The Arizona Cruisers Invade the Allure of the Seas, April 28, 2013 ~ A Pictorial Revi

[BillOh]

I think you are correct Bill. We were on Allure in Sept 2011, and I remember thinking that Wipeout was not open as much as we would have liked. Certainly not open for breakfast.

 

Well, then this must be a case of Royal looking at what was going on an making an improvement.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

The Park Cafe had the bagel bar but I don't recall if the Wipe Out cafe had bagels. That was the best place to go to get an omelet though as most venues didn't offer omelets. So I would suggest going to Park Cafe and getting a bagel and carrying it up to the Wipe Out cafe. Eat it while you are waiting for the omelet to be cooked. When you order an omelet, they give you a number to put on your table and it often takes 10 minutes or more before you see your omelet so it you are pressed for time, skip the omelet & go to the buffet.

[kimala]

The Park Cafe had the bagel bar but I don't recall if the Wipe Out cafe had bagels. That was the best place to go to get an omelet though as most venues didn't offer omelets. So I would suggest going to Park Cafe and getting a bagel and carrying it up to the Wipe Out cafe. Eat it while you are waiting for the omelet to be cooked. When you order an omelet, they give you a number to put on your table and it often takes 10 minutes or more before you see your omelet so it you are pressed for time, skip the omelet & go to the buffet.

 

...Thanks for letting me know. The park cafe would be no problem for me to stop at on my way to the wipeout as we will be on that deck deck 8 forward and will be cutting through Central Park to take the aft elevators to the wipeout..easy pezy!!!

 

Thanks again.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

The bagel bar at the Park Cafe is the best. It has lots of toppings for it. My cabin was also on deck 8 by the forward elevators and found it the best place to eat breakfast for convenience but they didn't have nearly as many options as other places. The best place to eat breakfast IMO was Johnny Rockets. We went there twice for breakfast. Breakfast is free there. But they don't have bagels.

[Dawniepoo]

April 38th? Is that may 8th? Hehe.

 

That's pure wit right there :D

[Dawniepoo]

Since most people don't like to see pictures of injuries, I thought I would post the option in case anyone wants to see what my wound looks like, click on this link. Picture taken May 15th (injury happened April 27th).

 

Coming from me, a nursing student, Wow! Thanks for posting it.:eek:

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Our Meet & Mingle was to be in Dazzles on Deck 8 at 10:30 on Tuesday morning, our first day at sea. When Steve & I arrived most people were already there and people were already Meeting & Mingling. I was happy to see that this party was not going to be one of those events where everyone just stares at each other, waits for the door prizes to be distributed and leaves.

 

 

 

There were two members of the Activities staff there and RCI had set up a nice selection of pastries along with coffee and water. I can’t remember what else was set up as I really didn’t partake. We had just had that big breakfast a little earlier.

 

Soon the RCI staff had a little “Greetings” talk and handed out the door prizes. There were some nice gifts, but per our norm we did not win a thing.

 

 

Soon our Mighty Roll Call Leader Bill (BillOh) donned his Kingly RCI Robe and took over handing out prizes he had provided, along with donations from Cruise Critic from our Trivia Contest that he had going to help us past the time over the past year. There were quite a few prizes, so many of us got a little something. Bill did such a good job of keeping our Roll Call interesting and fun. Thanks, Bill!

 

 

While a few people left before we could get really organized we were able to get many together for a group picture before dispersing to different venues around the ship. It was so nice that we had the time to visit beyond the actual function in Dazzles. We had become a close group over the course of the year and it was like we had already known each other a long time.

 

 

And of course, we took this opportunity for the Arizona Cruisers Banner to make another appearance.

 

We really need to get poor Norine a stool!

 

Soon we were all ready to go to the many offerings available on our first full day at sea on The Largest, Best Engineered Ship on the High Seas. Stay tuned for a full description of the exciting day ahead!

Edited May 23, 2013 by Sunny AZ Girl

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I forgot to mention that Sue & Rick had arranged a "Home Town Gift Exchange" for our M&M. How did I forget that? Everyone who wanted to participate brought a gift of up to $15 that represented their home town or state. We than stood in a circle while Audie read a story that kept repeating "left" or "right" That is the way we passed the gifts until we all ended up with a gift. It got a little confusing and silly, but we all had a great time!

 

[Sunny AZ Girl]

As the Roll Call dispersed and everyone went to discover the joys of the Allure of the Seas Steve and I headed back to our cabin to drop off our loot and figure out what we wanted to do next. Our choice soon became apparent. What did we decide to do the rest of the morning on the Largest, Best Engineered Ship with the Most To Do on the High Seas you may ask? We took a nap.

 

It was a sweet sleep and when we awoke we felt the primate need to go hunting and gathering once again, so we turned on the Restaurant Availability Channel. This time we headed for Johnny Rockets.

 

I don’t know why we felt the need to go to Johnny Rockets since we have one with a full menu, complete with dancing waiters within 15 minutes of our house, but I am sure it had something to do with the “Buy One Get One Free” milkshake coupon in our Emerald Book. Steve had focused on that within the first 10 minutes we had entered our cabin on Sunday. Now our waiters at home are a bunch of kids who show a definite lack of enthusiasm when the YMCA song comes on, but it is still a bit of fun. So, I was disappointed when the waiters did not dance at all the entire time we dined at JR that day. The menu was very limited compared to home, but they still had my favorite burger, the “Route 66” so I was happy.

 

 

From the patio of JR's we waved to Norine, Gene and Georgia who were eating on the patio at Rita’s Cantina across the way. You will have to ask them how they liked it since we never made it there. Another reason to cruise on this ship again.

 

That is something that happened so frequently to us. It was so much fun on a ship of 6,000+ passengers with 2,300+ crew members to be bumping into not only the other Arizona Cruisers but our other new Roll Call friends wherever we went.

 

We saw some activity near the Aqua Theater, so we headed over there. There was another rehearsal going on. We found a shady spot looking over the practicing performers and enjoyed the impromptu show.

 

 

I’m surprised that more people don’t sit and watch these rehearsals. I really enjoyed them.

 

We lingered and enjoyed the Boardwalk a little longer before heading back to our cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

Now just what was it about that day? Perhaps it was the sudden release from schedules, work stress, the pre-cruise planning, the travel? Or maybe it was the slightly rocky seas or that delicious bed? I don’t know what the cause was, but the only cure seemed to be another nap! Now we are not normally nap takers, but it seemed to be what we needed that day. The good news is that after this nap we were good to go and didn’t need another daytime nap the rest of the cruise.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Sunny AZ Girl

[Familygoboston]

Ginny, thanks for your great photo review! I really appreciate the photos of your gang - I can't keep my AZKaraoke girls straight from the AZsunny girls from the Az Nannies there in your postings;):p Good to put screen names with the faces!

 

Lisa, I'm so sorry about your injury...I did click on the pic, and that is serious, I hope you are feeling better soon!:( Not to criticize, I'm sure there are competent professionals working in Fl, bit frankly, I am far less than impressed with the medical care on offer in FL. My parents have lived on the west cost for 15 years and if I had a nickel for every screw up and misdiagnosis. :rolleyes: They finally found a great PCP and he directs them to the " better" doctors, but honestly, it's the (bad) luck of the draw otherwise! Maybe I'm totally spoiled rotten with some of the best institutions in the world a sneeze away, but really, to not even scan your head...that's ridiculous!

 

Laura- I'd be very interested in getting the email for Germaine. We are doing Enchantment and have well over 16 hours in port. We'd like to do Blue Lagoon dolphins, but it doesn't start till 3 PM. ( And like you ladies, we like to avoid the beaming sun at midday) In the morning we could do Germaine's tour for a couple of hours, it's been years since I've been in town and done the staircase and the fort, and mom and DD never have. If he's good, it would be worth it. Do you know how much he charges per hour?

 

Well, Az ladies, all, thank you for your input and sharing your cruise! Ginny, looking forward to the rest of the review!:D

[Sunny AZ Girl]

We awoke and prepared for our 6:30 MDR dinner with the Arizona Cruisers. I believe we were all there that night, so it was extra special. I did not take notes on the meal so I really don’t remember what we had. My better memories are those of friends and laughter.

 

 

Our show reservations that night were the Comedy Show. The two performers, AJ Jarmal & Phil Palisoul were very funny. Since it was a 9:30 show I was prepared to be a bit offended, but truly was not. I don’t believe it’s a family show, but very funny for adults. As has been stated in other reviews this is a very small, intimate venue and reservations are required. I overheard one of the CD staff telling another one that they would only be able to allow 5 stand-by people in. And they would not be able to sit together as the few empty seats were scattered all over the room.

 

We did get there about 45 minutes early so we could grab good seats, A good view but not too close to the stage. And it did prove to be true that if you were at all shy you would not want to sit too close to the stage! Even though we got there early, we were able to wait comfortably outside the Comdey Live venue.

 

 

 

 

After the Comedy Show we headed quickly over to On Air as our very own Lisa was about to show us all her Karaoke skills. By the time we got there the venue was pretty full but we were able to wrangle a table for some of us girls, while most of the guys were at the bar. We saw some really good and some really bad karaoke. The level of bravery had surely been boosted by the local libations for some but it was all in good fun. The VERY BEST Karaoke though was surely our very own Lisa!

 

 

 

 

Pretty good for someone who had just suffered a concussion a few days before! But we were all there to cheer her on.

Here is the YouTube Video of Lisa singing:

 

Please forgive the quality. My camera is not a video camera and I am not talented at taking videos, either.

After that we were all pretty tired and we had a big day in St. Thomas the next day. So, despite two naps that day, we headed to bed – and still slept soundly as we can only sleep at sea.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Sunny AZ Girl

[GranysT]

Ginny,

Were you by any chance on the Miracle cruise, back in Mar 2009? I was on that cruise, and it was another one who had a great roll call pre cruise, with lots of fun cruisers.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I had major computer/internet problems today that started with a trip to the Geek Squad and ended in me tearing apart my husband's office. Don't ask. That will teach him to leave me alone with a computer modum.:( At any rate I didn't get as much of this review done as I had hoped. Tomorrow is a long work day for me, so hang in there. I will get the next installment completed as soon as I can!:)

Edited May 23, 2013 by Sunny AZ Girl

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Ginny,

Were you by any chance on the Miracle cruise, back in Mar 2009? I was on that cruise, and it was another one who had a great roll call pre cruise, with lots of fun cruisers.

No. I missed that one. But a great Roll Call does make a difference, doesn't it?

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Our show reservations that night were the Comedy Show. The two performers, AJ Jarmal & Phil Palisoul were very funny. Since it was a 9:30 show I was prepared to be a bit offended, but truly was not. I don’t believe it’s a family show, but very funny for adults. As has been stated in other reviews this is a very small, intimate venue and reservations are required. I overheard one of the CD staff telling another one that they would only be able to allow 5 stand-by people in. And they would not be able to sit together as the few empty seats were scattered all over the room.

 

We did get there about 45 minutes early so we could grab good seats, A good view but not too close to the stage. And it did prove to be true that if you were at all shy you would not want to sit too close to the stage! Even though we got there early, we were able to wait comfortably outside the Comdey Live venue.

 

Yeah we had reservations & we got there about 15 minutes before the show and stood in line. Little did we know that those standing in line were on the wait list. Thank the good Lord above that the lady mentioned to us standing in line that they only had 5 seats available and we spoke up and said but we have reservations. So she checked our names and let us enter. Unfortunately, DH & I had to sit apart from each other because there weren't 2 seats together. That really bites.

 

Lisa, I'm so sorry about your injury...I did click on the pic, and that is serious, I hope you are feeling better soon!:( Not to criticize, I'm sure there are competent professionals working in Fl, bit frankly, I am far less than impressed with the medical care on offer in FL. My parents have lived on the west cost for 15 years and if I had a nickel for every screw up and misdiagnosis. :rolleyes: They finally found a great PCP and he directs them to the " better" doctors, but honestly, it's the (bad) luck of the draw otherwise! Maybe I'm totally spoiled rotten with some of the best institutions in the world a sneeze away, but really, to not even scan your head...that's ridiculous!

 

My primary care doctor called me tonight and said she just got back the results of my culture that was taken on May 13th, (9 days after the culture test) and indicated that I had a staph infection. The antibiotics that they gave me to treat my infection were resistant so I really needed a different antibiotic. Thank God my body fought it off on its own with due diligence in packing the wound twice a day. I'm happy to report that the surgeon today was very impressed with my healing. He said "you packed this yourself?" and I said "yes, I have no choice so looking in a mirror at the back of my head, this is what I have to do twice a day" and he said "I'm impressed" so I guess I missed my calling. Maybe I should have been a nurse. LOL But it is healing well and is almost half the size of wound that it was a week ago. I have to keep packing it until it closes but he's happy with the progress. My headaches are improving and they don't usually last more than an hour and usually only a few minutes a couple times a day. Dizziness is still there and it may take awhile for that to disappear.

[Arizona Laura]

Ginny, thanks for your great photo review! I really appreciate the photos of your gang - I can't keep my AZKaraoke girls straight from the AZsunny girls from the Az Nannies there in your postings;):p Good to put screen names with the faces!

 

Lisa, I'm so sorry about your injury...I did click on the pic, and that is serious, I hope you are feeling better soon!:( Not to criticize, I'm sure there are competent professionals working in Fl, bit frankly, I am far less than impressed with the medical care on offer in FL. My parents have lived on the west cost for 15 years and if I had a nickel for every screw up and misdiagnosis. :rolleyes: They finally found a great PCP and he directs them to the " better" doctors, but honestly, it's the (bad) luck of the draw otherwise! Maybe I'm totally spoiled rotten with some of the best institutions in the world a sneeze away, but really, to not even scan your head...that's ridiculous!

 

Laura- I'd be very interested in getting the email for Germaine. We are doing Enchantment and have well over 16 hours in port. We'd like to do Blue Lagoon dolphins, but it doesn't start till 3 PM. ( And like you ladies, we like to avoid the beaming sun at midday) In the morning we could do Germaine's tour for a couple of hours, it's been years since I've been in town and done the staircase and the fort, and mom and DD never have. If he's good, it would be worth it. Do you know how much he charges per hour?

 

Well, Az ladies, all, thank you for your input and sharing your cruise! Ginny, looking forward to the rest of the review!:D

 

Jermaine’s e-mail address is

info@jermainestaxiandtoursdotcom

 

We negotiated down to 25.00 pp for 2 hrs total.

He initially wanted I think 36.00 pp for 5 or more people for 2.5 hr tour. The 36.00 includes the admission cost into both historical forts however we were not going to do those tours!

He was very nice and I think for a several hr tour he was excellent.

Have fun!!!:)

Laura

[BillOh]

I forgot to mention that Sue & Rick had arranged a "Home Town Gift Exchange" for our M&M. How did I forget that? Everyone who wanted to participate brought a gift of up to $15 that represented their home town or state. We than stood in a circle while Audie read a story that kept repeating "left" or "right" That is the way we passed the gifts until we all ended up with a gift. It got a little confusing and silly, but we all had a great time!

 

 

At that exact moment, you were holding my gift, so elegantly wrapped in a Cheryl's cookie bag :) I think Lynn ended up with it, if I remember right.

[BillOh]

I had major computer/internet problems today that started with a trip to the Geek Squad and ended in me tearing apart my husband's office. Don't ask. That will teach him to leave me alone with a computer modum.:( At any rate I didn't get as much of this review done as I had hoped. Tomorrow is a long work day for me, so hang in there. I will get the next installment completed as soon as I can!:)

 

Geek Squad, or land pirates!

[vickiw0318]

Ginny and Bill, thanks so much for your wonderful reviews. I have really enjoyed reliving our cruise.

 

We somehow missed both the Wipeout Café and the Bagel Bar at the Park Café. That won't happen on our third journey on the Allure!

[MrsKC08]

Great review, but I am missing the pictures? Is it just me?

 

This is making me want to be an Arizona cruiser! I love when groups come together like this!

[Clarea]

Great review, but I am missing the pictures? Is it just me?...

I'm seeing the pictures.

[Peeker28]

Great review, but I am missing the pictures? Is it just me?

 

This is making me want to be an Arizona cruiser! I love when groups come together like this!

I can see the pictures too

[rednancy1]

Great review, but I am missing the pictures? Is it just me?

 

This is making me want to be an Arizona cruiser! I love when groups come together like this!

 

 

I'm also seeing the pictures. :)

[metairiegal]

Fantastic review and pictures! :)

[hcazrat]

I'm enjoying your review. Guess we need to join your happy circle of friends, as we absolutely love cruising and live in Ahwatukee. Haven't had the good fortune to sail on the Allure yet, but one of these days we'll take the plunge.