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

[Cruzin-K]

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!

 

OK OK, now I had to go read your PG review from last year. I am up to post #19, so I have a little bit to go. LOL. So far, it's a wonderful review and the photos are drool worthy. I have been in love with that part of the world for ages, even though I've never been. I plan to go there for my honeymoon. Trouble is, I don't even have a boyfriend at the moment so unless something changes, I will be planning a trip to Tahiti for my 50th birthday. That gives me five more years to find Mr. Right. I refuse to "waste" a trip to French Polynesia with a "Mr. Right Now". :eek: :p

[Familygoboston]

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.

 

None at all! Which was great, because we didn't even really have to think about it. You are going to love it underwater!!:)

[Familygoboston]

OK OK, now I had to go read your PG review from last year. I am up to post #19, so I have a little bit to go. LOL. So far, it's a wonderful review and the photos are drool worthy. I have been in love with that part of the world for ages, even though I've never been. I plan to go there for my honeymoon. Trouble is, I don't even have a boyfriend at the moment so unless something changes, I will be planning a trip to Tahiti for my 50th birthday. That gives me five more years to find Mr. Right. I refuse to "waste" a trip to French Polynesia with a "Mr. Right Now". :eek: :p

 

LOL! I am going to agree with you!! It is the most incredibly romantic place, and if you don't go with someone right, it would just feel awk! (and it really LOOKS like that ALL the time!!)

 

On our PG cruise there were several mother/daughter and sister combos (some left hubbys home) and they had a ball! That could be an option vs holding off. I am a strong advocate of not waiting for a man to do what you want in life...my girls go off in prom dresses with friends- they are not going to miss out just because Mr Right isn't available!!

 

Also, scroll to the end of the review...while we were there they were holding a Mr Tahiti contest, and there were some veeeeery compelling reasons to be single...just sayin';)

[BugsyCruiser]

Sooo... I have to ask since you've been on both Oasis and Allure, do you prefer one over the other? They both are incredible ships and I finally got to experience Oasis for myself last October. Believe me, your review helped out a lot

[Familygoboston]

Vintages

 

After the show, we made our way to Vintages for tapas and a glass of wine (this is a great place to use the 2 for 1 coupons). I had always wanted to go to Vintages on Oasis and I had missed it. At Vintages you pay from 2-4 dollars per plate, so it's a little less than what you'd pay at a real tapas place (around here plates are about $5-12) We sat in at outdoor table and enjoyed the end of Songs in the Park with the singers from Chicago.

 

There is always live entertainment all around the ship, and on any given evening, you can enjoy live music of every imaginable kind at no additional charge. We really enjoyed the small plates at Vintages, we didn't get to take pictures, because we got chatting with the Port Shopping expert, Ian Wilson and his assistant who were enjoying a bottle of wine at a nearby table. (this venue is a favorite of the staff, and we often saw officers dining and drinking here) We got chatting about the port shopping program, which Ian assured me is really an advertising and customer satisfaction program.

 

I've always been a bit skeptical about the program myself, and stopped going to the "port shopping lectures" years ago, but Ian assured us that it exists to protect shoppers; stores must be willing to guarantee they will stand behind any items that don't appraise or perform as expected. In return they can buy a package of promotional considerations at different price points, which might include more or a more prominent listing than the other shops that purchase a smaller package. It must be big business, given that one ship employs 2 people to cultivate those relationships with vendors in port and work with passengers to promote them!

 

Anyway, learned they were celebrating Ian's birthday. He took a call during our conversation and it turns out there is another employee also named Ian Wilson (a corporate bar manager in from Miami, I think) and that someone had sent a birthday cake to Bar Ian in error...Shopping Ian told us the story and insisted we stick around to help him eat his birthday cake. 20 minutes later the cake arrived with half the slices missing...clearly, Bar Ian had shared it with his friends before sending it down to Shopping Ian, the actual birthday boy!! Anyway, the cake was yummy and we enjoyed the company the music, the decent wine and the unexpected cake...and more good karma!!

 

(Vintages)

 

 

 

 

 

(Photos of Food- the menus is many pages long, so we didn't photograph it. So I don't have the names of these items, but I'll try to give a description. Really all of the portions were large enough to be "more than an appetizer" and everything seemed to come with 2 regulation slices of yummy crusty bread...don't over order here, 2 plates apiece ...and birthday cake!;) was plenty for us)

 

This was prosciutto

 

 

 

 

 

(This was some type of onion and cheese pie- but had a much swankier sounding description)

 

 

 

 

 

(these were a variety of grilled cold veggies)

 

 

 

 

 

(photo of Shopping Ian with his birthday cake)

 

We headed back to the cabin to await the bed check call and prepare for our day in St Martin; a day in which I do my very best to insure everyone in the family keeps their clothes on!!

[Cruzin-K]

LOL! I am going to agree with you!! It is the most incredibly romantic place, and if you don't go with someone right, it would just feel awk! (and it really LOOKS like that ALL the time!!)

 

On our PG cruise there were several mother/daughter and sister combos (some left hubbys home) and they had a ball! That could be an option vs holding off. I am a strong advocate of not waiting for a man to do what you want in life...my girls go off in prom dresses with friends- they are not going to miss out just because Mr Right isn't available!!

 

Also, scroll to the end of the review...while we were there they were holding a Mr Tahiti contest, and there were some veeeeery compelling reasons to be single...just sayin';)

 

Funny thing, back in 2004 a friend of mine took a trip there with her Mom, Aunt, cousins, etc. - a girls trip and I was invited to go. They did a 10 night Princess cruise, plus a five night stay in a hotel. Well, at the time I had a serious boyfriend and just couldn't imagine going on that kind of trip without him, so I didn't go. :( Of course, that relationship didn't work out and now I wish I had gone.

 

Oh well, like you said, I will be going for my 50th birthday with or without a man. I will make it a best friends trip or something like that instead. That also gives me five more years to scrape up enough money :o The Princess cruises are less expensive than PG, and I've seen some decent airfares from the West Coast once in a while, so I think it will be very doable. In the meantime, I have a picture of Tahiti on my desk at work. Keeps me motivated :cool:

 

Hmmm, guess I'd be able to save money for Tahiti a bit faster if I wasn't trying to take three Caribbean cruises per year :o The Allure beckons

[Familygoboston]

Sooo... I have to ask since you've been on both Oasis and Allure, do you prefer one over the other? They both are incredible ships and I finally got to experience Oasis for myself last October. Believe me, your review helped out a lot

 

Oh thank you!! I take that as the highest compliment...being helpful! I know I'm a bossy little thing with lots of tips and ( and often unwanted) advice, but if it's helpful, it just encourages me errr...validates my work here!:D

 

Tough one...which is better?? Ok, first off, once aboard Allure nothing about the physical ship made feel any differently than I had on Oasis...getting around, and all the venues, it felt like "home" already.

 

I guess for our family who love shows, I'd prefer Allure since I felt the Aqua show and Blue planet shows were just a notch better than the similar shows on Oasis. But Hairspray was more colorful and family friendly if you had younger kids (or show nappers) in your group. The ice shows were pretty evenly matched with Oasis's guest entertainer (the sand artist) just edging out Allure's. If I had to choose be between East or West, I would always, always take Eastern and therefore choose the ship that was doing that itinerary that week.

 

One more thing...on Allure, I found the senior officers and cruise staff far more accessible. We were often engaged in conversations with the CD, Shopping Ian, Arlene the group sales lady etc. They were very accessible and we enjoyed their company. For this reason, I would consider Allure again if it was an Eastern itinerary when I wanted to go. As a long time cruiser I do enjoy the opportunity to connect with the folks who run the ship and get a bit of an insider prospective.

 

Really, I think you simply cannot go wrong with either...the differences are so slight!!

[Familygoboston]

Funny thing, back in 2004 a friend of mine took a trip there with her Mom, Aunt, cousins, etc. - a girls trip and I was invited to go. They did a 10 night Princess cruise, plus a five night stay in a hotel. Well, at the time I had a serious boyfriend and just couldn't imagine going on that kind of trip without him, so I didn't go. :( Of course, that relationship didn't work out and now I wish I had gone.

 

Oh well, like you said, I will be going for my 50th birthday with or without a man. I will make it a best friends trip or something like that instead. That also gives me five more years to scrape up enough money :o The Princess cruises are less expensive than PG, and I've seen some decent airfares from the West Coast once in a while, so I think it will be very doable. In the meantime, I have a picture of Tahiti on my desk at work. Keeps me motivated :cool:

 

Hmmm, guess I'd be able to save money for Tahiti a bit faster if I wasn't trying to take three Caribbean cruises per year :o The Allure beckons

LOL Karen! No regrets this time...you should def go!! If you can scrape it up, the PG is sooo incredible...the ship is small, service is beyond anything I've experienced, and yet it's a casual no BS environment (there are ships I could afford, but will not step foot on with their "champagne lives and caviar dreams"!:rolleyes:) Because PG is small, it can get inside the coral reefs right next to the islands, so tendering is close by and more importantly, on these tiny islands which are still so alive with Polynesian culture, the guests don't overwhelm and dilute the experience of that culture. Honestly, the absolutely beautiful (inside and out) people of FP and their willingness to share their culture was as breathtaking as the scenery!

 

Ok I gotta get focused...St Martin!!

[fleeflicker]

Love the review!

[Familygoboston]

Day 5 April 18 St Martin: A day in which I do my very best to insure everyone in the family keeps their clothes on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For some reason Day 5 seems to conspire to get people to part with their clothing. First there is the famed clothing optional Orient Beach on the French side of St Martin and... then... there... is...Quest. But I'm getting ahead of myself!

 

The day started with another breakfast in our favorite place- the Solarium Cafe. We had scheduled another private excursion for St Martin. DD2 has wanted to try a Segway since we went to WDW a few years ago and she was deemed too young to try it, even though Dad got to do it. I also thought planning a day in Phillipsburg where clothing is definitely NOT optional would be a good way to insure that everyone keeps their clothes ON!

 

We looked at the Segway excursion through the cruise ship, but it was too expensive and included too many "shopping opportunities"; which for me is the kiss of death (Sorry, Shopping Ian!) I checked out reviews on Cruise Critic and TA, and learned about Fun and Roll tours, which got high marks and offered a 30 minute "try-out" for $30, including port pick up and delivery (of us, not the Segways) to the Fun and Roll Office which is right on the Boardwalk. Perfect!!

 

After our tour our plan was to do a little souvenir shopping since we did no shopping in either of the other two ports and we like the vibe in Phillipsburg better than any of the other ports offered on this trip. Plus, we wanted to make Shopping Ian happy, as our little birthday gift to him!

[Familygoboston]

When you dock in St Maarten the ship docks at Dr AC Wathey cruise terminal.

 

(photos sail in- pano from the balcony- check out that yacht!!)

 

 

 

(the sign in the welcome plaza)

 

 

 

(a view forward)

 

 

 

(a view aft)

 

 

 

(and two shots of the Allure in port from the pier)

 

 

 

 

[alaska_planner]

thanks for the great ft lauderdale hotel breakdown!!!!:)

[Familygoboston]

Arriving in St Maarten and tips for getting around

 

(photos of the terminal from the ship)

 

 

 

(from the road)

 

 

 

(and one of dear Dr Wathey, RIP. Also, and this is important because once the plaza is full of passengers, its hard to know where to go and where to "go"...notice the yellow signs on the walls on either side of the info center. One directs you to the cabs and walk way out of the plaza and the other tells you where to "go")

 

Tips: for getting around in St Maarten/ St Martin

 

Walk: It's less than a mile to walk from the port area to the start of the Boardwalk in Phillipsburg. We could see all of the young crew doing it, and it's flat, mostly shady and the sidewalk is very safely separated from the road. This is an easy port to walk to town.

 

Water Shuttle: You can also buy an unlimited water shuttle ticket for about $6-7 dollars (I've never done it), which will take you back and forth over the water as often as you need. Its not terribly efficient time wise, but it is pleasant!

 

Taxi: If you are planning to get a taxi to another part of town, (or are in P'Burg and are in grave danger of missing the ship) there is a well organized taxi stand with standard destinations listed (Orient Beach , Marigot etc) so you can queue up and share taxi vans with multiple people. The cost of taxis is relatively low compared to St Thomas, we could get 20 drive minutes away to Orient beach for $7 pp each way. The same distance in St T cost us $24 pp.

 

We didn't go to Orient beach this trip, in my first attempt to insure everyone in the family kept their clothes on. I was successful since we did not end up at the nude beach! I was feeling confident, if only I knew how badly my attempts would turn out would go later!! But I'm getting ahead of myslef...

 

Cabs are also very easy to find to get back to the ship after your visit, they will be lined up in the major tourist areas waiting to take you back. There are listings on the web of prices for different areas so you can pre plan before you leave. And there is a big board with all the regulated prices posted. St Martin is a good choice for independent touring due to the ease and low cost of getting around!

 

(photo of cab stand at the pier)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(map and rates- you can see that no matter where you are going if you get 8-10 people together it will never cost more than $6-8 pp)

[Familygoboston]

thanks for the great ft lauderdale hotel breakdown!!!!:)

 

Well thanks! It's by no means comprehensive as far as hotels go, but at least you can get on 'Maps" and figure where your hotel is, and get a sense if the "zone" will meet you needs. This is all I ever want when I go to a hotel search site!

Edited April 28, 2013 by Familygoboston

[alaska_planner]

i'm enjoying your review and pictures!

 

i think we'll just do the ports on our own - a mile walk into philipsburg sounds nice, assuming it's not crazy hot when we're there...

that's my preference - walk and then sit around having coffee, then walk back....(yeah, i'm old :eek: )

 

the only other thing i'd like to do is go to maho beach or whatever that place is called.....

i'm pretty boring all in all :)

[Familygoboston]

Fun and Roll Segway tour

 

We made arrangements via email with owner Normand for this tour, there was no minimum number, so it was just the 4 of us. We didn't have to pay ahead, and could use credit card or cash at the office, which made this tour low risk to book in advance.

 

Although we arrived in St Martin at 8 AM, we arranged for the driver to meet us at 9:30 AM at the Info Center right in port with a Fun and Roll Sign with our name on it. He drove us to the other end of the Boardwalk by circumnavigating the in town traffic and approaching from further along the Boardwalk heading back into town. We were met by the Normand's wife on the sidewalk behind her shop, who walked us to the boardwalk and Fun and Roll office. She had us sign waivers and we went out with our guide to the Boardwalk where he taught us how to use the Segways, put on our helmets and we practiced while everyone got started.

 

These Segways were the newer generation models which require very little "leaning", to turn you simply move the handle right or left or back, and you lean forward to make the Segway go forward faster. If you stand straight and still, its stops. They are super easy to use, with one caveat, you absolutely cannot touch the wheels to anything, a curb, another Segway, or you go over...I don't know the physics behind this, but its the only way to go off of the thing.

 

He provided us with a big bottle of water each, and we were off, up and down the Boardwalk a couple of times with stops on the hard packed sand to play and maneuver free style a little bit. After our half hour was up we returned the office and parked the Segways. We tipped our guide about $2.50 PP for the 1/2 hour tour, and the driver about $2 for the one way transfer.

 

(photos of Segway tour)

 

 

 

(DD2 gets a lesson)

 

 

 

(and they are off- on the beach)

 

 

 

(on the boardwalk)

 

 

 

(Wheeee! Can you see blurry Allure behind me??)

 

 

 

(time to head back)

 

Once in Philipsburg, we walked up and down the streets to do a little shopping; a very little shopping, we shopped till we dropped which took approximately an hour.

 

We also stopped into the Historic Court House, which sits dwarfed among the jewelry giants. We also stopped into the Catholic Church, our first time in "civilization" since hearing about the Boston Bombings. I said a little prayer and had a teary moment. As I was collecting myself, a nun came over an offered to light candles for us. I left a couple of dollars in the poor box and we headed back out into the sunshine.

 

The whole gang was pooped and ready to go back to the ship for lunch. We decided to walk, so we stopped at a gelato shop on the Boardwalk to fortify!!

[tarajean1962]

That sounds like a very fun night after your fun day!

 

St. Maarten is my favorite port!! Your pictures, once again, are beautiful and bring back wonderful memories!:D

 

I am so enjoying your cruise!:cool:

 

Tara

[Familygoboston]

We got back to the ship at about 12:30 and had lunch at the Park Cafe.

 

Then the family decided this would be a good time to zip line! The zip line opened at 2PM and since most folks were still on shore, we were able to go twice without having to take off our gear. The zip line is certainly not clothing optional (wrap your mind around that idea -the average cruiser zipping across the Boardwalk 6 stories above! Eek! But it is important to think abut clothing when it comes to zipline...

 

Zipline Tips:

 

1- you'll need to sign your waivers on line and this will be indicated by a swipe of the seapass.

2-you'll need closed toe shoes, like a sneaker, no tevas, or keens, socks not required)

3-you can't wear any jewelry, or glasses/sunglasses including your watch (small earrings in the lobe are ok)

4-you will want to tie long hair back

5-it's a good idea to have someone to "watch" your stuff, or take turns This also allows someone to take a photo, then pass off the camera.

 

(photos of zipline)

(gearing up)

 

 

 

(Whee! I've done this once before, but look at DD2- she's terrified!)

 

 

 

(DD1 likes it!)

 

 

 

(DH gives it a go again!)

 

 

 

(a really cool shot of someone zip lining from the Boadrwalk perspective)

 

While we are discussing clothing and(or the lack of it), this is good place to discuss other specialty items to pack for other on board adventures.

 

Tips for packing for other on board adventures

ice skating- you'll need socks and long pants

flow rider- a very well fitting suit and a snug shirt or rash guard to hold your bits in and prevent scrapes if (when) you bail.

rock wall- you'll borrow their climbing shoes, but you will need socks to use them

[alaska_planner]

question about the boarding process:

you wrote that because of the suitcase debacle, from now on you're going to place your luggage directly with the RCI representative..

 

what do you mean by this? we've never cruised on RCCL, only disney (where you can only give bags to the porter, there is no alternative)..

 

is there a way to give your bags directly to RCCL?

i am a TERRIBLE worrier...really....really really....

so any way i could avoid having to worry would be a tremendous help!!!!

[Familygoboston]

Sun deck and a workout

 

After the zip line, the whole family decided to explore the sun deck on 14 since we had not been there yet as a family.

 

(Photos sun deck)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DH and I also decided to use the quiet of the ship in port to work out in the gym; where we had our choice of machines, and no nutrition classes clogging up the area we like to use for our mat and ball work! One class we heard had the guy explaining that we were all toxic from what we eat and the answer to good health is really all about algae supplements. These of course were on sale for about a hundred bucks a week, seriously! If that's the case, after looking around at some of my fellow passengers, they should do us all a favor and sneak the algae into all of our food; park Cafe RB sandwiches with algae sauce, who would ever know and we'd all be detoxified!

 

[Familygoboston]

After the workout, we went up to the Flow rider to meet the kids for St Maarten Sail Away at the rail behind the Flow riders and Flow rider bar.

 

(photos of Sail away)

(Here is the Celebrity ship we were in port with)

 

 

 

 

 

(and here is a photo of "a mother worse than me"...some mornings, just to remind my girls how good they really have it, I read an article from the paper about "a mother worse than me"; sadly, there is one nearly every day...so it's become a little joke in our family. Unfortunately, we were watching the "runners" during sail away when we came across this lady who was running for all shes worth and is going to make the Celebrity ship, darn it! Of course, her 4 yo is on his own!:rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

(these last two are a unique prospective of the AT from the back of the Flow Rider. It's not a view I had seen befre and thought it was pretty cool!)

 

 

 

 

[tarajean1962]

DH and I also decided to use the quiet of the ship in port to work out in the gym; where we had our choice of machines, and no nutrition classes clogging up the area we like to use for our mat and ball work! One class we heard had the guy explaining that we were all toxic from what we eat and the answer to good health is really all about algae supplements. These of course were on sale for about a hundred bucks a week, seriously! If that's the case, after looking around at some of my fellow passengers, they should do us all a favor and sneak the algae into all of our food; park Cafe RB sandwiches with algae sauce, who would ever know and we'd all be detoxified!

 

 

 

All I can say is ROTFLOL!!!!:D:D:D Some of the efforts aboard to hide the cheesy salesmanship are awful! It is my one and only pet peeve with RCCL. I always treat myself to some overpriced spa massage and I would feel much more relaxed afterward if I didn't have to listen to the 'Miracle in a Jar' speech!

 

We didn't get to try the zip line last time so I am looking forward to that. It looks fun! I love the Aqua Theater picture!

 

Tara

 

P.S. Can you tell I need a life?! My husband is away and you, Randy and a couple of others are getting me through my weekend!:o

Edited April 28, 2013 by tarajean1962

[tarajean1962]

Oh! We've done the Segway tour at Epcot!! So fun!:cool:

[Familygoboston]

question about the boarding process:

you wrote that because of the suitcase debacle, from now on you're going to place your luggage directly with the RCI representative..

 

what do you mean by this? we've never cruised on RCCL, only disney (where you can only give bags to the porter, there is no alternative)..

 

is there a way to give your bags directly to RCCL?

i am a TERRIBLE worrier...really....really really....

so any way i could avoid having to worry would be a tremendous help!!!!

Well, at most ports, there are porters who work for the port, but also RCL reps that stand right by the rolling large carts where the luggage is loaded into and eventually on board. In the past we've just put our bags directly into the carts...it's literally about 10 steps away. Just keep saying "no thank you" till you see someone with a Royal name tag on. Clearly, paying them or not doesn't make a differnce, so i simply won't use them anymore!

 

All I can say is ROTFLOL!!!!:D:D:D Some of the efforts aboard to hide the cheesy salesmanship are awful! It is my one and only pet peeve with RCCL. I always treat myself to some overpriced spa massage and I would feel much more relaxed afterward if I didn't have to listen to the 'Miracle in a Jar' speech!

 

We didn't get to try the zip line last time so I am looking forward to that. It looks fun! I love the Aqua Theater picture!

 

Tara

 

P.S. Can you tell I need a life?! My husband is away and you, Randy and a couple of others are getting me through my weekend!:o

Happy to keep you company!!

[Familygoboston]

We had dinner scheduled for 6:45 and also an 8:30 Ritas party, so we needed to be seated pretty quickly to fit in both. We had heard the party at Rita's was fun, but the food was pretty awful, so we figured we would dine in the MDR, and then just do the non alcoholic drinks in Ritas, maybe have some nachos and dessert. We decided to all do the non alcoholic option since we were going with the kids. I think it's important to model behavior you hope to inspire, and I want our girls to know you can have a great time, even stone cold sober!

 

Once in the MDR we were seated at Lucille's table since Julio was full

 

(menu)

 

 

 

 

(Appetizers)

(crabcake- both girls had them and loved them...I had a bit and agreed,nice big chunks of lump crabmeat and a very nice flavor)

 

 

 

(Ceasar salad)

 

 

 

(Cream of mushroom soup- also excellent, not too salty)