Allure--my thoughts

[tigers2425]

Hello fellow cruisers,

 

Just wanted to share a little of my opinion on our recent 7/1/12 sailing on the Allure of the Seas.

 

While we enjoyed the Allure we would probably never sail on her again:( We found it to be tooooo big and there were so many, many, did I say many rude people on board. They wouldn't wait until others unloaded from the elevator until they were pushing and shoving to get on. It wasn't just young people either:(

 

We also found our floor (number 3) very smoke smelling as well as the work out facility???? The casino was on floor 4 so I'm not certain if it was the ventilation or maybe a staff smoking area near our cabins?

 

Both of our families decided this was our LEAST favorite ship. While we did have excellent service by our wait staff and cabin steward we just did not like the way the ship was cut up in terms of having to go down or up to get to your destination on the other side:cool: Also, the windjammer was everything the cruise critics had warned about. A whole lot smaller and just not the same options as on the other ships we've sailed. The Park Cafe was EVERYTHING the posters had said. Very good roast beef sandwiches, salads and I fell in love with the Mango water;)

 

The weather and our island excursions were wonderful. Couldn't have asked for better weather or more beautiful islands honestly. We would much prefer the Freedom Class or the Voyager Class if we cruise in the future.

 

It was certainly a pleasure meeting all of the folks from our meet and mingle that attended. It was fun running in to Steve and family throughout the week and Jman1118 too.

 

Curious to see if anyone else out there had any of these concerns.

 

Tigers2425

Lori

[sakigemcam]

Hey Lori - I posted a reply in our 7/1/2012 thread :)

[tigers2425]

Hey Lori - I posted a reply in our 7/1/2012 thread :)

 

Thanks---I'll check there :)

[pabrett46]

Thank you very much for your review. It's always nice to get someone's opinions.. good or bad.

 

pabrett46

[Langley Cruisers]

...We would much prefer the Freedom Class or the Voyager Class if we cruise in the future....

 

Myself also, but that's why we love cruising RCI - so much choice for everyone. :)

.

[cruisetrail]

 

Curious to see if anyone else out there had any of these concerns.

 

 

About Lido buffet - yes.

The food was miserable there on our cruise.

No place to have a cup of tea after 9pm.

The food in general was the weakest part.

 

Other than that - the ship is just marvelous.

I rank the Allure over any other RCI ship.

I like the Freedom Class.

No return to the Voyager Class.

 

 

 

Allure of the Seas and The Master

[lindy sails]

I was also on the Allure July 1 and totally agree about the rude passengers, particularly those from other countries. I loved the ship, the beds were so comfortable. Thought the MDR food to be Ok. Ate many breakfasts & lunches at the Solarium Bistro & Park Cafe. The service was excellent-loved the shows & specialty restaurants & the Solarium. This was the first summer cruise I've done & thought the weather was wonderful. I want to cruise the Allure again when thr kids are in school. But what a terrific cruise for families. I hope I'll enjoy my December cruise on the Ruby just as much as I did the Allure. I purchased a future cruise so I'll be back on the

Allure in 2013!

Lindy

[amzgirl]

Never been on Oasis class, but I do have some misgivings about walking about such a large ship, even as a healthy relatively in-shape middle aged woman! And there was only one issue with having-to-go-up-to-go-over on the Freedom, is there a lot of issues with that on Oasis/Allure? I do know that Freedom certainly seemed big enough, and that halfway through our Freedom cruise my desire for "bigger" had lessened completely.

 

The biggest temptation for Oasis for me is now the multiple food venues and the entertainment. I really want to see Hairspray, love the idea of a comedy club, and really want to try some of the different dining options not on Freedom class.

 

But I did love the Freedom, and would sail the exact same itinerary again, just to get to the things I didn't.

[silentbob007]

The aft elevators are definitely always crowded ... leading everyone in the lobby waiting to try to jam in as quick as possible to make sure there is space. I noticed it on the Oasis out of peak season ... it is definitely one of the things I like least about this class of ships.

[OhioCruiserDude]

I was on the mayden voyage of Allure booked to maxed capacity and I never noticed any problems with crowds. Except once when we were trying to book our next cruise but the future cruises are always crowded

[riclop]

I was on the mayden voyage of Allure booked to maxed capacity and I never noticed any problems with crowds. Except once when we were trying to book our next cruise but the future cruises are always crowded

You have to go the first half of the week. It gets crowded after that.

[raphune74]

Thought it was just me who noticed rude people not waiting for others to get off the elevators-especially some with baby strollers. Sometimes we took the stairs, depending on where we were going. Although WJ was always crowded, we managed to find a table; food was ok, same for MTD. Husband prefers Freedom, however, so that'll probably be our next cruise.

[ksg]

We also found our floor (number 3) very smoke smelling as well as the work out facility???? The casino was on floor 4 so I'm not certain if it was the ventilation or maybe a staff smoking area near our cabins?

 

Thanks for your comments. We are booked in Feb. on deck 3, so this is a concern. May I ask what Cabin (location) you were in?

 

Kim

[karena1]

Hello fellow cruisers,

 

Just wanted to share a little of my opinion on our recent 7/1/12 sailing on the Allure of the Seas.

 

While we enjoyed the Allure we would probably never sail on her again:( We found it to be tooooo big and there were so many, many, did I say many rude people on board. They wouldn't wait until others unloaded from the elevator until they were pushing and shoving to get on. It wasn't just young people either:(

 

We also found our floor (number 3) very smoke smelling as well as the work out facility???? The casino was on floor 4 so I'm not certain if it was the ventilation or maybe a staff smoking area near our cabins?

 

Both of our families decided this was our LEAST favorite ship. While we did have excellent service by our wait staff and cabin steward we just did not like the way the ship was cut up in terms of having to go down or up to get to your destination on the other side:cool: Also, the windjammer was everything the cruise critics had warned about. A whole lot smaller and just not the same options as on the other ships we've sailed. The Park Cafe was EVERYTHING the posters had said. Very good roast beef sandwiches, salads and I fell in love with the Mango water;)

 

The weather and our island excursions were wonderful. Couldn't have asked for better weather or more beautiful islands honestly. We would much prefer the Freedom Class or the Voyager Class if we cruise in the future.

 

It was certainly a pleasure meeting all of the folks from our meet and mingle that attended. It was fun running in to Steve and family throughout the week and Jman1118 too.

 

Curious to see if anyone else out there had any of these concerns.

 

Tigers2425

Lori

 

Thanks for the review. Just to let others know, I worked out in the gym every day while I was on Allure in April, and never once did I smell smoke in there. The gym was clean, fantastic equipment, and never had an odor in there at all.

[bsbcgirl]

I was also on the Allure July 1 and totally agree about the rude passengers, particularly those from other countries. I loved the ship, the beds were so comfortable. Thought the MDR food to be Ok. Ate many breakfasts & lunches at the Solarium Bistro & Park Cafe. The service was excellent-loved the shows & specialty restaurants & the Solarium. This was the first summer cruise I've done & thought the weather was wonderful. I want to cruise the Allure again when thr kids are in school. But what a terrific cruise for families. I hope I'll enjoy my December cruise on the Ruby just as much as I did the Allure. I purchased a future cruise so I'll be back on the

Allure in 2013!

Lindy

 

Had a problem with lots of rude people from a South American country (I think Brazil) who were celebrating many,many quinceaneras. While I enjoy different cultures, I felt that this group overtook our cruise. Was this your experience? If so, I may stay off the big ships during the summer months.

[toocruisin2]

Hi Lori, it was really nice to meet you and your family at the M&M. :)

 

Virginia and I noticed that there was a distinct tobacco odor in the aft section, and we too attributed it to the casino.

 

This was our second cruise on Allure, and we concur that smaller ships have a certain charm that is hard to duplicate; we haven't sailed on the Freedom or Voyager class ships, but we loved the Brilliance and Vision class ships and found that we had great ocean vistas from so many of the public spaces.

 

Next year for us will likely be back to the Med, and while I'm sure that they'll be another Oasis class cruise in my future, in the near term, we'll try something different!

 

Happy travels, and see you soon!!

Paul, et al

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking your time to do a review of your cruise. Sorry it wasn't as good as it should be, but that is what happens on very big cruise ship holding many, many passengers.

[superjerryw]

Can't wait to check this ship out for myself.

[Tyler80]

Unfortunately rude people have been on every ship I have sailed on. Often times it is people from other countries who aren't as considerate or friendly as we are used to. It is something I have learned to deal with and not fault the cruise line or ship I'm sailing on as I know they have no control over it.

[alfaeric]

Could start a new thread, but since people are bringing it up here- quick question- where are people encountering the rude people?

 

The reason I ask is that it *appears* to be more in the elevator area than other places- not that you won't encounter them, but the highest number of "reports" seem to be elevator related.

 

Thanks.

[marci22]

Could start a new thread, but since people are bringing it up here- quick question- where are people encountering the rude people?

 

The reason I ask is that it *appears* to be more in the elevator area than other places- not that you won't encounter them, but the highest number of "reports" seem to be elevator related.

 

Thanks.

 

Anywhere there is a line: shows, debarkations, WJ, elevators, in the food venues, etc.

[Tyler80]

Could start a new thread, but since people are bringing it up here- quick question- where are people encountering the rude people?

 

The reason I ask is that it *appears* to be more in the elevator area than other places- not that you won't encounter them, but the highest number of "reports" seem to be elevator related.

 

Thanks.

 

Elevator etiquette has always been some what of a mystery to some people. I don't know if it's because they have never ridden an elevator before? It seems to make sense that you'd let people off an elevator before going on, and that's also the most polite and courteous way to do it.

 

But each cruise I take (now I no longer use the elevator because of the behavior I witness) it seems to be a "free for all" when the door opens almost as if the door is going to close again and they aren't going to be able to get on at all.

 

Other "rude" behavior I have noticed (I will say in some countries this behavior isn't rude at all, but for most US folks it - at least - isn't very nice) is stopping or standing in the middle of a busy walkway or corridor, not excusing yourself out of the way of others trying to walk by.

 

I have witnessed people pushing other people trying to get by or butting in line because obviously they don't understand "go to the end of the line" or they think they are too good to go to the back. I don't know which it is. I like to give the benefit of the doubt and just think they don't know any other way to do it, but I wonder if the other is really true.

[Mal]

Had a problem with lots of rude people from a South American country (I think Brazil) who were celebrating many,many quinceaneras. While I enjoy different cultures, I felt that this group overtook our cruise. Was this your experience? If so, I may stay off the big ships during the summer months.

 

We have commented about this group. Some have said they were very nice, but that was not our experience with them. We also had them ( a group of 4 - 14 yr olds) "attempt" to steal our towels ($50 worth!) but we were fortunate enough to walk up on the theft and get our towels back. We have cruised Allure/Oasis five times, and NEVER experienced what we did on the July 1st cruise. AS for the smoke on Deck 3, passengers are not allowed to smoke in the cabin. We walked Deck 3 once to get to the aft, and it was horrible. (Cigars and Cigs!) I would have been on the phone immediately...it was bad.

 

I say try the ship again, and avoid the summer when it seems many non-US citizens sail. I enjoy meeting new people from new places, but I think I'd prefer experiencing that on land. The good news is that RCCL was very nice about changing our dining tables, etc. to make our cruise comfortable for us.

[raphune74]

I'm usually not one to complain...but the first time I hit the jogging track (Day 2 at night), too many people (Allure) were 2, 3, even 4 abreast, thus taking up the Fast lane; never bothering to look back for joggers. I mostly stayed in the Slow lane, but am a fast walker. Whenever I came close to the "Lane Spreaders", I'd look back first for Joggers. If there were no joggers, or joggers a few feet behind me, I'd have to either run, or speed up walking around them. No joke when you're trying to set a pace.

 

I solved that "problem" by hitting the track very early in the a.m. Either it was empty, or very few people who didn't walk in groups, spreading out.

[Jman1118]

There is another complaint I would like to add: The air conditioning seemed to be turned off when the ship was docked in port, and the elevators were not air conditioned (it got really hot fast inside the elevator with 15-20 people crammed in)