Nov 4, Allure of the Seas, Western Caribbean - A Review and Complete Pictorial Guide!

[MaryAnn&Don]

Hi Gambee!

 

The answer to this question is that I plan by looking at the itinerary and then select a balcony stateroom that gives me the best view throughout the cruise. Often you are out to sea and don't see anything but water but when you get close to land, it's nice to see what's there. For example, On our next scheduled cruise we are going through the Panama Canal and up the coast of Mexico to San Diego. On a west bound cruise I prefer the starboard side as it's view of the scenery going by. Starboard also works well going through the canal, actually both sides are good here. If I was on the eastbound cruise this would dictate I choose the Port side to view Mexico.

 

On our last cruise on the Allure, Eastern Caribbean I wanted to get good views of the ports so I went to Google Maps and saw how the ships docked. Again Starboard was the choice based on the best view.

 

Video of our week on the Allure:

[Jules2]

Hi Gambee!

 

The answer to this question is that I plan by looking at the itinerary and then select a balcony stateroom that gives me the best view throughout the cruise. Often you are out to sea and don't see anything but water but when you get close to land, it's nice to see what's there. For example, On our next scheduled cruise we are going through the Panama Canal and up the coast of Mexico to San Diego. On a west bound cruise I prefer the starboard side as it's view of the scenery going by. Starboard also works well going through the canal, actually both sides are good here. If I was on the eastbound cruise this would dictate I choose the Port side to view Mexico.

 

On our last cruise on the Allure, Eastern Caribbean I wanted to get good views of the ports so I went to Google Maps and saw how the ships docked. Again Starboard was the choice based on the best view.

 

Video of our week on the Allure:

 

Even after 45 cruises......I still learned something new!! Thank You MaryAnn & Don:)

[gambee]

Hi, Gambee:

Thank you so much for such a great trip report.

Your details and photos are just AMAZING.

:)

 

You're Welcome

 

Thanks Gambee!

 

Guess we'll stay where we are on the port side :)

 

Having the map of Labadee ahead of time will be a great help. I'll study it and we'll figure out where to go, or we'll just wing it when we get there!

 

Have a great time on your upcoming cruises....can't wait for your reviews!!

 

Your next one should be on the new Royal Princess...we're doing that one right after we go on the Allure in January!

 

Julie

 

 

I am looking at Royal Princess but around march 2014, we will see once the time comes.

 

 

OH my gosh, Gambee, I had to go and read your review again as it got me so excited again about going on Allure! I can hardly wait, the food looks amazing and I have heard from everyone in the group I'm going with that you cannot miss the food!! This review is phenomenal, even my mom said "it feels like I was actually there!"

 

You should be in your cruise now, hope you have a great time.

 

Thank you for all your hard work and dedication, Gambee.

 

I will be sailing aboard the Oasis in April and came across your review while finding out information about Falmouth. (Worried about hate crime related violence)

 

Your review has proven to be an invaluable piece of information to someone new to RCI and ships as large as the Oasis.

 

It has also swayed me to budget for a better camera for my October cruise.

 

Thank you again and I look forward to many more adventures of Gambee, Gambee's Mom & Gambee's BF.

 

Glad you found the review before Falmouth, hate crime violence is indeed a problem there that is not to be taken lightly.

 

Enjoy your cruise :)

 

Hi Gambee!

 

The answer to this question is that I plan by looking at the itinerary and then select a balcony stateroom that gives me the best view throughout the cruise. Often you are out to sea and don't see anything but water but when you get close to land, it's nice to see what's there. For example, On our next scheduled cruise we are going through the Panama Canal and up the coast of Mexico to San Diego. On a west bound cruise I prefer the starboard side as it's view of the scenery going by. Starboard also works well going through the canal, actually both sides are good here. If I was on the eastbound cruise this would dictate I choose the Port side to view Mexico.

 

On our last cruise on the Allure, Eastern Caribbean I wanted to get good views of the ports so I went to Google Maps and saw how the ships docked. Again Starboard was the choice based on the best view.

 

Video of our week on the Allure:

 

Thanks for the input :)

 

When I was planning the eastern route for the Reflection cruise I spent a lot of time researching and asking question about that topic. After all that time spent I ended up canceling the cruise to have it replaced by Breakaway lol. But I am sure sometime in the future I will be able to do the eastern route and once again I will be obsessed with cabin placement :D.

[Mikeyz30]

Gambee,

 

I may be late in responding but I want to thank you for getting me through the last two days of work with your review. It was thorough and the pictures you took were amazing. I will be following your posts from now on and I am looking to go on the Norwegian Breakaway in October but I might wait for your review before I book it.

 

Forgive me if others have posted this but if your BF doesn't want to go on any of your next cruises, I am always available. I don't know if my wife and kids would let me go, but if you are willing to pay, I am sure I can convince them. LOL!!!

 

Also, I would loved to have seen a pic of you and your mom together as it sounded like you both had a blast. Again, if I somehow missed it, I am sorry.

 

Best of luck on your upcoming cruises and I look forward to the reviews.

[gator919]

Gambee, first off great review!!!!! I am only one third through it and trying to catch up, second I am sure that you have explained this before but I havent seen it . How do you make your photos of the towns look like the towns in a model train city.I have googled it but have found nothing. The pictures are amazing!!! Thank you for this review:)

[MiamiSpartan]

Great review!

My partner and I are strongly considering the Oasis or Allure for our next cruise in June....

 

I'll be showing him your pics!

[gambee]

Gambee,

 

I may be late in responding but I want to thank you for getting me through the last two days of work with your review. It was thorough and the pictures you took were amazing. I will be following your posts from now on and I am looking to go on the Norwegian Breakaway in October but I might wait for your review before I book it.

 

Forgive me if others have posted this but if your BF doesn't want to go on any of your next cruises, I am always available. I don't know if my wife and kids would let me go, but if you are willing to pay, I am sure I can convince them. LOL!!!

 

Also, I would loved to have seen a pic of you and your mom together as it sounded like you both had a blast. Again, if I somehow missed it, I am sorry.

 

Best of luck on your upcoming cruises and I look forward to the reviews.

 

Your post made me laugh, he does like cruising, the problem is that he studies a lot that is why he is not coming on our next cruise.

 

Nope you did not missed it, no pictures of us, leaves a hint of mystery ;)

 

Gambee, first off great review!!!!! I am only one third through it and trying to catch up, second I am sure that you have explained this before but I havent seen it . How do you make your photos of the towns look like the towns in a model train city.I have googled it but have found nothing. The pictures are amazing!!! Thank you for this review:)

 

Yeah its been asked several times. The technical term is called a tilt-shift effect and most photo editors can do it. I did mine with a feature in my camera called mini, a lot of of cameras have it. Actually even my new underwater camera also has it. If you're using a a sony, look for "mini". Thanks for the kind words.

 

 

Great review!

My partner and I are strongly considering the Oasis or Allure for our next cruise in June....

 

I'll be showing him your pics!

 

You should do it! :)

 

I remember seeing you around the forum, thanks for stopping by.

[Specs]

Merci Gambee! C'est formidable! We just booked our next cruise in the Caribbean on the Allure of the Seas because of your wonderful review!

[IrishLassie]

Just wanted to ask you if you posted the "drink menu's" in your review? I read your review awhile ago, & I was sure that I saw them but can't find them!:confused: If so, do you know what page they are on?? Thanks for your help & again, LOVED this review. :D (also, I'm assuming that the prices would be the same for Oasis?).

[gambee]

Merci Gambee! C'est formidable! We just booked our next cruise in the Caribbean on the Allure of the Seas because of your wonderful review!

 

Pas de quoi :) enjoy your time on the Allure.

 

Just wanted to ask you if you posted the "drink menu's" in your review? I read your review awhile ago, & I was sure that I saw them but can't find them!:confused: If so, do you know what page they are on?? Thanks for your help & again, LOVED this review. :D (also, I'm assuming that the prices would be the same for Oasis?).

 

I did not get all of them, but I got 4 of them. I found 3 I am not sure where the other is, it might be buried somewhere. Here are the links pages for the ones I found, they are all towards the bottom.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1737751&page=17

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1737751&page=35

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1737751&page=53

 

 

They should be the same, it was my understanding that the prices were fleet-wide :confused:

[IrishLassie]

Thanks so much for the reply with the page #'s for the drink menu's. My DS is trying to figure out if it would be a good idea to purchase the Drink Pkg. for our Oasis cruise, so this will give him an idea of pricing.

Thanks again & Happy Cruising! :D

[NordicBreezer]

Well Gambee ... as we did our CC sail away on Feb. 24th {deck 14 sundeck port wing } ... we said " I wonder if Gambee is on the Breakwater watching us " . Such excitement with all the horn blasting & flag waving from shore and we reciprocating with our canadian flag & leis. Just awesome.

Thank you again for all your information...it was immensely helpful & the first thing I spotted on boarding was the hummingbirds by Starbucks . :D

Have a great vacation on your NCL cruise !!

Marilyn

[gambee]

Thanks so much for the reply with the page #'s for the drink menu's. My DS is trying to figure out if it would be a good idea to purchase the Drink Pkg. for our Oasis cruise, so this will give him an idea of pricing.

Thanks again & Happy Cruising! :D

 

No problem, hopefully with that information he will make his decision.

 

Well Gambee ... as we did our CC sail away on Feb. 24th {deck 14 sundeck port wing } ... we said " I wonder if Gambee is on the Breakwater watching us " . Such excitement with all the horn blasting & flag waving from shore and we reciprocating with our canadian flag & leis. Just awesome.

Thank you again for all your information...it was immensely helpful & the first thing I spotted on boarding was the hummingbirds by Starbucks . :D

Have a great vacation on your NCL cruise !!

Marilyn

 

You're so very welcome sounds like you had a great time. I wasn't there on the 24, but I was there the week before that.

 

I will see you around :)

[canadiancruiser13]

Synopsis

 

I have all the Compasses, Menus, Wine lists, Drink lists, Activity planers, tips and much much more.

I took over 6000 pictures, more than 80 videos and pages of notes.

If we ate it I took a picture of it(with one exception in Cozumel :-( I forgot).

I guess you could say that my cruise was centered around this review.

It will take me some time working around the pictures and notes, please be patient.

I will try to make this review/guide as organized and easy to follow as possible.

I hope everyone enjoys.

 

 

 

Introduction,

 

 

For those of you thinking that I am a beautiful sexy lady just because of my CC screen name "Gambee", sorry to disappoint you, I am a guy :p. And if you're wondering where Gambee came from? Well I can't really remember, but I think it came from the cartoon character Gumby, I guess I just got a little creative with the name or maybe it was just bad spelling, who knows… Anyway who cares, it gets the job done ;)

Image courtesy of Gumbyworld

 

This will be my first attempt at a detailed review with lots of pictures, I reviewed the NCL Sky before, but that was a short and quick review(there is a link for it in my signature). I am sure this review is not for everyone because it will have some non-essential information, for those not interested in reading you are welcome to just scroll down and look at the pictures, there will be lots of them. But for those interested in tips and opinions I will include a lot of details in the text. I have read a lot of reviews preparing for this trip and I have a lot of useful information to share. I guess you could say that I am attempting to make an almost complete guide to the Allure of the Seas, will I accomplish it? who knows, but I will sure try.

 

In advance I like to apologize for some grammatical errors and exclusion of words, I tend to do that from time to time. English is my second language and sometimes I struggle with it. I will however proof read everything prior posting and try my best to do a good job so its easy to read and understand. I hope you all enjoy.

 

 

I will start from the beginning, four months ago I went on my first cruise it was on the Norwegian Sky for a short 3 day cruise to Bahamas with my mom. Don't ask me why this was my first cruise, I live in FT. Lauderdale and I travel extensively, but had yet to cruise ::dunno::, although now that I think about it, maybe it had to do with the fear of getting nauseous. Anyway, the cruise was absolutely fantastic, a new addiction was created that weekend. There was so much going on that we really did not know what to do, all in all we had a great time, with very little hiccups (Aside from Atlantis, but that was not the cruise fault).

 

Here are a couple of pictures from that cruise.

 

This was on the tender going towards Stirrup Cay. She is one beautiful ship and holds a special place in my heart. Nothing like the first time you experience something, right?

 

A lot of our time was spend at that bar from where the picture was taken. It had a great view! You can see Miami all around us, ahhhhh the memories…..

 

 

Next up; Planning….

Totally "Awesome".

 

We will be cruising the Allure this coming October 20th., and 27th., ( a B2B ).

Looking at the photo's you took of the ship are amazing and it makes the wait for our cruise seems so for away - time will will fly by and before we know it - it'll be over......

 

Will be looking forward in reading your next cruise review.

[Megan_Strick]

save

[cruzkrazy]

Gambee,

I’ve been on these boards for over ten years now and very rarely post (only when I can’t find an answer that I need for my upcoming cruise). When I found your review I was hooked from your opening post. (I loved Gumby as a kid.) Your review is like a reference book for my upcoming Oasis cruise. Thank you so much for hands down the best review I’ve ever read here. The way you are with your mom is so touching. You are a generous and gentle soul and thank you again.

Donna

[suehal]

I just finished your review, it was awesome:D I actually booked the Allure today when I finished reading it! thank you

[gambee]

Totally "Awesome".

 

We will be cruising the Allure this coming October 20th., and 27th., ( a B2B ).

Looking at the photo's you took of the ship are amazing and it makes the wait for our cruise seems so for away - time will will fly by and before we know it - it'll be over......

 

Will be looking forward in reading your next cruise review.

 

 

B2B cruises are on my bucket list, unfortunately at this time they are rather impossible to do. October is around the corner, no worries it will be here before you even notice. Happy to know that 've made another fan, thanks for taking the time to post :)

 

I will see you around, happy sailings.

 

Gambee,

I’ve been on these boards for over ten years now and very rarely post (only when I can’t find an answer that I need for my upcoming cruise). When I found your review I was hooked from your opening post. (I loved Gumby as a kid.) Your review is like a reference book for my upcoming Oasis cruise. Thank you so much for hands down the best review I’ve ever read here. The way you are with your mom is so touching. You are a generous and gentle soul and thank you again.

Donna

 

 

Posts from rare posters like you mean the world to me, it is not easy to pull in someone like you that rarely make their voice heard around this areas. Thank you so very much for your kind words, they are heart felt. It was my intention to write a review that had all the centralized information for future cruisers, sort off like the only thing they would need while planning their Allure cruise.

 

Since my Allure cruise I have decided to take it a step further (you will see what I mean in my next 2 reviews). I noticed that the Allure review while full of info it was rather a bit disorganized. I am fixing that in my upcoming reviews, or at least hoping I will.

 

I will see you around Dona :)

 

I just finished your review, it was awesome:D I actually booked the Allure today when I finished reading it! thank you

 

Thank you :), now I just need to figure out a way to make money out of booking so many new travelers :D. Have a wonderful time on your cruise and to go rock climbing for me :)

[Kehlert81]

Gambee, I have to tell ya. I am a mom of 4 and taking my family on the Allure in May. My husband and I went last May and now dying to take our kids. I am so excited. They are 11,5,3 and 6 months. Anyway, I wanted to say that I am LOVING this review. It's like a good book!!!! I literally stuck my kids in front of a movie all morning so I could sneak away and indulge myself in this review haha!

 

Thanks for all your hard work with it! You've put smiles on A LOT of faces!!!!

[cruisin_cutie216]

gambee! you have been the inspiration for my review! what an awesome piece of work and very inspiring for me.

[Beth C]

I noticed that the Allure review while full of info it was rather a bit disorganized. I am fixing that in my upcoming reviews, or at least hoping I will.

 

I think the timing of your next 2 cruises is PERFECT... for me anyways ;)

 

You will have from April 1st to May 8th to do your magic with the Celebrity review getting me excited for my upcoming cruise. I will leave for my Hawaii cruise on the 9th, you'll be on your next cruise while i'm away so I wont miss anything.

 

It would be awesome if you would wait until I get back home to start the Breakaway review. I don't want to get left behind and have to play catch up :p I'm sure no one will mind LOL

Edited March 15, 2013 by Beth C

[CruisingSpara]

Thank you for this in depth review! I have never found one as detailed as this and it kept my attention! Hope you do another review for your next cruise. Can't wait!

[vince5251]

Not really its been long enough

 

Nice to see that some people have something nice to say about everything!:rolleyes:

[gambee]

Gambee, I have to tell ya. I am a mom of 4 and taking my family on the Allure in May. My husband and I went last May and now dying to take our kids. I am so excited. They are 11,5,3 and 6 months. Anyway, I wanted to say that I am LOVING this review. It's like a good book!!!! I literally stuck my kids in front of a movie all morning so I could sneak away and indulge myself in this review haha!

 

Thanks for all your hard work with it! You've put smiles on A LOT of faces!!!!

 

Your vacation will certainly be a very active one, I am sure you will make good use of the kids camp and maybe be able to get some down time for yourself. Have a great time on your cruise and make lots of wonderful memories.

 

Safe travels :)

 

gambee! you have been the inspiration for my review! what an awesome piece of work and very inspiring for me.

 

I also really enjoying your review, keep it coming. Ziggy makes a great travel buddy, hopefully you will soon book another cruise so I can enjoy another review.

 

Ill see you around!

 

I think the timing of your next 2 cruises is PERFECT... for me anyways ;)

 

You will have from April 1st to May 8th to do your magic with the Celebrity review getting me excited for my upcoming cruise. I will leave for my Hawaii cruise on the 9th, you'll be on your next cruise while i'm away so I wont miss anything.

 

It would be awesome if you would wait until I get back home to start the Breakaway review. I don't want to get left behind and have to play catch up :p I'm sure no one will mind LOL

 

Hello Beth!

 

We are really excited about our upcoming cruise in X, this will certainly be one to remember. Hopefully I manage to pull off another review that can compare to this one.

 

Nice to see that I already have an audience waiting for the review, the pressure is high :D.

 

 

Thank you for this in depth review! I have never found one as detailed as this and it kept my attention! Hope you do another review for your next cruise. Can't wait!

 

You're welcome, another review will launch at the end of the month on the X board. Keep an eye for it =)

[rach1234]

thank you so much for the great review i fill like i know you and your mom!!!! cant wait to read about your next adventure