Allure Trip Report Sept.2-9

This was a family trip with my husband and I, accompanied bymy 2 sisters (all of us in our 50s and 60s), my 20 year old niece and my 35year old son with his 18 month old daughter. Although this was my first “grandmatrip” my sister has a lot of experience traveling with babies so she helpedprepare us. This was also my first time cruising on such a large ship. I am going to focus on what I learned about cruisingwith little ones, my experience on this type of ship and what I enjoyed themost.

I am the type of traveler that researches so I had a list ofthings I wanted to try. These are the main things I wanted to try and what Ithought:

Café Park kummelweck(roast beef sandwich)- I had heard a lot of people recommend this sandwich butit was just a roast beef sandwich…not bad but nothing to rave about.

Boardwalk hotdogs-pleasantlysurprised as I am not a big hot dog eater. Found this place to be veryconvenient and pretty good. Nice enoughvariety too.

Sabor guacamole-Beingfrom Texas, we’re not always impressed with any Mexican food but this was verygood. We only ordered guacamole andsalsa with drinks but would get it again if not going to any Mexican ports.

Cucumber mojito- Notmuch needs to be said about this…I love mojitos so making them frozen only madethem better!! I also tried a Labadoozee and although I know it has way moresugar than the mojito, I would still probably order them again.

Johnny Rocketsbreakfast- was delicious, well prepared, not crowded and convenient.

Mofongo in PuertoRico- Since we had such a short day in PR, I figured just a nice lunch withreal typical Puerto rican food would be nice to do. We asked a local and were directed to Manolin’sabout 5 blocks away. They had a lot of choices and prices were quitereasonable.

Some other places I enjoyed eating at were:

Solarium – I felt they had healthieroptions such as turkey bacon, chicken sausage and smoothies.

Park 150-Definitely worth the upcharge, especially as a bogo which makes the price only$20!!! I was curious about the whole “salt experience” for the butter and foundit tasty and interesting.

I already knew I could always find a nice sandwich at thePromenade café or pizza at Sorrentos but was happy to see some more options atthe Vitality Spa Café as well.

This was my 4th cruise on Royal Carribean so Iwas already familiar with many aspects of the ship such as the promenade,casino and various pool areas but had never experienced the boardwalk so forthat reason I booked a boardwalk balcony. It is almost the best of bothworlds. Even though you don’t get thefull sea breeze, the views are great. I actually preferred watching the showsfrom our cabin instead of in the crowd and we also enjoyed watching the rehearsalsthat went on in the aqua theater. This is definitely a plus with little kids. We did enjoy walking around the boardwalkthough but shows are better from above.

Besides the boardwalk, the other areas that I enjoyed a lotwere the solarium, Boleros, Rising tide (not just inside of it but watching thefountain as it goes up and down). I enjoyed the slot tournaments but unfortunatelymost cruise casinos are usually quite smoky smelling. I always like to see theentertainment and sales on the promenade as well as the shows and was quiteimpressed with the ones I was able to see this trip, especially Blue Planet.

A negative I kept reading and hearing about is that theseships sometimes feel too big and you have too far to get anywhere. I, however, loved the large size and my onlyregret about walking is that I fogot my fitbit at home!! I truly enjoy walkingaround and exploring everything I can. There are so many places that you reallydon’t have to be in crowds if you don’t like that sort of stuff.

The only real negative or an aspect of the ship that I feelis better on some other ones is the gym. Not that the Allure does not have a nice gym but other ships have steamrooms in the fitness area that are not part of a spa package. At some point, Imay want to get a thermal spa package but sometimes I just enjoy 15-20 minutes inthe steam room after exercising.

Central Park for me was just “meh” but I must say that my granddaughterLOVED it….especially the little glass birds between the plants and the bubbleson the ceiling. I will also admit that it is very beautiful at night too. I know a lot of people say it’s a nice placeto relax but I do most of my relaxing by the pool.

My next section that I will continue in part 2 is cruisingwith a toddler.

Sabor guacamole-Beingfrom Texas, we’re not always impressed with any Mexican food but this was verygood. We only ordered guacamole andsalsa with drinks but would get it again if not going to any Mexican ports.

Glad to have a Texan’s take on Sabor! I’ve been curious if I’d like the food for the extra charge, but I wasn’t sure if the feedback I’ve read would share my view on Mexican. ;) Did you have to pay the full $20 to get guac/salsa or is there an a la carte option?

Enjoyed your review!

The guacamole and chips are the only a la carte item they have. Our waiter said they used to be a la carte items as well as fixed price but now it's all fixed price and guacamole.

Glad to have a Texan’s take on Sabor! I’ve been curious if I’d like the food for the extra charge, but I wasn’t sure if the feedback I’ve read would share my view on Mexican. ;) Did you have to pay the full $20 to get guac/salsa or is there an a la carte option?

The guacamole and chips are the only a la carte item they have. Our waiter said they used to be a la carte items as well as fixed price but now it's all fixed price and guacamole.

Good to know! There may be a few guac and margarita sessions in my near future. Thank you!