Slow start posting wise to the new year, but with good cause... the first few days were filled with the last minute activities before I headed away on our make-up cruise from the fire sailing last May on Grandeur of the Seas.  We took the credit they gave us and headed to Fort Lauderdale on the Allure of the Seas - the largest cruise ship in the world and newest ship in RC's fleet.

Now, if you're paying attention to the weather around "these parts" you'll know we managed to miss hella cold in the past week, for which I am very grateful.  I'm even more grateful that I came home to a house that was safe and in tact.  Heaven knows with the heat turned back while I'm gone and the extreme cold I could have still easily had pipe issues.  We also were very fortune that this area didn't get as much snow as those north of us back at the start of the new year, and our travel to and from was met with really nice weather and absolutely no delays or problems.

Beff and I headed out for the first time on Spirit Airlines, out of Latrobe, on the 3rd.  I can't tell you how wonderful that short drive and not paying for parking was.  We did book not one, but two days, before the cruise sailed to give us a little more comfort since we flew out in the middle of the winter and there is only one direct flight from LBE to FLL each afternoon.  The seats were NOT more cramped as some people seemed to believe, and I'll GLADLY fly them again, especially given the great rates that you can get not only to FLL but to DFW as well.

We didn't do much the first day in FLL but wait for my sister and niecey-poo to arrive on their day before flight.  Beff caught up on sleep while I tried to read and fight off a headache.  We did have some good grub right there at the hotel (Rodeway Inn and Suites / The Reef), despite the rather slow service.  Cranberry in your burgers... who'da thought!?  The hotel was okay.  I know from past experience that FLL hotels are a bit grungy and beneath my standards for what I expect for what I'm paying, so in comparison to others I'll give this place good marks.  Odd however that the floor wasn't carpeted, it was tile, and no elevator to the second floor.  Our hot water died on us midafternoon too, but they did get it remedied within a reasonable time.

So, on the 5th, on to Allure and our Boardwalk view balcony, 9729, furthest aft that was not the uber suites.  We were able to watch a good bit of the aqua theater practices and shows right from our balcony.  I had read that some folks had issues with noise from Rita's Cantina on the boardwalk, which was not our experience, they were pretty quiet, but an Welcome Back show on the first sea day (day after Nassau) did end up waking Beff and Niecey-Poo, granted it was after 10am, so... probably not a real noise issue there.  I think they were more upset that they missed the chocolate breakfast that morning than being woke.  My sister and I were down there enjoying that show, immediately after we went to the Cruise Critic meet and greet, where she won one of the door prizes, bringing us back yet another free bottle of champagne!  I guess I didn't mention that now that I am diamond plus, that was my selection for a welcome back gift.  Yes please!  We then rode the carousel (the first of several rides through the week), did some onboard shopping, sat watching the folks taking their shot at the stand up flow rider, and hit the zip line.  You'll be proud, unlike on Oasis, I didn't need pushed this time!

First stop, Nassau Bahamas:  Allure is having some propulsion concerns, so they have reduced her speeds, which meant we were leaving a little earlier than was planned when we booked, so we didn't head down towards some of the sights I've had on my to do list from the past two visits.  Instead we wandered through the straw market briefly and along a couple of stores before we headed to Senor Frogs.  Hey, at least we waited until close to 11am to go have a few drinks and salsa!  It seemed fitting that we headed there anyhow, since that is where we spent some time while in Freeport after the fire last May.

Second stop, after a day at sea, St Thomas:  We were booked with Sunny Liston tours in this port.  Our stay was shortened (arriving late) in advance due to the propulsion issues, but was even later than expected due to currents and movement issues.  So, I will say that we were even later than planned, but our driver, Elvis was still there waiting for us and ready to take us out for some shopping, sightseeing, and the beach.  We did get to see some great sights, but nixed the hard core shopping beyond one main stop (which didn't seem to realize that ppl come in more than small sizes) due to the shortened period to continue on to the beach.  Our driver noted that Sapphire beach was having issues w/ their facilities and recommended against there, which was okay, since I had been there before, and noted how crowded Coki beach would be w/ 6 ships in port, so he suggested we go with Magen's Bay.  It was nice, but not as nice as you'd expect from a place labeled as one of the top beautiful beaches in the world - National Geographic fail IMHO.  We did at least see some pelicans flying around and diving into the water and did enjoy our time there.

Third and final stop, St Maarten:  I thought we might head to Maho beach, but instead we took the water taxi across to the main area and did a good bit of shopping in all of the jewelry stores.  We then snagged a guavaberry fruity beverage and strolled along the man made beach back up to the water taxi.

Next up two days at sea:  The first day I was able to get a tour of the bridge, which was a completely awesome first experience to do so on the largest/newest ship.  (Yay for being diamond plus.)  I was very happy to see that they had a couple extra security steps in place before they allowed anyone in there and maintained close escorts.  There was a behind the scenes aqua theater tour that fizzled out due to the movement, but at least we were allowed up on the stage.  I did peek into the concierge lounge, but didn't head up there for the evening drinks since Beff just turned diamond.  There was time in the hot tub, including the last night when we saw Oasis passing in the distance as she headed out on her sailing.  There was a visit to Johnny Rockets (nom), people watching, a glow dance party (which seemed to turn into music I'd moreso expect from Rita's Cantina), and karaoke (which also was more apt to be at Boleros), a Madagascar aqua show, and posing with some of the Madagascar characters for photos.

My applause?  1).  Our stateroom attendant (Vic), waiter (Bernardo), assistant waiter (Shane), and head waiter (Val) were all awesome.  2).  The shows were fantastic!  I _loved_ Chicago.  Blue planet was sweet, but I wish we were sitting further back and centered.  The Aqua shows were amazing.  The comedians were pretty darn good (the opening act better than the other).  The Ice Show... well, technically it was awesome, but the premise was a bit of a stretch that didn't "do it" for me, but a great performance none the less.  I guess I should say shows here too as they also had a "How to Train Your Dragon" show.  Our headliner was a ventriloquist, who was pretty good as well.  3).  Ken Rush, the cruise director, did a great job.  He's not as amped up awesome on stage as Richard Spacey was, but he more than made up for it by still having a good personality off the stage.  There is something to be said for consistency and being the same guy on stage as off.  4).  Interesting factoid - the crown and anchors above the aqua theaters on both the Allure and Oasis are the ones that were removed from Sovereign as she left the fleet!

My disappointments?  1).  We had requested a larger table, as we love getting to meet people, but ended up at a table for 4.  We tried to move, but they could not accommodate our request.  Boo.  It became apparent why as we learned more about our travel mates.  Around 1/4 of the ship were Brazilians, who seemed to be sailing in large familial groups.  I'll tell you, they don't consider personal space/distances the same way we do, and it started to grate.  2).  The attendants in the shops onboard were a bit rude at times and the folks in the Diamond lounge were business, not friendly, didn't introduce themselves or start to remember you and your preferences.  Boo.

We definitely had a bit of motion in the ocean.  I can't believe how much Allure was moving.  I had really attributed the size to never noticing any movement in Oasis.  It was kind of nice to get rocked to sleep each night on my comfy (no, I'm serious) fold out sofa, and we got lucky that the sloshing (barely) didn't cancel our ice show.