Allure of the Seas 6/3/12 - a picture review

[MrFunInTheSun]

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

[ciship]

Can't wait to hear about what you did in each port!

[petesweet]

Loving this detailed review. Thanks so much.

 

"i was very excited to see Chicago that night as where else can you say you saw a Broadway show at sea (other than Oasis). It was a good show until we started falling asleep at about 11:30PM and about half way through. So we left as we were too tired and knew we had to be up for Labadee early the next morning. I was kind of disappointed, but I guess the show just wasn't exciting enough to keep us awake especially after waking up so early the day before. However from what I do remember from the first half, it was just a good show and nothing too special. I think that is mainly to do with the show itself. I was kind of confused at the fact that there was really no set. Instead the orchestra played from risers and the actors would sometimes go up those stairs. Other than that though there was no set. To anyone who has seen Chicago on Broadway, was this the case there? The acting was pretty good. I think the show is just okay and they could certainly pick some better musicals when Chicago's run ends."

 

I can't quote this much text on my IPad,but I wanted to say that I am not looking forward to Chicago next year, but we LOVED Hairspray on the Oasis.

 

Kathy

[petesweet]

I was on the Explorer recently and Richard Spacey was the cruise director. One word fantastic. Quest and the 70's party was fantastic no small part due to Richard Spacey. His energy level was unequalled. Please do yourself a favor try book a cruise with Spacey as a cruise director you won't be disappointed!

 

We had Richard Spacey on the Oasis. Exceptional!

 

Kathy

[cruisetrail]

Nice review.

Thanks!

 

The Allure is a beautiful ship.

 

[AF-1]

Nice review.

Thanks!

 

The Allure is a beautiful ship.

 

watched your Video on You Tube; well done.;)

[terpfan101]

Happy Fourth of July! Let's get on to the next part...my review of 150 Central Park which as I mentioned earlier I was set on trying and my expectations were easily exceeded!

 

Upon getting on the ship, I debated between which of the two menus I preferred and decided to go with the first one but kept second guessing myself as there were a few things that sounded great on the second one and I was concerned that Lindsay might be a bit picky with some of the things on the menus. Well I'm glad I didn't switch to the second as our meal was great.

 

Here is the menu:

 

They give you a normal menu at first to order off of and then bring a copy with your name on it that you can reference during the meal and take with you. The menu card slides into the holder on the left with your name appearing through the cutout hole. It was great to be able to have the menu to take. Before I get to the food in this multi post entry, here are a couple of pictures of us before we ate: I look funny sitting in this large chair haha.

 

 

 

Our waitress was named Natalya and from I think the Ukraine. She was lovely and was a great server. With each course she would inform us as to what exactly everything was which was very useful. I had wanted to give her one of our Wow cards but forgot to come back to give it to her.

 

So at the beginning of the meal she came to take our orders. Since Lindsay isn't a big seafood eater (she'll eat crabcakes and shrimp but is not a big fan of fish or other seafood), I had called to make a special request for a substitute dish for the bouillabaisse. They said it wouldn't be a problem. So our only choice when it came to the food was which main course we wanted...the veal or beef. Lindsay's decision was easy as she doesn't eat veal. I've had veal once or twice before but am not a big fan. I debated but decided I'd rather just get the beef. Natalya suggested that couples usually get one of each to taste both but I just didn't think I'd enjoy the veal as much. She also took our drink orders. We each got a glass of wine. The wine pairing looked nice, but Lindsay isn't a big drinker and will usually only have one and maybe two glasses of wine with a dinner. Not wanting to be too drunk I decided to pass on the wine pairing. Natalya also suggested trying he famous cucumber martini. I had heard so much about it but it just didn't sound too appealing to me. Anyway onto the meal!

 

For those who don't know, 150 Central Park has a unique salt selection for use with the bread and unsalted butter. They bring out a dish with six different types of salts from around the world. Here is a picture and I will describe each below.

 

From the top black salt going clockwise here are the names and descriptions provided on a paper from the restaurant:

 

- Salish (Smoked Alder salt from Washington state) - This had a nice smoked flavor to it, it was unique but probably my least favorite.

- Murray River (Pink flake salt from Australia) - I think I liked this but it was very salty.

- Kala Namak (black mineral salt from India) - This is the famous "rotten egg" salt and I actually enjoyed it. It tasted almost like eating a hard boiled egg. She explained that it gets that way from the high sulfur content and is a great thing in India as eggs can be expensive, this way people can get the taste of eggs. I convinced Lindsay to try it but she didn't like it.

- Sel de mar (Mediterranean sea salt from France) - This was your basic plain salt.

- Sel Gris (Mediterranean grey sea salt from France) - This one was pretty simple and not much different from the previous one, but I can't recall the slight difference.

- Alaea (Hawaiian sea salt) - This tasted interesting, Natalya explained it got its color from volcanoes.

 

I wish I hadn't filled up on the bread but it was so good especially because you wanted to try the different salts! Oh and I thought I'd mention this but I recently happened to be browsing Yelp reviews about some of the top restaurants in the US and was reading and looking at pictures for the restaurant Per Se in NYC on Yelp here. I saw the exact same salt dish with different salts at that restaurant. So I guess 150 Central Park wasn't the first place to do this salt concept. Oh well it's still amazing. It's interesting to note that Per Se didn't fill the salt container up as much as 150 Central Park does. I commented to Natalya that it seems like a waste of salt since they must change it after each table to which she confirmed they do and that the salts can be pretty expensive. While it looks much nicer in the picture from 150 CP, I bet they could save a decent amount of money by not filling it up as much.

 

Continued in next post

[terpfan101]

So our first course was brought to the table which was the "150 Central Park Spring Salad". It was the most exquisite salad I've ever seen in my life.

 

 

You can see in the middle underneath everything was the Israeli cous cous which was delicious. Next to it is the lemon verbena yogurt which was also delicious. See those little green balls? They were avocado croutons and I was amazed at how they made them! They were incredible. They were sort of hard on the outside and filled with more avocado on the inside that was soft and almost liquid like. It was like biting into a hard gusher where the avocado inside awaited. It was sort of like guacamole inside. The salad was terrific and really unique. Oh and the dressing was excellent too. It was also very light yet amazingly flavorful!

 

The next course was the "White Asparagus Veloute". I didn't know what to expect with this but love asparagus. It was brought out to us looking like this:

 

Then Natalya poured the veloute broth into the bowl which made it look like this:

 

Upon taking one taste I am sure I said "OMG this is incredible!" It really was delicious. It was perfectly creamy and light at the same time. The asparagus tasted great and it was just an amazing soup. The waffles and rhubarb chutney were also great. I'm not sure who thought of that combination with the asparagus soup but it was great.

 

The next course was the "Modern Bouillabaisse" which I had, but Lindsay had a substitute for. Her substitute was some sort of tomato soup with I believe mozzarella in it.

 

Here is the bouillabaisse prior to adding the soup:

 

You can see the snapper and calamari at the front. There was also some clams and lobster in it as well. Then she added the broth which made it look like this:

 

It was delicious as well. With a good amount of seafood and great flavors to the broth. I loved it. The pinkish sauce along the side of the bowl is the rouille which was delicious too and had a bit of spice to it. Halfway through this meal and I was super impressed and loving every minute of it!

 

Here is a picture of Lindsay's tomato soup alternative:

 

If I recall correctly, Natalya said it was a tomato water that she poured into the bowl. It was also delicious from my taste. Lindsay liked it a lot too. So definitely don't be afraid to ask them to make a substitution if you can't eat something like shellfish or don't really like fish. The substitute will be great as well.

 

Continued in next post.

[beachbuddy]

Happy Fourth of July! Let's get on to the next part...my review of 150 Central Park which as I mentioned earlier I was set on trying and my expectations were easily exceeded!

 

Upon getting on the ship, I debated between which of the two menus I preferred and decided to go with the first one but kept second guessing myself as there were a few things that sounded great on the second one and I was concerned that Lindsay might be a bit picky with some of the things on the menus. Well I'm glad I didn't switch to the second as our meal was great.

 

Here is the menu:

 

They give you a normal menu at first to order off of and then bring a copy with your name on it that you can reference during the meal and take with you. The menu card slides into the holder on the left with your name appearing through the cutout hole. It was great to be able to have the menu to take. Before I get to the food in this multi post entry, here are a couple of pictures of us before we ate: I look funny sitting in this large chair haha.

 

 

 

Our waitress was named Natalya and from I think the Ukraine. She was lovely and was a great server. With each course she would inform us as to what exactly everything was which was very useful. I had wanted to give her one of our Wow cards but forgot to come back to give it to her.

 

So at the beginning of the meal she came to take our orders. Since Lindsay isn't a big seafood eater (she'll eat crabcakes and shrimp but is not a big fan of fish or other seafood), I had called to make a special request for a substitute dish for the bouillabaisse. They said it wouldn't be a problem. So our only choice when it came to the food was which main course we wanted...the veal or beef. Lindsay's decision was easy as she doesn't eat veal. I've had veal once or twice before but am not a big fan. I debated but decided I'd rather just get the beef. Natalya suggested that couples usually get one of each to taste both but I just didn't think I'd enjoy the veal as much. She also took our drink orders. We each got a glass of wine. The wine pairing looked nice, but Lindsay isn't a big drinker and will usually only have one and maybe two glasses of wine with a dinner. Not wanting to be too drunk I decided to pass on the wine pairing. Natalya also suggested trying he famous cucumber martini. I had heard so much about it but it just didn't sound too appealing to me. Anyway onto the meal!

 

For those who don't know, 150 Central Park has a unique salt selection for use with the bread and unsalted butter. They bring out a dish with six different types of salts from around the world. Here is a picture and I will describe each below.

 

From the top black salt going clockwise here are the names and descriptions provided on a paper from the restaurant:

 

- Salish (Smoked Alder salt from Washington state) - This had a nice smoked flavor to it, it was unique but probably my least favorite.

- Murray River (Pink flake salt from Australia) - I think I liked this but it was very salty.

- Kala Namak (black mineral salt from India) - This is the famous "rotten egg" salt and I actually enjoyed it. It tasted almost like eating a hard boiled egg. She explained that it gets that way from the high sulfur content and is a great thing in India as eggs can be expensive, this way people can get the taste of eggs. I convinced Lindsay to try it but she didn't like it.

- Sel de mar (Mediterranean sea salt from France) - This was your basic plain salt.

- Sel Gris (Mediterranean grey sea salt from France) - This one was pretty simple and not much different from the previous one, but I can't recall the slight difference.

- Alaea (Hawaiian sea salt) - This tasted interesting, Natalya explained it got its color from volcanoes.

 

I wish I hadn't filled up on the bread but it was so good especially because you wanted to try the different salts! Oh and I thought I'd mention this but I recently happened to be browsing Yelp reviews about some of the top restaurants in the US and was reading and looking at pictures for the restaurant Per Se in NYC on Yelp here. I saw the exact same salt dish with different salts at that restaurant. So I guess 150 Central Park wasn't the first place to do this salt concept. Oh well it's still amazing. It's interesting to note that Per Se didn't fill the salt container up as much as 150 Central Park does. I commented to Natalya that it seems like a waste of salt since they must change it after each table to which she confirmed they do and that the salts can be pretty expensive. While it looks much nicer in the picture from 150 CP, I bet they could save a decent amount of money by not filling it up as much.

 

Continued in next post

I think I'd be like Lindsay and not care for the salts either. I agree with you that it's a waste to fill them up so much when some people may not even use them. Can't wait to read more.

[terpfan101]

The fourth dish we had was the "Ricotta Gnocchi Puttanesca". This was my least favorite dish of the night and to me was just average. I still ate it all, but I think my issue with it stemmed from the fact that I don't like olives (love olive oil though). Here is a picture of it:

 

 

I guess the gnocchi is underneath everything. I can't recall what those crispy looking things were. The black looking liquid was the "balsamic bubble". It was pretty cool it was like a bubble of balsamic vinegar. The inside was more of a liquid state while the outside was more gel like. I didn't like the consistency of the outer bit but the inside was good. Again this was my least favorite dish but it was still pretty decent.

 

Up next the main course! We both chose the "Seared Waygu Strip Loin Rossini". It was incredible! Here is a picture:

 

 

On the bottom is the watercress potato puree which was wonderful. Above it is the leek pain perdu which is almost like a bread. It was great. Then of course you have the strip with the Madeira jus, and on top is the duck pate. Lindsay didn't want to have duck pate on hers so they put it on a separate little plate since I said I might want it. It was delicious and went well as it melted onto the steak. Oh and the steak was perfectly cooked medium.

 

Natalya explained that Royal Caribbean has a policy (much like lots of other restaurants and companies) against foie gras due to it being inhumane. So instead they used just duck's liver (from any old duck). The difference is that foie gras are forcibly fed to fatten them up.

 

After this main course we had the dessert which was the "Arnold Palmer Gateau." I wasn't so sure about this when comparing it to the other menu's dessert which was something related to root beer if I recall correctly. Well it didn't disappoint and was incredible!

 

 

You can see the green pieces are the cake, the white stuff with green powder sprinkled on top is the lemon mascarpone ice cream, the yellow stuff is the yuzu curd, the nuts are the almond tea crunch, and the little blackish things are the candied violets. THIS DESSERT WAS INCREDIBLE! Every component to it was delicious and it all went really well together lending to the Arnold Palmer drink (lemonade and iced tea) theme.

 

Last but not least was the cheese course to share between the two of us were these four pieces of cheese. I remember one was goat cheese and one was a brie, but I don't recall the other two. I think I just liked two of the four.

 

I had asked Natalya if the chef Molly Brandt was there that day but she said that Molly is no longer the main chef on the Allure and that she's now the Chef d'cuisine for all of Royal Caribbean. It was interesting to hear more about Molly though especially how disappointed she was after losing on Top Chef. I would have liked to have met her but oh well!

 

So to conclude this post on 150 Central Park, it was without a doubt the best meal I had on the Allure or for that matter have had on any of my cruises (never went to specialty restaurants before though). It's also in the top five meals I've ever had and I've been to a lot of fantastic restaurants, including several top 10 restaurants in DC. For comparisons sake, two of the other top five meals I've ever had were at the restaurants Marcel's and CityZen in DC. At Marcel's a five six course meal costs $125 a person and at CityZen it's $120 a person. Thankfully I wasn't paying (my previous company and a recruiter covered the bills respectively), however those were certainly special occasion places. I'd easily say that the meal at 150 Central Park would cost somewhere in the range of $100+ per person in DC, so at $40 is a steal and well worth the price. Basically it's that inexpensive due to being on top of your cruise fare. I highly recommend eating at this restaurant, even if you think you are a picky eater or if things sound too fancy for you. I didn't know what several of the ingredients listed on the menu were yet everything tasted amazing. You just have to have an open mind and be willing to try new things.

 

Up next: Dinner at Chops Grill

[Maimou]

"I look funny sitting in this large chair haha."

 

 

Regal!! You look regal!!

 

Enjoying your review so much!

[vickie_bernie]

omg I am hungry.... I am loving your review and especially your 150 Central Park review.

 

I am going on my first RCL cruise on Oasis in December. I have sailed 30 times on Princess but am looking forward to trying Oasis and am quite impressed with the food options on board. I was also looking at the specialty package you booked but wasn't sure about 150 Central Park, well never mind that now, it is the one I am really looking forward to now.

 

SOLD

 

thanks again

Vickie

[terpfan101]

omg I am hungry.... I am loving your review and especially your 150 Central Park review.

 

I am going on my first RCL cruise on Oasis in December. I have sailed 30 times on Princess but am looking forward to trying Oasis and am quite impressed with the food options on board. I was also looking at the specialty package you booked but wasn't sure about 150 Central Park, well never mind that now, it is the one I am really looking forward to now.

 

SOLD

 

thanks again

Vickie

 

Glad you enjoyed it and that I've sold you on 150 CP!!

[terpfan101]

So our final specialty restaurant was on night six when we ate in Chops Grille. I'd yet to eat in this restaurant on either of my two prior cruises and having heard so much about it I was excited to try it, although I knew I'd prefer 150 Central Park going in as steak houses aren't what I normally go for. Additionally, Lindsay's uncle had told me that he found Chops on Oasis to be disappointing, so I didn't know what to think going in.

 

I will say that I was impressed by the atmosphere of the restaurant as it was certainly elegant. It'd have been very nice to eat outside but it was simply too hot and humid to do so. I'm not sure if it was like this every night of the cruise, but Chops was packed, which unfortunately seemed to cause some delays with our service. Our waiter was very nice, but he seemed a bit distracted and very busy. He was good but sometimes things took a while to come out. I even remember having to wait a good five minutes after being seated for him to even come to the table. It wasn't a huge detractor from the experience, but the service at 150 Central Park and even Giovanni's was much better. Okay enough about that...on to the food!

 

I was trying to find the menu online but was having difficulty as it must have changed. The menu we had was different from the one on Royal's website and from almost all I found. Thankfully Trainman posted pictures of the menu here.

 

I had a very difficult time trying to pick which starter I want. I was wavering between the Shrimp Cocktail (since they are jumbo sized shrimp), the Dungeness Crab & Shrimp Cake, and the Asian Inspired Spicy Tuna. I ended up asking to try both of the latter two as I figured shrimp cocktail is much easier to make on my own or have elsewhere. I was slightly disappointed with the appetizers. I should have known better about the crabcake being from Maryland. I know Dungeness crabs have a different taste, but it was just good. Nothing to special. The Spicy Tuna appetizer was pretty good but wasn't spicy at all. If I had a do over I'd probably go with the shrimp and a salad. Lindsay had the "Not so traditional caesar salad." I had suggested that she might not like it as it's two whole heads of lettuce, but she wanted it and enjoyed it.

 

 

 

 

For our main courses Lindsay had the petite filet and I had the filet. I love filet and don't eat it often so I figured it was a no brainer. I also really love a good NY Strip, but figure that I can make that on my own better than I could a filet and for less cost. The only other option I really considered was the Short Ribs. The filet was great, if I recall they said they can do it medium rare and medium well. I normally order my steaks medium but got it medium rare and asked for it on the side of medium. It was perfectly cooked. Lindsay had it medium well and it was cooked well I think (maybe on the side of well done. With so much food, in the future I'd try to have less starters to save more room for the filet. However I ate it all as I can't resist a good steak, I just felt pretty full after the meal. So a petite is plenty given all you get!

 

 

Our waiter came around with the different sauces. I asked to try them all so he poured a bit of each on my plate. The chimichurri (top of the plate) was my favorite. It's nice to get to taste all of them if you'd like. The bernaise was my least favorite.

 

For our side dishes we shared the roasted potatoes with prosciutto and parmesan, sauteed broccolini, and string beans with dijon mustard and feta. They were all very good sides. The potatoes were delicious. The broccolini, very light and healthy. The green beans a bit heavy on the sauce but good. I'd probably skip the beans in the future though as it was so much food.

 

 

Last but not least, the desserts. I unfortunately don't have the menu, but if I remember correctly, they had the chocolate mud cake, red velvet cake, creme brulee, and an apple crisp (I think??). Lindsay of course had the chocolate cake while I got the creme brulee. Big mistake! I love a good creme brulee but this one was terrible. Once I got passed the carmelized sugar on top it was a mess underneath, the consistency was far too liquid like and it just didn't taste very good. I asked for the chocolate cake instead as I had tried a bite of Lindsay's and it was delicious. I can't recall but our waiter may have said at that point that he's heard a lot of people not like the creme brulee. Wish he had told me that in the first place...or maybe not as I at least got to try and know I didn't like it. I also think that Aaron might have said he didn't find the creme brulee good either. Here's the chocolate cake.

 

 

So all in all Chops was good to very good. I'd give it a 4 out of 5 (just barely a 4). The service was professional though a bit slow, the steak was great, everything else with the exception of the excellent chocolate cake and the potatoes was just ok to good. Comparing the value proposition like I did for 150 Central Park, I feel as if you're still getting a great deal compared to a land based superb steakhouse. While the steak was great, the other issues I noted held the place back. I'd certainly give it another try as most people rave about it as a total package, so perhaps I had an off night for the service and creme brulee.

 

Before I forget I figure I'll just leave my overall conclusion on the three specialty restaurants that we ate dinner at. To those who might ask "If I can only do one specialty restaurant on Allure/Oasis, which would it be?" Without a doubt my answer would be 150 Central Park. And to those who say "But some of the ingredients sound funny/unfamiliar to me...I don't think I'll like it" My response is, go and give it a try as you WILL enjoy it. They aren't going to be serving any weird things like brain or sweetbreads, so there's no need to fear; and if you have any food preference such as no seafood, then communicate that to them. It's well worth the price.

 

After that I would say both Chops and Giovanni's are worthy of a meal at sea, with Giovanni's being slightly preferred due to having both overall better food (and service in my experience) as well as a lower price. The big deciding factor between the two other than the cuisine is the ambiance. Chops is a much more formal place (at least business casual attire but suits were seen as well), while Giovanni's is far more casual. Also if I didn't mention it before, the specialty restaurant package is well worth it if you are happy to eat at three specialty restaurants.

 

Up next: Izumi for lunch and other for fee dining venues, and then onto the ports of call.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for sharing your review.

[sauvichick]

I really appreciate your review. The best part was the specialty restaurants and the photos of the food. We are eating in all the same places and look more forward to it than ever.

[smashof904]

this review is great! we go on allure in november on the eastern route. counting down the days and your pictures/reviews certainly help!

[rhodester]

Thanks, great review.

[terpfan101]

Hi everyone...sorry it's been a while since my last post. I had hoped to do more this weekend but lost power yesterday afternoon due to a blown transformer on my street. I thankfully had power during those terrible mid atlantic storms last week but I guess this was my payback. So let's continue with my review...

 

I'm a HUGE sushi lover. It's without a doubt my favorite food, so the idea of me not going to Izumi at least once on this cruise would be pretty crazy. I had thought I'd pass it up since there were so many other places to eat and didn't want to eat at another specialty restaurant for dinner. However once I found out that Izumi has lunch on sea days, I was sure I wanted to try it once. We ended up going on our last sea day at the last possible time (they are only open for lunch from 12-1:30PM).

 

The menu was pretty limited for lunch. There were only a handful of sushi rolls and appetizers. Maybe a couple of entrees. Everything is priced a la carte and there is a service charge of $3 per person at lunch. They give you complimentary edamame and miso soup. Both were excellent...the former is hard to screw up, but I've had miso soups ranging from poor to excellent.

 

 

We just wanted a light lunch and figured with the soup and edamame we'd be good just getting one roll each. This was a fine decision though I probably could have eaten another roll. I think it held us over until dinner and we may have had a light mid afternoon snack that day. Lindsay doesn't really like the raw fish rolls so she just stuck to a basic California roll. I got the Salmon Lover's Roll which is described as "Salmon sashimi and asparagus on top of crab asparagus roll". It was delicious.

 

 

I do think it's a bit odd that the prices for sushi don't vary by much. For example my much more complex roll was $5.50 vs $5.00 for Lindsay's basic roll. I think that the more basic rolls should be priced less. The restaurant itself was very nice and it was the only restaurant we ate in the entire cruise with a view of the sea. Well the MDR does too on a couple of decks but we didn't sit near a window. Our service was also friendly and attentive. Overall Izumi is a pretty good restaurant. I'd be curious to try the dinner entrees, however of all of the restaurants we ate at, it's the least unique and not one I'd say is a must visit since you can get comparable sushi on land for a similar price.

 

Up next: Other pay venues on board

[terpfan101]

This post is going to be much more brief but I'm going to touch on the other pay venues on the Allure. I'll also note that we didn't eat at Samba Grill, Rita's Cantina, Vintages, or Chef's Table. Of those I think only Vintages & Chef's Table would be something I'd do in the future. I do wish I had tried some tapas in Vintages as the menu looked great.

 

Johnny Rocket's: I kind of wanted to eat here but at the same time it's basically junk food and for $4.95 is not much cheaper than back home. However we did each get a milkshake using our 2 for 1 C&A coupons. They were great.

 

Ice Cream Parlor: This little ice cream parlor has freshly made ice cream that looked amazing. I can't believe I never got my own, but Lindsay got one and it was very good.

 

Cupcake Cupboard: I love a good cupcake and living so close to Georgetown Cupcakes (made famous by the show DC Cupcakes) I have had plenty of good ones. These were very good with the right amount of frosting. We only got one the whole week which we shared. It was a mint chocolate chip one and was excellent. Mind the picture as we cut it in half before I realized I need to take a picture!

 

 

Starbucks: We used our two 50% off coffee drink coupon and each got a frappuchino. They were just like at any Starbucks on land. It was pretty neat to be able to go to a Starbucks at sea! I asked the worker there who's nametag said that she was the head of the Starbucks about the relationship with Starbucks and whether it was a Starbucks company store or Royal Caribbean was the franchisee. I can't recall for certain but believe she said that Royal was a franchisee. Oh and Aaron one day bought all of us a cake pop from Starbucks and it was great...never had one before but loved it. It's great that the prices are the same as on land. Here I am with my drink in hand:

 

 

Candy Store: We stopped in to get a little bit of candy one day. It was like $0.75 an ounce. I thought it was funny but we got 1.4 ounces and they only charge you for one once. They round up from .5 though. Here's Lindsay admiring all the sweets as she has a sweet tooth!

 

That's about it for the dining part of my review.

 

Up next: Ports of call starting with Labadee!

[wannab4Ecruiser]

Jeremy,

 

Normally when I read a review I get frustrated having to wait for updated posts. This go round I am enjoying it be drawn out because I feel like once you get to the end I can't relive our amazing cruise any longer. Ahhh...I want to be back on the ship with you all! :D

[PathfinderEss]

Really enjoying your review. You just made me very hungry for cup cakes.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience. We were in Gerorgetown two weeks ago and the line out side the Cup Cake Shope was unbelievable long.

[terpfan101]

Jeremy,

 

Normally when I read a review I get frustrated having to wait for updated posts. This go round I am enjoying it be drawn out because I feel like once you get to the end I can't relive our amazing cruise any longer. Ahhh...I want to be back on the ship with you all! :D

 

Haha Stacy. Yeah I'm the same way. I haven't had as much time to devote but I think it's probably a good thing because I can keep reliving it! Can't believe it's already been a month since we got off the ship!! We should all catch up soon. Hope you guys had fun on your second vacation!

[terpfan101]

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience. We were in Gerorgetown two weeks ago and the line out side the Cup Cake Shope was unbelievable long.

 

Hi James. Yes it's unbelievable how long those lines can get. Especially on a weekend. The first time I ever bought them, my girlfriend and I got in the line about 100 people deep thinking it couldn't be longer than 15 minutes. Well I was wrong as it took an hour to get a damn cupcake. It was delicious but not worth that long of a wait! It was just infuriating because they could easily speed up the process if they just improved some things within the store and their process. Guess it helps with the mystique though. If you're ever in the DC area again, they have another location in Bethesda, MD that has lines but nothing like the one in Georgetown. You can also place an order online a day ahead of time and pick them up without waiting in the long line.