The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

Figgy1

Premium Member
They were, indeed...!!!!! :)
I loooooves me some crawfish...!!!!! :hungry:
Years ago, my youngest bro was a food expediter at a local Cajun place here in Austin called Pearls Oyster Bar.
They had a crawfish fettuccini dish on the menu there that was amazing, and we would always go when my bro was on shift because he would make sure they put a double amount of crawfish tails in it...it was like a mountain of crawfish tails with some noodles and Alfredo sauce...!!!!! :hilarious:
Bugs and dairy, double NO THANK YOU!
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
Trip Report Part 7:

Port Miami and First Day at Sea.

We woke up kinda early this day, as we prepared for a checkout. Funnily, a group of young guys were also on the same cruise ( found them later in the Allure.. many times, even we were in most of the same tours lol ) and at first we had no idea.
Anyway, after a quick breakfast (we bought some subs from the local subway), we got ready. Packed everything.. and when reviewing the papers.. thats the day I noticed that the trip was different. It was not going out of Fort Lauderdale but from Port Miami.

So we used our Uber app and onwards we went!



The trip with the uber was uneventful. We managed to see the new terminal construction to allow their biggest ships to arrive to Port Miami.
The Norwegian Gateway, along with 2 carnival and 1 RCCL ships were also in the terminal.
The Allure dwarfed them easily.

I'm still annoyed at the need to add the horrible "scrubbers"(third added funnel) to pollute less when they are near US or EURO territories. It looks awful. But thats how corporations greed do all for the sake of save money in the long run.

Anyway, the terminal was completely utterly packed. The gentlemen on the baggage area gave us extra luggage tags as I had only printed 2 sets. They got our bags lined up, gave them a tip and we went on our way to the third floor via a escalator.

There was a world of people waiting. Some were in the EXPRESS lines, others in the old lines, and others in the PRIORITY ( Diamond and higher ranks) line.

We took around an hour waiting until we finally cleared the line and we got processed... and our cards delivered.
Then we had to line up again for the security check up. This was way faster than an airport. As they had like 6-7 individual lines to get in.

Once sorted, we took a photo with the ship's background and we went to board the ship.
The process was pretty straightforward And it was a delight to get finally inside the ship's Promenade.
I then decided to get everyone a small tour of all the ship amenities.

View attachment 351025

Then we went to our room to leave our other bags so we could be a bit more free to roam around.
Then we went to the central park so they seen how pretty it is.. and finally to the top floor so they could enjoy the water stations and the back of the ship.. so they could have a very wide view of all miami and miami beach.

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Panorama of Port Miami and Miami from the back of the Allure of the Seas

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Side view.

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My mom, my niece and my sister looking down at the Aquatheater from the top of the ship (rear area).

What was weird that we ended being the last ship leaving Port Miami.

The first to leave was the Carnival ships, then the Norwegian and finally the Jewel of the Seas.
View attachment 351028

The sun was almost out when we finally started to move. flanked by 2 gunships telling idiots to move away (who the hell goes in an almost suicide run against the Oasis class with a damn jetski?? )
Happened more than once and the gunboats had to sound the alarm a few times... Floridans.. I tell you! crazy!

We then went to get some quick snack at the Cafe Promenade while teaching my sister and her daughter and son about how things work. Food stations, what is free and what is not.. etc..etc..

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Unfortunately, the SailAway "show" party was cancelled for mechanical problems (a common recurrence in the aqua theatre for the rest of the trip).

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So no sailway party other than the local DJ in the top center area of the ship doing some songs while guests enjoyed the views AND the pools.
My mom in the other hand, went to make sure we had our show reservations for Mama mia and others.. Which she successfully did

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After getting ready, we proceeded then to Mama Mia show which was pretty good. Albeit simple compared to the megashow that CATS is.

After the show we went to dinner, which was very good. A surprise considered we were mostly disappointed in the food of the Oasis (funny thing, most of the shows on the Oasis were top notch while the food was average.. in the other hand the Allure had amazing food, but the shows were puzzling and weird or had lower quality than the Oasis's) The Waiters we had some were good, some were horrible as NOBODY could understand them. ( we had some indian waiters that.. really.. could not talk in english to save their lives..). The next day we had indians as well but they spoke PERFECT english. So it was a swing hit and miss depending on the day.


TOMORROW: TRIP REPORT 8, SEA DAY 1


Selfishly, I wish you guys would do a trip report in a separate thread!!! I want to read all about it and always lose posts here 🤣🤣

Impossible to follow along with the fast moving thread lol. I’m going to try to go back and find your posts!
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
@Cesar R M , have you been on NCL? The Anthem or Symphony of the Seas are both ships that T is begging to go on. I have priority check in, priority tenders, and other various perks with NCL, this makes it tough for me to book another line...especially with ships of that size. I’m very interested in hearing about the crowds and wait time for these things. Were they pretty smooth?
 

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
@Cesar R M , have you been on NCL? The Anthem or Symphony of the Seas are both ships that T is begging to go on. I have priority check in, priority tenders, and other various perks with NCL, this makes it tough for me to book another line...especially with ships of that size. I’m very interested in hearing about the crowds and wait time for these things. Were they pretty smooth?


Unfortunately I have no experience with NCL, I only have been with RCCL twice (both in OASIS class) and one with the Disney Wonder.
I'm not a constant cruiser.

As for Oasis.. yeah it gets crowded only on the buffet section AND the shows.

So its better if you reserve everything in advance then its smooth sailing.
Example, reserve dinner in "My Time(tm)", Reserve the shows, and avoid the Buffet and use the other food venues...

Interestingly. I felt the Oasis to have less "crowd" feeling than the Allure. Could have been because of the dates.
I went to the Oasis in late September, And the allure in early January (with record cold temps and snow days..)
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
I have until Friday to make my final decision about our Bermuda cruise. I don’t know why neither of us is overly excited about it.

T wants - Spain, Portugal, the DR, or a cruise, but he says “Bermuda is last choice”. I’ve ruled out the first two due to time (and airfare), we need two weeks which I can’t do right now. I have the cruised booked, but a few more days to back out.
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
Unfortunately I have no experience with NCL, I only have been with RCCL twice (both in OASIS class) and one with the Disney Wonder.
I'm not a constant cruiser.

As for Oasis.. yeah it gets crowded only on the buffet section AND the shows.

So its better if you reserve everything in advance then its smooth sailing.
Example, reserve dinner in "My Time(tm)", Reserve the shows, and avoid the Buffet and use the other food venues...

Interestingly. I felt the Oasis to have less "crowd" feeling than the Allure. Could have been because of the dates.
I went to the Oasis in late September, And the allure in early January (with record cold temps and snow days..)

Thanks for the tips! I can’t wait to see more of the ship!
 

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