ALLURE 5 DAY Western/Eastern JUST OFF

Hello – just back from the FIRST EVER Allure Of The Seas 5-day Western/Eastern-Tropical-Storm-Isaac-Shortened cruise! 7 Days would have been nice, but 5 days was better than nothing. I’m not going to do a knock-down, drag-out, minute by minute review with pictures of food and social security numbers of my wait staff, but here is a quick overview, some points and opinions, etc…

Just as we arrived in Fort Lauderdale, and JUST as we were getting our bags off the baggage carousels the RCCL automated text messages, emails and phone calls starting coming in telling us that Allure would NOT be coming into port on Sunday. Instead it would arrive on TUESDAY and our 7 day cruise had just morphed into a 5-day cruise. To make matters WORSE, there are no bars in the baggage carousel area…… :) … OR steel drum bands.

HOTEL: We stayed at the Renaissance Cruise Port hotel. This is a very nice hotel with a very nice staff. Not sure it’s a “4-Star” like some of the travel sites say, but it is still a great place. When it became apparent we needed more than one night they put us on a waiting list for additional nights and eventually were able to a fulfill that request. Plenty of restaurants are within walking distance (even in the rain) and the limited food at the hotel is decent (though overpriced, like many hotel restaurants.)

RCCL & THE WEATHER & BEING A CLASSY COMPANY: When I spoke to RCCL’s Emergency Weather hotline people on Saturday they initially said RCCL would book hotels for us. They had an all-hands-on-deck response team with the phone lines open 24/7. At one point it sounded like I was talking to some RCCL employee sitting in his mom’s basement talking on a PlaySkool CellFone but at least I got to speak to SOMEONE from my rainy, windy hotel room!

By Sunday AM (read: “The-Day-I-SHOULD-Have-Been-Leaving-For- A-7-Night-Cruise”) RCCL said we should instead book our own hotels probably because the logistics of them booking all the rooms proved too tough. But RCCL would reimburse us up to $125 per night per cabin for hotels as well as $100 per person per day for food. AND up to $50 for transport to the cruise terminal on Tuesday. And on top of that they were giving $650 per cabin in OBC for each of our Central Park Balcony cabins AND 10% discount on our next cruise. (Unused OBC is refundable.)

In my opinion this is INCREDIBLY generous of RCCL. I did NOT purchase insurance from them. They do NOT control the weather. They are under zero obligation to do anything for us financially (probably stated right in the cruise contract if I could understand the lawyer-talk.) And RCCL stepped up. In actuality, I would have expected SOMETHING for the days lost on board but offering to pick up the hotel, food & transport went above and beyond. They essentially gave us the coverage as if we had trip insurance. (For the record I do purchase trip insurance from a third party but probably can’t file a claim since RCCL is making us whole.) The OBC covered us almost to the penny for the lost days on board based on the price we paid for our cabins.

Interesting note, while sequestered in our rainy hotel room I got a kick out of reading Cruisecritic threads on my iPhone regarding the GRAVE injustice RCCL was inflicting upon us poor cruisers by only giving us $xxx in reimbursement, etc… The amusing thing was some of the most vocal RCCL-doomsay’ing posters were neither booked on this cruise nor had any financial involvement. Slow day at the office I guess… :) Who am I to talk – I was reading too.

PS – If I file my claim and RCCL does not reimburse me, I’ll back to post a scathing retraction. :) (KIDDING!)

THE SHIP AND THE CRUISE, ETC: Despite being shortened by 2 days there really is nothing better than being on a cruise. The little “ding” when you scan your SeaPass card, the first time you enter the Promenade or Central Park, the first sound of a vacuum toilet flushing…. PURE MAGIC! As I said, seven days would have been great, but 5 was better than nothing. That being said, 5 days is simply not enough (by a long shot) to fully enjoy Allure. There is so much to do, so much to see, so much to eat, five days don’t cut it. But we had a great time anyway. Wish I was still there.

- People, people & more people: Having sailed on Oasis and now Allure I can say, there are LOTS AND LOTS of people on board. And you know it. (Someone will reply to this post shortly to say they were on this sailing too and NEVER waited on line and I don’t know what I’m talking about – you just wait ! …. But I’m only reporting on MY experiences.) There will be lines for elevators. People will be rude and jump in front of you for an empty elevator despite you politely waiting for 5 minutes. Finding an empty table in the WindJammer became a competitive sport. It is not good. The lines at the Customer Service desk were reminiscent of breadlines during the Great Depression (only with brighter, ill-fitting cuisewear.) Some of the pools on sea-days resembled the ending scenes on the Titanic with wall-to-wall people thrashing about in the water. (Queue Celine Dion singing “My Heart Will Go On”.) Plan on getting to shows VERY early if you want a good seat. Sail-a-way would not be too early to head on down to the Amber Theater.

- Another note about WindJammer: Not to beat the proverbial dead horse but in a rare blunder, RCCL screwed up on this one, making the WindJammer too small, thinking people would use all the other breakfast choices. Yes there are PLENTY of other choices but the PAYING CRUISERS, the people keeping RCCL afloat ( - all puns intended - ) apparently WANT THEIR BUFFET!! (Myself included) We long for luke-warm pancakes, desire rock-hard “bagels,” yearn for yellow-colored-scrambled-egg-like-blobs, have a hankerin’ for sausage-esque meat sticks, etc…. The fact that we JAM into the WindJammer means we WANT to eat there. I’ll bet this is addressed on the Sunshine class somehow.

- Shows – Aside from the ship itself, this is where RCCL really distances itself from the competition. The shows are great. “Chicago” is the equal of any Broadway production of that show. (Personally I liked “Hairspray” better on Oasis but only because I enjoyed the SHOW better, not the actual performance.) “Blue Planet” is so unique. If you’re in port and MISS the ship but have a reservation for “Blue Planet,” consider swimming after the ship just to make the show. OK, maybe an exaggeration but some of the visual effects are stunning, especially the “tree” and the underwater sequence. The headliner was “Motown Live” and they were great; twenty-something-year-old cruisers might disagree though. The ice show “Ice Games” was the only “average” show. The story line is disjointed and the music actually too loud. And I played in a band for 20 years so that’s saying something. The one standout in Ice Games was the aerial acrobat/ice skater. BREATHTAKING! (And I’m betting there are very few job postings on monster_dot_com for ice-skatin’/aerial acrobats. Talk about your job security.)

- AquaTheater Show (OceanAria) was also great. Nothing like it at sea (or on land as far as I know.)

- Don’t miss the 70’s dance party . One of my fav moments on each cruise, Such a GREAT party. It’s like Times Square on New Years’ Eve minus the anonymous groping. Or Ryan Seacrest.

- The Food: Same as always. Average. We missed the new dining room menus by 2 weeks. Oh well. We did eat at Giovanni’s Table one night. Very good food. But the wait staff was a letdown. Had to wait 15 mins for our bill at the end of the meal, asking several times for our waiter to come on by. Not what we expected. We did not add an additional tip for those of you wondering. Park Café is good but needs to be bigger. (Again, I’ll bet they address that somehow on future ship-builds.)

- Ken Rush: (our cruise director) Meh. Not our favorite. Not that he did anything wrong, it’s just that we’ve had more engaging and entertaining cruise directors in the past. I’d call him middle-of-the-road, er, -sea.

- Staterooms & Attendant: We love the Central Park Balcony rooms and had a pair on Deck 10 (connecting.) So relaxing at night, not too noisy during the day. And a pretty good value if you time it just right. We were roughly over Chops Grille and if we had to do it again, we’d move further forward where the “garden views” are a little better. Our stateroom attendant was one of the best we ever had – Elizabeth from the Philippines. What a hardworking sweet young woman.

- MDR & Waitstaff – great table location, Table for 4 at the window on Deck 3. Wait staff was just OK. Our waiter is retiring after 30+ years with RCCL in 2 months and in a word was just adequate. The guy is probably TIRED. I would be. Assistant waiter was a nice guy but never really introduced himself. Was just kind of “there.” We’ve had had better on previous cruises.

- PORTS: Love Cozumel – went to Mr. Sancho’s Beach and had a very nice time and good lunch. (Then it rained in buckets – luckily we were always indoors or in the taxi during the worst of it.) In Nassau we just walked around a bit and went back to the ship. To be honest, for us the SHIP is the destination for the most part and nothing in Nassau really jumped out at us enough to make us book an excursion. We enjoyed the not-so-crowded ship instead.

That’s about all I got for now. I’m sure I’m forgetting something. Again, this was a great cruise on a stunning ship and RCCL really stepped up to make a bad situation just a little less disappointing. As for the future? I think it’s time for us to back down a bit to a smaller ship with fewer people. Oasis & Allure are great and everyone should try them out if they can swing it. But having been-there and done that (twice) we may try something smaller next time out. Unless – some Too-Good-To-Pass-Up-Deal presents itself for Oasis/Allure, then you’ll find me leaping over some scooter-ridin’ old lady to get that last empty table in The Windjammer. :)

Thanks for reading -- reply back if you have any questions.

Meant to add that as SOON as we learned our Allure cruise was being shortened, I took a taxi STRAIGHT over to the port to see if there were any weather-related cancellations on Oasis (which was just sitting there, getting ready to sail in 6 hours or so) and could we switch our reservations to it. Eventually made my way up to a pier supervisor who went to the checkin desks, checked the computer for a good 5 mins and.... nope. No cancellations and they were sailing full. Though SOME cancellations may have come later in the afternoon it would have been too late to make the changes to the manifest. Hey, can't fault a guy for trying. :confused:

(Even though we'd done a 7 Day Eastern Oasis already, I'd take a repeat performance on that over a 5 day Allure sailing.)

Nice review- entertaining and informative at the same time!!.and great attitude about the whole thing!! Thanks!!

....I agree, the Renaissance is nice, but I wouldn't say 4* - maybe 3.5......nothing wrong with it at all.....

Review was refreshing, reasonable, and to me on target.

Thank you for the review. You have a dynamic writing style and great attitude.

Enjoyed your review.

I was also on the Allure last week for the 5 day cruise.

I agree with everything you have offered in your review.

P.S. I keep wondering if the 58 Haitians that were rescued the week before our cruise caused the Allure to miss the window of opportunity to get back to Fort Lauderdale. Especially seeing that the Oasis made it back and out timely all the while by-passing Isaac. Just the same, RCCL did not abandone us anymore than they did the 58 people floating out at sea.

Great read! Thanks for sharing!

Loved your review! My husband and I leave on the Allure on Sunday and enjoyed your humorous style of writing:) Good for you having a positive attitude about the whole thing... You can't control the weather but you can make the best of things! Thanks again:)

Stacy

Great read! Thanks for sharing!

Hey, don't I know you from somewhere????? ;)

Hey, don't I know you from somewhere????? ;)

Yes I believe we have shared a few cruise stories! Welcome back on land. Can not wait to see the pixs.

 

- People, people & more people: Having sailed on Oasis and now Allure I can say, there are LOTS AND LOTS of people on board. And you know it... There will be lines for elevators. People will be rude and jump in front of you for an empty elevator despite you politely waiting for 5 minutes. Finding an empty table in the WindJammer became a competitive sport. It is not good. The lines at the Customer Service desk were reminiscent of breadlines during the Great Depression (only with brighter, ill-fitting cuisewear.) Some of the pools on sea-days resembled the ending scenes on the Titanic with wall-to-wall people thrashing about...Plan on getting to shows VERY early if you want a good seat.

 

I don't doubt that you experienced crowds, but you can minimize your exposure to them.

(btw I was not on this sailing.)

For ex, we had a room on Deck 8 and often used the stairs. Elevators were occasionally crowded, but no more so than on other ships. A bigger problem was making it to the open elevator if you were at either end of the banks. Tip: stand in the middle when waiting.

We never used WJ for breakfast. Park Cafe was really good and we always got a seat.

I don't think you could avoid lines at customer service due to your unique problem of being on a shortened sailing. Otherwise, at customer service, only get on line when there are few people waiting. Long line? Go back later.

We did not use the pools. Unfortunately, this may be one of the unavoidable crowd situations if you want to be by the pool.

Getting into shows: we read several reviews that said you needed to be on line waiting, even with reservations, 45 min prior in order to get good seats. We found that 30 min was plenty early to get choice seats. 30 min was even enough time to get on the standby line at the comedy show and get a seat. Maybe it was more crowded for you because they cancelled shows due to the shortened sailing?

Our sailing was full @ 6280 people. I don't doubt that you waited, but widespread waiting can be avoided if you are willing to compromise.

And my kids actually said several times, "Where are all the people?"

I don't doubt that you experienced crowds, but you can minimize your exposure to them........... but widespread waiting can be avoided if you are willing to compromise."

Thanks for your common sense tips which we used on this sailing. (We did use stairs when appropriate, came back later to customer service, etc...)

But what it really comes down to is, when paying a premium for the Allure/Oasis twins, how willing are we to compromise? It's a personal decision. We'll see what the future brings.

Glad to read a review of the Allure shortened cruise. Smart move to attempt to sail on the Oasis! Too bad it wasn't to be. The Allure is definitely a destination and five days would just barely be enough time to sail on her. I can't imagine the disappointment of the many cruisers at having a short sail. Sounds like you made the best of the situation.

I always have to smile at the there are "a lot" of passengers and "seemed like few" passengers on the Oasis class ships and then the rebuttle that ensues. I always look at it as you stated...your opinion. Just like food. Some "love" it and others "hate" it. It's that person's viewpoint.

We too had a less than stellar experience at Giovanni's in June on the Allure. Had eaten at Giovanni's on the Oasis and was positive...of course, that just our opinion! ;)

Great review. :)

I always have to smile at the there are "a lot" of passengers and "seemed like few" passengers on the Oasis class ships and then the rebuttle that ensues. I always look at it as you stated...your opinion. Just like food.

It's not opinion so much as venues/times chosen.

Pool during nice weather, WJ at peak eating times, and elevators after shows *will be* crowded. Even for me. If you go to WJ off peak you will not feel those crowds. If you are looking for an elevator away from showtimes, you will not have a big crowd pushing you on or off.

I don't think it gives future cruisers a good idea of crowds unless you explain *why* there are crowds. 6000 people is 6000 people and different venues will feel crowded vs not crowded depending on when you go.

How did you feel about the crowds? We were on the same cruise as you were.

We were on that cruise and felt the crowds more than we did on the Oasis. Perhaps it was because they attempted to cram 7 days of entertainment, etc. into 5 days? We also noticed that Guest Relations was doing a booming business. ;)

All in all, almost all the passengers we spoke with were fine with the compromise that RCCL presented. I guess the only issue we had during the whole ordeal was waiting for RCCL emergency line to call us back (as they said they would) regarding the hotel situation. (BTW, we would still be waiting.... :eek:) But 15 minutes prior to check out time on Sunday, we (three couples) called back and were advised to find our own hotels and that we would be reimbursed up to $125/night. Whew! Unfortunately, by that time, some hotels were booked up.

It was an interesting week - one we will not soon forget.

I was also on the Allure last week for the 5 day cruise.

 

I agree with everything you have offered in your review.

 

P.S. I keep wondering if the 58 Haitians that were rescued the week before our cruise caused the Allure to miss the window of opportunity to get back to Fort Lauderdale. Especially seeing that the Oasis made it back and out timely all the while by-passing Isaac. Just the same, RCCL did not abandone us anymore than they did the 58 people floating out at sea.

I also enjoyed the review.

As for your question, I'm the farthest thing from a cruise expert or a maritime expert, but this much I can say with certainty: Oasis "made it back and out timely" because it was scheduled to arrive on Saturday morning and depart Saturday afternoon. Port Everglades itself was closed on Sunday. It would have been impossible for RCI to get Allure in there and then back out on Sunday because the port was closed. And it's not like they could've shortened the previous week's cruise by bringing them in on Saturday and then boarding us and getting us out on Saturday (one day early) because half the guests wouldn't have arrived in time. Think about it ... as disaapointed as we all were with a 5-day cruise instead of a 7-day, how ANGRY would many people be about the cruise line leaving without us without enough time for us to make earlier travel arrangements.

We were on that cruise and felt the crowds more than we did on the Oasis. Perhaps it was because they attempted to cram 7 days of entertainment, etc. into 5 days? ..... It was an interesting week - one we will not soon forget.

Good point -- could be! On the last afternoon the line for the ZipLine was maybe 35+ deep. Everyone who said they WERE going to try it had 2 fewer days TO do it.

And yes, it was a trip we'll not forget. (I can already see the video I took from our hotel of the torrential rain and palm tree fronds flyng off becoming a family memory -- seriously!)

Isn't this fun? All of us who were on the cruise are adding our "two cents"! ;)

This was my fourth cruise on the Allure and my fifth on Oasis class. (all of you mathematicians: that means one on the Oasis)

I feel that I have had some experience with this class of ship. And every other class of RC ship. (Disclaimer: was never on Empress)

No more crowded than other ships.

You can have trouble finding a table in the WJ on Majesty, Enchantment, Jewel, Mariner, Independence.

BUT...................................

KMagz understated the Guest Relations situation quite playfully.

"Business was booming"

GR was a nightmare.

Minimum 30 minute wait, even at 1 a.m. (and NOT on the last night, when you would expect it)

People had SO MANY issues on this cruise (legitimate ones, not creepy, whiny ones) that there was ALWAYS a long line at GR, and frankly, never enough stations being manned.

If I am the GR manager, and I see lines like that, I count the number of stations that I have (8 or 10, I think) and put out EIGHT or TEN workers.

Not four or five, which is the most that I saw at any one time except for the final night.

My roommate and I collectively probably spent 5 hours in line, and we didn't feel that that was time well-spent on a five night cruise.

On other cruises, most of the time that you walk past GR, there is either NO ONE in line, or just a couple of people.

Not this cruise.

Just MY two cents.

Had a fabulous cruise, by the way.

If I hadn't been on three times before, I might have felt more short-changed on the entertainment and scheduled activities.

The upgrade to a JS probably helped to soften the blow. :D

I enjoyed your perspective on your 5-night,7-day cruise. Thanks for sharing.

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

Another Allure 5 nt cruiser.....we thoroughly enjoed the cruise and all the shows. We never dined in the Windjammer this cruise(and have never been able to say that after 56 cruises until now). It was nice having other options for breakfast, and the only time we went into the Windjammer, it was a crazy madhouse about thirty minutes before closing time for lunch one day. We went in for some fruit, and left without getting anything. We went down to Park Cafe, got our fruit cup and sat out in the Central Park enjoying the fake bird sounds!:) There were always spots around the ship which were less crowded. I waited in GR line about 15 minutes one day, and saw long and short lines there at other times. We would love to go on a 7 night Oasis cruise to see Hairspray, but after that I prefer cruising on Freedom class ships and even Explorer class ones.

KMagz understated the Guest Relations situation quite playfully.

 

"Business was booming"

Not to split hairs but MY witty quote regarding GR lines was "The lines at the Customer Service desk were reminiscent of breadlines during the Great Depression (only with brighter, ill-fitting cuisewear.)" Another poster so eloquently stated that "business was booming." Must give credit where credit is due. :)

And what was with the roughly 157 young teenage girls all in blue t-shirts standing in line at GR one day? Part of some huge group cruise I guess?

Not to split hairs but MY witty quote regarding GR lines was "The lines at the Customer Service desk were reminiscent of breadlines during the Great Depression (only with brighter, ill-fitting cuisewear.)" Another poster so eloquently stated that "business was booming." Must give credit where credit is due. :)

 

And what was with the roughly 157 young teenage girls all in blue t-shirts standing in line at GR one day? Part of some huge group cruise I guess?

Quinceañeras

My wife and I were on this cruise also.

I enjoyed your review very much. You wrote in a way that explained everything nicely.

I agree with everything you said.

We could see the Oasis OTS from our hotel room on Saturday, also. We called to get on it and were told the manifest was closed. We think alike!

P.S. I keep wondering if the 58 Haitians that were rescued the week before our cruise caused the Allure to miss the window of opportunity to get back to Fort Lauderdale.

On our bridge tour the 2nd officer said Allure would have made it to FLL BEFORE the storm, BUT they closed the port and could not come in. He said they hovered below Cuba and waited for the storm to pass. IT WAS NOT ROYAL CARIBBEAN'S FAULT!

I guess the only issue we had during the whole ordeal was waiting for RCCL emergency line to call us back (as they said they would) regarding the hotel situation. (BTW, we would still be waiting.... :eek:) But 15 minutes prior to check out time on Sunday, we (three couples) called back and were advised to find our own hotels and that we would be reimbursed up to $125/night. Whew! Unfortunately, by that time, some hotels were booked up.

We were on hold for almost 2 hours before we were cut off the first time we called. Then almost 3 hours on hold before we were cut off again. We gave up trying again the first day. We called again in the morning. After about 1.5 hours on hold again, someone answered and said hello, hello. I said do not hang up!! Click, they hung up. I was very upset. At that point, I made reservations for the next 2 nights where I was staying. I finally got someone on the line and they explained what Royal Caribbean was going to do. I think it is fair.

On the last afternoon the line for the ZipLine was maybe 35+ deep. Everyone who said they WERE going to try it had 2 fewer days TO do it.

 

And yes, it was a trip we'll not forget. (I can already see the video I took from our hotel of the torrential rain and palm tree fronds flyng off becoming a family memory -- seriously!)

My wife and I wanted to do the Zipline, too. It was crowded. I would not stand in line for an hour just for a 15 second ride either.

I remember the palm tree fronds falling on cars in the parking lot, too!