B2B Allure Of The Seas Pictorial Review - 31st March 2013 & 7th April 2013

[milpston]

Wow, you are really providing the wow factor in your review. It's almost like I am sailing Allure all over again. The first sight of the promenade when you board; big wow, thank you for taking the time; I know how long it takes to scan the cruise compass and then upload; wonderful review.

 

Thank you very much for the compliment. I just hope I can keep it going as I had to have some lazy days during the fortnight haha

 

I need more please I need to be held over for 553 more days please

 

Well I certainly hope the review won't take that long but you never know ;)

[milpston]

OH!:( Now see that's not fair!! I got so excited when I saw you were the last poster because I thought you were putting up more of your trip!!

 

Tara

 

P.S. You really don't understand how much those of us who have a way to go appreciate this stuff!!:D

 

Haha. Just waiting for some photos to upload then there will be some more this evening.

 

I was exactly the same when I had mine to look forward to which is why I decided to do this. Helps ease my holiday blues too :p

[milpston]

So we bounded off to the lift and as we ascended I took the necessary photo of the sign. I felt a bit daft actually and I could see the slight signs of embarrassment from Sally and Chloe as other guests thought I was obviously a bit barmy.....

 

[milpston]

We walked straight into central park and my smugness returned thanks to my memory and sense of direction ;) It was identical to the Oasis and I really felt we had been there before. It was just after 12:15 when we walked into the park.

 

 

This is the cool map inside the entrance to the park. We had walked in from the Vintages end.

 

Thanks to forums such as these it is widely thought that the "secret" of central park for boarding day lunch is out. We queued for about 3 minutes and, hey presto, lunch was served.

 

 

 

Yes, Sally and I had the beef rolls. They are fantastic. I have to say that I am not keen on the seeds that are on the rolls so each time I had one I just brushed the seeds off. The crisps (or should I say chips) are pretty nice in here too.

 

 

The beef can be done pretty rare in here at times but on this day I reckon they got it about right. I was pretty good though as I only had the one. Something I wouldn't always stick to over the next couple of weeks :p

[milpston]

We were lucky enough to get a table in the middle of the park to eat lunch in the sun. By the time we sat down to eat the queue was starting to build

 

 

By 13:00 more guests were starting to fill the park

 

 

We decided to get straight off to our cabin as they are ready at 1300

 

 

You don't get a more interesting photo than that ;)

[milpston]

We were all very happy to be in our new home for the next two weeks. Ill include a couple of photos of the cabin as most on here will have seen it or stayed in one similar.....

 

 

This is where all my cruise compasses lived

 

 

I filled this with a couple of magazines I bought on the way out. Most of them were binned without even being read.

 

 

The bathroom's aren't a bad size really. More than enough shelf space for toiletries for the three of us.

 

 

I'm not the skinniest of blokes but there is plenty of space to shower in here. Just out of shot in the left hand side of the cubicle is the little rack for shampoos, shower gels etc. I have read a few things on here about taking a wash cloth to put over it to stop your bits and pieces falling through the grill straight onto the floor. I forgot..... My advice though, is to buy bigger bottles of shampoo etc as I had no issues with mine falling through. They do have a shampoo dispenser in the shower but I don't think I ever tried it.

[tarajean1962]

Glad you enjoyed your first lunch aboard and beat the crowds! Your door picture is definitelly different!:rolleyes::D

 

Tara

[milpston]

Glad you enjoyed your first lunch aboard and beat the crowds! Your door picture is definitelly different!:rolleyes::D

 

Tara

 

That was my best photo of the whole honeymoon :D

[milpston]

We unpacked and found no problem with storage for all of our clothes and popped the three cases straight under the bed.

 

By 13:30 we were out of the cabin and just decided to go up to the top deck for a stroll. When we arrived on deck 15 we walked straight passed this

 

 

This is the shop onboard for scuba supplies etc. Also where you have to collect tickets for any diving excursions and show them your diving certifications etc. We needed to by Sally a wetsuit. The guy told me the 3mm shorties were $70. Sally went and tried one on and was happy with it. When he asked me to sign the price was $75. I questioned this and he looked at me blankly..... and said, "Oh..... Would you rather pay $70?". Erm...... let me think :rolleyes:. He knocked $5 off. I do tend to embarass Sally in situations like this. I will always speak up whereas she would just keep quiet. I'm just tight at the end of the day :D

 

We walked to the Sky bar and grabbed a couple of drinks

 

 

 

Sally and I had a tropical sunrise which were $6.95 each whereas Chloe preferred to get her first of many frozen yoghurts of the holiday

 

 

There are two of these machines by the sports and kids pools and another one in the Wipeout Cafe. There is vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. They are the perfect tonic for a hot day and my personal favourite is the vanilla.

[milpston]

I decided not to get too close but the Windjammer looked mobbed by this point.

 

We then went to check out a lot of people's favourite sail away spot. This is the sun deck at the front of the ship on deck 14. To get there you have to go portside and down the corridor past all the cabins. There is a small sign at the entry to the corridor.

 

 

On arrival to the sundeck there was no-one around.

 

 

 

The spot below is where a lot like to be for the sail away. I never came back here throughout the cruise so I have no idea how busy it gets. A spot by the binoculars has been spoken about as somewhere nice and quiet to pull up a sunbed. However, this would be too far away from a bar or pool for me.

 

 

 

We spent about 10 minutes looking through these at the houses. I managed to find the house with the Flowrider in the garden. I was trying to show Chloe but she wasn't quite tall enough. Every time She got her eyes to it it dropped just enough to make the sights go above the house. We must have looked a bit odd with one of us lifting Chloe and the other holding the binoculars still so she could see it. We got there in the end.

Below is the way I'd like to arrive on the Allure next time if at all possible!

[milpston]

We got back to the cabin at 14:45. I forgot to mention earler how well all my meticulous planning had paid off. When I was unpacking I found that I had 27 pairs of socks with me......... and 7 pairs of underpants :eek: Even using the inside out rule I was still way short for the next 21 nights :o

 

On arrival back at the cabin there had been a small delivery.

 

We had booked the Grand romance package prior to arrival. This basically includes bathrobes (no longer supplied unless you have a suite I think) A frame and token for a free photograph.....

 

It also includes the flowers you can see in the distance, a bottle of champagne (with strawberries and cup cakes for sail away) an upgraded breakfast in bed, canapes and petit fours in the cabin on the 2 formal nights.

[milpston]

I joined the girls on the balcony..... probably still my favourite place in the world. For this reason I don't think I could ever try the central park or boardwalk view rooms. I just love to be able to see the sea from the balcony especially on these ships where the sea may not be visible from the vast majority of the ship.

The picture doesn't show it brilliantly but I think the hump balconies are quite a lot bigger than the size of the normal balconies. Makes a bit of difference if there is more than 2 of you.... or you like parties on your balcony ;)

 

 

I had to take a picture of the bridge as it was only a few hours ago that we were standing there taking a picture of the ship we were now on :)

 

 

And without the zoom ....

[milpston]

I think the excitement was getting the better of me which is why I was quite so snap happy with the camera on the first day. Here are the two other ships, in daylight, that we were looking out onto...

 

The Nieuw Amsterdam

 

The Carnival Freedom

 

I was assured it was docked and not stranded in any way :p

[Lessa123]

First off, congratulations on your wedding. You have a beautiful family.

 

Thank you so much for posting this!! We are looking at the Allure for our cruise next year and I am crazy addicted to reading anything and everything I can about her.

 

I am loving your review and anxiously awaiting the next installment.

 

Debbie

[milpston]

Looking directly down from the balcony I could see that the life boats are all in a straight line so didn't stick out quite so far from the "hump" balconies

 

 

The familar sight of Fort Lauderdale

 

There was also a plane flying with a banner over the area. It was too far away to see what the banner said so I put my camera on full zoom and took a picture. We still couldn't work out what it said on the screen at the time but this was it.

 

[milpston]

First off, congratulations on your wedding. You have a beautiful family.

 

Thank you so much for posting this!! We are looking at the Allure for our cruise next year and I am crazy addicted to reading anything and everything I can about her.

 

I am loving your review and anxiously awaiting the next installment.

 

Debbie

 

Thank you very much :)

 

You are welcome. I hope to be finally finishing day 1 after work tomorrow as I'd better get off to bed now for an early start :(

[Susiecruisey]

Keep it coming please

[tarajean1962]

Awesome photos! We only do hump balconies now, well except for this upcoming cruise where we splurged a bit. But that is our balcony of choice.

 

Tara

[joand452]

 

Below is the way I'd like to arrive on the Allure next time if at all possible!

 

As long as this isn't the way you leave the ship!! ;)

 

I loved the sundeck, as it was nice and quiet; however, on sea days it was just too windy to sit out there for long and too hot while docked. It's a lovely idea, though.

 

Definitely agree about a B2B--so nice to watch every one leave the ship at the end of week one. But they had to practically drag me kicking and screaming at the end of week two!

[birdylady]

 

We had booked the Grand romance package prior to arrival. This basically includes bathrobes (no longer supplied unless you have a suite I think) A frame and token for a free photograph.....

Say that isn't so. RCI's site still shows robes for use onboard for Platinum and above C&A members.

 

Erika

[rednancy1]

Say that isn't so. RCI's site still shows robes for use onboard for Platinum and above C&A members.

 

Erika

 

Platinum and above still get the basic robe. Suites and "packages" get the luxuty robe. (it's not really luxury). :rolleyes:

[ccsci]

Congrats to you both. My fiance and I are getting married on the Allure in June! First time ever cruising. We are taking 21 family members with us. However, can you tell me where would be some of the most romantic places around the ship to take bride and groom photos? Love your comparison pics, they are amazing. I imagine, I will look like a typic newby at port!

[AF-1]

Congrats to you both. My fiance and I are getting married on the Allure in June! First time ever cruising. We are taking 21 family members with us. However, can you tell me where would be some of the most romantic places around the ship to take bride and groom photos? Love your comparison pics, they are amazing. I imagine, I will look like a typic newby at port!

 

If it were me I would take pictures in all the neighborhoods. Boardwalk, Central Park, Studio B, helipad. Rear of ship in Aqua theater. These are a few, so good luck and congrats on your upcoming wedding.

[milpston]

Awesome photos! We only do hump balconies now, well except for this upcoming cruise where we splurged a bit. But that is our balcony of choice.

 

Tara

 

I really liked the hump balcony. The only "slight" negative was that it was a longer walk from the hump we were on to either of the lifts...... having said that the amount I was eating it could also be seen as a benefit!!

 

As long as this isn't the way you leave the ship!! ;)

 

I loved the sundeck, as it was nice and quiet; however, on sea days it was just too windy to sit out there for long and too hot while docked. It's a lovely idea, though.

 

Definitely agree about a B2B--so nice to watch every one leave the ship at the end of week one. But they had to practically drag me kicking and screaming at the end of week two!

 

Haha.... I really hope I never have to leave the ship from there!

I agree. A nice place to visits but I don't think I would ever get too much use from that area. It's all about personal preference though.

I didn't want to leave either.... it softened the blow that we had a week elsewhere before returning home though.

[milpston]

Say that isn't so. RCI's site still shows robes for use onboard for Platinum and above C&A members.

 

Erika

 

Platinum and above still get the basic robe. Suites and "packages" get the luxuty robe. (it's not really luxury). :rolleyes:

 

 

Thank you for clearing that up for me. I wasn't aware. When I was on the Oasis in 2011 everyone got them including some of my family that were first time cruisers. (the laundry bill must have been getting too much).

I won't experience that next time as I'm still 1 night short of platinum :rolleyes:

The grand romance package includes the 'luxury' robes which are better than the waffle ones in my opinion.