Allure Oct 5-12, 2014 Trip Review

As this is my first review it won’t be as detailed and wonderful as some of the other reviews that I poured over in preparation for my first time aboard the beautiful Allure of the Seas (I highly recommend checking out the wonderful reviews by Gambee, KansCocoa, Swim13, and AZAficionado). This is my fourth Royal Caribbean cruise and first Oasis Class ship (previously done Explorer, Navigator, and Liberty). I (32) do an annual cruise with my mother (65) and this year we booked Allure somewhat last minute (about 6 weeks out) and had a wonderful time. Please feel free to ask any questions!

Pre Cruise: Saturday October 4th

Flew into FLL from Newark and stayed the night at the Embassy Suites on 17th Street. I booked the hotel through the Last Minute Travel Club and got a great deal ($124/night). The hotel was a short ride from the airport, very clean, and incredibly convenient for picking up all the last minute necessities. Right behind the hotel is a huge Publix, Total Wine, and some other restaurants/shops. Down a few blocks was a CVS and a few more restaurants. We picked up a 24 bottle case of water at Publix (we had no problem checking this in at the pier, we just placed it in a duffel bag with a luggage tag and it arrived with the rest of our luggage) and some delicious wine from Total Wine (coming from NYC the prices and service were excellent :p). One annoyance about the hotel is that it charges $9.95/day for internet (a pet peeve of mine :rolleyes:).

Day 1: Sunday October 5th

Embarkation: We enjoyed the free breakfast buffet at the hotel and headed over to the ship at 11:30 a.m. The hotel has a shuttle that was $8/pp, however, we ended up taking a cab over and it was $8.50 total (about a 6 minute ride) so it worked out cheaper. Embarkation ran incredibly smooth. We waited about five minutes in the Gold line and were on the ship by noon. Headed over to the Park Café for a delicious roast beef sandwich and fruit snack. At about 12:30 p.m. it was not that crowded and we easily got a table in Central Park and did some great people watching.

Room: Rooms opened at 1:00 p.m. on the dot. We had an Ocean View Balcony on the Seventh Floor (7722). We did a balcony guarantee and were very happy with the choice (took about 10 days for our room to pop up on the system). Although it was far aft, we enjoyed the walk and it was right around the corner to a secret entrance to the rock climbing area/aqua theater, which came in handy. Plus, the extra walk came in handy to burn off the enormous amounts of cheesecake lollipops I managed to eat! The room was definitely smaller than other balcony rooms we’ve had but the two of us fit comfortably. The bed was by the closet, which did make it tough to maneuver. From looking at the other rooms down the hall it looked like every room that was on the left had the bed by the closet and the rooms on the right had the bed by the balcony. The ship docked starboard at each port so we got some great views and people watching off the balcony. Our room steward was Rod and he was a delight. The towel animals, while not as frequent as in the past were definitely some of the more creative/fun that we’ve seen.

Dinner: Chops Steakhouse (6:30 p.m.) ($35/pp) -- We made the reservation about 4 weeks in advance online and received the 20% discount for dinning at a specialty restaurant the first night of the cruise. The food was wonderful. I had the shrimp/crab cakes (perfectly decent), petite filet (by far the beast steak on the ship), asparagus (perfectly roasted), tater tots (eh, skippable) and warm lava cake (hit the chocolate spot, but the warm chocolate cake in the dining room is actually better). My mother had the shrimp cocktail (absolutely wonderful, I would get this next time), short ribs (melt in your mouth delicious), and the baked potato (perfectly adequate). Service was excellent, however, I didn’t realize until later that you can purchase a bottle of wine and start it at one restaurant and continue to drink from it throughout the cruise. Bonus dining experience, Captain Johnny and a group of officers were dining at the table next to us. They were hilarious and most gracious. They didn’t cringe too hard when my mother called the ship a “boat” (hides in shame :eek:).

Entertainment:

Chicago (9:00 p.m.) -- While the performances were very good, it did make me want to run home and watch the movie on dvd as the movie performances are just so iconic. It was an abbreviated version of the movie/Broadway version and hit all of the major songs/scenes. It was not that crowded so while reservations are suggested you could definitely get away with walking in and finding a good seat.

Casino Royale -- We loved to hit the Casino up after dinner and we found the Casino on Allure to be of decent size and the smoke free side was actually smoke free, which was refreshing. They did use a very powerful odorizer the first day that was overpowering. Either we got used to it over the week or they toned it down after the first day because it was not that noticeable as the week went on. We made several “donations” to the Casino over the course of the week but had a great time at it.

Day 2: Monday October 6th (Cruising -- Formal Night)

Daytime Activities: We split most of our time at the Solarium (insanely hot with little breeze, frequent dips in the pool were needed) and the sun deck by the main pool (much cooler with the breeze).

Meet and Mingle (9:30 a.m. in Dazzles) -- It was very well attended and I was upset that I hadn’t had enough time pre-cruise to get a gift for the gift exchange. It looked like some people walked away with some wonderful mementos.

Crown and Anchor Welcome Back Party (10:15 a.m. in the Aqua Theater) -- A lovely little party with free champagne/mimosas and a little variety show put on by the Ocean Aria performers. Captain Johnny and each of the heads of the various areas of the ship spoke and introduced themselves.

Dining:

Breakfast -- Room Service. Perfectly adequate for a quick meal on the balcony. Bacon was hot and crispy. Eggs were a little cold but still edible. Fruit plate was also very nice. Coffee and tea were served hot!

Lunch -- Windjammer. Crowded with a bit of a wait to get in. They were waiting to sit people and would walk you to a table. This was the only day we saw this and it definitely backed things up a bit. The selection of food was okay, this was my least favorite dining venue on the ship.

Dinner -- Main Dining Room. It was the first formal night so we saw all sorts of beautiful dresses that ranged from sundresses to full length evening gowns. The food tonight was my least favorite out of the three nights we ate in the main dining room. I had the bay scallop gratin to start, which as you will see are a personal favorite of mine. They lived up to past experiences. I had the filet, which paled in comparison to Chops. And for desert I had the chocolate soufflé, which was simply disappointing. It had very little taste and did not satisfy my constant need for something chocolate. I made up for this by picking up several cheesecake lollipops at the promenade café later :p!

Day 3: Tuesday October 7th (Labadee)

Labadee: I booked the Dragon’s Breath Zip Line online ($95/pp) a few weeks before the trip. I booked a 9:00 a.m. slot and was done by 10:15 a.m. It was an incredible thrill with great views of the beach/ship. I highly recommend it but it is definitely something you only need to do once. We spent the rest of the morning on Adrenaline Beach, which does not have swimming access (the shore is very rocky) but is less crowded than Barefoot Beach. Make sure to bring some small bills to tip the chair attendants, we had to stand around awkwardly while digging up a few singles after they set our chairs up. Alternatively, you can just carry your own chairs and set them up but we noticed that quite a few of the chairs were broken.

We made it over to the lunch buffet around 1:00 p.m. (it closes around 1:30 p.m.). It was also very crowded and we had to wait on line for about 10 minutes before getting our food. Food was perfectly adequate bbq type fare. After lunch we headed over to the market and bought a few trinkets. We did venture into the artisan’s village and bought some stuff from the vendors there. A firm no thank you got most of the vendors out of your path though my mother did feel uncomfortable at points due to the level of desperation of some of the vendors. After our market experience it was too hot for us to spend much more time at the beach and we called it quits.

Dining:

Breakfast-- Room Service. Same as before. I will note that they call you ten minutes before delivering, which worked as a nice wake up call for us!

Dinner -- Johnny Rockets. We were a bit fried from the day in the sun and watched a quick and easy dinner before Ocean Aria so we went with the old familiar Johnny Rockets. $5.95/pp cover charge gets you unlimited onion rings and fries and some pretty decent burgers.

Entertainment:

Ocean Aria (9:30 p.m.) -- We made the reservation online about 4 weeks in advance. Excellent. The comparisons to a Cirque du Soleil show are well deserved. Each performance was incredible. This is one show that I would recommend getting to early (doors open 45 mins prior to start time). Latecomers were stuck siting on the bench seating or in the first three rows, which were splash zones.

Day 4: Wednesday October 8th (Falmouth)

Falmouth: As none of the excursions looked that interesting to me, I did some research and booked the Falmouth Culinary Tour, which was a walking tour that started in the port area and then took you around some of the more historic sites outside of the port. The tour was hands down one of the highlights of the entire trip and gave us something different than the usual beach break excursion. It took about three hours and was $45/pp and provided a full lunch. The tour started at 11:00 a.m. Jamaica time (12:00 p.m. ship time). We felt completely comfortable on the tour and were happy to be in the hands of our very knowledgeable tour guides. We left with full bellies and big smiles. It was very hot out and we both burned while walking around :cool:.

At the information booth in the center of the port you can buy a $10 wifi card that will give you wifi for the day. It worked great in the port area and I could just get enough service off of our balcony to send a few texts but it was too weak to do much else.

Dining:

Breakfast -- Park Café. They had light breakfast stuff available: bagels, oatmeal, breakfast sandwiches, and my favorite, a breakfast burrito made with chili con carne. We hit the café around 10:30 a.m. and it was not too crowded. Found seats and enjoyed my delicious breakfast burrito!

Dinner -- Rita’s Fiesta (8:30 p.m.) ($10/pp (w/o alcohol)). We were pretty tired when we got back to the ship and weren’t sure we were up for the main dining room so we opted for Rita’s Fiesta instead. Apps were okay, mostly fried and kind of tasteless. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the main course of fajitas and of course the desert platter that included churros and chocolate sauce! Food was served family style but we were at our own table of two. Everyone received a light up necklace upon entry and in between apps and the main course there was a healthy dose of dancing on the boardwalk.

Entertainment:

70’s Street Party (10:00 p.m.) -- We are big fans of the 70’s Street Party on the Promenade and the Allure did not disappoint! All the classics were played, flashing rings were flung about, and the cruise staff did a great job of energizing the crowd.

Headliner Show (10:45 p.m.) -- Savannah Jack was our headliner and I was completely surprised at how much we enjoyed the show. I had thought that they would play more country tunes (nothing against country music) but they ended up covering the whole spectrum from Motown to Pearl Jam. It was a great show and they even involved the crowd by serenading the two longest married couples at the show! There were plenty of available seats so while it was nice to get in early with a reservation not sure it was necessary.

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Day 5: Thursday October 8th (Cruising -- Formal Night)

Daytime Activities: In an effort to stay somewhat fit on the ship I started the day with a flywheel spinning class ($29.50/pp) at 9:00 a.m. I spin regularly at home but this class was intense! It felt good to sweat out a few of the cheesecake lollipops that I had indulged in all cruise. Today was a bit of a cloudy day, so we spent it lazily on the balcony reading and vegging out.

Dining:

Breakfast -- Promenade Café. Croissants and muffins for breakfast fare. Good for a quick bite.

Lunch -- Windjammer. Still crowded but you could sit yourself this time. Food selection was the same. I will say that the Windjammer french fries were another guilty pleasure of mine. Crispy and salted to perfection!

Dinner -- Giovanni’s Table (9:00 p.m.) ($25/pp). Made this reservation a few weeks prior to the cruise. The atmosphere at Giovanni’s was wonderful. There was a jazz duo playing right outside in Central Park and the music perfectly complemented the food. We couldn’t make up our minds and decided to split everything. Antipasti for two (pretty standard), baked mozzarella/prosciutto appetizer (can’t go wrong here, warm cheese and meat), mushroom risotto (to die for, the flavor was wonderful and the risotto was perfectly cooked), pappardelle with pancetta and tomato sauce (perfectly cooked, not much of a pancetta flavor but still very good), baked shrimp (eh, skippable, not much flavor), and chocolate tart for desert (perfectly satisfied my nightly chocolate craving).

Entertainment:

Comedy Show (8:00 p.m.) -- Robbie Printz and Jim David were the comedians this week. After Ocean Aria this was our favorite show. It was on the naughty side but we loved it. Both comedians took leads from the audience and it got wild! We are still laughing. Reservations are definitely recommended. The studio is very small. It looked like a few people got in off the wait list but I would get there early to be safe.

Day 6: Friday October 10th (Cozumel)

Cozumel: We got off the ship around 11:00 a.m. and took a cab to Playa Palancar ($20 cab ride, around 10 minutes from the international pier). It doesn’t cost you anything to get into Palancar and all drinks/foods are pay per what you eat/drink. We aren’t big drinkers so this worked out perfect for us. We ended up spending around $27 for two quesadillas, fruit plate, Corona light, and a diet coke. The beach is on the smaller side and it got more crowded as the day went on (Navigator of the Seas and the Carnival Dream were in port with us). It is more of a low key beach experience, no loud music, no water floats, and no pool. It looked like you could rent jet skis or arrange a snorkeling trip as well. We spent most of the time on the beach loungers or in the water. The beach is rocky so I would recommend bringing water shoes. I prefer Nachi Cocom over Palancar but since we booked the cruise last minute Nachi had already filled up. Palancar was definitely cheaper and a close second in experience. Food and service were top notch.

Dining:

Morning -- Park Café. Same as before. Quick and yummy.

Dinner -- Main Dining Room. I was pretty stuffed from lunch (supplemented with a few cheesecake lollipops) so I had the bay scallop gratin (garlic buttery delight as always) and sliders (fries were great, sliders were a little dry/overcooked) for dinner. My mother had the shrimp goyza for her main, which while on the small side were one of the best tasting things all week. For desert I had the molten chocolate cake, which put all other warm chocolate cakes to shame. I’m still drooling over it! :p

Entertainment:

Blue Planet (11:00 p.m.) -- The sets were amazing. The singers (same cast as Chicago) were all powerhouse performances. That being said we found it to be a little bit of a snoozefest. The overall theme was held loosely together by various songs/performances that touched on mother earth and the elements. We admittedly both fell asleep at certain points (it could have been too many days in the sun as well). We had reservations but I do not think they were needed, plenty of seats available.

Day 7: Saturday October 11th (Cruising)

Daytime Activities: Spent the day at the pool soaking up all the sun we could. It was very windy on the top deck so we moved down below about half way through the afternoon. I attempted (very poorly) to climb the rock wall this afternoon as well. I can’t say whether it was the heat or maybe the dazzling smiles of the attendants that wiped me out but I only had the strength to make it up halfway! I went around 4:00 p.m. and had to wait less than 10 minutes for my turn. The heat was full on, so I would recommend going earlier or later when the sun is not beating down on you!

Dining:

Breakfast -- Windjammer. Not as crowded as lunch. Crispy bacon, make your own omelets, and several types of hash brown/potatoes equaled a happy camper. Selection was not overwhelming but perfectly adequate for a hearty breakfast.

Lunch -- Promenade Café. We had a late lunch due to spending too much time in the sun! I had two of the chicken roti wraps (very flavorful) and of course a cheesecake lollipop. My mother had the croissant sandwiches with brie and ham (also very tasty).

Dinner -- Main Dining Room. Since we had the late lunch I opted for a series of appetizers for dinner. Starting with, of course, the bay scallop gratin. Our server (Mary) was excellent and anticipated every need. Knowing my love of the scallops, she brought me a surprise serving of the escargot, which I happily devoured! I also had the seared scallops (small but very tasty) and a salad with baked feta (refreshing). My mother had the lentil soup (very tasty and not too salty) and the turkey (I’m not a huge turkey fan but this was very good). For desert I had the key lime pie, which gave any key lime pie I had in Key West a run for its money.

Entertainment:

Ice Games (3:30 p.m.) -- I’m always amazed at the tricks the performers can pull off on the tiny ice rinks! This show did not disappoint even though the theme was a little strange. The guest star was incredible and I held my breath through most of her tricks! Reservations are recommended, it filled up pretty quickly though there were still a few empty seats with less than stellar views.

Comedy Show (10:30 p.m.) -- This was the all ages Comedy Show held in the Amber Theater. Although it was not nearly as naughty as the adults only show, this show still provided some great laughs and was the perfect send off. No reservations needed.

Day 8: Sunday October 12th

Disembarkation: Took longer than any other ship we’ve sailed on. They said that there were “delays” with customs, which put everyone back by about 30 minutes. When we finally got called to disembark we waited about another 20-30 minutes to make it through customs. After that we got in a cab with no wait and $13 later we were at the airport!

Overall Thoughts: We loved the Allure and are already going through serious withdrawal! We found the service to be leaps and bounds above any other ships/hotels we’ve been on. Each and every person had a smile on their face and was willing to help. The ship never felt crowded except for lunchtime in Windjammer or at Labadee. There were always sun chairs available and plenty of servers to keep you feeling good.

We did the soda package ($52.33/pp) and were very happy with the selection. There was never more than a five minute wait for the machines (2 on the promenade, 4 in Windjammer, and 1 on the sports deck). At various times some of the flavors ran out but they were always refilled later. The diet/light selections were very good, I drank my fair share of Powerade Zero.

Another thing to note is that at various times they had a free wifi promotion for two hours during the day. The first one that I noticed was on Day 3 from 5-7 p.m. and the second was on Day 5 from 12-2 p.m. All you had to do was put in the code “ROYALWOW” and you were able to log on for free. It was a bit slow at first but then worked perfectly well. I also bought an hour of wifi to use during the week ($26.95 with the C&A discount).

Because we dined at three specialty restaurants we also got what amounted to a 30% credit that was put on our bill the last day.

Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to ask any questions!

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Thanks for the review. Did they advertise the free wifi in the cruise compass?

Thanks for the great review.

Thanks for the review. Did they advertise the free wifi in the cruise compass?

No, it was announced over the PA system by the Cruise Director about 10-15 minutes before the free period started. Those were the only two periods I noticed but there may have been others.

Thank you for the wonderful review. These BIG ships have never been on my "bucket list" but your review has given me food for thought. Good job!

We were also on this cruise. Actually we were neighbors as we were in 7706! I agree with OP's review...great cruise. My wife won the bag of goodies at the M&M.

I was part of the WPT group and had a blast playing poker.

Frank & Nancy

Great review and great tips for when we get to board her in 3 short weeks. . Thanx

Sent from my SM-G900T using Forums mobile app

Awesome review! Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with us!

What three restaurants did you do? You get the 20% off on the first night, plus 30% back at the end?? That sounds like a really good deal. Do you have to book in advance or can you do this on board??

Loved the review. We will be doing this cruise in January. Thanks for all your info.

Irene

Thank you for the wonderful review. These BIG ships have never been on my "bucket list" but your review has given me food for thought. Good job!

We were pretty nervous about the size of the ship but it truly ended up being a good thing. The only time it felt crowded was at Windjammer, Labadee, and disembarkation. Otherwise there are so many unique areas to hang out in and things to do that you truly forget you're sharing the ship with six thousand people!

What three restaurants did you do? You get the 20% off on the first night, plus 30% back at the end?? That sounds like a really good deal. Do you have to book in advance or can you do this on board??

 

 

 

Loved the review. We will be doing this cruise in January. Thanks for all your info.

 

 

 

Irene

I just double checked and it looks like we got twenty off the first night and then twenty off the back end when we did all three. We had booked chops and Giovanni's prior to leaving through the online reservation system. We booked Rita's fiesta day of. They had people walking through the promenade getting people to sign up for the fiesta. It was no trouble at all.

Thanks for the review! My family will be making the same trip soon, so I'm always happy to read how other people found their experience.

So which were the 'hot' machines in the casino? I promise not to tell anyone else. ;)

Thanks for great review. Looking forward to my own Allure adventure very soon.

Very nicely done.

Thanks for posting.

We loved the Allure, and are doing the Oasis Western next summer.

Sea Ya

Now that you are home, report back whether you incur any roaming charges from your carrier when you used the ship's "free wifi," assuming you accessed it on a phone.

Now that you are home, report back whether you incur any roaming charges from your carrier when you used the ship's "free wifi," assuming you accessed it on a phone.

If you put the phone in airplane mode, there will be no charges from the cell carrier.

Thanks for the review. 4 more weeks to go for me! I am so excited :D

Now that you are home, report back whether you incur any roaming charges from your carrier when you used the ship's "free wifi," assuming you accessed it on a phone.

I can confirm the OP's "free wifi". They had a couple periods later on in the week when you could log into the ship's wifi network with "ROYALWOW" as the username and password and get free (slow!) wifi.

Now that you are home, report back whether you incur any roaming charges from your carrier when you used the ship's "free wifi," assuming you accessed it on a phone.

No roaming charges! If you have an iPhone all you need to do is go into settings and turn your cellular data off. This will prevent you from getting roaming charges and will restrict you to only using wifi. You can't use airplane mode because that also turns off wifi.

No roaming charges! If you have an iPhone all you need to do is go into settings and turn your cellular data off. This will prevent you from getting roaming charges and will restrict you to only using wifi. You can't use airplane mode because that also turns off wifi.

While airplane mode initially turns off WiFi, you can turn WiFi back on while the phone is still in airplane mode. If you just turn off cellular data, the phone can still receive voice calls and texts, so will be subject to charges from the cellular carrier.

While airplane mode initially turns off WiFi, you can turn WiFi back on while the phone is still in airplane mode. If you just turn off cellular data, the phone can still receive voice calls and texts, so will be subject to charges from the cellular carrier.

Thanks! I didn't know about being able to turn wifi back on in airplane mode. I have verizon and with cellular data and roaming turned off on my iPhone incoming calls and texts do not come through. All that will come through are iMessages when you're hooked into wifi.

Thanks! I didn't know about being able to turn wifi back on in airplane mode. I have verizon and with cellular data and roaming turned off on my iPhone incoming calls and texts do not come through. All that will come through are iMessages when you're hooked into wifi.

I guess AT&T is different. I am able to receive calls and SMS texts on my iPhone with cellular data and roaming off.

While airplane mode initially turns off WiFi, you can turn WiFi back on while the phone is still in airplane mode. If you just turn off cellular data, the phone can still receive voice calls and texts, so will be subject to charges from the cellular carrier.

You are 100% correct! This applies to iPhone and Android phones. Do and use it all the time.

I guess AT&T is different. I am able to receive calls and SMS texts on my iPhone with cellular data and roaming off.

That could be it. I just remembered that my mother has AT&T and even with cellular data and roaming off she kept picking up cellular at sea so we just put her phone in airplane mode and had no issues.