I sailed Allure and had a terrible time. Change my mind

[screenname2004]

13 minutes ago, YamahaRyoko said:

Time stamp says 10:15am on my cell pictures.  There indeed was a ship photographer, wearing white shirt and camera in hand without tripod at the front of the picture line.  There was also another staff member.  We suggested blocking that right side off and she noted that they are not allowed to block them.   I have no reason to make this up as BNBR implied.  I gain nothing by lying to people on a cruise forum.  I don't get a free cruise or any money back.

We were about 15 minutes behind you. Wonder where the ship photographer went?

Where we went to Labadee in 2017 (our 1st cruise on the Allure), there was a ship photographer by the sign but he let us used our phone to take pictures while he waited for people to have pictures taken by him.

 

[screenname2004]

14 minutes ago, YamahaRyoko said:

 

^_^

Busy and crowded but we didn't have any BAD experiences with it.   In fact, I'm quite chatty in the elevator.  I go against the social norm of expected awkward elevator silence.

 

I did find out that if your door is closing and its about to go up or down, someone hitting the button will stop the doors and re-open them.  You COULD sit there and troll people by pressing the button every time their doors close.  That's kinda funny but then they might have an experience like mine, so we'll reserve it for those who really deserves it.

 

Oh and... every single public stall I used was clean.  Pretty nice

I think there were some issues with the elevators. At least one elevator skipped deck while we were in the elevator or waiting for one.

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by screenname2004

[YamahaRyoko]

7 minutes ago, screenname2004 said:

I think there were some issues with the elevators. At least one elevator will skip deck while we were in the elevator or waiting for one.

 

They all seemed to stop a lot, and there was no one getting on or off.  So much so it was like the running joke.  At one moment we had three in a row.  I said "That's a turkey right?  Three strikes?"  ahhhh ... sry... heh

[screenname2004]

I don't know if because this cruise started on Easter Sunday, there were no Welcome Aboard party at the Royal Promenade on day 1 (or any other day). Compared to our other Allure cruise (in 2017), there seem to be less scheduled events for the 1st 3 days of the sailing. Can it be some staff got days off for Easter and they rejoined the ship at St. Maarten?

 

[Desert Cruizers]

Marion Mom true but the OP did talk about some people being rude. I merely mentioned another area where there is a problem. 

[loman]

I only sail on oasis class and I like them.

If you don't like it why bother considering it again.

If I don't like something I choose something different . 

There are lots of options with rccl or other lines .

Life is too short , do things that make you happy .

 

[suesnake2002]

Want a friendly,well behaved cruise. Sail on grandeur if the seas outta baltimore. Friendliest staff. Loved it. Im a convert. Sold out ship when i went. But what i couldnt believe was how friendly our ship mates were. It was great. Anywhere you went people would chat with you. Sit on the couches in the centrum,  and next thing someone would ask if this seat was taken(sat more than 2) and you'd have a new friend. 

[kalliekae]

We've sailed Oasis and Allure several times, but we always go the week before or after Thanksgiving. Less kids on those cruises. On our last Allure cruise, we encountered some rude people crowding the elevators and not letting people off the elevator. Other than that one time, we have not had a negative encounter. There are always plenty of seats in the balcony at the theater so perhaps that would be a better bet than main floor. I'm sorry you encountered so many disruptions to your cruise. If you like Freedom, stick with that ship. You have to do what works for you.

 

[KmomChicago]

Why do people think they have to get up out of so-called reserved seats?  If everyone just goes and sits in the row anyway and ignores the "shoo-er" what do they think is going to happen?  Let the shoo-er go whine to the crew that people are sitting in seats at the show that is open to them.

[jbethel11]

3 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Why do people think they have to get up out of so-called reserved seats?  If everyone just goes and sits in the row anyway and ignores the "shoo-er" what do they think is going to happen?  Let the shoo-er go whine to the crew that people are sitting in seats at the show that is open to them.

True, lol. 

[momofmab]

I got aggravated for you just reading your post, so I don't blame you for feeling the way you do.  With kids, all of our cruises have to be during Easter week as well - you really have to prepare yourself ahead of time for cruising that week, keeping your expectations on the low side.  We cruised Oasis for the first time last Easter and while I wouldn't completely rule it out, I certainly wouldn't do a busy week on that class again.

 

I have a husband and an adult daughter who are never afraid to confront people over their behavior (much to my dismay), so the seat-savers would have met their match, as well as the mini-golf teens 😂  I agree that the staff on Royal take a frustratingly hands-off approach to enforcing their own rules.

 

If I were you I'd stick to the Freedom Class ships until you are able to cruise during a slow, low-kid week on Oasis class - then give it another try.

[sparks1093]

On 5/2/2019 at 4:40 PM, Host Clarea said:

Why should you need your mind changed?  I would have also been disappointed with what happened on your cruise.

Exactly my thought when I read the title. Your experience was your experience and if in your view it left something to be desired then that is all that matters.

[mousefan73]

I don’t know it’s because I’ve reached my mid 40s and I just have more balls now than in the past, but if I were to walk into a theater and people are reserving entire rows for their family I would simply just sit down in the middle of that reserved row.  Specially if I  have a reserve ticket for that row. I assume these row are at least 10 chairs? I’m sorry but if you want your large family or group to sit together, get your butt to the theater early like everyone else. I’m all for saving a seat or two or letting someone go to the bathroom or grab something but not an entire row. I believe the OP Mentioned people were blocking either side of the row?  easily solved go in the next row and I would’ve jumped over a seat and planted my ass in the middle.  Had I been asked to move by these reservera  I would’ve looked them in the eyes and said The rule is no reserving and your being an ass for taking a whole row. sure get a member of staff to ask me to leave. If that would’ve happened and escalated and someone (staff)!actually would’ve told me to move boy would I have blown up because the role specifically says no reserving. They would have had to physcially remove me 

Edited May 4, 2019 by mousefan73

[KmomChicago]

On Oasis I carried around the sheet explaining the rules.  We always found a seat so it never came to blows but I am one obnoxious so-and-so when my sense of justice is violated and I would have happily explained, in very simple terms that even these poor fools could understand, that what they were doing was an infraction as per this here sheet of paper that you have in your cabin and that you are welcome to discuss with the crew at your convenience.

 

We arrived early to most shows and watched these same people shooing others away and I was truly astounded that couple after couple complied.  I am talking about one person shooing away ten or twenty couples/families who tried to get in their row.

 

It is infuriating that the crew let us self-police this and also the pool chairs.

[nalatrixie74]

i'm sorry your trip had one thing after another! i've been on those vacations and it hurts when you spend money and time and come out disappointed for sure! sounds like freedom class is what you should stick with. i agree with movies in/by the pool, i will miss that on allure in nov. we definitely loved that on freedom and my kids mentioned they cant wait to do that on our next cruise and i had to break it to them, sorry, not this one. but there will be many more things allure has to offer freedom didn't. seat savers are awful, and yes force you to take a stand, but you have to just plop down and know, they don't have a leg to stand on. i think most that have cruised have had to do this. unfortunately, this world seems to be getting a bit harder for ppl that expect manners and others to do the right thing. we just have to adapt and know, yes we will encounter it everywhere, just try not to let it spoil our spirit. 

[Paulette3028]

On 5/2/2019 at 4:40 PM, Host Clarea said:

Why should you need your mind changed?  I would have also been disappointed with what happened on your cruise.

I believe you would have 'taken charge' of some of the incidents described and had a better outcome.    Rude and inconsiderate fellow cruisers, can be handled whether with the staff's assistance or without. Bad behavior by fellow cruisers isn't Royals.  As someone pointed out a little research in advance does help as well, especially about port stops. 

[vacationlover_mn]

On 5/2/2019 at 4:30 PM, YamahaRyoko said:

 

That's a really good point.  I had not added all of that up in my head.  Previous cruises our son was in grade school and we'd just pull him for a week.  Now that he's in high school we feel really bad doing that so we scheduled it on spring break (which was also Easter weekend.)  Not to mention that airfare coming home on a Sunday was $400 a person.  Saturday disembarkations seem significantly cheaper. We could do summer (I was thinking that would be unbearably hot with thousands of little kids?) or Christmas (unbearably expensive?)

My very favorite time to cruise is first week in December- low prices, affordable airfare, fewer kids 🙂

[Lovecruisingandmusic]

I was on the Allure the week before you and I didn't enjoy it compared to the other ships.  I was on Oasis 2010 and it was a better experience than Allure.  This time it felt very big and everyone was scrambling in the dining room.  We missed Mamma Mia because we didn't get seated until half an hour after our reservation and the food didn't come out timely.  We were lucky to try the hot tub once late at night as every time it was too crowded.  Even with reserved seating for shows, the line ups were long and disorganized.  We also experienced a ghost in our cabin.  I won't sail again on an Oasis class ship and stick with the smaller ones where I don't feel like part of the herd of cattle.

[HLVee]

We just came back from a spring break cruise on the Anthem to Bermuda, and I feel very similar to you about the letdown! We had done the Anthem, during spring break, to the Bahamas four years ago and had a better experience then. This time, I'd give it a 5 out of 10. The ships are beautiful, but I do think on the big ships, and a packed sailing-you are interacting with a lot of people. And I saw a lot of rudeness. I tried to just look beyond it, but at the end of the day, I would choose a different atmosphere. We only cruise every four or five years, and I think our next cruise will be on Celebrity or Holland. It's good to be loyal to Royal and all that, and accrue some perks, but it's also great to try new things.

[Paulette3028]

3 hours ago, HLVee said:

We just came back from a spring break cruise on the Anthem to Bermuda, and I feel very similar to you about the letdown! We had done the Anthem, during spring break, to the Bahamas four years ago and had a better experience then. This time, I'd give it a 5 out of 10. The ships are beautiful, but I do think on the big ships, and a packed sailing-you are interacting with a lot of people. And I saw a lot of rudeness. I tried to just look beyond it, but at the end of the day, I would choose a different atmosphere. We only cruise every four or five years, and I think our next cruise will be on Celebrity or Holland. It's good to be loyal to Royal and all that, and accrue some perks, but it's also great to try new things.

 

It is sad that the experience on your sailing was impacted by RUDE fellow cruisers.  Royal has no control over that.....unless of course it was a rude staff member and I highly doubt that.  Our society has become filled with RUDE people, if I let them overly impact my personal experiences, I would have to stay home and inside my home and that is not going to happen.  Even where I work our customers are rude people.   It amazes me.  You will find rude people on Celebrity or Holland or any cruise line --- to some people it is 'I paid my money and I will act in whatever way I want'.

[lv2cruisgrl]

Your experience is not unusual, it's the way people are now a days. You might want to try Celebrity and never go when kids are out of school. That is what we do (retired) and it works good for us. People are just rude and disrespectful everywhere.

[GUEST71919]

An experience we had on the Allure last summer for me says volumes about the terrible behavior that is now treated as appropriate...

 

While on one of my many elevator rides during the week, I heard a man ridicule a middle-aged woman who had just entered the elevator alone by repeating back her words in asking someone to press the elevator button for her while mimicing her accent (my best guess is that she was from TX or LA and he from the NE or Midwest US). He was probably 55-years-ol Iwhich made the whole incident even more astonishing) and was with a younger adult male.  This low life was such a coward that he didn’t even turn around and address her to her face. I feel sure that she wasn’t sure wasn't sure what to say, feeling hurt, but I immediately said to him “you are rude”.  He said nothing. 

 

Has he not been getting off the elevator at the next deck I likely would have had a LOT more to say to him as it made me furious that someone would try to hurt someone he did not know for no reason.  I am from the South and it becomes tiring the kind of bias and assumptions that brings with it at times (note, to us others have an accent, they just don’t hear theirs!), so I would have gladly taken him on. But even with 14+ years training in mental health I was sincerely shocked that someone would just be that big of a d*ck (and I apologize to d*cks for the comparison). That was the meanest thing that I have heard or seen in my cruising history since his sole purpose was to cause someone pain. But we often see the kind of rudeness and lack of respect for others that has become too common (like the man on the Alaska excursion with us who was so determined to get his lots of great photos with his big, fancy lens that was almost in the lap of an elderly man).

 

None of this was the fault of Allure however. We quite enjoyed the ship itself (and the crew/staff). I realize that many people have difficulty with assertiveness because of their age or personality, but the only way to combat this problem (other than raising children to understand that the meanness around us these days is the wrong way to behave) is to speak against it whether we are the target of that kind of behavior or it’s someone else. 

[HLVee]

I think crowds make people especially assertive, too! And on a ship, even a big one, you have a finite amount of space.  Throw in some bad weather and rescheduled shows and it probably gets worse. I don't blame the OP for not wanting to have to be assertive on her vacation, I know I also just want to relax and have fun. I will say-I didn't have any problems with the kids on our cruise. There were a lot of them, mostly well-behaved. We were traveling with a teenager, too. 

[Paulette3028]

15 minutes ago, HLVee said:

I think crowds make people especially assertive, too! And on a ship, even a big one, you have a finite amount of space.  Throw in some bad weather and rescheduled shows and it probably gets worse. I don't blame the OP for not wanting to have to be assertive on her vacation, I know I also just want to relax and have fun. I will say-I didn't have any problems with the kids on our cruise. There were a lot of them, mostly well-behaved. We were traveling with a teenager, too. 

I am an assertive person, that however does not make me a rude person and YES, there is a difference.  Having bad weather or rescheduled shows also is no reason for people to behave in a rude way.  FOR THAT MATTER there is NO reason to act in a RUDE way, except poor manners.     When I have to be assertive on vacation, I do so....like with 'pool chair hogs'.....but they deserve it for not abiding by the rules.....if I had to be assertive in a show to get a seat, I would.....but it would not be done in a rude way, just direct.  Some of you may think that 'direct' is rude.....it isn't.   We were on a Navigator sailing with over 1100 children of the 3400 passengers.  Most of the time the children we encountered were terrific.....unfortunately the time we found the children to be the most disgusting was in the dining room, sitting next to their parents....but since their parents were on vacation they paid 'absolutely no attention' to what the children were doing and some of those children were doing disgusting things. 

[legaljen1969]

On 5/2/2019 at 4:40 PM, Host Clarea said:

Why should you need your mind changed?  I would have also been disappointed with what happened on your cruise.

I took it to mean she needs her mind changed about giving up on cruises altogether.