Allure of the Seas - December 13, 2015

[g8rfan17]

A few general comments about my experience this past week on the Allure in no particular order. Traveled in a group of 5 cabins. Mid to late 20s, mostly single. My first time on Royal.

 

Mostly all the staff was fantastic. My stateroom attendant was beyond accommodating. Always cheerful, kind, and helpful. Our dining staff was alright. Also very nice and accommodating but I think they were ready to be done with us by day 6 lol.

 

My bed felt like cement. It was horrible. Woke up in pain every morning. Our attendant added some mattress pads but it didn't help much. Friends in other cabins had comfy but firm beds. Much nicer than my room. The couch was absolutely disgusting and desperately needs to be shampooed. I think it's supposed to be blue but it looked brown.

 

The sink makes no sense to me. It only extends from the wall a few inches. Can't wash my face it brush my teeth without flooding the floor. Loved the shower. Roomy enough and the sliding doors are so much better than shower curtains.

 

Usually prefer the later dining time, but with dinner taking an average of 2 hours each night, plus the time to get ready, we missed a lot of entertainment options or were just late to dinner. The scheduling was difficult to navigate if we wanted to eat in the MDR.

 

We opted not to skip dinner in the MDR because food in the Wind Jammer got old really fast. Both breakfast and lunch. Even breakfast in the MDR got a little bland after a few days. Hotdogs and sausages on the boardwalk were fantastic. Donuts were gross. Soft serve was not good. Cafe Promenade was okay but Sorrento's pizza was greasy deliciousness. Didn't do any specialty dining.

 

Bar Service...disappointing. Drinks were mostly great. Loved having the drink package. So easy and convenient. However, must bar tenders were disinterested in their customers. I always had to track down a server at the pool or in any of the venues. On other cruises I never had to ask our wait long for someone to take my order.

 

Mama Mia was fantastic. The cast was incredibly entertaining. Ocean Aria and Ice Games were pretty cool too. Could have done without Blue Planet. It was weird and rather uneventful. The comedians got a few laughs of me but were mediocre.

 

The Allure lacks large empty deck space and I am assuming that's why they don't really do ship-wide sail away or farewell parties. Shame. I usually enjoy those.

 

Dare I say it, the ship might be too big. Perhaps this is a personal problem, but it felt like I spent more time trying to figure out what to do than just relaxing.

 

Shame they don't have complimentary saunas or steam rooms, nor were there showers for gym users.

 

Loved all the pools and hot tubs. Didn't make it to the zip line, rock wall, our flow rider. Spent many nights in blaze dancing. Great fun. Will have to stop at Boleros next time.

 

The swaying and rocking got really bad as we left Cozumel. Walking and maintaining my balance was difficult. Made me rather dizzy and a little nauseous. It got kinda scary at some points.

 

Overall, I had a good time. Don't wanna go back to work tomorrow. Expected a little more from "the world's largest ship" for the price I paid. Give the experience a B. Will be back on the Allure in the future in I can get better deal.

 

That's all for now, but if I remember anything else I'll be sure to share.

 

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[spazzyjanet]

Sorry to hear about the mattresses. Apparently that has been a problem on other ships, and I wasn't sure whether they had replaced the mattresses on Allure yet, and it appears that they have :(

 

I just hope that I can sleep, and that my kids can too. If not, the whole trip could have a damper.

 

How was the air temperature at night? If you had a balcony, can you prop the door to the balcony open at night?

[g8rfan17]

Very personal question about bar service, for my own curiosity: do you usually tip each drink in some way?

 

I don't usually drink at all on a cruise but on the rate occasion I do, I tip a buck in cash and every ship I've had a cocktail on, the same waiter will ask me constantly if I want another.

 

Wonder if that's what differs.

Gratuities are included in the drink packages, but I did tip a dollar our two extra on most of my drinks. A lot of times they never even brought the receipt back for me to sign. I didn't really mind that though.

 

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[g8rfan17]

Sorry to hear about the mattresses. Apparently that has been a problem on other ships, and I wasn't sure whether they had replaced the mattresses on Allure yet, and it appears that they have :(

 

I just hope that I can sleep, and that my kids can too. If not, the whole trip could have a damper.

 

How was the air temperature at night? If you had a balcony, can you prop the door to the balcony open at night?

The temperature varied. This was one of the things I forgot to mention. The little dial on the wall does nothing. Some nights it was a little chilly, but more often then not I found myself burning up at night. The room wasn't hot, but I do tend to get really warm in my sleep. Had to sleep on top of the covers.

 

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[suss1234]

Good morning...I was also on the Dec. 13 Allure cruise.

Cabin #11330. One word on the cabin. AWESOME!!!!! In the end the cruise was just a great trip. Ship is beautiful. I honestly thought it was to big but as the days went on I really enjoyed Allure. When I actually looked at the ship and realized the marvel behind it I really started to like it more and more. I would book another cruise for sure on this size ship. Of course you will have crowds but I must honestly say it wasn't that bad.

 

We thought the shows were average. Nothing to write home about. We go see the shows but we do not have a good or bad time aboard a cruise because of them. We have seen some great shows and some not so good ones but that just is what it is.

 

We did not eat one meal in the MDR. We ate at Chops, California Kitchen, Izumi (3- includes 1 lunch), Giovanni's, Sabor and Samba. Excellent for all. Izumi was just fantastic and out favorite. Keep in mind you are in the middle of the ocean. So not one complaint with them at all.

 

We had a suite so besides the regular room service menu we could order off a bigger selection menu. That was a good thing because we thought that the regular room service menu was just terrible.

 

Once again our favorite port was Labadee. We have been to Jamaica and Mexico many times and we are just tired of those ports. Not saying they are bad just have seen them to many times.

 

Coming back from Cozumel was a little rocky but nothing that bad. Having been on smaller ships the rocking on Allure for us was nothing.

 

I want to touch on what g8rfan17 wrote. We had a RR drink package. We do not drink any alcohol. We could not agree more that we thought the bartenders we terrible (including suite sun deck). It is a prepaid package and to get a bottle of water was just a PITA for them. We always tip even with a PP package. That stopped after the 3rd day. Just terrible service and not one smile from any of them except the gal behind the pool bar by the towels. We heard this on the ship from drinkers and non-drinkers. They have to work on that. This wasn't our first rodeo but it was for sure the worst bar service by far.

 

So would be do it again on the Allure. Absolutely. It was an awesome trip. Great ship,

We have 9 day southern Navigator next Dec. Can't wait.

Any questions please ask. Keep in mind everything said was just one couples opinion.

[suss1234]

i also wanted to mention the casino. We didn't care for that staff either. Same as bartenders. If you are not a smoker look out. I'm sure it has to do with the size of the casino but it was the worst smoke filled and smelling casino we have ever been in off land. Actually sometimes the ship smelled like smoke. But the casino is really really bad. A quick walk through and your clothes will be smoke filled. So casino and bartender staff a D-F. All other staff was excellent with an A. Our opinion. Again we would go back in a second. Could have just been a bad week for those 2 areas of service.

[spazzyjanet]

If it is warm in the room, can you prop open the door to the balcony?

[g8rfan17]

If it is warm in the room, can you prop open the door to the balcony?

 

I was in an interior room, so I didn't have that option. But one of my friends had a balcony. I suppose you could if you had something heavy to hold the door. It's a sliding door that closes on its own if something isn't preventing it from sliding shut.

[Regta]

My DW and I were also on this cruise and I share many of the same experiences that you did.

 

State room attendent was perfect and seemed invisible when we didn't need him and right there when we did...This is what we look for.

 

Our bed too, was a like brick of cement and I wished I would have thought to ask for some padding. My whole ached more and more every night. I was so happy to sleep in my own bed last night.

 

Yes, the sink was too narrow, but I guess we managed. Shower was small, but we did like the doors instead of a curtain which could cling to you. My DW liked the bar inside to shave her legs on.

 

We ate in the MDR every night and found on the 3rd night a team of waiters that kept everything flowing great and we were done in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Food quality in the MDR was average at best.

 

This was our 7th cruise overall, but 1st with RCI, and we thought, with the exception of Blue Planet (Odd theme), this was the best entertainment we have seen on any line. Momma Mia was superb!

 

Yes, the ship rocked a little after Cozumel, but the first 6 days were the smootest sailing we had ever experienced.

 

We searched and searched and finally found this cruise last minute at a great rate otherwise, I wouldn't consider it a very good value overall.

 

The casino was very smoky-Everywhere, not just the "smoking side"

 

We had a 10th floor ocean view balcony and it was was nice, but at night, it was always too hot to sleep with the door open and it never got quite cool enough for me to sleep with anything more than just a sheet on top.

 

If anyone has questions feel free to ask while the experience is fresh in our minds.

[george35]

We have sailed on her 4 times & just booked a B2B for next Sept.2016. My wife & I both have never had anything higher then a balcony cabin. That being said can any one tell me how often do they change mattress? Ours was always great. Now about the MDR, my wife is so HAPPY that she is out of the kitchen she ( and myself ) would never voice a complaint about the food with so many places to dine. We have never paid for our evening meal on less our TA gave it to us. Call us cheap but we just enjoy being with each other & seeing each other happy & smiling. Never bought a drink package ( we enjoy a drink or 2 ) BUT AS DIAMOND PLUS 2 DRINKS ARE ENOUGH FOR 1 NIGHT.. OUR ADVISE DONT LOOK FOR THINGS TO COMPLAIN ABOUT just go with the flow & ENJOY EACH OTHER.

 

george35

[spazzyjanet]

Yikes. I guess this is not the ship for people who like to sleep at night. Hot cabins and brick-like beds. Honestly, if I'd have known this a year ago I would be switching to a Disney Cruise. Too late now. With just a few days before sailing I can't even buy a travel fan off of Amazon.

[setsail]

Yikes. I guess this is not the ship for people who like to sleep at night. Hot cabins and brick-like beds. Honestly, if I'd have known this a year ago I would be switching to a Disney Cruise. Too late now. With just a few days before sailing I can't even buy a travel fan off of Amazon.

 

Boy are you in for a huge surprise

[spazzyjanet]

How so?

[CarpeCerevisi]

I can add my own comments to those from others that were also on this cruise. I was in cabin 11327 Boardwalk balcony. The cabin was great as was the cabin steward. I had no problem with the bed but it did have an egg crate pad on it that I didn't even have to ask for.

 

As for bartenders, I had the Premium Package and had mostly good service in the bars I frequented, including the Solarium Bar, Wipeout bar, On Air and Rising Tide. I sometimes put a dollar tip on the slip but not always.

 

As for food, breakfast was the Park Cafe egg sandwiches, lunch was mainly pizza and/or a sausage from the Dog House. Dinner was the Windjammer where I was always able to find something I liked.

 

After leaving Falmouth the winds were quite strong but fortunately we had trailing seas and wind all the way to Cozumel so the ride was pretty smooth. Going back we had to sail directly into those seas and wind. At one point the the apparent wind across the deck was around 60 mph.

 

I, for one, will definitely sail on the Allure again.

[cocod08]

Yikes. I guess this is not the ship for people who like to sleep at night. Hot cabins and brick-like beds. Honestly, if I'd have known this a year ago I would be switching to a Disney Cruise. Too late now. With just a few days before sailing I can't even buy a travel fan off of Amazon.

 

I had no issues with my bed 3 weeks ago on the Allure it was very comfortable. And room temps were great. I like a cool room to sleep in and no issues getting my room cool enough for me, a couple of night I would say it was even a bit too cool.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Yikes. I guess this is not the ship for people who like to sleep at night. Hot cabins and brick-like beds. Honestly, if I'd have known this a year ago I would be switching to a Disney Cruise. Too late now. With just a few days before sailing I can't even buy a travel fan off of Amazon.

 

I can't wait for this review in a couple weeks.

 

Beds vary, and are personal preference. As the OP said, people she was traveling with had comfortable beds. The AC also varies. I've had fine experience with the AC on other ships, and I'm not worried about my Allure cruise coming up in February.

[kevink]

The Allure lacks large empty deck space and I am assuming that's why they don't really do ship-wide sail away or farewell parties. Shame. I usually enjoy those.

 

Usually on Oasis/Alllure they have a sailaway party in the Aqua Theater, maybe you missed it. I recall them doing a cute thing with the penguins from Madagascar.

 

I still think Disney does the best sailaway party. You can't go wrong with "Who Let the Dogs Out" with Goofy and Pluto.

 

-- Kevin

[SF]

Seems like everyone had a great cruise.:)

 

We just booked to sail Allure again and was wondering if anyone knows where I can view the western itinerary compass?

[spazzyjanet]

"I can't wait for this review in a couple weeks."

 

As someone who has suffered from insomnia in the past and is NOT the kind of person who can sleep in any environment does this concern me? Yes. Sleep can affect mood, health, and a whole host of other things. I actually travel quite often and I consider a bed that I can sleep on a basic requirement, not a luxury.

 

That said, you can bet that I will go looking to have the best vacation that I can possibly have. And my review will be very fair and honest.

 

Thank you to the poster who mentioned the cool room- glad to know that isn't universal.

[Biker19]

Thank you to the poster who mentioned the cool room- glad to know that isn't universal.

 

Why would anyone ever think that whatever someone posts on a review site about their individual experience would translate to the whole ship when it has been proven time and again that things vary a lot between cabins and sailings on such a subjective issue?:confused:

[suss1234]

spazzyjanet you are going to love this ship and cruise. it's awesome. everything you are hearing and reading are opinions including mine. i mentioned the bartenders and casino. someone else mentioned they didn't have that experience. our bed was awesome and a few said they are no good. so read the information and take it all in but do not make any judgement on your cruise from reading these posts. that would be a big mistake. have a great time...

[Alter Ego]

Yikes. I guess this is not the ship for people who like to sleep at night. Hot cabins and brick-like beds. Honestly, if I'd have known this a year ago I would be switching to a Disney Cruise. Too late now. With just a few days before sailing I can't even buy a travel fan off of Amazon.

 

I have not done this myself, but I thought I read on this site that people ask their room attendant to bring them a fan. Would have to do it as soon as possible, or they all get taken. Again, I have never done this myself, so I may be mistaken. Doesn't hurt to ask.

[spazzyjanet]

I would never be concerned by one individual's opinion on a review site. I do get concerned with consistent opinions by multiple people across several different threads, which you should be well aware of. Do I hope that I will have the better experience of the apparent minority, of course I do.

 

Good idea about requesting a fan. Can anyone confirm that this could be requested from a steward?

[suss1234]

enjoy...

[spazzyjanet]

At Target now. I found a single "vornado" personal fan, but it requires an outlet (not battery operated). Will Royal allow this?