The Significantly Less Complete Food Lovers Guide to the Allure of the Seas

[BrianAlt]

holy toledo that prohibition party sounds like AMAZING fun for all! Does that need to be booked before cruising?

 

They were advertising it on board, so you can book it on the ship. But I guess it could be sold out before you make it to the ship.

[Travel luv]

Part 3 continued...

 

It was nice that we were going to Chops Grille because we got a chance to eat a little later than we would the rest of the week. So we didn’t have to rush to get ready. The kids were a little upset that we would be eating until around 9:30 because the teen events started at 8 PM. We convinced them that no one would be there till 9 PM and they could skip dessert if they wanted to. Skip dessert? Crazy kids! ;)

 

Simply stated, Chops was wonderful! Coming to Chops seems like an old comfortable shoe, except it tastes a whole lot better. I started with the Forrest Mushroom Soup which is really delicious. It has a bit of white truffle oil in it. From watching the Food Network it seems that truffle oil is passé, but I really enjoyed it. It gives an extra richness to the flavor. The soup itself is pureed, but some straw mushrooms are added that are really nice, visually pleasing, and give a light texture to the soup.

 

Most of the table ordered a Shrimp Cocktail which has to be considered a standard at Chops. The shrimps are huge. I asked our waitress, a lovely young lady, to bring an extra one out for the table. She brought out two extras. They didn’t last long.

 

For my main course I had the Filet Mignon, 10 ounces of lovely steak and I couldn’t help myself, I asked for the Green Peppercorn sauce and the Chimichurri sauce. I love Chimichurri! The steak was tender and fairly flavorful. Usually I would go with something a little fattier and on the bone, but I just wasn’t hungry enough for the larger cuts. My father had the 18 ounce Porterhouse and it was delicious. My mother-in-law and daughter had fish wrapped and cooked in parchment paper. They seemed to really enjoy that. My wife went for the Petite Filet as did a couple others at the table. My sister had a New York Strip which was great.

 

For sides we had Baked Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, Broccolini, and Onion Rings. Our waitress brought out two of each for the table. We just about finished all of them.

 

Finally for dessert, there are four choices. The six of us had one of each. The kids were long gone. The desserts were a Chocolate Mud Pie, a Coconut Crème Brulee, the Passionberry Duo and a Red Velvet Cake. The Crème Brulee was a little bit runny and mine didn’t come out flaming as I saw at other tables. The Crème Brulee dessert I had at the 15th Street Fisheries the night before was MUCH better. The Mud Pie was good, but chocolate desserts are not my favorite, I’d rather go for sweet. The Passionberry was the best in my opinion. It was light and sweet, nice after the heavy meal. I didn’t try the Red Velvet. Overall we agreed that dessert was disappointing. The kids had the right idea.

 

I ordered the Duckhorn Merlot and that was a very nice bottle of wine. I was looking for something that would go well with our steaks without a break the bank price point. I think this Merlot fit the bill. (Ha! That’s a pun! duck – bill :D ) I shared that with my wife and my dad.

 

Sorry for the lack of food porn, I have great pictures coming up for 150 Central Park, so stay tuned if that’s what you’re looking for. But here are a few pics from dinner…

 

My lovely wife and me

 

My wife and her mom

 

My mom with the kids

 

After dinner we went to the Comedy Show with Eric Lyden and Rondell Sheridan. We really enjoyed the show. Both of them pretty well ripped apart two young ladies sitting in the front row. Eric told a lot of Royal Caribbean versus Carnival jokes. Basically the same stuff you hear on these message boards. It was a great end to the evening.

 

Next – Part 4: A Relaxing Day at Sea

 

Hello Brian. Thanks for the review! I noticed that you all ate at the 15th Street Fisheries while staying in Ft. Lauderdale. Can you please share with us what you ate while there and what your thoughts were about your meal. We are looking to have lunch there in a few weeks before boarding the Allure on the following day.

[BrianAlt]

Hello Brian. Thanks for the review! I noticed that you all ate at the 15th Street Fisheries while staying in Ft. Lauderdale. Can you please share with us what you ate while there and what your thoughts were about your meal. We are looking to have lunch there in a few weeks before boarding the Allure on the following day.

 

I wasn't specific because I didn't remember everything I had. But, let's see... I had the Fisheries salad. Romaine Lettuce, Wild Florida Rock Shrimp, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Sliced Almonds, Fresh Strawberries, Papaya Chutney Dressing. It was very good. My son had the Bahamian Style Conch Chowder and enjoyed it (he's a big soup person). My wife had the Watercress salad. She's recently big into goat cheese. She enjoyed that too.

 

For my entree I had the Seared Local Snapper. It was very nice. It was in a red curry sauce. I was a little surprised to see that it was so saucy, but I enjoyed it very much. I can't recall what the others had, but everyone enjoyed.

 

I recommend the desserts. The Key Lime Pie was very good. The Creme Brulee was EXCELLENT! Three different flavors. All were great.

 

Our bill for seven people with gratuity added was over $550. So the place is not cheap. That included 2 bottles of Poully Fuisse.

 

Here is a terrible picture of us taken by one of the parking attendants:

 

 

And another out back by the docks:

 

 

I recommend the restaurant. And thanks for making me recall the details! :D

[Travel luv]

I wasn't specific because I didn't remember everything I had. But, let's see... I had the Fisheries salad. Romaine Lettuce, Wild Florida Rock Shrimp, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Sliced Almonds, Fresh Strawberries, Papaya Chutney Dressing. It was very good. My son had the Bahamian Style Conch Chowder and enjoyed it (he's a big soup person). My wife had the Watercress salad. She's recently big into goat cheese. She enjoyed that too.

 

For my entree I had the Seared Local Snapper. It was very nice. It was in a red curry sauce. I was a little surprised to see that it was so saucy, but I enjoyed it very much. I can't recall what the others had, but everyone enjoyed.

 

I recommend the desserts. The Key Lime Pie was very good. The Creme Brulee was EXCELLENT! Three different flavors. All were great.

 

Our bill for seven people with gratuity added was over $550. So the place is not cheap. That included 2 bottles of Poully Fuisse.

 

Here is a terrible picture of us taken by one of the parking attendants:

 

 

And another out back by the docks:

 

 

I recommend the restaurant. And thanks for making me recall the details! :D

 

Thanks Brian again for sharing! I'm looking forward to the experience. Nice pics by the way. :)

[e01061]

Obviously I'll be glad to answer questions. Some answers may be coming up in future parts, so please be patient with me. Thanks and I hope you all enjoy. :D

 

Thank you for writing this review! We leave on the Allure May 27th and the information is wonderful! You just raised the anticipation bar another 10 notches! :)

[terpfan101]

Brian thanks for writing this...I emailed you a few months ago about the Oasis review which was helpful. I'm on Allure in June so this is great! Will you be discussing your port days? I'm curious to hear what you did as we'll be on the exact same itinerary. Which did you prefer on Allure? 150 or Chops?

 

Regards,

 

Jeremy

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for posting your wonderful review. Glad you had a good time, enjoyed your pictures.

[royalcruz]

Hello Brian. Thanks for the review! I noticed that you all ate at the 15th Street Fisheries while staying in Ft. Lauderdale. Can you please share with us what you ate while there and what your thoughts were about your meal. We are looking to have lunch there in a few weeks before boarding the Allure on the following day.

I actually prefer the dockside dining at 15th St Fisheries. It's less expensive than the upstairs restaurant, very casual, has live entertainment in the evenings, and it has a waterfront view. The menu is more casual, but I often prefer that. The dining room upstairs is dark and old-fashioned. When I eat dockside I feel like I'm on vacation.

[hiphopchop]

when we are in Ft lauderdale waiting, oh waiting to board, one of our favorite restaurants is the Bimini Boat Yard. Oh they bake this Bimini Bread that is outrageous! They bake an actual sugarcane inside of it, now my husband is usually the bread guy, especially sweet types of bread, but I so love this stuff! And this restaurant also has an outside area that is on the water and has that relaxed Fla Jimmy Buffet feel, relatively reasonable. But the Fisheries looks interesting as well, depends on how many days ahead of time we get there. I cannot give up the Bimini Bread! As for the prohibiition party, if it is possible I will book asap. But dh has the confirmation number for that cruise so Royal will not even let me into the menus to check. That will be todays mission! After I go to they gym because I think I just gained weight thinking about that bread!

[BrianAlt]

Really enjoying your review what a lovely family your have.:)

 

Thank you so much! :D

[BrianAlt]

Will you be discussing your port days? I'm curious to hear what you did as we'll be on the exact same itinerary.

 

Absolutely.

 

Which did you prefer on Allure? 150 or Chops?

 

I'll discuss this too! :D

[BrianAlt]

Thanks for posting your wonderful review. Glad you had a good time, enjoyed your pictures.

 

Thank you!

[BrianAlt]

I actually prefer the dockside dining at 15th St Fisheries. It's less expensive than the upstairs restaurant, very casual, has live entertainment in the evenings, and it has a waterfront view. The menu is more casual, but I often prefer that. The dining room upstairs is dark and old-fashioned. When I eat dockside I feel like I'm on vacation.

 

If we went back there, I think I would try out the dockside dining. The dining room is old-fashioned, I agree with that. However, it wasn't dark. Probably because we went early, 6 PM, and the sun was still shining. There are lots of windows up there so it was nice and bright.

 

when we are in Ft lauderdale waiting, oh waiting to board, one of our favorite restaurants is the Bimini Boat Yard. Oh they bake this Bimini Bread that is outrageous! They bake an actual sugarcane inside of it, now my husband is usually the bread guy, especially sweet types of bread, but I so love this stuff! And this restaurant also has an outside area that is on the water and has that relaxed Fla Jimmy Buffet feel, relatively reasonable.

 

Sounds nice. I'm always open to trying new restaurants! :D

[BrianAlt]

Part 4: A Relaxing Day at Sea

 

On day 2 we had to wake up early and get the kids out of bed. They had a FlowRider lesson at 8 AM. I figured it was perfect to get it done with early so they could enjoy the FlowRider as they wished the rest of the week. It was cool in the morning, so the kids complained a little. But they both go to sleep-away camp, so I’m sure they’re used to some early morning swims.

 

There were only six or seven kids taking the lesson, so it really gave the instructors a chance to be out in the water with each of them and spend some time with them. Two boys were too short to be on the stand-up board, so they had to stick with the boogie board. You would think that the boogie board is easier, but in some ways it isn’t. My son had a hard time keeping his weight back to keep the board in place. They both seemed to do better with the stand-up, even though my son wanted to keep giving it up and going back to the boogie board. Here are a couple videos I shot of them at the FlowRider lesson:

 

My son on the FlowRider

 

My daughter on the FlowRider

 

And here’s a couple of pictures of them on the boogie board:

 

 

After the lesson my son was off looking for his friends from the night before. My daughter was hungry and we decided to go to Johnny Rockets for breakfast. Johnny Rockets doesn’t cost anything extra at breakfast time and you get a traditional diner breakfast there. I like eating breakfast there. You eat outside and they serve you your food. There are healthier choices on board, but it’s a nice thing to do one or two times during your cruise.

 

My daughter at Johnny Rockets

 

After that it was time to get ready for the Meet & Mingle. It was very well attended and I spoke to many people there. Belle was the coordinator and did a nice job. We also had a Grab Bag and over 20 (22 was it?) people took part in that. I think that’s pretty impressive! We were instructed to get something from the part of the world you live. The ladies from Canada seemed to like my I <3 NY t-shirt and Statue of Liberty foam crown. Yes, I live in New Jersey, but I work in New York City, so I felt it was appropriate.

 

After that we had a Cabin Crawl organized wonderfully by Bobkat406. Thanks so much Kathi, and great meeting you! Our M&M location had changed from Dazzles on Deck 8 Aft (we only found that out 3 days before the cruise) to the Comedy Club on Deck 4 Mid, so Kathi had to rearrange our entire Cabin Crawl to accommodate that. She did so perfectly. We had a very interesting mix of cabins. Even my standard Oceanview Balcony cabin had the added feature of connecting cabins and a triple deck.

 

LKL&ME shared their Central Park Balcony cabin along with their neighboring Inside stateroom that was right next door! The young ladies travelling with them occupied that one. Since they were at the very beginning of Central Park, the cabin next to them did not have a balcony. Who knew?!?

 

The owner of the Boardwalk Balcony on our tour never made it the M&M and no one was home when we knocked at the stateroom door. But we were fortunate to have a Family Balcony Stateroom (amazing hidden bunk beds!), a Junior Suite, a Grand Suite, an Owner’s Suite (beautiful!) and what seemed to be the envy of all, an Aqua Suite! The Aqua Suite, shared by silvermcs, was beautiful with its wrap around balcony with views of the back of the ship and AquaTheater. It has multiple sleeping rooms and multiple bathrooms, one with a stand-up shower and the other with a tub, and a living room area. It’s one thing to see the deck plans and layouts of these staterooms, but you don’t get a complete feel for them until you are in the room itself.

 

After the tour of the ship, I plopped myself down in the Solarium and took a nap. I love napping on a lounge chair during the day…ahhhhh! I saw this picture before I set sail:

 

 

I was hoping they would have the “Snoozer of the Seas” t-shirt available on board, but I never found it. Darn!

 

We had lunch in the Solarium. I love eating there. Never had a problem getting a table and while it’s similar to the Windjammer, everything is a little bit healthier. For example, instead of wraps, they have crepes. I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but I was able to be happy eating there just about every day. I made myself a salad with a bunch of small shrimp. I also had a bowl of gazpacho that was not spicy (unfortunately), but it was good and there were several garnishes with it such as finely diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and peppers. I finished lunch off with a couple of chocolate chip cookies! See, not everything there is healthy!

 

After lunch I took a walk around to see if I could find my son. I was looking and looking and looking and looking! When I finally found him he said, “hey dad,” and kept walking right past me!!! I was frozen in the spot I was standing. “Ummm…son…want to talk to me for a second?” Groan…what’s up? Geez, all I wanted to know was if you were having a good time. “Be back in the cabin by 5:30 to take a shower and get dressed for dinner.” “Fine, bye!” My son has officially been a teen for one month and he has definitely figured out how to act like one!

 

Met my dad for trivia (Kaleigh and James would be proud!) in the Schooner bar and we were sitting at the piano. A couple was sitting there and we joined up with them to form Team Irvin! Irvin was his last name. Great couple. John sat down at the piano coming in a little late and he joined our team also. We did…not so great…we got 14 out of 20. I think we could have had at least 16, but I was overruled on one (What was Walt Disney supposedly afraid of? And I said, “mice”.) and Sylvia was overruled on another. 16 would have been a pretty good score. Boo to the question, “What state appears in Bible? Hint: It’s in Genesis.” Anyone that can answer that and hasn’t heard it before can have a Royal Caribbean key chain.

 

It was right around 4 PM and anyone that has followed my Oasis review will know what that means. RIGHT! It’s BBC time at the Solarium Bar! auxxcay knew we’d be there and she met us to try her first BBC. She said she would be there when we met her at the M&M and she was true to her word. My wife actually opted for a Corona not wanting to be filled up before dinner. Dinner was expected to be special that evening! But auxxcay did have one and she liked it! Then it was time to head back to the room to shower and get ready for formal night!

 

Next – Part 5: 150 Central Park

[BrianAlt]

I have a feeling you're all really looking forward to the next part. I'm looking forward to sharing it! :) I'll have it out by this evening. I need to scan the menus so I can include those in the write up.

[secret1122]

when we are in Ft lauderdale waiting, oh waiting to board, one of our favorite restaurants is the Bimini Boat Yard. Oh they bake this Bimini Bread that is outrageous! They bake an actual sugarcane inside of it, now my husband is usually the bread guy, especially sweet types of bread, but I so love this stuff! And this restaurant also has an outside area that is on the water and has that relaxed Fla Jimmy Buffet feel, relatively reasonable. But the Fisheries looks interesting as well, depends on how many days ahead of time we get there. I cannot give up the Bimini Bread! As for the prohibiition party, if it is possible I will book asap. But dh has the confirmation number for that cruise so Royal will not even let me into the menus to check. That will be todays mission! After I go to they gym because I think I just gained weight thinking about that bread!

Now you have me completely craving this bread. When you say you eat here while waiting to board, do you mean literally at the time you're waiting to board? I looked at the maps and this place doesn't seem to be within reasonable walking distance from the port if you're waiting to board the ship. I am thinking about stopping by the day before my departure for lunch. Is there much to do in that area as far as shopping or other activities? I'm having dinner in the same area and want to avoid having to try to get back to the hotel, only to come back several hours later for dinner.

[Buffett fan]

I have a feeling you're all really looking forward to the next part. I'm looking forward to sharing it! :) I'll have it out by this evening. I need to scan the menus so I can include those in the write up.

 

 

I'm very much looking forward to this part of the review! We did this option one night too...and I took pictures of everything and I kept all the menus! Can't wait to compare! :)

[CruisingCaraCat]

Referring back to your Chops dinner, I agree that the mushroom soup (even with that passe truffle oil) is well worth having. I actually think it is the same soup that you get at the Chefs table in the trio of soups.

 

Interesting that some of your party had fish 'en papier', I don't recall seeing that before in Chops but it is something I'd like to try. Any recall as to what kind of fish it was?

 

I am also wondering if/when you got to the dog house - although I like fine dining I am also a sausage hound dog and I thought they were suprisingly good on the ship.

[BrianAlt]

Referring back to your Chops dinner, I agree that the mushroom soup (even with that passe truffle oil) is well worth having. I actually think it is the same soup that you get at the Chefs table in the trio of soups.

 

I thought so too. We had the Trio of Soups at the Chef's Table on the Oasis and we also had the Trio of Soups at the Chops Wine Dinner on the Enchantment.

 

Trio of Soups on the Enchantment

 

I had the Forrest Mushroom Soup earlier that week in Chops on the Enchantment, so I asked them if it was the same. They said that it wasn't. Not sure if I should believe them! ;) But I enjoyed both very much.

 

Interesting that some of your party had fish 'en papier', I don't recall seeing that before in Chops but it is something I'd like to try. Any recall as to what kind of fish it was?

 

Chops definitely had some entrees that I didn't see before. I didn't say what kind of fish it was, because I honestly didn't remember. I believe it was halibut, but I will try to verify with my daughter and wife.

 

I am also wondering if/when you got to the dog house - although I like fine dining I am also a sausage hound dog and I thought they were suprisingly good on the ship.

 

I really wanted to try the Dog House on the Allure, but I never got there. I went by one day in the early in the afternoon and looked at it and said, "maybe I should stop for a dog," but the line was long so I just kept going and stopped at the Park Cafe for a roast beef sandwich instead. :D I should have gotten both. :o

[hiphopchop]

Now you have me completely craving this bread. When you say you eat here while waiting to board, do you mean literally at the time you're waiting to board? I looked at the maps and this place doesn't seem to be within reasonable walking distance from the port if you're waiting to board the ship. I am thinking about stopping by the day before my departure for lunch. Is there much to do in that area as far as shopping or other activities? I'm having dinner in the same area and want to avoid having to try to get back to the hotel, only to come back several hours later for dinner.

Usually we fly in at least a day or two before. There is a mall close by. With the best Dillards (we do not have Dillards in RI) So I always enjoy this mall which is very close in proximity to Bimini Boat Yard.

[Puffinater]

(What was Walt Disney supposedly afraid of? And I said, “mice”.) and Sylvia was overruled on another. 16 would have been a pretty good score. Boo to the question, “What state appears in Bible? Hint: It’s in Genesis.” Anyone that can answer that and hasn’t heard it before can have a Royal Caribbean key chain.

 

Google search would indicate that "mice" is a correct answer. Found tons of "mice" answers but did find one that said "spiders".

 

Could not quite figure out the next answer. There are several city/states mentioned.

 

Thanks for your review.

[Travel luv]

I have a feeling you're all really looking forward to the next part. I'm looking forward to sharing it! :) I'll have it out by this evening. I need to scan the menus so I can include those in the write up.

 

Wow! Can't wait! I've been waiting to see what's on the menus. We are sailing in May. By the way, were you able to copy both menus for the week? Any feedback on what others might have said about the menu you didn't get to try.

 

Thanks again Brian.

[rncruiser]

when we are in Ft lauderdale waiting, oh waiting to board, one of our favorite restaurants is the Bimini Boat Yard. Oh they bake this Bimini Bread that is outrageous! They bake an actual sugarcane inside of it, now my husband is usually the bread guy, especially sweet types of bread, but I so love this stuff! And this restaurant also has an outside area that is on the water and has that relaxed Fla Jimmy Buffet feel, relatively reasonable. But the Fisheries looks interesting as well, depends on how many days ahead of time we get there. I cannot give up the Bimini Bread! As for the prohibiition party, if it is possible I will book asap. But dh has the confirmation number for that cruise so Royal will not even let me into the menus to check. That will be todays mission! After I go to they gym because I think I just gained weight thinking about that bread!

 

We will definitely try this place when we fly in a day early for our Oasis cruise in November. DH is a big bread fan and I was looking for a seafood restaurant. This will fit the bill perfectly.

[EllaDuChien]

"Boo to the question, “What state appears in Bible? Hint: It’s in Genesis.” Anyone that can answer that and hasn’t heard it before can have a Royal Caribbean key chain."

 

If the answer is what I think it is...its a trick question and not really trivia anyway so BOO is right!!

[CruisingCaraCat]

Thanks for replying Brian. Let me say that I truly appreciate your reviews since any time my wife and I travel, including cruising, it seems food is the number one priority. Probably why we only land vacation in Spain, Italy and France. I guess that probably defines us as either gluttons or food afficianados - probably somewhere in between.

 

So now you are going to force me to sign in tonight since we are leaving for the Allure bright and early tomorrow morning. We are doing 150 on day 1 (4/22) and I was going to get the menu and your opinion. I loved 150 on our last Allure so my plan was to eat there day 1 and then make reservations for when the menu changes.

 

Again your reviews are highly appreciated.