anandaindonesia

We are taking our grandchildren on a cruuse for the first time next February.

For those having any experience with My Family Time Dining program, please share your experience with us?

What to do? What not to do?

How shall we tip the child staff? Individually or as a group?

Thanks for sharing.

since we are talking wind jammer. is it wrong to skip someone later on the buffet line if you dont want anything in the line say hotdogs and hamburgers towards the front. but you only want some fries at the end and no one is there yet?

Harooni,

There are different sections: soups, salads, pasta, etc.

It is ok to go to whichever section you like, in no particular order. However, it is best to queue patiently within a particular section.

Enjoy your meals.

Sent using Tapatalk. Sorry for typho.

Well, on Serenade embarkation, you have free lunch options at Windjammer or Park Cafe.

Or you can pay for lunch at Rita's Cantina.

Enjoy your cruise.

Sent using Tapatalk. Sorry for typho.

Which ship will you be on?

When boarding the Allure, we went to Solarium Bistro for our first lunch. Yummy!

Take a picture with the Master of the ship.

:D

In my opinion, you can't have too many reviews. Sometime repetition adds to existing opinion as valid. On the other hand, your the first I've seen to say the service at Rita's Cantina was fast and attentive. That might be a signal the cruise line had read reviews and is making changes. I didn't go Rita's either time I was on Allure. If I keep hearing more word like yours, it might persuade me to try it next time.

We went for the Fiesta, where the menu is fixed. Everybody is served the same items (except us vegetarians, sorry for the trouble) at the same time.

I can't say of the service in the Cantina for the a la carte, everyday menu.

That being said, Bill, if you are going to try Mexican food on your next Allure, go all the way out and enjoy the fiesta. It is an experience you'll remember for a long time - with a smile :D !

And thank you for the encouragement to write more reviews. Hope I can have more cruises to write about. :-)

Michael (OP)

Three times during our TA cruise, we ordered room service breakfast as "morning call". They will ring a few minutes before coming, so you can at least 'slip into something respectable' before opening the door (and be ready with the tip). :)

No hot items on the room service breakfast order form except coffee/tea/chocolate. No problem. We can have our egg or oatmeal later at the buffet. However, on debarkation day I did wrote 'omelette please?' and got it, complete with two small hash browns!

Really appreciate the fact that NCL serves room service breakfast on debarkation day (most cruise lines don't). It is a great help not having to go anywhere to have breakfast, so we can prepare ourselves to leaving the ship on the last morning. Thanks NCL!

Exactly that's one of the reasons I don't want to go back to NCL.

Sorry.

Hi EbayCruiser,

There is no obstruction. I can see the ocean nicely enough beyond the AquaTheatre. Not straight at the wake, .... at an angle!

I would not want deck 14. Just under the pool/buffet.

Sent using Tapatalk. Sorry for typho.

Yes, that's one good reason to be on a cruise again :)

I did everything that I wanted to do, but miss one thing : to have breakfast st Park Cafe! So I need to go back on Allure again :D

Thank you for sharing your experience.

We were looking at an Ocean View Balcony but we decided to take your advice. Booked an Aft Boardwalk Balcony and saved $250... ...

Timm,

I am happy for you!

Have a great cruise on the Allure!

Michael (OP)

Sent using Tapatalk. Sorry for typho.

We booked 10327 ..2nd to last balcony from the aft.

We should have a pretty good view of the Aquatheatre... right?

Congratulations! The AquaTheatre is yours to see. Enjoy!

I stayed 7 cabin from the aft.

Michael (OP)

Sent using Tapatalk. Sorry for typho.

Sue,

Thanks for your kind compliments.

We stumble upon WipeOut Cafe, the food there seems tempting but we were full after having breakfast in Windjammer. So we just get another cup of hot tea. :)

Enjoy your Allure in July!

Michael (OP)

Vickie & Lynn,

Our cabon is 10717. Just above JohnnyRocket and opposite Rita's Cantina. You can see the AquaTheatre and the Carousel.

Have a great cruise!

Michael (OP)

Already so many satisfactory reviews about the Allure. So how can I write yet another review without being repetitive?

With this question in mind, I’ll try to review our recent cruise from a different angle. Hope it can be of use for fellow cruisers who want to cruise the Allure, or want to cruise the Allure again! We did.

RITA’S FIESTA

Do this. It is a lot of fun. And do this early in the week. We did on embarkation night (day 1), when not so many people knows about the fiesta so the restaurant is not very crowded. Just enough guests to make it fun. Service is fast and attentive as the servers are not too busy. But the best part is when we came out of the restaurant and danced on the boardwalk. Other guests flocked to see the “attraction”, and am sure make them wish to book the next fiesta!

On another note, at least on our cruise, the boardwalk just lost its novelty towards the end of the cruise, especially in the evening. Which is kind of sad, as actually it is a beautiful area. However, we cannot blame the passengers as there are so many activities they want to do in other areas as well.

150 CENTRAL PARK

Mixed comments here. We arrived promptly as per our booking at 6.30pm, and we had the restaurant to ourselves. Our waiter is very experienced, and we really enjoyed his explanation on the different dishes. As the nights go on, other guests started coming in, and “our” waiter became busiers as he has to attend to 4 different tables and 4 different courses to be served. We did feel a bit of “left behind”, but maybe it was because we were feeling like VIP earlier.

Anyway, this is the menu. We went later in the week so it is the 2nd menu :

BOREK FARMS CARROTS - Roasted, pureed, pickled Shaved homemade ricotta, green olives, sunflower seeds and sprout

POTATO LEEK SOUP - Caviar, potato crisp, crème fraiche (ours is sans caviar)

BEET AND GOAT CHEESE TORTELLINI - Parmesan nage, chives

GRILLED TUNA - Braised Borek Farms turnips, Swiss chard puree, potato croquette, red wine reduction

BEEF TWO WAYS - Grilled White Oak Pastures tenderloin and Hariss Ranch short rib galette asparagus, Swank Farms cress, jus

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE BOURBON TART - Cranberry chutney, spiced pecans, salted caramel sauce

The menu was taken back by the waiter – there’s nothing we can do about our menu anyway, it is a set menu. We just have to enjoy whatever comes out of the chef’s kitchen. However, the waiter prompty gave us a mini version of the menu for keepsake with our names printed on it.

We are vegetarians, so the waiter – immediately without prior discussion with the chef – told us that they will serve mushroom in lieu of the grilled tuna. And the beef? Well, I am sure the chef will be able to do something, said the waiter.

Each and every course is superb, including the mushroom impromptu. However, I do not really enjoy the eggplant that they substitute for the beef. I think the chef could do better, eggplant parmigiana is too banal for a restaurant of this calibre. Well…

My wife jokingly commented that I didn’t enjoy the parmigiana because I am already too full from the previous courses! Maybe, maybe….

Anyway, full or not full, the dessert is again something not to be missed. It is simply indescribable! Heaven! (Unfortunately for you, the chef is not allowed to repeat the menu so your chance of enjoying this same dessert is really slim! Don’t worry. They will serve another heavenly dessert, I am sure!)

JOHNNY ROCKET

Breakfast is free here. Service is so-so, maybe they are still sleepy and hate to work in the morning. However, we do enjoy the eggs here as we can have it cooked to order and we don’t have to stand in queue for it. The ocean vista at the back of the ship is another bonus!

CAFÉ PROMENADE

Very soon this become our most favorite place. For people watching, for seeing the parade, for late night chocolate drinks! Later we also learned to ask for paper cups so we can bring our hot drinks to the Amber Theatre! (we don’t drink anything cold, except ice cream).

Before boarding, when doing restaurant reservation we always mentioned that we are vegetarians. I don’t think the restaurants are aware about this. They know only when we are at the restaurant and mention it to the waiter. However, it seems that they can accommodate and modify the menu immediately. We were served “cheese quesadilla” for our entrée in Rita’s Cantina.

Last but not least. I’d like to recommend the boardwalk balcony.

Only on Allure (and Oasis) you can have the best of two worlds : the serene ocean view at the aft and the pele-mele of people on the carousel and the boardwalk. Go for it. Noise is not a problem once you close (and lock) your balcony door. Enjoy! (We did).

No noise from H2O.

But beware. We were in 9230 and there is thia constant noise like a giant vacuum cleaner. Eventually we get used to but initially it keeps us awake.

Sent using Tapatalk. Sorry for typho.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Please stop this "saving" of PUBLIC facilities and start being considerate for your fellow cruisers.

There are two systems :

Fixed, with two timing options, early and late timing. Once you choose a timing, you are not supposed to change. Your table is fixed, and you will have the same wait staff everyday.

Flexible (called My Time Dining), which means you can eat at different times. You can make reservation, or you can come any time but may or may not have to wait. Your table and your wait staff may also be different from day to day. You will have to prepay the gratuities if you choose this option.

You (or your TA) can ask for a table for two if you wish to do so. They cannot guarantee,but RCI will try best to accomodate your request. You will get better chance with MyTimeDining as there are more tables for two in this option.

Fill up your bottle with as much water as you like. Just don't fill up your bottle directly from the dispenser. You have to use the clean glass provided, then transfer to your bottle at your table. Better still, just fill up from the faucet in your cabin.

Water, tea, and coffee is free. Specialty coffee incurs a fee.

Diet soft drink is available. Sorry I don't know the price as I don't drink soda.

You may want to pre purchase drink packages. There are some options available.

Better to inform RCI of your dietary needs.

On board, remind the restaurant people of your requirement. The sugar free desserts are readily available, though.

Enjoy your cruise.

You're welcome. For a glimps of other Epic info, just click my review. The link is at my signature here under.

Some notes on the Epic in my review. Click the link here under.

Coconut was $3 on a Cozumel beach far away from the touristy area. Only locals were there.

Oooops..... my BIG mistake. Of course no Chicago on the Epic. I got it mixed with our previous cruise, we did b2b with the Allure of the Seas prior to Epic.

Thank you, SissasMomE.

Sorry, Keith.W.

I don't make a note of the menu. As far as I can remember, it is a green salad for appetizer, eggplant parmigiana (hmm, so tasty) for entree, then the dessert plater.

Welcome, to all. Thanks for reading my review.

Michael (OP)

Thank you for sharing.

I will follow with interest, to re-live our (too short) week on the Allure.

Happy cruising!

Tracey,

Most of the times it is not very comfortable to be on the open. That's why I found the spa pass ($199/person for the cruise) is indispensable. There are few days with sunlight, though. However, they say that the Atlantic is unpredictable. :)

Enjoy your cruise.

We had the highest number of CC cruisers on our Transatlantic but only one review so far. So here I will try to write down whatever I remember from my faulty memory. Sorry if it is just a rambling and not well planed.

Embarkation is smooth enough. We are in group 1 (after suite guests), so we are on board in no time. Some officers greet us at the entrance which is nice. However, once inside, I lost my sense of direction (and even until later in the cruise I still get confused which way will go aft or fore). Well we just ask, and proceed to Garden Café for our lunch. We are early so not so crowded.

After lunch we rush to buy the spa pass (expensive but useful), then to our cabin and rest. One of our luggages come around 4pm, the rest after the muster drill. For the first night we don’t plan anything so enjoyed the dinner in Manhattan leisurely (that means s-l-o-w-l-y).

Day 2 is quite choppy and we have to go to the guest relation desk to get our pills. It helps but we sleep and cannot fully enjoy Chicago as DW is very sleepy.

Day 3 we feel better, and go in the the queue for Cirque Dream. We have our reservation but here everybody like to queue so we need to be there early. 45 minutes before the show, and the queue is already forming. Lucky we get two seats in the balcony which we prefer (premium tickets have a choice, downstairs or balcony). We really enjoy the show! And contrary to what we read in this forum before we board, we find the dinner good, too! We are both vegetarians, and our server takes good care of us. It is a wonderful evening. I can strongly recommend other Epic cruisers to see this show. Even just the laughs you get here is worth the entry ticket!

Day 4-5-6-etc-etc fly by, very fast as we reduce each day to 23 hours only. This is where the spa pass becomes useful as any time of the day we can enjoy thalasso theraphy pool, the sauna and aromatic steam bath. The heated ceramic loungers are at times difficult to get as people keep reserving without actually using it. Two times I have to ask the staff to clear the empty lounger so I can use it.

After 8 sea-days I get used to do nothing and being lazy, but DW missed the land so we join the crowds waiting the gangway to open. We have pre-purchased the shuttle ticket, and get in the bus (another queue).

Funchal is at its best with the Flower Festival in its full bloom. We enjoy the festivities, munching our pizza in the open air café. After that we try to make it to the cable car station, but the ride costs too much so we decided to let it go. Lucky for us, just in front of the station we met Luis, a young man who is offering a tour of the island. Two hours for 50 euros for the two of us. Sounds good, so off we go, in an open air three wheeler! What a novel experience! We drive through small lanes where no tourist bus can go, and see the real Funchal. After three old towns, the tall statue of Jesus, and the fort, we had enough and Luis sends us back to the ship. Good job, Luis! Search for TUKXI MADEIRA if you want to do this tour.

NCL Epic staff welcome us back at the port by dancing and cold towels and cold drinks. Well done, NCL!

We enjoy all the shows. Legends in Concert (NOT Kathy Pery), Blue Man Group (how did they do it?), the duets, the hypnotician. And the musical entertainment throughout the nights. Good, I must say.

I only hope the entertainment staff can be more professional, and not just simply getting their job done. For example, when a guest ask for a pencil to fill the Sudoku, the staff says rudely (over the mike) : “Wait! I will give to you later.” She may be busy, and it is a fact that she will distribute the pencils and the Sudoku forms later, but can’t she say “please”? And perhaps with a smile?

In between activities, there seems to be haunted silence in the Atrium. Yes, I understand they are preparing for the next thing, but maybe a simple background music can do?

Also the backdrop screen is too glaring. I just don’t understand why they must show a blown up photo of the Twosome Awesome when they are actually performing in person there!

Even the staff dealing with children acts indifference while waiting for the Nickleodeon character to show up on stage. Can’t they play children’s song so the children are not so tense waiting?

Housekeeping staff are better. We always have friendly chats with our cabin attendant, Michael from the Philippines. Even other cabin attendants in neighbouring cabins are also friendly.

Restaurant waiters and managers are friendly, too. We eat at Manhattan, Tastes, O’Sheehan, but mostly in Garden Café and find that the food is good. Somewhat limited in variety, but the taste is good. As vegetarians we cannot find any hot soup available. So we dine twice at Wasabi. That is the only place we can find vegetarian hot soup (mi-so), and some vegetarian sushi (we improvised).

The other specialty restaurant we try is the Italian, La Cucina. It is superb! That’s the culmination of our evenings on Epic.

We met the manager, Yohannes, who insists we try more desserts. We can’t eat it as we are already very full, so we take it to our cabin for later.

We are happy to meet many wonderful CCers at the Meet & Mingle. We are sorry we miss the gift exchange due to time confusion (what can you expect, daily change of time on a crossing).

Lucky we make it to the slot pull. For the first time in my life (never ever been playing in a casino before), I press the button of the machine and people roar! It’s $200 winning! In the end we share and everybody gains $7 each so it was fun. As the biggest winning NCL gave me a bottle of wine. Hehehe…

All in all, we have enjoyed our time on Epic (why not! We are on vacation). However, I also must admit that this ship is just not for me. Others may like her but for me once is enough. So farewell, Epic!