Allure 6/26 sailing

[Cruising89143]

Home today from another great week on the Allure. We spent two weeks on the Allure back in January. I am not going to write a review but will just make a few comments.

 

It was a very full ship. Captain Johnny stated that between the crew and guests, we were 35 bodies short of a full ship and a record to date on the number of people sailing on the Allure. Something like over 8700 people on board but I don't remember the exact number. We had over 1800 kids on board. I must say that the ship did a good job of handling the crowds. Embarkation was a breeze. We arrived at the port at 10:30 and were in our seats by 10:45 waiting to board. We started boarding around 11:20. Very nice.

 

We only went to two shows since we saw them all a few months back. Ocean Aria and Blue Planet were great as usual and are our two favorites. We attended the C&A past guest function which was held in Studio B and the cast of "How To Train Your Dragon" put on the ice show for everyone. Very nice but this is a shows targeted to the younger audience but still a nice touch by the crew.

 

We never went to the MDR once on this cruise and only visited the WJ once for dinner. As was our experience in January, it was the same with the WJ. Crowded and the food was not that good. We ate most of our dinners in the specialty dining restuarants. All were good to very good with Giovanni's being the best for us as in the past. Service was outstanding in each venue. Room service when used was quick and the food served hot which was surprising with the number of guests on board.

 

Touching on service and the crew. I had read negative comments on this board recently about the crew. Not our case. The crew was just as great as it was back in January. We spoke to crew who had recently transferred over from Oasis and were much happier on Allure for this reason. Only once did we have someone who did not speak or smile and I chock it up to someone having a bad day as we all do from time to time but overall a great experience here.

 

Elevators - This is one of my pet peeves and the elevators just cannot handle the amount of guests when the ship is full. Our cabin was up on deck 17 and when you had to ride from deck five up to seventeen, it could take some time. First trying to get an elevator was a chore. Second it stopped on just about every deck and no A/C made it an uncomfortable chore. We walked when we could but there are times when you need to use the elevator.

 

Debarkation was also great. We always do the self debarkation. We left the ship at 6:15 and was at the airport by 6:40. We were able to catch a 7:45 flight and landed in Atlanta at 9:15. Can't get much better than that. :)

 

In closing, overall a great cruise and we were already booked for April of next year on the Allure but we booked another trip on her in January and now have to decided if we want to venture out and try Celebrity or go back to what has become our favorite ship.

 

I put a post on the boards while on board that Rita's has gone from a $7.95 all you can eat to a $3.00 service charge and a la carte menu. I am going to post the menu. Not sure how clear the prices will be. By the way, the new a la carte pricing did not seem to affect their businss in a negative way. Sea days were very busy and we dined there on Friday evening and it was over half full for the second formal night. I am also posting the new menu from Chops and the current menus from Central Park 150. Again, I apologize if they do not come out clear.

 

New Chops Menu - I did not take a photo of the dessert menu. The only change. Cheesecake is gone and Red Velvet Cake took it's place. They added a Creme Brulee.

 

 

 

Rita's A la Carte menu

 

 

[Cruising89143]

Central Park 150

 

 

[johnlcruise]

Very nice review. Thanks for taking the time to post the new menu's

[Jimbo]

How come Chops doesn't serve Rib Eye?, Might they have it but just not listed on the menu?

 

Jimbo:)

[Cruising89143]

How come Chops doesn't serve Rib Eye?, Might they have it but just not listed on the menu?

 

Jimbo:)

 

The old menu had one. It was removed in the menu update.

[bajathree]

Surprised to hear you had only 1800 kids with a near record amount of passengers....we had had right around 1500 kids on Freedom this week out of a total of 4300 passengers. On Allure in March we had over 2000 kids.

[Cruising89143]

Surprised to hear you had only 1800 kids with a near record amount of passengers....we had had right around 1500 kids on Freedom this week out of a total of 4300 passengers. On Allure in March we had over 2000 kids.

 

 

I was given the number for the kids by a restaurant manager. I personally believe that there were many more on board. They were all over the place. :eek: Captain Johnny gave us the total number on board.

[bajathree]

I was given the number for the kids by a restaurant manager. I personally believe that there were many more on board. They were all over the place. :eek: Captain Johnny gave us the total number on board.

 

AAAhhhh...OK;)....yea, I bet there were more.

[Jimbo]

The old menu had one. It was removed in the menu update.

 

So it looks like they took off the Rib Eye and added the Porterhouse.........what did you have and how was it?

 

Jimbo:)

[digital_curator]

Thank you for your review and for posting the menus. I was worried about the "double" charge at Rita's but it seems that the a la carte pricing is pretty reasonable.

 

Cheers,

[Cruising89143]

So it looks like they took off the Rib Eye and added the Porterhouse.........what did you have and how was it?

 

Jimbo:)

 

The first night we had the filet and on the second visit it was the short rib. Both were excellent.

[bwest the man]

Thank you for your review and for posting the menus. I was worried about the "double" charge at Rita's but it seems that the a la carte pricing is pretty reasonable.

 

Cheers,

 

Yea the most expensive thing is about $5 i think i saw, so that plus the $3 is $8 right on line with the orginal price of 7.95. so it looks pretty good still, you can even eat for less now then you orginally could.

[RaiderFaninNM]

Glad you had a 3rd safe and wonderful cruise on the biggest cruise ship! I am looking forward to booking the Oasis for my sons graduation cruise. I agree in that I have no idea what the suits were thinking when making the WJ, it is just TOO SMALL for the amount of people....:confused: And the Elevator issue can be a joke at times, like after parades and shows, we waited one night and 5 times when the doors opened up it was PACKED to the rim, and yet some people STILL proceeded to pack it in more..........:rolleyes: Not too sure why everyone is so worked up over how many kids are on the certain sailing when they are sailing on a "family orientated" ship (as mentioned over and over by RCCL)?????? I found that you had to go look for the kids to actually bump into them, swimming pools, deck 15 was kid heaven, so what? Chops Creme Brulee was VERY good BTW......;) LOVED cruising on The Allure................:D

[will773]

Glad that you had a great trip! Allure is AWESOME!

[fdthird]

We too were on the Allure last week and had a great time. Could not agree with you more about the elevators...was really suprised to see how many were on decks 14, 15, and 16 when you were on deck 5 looking to go up! In the process of writing a review, but it was a wonderful week!

[Cruising89143]

Glad you had a 3rd safe and wonderful cruise on the biggest cruise ship! I am looking forward to booking the Oasis for my sons graduation cruise. I agree in that I have no idea what the suits were thinking when making the WJ, it is just TOO SMALL for the amount of people....:confused: And the Elevator issue can be a joke at times, like after parades and shows, we waited one night and 5 times when the doors opened up it was PACKED to the rim, and yet some people STILL proceeded to pack it in more..........:rolleyes: Not too sure why everyone is so worked up over how many kids are on the certain sailing when they are sailing on a "family orientated" ship (as mentioned over and over by RCCL)?????? I found that you had to go look for the kids to actually bump into them, swimming pools, deck 15 was kid heaven, so what? Chops Creme Brulee was VERY good BTW......;) LOVED cruising on The Allure................:D

 

Never said that I was worked up by the number of kids on board. I knew when booking a summer cruise that there would be plenty of kids. Just stating the numbers.

[Cruising89143]

Yea the most expensive thing is about $5 i think i saw, so that plus the $3 is $8 right on line with the orginal price of 7.95. so it looks pretty good still, you can even eat for less now then you orginally could.

 

 

Actually it does cost more to eat at Rita's now. Prior for the $7.95 you received chips, salsa and gaucamole when you sat down plus a choice of a small and large plate plus a dessert. Now they only serve chips and salsa. Gaucamole is now extra. Our lunch on the first day which consisted of the added gaucamole, two small and two large plates. The cost was $20.00 and by the time that we added two cocktails each, it brought the total to $54.00 for lunch before adding the extra gratuity. We did not order any dessert.

[AF-1]

Actually it does cost more to eat at Rita's now. Prior for the $7.95 you received chips, salsa and gaucamole when you sat down plus a choice of a small and large plate plus a dessert. Now they only serve chips and salsa. Gaucamole is now extra. Our lunch on the first day which consisted of the added gaucamole, two small and two large plates. The cost was $20.00 and by the time that we added two cocktails each, it brought the total to $54.00 for lunch before adding the extra gratuity. We did not order any dessert.

 

Just curious, did u ask anyone from Rita's why they started ala carte verses fixed pricing like all the other specialty resturaunts, and Johnny Rockets across from it, has fixed pricing. Also, why did they add cover charge when none of the other specialty resturaunts have a cover charge. Just asking? Don't want to sound prying, but I am confused by this strategy.

[Cruising89143]

Rita's was not the first to start this. They changed the Seafood Shack last year to a la carte pricing. Not sure why they did this other than to get more money out of their guests. There is also a $5.00 per person cover charge for Izumi.

[setsail]

Thanks for the update.

 

Did you book all your S. restaurants ahead of time?

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for the update.

 

Did you book all your S. restaurants ahead of time?

 

We did. It was nice to have the times set before we boarded the ship.

[Aquahound]

Welcome back! We agree a lot on these boards, and it seems to even include entertainment and food choice. My favorite show on Allure is Blue Planet, and my favorite restaurant in Giovanni's. Both are excellent, imo.

 

Oh, and I love that Chops filet too. ;)

[Cruising89143]

Welcome back! We agree a lot on these boards, and it seems to even include entertainment and food choice. My favorite show on Allure is Blue Planet, and my favorite restaurant in Giovanni's. Both are excellent, imo.

 

Oh, and I love that Chops filet too. ;)

 

Thanks Paul. Can't wait to get back on board this ship.:)

[skatie]

The first night we had the filet and on the second visit it was the short rib. Both were excellent.

 

I'm so glad to hear a good review for the Short Rib at Chops - everyone comments on the steaks and your post is the first I think I've seen about the short rib. We are dining there in August and I was looking for a tender beef in some sauce and that seemed to fit the bill! What sides would you recommend?

[bwest the man]

Actually it does cost more to eat at Rita's now. Prior for the $7.95 you received chips, salsa and gaucamole when you sat down plus a choice of a small and large plate plus a dessert. Now they only serve chips and salsa. Gaucamole is now extra. Our lunch on the first day which consisted of the added gaucamole, two small and two large plates. The cost was $20.00 and by the time that we added two cocktails each, it brought the total to $54.00 for lunch before adding the extra gratuity. We did not order any dessert.

 

Hmm thanks for that I didn't even think of those extras. I guess it would be more. Do they still have the fiesta base price with all you can eat or has it gone to a limited menu or a la carte? Thanks again for the wounderfull insight and info.