Chapter 3: Entertainment
Something for everyone
11.20.2023 - 11.20.2023 80 °F
They have a "Piano Man'
Sunday, November 19, 2023
I really missed the 'Billy Joel/Elton John' piano guy while we aboard the Queen Elizabeth. Every ship I've ever been on has one of those kind of guys and Allure is no exception. Allure has Connor Schenk. He's really short--except for his hair--and he is really good. And, when he plays Piano Man, he accompanies himself with a harmonica. I've never seen anybody other than Billy do that. I was impressed.
Royal Caribbean has a deal with the folks that license Abba's Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus' Broadway Show: Mamma Mia. A cast of twenty-one puts on a two-and-a-half hour version which is poorly acted and horribly choreographed but adequately sung. B4 really liked it; Paul hated it. Who could not enjoy Abba's music?! I agree, the acting was not winning any awards, some of it was pretty awful, and some of the cast couldn't really sing. But the two leads had decent voices and the show is really all about the music.
On Friday night when the seas were rough, they had to cancel the performance half way through. Dancers and acrobats don't do well when the floor upon which they perform rises and falls. Next year, the show will be Saturday Night Fever. A fever, as we all know, accompanies a feeling of malaise. Let's hope the same isn't true of this production when it premiers.
For the record, we arrived at Coco Bay, Bahamas at 7:00am to depart from there at 5:00pm. Also known as Little Stirrup Cay, it is one of the Berry Islands and is only 55 miles from yesterday's Nassau. Royal Caribbean owns and uses it exclusively. Nearby is Great Stirrup Cay which is a similar feature when traveling aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. Opened in May, 2019, "Perfect Day at CocoCay" has "the tallest waterslide in North America, the highest vantage point in the Caribbean, the largest wave pool in the Caribbean and the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean." None of those are attractions for the woman to whom I am attracted. We chose not to disembark as the purpose of this voyage was to evaluate the ship itself, not its ports of call.
We are among the few who resisted the siren's call of Perfect Day at Coco Cay. The pool and to solarium were, literally, deserted for the entire morning. There was absolutely no competition for full claim of a private cabana--four of them exist forward on Deck 18 protected by a keycard gate allowing only Sky, Star and Suite guests access.
Allure docked adjacent to another smaller Royal Caribbean vessel and both disgorged their masses, up to 7,500 guests. Let the fun begin.
And, no, neither did we rock climb or zip line. B4 would not have enjoyed those adventures. We also skipped the Wave Rider surfing as I am certain that neither of us could have gotten to our feet on a surfboard. That ship has sailed. We are hip but our hips aren't.
Aboard ship, in advance, I bought us a guacamole making class for lunchtime. At Sabor's bar, we get our avocados, cilantro, onion, garlic, jalapeño, limes, salt, mortar and pestle and away we go. We are also treated to a margarita making lesson where, because my last name begins with "R", I win the one the bartender (from India) created. It was quite nice. Then, I was quickly served a second one. Life is hard here. We will be leaving for Cabo in about 2 weeks. Margaritas and guacamole are staples for us there, we make them every day. The little lunch time class we just did was fun and the guacamole and Margarita quite tasty. Paul participated; he can really no longer claim he does not cook. It also included lunch which was much better than last nights dinner. In Cabo, i think i will stick to my guacamole spice mix and margarita mix, much easier and just as good.
At the very stern of the ship is the AquaTheatre, home of the OceanAria Aqua show. The shows on Friday night had to be canceled due to rough weather causing the water in the pool below the divers to slosh back and forth, far beneath diving boards that swayed along with the motion of the ship. Safety first.
On Deck 4, the ice rink is located at Studio B, home of "Blades," the ice skating show.
Just outside Giovanni's, Jazz in the Park offers the very good "Jazz Wave Quartet." We were set to dine alongside them but the rain forced us inside the restaurant. The first half hour of our dinner was exquisite with eggplant parmigiana as a delicious starter. Things turned less pleasant when the table for ten next to us was occupied. NEVER DINE NEXT TO A TABLE OF MORE THAN SIX PERSONS. NEVER.
There are, I think, a lot of inexperienced travelers aboard this short cruise. Behaviors that those of us who travel frequently would avoid are present everywhere. The loud, almost yelling, voices at the restaurant table of ten is but one example. There are also those who quickly board an elevator before those aboard can exit. Those who make farting noises on the elevator to entertain their companions. There are those who are seemingly unaware of others when walking along a thoroughfare exhibiting pedestrian practices that would get them assaulted on a big city sidewalk. And, one assumes many of our shipmates left their wardrobe inhibitions at home putting on display portions of their anatomies that would be delightful to see on some bodies but not necessarily on the ones they have created for themselves. One couple next to us at Mamma Mia, during intermission, asked a couple of off-duty Royal Caribbean entertainers sitting nearby whether or not the singers were actually singing or merely lip-synching. Other audience members loudly extolled the performance as "the most amazing thing I've ever seen" when the show was, for me, the least amazing thing I've ever seen.
And, of course, there are hundreds of children who are not ubiquitous on the six-star lines such as Regent, Crystal, Seabourn or SilverSea.
Allure boasts a wonderful Deck Five walking/jogging track which runs the entire perimeter of the ship. Ten times around is just about four miles, my daily goal.
Tomorrow morning we disembark, our little 'Cruise Off' being completed. While much of what i had to say was less than complimentary, the truth is there are pros and cons to this big ship as there are with everything. Overall, i'm glad Paul kidnapped me for the experience, the kidnapping itself being fun. The mega ship is not for me so at least now i have factual basis for my crossing it off of my cruise list. We enjoyed just being together as we always do.
Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just about here. We wish all of you a Very Happy Thanksgiving with friends and family!
