Hope you all enjoyed and that my review helps you like others helped me!! Our vacation was everything we hoped it would be!! Relaxing, safe and lots of memories!!

[obsessedsc]

I got this picture from mom once I already got through this day on my review but I thought I'd share. We went to ON AIR on Tuesday night after Giovannis and sent a postcard home to friends!! We could only remember one email so we sent a note asking her to put it on FB!

 

Now we want to change it to say Wish WE were THERE!!!

 

 

I hope all that are on the Allure today are enjoying their 1st SEA DAY!!

[obsessedsc]

We were on the Allure in February and weren’t originally going to get off the ship in the Bahamas. We debated on whether to stay on the ship and explore the beautiful Allure or go to Atlantis. I really wanted to see Atlantis as I figured I would never stay there. We did one of the day passes through a Royal Caribbean shore excursion. There were several to choose from, but we did one where we did a self guided tour and then could have some beach/pool time (did not do the aqua park). I'd heard several things about Atlantis (it’s overcrowded, you wait in line for everything, it’s too much money), so my expectations were at mid-level. Like Obsessedsc, the weather wasn’t that great when we first got there, but I was determined to at least see the resort. Like I said, I figured that would be my one and only visit. The transportation there was easy and fast. Definitely no complaints. Once we got there, we walked around on our own and the first thing we found were the baby stingrays….that was enough to make my day! I have snorkeled with stingrays in Grand Cayman before and just love them! Afterwards, we walked around a bit more and enjoyed all of the amazing scenery and grounds when we stumbled upon the aquarium. OH MY GOSH! Again, my expectations were mid-level. I felt like a kid in a candy store! I was giddy! :D:) I probably took about 150 pictures just wandering around in the aquarium. It was amazing! Now I knew for sure that our money had been well spent! After we tooled around more of the resort for a bit (we probably only covered about 1/3), the sun had come out and it turned into a beautiful day. We took a ton of pictures and decided that we would definitely love to come back and bring the kids. We’ll just have to wait until we hit the lottery first…because I’m not going to give up a cruise to go to Atlantis. Everyone has limitations.;) After a bit, we decided to grab lunch (eating there was definitely not cheap) and take a little nap by the beach area. We snoozed a little and then walked around to some of the shops. I treated myself to a few things to remember Atlantis by and made our way back to the Allure. So…my two cents, definitely worth at least seeing depending on your tastes. Maybe it’s because our expectations were mid-level, but we both loved it! And once we’re independently wealthy, we’d like to go stay at Atlantis with the kids. On top of cruising several times a year! :D:):p

 

I totally agree with you!! Atlantis is worth the money to even just see it/experience it!! This was the 3rd time some of us had been there. We had a baby, the weather was just so-so and we had to walk around in a line hearing about everything that we already knew!! I hope my earlier review doesnt change someone's mind about going! We just wish we could have done it a little different!! Our only other option was to stay on the ship because none of the other bahamas excursions interested us! If we had more time and no baby we would have done the aquaventure again. We loved that and I even recommended it to friends....but with a baby i knew we wouldnt get 150 (or whatever the cost) out of it!

[Buffett fan]

Great review! Sorry to see it come to an end, LOL! Thanks for all your hard work, it's appreciated :)

[sharod]

Her Name is Anna and she is by far the best I have ever seen in 22 cruises! RCI should use her as the poster child for their Royal Service.

 

We had Anna for our Allure cruise. And I agree, she is the best of the best!!!! Always around, mingling, talking, making sure everything runs smoothly!!!

 

 

OP, I am totally enjoying your review. The Allure is quite a ship!!!

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Fantastic review - thank you so much for sharing!!!

[obsessedsc]

I would post the compass but DS would pull them off the vanity every morning and crumble them/chew on them so we ended up using the TV if we were ever looking for something to do! 85% of our cruise was pre-planned using CC though. And probably another 5% were things i listed that i knew we'd enjoy but didnt know what time they would be (ie: the music triva and Let Me Entertain you shows).

 

I had a word document that was our schedule- I'd start with where we'd have breakfast (we didnt stick to it perfectly but my lists were more to help us explore options) then morning activities/ excursion and then dinner. I also had a pre or post drink bar listed to try to hit all the bars but that worked better for my parents/brother than us. Then I had the night entertainment (which we mostly slept through). Closer to cruise time- I went back and typed in what we'd wear (of course we changed it around some but it was good to keep us from over packing clothes). I also added in some things that I wanted to make sure I got photos of! At the end i had a list of things to do but didnt specifically have a day/time for. Like cupcake, starbucks, putt putt, deck 14 spot.

 

My family wonders what it would have been like to cruise Allure without all the knowledge I had from here!!

 

Thanks for reading everyone!!!

 

If anyone is interested I can also add my packing list for my son. I'd have to type it because I wrote it out but if it could help out any parents of an infant I'd be happy to do it!

 

oh and exciting news!!! my son got his first tooth yesterday!! :)

[obsessedsc]

We had Anna for our Allure cruise. And I agree, she is the best of the best!!!! Always around, mingling, talking, making sure everything runs smoothly!!!

 

 

OP, I am totally enjoying your review. The Allure is quite a ship!!!

 

yes, and she knew all the juicy gossip about the passengers!! haha!

[RoyalPrincess0622]

Samba was really good and romantic! The food could have been bad and we would have still had fun but it was really good! Our favorite was the pork! We had our salads, 3 different meats (filet, tenderloin and pork) and then i'm sure our bellies and taste buds would have allowed us to keep going a little longer but we had to get DS from the parents at 8 so that they could eat so we stopped and had dessert!!

 

 

Love your review and pictures. I was on the Allure in January with 16 month old twin boys, and bath time was not a good time for us. :(

 

I'll be back onboard the Allure in a couple of weeks (without kids). In your opinion what was your favorite drink, and who were some of the best bartenders?

 

Cute dress...do you mind if I ask where you got it?!?!

[Familygoboston]

Love your review and pictures. I was on the Allure in January with 16 month old twin boys, and bath time was not a good time for us. :(

 

I'll be back onboard the Allure in a couple of weeks (without kids). In your opinion what was your favorite drink, and who were some of the best bartenders?

 

Cute dress...do you mind if I ask where you got it?!?!

 

I'm willing to bet its Tommy Bahama! I just bought 2 to take to French Polynesia...and though I got differrent colors they look just like this! They are soooo comfortable, made of a stretchy cotton, and all the "under roos" are built in so you can literally throw it on and go; its like wearing pjs.

 

Loved your review! Obsessedsc- I did soemthing similar with my plans, jotting down a different neighborhood or bar I wanted to explore each day. I still got to the last night and we had to do a bunch, but at least that way I knew what I wanted to do.

 

Even with all that planning, I missed the on air and post card. Yours turned out great! We will definately do this on Allure with our girls! I also never went to Dazzles for anything except the meet and mingle- would have liked to have heard the band there! Never went in Boleros...seemed to smokey, did you find the non smoking side was ok? ( or maybe you smoke, but I can't imagine you doing that with that beautiful boy and his perfect lungs!;))

 

Glad your trip turned out so well...some planners don't actually have a good time because they get too hung up on the plans ( I have a SIL like this) but you seemed to just roll with it and your photos look like everyone was having a great time!:D

[obsessedsc]

Love your review and pictures. I was on the Allure in January with 16 month old twin boys, and bath time was not a good time for us. :(

 

I'll be back onboard the Allure in a couple of weeks (without kids). In your opinion what was your favorite drink, and who were some of the best bartenders?

 

Cute dress...do you mind if I ask where you got it?!?!

 

I bet it will be a whole different vacation without them!! I'm sure you will miss them though!

 

My favorite drink by the pool was the wild berry lava flow! My favorite drink that I got in the evening was the coconut mojito from boleros (and that's not something i would even think to get at home). As far as bartenders go on this trip we didnt get enough time at the bars to really find a favorite!!

 

thanks about the dress. its from cache back in 2009. i got it for our engagement party!

[obsessedsc]

I'm willing to bet its Tommy Bahama! I just bought 2 to take to French Polynesia...and though I got differrent colors they look just like this! They are soooo comfortable, made of a stretchy cotton, and all the "under roos" are built in so you can literally throw it on and go; its like wearing pjs.

 

Loved your review! Obsessedsc- I did soemthing similar with my plans, jotting down a different neighborhood or bar I wanted to explore each day. I still got to the last night and we had to do a bunch, but at least that way I knew what I wanted to do.

 

Even with all that planning, I missed the on air and post card. Yours turned out great! We will definately do this on Allure with our girls! I also never went to Dazzles for anything except the meet and mingle- would have liked to have heard the band there! Never went in Boleros...seemed to smokey, did you find the non smoking side was ok? ( or maybe you smoke, but I can't imagine you doing that with that beautiful boy and his perfect lungs!;))

 

Glad your trip turned out so well...some planners don't actually have a good time because they get too hung up on the plans ( I have a SIL like this) but you seemed to just roll with it and your photos look like everyone was having a great time!:D

 

I never even got to go in Dazzles but we arent night life people and unless we have too much to drink and our friends from home we arent much for dancing! We were only in boleros for about 20 minutes. Smoke didnt bother me there as much as other areas. My parents said the Bow and Stern pub was smokey.

 

I cant kick this vacation. Now that i've recovered from being sick we have been at the beach or pool the past 4 days straight and sunday night I made DH take me out to this marina place to eat and i ordered a huge pina colada and we watched the sunset....i just keep saying if only our water were crystal clear (but then NOTHING would ever get done)!!

 

We are thinking of doing the Disney Fantasy next as a family but waiting until about 2014/15. I may not make it until then and have to do a cruise with just DH!

[Needcruiseinfo]

I love reading your review. We're taking the same trip in 37 days. Im having trouble finding recent reviews of snorkling excursions in St Thomas / St Martin. Did you do any excursions? How were they?

Thanks

[akcruz]

Sounds we will be on the same cruise, stop on by the roll call and join in. We have had some discussion on excursions and a few who have sailed on Allure before. I know I am reading as many Allure reviews as I can since there is so much to learn. Very grateful to all those posting reviews, keep them coming!

[obsessedsc]

I love reading your review. We're taking the same trip in 37 days. Im having trouble finding recent reviews of snorkling excursions in St Thomas / St Martin. Did you do any excursions? How were they?

Thanks

 

we didnt snorkle. sorry! but we did love our excursions that we did do. If you look back in my review you will find more about the beaches we went to!

[mommaof 3]

Wonderful review! Since you are a nurse, I'll admit to reading it as I relisten to a lecture on diabetes for a med/surg final next week, lol. Your family is adorable, you and your mom look so much alike. And I love the pictures of the beaches and of your son napping on the balcony, so peaceful!

 

We are hoping to go on Allure with our kids in a year or two, I think they would love it! If you have the chance, your son would probably love Coco Key in a few years. It was a wonderful relaxing day for us - shallow beach with lots of chairs and shade for our toddler, and my kindergartener loved the "racetrack".