Back from the Dark Ages! Live Review of the Allure OTS

[Capt Snoopy]

@barbeyg thank you, that means a lot, glad you could come along for the journey! I’m a huge fan of having many options at my fingertips so the dining and beverage packages work best for me. I hope you enjoy it if you choose to do it, I’ll look forward to your food pics!

[Capt Snoopy]

19 hours ago, MrFunInTheSun said:

Welcome back! Thanks for bringing us along once CC went back live. When is the next cruise? When can we expect you to bring us along again and on which ship? 🙂

That’s what I’m planning now! It’s easy with my schedule but Blake’s schedule is a little difficult since she is in med school, not a lot of time off. I really wanted to do the Independence for 5 nights in January but that doesn’t work now 😕 next ship I want to have Wonderland on! 

[Palmetto Pilot]

Man that ossobuco looks phenomenal 

[Capt Snoopy]

Closing Thoughts

 

Ship: The Allure of the Seas is a huge ship. There was a lot to do and a lot to see. No matter where you go, there will be bright lights and music to keep you entertained. The highlights for me were the ambiance of Central Park (if I wanted to relax) or boardwalk (if I wanted a milkshake and to be pumped with energy from flashing lights of the carousel and the arcade). My only grievance about the ship is the carpet in the halls to the stateroom were very used and abused. But that affected my cruise by 0%. 

 

Crowds: Over 6000 customers are on board and for my sailing, the ship was full. I think Royal did an amazing job of separating the common spaces on different decks. Between the casino on 4, promenade on 5, Boardwalk on 6, Central Park on 8, the 4 pools on 15, and then the 4-5 hot tubs in the solarium on 15, you never really are around a lot of people. The most people I was around was in the Amber Theater for the comedy show on the last night or for a 70s dance party on the promenade. Spare those two times and I was never crowded or around more than 100 people. 

 

Room: I was in 14330, the 1 bedroom aquatheater suite (sky class). I was very very pleased with the room. It had a living room split from the bedroom and a separate balcony from the living room and bedroom. This worked out very well for me because I wake up super early, most of the time before 7am. So while Blake slept in til 8am, I would go to the living room where I could open the curtains and go relax on the living room balcony and watch the ocean. There is more than enough space with 3 closet doors plus drawers. I could look down on the other aqua suite balconies so I enjoyed that mine was 100% private because we have a ceiling over ours. The only complaint is that you can hear when they pump water to the flowrider (directly above our room). 

 

Restaurants: I never went to the dining room or windjammer or solarium bistro so I don’t have any knowledge on that. However I’ll cover the restaurants that I did dine at. Also it is necessary to make reservations as soon as possible! I waited and I couldn’t get the times I preferred for some nights. 

 

150 Central Park was my favorite restaurant on the ship. The 6 salts from around the world make the bread and butter taste amazing. My favorite salt is the boiled egg flavor salt. The cucumber basil martini is a MUST try. It’s so smooth and refreshing. My favorite appetizer is the lobster gnocchi because the gnocchi melted like a pillow. My favorite entree was the pan seared scallops over chickpea, cabbage, and pancetta. The sear was perfect and the bed underneath was smoky and comforting. Ezzine was my waiter all 3 times and I can’t write enough good things about him. I want him every cruise forever. 

 

Chops Grille was very hard to get into. I was only able to dine one lunch and one dinner there. My favorite appetizer is the colossal shrimp....they really are HUGE. It takes at least two bites to eat. For entrees, I’d say the 9oz filet mignon was the best, I could cut it with my fork...didn’t even need a butter knife. Plus the bearnaise paired beautifully to make a nice creamy bite with the hearty steak. 

 

Giovannis: 90% amazing, 10% annoyed. Let’s make a sandwich with this, good comments followed by my complaint and then followed by wonderful things! So Jenazh was our waiter for two lunches and three dinners, he is amazing!! He is beyond thoughtful and caring, very personable, I wish I could positively impact his career. Ah now that I’ve made good comments, we are to the hostess Mariana. I am a very understanding and fair person, I think we can see that by now, right? Well Mariana is absolutely difficult and I experienced her being rude to other guests than just myself. Many times she would tell us the restaurant is booked and we would walk by every 20 minutes until the booking she gave us 2 hours later and no more than half the restaurant ever filled up. Other times she would kick people from the outside seating (yes they weren’t paying but it wasn’t being used) and she would take the cushions from the chairs LOL! I guess I’m not saying she broke any rules but she did not have the level of customer service I expect from Royal and that everyone else on the ship presented. Now that we are done with her, the best appetizer has to be the mussels in white wine sauce...to die for. Obviously my favorite was the....ossobuco! So tender that it fell apart without even a fork, the bone marrow was so so so succulent and creamy. Pair it with the risotto and you’ll never leave Giovannis. 

 

Coastal Kitchen was decent food. It tasted good and the menu wasn’t anything outside of anyone’s comfort zone. When I went I had the salmon and it was cooked very well, just nothing noteworthy. The one thing that was the best thing at coastal kitchen was the marscapone cheesecake balls, OMG they are so so so good. Please mail me some. 

 

Entertainment: The comedy show was very funny. The second comedian was far superior in talent than the first comedian. OceanAria will have you on the edge of your seat, 100% highly recommend. Mamma Mia was good and they performers are extremely talented, just know it’s very long but has an intermission. I’m restless so after intermission, I was ready to go. Love & Marriage Game Show was hilarious and is a must see event! Only thing that wasn’t what I wanted was the nightly performer at schooner bar. He played an electric piano instead of the grand piano and didn’t read the audience very well, all the other performers used the grand piano. Also the casino, Do Not Go, they took my money and I had nothing to show for it. 

 

Notable people:

Dexter was very accommodating and made every request happen.

went above and beyond to make sure Blake had gluten free pancakes and muffins and that all her food was top quality, I can’t thank him enough.

from 150 CP was also promenade manager and made sure there was gluten free pizza at Sorrentos, he is family to me.

Jenazh from Giovannis treated us amazing and I couldn’t ask for better hospitality.

Mariana, well she is a disappointment and I hope she finds another job on the ship or anywhere else that suits her customer service skills. 

 

The cruise was beyond amazing and I’m very very glad I was able to share it with all of you. Thank you all for taking the time to come along on the vacation and if there’s any info that might be useful to anyone, I am always here!

 

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by Capt Snoopy

[tortoni]

Thank you.  Enjoyed the whole review. We go on Sunday with the ultimate and deluxe plans so will be using some of your recommendations!

[Capt Snoopy]

@tortoni yess!!! Also my other favorite drink is the Sexy Ocean. Can’t wait to see your food and drinks 🙌🏻 

[tortoni]

I admit that although I have the deluxe plan, I am not a big drinker- will likely ask the bartenders to make it light on alcohol!  Looking mostly for fru-fru drinks that will be fun but not too strong. Does the sexy ocean fit that category?

[Capt Snoopy]

@tortoni I am the same as you! I enjoy some alcohol, wine and sweet drinks. But I don’t like to be intoxicated. I drank a beverage with every meal and another at whatever show I went to, I really made my money by drinking Pellegrino with lunch and dinner and all the damage I did to JR with milkshakes 🙂

 

But yes, they can make the sexy ocean with 1 shot of alcohol easily. Depending on the bartender, sometimes it’s a lime green drink and other times it is yellow. 

[Patriot55]

Loved your review! December 2nd can’t come fast enough!!! 

[fpcruiser]

On ‎10‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 10:27 PM, Capt Snoopy said:

I guess your sea legs are better than mine or I might be more sensitive to the motion. My drink is swaying back and forth in the glass right now. 

We were on this cruise also and felt the gentle rocking most of the cruise.

 

[mom2tcdx2]

So what is in a Sexy Ocean?

[Capt Snoopy]

@fpcruiser I didn’t really realize it until we were in the Amber Theater and the curtains were swaying back and forth!

[Capt Snoopy]

@mom2tcdx2

Sexy Ocean:

1oz Vodka

1oz Peach Scnapps

1oz Midori

Orange Juice

Pinapple Juice

 

They are so smooth, I made so many of them disappear!

[Capt Snoopy]

2 hours ago, Patriot55 said:

Loved your review! December 2nd can’t come fast enough!!! 

Bring me with you LOL

[Patriot55]

Book again lol