Shrek Takes On Mickey: The Dreamworks Experience Aboard Allure of the Seas 9/18-25

[Wlamas]

What a great TR!!!. I'm dying to see the rest of it!!. And to see your score and final conclusion!.

 

[nenner1]

Somebody stop time right now! It’s

We were up bright and early with no immediate plans this Friday morning. The sun was shining and we were ready to relax! First though, breakfast in the Windjammer. We had great plans to try out all of the great breakfast options on Allure: Johnny Rockets, Park Café, Solarium Bistro…but with kids, let’s face it the best option is still the Windjammer. It was not very busy either, as you can see in the photos. This is prime time- 8:30 AM. Tables were plentiful and access to the buffet stations was wide open.

Ron was in a hurry to get to the advanced stand up surfing session. Prior to the cruise we weren’t really sure what would qualify someone for “advanced” surfing but we have come to conclude that if you can get yourself on the board and maneuver out into the wave without help then you qualify as advanced.

Meanwhile I got the girls off to the clubs, where they were very excited to meet up with their friends. Ron and I were excited to enjoy a little adult R&R.

Some photos of the ship I took on the way to meet up with Ron.

It was a gorgeous day..where the heck was everyone?

Found Brendan, over on the Boogie Board Flowrider:

More empty deck space!

And I found Ron over at the Stand-up Flowrider. Advanced Session was over but most of the participants were still going. Lines are not bad this early in the morning:

I decided to give it a try. Why the heck not, right?

Yeah, it’s harder than it looks!!!

We bought Brendan an arcade card-that’s what he wanted in lieu of the cupcake decorating class the girls took earlier in the week. We sent him off to have fun and headed off to the Solarium! Yay!

Up Next: How To Train Your Pineapples

 

[nenner1]

On the way, we ran into these:

Even the Solarium seems relatively empty, except for the pool:

Gorgeous surroundings! A little warm, but a lovely, tranquil place to finally relax a bit!

After chilling in the Solarium for a while, we decided to head out to one of the main pools to be able to swim a bit. The Solarium pool was a bit too crowded for any actual swimming.

And, of course, there were these.

Pineapple chair hogs. Whattya gonna do, right?

As morning turned to afternoon, we dried off and dressed, collected the kids from their clubs and headed down to Studio B for the How To Train Your Dragon ice show. Arrive extra early for this one, folks. Even though we arrived almost as early as Ice Games, the seats were quite full. There are no reservations for this show.

The stage setup:

I didn’t get many pictures because my new camera doesn’t do dark and movement with no flash very well. But here is a little taste of the show:

It follows the movie plot exactly, so if you’ve seen the movie you know what to expect. It was pretty good though. I loved the part when this guy popped out, totally was not expecting that!

After the show, Ken Rush invited us to walk through the Casino and head straight to the Boardwalk for the Belly Flop contest. We took him up on his offer:

Next: The Hurt Box

 

[nenner1]

We tried to get hot dogs from the Boardwalk Dog House to take to the show, but be aware you are not allowed to bring food into the Aquatheater, and if they see you with it, they will stop you. I did not know this and they did not see my hotdogs so I got through but Ron was surprised when they stopped him and made him eat his hot dog prior to entering the seating area. FYI.

Of course my kids will be in the splash zone! Sarah was pretty cranky and had a mini meltdown waiting for the action to start.

The LCD screen “jumbo-trons” show cute info on it about the contestants:

I really wanted to try out the hurt box!

The belly flop contest was a lot of fun. Not sure if I prefer it in the Aquatheater vs poolside. Seating is more comfortable but it loses something- intimacy maybe?

I do love the walk of fame (shame?): (Video- click picture to play)




And the best part was when the guys threw CD Ken Rush in the pool. LOL. Do they do that every time? He seemed genuinely surprised!

(Video- click picture to play)



Up Next: Cakes and Skates

 

[livingis2me]

Oh if Disney would've just put in a little effort and followed RCL's lead when it comes to the pools.

Do you think we'll find the family pools this empty when we are on the Fantasy this September??? I'm sure we'll have a great cruise either way.

Ron

 

[Cheryl726]

Another great update! It seemed like a great day at sea! I am amazed at the number of empty pool chairs, thinking that you'd never see that many empty chairs on DCL!

 

[iloverags2]

Holy Smokes! Were they serving free drinks the night before or something? (Speaking of drinks, I so love RCI's drink in a pineapple...yumola!)

Very cool you tried out the flowrider. Not sure I would be able to manage that!

Hmmmmm...I never thought about the bellyflop losing it's intimacy at a larger pool, but that certainly makes sense. Guess I will have to sail Allure/Oasis and find out for myself, eh?

 

[PixieMom712]

I am really enjoying your trip report, thanks so much for all the pictures and detail!

We are about to go on our first cruise and I have to admit this seems overwhelming to me and I'm glad we're starting out on the Magic .

I was reading the posts you linked to in post #1 and am going to go back and read between now, so if you've already answered this please disregard. How much were the specialty dinners you haven't quoted? Specifically Chops and the Italian restaurant. Thanks!

 

[kthshh]

Loving your trip report and glad you posted it. My family and I have only done a Carnival cruise, and we enjoyed it very much. We definitely want to do a Disney cruise and possibly a Royal Caribbean one as well. I'm glad you took the time to post this report.

 

[TotallyAngelic]

I was so pleased when I decided to read a trip report over breakfast this morning after a long absence from the trip report boards ... and this is what I found .. another fantastic report from Jen and her lovely family Lets just say it is now 11:30 am and I have achieved nothing remotely purposeful this morning as a result .. but it has been a fabulous start to the day. So interesting to read about the other cruise experiences out there.

 

[sejejoemmiev]

Great trip report! You have convinced us to try a cruise other than Disney! This ship looks Amazing! We have a Fantasy cruise booked for summer 2013, and I think the summer of 2014, we will book the Allure! Our kids will be older and it will be the right time to try something new and exciting! Thank you for your very detailed trip report and pictures. It is a great overview of what to expect!

 

[jenseib]

Another fabulous update. What kind of drink is in the pinapple? It looks so cute.

 

[JKSWonder]

Another fabulous update. What kind of drink is in the pinapple? It looks so cute.

I was wondering the exact same thing!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Still loving this review. I am thinking that maybe the Oasis or the Allure will be our October 2014 cruise (October 2012 will be on the Carnival Dream, October 2013 will be the Disney Fantasy).

Really love all the different areas on board. And you are doing such a wonderful job on this review showing off this amazing ship.

 

[wdwmom2]

nenner1

Just found your TR today. A friend told me about an Allure TR here on the DIS boards and I had to check it out!!!

I thought, nenner1, nenner1, boy that name sounds familiar. Went back to CC to check out my TR on the Allure cruise last March(my user name there is sharod), and there you where. You told me you have/had a Canon S3 also. You said you "rocked" auto. My your S3 RIP. I am sure you miss it.

Looks like you had a great trip. Great pics and commentary!!!

I hope someday to be able to be back on the Allure. She sure is a beautiful ship!!!

 

[lpizzuro123]

Just wanted to chime in here. I am really enjoying this report. I have only gotten through the first 2 pages (shhhh - I'm at work) but I am signing in here to read more.

Thanks for this review.

Linda

 

[Floridagram]

I hate seeing those prices. But Jen convinced me that RCCL Freedom class was the next logical step for us (after falling in love with cruising on the Magic last year!) so we're booked on FOTS for 2013 spring break. Category D1 aft balcony cabin on deck 10 for LESS than an interior stateroom THIS year on the Magic...... I know that DCL is not a charity, and with only 4 ships the price is higher. And I know that they stay full so SOMEONE is willing to pay those prices. Just sad it's not me.....

As far as ships go, I can totally see RCCL winning that battle. I'm more curious now that we've sailed away (notice I say "we" cause I'm living vicariously through you!) about comparing food, and service......

I just found your TR yesterday and I am up to page 29. I really am enjoying it and I am surprised it is not finished.

You have me looking at the Allure for a future trip. I was looking on deck 8, I think I remember you mentioning that deck. The Broadway rooms you mentioned are not available when I was looking. But I was looking at that deck anyway for an ocean balcony. There are a lot of public spaces on that deck. I am assuming that the staterooms are off a hallway like normal. But you know what happens when one assumes so I just wanted to be sure.

 

[hart6066]

Thank you so much for this--we have never been on a cruise before and now we're doing 2 in a row! The Dream is just a 3 night with just DH and kids. The July one is with extended family and to be honest, until I read your report, I was rethinking the one on RCCL. This has me VERY excited!!! I have a few questions if you get a chance:

DD will be 7 and DS will be 10--they will technically be in different club groups--are they very separated or in the same general area? I'm thinking they'd end up doing pretty different things in the clubs anyway (DD will love the acting workshops and crafts, DS will do sports and video games), but for comfort sake, it would be nice if they were near each other.

Did you see many people in real formal wear--tux, etc? DH and I will do 150 Park--he is saying that he wants to bring a tux, but I'm thinking a suit and tie would be better?

Any recommendations for Labadee (sounds like you've been there but not on this cruise)--DH thought we should do water park--is it mostly a beach with a few water activities? Just trying to get a sense.

Thank you so much for this--you should get a commission from RCCL!!! You knew exactly what would be important to someone making this decision--you should think about PR!!!

 

[wdwmom2]

Did you see many people in real formal wear--tux, etc? DH and I will do 150 Park--he is saying that he wants to bring a tux, but I'm thinking a suit and tie would be better?

DH and I were on the Allure of the Seas this time last year. Ohhh how the time goes by sooo fast!!!!

Anyway, most gentlemen wore suits, a few in tuxes, and some in button down shirts and nicer pants. For the ladies, everything from a nice "everyday" dress, to a cocktail dress, to a long gown.

 

[krazoguy]

We have been on one disney cruise and will be going on the Fantasy at the end of April. However, I have been very interested in the Oasis/Allure and we are considering sailing them in 2013. Thanks so much for this trip report. I look forward to the remaining portions!