Allure Mediterranean sailing last week

[MattSaw]

We're excited to board the Allure on Sunday 6/21 for a week with our two college-age people. This will be our second time on the Allure, but our first Med cruise ever.

 

Any impressions from last week's sailing? How was the weather (can't be as broiling as it is in Raleigh this week)? The new crew? The My Time Dining?

 

Thanks for helping us whet our cruise appetites!

 

Matt

[lisaloo]

My husband and I were on Allure June 7-14 - weather was hot in Mallorca and Rome. Noticed the heat in Rome the most but we were on a tour with walking. Especially hot and humid at the Vatican.

 

We never went to Main Dining Room except for one breakfast - all food we had was very good to excellent. No issues with crew but I don't require a lot of attention.

 

Very smooth sailing hardly ever felt the boat moving.

[Aideen]

We were on Allure on the May 31st sailing. Weather was lovely, mid twenties (Celcius) and not humid. Rome was very hot though.

 

We dined in the Main dining room every night. We had booked for My Time Dining at 6:30 pm and after the first night were moved to deck 4 (Grande) and has the same table and same wait staff all week. Service was excellent but the menus need a little revamp in my opinion.

[dani negreanu]

This will be our second time on the Allure, but our first Med cruise ever.

 

How was the weather (can't be as broiling as it is in Raleigh this week)? The new crew? The My Time Dining?Matt

 

The weather was HOT without any exception :mad: And, as living in Israel, I'm used to hot...

The crew was very nice, trying very hard to make us enjoy our holiday. EVERYONE of them, on all levels and department.

We had MTD, at different hours (made reservations to shows accordingly). We even requested a table for 4 near the windows -- they've done their best to accommodate us. We were in American Grill, deck 3, had AnnMarie as a waitress -- she was amazing.

The second night (Friday), the Headwaiter heard me and DH speaking Hebrew. Turns out he's from Israel, his name is Jacob. He laughed that we're spending our Friday night meal eating shrimps, and brought us "chalah"... Asked us how we like the food... told him "so-so". He asked if we'll be interested to eat at a specialty restaurant with 50%. We said a resounding YES -- we got to eat at Samba Grill & Giovanni's -- 2 for the price of one.

Turns out the Allure doesn't handle too well the crowds in the Med cruise and they were trying to steer people to "per fee" rest. to "diminish" the crowds in WJ and MDR with the BOGO offering......

First time I'd to wait in line for b'fast and lunch :D

[murphysgirl]

what nights were the formal nights on the med cruise, do they tend to stay the same?? And how formal was it? ta

[cindivan]

June 7 cruise. 2nd night and 2nd to last night. Pretty standard for a 7 night non-holiday cruise. You saw everything from tuxes to shorts. Way less formal than 10 years ago. But you see a good amount of suits and dinner jackets on the guys, total mix for the ladies. Not too many long dresses though

[MattSaw]

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for all this fun info.

 

By the way, how was the food in the Windjammer -- any better or worse?

[cleethorpes11]

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for all this fun info.

 

By the way, how was the food in the Windjammer -- any better or worse?

 

Not sure if it was any worse as last week was our first cruise, but I didn't particularly enjoy the experience although my husband thought it was great especially the cottage pie. Too much choice for breakfast !! Who the heck eats curry and rice for breakfast? By the time I'd fought fast ignorant people with no manners and sat down my pancakes were cold ! The desserts , however, were excellent. Lots of sugar free cakes and lovely sponges.

Don't bother spending money in the Cupcake Shop. I treat myself to a peanut butter cupcake and it was horrible, too doughy. :)

[lisaloo]

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for all this fun info.

 

By the way, how was the food in the Windjammer -- any better or worse?

 

 

I thought dinners in Windjammer were very good. I was surprised how many people were eating in Windjammer for dinner compared to Carribean cruises.

[Aideen]

what nights were the formal nights on the med cruise, do they tend to stay the same?? And how formal was it? ta

 

We sailed on the May 31st sailing. Formal nights were the Monday (Palma) and the Friday (Naples). It was a mixed bag of very formal (long dresses, suits etc, I didn't notice many tuxes), semi formal (cocktail dresses, shirt and tie), and not formal at all.

[sloanesq]

The weather was HOT without any exception :mad: And, as living in Israel, I'm used to hot...

The crew was very nice, trying very hard to make us enjoy our holiday. EVERYONE of them, on all levels and department.

We had MTD, at different hours (made reservations to shows accordingly). We even requested a table for 4 near the windows -- they've done their best to accommodate us. We were in American Grill, deck 3, had AnnMarie as a waitress -- she was amazing.

The second night (Friday), the Headwaiter heard me and DH speaking Hebrew. Turns out he's from Israel, his name is Jacob. He laughed that we're spending our Friday night meal eating shrimps, and brought us "chalah"... Asked us how we like the food... told him "so-so". He asked if we'll be interested to eat at a specialty restaurant with 50%. We said a resounding YES -- we got to eat at Samba Grill & Giovanni's -- 2 for the price of one.

Turns out the Allure doesn't handle too well the crowds in the Med cruise and they were trying to steer people to "per fee" rest. to "diminish" the crowds in WJ and MDR with the BOGO offering......

First time I'd to wait in line for b'fast and lunch :D

 

Ha, ha, great story! Going on the Allure next month. Speak Hebrew to Jacob and get BOGO at a specialty restaurant. Good to know.

[nomadiccrocodilehunter]

We boarded in Civitavecchia on 4 June. It was hot but not uncomfortable. I expect that you will love the weather in late June. August might be a bit tough though.

 

Yes, Naples and Palma for the formal nights.

 

Unfortunately, someone at Royal Caribbean twice messed with our dining reservations causing us to have a disappointing cruise relative to previous cruises. MTD seemed to be working well though and I expect you will have a great time as it is an awesome ship.

 

If you want more details my cruise review has been posted at http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=506190

[nlewis0801]

Trying to gather info on this cruise. Did you all book excursions through RCCL or private and do you have any recommendations?

[dani negreanu]

Trying to gather info on this cruise. Did you all book excursions through RCCL or private and do you have any recommendations?

 

Amalfi, Positano, Ravello, through the roll call (SHARED excursion) with Joe Banana

A taste of Florence (just Florence, without Pisa), LL06, with RC (2 hr with guide, 3 hr "free time")

[zteamtwo]

Request for any of you on Allure after dry dock (May). What changes do you see? Have all the cabins been redone? We are sailing this Nov in a Grand Suite. Are there any changes to a Grand Suite? I would appreciate any comments you have about concierge lounge or any other changes on the ship. Thanks.

[RazorbackIslandGirl]

Does anyone know what time they start boarding in Barcelona?

[MADflyer]

Does anyone know what time they start boarding in Barcelona?

 

Port operations are always variable depending on just that days situation. There are basic guidelines though.

 

While they are most likely prepared to start accepting bags and allowing passengers through security into the terminal waiting area at around 08:30, they normally do not start the check-in until around 10:30 or 11:00.

[nomadiccrocodilehunter]

We had a positive experience with Viator visiting Pompeii and walking around the top of the crater of Vesuvius. Otherwise, we did DIY.

[tidygirl]

Trying to gather info on this cruise. Did you all book excursions through RCCL or private and do you have any recommendations?

 

I did a review Oct 14, 2014 "Our families viewpoint of our Med cruise" It was on the Liberty but I think it had some of the same places the Allure is going to. It has pictures and some DIY tips and we also used Can't be missed tours (CBMT) and they were so much more reasonably priced!

[shay869]

Di you know what time they start boarding in Civitavecchia ?

 

 

 

We boarded in Civitavecchia on 4 June. It was hot but not uncomfortable. I expect that you will love the weather in late June. August might be a bit tough though.

 

Yes, Naples and Palma for the formal nights.

 

Unfortunately, someone at Royal Caribbean twice messed with our dining reservations causing us to have a disappointing cruise relative to previous cruises. MTD seemed to be working well though and I expect you will have a great time as it is an awesome ship.

 

If you want more details my cruise review has been posted at http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=506190

[Aideen]

Does anyone know what time they start boarding in Barcelona?

 

11:00am (we sailed on this cruise on May 31st)

[neesy11]

Amalfi, Positano, Ravello, through the roll call (SHARED excursion) with Joe Banana

A taste of Florence (just Florence, without Pisa), LL06, with RC (2 hr with guide, 3 hr "free time")

Hi Dani

We're on the allure this september and are thinking of booking the taste of Florence tour with RC. How did you get on with it, I read the coach journey is about 2 hours from LaSpezia. Did you get the full 5 hours in Florence and did it all go smoothly

Many thanks

[dani negreanu]

Hi Dani

We're on the allure this september and are thinking of booking the taste of Florence tour with RC. How did you get on with it, I read the coach journey is about 2 hours from LaSpezia. Did you get the full 5 hours in Florence and did it all go smoothly

Many thanks

 

Coach journey - more or less 1.5-2 hours, depending on traffic.

The guide - at the end it was 1 h 3/4, also depends how many people ask questions..... In our group, I think people just wanted to "cut to the cheese" - SHOPPING.

It was hot in Florence, and very-very-very crowded.

People slept on their way to Florence and back.

[neesy11]

Thanks for getting back with the info really appreciate it.

[C0untingstars]

For those of you who did private excursions...where would you suggest designating a group meeting point on the ship? So that our group can meet onboard and exit the ship together...