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Loved the Allure of the Seas

Daisy21015

By Daisy21015,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Daisy21015

Daisy21015

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First a BIG thank you to all the Cruise Critic members - the information on this sight definitely helped to make our cruise seamless. This was our first time ever cruising and we were a bit nervous about what to expect. Everyone said after our first time we'd be hooked and they were so right!

 

We - myself, husband and four daughters (18,13,12 & 10) sailed on the 7/31 Allure western. It was a wonderful vacation with many memories made. The only thing I wish was that it was longer!

 

Here is my take on this beautiful ship and our experience - broken into a couple of posts:

 

Pre-cruise: Stayed at the Courtyard Fort Lauderdale Beach. We got in late Saturday evening – hotel was clean and the staff couldn’t have been friendlier. It was even better that we were using Marriott points for the rooms!!

 

Embarkation: Just as everyone says – a breeze! Grade - A+

 

The Ship: WOW!! So beautiful and the attention to detail was amazing – central park and the boardwalk! The only time I ever felt I was with 6,000 other cruisers was at the pool on sea days or during breakfast at the Windjammer. Even on sea days, there were chairs available at the pool, although it was hard to find ones in the shade. The biggest issue for me was that the pools themselves were quite crowded - if a pool had a group of people in it drinking and being loud, it wasn’t enjoyable to be in the same pool. Something else mentioned frequently are the elevators – there were times when they were slower than I would have liked but for the most part we had no problems and we didn’t run into any kids pushing buttons etc. We enjoyed the deck on the aft of deck 11. Very quiet – not too many people seem to know about it yet. A great place to read and relax. There was so much to see and do (I already have a list of things we missed but need to do next time!) Grade A+

 

Cabin: We had 2 Ocean View Balcony Staterooms – 11206 & 11208 (port side). My husband and I were in one room and our 4 daughters (18, 13, 12 & 10) in the other. Our room attendant was very nice and efficient – rooms were always clean and the girls loved the towel animals he left. He removed the partition on the balcony for us and it made for a very nice space. Having never cruised before, I have nothing to compare to but I thought the rooms were plenty big and very well appointed. The bed was VERY comfortable; there was plenty of closet space/hangers, lots of little cubbies and shelves/drawers to put things away and under the bed storage for luggage. The bathroom was small but had plenty of storage space. Although the shower was small, it was nice having a door that closed as opposed to a curtain and the ledge to put your leg up to shave was nice. The room was great for my husband and I but also was plenty big for the girls and all of their things! We had one room with the bed buy the door and one room with the bed by the closet – for me, I preferred the bed by the door (seemed a bit roomier). Grade - A

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Daisy21015

Daisy21015

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Dining:

 

Breakfast: We ate breakfast at the Park Café, Johnny Rockets, the Windjammer and the MDR. The windjammer was crowded each time – mostly trouble finding a table but no issues getting around the buffets. Did the buffet in the MDR a couple of mornings – not a big selection but a more quiet way to start the day.

 

Lunch: We ate mostly at the Park Café – loved the Roast Beef sandwich and the make your own salads. The Panini’s were also yummy. We did do lunch one day in the MDR – very nice and relaxing – and good food! We did hotdogs one day – they were also very good. The girls also really liked Sorrento’s.

 

Dinner: Again, nothing to compare to, but we found the dinners in the MDR to be very nice and the food was quite good (not excellent but good). We all enjoyed dressing for dinner, trying new foods (the kids), and having a leisurely meal. We especially enjoyed the formal nights. We did do dinner at Samba – it was ok but doesn’t compare with any of the Brazilian steakhouses we have been to before. We also did Chops – very good. Grade B+ overall / some meals were an A.

 

Entertainment: We went to every show and loved them all! Chicago was great – really enjoyed it. Oceanaria was amazing – really kept your attention and such talent! The ice show was fantastic – I wasn’t expecting such high caliber skaters; really impressive. Blue Planet was beautiful! The Headliner was the Tribute to the Temptations – great show and the guys from Tribute were a lot of fun. The Comedy show was also great (Rondell Sheridan)! We saw the Love and Marriage Show too – funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time and Allen Brooks was a hoot (he was given A LOT to work with!) Grade – A++

 

Activities / Kids Clubs: The girls enjoyed the ice skating (be sure to bring socks and long pants), mini golf, the flow rider, rock climbing (a couple of times), and the zip line. Recommendation would be to start trying things early in the week as they get more crowded as the week goes on. My 10 year old really liked the Ocean Adventure Voyagers – the staff was nice, the games were fun and she met a few new friends. More importantly, she enjoyed the freedom of doing her own thing and staying out late (a couple of nights she stayed after 10 for the late night activities and thought that was great – it was worth the additional charge for us.) The 12 & 13 year old spent some time with the Teens 12 – 14 mostly enjoying the scavenger hunt activities. They didn’t seem to care for the dances at night. My husband and I enjoyed a couple of the wine tastings at Vintages – very nice. We did not do any of the Dreamworks stuff (hopefully next time). Grade A+

 

Crew & Service: Everyone we encountered was just wonderful! Captain Johnny was a treat and very funny. Allen Brooks was our cruise director – again very funny and seems to really like his job. We loved all the photo opportunities – especially the formal nights and the gal with the white background taking the barefoot pix. We really liked our room attendant, Everton, as well as several of the servers we encountered – Patty & Khoulman in the MDR, Kumar in the MDR, Roger at Chops and Alan at Vintages. It is amazing how hard everyone on this ship works to make our experience so wonderful. Everything seems to run seamlessly – couldn’t believe how they ushered over 6,000 people to the muster drill at one time! Everything had a system and was so organized! Just an amazing crew of dedicated and beautiful people! Grade A++

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Daisy21015

Daisy21015

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Ports:

 

Labadee: We did the Haitian Cultural Tour. We took a small boat from the dock to a private island. Once there, we had a welcome cocktail and then went on the tour. It is set up to give you a glimpse of Haitian life – seeing how the people live, work and their trades. At the end of the tour, there are a couple of artisans selling their goods. Once we walked through the “village” we were able to spend time on the private beach. The tour is well run and our girls enjoyed it. The only thing that could have made it better was more time on the private beach. Afterwards, we went back to the main area of Labadee and enjoyed the RCI buffet (hamburgers, chicken, ribs, salads & fruit) and some more beach time. Grade A

 

Falmouth: We did the Heartbeat of Jamaica Tour. We left the ship and went to a waiting area where, after a few of minutes, we got in our van. We took a 20 minute drive to the plantation for the tour. Our tour hosts, Tania & Bernard, were wonderful. We learned all about the Papaya plantation, planted a little papaya seedling, learned about sugar cane and some other things – all while riding an open air covered jitney. Then, we had a tasting of fruit (papaya, mango, jack fruit, pineapple) and jerk chicken followed by rum tasting. A really enjoyable morning - and the opportunity to purchase some Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. Once we got pack to the pier we did some shopping (the vendors are still out on the pier as most of the shops are not open yet). I have to say, we were not hassled by any of the vendors. They did ask you to see what they had but they never got pushy. All in all a good day and once the port is totally up and running it should be even better. Grade A

 

Cozumel: We hired a driver for the day – Gerry. He picked us up for a 5 hour tour that turned into a 7 hour tour (and he only charged us for the 5 hours!). Very nice guy – personable and knowledgeable. He took us shopping, through town (history of the area), to the ruins, to Punta Sur and El Mirador. We had a wonderful lunch at Playa Bonita and then Gerry took us to Playa Planacar for some beach time and snorkeling. He also saw that one of our girls was into the iguanas so he brought us to this guy that would let us hold his large iguana and take a picture for a dollar – the girls really liked this. After the iguana pictures, the guy came out with a huge bull and wanted to know if wanted pictures on the bull!! We passed! Grade – A [/font]

Disembarkation: Again, very easy. We were later getting off (group 60) so we had breakfast in the Windjammer and waited for our number to be called in the Amber Theater. Once we were called, our luggage was ready, the lines moved continually and we were waiting for the Avis shuttle in no time. Grade – A

 

Summary: This will definitely be the first of many cruises for us. It was more than we could have hoped for! The Allure was an AMAZING beautiful ship with so much to offer. The entertainment was top notch and the crew was fabulous. My only worry is that it will be tough to find something to measure up – so I think next time we will just have to go really different to minimize the chance of having to compare! Over all Grade - A++ Ship / Experience!

 

I'm happy to answer any quesions you may have about our experiences or the Allure. Thank you againg Cruise Critic!

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kmurph22

kmurph22

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Thank you for posting!! Can't wait for my Allure trip next week!

 

Did your girls participate in any of the teen activities, or make friends on board? How did you find the whole teen experience? Did the ship enforce its 1am curfew?

 

 

Wait, I posted too soon... I see some of your comments. Still curious about the curfew for the older kids....

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Daisy21015

Daisy21015

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The 3 girls that did do the activities did meet some friends. They didn't really hang with them outside of the scheduled activities but they did have friends that they interacted with while at the scheduled events.

 

I would say midnight was the latest they were out - they didn't enjoy the evening events as much as the daytime events.

 

My 18 year old is not a real joiner/outgoing. She primarily stayed with us or spent time alone or with her sisters. She tried going to the club once but didn't stay (I think it would have been different if she had a friend her age and wan't going in alone.)

 

If I am not mistaken I think if they are with an organized event all is good as far a curfew. Also, a lot, I believe, depends on the behavior of the children - are they calling attention to themselves? There was one group of 4 young teen boys that I saw a couple of different nights just being loud and running the halls. One night they were stopped and spoken to.

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kmurph22

kmurph22

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thanks! nervous about my 15 and 13 year old boys; they may want to "roam" a bit a night and I"m still trying to decide what to permit them to do. Last time my then 14 year old son didn't like the organized activities much, but did like to hang out in the promenade with a big group of teens and eat ice cream/drink coffee... that's fine I guess. They are good kids and won't be running or pressing elevator buttons, but I guess a lot depends on the friends they make and how the group behaves.

 

So glad to hear you enjoyed your trip!

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Daisy21015

Daisy21015

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Hey Merion - Thanks! I found Gerry on the thread under ports of call - Cozumel. It is titled Hiring a driver for a day. I would post the link but I don't know how - sorry!

 

We paid $195 for the first 3 hours and then $40 per hour after that. We booked for 5 hours and he only charged us for the 5 even though he was with us for 7. Those prices are for his van - if you have few people, he has a car and the prices are lower.

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shipshape sam Great Review Rare

shipshape sam

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Not sailed on Oasis, but have sailed on Allure. It is a great ship. We ate in every speciality restaurant vs MDR (ate in MDR on first formal night only) which was a neat treat.

 

Want to go back on Allure! That is a nice thought......a B2B on Allure!:)

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bailey2004

bailey2004

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thanks! nervous about my 15 and 13 year old boys; they may want to "roam" a bit a night and I"m still trying to decide what to permit them to do. Last time my then 14 year old son didn't like the organized activities much, but did like to hang out in the promenade with a big group of teens and eat ice cream/drink coffee... that's fine I guess. They are good kids and won't be running or pressing elevator buttons, but I guess a lot depends on the friends they make and how the group behaves.

 

Hi kmurph - we leave saturday also for the allure. I have 2 boys 16 and 14 also so I know your concerns. Last year we were on the freedom and the curfew was 1 am I believe. My boys loved the organized activities and were there every night. We basically never saw them!

I do know they were stopped one night and told to head back to the room. Btw if they are with an adult they can be out later. They loved it so much that we booked this cruise this year. They still keep in touch on Facebook with the kids they met. Hope you and your family enjoy!!

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Cruising89143

Cruising89143

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Not sailed on Oasis, but have sailed on Allure. It is a great ship. We ate in every speciality restaurant vs MDR (ate in MDR on first formal night only) which was a neat treat.

 

Want to go back on Allure! That is a nice thought......a B2B on Allure!:)

 

One good thing about the B2B is not having to feel the rush to do everything. We only watched Chicago and Blue Planet once during the two weeks. Slower pace = more relaxtion.:)

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Mewissy

Mewissy

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It looks like you did you research and took advantage of a lot of the activities (both on the ship and in port). Good for you!

 

I try not to plan to much on ship, but do make sure I know my plans for port days.

 

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise!

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

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Hi kmurph - we leave saturday also for the allure. I have 2 boys 16 and 14 also so I know your concerns. Last year we were on the freedom and the curfew was 1 am I believe. My boys loved the organized activities and were there every night. We basically never saw them!

I do know they were stopped one night and told to head back to the room. Btw if they are with an adult they can be out later. They loved it so much that we booked this cruise this year. They still keep in touch on Facebook with the kids they met. Hope you and your family enjoy!!

 

Hey, bailey, you haven't been on the Roll Call in seven months! Come back! :)

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Cruising89143

Cruising89143

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Sue and I are boarding Allure on Sept. 4th for a B2B. Our stateroom for week 2 will be on the same deck but a different cabin. Has anyone completed a B2B on Allure and, if so, can you comment on what the transition was like between week 1 and 2.

 

We were on the Allure in January for a B2B. Near the end of week one you will receive information in your cabin about a meeting to be held on the last day of week one. At this meeting they will eplain everything to you about what you will need to do.

 

On turn around day they will have you meet around 10:00 in a lounge so that the group can be escorted off the ship to go through immigration. After going through immigration, you will go to an area and wait until the ship has been cleared. Once the ship has been cleared you are the first group to board. Before boarding you will be given your new SeaPass card.

 

If you're switching cabins, your steward will handle moving your personal belongings to the new cabin. It was a very easy process.

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woodbadger1984

woodbadger1984

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We were on the Allure in January for a B2B. Near the end of week one you will receive information in your cabin about a meeting to be held on the last day of week one. At this meeting they will eplain everything to you about what you will need to do.

 

On turn around day they will have you meet around 10:00 in a lounge so that the group can be escorted off the ship to go through immigration. After going through immigration, you will go to an area and wait until the ship has been cleared. Once the ship has been cleared you are the first group to board. Before boarding you will be given your new SeaPass card.

 

If you're switching cabins, your steward will handle moving your personal belongings to the new cabin. It was a very easy process.

 

Thanks cruisingator2. I really like "very easy processes"

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