Waiting for the elevators on Allure last week-quite a ship!

[ddled]

Sailed the Allure last week from Galveston. My wife and I are D+ but this was our first on an Oasis ship-wow what a difference. Was it perfect? no. but it was a lot of fun in so many ways. 

 

We are retired teachers living in a resort in south Texas. I am a travel coordinator volunteer and had 40 people on board.Some had been on Oasis class, some had not cruise at all. Generally the ship made a good impression and they had a good time. The inevitable size question came up but was in the minority. The elevators are like a microcosm of the experience. There is no way that any elevator system can take the full load at dinner, shows letting out, embarkation, or just when everyone is there. Waits to get on sometimes were 10 minutes or so. They were frequently full. But-you cannot have the attractions you have on Allure without a crowd to pay for it. Mama Mia cannot be done with its 30 or so cast, without a big ship to support it. You will know there are people on with you. If that bothers you do not pick this class. When we sailed last week a ships officer said that we were at 5700-double occupancy capacity. In January. No holiday. Not spring break. Just normal.

 

Embarkation, Debarkation-went like a dream.The new terminal in Galveston worked like a dream. No. lines no delays, no problems. We did something different this time. We ate lunch before boarding at a new seafood restaurant in Galveston called Katies. If you want fresh seafood, this is the place. They have their own fleet, and know what to do with it. I kind of liked not having to hunt up lunch on board-I know I paid for it, but seafood that good is worth it. Luggage was in room by 3, Ship left on time, no problems at all

 

Service and training. We were a group of grouchy old people sometimes hard to please. I did not hear any complaints about any service-many compliments. Hats off to the training- it shows. 

 

Food- we ate in Chops, Park 150, and Giovannis.  Had most dinners in MDR. 3 Breakfasts in MDR. Some in Windjammer. Food was consistently good, fresh and well served. Of course the speciality restaurants are better-its what we paid for. The menu in the dining room is smaller than I remember. They do repeat some of the items each night-shrimp cocktail most nights for example. I always found a couple of things to order, and was pleased with the entire food service. I am, admittedly a little like Mikey and eat most everything,  but most nights most people liked the choices. I would not want to see it go down any more though. Taste of Royal was superb. Did not try all the food venues-too many for that. Sorrentos pizza was nice at midnight. Breakfast in Solarium was packed. Had the only omelet station onboard. Only eggs Benedict was in dining room. Windjammers was small, always found a table though. Park Cafe had a nice assortment of Breakfast and lunch items and was much less crowded. Hot dogs at the Doghouse were very good. Wine list was adequate, cocktails were well done. The diamond system loaded on your Sailpass card works like a charm-we are not big drinkers and the best we did in a day was 7/8 available to us.Didnt need the drink package. 

 

Entertainment- this is what we went for and were not disappointed . Mama Mia, the Aqua Show, and The Ice show were fantastic. Thats why you wait for elevators-great. The talents at all the shows was over the top-best I have seen on a ship. One hint-reserve the shows at the pool and the ice rink early in the cruise. They had to cancel some of both due to seas that while they were not that high, featured unpredictable waves that stopped the show. They rescheduled -thats why you want to get them early. The 2 comedians were about average- they do a g rated show in theater first night then adult the rest of the week in Comedy club. Luke warm reviews. The headliner was very good. Singer named Clint ..... The Jazz club featured a fantastic quartet and visits by several members of the orchestra and the headliner for a jam session usually in their last set Royal in their infinite wisdom is closing the jazz clubs and replacing them with smokeless casino. The band for now will play at other venues on board including the Promenade which is totally unfit for serious music. Noisy, traffic, bad acoustics. No dance floor. I have a separate thread on here about this if you want to discuss it. Too bad. The house band was Wanderlust-very good at what they did-mostly top hits. Dazzles is a strange place. The way it is set up half the chairs face away from the band. A band is too loud to talk over, but it is a. pretty place for sure. The floor is glass, not suitable for any serious dancing. Flame me if you want, but the only glaring mistake in entertainment is that there is no country band on board. They had one the first month and it was taken away according to the cruise director. He says he asks for it back in his weekly report but no result. Wonder has one!  There were probably 3000 Texans on board-someone in Miami needs to talk to the guests and the cruse director. Royal is way too top down on this one. There are 31 musicians on board. They were all great . No classical music either . Rosario Strings gone. The Schooner Bar was packed-he was very good. Bow and Stern guitarist was good, Boleros had a very good latin band. All in all, what is on the ship is first rate. If they leave it its ok. If they start cutting it will sail without me-not that they care. I am 71 and not the market Royal is aiming at.

 

Ports- Roatan was fine-good beaches, small pier area, Costa Maya-did the bird Aviary this time. Only 14.00 Maybe best value on the trip. Lots of colorful birds and it is over the dolphin tanks so you can see everything there too. Cozumel-rained all day, not fun for anyone. Never planned to get off, been there done that. Snorkeling is good, Mayan ruins not big-go in Costa Maya or something. Shopping is good I hear.

 

Misc.  All in all it was a very good cruise. So good that we booked a 14 day on Symphony TA in October. You cannot do everything on an Oasis class in 7 days. If you really like small ships-this is probably not your pick. But there was a lot to do and it was really fun. Covid was on board-We have had 8 positives in the first 24 hours back. Not many masks being worn, so be aware. Never mentioned of course on board. We did have to turn around the first night to get within helo range from Galveston for an air evacuation. 3 ambulances met us in ports. Not all that unusual. Price for a balcony was good, no complaints there. All in all I was not ready to leave.

[taglovestocruise]

9 minutes ago, ddled said:

Sailed the Allure last week from Galveston. My wife and I are D+ but this was our first on an Oasis ship-wow what a difference. Was it perfect? no. but it was a lot of fun in so many ways. 

 

We are retired teachers living in a resort in south Texas. I am a travel coordinator volunteer and had 40 people on board.Some had been on Oasis class, some had not cruise at all. Generally the ship made a good impression and they had a good time. The inevitable size question came up but was in the minority. The elevators are like a microcosm of the experience. There is no way that any elevator system can take the full load at dinner, shows letting out, embarkation, or just when everyone is there. Waits to get on sometimes were 10 minutes or so. They were frequently full. But-you cannot have the attractions you have on Allure without a crowd to pay for it. Mama Mia cannot be done with its 30 or so cast, without a big ship to support it. You will know there are people on with you. If that bothers you do not pick this class. When we sailed last week a ships officer said that we were at 5700-double occupancy capacity. In January. No holiday. Not spring break. Just normal.

 

Embarkation, Debarkation-went like a dream.The new terminal in Galveston worked like a dream. No. lines no delays, no problems. We did something different this time. We ate lunch before boarding at a new seafood restaurant in Galveston called Katies. If you want fresh seafood, this is the place. They have their own fleet, and know what to do with it. I kind of liked not having to hunt up lunch on board-I know I paid for it, but seafood that good is worth it. Luggage was in room by 3, Ship left on time, no problems at all

 

Service and training. We were a group of grouchy old people sometimes hard to please. I did not hear any complaints about any service-many compliments. Hats off to the training- it shows. 

 

Food- we ate in Chops, Park 150, and Giovannis.  Had most dinners in MDR. 3 Breakfasts in MDR. Some in Windjammer. Food was consistently good, fresh and well served. Of course the speciality restaurants are better-its what we paid for. The menu in the dining room is smaller than I remember. They do repeat some of the items each night-shrimp cocktail most nights for example. I always found a couple of things to order, and was pleased with the entire food service. I am, admittedly a little like Mikey and eat most everything,  but most nights most people liked the choices. I would not want to see it go down any more though. Taste of Royal was superb. Did not try all the food venues-too many for that. Sorrentos pizza was nice at midnight. Breakfast in Solarium was packed. Had the only omelet station onboard. Only eggs Benedict was in dining room. Windjammers was small, always found a table though. Park Cafe had a nice assortment of Breakfast and lunch items and was much less crowded. Hot dogs at the Doghouse were very good. Wine list was adequate, cocktails were well done. The diamond system loaded on your Sailpass card works like a charm-we are not big drinkers and the best we did in a day was 7/8 available to us.Didnt need the drink package. 

 

Entertainment- this is what we went for and were not disappointed . Mama Mia, the Aqua Show, and The Ice show were fantastic. Thats why you wait for elevators-great. The talents at all the shows was over the top-best I have seen on a ship. One hint-reserve the shows at the pool and the ice rink early in the cruise. They had to cancel some of both due to seas that while they were not that high, featured unpredictable waves that stopped the show. They rescheduled -thats why you want to get them early. The 2 comedians were about average- they do a g rated show in theater first night then adult the rest of the week in Comedy club. Luke warm reviews. The headliner was very good. Singer named Clint ..... The Jazz club featured a fantastic quartet and visits by several members of the orchestra and the headliner for a jam session usually in their last set Royal in their infinite wisdom is closing the jazz clubs and replacing them with smokeless casino. The band for now will play at other venues on board including the Promenade which is totally unfit for serious music. Noisy, traffic, bad acoustics. No dance floor. I have a separate thread on here about this if you want to discuss it. Too bad. The house band was Wanderlust-very good at what they did-mostly top hits. Dazzles is a strange place. The way it is set up half the chairs face away from the band. A band is too loud to talk over, but it is a. pretty place for sure. The floor is glass, not suitable for any serious dancing. Flame me if you want, but the only glaring mistake in entertainment is that there is no country band on board. They had one the first month and it was taken away according to the cruise director. He says he asks for it back in his weekly report but no result. Wonder has one!  There were probably 3000 Texans on board-someone in Miami needs to talk to the guests and the cruse director. Royal is way too top down on this one. There are 31 musicians on board. They were all great . No classical music either . Rosario Strings gone. The Schooner Bar was packed-he was very good. Bow and Stern guitarist was good, Boleros had a very good latin band. All in all, what is on the ship is first rate. If they leave it its ok. If they start cutting it will sail without me-not that they care. I am 71 and not the market Royal is aiming at.

 

Ports- Roatan was fine-good beaches, small pier area, Costa Maya-did the bird Aviary this time. Only 14.00 Maybe best value on the trip. Lots of colorful birds and it is over the dolphin tanks so you can see everything there too. Cozumel-rained all day, not fun for anyone. Never planned to get off, been there done that. Snorkeling is good, Mayan ruins not big-go in Costa Maya or something. Shopping is good I hear.

 

Misc.  All in all it was a very good cruise. So good that we booked a 14 day on Symphony TA in October. You cannot do everything on an Oasis class in 7 days. If you really like small ships-this is probably not your pick. But there was a lot to do and it was really fun. Covid was on board-We have had 8 positives in the first 24 hours back. Not many masks being worn, so be aware. Never mentioned of course on board. We did have to turn around the first night to get within helo range from Galveston for an air evacuation. 3 ambulances met us in ports. Not all that unusual. Price for a balcony was good, no complaints there. All in all I was not ready to leave.

Glad you had a good time. We have done 3 TA's on Oasis Class, absolutely fabulous and they sail with no more than a dozen or so kids. Sounds like you missed the free breakfast at JR, give it a try on your TA.

[smokeybandit]

We have a robot that can (poorly) mix drinks, but still can't get an elevator to come in a logical and reasonable manner.

[Engineroom Snipe]

37 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

We have a robot that can (poorly) mix drinks, but still can't get an elevator to come in a logical and reasonable manner.

 

If a passenger is in reasonable health and can walk a few extra steps, I find the Oasis class forward elevators to be available almost immediately during my cruises. My wife and I also use the extra steps as a bit of walking exercise. If it is more than two levels up, we use the elevator to the level we want and walk from there. Going back down is easy because we will use the stairs and gravity makes it doable even when we are tired.

 

Just a thought......

[shof515]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

We have a robot that can (poorly) mix drinks, but still can't get an elevator to come in a logical and reasonable manner.

part of the problem is the unruly kids who press all of the buttons making the elevator stop at every floor 

[Engineroom Snipe]

2 minutes ago, shof515 said:

part of the problem is the unruly kids who press all of the buttons making the elevator stop at every floor 

 

Oh, the naughty little tadpoles should be caught, judged at sea at the officers' table, and be summarily punished. 😯 As Mr. Potato Head said in Toy Story, "Throw him overboard!"  🤣😉

[Engineroom Snipe]

2 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

Oh, the naughty little tadpoles should be caught, judged at sea at the officers' table, and be summarily punished. 😯 As Mr. Potato Head said in Toy Story, "Throw him overboard!"  🤣😉

 

I am proposing a more severe and sadistic punishment than being thrown overboard for these youngins:

 

Make them sit in the D Lounge during the afternoon/evening hours and listen to boring old cruisers for hours. They will be begging for forgiveness and tell others about the punishment of terror they endured. 😧😰😭😱🥺

 

That will be the end of that!

[KLMB]

This is a great review with lots of information.  Thank you.  Maybe consider changing your title, you might get more viewers and responses.  More members should/would enjoy this. 

[smokeybandit]

1 hour ago, shof515 said:

part of the problem is the unruly kids who press all of the buttons making the elevator stop at every floor 

I've never seen this.

 

What I usually see is 3 elevators within 2 floors of where I am, but it's the elevator 5+ floors from where I am that ends up coming to me.

[ctnecruisers]

Thanks for the review. Short and sweet. I like it. We will be on Allure February 19. This will be our first time on an oasis class ship. We are mainly going to check out the ship. 

[Ret MP]

3 hours ago, shof515 said:

part of the problem is the unruly kids who press all of the buttons making the elevator stop at every floor 

 

3 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

Oh, the naughty little tadpoles should be caught, judged at sea at the officers' table, and be summarily punished. 😯 As Mr. Potato Head said in Toy Story, "Throw him overboard!"  🤣😉

Nope, I never did that as a kid, never knocked on doors in hotels either.  And I can't believe anybody in here would do the same.  

 

Having said that, what goes around comes around.  Just because I did it back in the day doesn't mean it is any less frustrating.  But, when I catch kids doing it, and yes I have, I just laugh and tell them to enjoy the cruise.  

[Ret MP]

2 minutes ago, ctnecruisers said:

Thanks for the review. Short and sweet. I like it. We will be on Allure February 19. This will be our first time on an oasis class ship. We are mainly going to check out the ship. 

Yes!

[ddled]

Just a further update from this cruise. Out of 39 people in this group 11 have tested positive since we got back. All drove to and from the ship. Symptoms range from very mild to the worst they have felt in their life.Most of us did not wear masks, neither did 95% of people on board-workers or guests. All of us were vaccinated, some have had Covid previously. I guess you can either say we are careless for going, or this is the new normal and it's how life will be from now on. Take your pick. 

[moposh]

I sailed on the Allure.  I liked the shows, especially the aqua shows and Central Park.  I just didn't like all the people.  

 

I did get my steps in walking from my cabin at the front of the ship to the Windjammer.  😍

[minnie00]

5 hours ago, ddled said:

Just a further update from this cruise. Out of 39 people in this group 11 have tested positive since we got back. All drove to and from the ship. Symptoms range from very mild to the worst they have felt in their life.Most of us did not wear masks, neither did 95% of people on board-workers or guests. All of us were vaccinated, some have had Covid previously. I guess you can either say we are careless for going, or this is the new normal and it's how life will be from now on. Take your pick. 

That is unfortunate….we got Covid after our Summer cruise. Boosted and all but we did fly . Just seems to be new normal now 

[smokeybandit]

5 hours ago, ddled said:

Just a further update from this cruise. Out of 39 people in this group 11 have tested positive since we got back. All drove to and from the ship. Symptoms range from very mild to the worst they have felt in their life.Most of us did not wear masks, neither did 95% of people on board-workers or guests. All of us were vaccinated, some have had Covid previously. I guess you can either say we are careless for going, or this is the new normal and it's how life will be from now on. Take your pick. 

I've been on 5 maskless cruises since the restart and came out healthy each time. Maybe you're just unlucky.

[ticketsunlimited]

6 hours ago, ddled said:

Just a further update from this cruise. Out of 39 people in this group 11 have tested positive since we got back. All drove to and from the ship. Symptoms range from very mild to the worst they have felt in their life.Most of us did not wear masks, neither did 95% of people on board-workers or guests. All of us were vaccinated, some have had Covid previously. I guess you can either say we are careless for going, or this is the new normal and it's how life will be from now on. Take your pick. 

Its the new norm, the new flu, the new cold, its our risk forever unfortunately.  We were on the Jan 6th Wonder cruise and one of the 4 of us got Covid.  Rough trip back home and tested when he got to the house.  Tested positive for 22 days.  Could have got it anywhere.  His wife never got it.  Like any other virus we have grown up with there is no Rhyme or reason.  As a wise dancing Filipino girl once said at the Windjammer entrance.  WASHY, WASHY!!

[ticketsunlimited]

DDLED,  we will be on Allure in September.  Do you think the smokeless Casino area will be completed by then?  Did they give you any time frame?  Thanks in advance.  Dan

[loman]

On 1/31/2023 at 12:30 PM, ctnecruisers said:

Thanks for the review. Short and sweet. I like it. We will be on Allure February 19. This will be our first time on an oasis class ship. We are mainly going to check out the ship. 

We did the same , tried Oasis class , and now we only sail this class. 

Last 3 cruises were Allure . Great ship !

[NCMtnBoys]

Just off Symphony Jan 28th. The entertainment on Symphony was also top notch. LOVED Hairspray, Flight-Dare to Dream, 1977 (Ice show) and Hiro (Aquatic show). We had a great band onboard called Muzik Xpress that played fantastic sets for 3+ hours almost every night. I thought our MDR dinners were fantastic. We had the same three port stops you did, plus Coco Cay, and enjoyed all of them. We had done Oasis in 2018 and also enjoyed it. My sister is part of a family group (her husband's family) who will be on Allure beginning Feb 11th and that will be her first Oasis class cruise. I hope she enjoys Allure as much as we enjoyed Symphony. Our next Royal cruise will be on Anthem from Southampton to the Norwegian Fjords in July 2024, although we've got several other cruises before then. Have not done that class but the ship looks good. I really enjoy the Oasis class so I'm hoping we won't be disappointed with Anthem.

[ddled]

Tickets.  Cruise director said April this year

[Spurschick]

That’s why I love the new MSC elevators. You press the button in the lobby for the floor you want. It then directs you to elevator A B C or D 

no one can press buttons once inside and never a long queue either.

 

just saying ! Perhaps time to adopt a similar system on RC.

Edited February 3, 2023 by Spurschick

[jbrinkm]

15 hours ago, Spurschick said:

That’s why I love the new MSC elevators. You press the button in the lobby for the floor you want. It then directs you to elevator A B C or D 

no one can press buttons once inside and never a long queue either.

 

just saying ! Perhaps time to adopt a similar system on RC.

 

I've seen this system in a building where one of my doctors is located and it is really nice!

[brillohead]

16 hours ago, Spurschick said:

That’s why I love the new MSC elevators. You press the button in the lobby for the floor you want. It then directs you to elevator A B C or D 

no one can press buttons once inside and never a long queue either.

 

just saying ! Perhaps time to adopt a similar system on RC.

Oh Lawdalmighty, can you IMAGINE what would happen if they let Royal's always-stellar IT Department program a system like that for their elevators??????

 

[Eddie Wilson]

On 1/31/2023 at 1:01 AM, taglovestocruise said:

Glad you had a good time. We have done 3 TA's on Oasis Class, absolutely fabulous and they sail with no more than a dozen or so kids. Sounds like you missed the free breakfast at JR, give it a try on your TA.

 

Dear Tag, DW and I are considering transAtlantic, with 3 previous sailings do they have additional things to do during the day?  That is, does boredom start?

 

We just got off a 9 day, the last 3 days of which were at sea and Labadee, DW did not exit ship in Labadee, so for her 3 days in a row on board.  She said she was bored for  a bit.  Can only do so much trivia.

 

Thanks, Eddie