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

[Familygoboston]

Day 4 April 17 St Thomas: A day when we are caught in squall and tossed from a small boat into barracuda infested waters of the coast of St Thomas

 

(compass)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

Nice job! Really enjoying this and loving your pictures and commentary! I know how time consuming this is, so keep up the good work. We all appreciate it!!

[Familygoboston]

Day 4 April 17 St Thomas: A day when we are caught in squall and tossed from a small boat into barracuda infested waters of the coast of St Thomas

 

Yikes! Ok, I know you are all asking yourselves, how did she survive this? How did she live to tell the tale???...well, ummm...

 

Ok, so really, the small boat is the beautiful High Pockets sail boat owned by Captain Kathleen.

 

And the squall was really just a little 10 minute rain shower and we were all provided commodious ponchos.

 

And, ok I'll admit, we weren't tossed into barracuda infested waters; the ever accommodating first mate Melissa, assisted us with snorkel gear and helped us down the ladder into the impossibly blue Caribbean Sea where barracuda, OK just ONE barracuda (who someone is obviously occasionally feeding from a boat and has affectionately been named "George" by the local charter captains) circled around completely disinterested in the people but ever so hopeful that Kathleen might toss some of her absolutely delicious homemade rum cake over board! (which I will say she did not!)

 

...but the headline sounds better doesn't it? More perilous, more dramatic...the other description just makes it sound like we were pampered with incredible scenery, delicious food and attentive service on a beautiful sail boat off the coast of St Thomas!! And that would be no fun at all! I didn't mean to use hyperbole, but it all started with snorkeling in Bora Bora...but now I'm getting ahead of myself!!

 

We started the morning with breakfast in the Solarium cafe overlooking the mountains of St Thomas in Crown Bay. We had a late arrival into St Thomas, and a private excursion planned with Randy and Amy and a couple of their friends who would be in a tandem boat (Fantasy) with strangers not from our cruise. Our charter captain was on top of this, she arranged to have a driver arrive later and pick us up for the transfer to the pier where her boat is moored about 20-30 minutes away in Red Hook.

 

We had to pay for this taxi ride and in a supreme act of uncharacteristic lack of planning on my part, I forgot to put the cash for the taxi (at nearly $50 RT per person) in the envelope with the money to pay for the charter. We had a moment of panic when I realized what a stupid mistake that was, but luckily, karma was on my side again, and Randy saved the day (again), gladly dipping into his pack of cash to ensure we could pay the driver!! I hate to owe money so both DH and I spent the evening trying to hunt him down like stalkers till we repaid him in full (and for interest, we bought him a drink at Quest...but I'm getting ahead of myself!)

 

 

(panos of St Thomas as we sailed in)

(you can see those squall clouds gathering there can't you!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The red roofed building is where to catch the ferry to Water Island; we went to Water Island on our Oasis cruise and it's a fairly simple thing to get over there and back, if you know where to catch the ferry...it's at the corner right where the green canopy is - that's a restaurant )

[Familygoboston]

Nice job! Really enjoying this and loving your pictures and commentary! I know how time consuming this is' date=' so keep up the good work. We all appreciate it!![/size']

 

Thanks Jane! I know you understand how much effort is involved, because your "travelogue reviews" are so comprehensive!! I think recognized Ana right away from your photos of the lounge!!:D

[Familygoboston]

High Pockets

 

We met Randy and Amy and their friends on the stairs and made our way out as soon as we were cleared to disembark. We easily found the driver from Scotland's with a "High Pockets" sign right out side the main gate at Crown Bay.

 

We were driven about 20-30 minutes to Red Hook, American Yacht Harbor Dock A, where we were met by Kathleen, the captain of High Pockets. We had arranged our charter by email, and got excellent details and confirmations from Kathleen before our sail. We guaranteed our charter with a credit card, but could pay cash and get a discount of $10 pp. We also received written confirmation that should our cruise ship not be able to make the Port of St Thomas, we would not be charged. We also had the option of cancelling without penalty within 72 hours of sailing should plans change. These kinds of consumer protections as well as excellent Trip Advisor reviews gave us a high degree of confidence in booking this excursion independently.

 

The excursion is not cheap, in addition to paying $24 dollars per person each way for the taxi, we paid $130 pp for the day sail and a gratuity to the mate of 15-20% is customary, if you felt that the service was deserving. We certainly did!!

 

(Amy with our Scotland's van in Red Hook- I am really not sure she enjoys cruising much;)!)

 

Our day started with removing our shoes for a ride in the dinghy from the pier to High Pockets. Once aboard, we were briefed about the safety and comfort features and offered whatever we cared to drink. Our group started with delicious fruit juices... and already we knew we were in better shape than the ships excursions with "koolaid" rum punches offered! We were encouraged to sit on the bow, or in the cockpit, where ever we felt most comfortable. We loved sitting in the wind while the High pockets made her way out into the unbelievably blue Caribbean sea!!

 

(photos of High Pockets)

(all aboard the Dingy- women and children first!)

 

 

 

(Our new best friends, Randy and Amy relaxing on board!)

 

 

 

(our gang relaxing on the bow- I guess DD1 must have though she'd need her sea pass!)

 

 

 

 

(friends on the tandem boat Fantasy)

[Familygoboston]

High Pockets

 

Shortly after we got underway, it became obvious to our captain that we would be unlikely to make it to St John with out encountering a lot of poor weather which seemed to be hanging over the area of the island where we were headed. Instead she suggested we anchor in a cove near a private island called Little St James, owned by Jeffrey Epstein, a NYC financier.

 

Because we would need to pass through the rain to get there, we were all provided ponchos as we sailed through the afore mentioned "squall"! At some point during the squall, Randy broke the screen on his camera...and our seesawing karmic energy moved to us taking lots of photos of our charter that we will share via email with Randy and Amy after the cruise (or he can just steal right here from CC).

 

(Photos of squall)

(the folks on Fantasy riding out the storm!)

 

 

 

(there is St John with a giant storm cloud over it)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Here we are in our ponchos, you can see the weather has not dampened our enthusiasm for our adventure...we have a family motto: "it's not an adventure until there is peril involved"! In reality, there was no danger at all; just a little rain and we were in very good hands! Notice that in a fit of unbridled optimism, none of us removed our sunglasses!)

[Familygoboston]

High Pockets

 

After surviving the squall- ok it was just a rain shower, the glorious sun came out and we geared up to snorkel in this area and saw beautiful fish and coral

 

 

(Fantasy in the sunshine again!)

 

 

 

 

Epsteins Little St James Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Familygoboston]

High Pockets

 

(underwater photos- I think I might have mentioned that we've traveled a bunch of places to see wildlife; and normally I am meticulous about noting the fauna our guides point out. But when it comes to snorkel pictures, even with a water guide, they can't talk, and I can't write, so I always end up with loads of fish photos and have no earthly idea what they are!! I try to look at the fish guides and like most wild animals they are not good at matching their pictures in the guide books. So I end up with narratives that sound like a Dr Seuss book..."One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish". Sorry, but unless a marine biologist weighs in, you are own you own!)

 

(blue fish -told ya so!)

 

 

 

(natural coral grotto with spiny sea urchins and fish - almost sounds like I know what I'm talking about on that one!)

 

 

 

 

(lots of fish)

 

 

 

(blue fish again)

 

 

 

(sea star)

 

I like snorkeling in this part of the world, there is a nice mix of coral and fish, even though the schools of fish are not large, and the water is so clear, visibility is excellent.

[Familygoboston]

Lunch aboard High Pockets

 

After a while, we sailed to the calmer Christmas Cove to have lunch and another opportunity to snorkel

The food on board was terrific...its clear that Kathleen enjoys cooking (and growing her own herbs to flavor her dishes) as much as she enjoys sailing. Everything was so yummy, its hard to imagine this could be served with such grace and elegance from such a compact little boat!

 

 

 

(Photos of lunch aboard HP)

I'm including Kathleen's incredibly creative dish names:

 

Those Salad Daze

 

 

 

 

 

Pasta Pasta!

 

I have recipes and will post at the end for anyone interested)

[Familygoboston]

High Pockets

 

After lunch we were discussing some of other amazing snorkeling experiences our family has had around the globe...when DH said to our mate Melissa "When we were snorkeling in Bora Bora...", I turned to Amy and Randy and said..."we go to these places just so we can say stuff like that...". They got the joke immediately, and we laughed all afternoon trying to dream up snotty sounding travel experiences "while in a helicopter over the Okavango Delta" etc, etc, in the poshest accents we could muster...maybe it was the rum (we all admitted to be the kind of people for whom it really only takes ONE!) but we found it funny! And more importantly, our new friends recognized that we were blessed by the ability to travel to some neat places, but we did this for the amazing experiences, not for status We talk about our travel experiences because we are passionate about it, and I was glad our new friends understood that about us and shared our interest in these neat places!!

 

We decided to go back in for more snorkeling in Christmas Cove while Amy and Randy relaxed on board. Or maybe they were sick of us after all!

 

(photos of CC snorkel- this area had an amazing array of corals; including this brain coral)

 

 

 

(more coral and orange fish)

 

 

 

 

(guess what kind this is?? Hint: use your "brain"!)

 

 

 

 

(Yellow fish)

 

 

 

 

(black stripey fish)

 

 

 

 

(more cool coral with lots of fish)

[Familygoboston]

Barracuda!

 

After a short snorkel we visited with "George", the aforementioned barracuda. He doesn't look terribly dangerous, does he??

 

(photo of George)

 

 

 

 

 

(swim DD, swim away as fast as you can!!!)

 

 

 

 

(dun dun...dun dun...dundundudndun!)

 

 

 

 

Once back on board we began our sail back to Red Hook, and enjoyed Kathleen's homemade rum cake and rum punch made with real juices and nutmeg...yum!

 

 

 

Capt Kathleen in the cockpit!- As it turns out Kathleen and her husband take their boat to the very same peninsula in Maine where our summer home is. They bring the boat to Maine for hurricane season, to do repairs and relax...I told her I would look for them passing by my beach late this summer and fall!

 

 

 

 

 

(photo of rum cake; Let Them Eat Cake)

 

 

 

 

 

(Goodbye Kathleen- we will certainly be back if we are ever in St Thomas again!)

[Familygoboston]

Back to Allure!

 

After returning to Red Hook, we took the dinghy back to the pier, reclaimed our shoes (sigh) and met the Scotland's driver who was ready to take us back to the ship at 5:30 PM...we had an all aboard time of 6:30 PM, and we also had a dinner reservation at 6:30 PM, which was looking pretty much impossible!

 

Luckily, we had enough time to stop and take some photos of Allure down the harbor

 

(photos of Allure in the harbor)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not wanting to end the day, and knowing how lovely the setting sun can be behind St Thomas at sail away, we decided to take in the Sail Away from the solarium cantilevered hot tub.

 

That's all for tonight...tomorrow I will finish up Day 4! Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and "fair winds and following seas" to those of you boarding tomorrow!

[Cruzin-K]

 

Could you maybe try our approach of " free nights" and "show nights"? That way everyone would know that 2 nights during the cruise your group will do 2 shows and a dinner, and the other nights everyone will be free to pursue whatever they feel like. Some of the lesser shows like the ice show or the headliner you could take in as walk ins or just do on your own if the others have alternate plans.

So the idea would be to book Chicago show one night; Blue planet and Comedy on another, fit dinner before or after those, and everyone knows that from 6:30- 11 ish on those two nights, you have " group" activities. You can easily walk into the Aquatheater show if you want splash zone, those fill up dead last. The other nights are freebies and you can do the other shows if you want.

 

My advice book it all and change it if you need to!

 

Oh, I'm not sailing with a group, just one other person :o Believe me, if I was with a large group I'd have no problem ditching them to do what I want :D :eek:

[BugsyCruiser]

Great review so far! I remember the wonderful one you did for Oasis and this one is shaping up to be even better IMHO. :)

[rsharp83]

High Pockets

 

After lunch we were discussing some of other amazing snorkeling experiences our family has had around the globe...when DH said to our mate Melissa "When we were snorkeling in Bora Bora...", I turned to Amy and Randy and said..."we go to these places just so we can say stuff like that...". They got the joke immediately, and we laughed all afternoon trying to dream up snotty sounding travel experiences "while in a helicopter over the Okavango Delta" etc, etc, in the poshest accents we could muster...maybe it was the rum (we all admitted to be the kind of people for whom it really only takes ONE!) but we found it funny! And more importantly, our new friends recognized that we were blessed by the ability to travel to some neat places, but we did this for the amazing experiences, not for status We talk about our travel experiences because we are passionate about it, and I was glad our new friends understood that about us and shared our interest in these neat places!!

 

Kathleen, I certainly understand your dilemma in attempting to identify fauna and animals in exotic locales. Just a few months ago I was hiking through the Dulung and Kakoi Reserved Forests of the Lakhimpur district in the state of Assam when I encountered a strange beast I could not identify. In general its build was essentially like Paradoxurus and Paguma but more massive in the length of the tail, legs and feet. Very sharp claws! I pondered what the beast could be for several hours as I continued to hike in the tall forest and then it hit me, of course it was a Binturong! It’s known more commonly in this hemisphere as a Bearcat. So you see I can appreciate your difficulty in naming the little tropical fish you photographed.

[cidymom]

Thank you for your very detailed review of your cruise on the Allure. I have a question about the Boardwalk Balcony room - can you actually see the aqua show from the balcony or do you need to have a cabin right near the front?

[tarajean1962]

Oh my gosh!! I love going back and forth between your review and Randy's-which are both excellent and making me feel like I am there with you!!:D We love to travel too and all of my friends think I am loaded, but really it's just matter of where you choose to allocate your resources!;)

 

It is so fun seeing Randy and Amy in your pictures and your family is beautiful and looks like they really enjoy spending time together!

 

Can't wait for more!

 

Tara

[Familygoboston]

High Pockets

 

After lunch we were discussing some of other amazing snorkeling experiences our family has had around the globe...when DH said to our mate Melissa "When we were snorkeling in Bora Bora...", I turned to Amy and Randy and said..."we go to these places just so we can say stuff like that...". They got the joke immediately, and we laughed all afternoon trying to dream up snotty sounding travel experiences "while in a helicopter over the Okavango Delta" etc, etc, in the poshest accents we could muster...maybe it was the rum (we all admitted to be the kind of people for whom it really only takes ONE!) but we found it funny! And more importantly, our new friends recognized that we were blessed by the ability to travel to some neat places, but we did this for the amazing experiences, not for status We talk about our travel experiences because we are passionate about it, and I was glad our new friends understood that about us and shared our interest in these neat places!!

 

Kathleen, I certainly understand your dilemma in attempting to identify fauna and animals in exotic locales. Just a few months ago I was hiking through the Dulung and Kakoi Reserved Forests of the Lakhimpur district in the state of Assam when I encountered a strange beast I could not identify. In general its build was essentially like Paradoxurus and Paguma but more massive in the length of the tail, legs and feet. Very sharp claws! I pondered what the beast could be for several hours as I continued to hike in the tall forest and then it hit me, of course it was a Binturong! It’s known more commonly in this hemisphere as a Bearcat. So you see I can appreciate your difficulty in naming the little tropical fish you photographed.

:cool:

Yes, we had a similar experience in the Kenai peninsula while rafting down the Kenai river to Skilak lake...many many fish! (;)) (but I think they were all salmon:o)

 

LOL!

 

Just read you latest posts on your thread...it's been so long since we've done the island tour, that DH says he doesn't recognize anything and it might be time to go back!

 

Thank you for your very detailed review of your cruise on the Allure. I have a question about the Boardwalk Balcony room - can you actually see the aqua show from the balcony or do you need to have a cabin right near the front?

I had a similar question about that and whether you could see the ocean when we booked, and here is what it " looked" like when we got on board. When you look in that direction it is difficult to see down into the AT, and the stage is obscured at certain angles by the light house bar.

You can see the big screens well, and see some of the ocean. My girls often watched movies or watched us coming into or out of port.

 

I think for a better view of the AT itself, you would want to be higher, and it would better the further down the hall toward stern, but higher would be the most important.

[luv4u859]

I am loving your review. Did u shoot ll your underwater pics with the aw110? I got the same camera and haven't been able to use it underwater yet. The pics look amazing with it tho.

[Familygoboston]

Oh my gosh!! I love going back and forth between your review and Randy's-which are both excellent and making me feel like I am there with you!!:D We love to travel too and all of my friends think I am loaded, but really it's just matter of where you choose to allocate your resources!;)

 

It is so fun seeing Randy and Amy in your pictures and your family is beautiful and looks like they really enjoy spending time together!

 

Can't wait for more!

 

Tara

 

Amen, sister! It's all about how you choose to spend...I think in my review, we are up to 3 drinks and we haven't stepped foot in the casino; you make your priorities and you live with them...ours are travel, education, charity and family! In no particular order!:D

 

Thank you for the compliment - I think we are the biggest goofs- when we traveled to Ecuador (stop laughing, Randy:rolleyes:) there was this wonderful family from CT we met and I called them the travel "brochure" family because honestly, they looked great in every photo! Our family always has someone looking off into space, or slung like a pack mule with camera bags, and our heights are so variable half of us aren't even in the frame! - in short we just never look like a brochure family!:p. But you are kind!

 

Thanks for following along!:D

Edited April 28, 2013 by Familygoboston

[AF-1]

Beautiful family and beautiful underwater shots. Thanks for taking the time; I know it takes some time getting photos set up and uploaded on this website; your time and patience is appreciated by all who read this thread.

[Familygoboston]

I am loving your review. Did u shoot ll your underwater pics with the aw110? I got the same camera and haven't been able to use it underwater yet. The pics look amazing with it tho.

 

Yes, and I think the pics are a HUGE improvement over the AW100 (just for comparison, in my Jewel review I used the AW100 exclusively and had some trouble with fog etc) We decided get the AW110 when it came out because the 100 was black and sucked up so much heat that once in the water it fogged. So we bought the orange one and have had no issues whatsoever, we are so happy with the uw photos, they are so much clearer and crisper! Wish we'd had it for French Polynesia too (Stop it , Randy!)

 

The reviews are in my signature for a comparison.

 

And thank you for the compliment AF1!

Edited April 28, 2013 by Familygoboston

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Thanks for sharing your review and pictures, they are awesome! Looks like you guys had a blast.

 

You and your family, as well as the entire Boston area, are in my prayers.

[luv4u859]

Yes, and I think the pics are a HUGE improvement over the AW100 (just for comparison, in my Jewel review I used the AW100 exclusively and had some trouble with fog etc) We decided get the AW110 when it came out because the 100 was black and sucked up so much heat that once in the water it fogged. So we bought the orange one and have had no issues whatsoever, we are so happy with the uw photos, they are so much clearer and crisper! Wish we'd had it for French Polynesia too (Stop it , Randy!)

 

The reviews are in my signature for a comparison.

 

And thank you for the compliment AF1!

 

no problems with the aw110 fogging up? Thanks again. I will check out your other reviews. We are cruising to Cozumel in July and going on a snorkeling excursion so I can't wait to use it.

[Familygoboston]

One John short of the Beatles

 

After the Sail away, we headed down to Sorrentos for a slice of pizza since we had clearly missed our 6:30 PM dining reservation and didn't want to miss our 8:30 PM Headliner show. After getting cleaned up, we went to the headliner because we had waited 20 years to see this headliner!! But I'm getting ahead of myself!

 

DH and I started cruising Royal Caribbean in 1993. My DH has been a big Beatles fan his whole life. It seemed that every cruise we took, the headliners scheduled never really excited us, Vegas acts, Las Pamapas Gauchos (an Argentinean cowboy act that was surprisingly more entertaining than it sounds) 3 Tenors; all stuff that we could take or leave (and we often did leave!)

 

We had always hoped that the Beatles tribute band would be on board when we were, but frankly, they always arrived the day we left, or disappeared the week before we arrived...20 years and countless cruises and no Beatlemania, 20 years of sitting in the balcony and slipping out before the show ends, 20 years of not really being to jazzed about the headliner- and now we finally had Beatle Maniacs on our sailing!! We were so excited, we had booked the 8:30 PM show and we were in our seats at 8:00 PM.

 

While watching the pre show a Harrison quote scrolled by on the big screen

 

"As far as I'm concerned, there won't be a Beatles reunion as long as John Lennon remains dead.".

Then as CD Alan Brooks introduced the group, he shared that American Airlines had had some kind of computer glitch that had cancelled flights all across the country. Unfortunately, one of the Beatles, ironically, John, did not make the flight, and consequently only 3 Beatles, so after waiting 20 years we were still one Beatle short of BeatleManiacs and clearly despite Harrison's sentiment, there can in fact be a Beatle Maniacs Show even if John remains in stuck in Miami, stressing out, trying to reschedule his flight (when all he really wanted to do was go bungee jumping)

 

So even after the long wait, the Beatle Maniacs were worth sticking around for. Although they seemed a little "off" when they started, the energy of the crowd ended up carrying them a bit and they warmed up and DH thought that "in the end the love you take, is equal to the love you make", and the show was great. He even enjoyed that due to no John, many of Georges songs were highlighted, which was fun, since he was a far more interesting guy than he gets credit for!

 

(photos of Beatle Maniacs- see the hole on the stage where John should be, it was bizarre that they left the microphone there, like Elijah's chair!!)