It's CRUISE TIME... Cruise #22 HERE WE COME!
(And Chris's dad has now had surgery and is doing well).
We left the house at a much later time of 8:45AM as we had an arrival time of 11:30AM, which is about an hour later than we like to arrival at a terminal. We made our traditional stop at Kolache Factory and Buccee's and were on the island by 10:30AM. We reserved parking with the Port of Galveston at the North Parking lot near terminal 10. TIP- This parking is AMAZING and so worth the extra $25-30 in our opinion. There is no need to drop off luggage and you can literally walk to the terminal from your parking spot faster than you can even get on a shuttle from the other lots. We paid $156 for the week; which I will admit is VERY pricey but we have learned in the last year of cruising out of Galveston that ALL of the parking has gone up about 30-40% across the board.
Book HERE- Port of Galveston- Parking
You know what this means... We are ALMOST there!
This sign always gives me a real HIGH!
We were parked and walking into the cruise terminal at 11:02AM. We literally blew right through security, check in and were on the ship hearing the first DING at 11:15AM. We never stopped, not even once. This may be our new routine sailing out of Galveston as this was probably the EASIEST embarkation we have EVER had! TIP- the check in for a cruise opens 45 days prior to sailing date and it opens at midnight (MIAMI TIME). If you want a good arrival time, it might be wise to stay up late to reserve the arrival window you want. We usually opt for the earliest time available but this 11:30AM time slot was GOLDEN!
Once we were onboard the Allure of the Seas, we walked on to the ship right at the center of the Royal Promenade and immediately got in line to settle our pre-purchased Specialty Dining Package. TIP- We purchased the 3 night Specialty dining and a "courtesy" reservation was made for the 1st night. We wanted to ensure we got not only the times we wanted for all 3 dinners but I was a little worried on a ship of over 6K passengers we may not get the actual restaurants we wanted. We had to wait in line about 10 minutes we got all 3 restaurants and times we wanted: 150 Central Park, Chops Grille and Giovanni's Table.
After we finalized our reservations we strolled around the Royal Promenade and then made our way to deck 6 aft for the Boardwalk. This was a very good time to stroll through here as the ship was still very empty and we got great pictures of this cool area. However, it WAS Texas and it was 105* so it was very hot.
We loved this area of the ship!
Hello from our first MEGA-SHIP!
The Boardwalk Doghouse- Deck 6 Aft
I will discuss more in Day 2 but this is a GREAT option for lunch and the dogs were GREAT!
A very quiet and uninterrupted view of Central Park
11:30AM Embarkation Day
Seriously Central Park is SO GORGEOUS!
*Texas law requires only TEXAS liquors to be sold in Texas waters. This means no "top-shelf" but we don't care! This is still a great variety.
We then made our way to the Park Café on Deck 8 inside Central Park for a much more relaxed embarkation day lunch. This café offered made to order salads (think Salata), hand carved meats for sandwiches, soups and lighter fare. Plus they offered specialty coffees and teas all of which included a MUCH lighter flow of traffic. TIP- Be sure to check this place out for breakfast and a quick port day lunch as it was hardly EVER crowded and the food was excellent!
By this time it was past noon but the staterooms were still not ready so we found our way to Boleros on Deck 5 Midship. We sat in this bar enjoying the Latin vibe and music until they announced rooms were ready at 1PM. We then went to our stateroom- Deck 10-679; an inside stateroom. This was booked through our travel agent as a "guarantee" room but was a block of rooms for Cruises Only with Cheryl our agent. It was a GREAT location just a few rooms from the elevator. However, it was a TINY inside room and not the standard inside cabins that are found on the Oasis class ships. In fact it was so tiny that our steward suggested separating the beds to make more space. Furthermore, it did not offer the cruise industry standard of 3 closets, drawers and other organizing factors. Nope... It had 1 closet with 2 shelves, zero drawers and that's it. We were flabbergasted at how tiny it really was. BUT, it was COLD. And it remained pretty cold (for a cruise ship cabin) throughout the cruise. All of our luggage arrived by 1:45PM and I had the room unpacked and ready (in other words just piles of clothes this time) by shortly after 2PM.
We then went up to the "Lido" deck and meandered around the pool deck seeing what all the Allure had to offer. This truly was a MEGA ship as it was so large and offered SO MUCH. There were literally 4 pools onboard and while we watched the videos at home, I thought the pools were tiny but they were surprisingly big! We then wondered upon the Wipeout Café on Deck 15 AFT. This was a quick café offering tacos, nachos, quesadillas and other "tex-mex" options and snacks. I expected it to be awful but we were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the quesadillas especially. TIP- Don't sleep on this one. It is WAY better than the buffet and FASTER. It is only open certain hours each day and very few hours while in port but SO GOOD!
The Wipeout Cafe on Deck 15 AFT.
WE LOVED THIS PLACE!
There's lots of great options here!
We loved the nachos!
It is almost sailing time, we are ready!
The Wipeout Bar near the Flowriders in the very back of the ship! I love the double Flowriders and the ample seating available. It is NOT shaded but it is nice to have additional seating if your kids are at the FR non-stop!
A view of the Aqua Theater from Deck 15 above.
The Allure Dunes
TIP- If you want to play a round, do this EARLY in the cruise as 6K+ others want to play as well!
A view of the Boardwalk area and Aqua Theater from Deck 15 aft.
The rest of the afternoon we spent exploring the ship and trying to get a feel for the layout prior to even setting sail. TIP- This is probably my biggest suggestion, especially for a MEGA ship, is to get the layout and feel for the ship EARLY in the cruise so you are not constantly asking "Which way is XXX".
A RARE view of the ginormous hot-tubs near the Solarium!
The Solarium Bistro
I will discuss this more on Day 2 but this is another HIDDEN GEM and was quiet, clean and never crowded!
A view of the Main Pool from Deck 16.
This is the largest of the 4 pools and is on Deck 15 midship (PORT) side.
A view of the Royal Promenade and the Rising Tides Bar.
One of the things we did not like about the Allure was the lack of a real "lanai" deck. They offered a jogging track on Deck 5 and it was covered but it did not have ANY chairs and no real space to stop and admire the ocean as you sailed by. This is one of my favorite things about the Voyager and Freedom class RCCL ships and almost all of the Carnival ships. This was non-existent on the Allure and perhaps the biggest disappointment of the ship in our opinion.
We are ready to set sail... Let's do this!
A view of the jogging track on Deck 5. I enjoyed the cute sayings near the lobby doors but you can see how narrow it was and how little space there was to view the ocean.
We grabbed a few drinks at Schooner Bar on Deck 6 before going back out and calling the kids before sail-away. They were in Tyler with my parents for a few days before making their annual trip to the "farm" in Lubbock with Chris's parents. We did a quick Facetime with them and before we realized it, we were sailing towards Honduras.
Goodbye Galveston...
Hello crystal clear blue waters!!
Our cruise has officially been made... We can go home!
Just kidding; we would never! But this was a HUGE success!
We had a few pre-dinner drinks in my favorite bar of all time- Vintages in Central Park before going to 150 Central Park at 8:15PM for our dinner reservation. TIP- Vintages is such an amazing bar and is so quiet. It is tucked away in Central Park and even has doors that close off the noise and music from Central Park. Even if wine is not your thing, be sure to check this place out. The service and ambiance is the BEST!
We found Vintages on our first Liberty of the Seas cruise in 2018 and fell in LOVE!
We LOVE Vintages!
We then made our way to 150 CP. We expected it to be packed but due to the Broadway production of Mama Mia happening on the 1st night, we practically had the place all to ourselves. Our waiter, Allen, was incredible and even gave us a free plate from the head chef. In fact, it was an entire entrée plate- the Beef Tenderloin for Two. This was unbelievably good but we barely even made a dent. The food and drinks were exceptional. It was a GREAT way to start off our cruise!
Our 150 Central Park Experience
The 150 CP menu
The Garlic Knots- 5
HOLY SMOKES these were incredible!
Seared Honey Glazed Scallops-5
WOW... These were heavenly and so delicate!
Braised Short Rib -4.5
The meat literally fell off the bone... It was delicious.
Lobster Thermidor-5
Wow... This was the most bougie food I have ever had and I LOVED IT!
The Beef Tenderloin for TWO-4.5
Thank you Allen and head chef! We really enjoyed this!
Fried Cheesecake-3.5
This is not really my thing but the flavor was good.
Chris loved them!
Thank you 150 Central Park!
WE LOVED our experience!
Do not sleep on this one and try to get it in a dining package as it is SO MUCH CHEAPER this way!
After dinner, we were STUFFED and needed to walk off our dinner. We did a quick stroll around Central Park before realizing we had to go back to the room for Chris to take his medicine. We got back to our room and Chris took his meds and we sat on the bed for a minute- which turned into an hour and a half nap. It was crazy how that happens but I kid you not, that has been our "new tradition" on the first night of a cruise.
We woke up around 11:30PM and quickly got up and made our way to the Royal Promenade Deck 5 to watch the Embarkation Balloon Drop. TIP- This happens weekly on the Allure and it was REALLY cool. Be forewarned that a LOT of people are in a very small location so if you are claustrophobic, it may not be for you but we LOVED IT! We then started our nightly tradition of ending the night at Schooner Bar. We loved Iputu and Matthew who took care of us from day 1.
We are ready for the balloon drop!
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1- DROP!
This was really cool. I think kids and adults alike would LOVE IT!
This embarkation day was as smooth as the seas we were sailing and we knew this was going to be a GREAT cruise!
Up Next... Sea Day #1
God is Good... ALL THE TIME!
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- March 2019
The Norwegian Breakaway- November 2018
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- 2018
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
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