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ALLURE // LIVE REVIEW / Sept. 2-9 Sail Away With Meee?

Megtheblackbelt
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irishgal432

irishgal432

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Gotta do what you gotta do! I also saw your suggestion of changing my username, haha. It made me laugh! And then I fall asleep.

 

Thankfully, since I rarely ever drink and am young, I don’t get hangovers (yet!). But this cold is kicking me in the butt. Ugh.

 

 

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lol My husband said it was not nice. I thought it was funny. Glad you did too!. My daughter from a very early age brings her own sheets, pillows and blankets. We bought her a thing called a sleep sack and it works fairly well for her.

 

https://www.target.com/p/bed-guardian-sleep-sack-44-x89-white/-/A-51982385?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Bedding+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Bedding&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9010792&gclid=Cj0KCQjwidPcBRCGARIsALM--eMfIL5WjpnHWrpotofrobWZ2Yo1KhSNgxfdXUhwD4xbKBokOYxstncaAvjGEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

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Megtheblackbelt

Megtheblackbelt

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lol My husband said it was not nice. I thought it was funny. Glad you did too!. My daughter from a very early age brings her own sheets, pillows and blankets. We bought her a thing called a sleep sack and it works fairly well for her.

 

 

 

https://www.target.com/p/bed-guardian-sleep-sack-44-x89-white/-/A-51982385?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Bedding+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Bedding&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9010792&gclid=Cj0KCQjwidPcBRCGARIsALM--eMfIL5WjpnHWrpotofrobWZ2Yo1KhSNgxfdXUhwD4xbKBokOYxstncaAvjGEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

 

 

I thought it was hilarious! I’m just sorry I didn’t think of it first. :p

 

Ooooooh, I’ll have to look into this! Thanks so much for the idea/link.

 

 

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Megtheblackbelt

Megtheblackbelt

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Looking forward to it! P.s. we sell ice cream and milkshakes too. [emoji16]

 

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Oh, goodness. Someone knows my weakness, haha! I have yet to weigh myself since getting home, and I’m holding off on it for a little so I can keep the little self-esteem I have. :p

 

Amazing review, thank you so much! I’m glad you had a wonderful time. Now I can’t wait to try the Allure October 14 [emoji1316]

 

 

Yay, thanks so much for reading! You’re going to have an absolutely phenomenal time on the Big A! Can’t wait for you to experience her! :)

 

Sorry your week of fun has come to an end, but thanks for going out with a bang for us! Also, embrace that young hangover free life while you can. ;)

 

 

It’s fine! Honestly, I wouldn’t have lasted much longer what with this cold. Blergh. Plus! We currently have 2 more cruises booked, as well as heading to Europe, and maybe sneaking in another cruise somewhere? Can’t stop, won’t stop!

 

Yes, ma’am, embracing the non-hangover life as long as possible! :p

 

 

 

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Megtheblackbelt

Megtheblackbelt

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Overall Thoughts (Part #1):

 

Embarkation: This was our first time with priority embarkation due to being in a "suite". It was amazing, it was smooth, and it was definitely one of the best "suite" perks (I use the term suite loosely, as we were staying in a JS). We took a shuttle from our Marriott hotel to the port, and once the gentleman driving the shuttle put our luggage into the back, we didn't see it until we were on board. The porters all took care of the luggage from the back of the shuttle, so that was fantastic. We were on board by about 11:10 I want to say. Sea pass cards were inside of rooms waiting for us in an envelope - we did not receive them at check-in/on-boarding. You use your paper set sail pass (it has a bar code) for any drinks/purchases you want prior to the 1 PM cabin opening.

 

 

Cabin: We stayed in a Junior Suite that was on the "hump" of the ship, specifically cabin # 14236. We really enjoyed this cabin, and will definitely be booking JS+ in the future when possible. Just having the bath tub alone to take a normal shower was worth it. Our balcony was considerably extended than my FIL's who was staying 2 cabins down in a non-jump JS, cabin # 14230. Would I be willing to pay the $500 more they wanted for the JS on the hump? Nope, no way. Thankfully, we were able to book JS Guaranteed and lucked out with the hump cabin. The extra space was also incredible compared to a normal balcony. Having the sitting room to the side was great for the family to gather in the JS cabins. If we had kids (we don't!) we would feel comfortable having one of them sleep on the sofa that is in the back-half of the room. There is also a curtain that runs the entire length of the ceiling right down the middle of the room, so your kid/relative/friend would have privacy. The closet inside the JS is huuuuuuge, and we really enjoyed this for storing our suitcases.

 

 

Some things I did not like about our cabin/placement of cabin:

- Lack of plug-ins for charging. There is one under the bed and another above the desk, but that is it. If there were one extra outlet on the opposite side of the bed, so that both people can charge their phones easily, that would be a mountain of an improvement.

- The "night stands". They don't even count as night stands. They are not as tall as the bed, are incredibly small and awkward, and are not useful whatsoever. The entire top of the stand wasn't large enough (to my memory) to lay a piece of paper on top of it without the edges of the paper hanging off (I'm just saying this as a size reference).

- It was hot as heck during the night, and I don't think our AC was working all the time. It would be fantastically cold at one point, and then miserably hot at another. Maybe someone was keeping their balcony door open at certain periods. Who knows. We never did complain about it as we weren't in the room much.

- The freakin' bed. One of the upgrades of a JS is supposed to be a "pillow-top mattress". I call BS. That was 110% the hardest mattress I have ever slept on in my entire life. This consensus was the same with my FIL and his wife as well how stayed in a JS.

 

 

Perks of the room:

- Bath tub! Need I say more?

- Location! We loved that lido was just 1 deck up, and Windjammer was just 2 decks up.

- Extra large balcony w/2 lounging chairs

- Extra space in sitting room

- You get a sofa AND a chair, as opposed to just the sofa in normal balcony rooms

- Relatively mid-ship

- Close-ish to elevators

- Was very quiet

 

 

Wifi:

We purchased the sign-on for 2 devices w/Voom Surf+Stream. It was meh. Maybe I'm just used to superior internet speeds because of my profession, but I was not impressed. Was it worth the $140? Yes, to have internet on the ship. Was the speed worth $140? Nope, nu-uh. Facebook worked okay with a lot of lag. I could rarely ever access Instagram (nor could those around me). Streaming non-downloaded Netflix shows was a pain in the butt and buffered constantly. Cruise Critic continuously had issues loading. In the end it was fine and dandy, but I really do think this stuff is way overly-priced. *shrugs*

 

 

MDR Food: We only ate here twice (both for dinners). Our head waiter was Elvis and the Asst Waiter was Jeffrey. We thought they were fantastic! Very attentive and funny. Food? Meh. The bread was hard as rocks, I assume because it's always already sitting out on the table before you arrive. Temperature tended to be fine, as well as variety of food, but it was just always "meh". Nothing spectacular.

 

 

Windjammer: This was fine for what it is. It met my expectations, did not exceed them, and I am fine with this. There's always something new to try, as well as the staples to look for. I wish it opened earlier (especially on the 7 AM Puerto Rico arrival day) and closed later.

 

 

Izumi: The chef was hilarioussss. 11/10 would do again. The amount of food you receive is ridiculous. I wish, however, that the premium cover charge included 1 roll of sushi in the appetizer category. The best of both hibachi and sushi worlds would be nice. Also, my family wasn't really fans of the deserts offered - mochi ice cream and red bean sesame balls - but I enjoyed them. Your kids would probably not like these deserts unless they have previously been introduced to mochi and/or red bean.

 

 

Samba Grill: This is held in the Solarium Bistro. The concept of it is great, but it was not my favorite. If you're going to book Samba, book it for the 1st or 2nd night, as the food is unlimited, and you will probably feel pressured to eat a ton. The appetizer and desert buffer was pretty bland. It felt like a slightly more up-scale Windjammer. Haha. If you love meat, and you love eating a lot of it, this is a great place. But, again, make sure you go earlier in the week.

 

 

Chops: Hands down everyone's favorite. Claudio and Ricardo were phenomenal waiters, they made the experience what it was. They brought drinks 2 at a time, anticipated what we would like/need, and were hilarious. They put up with the family's drunken shenanigans, and laughed along with us. The food here was fantastic, too! We all either got lamb or steak, and everyone ate the entirety of what was on their plate. The mac n' cheese was a family favorite, and we ended up asking for more.

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Megtheblackbelt

Megtheblackbelt

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Overall Thoughts (Part #2):

 

Ship: We were on Oasis last year, so we do have experience on a different Oasis-class. However, we have not sailed Harmony or Symphony, the two newest of the squad. Just like Oasis, we did not notice - ourselves - any standout issues with the ship. We're not easily bothered by the little things, and don't think they should effect our experience. I did, though, overhear plenty of comments on the ship. Once someone pointed it out, I noticed that the carpet below the hand rails in the corridors in front of cabins has a drip/stain from someone finishing the hand rails. Once it was pointed out, I noticed some rust around the ship. Once it was pointed out, I noticed the chairs in the different public venues looked worn. Once it was pointed out, I saw a tile broken on the Boardwalk. The tile was fixed just a couple of hours later. It's all a matter of perspective to us, and we certainly did not go looking for issues, so we did not find them ourselves. Even with all of the little things that passersby would point out... we weren't bothered. It's a nearly decade old ship. Everyone is aware of this when they book their cruise. If you want pristine and perfect, try out one of the 2 newer ladies. *shrugs*

 

Cabin Attendant: We don't personally like having our bed made during cruises/our room picked up, so I should point that out. All we really ask is that if we need toilet paper, give it to us, and if our towels are dirty, give us new ones. And that, our stateroom attendant (Rox Roy?) did. When we first met him on day #1, he explained to us that he services all of his suites twice a day: one time in the morning, one time in the evening. Okay, cool. We didn't need it, but okay. We rarely ever saw Rox except a couple of times passing him by in the hall. I'm not sure he was the most personable, but he did his job, and that's what he's there to do. We had 2 towel animals throughout the trip (I know this is important information to some people).

 

Overall Service: We thought it was fantastic. No issues anywhere. But then again, we're pretty laid back people who don't ask a lot. Standout service people were Claudio/Ricardo in Chops, and then our chef - I cannot remember his name for the life of me - from Izumi. All fantasticcc. Josh (we) accidentally got charged for a drink, when Josh had the deluxe beverage package. We called down to guest services and they removed it within a minute.

 

Johnny Rockets: Lebron is the absolute best! He is usually manning the milkshake station, or cleaning tables outside. He is incredibly funny, very kind, and he has been on Allure for over THREE YEARS. He had all the best tips, and was very helpful. The milkshakes here were fantastic. Yes, you can order a peanut butter/chocolate milkshake. Just ask for it. They won't offer it up front. I wish they would expand their milkshake horizons past the basic strawberry, vanilla, chocolate... but it's okay. The staples were great. The actual lunch? It's...$11 (?) per person. It came out to $23 total for 2 people to have lunch. I personally didn't think that the food was any better than the WJ, but to each their own. "A" thought the burgers were a lot better.

 

Sabor: Yaaaaassss! Love me some Sabor. Unlimited chips/guac/salsa is sooo good. The appetizers are kinda basic - some odd empanada, and then bacon wrapped chicken - but that's okay. The main course was good, the desert was great. If you go here on Allure, ask for "Z". She's amazing. For 2 people, lunch came out to $38 (they add an 18% automatic gratuity).

 

Ice cream on ship: I generally found that the consistency of the ice cream was better in the Wipeout Cafe. The ice cream machines near the pools tended to have grittier, oddly textured ice cream. That being said, the Wipeout Cafe did carry strawberry ice cream one day, so that was a surprise.

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Megtheblackbelt

Megtheblackbelt

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Overall Thoughts (Part #3):

 

St. Maarten: We were honestly not fans of this port. It's just "meh". We didn't feel that there was much to do. Took a tour with one of the taxi guys for about 3/4 hours and went around the entire island. I felt like we saw everything semi-interesting there was to see. We're not big beach people, but even if we were, the beaches were... beaches. Maho Beach is muuuuch tinier in person than I thought it would be. Orient Beach, no one was there! But, the sand on Orient has a lot of debris/rocks. We went all around the island so we really saw all of the devastation. Which was perfectly fine to see, we knew we would. But even if the devastation were all fixed, I'm still not sure there's really much to do here? *scratches head*

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico: It was Josh's and my first time being here, as well as "A"'s. FIL and C, as well as F^2 had all been before (granted, F^2 hadn't been in nearly 50 years). It was beautiful! We've already decided we're going to fly into San Juan to take a Southern Caribbean cruise at some point. There is tons to explore/do here. One thing I will comment is that even for a native Floridian, it was hot as meatballs here. Holy heckkk.

 

Labadee, Haiti: Manufactured private island. Beaches are okay. Scenery is beautiful! If you're willing to pay $, there are plenty of activities to partake in. If you're not willing to pay $, you're mostly destined to walking around/being on the beach. The nice thing is that your drink package works here, so that's gr8 for all ya cruise-alcoholics out there. There wasn't much shade in our opinion, so definitely bring the high SPF sunscreen, and maybe consider getting an umbrella.

 

Deluxe Beverage Package/Refreshment Package: Josh had the DBP, i had the RP. We definitely felt it was worth it. Many a' milkshakes were consumed throughout the week. Not having to worry about your bill/any surprises is a great peace/benefit of the packages, itself. That being said, I did not ever feel pressured to drink more milkshakes because I purchased the package (I naturally just wanted to drink a lot of milkshakes myself), but I'll have to ask Josh if he ever felt pressured to drink more because of having the package. Will report back.

 

Crowds: They were fine, and as to be expected. Honestly, we never had a terrible time with the crowds. The ship is expertly laid out to minimize the impact of crowding. The whole neighborhood shenanigans really mitigate the feeling of people on a ship with 6,000+ others. Windjammer got crowded, but duah, you're on a cruise ship. Be logical about things and you won't be disappointed.

 

Casino: Considerably busy compared to our last cruise, especially the roulette tables. Sometimes we'd have to wait a half hour+ to be able to even stand at the table. Of course, this is a popular game, so it's to be expected. We didn't really mind because watching people play is fun in itself. Never played the slots or anything myself, but they never seemed too busy. Always seemed to be room for someone to sit down and play. Bartenders at the casino bar seemed to try hard to be entertaining. They told a lot of jokes and were attentive to those around them wanting drinks.

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Megtheblackbelt

Megtheblackbelt

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Overall Thoughts (Part #4):

 

All Access Tour: Please see prior posts for more detailed review. Long story short: I personally didn't think it was worth the money, but I am glad I have done it once. I'm not sure I would do it again on another Oasis-class, but I would probably give it a whirl on a smaller class just to make comparisons.

 

Entertainment/Activities: Entertainment was perfect. There was something for everyone. I really enjoyed Mama Mia, the Love & Marriage Show, the ice skating show, and the Aqua Show. "Blue Planet" was just meh for me. It was annoying to us that we made restorations for everything beforehand and would show up 30-40 minutes before the show, yet the seats would all be filled. Like, what? The comedians were fantastic as well, namely the AJ guy. The other guy - can't remember his name at the moment - was just okay. AJ was HILARIOUS. I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard. We attended one trivia session which was... also meh. A lot of the questions revolved around Brazil - the country the guy who was hosting it is from - and we thought that was odd. One of the questions was how to spell the guy's name... in the Brazil spelling, not the American spelling... which he never specified. I dunno. It was fun the one time, but we didn't see a point in coming back. You're also shoved into very tight venues for this.

 

Late Night Shenanigans Availability: There always seemed to be something going on late at night. We were never bored. Only issue we ran into was that the venues holding the late night activities were never large enough to hold everyone who wanted to watch/partake. So you would arrive at the venue, only to find out that you couldn't watch. Boo.

 

Bars/Drinks: All fine. Adrian at the pool on the smoking side was a stand-out bar tender. I don't believe anyone had any issues anywhere.

 

Shops: Coach, Michael Kors, and Kate Spade are onboard. Josh's dad bought him a watch in St. Maarten that was roughly $300 less than the cost of the exact same watch onboard. I'm sure that tells you something. The "Regalia" jewelry shop was kind of sketchy. I personally wouldn't buy anything from them. Please see earlier posts for more detailed explanation.

 

Elevators: Never terrible. We tried to make fun on the elevators/get everyone laughing to make the hot rides a little more bearable. If you're only going up/down a couple of floors, just TAKE THE DANG STAIRS IF YOU ARE ABLE TO. It'll be 10x quicker. Promise.

 

Spa: I did not go, but "A" did. She informed me that the spa tacked on a 32% gratuity tip without asking/informing her, and then asked for even more of a tip at the end. She was also not told up-front the cost of her massage. I personally did not visit the spa, so I have no comment.

 

Pools/Solarium: Packed during the day, per the usual. They are what you expect. If you want to swim/soak in the hot tub, go during the evening/night when no one is in them. Honestly, come 6/7 o'clock, all of the pools are completely empty.

 

Cruise Director: Is his name Matt Mitchem? He was fine. He hosted the Love & Marriage show, and I really thought he made the contestants shine. I personally didn't see him too much around the ship, but I also wasn't even looking for him/searching him out. He seemed very personable though.

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Megtheblackbelt

Megtheblackbelt

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Thanks so much for the live report. I really enjoyed following along and appreciated your good humor.

 

 

Super glad you followed along and enjoyed yourself! Hope you have a great rest of your day! :)

 

Thanks for the review.

 

 

 

We enjoy sailing on the Allure and booked her for two cruises next year, May and July.

 

 

 

I really enjoyed following your adventures.

 

 

 

Sea Ya

 

 

Of course! Wow, you’re going to have 2 amazing weeks next year! They may be low on milkshakes after this week, but who knows, maybe they’ll replenish the ice cream by then. *shrugs*

 

 

 

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Megtheblackbelt

Megtheblackbelt

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Really enjoyed your fun review. I’m just about old enough to be your grandma, and will admit to googling a few abbreviations, but laughed a lot and loved your style.

 

Oh goodness! This made me think about my own grandmother reading my review, haha. I can hear her saying "oh boy...," in my head right now. Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate it. And honestly - I've met a lot of people much older, but with younger hearts... so there's that. :p

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Megtheblackbelt

Megtheblackbelt

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Well, I think that covers everything. If anyone has any questions - please let me know! I have all of the compasses which I will either take photos of/or scan and upload maybe tomorrow. I still kinda sorta feel like I'm on the ship. I find my head bobbing back and forth, haha. Overall, this was a fantastic cruise. We really loved traveling in a group, and think it adds a bunch to the experience. 11/10 Allure is an unimaginably beautiful ship, and we can't wait to sail on her again someday.

 

I laughed (loads). I cried (once). I drank (the last night). I met a genie. I told terrible jokes. I made new friends. I came, I conquered, I will return.

 

Where to next? Well, as of now we have Alaska planned for Aug 2019 and Cuba planned for Jan 2020. I'll be in Europe at the end of this year, but unfortunately won't be able to make it on a cruise. Fingers crossed we can shove a cruise in between Alaska next year and, well, uh, tomorrow. We have our eyeballs either on Mariner, or on a New England/Maple Syrup Land cruise. *crosses fingers*

 

Also I just wanna say that I'm super thankful I was smart and said I wasn't going back to work until Wednesday. Cause now I'm all gross with a cold and if I had to go back to work tomorrow I would not be a happy cruiser.

 

Thank you to everyone who followed along, made fun of me, and made me laugh. Y'all the real MVPs.

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Nashna

Nashna

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Well, I think that covers everything. If anyone has any questions - please let me know! I have all of the compasses which I will either take photos of/or scan and upload maybe tomorrow. I still kinda sorta feel like I'm on the ship. I find my head bobbing back and forth, haha. Overall, this was a fantastic cruise. We really loved traveling in a group, and think it adds a bunch to the experience. 11/10 Allure is an unimaginably beautiful ship, and we can't wait to sail on her again someday.

 

I laughed (loads). I cried (once). I drank (the last night). I met a genie. I told terrible jokes. I made new friends. I came, I conquered, I will return.

 

Where to next? Well, as of now we have Alaska planned for Aug 2019 and Cuba planned for Jan 2020. I'll be in Europe at the end of this year, but unfortunately won't be able to make it on a cruise. Fingers crossed we can shove a cruise in between Alaska next year and, well, uh, tomorrow. We have our eyeballs either on Mariner, or on a New England/Maple Syrup Land cruise. *crosses fingers*

 

Also I just wanna say that I'm super thankful I was smart and said I wasn't going back to work until Wednesday. Cause now I'm all gross with a cold and if I had to go back to work tomorrow I would not be a happy cruiser.

 

Thank you to everyone who followed along, made fun of me, and made me laugh. Y'all the real MVPs.

 

 

 

Great report...so much fun to read. We are traveling with 19 family members next June. Can you imagine a group of this size in Chops? The group has 9 children ages 9 to 18 and 10 adults. We all have 1 free dinner included from our TA. Whaddaya think?

 

 

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