I was woken up again earlier than I had planned. This time it was not by church bells, but by clapping and cheering. I wondered if there was some kind of parade passing through. It was daylight when I woke up and I did not go back to sleep but read for a while. Graham woke up not long after this. He checked out what was going on in front of our hotel. What I thought was a parade actually turned out to be a fun run. He commented that a chunk of the road was closed. This did not fill me with joy. We had a ship to get to, and I was planning to use Uber to the port. I was figuring out a plan B, which consisted of taking the train to the outskirts of Barcelona and then take an Uber from there.
Fortunately, in the end this was not necessary. We had a leisurely morning and took our time getting ready. We packed the few odds and ends that we had unpacked and also put some swimwear in our hand luggage. We finished the almond cookies that I had bought at Montserrat. We also watched the emergency video and listened to the emergency signal via the app. By the time we were ready, the road had reopened. We headed downstairs to check out. Then I booked an Uber. Ironically, the Uber did come from the suburb of Barcelona that I thought we could take the train to if the road had not opened in time. It gave me a pickup time of 18 minutes later, but it looked like our driver was stuck in traffic. In the end, the driver took nearly 30 minutes to get to us. Still, we were not in any particular rush and there was some seating near the hotel entrance. Once I could see that the driver had arrived in Molins de Rei, we went outside. The driver arrived a couple of minutes later.
We had a clear run to the port and soon we got our first look at Allure of the Seas. We were dropped off just outside the terminal and headed to the area where the porters were. Somebody came to meet us straightaway, but he was then sidetracked. We moved a little bit further up and our suitcases were taken off us. We then headed towards the entrance. The area in front of the terminal looked very busy, but it soon became clear that people were not actually in line. We headed straight through security and there was only one person in front of us. We were through there very quickly. There seemed to be quite a long line for check in, but some people were sent to a different line and when it was our turn, we were sent straightaway to somebody with an iPad. I assumed the people that were sent elsewhere had not done online check in. For us, the check in process was very quick. We were then given a boarding number. This did not fill me with joy. When we went through security, I heard that they had called boarding group 14. No other boarding groups had been called since and we had boarding group 36. Still, there was nothing we could do and went to find a seat. I did not even get as far as getting my iPad out of my bag when there was an announcement that all remaining passengers could now board. We quickly stopped for a couple of embarkation photos. The first photo was with a backdrop in the terminal and the second was on the walkway with the ship in the background.
Even though there had been a lot of people in the seating area in the terminal, it did not take long to get on to get on the ship. I had spotted when I checked the activities about a week earlier that there was Who In The World Am I trivia in the Schooner Bar at 11:00. I had figured that this would be a nice way to start the cruise but knew that it would be very tight. Well, we got to the Schooner Bar with a couple of minutes to spare. We scored 16 out of 20 and the winning score was 17.
We decided to get the last part of the muster drill taken care of, which was the check in at the muster station. We had to go back down one deck as you cannot go from aft to forward on the deck where the Schooner Bar was located and our muster station was on deck 4 forward. As we were walking along the Royal Promenade, we were intercepted by somebody who was trying to drum up business for specialty dining. I had made most of our reservations ahead of time as we had the unlimited specialty dining package. It did however not give me the option to reserve the one restaurant that I really wanted to try ahead of time, and I also was not able to get a reservation for lunch that day. I had planned to go to one of the specialty restaurants as soon as it opened in the hope that they could seat us for lunch and assist with the reservation. I decided to check if she could help. Not only did she manage to get us a reservation for dinner at Mason Jar for exactly when I wanted it and a reservation for lunch at Giovanni’s Table, but she also gave us some options for swapping one of our two lunch time reservations at Chop’s Grill. I could not believe my ears when she offered brunch at Mason Jar. I took her up on this offer.
With this sorted, we finally checked in at our muster station. Then we headed up to Central Park. It was still a little bit too early for lunch. However, Park Cafe is right opposite Giovanni’s Table, and I figured this would be a great opportunity to get our traditional first cup of Royal Caribbean blend. This did not disappoint. Graham made sure that there is photographic evidence.
Once we noticed that Giovanni’s Table was open, we headed over there. Giovanni’s Table is one of three different Italian concepts that Royal Caribbean offers. It is the oldest of the three and as such is found on the older ships. This was a first for us. We had reservations for Giovanni’s Table on other ships before but always changed it to something else. The menu is something limited and compared to the other two Italian concepts, it does not get a lot of love. Giovanni’s Kitchen which is the Italian concept on the newest ships is still our favourite of the three, but this was nice, too. We were seated as soon as we checked in and were actually the first people in the restaurant. We had a very nice server. Graham started with crispy calamari with tomato sauce and garlic aioli, and I had the minestrone. Graham followed this with seafood linguine, and I had the Filet Mignon with mashed potatoes and broccolini. I am not normally keen on anything in the broccoli family, but I liked this. This was stir-fried with olive oils and garlic and was still slightly crispy. We had a glass of Moscato each with lunch. For dessert, I could not resist the assorted Italian ice cream. Everything was amazing. Graham had a cappuccino after lunch, and I had a cup of Royal Caribbean blend. I did not want to spend a drink’s voucher on a specialty coffee. I was surprised that they did not offer just plain filter coffee. I told our server not to worry, and I would get some coffee afterwards, but he insisted to get me a cup from Park Cafe. Graham had a sip of mine and proclaimed that my Royal Caribbean blend was actually nicer than his cappuccino. That says a lot about the specialty coffee. It was not a bad version of Royal Caribbean blend, but it still was not great coffee.
After lunch, we headed up to the pool deck. We found some rather comfortable rocking chairs outside Mason Jar. We settled in and I read for a while. Once the time came when the cabins were due to be available, I headed downstairs. I asked Graham if he was coming, but he was happy where he was. It took me a while to work out where our cabin actually was. Prior to the dry dock in spring, the area where our cabin was located was the conference centre. During the dry dock, they were converted into interior cabins. This meant that they were somewhat tugged away. Still once I had found them once, I had no issue finding them again. I took some photos of the cabin and put our magnets on the door. Then I went back to where Graham was sitting. We relaxed a bit longer and then we headed down to the cabin together.
Our luggage had arrived, and we unpacked. Our stateroom host came by to introduce himself and to check if we would prefer him to come and clean our cabin in the morning or in the evening. We then had a little bit of downtime before we headed out again to go to the Welcome On Board Trivia at the Schooner Bar. We did OK again and scored 13 out of 16. The winning score was 15. After the trivia, we went back to the cabin briefly to get changed. Then we headed to the solarium on deck 15 for dinner.
We had a reservation for Samba Grill that evening. Samba Grill is a Brazilian rodizio steakhouse concept that at the moment can only be found on two Royal Caribbean ships. We previously experienced this on Radiance of the Sea, where this is a standalone specialty restaurant. The set up on Allure is different. There it shares a space with the Solarium Bistro. The restaurant operates as Solarium Bistro for breakfast and at lunch on sea days. In the evenings, it operates a Samba Grill. I actually felt that this worked better in the Solarium Bistro than in the smaller dedicated restaurant on Radiance. There is a buffet area with a salad bar, breads, and cheeses. There is also an area with hot side dishes. There was plenty to choose from.
Graham ordered a class of Moscato. I figured that a meal in a Brazilian restaurant called for a caipirinha. This is the national cocktail of Brazil, which consists of cachaça, sugar, lime, and ice. They had a range of flavours, and I went with mango, which was delicious. Our server also brought out some croquettes and Brazilian cheese bread with our drinks. I overdid the sides a little and had some rice, polenta fries and a black bean stew. This turned out to be too much food for me.
Soon after our server brought the drinks, the skewers with the meat started to arrive. We both had chicken breast wrapped in bacon, bottom sirloin, parmesan cheese and herb-crusted pork loin, top sirloin, and beef tenderloin. Graham also had beef short rib and a lamb chop, which I do not eat. Everything was delicious. One thing that I was disappointed about when I saw the menu online and then later at the restaurant that they did not list the grilled pineapple with cinnamon. This is my favourite part of the rodizio. I was delighted when our server told us that we still had the pineapple and dessert to come. For dessert, they were offering two different truffles, one with chocolate and one with condensed milk and coconut as well as a chocolate cake and a passion fruit mousse. We declined the chocolate cake and opted to share the passion fruit mousse. We both found this too sweet and did not finish this.
I had made reservations for the show that night. We still had plenty of time until this. Graham had spotted that there was a grand opening of the Pandora store on the Cruise Compass. He thought that this may be something I would be interested in. This was still a little while in the future, too. We had a look at the logo shop. Every time I sail on a new ship, I try to get a Spirit Jersey with the name of the ship and also a resin model of the ship. I was delighted when I found pink Spirit Jerseys with the name of the ship in glitter print on the sales rack. This was only $18 rather than the usual $70. I called that a result. I also found a lanyard with the name of the ship of the sales rack. I had not been able to find Graham’s lanyard when I was packing and had given him the one, I had brought. I got a new one for myself.
I stopped at one of backdrops for some photos and also got some photos with the car on the Royal Promenade then we headed towards the Pandora store. I was surprised that this was already open. It turned out that they had a grand opening event on every cruise that season. I had a look around. I was hoping that they had a ship specific charm or at least a Royal Caribbean charm, but this was not the case. I came out empty-handed.
Graham decided that he did not want to come to the theatre with me. He headed to the cabin, and I went to get a seat on the balcony of the theatre. I have always had a bit of an uneasy relationship with the shows on Royal Caribbean. I have always loved the ice shows. The majority of the production shows leave me slightly bewildered to say the least and there have been some shows where I left feeling that this was a period of life I was never going to get back. There are two exceptions to this. I have a soft spot for The Beautiful Dream on Ovation of the Seas. Although the story line on this is a little hard to follow at times, but at least it has one. It also is a great mix of nice songs, puppetry, acrobatics, dance, and special effects. We also went to an amazing show called Flight – Dare To Dream on Symphony of the Seas, which was all about the history of aviation and space exploration. The show on Allure of the Seas is called Blue Planet Home. I had high hopes for this, but it was just strange. For the most part, I had no idea what was going on. What was the saving grace was that this show had a hugely talented cast consisting of singers, dancers and acrobats and some very spectacular sets. In the end, I came away thinking that I was glad to have seen it once, but it was definitely a case of once and done.
One of the latest concepts on Royal Caribbean is the Pesky Parrot Tiki Bar. They experimented with a different tiki bar concept on some of their smaller ships. When we were on Navigator, which has that original take on a tiki bar, I had high hopes for this, but it just did not work. I was however excited to try Pesky Parrot Tiki Bar. When my favourite ship, Ovation of the Seas, goes into an extended dry dock in spring, they will replace the Bionic Bar with Pesky Parrot Tiki Bar. I figured I may as well road-test this. Once the show was over, I decided that I fancied a drink and figured I may as well give Pesky Parrot Tiki Bar a go. It was pretty busy, but I managed to get a chair at the bar. This venue has a very unique menu. Pesky’s Peanut Butter Piña consists of Skrewball peanut butter whiskey and piña colada mix. I am not a whiskey drinker, but this is seriously delicious. Taste of the Tropics consists of Bacardi rum, pineapple, tropical juices, and blood orange sour. This was very fruity and refreshing whereas my first choice was rich and indulgent. I loved them both though. The company was pretty good, too. I was talking to a couple that lives about an hour away from us and like me, they are passionate cruisers.
The bar stools are not particularly comfortable. About halfway through the second drink, I decided I had enough. I said good night to my companions and took the rest of the drink to the cabin. I enjoyed this while I read a couple of chapters in my book. Once I had finished my drink, I got ready for bed and was soon asleep.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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