Live - Allure of the Seas May 26, 2013 - OH NO! not another live blog

[boaterette]

Loved all your pictures. Great trip report. Safe travels home.

[BecciBoo]

I cannot believe this week flew by so quickly.....and we were having such a good time with you guys! Thanks

[PCWalton1]

After spending an enjoyable day in Ft Lauderdale and the night at the Westin we took our morning flight across country and are home. Suitcases are emptied and in the closet, clothes are in the washer and I will spend a few minutes recapping the cruise.

 

I put more time an effort into planning this cruise than any other we had been on and I have to say the pre-planning was worth it. For one thing, reservations for restaurants and shows were a must and saved us the headache of trying to do it onboard. We also learned after the first couple days that it was ok to run off the schedule too, we did not have to go to each and every show we reserved.

 

Evening Meals

We never set foot in MDR for the entire week, would we do that again? Probably not, but it was fun to experience so many specialty restaurants in one cruise. Especially knowing our next cruise is a 15 day on Legend through the canal and knowing how few eating venues are on there.

 

How would I rank?

 

Samba Grill – relaxed atmosphere and lots of really good meats.

 

150 Central – second menu. Loved every course in this menu and our server Elisabeta made this an enjoyable, relaxed evening.

 

Chops – what can I say, another memorable dinner at Chops. Always consistently good.

 

150 Central – first menu. The salmon and the dessert (strawberry shortcake) were ok, all other courses rocked. Again Elisabeta made the evening fun.

 

Izumi – Excellent sushi and sashimi but for some reason they crammed everyone in all the tables by the window. I guess they wanted to give everyone a view but the tables were so close we were bumping chairs and the rest of the restaurant was empty.

 

Rita’s Fiesta – The food was bad, the drinks watered down (come on I barely got a buzz off the three margaritas). But it was outside (sort of), we could get loud with the loud music and dancing in the middle of the Boardwalk so it was a fun evening.

 

Giovanni’s Table – I put this last because the waiter (lucky for him I forget his name) pushed his preferences too hard throughout the meal. The man tried to convince me that I would not like the wine I ordered (Nero D’avola), even brought me a sample then asked me if I really wanted it. I like it, I have a bottle of it in the rack here at home and someone else must like it as it is on the wine list. If it doesn’t satisfy his palate, tough, I am paying for the freaking meal (getting off my soapbox now).

 

Wow, this is hard work. I will do some more later night. :o

[PCWalton1]

A few pictures inside the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite hangouts

 

[eggroll]

After spending an enjoyable day in Ft Lauderdale and the night at the Westin we took our morning flight across country and are home. Suitcases are emptied and in the closet, clothes are in the washer and I will spend a few minutes recapping the cruise.

 

I put more time an effort into planning this cruise than any other we had been on and I have to say the pre-planning was worth it. For one thing, reservations for restaurants and shows were a must and saved us the headache of trying to do it onboard. We also learned after the first couple days that it was ok to run off the schedule too, we did not have to go to each and every show we reserved.

 

Evening Meals

We never set foot in MDR for the entire week, would we do that again? Probably not, but it was fun to experience so many specialty restaurants in one cruise. Especially knowing our next cruise is a 15 day on Legend through the canal and knowing how few eating venues are on there.

 

How would I rank?

 

Samba Grill – relaxed atmosphere and lots of really good meats.

 

150 Central – second menu. Loved every course in this menu and our server Elisabeta made this an enjoyable, relaxed evening.

 

Chops – what can I say, another memorable dinner at Chops. Always consistently good.

 

150 Central – first menu. The salmon and the dessert (strawberry shortcake) were ok, all other courses rocked. Again Elisabeta made the evening fun.

 

Izumi – Excellent sushi and sashimi but for some reason they crammed everyone in all the tables by the window. I guess they wanted to give everyone a view but the tables were so close we were bumping chairs and the rest of the restaurant was empty.

 

Rita’s Fiesta – The food was bad, the drinks watered down (come on I barely got a buzz off the three margaritas). But it was outside (sort of), we could get loud with the loud music and dancing in the middle of the Boardwalk so it was a fun evening.

 

Giovanni’s Table – I put this last because the waiter (lucky for him I forget his name) pushed his preferences too hard throughout the meal. The man tried to convince me that I would not like the wine I ordered (Nero D’avola), even brought me a sample then asked me if I really wanted it. I like it, I have a bottle of it in the rack here at home and someone else must like it as it is on the wine list. If it doesn’t satisfy his palate, tough, I am paying for the freaking meal (getting off my soapbox now).

 

Wow, this is hard work. I will do some more later night. :o

 

Which Westin did you stay at?

[PCWalton1]

Which Westin did you stay at?

 

The Westin Beach Resort & Spa on North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard. Had a nice ocean view room two floors up from the pool. :)

[PCWalton1]

Cabin

I am so happy we were able to move to a JS, the cabin was great and I swear it was larger than other JS we have had in the past. The biggest plus was the location, amidships on Deck 6. We were originally in a D5 on Deck 11 forward. By the end of the week I can see how much of a pain being up on Deck 11 would have been for transiting around the ship. Many of the evening locations we frequented were on Deck 8 or below. The Deck 6 cabin was in a nice central location for our needs.

[PCWalton1]

Had a rain shower come through, but they provide umbrellas at the entrances to Central Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes the passageways went on for miles and miles.

 

Edited June 4, 2013 by PCWalton1

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

Ship’s staff

 

You would think on a ship so large with so many people it would be easy for the staff to become impersonal but no so. Friendly greetings were commonplace and offers of assistance were frequently. Here is a great example. We changed cabins only two weeks before the cruise so some of our reservations ended up under the old cabin number, in particular the Prohibition Party. The afternoon of the party and we had seen nothing when we were expecting the invitation, lapel pin and password. So I went to the Customer Services desk which I hear on some ships is notorious for not being the most helpful. Not only did the young man who helped us figure out the problem, he showed up at the Jazz club at 10:30 when the party started to ensure we had no difficulties getting in. We found this type of service quite often onboard.

[cidymom]

Welcome back home. Just wondered what time you finally disembarked the ship due to delays. I'm debating between the 12:05pm and 2:05pm flight out of FLL. I guess to be safe in case of delays, I should pick the later time. Thanksl.

[PCWalton1]

Welcome back home. Just wondered what time you finally disembarked the ship due to delays. I'm debating between the 12:05pm and 2:05pm flight out of FLL. I guess to be safe in case of delays, I should pick the later time. Thanksl.

 

They had not called our tag number (76) yet but we left about 10:30. It took about 30 minutes to get through the whole process and were on the sidewalk with our luggage.

 

Since we were headed to a hotel we were not in a hurry as we did not figure to get a room till the afternoon. We actually got an early room at the Westin so that worked out. :)

 

Sent from my Droid RAZR M using Tapatalk 2

[Dave85]

Giovanni’s Table – I put this last because the waiter (lucky for him I forget his name) pushed his preferences too hard throughout the meal. The man tried to convince me that I would not like the wine I ordered (Nero D’avola), even brought me a sample then asked me if I really wanted it. I like it, I have a bottle of it in the rack here at home and someone else must like it as it is on the wine list. If it doesn’t satisfy his palate, tough, I am paying for the freaking meal (getting off my soapbox now).

 

Wow, this is hard work. I will do some more later night. :o

 

Funny, my parents weren't wild about the service (and meal generally) at Giovanni's on your sailing either, wonder if they had the same guy. I told them they should have chosen Samba Grill, and now I feel vindicated having read your review! :) When I go on Allure hopefully next year I'll make sure to get to Samba Grill.

[PCWalton1]

Funny, my parents weren't wild about the service (and meal generally) at Giovanni's on your sailing either, wonder if they had the same guy. I told them they should have chosen Samba Grill, and now I feel vindicated having read your review! :) When I go on Allure hopefully next year I'll make sure to get to Samba Grill.

 

Try to go with a group to Samba, then you can use peer pressure to get everyone to stuff themselves. :p :D

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire HD using Tapatalk 2

[mbryson]

PCWalton, I was on the same cruise as you. I loved your pictures. Out of all the pics you have posted I only saw my mom in one. We had 11 folks total that went. I will try to post a small review. Thanks for sharing.

[PCWalton1]

PCWalton, I was on the same cruise as you. I loved your pictures. Out of all the pics you have posted I only saw my mom in one. We had 11 folks total that went. I will try to post a small review. Thanks for sharing.

 

One picture? That is pretty good considering there was 6000 people on there, not even counting the crew. :D

I need to finish up my review tonight. Just a few odds and ends.

Edited June 6, 2013 by PCWalton1

[PCWalton1]

One last thing I wanted to comment on was the complimentary eating places. We tried to check out all of them but I know we missed some, though not from lack of trying. :p

 

Windjammer - food is pretty much what you find at all Windjammers except part of the time they will find a table for you. if it is really empty they let you look on your own.

 

Wipe Out Cafe - great for breakfast, all the food is buffer except the eggs and omelettes which are made to order. Nice place to eat since can sit outside.

 

Johnny Rockets - Breakfast is free and you order off the menu. Standard breakfast fare: eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, toast. Service was shaky, the server brought our breakfast and I mentioned I ordered english muffin not toast. while he was getting the muffin I noticed Marie had sausage instead of bacon. He came back with the english muffin looked at our plates and said "oops this is not your order" and took the plates. I watched him take the plates back inside, turn around and bring them to another table. yuck

 

Solarium Bistro - nice lunch menu, more healthy fare in a buffet style setting. Good miso soup and tasty savory crepes.

 

Boardwalk Doghouse - great dogs and sausage. Had a delicious coney island dog.

 

Boardwalk Doughnuts - in a pinch a handy place for dounghnuts and coffee in the morning, self serve. The Key Lime doughnut was my favorite.

 

Café Promenade - Open 24 hours a day and always good for a chocolate chip cookie or my favorite ham and cheese croissant sandwich.

 

Sorrento's Pizzeria - good for a slice of pizza or they will make on to order. Never wanted to stay long enough to cook one. :p

 

I think that is about it. Hope you all enjoy the trip, I know we did. Next up is the Panama Canal on Legend in November, going from the biggest to the smallest. :)

 

Bill

[julesbeara]

I saw that you had posted a picture of the parade near the Cupcake Cupbroad. Do you have any others? We sat right in front and watched the parade. Wondering if we are in any shots you didn't post? My Mom was in a wheelchair, so we would be easy to identify.

[PCWalton1]

I saw that you had posted a picture of the parade near the Cupcake Cupbroad. Do you have any others? We sat right in front and watched the parade. Wondering if we are in any shots you didn't post? My Mom was in a wheelchair, so we would be easy to identify.

 

When I get home tonight I will check. I was using my phone and not sure I got that many clear shots. I wasn't yet use to the fact it takes longer for the shot to work on my phone than my Nikon so early on I was getting some great pictures of ceilings and feet. :o

[PCWalton1]

I saw that you had posted a picture of the parade near the Cupcake Cupbroad. Do you have any others? We sat right in front and watched the parade. Wondering if we are in any shots you didn't post? My Mom was in a wheelchair, so we would be easy to identify.

 

Well I looked around and didn't find anymore parade pictures to post, sorry

[ciship]

Dinner at Samba Grill was fabulous, the best dining experience we have had so far on Allure.

 

The atmosphere was the most relaxed of the venues and the meal was a carnivore's delight.

 

Initially you are directed to a buffet with salads, shrimp, cheese, etc. The key better is don't load up or you will not survive round. There is a table light that is lit white when you arrive. After eating your starters you switch the light to green to begin the meat onslaught.

 

There are nine waves of meat, we only made it through seven. I think there was chicken wrapped in bacon, Brazilian sausage, top sirloin, filet mignon, bottom sirloin, brisket, skirt steak, pork tenderloin, and lamb. When you need a break you can switch the light to red. When you surrender you switch the light to white.

 

If you survive there is dessert which was chocolate cake, flan, and something with passion fruit (I forgot).

 

My favorite meat was the skirt streak, the did a grassy job cooking it and it was by far the most favorable.

 

If you have the chance don't miss the restaurant.

 

 

Sorry no food porn, to busy eating.

 

Sent from my Droid RAZR M using Tapatalk 2

 

What was the charge for Samba Grill?

[Coralc]

What was the charge for Samba Grill?

 

$30 per person.

 

Link to dining charges:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/category.do?pagename=onboard_cat_dining_options