Allure of the Seas Oct 2023 -Susan and Mary
Saturday Oct 7
I drove from Lake Kiowa to Huntsville after the Recycle/Shred event at the Lodge. I made a short stop at Bucee’s in Madisonville for bathroom and gas and maybe a new shirt. Reservations were at Holiday Inn in Huntsville. It was an old Holiday Inn but fairly clean. After getting settled in and watching the rest of the Texas Rangers game, I went to Whataburger for dinner.
Sunday, Oct 8
Mary’s husband dropped her off at the hotel from College Station where they watched the A&M game against Alabama the day before. We headed to Galveston. It was an easy drive with little traffic. After dropping off our suitcases, we parked the car in lot 14 with covered parking. A shuttle was waiting to take us to the terminal. Our passes were scanned, we went through security and walked on the ship. It was that easty. Biggest ship I have been on with a large promenade. We ate on deck 8 at the central cafe after getting a pina colada. I realized I had left my phone in the car. Our rooms weren’t ready until 1 but the stateroom keys were in the room so we found an open door and asked the attendant if we could get our room keys. We also dropped off our luggage. Back off the ship, walked up to a shuttle which took us to the car, I ran to the car and retrieved my phone and quickly back on the shuttle to the ship. We had to go through security again but easy peasy and back on the ship in less than 30 min. WHEW!! Our room was ready shortly after, so I dropped off my backpack and we headed to explore the ship. The room is small but a decent size balcony.
The concierge was available at 4 in the Diamond Lounge so we went to make a reservation for Mama Mia. You need reservations for the shows in the theater and the water shows.
Drinks in the Diamond Lounge are not complimentary, they count toward your included drinks. I get 4 a day because I am Diamond and Mary gets 5 because she is Diamond Plus. We thought they did not count while in the lounge but we were wrong, but it wasn't an issue.
Dinner tonight was at Giavonnis at 6. It was not crowded at all and was very good. No Riesling on board and no Chianti in an Italian restaurant. Hmmmm After dinner we went to the casino and I tried to follow when the slot machine was paying out and when it wasn’t. Didn’t make much sense to me, so I went to the room to read and get ready for bed.
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| Our ship which was full- 6000 passengers but it never felt crowded. |
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| our balcony |
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| Giavonnis |
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| Park Central, the outside plaza area. Really nice except very windy at times. |
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| the atrium area |
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| The main pool. We were always able to find loungers |
Monday sea day
Mary ordered coffee for 8:30 and it arrived promptly. Breakfast was in the Diamond Lounge which had a nice variety of fruit and pastries.
We went to the pool area and it was basically empty. We ordered bloody Mary’s and stayed awhile even though it was cloudy and not warm but the steel drum band was playing and I enjoyed the music. Mary headed to the casino for a bit.
The boat is so big you hardly know you are moving. The seas are pretty calm.
We ate lunch in the solarium bistro which is included and serves Mexican food. It was good and even though there was a line, it moved quickly and we had no problem getting a table. After lunch I sat in thd balcony and read and Mary went to the casino. We dressed for dinner and headed for lemon drops in the martini bar, moved to Schooners to listen to the guitarist but he was pretty boring and headed to dinner for the 1st seating at 5. They sat us at a 4 top but no one joined us, so dinner went quickly. I had French onion soup, Caesar salad, and beef tenderloin which was excellent. Mary sent her calamari back because it was rubbery but replaced it with escarole then had chicken cordon blue for her entree. We were finished by 6 so we headed up to the Central Park area and listened to the sax and keyboard duo. We enjoyed them a lot, then grabbed a drink before going to the theater. We had reservations for Mama Mia.
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| Theater |
Mary left at intermission to go to the casino since she had seen the show before. Show was pretty good.
Tuesday Sea Day
Mary’s coffee arrived at 9 as requested. We ate breakfast again in Diamond Lounge. The concierge helped us log on for our free day of internet, a perk of Diamond loualty level. After breakfast we attended the Diamond Tier thank you event at the Aqua Theater. Typical mimosas and rum punch with CD and ship's captain. They introduced new Pinnacle members and top 3 tier members on board. Then a shortened version of the Aqua Show.
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| cruise director |
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| Captain |
After the show we changed to bathing suits and went to the solarium to enjoy the sunshine. After changing chairs a couple of times we found a spot in front of the sliding doors that gave us a blast of cold air everyone someone walked out or back in. It was awesome!!
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| Not the most scenic spot but the blast of cold air every time the door opened was worth the bad view. |
Lunch today was at the Park Cafe on deck 8. We were good and ate salads. I went back and read on the balcony and Mary went to the Casino for a short time. Soon it was time to shower and get ready for the evening. We went to the Diamond Lounge to check on our excursion tickets for tomorrow and he printed them for us. They should have been in our room. We grabbed a pre dinner drink in Schooners and then down to deck 3 to eat. Tonight’s menu was so-so. I had Italian soup and lasagne. After dinner we went to Park Central and listened to the jazz group
then went to see if we could find the Ranger game on in the sports bar. No luck, they had hockey on the tv's. We stopped in another bar for a nightcap then off to the room.
Wed Roatan
Room service was ordered for 8-8:30 and came around 8:10. My eggs were ordered over medium and were well done and no orange juice. Room service is hard to get right on any cruise line. We had an excursion to Maya Key. Greg and I have gone here at least two other times. We exited the ship and walked to the pontoon boat which took us on the 5 min ride to the private island. It was as clean as prior visits which has been at least 10 years ago. I found loungers in the shade while Mary checked out snorkel gear. She said the reef wasn’t very alive but she did see a lot of fish and was glad she snorkeled. We read for awhile and then we went to eat. The buffet was included with the excursion and was fried fish and BBQ chicken along with rice and fried plantains. We moved to the pool area and stayed until the 2:00 pontoon took us back to the ship.
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| View of the ship from the island. |
After showering we had pre dinner drinks at the champagne bar (lemon drops) and then dinner at the specialty restaurant Chops. I had rack of lamb and Mary had the ribeye. Both very good. We were going to have an after dinner drink but we both decided we were stuffed. Mary went to the casino for a bit and I retired to the room.
Thursday Costa Maya
Breakfast was in the buffet and then we walked into town. At 9:30 it was already hot, hot, hot. I was looking for a fire opal pendant. First price I was given was $1450, we ended at $600 for a 2.5 carat stone. I wanted gold so we had to wait a couple of hours. Brutal! No air conditioning and no breeze. We wondered through all the stores, stopped for water, stopped for beer and a margarita. Went back early to the store and thank goodness the necklace was ready. We headed back to the boat and up to the buffet for lunch. Not a fan of buffets, but this one was laid out well and didn't have the "buffet" smell, plus they had my ranger (oatmeal coconut cookies).
A shower was calling us. Mary went first and napped while I showered and got ready. Before dinner we had drinks in the bar that went from deck 5 up to 8 and then back down.
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| the elevator bar |
By this time it was dinner time. We ate in the main dining room, both having coconut shrimp for appetizers. A little soggy and not really tasting the coconut. I had shrimp scampi and Mary had the pasta dish for main entree. After dinner we went to Park Central but it was too hot so down the 5. We had not been to Boleros Bar yet which had a Hemingway vipe. We both had mojitos, mine was coconut. Maybe the best drink I’ve had on the boat. This bar is obviously the hangout for the younger crowd who were very boisterous so we went looking for a quieter area. Mary headed to the casino and I sat listening to the steel drum band. A couple of ladies sat down with me and we visited for a bit and then I headed to the room.
Friday Cozumel
Room Service came at 7:30 but we didn’t get off the boat until 8:30 because Mr Sanchos didn’t open until 9. As we walked out Mary spotted the purse that I had looked for the whole time in Costa Mayo. It was exactly what I wanted. The taxi to Mr Sanchos was $17 and took about 20 minutes. $68 for the all inclusive. We had a table, umbrella and 2 loungers. The water was high and came under the loungers. We ended up just sitting at the table except when we went to the pool. Food was good. Mary had coconut shrimp and I had shrimp ceviche and we both had nachos. We started with bloody Mary’s and I switched to pina coladas and Mary had mango margaritas. It wasn’t too hot in the beginning with a nice breeze but it was pretty hot by the time we left a little after 1 pm
After we got back on the ship we took our time showering and getting ready. We started in Schooners but went back to the room to check entertainment times in the Compass and stopped in the Diamond Lounge. Tonight was formal night so Lobster was on the menu. When we got ready to order our waiter, Ajay, said the filet was on him tonight which normally costs extra. I thanked him and said I wanted lobster and he said then surf and turf is on me. We found out it was from the Matre D' because last night when he asked how our cruise was going, especially the restaurant, we told him the pros and cons. Kinda of a bribe for a good review but the lobster and filet were both excellent. After dinner we went to Park Central and listened to the guitar player. It started getting warm so I went to Boleros for a coconut mojito and Mary went to the Casino. We miss communicated and missed our meetup time and place but both eventually met in Dazzles to listen to the orchestra. Really enjoyable.
I headed to bed and Mary returned to the casino after winning $3000 earlier.
Saturday Sea Day
We woke up late so had a quick breakfast snack in the Diamond Lounge and then off to deck 16 to read. We went back to the not so scenic chairs where the doors open with a blast of cold air. It’s a secret location!
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| Girl's Bathroom |
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| Boy's bathroom |
After a couple of margaritas, we went to the buffet for salad but we weren’t that good. I went back for a bit more sun and Mary went to the casino. My cool spot was still waiting for me.
Time to pack for home. Mary returned from the casino as I was finish packing. She showered and packed while I cleaned up. We went to the Diamond lounge at 5 for pre dinner drinks and reservations tonight were in 150. Maybe the best of the three specialty restaurants. I had scallops and halibut, Mary had pork belly and tenderlion. Both were excellent. We went back to the Diamond Lounge where we could watch the Aqua Show from a far. The orchestra was playing at 9 but at 8:45 every seat was taken so off to bed we went.
My observations so far on Royal:
Room attendant only comes once a day. You choose morning or evening, we picked evening. Probably would pick morning if could choose again. He brought ice in the evening and it was melted by the time we wanted to use it the next day.
They don’t deliver the daily info sheet (Compass). We did ask the Concierge and he requested it to be delivered and it was. They expect you to use the app which only works if you buy WiFi. $200 for the trip, or $30 a day.
Concierge in Diamond is very helpful.
Boat really doesn’t seem crowded. Restaurant last night was less than half full. The atrium was empty in the morning and no one around the pool on the first day. It was cloudy and a bit cool so that could be the reason. 2nd day was sunny and more crowded but still no problem getting chairs.
If you want lobster or filet it costs extra but is available every night.
No Kleenex in the room.
No notepad or pen in the room
No quiet place to get away from the crowd to sit and visit or read. Found the library on the last day but it’s small and dark. No windows.
I had forgotten about the Ranger coconut cookies in the buffet. OMG good.
