Allure March 3, 2013 Review. Not as awesome as I thought, but still better than work

[janetz]

Very cool..:).

[tiger belle]

thanks for the review...enjoyed it and the pics :)

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

whataboutport ~ enjoying your review & was able to see the video.

I used Bernards too & didn't get to stop at Maho Beach as we waited too long at the port for people who never did show up!:(

 

I'm going on Allure in November & am so looking forward to it.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[whataboutport]

Oh yeah I remembered a few tips also for SXM before I go on back to the ship. If you want a cheap souvenier, at the Creole Cafe/Tin Tin we ate at (I'm sure lots of other places have it) we bought a can or Orangina and it said St Maartin on it. We had no issues getting it back on the ship, nor in the plane on our checked bag. We did put it in a good quality zip lock bag just in case though.

 

Also remember how I complained about the vendors bugging us on the beach? Turns out a lot of the stuff they try to sell you there, you can get at Rima Beachworld (last part of the tour on Bernards) and a lot of the items are actually cheaper at Rima's. For example, these beach towels that turn into backpacks. The vendors were trying to sell them for $20, but you can talk them down to $12-15. Regular price at Rima is $9.99.

 

Also if you want to buy any Guavaberry rum, there is a few stands at the cruise dock. Buy it last so you don't have to lug it around all day, and these stands are open when you come back to the dock. We bought a bottle for $21, and they give samples in a smoothie drink, very yummy, tastes like a fruit frozen yogurt, but not overly sweet. The liqueur by itself tastes good, and not syrupy like most sweet liqueurs are. We ended up having it straight, all it needed was some ice. And at 35% alcohol, it's not that far behind say Bacardi, so I think the buzz sneaks up on you. I remember seeing t shirts saying "The guavaberry made me do it" Well while we were drinking it, I had a bit of a faux pas that I won't get into, but I really think the guavaberry made me do it! LOL Oops.

 

Also I want to add, we had been tipping out stateroom attendant daily with a little extra here and there, and I think that played into how fast we got our booze delivered to us on the final day. I thought it would be during the turn down service while you're away at dinner but we got ours much earlier, I think 3 or 4? We appreciated that. We also got back those four tiny bottle of Bacardi too. :)

[whataboutport]

Hi all!

 

whataboutport ~ enjoying your review & was able to see the video.

I used Bernards too & didn't get to stop at Maho Beach as we waited too long at the port for people who never did show up!:(

 

I'm going on Allure in November & am so looking forward to it.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

Ugh! That sucks! I really think that if it's advertised as such, you should get it, and if you don't, you should get at least a partial refund. Maho was one of the highlights! I read many reviews on Bernard's and did not read one single bad or even slightly critical review!

[DeAquify]

What great information. Thanks

[whataboutport]

Ok so now we are back on the ship after the final port day. Dinner that night was just so so. I think the dinner was better towards the beginning of the week, at least for us it was a lot more of what we like.

 

We love crab cakes and whenever we see one on the menu we have to have one, even though we are really particular about them. This one you could def see large chunks of crab meat, but there was a good amount of filler. I feel if there's a lot of noticeable filler, the outside would be crispy. This one wasn't crispy, but had good flavor. Also the green sauce was really yummy. We used up all of that. The slaw was nothing special for us, being Asian, we eat that kind of thing all the time.

 

We also had the cold duck breast app. For me this was too sweet. It had slices of orange on it, but the sauce it came with wasn't my thing. Pretty though. Sorry about the blurry pic. The lighting was behind my head so all the pics in front of me didn't come out well, but all the pics in front of bf came out better. I opted to take food pics with my phone since it takes better pics without flash, so keep from bugging people with flashes going off all the time.

 

I think this was supposed to be barramundi, but it ended up to be a different type of fish. I did notice there were a few differences in menus from the ones posted on here, and what we were eventually presented with. I made notes of what I wanted each night, and a few nights what I wanted was not even on the menu, nor was it later in the week. So there have been a few tweaks I suppose. Anyway, I usually like fish, but this one was soft and kinda gummy.

 

I think this was the beef two ways. We liked the beef on the bottom better, I think it was the short rib? Anyway, again we didn't care for the sauce. I don't wanna say sweet again, but it was like a red wine reduction? I"m not sure. Again, even though cooked to our liking, we didn't like the taste. =(

[whataboutport]

This day is the first of the two consecutive sea days on our way back to Ft Lauderdale. The first sea day I was excited to eat in the MDR for lunch, however I missed it! It's only from noon till 1:30 I believe, so a pretty small window. I was really excited to try the Tutti salad. Well guess what? It's exactly the same as the salad at the Park Cafe, but with a few more ingredients. I thought the shrimp were going to be bigger than at the Park Cafe but they are the same little bay shrimp. =( So in addition to what they have at the Park Cafe, the Brasserie 30 lunch in the MDR had several different kind of lettuces, and more toppings like grilled eggplant (though it was cold), two types of tomato (diced or cherry), more cold cut meats (ham, smoked salmon, chicken, etc), more cheese (in addition to mozz balls at Park Cafe, there was feta here). Since I like certain things on my salad, it turned out pretty much the same as the Park Cafe salad, except I added feta and eggplant. That was kind of a let down. The other thing for me is dressing. I usually get a creamy balsamic dressing, but they just had oil and vinegar.

 

The best of lunch was the Tomato Risotto. It had three large shrimp and lots of small bay scallops, and a deep fried basil(?) leaf on top.

 

We also got the beef dish. This was very tough. We did not eat a second bite of it. =/ Also you see the squarish thing on the right that looks like a mille feuille type thing? It's potato. I read on the Food 52 blog about doing potatoes like this with them shaved on the mandoline and them being crunchy on the out layers and creamy on the inside. I was excited they made this. however, the potato had cheese between the layers and the cheese cooled down and made it hard and chewy. Not good. I would skip this dish. We were sat and served very soon after they opened at noon, so I don't know how long these were ready before they were actually served.

 

So besides the risotto that we enjoyed, we also got a side of fries. We didn't want a burger that it came with, but we asked for just fries and that was fine. When you get the fries fresh and hot, they are some of the best fries I've had. The funny thing is that they give you this huge squeeze bottle of ketchup, and halfway through eating they take it away and give it to the next table. I think they should have smaller bottles and more of them. We ran out of ketchup so we didn't get to eat all our fries. Oh well.

Edited March 17, 2013 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

I already mentioned earlier that this day (2nd to last) had the longest waits for everything, Flowrider, Zip line, even ping pong. Needless to say we spent most of this day standing in lines. If you want to do any of these things, do it on the first day or first sea day. We were afraid we'd get either sore or hurt, so we didn't want to in the start of the week. Don't be afraid to do it earlier. I took a few bad spills on the Flowrider, but really nothing so bad where I would have been too sore to snorkel, so do it!

 

Also since we hung out towards the sport deck for the most of this day, we did have a snack at the Wipe out Cafe. At first we really had no interest eating here, as we thought it was just sort of aimed as kid's fare, pizza, pretzel dogs, fries, etc. Well this was the only place I found that had nachos, however they don't have nacho cheese sauce. And the way they have the nacho section set up is kind of weird. You get your plate on the right end of the buffet. You would assume the chips would be next right? Nope, the chips are all the way on the left side, so you'd have to get your plate, then if there's a line, wait in line to get chips, then go back and put on your toppings. It was quite strange. They need to either flip the entire line, or put the plates in the middle near the chips. But they had everything you could want to put on nachos, except cheese sauce that is. (BTW the nacho meat is kind of like chili and it has beans in it.) I heard several people complaining about how it was set up, and with the small space they have there it becomes quite a clusterf***.

 

Anyway, on to dinner. This was lobster night. For one of our apps we asked if we could have the crab salad (which was actually an entree) and of course Austin said no problem. This was really good, but can't imagine someone having this as an entree. The legs are sliced open so it's easy to get the meat in one big chunk and stuff it in your mouth. =)

 

The other app was a mixed seafood salad. It had another piece of crab leg, one large shrimp and some mixed seafood (crab and fish?). I also enjoyed this.

 

Excited about the lobster, bf and I both ordered one each of the Fisherman's Plate. Unfortunately for both of us it was dry and overcooked. Auston asked us if we wanted some extra melted butter on top before we had a first taste, and we said no, but it really needed it. However, the four shrimp the dish came with were perfect and SO good. Wish it was just a whole pile of them. We ignored the veggies again, except the carrots. LOL

 

We also got another beef dish. I think this was another prime rib, but with a different sauce. The outer edge was really good and tender and tasty, but the center part was kind of blah. We asked for some horseradish on the side. The potato cake was kind of cold.

 

This meal turned out to be the last time we dined in the MDR as on the last night we weren't hungry at all by our seating time. Too bad that our last meal wasn't that great. But we did have great service throughout the week, so we returned on the last night to give Austin and his asst a little extra. The Maitre D really tried to get us to sit and eat but we just weren't hungry.

 

Funny side story too, on one of the sea days, we saw the maitre D in the Solarium talking to this really hot chick sunbathing. Heh heh. She was lying on her belly with the tie undone in the back, and I'm sure she was face down too, as that would be the only comfortable way to lay in that position. He must have really had something important to say to her to disturb her. LOL No one ever came by to ask me how I was doing but whatevers.

Edited March 17, 2013 by whataboutport

[Bella O]

Have really enjoyed reading your review and your perspective. Thanks for putting in the work so we can all enjoy!

[sassy12]

We also just returned from the Allure. I wanted to get Guavaberry Liquor in St. Maarten and, too, noticed the place near the ship that was selling it for $21. We walked to the actual Guavaberry Liquor store and purchased it for $19; however, as we were walking back to the ship we passed another liquor store and it was $17!! Now I know where to get it next time.

 

We actually spent two weeks on the Allure and I loved every minute of it and would gladly return any time. There are only a couple things I didn't like and the main one was how loud the music was in all the bars, clubs and at the Headliner Show. I mentioned it several times to the assistant cruise director and others and every time they had a different excuse as to why it was so loud. And, there are speakers everywhere so there were no hidden corners to escape the loud sound. I've never noticed it being so loud on other ships.

 

The other thing we would do would be get an oceanview balcony. We had a Central Park View the first week and a Central Park Balcony the second week. I enjoyed sitting on the window seat and reading the first week and being able to sit on the balcony the second week and listen to the "Concerts in the Park" at night as they were right below us. However, we really missed seeing the ocean.

 

A couple other things I missed was not having an adjustable shower (for height) and no clothesline in the shower. Also, did anyone else notice that the bathroom vanity seemed to be lower than other ships?

 

Hope I can convince DH to try the Oasis sometime.

[whataboutport]

We also just returned from the Allure. I wanted to get Guavaberry Liquor in St. Maarten and, too, noticed the place near the ship that was selling it for $21. We walked to the actual Guavaberry Liquor store and purchased it for $19; however, as we were walking back to the ship we passed another liquor store and it was $17!! Now I know where to get it next time.

 

We actually spent two weeks on the Allure and I loved every minute of it and would gladly return any time. There are only a couple things I didn't like and the main one was how loud the music was in all the bars, clubs and at the Headliner Show. I mentioned it several times to the assistant cruise director and others and every time they had a different excuse as to why it was so loud. And, there are speakers everywhere so there were no hidden corners to escape the loud sound. I've never noticed it being so loud on other ships.

 

The other thing we would do would be get an oceanview balcony. We had a Central Park View the first week and a Central Park Balcony the second week. I enjoyed sitting on the window seat and reading the first week and being able to sit on the balcony the second week and listen to the "Concerts in the Park" at night as they were right below us. However, we really missed seeing the ocean.

 

A couple other things I missed was not having an adjustable shower (for height) and no clothesline in the shower. Also, did anyone else notice that the bathroom vanity seemed to be lower than other ships?

 

Hope I can convince DH to try the Oasis sometime.

 

You are right about the volume of the music/shows. We were mid ship but closer towards the front a bit, so the Amber theater was there. When there were shows there we could easily hear the bass. Same with Boleros, but like I said I enjoy Latin style music so it wasn't too bad for me. Plus it usually was over by midnight.

 

Also agree about getting an ocean view balcony room. I don't think there are enough venues in the ship with ocean views, so you do sometimes don't get that "I'm on a ship" feel, more like a hotel or mall. And I did notice the vanity was low, but I didn't remember how high they were on other ships. I'm short so not a big deal to me. I did like how the showers had doors instead of those shower curtains on other ships that like to get too cozy with you sometimes.

[whataboutport]

I don't think I've mentioned Windjammer yet. Two nights we didn't feel like going to the MDR for dinner so we got a bite at the WJ. There are a lot of choices, but the menu doesn't seem to change. There were several Indian dishes if you're into Indian food. I happen to like it. Also there's plenty of desserts too. Most everything was def edible, but only a few things that were gross. I got a rib that was really tough. There were these noodles that kind of resembled Pad Thai but made with egg noodles instead of rice noodles, I was really craving noodles so that was good. Also in the Asian section there's this spicy and sweet cabbage salad. Well everyone takes the shrimp out of it, so if you want shrimp that's where they are. The "juices" they have there are nasty. Like extremely watered down Crystal Light.

 

I also wanted to tell you about things that I brought and didn't end up using or barely using:

Extra hangers

Travel mugs (used it more in the plane than on the ship)

Powdered drink mixes

Scissors

Bungees

Lint roller

Tape (I brought electrical instead of duct tape)

Static Guard

2nd Swimsuit

One extra dress

"Waterproof" plastic ID case

Post it notes

2nd highlighter (and to think I was going to bring four!)

 

Also you don't need to bring a power strip, the three on the desk are sufficient. I was also able to bring on my carry on a corkscrew that also had a little knife on it. It's the cheapo corkscrew/knife/bottle opener type. No problems at security. They were more interested in my mini Bacardi bottles.

 

For debarkation, we decided to carry off our own since we didn't really have that much. We did NOT have to leave at 6:30. We got a tag number of 40. We were scheduled to get off around 9am. We actually ended up leaving a bit after that and there were no issues. We were able to sleep in till 8, and got breakfast at Park Cafe (they still had the full menu available) and brought it back up to the room to eat. Our cabin attendant didn't knock until about 9:30. Customs was a breeze also. The line was really long but moved fast. If only Disneyland lines moved that fast. I did also notice that even though they only called numbers up to 45 at that point, the luggage for numbers all the way up to 80 were for the most part already all out. These workers are really fast, but I think they just don't want everyone making a mad dash to get off all at once.

[awhcruiser]

Is this really necessary?

 

:rolleyes:

 

Not sure what you were expecting to see at Orient... If you were uncomfortable with the whole nudity thing and European beaches why even go there?

 

And it's Marigot, not Marigold.

[awhcruiser]

You are doing a fabulous job Missy. Just ignore the snarky comments.

 

 

Thanks for the correction on the spelling, noted.

Not everyone is as well traveled as yourself. To answer your question why did I even go there? Bc I went on a cruise and wanted to to to St John, and SXM was another port of call. Since Bernards tour was so well received here I decided to book it. Have I ever been to a European beach before? No, so how would I have known I would not have liked it that much? I wouldn't have and well now I know. This review is not for people who know everything, it's for people who are first timers like myself. I hope this would help at least one person in the future.

 

and I def wasn't expecting to be bugged by vendors every five minutes. Heard that Junkanoo was like that but didn't see anything about Orient.

[whataboutport]

You are doing a fabulous job Missy. Just ignore the snarky comments.

 

thanks for the support and thanks for following along. :)

[colesc15]

Not only was I on the same sailing as you, but we also did the same exact two excursions. In St Thomas we did the coastal tour, which I also thought in the beginning would go all the way around the island. We also did Bernards Tour in St Maarten. We also had the timing messed up, so when we arrived, they told us we were an hour late and the tour already left, but they would take us and meet up with the tour at the sea urchin place. We stopped at the Iguana farm for about 3 minutes and hurried to the ocean. Once we met up with Sexy and the group, we were only at that point for a few minutes too. I did enjoy the tour over all though and I felt it was a great value for how cheap it was.

 

We also got hasseled by the guy in front of Seraphina's and kept asking for money, but this being our 5th cruise, I knew to just keep on walking and ignore them if they don't take no.. We told him no and he kept asking as we walked away, no biggie. We went and ate in Seraphina's and it was some of the BEST food ever. We ordered a sandwhich type thing with pepperoni, and a few desserts and they were all delicious! We had no idea what we were ordering at the time, or how much, but it was great. I loved Maho beach and got some pretty good shots of the planes coming in.

 

All in all, we loved Bernards Tour.. Other than the time mix up which I felt could have been specified better, it was a good day and I loved St Maarten. The nude beach and topless beach didn't bother us, we just kind of laughed a little whenever we saw something not so pleasant (without them seeing of course).

 

It's odd seeing all your pictures and knowing we were probably like right next to you on both excursions. I have a few pretty good pictures of Trunk Bay from up on the hill if you want any of them (Without any trees blocking the view or anything)

[kath00]

We also just returned from the Allure. I wanted to get Guavaberry Liquor in St. Maarten and, too, noticed the place near the ship that was selling it for $21. We walked to the actual Guavaberry Liquor store and purchased it for $19; however, as we were walking back to the ship we passed another liquor store and it was $17!! Now I know where to get it next time.

 

We actually spent two weeks on the Allure and I loved every minute of it and would gladly return any time. There are only a couple things I didn't like and the main one was how loud the music was in all the bars, clubs and at the Headliner Show. I mentioned it several times to the assistant cruise director and others and every time they had a different excuse as to why it was so loud. And, there are speakers everywhere so there were no hidden corners to escape the loud sound. I've never noticed it being so loud on other ships.

 

The other thing we would do would be get an oceanview balcony. We had a Central Park View the first week and a Central Park Balcony the second week. I enjoyed sitting on the window seat and reading the first week and being able to sit on the balcony the second week and listen to the "Concerts in the Park" at night as they were right below us. However, we really missed seeing the ocean.

 

A couple other things I missed was not having an adjustable shower (for height) and no clothesline in the shower. Also, did anyone else notice that the bathroom vanity seemed to be lower than other ships?

 

Hope I can convince DH to try the Oasis sometime.

 

Sassy,

 

May I ask how your B2B transition day went? I am reading some horror stories of getting off the ship and hanging out at the terminal for hours before being allowed back on board. Did you find this or was it organized?

 

Thanks for the awesome review, OP! Going in 2 weeks for 2 weeks! YAHOO!!!

[mwne2nks]

Alright, so where was I? Yes, Maho Beach, aka Airport beach. This was our next stop on our tour, and after Marigot, this was my next fave place on SXM. The beach is really tiny and narrow, and there are no trees or shade (unless you rent a chair and umbrella, but even those are not aplenty) but you know the one reason why people come here, to experience the planes and jets landing overhead. In fact, our driver Sexy told us that three months out of the year, the water comes all the way up the beach and even covers the rocks and floods the street, so this is a very interesting place to say the least.

 

There are some hotel/resort/casinos within walking distance, but the Sunset Bar & Grill is right where the action is. It's a very popular place that serves food and drink, with lots of places to sit, live music (while we were there anyway), friendly staff, ceiling fans (it sure was hot that day!), etc. It had a party atmosphere, but was good for families and kids too. I saw lots of young children there, in fact two of them (one each from different families) made friends with eachother and kind of overtook part of our table. Not a big deal, they were cute and very courteous. At the time we were there, it was not like Spring Break party with people flashing their bits type of party, but in the coming weeks, I don't know how it is. It a was very lively, energetic, and fun atmosphere.

 

Anyway, some pics...

This is the Arrivals surfboard. For all you spelling sticklers, notice it says "Beatch" chairs $10.

 

View from my table. Most upper part of the bar, in the front near the railing. This part is built so it goes over the beach a bit, on the rocky side that is.

 

Another view. This is from me with my butt in my chair. When I got up and went closer to the railing was when I got an almost undisrupted view. You can see there are small propeller planes as well as large jumbo jets.

 

AA jet coming in for a landing!

 

 

This is the view when we went down on the beach, just down in front of where we were sitting, in front of the rocks. You can get some crazy pics and perspective from down here. It makes the planes look even closer to the people.

 

See?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53728344/P1060658.MOV

 

One of our favorite places !

[rednancy1]

Great review. Thank you for posting. :)

[Debase]

Oh yeah I remembered a few tips also for SXM before I go on back to the ship. If you want a cheap souvenier, at the Creole Cafe/Tin Tin we ate at (I'm sure lots of other places have it) we bought a can or Orangina and it said St Maartin on it. We had no issues getting it back on the ship, nor in the plane on our checked bag. We did put it in a good quality zip lock bag just in case though.

 

Also remember how I complained about the vendors bugging us on the beach? Turns out a lot of the stuff they try to sell you there, you can get at Rima Beachworld (last part of the tour on Bernards) and a lot of the items are actually cheaper at Rima's. For example, these beach towels that turn into backpacks. The vendors were trying to sell them for $20, but you can talk them down to $12-15. Regular price at Rima is $9.99.

 

Also if you want to buy any Guavaberry rum, there is a few stands at the cruise dock. Buy it last so you don't have to lug it around all day, and these stands are open when you come back to the dock. We bought a bottle for $21, and they give samples in a smoothie drink, very yummy, tastes like a fruit frozen yogurt, but not overly sweet. The liqueur by itself tastes good, and not syrupy like most sweet liqueurs are. We ended up having it straight, all it needed was some ice. And at 35% alcohol, it's not that far behind say Bacardi, so I think the buzz sneaks up on you. I remember seeing t shirts saying "The guavaberry made me do it" Well while we were drinking it, I had a bit of a faux pas that I won't get into, but I really think the guavaberry made me do it! LOL Oops.

 

Also I want to add, we had been tipping out stateroom attendant daily with a little extra here and there, and I think that played into how fast we got our booze delivered to us on the final day. I thought it would be during the turn down service while you're away at dinner but we got ours much earlier, I think 3 or 4? We appreciated that. We also got back those four tiny bottle of Bacardi too. :)

What you need to try is the Rum Jumbie, St. Maarten is the only place we can find it, we're leaving on the Oasis this Saturday and the only thing we planning on getting on the cruise is a restock, because we are on our last bottle

[whataboutport]

Not only was I on the same sailing as you, but we also did the same exact two excursions. In St Thomas we did the coastal tour, which I also thought in the beginning would go all the way around the island. We also did Bernards Tour in St Maarten. We also had the timing messed up, so when we arrived, they told us we were an hour late and the tour already left, but they would take us and meet up with the tour at the sea urchin place. We stopped at the Iguana farm for about 3 minutes and hurried to the ocean. Once we met up with Sexy and the group, we were only at that point for a few minutes too. I did enjoy the tour over all though and I felt it was a great value for how cheap it was.

 

We also got hasseled by the guy in front of Seraphina's and kept asking for money, but this being our 5th cruise, I knew to just keep on walking and ignore them if they don't take no.. We told him no and he kept asking as we walked away, no biggie. We went and ate in Seraphina's and it was some of the BEST food ever. We ordered a sandwhich type thing with pepperoni, and a few desserts and they were all delicious! We had no idea what we were ordering at the time, or how much, but it was great. I loved Maho beach and got some pretty good shots of the planes coming in.

 

All in all, we loved Bernards Tour.. Other than the time mix up which I felt could have been specified better, it was a good day and I loved St Maarten. The nude beach and topless beach didn't bother us, we just kind of laughed a little whenever we saw something not so pleasant (without them seeing of course).

 

It's odd seeing all your pictures and knowing we were probably like right next to you on both excursions. I have a few pretty good pictures of Trunk Bay from up on the hill if you want any of them (Without any trees blocking the view or anything)

 

We were on the same bus? bc John (I think?) brought us to La Playa and said the rest of the group was already there, and handed us off to Sexy. When it was time to leave Orient, us late comers were told to board the bus last bc the original people needed to sit in their seats first. We were the Asian couple with tattoos in our mid 30s. I had on sunglasses all the time and with bangs and bf has a ponytail but with the sides of his head shaved. He has both his lower sleeves tattooed. I can't imagine Sexy doing more than one tour per day? Esp if we were on the same sailing.

 

I would love to see the pics of Trunk with out the trees. You said you also did the coastal tour, were you on a different safari taxi than us? We were on the first one off the ferry after the coastal tour.

 

Oh also wanted to say, we were the ones late back on the bus from Marigot, and I was carrying that huge coconut. So were you on that bus?

Edited March 18, 2013 by whataboutport

[whataboutport]

What you need to try is the Rum Jumbie, St. Maarten is the only place we can find it, we're leaving on the Oasis this Saturday and the only thing we planning on getting on the cruise is a restock, because we are on our last bottle

Rum jumbie? Never heard of that but sounds interesting! :)

[Canadian Tyler]

Great review, thanks for posting!

 

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[cruisin_cutie216]

when I read rum jumbie I thought of the Rum Baba desert in the dining room during the cruise. Dunno why but my brain went there!