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Allure of the Seas Review: June 26 - July 3

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fwacruiser

fwacruiser

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Hi folks. My family of four (myself: 44, DW: 41, DS1: 14, and DS2: 11) recently returned from our June 26th sailing aboard Allure. I thought I'd post some comments about our cruise, which was terrific overall.

 

Background info: This was the 8th cruise for DW and I. Seven of those cruises have been on RCI (Majesty, Freedom, Enchantment, Allure, Allure, Independence, and Allure again) and one aboard the Carnival Legend.

 

Pre-cruise & Embarkation: We flew from IND to FLL on Saturday afternoon. I'm a frequent traveler with a strong preference for Marriott properties. We had previously stayed at some of the Marriott hotels in Dania Beach (SpringHill Suites, Fairfield) and although the hotels themselves were fine, I found the area surrounding them to be undesirable, with few dining options and neighborhoods that seemed a little shady. This time, I wanted to try the Renaissance near the cruise terminal. As full-service Marriott properties go, I thought this place was pretty poor. Although there were some renovations going on, the hotel seemed quite dated and worn and needs far more upgrades than just what is being presently undertaken, IMO. It was fine for one night, but the next time we sail out of FLL, I'll look elsewhere. I will say that there are many more nearby restaurants, a Walgreen's right across the street, and it's in a better neighborhood than where we've stayed before, but the hotel itself isn't great.

 

On Sunday morning, I requested an Uber at 10:15. It picked us up 5 minutes later, and by 10:30 I had handed our bags and a few singles to a porter outside the terminal and we were going through security. We breezed through security, wound our way up the escalators, went straight to Deck 12 check-in, and waited no more than 30 seconds for the next agenda to become free. Check-in was quick and by 10:45 we were seated in the waiting area with SeaPass cards in hand.

 

One thing I will say about the check-in agents: They seem to work off a checklist and are very eager to pass any customer requests that don't fit their process onto the Guest Services team on board the ship. I had two seemingly simple requests: (1) punch holes in our SeaPass cards for lanyards, and (2) apply an AmEx gift card to my account so it could be used as OBC. In both instances, I was directed to Guest Services. My assumption is that they must be measured based on the time it takes them to process guests and/or the volume of passengers they can check-in on a given day. Not a big deal - this required nothing more than an extra 5 minute stop at Guest Services, but it would've been nice to have it taken care of at the pier.

 

Around 11:15 AM, they began boarding guests, by 11:25 AM we were directed toward the gangway, and we stepped foot onto the Promenade slightly before 11:30 AM.

 

Staterooms: After grabbing a quick bite and walking around the ship a little bit, we went to see if our rooms were available a little after 1:00 PM. Our rooms were available, so we dropped the backpacks we carried on board, wiped everything down with Clorox wipes (we're germophobes), and met our stateroom attendant.

 

We had staterooms 12274 (balcony) and 12275 (smaller interior). These were port side near the aft elevators. Our balcony room had the bed setup near the balcony, which seemed to please DW, though I don't particularly have a preference. Our attendant did a great job. Our room was always neat, clean, and always made up by mid to late morning. He was a super friendly guy and was always available if we ever needed anything. There were no obstructed views from the balcony. The only nit pick I have - and it's a minor one - is that there was a pretty large gap (maybe 2") in the glass divider separating our balcony from the balcony immediately forward of us. Our neighbors were seldom on their balcony, but had they been, either party could've seen right through to the others' balcony without leaning over and looking around.

 

Our boys were in the smaller interior room across the hall from us. It was, as advertised, a bit small, but other than sleeping and getting cleaned up for dinner, they were not in the room a lot, so it was perfect for our purposes.

 

That's all I have time to capture for now. I'll circle back later with more on Food & Beverage/Restaurants, Entertainment, Ports, Staff, and more...

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Jelorian

Jelorian

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This was my very first cruise ever. Went with family and friends totaling 30 peeps. 19 adults and 11 kids. We all had a great time. No one got seasick. Everyone gained weight! Hahahah! Like others have mentioned, I would rather have a day between ports and more time at the actual ports. San Juan was just too short. We'll be flying back and staying longer there for sure. Labadee was a nice resort, but you are not getting to see the real Haiti. I sure felt bad eating the big plate of ribs and seeing some local Haitian's on the other side of the fence begging for food. :(

 

On the ship we tried to eat at a different place for breakfast and lunch and found that there was a good variety of food.

 

Still not sure if we are cruisers but I'm sure if there was only one to go on, Oasis class ships are the ones to book.

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fwacruiser

fwacruiser

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OK, let's continue:

 

Food, Restaurants, Bars:

I know food is probably the most subjective topic in any review, but I'll give you my thoughts anyway. We dined all over the ship, so I'll give you a venue by venue breakdown of dinners and then condense breakfast/lunch into shorter paragraphs.

 

Main Dining Room: Over seven nights, we went to the MDR four times (nights 1, 3, 6, and 7. We boarded the ship on Sunday with no dinner reservations. Upon getting into our stateroom Sunday afternoon, I called and was able to get an 8:00 PM reservation for that night. However, we made no other reservations in the MDR for the rest of the week, opting instead to just walk up without reservations. We did so at 7:30, 7:15, and 6:15 on subsequent nights and never waited more than five minutes for a table. I thought that was great. We'd put our name in, be ushered to the lobby outside the dining room, and I would no sooner get a drink from the bar than our name would be called and we'd be seated. Perfect. I'd do it the same way again.

 

The food was very good also. I don't like seafood at all and am not a fan of cold soups either, so I struggle with the appetizers somewhat, usually opting for the Caesar salad, but on a couple nights there were appealing non-seafood items that I ordered and enjoyed (a spinach dip one night and a french onion soup another).

 

Entrees were all very nice. The portions weren't huge, but I always left the dining room full and - let's face it - if you're hungry on a cruise ship, who do you have to blame but yourself? Service was also on point. There was one night when our Assistant Waiter was invisible (didn't see him until he brought dessert menus), which kept the Waiter super busy, but he held his own!

 

On the first formal night (Day 2), we went to Giovanni's Table for dinner. I love a good fillet and I've thought for the past few cruises that Giovanni's fillet was better than Chops. We didn't do Chops this time, so I can't compare, but I can tell you the fillet at Giovanni's was excellent as always. I made the mistake of asking the waiter for help deciding between two desserts, so he brought them both, which subsequently took me from stuffed to miserable (because, of course, I ate them both). Overall, we had an excellent experience at Giovanni's. One thing I would caution potential Giovanni's diners about: I would make sure I got a table inside the restaurant, and not outside in Central Park. On two subsequent evenings, I went through Central Park and people were gathered to hear music right outside Giovanni's. There was one table that seemed caught right in the middle of non-diners who had simply gathered to listen to the band in nearby lounge chairs. Even the tables located outside but nearest the restaurant had people standing around on the walkways, seemingly crowding their tables while they listed to the music. So if you don't want people hovering over your table while you eat, I suggest you request a table inside, or make sure you go there at a time when nothing is planned in Central Park.

 

On Day 4 (Wednesday), we went to Sabor. What a treat this was! I had read good reviews here and Sabor did not disappoint! The cucumber-jalapeno margaritas (I had two) were awesome. They are a little spicy, but I loved them and recommend them to anyone who's not opposed to a little kick in their beverage. DW and I shared the following menu items: tableside guacamole, tortilla soup, chicken quesadillas, and chicken tacos (told you I don't do seafood!). All were terrific. They also bring you chips and fresh salsa, which were equally good. The menu items I described were all $5, and since we had the drink package, we left with just a $20 tab, plus a few extra bucks for a tip. They have $10 entrees on the menu, but there were so many nice looking sharable items, we did not order any of the entrees. As we walked around on the Boardwalk on the last night of our cruise, DW and I agreed that we wished we'd gone back to Sabor on a subsequent day. If you like Mexican food, be sure to check this place out.

 

Day 5 was the second formal night and we went to Johnny Rocket's. I get to be formal plenty for work and have no desire to be anything but casual on vacation, so I leave the MDR to those who want that. I'm not going to be one of those yahoos that shows up in the MDR with shorts and a Hawaiian shirt on formal night (flame away!). Additionally, the kids both wanted to go there, so this night made sense. The servers are super friendly, you get what you expect from that kind of a place, and I'm happy to report that they seem to have cut out the little song-and-dance routine they used to do, which I always found awkward. The burgers are solid, the shakes are good, and if you want to be a total glutton, they will continue bringing fries and onion rings until you can eat no more. Our family shared one plate of each and it was more than enough! My complaint about Johnny Rocket's is the cost. For four of us to get a burger with fries and a shake, plus a few bucks for a tip, the total bill was $43. Mind you, that includes the BOGO shake coupon pre-loaded on our SeaPass cards. Now, I enjoy a good burger and shake as much as the next guy, but there's no way that meal should cost 2x what I paid at Sabor or within $15 of what I paid at Giovanni's. We enjoyed ourselves, but I don't think it's worth the price and I question whether or not I'll go back in the future.

 

For lunches, I bounced around between the MDR, Windjammer (at off-peak times), Park Cafe, Boardwalk DogHouse, and Wipeout Cafe. If you can avoid the Windjammer when it's crowded, I thought the selections were pretty good and more varied than I've seen in the past. The DogHouse, Park Cafe (killer roast beef!), and Wipeout Cafe have all been documented to the extent that I can't really add anything more. Regarding the MDR, if you like a kick-a$$ salad bar, check out the MDR on sea days. It's either the best kept secret aboard or many cruisers just aren't salad people, I'm not sure which. They have an extensive salad bar and you just walk through the line and tell the gent behind the bar what you want. He puts it all in a stainless steel bowl, then hands it off to another guy at the end of the line that chops it all up with a pizza cutter and puts it in a different bowl for you. It's very nice. They also have a small hot food buffet, and, on the two days we went, they also had a sundae bar. So if that nice salad was just a little too healthy for you, you can order up a couple scoops of ice cream and douse it with chocolate sauce. I saw a couple people do that. :D

 

For breakfast, my favorite spots were the Wipeout Cafe (made to order omelettes), Park Cafe (breakfast sandwiches and burritos), and Johnny Rocket's (all the standard breakfast fare without the crowd of the Windjammer and no upcharge). After leaving Johnny Rocket's for breakfast, you can also walk across to Boardwalk Donuts for a donut and a cup of coffee that measures in at about 400 degrees Kelvin. By the way, can they please get those coffee cup insulators that every coffee shop in the universe has? I appreciate hot coffee, but I don't appreciate having to get two cups or hold it with my thumb and middle finger on the rim and bottom for 10 minutes until it reaches a drinkable temperature.

 

The one place that disappointed me slightly was the Promenade Cafe. In the past, they seem to have had a wider selection of snack size sandwiches. They had 2 - 3 options this time but seem to now have more desserts and cookies than anything else. I had my share of mudslide cookies, but never found anything else there all that appealing.

 

I also had a couple slides of Sorrento's pizza throughout the week. It's mediocre pizza, but at midnight it can taste pretty good when washed down with a cold beer.

 

Overall, our dining experiences on the Allure last week were as good as I've had on any cruise in the past.

 

Bars: All the bartenders I encountered were friendly, efficient, and made great drinks. Absolutely no complaints there. However, I will continue to complain until I'm blue in the face about having to sign receipts when I've purchased the drink package. It is THE biggest annoyance of the cruise for me - which means I had a great cruise, I suppose. But I just don't get this. If you want me to sign a receipt every time, then at least give me the option of not pre-paying for gratuities when I purchase the package. But if you're going to require that I pre-pay gratuities, then have the courtesy of not handing me a slip that says: "Additional Tip: _______" and asking me to sign. So incredibly irritating. OK, end of rant. Thanks for obliging me.

 

Tomorrow: Entertainment

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fwacruiser

fwacruiser

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Entertainment: Here's a summary of the various shows and entertainment I took in last week on the Allure.

 

OceanAria: We had seen this twice before and although we enjoyed it, we didn't have plans to see it again on this cruise. However, we happened to be on the Boardwalk just as a show was starting, so we ended up watching most of it from the Sabor Bar area immediately forward of the Aqua Theater. It's a good show and I especially recommend it for people who've not seen it before. It's definitely a very unique, one-of-a-kind production, and the talent and strength on display is quite impressive.

 

Comedy Show: I went to the comedy show on Tuesday night. The comedians were Jason Love and Barry Diamond. Frankly, it was one of my least favorite comedy shows I've seen on a cruise (and I always go). Jason Love was just not very funny. Barry Diamond was much better and I got a few laughs, but he still wasn't great. They seem to switch up the comedians onboard from week to week, so perhaps those of you scheduled to sail in upcoming weeks will have better luck. My youngest wanted to go see the family comedy show on Saturday night. I was a bit reluctant given the adult comedy show was mediocre, but I obliged. Jason Love repeated most of his material from the previous show, but just cleaned it up a bit. Barry Diamond's portion of the show was just odd. He did a little bit of comedy, then invited kids to come down and tell a joke (the family show was in Studio B), and then he concluded the show by singing "Walking in Memphis." I kept waiting for him to change up the lyrics and be funny, but no. He just sang the song, thanked everybody, and left. That was it. Very strange!

 

I did not see Mama Mia. I am not a theater guy. At. All. Despite the rave reviews that it gets, the idea of driving nails through my feet is more appealing to me than spending 3 hours of my cruise in the Amber Theater watching this show. You're on your own for that. :)

 

Music: I thought the musicians aboard the ship were quite good. There were two groups in particular that I heard on multiple occasions. Heat Wave was the reggae band that could often be heard poolside, but also played at the Bow & Stern pub and at Bolero's at select times throughout the week. I'm certainly no reggae connoisseur, and I don't even have any on my phone, but I enjoy a little when I'm on a Caribbean cruise and these guys were very enjoyable. They were a fun group to listen to and very energetic, particularly the bass player who seemed to enjoy engaging with passengers. I talked to a couple of them during a break and they are super friendly guys.

 

I also had numerous opportunities to hear portions of the orchestra, who played in various configurations during our cruise. The "High C's Horns" (two trumpets, a trombone, alto and tenor saxes, percussion) played on the balcony overlooking the Promenade and in Central Park, and I had the pleasure of listening to both performances. On Saturday afternoon, I ran into them, with the addition of a clarinet and a bass, playing New Orleans style jazz on the boardwalk. They are really good, so if you enjoy big band and/or jazz, check them out. There is also a separate jazz band which I also listened to a couple of times, and they were also good. If you want to catch any of the musical performances on the Promenade, I recommend the Schooner bar, as you can get a drink and relax in a comfortable chair adjacent to the balcony that overlooks the Promenade where all those performances take place.

 

We popped into Dazzles a time or two. There's a band there called Muzik Express that plays cover tunes from many different genres. It's a six person band, with male and female co-lead singers. They also have two guitarists, a keyboardist, and a percussionist. The band has all Asian members, and at first that raised my eyebrow. I'm not the least bit racist, so please don't think that. But name me one famous all-Asian band....I'll wait. :D OK, now let me say that these guys were pretty good! There are some things they definitely do better than others (true for ANY band), but I'll mostly blame the audience for their dumb requests. Their sweet spot is probably 80s/90s pop hits. Where they fell off (in my opinion) is when you'd get people asking them to play things like Lynyrd Skynrd, the Allman Brothers, or Bob Marley songs. C'mon, people. A cruise ship cover band is just not going to pull that off. I'm not particularly a fan of the Dazzles venue, but I did enjoy Muzik Express the two times we went there.

 

There were other performers aboard the ship which I didn't catch enough of to comment on. Ian Millar was the pub singer in Bow & Stern, and he seemed to have a following, but I only caught a couple of his tunes from the tables outside the bar one night. There's also a Latin band that regularly plays Bolero's. There was a large Hispanic contingent aboard that took over Bolero's most nights, so I didn't ever make it in there, but it was definitely lively!

 

On many evenings when OceanAria isn't showing, they have a "Movie Under the Stars" in the Aqua Theater, so watch the Compass for that. At least one was a kids movie, but they also had 10 Cloverfield Lane and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (DS2 smartly skipped the family comedy show on Saturday night and went to this instead).

 

Overall, if you like music as I do, you can definitely find it aboard Allure. All the musicians I heard were solid, but special compliments go to the Allure of the Seas orchestra and their broad variety of talents.

 

The Next and Final Topic: Crowds, passengers, and stupidity I witnessed. I saved the most fun for last. ;)

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Aviation12

Aviation12

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I too was on the Allure the week of June 26. I bet I make your next topic's post.

My spouse and I purchased the premium drink package, tipped everytime (though some tips were never recorded) and were likewise treated in grand style by the bartenders. I encourage tipping to ensure service and make your cruise a bit livelier. We found the bartender was sure to give great service to those that we befriended around us as well. And the crew work very hard. Yes, we had quite a few drinks thereby making value of the drink packages and necessitated supplementing the gratuity. (The pool drinks are simpler, using mixes and lots of ice and well liquor. We had MANY by the pool.)

Enjoy the kids' current pool at dusk, just before it closes. We had it all to ourselves twice. One bartender found us there and brought us drinks at a time when there are no servers about the pool area.

Dancing in the Latin Boleros club was the most fun. Every night Boleros had the swingingest party. It helps if you understand/speak Spanish, but of course is not necessary. The music and band were the best on the ship. The bartender knew our drinks and included us in shots the folks at the other end of the bar were served. He brought folks together ;)

I am not a cruiser. This was the third in 14 years. I have no more planned in my lifetime. But we know how to have a good time. TIP. Tip the people about you, especially room attendants. Know their names and smile just as they do. Envelopes are in the room on the 2nd to last day. Bring your own, ask for extras. Put a name on it. Find the person, they get extra kudos and an extra smile from it. We get the good feeling. The travel business is a service business. Don't be cheap.

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