On Allure currently. Some issues.

[Ozark_Kid]

2 hours ago, ScubaCat3 said:

Solarium Bistro and Samba are now showing as available in the Royal app for the rest of the cruise. 

Good news!!  I hope you enjoy Samba as much as we did.  Last month it was great!

[TheGambit]

Just off the ship as of last Saturday. They had closed down the pool deck hot tubs in a rolling fashion last week in order to fix the awnings and did some sanding. Wasn’t too bad but had the other hot tubs packed. 

 

Sabor however was absolutely the worst food I’ve ever had on any cruise line. The buffet fajitas and wipe out cafe tacos were better.
 

Giovanni’s was overwhelmed and easily took 2.5 hours despite our server’s best efforts. 

 

Otherwise not too much difference. Hope it gets better the rest of the way! 
 

[Engineroom Snipe]

On 10/30/2022 at 1:59 PM, neverbeenhere said:

I hope the Allure doesn’t run out of liquor, because if it does, there will be a mutiny. 

This could lead to another problem of the "favorite brands" being massively consumed and then go-out-of-stock. Adding yet another exasperation to the already tense situation. I read about a few cruises were specific whiskey and bourbon would not be available by the third day.

[Ocean Boy]

5 hours ago, ScubaCat3 said:

I was just told the entire Solarium area is open again!

Good to hear. Does it look any different?

[ScubaCat3]

20 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Good to hear. Does it look any different?

I haven’t been to the Solarium today. Maybe someone else can answer your question. Anyone?

[monorail81]

11 hours ago, KelJ said:

Good news!! I hope you enjoy Samba more than we did. In September it was awful. 

Sorry to hear that!  What was wrong?  We went last month and it was quite enjoyable. 

[KelJ]

On 11/2/2022 at 7:55 PM, monorail81 said:

Sorry to hear that!  What was wrong?  We went last month and it was quite enjoyable. 

 

Here's an excerpt from my review:

 

We had an 8:30 p.m. reservation at Samba Grill (which is Solarium Bistro during the day).  This was a very disappointing meal for a number of reasons.  They sat us in a corner right beside the solarium glass, and it was unbearably hot.  The temperature was easily in the 80s even though this is an air-conditioned venue.  We were so uncomfortable that we asked to move after we had finished our salads and appetizers, which they obliged, but things just went downhill from there. 

 

You get your own salads and cold appetizers from the buffet area, but they are pre-plated for the most part and were very good.  Trays of hot appetizers are brought to the table, as are trays of hot veggies and a basket of small heavy dough things that I guess were supposed to be rolls.  We didn’t care for the dough things. 

 

A gaucho comes around with different meats on large skewers and slices them at your table.  For some items, you use tongs to grab the meat as he cuts it.  It’s a fun concept, but none of our meat was tasty.   They had asked us how we liked our beef.  DH said medium rare for him, and I said medium for me, and nothing that was served to us had any pink in it whatsoever.  It was all well done and dry.  Additionally, we sat for over 20 minutes without cocktail refills or water refills. 

 

The manager came over at some point and apologized about originally seating us in the hot area.  She said it is a constant problem, but she had no reason for why they still seat people there when they know it’s a constant problem.  Our server commented on all of the uneaten food on our plates, as did the gaucho, and they offered to try again.  We declined.  I did have dessert, which is again pre-plated at the buffet, but the servers get them and deliver them to the table.  Overall, this restaurant was a huge disappointment, and we were happy that we used a D+ BOGO offer instead of paying full price.

[monorail81]

4 hours ago, KelJ said:

 

Here's an excerpt from my review:

 

We had an 8:30 p.m. reservation at Samba Grill (which is Solarium Bistro during the day).  This was a very disappointing meal for a number of reasons.  They sat us in a corner right beside the solarium glass, and it was unbearably hot.  The temperature was easily in the 80s even though this is an air-conditioned venue.  We were so uncomfortable that we asked to move after we had finished our salads and appetizers, which they obliged, but things just went downhill from there. 

 

You get your own salads and cold appetizers from the buffet area, but they are pre-plated for the most part and were very good.  Trays of hot appetizers are brought to the table, as are trays of hot veggies and a basket of small heavy dough things that I guess were supposed to be rolls.  We didn’t care for the dough things. 

 

A gaucho comes around with different meats on large skewers and slices them at your table.  For some items, you use tongs to grab the meat as he cuts it.  It’s a fun concept, but none of our meat was tasty.   They had asked us how we liked our beef.  DH said medium rare for him, and I said medium for me, and nothing that was served to us had any pink in it whatsoever.  It was all well done and dry.  Additionally, we sat for over 20 minutes without cocktail refills or water refills. 

 

The manager came over at some point and apologized about originally seating us in the hot area.  She said it is a constant problem, but she had no reason for why they still seat people there when they know it’s a constant problem.  Our server commented on all of the uneaten food on our plates, as did the gaucho, and they offered to try again.  We declined.  I did have dessert, which is again pre-plated at the buffet, but the servers get them and deliver them to the table.  Overall, this restaurant was a huge disappointment, and we were happy that we used a D+ BOGO offer instead of paying full price.

Wow!  Very sorry to hear all that. Our experience was the exact opposite. Everything was cooked perfectly. 

[Airbear232]

On 10/30/2022 at 3:50 PM, tampadee said:

Brings back memories of the maiden voyage of Quantum of the Seas in 2014, starting in New Jersey and ending in Shanghai.  The ship was destined to sail out of a port in China so major changes were made while we were onboard.  They remodeled the casino, added really expensive retail shops.  Johnny Rockets was renamed Kung Fu Asian Noodle Shop.  Then we received a letter from the captain which alerted us to the fact that there may be Pirate attacks along the way and we were required to close our drapes after dark every night.  Lights were turned off early in upper decks. 

 

We weren't happy either! 

We were on that cruise as far as Barcelona, it was a bummer they were doing work but there was still so much to do.  Got to see Mamma Mia on that cruise before they moved the show to Allure.  I wouldn’t be happy on Allure if the Solarium was closed. 

[Ozark_Kid]

15 minutes ago, monorail81 said:

Wow!  Very sorry to hear all that. Our experience was the exact opposite. Everything was cooked perfectly. 

We had a great experience too.  I thought the meat that I had was cooked just right.  

[jean87510]

This is unfortunately true re the temperature of the one side of the Samba.  We noticed it immediately when we arrived and asked to move to the other section.  The doughy bread is cheese bread and is common in Brazilian steakhouses like Fogo de Chiao.  Not all the salads and vegetables were preplated.  There were also cheeses and prosciutto as well there and olives.  I found the meat cooked perfectly as we wanted medium rare.  We told our server we prefer to eat the meat with the salad so we could balance the experience.  My husband got up to get his own flan.  It was a nice experience.  We went 2x on the October 23rd sailing.  We were in and out of there in 50 minutes.  Far better than Chops where its always slow and we thankfully skipped this time, and Giovannis where our lunch, while good, was 1130a to 1p for a bowel of pasta and a piece of steak.  We skipped dessert because we just wanted to get out of there.

[Airbear232]

1 hour ago, monorail81 said:

Wow!  Very sorry to hear all that. Our experience was the exact opposite. Everything was cooked perfectly. 

One thing we keep missing to do is this restaurant.  I always wanted to try, me being a beefeterian. 🙂. Guess out of site up in the Solarium, out of mind.  We’re on Anthem next month, not sure if they have Samba. 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

13 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

  We’re on Anthem next month, not sure if they have Samba. 

Unfortunately, no. It's only on the Allure and the Radiance. 😞 

[blueslily]

On 11/2/2022 at 3:18 PM, ScubaCat3 said:

I haven’t been to the Solarium today. Maybe someone else can answer your question. Anyone?

 

Yes, does anyone have an update on the Solarium?

[molly361]

Posted on a site that can't be named  Some got compensation of a sort

[clskinsfan]

Finally able to login and add to this thread. The Solarium did open on Wednesday. We enjoyed it. Although overall we did not enjoy this cruise and would rank it as the worst have ever been on unfortunately. Oasis class ships just aren't for us. The ship itself is pretty amazing. But the number of people onboard and the wait times for everything from drinks to elevators to reserved dining times is ridiculous. Like I said. Not our cup of tea. And we had "the key". We will do one more cruise with another line we favor to see if this is just the new norm for cruising. Overall we kind of feel like the industry itself is passing us by in many ways. The great days of cruising are over in our opinion. Thanks for listening!

[Husky1987]

11 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

Finally able to login and add to this thread. The Solarium did open on Wednesday. We enjoyed it. Although overall we did not enjoy this cruise and would rank it as the worst have ever been on unfortunately. Oasis class ships just aren't for us. The ship itself is pretty amazing. But the number of people onboard and the wait times for everything from drinks to elevators to reserved dining times is ridiculous. Like I said. Not our cup of tea. And we had "the key". We will do one more cruise with another line we favor to see if this is just the new norm for cruising. Overall we kind of feel like the industry itself is passing us by in many ways. The great days of cruising are over in our opinion. Thanks for listening!

 

A valid opinion for sure, and the big ships definitely have their share of plusses.  Aside from an upcoming Symphony cruise, my wife and I have decided to downsize next year (9 day Voyager in January, Radiance through the Canal in October) to see if going back to the smaller ships is what we'd prefer.

Edited November 5, 2022 by Husky1987

[blueslily]

26 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

Finally able to login and add to this thread. The Solarium did open on Wednesday. We enjoyed it. Although overall we did not enjoy this cruise and would rank it as the worst have ever been on unfortunately. Oasis class ships just aren't for us. The ship itself is pretty amazing. But the number of people onboard and the wait times for everything from drinks to elevators to reserved dining times is ridiculous. Like I said. Not our cup of tea. And we had "the key". We will do one more cruise with another line we favor to see if this is just the new norm for cruising. Overall we kind of feel like the industry itself is passing us by in many ways. The great days of cruising are over in our opinion. Thanks for listening!

 

Was the Key of any benefit to you on your cruise? In what ways was it helpful? 

[clskinsfan]

6 hours ago, blueslily said:

 

Was the Key of any benefit to you on your cruise? In what ways was it helpful? 

The biggest benefit is on embarkation day. We were one of the first 50 people on the ship. And had a fantastic lunch in the MDR which included Chops food. It was the best meal we ate the entire week. No stress of dealing with the windjammer. Just go to the MDR get served drinks and food and wait for the staterooms to open. The rest of the stuff? Meh. We had priority seating for the shows. That was nice. We got it on a deep discount (cheaper than VOOM alone) so it was worth it for us. But I would never pay full price for it. 

[Jasukkie]

That cheese stuffed bread thing is my favorite thing at Samba lol. I would actually be happy there just doing the apps, beans and rice, and that bread. The gaucho neverending meat thing is a one and done experience for me, just too much. 

 

@clskinsfan I'm a fan of Radiance class, you might want to give that a try. There's really nothing to line up for lol. That works for some and not for others.