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

[nenner1]

....well well well.

And I am coming with apologies again. Its been a wild few weeks. First and foremost I've been sick again. Nothing serious, just can't seem to get feeling well for more than a week before I catch something else. But I'm starting to feel a little better! So sorry for leaving you all hanging. Again!

We've also had dance competitions, conventions, and showcase, been out of town for a weekend, and sewn a few costumes on short notice. So, that's what I've been up to!

Anyway there is still so much to see from Allure! Now where did we leave off......?

PS- I know I'm behind on the comments too. I'm being summoned out to the pool so my intention is to pop back in later and get to those as well!

 

[nenner1]

The next activity we decided to attack this lovely sea day afternoon were the rock climbing walls. Allure has not one, but two rock climbing walls, positioned on the Boardwalk facing aft outside of the Aquatheater.

We weren’t quite sure if you could reach them from Deck 7 or not (I think you can), so we just headed down to the Boardwalk and entered from a staircase there. I watched Sarah play on her “other place”, the little playground outside of Rita’s Cantina.

Savannah was the first on the wall, and she was up and down so fast I didn’t even get a picture of her. Her verdict: Much harder than the rock wall on Independence OTS.

Brendan made it just over halfway up!

Ron did the best of the family, though I think he thought this wall was also harder.

Hello, gorgeous day!

On the way back out through the Boardwalk, we encountered the Family Festival. Big games of all sorts (checkers, dominoes, etc.) are all spread out along the Boardwalk for families to engage in:

The Allure of the Seas Steel Drum band!

 

[nenner1]

Our next stop after working up an appetite: afternoon snack! Can you believe it’s Friday already and with the exception of the decorating class, we had not been to Cupcake Cupboard yet? Blasphemy!

All of us with the exception of Ron chose a cupcake. Brendan selected the last S’mores, Savannah chose Oreo, Sarah liked Vanilla Vanilla probably based on the sprinkles alone, and for some reason Coconut was calling my name that day. Being a bona fide chocoholic that is odd, but I’ll tell you if there had been another S’mores I’d have probably chosen that!
The large cupcakes cost $2.75 each and in my opinion are worth every penny!!! They do have a buy 6 get one free program, and when I asked about it, I was told just to bring the receipt back with me when we bought the additional 2 cupcakes to make the 6, sadly…we never made it back!

Here is some video of the selection that day: (click to play)



Some of the more interesting selections:

We took our box of cupcakes back up to the rooms to change clothes for an ice skating session!

Sarah shows off her Vanilla Vanilla cupcake:

The others, clockwise from upper left: Oreo, S’mores, Coconut.

I had read advice here to let the cupcakes sit at room temperature a while to let them thaw and become soft prior to eating, but was so craving it, I thought I’d take just a taste. I was delighted to discover the cupcake was not cold, hard or crumbly. It was soft, rich, decadent buttercream icing, rich coconut flavor. Yeah, I ate it all right then. Oink.

We didn’t have too long before we needed to get ready for dinner, but thought we’d have time to sneak in a quick ice skating session down in Studio B. One huge tip I have for those of you wanting to ice skate: don’t think you will just show up for the time of the session and think you will go right out on the ice. Each session is only for 50 people, and even though we arrived at about 5:05 for the 5:20 session, it was already full. So our only option was to wait 45 minutes for the 5:50 session. Keep this in mind if your schedule is tight. We had totally forgotten it had been this way on Independence as well. So my advice is if you have a certain ice skating session time in mind, arrive prior to one full session before yours to ensure you can get in the time you want (45 minutes to one hour early). You can stop in and sign up for the session early and then come back when the session is about to start. I strongly recommend this. Ice skating sessions are quite limited on Allure.

We signed up for the next available session (5:50 PM), and headed up to Café Promenade for a snack.

Ham & Cheese Croissant and Lemon Poppy Seed pound cake…mmmm!

Kung Fu panda also happened to be out, so we got in his line. Unfortunately I had the camera on a funky setting and didn’t realize it so the pictures didn’t come out great:

As the sign says you need FULL long pants (nope, capris don’t count ladies) and socks to ice skate. Skates, helmets are provided as well as knee/elbow pads upon request.

Initially we were all going to skate, I got my skates from the counter, set them down and then helped Sarah get hers on, but as I did so, somebody took my skates! Yeah I could have gone and checked out another pair but I decided I’d just take the pictures and video instead.

The skates on Allure are lace-up. On independence they had pressure buckles, which were much easier to put on.

Yes they even have teeny tiny sizes! Sarah’s ready to give it a try!

She did struggle a bit, and had a complete tantrum when Ron brought her back off the ice:

I WANT TO DO IT MYSELF!!!!!!

Ok, ok…

Everybody had fun!!!

Up Next: the things you haven't seen yet (Rock Lobster, Allure Glass Cleaning, and Disco Balls- Plus Blue Planet!)

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Looks like a blast!!!! Do you know how late you can ice skate?

 

[jenseib]

I love the tantrum about skating.
I can't believe someone took you skates!

 

[anewmac]

Omg the cup cakes.. im stuck on those right now cuz im planning a bake sale to do a fundraiser for my walk and they are giving me some great ideas!!!

How fun to say you ice skated in the middle of the carribean LOL. Rock wall does look fun too!

 

[Misskitty3]

Actual video of the cupcake selections = Best trip report ever!! You know exactly what we all want to see!!

 

[Jillpie]

I found this TR at midnight last night, and do you know, I stayed up till 3:00 AM reading it!!!!! FABULOUS, in every sense of the word. I'm not kidding you, in the 10 years I have been on these boards, it is the BEST report I've read. And I've read some really fantastic ones. And by 3:00 am, I hadn't even finished it, I did that tonite, couldn't wait to get back to it!! The pictures are all just phenomenal. You are a really awesome story teller.

So are you going on another cruise any time soon? This makes me really want to try RC badly. This should be forwarded to their marketing dept, they'd hire you! can't wait for the next installment and will hate to see it end.

 

[nenner1]

Having fun reading your TR..

Awesome! Glad you are enjoying it!

Giovanni's looks really good. Mike and I also tend to order the same things in restaurant. I don't know if that's because we have been together for so long or because we are the most boring couple ever!

Little Sarah asleep sitting up on the couch is adorable.

Ha ha, I think the same must be true about us. Bpth statements fit, LOL!

Fantastic update! Giovanni's sounds wonderful (and how awesome you had a much better table and much better server for this dinner). And how cool is that cat walk? Good eye in spotting that!

Yes, it was a fantastic dinner! And the catwalk was neat, never saw anybody else up there.

What a bummer about the karaoke. Keeping my fingers crossed there was at least one other chance to squeeze that in for the kiddos!

Aww, nope, there wasn’t. There just wasn’t any kids/family karaoke-or if there was earlier in the cruise, we just missed it. Plenty of adult Karaoke (every night) but I am NOT a singer! LOL!

That food looks great! I am now officially starving.

Hope you’ve had something to eat by now. LOL! It was fantastic food- especially that Tiramisu! Mmmm!

Giovanni's looks great, except for all the close tables. Seems like the menu is alot like Palo's, with a more comfortable atmosphere. Glad you enjoyed it!

Yep, it was a lot like Palo, just more casual and a lot more dark. The menu was very similar and I ate pretty much the exact same thing I get in Palo too!

This is a fantastic TR!! How fun to see all the great things you got to experience on your cruise!

Thanks so much! Glad you are enjoying it!!

I'm looking forward to reading it!

I've seen Tinkerbelltwins over on the Turnkey Cruise thread. I'll have to say hi to her.

Yes, she’s a dear! Very nice family!

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

Well, I stopped keeping score but Shrek does win- on ship alone. It’s just a marvel. Still lots of good stuff to come though!

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

Yep, well….I’m sure we’ll make do!

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

Ha! Uh. No!

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!

Nope. I thought maybe it was a fluke- maybe we missed something really good going on that day. But no…(spoiler alert!) the next day was just as empty on deck!

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!)

Ha! Definietly not, as we wouldn’t have missed FREE DRINKS! LOL! Yeah, it is still a mystery where those thousands of people were.

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

Well, I’m glad to be able to say I did try it. It would take a LOT of work for me to get good at I think. The boogie boarding I can handle though, that’s more my cup of tea!

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?

Yeah, it just seemed like another show. The splashes couldn’t reach us (and didn’t really even reach the splash zone). While it was much more comfortable seating, I think we prefer it the old school –crowd around the pool way!

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.

A little bit- there is definitely a lot to learn about this ship.

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!

Chops was $30/per person. They had just raised the prices before we made our reservations.

Giovanni’s was $20 per person. Both are totally worth it IMO.

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.

Awesome! Glad you have enjoyed it! I’m anxious to get on a Carnival cruise myself!

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.

Aw, you’re too kind! So glad I’m able to entertain you yet again! LOL! That’s why I have to take big long breaks in between posting, so everyone can get some work done! Haha!

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!

You are so welcome! I’m sure you will love this ship- it’s almost like it was built for the sole purpose to be the natural progression from DCL! I think your family will really enjoy it!!

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

I was wondering the exact same thing!

It was called a Lava Flow- but I’ve had it on Castaway Cay as a Pina Colava. Basically it is frozen Pina Colada mixed with a thick raspberry puree. It’s soooooo good!

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).

There you go- sounds fantastic!!!

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

Aw thanks, it’s easy to do- we loved it so much!

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!!!

How cool! Great to see you over here! Your review was quite helpful for my planning- thanks so, so much!

Still rockin Auto. Need to take a class. You know the S3 came back to life after we got home- still took pictures as great as ever. The lens is now a little sticky coming out and going in. But she did come back from the dead, and then went right into retirement as I got a Rebel T2i for Valentines’ Day! (Though I admit the learning curve there is huge. )

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

Hi Linda! Thanks so much for reading, I’m glad you like it! I hope it brightens many a day for you at work! LOL!

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.

LOL, it should be …If only I didn’t let myself get distracted by less important things (and yes, almost everything is less important than CRUISE talk! LOL!)

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.

Yep we did not actually walk through the stateroom areas of Deck 8- but yes, there are hallways along the outside edges (if that makes sense) where you get to the rooms. We are on Deck 7 for our next Allure cruise in ’13 = we couldn’t get Deck 8 because the cheaper inside rooms aren’t on that deck. But it would have been our first choice- GREAT location!
Thanks so much for reading, let me know if you have any more questions! I’m happy to help!

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.

Good news! The rooms are actually located right next to each other! We found a lot (especially in the evening hours) they would merge the 6-8 and 9-11’s together. It was something Savannah hated on DCL but she did not mind it at all on Allure. I think because the clubs are much, much smaller than on DCL. Plus a lot of the time the kids were engaged in a game of some sort- often on the wii or a game called Gaga ball that they just loved. They could still do their own thing if they wanted (we always saw a few kids on computers/wii’s), but more than a couple times we found all the bigger kids together in one room having fun!

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?

As a whole Royal Caribbean is slightly more “formal” than DCL- meaning you will find more people dressed up and to a higher degree of formality. On Allure however- that wasn’t as much the case. We saw all levels of dress in the public areas even on formal night. I think Allure and Oasis just lend themselves to be slightly more casual ships with so many options. Not to say that on formal night it isn’t dressy- just not quaite as much as say- Freedom class. So seeing all different levels – from swimwear and cover-ups and Daisy Dukes. Yes – in the dining room on formal night- to full out Tuxes and gowns, you will indeed see it all. So go ahead and go with whatever is comfortable for your family. A suit and tie is just fine! Even shirt and tie I think is fine for the men- nice gowns or pantsuits for the ladies are perfect!

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.

Yes- we did not do the ‘Water park” when we were there. It was a bit pricey and you have a real short time limit on the water toys (a few inflatable slides, trampolines, obstacle course type things. In fact I am pretty sure the price is per hour- or even half hour. Plus we had read that some of the inflatables are really hard to get up on, so we just decided to do other things. That is also the busiest beach there and can get quite crowded.

We LOVED the Dragon’s Tail coaster- priced reasonably and a whole lot of fun. Ron and I also did the zip line. If that is your cup of tea- absolutely DO IT! It is breathtaking! (Yes it cosst about $10/second but it was so worth it and I’d do it again.

Quick Labadee tips- we did a lot of research on the beaches- they are not as nice as Castaway Cay, but still good- just more rustic and the water isn’t as pretty. We went to Nellie’s Beach and really liked it. It had a sandy bottom and wasn’t too busy, plus it was pretty close to the shipwreck kids fountain play area. Columbus beach is where the Water Park area is- we didn’t make it down there but I’ve read it is sandy bottom also. Adrenaline beach and all of the beach along the back side of the “island” is very rocky in the water, you will need water shoes! But I did think those were the prettiest beaches.

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!!!

Aww, you are welcome, and thanks for the compliments. I would so love a job where I could review cruises all the time (HELLO DCL< RCCL< CCL are you guys listeining?!?!?) LOL!

Let me know if you have any more questions I’m happy to help!

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.

Yep! I agree! Thanks for the helpful response!

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!

You are welcome, I’m so glad you are enjoying it! We are going back in 2013 as well after the Fantasy this year!!

Looks like a blast!!!! Do you know how late you can ice skate?

It depends on the day- we found much, much less opportunity for ice skating on Allure than we did on Independence. Usually the sessions run for 3-4 hours or so at a time with a session every 30 minutes. That evening they ran well into dinnertime from about 4 in the afternoon. Problem was I only recall seeing open skating two days- one sea day early in the cruise and again this day.

I love the tantrum about skating.
I can't believe someone took you skates!

I know, I turned around and the chair I had set them in was empty. I mean..what are the chances they were the right size for whoever took them? LOL! Maybe it was staff, but I wasn’t turned that long! It’s OK- I stink at ice skating anyway so I probably would have only gone around once or twice (If I could have made it that far.) Haha!

Omg the cup cakes.. im stuck on those right now cuz im planning a bake sale to do a fundraiser for my walk and they are giving me some great ideas!!!

Mmmm! I just saw some of yer baked goods! Hello yum!

How fun to say you ice skated in the middle of the carribean LOL. Rock wall does look fun too!

It is! After this year….I’m telling you this ship was made for you and your boys! All three of ‘em!

Actual video of the cupcake selections = Best trip report ever!! You know exactly what we all want to see!!

Ha! I aim to please. I actually had three videos of the cupcake selection but I was talking in the other ones and they were kindof redundant anyway! Glad you enjoyed it!!

I found this TR at midnight last night, and do you know, I stayed up till 3:00 AM reading it!!!!! FABULOUS, in every sense of the word. I'm not kidding you, in the 10 years I have been on these boards, it is the BEST report I've read. And I've read some really fantastic ones. And by 3:00 am, I hadn't even finished it, I did that tonite, couldn't wait to get back to it!! The pictures are all just phenomenal. You are a really awesome story teller.

Aw, thank you so much!! You are too kind! I’m just so glad you enjoyed it so much! I’m sorry I’ve drug it out for so long, you will have to pop back in to see the ending!!

So are you going on another cruise any time soon? This makes me really want to try RC badly. This should be forwarded to their marketing dept, they'd hire you! can't wait for the next installment and will hate to see it end.

I’m still waiting for the call, I really do want that cruise reviewer job. I know it’s out there…..calling my name…somewhere! LOL! Yes, we are cruising ont eh Fantasy in September and then back on Allure in September 2013. After that is up in the air but I have Hawaii in my sights- all the talk recently of Aulani has helped advance those ideas in my head!

Thanks again for your compliments- reading posts like this is what keeps me going and gets me excited to tell more of the story.
And we aren’t done yet, folks!

 

[miztressuz]

just catching up as we were on an unplanned Princess cruise during the last update.

i just have to say, that the first night on ship we ate dinner in the MDR and can you guess what comes out on my plate? ... that's right! a grilled half tomato! i just giggled cuz i immediately thought of this TR and wondered if i'd see this infamous item on every plate. sadly, Princess does not match RCL's determination to garnish every dish with this fruit and I only saw it on a few occasions.

thanks for the update. those pictures from the "inside" of the ship really give perspective on just how mind boggling huge it is... looks awesome!

 

[nenner1]

After skating, we had to hurry a bit to get ready for dinner. We had 6:45 reservations for MTD tonight. It was 2nd formal night, so we expected it to be super busy in the dining room this evening, and it was.
We were a few minutes late for our reservations and weren’t sure if they would honor it. The line for “no reservations” was massive, but I got in it in case we were too late for our reservation. Ron went up to the”reservations” side desk to check, and sure enough they said we were not too late. We would still have to wait for a few minutes to be seated, however. The MDR on Allure at each deck has a large comfortably furnished waiting area, complete with these by-the-glass wine dispensers. (They are on each deck). Just swipe your Sea Pass card! Ingenious!

Waiting for our table:

We only had to wait about 10 minutes before we were seated. We were on the other side of the dining room this evening, and we informed our server Laurence and his team that we had Blue Planet reservations and would need to eat fairly quickly. He assured us we would make the show in time, and his team did an AMAZING JOB getting us in and out of the dining room in about an hour and 10 minutes. Kudos!

For appetizers, the boys chose the Seafood Salad: shrimp, scallops and smoked salmon with a brandy cocktail sauce:

I had the Creamed Wild mushrooms in Puff Pastry: A heart blend of wild mushrooms, cream, and herbs encased in a delicate puff pastry: delicious!

The entrees were quickly out:

Sarah and Savannah ate from the kids’ menu: chicken tenders and spaghetti and meat sauce respectively:

And my seafood loving boys both had the Fisherman’s plate: Lobster tail and Garlic shrimp:

I had the Thai BBQ Chicken Breast with perfumed Jasmine Rice:

I wasn’t expecting to like it, but I was pleasantly surprised. The chicken was quite tasty. It was coated in a spice rub and drizzled with a coconut/lemongrass sauce. While peanut flavor was quite discernable, I was expecting the “BBQ” flavor to be sweet/sour based- it wasn’t. In fact there wasn’t any BBQ flavor at all. Of course this was the first time I had had any Thai food so my expectations could be unrealistic. It was very tasty and perfectly cooked. Very juicy and tender chicken.

Our awesomely fast serving team was ready for dessert as soon as we were. Dessert for all of us choosing to eat it was the Sampler Trio. As described very simply on the menu, a trio of exquisite tastes and textures on one plate.

I have no idea what the ones on the end are. I think one was mango-ish. They were somewhat bland and vanilla. The highlight for sure is the flourless chocolate cake in the center. Wish I could have just gotten three of those, it was scrumptious!!!

We were finished with dinner and headed to the Amber Theater for the evening's show before 8:30 PM. Blue Planet would start at 9:00 and we wanted to get decent seats. We entered at Deck 4, which is the balcony level. There was still plenty of seating here, even front row, but we could see that the railing would impede the view a bit from those seated in the first row or two. We could see there were still plenty of prime seats below so we headed down to the main level of the theater.

We got what could arguably be some of the best seats in the house. We were dead center of a row about halfway back from the stage. We were directly in front of the mixer board/sound and effects personnel in fact. GREAT seats!



OK, so here is the one and only picture I took during Blue Planet worth posting. The new little point & shoot was just so horrible I didn’t even bother trying to get any during the show.

About the show, we loved it. Blue Planet is amazing. It is visually stimulating with the usual singing, dancing but so much more- acrobatics, trampoline, and more. The plot is somewhat shaky- there is the whole mother Nature/earth theme going on and then it kind of just busts into this weird love story, then back to the nature stuff. Not cohesive at all, but frankly it didn’t much matter. This show is just all about the visual spectacle, the tricks and acrobatics. It was pretty enthralling. We thought the vocal talent was outstanding- man that Mother Nature can wail! The singing and dancing numbers were fun and exciting. The acrobatics, aerial work, trampolines, just all captivating. The living tree and underwater scenes are not to be missed.

Since I did not do a good job of getting pictures, here are a few I've rounded up to give you an idea of what this show is all about:

Sarah fell dead asleep during it though!

Back up in the rooms, the kids were tuckered out and Brendan agreed to look over sleeping Sarah so Ron and I could go check out the 70’s dance party on the Promenade.

After he eats his S’mores cupcake, of course:

We had a cute puppy and a monkey hanging around when we returned to our staterooms:

 

[nenner1]

With the kids settled in, Ron and I headed down to the Promenade to find the party well in effect:

Even though the area was quite crowded, we were easily able to get a decent spot near the Globe that opens up into an aerial bridge. Another good spot to be for this party would be near the Rising Tide bar.

Before you know it, the Promenade blared with the sound of the opening theme to Rocky and the Globe began to emit smoke and open up:

Out came “Rocky”, who turned out to be- surprise, surprise: Ken Rush in his White Polyester Leisure suit! He graced us all with his presence with a rendition of John Travolta to the tune of –what else? Staying Alive:

The crowd looking forward:

The crowd looking aft:

Ken invited all of those dressed in 70’s garb up on the Rising Tide bar. Most of these costumes were pretty over the top and I speculate that these folks are more likely ship staff in costume, as opposed to guests. Not thinking many people are bringing along Day Glo bell bottoms and Afro wigs in their luggage. Just saying.

After that it was the “Village People” doing the YMCA!

Here’s the video…Click to Play:


They even came down and mingled with the crowd and did conga lines and such!

Ken threw a whole lot of stuff down at the crowd from above, rubber bracelets, T-shirts, and thousands, yes, thousands of flashing glow rings. Can’t give much advice if you want to catch goodies from above. If you want the T-shirts, be located a distance away from the Globe and bridge but not too far away. They would throw them as far as they could but never just dropped any down below. I didn’t even get a flashy ring, LOL.
And if you ever wondered why Ken Rush really got his job, well it has to do with his glass cleaning skills…..

Video-click picture to play



Kung Fu Panda made an appearance to the tune Kung Fu Fighting. He was on the Rising Tide but it wasn’t raised very high at this point and was kind of hard to see.

Those Village People are still going:

And finally, Ken and the entourage escape in to Central Park via the Rising Tide Bar.

After the crowd dissipated a bit, we decided to take our first trip on the Rising Tide.

I wanted to buy the Live the Allure book, but apparently you can only buy that during certain times. The bar staff was pretty confused when we asked to buy the “book”, and didn’t have a clue at first. Eventually when they figured out what we were talking about they said we had to “catch the lady” that sells them. They didn’t know when that lady would be there. So, I gave up on the book. I did however decide to have the bar’s signature cocktail: the Rising Tide.

Ascending into the stars:

We were surprised how short the ride up is, it only takes 3 minutes to go the three decks up or down. It was a lot faster than I expected, for some reason I thought I had read it took 15 minutes (actually it departs every 15 minutes, so it makes sense that I just misinterpreted what I had read previously).

For those curious about riding on the bar without purchasing anything, be aware that lots of folks will hop on just for the ride- it appeared to be pretty typical behavior. In fact if you are just standing in the standing room only area of the bar, it is a little difficult to get service. OK a lot difficult. I think the servers assume the people standing in that area don’t necessarily want drinks.

We got back to our room, enjoyed a bit of time out on the balcony and hit the hay! That wraps up day 6!

Up Next: Alone Again, Naturally!

 

[anewmac]

OMG the kids looked adorable, Sarah's so BIG

The MDR on Allure at each deck has a large comfortably furnished waiting area, complete with these by-the-glass wine dispensers. (They are on each deck). Just swipe your Sea Pass card! Ingenious!
OHHH i need one of those for parties LMAO

Our awesomely fast serving team was ready for dessert as soon as we were. Dessert for all of us choosing to eat it was the Sampler Trio. As described very simply on the menu, a trio of exquisite tastes and textures on one plate.
all looks yummo

After he eats his S’mores cupcake, of course:
I liike his style!

After that it was the “Village People” doing the YMCA!

That indian was way into.. i was waiting for spirit fingers


They even came down and mingled with the crowd and did conga lines and such!
ohh wheres the line for that one!!!! note to self get in line 1st

I wanted to buy the Live the Allure book, but apparently you can only buy that during certain times. The bar staff was pretty confused when we asked to buy the “book”, and didn’t have a clue at first. Eventually when they figured out what we were talking about they said we had to “catch the lady” that sells them. They didn’t know when that lady would be there. So, I gave up on the book. I did however decide to have the bar’s signature cocktail: the Rising Tide.
LOL I love when people have no clue about things that are for sale etc, its like dont you LIVE on the ship.. dont you get info on this stuff.. didnt you go to orientation?

is that napkin blue.. did you SPILL some of your drink. no the horror

For those curious about riding on the bar without purchasing anything, be aware that lots of folks will hop on just for the ride- it appeared to be pretty typical behavior. In fact if you are just standing in the standing room only area of the bar, it is a little difficult to get service. OK a lot difficult. I think the servers assume the people standing in that area don’t necessarily want drinks.
have I taught you nothing.. belly up to the bar... show the girls off and you will have no prob getting a drink LOL

We got back to our room, enjoyed a bit of time out on the balcony and hit the hay! That wraps up day 6!
man your already on day 6.. but you just cruised.. your going way to fast LMAO

Up Next: Alone Again, Naturally!

sometimes that the best times on vacation! i mean oh no that sucks

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Welcome back, Jen! Hope you will stay healthy for awhile. Time to get that immune system built up.

I love the pics of the back of the ship - is it open all the time? It is so cool - like a big fishing boat! I would love to have one of those suites with the balconies right out over the back - you could just watch the shows from there!

I can't believe it took that long for you to get ot the cupcakes! I think I would take the S'Mores, but the soda pop looked interesting. Good price on those - I think they are $4.25 at DLR.

You ladies all look beautiful in your dresses. So cool you found matching dresses for all three of you! Wow! I love the wine stations. Such a great idea. I'll bet the sales are really good there, and the prices don't look good, too. It's always great when your dinner plans fit in to your show plans. I'm glad you enjoyed the show.

So nice of Brendan to volunteer to babysit - after a proper reward, of course.
It's great to have you back - I am loving your TR!

 

[iloverags2]

Oh dear...I do hope you have finally kicked all the bugs out of you, and stay healthy.

Love watching people on the rock climbing walls, but I'm afraid if I ever tried it myself the ship's doc would be kept busy! Games on the Boardwalk - what a cool idea!

Ummmm, as for the Manly Breakfast cupcake? Ew, yuck! What were they thinking??? What did Brendan think of the S'mores one? It looks delish! Although I think I would have picked Strawberry Shortcake; it's so....pink! Bright pink! Pretty pink!

Someone took your skates??? Seriously??? Geez! You really do see it all when traveling, don't you? Sarah looks so cute in her skates!

OMG! I totally love the wine by the glass dispenser! Wonder how they would feel if I just hunch over and put my mouth under it?

The girls look darling in their formal dresses.

Wow, tons of folks at the Promenade for the 70's Party. Very cool. And the Rising Tide Bar is definitely a cool thing to do. Must really sail on Allure so I can check that out!

 

[luvslikepi]

There is a cover charge to eat here- $4.95 per person for food, which includes a sandwich, family style fries and onion rings, and a dessert (apple pie or a sundae). All drinks (besides water) cost extra. (I brought my tea along from Central Park!)

I'm totally late to this party. I love how beautiful this ship is but I have to admit I'm a little turned off that so many of the dining options are up-charges.

 

[anewmac]

OMG! I totally love the wine by the glass dispenser! Wonder how they would feel if I just hunch over and put my mouth under it?

I think I just found my long lost sister! I like the way you think Cindy!

 

[livingis2me]

I'm totally late to this party. I love how beautiful this ship is but I have to admit I'm a little turned off that so many of the dining options are up-charges.

What is awesome is that you don't have to go to the up-charge restaurants. The food in the dining room was great. But I've got to admit I loved that we had so many options!!!! And we had our lowest room bill on any cruise we'd ever taken.

Another great update Jen!!!! Love you!

Ron

 

[iloverags2]

I think I just found my long lost sister! I like the way you think Cindy!

Oh, thank goodness someone else who feels the same way! I figured anyone who read that would think I'm a lush.

 

[disneycruiser22]

I'm really enjoying your review since I'm going back and forth on whether i should book a Fantasy 7 night western or an Oasis/Allure 7 night western. Can you tell me how you felt about the MDR food? (i've heard mixed reviews) Speciality restaurants look great but we really dont wanna spend the extra $$.