Bellalago Breeze

Allure is one of two ships that have Samba Grill. You may also want to try Giovanni's Table before they are all gone.

I totally agree that these are 2 really good ones. Another special place to eat is to have the tapas at Vintages Wine Bar. They give you so much for a very reasonable price. We will be enjoying all 3 places this coming week!

We typically vacation together as a family at least once a year. Usually, everyone pays their own way. However, this is our 50th anniversary and we wanted to treat our family. We will have dinner and some shore excursions together. I am really surprised that we are looking at a year and one half out and having problems getting rooms close together. We have a great travel agent who is working this all out. We are booking a Grand Suite to provide a headquarters for the fam. All of your suggestions are really appreciated. The grands and our children are over the top excited to go on this voyage with us. I truly value your expert advice as you have been there done that! We are seasoned cruisers...just not with our family. Please keep the suggestions coming!

We celebrated our 50th anniversary on Allure 2 years ago with our family group of 18 and it all worked out wonderfully. We only asked the group to do a few things which we picked up the tab for - a family dinner in Giovanni's on our actual anniversary, a private tour in St. Maarten for the entire group, and a party in our grand suite with trays of cheese and fruit that we ordered through the suite concierge. Everyone brought a bottle of wine to that party and our kids decorated the whole room with streamers and balloons. We also had tables in the DR booked for early seating and everyone had the choice to eat there or go to a specialty restaurant or the Windjammer instead. Shows were all booked in advance and everyone took care of that themselves.

I know it sounds overwhelming, but it really isn't. An added bonus is that you run into family all over the ship. It's especially fun to meet up later in the evening outside the pub for drinks and a slice of pizza from across the way!

We're getting ready to do another cruise on Allure for our anniversary in less than 5 weeks, but this time we will be doing it alone!

We love Central Park balconies and mostly book them on deck 11. We are never bothered by any noise, even with the pool/ kids water park a few decks above us. You will not hear anything in the cabin when your door is closed day or night.

We've been on both and definitely favor the Allure. If I had to tell you why, I wouldn't be able to pinpoint anything specific, but the feel on Allure was so much better for us. As a honeymoon cruise, all I can say is go for it. After 6 times of Allure, including our family 50th anniversary celebration on her, she's our favorite!

We were in a grand suite last year on Allure and never received an email or phone call. I emailed the Concierge, Dexter, a week in advance with a couple of requests. Luckily, the first day of the cruise I checked and Dexter had never received my email! So I would recommend that whether you communicate with him before the cruise or not, check as soon as you can to make sure everything is in place as requested.

We too were on the Brilliance recently and I have to agree with you about the food in the Windjammer at lunch. The only vegetable they had on the first day was cauliflower and the carving station had little pieces of well done chopped up meat. Definitely not very appetizing!

You can go to Giovanni's. They will put the tables together for you, We had a group of 15 and it worked out great.

I recently booked our 6th Central Park Balcony on Allure for September. We have had many ocean view balconies, but love the uniqueness of CP. It's a great place to people watch during the day and nothing beats enjoying a late night glass of wine with your sweetie listening to the music and watching the lights in the trees twinkling. It's very romantic! ;)

We will be visiting St. Kitt's this November and I need to know how far you have to walk from when you get off the ship until you get to the train. I have mobility issues and cannot walk long distances. Also, should that be too far, are there shops right at the port that I could visit using a scooter? Thank you for any help you can give me.

Well, at the risk of turning this into yet another dress code thread, your Business Casual would be fine on Formal Night. Trust me, I have seen passengers in much less than that on FN.

The same holds true for the Chef's Table. A dress shirt and tie was what most of the men wore last time we did it. A few of the men wore golf shirts and that too was acceptable there, as it also is in the dining room these days, formal night or not formal night.

We have been on Allure 5 times and have eaten at all the specialty restaurants (except Sabor) multiple times over the years. It's interesting to see how they have changed over the past 4 or 5 years. 150 Central Park was our absolute favorite back when Chef Molly planned the meals. We would always go there twice each cruise. Recently it was ok, but not something to write home about.

The same goes for Chops in our opinion. Back in the day, steaks were spot on. Last time it was hit and miss when it came to your steak. Plus they changed the shrimp cocktail so much, I couldn't even eat it.

Giovanni's is pretty good, but it is a lot of food and there is tremendous waste, if you're only 2 people eating. Very good for a large group though.

We really liked Samba Grill, but the time we went with friends, he was in a hurry to get back to the casino and had the waiters rush our meal. Food was good, but you really need to take your time in a place like that.

Chef's Table is a favorite of ours. It's basically a tasting menu accompanied by different wines with each course. Not much at each course, but by the time dinner is finished, you're full. How you like it depends a lot on the company at the table. If it's a friendly group, it can be a lot of fun. If some people try to monopolize the conversation, no matter how good the food, it's a long boring dinner.

The tapas at Vintages is probably one of the best kept secrets on Allure. They are so reasonably priced and you get so much.

Sorry to have gone on and on. I hope this all helps. As you can probably tell, Allure is our favorite ship and we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary on there next March with our family.

I use a folding mobility scooter when cruising. It fits easily in the door of any cabin and then I park it out of the way in the cabin until I need it again. I use it basically for getting around some parts of the ship and do not need a HC cabin at all.

Our former travel agent once booked us into a HC cabin many years ago thinking he was giving us a special treat. Hated it! Had no mobility problems in those years and absolutely hated the bathroom. Tried to change cabin thinking someone else might really need that type of cabin, but the ship was full, so we were stuck for 7 days with it!

We're doing the 10 night cruise the week before you and I'm trying to get an answer too. I don't want to book a specialty restaurant on formal night as we all look forward to something that's served on those nights.

We have stayed in an Allure Central Park cabin on decks 11 and 12 four times. Noise was never really a problem. We enjoy sitting on the balcony and having a glass of wine while reading during the day. The noise you hear is people, mostly children, enjoying themselves at the pool. Nothing wrong with that. At night Central Park becomes a magical place. With lights twinkling in the trees, your balcony is the perfect place to enjoy one last glass of wine with your sweetie before calling it a night. ;)

A tea kettle and a french press are fine. I just don't like those hotel type coffee pots that make horrible coffee. We'll be close enough to the DL, so getting a really good cup of coffee won't be a problem.

Could someone please tell me what kind of coffee pot is in the Grand Suite on Allure? Any chance it will be upgraded when Allure is in drydock? We're booked in the GS next February and was just wondering.

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My next Live Report will be from the Serenade Of The Seas sailing on November 13th[/color][/b]

We'll also be with you on this one. See you then!

Our daughter was married on the Sovereign a number of years ago on the day of sailing. Everything went as planned and it was a wonderful experience. Royal Romance was great to work with and there was hardly a glitch before, during and after the ceremony.

I'm so sorry to hear the problems others have experienced on what should be the most memorable day of your life.

Yep, the Mariner arrived in Nov 2003 right from the shipyard. Here are some cool facts about her:)

 

Christened: 14 November 2003 by Jean Driscoll

Completed: October 2003

Acquired: 29 October 2003

Maiden voyage: 16 November 2003

We too were on the inaugural voyage f Mariner and had the infamous corner aft stateroom on deck 10 with the pole in the middle! I loved Mariner and cried when she left Port Canaveral.

Back in September we were on the Enchantment and often sit at the bar watching bartenders make the drinks. We noticed that for the first time, every bartender was using a shot glass to pour liquor when making a drink. They were only using the small end of the silver colored shot glass (1 oz. I imagine).

Drinks were extremely weak, as compared to previous cruises. I could barely taste any scotch in my scotch and water! We thought it might because of the number of people getting the drink package and to keep them from getting drunk. We were paying for our drinks individually and felt that we were getting royally ripped off. :mad:

LOL, I should have known:D

 

 

 

No nuts in our welcome aboard package, maybe they figured the 3 of us were nutty enough:D

You didn't miss anything. It was a dried up looking danish.

We too only got the bag of 6-1 inch shortbread cookies. No nuts, plus never got our robes even though we are also D+.

Shrimp cocktail in Chops was terrible. Huge, tough, flavorless shrimp. Left most of it behind. Never thought I'd ever say that the shrimp cocktail in the MDR was much better, but it was.

The noises deep within the bowls of the ship were horrible and no fun to hear before 6 AM! We sure didn't need an alarm clock!!

Correct, just the cover charge. If it's like other specialty restaurants, that would include multiple appetizers and one entree. Extra entrees would have an additional charge.

There is no additional charge for extra entrees. It's a Brazilian steakhouse where first you go get your salads and stuff to nibble on. Then a server comes to your table to ask how you want you steak cooked and explains that when you want more meat, you show a green light and when you want to take a break, you show a red light. Server will also bring bowls of veggies. You can eat as much as or as little as you want. There is no additional charge. Only thing you get one of is the piece of steak. The rest of the meat is unlimited. When you are finished with your entrees, server will take your order for dessert.

I hope that helps.

I'll second that comment. We did the Norwegian Fjords on Brilliance in 2002 when she was a brand new ship. We really didn't know what to expect, but were blown away by the beautiful scenery and experience. If you have the chance, definitely go for it, as the fjords have to be seen to be believed!

We've had a Central Park balcony 3 times on Allure and are looking to book another one this Fall. We really liked being there.

During the day you hear the (canned) birds chirping and will see birds occasionally hitching a ride. At night the trees twinkle with lights and the sound of (canned) crickets is very relaxing and almost feels magical! Enjoying a late night drink on the balcony is a perfect way to end the evening.

It can get hot there during the day just like any balcony can when the sun is shining on it, especially if the ship is docked.

Biggest thing you have to remember is to close the drapes, if you're changing clothes or are otherwise engaged. ;) You don't want an audience!!

Allure is a wonderful ship. Enjoy!

Aside from Allure, our favorite is the Mariner. It's a perfect size and always was a blast when Captain Johnny was running the show. "Good morning, good morning, good morning this is Captain Johnny from the bridge" A definite highlight each day! :D