Suite Review of the Allure 06.30.2013

[Sweetest Sin]

I forgot to mention our stateroom attendant. We had Michele from Jamaica. She was great. Our room was always made up soon after we left for breakfast, and again right after we would leave for dinner.

 

Cruise Day 2 – Sea Day

 

Our second day of the cruise dawned early again for me today. Unfortunately for my family, it dawned early for them as well since I had to turn on the master light switch to get lights in the bathroom! Sorry guys. :o After getting ready I skipped down a couple of flights to the Concierge Lounge to get coffee. I had read that there was complimentary latte and cappuccino. I never had coffee anywhere but the Concierge Lounge, so I don’t know if it was better or the same, but the coffee machine was fantastic! Every time the machine was used it ground the coffee fresh, and there was the option of regular or decaf. I also discovered that they serve breakfast there as well. The menu is not as extensive as the dining room, but you are able to get omelettes, pancakes, waffles, assorted pastries, and other breakfast items as well.

 

I headed back up with my coffees, and brought my family back down to the Concierge Lounge for breakfast. After we were done it was about time for our Meet & Mingle. The Meet & Mingle is held at Dazzles. I won a bottle of cheap champagne for the most creative screen name, and I also won in the raffle. Not too bad! It was nice to put some faces to the screen names, but maybe it would have been better if we would have worn name tags.

 

After the Meet & Mingle was over we decided to head up to the pool deck. One of my favorite things to do on vacation is to relax with my kindle on the beach or by the pool. That just was not going to happen. The pools were all crazy full of people. We scanned the area a bit for lounges, but didn’t really see anything. It wasn’t a relaxing atmosphere anyhow. We went up a couple of decks to see if there were lounges available there, and again, nothing. Of course there would be one here or there, but not three together. To be honest, we really did not search too hard. We did find the area for suite members, so headed up there. The location is not great if you want to be by the pool, but it is very quiet, and on that day, extremely windy. There is a bar there, and the lounges are better than by the pool. They have nice cushions, and were quite comfortable. We did not stay there long, since the kiddo got bored very quickly, so headed down to the cantilevered hot tub for a bit.

 

Lunch today was at the Park Café again. Hubby got another roast beef, and I tried the make your own salad, while my daughter had a tuna melt. We were all satisfied by lunch.

 

More random ship pictures -

 

 

By the flowriders

 

Brito art

 

[Sweetest Sin]

Sometime during our wandering the previous day I signed my daughter and myself up for the cupcake decorating class. Since we were the first to sign up for that time slot we got to choose between making a puppy or a cheeseburger. We chose puppy. The class was a lot of fun, but what was even more fun was eating my yummylicous cupcake! Hmmm…I’m pretty sure it’s time for a mojito.

 

 

Not too long after our class it was time to meet back up with some of the members of our roll call for a slot pull. 4bunns did a great job organizing the activities of our roll call! We all chipped in $21 and took turns playing. After 3 or 4 rounds we all walked away with $25. I had never been a part of a group gambling game, and I thought it was a lot of fun!

 

Tonight was formal night so we headed back to the room to get ready. I wanted to take some formal pictures so we skipped the Concierge Lounge and headed to the promenade to do so. I’ve seen this mentioned before, but I think it bears repeating. They take way to many photos. A family of four could have over 25 pictures taken. The lines got very long, and the wait times were frustrating. Most of the time when we were doing our shoot we would go through the series of the 3 of us, and when the photographer said “now just mom and dad” we were like, no thanks. The photos you’ll see of just my daughter and I, or just my husband and I, were done that way because the third person didn’t participate in that shoot at all. Anyway, it is a very small complaint.

 

 

We had some time before our 6:30 dinner reservation in the main dining room, so we hopped on the rising tide and rode it up and back down. I thought the rising tide was a neat idea. I had a delicious mojito there!

 

 

 

 

Since we had reservations we were seated right away in the MDR. Service tonight was very slow, both from our waiter and for bar service (mama’s got to have her mojito!). We had split opinions on dinner. Hubby’s filet was very tasty, my fish was blah. We all had some kind of chocolate cake for dessert that wasn’t very chocolate-y at all.

 

We had reservations tonight for Ocean Aria at 9. They have a reserve area here for suite guests that is in an excellent spot…center and fairly high up. I thought it was perfect. We could see the pool, but were also on a level to see the divers. When my daughter and I went to the Madagascar show later in the week we had to sit close to the water and that is when I really appreciated the seats we had this night. I again thought the show was fantastic! We all really loved it. It was funny, athletic, and daring.

 

We brought the kiddo back to the stateroom and headed to Dazzles since they were having 80s night. The band at Dazzles, Frontliners, is absolutely fantastic. They had so much variety it was unbelievable. We stayed there (and possibly had a mojito or two) until about one. Dancing was so much fun!

[Colorado Babe]

Awesome once again! Was there a charge for the cupcake decorating class? They were so cute. Also, what kinds of drinks do they offer in the concierge lounge? By the way, the formal pictures are beautiful. You all look really happy!

[dreamer976]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. I seem to never tire of reading them as everyone has a different perspective and style of writing and I am thoroughly enjoying yours.

 

Anxiously waiting for more!:D

[scopewest]

Enjoying your review!

[drarill]

Great review and wonderful pictures!!! We booked a GS connected to a D-3 for our Oasis cruise next spring. Our cabins are on deck 14, like yours, but on the other side (14260 and 14262). Did you experience any problems with noise coming from deck 15? Any feedback will be appreciated. :):)

[JimAOk1945]

OP, I have a couple of questions:

1. You said your Muster Station was at the Aqua Theater. What would have happened if the weather turned ugly and it stormed?
   
2. Are people discouraged from taking cameras to the Muster Drill?
   

Thanks in advance for your answers.

[emeraldcity]

Thank you for taking the time to put this together. I am enjoying cruising with you.

 

One tip you may want to tuck away for your next cruise: I've always found the lines for formal pictures to be much shorter (and sometimes non-existent) on the second formal night. Of course, with the population on an Oasis class, that may differ.

[ryanc78]

Thank you for taking the time to put this together. I am enjoying cruising with you.

 

One tip you may want to tuck away for your next cruise: I've always found the lines for formal pictures to be much shorter (and sometimes non-existent) on the second formal night. Of course, with the population on an Oasis class, that may differ.

 

Disagree based on our experience in May on the Allure. The lines were even longer as most people did not budget enough time in for photos before dinner. By the 2nd formal night they were lines up very early. We were very happy we had taken so many photos the first night after seeing the crowds.

[Sweetest Sin]

Awesome once again! Was there a charge for the cupcake decorating class? They were so cute. Also, what kinds of drinks do they offer in the concierge lounge? By the way, the formal pictures are beautiful. You all look really happy!

 

There was a charge for decorating; I believe it was $22 per person for the adult class, which is what we did. The drinks in the concierge lounge are limited, the cannot do frozen drinks. Wine and beer was available. I drank cranberry and vodkas. I also saw a lot of cosmos.

 

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. I seem to never tire of reading them as everyone has a different perspective and style of writing and I am thoroughly enjoying yours.

 

Anxiously waiting for more!:D

 

Thank you so much!

[Sweetest Sin]

Enjoying your review!

 

Thank you!

 

Great review and wonderful pictures!!! We booked a GS connected to a D-3 for our Oasis cruise next spring. Our cabins are on deck 14, like yours, but on the other side (14260 and 14262). Did you experience any problems with noise coming from deck 15? Any feedback will be appreciated. :):)

 

I was a little concerned about that as well. The grand suites are in a spot where there aren't lounge chairs above, so we never heard scraping, or anything like that. Very rarely you would hear someone running, but that was during the day, and very rarely. Those decks get EXTREMELY slippery. I personally can't imagine running across them!

[Sweetest Sin]

OP, I have a couple of questions:

1. You said your Muster Station was at the Aqua Theater. What would have happened if the weather turned ugly and it stormed?
   
2. Are people discouraged from taking cameras to the Muster Drill?
   

Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

They never mentioned anything about if it was storming. We were told if there was an emergency to go to the muster. If there was a real emergency I don't think getting wet would matter. As far as the drill, the weather was file. Is there anyone out there that mustered at the Aqua Theatre when it was raining? It is an interesting question.

 

I had my camera in my hand. Nothing was said to me. I never tried to take any snapshots though.

 

Thank you for taking the time to put this together. I am enjoying cruising with you.

 

One tip you may want to tuck away for your next cruise: I've always found the lines for formal pictures to be much shorter (and sometimes non-existent) on the second formal night. Of course, with the population on an Oasis class, that may differ.

 

That is a good tip, however, we waited just as long for our second night photos as well.

[Sweetest Sin]

Disagree based on our experience in May on the Allure. The lines were even longer as most people did not budget enough time in for photos before dinner. By the 2nd formal night they were lines up very early. We were very happy we had taken so many photos the first night after seeing the crowds.

 

Our experience was pretty similar...both nights, and even other nights as well, had long lines. Especially for the replica Mercedes. If you want your picture done with the Mercedes and see no one in line, go then!!

[Sweetest Sin]

Items I forgot to mention about yesterday. We had this guy waiting for us after dinner:

 

 

The note you see above, on top of the cruise compass, was an invitation to go to the helicopter pad for sail away in Labadee. This was exclusive for suite guests.

Also, hubby and I caught the comedy show. We did not have reservations so we got in line about a half hour before the show was to start. There were about 10 people in line ahead of us. About ten minutes before showtime they stopped holding spots for people with reservations and let us in. The comedians were hilarious.

[Sweetest Sin]

Cruise Day 3 – Labadee

 

I may have actually slept in a bit this morning, but not too late. Since I was up before my family I headed down to the Concierge Lounge to get my daily latte. This morning I wanted to try the Solarium for breakfast since I had heard that they offered more healthy options. In general it was healthier, but it was still a buffet, and most items were lukewarm to cold. Hubby is more traditional and would have preferred waffles and bacon, so he did not like it at all.

 

 

[Sweetest Sin]

We decided to head down to the gangplank for our day in Labadee. Every elevator was crammed full, so we walked down to the gangplank. We had no plans for Labadee except for relaxing on the beach today.

 

 

 

We walked to the Barefoot Beach Club, which is reserved for suite guests. Once there we were assigned a “concierge” that would take care of us for the day. Our concierge asked if we preferred to be in sun or shade, cleaned the sand from our chairs, got us three floating mats, and would come check on us every hour or so to see if we needed anything. She would have brought us drinks if we had asked. The family in front of us used their concierge to keep track of the excursions they had booked.

 

View from our lounge chairs:

 

 

We also had an “upgraded” lunch buffet. It consisted of burgers and dogs, chicken, seafood kabobs, corn and desserts. It was just okay. The mojito I got on the island was fantastic! I will say, everywhere we went, no one skimped on alcohol in any of the drinks.

 

Our day consisted of floating in the ocean and relaxing in our lounge chairs. We did nothing else on the island except walk to the beach and back to the ship. Somehow that exhausted me, and when we got back to the ship I crashed for about two hours, and got up just in time to see us leaving.

 

[Sweetest Sin]

 

[Sweetest Sin]

Our reservation at Chops was not until 8 that night. We got ready and headed to the Concierge Lounge for cocktails and appetizers. Appetizers in the Concierge Lounge consisted of little quiches, chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, mini eggrolls, and items of that nature. There was also fruit and cheese. I got the best vodka and cranberries there. Much to my daughter’s dismay, they could not do frozen drinks.

 

We left to go wander around a bit before dinner. My daughter and I got our photos taken while my husband hit the casino. He actually did pretty good in the casino this trip; we came home with more money than what we left with.

 

 

I had heard good things about Chops so I had high expectations. The service in there is very good. They check on you often, and are more than willing to explain the menu. We all ordered filet (my daughter and I 7 ounces and hubby 10 ounces) with side dishes to share. The filets were all cooked perfectly. We all chose different sauces and we all like the sauces. I chose béarnaise and it was excellent…so creamy and seasoned perfectly. The filet itself was a bit grainy for my preference. Hubby had the same opinion of his. The sides were good, but not very memorable. My daughter and I had the crème brûlée. I thought the texture was weird, it wasn't smooth, and they bring it out aflame, which caused the top to be overdone. We all left completely stuffed.

 

We wandered a bit, but we had no show scheduled for the evening. We were all exhausted so headed back to the room for the night.

[swtonu]

Great Review! Love your pictures!

[endobaby]

Fantastic review...you have a lovely family.

[momzcruzing]

Great review & pictures, such fun to relive our time on Allure. Thanks so much for posting.

 

We had the same cabin experience as you, we booked a balcony cabin on the hump & upgraded to a junior suite and miracle of miracles we were upgraded to a GS! I never wanted to get off! They took me off at gunpoint!:D

 

We thought all of the entertainment was amazing! Chicago, Ocean Aria, Blue Planet and especially the comedians. Loved every minute.

 

I agree there was no skimping on the liquor, especially in the "labadoozie" Holy Smokes! He filled the cup almost 1/2 full of rum before adding the fruit slush. My new theme was: "one labadoozie and you don't remember the cruisie"

[Sweetest Sin]

Great Review! Love your pictures!

 

Thank you!

 

Fantastic review...you have a lovely family.

 

I'm so happy that you are enjoying it, thanks!

 

Great review & pictures, such fun to relive our time on Allure. Thanks so much for posting.

 

We had the same cabin experience as you, we booked a balcony cabin on the hump & upgraded to a junior suite and miracle of miracles we were upgraded to a GS! I never wanted to get off! They took me off at gunpoint!:D

 

We thought all of the entertainment was amazing! Chicago, Ocean Aria, Blue Planet and especially the comedians. Loved every minute.

 

I agree there was no skimping on the liquor, especially in the "labadoozie" Holy Smokes! He filled the cup almost 1/2 full of rum before adding the fruit slush. My new theme was: "one labadoozie and you don't remember the cruisie"

 

That is great! Sounds like you had just as much fun as I did!

[drarill]

 

I was a little concerned about that as well. The grand suites are in a spot where there aren't lounge chairs above, so we never heard scraping, or anything like that. Very rarely you would hear someone running, but that was during the day, and very rarely. Those decks get EXTREMELY slippery. I personally can't imagine running across them!

 

Thanks!!!:):)

[JimAOk1945]

Looking forward to the next posting. This is a great review!

[Sweetest Sin]

Looking forward to the next posting. This is a great review!

 

I hope to get the next installment done tonight. It's back to work for me, and I'm traveling this week.

 

I just have to say it is absolutely gorgeous up here this week, and hot, hot,hot! Whoever is lucky enough to have a New England cruise this week is getting some fantastic weather! Last week it was in the 60s and rainy - this week sunny and 90!