Just back- Allure New Year's Cruise

[spazzyjanet]

Whew! What a fun, but exhausting week. Missing my connection due to a delayed flight and going from first class to standby on later flights out of CLT didn't help with the "exhausting" part.

 

We traveled as a party of 6, my husband and I, 3 kids (5, 8, 10) and my Dad. We flew out 3 days early and spent 3 days at the Hilton FLL Beach Resort. This hotel has views of the beach and intercoastal waterway, or both depending on what suite you get. I would recommend staying here, but if you are a the type of customer who would spend on the upper range for a hotel room ($800 or more a night), I would NOT stay again. The Ritz is your better bet on the beach. We are not usually high end customers. This was a once-in-a-lifetime splurge. The concierge made us Christmas Eve reservations at Coconuts and we walked a mile to find the restaurant CLOSED. The master in the 3- bedroom suite did not have a door. Drinking glasses not provided. Recommend staying here if your range is $200- $450. The staff and restaurants are wonderful. The pool area and pool staff were amazing.

 

The best part of this cruise was the entertainment. We enjoyed every show and couldn't have been more satisfied or pleased with this aspect. Even the adult comedy show was fantastic. We did not see the headliner (American Idol finalist- Marcus Terrel?), but tried to see most everything else.

 

For a holiday cruise, we expected the ship to be "overrun with screaming kids." This was not the case at all. There were kids, but they were not a problem. They certainly weren't overrunning the ship. I asked the AO staff, and I think they said that there were 1400 kids total onboard.

 

Mostly extended families were on board, and yes- whether I'm supposed to bring it up or not- many were wealthy. Many teenage girls flaunting newly purchased Kate Spade bags, many ladies wearing designer formals on formal night. Designer suits on men. Out of 6 cruises, I saw less senior citizens on this one than any other I've been on.

 

We did Adventure Ocean. My 10-year-old is more introverted, and after going the first couple of sessions, she didn't want to go back. She just wanted to do her thing, go to the arcade, find places to read and people watch. The 8-year old is my social butterfly, and went to all of the evening sessions and made lots of friends. My 5-year-olf started out the week in the 6-8 range based on the suggestion of the 3-5 year staff. There was a boy in that group who kind of picked on him. About 3 nights my son (who is very into rules) got frustrated trying to understand the rules of a game. Part of it was difficulty understanding the staff member's accent, and another part was lack of sleep, but my son just broke down and started crying and went to sit in a corner. After that, they suggested that he move down to the 3-5 group. We were concerned he wouldn't like that, but once he was there he actually loved the 3-5 group more. There were many other 5-year-olds on the holiday sailing and he made friends quickly. In retrospect we should have started him there.

[spazzyjanet]

We went to Giovanni's Table, Chops, Sabor, Johnny Rockets, MDR, Wipeout Cafe, Windjammer, and Park Cafe.

 

Giovanni's was the first night and we would definitely go again. We booked ahead and paid the full adult price for the 3 kids. The waiter was very charismatic and played everything up. Even though they ordered off the kids menu, the waiter decided to bring them extra stuff not on the kids menu and extra stuff for us. At the end of the night, we got no credit back, but didn't ask because of the treatment and honestly, I think that is the strategy they go for. The food was excellent.

 

Since I could see the squirrely-ness of the kids in a 2-hour dinner in a dimly lit room, we headed to Chops and asked them if they could reduce our NYE reservations for 6 down to 3 (just the adults). This was easily done and we were credited back.

 

We found the food in Chops to be wonderful. I asked the waiter whether it was worth it to pay the upcharge for the lobster. He didn't say it directly, but indicated that since they were doing lobster in the MDR that night, that he would let me try the MDR lobster with a filet to do "surf-and-turf." for no extra charge. I suspect that the upcharge lobster IS the same as that in the MDR always. Wow. Service at Chops was satisfactory. Not exceptional.

 

Sabor was our favorite restaurant. The tableside guac was great and the service was very friendly. The margarita's are very strong. I had two :) We actually went back a second time for lunch.

 

The staff on this ship works very hard. We went to Johnny Rockets for lunch and the waiter took very good care of our kids, which we thanked with a tip. He remembered us when we went back for breakfast, and even went over to the donut place to get our kids donuts PLUS items off of the menu. We saw the same staff out there from open to close and we respect how hard it must be to provide that many hours of friendly service day in and day out every day.

[spazzyjanet]

Speaking of breakfast. We ate in the Windjammer 2 or 3 times for breakfast. Sorry, it's terrible. Just terrible. I don't know how you make so many basic easy foods so badly, but they managed it. When we went, it was only for convenience/speed.

 

The Wipeout Cafe was great for lunch, but their breakfast was only a small step up from the Windjammer. I ordered an omelette, thinking- "well, it's fresh" and couldn't finish it. I'm not sure what the issue is with eggs on this ship, but they are just... not good? Johnny Rockets was better, but still not what I'd qualify as great.

 

We didn't make it to Park Cafe until lunch the last day. The largest crowds we saw all week were at the Park Cafe at 1:30 pm on the last sea day. It was very frustrating. I ordered the roast beef sandwich with chips. I'd have loved to try a soup or salad but didn't want to deal with the lines. We barely found a place to sit. My guess is that everyone goes here because word has gotten out that this is the only free food venue that has good food. I did enjoy my roast beef sandwich.

 

My theory is that RCI is deliberately making their free food awful so that people will be forced to pay extra.

 

MDR- We only ate here for dinner 3 nights, but the wait staff here was great getting our kids through meals and dessert in time for My Family Time dining pick up. I found all of the food I ate here to be good. Since I came in with low expectations, this was a positive.

 

We loved "my family time dining." It was a godsend to our sanity. How nice to get the kids fed and then ushered away before they got bored.

[spazzyjanet]

Ports of Call.

 

Labadee. We were in an OTW cabana. We paid $350 for ours and thought it was worth it. We had a party of 6- 3 adults, 3 kids. A $50 tip up front to the attendant on top of that ensured excellent service all day long, including a shuttle drive to and from the buffet. We tipped another $50 upon leaving, since we had such a good time.

 

We booked early and many paid more for the OTW than us, as we noticed the price rise to $450, then only available on board. Only ship in port was Allure, and all of the Nellies cabanas were filled.\

 

Falmouth. Where to begin? This was quite a day. We had both positive and negative experiences on this trip. The positives were thanks to our tour company- Courtney Taylor Tours. The negatives were due to the destinations we chose to visit (namely, Blue Hole), crowds, crowds, crowds, and traffic.

 

The tour company itself- Courtney Taylor, and especially our guide "party animal" was amazing, and honestly the only reason why we made it though the day unscathed.

 

Blue Hole was a disaster. My husband and Dad both almost drowned. TOO MANY PEOPLE. So many that they rushed you and pushed you into doing things before you could even think, pause, or get adjusted to it. This is NOT a relaxing place to swim and enjoy like it is painted to be in many of the reviews. We were rushed up and pushed to jump in before really even knowing what we were doing. My Dad had knee surgery and didn't realize that he could no longer swim due to the fact that his replacement knees meant he could no longer float. What's more- since he had to take his glassed off to get in he couldn't SEE! He jumped in and started sinking, panicked and had to be rescued by staff. After that, since there was no easy way out, he was given a life jacket and I had to help guide him out. On the way out, his leg hit a rock and swelled up afterward. He was limping for days afterward.

 

This was just after the girls and I jumped in under the waterfall. We didn't have time to explain to them what was going on, so when they came up and realized they were under a waterfall and could not touch the ground THEY PANICKED. Each girl grabbed on to one of my husband's arms and he couldn't swim to hold them up. He started sinking and staff had to come and take the girls off of him so that my husband wouldn't drown. Needless to say, I nearly had a heart attack. Twice.

 

[spazzyjanet]

We can easily see how Blue Hole, with no crowds and lots of time could be an amazing experience. Our kids had fun because they didn't understand what was going on. We did not. With the crowds and rushing it is flat out dangerous. I will say that if it wasn't for the amazing guides, we would have had one or more severe medical emergency.

 

Afterward, we went river tubing to try to salvage the day. My Dad was shell-shocked and decided not to go. We did. The river tubing was short, but it was SO MUCH FUN. The guides sang to us, and the small rapids were cool. It gave us all a chance to smile and relax.

 

Maybe it was the number of ships in port that day, the road conditions near blue hole, whatever. We got stuck in horrible traffic. My son got car sick. We were nervous about having time to eat at Scotchies before getting back.

 

Here is where our tour guide really shined. He was a great driver. He stopped to get water for our son. He went into Scotchies and despite the long lines, was able to by-pass them due to connections and bring us back food for the road. The food at Scotchies was so delicious! We hadn't eaten all day. We were hungry and it hit the spot.

 

Many of the ships tours got stuck in traffic as well. Thanks to our wonderful guide, we were chilling on our balconies watching a tour bus arrive nearly an hour after the scheduled departure time.

Edited January 4, 2016 by spazzyjanet

[spazzyjanet]

In Cozumel we swam with dolphins, and booked it through the ship. I can best summarize this as an hour of being treated like cattle, followed by a 1-hour AMAZING experience, followed by an hour of heavy negotiation with photo staff and trying to get back home.

 

The actual dolphin experience was unforgettable- especially seeing the looks on my kids faces. Pure joy. The staff has this down to a science. I would do this again in a heartbeat despite the hassle getting there.

 

Afterward, they will show you pictures and tell you that it is $40 a picture and $390 for the package. We didn't have enough cash, but lied about how much we did have. We ended up walking away with the entire CD (180 pics) for about $200. These people who sell the pictures are full of crap. Don't believe them. At one point, they were telling us that there was "an extra tax for paying with cash." Then I heard another customer telling his wife, "they said I would only get the 5% discount if I pay with cash."

[spazzyjanet]

Fort Lauderdale- Everglades Excursion.

 

This was a gamble for us, since the reviews on Royal's website were not all that great. However, we enjoyed it very much- especially considering the fact that it was actually the least expensive tour we went on and included transportation to FLL.

 

We met in studio B and then got on some nicely air-conditioned tour busses. We drove over to the Navigator of the Seas to pick up passengers there which took some time.

 

We had great fun. We saw several alligators on the air boat ride- many too close for comfort- and our kids were transfixed. It was a cool, surreal experience being out the boat. Afterwards, we walked around the animal exhibit and my kids had an absolute blast seeing the snakes, alligators limurs, big cats (who came there from abused homes), etc. Afterward, we were dropped back off at the airport. I'm not sure where the negative reviews were coming from.

[spazzyjanet]

Our cabins-

 

We had adjacent cabins 7600, 7602, and 7604- on the hump. 7602 and 7604 were adjoining, and we put our kids in 7602 between grandpa and us. When we arrived, we told our stateroom attendant to remove the dividers and it was done by 4pm. I had requested a mattress topper in advance through special needs and it was already on.

 

Our stateroom attendant- Esperanza- was very visible the entire cruise and took care of everything. We were impressed, especially since kids were more of a mess. She kept champaigne iced, took care of laundry, etc.

 

We lucked out and all of our mattresses were comfortable. If they hadn't have been, this could have made or broken our cruise.

 

We never could get the room temp below 70. We brought a small fan and used it all week. We really noticed on the last night not having it (packed away in our luggage). I sorely miss the days when the AC was free-flowing and we could leave the balcony door open and listen to the waves. Now we are warm-ish even if we leave it closed and sweltering if we leave it open.

[spazzyjanet]

Our balconies, with dividers removed.

[spazzyjanet]

NYE parties.

[BillOh]

 

Sabor was our favorite restaurant. The tableside guac was great and the service was very friendly. The margarita's are very strong. I had two :) We actually went back a second time for lunch.

 

 

The lunch time, was it ala-carte for you then too? I just paid $15 per person for lunch on Freedom, but will probably still go.

[BillOh]

 

 

The tour company itself- Courtney Taylor, and especially our guide "party animal" was amazing, and honestly the only reason why we made it though the day unscathed.

 

Blue Hole was a disaster. My husband and Dad both almost drowned. TOO MANY PEOPLE. So many that they rushed you and pushed you into doing things before you could even think, pause, or get adjusted to it. This is NOT a relaxing place to swim and enjoy like it is painted to be in many of the reviews. We were rushed up and pushed to jump in before really even knowing what we were doing. My Dad had knee surgery and didn't realize that he could no longer swim due to the fact that his replacement knees meant he could no longer float. What's more- since he had to take his glassed off to get in he couldn't SEE! He jumped in and started sinking, panicked and had to be rescued by staff. After that, since there was no easy way out, he was given a life jacket and I had to help guide him out. On the way out, his leg hit a rock and swelled up afterward. He was limping for days afterward.

 

This was just after the girls and I jumped in under the waterfall. We didn't have time to explain to them what was going on, so when they came up and realized they were under a waterfall and could not touch the ground THEY PANICKED. Each girl grabbed on to one of my husband's arms and he couldn't swim to hold them up. He started sinking and staff had to come and take the girls off of him so that my husband wouldn't drown. Needless to say, I nearly had a heart attack. Twice.

 

 

Wow, I don't want to sound doubtful because of your detailed description, but that seems contrary to most reviews I've read. Perhaps the word is getting out about how nice this place is. I would have went there Last May, but held off because of recent surgery. I'll keep watching future reviews. Thanks for reporting.

Edited January 4, 2016 by BillOh

[spazzyjanet]

So here is the deal with New Years. They listed parties throughout the ship. One was a "mellow" party in the solarium. Tables on the rising tide bar were listed at $1400-$1800 per person. The promenade had balloons to drop. That was where the crowds were, and where clearly they wanted everyone to gather. In places where they could make money off of you.

 

We didn't want the crowds. The kids were tucked away in bed and so was Grandpa. We headed to the hot tub. The pool deck was dead. About 10 folks hung out in the whirlpool off the side for a makeshift New Years party. Someone has asked if they could switch the tvs over of the whirlpool to the ball drop from football. They were told no.

 

Staff came over about 5 minutes before midnight and told us to immediately leave the hot tub to go over to the other side of the ship. Someone asked if they could let us stay until midnight. Then another staff member came over and started yelling at everyone, "We are already behind in maintenance!!" Really? They couldn't spare 5-10 minutes to let everyone celebrate the New Year before starting?

 

We just rolled our eyes, grabbed our stuff and then ran to the hot tub on the other side just in time to ring in the New Year. Others stayed and spent the New Year arguing with staff who couldn't just let people ring in the New Year and then leave. They certainly didn't gain any time by doing this and probably even lost some. Sorry- this was ridiculous.

[spazzyjanet]

Royal Promenade.

[spazzyjanet]

Trying again. I suck at technology.

[spazzyjanet]

"that seems contrary to most reviews I've read"

 

I was shocked too, since all the reviews I had read were positive. I pictured something relaxed and leisurely. We were rushed through and pushed just to keep things moving.

 

I even asked ahead of time online to the tour company whether this was something that was appropriate to all ages and they assured me that many age groups had a good time.

 

On the way back, our guide mentioned that the attraction had only been open to the tours for two years and that even he had never seen so much traffic. The roads to get there are not equipped. He said that they would have to do something about that and soon.

 

As we passed Dunn's River Falls he remarked, "I can't even imagine how crazy that place must be today. Wouldn't want to be there."

[spazzyjanet]

Lunchtime at Sabor was also a la carte.

[spazzyjanet]

Let's talk Poker.

 

I didn't play until about day 6. I played the 10:30 sit and go cash game. It turns out, they only accept 9 players. I was the 10th to sign in, but got in due to a no-show. The blind structure was ridiculously fast. I ended up splitting the top two with another gentleman. We were equal in chips and since the payouts were like 530/230 that we'd both rather walk away with about $369 than chance leaving with only about $100 than we started with.

 

The 10:30 tournaments are on a video screen, so there is no dealer to tip at the end.

 

On the last day, I did the Royal Poker Tour. This is a scam if I've ever seen one. For some reason they put the players at blackjack tables and for these they use real cards. The fee of $100 for a chance for another chance to win a free cruise is already ridiculous. Then, once you sit down they give you the option to buy more chips for extra money. Of course, once a few players agree everyone does it so they aren't left out. You then basically have a $150 tournament. They filled two tables and one player per table gets to play in the finale. I didn't do as well in this one- no chances to make moves with the ridiculous blind structure.

 

I'd probably play the late night sit and go's again, but not the Royal Poker tour tournaments.

[BillOh]

Staff came over about 5 minutes before midnight and told us to immediately leave the hot tub to go over to the other side of the ship. Someone asked if they could let us stay until midnight. Then another staff member came over and started yelling at everyone, "We are already behind in maintenance!!" Really? They couldn't spare 5-10 minutes to let everyone celebrate the New Year before starting?

 

I love Royal, but I am so sick of that. Getting chased out of hot tubs in the evening is a real pain and a frequent part of my reviews. On our first Allure visit we just got comfortable in the port side Cantlivered tub when we were chased out and then he chased us out of the starboard side one 15 minutes later.

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Sounds like you had a great time.

[spazzyjanet]

Drinking package lesson learned:

 

-Buying the Soda Package for my 3 kids was a waste of money. The only one who used it was my oldest. We bought the liquor package and it came with the cup and we NEVER USED THEM. We had bottled water in the room we used in the am, and were drinking "grown-up" drinks pretty much after that.

 

Next time we will purchase the drinking packages for ourselves and let the kids use our cups :)

 

- The Ulimate package was barely worth it over the premium. I got an average of 1 specialty coffee a day. 1 day I got one of those coffee/liquor drinks. Did that add up to and average of $10 a day? I'm not sure. We never got fresh squeezed OJ.

 

- My husband got Gentleman Jack, Woodford Reserve, and Knob Creek Bourbon on his premium package with no up charge. I'm not sure whether that was because they were under $12 or because we tipped every drink.

[tiggyfrank]

Let's talk Poker.

 

I didn't play until about day 6. I played the 10:30 sit and go cash game. It turns out, they only accept 9 players. I was the 10th to sign in, but got in due to a no-show. The blind structure was ridiculously fast. I ended up splitting the top two with another gentleman. We were equal in chips and since the payouts were like 530/230 that we'd both rather walk away with about $369 than chance leaving with only about $100 than we started with.

 

The 10:30 tournaments are on a video screen, so there is no dealer to tip at the end.

 

On the last day, I did the Royal Poker Tour. This is a scam if I've ever seen one. For some reason they put the players at blackjack tables and for these they use real cards. The fee of $100 for a chance for another chance to win a free cruise is already ridiculous. Then, once you sit down they give you the option to buy more chips for extra money. Of course, once a few players agree everyone does it so they aren't left out. You then basically have a $150 tournament. They filled two tables and one player per table gets to play in the finale. I didn't do as well in this one- no chances to make moves with the ridiculous blind structure.

 

I'd probably play the late night sit and go's again, but not the Royal Poker tour tournaments.

 

Ugh!!! What long were the rounds for RPT?

Edited January 11, 2016 by tiggyfrank

[crosby99]

Rather belatedly due to my new found hobby here is our video of this very cruise and the New Years Eve celebration on the Royal Promenade.Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

[YOUTUBE]j6nUPc3lFQk[/YOUTUBE]

Edited August 10, 2016 by crosby99

[crosby99]

So here is the deal with New Years. They listed parties throughout the ship. One was a "mellow" party in the solarium. Tables on the rising tide bar were listed at $1400-$1800 per person. The promenade had balloons to drop. That was where the crowds were, and where clearly they wanted everyone to gather. In places where they could make money off of you.

 

We didn't want the crowds. The kids were tucked away in bed and so was Grandpa. We headed to the hot tub. The pool deck was dead. About 10 folks hung out in the whirlpool off the side for a makeshift New Years party. Someone has asked if they could switch the tvs over of the whirlpool to the ball drop from football. They were told no.

 

Staff came over about 5 minutes before midnight and told us to immediately leave the hot tub to go over to the other side of the ship. Someone asked if they could let us stay until midnight. Then another staff member came over and started yelling at everyone, "We are already behind in maintenance!!" Really? They couldn't spare 5-10 minutes to let everyone celebrate the New Year before starting?

 

We just rolled our eyes, grabbed our stuff and then ran to the hot tub on the other side just in time to ring in the New Year. Others stayed and spent the New Year arguing with staff who couldn't just let people ring in the New Year and then leave. They certainly didn't gain any time by doing this and probably even lost some. Sorry- this was ridiculous.

 

The was rather a bit too much making money out of people on New Years Eve. As we had a drinks package we were reluctant to buy a bottle of Champs which we didn't really want. Coming out of dinner we realise bottled of champs = table for the night. After speaking to our regular waiter in the pub we got a bottle as we realised if we didn't we would have no table for the night. So he carried a table from Sorrentos and we got a bottle of Champs and as my video shows we had a prime spot for the night at the cost of over $100.

[A&L_Ont]

Rather belatedly due to my new found hobby here is our video of this very cruise and the New Years Eve celebration on the Royal Promenade.Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

[YOUTUBE]j6nUPc3lFQk[/YOUTUBE]

 

Crosby99, drunk grandma was hilarious. Looks like it was a wonderful night. :)

Edited August 10, 2016 by A&L_Ont