Allure Of The Seas review! March 5th -12th. Great trip! A little long :)

[kevnick0814]

We have been home about 5 hours. The wife is sleeping, my son is on his way back to school, and our friends are in flight back to the freezing cold. :) I thought now would be a good time to put this together.

 

This was our 2nd Oasis class cruise. Did the Oasis April 2016. This trip we crossed the Boardwalk to the starboard side & went up one deck to room 9723. 4th from the end.

Highlights:

Room attendant - Roberto - fantastic! Great attitude & always with a smile. Remembered our names, always came back to a clean room, AND...7 different towel animals!! 7!! :) Last one was in the shape of a heart. Earned every penny of the extra $ we gave him.

Chops & Giovanni's - prebooked Gio at $21/pp. 5 in the party. Sat outside, musician's playing, breezy evening, great food, and excellent service. Chops was a onboard booking. $42/pp. Our friends had been to Chops earlier and raved about the server: House. We asked for him again and he made the evening. Professional from start to finish. Sat inside this time, and it was also a great evening. I told House that my 12 oz NY Strip had a little too much salt and it was taken care of ASAP. Ask for House. You will not be disappointed.

Shows - The Blue Planet - wife & I had front row and enjoyed the show. Great acrobatics. Definitely worth it.

Mama Mia - Boy, some folks get there early to grab their seats! :) We were there a full 30 min before and theater had a ton of people sitting already. Anyway, great show! We saw it on Broadway back in 2006 & this production was as good. 'The Winner Takes It All' solo is powerful.

Ocean Aria - very good. As always, weather played a part in show delays. Those kids wake up and have no clue whether or not they will work that day. Again, acrobatics are the highlight. Show is about 30 minutes. I would always prebook to make sure you have a seat but it is likely that delays will mean you see it when you can.

Ice Games - not my review. I stayed outside and enjoyed the sun. All others in our group went and said it was great. The Monopoly theme, with ship locales in place of Park Place, etc.

Entertainment - The quartet that was in Jazz on 4 were very good. Did a Beatles tribute, Jazz style.

I have to admit, I did not take the time to see the comics, and most of the other musical acts. I am a sunlight/daytime guy. Once it's dark and past dinner, I start to crash. :)

My Time Dining - American Icon - variety of different dining times prebooked - table 245 - Krista & Dias. These two ladies fixed what was a less than positive experience the first 2 days. Will discuss later. The table was near a window, they were very attentive & turned a negative into a positive. Food was mostly excellent.

Itinerary - Captain flipped the itinerary from Coz last to Coz first due to weather. This is why he is the captain. He crushed it! Weather was stellar throughout.

Cozumel - Nachi Cocum - it was fine. We prebooked this, expecting it to be near the end of the cruise & a chill beach day would be needed. Obviously it became early in the cruise. NC is a very nice place, food is fine, drinks are as plentiful as you want. It is probably a one & done with us. No real reason to go back. Cab was $18 each way for 3 of us. Gave the drivers $21 each way.

Falmouth, Jamaica - booked a adventure excursion with Courtney Taylor for me & my 19 yr old son. The Blue Hole/Island Gully Falls, White River tubing, & lunch at Scotchies. Stellar production from jump street! Karl was our guide from Courtney. Great guy & well versed in the country's history. Island Gully is the ONLY way to go at Blue Hole. Robert was our guide & photographer. He used my IPhone & took tons of pix. It is strenuous so keep that in mind. We loved it. The tubing is very relaxed and allowed us to to detox from all the rock climbing, rope swinging, & cliff jumping at Island Gully. Guide was Ricky. Funny dude, lousy singer. :) Tubing lasts about 30 min. Scotchies is as good as the reputation. The jerk was to die for! Watching the way they cook the pork & chicken is pretty cool too. Man, could I go for some of that jerk right now.

Labadee - 2nd time there, 2nd time I did the jet ski's. This time, my friend, son & me. Joel was the guide. Great guy, with a great attitude. The riding is fun with lots of S turns. The run back towards the ship is tremendous! Big waves, lots of air. Highly recommend if you like that kind of thing.

Before we skied all 5 of us walked over to Columbus Cove and set the chairs up. We tipped the guy $10 I think to get us a good spot. We walked this time because the one way boat shuttle didn't start until later in the morning. Not sure why. Beach was VERY busy by the time we got back from skiing. More than I remember from last year. Water was a perfect chilly temp. None of us did zipline, bobsled thingy, etc.

Addtl Staff kudos: Barrington - bartender at The Wipeout Bar, next to the Flowrider's. He's the man!

Akeil & Daniel - Sabor. I will go over my disappointment with Sabor later but these 2 guys were excellent.

 

Disappointments (minimal):

Sabor - this was my favorite place last year. It was our hang out. Not as much this time around. This year: no more table side guacamole. I know that has been mentioned a lot on CC but I hoped it would be back in place. Nope. Seems shortsighted by RC.

My main complaint was no dedicated bartender. After one of my longer waits for a cucumber & jalapeno marg I had to say something. I was told all servers are now able to make all the specialty drinks but no one is a straight up bartender. IMO, not acceptable. I said something to the manager and I could tell I was not the first to complain. Akeil & Daniel were servers there who made a not so good situation acceptable. I also said something to Daniel. He nodded, and said 'I know'. He gets it.

American Icon MTD first 2 days - tables 100 & 101. Right in front of the room. Server was not very friendly, bar service was near invisible, & when we showed our displeasure the service worsened. We complained & it turned into Table 245. A bad situation fixed.

That is really it. We had a blast!

 

One more thing. We went to NextCruise on Day 6. Booked the 4/14/18 sailing on the Adventure. Southern Carib out of Puerto Rico. D2 balcony, deck 8. Perks to booking onboard: small room deposit ($100), 30% cruise discount for each of us, $100 OBC, plus a 2nd $100 OBC that was only available through that day.

 

Overall: A great time again. The 4 adults had the drink package and we left no meat on the bone. :) Well worth it. My body needs a rest from food & drink.

Thanks to the staff for making this a memorable week.

 

Let me know if you have any questions. I know there are things I have not mentioned. I will be glad to try and answer them.

[easyboy]

Glad you had a great time.

Was Nachi Cocum a disappointment?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[micmacmissy]

Glad you had a good time- we're headed out on allure on April 9th.

 

What did you do for breakfast each day? Did the ship feel crowded?

[Clarea]

Thanks for the feedback. Did you see any drink cards available?

[kevnick0814]

Glad you had a great time.

Was Nachi Cocum a disappointment?

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Not disappointing at all. It is actually a beautiful property. It was more about being too early in our cruise to 'veg' than anything else.

One piece of advice: if you want your server to be checking on you frequently/infrequently, lay the ground rules up front. We did not see him enough the 2nd half of our visit. If I were to do it again I would tell the server 'stop by every 20 minutes'.

[kevnick0814]

Glad you had a good time- we're headed out on allure on April 9th.

 

What did you do for breakfast each day? Did the ship feel crowded?

I am always the first one up. I get my Starbucks, use the track, hit the gym, then breakfast.

I ate at Johnny Rockets for breakfast the most. The menu is small but the food is very good. Love the english muffin sandwich, w/o mayo. Also had breakfast at Solarium once & Promenade once. Both were fine. Solarium is a healthier menu and by Day 6, I needed healthier. ;)

 

This was our 2nd Oasis class cruise & it NEVER seems crowded. I don't use the elevators very often so that certainly helps. We also use the deck 14 Sun Deck to lay out. Not the pool areas. Love that they added music to the Sun Deck. Perfect vibe music too. They did not have that on the Oasis last year. But really, they move 6300+ folks around pretty well.

[mafig]

Thanks for the feedback. Did you see any drink cards available?

 

 

I'd like to know this too.:)

 

How was your cabin? Was it noisy? Did you find being 4 back close enough to get a good view?

Would you book it again?

 

BTW Thanks for the review.:D

[kevnick0814]

Thanks for the feedback. Did you see any drink cards available?

Hi Bob,

I did look because I expected someone to ask & I did not see them. If someone else on the cruise did let us know.

They did offer a 4 day Voom discount on Day 3 or 4 but we did the Sip & Stream for the week so it wasn't needed.

FYI: the internet was great all week!

[Clarea]

Hi Bob,

I did look because I expected someone to ask & I did not see them. If someone else on the cruise did let us know.

They did offer a 4 day Voom discount on Day 3 or 4 but we did the Sip & Stream for the week so it wasn't needed.

FYI: the internet was great all week!

Thanks. It's hard to beat the O3b internet.:)

[kevnick0814]

I'd like to know this too.:)

 

How was your cabin? Was it noisy? Did you find being 4 back close enough to get a good view?

Would you book it again?

 

BTW Thanks for the review.:D

Just commented on drink cards. :)

I have a 'heights thing' so I can't get out over the water or I will never be on the balcony. I know. It sucks.

Was it noisy? Yes but I kind of enjoy the festive feeling the Boardwalk gives during the day. At night, unless Aqua Theater is busy, very quiet & peaceful.

The view of the theater is perfect. On Deck 9 you also get a decent enough water view.

It is our 2nd Boardwalk balcony in a row so Yes, and would do it a 3rd time without hesitation.

Our next cruise is on the Adventure so I am going to have deal with a water balcony. Ugh.... ;)

[ZimmCouple]

This was our 2nd Oasis class cruise & it NEVER seems crowded. I don't use the elevators very often so that certainly helps. We also use the deck 14 Sun Deck to lay out. Not the pool areas. Love that they added music to the Sun Deck. Perfect vibe music too.

 

The deck 14 sun deck - is that the one where it is only accessible from port side?

[cruisekap]

Thanks for the feedback. Did you see any drink cards available?

 

 

I was on this sailing too and did not see drink cards. I would have taken advantage if they offered them and didn't know they existed and did not actively look for them or inquire. As a diamond member I don't feel that I would get value from a drink package as I don't drink much in the daytime. However, I would definitely use a drink card.

 

I do miss the servers offering the drink of the day or service in general on deck. I do understand that many people have the drink package and RCI likely doesn't want to make it too easy to get drinks.

[BillOh]

The Blue Planet - wife & I had front row and enjoyed the show. Great acrobatics. Definitely worth it.

 

Love that show, the 2nd time I saw it I watched it from the front row of the balcony. Front row below would bother my neck and back with so much of that being an aerial show.

[BillOh]

No table side Quac? That is the first I have heard that. We have done lunch on Freedom and Oasis. On Freedom it was less crowded and they have one guy doing it. On Oasis last year, your waiter did it and that was time consuming for a wait person with 7 or more tables.

[kevnick0814]

The deck 14 sun deck - is that the one where it is only accessible from port side?

Correct. It was closed early in the week due to high winds. That sent us to the craziness of pool side, deck 16. :)

When it's open, it's the place to relax.

Only negative, if you want a drink you have to go back inside, up to the Solarium on 15, then up to the 16th deck bar. You get used to it though.

[kevnick0814]

Love that show, the 2nd time I saw it I watched it from the front row of the balcony. Front row below would bother my neck and back with so much of that being an aerial show.

Very true. I found myself hunched down so low in the seat that half my butt was off the seat. :)

[kevnick0814]

No table side Quac? That is the first I have heard that. We have done lunch on Freedom and Oasis. On Freedom it was less crowded and they have one guy doing it. On Oasis last year, your waiter did it and that was time consuming for a wait person with 7 or more tables.

 

Yeah, that was a bummer. Had heard about it going in though. Hoped it had been corrected. Nope.

The whole Sabor vibe was different for us this time around.

Still love their cuc & jalapeno marg & the sweet & spicy marg. Will not deprive myself just because of a drop in service levels. ;)

[kevnick0814]

One HUGE Heads Up that I forgot to mention in my original post:

Debarkation for our friends was a cluster.

They decided to walk their bags off & then stood in the custom line for 85 minutes!! 85!

Us? Bag tagged #33 (9:20a walk off) & then through Customs in less than 20. Why? My wife downloaded Mobile Passport the last night & we took full advantage of it. DO NOT HESITATE to download the app.

 

Here is who qualifies:

U.S. citizens with a valid U.S. passport and Canadian citizens with both a valid Canadian passport and B1 or B2 visa status may use the Mobile Passport App. You must have an iOS or Android device that can connect to the internet.

[njmomof2]

Yeah, that was a bummer. Had heard about it going in though. Hoped it had been corrected. Nope.

The whole Sabor vibe was different for us this time around.

Still love their cuc & jalapeno marg & the sweet & spicy marg. Will not deprive myself just because of a drop in service levels. ;)

 

I had also heard that the tableside guac was discontinued so I'm prepared going in. Will be on Allure 4/16. Thinking about it for lunch with the boy, since it's not mom's favorite type of cuisine.

 

Is it still worth the visit? We have First Night Done Right booked, along with mom's D+ BOGO and a specialty dining for 2 free from my booking, so we'll do 3 nights out of the MDR. I'm okay with hitting Sabor for lunch if you think that's a better deal.

[kevnick0814]

I had also heard that the tableside guac was discontinued so I'm prepared going in. Will be on Allure 4/16. Thinking about it for lunch with the boy, since it's not mom's favorite type of cuisine.

 

Is it still worth the visit? We have First Night Done Right booked, along with mom's D+ BOGO and a specialty dining for 2 free from my booking, so we'll do 3 nights out of the MDR. I'm okay with hitting Sabor for lunch if you think that's a better deal.

Sure. We did dinner there at $15/pp Day 2. Guac was fine. Just not the same as being able to name your ingredients. Food was very good overall.

Like I mentioned in my review, try & ask for either Akeil (Jamaica) or Daniel (Uruguay). Great guys with great personalities. A couple of the others in there were lacking in that area.

[foodenthusiast]

Since you have been to Labadee twice I am hoping you may know the answer to this. If not maybe someone reading this will know. I am sailing Allure in October (first Royal Caribbean Cruise and VERY excited!). I have seen conflicting information about snorkeling off the beach in Labadee. Some of the older information I have read says there is some snorkeling, but more recent information says the water quality is not great and there is not much to see. I just hoping to find a beach that had a few fish and rock/coral for my 9 year old daughter to see. She isn't the best swimmer so the water would need to be calm. I am really not wanting to pay to do a snorkeling excursion here since we will be doing excursions in Jamaica and Cozumel (will be snorkeling in Cozumel). What beach do you suggest?

[kevnick0814]

Since you have been to Labadee twice I am hoping you may know the answer to this. If not maybe someone reading this will know. I am sailing Allure in October (first Royal Caribbean Cruise and VERY excited!). I have seen conflicting information about snorkeling off the beach in Labadee. Some of the older information I have read says there is some snorkeling, but more recent information says the water quality is not great and there is not much to see. I just hoping to find a beach that had a few fish and rock/coral for my 9 year old daughter to see. She isn't the best swimmer so the water would need to be calm. I am really not wanting to pay to do a snorkeling excursion here since we will be doing excursions in Jamaica and Cozumel (will be snorkeling in Cozumel). What beach do you suggest?

 

Off beach snorkeling is pretty limited but may be enough for your daughter.

My suggestion is off Adrenaline Beach. The best spot is out towards the swimming area barrier buoys. The ziplines go right over the top of the swimming/snorkeling area.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[pcorwin]

Love reading reviews of the ships I will sail on.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[foodenthusiast]

Off beach snorkeling is pretty limited but may be enough for your daughter.

My suggestion is off Adrenaline Beach. The best spot is out towards the swimming area barrier buoys. The ziplines go right over the top of the swimming/snorkeling area.

 

Thanks for the information and the review!