Just got back from Allure - a few thoughts

Hi Everyone,

I am a frequent visitor to CC to help prepare for my cruises, so I thought I would submit a couple of my own thoughts/observations from my April 3-10 Allure of the Seas cruise. I am not doing a full-blown review, as there are many out there already, and I certainly can't live up to the wonderful, very detailed and picture-filled reviews already out there.

As background about me, I have cruised with RCI 5 times in the last 2 years with my husband: 2 Allure sailings, 2 Liberty sailings and 1 Enchantment sailing.

*Allure of the Seas - what can I say?! She is gorgeous and big and there is so much to see and do. Whatever your cruising style, there is something for everyone. I can honestly say that after sailing Oasis and Freedom Class prior to sailing on the Enchantment last June, I just didn't feel the "wow" factor on the Enchantment and I have come to realize I do not want to sail on anything smaller. For me personally, having the Royal Promenade is a must.

*Sabor - I was on the Allure about 18 months ago when this venue was Rita's Cantina - there is a big difference? It was fabulous - food, service, menu changes! We ate there 3 times last week and I think it is a must try for anyone who loves Mexican food. The menu is a la carte, and for some of the best Mexican food I have ever had, it was a small price to pay. For just $5 you can have wonderful tableside-made guacamole, homemade salsa and chips. The margaritas were top notch. Just be careful not to order too much food, as we did on our first visit. Sabor was truly a treat!

*Izumi - We went here for dinner one night and it was very, very good. The hibachi chef and servers were all very funny and wonderful at the same time. They all kept us laughing, well-fed and entertained all at the same time! I don't know if it was worth the $40 per person, however, and honestly I would skip it if I had to do it all again. Nothing against the staff or quality of food, however.

*Coffee - This seems random, but there has been a lot of discussion on the quality of the coffee in the MDR and other venues. In the past, I have agreed - the coffee was very bad and I did various things to make it drinkable in the past. However, I would say that this cruise there has been major improvement! They must have heard from enough cruisers to make the change.

*Mamma Mia - Even if you don't think it is your thing, just go! I saw this in New York City about 12 years ago on Broadway and this production on the Allure really impressed me! So much fun, especially the last 10 minutes. The cast was awesome and I saw it on Night 1 and it really started our cruise off perfectly.

*Book those shows - I was amazed at how many people we spoke to over the course of the cruise that didn't plan ahead and book shows. Granted, there are some openings held back so people can reserve on board, but I don't understand why cruisers would not do this ahead of time. All of the shows were basically fully booked on our cruise, and I assume there were a lot of disappointed people.

*Electronically sign your waivers - On day 1, my husband stood in the line to get his wristband for the Flowrider behind many people who were signing paperwork for the same wristbands. It took forever, because those people didn't electronically sign their waivers ahead of time. When it was his turn, it literally took about 15 seconds to put on the band. So do yourselves (and others) a favor and sign those waivers when you do online check-in!

*Drink Package - On all of our cruises, we always get the Premier Package, as we enjoy beer/cocktails when we are on vacation. Thanks to a tip on my cruise roll call on CC, I found out that my particular cruise was one of the lucky ones to be offered the Premier Package at a 20% discount, so it was a no-brainer to buy the package at $39 per person/per day. When you throw in how many bottles of water and sodas we go through daily, it worked out for us very well. It was also a lot of fun for me to try various flavors of daiquiris, which I am sure that I would not do had I been mentally keeping track of what I was spending on each drink. My favorite poolside drink of choice ended up being the passion fruit daiquiri made with Grey Goose (instead of rum). I also loved going to the Champagne Bar nightly and ordering a strawberry mimosa (strawberry, orange juice, champagne). I also had a few margaritas from Sabor, which were absolutely top notch! The money spent on the beverage package for us was well worth it!

*Central Park Balcony Room - We were in cabin 12585 and we loved it! Very relaxing and just a really great place to be. I would book another cabin in CP without hesitation.

*We did self-assist debarkation - we got off the ship at 6:30 AM right next to Sorrentos and it took about 10-15 minutes to walk through the lines and go through customs and immigration. We were in our car and on our way home by 6:50 AM. Quite easy!

*Suggestion of things to pack - pens, highlighters, can/bottle coozies, clips to hold your towels on the beach chairs/loungers, sunscreen (the number of people with really awful and scary sunburn was unbelievable!), light sweater/jacket (very chilly in the Amber Theater in my opinion)

That's it - just a few thoughts from a fellow cruiser who wanted to share her opinions and help others plan their vacation. Thanks to all of you who have helped me over the last couple of years!

Fantastic review...thank you

So excited to read your review! We're boarding in two weeks!

Very nice simple review....and appreciated. Did you enjoy the schedule of activities around the ship? How was the Cruise Director and Activity Manager? Did they do the Morning Show together?

Allure was absolutely fantastic. We loved it! And totally agree about Sabor. The food was super fresh, tasty, and more than worth the charge.

Very nice report, I'm sure folks will enjoy reading your well-written concise summary.:)

Glad you had a great time. We booked Allure again for next January to see Mama Mia. Agree with your opinion of Sabor.

Great review! Looking forward to our second time in June.

Thank you, everyone. Paulette, the CD was Dru Pavlov and the Activities Director was Katie (I don't recall her last name.) Both were very personable, especially Katie, and they did do the morning show together.

The activities that I really enjoyed (besides lounging poolside) were Love & Marriage Show, Quest, Belly Flop Contest and the 70's Dance Party. Even though I have seen all of these on my previous cruises, it never gets old for me and because the fellow passengers are different, it doesn't get stale. What strikes me is how terrific the crew and staff are during these performances and events. Even though they have participated multiple times, they always seem to have a good time and are not just going through the motions. You will have a great time!

My boyfriend and I just returned from our first cruise on Holland America's signature cruise ship and had a HORRIBLE experience, everyone was 50+ and were so rude to staff I couldn't believe it. We are looking into booking a cruise with RC, but what's the age demographic like on the Allure? Being in our mid 20's do you think we would enjoy the activities ?

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I was also on this cruise - 12th floor. Probably saw you! I was in room 12648 with my family. Loved everything about this cruise. Had a great time. Wonderful weather. The staff, including our cabin attendant were great. Thanks for the review.

Thank you for a nice review. We board in 62 days.....cannot wait. :)

We were on the same cruise. Third time on the Allure and it was absolutely fabulous one of the best cruises we had in a long time. The ship the staff the shows everything was just wonderful. I can't say one bad thing about the whole week.

I would love to do the behind the scenes tour someday! Lucky you! I was waiting for Captain Johnny to ride his Harley down the Royal Promenade on the last evening as he did on my last Allure cruise, but I didn't see it happen unless I missed it. I think he is terrific - very personable!

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I would love to do the behind the scenes tour someday! Lucky you! I was waiting for Captain Johnny to ride his Harley down the Royal Promenade on the last evening as he did on my last Allure cruise, but I didn't see it happen unless I missed it. I think he is terrific - very personable!

 

 

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I heard He did take his Harley off the ship in Cozumel and went golfing.Yes He is a very personable and funny guy.

We agree with your review comments. Can't wait to get on the ship again.

Thanks for the quick but thorough review. Allure is one of, if not our favourite ship. Your comparison of Rita's to Sabor is spot on. Having recently spent two weeks on Allure we were excited to add on more sailing on her before we turn our eyes to Harmony.

I was also on this cruise! Definitely an awesome experience. I'm glad I chose Allure of the Seas for my first cruise ever.

What a great review short and sweet. We will be cruising on the Allure in two weeks (4/24-5/1) and you answered some of my questions. Cruised the Oasis two years ago loved it. Can't wait!!!!!!

We were on Allure Jan/Feb B4B and loved it!!! Did find the coffee much better than the other ships.

We were also on board Allure this past week. Capt Johnny did take his Bike off in Cozumel. Saw it parked by the ship when we got off.

We had a great time all around. Service was excellent all around.

Loved Mamma Mia. Loved the aqua theater shows. Our team won Quest so I call that a success ;)

Negatives ...

Definitely a few bumps along the way but nothing to ruin a good time.

Didn't make it into the comedy show but did see the final evening show in the amber theater. Our friends had told us they hated the second guy in the comedy club and after the show the last night i have to agree. He was terrible.

Getting off yesterday was a bit crazy right at 8am. Made for a very long line getting thru customs but i know it was much quicker earlier.

Nice review. We have been talking about the possibility of taking a cruise like this.

A few questions come to mind.

What was your itinerary?

Were there long lines for embarkation/disembarkation?

Did you do any shore excursions?

What were the lines like coming back onto the ship?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Nice recap Melissa. I enjoyed it.

My family was also on this cruise the past week. We had a group of 24 for our kid's Senior Trip. It was an awesome cruise, perfect weather and one of the smoothest rides I have ever had. Mamma Mia was fantastic (seen two other productions) and it was freezing that day in the theater. The second comedy act at the family comedy night was horrible! Sabor is the bomb! Ate the rest of dinners in the MDR and will say the food was way better than my experience on the Vision last Christmas. Nobody complained about the coffee. We disembarked around 8am on Sunday and yes the lines were long but all in all it went fairly fast and was smooth. We had a little more problem embarking as some sea passes were missing in our group and had to be made that day. We love the Allure and decided to take advantage of the Next Cruise package to book for Christmas 2017. I think this is a great cruise for all ages!