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

[colesc15]

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?

 

Lol yes, yes, we were on the same bus's for Bernards and I remember you guys getting on the bus at Marigot and same coastal tour taxi and on the way back dropping the extra people off at the Mariott in St Thomas :)

[bludevil]

Great review! I was on the same sailing and enjoyed everything. I was very surprised that there was no clothes line to hang wet bathing suits on. Luckily, I had a few suction cup hooks that worked on the inside of the shower door and on the bathroom door.

 

Also, remember magnets. The walls are metal so you can use magnets to hold up things like spa appointment reminder cards.

[whataboutport]

Lol yes, yes, we were on the same bus's for Bernards and I remember you guys getting on the bus at Marigot and same coastal tour taxi and on the way back dropping the extra people off at the Mariott in St Thomas :)

 

How did you get the pics of Trunk Bay without the trees? Were you sitting in the back or were you on a different taxi altogether?

 

And so what time did you actually get to meet up with John at the info booth? I assume you guys got there before we did then. We didn't see the Iguana farm at all.

Edited March 18, 2013 by whataboutport

[colesc15]

How did you get the pics of Trunk Bay without the trees? Were you sitting in the back or were you on a different taxi altogether?

 

We must have been on a different taxi.. About the only time we weren't on the same bus lol

[whataboutport]

Great review! I was on the same sailing and enjoyed everything. I was very surprised that there was no clothes line to hang wet bathing suits on. Luckily, I had a few suction cup hooks that worked on the inside of the shower door and on the bathroom door.

 

Also, remember magnets. The walls are metal so you can use magnets to hold up things like spa appointment reminder cards.

 

Oh yeah I forgot to mention magnets. I did bring some, but they have to be pretty strong magnets. It did help a lot to keep clutter off the small vanity table.

[sassy12]

Kath00,

 

Sorry to be so late answering you.

 

Our B2B wasn't too bad. We had to meet the day before to get final instructions and we were able to sign up for shows, restaurants and I think shore excursions at that time if we needed to. Those cruisers who wanted to get off the ship early on Sunday were given special cards. On Sunday we met at 10:00 at the Schooner Bar and were given our Sea Pass cards. We waited for a while and then were escorted off the ship. We sat on chairs at one end of the Customs building and watched the last cruisers leave the ship. After they were through Customs, we were allowed to go through. It didn't take long. We then got our pictures taken and went back on the ship.

 

We had to change staterooms so we went to our new room but they hadn't transferred our belongings yet so we went to Giovanni's Table for our B2B lunch. It was delicious. There was so much food we declined one of the courses so we would have room for dessert.

 

I do remember that by the time we got to Central Park there was already a line at the Park Cafe. It must have been about 11:15 or so.

 

Enjoy your B2B. I am SO ready to cruise again. We've been home two weeks and today my DH said he's ready to get out of here again.

[kath00]

Kath00,

 

Sorry to be so late answering you.

 

Our B2B wasn't too bad. We had to meet the day before to get final instructions and we were able to sign up for shows, restaurants and I think shore excursions at that time if we needed to. Those cruisers who wanted to get off the ship early on Sunday were given special cards. On Sunday we met at 10:00 at the Schooner Bar and were given our Sea Pass cards. We waited for a while and then were escorted off the ship. We sat on chairs at one end of the Customs building and watched the last cruisers leave the ship. After they were through Customs, we were allowed to go through. It didn't take long. We then got our pictures taken and went back on the ship.

 

We had to change staterooms so we went to our new room but they hadn't transferred our belongings yet so we went to Giovanni's Table for our B2B lunch. It was delicious. There was so much food we declined one of the courses so we would have room for dessert.

 

I do remember that by the time we got to Central Park there was already a line at the Park Cafe. It must have been about 11:15 or so.

 

Enjoy your B2B. I am SO ready to cruise again. We've been home two weeks and today my DH said he's ready to get out of here again.

 

Thank you so much! We can't wait to go. That doesn't sound bad at all about the B2B process. Probably a small price to pay for 2 weeks on a ship. We will be in the same cabin thank goodness so we don't even have to pack.

 

OP, please keep posting your review! I love reading it!!!

[alaska_planner]

just starting your review... :)

very interested in getting all opinions on allure (since we haven't booked as yet - we're deciding between allure and freedom)

[whataboutport]

I just remembered two more things I forgot to post.

 

1. I still got my C&A coupons via booklet, so I still don't know how the new system will work yet.

 

2. On deck 5 (running track) you can get a great view of the wake and it's very quiet, with not many people there. At night, the track is still lit, but at the very back it's a lot darker. A cool place to be for sailaway or just to hang out a bit. It also would seem the most ideal place for one to throw themselves overboard. =/ Sorry to be morbid but that was one of my first thoughts when I was there.

[alaska_planner]

So now we are at the last port day St Maarten. I think it's abbreviated SXM? Not sure why. Anyway, we woke up to a view of this ginormous mega yacht. Oh wait, there was two. No wait actually there was THREE! The third one came in later in the afternoon and Capt Johnny actually said they were waiting for us to leave so it could dock where the Allure was. He also said the cheapest of those mega yachts were $300 million, and that all three together were worth $1.4 billion and worth MORE than the Allure! OMG who has that kind of money?! Anyone one this sailing, did you catch who was the owners of any of these?

 

 

 

 

did you see the names on any of the yachts?

all you have to do is google the name and you'll find out who the owner is..

we live about 10 minutes from a marina...every now and then a crazy big yacht shows up.....i just google the name and voila - you get the full statistics of the yacht and bio of the owner....

[alaska_planner]

 

I had this pic on my Facebook with the caption, "This is what it looks like to not be invited onto a $400 million mega yacht. Keep it movin' poor people, nothin' to see here."

 

All three richy riches in this shot.

 

 

 

and for your next cruise, you can charter the serene - here are pictures of the interior to convince you it would be a great choice!!

 

http://www.ycoyacht.com/yacht/serene/

 

something to consider if i ever win the lottery (of course to win, i'd actually have to buy a ticket.. :rolleyes: )

Edited March 30, 2013 by alaska_planner

[whataboutport]

and for your next cruise, you can charter the serene - here are pictures of the interior to convince you it would be a great choice!!

 

http://www.ycoyacht.com/yacht/serene/

 

something to consider if i ever win the lottery (of course to win, i'd actually have to buy a ticket.. :rolleyes: )

Hey that first pic IS the Serene! How about that?! So a richy person had this chartered that day. So now I know it was the Serene, and the white one was just named "A".

[boaterette]

Thanks for the review. I know the first time I went to these Islands I did a lot of research on the ports of call pages so I knew to expect the nudity. So that didn't come as a surprise for me. I had a great time and next time will spend the day at Orient beach. The water was great.

[Static events]

and for your next cruise, you can charter the serene - here are pictures of the interior to convince you it would be a great choice!!

 

http://www.ycoyacht.com/yacht/serene/

 

something to consider if i ever win the lottery (of course to win, i'd actually have to buy a ticket.. :rolleyes: )

 

Charter for £3,600,000 per week!!!!

 

I will take 6 weeks then :eek:

[stahlee]

Please let me know if this link is working for you guys.

 

https://vimeo.com/61970698

 

My wife and I were also on the same cruise. Sorry I didn't read your review sooner. We were also at Maho Beach for the 747 to land, but we were standing directly below it. We were probably there for about 2 hours watching the aircraft land.

[stahlee]

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!

 

I spend quite a bit of time on the Flowrider when I cruise. I'm sure we ran into each other up there. I'm the short bald, pudgy, bald guy and I have my own board. Curious who you were???

[babyblues1333]

So I'm not having luck with Youtube. Anyone able to see the vid I posted? It was not on Youtube, but Dropbox and doesn't seem to want to load on my ancient mac.

 

i saw the vid....nice shot! and super loud...awesome to see the planes sooo close.

thanks for the review...loving it. i get to visit her for the first time in Sept for my bday! i cant wait.

[Lloyd555]

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.

 

 

Wouldn't happen to know what those three months are? We'll be hoping to go to the beach next February.

[bigfig63]

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.

 

 

Just chiming in, I was on this cruise as well and that is kinda funny about your experience with Bernards. I signed up for the tour as well and was at the statue at 0900 (I think). I was the only one there and the Bernards rep said to hang out for a bit as the other groups are running late. I checked back with him after about 15 minutes and from my reservation he knew I was only really interested in Maho Beach. So to my delight, rather then wait for the group, he put me aboard one of the taxi;s going to Maho and I was able to spend the whole day there (yay me). He said to meet at the nightclub by Maho at 2pm. I figured yea right, I will be on my own getting back. Sure enough at 2pm he came walking up, asked if I wanted to stay and see the Air France inbound (which is the highlight at Maho) and after it landed I boarded the bus for the ride back to the souvenoir shop and the ship. Attached are some pics I took at Maho. For me that was one of the best days ever.

[whataboutport]

I spend quite a bit of time on the Flowrider when I cruise. I'm sure we ran into each other up there. I'm the short bald, pudgy, bald guy and I have my own board. Curious who you were???

Oh I totally remember you! I was the Asian girl with bangs and my bf was the Asian guy with lots of tattoos and long hair. We said hi to you a while after the Best of the Best competition near the pool. :)

[whataboutport]

Wouldn't happen to know what those three months are? We'll be hoping to go to the beach next February.

I don't remember if he said what months, sorry! Maybe I heard wrong? :confused:

[stahlee]

Oh I totally remember you! I was the Asian girl with bangs and my bf was the Asian guy with lots of tattoos and long hair. We said hi to you a while after the Best of the Best competition near the pool. :)

 

I do remember you both. I definitely remember the tattoos and long hair. :) Most of my time is spent at the Flowrider.

[alaska_planner]

regarding your title - 'not as awesome as i thought"..

 

was it the allure specifically that wasn't as awesome as you thought it would be?

was it the ship? the itinerary? something else?

[jimbri]

Nice review. Great photos!

[marci22]

...On the way there Sexy gave us more useless commentary about who is the new owner of Chuck Norris' old house (answer: Chuck Norris' ex wife. har har har), and things like, if you look to the left you will see an empty lot that is the future home of a new medical facility. Ok that's nice. We drove by a dead grass golf course (I wonder where is this nice golf course that Capt Johnny likes so much in SXM?).

 

omg this is so funny because it was our exact experience. We had a different driver, but only beer and water, so I couldn't even drown my pain.

 

He was giving out tons of useless info like, "here is the local bank, and right behind it is a bike store!" and "...so and so lives down there in a really nice house, but we can't see it from here. But it's really big, I used to work there!" Just senseless crazy drivel. And it went on and on!

 

And we had to drive past and view a small airport for some strange reason, where we got stuck behind a delivery van for a good 10 min or so, and at the end, we missed the Air France landing at Maho. I'm sure if Bernard reads this he will know who I am because I told him my complaints and he just laughed.