REVIEW - Allure of the Seas - June 12 to 19 - Eastern Caribbean

Finally getting around to writing a review of our cruise. Our group consisted of four staterooms with 2 seniors, 6 adults, and two kids. All of us have cruised multiple times, including several cruises on RCI, and the second on Allure of the Seas for some of us.

EMBARKATION

Very smooth and efficient. We arrived at the cruise port shortly after 11AM, dropped off our luggage curbside with the porters and headed into the terminal to register. The terminal is big, but plenty of staff to manage the crowds. All four staterooms were checked in within 30-minutes of arriving in the terminal and we were on the ship shortly after.

Tip 1: Our SetSail pass listed check-in time at 12:30PM. But based on CC feedback, we arrived earlier, which proved to be a great decision.

Tip 2: Because of Tip 1, we arrived in the Windjammer at 11:45AM and found it less than half full. We were able to secure a table for 10 next to a window overlooking the pools. By 12PM, it started to full up and by the time we left at 12:40PM, the line was at least 25 parties deep.

STATEROOM

Room 12299/Boardwalk Balcony View/B1:

Good room and good location at the aft, but still close enough to the rest of the ship. Decent size room and balcony for a cruise ship. We had two adults and a child in this room. There was a sofa bed and pullman option for the child and we chose the pullman. The stateroom attendant was very hesitant to open the pullman for us and kept trying to steer us towards the sofa bed. I am glad we insisted on the pullman. Keep in mind, once the sofa bed is opened, you lost half of the floor space in the room, and restrict access to the balcony. By using the pullman, you maintain almost all of the floor space since it is located directly above the sofa. We found adquate drawer and closet space throughout for all of our luggage items. As far as noise is concerned, yes you will hear a buzz during the day and it will be a little loud when OceanAria is performing. Otherwise, we were not bothered by noise. The 12th deck location allowed people watching, and a decent view of the OceanAria stage.

Stateroom Attendant: Excellent! Introduced herself right away on the first day, learned our names immediately, and did a great job of keeping our stateroom clean. She made it a point to touch base each day to ensure she was cleaning and turning down our room at a time that was convenient for everyone. Great with the kids as well. Tipped her extra and well-deserved.

Tip 3: If you have a choice between a sofa bed or pullman, TAKE THE PULLMAN! Huge difference in the amount of floor space. We also chose to leave it open during the day which made naps and hanging out a lot more comfortable. You can't do that with a sofa bed without losing much of your floor space.

DINING

MDR: We had the 6PM early seating. Food was good for the most part. The New York Strip Steak and Prime Rib entrees were very good portion and quality wise. Pasta portions were on the small side, but you can order multiples. Pleasantly surprised about the quality of the lobster. Nice selection of appetizers and desserts. Overall, our group enjoyed the food options. Service was good as well, although it was very slow at times, which I do not blame on our server and assistant. They were both polite, professional and worked VERY hard to keep our group happy. I do blame the slow service on short-staffing and too much of a workload on a team of two. On two nights we had a show scheduled at 7:30PM. We told our server when we sat down and she made every effort to get us there on time. They had way too many tables to be efficient. On previous RCI cruises, the head waiter, Maitre'd, and Asst. Maitre'd had a daily presence and even helped the servers when needed. On this cruise, we occasionally saw the head waiter and never saw the Maitre'd and Asst. Maitre'd. Again, the slow service is due to a management issue, not a server issue.

MDR Breakfast and Lunch: Good selections. A nice comfortable environment if you want table service.

Chops Grille: Excellent overall experience. The steaks were of high quality and cooked well. The appetizer options were great and all delicious. Highly, highly recommend the bacon. It's a thick cut piece of pork belly that I'm still dreaming about!

Windjammer: Nothing spectacular and equivalent to a mid-tier Las Vegas buffet. But the kids always love it.

Park Cafe: The Kummelweck Beef Sandwich is as good as everyone talks about. It makes an excellent in between meal snack.

Sorrento's: Medicore pizza, but open late and very convenient.

Dog Haus: Loved the hot dog options - everyone of them. My favorite snack and very convenient.

Donut place on the boardwalk: Selection of 6 to 8 different types of donuts with coffee, tea, and water next to the donut case. Only available until 9AM or so. Since we were in a Boardwalk room, it was nice a quick trip bring donuts and coffee to the room each morning while we were getting ready.

Bow and Stern: Great atmosphere and beer selection. A little disappointed there weren't more draft beer options, but still a great place to hang out. Nightly entertainment was good too.

Tip 4: Let your server know if you have a show scheduled back to back with your dinner seating.

Tip 5: If you order multiple apps (or entrees), you can ask your server to deliver them together instead of one after the other. Otherwise, your meal will easily exceed two hours.

DRINK PACKAGES

Only worth it if you drink a lot. On sea days, I would have 3 to 5 drinks, which barely covers the cost of drink packages. On port days it would have not been worth it at all for me. What I did find to be a great option was the 10 drink punch card for $79. It covers beer, wine, and cocktails. Keep in mind, beers are typically under $8 with gratuity, so make sure you are using it for wine and cocktails. They start selling the drink card around Day 4.

ENTERTAINMENT

Quite possibly the best part of the ship! All entertainment options were excellent.

Mamma Mia: Excellent show with comparable talent to the Las Vegas and Broadway productions. Throughout the cruise, I only heard great feedback regarding the show. Really worth it and a must see. Keep in mind it is 2.5 hours long when scheduling with meals, excursions, etc.

Blue Planet: Great talent with some of the same cast members as Mamma Mia.

OceanAria: Short in duration, but again, amazing talent and very unique. Canceled the night we booked it due to a cast member health issue, but automatically rebooked for another night. I've heard it can be canceled due to windy conditions as well.

Ice Games: Very impressive what they can do on such a small ice rink. Great show for kids as well as adults.

Tip 6: Definitely book as soon as you can on Cruise Planner to alleviate the stress of trying to book onboard.

Tip 7: You should able to walk-in to all shows, except for the Comedy Club. If trying to walk-in to the Comedy Club, get in line at least 40 minutes before showtime. We tried twice 20-minutes in advance but were fell just short. Much smaller standby lines for later showings and Days 6 and 7.

ADVENTURE OCEAN

My kids loved it. Adventure Ocean is one of the reason we booked with RCI again. The programs, staff, and facility is top notch. In fact, my little ones never wanted to leave and always asked to go back. For the early seating, they will pick up your kids at 6:50PM at the MDR entrance so the adults can enjoy the rest of the meal peacefully. Having cruised with other cruise lines, I do feel RCI offers the best kids programs. Although I have never been on a Disney cruise, but heard they coast substantially more.

PORTS AND SHORE EXCURSIONS

Nassau: Not a lot of options since we were only docked from 7a-2p and did not want to wake the kids too early after watching Mamma Mia until 10:30AM the first night. Went to Junkanoo Beach. Not very scenic since it was still in the maria. But located close to the cruise port and the water was beautiful! Clear and warm. Paid $40 for three chairs, an umbrella, 6 beers, and six shots.

St. Thomas: Took the Champagne and Snorkel Excursion. Large and clean catamaran with very helpful staff. They took us to a St. John and anchored about 100 yards off a beautiful beach. Okay snorkeling and a quick swim to the beach. Beautiful, warm water.

St. Kitts: Took a taxi to South Friars Beach. Highly recommended! A taxi will cost $4pp each way and much cheaper than any shore excursion. This is the beach that you see in postcards and only a 15-minute ride away.

Tip 8: Avoid shore excursions if all you want to do is go to the beach. Yo will save a lot of money and will have much more flexibility on how long to stay. Most drivers will set up your return ride when they drop you off.

DISEMBARKATION

Very smooth and efficient. Our scheduled time was 10:45AM, but we felt it was too late for our flight. A quick trip to the Guest Service desk and they gave us luggage tags for an earlier time. They ran about 15 minutes early. The process was very impressive, especially considering the amount of people that had to leave the ship. It took less than 45 minutes from the time we were called to go through customs and reach our transportation.

Tip 9: No need to book transportation ahead of time. Plenty of taxis available.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I would recommend and go on this cruise again. It's a great ship with many dining and entertainment options. I find the extra charge items to be a little frustrating though. My first RCI cruise was in 2004 and every cruise since then there have been more items to charge extra for. Drink prices have increased substantially as well. If I ever stop cruising, it may very well be for these reasons. But for now, the entire experience was enjoyed by the whole family and we created some really great memories.

FINAL FINAL THOUGHTS

The Cruise Critic Message Board was a HUGE help in helping me plan this cruise. Quite honestly, it would not have been as successful had I not read all of the posts and posted questions (which all received very helpful answers quickly). From what time to board, to drink options, to which beaches to visit, and more, I can't imagine a cruise without CC. Many, many thanks to the CC community and to those who supplied feedback to make our cruise an awesome one!

Thanks for the report. Nice to know about the drink card.:)

Thank you for your review! Our first cruise with RC will be on Allure. Our kids will be in AO as well. Our boys are young (5 & 3). Were the children in your group that young as well?

Thanks for the review. All information is helpful. :)

Thank you for your review! Our first cruise with RC will be on Allure. Our kids will be in AO as well. Our boys are young (5 & 3). Were the children in your group that young as well?

My girls are 7 and 4. Your boys will love it. It was a lot easier for my wife and to drop them off knowing they enjoyed going there. There's family activities too.

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Thanks for you review on the Allure. Enjoyed reading and gaining information as will be sailing April 2017. A long wait yet for us.

Thank you for the very helpful and thoughtful review. Sounds like it was a great vacation!! Can't wait to sail on the Allure in March!!

Great review,thanks for sharing.

Thank you for your review. Is it possible for you to post the Compass please? They don't have this particular itinerary very often.

:)

We were on this cruise and had a great time! Perfect weather all week and never seemed crowded

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I also want to add you shoud watch the how to train your dragon on ice show. It was well done also.

Very nice review, thanks.

Safe travels.

Sorry, didn't keep and Cruise Compass'

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We were on this cruise and had a great time! Perfect weather all week and never seemed crowded

 

 

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I was on this sailing too! I agree... Great weather, except on the last day in the afternoon. Lots of people, but never really too crowded feeling. Windjammer got busy after 9 am. But we are early risers so it never impacted us.

And on the first day we arrived at port about 10:45, on the ship by 11:30, and eating in WJ at 11:45. There were mega lines when we walked out at 12:30. Got lucky.

Wish we packed our bathing suits in our carry on but forgot. Our luggage didn't get to our room til about 4.

Nice review!!

Great, concise review! Thank you!

Did they advertise the drink cards? We've been reading about them for a while, but never heard about them on either our Oasis (Aug-Sept 2015) or Anthem (Mar-Apr 2016) cruises. Maybe we just didn't pay attention.

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Wondering what movies will be playing in 2 weeks! Thank you!

Finally getting around to writing a review of our cruise. Our group consisted of four staterooms with 2 seniors, 6 adults, and two kids. All of us have cruised multiple times, including several cruises on RCI, and the second on Allure of the Seas for some of us.

 

EMBARKATION

Very smooth and efficient. We arrived at the cruise port shortly after 11AM, dropped off our luggage curbside with the porters and headed into the terminal to register. The terminal is big, but plenty of staff to manage the crowds. All four staterooms were checked in within 30-minutes of arriving in the terminal and we were on the ship shortly after.

Tip 1: Our SetSail pass listed check-in time at 12:30PM. But based on CC feedback, we arrived earlier, which proved to be a great decision.

Tip 2: Because of Tip 1, we arrived in the Windjammer at 11:45AM and found it less than half full. We were able to secure a table for 10 next to a window overlooking the pools. By 12PM, it started to full up and by the time we left at 12:40PM, the line was at least 25 parties deep.

 

STATEROOM

Room 12299/Boardwalk Balcony View/B1:

Good room and good location at the aft, but still close enough to the rest of the ship. Decent size room and balcony for a cruise ship. We had two adults and a child in this room. There was a sofa bed and pullman option for the child and we chose the pullman. The stateroom attendant was very hesitant to open the pullman for us and kept trying to steer us towards the sofa bed. I am glad we insisted on the pullman. Keep in mind, once the sofa bed is opened, you lost half of the floor space in the room, and restrict access to the balcony. By using the pullman, you maintain almost all of the floor space since it is located directly above the sofa. We found adquate drawer and closet space throughout for all of our luggage items. As far as noise is concerned, yes you will hear a buzz during the day and it will be a little loud when OceanAria is performing. Otherwise, we were not bothered by noise. The 12th deck location allowed people watching, and a decent view of the OceanAria stage.

Stateroom Attendant: Excellent! Introduced herself right away on the first day, learned our names immediately, and did a great job of keeping our stateroom clean. She made it a point to touch base each day to ensure she was cleaning and turning down our room at a time that was convenient for everyone. Great with the kids as well. Tipped her extra and well-deserved.

Tip 3: If you have a choice between a sofa bed or pullman, TAKE THE PULLMAN! Huge difference in the amount of floor space. We also chose to leave it open during the day which made naps and hanging out a lot more comfortable. You can't do that with a sofa bed without losing much of your floor space.

 

DINING

MDR: We had the 6PM early seating. Food was good for the most part. The New York Strip Steak and Prime Rib entrees were very good portion and quality wise. Pasta portions were on the small side, but you can order multiples. Pleasantly surprised about the quality of the lobster. Nice selection of appetizers and desserts. Overall, our group enjoyed the food options. Service was good as well, although it was very slow at times, which I do not blame on our server and assistant. They were both polite, professional and worked VERY hard to keep our group happy. I do blame the slow service on short-staffing and too much of a workload on a team of two. On two nights we had a show scheduled at 7:30PM. We told our server when we sat down and she made every effort to get us there on time. They had way too many tables to be efficient. On previous RCI cruises, the head waiter, Maitre'd, and Asst. Maitre'd had a daily presence and even helped the servers when needed. On this cruise, we occasionally saw the head waiter and never saw the Maitre'd and Asst. Maitre'd. Again, the slow service is due to a management issue, not a server issue.

MDR Breakfast and Lunch: Good selections. A nice comfortable environment if you want table service.

Chops Grille: Excellent overall experience. The steaks were of high quality and cooked well. The appetizer options were great and all delicious. Highly, highly recommend the bacon. It's a thick cut piece of pork belly that I'm still dreaming about!

Windjammer: Nothing spectacular and equivalent to a mid-tier Las Vegas buffet. But the kids always love it.

Park Cafe: The Kummelweck Beef Sandwich is as good as everyone talks about. It makes an excellent in between meal snack.

Sorrento's: Medicore pizza, but open late and very convenient.

Dog Haus: Loved the hot dog options - everyone of them. My favorite snack and very convenient.

Donut place on the boardwalk: Selection of 6 to 8 different types of donuts with coffee, tea, and water next to the donut case. Only available until 9AM or so. Since we were in a Boardwalk room, it was nice a quick trip bring donuts and coffee to the room each morning while we were getting ready.

Bow and Stern: Great atmosphere and beer selection. A little disappointed there weren't more draft beer options, but still a great place to hang out. Nightly entertainment was good too.

Tip 4: Let your server know if you have a show scheduled back to back with your dinner seating.

Tip 5: If you order multiple apps (or entrees), you can ask your server to deliver them together instead of one after the other. Otherwise, your meal will easily exceed two hours.

 

DRINK PACKAGES

Only worth it if you drink a lot. On sea days, I would have 3 to 5 drinks, which barely covers the cost of drink packages. On port days it would have not been worth it at all for me. What I did find to be a great option was the 10 drink punch card for $79. It covers beer, wine, and cocktails. Keep in mind, beers are typically under $8 with gratuity, so make sure you are using it for wine and cocktails. They start selling the drink card around Day 4.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

Quite possibly the best part of the ship! All entertainment options were excellent.

Mamma Mia: Excellent show with comparable talent to the Las Vegas and Broadway productions. Throughout the cruise, I only heard great feedback regarding the show. Really worth it and a must see. Keep in mind it is 2.5 hours long when scheduling with meals, excursions, etc.

Blue Planet: Great talent with some of the same cast members as Mamma Mia.

OceanAria: Short in duration, but again, amazing talent and very unique. Canceled the night we booked it due to a cast member health issue, but automatically rebooked for another night. I've heard it can be canceled due to windy conditions as well.

Ice Games: Very impressive what they can do on such a small ice rink. Great show for kids as well as adults.

Tip 6: Definitely book as soon as you can on Cruise Planner to alleviate the stress of trying to book onboard.

Tip 7: You should able to walk-in to all shows, except for the Comedy Club. If trying to walk-in to the Comedy Club, get in line at least 40 minutes before showtime. We tried twice 20-minutes in advance but were fell just short. Much smaller standby lines for later showings and Days 6 and 7.

 

ADVENTURE OCEAN

My kids loved it. Adventure Ocean is one of the reason we booked with RCI again. The programs, staff, and facility is top notch. In fact, my little ones never wanted to leave and always asked to go back. For the early seating, they will pick up your kids at 6:50PM at the MDR entrance so the adults can enjoy the rest of the meal peacefully. Having cruised with other cruise lines, I do feel RCI offers the best kids programs. Although I have never been on a Disney cruise, but heard they coast substantially more.

 

PORTS AND SHORE EXCURSIONS

Nassau: Not a lot of options since we were only docked from 7a-2p and did not want to wake the kids too early after watching Mamma Mia until 10:30AM the first night. Went to Junkanoo Beach. Not very scenic since it was still in the maria. But located close to the cruise port and the water was beautiful! Clear and warm. Paid $40 for three chairs, an umbrella, 6 beers, and six shots.

St. Thomas: Took the Champagne and Snorkel Excursion. Large and clean catamaran with very helpful staff. They took us to a St. John and anchored about 100 yards off a beautiful beach. Okay snorkeling and a quick swim to the beach. Beautiful, warm water.

St. Kitts: Took a taxi to South Friars Beach. Highly recommended! A taxi will cost $4pp each way and much cheaper than any shore excursion. This is the beach that you see in postcards and only a 15-minute ride away.

Tip 8: Avoid shore excursions if all you want to do is go to the beach. Yo will save a lot of money and will have much more flexibility on how long to stay. Most drivers will set up your return ride when they drop you off.

 

DISEMBARKATION

Very smooth and efficient. Our scheduled time was 10:45AM, but we felt it was too late for our flight. A quick trip to the Guest Service desk and they gave us luggage tags for an earlier time. They ran about 15 minutes early. The process was very impressive, especially considering the amount of people that had to leave the ship. It took less than 45 minutes from the time we were called to go through customs and reach our transportation.

Tip 9: No need to book transportation ahead of time. Plenty of taxis available.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I would recommend and go on this cruise again. It's a great ship with many dining and entertainment options. I find the extra charge items to be a little frustrating though. My first RCI cruise was in 2004 and every cruise since then there have been more items to charge extra for. Drink prices have increased substantially as well. If I ever stop cruising, it may very well be for these reasons. But for now, the entire experience was enjoyed by the whole family and we created some really great memories.

 

FINAL FINAL THOUGHTS

The Cruise Critic Message Board was a HUGE help in helping me plan this cruise. Quite honestly, it would not have been as successful had I not read all of the posts and posted questions (which all received very helpful answers quickly). From what time to board, to drink options, to which beaches to visit, and more, I can't imagine a cruise without CC. Many, many thanks to the CC community and to those who supplied feedback to make our cruise an awesome one!

Do you recall what day they offered the drink card on?

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Great review Chenj78!! We are sail on August 14. The drink card info was very helpful and I'll be on the lookout for that as I cannot consume the minimum of drinks everyday to make it worthwhile. After I read Tip 8, I immediately removed our shore excursion from the cruise planner for day 3 because all we want to do is sit on a nice pretty beach and the price difference was good enough reason alone! Thanks again!

Great review. Thank you

Thanks for the review.

Tip 5: If you order multiple apps (or entrees), you can ask your server to deliver them together instead of one after the other. Otherwise, your meal will easily exceed two hours.

I sometimes order multiple apps so loved this tip! Really not into extremely long dinners.

Great review! Thanks for posting it.

How was the movement where your cabin was located?

My girls are 7 and 4. Your boys will love it. It was a lot easier for my wife and to drop them off knowing they enjoyed going there. There's family activities too.

 

 

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Thanks for responding! I continue to hear such positive things about AO ❤️

Would you happen to remember any of the organized family events? My MIL will be sailing with us, and it would be fun to know that there could be some multi-generational fun activities!

Thanks for the great info!! Was your excursion in St. Thomas privately booked or through the ship? If through the ship, were there lots of others on this excursion with you? I always hear they over pack their excursions. Just curious! Thanks!

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