First time cruisers ensured to be "Allured"?? -April 2019 TR

[pattyw]

Such great pictures!

Thanks Lynne!!

 

[pattyw]

The tour goes on...

 

[pattyw]

Zip Line:

 

[pattyw]

Beautiful view of Costa Maya!









A view of the suites at the top!

 

[pattyw]

We headed to the solarium for lunch! It was a nice buffet- great variety with many healthy choices! Our waiter offered us a special at the Samba Grill - but we declined.

After lunch, we were headed to the spa for our 2nd couples hot stone massages along with facials! We had to wait for our treatment, so our therapist let us do so in the Thermal Suite. Aahh!! So nice. The thermal beds were nice and warm, they had soft music playing, and the lights were dim. I think we both nodded off!

There was a Thermal suite package you could purchase that they told us about when we boarded. I didn't think it was something we were interested in, so we didn't talk any more about it with the crew member. But, after experiencing it- it is SO NICE and relaxing! It's something we would love to do again on a future cruise!

Our massages were once again- amazing!! Our facials were great! The head and scalp massage- wow!! A spa visit is definitely something I would highly recommend! Look for specials- especially if you stay on board when at port! That's when you get the best deals! The massage therapists also want you to return so they offer great deals on a return visit!!

After our massages, we stopped for a drink and then returned to our cabin to shower and get ready for dinner! We were dining again at Giovanni's!!

 

[pattyw]

We had another fantastic dinner at Giovanni's- great food, impeccable service!

That night, we attended the comedy show! It was great! There were two comedians and the show was about 45 minutes long.

After the show, we spent some time on the Promenade enjoying the entertainment with a few drinks! We ended the night with a stop at Schooner's piano bar!

The end of our cruise was coming fast! This was our last Cruise Compass!!

 

[pattyw]

We also received departure information:



And as Key guests, we had additional departure information:

 

[pattyw]

Our last day was at sea. We slept in and enjoyed our breakfast in our room on our balcony!

That afternoon, we had booked a wine tasting seminar. It was held in the Grande dining room. This is one of the main dining rooms. We had My Time dining so we dined in the American Icon. The Grande is one of two dining rooms for timed dining.

 

[pattyw]

They had a display of wines!



We took a seat in the lobby while we waited for the seminar to begin!

 

[pattyw]

We were led to a table - set very nice with our wine glasses and some cheese, fruit, and crackers to go with the wine samplings!









The seminar was given by the ship's head sommelier. He was very informative and taught us a lot about wine! We learned the importance of picking up your glass by the stem and swirling it in your glass before tasting! There was, indeed, a big difference in the taste of the wine if you sipped it before swirling it and after! There was a much bolder flavor after swirling it around!

The seminar was about an hour. We had booked it pre-cruise. We both enjoyed it and would highly recommend it!

 

[pattyw]

We headed to the Boardwalk area and had hot dogs for lunch at The Dog House. They were very good! We decided to dine that evening at Sabor Mexican restaurant. We didn't have any more nights on our specialty dining package, but we were in the mood for something different and their menu looked good. So we stopped by the restaurant and made a reservation for 8:30 pm that evening.

We had reservations for Blue Planet that afternoon. So we headed to the Amber theater!

We were able to sit in the reserved seats for The Key. They were in the first few rows of the balcony-very good seats! We went to the bar inside of the theater and got some wine to enjoy with the show. They had popcorn and we assumed it would be free. But, when we asked, they said there was an additional charge for it!

The view of the stage from our seats:



The show was excellent!! I think it was about an hour so not too long. The singing, dancing, and acrobatics were fabulous!!

 

[DnA2010]

Amazing report! We were on Oasis in Jan of 2014 and really need to get back on one of these ships!

 

[starvenger]

I did a wine tasting on Harmony. Wasn't that impressed with the wines, but agree about the sommelier - this is one of their opportunities to show off their knowledge, and they definitely do that.

 

[mevelandry]

We were led to a table - set very nice with our wine glasses and some cheese, fruit, and crackers to go with the wine samplings!

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The seminar was given by the ship's head sommelier. He was very informative and taught us a lot about wine! We learned the importance of picking up your glass by the stem and swirling it in your glass before tasting! There was, indeed, a big difference in the taste of the wine if you sipped it before swirling it and after! There was a much bolder flavor after swirling it around!

The seminar was about an hour. We had booked it pre-cruise. We both enjoyed it and would highly recommend it!

Once you learn this, you can't go back!

 

[Lynne G]

Yay, for more wine knowledge. Great pictures as always, and you did a lot even if you didn't get off the ship much. Enjoy reading.

 

[pattyw]

Amazing report! We were on Oasis in Jan of 2014 and really need to get back on one of these ships!

Thanks so much for reading along!

We really loved the Allure!! It was huge- but still easy to navigate!

 

[pattyw]

I did a wine tasting on Harmony. Wasn't that impressed with the wines, but agree about the sommelier - this is one of their opportunities to show off their knowledge, and they definitely do that.

Yes- the sommelier was so knowledgeable! Our tastings were fairly dry wines, but we did enjoy them! He also explained how food can make a difference in the taste of the wines. I didn't notice this difference before!

 

[pattyw]

Once you learn this, you can't go back!

You're so right!! I'm a good "swirler" now!!

 

[pattyw]

Yay, for more wine knowledge. Great pictures as always, and you did a lot even if you didn't get off the ship much. Enjoy reading.

We learned to be like real wine connoisseurs!! We don't just pour a glass of wine and immediately drink it now!! We sniff, swirl, hold the glass by the rim only!, taste, comment on the flavors we taste,... and repeat! Hopefully, we burn off some of the calories by doing all of this!

 

[pattyw]

So, we met up with our friends after Blue Planet. They were having an early dinner at Izumi. They weren't able to book the hibachi experience so they opted for the a la carte part of the restaurant. We decided to join them for some appetizers. We were dining at Sabor later.

We enjoyed some last moments on our balcony- enjoying the view! Before the cruise, I thought that the sight of just the ocean with no land in sight would make me nervous! But it was quite the opposite! We both found this sight amazing- and the sound of the waves peaceful!





So we freshened up and headed to Izumi!