We left the pools with enough time to head downstairs, get showered and dressed, and head down to Ice Games at Studio B.
Studio B is the ice skating rink and theater onboard Allure. It is also where the ice shows are performed and also home to various other activities and performances onboard. Ice skating rinks have been standard on new RCCL ships for about a decade or so, and that is something I would LOVE to see on
DCL (Disney on Ice anyone?!?! Seems like a no-brainer to me!!)
We had planned to arrive early but we did not get there quite as early as I would have liked. We arrived about 30 minutes prior to showtime. I thought all of the good seats would have been taken already and I was quite surprised to see front row seats on both sides of the ice still available! We headed to the right, and straight down to an empty front row! Score!
The seats facing the ice rink head on were almost completely full already. So if you want to sit facing the ice show vs. the sides of the rink, be sure to arrive extra early! I was pretty darn happy with the seats we ended up with, though!
The introductory scene-a video game monitor display referencing Challengers Arcade:
I ain't gonna lie. My pictures of this show pretty much stink, but the video is awesome. Take the few minutes to watch the clips, you'll be glad you did!
So, if you arent familiar with the theme of Ice Games, basically you are playing a big game of Monopoly and the properties around the board, instead of Park Place and Marvin Gardens are locations around the ship, like the arcade, Giovannis Table, On Air Club, and of course, Casino Royale.
If you prefer to not know details of the show, do skip head at this point (scroll till you see food!). There really isnt much more to the story line, but if you want to be surprised, I wont be offended!
Here is a view of the show from head on, which may help orient you:
The show begins with the introduction to the Monopoly theme, and introduction to Mr. Monopoly.
(I apologize for the blurriness of these photos, flash photography was prohibited and my camera-even the good one-is fairly limited in high action, low light situations)
The skating, I thought was good. I can hardly walk on the ice, so its always impressive to me. There were a few falls, sure, but a triple axel on a rink that small, with set pieces around? Pretty darn remarkable in my opinion.
Intro segment:
Videos - Click to Play
After the Monopoly segment, imagine my surprise when Mr. Monopoly skated right up to me with a button and motioned for me to push it. How cool!!! I push the button and the sound of tumbling dice began, and voila!- we landed on Giovannis Table!
Only one other person got to push the button and one other guy got to roll the dice- so I was special!!!!
Oopsie! Caught a fall in progress
There is a cheeky duo in the Giovannis segment featuring a male diner with his drunken dinner date. It was pretty amusing to watch, although sometimes I did not know if she was stumbling on purpose or not.
Giovanni's Segment: Hello double cartwheel on ice. Whoa.
Videos- Click to Play
The next roll of the dice brought us to the Boardwalk, and then on Air Club:
Boardwalk, featuring-what else= the "Carousel"
Video- Click to Play
You have landed on: the On Air Karaoke Club!
Videos: Click to Play
Then there was another pair skating routine that seemed very romantic classical and out of place with the theme of the show. It was beautiful, dont get me wrong, but it didnt really fit with the theme of the show. We would find out later that this duo was a guest pair onboard so maybe this segment is not normally in the show.
At one point they scrapped the button pushing and brought out a huge oversized pair of dice- the interaction between the skaters and the audience member rolling the dice was pretty funny!
Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200.
Video- Click Link to Play on You Tube
http://youtu.be/wVyh7ZlBefw
(this one's really good and was too big of a file for Photobucket)
Yeah. They do like their Micheal Jackson. But then again, who doesn't?
I thought this show was really terrific and being in the front row was so worth the inconvenience of getting there early!
Up Next: You Keep the Tour Groups, I'll Take the Steak!