Allure 5/22 - 5/29

[CruisenDad]

Hello:

This board was very helpful in planning our recent (last week!) cruise on the Allure so I wanted to thank everyone for their insights. Our family previously sailed on the Adventure back in 2005 and on Navigator in 2009. We also sailed on the Golden Princess to Alaska in 2014.

 

Here is a brief summary of our cruise on Allure:

 

- I would rate it overall at a 9.5 out of 10. The ship and crew were that good and we had that great of a time. Seriously.

- It was me, my wife, my 21 year old daughter and my 19 year old son

- We stayed in interior cabins 12541 and 12541 and Presley was our cabin steward. I know I'm in the minority but I couldn't see paying up for balcony cabin. I will on some future cruise but didn't on this one and the rooms fully met our needs. We typically got up around 730 and went to bed around midnight completely exhausted from a full day of FUN!

 

- We did MTD and I reserved our times about two months prior to sailing. We ate most nights at 600 but ate at 730 and 630 on our St Thomas and St Martin days. My family all agreed that our dinners were the highlight of the week for us The food was just fantastic and our servers (Joel and Constinel) were fantastic as well. Lobster night was Friday and Joel just kept them coming unprompted. My son and I had 4 each! I'm sure the speciality restaurants are very nice as well but my opinion is that they definitely aren't necessary. When I read the CC reviews where people complain about the food being bad/cold/etc I can't help but wonder if nothing in their life meets expectations.

- We ate breakfast most days at the Solarium Cafe and I highly recommend it. It has healthier options and the fruit was awesome.

- We ate lunch at the Windjammer most days (Johnny Rockets one day for kicks) and I thought it was very good as well. Same feedback on negative WJ reviews. If there was bad/cold/awful food at the WJ I just didn't come across it. Great selection and we never had a hard time fining a table for 4.

 

- As for shows, we did OceanAria and the Headliner show. OceanAria was jaw dropping great and the Headliner show (featuring Joel Mason) was really really good too. So funny and we're still using one liners we picked up from Joel's show. Don't miss either of these shows.

 

- I heard it was a near sellout on Allure for our week and after the first few hours on day 1 the crowds really spread out and it honestly didn't feel jammed. My wife and I often commented how few people were around us at various places on the ship.

- We stayed at the Ft Lauderdale Hilton on Friday and Saturday prior to our Sunday sail date and were were also impressed with this property. We had a marina view room on floor 10. It was nice and clean and fully met our needs. The pool side bar and restaurant was awesome and the hotel is maybe a 30 second walk to a water taxi stop. We ate dinner at 15th Street Fishery and it was excellent! The hotel is maybe a 5 minute cab or van ride from the cruise pier and maybe a 10 minute ride from the airport. Would definitely recommend the Hilton.

 

- I guess this review wasn't so brief after all. Sorry! Book a cruise on the Allure without hesitation and have one of the best vacations of your life. Unless your one of those people who are never happy or satisfied with anything in your life.

 

Bill

[mkam2821]

Thank you for your positive and, by CC standards, brief review. Glad yo enjoyed it. We've done numerous cruises but never one on a mega-liner but have Allure booked for December.

 

To quote Bob Bitchin' "Attitude is the difference between ordeal and Adventure!"

[champagne123]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write a wonderful review.:)

[oddits]

Thanks for the positive review, Going on the Allure on June 26th for the first time...Hope we have as good experience.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[cheerldrmom]

Awesome can't wait to be on this ship... Which Itinerary did you have?? did you do any shore excursions.. Thanks.

[Artemus]

Thank you.

[brookmill18]

We will be on the same cruise last week in July but stopping in St Kitts instead of St Martin.

 

For St Thomas we're thinking of going to Sapphire Beach--any suggestions on St Thomas?

 

Thank you!

[LuCruise]

Great feedback and good to see it so positive. We were on Allure in April and feel similar to you. Also, we stayed in interior (promenade) and like you, couldn't justify paying the extra $$$ for balcony or other. And the room was great....adequate with lots of space. We also did MTD with no issues and loved the Solarium.

 

Good to hear you had an amazing cruise.

[CruisenDad]

We stopped at Nassau on Monday, St. Thomas on Wednesday and then St. Martin on Thursday. 3 days at sea. We did the the "Fast Cat cruise and snorkel" at St. Thomas and we all really liked it a lot. The boat (Cat) loads right at the cruise pier and then has about a 30 minute cruise to a small island with a coral reef where you get to snorkel for about 45 minutes. One of the Cat crew is in the water with you pointing out fish, turtles, coral, etc. Then it's a 30 minute cruise to another small island with a nice beach where you wade ashore and have some fun beach time. I would definitely recommend.

[scottygirl]

Thank you for your review!

[floatel_lvr]

@CruisenDad,

First off, thanks for your review.

 

We were also on the Allure last week and agree with your comments completely. It was our 3rd time sailing on her. Each time gets better. The Allure crew is excellent and they really know how to balance the load of passengers to avoid crowds.

 

We dined specialty only so I can add that our specialty dining was fabulous. We did Chops twice, Giovanni's twice, Chef's Table once, Sabor once and Izumi Hibachi once - All had excellent food and service...

 

To top it off for some reason it also seemed like a very nice group of people on board this week. It was an excellent week on the Allure and I can't wait to cruise again.

[cmoq]

Does anyone know if Joel Mason will be on Allure next week, June 5th? He was on a Holland America cruise years ago and was fantastic!

[Fafnar]

Thanks for this nice review. We leave Sunday and now I'm really excited.

[ramanda]

Thanks so much for that great review! Am sailing on August 14 with two kids also - teenagers. Your post made me even more excited! P.S. I wonder that too about the food. I have looked at so many pictures in the past few years that I have been dreaming of my cruise and the food looks awesome to me! Even the Windjammer. I have eaten at many high end restaurants and all the negative comments made me question my judgement. I wonder too if some people just aren't happy no matter what

Edited May 31, 2016 by ramanda

[ramanda]

We will be on the same cruise last week in July but stopping in St Kitts instead of St Martin.

 

For St Thomas we're thinking of going to Sapphire Beach--any suggestions on St Thomas?

 

Thank you!

 

I racked my brains trying to figure out my excursions for my upcoming cruise - same itinerary as yours - and for St Thomas I finally came up with the sail to Christmas Cove and Honeymoon coves which I read great reviews on if that helps.

[Clarea]

Does anyone know if Joel Mason will be on Allure next week, June 5th? He was on a Holland America cruise years ago and was fantastic!

If that is an entertainer, you can get that info from [noparse]web_reservations@rccl.com[/noparse].

[KALCJ1]

We will be on the same cruise last week in July but stopping in St Kitts instead of St Martin.

 

For St Thomas we're thinking of going to Sapphire Beach--any suggestions on St Thomas?

 

Thank you!

 

 

We were on Allure at the end of Feb and we went to Cinnamon Bay. It was the next stop after Trunk Bay and there was no charge to use the beach. This is a great option if you are just looking to go to a beach. This is definitely our new favorite!!

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[cheerldrmom]

Brookmill18. We will be on same week. Can't wait I'm sure you will see us we are a party of 26. From Boston

[chanat]

Great review! We love the big ships and will be on the Allure for the second time this yr. in Dec. We will be cruising with 19 family members and 13 have never been on a Oasis class ship. Can't wait to see their reactions to all this ship has to offer. All the shows and entertainment were awesome and are my favorite thing about these huge ships.

[Luetta]

I was also on board that week. I agree great staff and great time.

 

We missed the headliner show but along with Oceanaria and Mama Mia we also loved Ice Games, the comedy show, and the Quest. We had a boardwalk balcony for the first time and it was great.

 

I agree the food was great, the main dining room was great with great service and great food. We ate lunch in Giovanni's and wasn't impressed, the lasagna was good but a few other things were not that great. Loved the Park Café for breakfast and lunch, and Sabor was great for lunch too.

 

I still need to retrain my body that it doesn't need to eat every few hours. LOL

I want to go back already.

[LHARTWICK]

What a great review! I agree - some people just insist on complaining.

 

We will sail on Allure October 9. We have a Central Park View Balcony reserved (was way cheaper than even an interior cabin - got a good deal!). Anyone here ever stayed in one of these? I've read that the Central Park rooms are much quieter than the Boardwalk rooms. Also, what time do the evening shows begin? I need to reserve our dining times each evening. Thanks!

[marcyjane]

Thanks for your review. Will be on Allure April 2017. Do you still have to stand in line to get tickets to the ice shows and oceanAria. Do they 2 shows a week. Thanks

[fwacruiser]

Thanks for the review and the positive vibes. You make your own fun, IMO. If you set out to find things to complain about, you can succeed regardless of where you go. But the opposite is also true. It's a mindset.

 

My family of four is cruising the Allure on 6/26. This will be the 3rd sailing aboard the Allure for my wife and I, and the second for our kids. I fully expect that we'll all have a blast, just as you did.