Cruising with Theme Park Review - Feb 2011

[robbalvey]

^ The make your own pizza is included, salad bar, included, hot dog place, included, dining room, included, the various buffets, all included.

 

They only "upcharge" are the specialty restaurants and some of the luxury foods like the cupcakes.

 

There are always plenty of included items for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. And usually the included options give you a choice of quick service, buffet, or dining room service.

 

While not everything is included, everything you would "need" is all inclusive.

 

Even as far as drinks go, the soda package is an upcharge, but water, lemonade, iced tea, flavored waters, coffee, and tea are included. (at least on RCCL)

[beatle11]

They have added a "make your own pizza" bar!!!

 

HAHA!

 

KRAMER: Yeah, we give you the dough, you smash it, you pound it, you fling it in the air; and then you get to put your sauce and you get to sprinkle your cheese, and they - you slide it into the oven.

GEORGE: You know, you have to know how to do that! You can't have people shoving their arms into a six-hundred degree oven!

KRAMER: It's all supervised.

GEORGE: Oh, well.

[the ghost]

^ WIN!

[robbalvey]

Help us decide which fridge magnet to buy!

 

Should we get...

 

A. The long one on top that shows the entire ship

B. The Black on Silver on the left

C. The Silver on Black on the right

 

Tell us which one to buy!

 

--Robb

[WildStangAlex]

I like black on silver! Very classy looking!

[jray21]

I like B! They look like the 'markers' that are on some geographical points of interest like on the tops of mountains.

[DATman]

It's all about B.

[Godwyn]

B. I like how it has the stats of the ship on it.

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

I'll go with the rest of the voters and say B.

[BeemerBoy]

As a fridge magnet connoisseur (which has zero meaning), I've gotta go with A. Stats are nice and all, but only if that remains the biggest ship in the world, which I'm probably sure it won't. Plus, it just looks better to me.

[Chroniq]

I vote A.- because refrigerator magnets are supposed to be big and somewhat tacky. The ship magnet also looks like it could hold more papers and, just like the Allure, is visible from further away.

 

 

Edited to say: I feel sad that it took me over 4 minutes to write the above comment. At least according to Beemer Boys post above.

[sspaz1000]

Either A or B.

 

A is nice because it shows the whole ship, which is something I'd go for in a magnet, but B has the stats on it, which I also like in a magnet. So then it's all about fridge space? Do you want something that will take up less room to add more magnets too later, then go with B.

 

But if you aren't worried about magnet space, then go with A.

 

 

^ Chroniq, I had to go out and analyze my magnets on my fridge to come up with this post. Magnets & postcards are usually my souvenirs from parks.

[rosscoe]

Has to be silver on black.

[beatle11]

I gotta say A. B would be my second choice.

[robbalvey]

We ended up buying A. Elissa liked that one the best. And since she's the one that has a vagina and chooses to share it with me, her decision wins!

 

Also, did you see that Royal Caribbean tweeted that they loved our update???

 

AWESOME!

 

Thank you RCCL!

 

--Robb

[Sidra]

Oh no, you said vagina and offended me! And my 8 year old thinks KidTums was flipping us off.

[jray21]

^Report it! That's the only way King Robb and the minions will learn.

 

^^Hopefully you get something out of it! And yes, your reasoning for getting A is absolutely correct.

[Hayzle]

We ended up buying A. Elissa liked that one the best. And since she's the one that has a vagina and chooses to share it with me, her decision wins!

 

That may be your best quote ever Robb I'm crying right now! Okay so I have a question, for my graduation this year, my parents want to go on a cruise, and we are looking into either this ship or oasis. Would you suggest these two boats as your favorite or should we look somewhere else?

[robbalvey]

Once again, internet is an expensive commodity on the ship, so few words and more pictures! Here goes...

 

Thank goodness for the day plates or I really would have no idea!

 

Today was another sea day so we spent more time exploring the ship

 

I took the carousel horse carving class and will be able to take home my very own carousel horse!

 

Mmmm…. Donuts

 

The re-stock this thing for like 3 hours in the morning. All included!

 

OM NOM NOM!!!

 

I love the directional signs…just like at a theme park!

 

"What do you think? Shells or no shells?"

 

Johnny Rockets has a much more prominent placement on the Boardwalk on the Oasis class of ships.

 

For less than a $5 upcharge you can pretty much get whatever you want to eat!

 

Rita's Cantina is another upcharge.

 

For about $7, you can order whatever you want, as much as you want from this menu.

 

The ship is a lot more "kid friendly" with little play areas and slides.

 

Oh, yeah…we are in the middle of the ocean! (It's sometimes easy to forget!)

 

They still got shuffleboard for the old folk.

 

I can think of a few people lately that need to be put in the hurt box!

 

More random theming on the Boardwalk.

 

Zipline…yup!

 

Wandering around the ship, we go back to the Royal Promenade.

 

Soda pop was a root beer flavored cup cake. It sounds nasty, but OMFG it was amazing!

 

The "Logo Shop" merchandise was starting to look more and more like a theme park. Pin trading anyone?

 

Keychains?

 

They even had T-Shirts for the ships attractions.

 

And of course…the bars!

 

The captain has his own book…he was very creative with the title of the book.

 

Model ship anyone?

 

Hmm….I wonder where these stairs can lead to?

 

The Allure has one of the most ingenious features of a cruise ship casino I've ever seen. First off, it's HUGE, secondly it's split into two sections. Smoking...

 

And non smoking!

 

I'm not sure if this is the "largest" casino at sea, but WOW, it sure seems like it!

 

They have just about every table and slot machine you could want.

 

And it seemed like it went on forever!

 

Deal or No Deal?

 

No casino would be complete without Wheel of Fortune.

 

These "automated" table games seem to be all the rage lately.

 

Oh, good! There is even a machine for the ACErs!

 

I'd totally be playing if there was a topless version!

 

Hello random Darth Vader…how's it going?

 

"Hey everyone…let's see what activities are going on around this ship!"

 

It's time for the Lady Gaga Dance Class!!!

 

Lady Gaga…or the Chicken Dance! You decide.

 

Are we SURE this is Lady Gaga???

 

Ra Ra…rarara…..meat dress ga ga ga….

 

Piers would have OWNED this class!!! Hell, Piers could have TAUGHT this class!!!

 

Oh, and did we mention there is VIDEO! I must warn you, before you watch this video, it's not for the faint of heart...it's quite disturbing and traumatic!

 

Can't do that with a Kindle!

 

It was a beautiful day out…lots of people at the pool!

 

We have decided that bikini's just shouldn't be sold in some sizes!

 

Lots of people out enjoying the sun.

 

And the ship makes sure you're never too far from the energy drinks you need!

 

And when we say "energy drinks" we mean these.

 

I love "at sea" days. Especially when you have a ship this amazing, to me, this cruise is more about exploring the ship rather than going to Cozumel for the 15th time!

 

And of course, I went for a little more Flowrider action...

 

As proven by "that other website I can't mention because it inverts my penis when I say the name" this week.

 

Dining room lunch! That means three things…. Yakitori….

 

"Dee Kay Dent" Chocolate Slide (Hi Ryan!)

 

And you know what that is...

 

The salad that is "better than normal sex!!!!" Soooo good!!!!

 

The Yakitori is pretty awesome too...

 

"Hey Phantom of the Opera…what do you think of THAT chandelier?"

 

It's trivia time! Guess what group of trivia dorks won?

 

This "cantilevered" sun deck seriously scared the bejeesus out of me!

 

Yeah, it hangs OVER the water. No thanks. Get me the hell off this damn thing!!!!

 

Helicopter pad!

 

The Allure's trifecta of awesome!

 

Hey! They stole our TPR Quest idea!!!

 

Dinner menu…all included!

 

And of course, a round of plain pasta for mother and daughter.

 

This is the "back up steak" option. It's amazing!

 

Our waiter was awesome! He actually picked up KidTums and introduced her to the other kids around us! LOL!

 

Surf & Turf for Elissa's mom….

 

And the Lasagna…. holy crap! Amazing!

 

"That's it…here comes the big one!"

 

More random places on the ship to drink...

 

There is no shortage of new places to explore on the Allure!

 

They've got stuff that protects, and stuff that plugs 'er up!

 

DogTums.

 

Art?

 

Tonight we had tickets for the diving show, Ocean Aria.

 

The outdoor venue was just incredible.

 

And there is our view looking straight up!

 

It's just hard to believe sometimes that this is in the middle of the ocean!

 

The show was very "cirque" like.

 

I'm having flashbacks of Bourbon Street!

 

They had this whole skit of a shark chasing a guy in a life raft! It was both slightly disturbing and awesome at the same time.

 

Wait…I thought the Atlantis cruise was LAST week!

 

Maybe a little ice cream night cap?

 

OMG! So good! This is an upcharge…but sooo worth it!

 

KidTums played "Star Girl" at Super Hero night in Kids Club…. Star Girl says "Good night TPR! See you in the morning!"

 

POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!!

(Especially about the Lady Gaga Dance Class!)

Edited February 17, 2011 by robbalvey

[sspaz1000]

My eyes maybe scarred for life from the Lady Gaga video. and you're right, I've never met Piers but he could so totally own that class.

 

That ice cream looks amazing.

[Angry_Gumball]

Yay, Mortal Kombat land? Gotta love the MK Dragon!

 

Looks cool, never done a cruise before, enjoying the updates!.

[live2tell75]

The Gaga class is epic, I soooooooooo want to do it! I think a TPR cruise Gaga class takeover led by Piers would be amazing. And I'm digging the "Atlantis cruise night" dive show too. =p

Love the look of this ship. Thanks for all the updates!

[Snowboard246]

Looks awesome! Love the zipline across the center of the ship.

[jray21]

Lots of people out enjoying the sun.

 

I'm guessing these were the guys that thought the gay cruise was this week! There's not a female amongst them!

 

Cupcakes, Donuts, and Gelato!!!! AAAAAHHHHHH! Your killing me! I am so jealous! I think I may just blow my diet this week and eat a dozen cupcakes! That Lady Gaga class was awesome! Piers definitely would do a better job, his class at last years WCB was awesome!

 

Awesome report as always. Us followers are definitely happy and rededicated for another year of Cult TPR!

[Crazy4Coasters!]

Never been on a cruise but man oh man it sure looks like fun! By the was "The Yakitori" looks so yummmmmmy!!! Keep having fun for us Robb. God bless and take care