Not Live Honeymoon Review of Allure of the Seas - Star Class

We decided to spend the second week of our honeymoon on Allure of the Seas, after a week doing Disneyworld and Universal Studios in Orlando. (First week was supposed to be in Key West, but we had to change due to the hurricane.)

We stayed one night in Fort Lauderdale at the Bahia Mar - Double Tree Hilton Hotel. The hotel was ok. We had a nice view, bell hop and front desk staff very friendly. Phone didn't work to call for luggage assistance on check out, elevators were very grubby and there were renovations going on.

Day 1

We got to the embarkation by a limo which was only around $120, and it dropped us off very close to the Star Class and Suites entry. We were greeted quickly in the Star Class entrance by our genie Marla. She had someone gather up all of our luggage. Security was a breeze to get through. Marla had another staff member take us onto the boat. I believe he used the wrong entrance, as we went on with everyone else who did not have Star Class, and there was a bit of a line. Our genie called us later to apologize for this.

We went into the suites lounge to wait for our room to be ready, it didn't take very long at all. We maybe waited 15 minutes tops for our Sky Loft Suite. Upon entering our suite, our genie had arranged a welcome snack for us, based on our preferences from the survey the genie will send you prior to the cruise. There was sushi with caviar, proscuitto, fruit, and champagne.

The room was very spacious. We loved that there was an upstairs bathroom, and a downstairs bathroom, as this would cut our getting ready time in half. The balcony was huge, no jacuzzi, but nice to have a large table out there for eating. Lots of storage space both upstairs and downstairs, and plenty of hangers. It did show some wear and tear. One thing I wished we had, was a hamper, as our suite came with free laundry service and I don't like leaving dirty clothes around.

We checked out the gym first to get a workout in while it was quiet. The gym was the best we had seen on a cruise so far. Everything you could need to complete your regular work out circuit you would do at your own gym.

Our first night we went to Chops. Our server was very attentive and extremely friendly. The food was very good, we both enjoyed several appetizers and steaks. The must try item here is easily the mushroom soup.

We then went to the Karaoke bar, which was lots of fun. One thing that was annoying, was how long it took to get a drink. I have read other reviews from people who had Star Class and found that staff would have their orders made right away as soon as they saw the black card, but we did not have that experience.

Day 2

We hit the gym in the morning, it was very busy. We tried the spinning class which was an amazing workout. The trainer was very fun, and we loved seeing our calories burnt on the tv screens in front of us. You can expect to burn 500-600 in that hour class alone. Even with having the Star Class, we had to pay extra for the gym classes, which I found a bit ridiculous considering how expensive our suite was.

We hit up the thermal spa which was nice and relaxing, but wished there were more heated chairs to lay on. We then hit up the main pool deck. It was extremely busy as it was a sea day, and the pools were packed. We ventured up onto the suites only deck and enjoyed how quiet it was and the privacy. The day beds were very comfortable, and it was nice having our own bar where you didn't have to wait in line. One thing to mention, the bartenders on the suites only deck were not friendly at all and had no personality, which was a bummer. We found it hard to find towels on the suites deck.

We then went to check out the windjammer. We found the quality of the food left a lot to be desired. One lady grabbed a large spoonful of the mashed potatoes on the buffet, picked it up to her face to smell, then put it right back in, which was enough to make us loose our appetites to eat here. We realized wouldn't be able to do this cruise line without having unlimited access to the specialty restaurants.

We went back to our room and discovered that they do an afternoon cocktail delivery for suites guests. This was a thoughtful gesture, although we each tried a drink from the list and didn't care for either of them. For our afternoon snack from the genie. which was usually delivered daily around 3pm, we received sushi, hummus, vegetables, and red velvet cupcakes for my husband who has a sweet tooth. One thing I found frustrating with room service for Star Class, is that you're not able to order up a bottle of wine to the room. You can order as many glasses as you want, but not the bottle, which was both frustrating and inconvenient as we would have to keep calling to order two glasses of wine and it would often take quite a while to get there. Note, we were ordering them through room service, and we should of ordered the glasses through the genie as she probably would of gotten it up to us quicker. Luckily the fridge and a cooler they brought in were both readily stocked with beer for my hubby.

I headed to the spa after our snack as I broke two of my gel nails the night before. At the spa they do not do proper gel nails, they do acrylics with the powder. The nail tech was fast, but when I was drying I noticed a smudge on one and she didn't bother checking on me after that, I was in a rush so I just paid and left when she didn't come back. I did a formal styling too as it was a formal night, curls turned out nice but the half updo part wasn't well executed. The make up artist on this ship was amazing. He said he used to organize the make up for the Miss Universe Pageants. If you book him, you'll notice he applies makeup in a different order than you're probably used to, and his contouring skills are flawless.

For the formal night I was sad that there didn't seem to be photographers taking pictures in the specialty restaurants, or if they had photographers going around they were not in 150 Park Central at least. We had paid before the cruise $300 roughly for the USB stick of all our pictures for the week that we would receive on the last night, and I found this to be a waste of money as we only ended up with about 20 mediocre shots with poor quality.

Dinner at 150 was amazing. Our server was average, but the lamb and steak dinners were so top notch that we decided to move some reservations around so that we could come back to 150 on another night as well. One thing to note is that during dinner your genie will pop in to check on you, make sure everything is going ok, and advise you on any reservations for shows you may have booked for that night, or ask if you would like breakfast of your choosing delivered to your suite in the morning.

We went to see Mamma Mia this night. We met our genie near the front doors and she escorted down the stairs to the very front row, were the chairs right in the center of the row were reserved for us. The seats were amazing. We were so close to the stage, and it was nice seeing the facial expressions of the actors. The cast was superb, and the singing and dancing greatly exceeded expectations.

After some bar hopping we went back to our room and ordered room service (not from the genie as we didn't want to wake her) and it took about 45 minutes to come up. Our genie had a surprise for us, and had decorated the bedroom with cute honeymoon posters and just married posters. She even made ones with french bulldogs on them, as she knew we were missing our Frenchie we had to leave back home. She also had a Willowtree Angel figurine for newlyweds, bride and groom cupcakes, and a Foodie themed board game as we're both huge "foodies". This was a very sweet surprise.

Day 3

Today the port was Haiti, which we decided to skip as it's just Royal Caribbeans private island, so we didn't feel we would be experiencing the real Haiti or meeting many locals. We had breakfast sent up to the room, the shrimp omelette was amazing.

We then went to the spa for a hot stone couples massage. The ladies who provided the service were so talented, easily the best hot stone massage I've ever had. We both really enjoyed the service. The only thing I found extreme annoying about it, was when it's over and you're both super relaxed, they try and sell you a ridiculous amount of product instead of just letting you leave rejuvenated. After an hour of bliss, why would anyone want to be pressured into buying anything? This should seriously rethink not having the staff try to up sell after massages, facials and wraps. Just makes you leave the experience on a bad note.

We ate lunch in the coastal kitchen for suites members. We ate here almost every day for lunch, as the food was very good. They had a different soup every day, and they were all very flavourful. The chicken served here is so tender and juicy it falls apart on your fork.

After lunch we enjoyed one of the pools, as they weren't too crowded with everyone being at the port. Drink servers came around very often, and the pool area was very clean. Restrooms were hard to find. An elderly lady was in the pool yelling at any kid that got near her for playing. It was ridiculous. She didn't like them playing or doing handstands, and kept telling them to go away and that they shouldn't be in the pool. It was one of the main, family pools. If you're going to be an old hag like that, go up to the solarium and enjoy your adults only pool there.

Our afternoon snack consisted of desserts for Mark, shrimp tacos, and some awesome guacamole. We wanted to switch our dinner reservation from Izumi to 150 at a later time, so we could relax on the balcony and enjoy some drinks, and the genie took care of our switch for us with no problem.150 Central was amazing again, we had an even better server this time who even gave us a free bottle of wine, which we should of had to pay for. With star class you receive 40% off bottles of wine under $100, and 20% off bottles more than $100. The duck confit, scallops, and tuna tartar are all must trys, as is the feature martini.

Oceana was booked for us for the night, but was cancelled due to rain. We went to the love and marriage game, and were picked to participate as the newlywed couple. To get picked, you have to kiss your partner in a line up of newlyweds wanting to compete, so my husband threw me up on the stage and we just made out in front of everyone for a spot. It was lots of fun, and we got a dvd to take home which we will never show our future kids.

Day 4

Day four our port was Falmouth, Jamaica. This day is a bit of a blur, but for good reason. Soon as we got off the boat, we went to the first bar we could find and ordered some drinks. My margarita easily had 4-5 shots in it. The bartenders were hilarious, and kept over pouring my drinks so that, "I'd end up on top tonight," as they'd say. For couples that are friends with Mary Jane, she's real easy to find. After spending some time with her, we headed to our Margaritaville Catamaran excursion. Our genie did not provide tickets for it in the room, so we assumed we wouldn't need any for it and they would have our names. When we got there, we had to go to a service desk to have new tickets made which held us up. This excursion was lots of fun. Unlimited drinks, good music, fun staff. They took us to an island for a beach party. Some nice locals invited my husband and I to head over to "smokers island" with them, where we got reunited with our old pal Mary again. After the beach party, they take you to Margaritaville. There wasn't a lot going on there, so we decided to do some shopping and headed back up to the ship.

We ate a ridiculous amount of food when we got back. We had our afternoon snack, plus ordered more from room service (wonder why haha.) We ended up going to dinner later at Izumi and got to experience the Hibachi table. It was super fun, the chefs put on a great show, and the food was tasty. We did some bar hopping after this, it's all a bit hazy, and we ended up back at the suite pretty late after a very fun day.

Day 5

We ended up skipping the gally tour our genie had arranged for us, we called ahead of time to cancel so we could sleep in. We did the bathing ritual at the spa which was super relaxing, detoxifying and a great way to get all the alcohol and what else out of our system from the day before. We had lunch at Sabor. The guacamole, margaritas, and chicken stuffed jalapenos were our favourites. We took it easy this day and just wandered around the ship checking everything out. Weather wasn't that great.

I went back to the spa for formal hair and make up. Edmund, was the name of the amazing make up artist I mentioned earlier and I was able to get him again. No snack was delivered this afternoon.

We did the chef's table for dinner. Easily the best dining experience we had on the ship. I loved hearing the back story of all the wines we tried, and why the pairing with the food would work so well. It was super interesting. With our star class, the chef's table was also included in our dining package but we had to pay $25 I believe for the wine.

We then went to blaze, it was always busy and had really good music. No one was at the piano bar. Won $300 later in the casino on a slot, one lady near me won $23,000. Seemed like they had a lot of people winning. It was too smoky in there for me.

Day 6

Ordered breakfast in room again. Was super nice being able to eat alone and enjoy the balcony. Today's port was Cozumel, Mexico. To get on and off at the ports we were never shown a Star class or suites exit if there was one, and our genie never escorted us off, which other reviews on here have mentioned. We did the tequila tour which was interesting at first but got boring after a while.

Went back on the ship, had our afternoon snack of guacamole again and desserts for Mark. We hit up vintages before dinner for the first time. Our drink package included wines under $13 only, and there weren't many on the vintages menu or in specialty restaurants that fall under that price so I ended up spending quite a bit on wine. But I'm pretty particular with my wines, so others might of been fine with the small selection. Tapas at vintages were only ok. Service was slow and they didn't come around to see if you needed another glass.

Giovanni's was our dinner reservation that night, and it was easily our least favourite meal on the ship. We're both Italian, so we can be picky with Italian food, but this wasn't even close to being enjoyable for us, regardless of it being unauthentic. The pasta sauces completely lacked in any sort of flavour, and the noodles were too chewy.

We saw oceania this night. Singing was very good, dancing was off. I used to be a competitive dancer and teacher so I notice mistakes in choreography and technique very easily. The acrobatics that they had very also not that impressive. The funniest part of this production, was when they sang wade in the water. A bunch of corny white performers, singing a song associated with the underground railroad and it's use in instructing slaves on their escape to freedom. There were a lot of people laughing at the absurdity of it in the audience, including my husband and I. It just seemed like a really bizarre song choice. There was a technical delay during the show too, so we sat and waited a while for it to get back up and running.

We spent the rest of the night in the piano bar, which was lots of fun.

Day 7

Lots of rain today. After lunch in the coastal kitchen, we headed to the Solarium to have a hot tub. Solarium was nice and quiet. We checked out park cafe after for the first time. The soup, beef sandwich and wrap all sucked. We literally had one bite of each, and left. No flavour. Just tasteless, cafeteria food.

For our last night, I wanted the mushroom soup again from Chops, and Mark wanted the steak from 150. Our genie arranged two dinners for us so we could both enjoy our favourites, one last time. We also got the seafood tower at chops, which was presented very nicely, but the lobster was way too chewy. At 150, they brought us a special aged and marbled rib eye to share, it was the best steak we have ever had, easily, and we're both super picky and have had steak all over on our travels, so this was not expected from a cruise restaurant. We were given a free bottle of wine again, and had the amazing server from our second experience here. He really knew how to make the meal a fine dining experience.

After some wine at vintages, we bar hopped a while, then headed back to pack up.

Debarkation

Our genie met us in the coastal kitchen after breakfast, and escorted us past all of the lines so we didn't have to wait at all to get off of the ship. This was one of the biggest perks of Star Class, along with the dining and beverage packages.

Overall, the ship was impressive. Staff ranged in friendliness and attentiveness. Our genie Marla was very nice and we enjoyed having her. The experience wasn't as luxurious as I thought having star class would be, for how much we paid for it. There is definitely room for improvement in the Royal Suite Class packages. Overall, we will probably do another Royal Caribbean cruise in the near future, with Star Class again, as I wouldn't be able to do a normal stateroom after enjoying how much space our suite had, and wouldn't want to dine in the windjammer or main dining room after seeing the difference in food quality between those and the specialty restaurants. As for the crowd, I will say that Carnival's lido decks are a lot more fun and wild, and the Allure was definitely less of a party.

If anyone wants pictures of anything please advise, I have so many I didn't know what to post!

Great review. Congratulations on your marriage and honeymoon. Sounds like a wonderful trip and honeymoon.

Oh do post some photos.

Keith

Congratulations on what sounds like a great memorable honeymoon!!!

Thanks for sharing the good and bad about your cruise.

Love the Allure and sailed her in August.

Take care.

Excellent review, and congratulations.:)

Congrats on your marriage. What an amazing honeymoon...my two favorite vacations of Disney Parks and a cruise! Sounds like a great cruise and extra special with a sky loft and treatment.

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Enjoyable review. I am always surprised about suite inconsistencies. I did think that everything was included in Star Class.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your honeymoon with us!

Thanks for the review.

Congratulations!!! Thanks for the review and as mentioned before i have also noticed inconsistent treatment in Star Class from reviews. I am curious as how it will be as I will on my first RC cruise in Star Class next month. I will let you all know how it goes.

Thanks for your great review!

My family will be on the Allure in March. I always make up a photo scavenger hunt of things to find on the ship. We've been cruising for years and they are young adults now, but they still want to play :)

If you have any pictures of unusual things or small details, please post them. (But not from the suites as we'll be in regular balcony cabins.) Thanks!

Hello! For star class (we have star class booked for our upcoming March cruise) do we need to pre-book shows online?

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Hello! For star class (we have star class booked for our upcoming March cruise) do we need to pre-book shows online?

No, your Genie will arrange reserved seats at every show.

No, your Genie will arrange reserved seats at every show.

Thank you!

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What a great review! My fiancée and I are getting married in March and will be on the Allure in April for our honeymoon! I've sailed on other RC ships, but this will be my first time on the Allure and we are very excited. I appreciate all the comments and will certainly keep checking posts regularly :)