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

[perfect match]

I’ll try to finish this up when we get back to the boat later today. The gist of the rest of the experience is that it’s *okay,* but not anything phenomenal. I am relatively knowledgeable about ships because I enjoy learning about them. Our main tour guide had chicken scratch notes and when asked random questions, she would just reply random - not necessarily correct - answers. That was not the kind of tour we were looking for. On top of not being able to understand most of the heavy accents of those talking, with the missing of some cool stops (helipad, crew mess, behind the curtains in theater, etc.,) it was just “meh”. I’d save your $240. The rest of the shore excursions you have booked sound amazing!

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Thanks for your input on the ship's tour, Meg, and the others who took the time to reply. I showed DH your review and everyone's responses before we made our final decision. In the end, we decided that since we have such a full calendar planned for our upcoming cruise even without the tour, we decided to cancel it and save our $240. We may still decide to do the ShipsTour on a future cruise, just not this time.

 

That $240 we saved by not doing the tour does create another problem entirely. DH immediately came up with another plan to spend the money! He said he wants to spend it on watches, pens, and tee shirts! :eek: Note to self: keep DH away, far away, from the Promenade and pool deck when the sales are on! :')That will be easier said than done!

[eel]

Tomorrow is Puerto Ricoooo, and I’m super stoked other than the fact that I have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn to fully capitalize on our 7 hours allotted in port. Not sure what the day will hold, but fingers crossed my future includes some really bomb a** authentic Puerto Rican food. Suggestions, anyone? My body is ready. [emoji1316]

 

If you want some authentic Puerto Rican food, try Mofongo. It is deep-fried green plantains mashed together with meat or seafood. You should find a restaurant that serves it in San Juan without much difficulty. If you want a Pina Colada from the place it was invented (supposedly) check out Barrachina.

 

The nice thing about Puerto Rico is that since it is part of the US, your phone should work there just fine. You can use Google Maps to find your way around.

[JamesEM]

Hi, enjoying your review and photos, do you happen to know what the cost was to rent a taxi in St Maarten?

[Megtheblackbelt]

Hi, enjoying your review and photos, do you happen to know what the cost was to rent a taxi in St Maarten?

 

 

Hi - our three/four hour tour was $30 a person. Other than that, I dunno anything about the taxi rates. Sorry!

 

If you want some authentic Puerto Rican food, try Mofongo. It is deep-fried green plantains mashed together with meat or seafood. You should find a restaurant that serves it in San Juan without much difficulty. If you want a Pina Colada from the place it was invented (supposedly) check out Barrachina.

 

 

 

The nice thing about Puerto Rico is that since it is part of the US, your phone should work there just fine. You can use Google Maps to find your way around.

 

 

Deal! Thanks for the tips :)

 

Darn it. I did not need this information. So far I had successfully shielded myself from this temptation. :') Have you done a hibachi on lan and if so can you compare the quality vs a typical hibachi place?

 

 

 

Another pro Alaska trip: if you’ll be sightseeing after you get north to Alaska there are multitudes of options for dog sled interactions, rides, glacier adventuring etc. we have family up there. It’s everywhere. Gives you some options if you want to see whales and sled dogs too. ;)

 

 

 

Also, imma need to know the Andrew’s flow rider question. Also asking for a friend...:halo:

 

 

I have done hibachi on land. I felt the overall experience on board was just very well laid out. The chefs are HILARIOUS! They sing, they dance, they throw food into your mouth, etc. Maybe it’s more exciting/a novelty because it’s onboard, but I really enjoyed it!

 

Thanks for your input on the ship's tour, Meg, and the others who took the time to reply. I showed DH your review and everyone's responses before we made our final decision. In the end, we decided that since we have such a full calendar planned for our upcoming cruise even without the tour, we decided to cancel it and save our $240. We may still decide to do the ShipsTour on a future cruise, just not this time.

 

 

 

That $240 we saved by not doing the tour does create another problem entirely. DH immediately came up with another plan to spend the money! He said he wants to spend it on watches, pens, and tee shirts! :eek: Note to self: keep DH away, far away, from the Promenade and pool deck when the sales are on! :')That will be easier said than done!

 

 

No problem at all! Sounds like a good choice. Gotta stay away from those “50% off” sales, huh? Haha!

 

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

Good morning from the home of despacito!

 

 

 

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[Clarea]

If you want some authentic Puerto Rican food, try Mofongo. It is deep-fried green plantains mashed together with meat or seafood. You should find a restaurant that serves it in San Juan without much difficulty. ...

Raices!

[A&L_Ont]

YO, Andrew-fam/Flowrider-guru. For a n00b who’s never been on a board, and is afraid of falling - how bad does it hurt when you wipe-out? Also, what are the odds you hit your head against the flow rider? Asking for a friend.

 

 

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Let that friend know, that if you are going to try maybe go boogie first and then try stand up. Boogie gives you the feel of what might happen when you fall, but at wave level. If they want to go straight to stand up let the instructor know that you have never done it before and they will be more helpful. The wave is like a gym mat. The top area not as much, but you don’t fall directly on it. It usually doesn’t hurt to fall, but sometimes the landing can depending on the first point of contact.

 

When you are waiting in line watch the crew and how they instruct other guests loading in. If you think you are going to fall, sit down. If possible go legs first to the top of the wave when you wipe out. Stretch first before you ride. Stretch before bed if you are tight. Pray, it you believe. Be loose on the wave, not tight. If you are smiling it’s fun. Advil if pain. Milkshake for bone density.

 

Lastly, photos posted for proof. Enjoy it.

[Megtheblackbelt]

Let that friend know, that if you are going to try maybe go boogie first and then try stand up. Boogie gives you the feel of what might happen when you fall, but at wave level. If they want to go straight to stand up let the instructor know that you have never done it before and they will be more helpful. The wave is like a gym mat. The top area not as much, but you don’t fall directly on it. It usually doesn’t hurt to fall, but sometimes the landing can depending on the first point of contact.

 

When you are waiting in line watch the crew and how they instruct other guests loading in. If you think you are going to fall, sit down. If possible go legs first to the top of the wave when you wipe out. Stretch first before you ride. Stretch before bed if you are tight. Pray, it you believe. Be loose on the wave, not tight. If you are smiling it’s fun. Advil if pain. Milkshake for bone density.

 

Lastly, photos posted for proof. Enjoy it.

 

 

Strengthen bones: CHECK.

 

 

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

Raices!

 

 

 

Oi!

 

 

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[highrollers]

Meg, thank you so much for the great review and the info on the ship tour. Happy that you saved us the money that we would have wasted on that, but also so sad that they don't make it more exciting for the amount of money they are getting for these tours. :mad: I'm sure we will find something else to do with the money that we saved on that tour. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[ramja96]

The planes “are” the attraction here. You don’t go to Maho Beach for a beach day. We haven’t been to other beaches (and just went here for the planes), but I’m pretty sure there are much nicer beaches in St. Maarten!

 

That was precisely my point - I was just offering my opinion that I don't understand why it's so popular. Obviously, there are a lot of people who enjoy it. It was, in no way, meant to be a criticism/judgement of others. Like I said, to each his own.

[racerxspeedy]

We are on Allure as well this week. One thing I noticed this trip. All of the ice dispensers (park cafe, wipe out cafe and solarium are “out of service”). We have been using the freestyle machine if we need ice for a cold drink.

[Megtheblackbelt]

Puerto Rico Fotos:

 

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

All onboard today is 1:30. We’re already on board. It’s ridiculously hot, even for a Florida native. *fans self* I had to jump in the shower as soon as we got back just to wash the stickiness off from sunscreen/the humidity. Grody.

 

We did an hour and a half tour with “SJ Happy Tours”. Tours here are much more expensive than in St. Maarten. Our PRIVATE St. Maarten tour yesterday was $30 pp for 4 hours. Today was $15 for an hour-ish for a SHARED tour. If we had gone with the private tour, they wanted $45 pp for ONE HOUR. Arggggh. Didn’t seem worth it.

 

The tour went all around OSJ. We saw the outside of the forts, the capital building, and a whole bunch of other random buildings that are gorgeous, but I couldn’t tell you what they are. We’ve decided we’re going to come back soon and do a Southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico. Yaaaay!

 

We’ve decided we’re going to

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

Rest of the day’s agenda:

 

- Sabor when it opens at noon

- Milkshakes at JR

- Zipline when it opens at 2

- Rock climbing when it opens at 3

- Flowrider this evening (?)

- Some sort of food for dinner

- Ice show in the evening

- Casino at night

 

Woot! Gonna be a great rest of the day. :)

 

 

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[ramja96]

Rest of the day’s agenda:

- Milkshakes at JR Forums

 

Now there's something new ..... [emoji849][emoji23]

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

Now there's something new ..... [emoji849][emoji23]

 

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I don’t need your judgment in my life! :P

 

We are going to try to make reservations for 150 CP tonight, so fingers crossed they have ability.

 

 

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[cruiser123!]

Ahhhhh, these are such fantastic tips! Mendenhall is something we DEFINITELY plan to splurge on. Without a doubt. The dog sledding also sounds phenomenal, and we also want to do whale watching. *cries* Must do it ALL.

 

 

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We did whale watching in Victoria. It was the last stop. True story: the "door" we boarded the boat on had a gate across it. My son was walking by and a baby whale breached right there, splashing him. He thought it was the coolest thing ever!

[Megtheblackbelt]

 

Milkshake and guacamole, my favorite. [emoji7][emoji1316]

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

Sabor lunches:

 

Bacon wrapped chicken jalapeño things -

 

Quesadillas -

 

Yucca fries and mango sauce -

 

Banana/Chocolate chimichanga things -

 

 

If you go to Sabor on Allure, make sure to ask for “Z”. She was the highlight of our entire lunch, and was hilarious! :)

 

 

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[laurasue]

Dang girl, you're making me hungry!

[Cool Ranch]

Looks so good, your going to need a nap..thats a good food coma

[Megtheblackbelt]

We did whale watching in Victoria. It was the last stop. True story: the "door" we boarded the boat on had a gate across it. My son was walking by and a baby whale breached right there, splashing him. He thought it was the coolest thing ever!

 

 

That is so incredible! What a lovely memory. We are certainly going to have to give whale watching a go. :)

 

Meg, thank you so much for the great review and the info on the ship tour. Happy that you saved us the money that we would have wasted on that, but also so sad that they don't make it more exciting for the amount of money they are getting for these tours. :mad: I'm sure we will find something else to do with the money that we saved on that tour. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

 

You’re so welcome! Thanks for following along. I wish they would make it more extensive and informative, as well! Maybe I can submit something to RC with feedback. Thank you for the well wishes for the rest of the cruise! :)

 

We are on Allure as well this week. One thing I noticed this trip. All of the ice dispensers (park cafe, wipe out cafe and solarium are “out of service”). We have been using the freestyle machine if we need ice for a cold drink.

 

 

*waves* Hullloooo! We have only ever used the freestyle machine, so this is not something we noticed. Fingers crossed they fix the issue though, because I can see how this would be annoying! D: Hope you have a great rest of your cruise :)

 

 

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[Megtheblackbelt]

Dang girl, you're making me hungry!

 

 

That’s the point of this review! :P

 

Looks so good, your going to need a nap..thats a good food coma

 

 

I wish! I tried, but then we started sailing away and I hadddd to seeeee it. We are super tired, though. OSJ was hot as meatballs today. Blergh.

 

 

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[MzShae]

Enjoying your review. Following