Allure of the Seas First sailing out of Galveston!

The Allure of the Seas

Itinerary: Galveston to Cozumel Round Trip

Royal Caribbean has started a new regularly scheduled 7-night round-trip sailing on the beautiful Allure of the Seas out of Texas’ Port of Galveston to Cozumel (Mexico), Puerto Costa Maya (Mexico), and Routan (Honduras). This is the largest ship to have a regular sailing out of the Port of Galveston and this sailing coincides with the opening of the brand-new cruise terminal in Galveston.

This was a unique Cruise Travel Event for travel advisors and media and with some non-travel industry attendance for the inaugural sailing of the Allure of the Seas from Galveston. There were daily briefings by Royal Caribbean and activities to learn about the ship, the new terminal in Galveston, future plans, and to hold other discussions such as working with Royal Caribbean. One key difference from the regular itinerary is that this was a 4-night cruise with a short stop in Cozumel (Mexico) rather than also docking in Roatan (Honduras) and Puerto Costa Maya (Mexico).

Essentials

Getting There – From Dallas, the drive to Galveston Island near Houston is around 5 hours. Or as an alternative, travelers can fly into the George Bush International Airport and catch a direct shuttle to the terminal or to their pre-night arrangements.

Food - Dining or Buffet – In the Main Dining Room, there are two scheduled seatings, at 6PM and 8PM, and while there are opportunities for seating for two, we preferred to eat with a group, each group had a great dynamic and we would have enjoyed continued extended conversions, The Windjammer Café offers a great buffet with a variety of foods for those who prefer to dine casually with a great view.

Clothing – It is warm in Mexico and the sun is strong – shorts, hats, sunscreen, and glasses are totally appropriate. On the return, a cold front had moved into Texas, and with a little bus ride over to the cars, you’ll want at least a jacket available.

Pre-Night (November 8th)

Galveston Island Hilton – Located right across from the beach and next to the convention center. For those who may have forgotten something, Kroger store is located on the other side of the convention and easy walking distance. Many restaurants to choose from and the Rain Forest Café is located next door and great for families. There is also an amusement park on Pleasure pier about a mile down the road.  This hotel is nice and nicely decorated. The room, bedding and cleanliness was very good, and their room service and food were great.

Day 1 (November 9th)

The New Cruise Terminal

Parking and Shuttles – as this was not an announced sailing, hotels were caught a little unaware and were scrambling to get shuttles going – these run regularly for announced sailings. We had driven so it was not an issue for us, however, something to be aware of for those special event sailings.

The new terminal is located off 14th street and has a North lot (next to the ship), a South lot, and the 14th Street parking (on a pier). Shuttle buses run to the drop off along the ship. You have the option of checking your bags and waiting for them to be delivered to your room or carrying them. We carried them on with some long passageways, this is a big ship, it might have been more convenient to wait a little while for them. So we dragged the bags and got through security to find a country music duo serenading us through photo opportunities. Very nice and colorful terminal with many helpful crew members along the way.

The Cabin

We were located on the 14th floor in a balcony stateroom. It was nice being on the port side to see Cozumel as we approached and took some great photos. This stateroom was a very short walk to the elevator and stairs which is nice when going from one deck to another for all the activities onboard. Because of the position, we had nearly direct access to Main Dining, the Café, the Schooner Bar, Boardwalk, the Aqua Theatre, the Sports Deck, and could walk into the Grans Promenade with a few steps and an elevator ride. We found other ways to make up the steps for a little exercise.

The App

The Royal Caribbean app is very helpful for embarking and disembarking and is also used for your safety briefing required of all passengers before the ship can leave the terminal. It was a little different watching the safety briefing on video on the Boardwalk next to the Tequila Bar rather than a live demonstration down on Deck 5 with the boats. It was convenient to use this app to arrange our day for shows and events – both to find activities and add them to your personal schedule. Hint: Make sure you are the ONLY person in the picture for your ID – it must match your face and the cropping function will select a face in the picture, not necessarily yours.

Out to Sea – sendoff from Galveston

Entertainment

Show – Ice Dancing is a must to see.

Show - Aria – diving, acrobatics, and a little drama, comedy and ballet in the Aqua Theatre

Show - Earl Turner - Singer in the Main Stage– Walking out into the crowd

Day 2 (November 10th) At Sea

Workout space – was large with a variety of cardio equipment looking out to sea and many different weight machines and free weights to stay in shape. Several classes are available from yoga to stretch and core to aerobics. Whatever floats your boat.

Walking Track – there are stairs through the exercise facility on deck 6 down to the running/walking track on deck 5. The exercise facility is also connected to the Vitality Spa for many different treatments or stop by to the juice bar for a healthy snack or protein drink.

Stateroom Tour – As part of the familiarization tour, we visited many staterooms from interior to Royal Suites. So many different staterooms available for those traveling with families and for couples who would like a quiet location or solo travelers. They can also head over to the adults only area located in the Solarium.

Central Park – Restaurants – Central Park has several specialty dining, such as Giovanni’s Table.  We enjoyed the Central Park café with fresh salad, meat for sandwiches and many desserts.

Windjammer Café – great place to dine casually in a buffet style with ocean views surrounding you. The food was very good and loved the variety for breakfast and lunch.

Show - Momma Mia – Nothing like seeing a Broadway play aboard the Allure of the Seas. Wonderful play with several new songs to sing along! A good seat in all locations.

Late Night Golf - on the Sports Deck – if you were keeping score – Eileen won with some amazing hole-in-ones - and one hole where Mike took around 10 swings.

Day 3 (November 11th)

Cozumel, Mexico

Shore Excursion to Playa Mia for Salsa (Making salsa and dancing the Salsa) – meeting the group at the dock – stay together with the other wristbands for your group – about a 15 minutes’ drive and to the open-air market for a tomato, onion, and pepper – which the Guide buys (ask about which pepper – they have one in mind) – Brings back memories of the open-air markets of Cadiz, Spain where farmers and fishermen brought fresh groceries for sale.

This is in the shade near the pool, where the Salsa is made, and tequila or pina colada or other drinks with or without alcohol added were available.

Making the Salsa – 3 types one using– pico de guillo – a salsa using grilled ingredients, and guacamole.  We were given a link to have the recipes for future salsa.

Dancing the Salsa. 3 different steps front to back, side to side, and step back right or left. More practice is required and on the ship, there is an opportunity at Bolero’s. And it’s you’re audible, you may recognize the tune and find yourself moving to the beat - with a little salt and pepper.

Beach - Sand – Iguana, Pedal Trike – it looks like fun, but steering a pedal trike with waves is a more of a loose suggestion than a command if you are on the slow side, Rented a locker by the pool at the white shack to the rear of the pink building for $5 US with a $5 deposit) and returned to get a sit-on-top kayak and found that without a back pad the hip flexors get quite a workout. It was just as well – we had time for a quick ice cream and were walking to the bus but had to wait for 4 more of our party to show to get back to the ship. There were opportunities to lounge on the beach or pool and a few other options like renting a jet-ski or eating.  

Return to the ship

This was an unusual trip, so the departure time was quite early. Pickup – Cozumel uses Eastern Time, but the ship’s clock is set to Galveston, which uses Central Time, so 1pm on the ship will show as 2pm on a local clock in Cozumel. Before getting off the ship, the reminder was to always use the ship’s clock for the return time (it matters if your phone, watch, or device does not update correctly – which it seems when I travel across time zones, my phone never uses the right time zone). Use the earliest time given –ship departures might overlap, and it gets a little busy to clear security.

Pay attention to the direction you have to go to get to the ship on the return – depending on where you are dropped off, the path to the ship may snake through shops on the way to the security checkpoint and then exits to the dock. We h some rain on the return

Veterans Day Celebration on the Promenade

This is a regular celebration on the Allure of the Seas, though in this case, it actually was Veterans Day in the US with a ceremony, that included a brief reading, then a Taps Trumpet solo as all were silent to show appreciation for those who served and paid the ultimate price to protect our country. This ceremony ended with a rousing singing of the first verse of the National Anthem performed by a few cast member from Mama Mia, with all of the Veterans, families, and other participants singing out, it was actually very good.   

Day 4 (November 12th) At Sea

After a morning workout in the fitness area and walk the track on deck 5, continued on with Stateroom tours and visits to the common areas around the ship. Visited the Adventure Camp Activity where the kids (with parents nearby) made bubbling volcanos. Movies were on every day at the Aqua Theatre , including Top Gun 2, and dual rock climbing walls flanked either side of the Boardwalk overlooking the Aqua Theatre. The Sports Deck, with Golf, Two Wave-Riders, and a zipline over Boardwalk, was a little less active as we moved closer to Galveston, where a cold front had dropped temps a little. 

In the early afternoon, the crew put on the show, Ship Ahoy Parade, on the Grand Promenade – with representations of navies from various regions throughout time.

Show - Mo5aic – an amazing acapello vocal group – no instruments

Show - Comedians

Show - Ships band tribute to Earth, Wind, and Fire, and the Tower of Power

Show - Tribute to Journey – very good, but a little too loud for us

With that, we returned to our cabin to pack up for the morning's debarkation.

Day 5 (November 12th)

Docking (cold weather) Disembark to a colder day however many shuttles to take those who parked at the terminal.