What about Samba?

[Tiftifftiffany]

This is a real question. What about Samba? Did I miss a memo (completely possible)? Is it some sort of inside joke that RC staff is playing on those who don't know any better? I see it on the RC website, but no one ever reviews it- ever. What is the deal? We will be on the Allure Eastern in a couple of weeks.

[ladytaekwondo]

I think it is the new Brazilian steakhouse to be featured on Allure?

[Clarea]

I think it is the new Brazilian steakhouse to be featured on Allure?

Not new, it's always been on Allure.

[garnetpalmetto]

I think more that it's only on two ships (Allure and Radiance), it's only open for dinner, and on Allure it's not even it's own space - it's the Solarium Bistro. FWIW what reviews I *have* read aren't favorable and are of the opinion that land-based churrascarias like Fogo de Chão and Texas de Brazil are far better.

Edited January 6, 2016 by garnetpalmetto

[jticarruthers]

We did it on our Allure cruise in '14.

 

We had a party of 4 ... I liked it but probably wouldn't bother with it again. I enjoyed the variety of meats and felt they were reasonably cooked and liked the flavors.

 

Husband of the other couple tried the salmon from the "salad bar" and spent the rest of the evening feeling very queasy ... he would not be interested in trying it again.

 

Our wives didn't see the point of constant servings of different types of meat and also voted no.

[BillOh]

This is a real question. What about Samba? Did I miss a memo (completely possible)? Is it some sort of inside joke that RC staff is playing on those who don't know any better? I see it on the RC website, but no one ever reviews it- ever. What is the deal? We will be on the Allure Eastern in a couple of weeks.

 

I THINK and have no reason to think my opinion is worth anything in that matter, that many people compare it to Brazilian Steak houses on land and think it fails by comparison. I however, have never been to such a place on land, and enjoyed my visit to Samba very much.

 

I will caution being that you're on Allure on the Eastern, - don't book close to sunset on the final 2 sea days. The setting sun can be blinding up there for about 30 minutes.

Edited January 6, 2016 by BillOh
didn't want some self righteous person to think I didn't know you're vs your.

[Big_G]

I THINK and have no reason to think my opinion is worth anything in that matter, that many people compare it to Brazilian Steak houses on land and think it fails by comparison. I however, have never been to such a place on land, and enjoyed my visit to Samba very much.

 

I will caution being that you're on Allure on the Eastern, - don't book close to sunset on the final 2 sea days. The setting sun can be blinding up there for about 30 minutes.

 

We've done land and sea and found Samba enjoyable. I admit the second time around on Allure two years apart it seemed much better. It only reinforced our feeling that food varies from ship to ship as well as cruise to cruise.

[Ourusualbeach]

I THINK and have no reason to think my opinion is worth anything in that matter, that many people compare it to Brazilian Steak houses on land and think it fails by comparison. I however, have never been to such a place on land, and enjoyed my visit to Samba very much.

 

I will caution being that you're on Allure on the Eastern, - don't book close to sunset on the final 2 sea days. The setting sun can be blinding up there for about 30 minutes.

 

Thanks for the tip. Will definitely be trying Samba this March.

[Hoopster95]

This is a real question. What about Samba? Did I miss a memo (completely possible)? Is it some sort of inside joke that RC staff is playing on those who don't know any better? I see it on the RC website, but no one ever reviews it- ever. What is the deal? We will be on the Allure Eastern in a couple of weeks.

 

Hope this helps... my Samba review with lots of pictures here (4 months ago on Radiance):

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=47881841&highlight=1st#post47881841

[grandgeezer]

We did Samba, on the Allure a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. It is the only specialty restaurant that we would pay to go to. The comment about land based restaraunts being better could be said about all of them.

[setsail]

We just ate here a few weeks ago. Thought it was Ok. Would book chops before this. Service was great.

[kalliekae]

We ate at Samba on our November Allure cruise. There were 9 courses of meat. Seven were beef, one was sausage and one was pork. They also bring you 2-3 sides of veggies. Additionally, you start with the salad bar which was delicious. Personally, I could not eat that much meat so our waiter graciously brought me more salad. The service was outstanding. The waitstaff went out of their way to make sure we were happy. Our waiter was also very nice about serving just a taste of the meat instead of a regular serving, if that was what we wanted. It was a nice experience, but not one I would repeat since it is just too much food.

[BillOh]

We ate at Samba on our November Allure cruise. There were 9 courses of meat. Seven were beef, one was sausage and one was pork. .

 

I thought I remembered one was lamb. Do I remember wrong? That sausage I remember was the densest packed sausage I have ever eaten. My dads old addage of "2 pounds of XXX in a 1 pound package type of thing.

[RFerrington]

We did Samba on our first Allure cruise and enjoyed it very much.

 

Hint: They will serve the lower cuts of meat first, hoping to fill you up on those. If I go back to Samba again I will reject all of the early cuts and request they bring only the picanha or alcatra.

 

I have always heard people talk about beef that "melts in your mouth" but until I had that picanha at Samba I had never experienced it before. It actually DID melt in my mouth but I had to go through a lot of meat I didn't really care for that much to get there. Lesson learned.

[truffles2]

We ate at Samba on Radiance and it was better than any land restaurant of the same type--including one in Brazil!

[TigerLady]

This is a real question. What about Samba? Did I miss a memo (completely possible)? Is it some sort of inside joke that RC staff is playing on those who don't know any better? I see it on the RC website, but no one ever reviews it- ever. What is the deal? We will be on the Allure Eastern in a couple of weeks.

 

We were on the Allure in 2012, and was gifted a dinner at Samba Grill. More food than 10 people could eat. It was amazing. We also met the most BEAUTIFUL dancer. She performed at the restaurant, and gave dancing lessons. I would eat there again.. As long as I hadn't eaten for a day.. Enjoy...

[Dinkachu]

We just completed our 2nd Christmas on Allure cruise this December, 2015. We even booked the same cabins as our 2011 Cruise.

 

Our men love Brazilian steakhouses and were so excited to return to Allure and Sambas - it was the restaurant they were looking forward to the most.

 

Our Sambas experience was so wonderful in 2011, but it was not so great in 2015. I know taste are always subjective, but there were some changes in menu and service that made the meal less enjoyable for us.

 

SAMBAS 2011:

SERVICE: Great service - prompt and attentive - we barely had time to eat before the next meat arrived.

SALAD BAR: Nice salad bar featuring seafood, and fresh, crisp veggies.

VEGGIES At the TABLE: platters full of grilled veggies, bananas, etc. (best veggies at sea)

MEATS: A wonderful and varied selection of grilled meats AND salmon, which were all well prepared and tender. Lamb was a favorite.

DANCERS: Dancers dressed in Brazilian costume that danced with our men, Music played in the background.

DESSERTS: Desserts included about 8 choices, all we tried were delicious.

 

SAMBAS 2014:

SERVICE: Very Slow Service - we sat with empty plate, empty water glasses, etc. for at least 1 of the 2 hours we were there. We had to call waiters over and ask for some meat - 1 member of our party had their tummy growling and we sat for at least 20 minutes before the first meat appeared.

SALAD BAR: Still a nice selection of veggies and seafood - you serve yourself.

VEGGIES at the TABLE: Well - no more big trays of grilled veggies - now you get bowls of French Fries with one banana grilled on top and a few slices of veggies. We asked for more veggies and got an additional bowl of french fries with a handful of banana and veggie slices. Asked for just veggies and were told we still had 2 bowls of (now cold) french fries - so they could not bring more.

MEATS: NO SALMON or any other fish available now. We found the filet and lamb chops were good, but the other meats were overcooked, tough and salty

DANCERS: NO DANCERS, NO MUSIC - kind of boring.

DESSERTS: You now have only 3 choices - 2 of the 3 were good.

 

We won't be going Sambas on our next Allure trip.

[TrojanUSC]

I've eaten there 3-4 times, most recently last week. The salad bar was excellent, with various seafood, meat and vegetarian options. Nine kinds of carved meats are served table side. However, they are served in relatively slow succession (it is only one gaucho per section), so by the time you get to the 5th or 6th one, you're pretty fully.

 

I will say that the consensus was that purely based on the meat alone, it surpassed the steak at Chops handily.

 

However, if you're going into it expecting Fogo de Chao or Texas de Brazil, you'll be underwhelmed.

[little britain]

Very disappointed in Samba on Allure. :(

Made a booking for 7 and they hadn't even put the tables together. My friend had earlier bought wine up to the restaurant with a request to put it on ice for us, and they hadn't done this.

So, after pushing the tables together ourselves, we found a bland salad bar, items over chilled so that the mozzarella balls were tasteless; indifferent service, and rough cuts of meat. Other friends advised us to save ourselves as the best serves of meat were apparently served last but TBH I didn't notice. Soulless atmosphere in the corner of the solarium and the metal juice and coffee machines really did not add to the ambiance. Our least favourite meal on Allure and I wouldn't bother going again.

JMHO.

[Clarea]

We just completed our 2nd Christmas on Allure cruise this December, 2015. We even booked the same cabins as our 2011 Cruise.

 

Our men love Brazilian steakhouses and were so excited to return to Allure and Sambas - it was the restaurant they were looking forward to the most.

 

Our Sambas experience was so wonderful in 2011, but it was not so great in 2015. I know taste are always subjective, but there were some changes in menu and service that made the meal less enjoyable for us.

 

SAMBAS 2011:

SERVICE: Great service - prompt and attentive - we barely had time to eat before the next meat arrived.

SALAD BAR: Nice salad bar featuring seafood, and fresh, crisp veggies.

VEGGIES At the TABLE: platters full of grilled veggies, bananas, etc. (best veggies at sea)

MEATS: A wonderful and varied selection of grilled meats AND salmon, which were all well prepared and tender. Lamb was a favorite.

DANCERS: Dancers dressed in Brazilian costume that danced with our men, Music played in the background.

DESSERTS: Desserts included about 8 choices, all we tried were delicious.

 

SAMBAS 2014:

SERVICE: Very Slow Service - we sat with empty plate, empty water glasses, etc. for at least 1 of the 2 hours we were there. We had to call waiters over and ask for some meat - 1 member of our party had their tummy growling and we sat for at least 20 minutes before the first meat appeared.

SALAD BAR: Still a nice selection of veggies and seafood - you serve yourself.

VEGGIES at the TABLE: Well - no more big trays of grilled veggies - now you get bowls of French Fries with one banana grilled on top and a few slices of veggies. We asked for more veggies and got an additional bowl of french fries with a handful of banana and veggie slices. Asked for just veggies and were told we still had 2 bowls of (now cold) french fries - so they could not bring more.

MEATS: NO SALMON or any other fish available now. We found the filet and lamb chops were good, but the other meats were overcooked, tough and salty

DANCERS: NO DANCERS, NO MUSIC - kind of boring.

DESSERTS: You now have only 3 choices - 2 of the 3 were good.

 

We won't be going Sambas on our next Allure trip.

Thanks for the detailed feedback.

[BillOh]

My memory was correct. There was lamb.

 

 

Our experience with the meat and service was good, but this was 2011. We didn't go in 2013.

[kalliekae]

You are correct, BillOh. My memory is faulty. Dh said he had the lamb and I had stopped eating the meat at that point.

[Tiftifftiffany]

If I decide to go on my upcoming cruise, I will be sure to include my thoughts on Samba in my next review. Thanks everyone.

[paigebeverly]

We will be on the Allure in June and was excited to see a Brazilian steakhouse. We love eating at Rafains and Texas de Brazil. Look forward to seeing more reviews on Samba.