Trip Report Mickey-less Lesson #1: Size doesn't matter, it's the motion of the ocean!

Yes, it's a non-Disney trip report. In a sea of Disney trip reports this is a non-Disney report. :eek: How is that pertinent on a Disney-centric fan forum, you ask? Well, this is how a solely Disney Cruise Line experienced cruising family took their first wobbly steps into non-Disney-fied cruising. Ever been curious? So were we! How the competition measures up is definitely pertinent! However, if the mods think this thread is better served in the cruise section or the other places section, I certainly understand. So sit back, relax, and slosh along with us in whatever "port" this thing sails off to.


Thread title:

Mickey-less Lesson #1: Size doesn't matter, it's the motion of the ocean! ((in my best double-rainbow dude voice)) What does it meeeaaan????? The ship we sailed is currently THE largest cruise ship on the seas: Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. This ship is huge! How big? Let me show you. Not my picture, all credit goes to fet123 on Photobucket. Lined up here in Nassau are: Majest of the Seas, Disney Dream, Carnival Dream, the NCL Sky, and Allure's sliiiightly smaller sister ship the Oasis of the Seas. Good size comparison:

1a1f90d2.jpg


Allure of the Seas is 16 decks high, 1,187 ft long, and can carry a maximum passenger load of 6,296 serviced by roughly 2,300 crew members. In comparison, Disney's largest/newest ship in the fleet, the Fantasy is 14 decks high, 1,115.5 ft. long, and can carry a maximum passenger load of 4,000 serviced by a crew of 1,450. The Allure is a very big girl!

Among Disney's fleet my family prefers the smaller classic ships. Why? It's more laid-back, there's less people, and the overall experiences we've had were more personal and intimate if you will. We like that a lot! We knew going into this cruise that we were going to be on the biggest cruise ship afloat and that we probably would not be impressed by her size. We were right. We weren't. For us, bigger does not equate better. Size doesn't matter.

The motion of the ocean can definetly play a strong hand in your cruise experience! Leading up to our cruise I discovered (no thanks to Royal Caribbean which is my biggest aggravation with the entire experience of sailing with them) via Cruise Critic's forums that the Allure had been experiencing an issue with 1 of her 3 azipods. They had been sailing her without using the center screw for over a month before our sailing. She was safe and still functioned fine. They were just trying not to use the center pod as much as possible to avoid further/more extensive damage. So the ship sailed slower. Instead of her usual 22+ knots cruising we rarely exceeded about 16-17 knots cruising. AND, because the ship was sailing at reduced power, the captain did not utilize the stabilizers to keep the ship steady at sea. The stabilizers, like wings that extend from the sides of the ship to add stability and reduce rocking side-to-side, create drag which would slow the ship even more. So, the motion of the ocean on a ship not using her stabilizers was...well...a really FUN ride for us...not so much for those prone to sea sickness. ;)

*****Just for information sake, the Allure continues to run on 2 of her 3 pods. A cruise in February was cancelled back in mid-November to allow a week-long drydock to repair the pod. I believe it is a bering issue. It's my understanding this type of problem has been a reoccuring thing with ships that utilize the different azipods for their propulsion. To date Disney has not utilized the azipod propulsion for their ships.*****


So that nobody feels the need to ask before I get to the end and give my summation of the overall experience sailing without Mickey, I don't feel like it was better or worse than any of the 7 Disney cruises I have been on. I'm not just being nice. It's a whole different experience. I wouldn't categorize it as better or worse, it's different.
 

Laurenciaa

Well-Known Member
Dinner was great. [...] We were supposed to see the dive show, Oceanaria, tonight but it was cancelled due to the high seas. Oh yeah. We were rockin'. Imagine me walking in heels, tipsy, and the ship pitching all over. Well, I was able to pass off a few stumbles to the ship rocking anyway. :hilarious:.

HAHAHA oh god this made me laugh so hard ! Thank you for brightening my study-for-stupid-exams night ! Oh and your family looks just dashing! I'm reading along :) !
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
OMG! Found a couple missed pics from the end of the evening! Ugh!

So on the way back from dinner I stopped in at the very busy Champagne Bar to pick up a cocktail that was not for me. I'm not going to say who it was for. I'll take the 5th on that one. ;) Now technically if I order a beverage that's more than the price limit on my beverage package ($10) I am supposed to be charged the difference in price. What did I order that was more than $10? A double Stoli Elit White Russian. For non-lushes sake, Stolichnaya is a premium Russian vodka. Stolichnaya Elit is (from what I'm being told, don't flame if this is wrong) a higher proof, more smooth alcohol than the standard Stoli. Y'all know I'm not a fan of vodka so whatever. This is a $22.75 cocktail. I was reimbursed. ;)




I did taste a itty sip off the top. Oh heck no! It was pretty much vodka rocks with a splash of cream and Kahlua. Blech!!!

It was nice to get those evil heels off my feet. Ive mentioned it before but I always swell up when we cruise. It's not unique to just me. It's pretty common. I'm sure it didn't help that I was drinking in quantity. I don't talk about it much but I did drink a LOT of bottled water, too. Lots of water. Still, my hooves were screamin' when I finally got those heels off. See?




Lookit the left side of my foot. Ouch!




K! I can move on to Day 3 now! ;)
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
HAHAHA oh god this made me laugh so hard ! Thank you for brightening my study-for-stupid-exams night ! Oh and your family looks just dashing! I'm reading along :) !
Oh I'm so glad you laughed. I was laughing the whooooole time, believe me. Having a large teenage young man to lean on helps, too. And husband. I don't think I leaned on any other random men. That's a good thing. LOL! Thanks for the compliments! I think my fellas are handsome devils but I may be slightly biased! :D
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 3: I like to Move It, Move It all day at sea!

Tracey woke up at 7:00 a.m. and left me alone. He went to breakfast at Windjammer while I slept until 8:00. Woot! I love this man when he doesn't talk to me in the morning while I'm still sleeping. I got dressed and we got moving.

I love these little plates in the floors of the elevators. They tell you what day it is. Seems silly but it's really easy to lose track of what day it is when you're on a cruise. Today is Tuesday, apparently.




We sat in some empty seats in the not-open Champagne Bar for me to mix up my breakfast shake. Yes, I bring my breakfast shake powder packets from home for mornings when I just don't feel like eating. At least I'm getting my nutrition, right?

The light fixture her is neat, like bubbles settling from above.





I love looking at these things but I wouldn't want to have one. Could you imagine having to clean that?

These giant wing-backs are really elegant.




When I had finished we dropped my shaker tumbler back at the room then set off wandering. I was scouting my spot for the "Move It, Move It" Dreamworks parade that was coming up in a few hours. I had read a little online in other Allure trip reports and tried to use the points of reference I'd seen in the pictures to nail down my spot.

The parade takes place in the Royal Promenade.




Up above some of the shops and other venues they had these inflatable "set pieces" to set the tone for the parade festivities. These are the monkeys from Madagascar.




Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon. Or in my house it's referred to as "Jalapeño Dragon".




This is a mini stage. This must mean this is a spot where something is gonna happen.




Sorrentos is a walk-up pizza place on the Promenade. The food is all-inclusive. No upcharge. To the left you can see the spot where the Coke Freestyle machines are situated. They take the restaurant chairs and line them up outside for parade-goers to have a place to sit. Nice.




We sat opposite Sorrentos in front of the Bow & Stern pub. This cool paper menu that was set out on the table came home with me.




I totally regret not going back here to partake of their beverage offerings. Seriously.




Look at this beer list! I LOOOOOVE beer!!!!! I even have a tshirt that says "Real Women Drink Beer". Yes. Yes, they do!




I totally enjoyed the beer quotes.




Playin' with my camera. @fractal, I really like the dimension in this one.




I enjoy the perspective of starting low and angling up.




Such a rich, well-themed pub.

 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I snapped all those pictures from a high table in front of the Bow & Stern then realized that the parade wasn't an hour off. It was 2 hours off. Oi. :facepalm: I haven't even had any drinky-drinks yet. So we opted to do a little more walking then return.

This is the cantilevered hot tub that was previously empty. Now it's full. Still closed until the chemicals are correct but here ya go. These hot tubs are leaned out over the side of the ship so when you sit there you feel like you're floating high above the ocean below.





Still feelin' a little artsy.




We returned to the Bow & Stern but another family had snagged our high table we had before. No problem. There were still plenty of seats nearby so we plopped down for the wait. The waitress from the pub came out to see if we'd like to order a drink. Honestly, I was still feelin' slightly off from last night but then I also had a taste for something savory but not heavy. I've never had a Bloody Mary before but I've wanted to try one. That's a standard morning drink, right? Technically it's still morning. Why not?




Looked pretty good, huh? So I took a sip and it was all sweet-n-strawberry. :confused: Totally the opposite of what I expected. Were my tastebuds off from all the drinking yesterday and last night? What the heck??? So I sipped again. :confused: And again. :confused: Was I losing my mind??? Wasn't this supposed to be tomato-y??? It tasted of strawberries. Sweet and strawberries. :grumpy: I guess I looked rather confused because Tracey asked me what was wrong. I told him. He sipped the drink. Oh no, that's not a Bloody Mary. The waitress returned and I politely explained that I think someone put strawberry puree in her Mary mix jug. She took the drink and returned with a new one. Indeed, someone had put the wrong red puree into the Mary mix jug. This one was much better. Tangy and savory. Light but not watery. I couldn't taste the alcohol at all.




Rachel came along while we were waiting and joined us. Yay! It wasn't long and things started happening. Out on the Promenade there's a perch that extends from that globe prop that's over the top of the Bow & Stern. Here it is opening up.





The top of the directional signage in front of the pub does double duty as a support for this retractable stage. Smooth!




And then there were guys riding mini-bicycles.




Characters started! Here's Astrid & Stoick the Vast (aka Hiccup's Dad) from How to Train Your Dragon!




I loved Stoick the Vast but I may be biased to the ginger factor.




Dang! Over on the other side they were getting Gobber the Belch (Hiccup's dragon-slayer instructor). I wanted a pic of Gobber, too!!!




These reminded me of the jellyfish puppets in the Finding Nemo show at Animal Kingdom.





Is this supposed to be Fiona's mom from the Shrek movies? She's moving by as the Shrek characters are getting started, I think.




Pinnochio from Shrek was gettin' down up on the mini-stage above. I couldn't get a clear shot to save my life. I admit I *may* or *may not* have been freaking out.




Over there was Red Riding Hood's granny.




Pinnoch! Throw a girl a bone!

 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I can see how that wide, tall space down the middle of the ship could really alter your perception of where you are. Intriguing..
I had read before the cruise where even some Royal Caribbean fans dislike the Oasis class ships because they feel a disconnect from the sea. I thought on that quite a bit before, during, and after the cruise. I definitely can see that. If we hadn't had an oceanview verandah room we prob'ly could've easily gone a full day at some point without ever actually seeing the ocean. There's so much situated towards the inside that it doesn't always feel like you're on a cruise ship. Frequently you feel more like you're at a very nice resort.
 

Laurenciaa

Well-Known Member
Day 3: I like to Move It, Move It all day at sea!

[...]
I love these little plates in the floors of the elevators. They tell you what day it is. Seems silly but it's really easy to lose track of what day it is when you're on a cruise. Today is Tuesday, apparently.








Those plates on the floor are genius! Poor guy who has to change them every night at midnight ;) ! Ahha Belgium, (fairly) well presented I may say ! Stella Artois for the win ! :cool:
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
OHOHOH!!! I totally was freakin' out now!!!! I loooooove the Penguins of Madagascar!!!! That show is da shizz and I don't even CARE that it's NOT Disney!!!






Then the penguins lined up and did a choreographed dance. Bring it, boys!!!




I'll admit it, I was losing my mind at the awesome-sauce.




I don't think I ever got a shot of Hiccup but at least you can actually see this is Gobber.




The big Chinese dragon was really cool.




Oh yes! It's PO from Kung Fu Panda!




The Furious 5 were represented with these big circles that are part of these costumes.




Madagascar time! Alex.




King Julien!!!! He's our dude! It's more fun when you put your arms up like THIS!!!





You know I was having a total kitten over not getting a better shot of King Julien! Dangit! The frustration didn't last because..... THERE'S GLORIA!!!!!




Shrek & Fiona made their appearance, too.




They also had a choreographed dance for us. This camera guy filming the festivities for the in-room tv viewing was driving me nuts. I wanted to run up & kick him in the butt.






Sad face for not scoring a better shot of Puuuuuss..... ....in Boooooots....




Short-lived. Here comes the boys again!

 

fractal

Well-Known Member
Holy Moly, another trip??

Great title!


First I'm liking that you got the premium booze package - and loving your detailed comparisons between DCL and RC! That will come in handy for me someday. Central Park looks amazing - hard to believe you are on a boat. Your pictures are great - nice job! Love the ones from the fancy dinner and the ocean.

Question - is the "skinny mirror" located next to the ice-cream palor?

Roll out stage is super cool. keep it coming!
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Gloria!




Pinnochio! You heard my yearning! You can also see Red Riding Hood's granny back there, too.




Two of the Three Little Pigs from Shrek.





Puss! <---laugh it up. There aren't many times in life I go around shouting that word/name. :hilarious:




Gloria gettin' back around.




Confetti explosions. Cheering. Done.




I really, really loved the Move It, Move It Dreamworks character parade! It was so festive and fun. I saw characters I'd not seen before. There was dancing, high energy, and fun fun FUN. I loved it!

We were ready for lunch so we headed up to Park Cafe for some lunch. Gots ta have me some salad my way!




I also tried one of the pre-made wrap sandwiches. It was alright but the carved beef sandwich and 3-cheese panini was better.

Glass elevator ridin'. Here's lookin' at the Royal Promenade. Do you see that round kiosk in the center near the edge of the balcony there? Do you KNOW what that IS???




I don't think I'm ready to say yet. I gotta save some surprises for y'all.

On the Disney trips Tracey enjoys walking the circumference of the ship on the deck 4 open air decks. I knew the Allure had an open air jogging track. Time to go look!

You don't have to have drinky-drinks in you to find these names on the lifeboats giggle-worthy. The 12 yro in you requires you to chuckle. Go ahead. You know you want to.




We can see inside the lifeboats. How cool is that?




The ship's rocking wasn't as bad as yesterday but it's still pretty feel-able because we can't use the stabilizers. We didn't mind.




I love the directional arrows and the Notice Reduce Speed sign.




Water fountains and a stretch zone. See the sign???




There's nothing like the happy of being out on the sea.





I was trying to get a shot of the distance signage for my runner friends out there. Tracey had to bomb me.




Sorry. Here ya go.




Starting Line.




Walking to the right, jogging to the left. Also note the signs above the track. I love the wit infused in such a simple way.

 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Holy Moly, another trip??

Great title!


First I'm liking that you got the premium booze package - and loving your detailed comparisons between DCL and RC! That will come in handy for me someday. Central Park looks amazing - hard to believe you are on a boat. Your pictures are great - nice job! Love the ones from the fancy dinner and the ocean.

Question - is the "skinny mirror" located next to the ice-cream palor?

Roll out stage is super cool. keep it coming!

I know. I felt the same way. Another trip. :in pain: Seriously. People say all the time that if they won the lottery they'd go on vacation for months and months. You never think of vacation as something you'd get tired of or that traveling will eventually not be so awesome. If you go enough you start craving home and your own bed. Definitely plan to pull back more this year. Not planning another year with 5, yes 5, cruises. We did the math. Do you know last year I spent 33 nights on cruise ship. 33 nights. That's over a month of my 2013 on a ship. I'm sure people are like "Oh how rough is YOUR life?!" It's not. But a month out of the year IS too much. There is such thing as too much. :cyclops:

I started cookin' up my title before I ever left on the cruise! It works! It's catchy and ironic. Perfect. It's me.

Oh yes, the premium booze package was well worth the $770 even if we didn't quite drink the full dollar value. The convenience had value. I really don't know if we drank $770 worth. I suspect we did which is sorta embarrassing. How old are we?!?! By the time the cruise ended both of our stomachs and other little health issues had reared the effects of the volume of drinking. ((pause)) Okay, that's frickin' funny as all hell! :hilarious::hilarious:

The funhouse mirrors are located near the ice cream shop and the Dog House down on the Boardwalk. The Dog House is kinda across from the ice cream place. They face each other. Between where the doors to the interior of the ship are and where these first venues are located is empty wall space where the mirrors are situated. I hope that makes sense.
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
5 Minute Idling Law as stated by the Department of Fitness. Schat Harding. Giggle.




Keep your pace and here's your time. Good form, Royal. Thank you.




Here we go. Back 'round again.




Slow cross traffic ahead? Interesting.




The finish line's just past the bend. Encouragement!




I-6? I dunno. If I go straight when the jogging track turns I'm thinking I'll end up in the drink. I'm not the best with direction, tho.




Good thing we decided to not keep going straight.




Okay. U-turn and go up the stairs to the Boardwalk and Aqua Theater. Okay.




Wow. Just wow. This is a ship, people. A ship. Think about that. A city on the ocean that moves.




Guess what's on the Boardwalk? Ice cream!



The Ogre looked interesting, huh?

They were getting ready to have the World's Sexiest Man contest in the Aqua Theater. I looked over at Tracey and had a little giggle at the signage with my man right here. Yes, ma'am! That's MY man! World's Sexiest!!!




As much as I wanted to stick around for the World's Sexiest Man contest (as if I didn't already KNOW who the World's Sexiest Man is, right?) the serious nap that was coming on felt like the better option. The show was recorded and was televised on the ship's television programming later in the cruise. I'm almost sorry I missed it. Heck, I'm sorry I wasn't one of the lady judges on the stage! My absolute favorite was the elderly lady they had who definitely didn't miss the opportunity to smack a man-bottom or touch her some abs and pecs. She was the BEST! That's the grandma I want to be someday! THAT cool!

On the way back to the room I stopped by the Cupcake Cupboard and picked up a very interesting-looking "Manly Feast" cupcake to-go for later.
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We had a lovely nap, showered, and I redid my hair. We had a 5:15 pm rescheduled reservation to catch Oceanaria tonight!




We arrived early and got decent seats NOT in the splash zone. Mom & Dad kept trying to suggest splash zone seats so they could laugh at family members getting splashed later. Oh no. I read trip reports, y'all. I know better. But thanks! ;)

The sunset and the skies were really pretty but the seas were still really rollin' us.




Just before showtime an obvious man dressed as a tacky-tourist lady started making her/his boisterous way thru the aisles.




Then this over-dressed costumed cast fellow came out to blow his whistle a lot and boss the he/she tacky lady around a bit. It was very slapstick and fun.




They worked the crowd. It was fun!




The show started and while I really did want to take more pics it was getting harder and harder because I'm not that adept at the manual settings on my camera. I need to speed up the shutter speed but the light was low and getting steadily darker. I wouldn't dream of using a flash. What if I blinded one of the acrobats in the show and they got hurt because of me???





Oceanaria is a Cirque-like show that involves music, dance, acrobatics, theater, and high diving. Let's think about that. High diving. From dive towers waaaaaay up in the air. Actual people climb up to the tippy top and dive off into small but deep pools. Not my picture but a good illustration of what we're talking about here. See the dive platforms at the tops of the spires??? Now look at the stage/pool surface.

Allure-of-the-Seas-9757.JPG



PLUS, the ship is moving! Those divers are aiming for a moving target! AND, the ship was pitching tonight so that catch pool was like a wave pool with water sloshing over the sides back and forth. It. was. insane. It was an incredible show. Beautiful choreographed. Amazingly scored. Not long into the show I had to settle myself down because I got dizzy from all the gasping. I'm not exaggerating. The skill of the performers was very evident because each time someone broke the surface of the water from a dive they had it timed so the water was sloshed up on their side.

The stage within the pool raises and lowers in sections as needed. It happens fast, too, because there'd be diving then within moments someone would be skipping and flipping across the pool surface on the stage. Incredible. Words do it no justice. If you're sufficiently curious, go search Allure Oceanaria on YouTube.

I chanced the flash possibly going off and snap pics during the intros and bows after the show because I wouldn't be endangering anyone. All of these performers were divers and tumblers.





The men in the center here, I think, were the high divers.




These ladies danced and were acrobats.




Raising up in the pool center are the rescue divers who are on standby throughout the show. I love that these guys were given their well-deserved acknowledgement.


 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Because of the Oceanaria reschedule from last night we kinda had a busy evening tonight. Our original show reservation tonight was to see Chicago. Yep, you read that right. Chicago. As in, the Broadway musical brought onboard a cruise ship. Chicago. I was giddy!

So, between shows we ran back to the room to do a quick change into our dinner clothes. Then, we hurried back down to the Amber Theater to get in as soon as the doors open to score good seats. Here's a tip: if you aren't the type to show up early for a show to get good seats you prob'ly want to travel with us. ;) We do. Seat saving is technically against the rules and past a certain point of filling within the theater I wouldn't do it. But, Tracey will get there early and snag good seats. Always. And I make sure he gets there because he's a miserable pooper-head if he doesn't make it and has to settle for lesser seats. ;)

Headin' for the Amber Theater:




As if I'd forget what show we were seeing.




While we waited for the show to start I tried snappin' a selfie of me, Chandler, & Ellen but failed miserably. LOL!




Got it!




Another good thing about getting to the theater early is the bar servers making their rounds all want to jump thru hoops for you because you're of the few people there. Yes, sir! So we had drinks, yes PLURAL, before the show because we could and because there was time.




I didn't take pics during the show and refrained from photography like a good girl. I'm actually glad I could take the entirety of the show in because it was mind-boggling amazing. I was captivated. I've never seen the movie, never seen the show, so I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about the show. I had no voids in the story. I could totally follow without any problems. I definitely understand why there's a disclaimer that this is a show parents should consider the content before bringing their younger children. Our boys attended and the content was fine. We homeschool but we don't live under a rock. :cat: If you're curious, again, go look it up on YouTube.

Here's what I wrote in my notes. I like sharing my initial thoughts because they aren't at all muddled:

Watched Chicago. Really excellent show. Loved the band and singing w/dancing. Talent was truly very strong. Totally loved the show beginning to end. So glad we saw it.

Afterwards I did mull over this show in my mind and made some mental comparisons with the quality/scale/scope of the productions we've seen on the Disney ships. Trust me, those shows can be captivating. It's hard to compare, though, because you have a show that's more adult in content vs. family friendly. I think the comparisons are easily tainted by the season of life you're in. If I had younger children I'd say Disney shows. As a gal with older teens, I was much more impressed by Chicago on the Allure than I've ever been with any other cruise ship production. It was that good, people. But, this is also just my opinion. I don't think Tracey thought it was as good.

Here's the band as everyone is leaving.




We returned to our room to freshen-up. I couldnt resist eating my "Manly Feast" cupcake. I was soooo hungry!




This cupcake was my favorite of the cruise. Unfortunately, I never saw it again the whole cruise. :bawling: It was a moist, not overly sweet cake with a fluffy, creamy, perfectly composed cream cheese frosting, topped with bits of bacon. Yep. Bacon. I was so interested to try it because I've never had a cupcake with bacon on it. The tastes compliment perfectly into a medly of flavors that are truly captivating. Solid 2 thumbs up. If only I'd have seen these again during the cruise! :bawling::bawling:
 

Ariel484

Well-Known Member
OMG...the thought of that high-dive show terrifies me. :hungover: I was a diver in high school and college and I just cannot watch others do it. I even get nervous watching the Olympic divers sometimes. I would not have been able to handle that show on the ship!

Very cool that you got to see Chicago! I totally think you're right about "stage of life" having a big impact on the type of entertainment one would like on the ships. Great job on the selfie! :p

ALSO...BACON CUPCAKE! They have some sort of chocolate bacon thing at the Boardwalk Bakery that I am dying to try. Bacon = GOOD!
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
When the comparisons start flying between the Disney ships and and Royal Caribbean the subject of upcharge restaurants is often thrown in the mix. Yes, Royal has more upcharge venues onboard than Disney does. Especially with the massive Oasis class girls, there's many of these upcharge venues to choose from. You're always welcome to go the main dining room just like on Disney and not pay extra to eat. The menus in the Adagio rotate and change so it's not like you have to eat the same thing every night for a week. Windjammer, the buffet, is also a full buffet for dinner. The walk-ups like Sorrentos and the Dog House are open. So is Jonnny Rockets. Between all these places you have the luxury of many choices, enough choices to fill many cruises. This is something I really did look forward to on the Allure. Back in September on the Fantasy Tracey and I didn't feel like dressing for dinner. Our choices were then limited to Palo, Remy, modified Cabanas into a light table service, the walk-up windows, and room service. It didn't take us long to exhaust the options we didn't have to dress for. Towards the end of the cruise I did find myself wishing for something different than what was there.

On our Allure cruise we knew we'd never experience all the dining options. There's way too many. We chose a few to try, made a few upcharge reservations, and decided we'd be sure to live on-the-fly, too, since that's something that holds a certain amount of value. Tonight's dinner was at the upcharge steak restaurant called Chops Grill at 9:00.




Another thing I love is that before a certain time of evening smaller children have the opportunity to eat in some of these restaurants. I love that Disney keeps a few venues elegant and sophisticated, designated special for Mom's & Dad's to get away from little ones. But, as a mom, I also see a value in bringing your children to various restaurants to teach them how to behave. Not all parents handle this as they should. Helicopter parents wear on my last nerve. Trust me. ;) I knew my kids' boundaries as they were growing up. I took them to restaurants and they learned how to behave themselves in those settings. Older kids are welcome to dine at the upcharge restaurants on Allure anytime. This was wonderful. The boys could experience it with us. We enjoyed that!

Chandler and I both concur. We think Chops Grill's charge is $30 pp + additional tip as warranted.

The meal started strong. I was really looking forward to this. And I was still starving. The appetizer menu:




Steaks.




We were brought breads with spreads and the drinks never got more than half empty before a new one appeared. The service was killin' it tonight.

This is my appetizer, the goat cheese soufle which was absolutely as amazing as I thought it'd be.




Tracey had the shrimp cocktail for an appetizer.




And this was the end of my awesome dinner experience. It was like a swan dive of sorts. There was a solid hour between appetizers and entrées. Solid HOUR. Nevermind the kids getting restless. I was restless. I had ordered the porterhouse on the advice of our server. I told him I liked a tasty, tender steak. I ordered my steak medium. It arrived charred.




There was no pink to be found inside. I ate a little of it hoping to find the pink inside but it never happened. What I did eat was very tough. After maybe 4 bites I lost what was left of my appetite after an HOUR of waiting and shoved my plate back. A manager came over quickly and was deeply concerned. She repeatedly offered, even tried to insist, on getting me another steak but I refused. First, I don't want a spit steak. ;) Second, I wasn't that into it at this point. I didn't want a steak anymore. Our waiter came over and tried to talk me into a replacement, too. He was very aplogetic and all. In the moment I was over the steak so it was better just to be left alone. The others all seemed to love their steaks, though.

When the others had finished the dessert menus came out. This looked promising.





Leading up to the desserts I would've said don't waste your time on Chops Grill. The desserts, however, are worth the price of admission all on their own. The desserts were fabulous beyond compare.

I had the red velvet cake and a coffee.




Both were perfect in every way.

Tracey had the interpretation of Mississippi Mud which he let me try. It was also amazing.




This is the passionberry duo that I think Rachel had.




I didn't try it so I can't comment. She seemed to love it, though.

In retrospect Tracey says he saw a lot of fussing from the servers with the kitchen staff before our food came out. He thinks they sent me the wrong steak. It also appeared the kitchen staff were messing up a lot of things because Tracey paid attention and saw a lot of things going back. Who knows? I know what I ordered and I know what I got. I wouldn't go into Chops Grill assuming the steaks will be wonderful but the appetizers, desserts, and service were good enough.

On our way back to our room we stopped off at the Trelis Bar for more bottles of water.




We were washed-up and in bed for midnight. The ship movement had eased. I sure hoped it didn't ease up too much. I liked all the rocking. :D

I'll leave you with my final snippet from my notes for today:

Think I did good on the beverage package today. At least 6 cocktails plus 4 or 5 bottles of water for today.

 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
OMG...the thought of that high-dive show terrifies me. :hungover: I was a diver in high school and college and I just cannot watch others do it. I even get nervous watching the Olympic divers sometimes. I would not have been able to handle that show on the ship!

Very cool that you got to see Chicago! I totally think you're right about "stage of life" having a big impact on the type of entertainment one would like on the ships. Great job on the selfie! :p

ALSO...BACON CUPCAKE! They have some sort of chocolate bacon thing at the Boardwalk Bakery that I am dying to try. Bacon = GOOD!

Yeah, those divers were freakin' me out! I was watchin' the show and felt my head spin around and I knew I'd been gasping. Too much oxygen. LOL!

When trying to compare, contrast, and consider why I feel the way I do about the differences between the cruises I am aware that the seasons of life is a driving factor in my impressions. I'm only human. By being aware and acknowledging this I like to think I'm being more objective than someone else who may come along and say "Chicago rocked! It was so much better than a kiddie show!" It's not that simple.

I know! How do you make a tasty cupcake better?! Add bacon! Bacon is good. Adding bacon to anything is original yummy + bacon good. You can't go wrong. Total win/win. :p
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 4: Some people search their whole lives. I walk up and there's the message in the bottle.

Today is our first port day! I'm ready!

Our original port times were a bit longer than what we'd actually have today. Remember me mentioning Royal Caribbean's total LACK of communication of the propulsion problem that was impacting the ship's performance??? I was seriously miffed over this because the propulsion problems made the ship sail slower. If the ship sailed slower it wasn't making it to the scheduled ports at the times on the original itinerary. We originally had booked a private sailboat charter for the entire day for our family of 4 plus Rachel & Ellen. Excluding how much Rachel & Ellen would be contributing, our out of pocket alone was about $900 for this. For 6 hours on the water I was pleased with the value for the dollar. For 4 hours or less on the water, I wasn't spending $900. Royal NEVER said ANYTHING to us. They didn't say anything to any cruisers going on the Eastern routes after the problem surfaced. Several sailings got word the night of embarkation day that their port times were being reduced in Nassau and St. Thomas. If passengers called the cruise line or emailed to ask directly they were told there was no problem, they had nothing to worry about. Yet Eastern cruisers on the Allure continued to return from their vacations posting on Cruise Critic how their port times were shortened and they had no communication prior to sailing. It felt very underhanded to me. This is info your guests NEED to plan their port days. On a day when the port passenger load for all cruise ships due into St. Thomas was 22,000 people, I NEEDED to make arrangements for my family to go do something away from the masses of cruisers who'd be flooding the island.

I've not been in a similar situation with Disney so I really can't say whether or not they'd handle this sort of thing any better or differently. I know that Royal knew early on that the problem was a bering issue with the pod and they know full-well that's a problem that has to go to drydock to fix. I understand the shipyards that can even accommodate these massive ships are limited. They KNEW they'd still be under reduced power. Change the itinerary on the online planning website. Send me an email. Hell, they sent me dozens of emails suggesting I book all sorts of shows, excursions, dining, etc. Why no email to let me know there'd be a few changes???? Communication people!

End rant. Sorry.

We were up at 8:00 and off to breakfast at Johnny Rockets at 9:00

What a beautiful day to be on-island!




Zoomed. We weren't that close yet.










Oh man! So Disney's ships are unique in that they have guest laundry facilities available to keep your clothes washed up. Y'all know me and my laundry. Well, apparently, this is not standard for the industry. Royal has no guest laundry. You have to send you laundry out for the paid service. Well, that can get pricey. o_O Except on the days when they offer the laundry special. As much as you can manage to fit in one of their little paper laundry bags washed, dried, folded, and returned the next day for $25 flat.

@Disneyfalcon, my toes slaved over the laundry on the Allure! :p




I packed that bag solid, y'all. It was like a huge concrete brick it was packed so tight. I rolled everything super tight and Tetris'd it in there. This was all but 1 outfit for all 4 of us from the past 3 days. Oh, minus my Lilly outfit I wore on Day 1 because I do not launder anything Lilly. ;)

We headed out to the Boardwalk to hit up Johnny Rockets for breakfast. The boys had breakfast here the day before. In fact, they'd been visiting Johnny Rockets alot and had made buddies with several of the crew. :happy: While we waited for a seat I took some pics of Rita's Cantina.






I like the guy sitting on the roof to the right of the sign in the sombrero. Nice touch.

Little brothers rock, don't they Chandler. With a real rock, right?




It was a busy Johnny Rockets morning so we took seats at the counter. No problem. Hey! Stella on tap? I'm IN!




Are we having fun yet?




The breakfast menu.




Make-up-less selfie with my boys. Yeah, I'm going there without my make-up. I'm human, y'all. Oh! @Tiggerish! Here's Brian's new creepy-face.




Here's my breakfast. I had an omelet with sausage, potatos, and toast.




I love the posters/artwork in Johnny Rockets. Very cool stuff.





Solid 2 thumbs-up for Johnny Rockets breakfast. Breakfast is NOT an upcharge meal here, either. We'll defnitely be back!
 

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