Photo Review: Allure Eastern 4/14/2013 The Good Karma Cruise

[mjldvlks]

Thanks for the review. I enjoy reading reviews from people enjoying their vacations and who have a sense of humor. We have been fortunate to have some good ones lately.

[Mauifans]

My wife and I are Alluring it next spring for our 30th anniversary. We, of course, have scoured Cruise Critic for past trip reviews, and I must say yours is the most entertaining we've encountered so far. Looking forward to reading the rest!

[Familygoboston]

Thanks for the review. I enjoy reading reviews from people enjoying their vacations and who have a sense of humor. We have been fortunate to have some good ones lately.

 

There have been haven't there!! The aforementioned Gambee had photos of just anything you could ever want to see on board, Cruisin Cutie had such a sweet, wide eyed approach to everything, her enthusiasm was so infectious, someone (sorry I can't remember who:() just started a great food review with pic and menus, the other lady from Boston who had lots of kids and teen stuff to add, and Kansas Cocoa had a funny "solo" review too. I liked them all!!!

 

There are others too, but I always get excited when I see a new one! I suppose with SO many good ones, you wonder if you should add another, but I guess everyone does different things and has different interests, so you never know which will resonate with people! Randy has told me he is working on one for our cruise too...I'm really looking forward to Randy's take. He's a from the Midwest, a funny guy, with a big heart and a cruise newbie, (and I want his wife Amy to be my new best friend!!!) so his views will be different in some ways.

 

My wife and I are Alluring it next spring for our 30th anniversary. We, of course, have scoured Cruise Critic for past trip reviews, and I must say yours is the most entertaining we've encountered so far. Looking forward to reading the rest!

 

Thanks so much!! Happy Anniversary! I love it..."alluring":D This ship merits it's own verb!

[Familygoboston]

Time to move in...

 

After lunch, it was 1:30, and things got quiet in the Park; everyone was off exploring their cabins. We went to check out ours:

 

(photo of 8716 ocean view balcony)

 

Teen Tip: we found the white board extremely useful for intercabin communication. We usually left messages about where the adults would be, or times we wanted them back or where and when we wanted to meet. You can do the same by leaving a phone message, but it takes more time (enter the cabin and picking up the phone) to access that. This message was actually the last day...we wanted the girls to pack early so they could have the whole night for their "goodbyes" with their gang. Another good approach so your kids won't need to break away from the group when everyone is enjoying the last hours on board!

 

 

(bed by the closet)

 

 

(balcony)

 

 

(view from the balcony...in St Thomas)

 

We chose these two cabins for the following reasons:

-our girls enjoy people watching and we all decided they'd enjoy a BW balcony

 

-we enjoy ocean watching and booked the cheapest D8 ocean view balcony for ourselves with the B2 directly across the hall for the girls.

 

-OVB had bed by the balcony which we prefer, the girls BWB had bed by the closet which they preferred in this location since the Boardwalk has some loud activities, and this made the sound even less noticeable.

 

-we chose deck 8 aft because its an extremely convenient location for the areas that have the types of activities we like to do.

[Mspokertn]

I cruise as a newbie to RC on the Allure Sept 22 - getting excited after reading your review. It's like a cliff hanger waiting for more. Thank you and God Bless Boston.

 

One question, how far in advance can you start booking reservations for shows and dinner?

[Familygoboston]

Moving In

 

(photos of 8717 Boardwalk Balcony)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tips: My tips for choosing an Allure/Oasis cabin

 

(I'm an advocate of considering where you think you'd spend your time (which neighborhoods/ activities appeal to you) then picking a cabin in a central location, vertically and horizontally. So if you think you'll like the casino, shopping and specialty restaurants, on decks 5-8, you'd want to be near there. Romantic week without the kids? Maybe choose a cabin nearer to the spa and solarium on higher decks near the forward stairs. Kids who will spend all day on the sports deck and pools? Again, go for a higher deck aft.

 

Generally, most of the action is aft, so except for solarium and spa and kids clubs, you'll have a shorter walk to things being closer to the aft elevator/stair well. Many people like deck 8 because if you have to walk from bow (front) to stern (back) it's more pleasant to walk through the park instead of through a long cabin hallway. (but there is no law saying if you are going down 4 decks from deck 10, that you can't go down two decks, walk through the park and go down two more...there are no hall monitors, and you won't have a miserable time if you get a cabin on another deck!;) Also, we found deck 8 or 9 to be very convenient vertically, 2-3 decks down to the Central Park and Royal Promenade and 5-6 decks up to pools and sports decks.

 

It seems overwhelming trying to choose from the various cabin categories, but if you read reviews, most people are happy with their choices- there aren't a lot of "bad" cabins on these ships as far as noise and distance from public areas. In general the prices rise the closer you get to mid ship, and on the upper decks, but on this ship, unlike smaller ships where the lower decks may be nearer to the engine room or "business end" of the ship, other than perception, there is is very little difference in the experience you will have on any of the passenger decks (with the exception of the loss leader interior cabins on the lowest decks which are a bit out of the way)

 

Also, all the cabins (interior, ocean view, interior balcony and OVB) are almost exactly the same with minuscule differences in size and none in amenities, with the exception of D1 balconies (which have a slightly bigger balcony on the hump), suites, and accessible cabins. So buy what you can afford and sail in confidence that you are not getting much less or more than anyone else on board!!

 

You may be asking yourself these cabin selection questions: (loads of people do every day on CC;) )

 

Should we get a boardwalk balcony cabin (BWB)?

 

Here was our experience.

 

-If the balcony door is open you will hear noise, but I noticed when the door was locked that any sound was pretty faint.

 

-We were 7 cabins back and on the lowest deck of BW cabins, maybe it's louder closer to the stern, maybe less noisy on higher decks. I would likely be bothered by even faint noise from outside if I were an early to bed person, or afternoon napper. My kids are not bothered by noise and not bothered at all by the very faint sounds (especially at night when they were in long after most noise had stopped)

 

-You can see people across the way and people on the BW can see you, if this bothers you, it might not be for you. You'll need to keep the curtains closed while dressing.

 

Teen tips: CruiseEm reports that for teens, it's great, you can watch shows and movies from the balcony. Most of the " noise" stops at midnight and they were out till at least 1 AM most nights. The bed by the closet was a bit more crowded but made it quieter than if the bed was by the balcony. It made it easy and fun to people watch/see if friends were out in the boardwalk.

 

Should we get an ocean view balcony (OVB)?

 

On this ship, it's barely needed. There is so much to do that we rarely use ours. If you can afford one, or get a nice C&A discount that makes it a no brainer, it's nice to have the light and views from the balcony, but if not, you won't regret going inside or ocean view on this busy ship!

 

-If you are the kind of person who likes to get away from it all, enjoys dining or smoking on your balcony- by all means get one, but of all the ships I've sailed- this is the one where I've spent the least time on my balcony.

 

-It's especially less needed if you are sailing with a large group or family- you are more likely to gather in a larger public space for sail aways and such- the standard balcony doesn't hold much more than 2 or 3 comfortably.

 

-If you are going for a multi occupancy in a cabin, a balcony is a nice " extra space" to hang out for 3 or 4 people sharing a cabin.

 

Bed by the balcony (BBB) or bed by the Closet (BBC)?

 

This is really a matter of preference, what kind of trip you are taking, and who you are taking it with!!.

BBC

-the closet area is a little tight with the bed next to it

 

-The sitting area is contiguous with the balcony creating a more commodious "living area" when combined. (this may be preferred if you have a large party sailing, open the balcony doors and you can entertain a larger group in a cohesive area)

 

-less noise can be heard from CP or BW if you have an interior balcony

 

BBB

-You can see the ocean from you bed

 

-the closet is more accessible

 

-the living areas are divided (this may be good if you want separation, like young children sleeping on the couch parents chilling on the balcony)

 

How to figure out if a cabin has a bed by the Balcony or by the Closet

1. Look at the deck plans for Oasis or Allure

2. Find a pair of cabins that are "connected" (this will be indicated by an arrow icon on the plans) on the same side, near the cabin you'd like to know about

3. Pretend you are standing in the hall facing the doors of the connected cabins.

4.The cabin on the RIGHT of the pair will always have the beds by the balcony (BBB) and the cabin on the LEFT of the pair will always have the bed by the closet (BBC)

5.Now count down the hallway, every other cabin, BBC,BBB, BBC, BBB etc, till you get to your cabin...then you will know which arrangement you have

 

Two caveats: It's hard to know how this technique works for cabins adjacent to suites, or those rows of cabins where there is just a few cabins in an odd location...and remember this only applies to Oasis class balcony cabins...other ships all the beds are generally by the balconies

[Familygoboston]

7 short blasts followed by one long blast

 

Shortly after arriving at our cabins, most of our bags arrive, except for one of the black ones (oh oh!) and the large one with all my ...ummm, sunscreen) I'm nervous for about 10 minutes thinking one is still sitting on the sidewalk where it is now surrounded by a swat team and explosive dogs ( not so funny really given the events of the next day:() and the large bag, which, I'm sure was stuck in the naughty room where someone thinks I would actually go to the trouble of filling 10-12 tubes with alcohol, just to avoid having to pay on board for alcohol. In fact the tubes are filled with real sunscreen, and I will point out that at 10 bucks for 3 ounces, I am in fact carrying sunscreen worth more than I will spend in alcohol all week!:p

 

Luckily, the wayward bag arrives - thank you Randy! And so does the sunscreen- thank you bag screeners, paying 15 bucks a bottle on board shop would have me go out of my mind!

 

We spent a few minutes unpacking, made a stop at Guest Services to get extra keys made for each cabin and then prepare for the muster drill, and sail away.

 

We met Ligia, from Costa Rica, our cabin steward. She was very efficient, but she told us we didn't have our Diamond coupon books because they were "out in the office"; she suggested we go to the loyalty desk, which DH did, had she offered to get them- that would have been a "WOW" card moment. We didn't' have that moment, instead we had DH hoofing up to the LA office (on 6) to get coupon books. This will probably be our last experience with the "books" since they expect to put the "coupons" directly on the sea pass this summer before our next cruise in the fall.

 

 

 

(You can't think of your room stewards without thinking about their happy little helpers!)

 

 

 

(this is a rare view of the hallway without the carts and room stewards!!)

 

TIP: Prepare for the muster drill

The ship sails almost the instant muster drill is complete, so be prepared with your camera (and any flags and banners) ready in your cabin for quick pick up on your way to your preferred sail away location. You cannot bring these things to muster, so send one person to your sail away location, and the speediest member of the family back to the cabin for the items you need. Our muster station was F3 and held in the dining room on Deck 5.

[Familygoboston]

Sail Away

Sail Away Tips: where to see sail away / alternatively where to see the sea anytime you want that many insist is not see- able on Allure (from bottom to top) Line up on the port side or stern to see the house with the Flowrider in the side yard and to wave to the Port Everglades web cam and see people in the condos and on the jetty at FLL beach. Starboard side you will see the other less populated jetty and the industrial part of the port.

 

-deck 5 jogging track: the track has lifeboats obscuring most views along the sides, but the stern has some nice chairs with lovely wake views and is easily accessed from stairs next to the Aquatheater or anywhere you an jump onto the track on deck 5.

 

-deck 6 Boardwalk/Aquatheater: along the top of the Aquatheater are several places along the rail where you can see the ocean. The Boardwalk bar is handy to this area and there is live family style (read Dreamworks) here.

 

 

 

 

 

-deck 7 rock wall: another area near the rail at the stern of the ship.

 

-decks 11 and 12 "secret" balconies: walk through the cabin hallways to the end- you will see a " do not enter sign" but don't be discouraged- go to the right (port side) and left (starboard side) you will see a public door that leads to a public deck with loungers chairs and panoramic views, perfect for sail away. (decks 8,9, 10 are private suites) These are not handy to the bar to fill 'er up before you get there, so bring your ummm...sunscreen, but you can see and hear the Aquatheater sail away entertainment as well as the sea views.

 

Ok lets, break this photo down...this the Aquatheater with the rock wall right behind it. See the area at the base of the rock wall? To the left of that is one place for Sail Away on deck 7. You can get there from a stair (called a ladder on a ship BTW) right from the theatre. If you count up those decks the next three decks; 8,9,10 are Aquatheater suites and private decks. You can tell because they have the "fancy" furniture;) But the next two #11 and #12 are the public decks (you can see the "regular" chairs on them). You have to access them from 11 and 12 cabin hallways.

This photo is port side, but there is the exact same configuration on the starboard side.

 

More places to see the sail away in the next post!!

[AF-1]

Love it; the review is great; pics are great and the advice about cabin selection is perfect. I hope a lot of people read this so they know how much info they can get from this review. Thanks.

[Familygoboston]

More Sail Away locations and a weather report!

 

 

-deck 14 forward Sun deck: go through the cabin hall way on the port ( left side facing forward ) and out the door, you will see signs for the sun deck.

 

 

 

This is a huge panoramic deck at the bow with telescopes and cantilevered areas overlooking the bow and helipad, great for sail aways, loads of space here.

 

 

 

 

-deck 14 and 15 pool decks: the rails all around the pool areas offer great viewing for sail away. there are 2 bars on each level located mid ship between the pools and there will be live music here.

 

 

 

 

-deck 15 and 16 solarium: grab a chair in the front of the huge windows on 15 or a comfy chair on the upper level. It's indoors which can be helpful if its cool or rainy, there is a bar handy on the upper level of the solarium.

 

 

 

 

-deck 16 Flowrider bar at the stern: behind the flow riders is a rail (with a handy ummm...sunscreen ledge) overlooking the stern. There is a bar between the flowriders.

 

 

 

 

-deck 17 forward Viking crown lounge: indoors great if the weather is poor or if sun is not your friend. Panoramic windows up high to the right and left over look the sea, in the middle they overlook Central Park.

 

 

 

And of course- your own private OV balcony is a great place for sail away if you choose! Just don't forget to break open one of your bottles of ...umm... sunscreen!

 

I'll break here for a weather report, just to spare you the grief of doing it daily:

Again, we had excellent karma (an excellent example of mixing science with mumbo jumbo...I mean what could I have really done to influence the weather?? But there you go!) Just to make it easy; our weather was mid 80s, sunny with perhaps the flattest seas, I've ever cruised. It was cruise brochure weather (meaning the weather that is promised, photographed in the cruise brochure and videotaped for the Oscar commercials, with no guarantees of course!) In other words, we had perfect weather all week with the very rare exception of an rain shower so brief that it was most often experienced as something to be noted when walking through Central Park, as in " hunh, the walkway is a little wet, it must have rained, or maybe they hosed it down?"

 

So we had really fabulous weather on our cruise, (with one notable exception, which we will cover during St Thomas, but Im getting ahead of myself) which for an exceedingly pale person like myself means being exceedingly careful in the sun.

 

This connection I make between alcohol and sunscreen is a valid one, I didn't pull it out of the thin air. You will notice that it is suggested in the literature (and by literature I mean 17 magazine) that one should always use at least a "shot glass" full of sunscreen to protect ones entire body. It is not a coincidence that they use a glass to hold shots to describe the amount of sun screen one should use (even if it's a bit baffling that the 17 magazine thinks this is an apt description to use for teen girls). There is a connection between sun exposure and alcohol because if you read the literature (and by literature, I mean the teeny tiny print in the back of your cruise documents) you will learn that the greatest threat to cruisers is not Norovirus and shark bites, but is over indulging in alcohol and/or sun. (they don't mention the very real danger of tripping over those thresholds at every door way on the ship, but they should, or maybe this is covered under the over indulgence of alcohol section!) Seriously, instead of hand sanitizer, the crew should be squirting sun screen into your hand every time you enter the pool deck. I saw far more people with lobster shoulders than looking pale and green from a stomach virus.

 

As for the over indulgence of alcohol, I'm not entirely sure what to suggest the cruise ship should do to protect cruisers, but right now the policy appears to be try selling it to cruisers at every possible venue ( "welcome to the Shrek breakfast, would you like to try our green Fiona martini?") while stressing "personal responsibility", and offering regular Friends of Bill W meetings in the Cruise Compass. So let this be lesson, whether you choose to bring 2 liters of wine on board or like me, 2 liters of sunscreen on board for the week; do try to use both responsibly!!

[Familygoboston]

Oh, you wanted to see actual pictures from sail away and not just pictures of where to see the sail away from??? (my English teacher would kill me for that!!)

 

So back to our timeline- we decided to take in the sail away on Deck 11 aft on the port side. We had hoped to connect with some folks from our roll call, and we did meet a few folks who were still willing to identify themselves to our family, even after seeing our family, the others moved off pretending they didn't have computers, much less a cruise critic screen name after seeing our family in action for a few minutes. But we had a delightful time with Randy, Amy and his crew, and a lovely couple from Rhode Island celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, whom we didn't see again even once till the last sea day.

 

(everyone out boating on a beautiful Sunday afternoon)

 

 

 

(this is the flowrider house...they have planted big palm trees to shield it now [rich people can do that...buy fully grown trees and boom, instant privacy...the rest of us go to Home Depot and buy one of those 5 gallon bucket trees, and it starts to shield the view at just about the year we sell the house!] It's off camera to the right in this pic, you can still get a glimpse from behind the palms when you sail by.)

 

 

(here we are waving to the condo folks...note the arm again, see this is just "normal" for her; no children were harmed in the making of this review!)

 

 

 

 

(folks on the jetty, you can see the beach hotels in the distance)

 

 

 

 

(me with the man who saved our luggage...our hero, Randy!)

 

 

 

There is the downside to these giant ships; if you meet someone wonderful, this is little to no chance you will ever run into them again. This can be an advantage if you are traveling with someone you are sort of hoping to avoid, like your boorish brother in law, Larry, your own kids, or even a spouse you plan to leave very soon (don't laugh- it was a CC thread!)

 

On Allure, on the following Sunday, you can say..."sorry, Larry...we just never managed to find each other, did we?". My advice is if you meet someone you'd like to spend more time with, let them know your room number or if you have a favorite lounge ("we are always in the Schooner Bar before 8 PM dinner); this way anyone interested in finding you can "arrange" and accidental meeting and anyone hoping to avoid you can say " I musta just missed you!"

 

coming up- Day 1 comes to an end (finally, they sigh with relief!)

[BillOh]

You started before I left! Did you do that just for me? ;) If we cruise some day I owe you one. This will keep me busy till I leave tomorrow !

[Familygoboston]

After the Sail Away we went to the Flowriders to watch with the girls and then did a little window shopping on the Royal Promenade.

 

Alert Alert: Something Negative!!

(I know..hard to believe this could happen on the good karma cruise..but something went wrong!!:eek:)

 

After sail away most folks drifted off to dress for dinner.. We heard from friends that the first night in the MDR was a 2 + hour affair, which is far more time than we like to commit to eating, so we planned to hit Johnny Rockets for a shake and a few fries.

 

Sadly, this brings me to my one pet peeves about this particular cruise and frankly something we encountered on Jewel too. We headed to the Boardwalk, where Johnny Rockets was listed as "open" on the Cruise Compass, only to encounter it roped off for a private function. I find it very frustrating to pay for a cruise expecting access to certain venues only to discover a velvet rope set up, denying access to passengers who also paid for the cruise.

 

There were two large groups on board; the Sterling Group; which in chatting with folks appeared to be some kind of jewelry store conglomerate. So there were lots of jewelry store managers which skewed to single ladies in their 30's and 40's. The other was a large group from Catepillar, so far as I can tell they make those big tractors, which skewed to big guys and their families.

 

Neither group was a disruption in any way, and we enjoyed our conversations with folks from these groups. So as folks, it was no problem, but the groups held private events which closed down the Boardwalk twice and the Solarium at night least once during the week.

 

I did meet Arlene; the groups coordinator on board and she told us that fully 3000 people were part of a "group", though many were relatively small "family reunion" groups of less than 30 people. We enjoyed chatting with Arlene a couple of times, but I wasn't shy about expressing my concern over closed venues. She tried to explain that by saying it was only for an hour or so, I didn't argue, but still feel that it is a problem if it is the hour or two I ( or other passengers) may have wanted to use that venue.

 

So stymied in our attempts to access the Boardwalk, we made our way to the Windjammer Cafe for the first and only time during the week.

 

 

(pano of WJ cafe)

 

 

 

I think the WJ gets a bad rap, there is actually more room than there appears to be because of the curved layout, you just don't see that there are some seats available around the corner. Of course, it does get very crowded at the peak breakfast and lunch times, which is why we usually sought other locations for meals, and we never, ever had to wait for a seat.

 

We bumped into our girls at the WJ again, and the 4 of us spent a little time in the Schooner bar with "Roxi" the new piano man from Australia. That felt a little sleepy for the girls, so we went to Dazzles, where the Frontliners were performing dance tunes, and did a little dancing, before heading off to bed early for an early arrival in the Bahamas on Day 2!

 

This ends Day 1...more later...

Day 2 April 15 Nassau, Bahamas: A day on which we learn there IS a such a thing as a free lunch

[Canadian Tyler]

Loving the review! Very entertaining and informative. Can't wait for more.

 

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[Keith1010]

Your write-ups are absolutely outstanding.

 

Keith

[Familygoboston]

You started before I left! Did you do that just for me? ;) If we cruise some day I owe you one. This will keep me busy till I leave tomorrow !

 

And I was going to mention it, but you beat me to it, Bill! I will not be done before you go though...I think it will take a few days to get the pictures all married up with the text...but you don't need any advice anyway...you are an old pro;)

 

Have a wonderful cruise!! And I look forward to reading yours when you return!!

[IttaBit]

Your write-up is great! It makes me very excited about our cruise on the Allure. Can't wait!

[Familygoboston]

Loving the review! Very entertaining and informative. Can't wait for more.

 

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

 

Your write-ups are absolutely outstanding.

 

Keith

 

You guys are very kind!

 

I'll have more later, but I really need to pay some attention to the kids now that they are home, look over the mail, think about dinner (in the end I won't actually make any, but I will THINK about it!), make cookies for the cabaret concert at the high school tonight (I can't just think about that because my reputation as volunteer par excellence could be jeopardized...plus I signed up...on line...in writing, so there is proof that I said I'd make cookies...no such proof exists for dinner!)

[Mama24]

Thank you thank you for posting info about the hotel "zones" near Port Everglades! Very helpful because we'll be sailing from there next year for the first time. (Not sure which cruise yet.)

 

Your reviews are fabulous. I'll be following along. :)

[mjldvlks]

. . . (here we are waving to the condo folks...note the arm again, see this is just "normal" for her; no children were harmed in the making of this review!) . . .

 

Maybe not in the making of this particular review, but you have to wonder. I have a son [now living in Boston btw] who managed to dislocate his elbow 2 or 3 time by going limp while someone was holding his hand. I was the victim of that little trick once. But on the other hand, his arms look normal now.

[metairiegal]

Fantastic review and pictures!

 

We are sailing on the Allure in June and I've already learned a lot from your review. Sounds like we'll have a BBC cabin - I was wondering which it would be. And great pic and description of the location of the secret balconies.

 

Can't wait to read more!

[akcruz]

Great review, can't believe how many wonderful Allure/Oasis reviews there have been lately. We have 7 weeks until we get to go back a 2nd time. Have one newbie going with us, but the rest of us are planning on relaxing as we did the rush last time.

 

keep it coming :D

[Familygoboston]

Thank you thank you for posting info about the hotel "zones" near Port Everglades! Very helpful because we'll be sailing from there next year for the first time. (Not sure which cruise yet.)

 

Your reviews are fabulous. I'll be following along. :)

Thanks, The differences in areas and prices always confused me till I got there and stayed in several different places! Hope you enjoy your cruise!

 

Maybe not in the making of this particular review, but you have to wonder. I have a son [now living in Boston btw] who managed to dislocate his elbow 2 or 3 time by going limp while someone was holding his hand. I was the victim of that little trick once. But on the other hand, his arms look normal now.

 

Funny! Seriously though, if you have a kid with this "ability"; they recommend you have their hearts screened. Sometimes people with joints like this actually have a connective tissue disorder which can affect the heart valves and aorta...( a contortionist entertainer we saw once actually mentioned this after his show once!) Our kids are screened regularly because in fact DH DOES have such a disorder! So far so good with the kids, but we keep watching.

 

DO I smell cookies burning...oh oh! Did I say I had to "make" cookies? I actually meant I need to 'slice and bake" cookies. I think they might be done!:rolleyes:

[micmacmissy]

Wonderful review so far! Thank you! :)

[tarajean1962]

Terrific review and fabulous pictures!!:D You guys are so cute! I also love your panoramic photos.

 

Can't wait to hear more!

 

Tara