The Allure of the Seas: Deck 5 Overview

One thing that Royal does well is "branding".  All the ships have a "Windjammer Cafe" at the top, the main drag is called "Royal Promenade", etc.  On both the "Freedom" class and the "Oasis" class, the Royal Promenade is on deck 5, and is very similar in feel. This is the deck you enter on, in the other class, but sadly, I don't recall which deck it is on this ship!

From the stern, we start with the top layer of the dining room.  Again, no pictures, but it looks like all the other dining rooms and I'm sure a quick Google search will show you how lovely it is.

One nifty thing on the Allure is the interactive touch screen displays.  You can have it tell you the closest washroom, what the menu is, how long the wait is at various restaurants, etc.  It was great for passing time while waiting to enter the dining room!

Up from the dining room is the Champagne Bar, and "Regalia" which I think is a store.  Next to that is Guest Services. Service is usually very good on Royal, but you do hear the odd story about poor service (like our room stewart).  They're there 24 hrs/day, so if your need isn't urgent, go at an off time.  This is also where you can get motion sickness meds, a hole punched in your SeaPass to put it on a lanyard, or a new SeaPass when yours has worn off due to the salt water pool.

In front of Guest Services is "Rising Tide Bar".  This spaceship like bar has scheduled trips from deck 5 up to deck 8.  Apparently I don't have a picture.  It's hard taking pictures inside, there's just so much visual clutter and people, and whatnot.  Plus, having been on two cruises before, I didn't want to look like a newbie :)  Google Rising Tide Bar and you'll find lots.

Going towards the bow is the Focus and Willow....stores...and on the other side, Cafe Promenade.  This is where you can get little sandwiches and treats, as well as gourmet coffee (fee).  I think there is also cold water and the regular (gross) coffee for free at the back.

The Cupcake Cupboard (the store on the left with the pink awning) is capitalizing on the current cupcake craze.  You can take cupcake decorating class (for fee) or buy a number of different flavoured cupcakes.  I don't recommend buying on the first day if you think you might like them, as they're not free, and it could get costly!

 Sorrento's is where to go for pizza.  This ship even allows you to have the counter staff make you a custom pizza.  However, their lack of English might cause some issues, LOL.  There's also a British pub,  and another Guest Services/Explorations counter, a few more shops...

 Close to the entrance to the theater is the "On Air Club" and "Boleros", another bar.  In between is "Mondo Coffee Bar" which is actually Starbucks.  I waited till late in the week to try it out, and I wish I had splurged right from the start (because of course, it's not free).  Getting a "real" coffee was wonderful finally.

Right at the bow is the Vitality at Sea spa.  On this deck, there is access from the jogging track.

Ah, yes.  The jogging track.  I had been jogging that fall, and wanted to continue on the ship.  On other ships, the jogging track is on the upper decks, totally open to the sun.  On this ship, it's on deck 5, and is the only outside access until deck 15.  So, a lot of people want to use it for strolling.  Sightseeing.  Working off breakfast.  There are plenty of signs that say to keep to the right if you're slow, but they're not always followed.  There is a seating area at the stern of the ship, and it's fun to see the AquaTheater's stage from behind.  This is a popular deck  when the ship is coming into port, so keep this in mind (I didn't realize this at first, and did not enjoy threading my way through staff and passengers).  It's also still quite hot down here and you only get breezes on one side usually. 

You can see the open jogging track at the back of the ship. 

I appreciated the jogging track being lower down--on other ships, the open deck is deck 4, and there is not supposed to be jogging, but sometimes people do use it for fitness since they'd rather not be up top.  However, having this deck serve both as the "free air access" for the bottom 14 decks, AND the fitness track meant that there was compromises for both types of people.  But I'm still glad I made the effort!

The Allure of the Seas: Ship Overview, Decks 2, 3 & 4

Since the ship is so huge, I figured I'll do the ship overview by deck.  Remember, always call them "Decks" and not "floors", and the rooms are "cabins" or "staterooms" LOL.  And, she's a "Ship" not a "boat"!

Deck 2 is not shown in the handout, or the Royal Caribbean book.  It houses the medical facility.  This might also be the deck you go ashore from.  On the Freedom class, there are cabins down here, but not on the Oasis class.  We didn't enjoy being on deck 2--too much engine noise and docking noise.

Deck 3 has the lower level of the dining room at the stern end (not quite at the stern actually, due to the Aquatheater).  Forward of that are some inside cabins, and ocean view cabins.  Studio B, the ice rink, is mid-ship, though I don't think you can access it on this level.  Forward of that is the conference center, which we did not check out.  At the bow is the lowest level of the Opal Theater, where they have the stage shows.  Again, you don't access it here, but that's just where it lines up.

Deck 4 is where the action starts to happen.  There's the middle level of the dining room, with some private dining areas.  We were on the left side, if you were looking towards the bow.  It was a weird area, somewhat closed in, without a view of the middle, open area, but with outside views, which would be nice if we had the earlier dining time or were cruising in the summer.  Couldn't see much at night.  I wonder if we got this small table because our cabin had been originally assigned to a couple who were higher up on the "rewards" list. 

We started with another couple at our table, but they lasted only one night, so we had a table for 4, to ourselves.  A bit lonely, LOL, but we got great attention from the staff and could get in and out in record time.  I didn't get any good shots of the dining room this time, but it's pretty much the same feel as the other cruises we were on, so you can check out those blog entries.

Mid-ship is the casino, with Studio B just forward of that.  On the Freedom Class ships, you could not walk from one end of the ship to the other end on deck 3 (the deck with Studio B), so we had to continuously go back up to Deck 4, and through the Casino to the other end of the ship, so we could get back to our cabin on deck 2.  Not a big problem--but the Casino is pretty much the only place inside where smoking is allowed.  Icky.  We were thrilled to find out that the wider Oasis ships allows for room around the ice rink, and we were able to avoid the Casino most of the time.

 The ice rink actually seemed a little smaller on this ship.  Interestingly, this is where our "muster station" was for the life boat drill (and if there were an actual emergency).  I know staff is highly trained, but if there's an issue with the boat, I don't want to be going down into the lower levels.  I want to be AT the lifeboat.  I also want the life jacket with me, not be handed out at the muster station.  Though it was nice not to be squished up with 100 other people on the jogging track, trying to listen to the instructions in 10 different languages.

Forward of Studio B was "Entertainment Place" (which technically includes the ice rink and casino, I think).  "Blaze", "Comedy Live" and "Jazz on 4" were down here.  We saw a comedy show, and I was surprised at how small the comedy club felt.  I don't recall checking out Blaze or Jazz on 4 (despite loving jazz!).  There is also the "Hall of Odds" leading into Studio B--just a little wall display on the history of gaming.  At the bow is the main entrance to the Opal Theater.  I don't have pictures of these places since we really weren't down there much.  I'm sure you can find pictures on Royal's website :)

The Allure of the Seas: Cabin Overview

I've been wanting to do an overview of the ship for awhile...but it's a HUGE ship...I like blogging on my laptop so I can watch TV at the same time, but I've been having laptop problems, and when I sit at the desktop computer, I get distracted by a lot of other things LOL.  Onwards.

As I mentioned, we had booked the cruise as an "inside guaranteed" room.  All we knew is that we'd be somewhere on the ship, in an inside room.  On the previous cruise, we had ended up on deck 2 and were hoping for a better placement this time.  We didn't get our placement until two days before the cruise (the day before we were leaving).  Immediately we looked at the ship plans and found out we were mid-ship, BALCONY!  Unbelievable.  I've wanted a balcony every time, but it's just too much more.  I felt incredibly blessed to be "gifted" this upgrade, at no cost!  When we got to the room, there was a "Diamond" welcome package for the original room-bookers, a Portuguese speaking couple.  We enjoyed the snack basket, but couldn't use the coupons.  Asking our room steward for new coupons was the first sign he wasn't quite up to the job, it took a lot of run around with guest services to finally get them (if we even did, I don't remember now).

How wonderful to walk into the room, full of light!  The room is pretty much the same as inside rooms.  Some rooms have the bed near the doors, but I'm glad ours was this way.  Just make sure to close the blackout drapes when you go to bed!

Not too big! I don't understand people who say you don't spend anytime in your cabin.  We spent quite a bit of time there!

 View of the ocean.  We didn't see any wildlife, but it was nice to see ships and islands, and judge our speed based on the wake.  I also loved that I could get fresh air at anytime.  That is my big pet peeve about inside cabins, especially if you're on a deck with no outside access.

 At the dock in Labadee.  It was nice seeing ports from the balcony, but it was also nice being up top where you could get a wider view.

 I had always wanted to order room service breakfast.  We decided we really had to do it this time.  We had some trouble figuring out the menu.  You indicate the number of guests on the front, and give the quantity for each item you order.  We didn't know, for example, under "white toast" to put 1, for one slice, or 1 for "one order" which is how many slices?  We selected 7:30-8:00am, I think it was, and we were hoping for closer to 8am.  Well, wouldn't you know...it came at 7:34!  The pictures are a little hazy because it was so humid outside that my camera--cold from being inside--fogged up.

 Okay, the breakfast was not as good as going to the restaurant.  The coffee on board sucks, but at least I was able to enjoy it in my robe (courtesy of the couple that were supposed to have had that room) on the balcony.

I didn't take a picture of the bathroom on the Allure, but it was pretty much just like the ones on the Liberty/Freedom ships.

We had heard about the locking door handle, and to make sure not to get locked out on the balcony.  I thought maybe we could just leave the door open a little.  Nope.  It makes a horrid whistling noise.  Also, leaving the door open really warms up the room.

Probably the best thing about having the balcony, was watching the storm on the last day.  That was awesome.  I'm thrilled we were in our room when the front moved across, and not making a mad dash for cover up on the outside decks!

Hope those videos work, Blogger and YouTube have changed again!

Cruise 2011: Home Day

Somehow, I let Rob convinced me to do the early walk off disembarkment.  We didn't have an early flight (around noon), but we hadn't been able to do online check in for our flights on board and he wanted to get to the airport early (you're supposed to be there 3 hours early).  It was our first time doing walk-off, and it was definitely a lower-stress way to get off....but SO darn early!  We got to the airport (by 6:45am I think) and to the WestJet area and they were closed.  And, there were no computers to do self-check in!  They weren't going to open till 9am; even with the time slot we were supposed to disembark in, we would have been way early.  However, people did start lining up!  We got checked in, had some food, did some shopping.  Sat and sat and sat.

I don't remember much about the flight.  I assume it went well, LOL.  The weather was rainy when we took off and that scared me a little, but the weather was nice in Toronto.  A long wait in customs when we arrived, but it was nice to be home.

It was nice to be home in the day, though we were starving by the time we got home!   Must remember that it can take a while to get through customs, if we ever take the kids!

Cruise 2011: Day 7, At Sea

If I thought we were cruising slowly to get to Nassau, I don't know what you'd call the speed we went from Nassau back to Ft. Lauderdale!  Barely moving?  Normally, a cruise to the Bahamas is an over-nighter, well, we had about 36 hours to get back to Ft. Lauderdale!

Think we're docked?  LOL.  The sea was THAT smooth.

 Look!  A rainbow!  We saw this and thought "Great, it's not going to be a bright, hot day".  Well...we were right and we were wrong....

(Not sure if the video loaded...it says it's still uploading, about 10 hours later...)You need to watch only about the first 12 seconds....LOL...I kept forgetting with video you can't rotate it half way through the video; I was trying to show everything....

 We had made an appointment to see the guys in the "advance booking" department to find out what options are available for families of 5.  However, once I got the daily planner the night before, I totally forgot about that and wanted to see the "Meet the Captain" question and answer show.  There's also the chief engineer and the chief of hotel services (or whatever the titles are), and the guy on the right is the Social Director....the Canadian guy....it's been so long now I'd have to look up his name, but if you really want to know I'm sure I put it in earlier posts :)  By the time this show started in the AquaTheater, the sky was clear and the sun was blazing hot.  I had forgotten my hat, and was sweating, Rob was barely holding it together too.  There was virtually no shade due to the direction we were heading and the fact it was 10-11am anyway.  Dumb place to have this little gem of a show.

After the show, we headed back to our room to cool off.  Then we came back out to see the short family show based on "Madagascar".  It was just like all the other Royal shows...non-stop action; bungee, trampolines, water action, etc. 

 We've never seen the movies, so we weren't familiar with the characters.

It was very hot out.  We went back to our room to "rest" and get ready to go to the pool (or something).  We had the TV on and got sidetracked by cheesy American shows (re-enacted detective shows).  We noticed that the weather was changing, and could see rain way off on the horizon.  And white caps.  We were still going very slow, so that was interesting.

The next hour made having a balcony the BEST thing ever.  Even better than breakfast on the balcony while in the port.  Even better than the late, dark nights on the balcony.  Okay, maybe not better than that ;) but experiencing a thunderstorm while at sea in the Caribbean, on your own balcony?  Awesome!  We stood out there and watched the rain come closer and closer until it was raining on us.  And the thunder!  Oh my!  It was so much fun!  LOL. On one of our earlier cruises we had watched cloud lightening from the pool deck at night, which was really neat too, but something about being IN the storm, in the middle of the ocean (so it feels) just makes you feel like a pirate or something!

In this video, right at the start there is a flash of lightening and it happened so quickly we almost missed it, but the biggest crack of thunder!  Startled the crap out of us!  There's more thunder around the 35 sec mark.  It had been pouring rain for about 5 minutes at this time.  We finally went into our room since the visibility wasn't very good and we were getting wet, and lightening is not as impressed in daylight LOL.  About 5 minutes after the video, there was an announcement saying all open decks were closed.  We thought it took a little long for that announcement, it's not like the storm snuck up on the ship LOL.

Now...think about this ship's design.  It's the only ship that is open down the middle!  It's not just a top deck that is open to the sky, there's also deck 6 with the Boardwalk/Aqua Theater at the rear of the ship (the deck we were on), and mid-ship on deck 8 with the Central Park (as well as all of Decks 15 and 16 and the bow of Deck 14.  On the top decks, it's the sports stuff, the pools, some bar areas, etc.  Not a lot.  But on decks 6 and 8, there are restaurants and shops.  And, on deck 6 the only way in is from the middle of the ship, and on deck 8, you enter from either end (so, not at the sides).  We were wondering what would happen if you were in the restaurants when they closed the decks.  We popped out to see the Boardwalk, and they had big, solid doors that closed it off (there were also glass doors that were kept closed the rest of the time).  We found out when we went to dinner at a restaurant in Central Park later that there are back doors that go into the corridors the cabins are on.  The doors aren't labelled, but are the rear emergency and staff exits.  When the decks got closed, the patrons were led out those doors.  Cool.

We had an early dinner reserved at Chops, I think it was.  Since we were confined to our room all afternoon (well, we could have gone anywhere INSIDE the ship, but so could 6000 other people), we were ready early and as soon as Central Park opened again, we headed out.  They do have a bin with umbrellas at each end, but since it was lightening, that's why it was closed.  It was pretty neat to explore after the rain, it was still pretty empty.

 It's actually quite warm at the back of this covered area.  It doesn't provide shade and acts like a green house LOL.  But still pretty.

 I forgot to take pictures of our meal :(  As always, it was delicious!  The waiter even persuaded me to have a signature blueberry martini in a souvenir glass....for $15.  Yikes.  The glass is nice but sits on Rob's dresser with change in it.

 The day before, while watching the ship's channel, I heard about the dancing lights.  I think I had seen it mentioned in the daily newsletter, but it doesn't explain what much of the items are.  It just says "A Selection of Fountain Shows, AquaTheater".  And, at 10:45pm we were often in other events.  But when I saw it on the TV, I knew I had to see it.  It's a musical show, where the fountains are lit and choreographed to music. 

 Of course, I didn't remember until near the end that a video might be a better option.  After several attempts, I can't get my own video to load, so here's one on YouTube.  My video was of the CanCan section, look around YouTube and see if there's another one of it.

This is the Solarium (adult only) hot tub.  One of two.  It is HUGE.  I know you can't really see it in that picture, but I'll post more pictures later of around the ship.

This is the Solarium pool.  It is tiny.  We were actually disappointed in this.  Once it's filled with adults, you can barely move.  There is no swimming in this pool.  They should just turn up the heat and call it a hot tub.

This is the Beach pool.  It's a salt water pool (which will take the print off your SeaPass by day 5), and the edge is sloping so the water can come up to the first row of loungers.  However, after the rain, the water was quite a bit higher.

After our last late night tour of the ship, we headed for bed.  Morning comes bright and early on disembarkment day.  Well, it was early, though not very bright!

Cruise 2011: Day 6, Nassau, Bahamas

I finally convinced Rob that we should order room service for breakfast and enjoy it on the balcony, and what nicer way than as we sail into Nassau?  We selected the time slot 8-8:30am and picked our food.  It was a little confusing, as you filled in how many of something you wanted, but it also asked how many guests. 

We were a little surprised to be woken up with a knock on the door at 8:02am!  We seriously did not expect it that early!  There was a LOT of food.  I loved the fact we got a carafe for the coffee, although we still ended up with non-dairy creamer even though I had wrote "real cream" on the menu.  The food was alright, the hashbrowns weren't what I was expecting, but were still considered hashbrowns.

It's foggy here because it was hot and humid and my camera immediately fogged up when I turned it on!  We sailed into the slip at about 9:30 and saw three other ships there.  We didn't know it till we got home, but the day before had seen SEVEN cruise ships in the port.  Apparently, it was a bit of a logistics nightmare, but they all got docked.  Never found out what ships they were.
While we sat on our balcony, I could see a lady laying on her balcony, on the Norwegian Pearl, directly across from us.  She appeared to be pantless.  I just had to get a closer look!

Ahh!  A pale pink bathing suit!  I felt a little better knowing she wasn't pantless, but still was a little disturbed.  I do wish there were lounge chairs on the balcony, but I don't think I would have laid on the floor; much too hard!

The gangway was to open around 10:15am, but that came and went.  We went down to the jogging track; Rob sat in a lounger and held my water bottle while I slogged around the track a few times.  It was terribly hot and humid on the track, with no wind, and lots of non-exercisers making it a challenge.  I really don't recommend using the track when in port for these two reasons.

It was taking so long for the gangway to open up that we went up to the Windjammer for the last of the breakfast and first helpings of lunch.  They won't let you in once they close breakfast, but it seems that if you're actually in there, they won't kick you out.
We had a nice view of the other ships.  We had seen the Norwegian Pearl before, when we left on our second cruise.  What was funny this time, was watching the kitchen staff try out the hammocks and take pictures of each other!  LOL!  I think these were on the private sundeck.  It appears on those deck plans that the Pearl also has two storey suites; I thought Oasis was the first?  Or maybe this is an update to the Pearl?

We finally got off the ship around noon.  The Pearl also has a private lounge/coffee area beside the ship on the pier!  Anyway.  At certain angles, the Pearl and the Allure look not too much different in size...but late shots will show otherwise!

Also in port was the Disney Dream.  We have also seen the Disney Magic, but the water slide on this one looks way more fun!  The other ship was the Carnival Sensation, a very old and small looking ship.  In fact, it's passenger total is only 2052 people; the Pearl takes about ...OH!  2466!  The Disney Dream hosts 4000 people.  The Norwegian website calls the "elbow room" on the Pearl, "roomy".  I would think so!  Fascinating to see them lined up!  The Carnival does 3 and 4 night cruises through the Bahamas on this ship, starting at $229/PP.  If you doubled up, that's still only $460 for a week, although I don't know if this ship would keep you busy for a week, but there are a lot of ports on that cruise too. 

It was a bit of a challenge getting through the port building.  Our initial estimate was that there would be about 16 200 guests on the four ships (plus any crew that come off).  Now that I know the actual numbers, it's more like a maximum 14 718.  Still, that's a boatload of people, LOL! 
The building you get fed through is  like a flea market, with many stalls of food and souvenirs.  And hair braiders.  I did read a sign that said to make sure your hair braider is "certified".  I also read a sign that said tour and service providers are to not approach tourists, but that was certainly ignored.  We ended up going right to the end of the building and having to pass the horse and carriage ride zone....try to avoid that.  Even from across the street it stunk!

The first few blocks around the port and pretty much just like any other of the ports that haven't been "remodelled" by the cruise lines.  Old buildings, crowded streets with poor/no sidewalks, and American stores taking over.  Please don't judge a port just by the areas shown on the port guide handed out by your ship.  Walk a few blocks in any direction, use your instincts, and enjoy yourself!  My son is currently doing a project on the Bahamas, and I've read that the recession put city improvements on hold, but they are getting back to investing in the city.  According to Fodor's, there are plans to make some streets connecting Bay Street, Shirley Street and the wharf, pedestrian-only.  I'm not sure if this has happened.  You can see Bay St. in the picture above, and the street that goes down to the pier....and there's vehicles on it.  Making it car-free would be great.  There's not much room for pedestrians, and we watched some in wheelchairs/scooters have a really hard time.  Once past Bay Street, the crowd disperses significantly, but sidewalks are still rough and small.

I was hoping to see a police officer in this little booth, which was in the middle of a busy intersection.  All intersections were busy though, LOL!

Rob insisted on a picture of this Suzuki Jimmy.  Not available in North America, I think due to the high rollover rate he said.  It replaces the Samurai in other countries.

I love seeing my bank on various Caribbean islands.  I would have checked my balance if I had known they were there--my wallet was in our cabin.

If we had the kids with us, I think the pirate museum would have been interesting.  It's $12 per person, and slightly scary, but the souvenir shop is worth checking out (I wish I had this Fodor's book when we were there, although we didn't even know we were going there!).

One thing I've read in Fodor's is that there is a Straw Market that burnt down in 2001. It's apparently a big deal, and the book said a committee was formed in 2009 to create a permanent home for it. No where in the book can I find where the market currently is. However, I just googled it, and sadly, the temporary building (of plastic tarps) was destroyed in late August 2011 by Hurricane Irene. Apparently they were supposed to move into a new building on Bay Street, "in the fall". Judging by Google Maps, I think we walked past what remains....an open lot with vendors. I have no idea if the images on Google are of the "new" building (which doesn't look too permanent) or of the one that was destroyed in August 2011.
EDIT----while looking at the photos on our big TV with family, I noticed this one, just to the east of the Hilton.  It matches what I saw on Google and Google Maps:

When we were having our brunch, we could see beaches.  We didn't know if these were public or not, but we were walking in that general direction so we quickly found it.  Called Junkanoo Beach, it's actually man made, and public.  It looked so inviting!  The first thing we did was find a Diet Coke at one of the vendors.  So cold, and much more tasty than the ones on the ship that were more than twice the price!

I would highly recommend spending time at this beach.  There is a shady area at the very east end (the end closest to the ships).  We kept walking down the beach, picking up shells and a couple Bahamian pennies.

A nice view showing the back of the Allure.  You can see the rock climbing wall on the left side.  There are two pillars, which is where the high divers were diving from during the Aquatheater show.  Diving--head first!  Right above the "Allure of the Seas" is the jogging track.  When the curtains were open, you could see the stage and look up at all the seats.  The deck right above the lifeboat was our deck, but we were 1/2 way down the ship.

Here's a nice shot of the four ships.  I'm surprised at how small the Pearl looks; like I said, I thought it was similar in size to the Freedom/Liberty ships we had been on before, which are about the same size as the Disney ship.

These are some of the buildings across the street from the main part of the beach.  There appeared to be some hurricane damage, like broken windows and missing shingles.  The two storey building in the middle is the "El Greco Hotel" which is an economical, old style hotel that offers free phone calls to the United States on the lobby phone (not sure if you could just walk in though, LOL, apparently due to the small size the owner gets to know the guests...).  However, there is no on site restaurant and the pool is small. 

More interesting vehicle options!

A mailbox!  How cute is that?!

We headed back to the ship, after trying to cool off at the beach.  I wasn't wearing anything suitable for swimming, but if it wasn't such a hassle to get back on the ship, I would have gone back to change.  We entered the pier building and found a LONG line of people waiting to get through security.  It was hot in there.  Be prepared.

Rob wanted to go in the Solarium pool, so I wandered around getting pictures of the city and waterfront.  This catamaran is a ferry (that's what I overheard).  Don't know where it was going, but I did hear that you can take a ferry to/from Miami.  

Below, the yellow building with the green roof next to the tower, is the pier building/flea market that you go through to get to Nassau.

 

This open area in the bow of the Disney Magic is a kids only area, apparently.

This is the water slide on the Carnival ship.  It looked like fun.  I think these are a great option for kids in the 6-10 age range who might not be quite big enough to feel comfortable in the pools, which tend to not be shallow enough.

Below, is the British Colonial Hilton Nassau.  It was builtin 1899, and burnt down in 1921.  An exact replica was opened a year later.  It's a gorgeous building, right downtown, although Fodor's says it can also be a little busy.

Looking to the right (to the west) as we stood on deck, is this lovely green building.  According to Google, it's the Manx Coporate Centre.  Appears to be something financial.

This is the beach, going further west.

Coming to the end of the beach, at Awarak Cay.  This is as far as we walked, as we could see it was all industrial on the little island.  Fodor's says there's great, authentic restaurants "on" Awarak Cay, however, the restaurants aren't actually ON the cay (which is to the right of the bit of water at the right edge).

This is looking straight down the harbour towards Awarak Cay on the left, and Crystal Cay on the right.  There is a marine park at the far end of Crystal Cay, where you can just make out a lighthouse type building behind the bridge.

Above is the passage way the ships use to enter/leave the habour.  It's not a very big harbour, and has had a lot of dredging to deepen/widen it.  Still, it's a tight fit for the Allure!  The long breakwall is Crystal Cay.

Below is a view of Atlantis.  THere is a lot more than just Atlantis on Paradise Island.  I did take a lot of pictures of Atlantis (it's HUGE), but you can easily Google for more.  You're supposed to pay to wander the grounds, but apparently you can also just wander around for free, as my inlaws found out, LOL.

Here we are leaving the harbour, through that opening.  You can see a little boat that's going to ride the resulting current down into the harbour.  It was fascinating watching the Allure pull out and do a 180degree turn.  We were running from side to side of the ship seeing just how close it gets to the markers.  It would be neat to see an overhead video!

We weren't too impressed with our room steward this time.  I don't know if he was new at it, or what, but he/the crew were not too helpful when we had questions or concerns.  We didn't even get all the departure info that we were supposed to get.  I don't think we had a towel creature every night, like on the other cruises, either.  This was one of the few, and I think, the only one we took pictures of.

The show that night was "Blue Earth".  I knew it would involve acrobatics/trapeeze type stuff, so we sat in the balconey.  I find the theater on the ships to be VERY cold.  Each ship has been this way.  I don't remember if the balcony was warmer though.  While waiting for the show, you see this suspended fabric globe that has the earth projected on it.

Of course, this show is spectacular, if not a little abstract...there's no dialogue or real story.  Just go with the flow.  It's about the earth,and the various elements.  The "underwater" scenes were stunning.  There was a sheer curtain at the front, with video projected on it (the Nemos above), and the acrobats hanging behind it.

Here, there are jellyfish projected on the curtain.  Google for some video.  I didn't want to break copyright too much :)  And please, people, do NOT use flash photography at shows.  I'm a musician, and it is extremely annoying/distracting, and potentially dangerous to the performers.
One part of the show involved these two inclined trampolines.  The dude in the orange/red on the right is the lead male/singer.  He was also in Chicago, as the slimey lawyer.

This was a long day again, and quite hot and sunny walking around Nassau.  I really recommend getting some books from the library before going on a cruise.  I'm not sure why I haven't done that, except that Rob likes to stick with offical exercusions, or walking around close to the docks.  But he also hates shopping, and the ports are usually either 1)new and designed for the cruise ships or 2)old and a mix of the same stores as in 1, as well as seedy looking shops he won't go in and American shops/fast food that we can get at home.  A few blocks further though and it's nice to have a guidebook.