Allure of the seas review from march 4th

[Foncai]

I tried to make this short and sweet but it was too hard:)

This was our 6th cruise - 5th with RCCL. We sailed with first timer friends and our diamond plus friends. ( our group was 30 something's and 40s -60s)

Having cruised royal before we already new what we liked and what we didn't.

All in all - we loved it. She truly is a beautiful ship and as always royal lived up to their excellent customer service reputation.

 

Rooms - boardwalk 10715 & 10717 - great rooms. Great view of aqua theatre, boardwalk and the water. Yes noisy till about midnight. Did I mind? No, kinda fun going to sleep to the sounds of the fiesta - normally I need silence - but hey I was on allure. plenty of storage. Some cupboards unused!! could I see across into other cabins? No wasnt looking! And there is a sheer curtain you can use so people can't see in. But no one is looking as no one is in their cabin!

Food - never ate in windjammer. Ate in dining room only on lobster night and one lunch. Glad that is the only time I ate in those two too. ( aside from the AWESOME salad bar they have at lunch time!!!) as otherwise it was boring.

Giovanni's - surprisingly loved it, great for groups.

150 central park - stuffy, uptight and self absorbed waiters. Food boring. left hungry.

Samba grill - fun, FILLING, good variety of meats. Great belly dancers. FILLING!!! great atmosphere.

Chops - my fave as always - starve yourself and order one of everything, eat slowly. Food and atmosphere is always great.

Johnny rockets- good fun, lots of variety, great atmosphere. Great for when getting back on board after a long day on shore.

Ritas cantina - large portions, again great atmospheres. Good food good fun.

Boardwalk dog house- just grab one on the way past - great snack ;)

Promenade cafe - great croissants for snack.

Park cafe- yes those roast beef sandwiches are THAT GOOD. And yes you should eat a few. Also the bagels and yogurts are great for breakfast.

They have good things for lunch snacks too.

Crowded - no

Kids - lots - but they are always in their own areas.

Elevators - sometimes slow at peak times.

Walking - lots of it. Great for exercise.

Casino - lost a lot. :)

Spa - expensive - wait for specials.

Dream works characters / festivals and appearances. Great fun!!

Ice show - great

Aqua show - great

Blue planet - unreal! ( now finished)

Disco night - awesome

Shops onboard - ok. No great savings.

Art - lovely

 

Ports of call - bahamas, st Thomas and st Maarten. They are quintessential islands - a bit boring, sand, duty free etc. A must do is watch the planes land on mahalo beach in st Maarten. Seeing a 747 land and stand behind one while it took off was insane!! Google it, do it and have a margarita while you are there.

flowrider - awesome

Flying fox - just do it

Iceskating - fun but crowded on sea days.

 

Spent to much - yes.

Took too many clothes - not really. But still could have taken less and survived.

 

Photos- expensive. But bought 3 anyway as they are great quality.

Carousel - fun - ride it!

Sailaway - where we the only ones partying?

 

Belly flop / love and marriage / quest - watch, participate or do both! Just don't miss out !!!

 

Rocking? Yes she rocked for 3 straight days - I was shocked beyond belief at the rocking. BUT I THINK IT WAS A WIERD WEEK - full moon etc. even the staff said she hasn't rocked that much before. I don't get sea sick - but boy I was getting over the swaying really fast. it was very frustrating.

 

Embarkation - easy - onboard by 1pm.

Disembarkation - I MADE THE 10 am FLIGHT :)

 

Do it again - for sure!!

 

Booked another cruise - yep - voyager June 2 Singapore. Cant wait!

Questions welcome.

[hollon]

Great Review, I liked how you broke it down for us. Thanks :)