I mentioned last month that Fisher-Price is about to launch a fun new campaign celebrating the many joys of mother- (and father!) hood. They’ll be inviting parents to share those moments when we are OVERjoyed, but also those moments when we are OVERwhelmed, OVERhugged, OVERtired and of course OVERstimulated! You know, just about every moment while you’re parenting, especially with wee ones in the house.
Last month, I shared my take on the idea on the theme of “overdue” – which I was three times in three pregnancies. I’m at the other end of the spectrum this month, because when it’s all said and done, tumuluous and overwhelming and amazing as it is, babyhood is over so soon!
(Sigh, two years ago this month we disassembled the crib for the last time. One of the hardest things to watch was the garbage truck hauling it away.)
Would you like to play along? Fisher-Price is inviting you to enter their contest and share YOUR moment of joy!
Fisher-Price is celebrating the full range of emotions that we, as parents, feel from time to time, from overjoyed and over the moon to overtired and overdue. Starting next week, you too can share your Million Moments of Joy by uploading a picture, video or text to enter the contest and see what other moms are feeling. By uploading a photo, you could be eligible to win one of eight weekly prize packs!
The value of each prize pack is approximately $200 and each prize pack consists of:
My Little Snugabunnyâ„¢ Bouncer ($89.99 CAD)
Laugh & Learnâ„¢ Dance & Play Puppy ($59.99 CAD)
Ocean Wondersâ„¢ Aquarium ($54.99 CAD)
Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
If you’ve got a preschooler in the house, chances are you’re already friends with Thomas, Gordon, Percy, James, Sir Topham Hat and the other denizens of the Thomas and Friends universe.. But did you know that Thomas and Friends are now owned by Mattel, the parent company to Fisher-Price? I thought that was pretty cool. Lucas and Simon are not *quite* as obsessed with the trains as Tristan was, but those trains still get a LOT of play use around our house.
(Where exactly did those chubby baby fingers go? Sigh…)
That round-cheeked wee baby is now learning to READ, people. Can you believe it? And just in time, Thomas and Friends have come out with a set of fun, personalize-able e-books for the train conductor in your life. Just visit the Open a World of Imagination storybook site, enter your child’s name and gender, and the book is created for you to enjoy on your computer or iPad. No downloads, no logins, no waiting.
And if you have an early reader on your hands, it’s pretty darn exciting to play “hunt for my name on each page” I can tell you with some assurance.
(I’m not sure who is reading the bedtime story to whom in that picture!)
There are two books to choose from now, and there will be new ones posted each month – just about the time you’ve read each one for the 100th time, if your wee booklover is anything like mine.
And on a mostly unrelated note, look at the little Thomas the Tank Engine fan I found in my Flickr archives! Not exactly on point for this post, but I had to share three year old Tristan enjoying his first Day Out with Thomas – EIGHT years ago!!
Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are ALWAYS my own.
In February, Fisher-Price will be launching a fun new campaign celebrating the many joys of mother- (and father!) hood. They’ll be inviting parents to share those moments when we are OVERjoyed, but also those moments when we are OVERwhelmed, OVERhugged, OVERtired and of course OVERstimulated! You know, just about every moment while you’re parenting, especially with wee ones in the house.
The campaign will be launched next month, but the Fisher-Price Play Ambassadors have been invited to share a photo for the OVERjoyed campaign. It made perfect sense to me to start where I started my mothering journey with all three boys: OVERdue!!
(Hee hee, doesn’t this seem like yesterday and a million years ago? Taken almost exactly five years ago!)
I’ll have more info on Fisher-Price’s official launch of the OVERjoyed campaign next month, but for now, would you like to play along? What “over” word most described you in the last few days of your pregnancy? OVERtired? OVERwhelmed? OVERanxious? OVERcooked???
Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are always my own.
January is the calm before the storm at our house. All three boys have birthdays in a five week span coming up, and my mom’s birthday, Valentine’s Day and my parents’ wedding anniversary falls in there, too. This is the season of new beginnings, but for me it’s also a season of nostalgia and looking back. Fisher-Price’s theme this month is milestones, and that couldn’t be more appropriate for where my head is at these days.
It amazes me to think of my wee babies (okay, they were 9lbs, 10lbs and 10lbs 1oz at birth, so maybe not quite “wee”!) and see the amazing creatures they are today. Tristan, who was borderline failure to thrive at eight weeks, is second tallest in his class and this year joined the football and basketball teams. Simon, who had to be coaxed out 10 days past his due date and still took more than 24 hours of labour to emerge, is Mr Popularity with amazing ability to play music from memory and wants his own agent. And Lucas, my biggest wee baby, is reading and loves math – in junior kindergarten.
When they were little, the milestones were obvious and often: first solid food, first steps, first words. It seemed like there was a new and astonishing milestone achieved every week. Now the things that give me the most pride are more subtle, less achievements and more moments, like when I realized that Tristan reads aloud to Simon most nights before bed long after they are supposed to be lights-out, or when I catch glimpses of the grown-ups they will be as the baby fat melts away.
When I was invited to stay on for another year as a Fisher-Price play ambassador, I thought of exactly this – how quickly they are growing up and leaving their babyhoods behind. Way behind! While you know I deeply admire the Fisher-Price brand and have very much enjoyed being a part of this promotional campaign, I worried that we were on the upper cusp of the age target for the campaign. In the end, after a few lengthy conversations both with the brand representatives and the family, I’ve decided to stay on for another year, but will be finding some creative ways to blog about the terrific Fisher-Price toys and gear designed for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. I don’t want to say too much just now, but here’s a hint: stay tuned, I might need your help!
One thing I’ve come to realize: you’re really never to old to play.
Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Play Ambassador and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are always my own.
As you know, we receive toys for review a couple of times a year from Fisher-Price, and other months they provide information or inspiration for us to use in our blog posts. This month, they’ve done something completely different and have offered to donate our December toy shipment to a charity of our choice.
How much do I love this? (Answer: a LOT!) As soon as the offer came in, I knew which charity I wanted to choose. I needed to settle a score that has been gnawing at me all year long.
Way back in January, in advance of Kindness Week, I was invited to tour the Youville Centre. I was genuinely blown away by the amazing work they do, by the programs and the staff and the volunteers. I was also deeply touched by the young women who attend the Youville Centre and their efforts to make a better life for themselves and their children. But, despite my best intentions, life got in the way and I never did write the blog post I wanted to. So here’s my chance to redeem myself and FINALLY tell you about this amazing organization.
The Youville Centre has been providing education, childcare, parenting instruction and support services to teenage mothers in Ottawa for 25 years. It provides accredited on-site high school education programs for the mothers and licensed day care for their children as well as a host of other support programs. When I thought about Fisher-Price’s emphasis this year on the Joy of Learning theme, it really did seem like the perfect fit!
Here’s a little bit about the work of the Youville Centre in their own words:
While the mothers are in school, their infants and toddlers are enrolled in the on-site day care. The children benefit from a quality early childhood learning program that addresses the social, emotional, cognitive, language and physical needs of each child. Nutritious meals and snacks are served daily.
Staff provide crisis intervention and counselling, advocacy, and referrals for current students, clients on Youville’s waiting list, and former students. A young father’s program is also delivered at Youville. It consists of a weekly support group, parenting support, individual counselling and a father/child drop in.
Through the Youville Centre, many young parents have obtained high school graduation diplomas. Several have gone on to college or university. Others have entered the world of work to enjoy rewarding and profitable employment.
The Youville Centre is opening doors in the lives of the young women it serves. Not only do they provide educational programs and child care, but they provide life skills and practical support like co-op programs, and even resources for finding a job.
I was 32 years old when Tristan was born. I kept thinking about that as I toured the Youville Centre, trying to wrap my head around the idea of being a pregnant teen or mothering a newborn and trying to go to school at the same time. I also thought about the first few months I lived away from home when I was 18, in the weeks after I graduated high school and moved across the province. These were two of the hardest periods in my life, marked by depression and feelings of isolation, and the idea of them happening consecutively? I simply can’t imagine what that must be like. I can only thank the grace of God that I didn’t have to worry about abuse or poverty, or how to do my homework while juggling a newborn, or where to go for help if I needed it.
As I toured the Youville Centre, I was deeply touched by the work of the staff and volunteers. They are sympathetic but firm, compassionate and kind. The centre is a bright, open building that feels very much like an ordinary high school, until you see the wee babies being cuddled by staff and volunteers in the nursery while the mothers attend classes. I was happy to be able to donate a Fisher-Price Snugabunny Bouncer and another small toy to the nursery. I think the bouncy chair was the single most useful bit of baby gear we had when the boys were wee, and this one looks so cosy I wish I could curl up inside it!
The Youville Centre would love to have your support as well. There are many ways that you can help! Got stuff? They always need diapers (especially in sizes 4, 5 and 6), clothes for teens (both work and casual style), running shoes for teen girls, clothes for babies and kids up to size 6, and board books. Here’s a full list of what they can and cannot accept.
Got time? Volunteers are an integral part of running a non-profit organization like the Youville Centre. If you can help, there’s information and an application for volunteers on their website.
And of course, the Youville Centre would be grateful for your financial support as well. They are a federally registered charity, and so your donation is fully tax deductible. They’d be happy to accept your donation on line or even on the phone – there’s more information on their website about financial donations.
Thank you to the Youville Centre for the tour way back in January, and for the great work you do in our community. And of course, thank you Fisher-Price for the donation and the opportunity to let me redeem myself and shine the spotlight on the wonderful Youville Centre.
And finally, thank YOU to all my generous and kind readers. I hope the holidays fill all of your lives with blessings!
Phew, it sure was an exciting year to be blogging with Fisher-Price!
Aside from the amazing cruise and the equally amazing trip to Mexico, we got to play with some truly terrific new toys this year! There’s no doubt that our absolute favourite toy of the year was the Imaginext Eagle Talon Castle. It wins for sheer play value, for engaging all three boys, and for our new family inside joke – nobody hears a knock on a door anymore without calling out “Who eees it?” in the same sing-song voice that the toy bleats out when you open the drawbridge. Shhhhh, don’t tell, but we actually went out and BOUGHT the Imaginext Ogre and Dragon for Lucas this Christmas because it was the only thing he asked Santa for other than a Furby (and, well, he’s absolutely not getting a Furby. *shudder*)
We were also charmed by the Wheelies Loops and Swoops Amusement Park. At almost five years old, Lucas is on the upper edge of the age range for this one, but he still loves to shoot cars down the ramps and it delights him every single time the cars successfully navigate the loop-the-loop. I’d put this high on the Christmas gift giving list of anyone with a little boy to buy for!
Beloved’s favourite Fisher-Price surprise of the year was definitely the DC Superfriends Little People line. The intersection of superheros and Fisher-Price just about perfectly evokes his (not-so) inner child.
When I say the whole family plays with the Imaginext Batmobile, Bat Cave and Joker’s Lair, I’m not exaggerating! 😉
(Beloved called me from the toy store earlier this week as he was doing a little shopping for the boys. “Did you know they have a full line of Toy Story Little People now?” he asked. And he was so excited about the new Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Little People line that Santa may have to stick a set under the tree for him. ;))
Fisher-Price came out with some pretty amazing products for moms this year, too. Did you know, for example, that Fisher-Price makes diapers? They make adorable onesies called Stretch ‘Ems, too, which I am told are in fact awesomely stretchy. (I gave mine to a friend – she said they were her favourite onesies!) And they’ve even designed a series of new “Fast-Finder” diaper bags in a range of styles to suit every family.
All in all, it was another amazing year with Fisher-Price. Although Tristan made this card specifically to say thanks for the cruise, I think it does a good job of expressing our gratitude for an entire year of fun surprises.
But wait! There’s more! I have one last Fisher-Price post to share with you this year (and another one to post over on the Fisher-Price site.) I’ll be back with the details in just a few days!
Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Play Ambassador and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
So, you may have noticed that I like to take pictures. In fact, so far in 2012, not counting client photo shoots (more than a dozen of those – what a year!) I have 2237 photos in Lightroom. That’s post-sort – nothing but ones I’ve deemed as keepers. And you know how many of those live anywhere outside my computer or the interwebs? A dozen or so. Maybe twenty at most.
I’ve blogged before about this weird fear I have of framing my photographs. Maybe it’s too stressful choosing just one, or maybe it’s the committing to one. (Cuz you know taking a frame off the wall and swapping out the print takes whole minutes of your life.) Maybe it’s the lack of wall space in our open concept house. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of taking down an old photo I’ve loved for years so I preemptively don’t hang any new ones. Whatever it is, framing is clearly not working for me. And keeping them only as digital files seems not only a crying shame, but an accident waiting to happen. (Post for another day: my disappearing photo files. Terrifying!) Even with redundant back up, those photos should be living out here where the boys and guests and random passers-by on the street can be invited to admire them, yes?
The answer is so ridiculously simple. I love photos. I love books. The answer, of course, is photo books! Over the years I’ve made a couple, but I have always wanted to try my hand at a Blurb book, especially after getting my hands on some made by my fellow photog friends. I even upgraded my copy of Lightroom primarily because they have Blurb book integration. And four months later, still no books.
And that’s why I was so tickled to accept this offer from the lovely folks at Blurb.ca:
With the upcoming gift-giving season on the mind, we’d like to invite you and your blog readers to create your very own bookstore-quality books with Blurb, a creative publishing platform that lets you design, publish and share professional-quality books starting at just $4.95.
Blurb would like to offer your blog readers a promo code for 25% off their total book order so they can test out the online self-publishing platform and create a personalized gift in time for the holidays.
Inspired, I sat down yesterday and opened Lightroom, determined to finally take a good look at the Blurb integration and see how it works. And two hours later, I was on page 17 of my 2012 year in review book. It is SO AWESOME that I can barely wait to finish it and get it into my hot little hands.
Don’t have a copy of Lightroom handy? No problem! Blurb offers three bookmaking options: use their web portal, download their bookmaking software or take full creative control by using PDFs you create in Adobe’s InDesign. (And hats off to you if you can do this!)
Want to get started on your own book? The discount code for 25% off your Blurb.ca book is GIFTIDEA
Fine Print: Offer valid through December 12, 2012 (11:59 p.m. local time). A 25% discount is applied toward your product total with a minimum order of 1 unit or more. Maximum discount is CAD $150 off product total. Valid for printed books only. This offer is good for one-time use, and cannot be combined with volume discounts, other promotional codes, gift cards, or used for adjustments on previous orders.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I still have the September through November photo pages to lay out!
I was going to put the decorations up on the porch this past weekend, but with the temperatures warm enough for sweaters without coats in the sunshine, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. There’s no denying it, though – lovely unseasonal November sunshine or not, the holiday season is upon us.
I’m pleased to have good ideas for gifts for just about everyone on my list this year. The more I can get out of the way now, the less stressed I’ll be when December zips by in a blur of tree decorating and holiday gatherings. Gone are the days when I managed to do all my shopping in a single marathon trip to the mall – those were the days before kids, when I had four or six hours in a row to get everything done in one shot. In fact, I think I’ve got nearly half of my shopping done and most of that has been online. Long live the Interwebs!
Each year, I’m tasked with buying the gifts for the grown-ups in our family but it’s Beloved who buys most of the gifts for the kids. I think a big part of that is the “takes one to know one” factor. Just today Simon told me he loves the books I choose for them each year, and I always try to get them something special that’s just from me. Last year for Tristan it was “smencils”, for Simon a journal and for Lucas a hexbug.
If you have trouble coming up with ideas for gifts for kids, check out Fisher-Price’s Joy of Learning Playtime Guide. You know I have close ties with Fisher-Price, but I can honestly say that I was impressed when I took a few minutes to play with this interactive guide. You have to click on a child’s age, from one month to 5+ years, and the playtime guide will open with a few tabs specific to that age.
One tab shows, not surprisingly, some suggestions for appropriate Fisher-Price toys for that age. Remember when I blogged about the 12 elements of enrichment and the three pillars of development? Underneath each toy suggestion you’ll see the icons for the relevant element of enrichment for that toy, be it sensory or fine motor skills, listening and communication, sharing and cooperation, or any of the 12 elements.
The playtime guide doesn’t stop there, though. This is the part that I really wish I had when Tristan was wee. Click on the PlayTips and Toys tab and you’ll see a whole list of ways your child plays at this age, and another long list of ways to help your baby or child learn more as he plays. I bought entire books full of ideas on exactly this back in the day. (Which seems like about a million years ago now!)
Under the Play and Learn Activities tab and you’ll see dozens of suggestions for games and activities with detailed instructions and materials lists. And finally, under the Helpful Info tab, you’ll see links to articles and questions related to that particular age, just like you’d find in many magazines or online parenting sites.
As I said, you know I’m already biased in my affection for Fisher-Price, but I really am impressed with the wealth of information available in the Playtime Guide. And there’s even a whole separate Grandparents’ Guide!
Don’t forget, the Celebrate and Save program has great Fisher-Price printable coupons that are useable through December 31 — but you can only download the coupons until November 30. I see there’s one right now for the Eagle Talon Imaginext Castle, which I kid you not, Lucas plays with just about every day, and the fun Wheelies Loops and Swoops Amusement Park, a terrific toy for toddler siblings.
And speaking of the Wheelies Loops and Swoops Amusement Park, guess who’s review of that toy appeared in the special Fisher-Price fold out ad in the latest issue of Today’s Parent magazine?
So tell me, what have your kids put at the top of their wishlists this year?
Disclosure: I am a Fisher-Price Play Ambassador and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are always my own.
Alas, a mere two weeks after our return from the amazing Allure of the Seas, I finally share the last post in my not-so-liveblogging of our cruise. Hey, my tanned Caribbean skin has not yet completely faded back to Canadian winter white, that’s got to count for something, right?
So why exactly were we on this cruise? As you know, I’ve been a Play Ambassador with Fisher-Price for more than a year, and Fisher-Price has a partnership in place with Royal Caribbean International. They work together to provide great services and entertainment to families on RCI’s cruises. For example, the Fisher-Price Toy Lending Program consists of a collection of developmental toys, specifically created for infants and toddlers ages 6-36 months, where you can borrow and exchange toys for a new activity every day. The Royal Babies (ages 6 yo 18 months) and Royal Tots (ages 18 to 36 months) programs offer fun interactive playgroup sessions for families with the youngest cruisers, developed by early childhood experts at Fisher-Price. (For more about the Royal Babies and Royal Tots programs, you can read Caroline’s post on the Fisher-Price play blog.) We were given this amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity along with the newly formed American counterpart to our Canadian “fisherpricemoms” team to see the Fisher-Price/Royal Caribbean partnership in action.
For us, the real joy of the cruise was not the chance to get away from the kids (which would have been easy, given the great Adventure Ocean kids’ clubs that offered quality care late into the night each day at no additional cost – and the kids loved it.) Cruise ships are known for having great entertainment for adults, but I don’t imagine many of them cater to families like the Allure of the Seas does. Here are a few of the amazing entertainment options for families and kids of all ages:
The Ocean Aria show. (Though not specifically a family show, we loved it so much that we sat through at least a portion of it several times. It’s a mix of high-diving, comedy, dance and trampoline with the most amazing pool I’ve ever seen – the floor of the pool moves up and down, so that one minute it’s shallow enough for the performers to run across it and be ankle-deep in water, and then the next minute a diver from a board 10m above the surface plunges deep under the water. Imagining a pool deep enough to accommodate high divers on a ship is awesome enough, but I couldn’t get over how amazingly the pool could change depths without looking any different.)
The How to Train Your Dragon ice show. (I may be in violation of some Canadian cultural law in having never brought my children to an ice show before now. Watching one of our favourite movies brought to life in an amazing ice show was the perfect way to spend a part of our extra day at sea when Hurricane Sandy cancelled our scheduled port day in Jamaica.)
Fisher-Price Little People birthday party (Tristan may be at the top edge of the age range they were aiming for, but I’m grateful to say that he’s still young-hearted enough to enjoy these things without (much) self-consciousness. And Lucas has traditionally been terrified of just about any of these mascot-style characters, so he was pretty much desensitized to them by the end of the cruise!)
Dreamworks character breakfast with Alex the Lion, King Julien and Mort from Madagascar.
Power-wheels racers for little ones
Dreamworks sail-away parade and end-of-cruise parade on the Royal Promenade (I was impressed by the production values on this — it’s no ordinary “characters wandering by in a line” sort of parade!)
Pop-up circus and play sessions (These were great – staff from the Adventure Ocean kids’ club would set up informal stations with a giant chess set, some musical bells, a dominoes set, some skipping ropes, hula hoops and other playthings and just let the kids – and grownups! – help themselves.)
Dreamworks character appearances (the program said this was Puss-in-Boots from Shrek, but the boys say that Willie grew big and got a hat and boots so he could join us on our cruise!)
ImaginOcean blacklight puppet show
Cupcake decorating class (another great way to not think about dodging an approaching hurricane!)
Pretty impressive, eh? But don’t just take my word for it – you can check out Tristan, Simon and Lucas’s perspective on the cruise on their entry on our Fisher-Price Play Ambassador blog post! Click away but make sure you come back – I’ve got one exciting detail left to share.
While I wish I could share with you something exciting like a chance to win your own week in paradise on the Allure of the Seas, I can’t quite pull that one off. However, our generous friends at Royal Caribbean International do have a lovely gift package to share with one lucky reader containing an Allure of the Seas bath robe, insignia towel and luggage tags. You’ll have to supply your own cupcakes. 😉
Want to win? Here’s how to enter:
This is a giveaway for a goodie bag from Royal Caribbean International and the Allure of the Seas.
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post (not on Facebook or Twitter – comment must be on this post!) and tell me something you learned about the Allure of the Seas from one of my liveblogging posts.
For a bonus entry, “like” Royal Caribbean on Facebook. (This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.) You MUST leave a comment telling me you liked RCI in order to qualify. If you already like Royal Caribbean on FB, just say so in your comment.
This giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents, excluding residents of Quebec. (sorry!)
This giveaway will run until 11:59 pm EDT on Friday November 16, 2012.
One winner will be chosen at random from all comments posted.
If you win, you must be willing to provide your full name and contact information to me to share with Royal Caribbean, who will send the prize package directly to you.
I ran out of cruise before I ran out of things to say, so I’ll be continuing the live-blogging of our Allure of the Seas vacation for a few more days weeks. Consider it live-blogging by tape delay!
I wanted to wait until I’d had a chance to properly explore the ship before I told you about it. It really is a mind-boggling ship, not just a floating hotel but a floating town with a population greater than Manotick. At capacity, the Allure of the Seas can carry nearly 6,000 passengers and more than 2,200 crew members, and on our sailing there were about 5,000 passengers — but you never really get a sense there are that many people on the ship. The Allure was designed with seven themed “neighbourhoods” designed so people would find a place comfortable for them and gravitate towards a particular area. The neighbourhoods are:
the Boardwalk
the Royal Promenade
the pool and sports zone
the Vitality Spa and Fitness area
Central Park
the youth zone
the Entertainment Zone
Looking down on Central Park from deck 15.
The first order of each day for me was the hunting and gathering of coffee. We could have ordered (no charge) room service, but I liked the excuse to be up and moving through the ship while virtually everyone else was asleep. Our cabin was at the aft of the ship on deck seven, so we’d slip out through a door at the end of the corridor at the far aft beside one of the massive rock climbing walls, walk down a level past the Boardwalk area and down another level onto the walking/running track that circles the ship on the fifth deck. I enjoyed using the running track to traverse the ship (and I always seemed to be on the wrong end of the ship from my destination) because I liked the open air and sea views. Each morning I’d walk to midship and enter the Royal Promenade area, which to me was the heart of the ship.
It was on the Royal Promenade that one could watch the two (impressive) Dreamworks parades that celebrate the beginning and end of the cruise, or one of the fun street dance parties with themes like Latin Night or 70s dance party. It was also my favourite place to snag a coffee in a take-away cup without having to spend money at the Starbucks on the same deck. On the Royal Promenade, you’ll also find shops, including a GUESS accessory boutique, and several bars and cafes, including the neat Rising Tide Bar that moves up and down between decks 5 and 8. Coffee in hand and boys content with bakery treats, we’d either go back to the running track to watch the sun rise off the aft deck or back to our balcony. I already miss those seaside coffees!
Watching the sun rise from the running track on the aft deck.
Our favourite place for breakfast was the Solarium Bistro up on deck 15. They had the best variety of breakfast choices laid out buffet style – everything from bacon and eggs and smoked salmon to toast and waffles to fruit to granola and cereal. I’m hungry just thinking about it! Ordinarily, the Solarium area is for adults only (which is a bit of a shame, because it does offer the best views from high up on the front of the ship) but during breakfast and lunch the kids were welcome.
Breakfast buffet at the Solarium Bistro.Looking out over the Solarium - no kids allowed!
The sport and pool zone is also up on deck 15, another of Allure’s various neighbourhoods. We spent a LOT of time up there, enjoying the sea air and views while the kids splashed in the H2O zone or played in the kids’ pool. I loved being out in the open air, and there were plenty of places to sit and relax. I’d heard on some cruise ships that deck chairs were hard to come by, but there were always some available for us and I loved the fact that there was even kiddie-sized ones! Another wonderful feature of the sports and pool deck is the handy self-serve frozen yogurt on a cone station.
You'd never guess there were 5000 passengers on this ship, would you?
How’s this for cool? Some of the hot tubs are cantilevered out over the side of the ship, 200 feet over the ocean!
If you’re looking for a nice quiet place to sit quietly and feel a little solitude, the ship’s impressive Central Park is a great place to hang out. Can you believe they have a park the size of a football field with thousands of live plants? Imagine grabbing a yummy roast beef sandwich (with a ladle-ful of gravy inside, mmmmmm!) from the Central Park Cafe and sitting on a little patio to enjoy your lunch in the park and watch the people walking by — ON A SHIP!
Horticulturalists tend to the plants in Central Park.
Another one of our favourite neighbourhoods on the Allure was the Boardwalk, featuring a fully functioning carousel. (A carousel! On! A! Ship!) No doubt this was Lucas’s favourite area to hang out. They have a beautiful set of sculptures showing the creation of a wooden carousel horse from wooden block to final product, and each time we walked by Lucas oohed and aahed over the sculptures. “This one is my favourite!” he’d tell us each time.
Also on the Boardwalk are a couple of shops, including a candy store, a hot dog stand, a fun photo studio, an ice cream parlour, and two restaurants. We never did manage to try Rita’s Mexican Cantina (which is a shame considering how much we like Mexican food!) but we did enjoy the complimentary breakfast at Johnny Rockets one morning.
The food on the ship is a mixture of included options and extras. You can easily dine all week without paying an extra cent by enjoying meals in the main dining room, the Windjammer buffet, or many of the little cafes such as the ones on the Royal Promenade (good for breakfast sweets) or the Central Park Cafe (amazing salads and sandwiches.) For a few dollars more, you can try a gourmet dining experience at one of the signature restaurants including Chops Grille, 150 Central Park, and Izumi Asian Cuisine. You generally need a reservation for these smaller restaurants, but there are these very cool interactive displays near all the elevators that are like giant iPads, and you can check to see at any given time if there is currently room in any of the specialty restaurants. We didn’t make it to any of the specialty restaurants for dinner, but we had an absolutely amazing family-style Italian lunch at Giovanni’s Table one day. My mouth still waters when I think about it. Look at this adorable photo our friend Juliette from Fisher-Price caught of me and the boys enjoying our lunch.
And here’s one of all five of us – so terrific to get a photo of all of us!
I have to say, I was intimidated about the dining on the cruise before we left. I knew there would be two formal nights, and when they say formal they mean it — gowns and tuxes, or at least suits and pretty dresses. And even on the casual nights, I was anxious about having to dress the whole family for dinner. We just don’t do formal — I had to buy Simon a white collared shirt for his first communion last year, and had nothing equivalent for the other two boys. In the end, it was much less of a deal than I had feared. For the casual nights, I dressed them in khakis and polo shirts, and for the formal nights we ate at the Windjammer buffet where the non-fancy people hang out. I did love dining in the main dining room, though. The wait staff were incredibly kind and solicitous of the whole family, and the food was a-maz-ing!! And they were super-quick – I wish it were as easy to get in and out of a restaurant back home. Due to one boy’s fickle tummy, we only actually made it through an entire meal all the way to dessert on the very last night of the cruise, but we were treated like royalty each time we showed up. I think of all the things that impressed me about the Allure, high on the list was the service in the main dining room.
I’d tell you about the spa and fitness area of the ship, but, um, I never made it up there. I’m sure it’s as lovely and impressive as the rest of the ship, though, but the damn ship is so big that there just wasn’t enough time to explore it. And given the choice between a vigourous treadmill workout and lazing in a deck chair watching the sun rise, I’ll choose lazing every time. Besides, when you traverse the enormous Allure (she’s 362m, more than a third of a kilometer from stem to stern, or more than 1100 ft for you imperialists) a couple of times a day in search of various adventures you can easily justify an extra cupcake or two without hitting the fitness club. Well, I certainly could!
Okay, I think this is the penultimate post in this series. I will need one more blog post to tell you about the entertainment options for kids and adults and the amazing kid programs on the Allure. Do you have any questions about our trip or about the Allure of the Seas? I’d be happy to answer them for you!
