Today for us was a sea day but we still had to set an alarm to wake up because we really wanted to go to main dining room for breakfast. One thing that our family was really looking forward to (especially Amy) is the French toast in the main dining room. The French toast didn’t disappoint and we added a few other items to our order. For me it was eggs Benedict. It was also nice to be seated next to the window for a great view.
We used our drink package to pick up some smoothies in the morning (strawberry, banana, mango) from the spa bar that also has vitamin and protein spiked shakes available.
The cruise provided a great opportunity for us to try our hand at pickle ball. There was open play in the morning so we headed up to the sports court and waited for an open court. We just used the supplies provided by the ship but there were people that brought their own pickle ball gear onto the ship to play. We had fun just hitting (or trying to hit) the ball back and forth. We did find out that the net that encloses the sports court works well to contain basketballs, volleyballs, and dodgeballs, but the pickle ball can fit through the holes and needs to be retrieved by kind-hearted people passing by after our errant hits found their way out.
We then made our way to the zip line again. This time our whole family was there so we could all ride. What we did find out is that tank tops are not allowed to go with the harness. So Hannah had to borrow my shirt to wear for her ride and then return it so I could then ride. My skin got a little extra sun exposure that it wasn’t expecting.
The last thing we did before lunch was go play movie emoji trivia. It was a lot harder than I thought. Then it was back to the Windjammer to grab some lunch. Making those trips from floor 5 to 16 multiple times throughout the day using the stairs can start to get a little tiring. I do like that Allure also added the handwashing station outside of the Windjammer so you have to wash your hands before entering. Much better than just straight hand sanitizer like that used to be. During lunch, the captain announced that you can see Cuba off the side of the ship throughout the day as we passed by it. So we went out and took a quick picture before continuing on with our day.
While the kids went back to playing table tennis, my wife and I stood on the sports deck and watched the cast of the aqua show do their practice diving. One of the big ship activities the family was looking forward to was the selfie scavenger hunt which was this afternoon. You are given a list of items to find on the ship and you then take a selfie with your whole team at that location. We were given 20min to find what we can and return to the On Air venue on the deck 5 Promenade. We knew where to find most items but saying we had to cover from deck 4 to 15 and back to 5, time was our biggest obstacle. I’ve included our pics from a few of the challenges.
We finished the scavenger hunt in enough time to head to one of the activities Hannah was excited to do which was karaoke. Allure has its karaoke in the Dazzles venue. That is much bigger and nicer than where other ships have had it in On Air or a bar. After performing in Dazzles, we made our way to Boardwalk and the aqua theater to watch the classy Sexiest Man Competition. It was quite entertaining. We also made a quick trip to find the sundeck on the ship which is on top of the bridge. 
Tonight was formal night so we all planned to dress up (at least more than last night). But before the kids could get dressed, they had teen table tennis to compete in. They had their clothes picked out and ready to swap into after they get done playing and meet my wife and I in the main dining room. With the ship app being used for most ship items, we can look ahead at the menu and the kids told us what to order for them while we waited for them to arrive. Ethan enjoys using cruises as a chance to eat escargot.
Since our whole family wasn’t together before dinner with our fancy clothes on, we made our way up to Central Park to snap a family pic afterwards. While there, Ethan found a cruise duck (first for this cruise).
We finished our night with a little more karaoke, some quick sunset viewing, the juggling comedy show of Wilde & James, then the teen dodgeball competition. The comedy show was alright. Probably not in the top acts we’ve seen on a ship but I think the kids liked it. The dodgeball ended up being 20+ people on each side chaos. It must be tough being a crew member in charge of the teen activities. There’s a handful of teenagers that couldn’t care less what authorities say and don’t want to play by rules. Crew members have to try and keep order but also under the general concept of make sure you keep the passengers happy. We also were lucky enough to catch this evening’s aqua show from the sports deck. Then it’s time for bed since we need to get up early and get off the ship at Cozumel for our Amazing Race.
