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

[milpston]

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!

 

You will have a fantastic time with 21 people on the Allure to get married. I am certain RCI will do a really good job for you.

 

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.

 

I agree with this. You will get some lovely photos up in the wedding chapel I'm sure. There are so many different places. At the rear of the ship behind the Flowriders or down on the running track behind the aquatheatre with the wake behind you would probably be nice too. I am sure the ship's photographers will have a wealth of ideas if you are using them.

[milpston]

16:30 Muster Drill

 

Ok as most people reading will know, the Muster Drill has to be attended by every passenger on your ship prior to sailing away. The large letter and number on you sea pass card denotes the location of where you need to be for the Muster Drill. A map with a primary and secondary route to it will be on the inside of your cabin door.

This isn't something you will miss. They make lots of announcements over the tannoy and into cabins. You do not take life vests with you like on most smaller ships as they are not stored in the cabins (I should probably try and remember to call them staterooms :p).

 

I will not dwell on this as it is a means to an end rather than a memorable event. My only advice would be not to leave too early to get there. If you can be one of the last to get there then you will be waiting less time for it to start. They swipe all sea cards so there is no way of escaping this. All services are closed and they announce that all cabins are checked.... I don't know how true this is.

 

 

Our Muster station was Studio B which was quite nice. There was seating for everyone which isn't the case in some of the smaller locations that you can be allocated to.

 

After we were dismissed by the captain I was expecting an absolute fight to move back towards the cabin as every single passenger is on the move to their sail away spot. As it turned out we walked straight out of Studio B, through the casino, up 4 lots of stairs to deck 8 and we were back in our cabin in no time and I was surprised how civilised it all was. The lifts are deactivated for this period.

[milpston]

17:00 finally it was the sail away

 

Well..... actually we didn't sail away until about 17:30 for some reason. I had watched the sail away on www.portevergladeswebcam.com weeks and weeks before we left wishing we were there and now we were :D You can request a wave on there and tell them exactly where you will be for sail away and what type of banner you will have.

 

Just prior to sail away I called home to my parents to let them know we were safely on board and about to sail away.... and to check that they were all watching of course haha

 

For us, there is only ever one place to be for sail away and that was the privacy of our own balcony with a drink in hand so that is exactly where we headed straight back to after the muster drill.

 

On arrival we had some goodies to get started with

 

 

 

That picture of the champagne really confused me when I uploaded it as that's definitely my wtach on the hand on the left..... but I definitely don't do my nails like the other hand. I came to the conclusion that the bottle must have been much heavier than it looks for it to need two of us to hold it ;)

 

 

The vanilla cup cakes were seriously nice!

[PCWalton1]

16:30 Muster Drill

 

 

This isn't something you will miss. They make lots of announcements over the tannoy and into cabins. You do not take life vests with you like on most smaller ships as they are not stored in the cabins (I should probably try and remember to call them staterooms :p).

 

 

I had to google tannoy. :o

 

Thanks for the really informative review. I am spinning with anticipation for our Allure cruise in 4 weeks and this is helping to get me through. :D

 

Bill

[milpston]

Can I just say that the outfits below are not our usual attire. This was purely for the benefit of the webcam :D

 

We were definitely in heaven though... even if the weather was now a little cloudy and overcast..

 

 

You can see in the background that the Nieuw Amsterdam had already sailed and I think the Carnival Freedom is about to do the same. From what I have seen the Allure is always the last to leave unless the Independence is in Ft Lauderdale.

 

This lovely boat coming in isn't quite the Allure but I'd probably accept it as a gift....

 

 

Below is what I felt a little nervous about when I was standing taking photographs of the ships this morning

 

[tarajean1962]

Awesome update and YAY!! You are finally on the way!!:D

 

Tara

[milpston]

I had to google tannoy. :o

 

Thanks for the really informative review. I am spinning with anticipation for our Allure cruise in 4 weeks and this is helping to get me through. :D

 

Bill

 

Haha. I'm sure that won't be the last time I use words different from the American ones.

 

Anyone please feel free to pick me up on any or ask if something doesn't make sense....

I thought I was being so careful too.......

For future reference......

Chips = fries

crisps = chips

starter = appetiser

main = entree

fag = cigarette

plenty more will come up I'm sure :D

[Susiecruisey]

more more more

[milpston]

Awesome update and YAY!! You are finally on the way!!:D

 

Tara

 

Finally....... don't worry I did pretty much put the camera away some days ;)

[milpston]

more more more

 

 

Haha. It's all coming...... slowly :rolleyes:

[cruiseclues]

Enjoying your photo review...and looking forward to more... :):):):)

[milpston]

I remember when we finally set sail that Chloe had been saying for a good minute or so that we were moving. I was assuring her that we wasn't as we would be able to feel and/or hear it. Anyway, I soon realised I was wrong and we were actually moving. Its nice to see the swell at the side of the ship that show the thrusters are on..

 

 

I love sailing away from here as it makes you feel really special. People are always out watching and waving to everyone on the ship. These guys haven't got a bad little pad..

 

If they are reading and would like to invite me over to stay then they are more than welcome to!

 

This is the, now famous, house with the Flowrider in the yard

 

 

This family looked like they were having a great day sailing back in past the Allure

 

[milpston]

Enjoying your photo review...and looking forward to more... :):):):)

 

Thank you very much. I'm glad you are enjoying it.

[Tkriger]

Funky British lingo aside - awesome review!

 

Will be on the Allure in less than 3 weeks for the first time, so this will help pass the time.

[milpston]

These guys on the jet skis were also having a great time in the wake of the Allure. One of them did a superb jump but I wasn't good enough to get a photo of it.

 

 

There were lots of people out to wave off the biggest cruise ship in the world. I think someone must have told them I would be on there that week :p

 

 

It seemed like ages ago that the three of us were strolling out onto this beach.

 

 

Below, the building on the left is the one that has the webcam in it. As we were making our way out into open water I received a text from home to say that we weren't seen on the video. I was really glad I had made my arms ache by waving them throughout the sail away!!

 

We had a chat with our new neighbours for the week who were a couple from California who I remember saying that they lived in the same street as Britney Spears. They had certainly been upgraded this week to have us as neighbours :D

 

Shortly afterwards we went down to Boleros to have a soft drink. This was the bar that we frequented the most when on The Oasis. I think the main reason for that is that it is centrally located in the Promenade and because you are allowed to smoke in half of it and at the bar. We were served by Christina Orza from Romania who was lovely and really chatty. Soon after we headed up to the stateroom to relax on the balcony some more and to get ready for dinner.

[CruiserRD]

Great review with pics...can't wait to see more!!!

[milpston]

Funky British lingo aside - awesome review!

 

Will be on the Allure in less than 3 weeks for the first time, so this will help pass the time.

 

Haha... I'm glad you are enjoying.

 

I would hope I will be pretty much done by the time you sail. You will have a wonderful time.

[milpston]

Great review with pics...can't wait to see more!!!

 

Thank you very much. I'm sure it will get less and less organised but please stick around :)

[milpston]

20:00 First dinner of the cruise - Chops Grille

 

Now, as I'm sure you are aware Chops is the steak house on the Royal Caribbean ships. I have eaten here on both the Navigator and the Oasis with varying degrees of success. When I went to the one on the Navigator in 2005 it was superb. I remember, until this day, it being one of the very best steaks I have ever had. On the Oasis I ate there with my family and I was disappointed. The steaks weren't really cooked the way we had asked and the service was not great. I also remember being offered water and accepting without thinking. It was only at the end of the meal that we realised it was bottled water which they were freely topping up our glasses with. The bill for the water actually came to more than the wine. I'm just sure to ask for regular water now as, to be honest, I can never tell the difference!

 

 

Chops is located in Central Park along with Giovannis, Park Cafe, and 150 Central Park. I remember looking at the Central Park Dining package a long time in advance of the cruise which includes a number of the speciality dining venues and was less expensive than booking them centrally. The only thing I didn't like about it was that you selected the time to eat at Chops one of the first two nights and then had to wait until you were on board to confirm your reservations for the other restaurants. This went against my planning as I didn't want to find that I couldn't get the times and days I wanted. I just booked them all individually so I knew exactly when and where I was eating. I did want to eat in a speciality restaurant the first night though. My reason for this is that from my own experience and from other reviews it is the night that is least organised in the MDR and usually the longest wait times.

Chops was £18.90 each which obviously depends slightly on the exchange rate. It wasn't great when we went.... hovering around $1.5 to the £.

 

Now, a little about my eating and drinking habits. I am a creature of habit and pretty much live on meat and potatoes. I know this isn't a healthy diet so I don't need to be lectured but I eat what I like and will very rarely move outside of this.... unless I am forced to really. In regards to drinking, I have always been a lager only person which would only change late in an evening when I may move onto vodka. Over the last few months I have been trying to move to wine and have been trying now and again and have been developing my tolerance of them. I have even been enjoying white wine prior to this cruise and they have been Sauvignon Blancs in the main.

 

We were shown to our table and given the menu.

 

 

 

There is a loaf of bread on the table. We must have been hungry as it didn't last long. They will happily provide more if you want it.

 

 

I wanted to try the Caliterra which is the lowest price Sauvignon Blanc from Chile on the ship. I was hoping I would like this one as it would lower my expenditure over the fortnight ;) Unfortunately, and I have found this before in the speciality restaurants on RCI, this was unavailable and they only had a California Chardonay available which was more expensive. The ship also has a Sauvignon Blanc from California at the same price as the Chardonnay but this was unavailable also. What did I think of it? I can't really remember but I think I liked it. Not being a wine buff I can't really comment more than that haha

[milpston]

Our server tonight was a guy from Dominica who had previously worked on Vision ofthe seas and Sovereign of the seas. He was very friendy and pleasant and the only fault I could find was that he was a bit slow topping up the wine glasses. If they aren't going to top them up regularly then I would rather they left the wine in reach of the table so I could pour my own :p

 

For starter Sally and I both had the Cheese & Onion soup. Chloe had the mushroom soup.

 

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Chloe's (I do forget things like this regularly). I'm sure someone has it again later on at some point though. I really enjoyed the soup so this wasn't the last time I had it.... A creature of habit you see.

 

For main course Sally I both went for the 10oz Filet Mignon cooked medium rare and Chloe had the mini filet of 7oz.

 

 

Your order side orders from the menu and they put these on a plate in front of you to share. We had Onion rings, mash potato, asparagus and a baked potato.

 

 

There was loads of food for the three of us and it was lovely. The steaks were excellent and perfectly cooked. That was me happy!! This was exactly how I remembered from years ago and was so happy I didn't let my last experience put me off :D

[milpston]

Chloe was full and probably getting tired by now (so were we) and did not have a dessert.

 

Sally went for the creme brulee

 

Not a great picture I admit. Sally wasn't that keen on this as the coffee taste was a little too strong for her.

 

I went for the Mud pie

 

 

This is my kind of dessert and I thought it was suberb! I was seriously tempted to ask for another one. It was actually my favourite dessert of the whole honeymoon but I am a chocolate cake man :D

 

I'll add at this point that I did not take a picture of all the menus throughout the cruise. PArtly because I would forget and partly because I felt like an idiot doing it :cool:

[Bella O]

Great shots of the sailaway. What side of the ship were you on?

[tarajean1962]

I'm glad you guys are enjoying the ship!! Once again, your photos are lovely. Your meal at Chops sounds delicious as well. :D

 

 

Tara

[Ciardasully]

Great review!

 

Congratulations on your wedding!

 

I did do a semester of college (or I should say, a term of uni) in Winchester so I am enjoying your British terminology.

[milpston]

After a lovely meal we went for a stroll onto the boardwalk. It was busy down here as Oceanaria had just finished. We took a walk along to Boleros then took a glass of wine and soda up to the blacony. We were all beat so we had a reasonably early night as we had another fairly early start in the morning.