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2014 Allure & Oasis
  • Rulocal
Jul – Sep 2014

2014 Allure & Oasis

A 60-day adventure by Rulocal Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 14, 2014
    RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Big price reduction

    July 14, 2014 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Sheila did her usual price check on the cruises we have booked, and once again she found the price has come down.
    This time we've saved over £400 each.
    Also we've moved to a sea facing balcony from a boardwalk balcony, which is great as we prefer the sea balconies.
    So we're happy bunnies at the moment.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Problems finally sorted

    July 26, 2014 in England ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    With their usual incompetence, RCCL, Guatamala, had missed out one of the hotel bookings and half of the transfers on the upcoming cruises.
    But thanks to Louise our travel agent it's all been sorted.
    Also for the first time ever we've booked our cruise entertainment on line, so it will be interesting to see how efficient the system is.
    If it works properly, it will be great as I was able to book for ourselves and also Maz and Sue, for both the Allure cruise and the Oasis cruise.
    Watch this space for an update, lol.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Good flight, great room

    August 24, 2014 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    The flight lasted 9 hours but was uneventful, and the food and service was excellent.
    We had booked a wheelchair for Sheila, a last time we flew in out Miami it was horrendous as the walk from the plane to immigration was so long it did her in.
    Well with the wheelchair assistance we sailed through, immigration and customs the girl who was helping us was brilliant, she wizzed all four of us through in well under an hour, and that includes waiting for our luggage, I was going to tip her $5 but she was so good I ended up tipping her $20 and it was well worth it, last time at Miami we took over 2.5 hours, to get through all the immigration rigmarole.
    When we got to the transfers, we realised we had a different transfer company to Maz & Sue, but as they were on their own in their mini bus, the driver let us travel with them, so everything worked out brill.
    The hotel is beautiful and our room overlooks the marina in fact there is a huge luxury yacht parked right outside our room, but being on the 3rd floor it's not blocking out view, and to top it all the lovely girl at reception gave me a coupon for internet in my room for free, the free internet used only in the lobby, so all in all a good start to the trip.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    What? Not one problem?

    August 25, 2014 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Well, first time for ages we've boarded got to our cabin and not one problem to report.
    All our diamond plus amenities where there, two bottles of chardonnay, two joeys of chardonnay, biscuits, bath robes invitations the lot, even had a visit from the housekeeping supervisior to introduce himself, and inform us that of we needed anything to get in touch with him personally.
    Don't know why he did that but there you go.
    We had a nice evening in the concierge lounge with Maz and Sue and another couple, Ian and Kim, who Maz and Sue knew from a previous cruise.
    As I've said before, once you reach diamond level, you tend to see people you've met before, because relatively speaking the cruising world is a small one.
    Anyway Ian and Kim seem like a nice couple, and they're doing the transatlantic on the Oasis directly after this cruise as we are, so we'll get to know them better.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Comedy Club

    August 27, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Last night we all went to the comedy club the two comedians where very good there was a white guy called Al Romas, who was funny, but I did prefer the black guy, AJ Jamal, he was like a Bill Cosby but without the blue language that Cosby uses.
    He was very funny and even made a great routine out of his mike breaking down.
    Sheila, Maz and Sue sat on the second row but I as usual sat on the front row, hoping to be picked on by the comedians, i wasn't disappointed, they both had a go at me, even the MC, an attractive Trinidadian girl had a go at my colourful bow tie.
    I like the comedy club for its intimacy with the comedians which would be completely lost in a theatre.
    Speaking of which we are going to the theatre tonight to see Chicago, now I've seen it four times before, once on this ship, once in the Empire Theatre in Liverpool and twice on the Ambassador Theatre on Broadway NYC, which I will never tire of telling people as a Broadway show was always on my bucket list.
    So you may have guessed that it's one of my favorite musicals.
    Also today we're stopping at Labadee and for a change Sheila is getting off the ship with us.
    I can't remember the last time she got off at Labadee it's so long ago.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    From Labadee to Chicago

    August 27, 2014 in Haiti

    Started the day with an early breakfast in the solarium which was nice.
    It's another plus point about these huge ships, that's the selection of places to eat, we tend to have breakfast in a different place each day and on a weeks cruise like this you can, have it in a different place every day.
    After breakfast at about 8.15am we got off the ship and took a nice stroll to the beach at the far side of the resort and being the first ones there we have had the pick of the places to sit, so with Sheila and Sue placed at the waters edge and Maz and I under a shady tree we had a lovely relaxing few hours.
    The weather was overcast but very humid an warm, which suited me as I don't like sitting on the blazing sun.
    By about 11.30 the beach had started to get quite crowded, so after we'd had something to eat from the buffet, which was awful btw, we made our way back to the ship.
    Oh yes I forgot to mention a huge spider came visiting the beach by us causing a bit of a stir, lol.
    After a nice shower and a short sleep, sitting on a beach is very tiring you know, it was time to get changed and go down for a drink.
    We only stayed till 6.30pm as we'd booked to see Chicago, one of my favorite musicals and brilliantly done by the RC singers and dancers, it's definitely one of the best shows I've seen on board any ship.
    After the show we had a quick bite to eat on the Windjammer cafe then off to bed after what for me anyway was a very full day.
    Oh yes one other thing, for those of you that know about the new 3 drink scheme that Royal have brought in, it worked out quite well last night as we had a few drinks in the concierge lounge as I said and then ordered a couple in the theatre, which we would not normally have done if we'd had to pay, being the tight ba*****ds we are lol.
    One other thing about the 3 drinks, you are restricted to what you can have, ie no cocktails or premium drinks are allowed and only certain beers such as Budweiser but not Bud light?    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Falmouth, Jamaica

    August 28, 2014 in Jamaica ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Yesterday we docked at Falmouth Jamaica, I've been to Jamaica before but never to Falmouth, so I decided to have a look.
    To be honest there's not much to see, the port area is specially built for RCCL cruise ships and is just shops, outside the port area the town is ramshackle and very run down.
    I wore my Jamaican uniform, that being a Bob Marley T-shirt and to be honest I was very surprised at the amount of people who shouted "hey Bob Marley " and wanted to high five, or fist bump me.
    I suppose they where either very friendly, or just thought I was a knob to be a white guy with a Bob Marley T-shirt walking around on my own, probably the latter more than the former, lol. Must admit I did feel safe walking on my own but you do get pestered the further you go into town, as the police/security presence gets less the further you go, so less police means more beggars I suppose.
    Glad I went but wouldn't bother again.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Mo5aic

    August 30, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    No the title is not a spelling mistake its the name of the singing group from last night, it's just a play on mosaic and because there are five members.
    They are an acapella group they use no instruments for backing just their own amplified voices to mimic instruments.
    To be honest they are pretty amazing, although not to everyone's taste.
    The guy doing the percussion was particularly impressive, sounding at times like a full drum kit, doing everything from hi-hat symbol to bass drum all simultaneously.
    So if you see them advertised around, they are worth seeing at least once.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    The Blue Planet

    August 31, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    We watched a wonderful show in the theatre last night, as the title says it was called the blue planet and what a wonderful show it was.
    It was a celebration of planet earth in dance and song, portraying everything from the desert wastes, to tropical jungles, an impressive and stunning show, only spoiled by some oriental knobs taking photographs every couple of seconds.
    They were actually in front of Sheila and Sue who said nothing to them.
    I had a couple in front of me who were like jack in a boxes, but a quiet word sat them down.
    I just can't understand the lack of common courtesy of some people.
    Anyway this morning we've ordered breakfast on the cabin so we can watch the football, which is on TV today and with the five hour time difference it's on at 8am.
    Well I say we're watching the football, Sheila is back in bed and fast asleep lol.
    Having said that, it's only Man City vs Stoke and then Burnley vs Man Utd, so I suppose she's got good reason to fall back asleep lol.
    I'm sort of hoping that the Everton, Chelsea game is on TV later, but. maybe not, as I don't hold out much hope of a win for us, but then again I suppose miracles can happen, lol.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Overnight in Ft Lauderdale

    September 1, 2014 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We were booked in to the Gallery One Doubletree hotel for one night, till we board the Oasis it's for the transatlantic crossing.
    I'm very impressed with the hotel the rooms are huge and brilliant.
    If we where staying longer they'd be ideal, having everything you'd need for an extended stay. Two huge flat screen TVs, dining table, microwave crockery etc, even down to a cooker and dishwasher.
    Also the location is good if you like to shop in big malls as the hotel is right next door to the Galleria Mall, and right over the road from Publix supermarket and a nice Starbucks.
    But of I had to choose between this hotel and the one we stayed in last week, the Hilton Marina, I'd choose the Hilton for its location very close to the port entrance.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    First night on Oasis

    September 2, 2014 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Well last night went well in the concierge lounge considering how many diamond plus members and above there are on board.
    The service was a little bit slow because the staff had never done a transatlantic before and they are so busy with all the seasoned cruisers.
    But it was no real problem and no doubt things will start to slow down over the next few days. After drinks we went to see Hairspray on the theatre and what a show it was.
    It was brilliant and nothing like I expected.
    It's actually very moving about racism in Baltimore in the sixties.
    Some of the songs where so powerful and moving, and some, well most of them were energetic.
    The finale was wonderful and the whole audience where on their feet, singing and clapping along.
    My problem if you can call it a problem, is that I love all live performances, so me saying how good it was, doesn't do it justice.
    But honestly it was one of the best shows I've seen on board any ship.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Comedy Club and old friends

    September 3, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Comedy club, it's one of the best things Royal have put on their ships.
    Last night another two great comedians, Phil Tag, who we'd not seen before and Aj Jamal, who we'd seen last week on the Allure of the seas.
    Both as I said, brilliant comedians.
    But the best thing up to now is seeing lots of old friends from other cruises,Tayna & Jerry, Steve & Brenda, Roman & Jean, to name but a few, as there are at least 10 others.
    But the biggest surprise was George & James who snuck in the comedy club to say hi to me. They were among a big group of friends I'd emailed to say I was on this trip, but George being George, the sod never said they were coming on this trip too, anyway it's great to see them as they are great guys, as are most of the people I meet on these cruises    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Loud music and early mornings

    September 4, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    I get to the concierge lounge about 5.30 for my usual coffee, read of my book and to do my blog, god I'm a busy bee.
    Anyway as I walk in it's like a disco, the so called background music is blasting out.
    I'm not sure who they've got the volume turned up for?
    So I get on the telephone to guest services, but the girl I speak to us not brilliant with English, I suppose they give the graveyard shift to the non English speakers, or the poor English speakers, lol.
    Anyway I have no joy, but I do know how to get someone in authority to turn up, i start to look for the volume switch, behind the concierge desk and behind the bar where they have the spirits locked up.
    After a couple of minutes an officer turns up and asks if I'm Ok?
    I explain that I want the early morning disco music turned down, and he duly obliges.
    It's handy knowing about the closed circuit TV sometimes, and it's oh so easy putting the knowledge to good use.
    It's a bit like the old joke about the guy in prison who's old grandfather needed his garden dug over.
    Well he couldn't do it from prison, so he phoned his Grandad and said that all the bodies are buried in the garden, twenty minutes later a team of police had done the job for him.
    I'm not saying I've buried any bodies in the concierge, but if you want something done and you can't get it by asking, big brother is always watching, especially in the concierge, LMAO.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Why not try the Diamond lounge?

    September 5, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    5am and it was disco time again in the concierge lounge.
    Couldn't be bothered with the security trick again so instead I took a walk down to the diamond lounge.
    That was much better, it did have some background music, but it was extremely low, as background music should be.
    Even had coffee, woo hoo!
    Also discovered that the Wi-Fi is faster in the diamond lounge.... Wait a minute, did I say FASTER? I meant not as slow as the rest of the ship 😄
    So I'm quite a happy bunny this morning but as you probably know, that can change lol.
    George and James came up to the concierge lounge last night for a chat, they really are two nice blokes.
    Mary and Elaine also dropped by for a chat, they are also really nice people.
    It would seem that all my friends on board are gay, but I do have straight friends too lol.
    As with every night up to now the company has changed though the evening, with people going to and coming back from dinner.
    So with us four not bothering with the restaurant and always going to the Windjammer later on for our evening meal, we get to chat to a lot of different people during the evening, which is brilliant.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Anniversary meal

    September 6, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Last night's ice show was one of the best ice shows I've seen, and one of the good things about it was the guy doing sand drawings on a light box which projected on to the big screen, he was amazing and so talented.
    Today is Sheila and I's wedding anniversary and six of us have booked Chops Grill for dinner, so fingers crossed that it will be good.
    Because the last few times we've done Chops, the experience hasn't been brilliant.
    Having said that we've never done Chops Grill on this ship, so I'll hold off on any preconceived opinions and give it the benefit of the doubt for now.
    But if it's no good, this will definitely be the final time in Chops Grill.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Anniversary update

    September 7, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We started the evening in the rising tide bar, which is a feature bar on the ship.
    It's a bar that travels between decks 5 and 8, but it moves so slowly that you don't notice it moving.
    But it's a fun thing to do and it's only found on Royal Caribbean Oasis class ships.
    Later on we went to Chops Grill for our meal and to be honest it was wonderful, everything from the company, the food and the service was brilliant.
    It really was the best night we've ever had in Chops Grill.
    Normally there is something that is not right, like last time we went, I'm not sure on which ship it was, but Mazens main meal arrived at the table, just as the rest of us where finishing our deserts.
    But this time as I said was brill.
    The only criticism I have, is the extra charge for certain things.
    Maz and I usually order the Porterhouse steak when we go to Chops Grill.
    But now even after putting the cover charge up to $35.
    If you want a porterhouse steak it's an extra $19 which to me is a rip off, but hey, that's Royal Caribbean for you!    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Brain teaser quiz

    September 8, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    For a change we decided not to start the night in the concierge lounge, but to go to the Schooner bar and do the quiz.
    Not only would it make a change but we could use our 3 drinks on our sea passes.
    There by taking full advantage of our "diamond plus amenities " lol.
    Anyway we turn up at the schooner bar for the "brain teaser quiz" and my god did it tease or brains...
    It was one of those riddle type quizzes, where there was a lot of play on words.
    The young lady doing the quiz would ask things like what is the average weight for a human baby?
    Most people had put things like 8lbs 6oz, when the answer was 9 months.
    The twist being the word wait not weight, well all this along with the young quiz master being Spanish and although speaking decent English, her actual pronunciation left a lot to be desired.
    So this all made for a rather unusual quiz, which I personally found good fun, and a bit of a laugh.
    But some people who take these quizzes far too seriously, said it was stupid and didn't like it at all.
    But hey ho, such is life lol.
    After the quiz we all trooped off to the concierge lounge and finished the night off there.
    Which was good, because the Ebb and flow of different people in our company was constant and varied and made for another interesting and pleasant evening.
    I've said many times in the past that the people you meet in the concierge /diamond lounge are interesting and in the main friendly and nice, and this cruise are no exception.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Meal with an officer

    September 9, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Yesterday afternoon we got an invitation for a meal with an officer.
    All members who have over 350 cruise points get this invitation.
    Now normally there are maybe two tables full, which would be about 16/18 guests, well this time the was about 10/15 tables which meant about 100/150 guests.
    Never ever seen so many, but as with Chops Grill the other night, this was one of the best meals we've had, the food was excellent, but the company was better.
    Once again we've met so many nice people, quite a few are old friends from other cruises, and a few new friends.
    My email contact list is growing fast, as I get more and more people to send my silly jokes to.
    Changing the subject slightly.
    About these massive ships, I really wasn't sure if I'd like them, but I must say I've been pleasantly surprised.
    Yes they are big and can be a bit difficult to navigate sometimes, especially when you first board them.
    But over all a ship is a ship, and they all have their plus and minus points.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Lunch at Chops Grill

    September 10, 2014, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    For a change we went to Chops Grill for lunch.
    This is normally reserved for suites guests at lunch time, but with so many Diamond pluses on board they're using it instead of the concierge lounge for lunch, and what a nice touch it is.
    It was packed, as people had found out it was available.
    Everyone was informed about it by letter in their stateroom on the first day but, as usual no one reads them, so by word of mouth it has got busier as the cruise has gone on.
    I must admit that the staff handled the packed restaurant very well.
    In fact except for the first couple of days when the staff in the concierge lounge didn't know what had hit them with the masses of diamond plus and pinnacle members on board, they have coped very well.
    As this was the very first transatlantic for this ship and its crew, who obviously didn't know that diamonds do transatlantic crossings because they are bargains, and usually the seasoned cruiser is not bothered about ports of call and just enjoys the relaxing sea days.
    I suppose the main problem is the guys in the Miami office who coordinate the crossings and must know how busy it can get, also the management on board ship should have known, but as I said the staff have handled it well.
    I am expecting the return crossing to be better for the crew as they will know what to expect.    Read more

  • RulocalRulocal2014 Allure & Oasis

    Southampton Port

    September 11, 2014 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    This being our first trip on either the Allure or the Oasis, I must admit I'm very pleasantly surprised.
    They are not "to big" as some people say, yes the are huge vessels, but they are surprisingly easy to navigate.
    One of the big plus points to me is the amount of places to eat, they are scattered throughout the ship, from the Wipe Out cafe on deck 15, The Park Cafe on 8, through to the Cafe Promenade on deck 5, and not forgetting the good old Windjammer Cafe on deck 11, which on both ships has been excellent.
    They are just the "free " eateries.
    There are 3 or 4 pay restaurants with cover charges, not that Mr tight wad tries them very often.
    I almost forgot to mention the normal restaurant which we rarely use on any ship, but on these two I heard nothing but good reports.
    Bars and lounges there are too many to mention individually.
    The other fantastic thing on the two ships is the entertainment, the variety and quality of which is fanatic, from the Aqua shows to the Ice shows.
    It's all been superb, the guest artists and production shows are top notch.
    My personal favourite the Comedy Club shows, which are brilliant.
    They are held in a small intimate venue, holding only about 30 or so people, making the atmosphere cosy and fun.
    I would think the comics love it to, being able to bounce off and also terrorise their audience, especially the knobs in the front row, which always includes me lol.
    To sum it all up, the ships are brilliant, with so many things to do and I've not even mentioned the zip line, the carousel, the TWO flow riders, the Ice skating, the kids arcade and the numerous pools and Jacuzzis around the ship, oh yes and the gym and spa, did I mention the Aqua theatre with the amazing divers and acrobats.
    God I could go on forever.
    Royal Caribbean can like any company get things wrong, but with these two ships they've got an awful lot right.
    On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give them a good 9.
    Also over the next 4 years there are 5 new ships planned, and if they are anything like these two, we're in for a real treat.    Read more

    Trip end
    September 11, 2014
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