Brittoni

I think taking various bags of suspicious powders on a vessel sailing to others countries is a grand idea.  

Seriously you get like 12 non alcoholic bottles in your carry on (check me on that) just pack the protein drinks, or a bag of protein powder and a shaker bottle.  

In Vegas there is a protein smoothie bar that has alcoholic versions.  Makes the gym better. Ensure and vodka may be a new trend? 

If you are feeling spendy they sell protein boosted shakes in the spa too, on many ships. (Check your ship on that)

This is a great hack, thanks.

We legitimately bought a piece of art at an auction maybe 6 years ago on a rccl cruise.  As mentioned above It was pre arranged before we sat down at the auction.  We didn't even get the joy of bidding, the sales agent did that.  The auction was a sham.  We were excited about the purchase, then the story begins.

The art dealer was a company called park west.  To finish the sale we had to return at the end of the cruise and fill out paperwork.  Which was okay but the person from park west was very rude, which was unexpected, but humans are humans and this one was probably tired and overwhelmed. Now the fun...

The waiting began, the art work arrived at our house 9 months later.  Which in that time I took a new job in a new city.  We called park west every couple of months to check on it as we were told on the ship it would arrive in 2 to 3 months, then when the move was happening every i called few weeks, then every day.  They could tell us nothing, no idea where it was.  Nor stop its shipping.  We thought the new owners of the house would have a piece of art show up and hang it in the dining room where we thought it should go. "Honey look, it belongs right here on this wall."

Randomly, It arrived the day before the movers did no notification, we literally opened it and sealed it back up put it on a truck. Which we thought was funny.  "Look at that beautiful painting, where is the tape?"  Then it got lost in the move, which we thought was quite funny, (after it was found) like we were destined to not have this painting.

Eventually it hung on the wall in the next house. We moved again, it got lost again, no kidding.  Once more it was found.  Besides this painting's need to run away It's a stunning piece.  I am looking at it now, just to be sure it hasn't escaped.  We bought an original, it's striking.

Funny thing is, we bought another piece day after the cruise from an art shop in Florida.  We had that one reframed by the dealer, packed, shipped to the same house and it arrived in 2 weeks.  Both are oil paintings but only the Florida one smelled of oil not the cruise ship one, but by the time it arrived it was getting pretty old i guess.  🤔

We believe the one bought on the ship is real, and we will never sell it, so it is real, darn it!   We love it and was worth it in the long run. For no other reason than it makes for a wonderful story of provenance.

Although, we have never bought anything from park west again.

.

 

Is there still a private sun deck with limited access, where you pay an extra charge for access?

Sundeck yes, it's been upgraded has cabanas now, but it's totally restricted to suites and pinnacle, card access only now. I don't think you can buy in any more.

The one thing I would strongly recommend you not miss, by any means, is the departure of the ship. That would be the worst, but something you would not forget, I'm sure.

Same menu as we had on allure two weeks ago, different wines except the Wagner.

 

Interesting the chef spoke as if it was his idea, "What I did here was...". "When I prepared this I...". "One interesting thing I did was..."

 

I was under the impression it was bespoke, but learned during the dinner it was not. There was a couple there who adored it, was their second or third visit that trip. my wife an I were not fan's but it seemed much of the table was. I guess what I'm saying is it's not for everyone but, if it is for you, it's REALLY for you!

 

Hope it is for you and enjoy!

First wine was the same too, my mistake. They are 4 oz pours, they leave the bottle, but take the glasses even if they were full. They snatched all of mine when I was not looking, which was annoying. A post dinner linear of the paired wines is not that uncommon I don't think. Either way use it or lose it.

Pretty much the same menu that we had on Navigator in September.

Same menu as we had on allure two weeks ago, different wines except the Wagner.

Interesting the chef spoke as if it was his idea, "What I did here was...". "When I prepared this I...". "One interesting thing I did was..."

I was under the impression it was bespoke, but learned during the dinner it was not. There was a couple there who adored it, was their second or third visit that trip. my wife an I were not fan's but it seemed much of the table was. I guess what I'm saying is it's not for everyone but, if it is for you, it's REALLY for you!

Hope it is for you and enjoy!

Has anyone found a bar on board that makes a key lime pie martini?

Try champagne bar, they have quite an array.

Here is something I failed to mention, at chefs table with dessert they make a pretty amazing cheesecake martini. The ingredients list was pretty wild, and sounded awful but the drink was stellar. I know it had marscapone cheese in it.

Viking crown used to make a ton of craft martini's as well, but that is not an option now. Never tested the coastal kitchen on martinis.

Back to where I started, champagne bar would be your best bet.

What was wrong with the beer?

Packer, squiffy and I are beer snobs, the selection on allure was just not as good as hoped.

If you like mass production American lagers and European pilsners you are in good shape.

Brittoni!

 

Missed you buddy while we were on board, never did find you at the M&M.

 

But I'm sure we crossed paths!

 

Yes beer drinkers, it's true. La Fin Du Monde and Chimay Blue are off the menu. The beer offering is truly weak if you prefer anything out of the ordinary. The Redhook Long Hammer IPA (the only true IPA on the menu) had a weird sour taste to it. Don't know if that's it's normal taste as I don't get it up here, but as an IPA it was nearly undrinkable (but I soldiered through, don cha know). The Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was fine, but not an IPA. From the volume of aluminum fake bottles and Corona's I saw being consumed it's unlikely that RCCL will make further efforts in improving their beer offering. They have met the demands of the majority of their beer purchasers and are sticking with the easy path.

 

I don't cruise that often, and beer is more important to me than cruise line brand loyalty. When we plan our next cruise I will be including quality beer as a criteria in the decision making process.

 

Cheers to all!

We did miss the meet and mingle, sorry. I'm sure we crossed paths, we went to the pub probably 4 nights, that singer was really good. I settled into rum drinks mostly, 'cause the beer was a joke.

I did take those 4 high end bottles with me, we drank one per night when I really needed a real ale. But RCI could never be expected to have beer like that.

It was still fun, and on top of this we still found time to hit bars on the islands.

My liver still hurts.

I only drink beer. But I want it now! :) Speaking of which, are there bars that have good bar snacks. We always have to ask for them.

Packer, great question, I don't actually know. I am always so full never considered it, I suppose on promenade you have that pizza place and cafe they are open all hours, so you could carry. Same for trellis while the park cafe is open, that burger place on the top decks, and rockets or chips and salsa at sabor. May have to get creative.

Obviously vintages and coastal kitchen offer food.

Beyond that, no ideas about bar snacks offered in the bars. You could try ordering room service to the bar, which would be hilarious. Never seen it done.

Great question

When we sailed Genie past August we were told that the upgraded steaks and lobsters at Chops, ice cream at scoops, and the over and above wine pairings at 150 and Chefs table were extra. It sounds as though things vary by ship. Hopefully they are getting things more streamlined across the ships. After the cost of the cabin I'm not sure why the baulk at a $4 ice cream cone.

 

RC is good at being inconsistent.:);)

I agree, we just could not predict it. We had a scant few instances of getting charged, and inconsistent service and they were irksome.

Chops was all free, wine, lobster upgrades, everything. Sadly the lobster was very lacking in our dinner, we never went back. Which was sad as we planned to go twice. Service was just awful it took over 30 min to place a drink order, and that was only after we tracked down the head guy. This is not consistent feedback I have heard, but we were star, and they knew it obviously.

150 was all free, wine bottle after wine bottle, and went out of their way to get us everything, even found stuff they liked. I can't rave enough about the staff and service, we closed the place 2 times! We are foodies and so is the staff, they seemed to really enjoy our company.

Chef's table was a huge letdown, in every way, not just the charge, but the experience, food, everything. My read is they were poorly trained, the sommelier is not a sommelier, chef is not allowed to innovate, it felt like a carbon copy of a previously lived scripted evening.

Izumi I paid for a bottle of saki, with discount, but thats the rules, no one else followed them, but Izumi.

Was accosted several times rudely for ordering two drinks, but every other time never had any issue and got up to 4.

Where we suffered, it seems like the folks who started this thread is our past experiences. Star class are paying $10,000 and up for cabins, I'd guess a high percentage of people who do that tend to enjoy some finer experiences on land. I'm sure many who are not star do as well, but what star is trying to promise is top end service and attention for your trip, many Star class know what that means. To do that, you just can't miss. Go to an Oberoy, One and Only, or other 6 star resort and all the experiences are 6 star. Star's should expect the promise fulfilled, more than those not paying 6 star prices buying the status. Royal had it tough as six star exists inside a 4-5 star experience, they chose to add Star, so they get to figure it out. They are close, but there is a tiny bit of slippage 3-4 times a week, but in a 6 star world, that is unacceptable. Royal just can't compete with a world class resort yet, but they seem to be working on it.

It was a great week, glad we did it. This is our 4th suite at this level, first genie, was a huge upgrade. But for us, and I know this is controversial, probably our last. We go because our family loves this experience, not because we do.

Don't let me depress you, enjoy it, if you temper ur expectations a bit to growing pains, it will be perfect. It is a great week.

There is usually a better draft beer choice on ships based in UK, where they can bring the barrels on-board each turn around.

 

saying that we were on Athem when it did the UK season and some of the supposedly UK beers on draft were awful

 

My guess is that they badged them wrong, as they tasked nothing like the beer we get in pubs in the UK

 

 

way too gassy and bland

I certainly hear you, I am a beer snob, and collect beer as well. I knew going in I was in for a mixed drink vacation. I did take 4 bottles of high end beer with me in lieu of the wine altoment. It is a risky endeavor though if you have them confiscated they are lost. What I took was not replaceable, but two in the carry two in the luggage and it all arrived no worries.

Those 4 helped me make it though. We just drank one a night here and there.

Someday perhaps Royal will respect us lowly beer drinkers.

It seems odd that you were charged $25 for the wine pairings at the Chef's Table. We have it reserved for our Allure cruise in March - and it sounded to me like the rate you pay per person includes the wine... even though we have paid a discounted rate of $76pp vs the usual $95pp.

We were surprised too. The sommelier turned ringmaster just presented it to us. We never brought it up to the genie, we forgot.

On coastal, I agree, I got three different meals with fried eggs on top, all fried til hard, not all were breakfast. Just awful, so we just stopped going. Service was top shelf.

Great post! Do you know how much the in room bartender/happyhour costs? Family cruise on Allure coming up in June. Might be fun!

I believe something like $22-25 a person, and $50 for the bartender. It depends on what level of booze you want. Food can be added, or use room service. We did it to align with sail away on day 1. We had An ATS so it was pretty magical.

We really enjoyed it.

So I have been reading a lot of posts about how amazing the food is on the allure. I was wondering, what restaurants have the healthiest options? It's hard for me to find sample menus online (maybe i'm not looking hard enough?)

 

Thank you!:cool:

Reading this again, it depends what you mean by healthy. If like most posters here it is defined as fruits and veggies, you will be fine. If you have a "dark side" diet. Where you eat, organic, farm to table, ultra healthy all the time, you are going to struggle.

If you are one of those, like me, then nearly the entire week is a splurge which can make you ill or at best lethargic. We did okay, but I'll give you an example, at chops, if you are a vegetarian you get just the side dishes. That is straight from the 1990's. if you eat fish, luckily I do, good luck getting it not doused in butter.

Mainline Cruises are not about ultra healthy, but we personally found the food stuck in the 80's and 90's. no new avant-garde techniques, the ingredients are not the star here.

I realize this may be offensive, not intended to be, but if you want really healthy you will have to put some effort into it.

Sorry, I'll post the depression from Oasis. If I recalled, you had some hopes after seeing the list from back in December.

 

 

Same one we had. Leffe is good.

No more La Fin du Monde? They had that last time on the Allure 13 months back, and its still on the stock lists because I had it very recently on Radiance. A really nice 9% Belgian style beer completed with sediment so poor gently.

Nope, Lin fin was gone, Chimay (the Belgian you mentioned), stone, dog fish all gone. Red hook longhammer was not listed, but people were drinking it. But it's not a microbrew. I was going to take a picture of the beer list but it depressed me too much, so I held back.

Wish I had better news and hope it changes when you are on.

We were just across the ship from you, had 4 in the cabin, and 4 more on the ship. I echo your enthusiasm and sentiment. Star class made the ship. We like you, found the specialty restaurants a bit tired, but preferred 150 to all the remainder.

There were a couple of quirks, we were charged $25 each for the wine pairing at Chef's Table. Odd to get hit for $25 each when all other booze was free. And the selections were not special at all, the pours were about 4 ounces.

Two bartenders threatened to charge me for my wife's drink if I did not produce her card, I just laughed pointed to her and they capitulated. No one else cared at all. Odd.

If you go to Starbucks you have to hold your card up and the coffee is free, it's the only "self swipe" on the ship, I got billed by swiping, free for flashing.

Otherwise simply amazing.

Allure of the Seas

I started writing this as we are backing in to port in St Martin, just to have you here with me. I finished this just now as we got off the ship Sunday 1/22.

We arrived at the port at noon, and it was chaos. It reminded be of the airport in Nairobi Kenya. Bags everywhere people scattered among them no real organization to be seen, but it was all working somehow. We fought our way to the suite door and made our way in. We were greeted by a genie, Not ours as our genie was already helping another suite. The process is as slick as everyone says, the only issue was a security guard was letting people in our security line, which slowed it down, a genie quickly sorted that out. There are a lot of reviews of this process, so you can find details elsewhere. I can confirm it's pretty amazing no pain.

There are 11 star suites on board the 6 ATS and 5 lofts, that means of the near 5500 people on our cruise there were 41 passengers that had this level of access. This is managed by 3 genies, there are 4 in total but only 3 are on the ship at one time. The genie is a self described personal assistant, that is a very accurate description. The only difference from the PA's I have had is Genie's do not anticipate they respond. But in one week the ability to anticipate things is difficult. As the week moved on the level of anticipation improved. At 3 pm on embarkation day our genie met us in our cabin and went over our benefits and his role in them. I think Star class benefits are easy to describe, "whatever you want just ask because whatever they can do they will".

With so few plum colored cards on board, the crew in nearly every instance just capitulates to what you need. Very different than other passengers, ill give a few examples, but there are too many to mention.

- [ ] Drinks we got every thing we wanted, period. Observing the other passengers on the ship with drink packages, the Star class card they went above and beyond to ensure we are happy. I bought rounds of drinks, shots, bottles of wine, and water juice, coffees, everything, unlimited no questions asked. Plum card is a $0.00 bill. Actually the 0.00 bill is a bit of a joke, but you will sign a slew of these. Crew called them zero bills.

- [ ] Cabanas on deck 17, we had a full time cabana on deck 17, And our friends who were not in our cabin were able to join us. The pool attendant who was amazing told us that the crew is instructed to keep Star Class happy and ensure there are no hassles. This they did.

- [ ] Specialty restaurant staff were particularly attentive, and gave us bottles of wine, and were simply amazing. Especially 150 park, which we will have dined at 3 times by the end of the cruise.

- [ ] Our cabin is stocked to the nines with food and alcohol, we always had a 12 pack of beer, a bottle of jack Daniels, Bacardi rum, vermouth and several bottles of wine.

- [ ] We exceeded our allotment of carry on wine and brought some beer on during embarkation, these were all specialty bottles and there were no issues.

One interesting thing which happened was we came a bit close to missing the ship in st. thomas due to a transportation issues. We contacted our Genie in turn the genie worked with the senior staff so they were aware and could assist if needed. We did make the ship with a little to spare, but having the genie on our side was a relief.

Another neat aspect of having our genie is, checking in on our trip. Several times our genie just stopped by before our dinner in the restaurant to ensure everything is going as we hoped. Would come by the cabin just to chat, very nice, and never obtrusive. Also our genie came by the cabin and spent a very long time just chatting, answered any questions about what ever we asked, and was very interesting to talk with.

Line hopping is truly luxurious. In St Thomas there was a massive line to disembark we merely walked to the front, flashed our cards and went first. Was amazing. One thing that would make this a bit better is a sign that stated this, as other passengers who were not informed were obviously annoyed. But the crew took care of this by informing them.

In cabin drinks were also interesting, every day more and more came. I mean MORE! Day after day, each day we would get Case of Heineken, or a case of bud light, bottles of champagne, or shots of rum, or case of Guinness. Got to be astounding. We left probably 30 total bottles of wine, beer, champagne and spirits on Sunday.

Your genie will get you a gift, I expected it to be silly. It was not, I was astounded it was so personal and well thought through it amazed me. But let's keep that a secret surprise because I have no idea what you will get.

As a final note, as we left to customs the genie said, " you were great, and so easy, people usually are so much more demanding". We did not know what to say, I thought we asked for a lot. I guess we need to do better next time.

Happy to answer any questions you have.

We are in GS next week. I just cancelled all our MTD MDR reservations. I just hope we can get reservations for CK at convenient times to us. Will this be a problem (for dinner)?

Not at all, in fact they will tell you CK is your MDR. It's good, and we had no issues last week and we had a party of 8 which changed a lot.

If you like sushi, I'd eat at the bar and talk to the sushi chefs. But if you want hibachi, it looked interactive and fun. It's hard to get into hibachi, if you want to do that, it will be great.

Solarium and Vitality Cafes are supposed to be the lighter fare.

Was there last week, this is True, but not great. We found solarium was merely the healthier stuff from windjammer. Not as crowded usually.

For really healthy juice bar in the spa. But you have to get the $8 hand made juice. The others are made with bar mixers, and was told they have a ton of sugar.

For real food, Coastal Kitchen was the best healthy breakfast, but I know not everyone can go there.

Lunch Giovanni's has a arugula salad, very nice very healthy. 150 has a couple of amazing healthy options a beet and quinoa salad was the best.

I agree on the super healthy eating on vacation, but adding some in really helps.

All in all Allure agrees, they don't have very many for you.

CK is open for lunch now. It had just started on our first B2B cruise starting Sept 25, 2016. Sorry I left that out!

Was open last week embarkation day, yes.

Hi - Anyone know the cost of the Pilates classes on the Allure? Would be nice to keep up at sea!

Thanks!

$12 I believe some classes were more but I think it was $12 per, no more then $20.

Here is a comprehensive bar review for AOS 1/15 sailing. It was not my intention to hit nearly every bar on this massive ship, just kind of did. Our group did a bar crawl which helped cover a variety of bars too. So I thought why not review them.

So from my impression there are three types of bars on this ship, blender bars, on the rocks bars, and specialty bars.

The blender bars are those that make boat drinks, they offer a variety of liquors but primarily make the rum based boat drinks. This is their specialty, the alcohol selection varies pretty wildly bar to bar which is odd, but they are all well stocked from what I saw. These include all the pool bar, sky bar, wipeout, sand bar, mast bar, solarium bar, et al. These bars exist to serve the same drinks in lots of locations to keep the lines and walks down. What differentiated them was the service, some bartenders were slow, others fast, others exceptionally personable. We had our favorites. If you find Francisco Goes he is exceptional. The suites only bar on 17 had an amazing bartender as well, Radu. The selection there is more limited than the other pool bars, but there is never a line. This is due to the restricted access, which fortunately we had. These are really just drink dispensers, not sit down and chat places, with the exception of wipe out and suites only.

Drink recommendation: Pina colada with a zucapa floater.

On the rocks bars are those without blenders, and focus on a shaken drink. These bars are places like Schooner bar, On Air, Coastal Kitchen/Suites lounge, Diamond lounge, Blaze and Rising Tide and their ilk. The bar staff tends to be more personable in these bars, mixing cocktails with conversation. In these bars they mixed what we wanted, but did not have a "specialty" drink to offer. If you have a favorite James Bond style cocktail, glass of wine, or a prohibition style drink, these are your stops. One note, rising tide is a bit of an exception, they have a particularly limited selection, by hitting up Trellis, or Champagne bar depending on the deck from which you leave you can be appropriately armed for the ride, which is the real star.

Drink recommendations for rocks bars: Dirty vodka martini or a manhattan.

Specialty bars, to me, were those that had a special cocktail or offered a theme.

Champagne Bar, Deck 5 promenade. This is a plush venue, bordering on stuffy, the bar looks like a wedding cake designed by the Mad Hatter. They make an exceptional cucumber martini, strongly recommend it. The one issue is the staff there. This is the only bar that had a uniformed crew member at it most of the time, The white shirt and epaulette kind of uniform. Her name plate said mixologist, she was very mean. Noticeably so, which permeated the bar staff. When she was not there the bar staff was pleasant and warm. When she was they were curt and harsh, like her. Good luck, and remember alcohol takes the edge off.

Drink recommendation: Cucumber Martini.

Bow and Stern Deck 5 promenade. Great entertainment, really awful beer selection. This is not an English pub in any way. They kind of made it look like one, but it looks more like chain restaurant than a quaint pub, really It's much more of a roadhouse. They have a beer and cider on tap, horrible beer selection, only one craft beer, Sierra Nevada. It's a huge let down, British pubs are simple to recreate, I have spent an inordinate amount of time in them, especially in England this totally missed the mark. The recipe I have seen is just get 5 or 6 great beers on tap, personable bar tenders, and your in business. Bow and Stern missed bad, on tap was strong bow, and Stella. They had cans of some iconic ales, bass, harp, boddingtons and Guinness, but they try to package it as a global beer experience. It's not, mainly InBev mass production beers. Gone were all the mildly more interesting selections. The staff was cold and inattentive, I think it has to do with the long bar, bad sight lines, and poor management. But the entertainment was awesome. Sadly this the only option in this style venue, so we gritted this one out and enjoyed it. It's jut not a British pub.

Drink recommendation: The classic Black and Tan, It's can pours so drink up, they blend very quickly.

Trellis bar, deck 8. This Central Park gem is a must stop if your riding the rising tide down, or just back on the ship from a port of call. Part Parisian neighborhood bar, part Bryant park thirst quencher, nearly every cruise this is a generally passed over bar, but if you stop this is a place to smell the roses. It's full service with a blender. Hopefully this one will have a special place in your heart as well.

Drink recommendation: Dark and stormy, they have all the Bahamian ingredients just have them add a splash of bitters.

Bolero's deck 5 promenade. Warm and rich Havana colors in a Miami like club setting. This place is all curves and sexy lines, like the salsa dancing within. Fun joint this, top shelf band, and Latin bartenders. They specialize in mojitos, and banter. It's a cool place to order a cold minty drink, the house specialty is the coconut mojito, get one for fun, it's great, just keep a napkin handy, the coconut is messy.

Drink recommendation: Green Mojito.

On air, deck 5 promenade. This industrial designed metallic bar has a very clean New York vibe. It's a karaoke bar in every way, if you are here for the Simon Cowell effect, they make unimaginative drinks for a memorable evening. It is usually wall to wall when open, so getting a drink here is more trouble than it's worth many times.

Sabor bar, deck 6 boardwalk. Billed as a tequilaria it does have 6 or 7 of them, pretty much Patron, Cuervo and a no name. The margarita's are good and strong, they only have classics, in Sabor itself they offer a jalapeño, and a avocado one. Both are only available in the restaurant. They are good, but not great. Sabor bar is very busy, it's the only bar on boardwalk. The seating area is a bit lacking and oddly structured, the bar is an octagon and allows for a lot of patrons. The bartender here, George is very good, and moves very fast. He is Impressive. Great stop for a mediocre shot of tequila or a good margarita. There are a ton of kids at this bar, getting drink package refills, which at a tequilaria is hard, when drinking tequila it's an effort to keep the cursing to a minimum.

Drink Recommendation: Simple margarita.

Jazz on 4 and Comedy Club, deck 4. While only waiter service is available, they seem to have the same bar behind the scenes. In both cases the drinks are watery, or odd. Frozen mojito slushy? Ice in your martini? If you want to drink here, it's totally hit or miss. But you want to drink here, jazz quartet was wonderful, comedy was hilarious.

Drink recommendation: bring your own.

Casino bar, deck 4. This felt like a pick up joint for the over 65 set. Nothing much to report here, I don't smoke and many here do.

Drink recommendation: Save your money and go to deck 5 running track drink in some fresh air.

Izumi Deck 4. While technically a specialty restaurant I added this because of the saki and Asian beers. It's a pretty place, but much less elegant than when it was on deck 16. The hot saki was really nice, although they only had 5 bottles to choose from. I chose the largest one. 750 ml I believe. It was not included in the drink package but I got a 20% discount.

Drink Recommendation: Hot saki on the sushi side.

Blaze, deck 4. This is the club, as I'm sure you are aware. It's one of the strangest designs I have ever seen, it makes no sense. Medieval dungeon meets discotheque. Never did really get a handle on the vibe. They serve club cocktails and have heavy influence of scotch and other sipping drinks. I saw a ton of red bull and vodka getting ordered from here. It is a typical club, plan to have drinks spilled on your shoes. Drinking, dancing on a moving ship is a recipe for soggy toes.

Drink recommendation: Laphroaig 10 year on the rocks.

Vintages, deck 8 Central Park. The quintessential wine bar. Great venue, average selection, all the good stuff has pretty heavy prices. They used to have sommeliers in vintages now they just recommend. It's a limited list, but they can pull from chops, 150 and Giovanni's I believe. Either way under staffed and inattentive service. But the pours are nice, and it's a chic joint. Royal is pretty heavily invested into the Wagner family wines, so they will **** these pretty hard. If you are not familiar this is, Conundrum, Mer Soleil, Bella Glos, and Camus. I did not see the other two Wagner brands. Luckily the top end of Wagner is good and not too expensive. They do also have a lot of Mondavi on board but did not push it as hard, but they loved to mention the "opus" they had, as if it was a gift of the Gods. If you show any interest they will bring up the Screaming Eagle. Reminds me of bragging about a famous person they may have met.

Drink recommendation: White, red or Wine flight, do what you do. No real gems I found unless you go over $250 a bottle.

Dazzles decks 8-9. A glittery black and chrome bar, I seemed to always get wet drinks here. Not watery just lots of rocks, the venue can be fun on big band night, but know it skews older. What makes it neat is the bands. Pieces of the show orchestra form up to offer a fun night. They had a special band this week too, that was new. If you like to dance to big band, this is the spot.

Drink recommendation: Jack on the rocks with a twist of lemon.

In Room Bartenders. Our cabin, deck 10. We had a family member treat us to a cocktail hour in the cabin. We had 8 guests and it was a great time. (Our cabin was a larger one, we did not stuff all those people in a standard balcony, if you try could be a fun evening though). Although the bartender came woefully unprepared and had to run out several times for more mixers and such, but eventually he returned with a runner and it was a blast. He was unobtrusive and made a variety of drinks. He also left a bottle of Bacardi and Jack Daniels behind because he knew we liked them. Very gracious. Be careful with this one, it is way to easy to get plastered with a bartender and 8 people.

Drink recommendation: An odd blue shot the bartender made for fun, it was tart, no idea what it was, he told me but I forgot.

Vitality at Sea Juice Bar, Deck 6 in the Spa. While no alcohol is served here, this is the best place for a morning recovery drink. I could not have survived without this place. You can have them crafted however you want, and there are a lot of options.

Drink recommendation: A juice of everything green, heavy on the kale, with a shot of protein. Drink fast, recover fast.

Our bar crawl consisted of 6 bars, started at the top, Wipeout, and ended at Bow and Stern. Due to wind we had to scrap wipeout. Three of us drank at all 5. We made maps and gift bags containing lots of fun items. Including silly straw glasses, they are really funny but hold like 1/2 a drink. Oh did we laugh on this crawl. My "win" was

1. Sand bar - Rum and coke

2. Sabor bar -shot of Cuervo 1800

3. Vintages- Sav blanc

4. Rising tide - Dark and stormy from trellis bar

5. Bow and stern - Guinness

If you are traveling with a group or meet people, this was a blast.

We also went to the prohibition event. Got all dressed up in Gatsby gear, went at 10:30. It was awful, I can't describe how bad this event was. Essential we paid $35 per person to go to Jazz on 4. It was embarrassing bad. I can go into detail but trust me, not worth to us in any way. Felt like a money grab, wanted this to be so good too. We got a full refund for this event.

Well that is the review and I'm sticking with it, I know we all have opinions. Totally respect that, these are mine.

Cheers