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

[Buffett fan]

Yes, it is half the price. But we got a suite which comfortably slept the seven of us in 2 rooms. Transportation to the port can sometimes be tricky. Everyone is vying for the same vans. Make sure they have a sign up sheet the night before and go for the earliest time. If not you may not show up at the port until after noon. If they don't have a sign up sheet, expect chaos and you might just want to get a cab anyway.

 

 

For what it's worth, the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 is also very nice. They can be a little pricy but sometimes run specials. I specifically requested a garden room (not in the tower area) that faced the water ways. I LOVED looking right outside and seeing the canals. To me, that was just heavenly. I arranged a shuttle to the pier with the hotel concierge for the morning of the cruise ($7/person), and it worked out wonderfully. I will definitely stay at the Hyatt again!

[BrianAlt]

Welcome Home Brian!

We looked and looked and looked for Otto at sailaway on the Port Everglades Webcam but had not luck finding him. :o

 

I was definitely wearing Otto at sail away and I was on the side of the port cam. :)

[BrianAlt]

Aahhhh... Picture was too big! Hopefully this is better.

 

[swwake]

I'm sailing the Allure in May. My recommendation; if you're debating between these two restaurants, sign up for the Chef's Table package. That will get you Chef's Table, 150 CP, and Chops Grill. That deal has you pay full price for Chef's Table (which was one of your debated options), but then you get $5 off Chops, and 150 CP will be free. So you can dine at both your debated restaurants, plus a third, all for the price of less than two. It's a great deal.

 

Good recommendation! The issues that I have with this package are that 1) you must eat at Chops on day one (which we did anyway), and 2) that you must make your reservations on board.

 

These packages happened to be offered right after specialty dining reservations were opened up on our cruise, so I had already made our plans. But I would definitely be worried about trying to get reservations for all 8 of us.

 

The other option I believe is: Chops, Giovanni's and a choice of Izumi or Samba. I think these packages are great if you are going as a couple or maybe two couples. Things get more complicated when you're a big group.

 

This is great info and I didn't know about this package. We probably won't have big issues with onboard reservations, since our schedule is flexible and there are just two of us this time. The Chops the first night worries me a little, but if one meal is basically free, we might as well!

 

How far in advance do the specialty restaurant reservations become available? And, does anyone know much about the Prohibition Party?

 

Thanks guys!

[maxs mom]

Brian.....Sorry you couldn't join us on the week we sailed..(April 1), but glad you made it on this one. Enjoying your review. Just finishing up mine so I know how exhausting it can be. Thanks a lot!

[BrianAlt]

Brian.....Sorry you couldn't join us on the week we sailed..(April 1)' date=' but glad you made it on this one. Enjoying your review. Just finishing up mine so I know how exhausting it can be. Thanks a lot![/size']

 

Yeah, as you know I didn't know if I would be sailing with you on the 1st instead, but we ended up with the kids being off on the 8th. Thank you for your review also. I started reading it and I'll finish checking it out as soon as this stops encompassing my world. :):o:D

[Sunebeach]

Really enjoying this review...as well as your others...on Allure in October...can't wait!!!

Thanks for the good info...

[BrianAlt]

Part 3: Dinner at Chops!

The bags came very quickly. We were in our cabin and completely unpacked by 1:15. That included the kid’s bags. The kids were staying in neighboring rooms, one on each side of us. The connecting room to ours had my mother-in-law and my son and the room on the other side housed my sister and my daughter. We asked the cabin steward to open the balconies on both sides and he had the key on him, so he opened them immediately. My parents were on the other side of my sister with one cabin between them. So we had four out of five consecutive cabins. Too bad they weren’t directly next to her; we could have had 4 connected balconies.

 

The argument over bed by the window versus bed by the closet is settled! At least for me. Our cabin had the bed by closet. The other three had the bed by the balcony. It’s a real pain to get into the closet with the bed right there. But do you know what’s a bigger pain? Getting out onto the balcony with the bed in the way! I’d rather deal with the bed by the closet. The room also LOOKS bigger in this configuration.

 

One common complaint on the Oasis was about the lack of electrical outlets, or at least the accessibility of the outlets. On the Allure there is a ball shaped power strip built into the desk/make-up table. Here are a couple of pictures of it:

 

 

It made it easy to plug things in. Or did it? I’m not sure if it’s noticeable in the picture, but it appears that the set of outlets can be in two positions: 1) as they are shown at a 45º angle or 2) flat on the desk. While flat on the desk, many of the chargers for devices would be much easier to use. In the position shown in the pictures the mirror sometimes gets in the way of bulky chargers or ones with various cables coming out of them. I was never able to figure out how to move the “ball” so it was flat on the table. I was able to make it work, but it was annoying.

 

We asked the kids if they wanted to explore the ship and they said yes, so we started walking around and realized that the Rock Wall was open. Both my kids have had climbing lessons for some time now and they’re both pretty good. Here they are climbing the walls (better them than us!):

 

 

The muster drill was coming up and this time we had our muster drill in Blaze, the night club. On the Oasis it was in the Champagne Bar. It always seems odd to be in a bar for a muster drill. They scan your card as you come in so they know you have attended, which is a great and easy way to handle it. It was EXTREMELY crowded. Half of our group had gone in different directions, so it was impossible to meet up with everyone in the nightclub. It was just too crowded to find everyone. Which wasn’t a big deal, we just planned to meet up there. A back door was opened in the club. Inside revealed all of the life jackets.

 

After that it was straight upstairs for the Roll Call Sail Away Unofficial Meet Up at the Sky Bar. Lots of people from the Roll Call were there and we stayed and talked for a while. Nice to put faces to names or faces AND names to screen names. I had to laugh, people would introduce themselves to me and I would of course say, “hi, I’m Brian.” Almost every person said, “oh, I know who you are.” Infamous perhaps?

 

My sister and dad during sail away

 

Wife and son looking thrilled…

 

Part 3 continued in the next post...

 

[BrianAlt]

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

[jennmaybe]

 

Many have said to me that these ships are "too big". Honestly, I'm not sure what that means. Too big how? Too big to get around? My father who has a very hard time walking had no problem getting around the ship. (The Miami Airport is another story...ugh, what a terrible place. :mad:) The ship is easy to get used to and while at first I was correcting my family on the direction we needed to walk, by the end they were correcting ME! :) I love these Oasis class ships!

 

 

 

I completely agree! I kept reading about so many people not liking it because it's so big. I never did figure out why they say that or what their definition of "too big" actually is.

 

We sailed Oasis last year (our 1st RCCL cruise) and I read your Oasis review and it helped me tremendously when it came time to deciding where to eat. We are looking to do Allure next year and I cannot wait!! So, I am REALLY enjoying this review--all while being so extremely jealous at the same time! :);)

[QTMichele]

 

 

The argument over bed by the window versus bed by the closet is settled! At least for me. Our cabin had the bed by closet. The other three had the bed by the balcony. It’s a real pain to get into the closet with the bed right there. But do you know what’s a bigger pain? Getting out onto the balcony with the bed in the way! I’d rather deal with the bed by the closet. The room also LOOKS bigger in this configuration.

 

It made it easy to plug things in. Or did it? I’m not sure if it’s noticeable in the picture, but it appears that the set of outlets can be in two positions: 1) as they are shown at a 45º angle or 2) flat on the desk. While flat on the desk, many of the chargers for devices would be much easier to use. In the position shown in the pictures the mirror sometimes gets in the way of bulky chargers or ones with various cables coming out of them. I was never able to figure out how to move the “ball” so it was flat on the table. I was able to make it work, but it was annoying.

 

 

Our kids had the "bed by the closet" configuration, and I didn't find it a big deal to get into the closet. A little tight? Yes, but I thought it opened up the rest of the room and made for a nicer seating area by the window or balcony. Just my two cents. ;)

 

Okay, I'm so glad you wrote about the little ball thing (aka outlet) on the desk. I tried to get it to rotate as well; no luck. I ended up using the outlet under the desk for those pesky chargers that didn't fit well. It worked. Also, there is an outlet behind the mattress - did you find that? I found that it came in handy from time to time.

 

Chops sounds great... I want to go now. :p

[Kycruisefan]

For what it's worth, the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 is also very nice. They can be a little pricy but sometimes run specials. I specifically requested a garden room (not in the tower area) that faced the water ways. I LOVED looking right outside and seeing the canals. To me, that was just heavenly. I arranged a shuttle to the pier with the hotel concierge for the morning of the cruise ($7/person), and it worked out wonderfully. I will definitely stay at the Hyatt again!

 

I was just researching this very hotel this morning. Thanks for the information!

[Buffett fan]

I was just researching this very hotel this morning. Thanks for the information!

 

No worries....it was a beautiful hotel, very convenient and had gorgeous views. Not the cheapest place, but very nice! I was on their website earlier (they are also on that other social networking site that I can't mention here), I'm already daydreaming about my next trip. I'm in serious vacation withdrawal. Thank goodness we have people like Brian, Trainman and Radio who help sustain us between cruises :D

[BrianAlt]

How far in advance do the specialty restaurant reservations become available? And, does anyone know much about the Prohibition Party?

 

Thanks guys!

 

Took me a while to find the thread on the Prohibition Party, but here is good information on the party that I used when I was researching: http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=31845395

 

If we were alone or with friends, we definitely would have done this.

 

I believe specialty restaurants can be booked approximately four months before your cruise. But your mileage may vary. The only thing the website says is that reservations close four days before the cruise. Basically, they'll be glad to take your money as soon as you want to give it to them. :p

[BrianAlt]

Also, there is an outlet behind the mattress - did you find that? I found that it came in handy from time to time.

 

I didn't, but I didn't really need it. I only ever used the one on the desk.

 

But that's a good note for everyone. Look for an outlet behind the bed if you need it!

[swwake]

Took me a while to find the thread on the Prohibition Party, but here is good information on the party that I used when I was researching: http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=31845395

 

If we were alone or with friends, we definitely would have done this.

 

I believe specialty restaurants can be booked approximately four months before your cruise. But your mileage may vary. The only thing the website says is that reservations close four days before the cruise. Basically, they'll be glad to take your money as soon as you want to give it to them. :p

Thanks for this info. But just to clarify, do I understand that you can only book the specialty restaurant packages onboard? I just read another review where she (Jane, maybe?) did that. Can't find any info about packages on the RC website.

 

Thanks again (and again) for your review (and previous ones). I always love reading your writing style and your photos. Glad to see they've added desktop outlets for Allure. Love that your family is having such a great time. Anxious to hear about Flowrider for y'all.

 

The comment about Allure vs. Oasis is interesting. I'm hoping we'll enjoy Allure just as much as we did Oasis and our favorite ship Liberty. But the staff we get to know are typically sports deck staff. We thought maybe the ones we knew from the older ships (ha! as if LOS and Oasis are "older") would be onboard Allure. OH no! I can't remember if that Oasis V Allure comment was here or on another thread! (Sorry for the rambling and thanks again!)

[BrianAlt]

My understanding, and again, I didn't do this myself, is that you can pre-book the package online, but you need to book the restaurants on board. I know you can pre-book the package online, because I saw it there as an option.

 

You might be able to pre-book Chops, since it's the first night.

 

I did see a couple in Chops just ahead of me booking their dinner for that evening as part of their package. I don't know if they pre-booked it or had just purchased the package on board. I did see tables set up advertising the offer when you first board.

[maxs mom]

My understanding, and again, I didn't do this myself, is that you can pre-book the package online, but you need to book the restaurants on board. I know you can pre-book the package online, because I saw it there as an option.

 

You might be able to pre-book Chops, since it's the first night.

 

I did see a couple in Chops just ahead of me booking their dinner for that evening as part of their package. I don't know if they pre-booked it or had just purchased the package on board. I did see tables set up advertising the offer when you first board.

 

Yes....you can book the package on line and get the Chops reservation, but you'll have to wait until you get on board to book the other two. I never book online anymore since the time we were charged twice. Charged when I booked on line and charged at the restaurant. Got it starightened out, but it was a hassle. So I stopped booking on line. I have never had any problems getting any restaurant or the exact time I wanted by waiting until I boarded.

 

And by the way......Chops was packed that first night on our sailing......how about yours, Brian?

[BrianAlt]

I never book online anymore since the time we were charged twice. Charged when I booked on line and charged at the restaurant. Got it starightened out' date=' but it was a hassle. So I stopped booking on line. I have never had any problems getting any restaurant or the exact time I wanted by waiting until I boarded.[/size']

 

I saw that early on too. There was definitely confusion when you booked online. Now they don't even make you sign anything if you book online. I think it's a response to the confusion it causes. I don't fully like it because I don't have a way to add the extra tip. At Chops I just added it to the wine. I hope that works for them.

[Sinppu]

 

My wife and her mom

 

[/b]

 

Oh well that just shows the fairness of life: the amazing curly hair runs in the family :rolleyes:

Great photos! Love all the food talk (and porn, when you're up to it :D)

 

Sinny

[BrianAlt]

Oh well that just shows the fairness of life: the amazing curly hair runs in the family :rolleyes:

 

Ya think? :D

 

Great photos! Love all the food talk (and porn, when you're up to it :D)

 

Sinny

 

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying.

[jillyfish]

I was definitely wearing Otto at sail away and I was on the side of the port cam. :)

 

Aahhhh... Picture was too big! Hopefully this is better.

 

 

ahhhhhh, see that, you were turned away from the webcam while we were searching that section of the ship. We saw the guy in the pink shirt. :p ;)

 

[BrianAlt]

Yeah, I saw the sail away video. No way you could have seen me. :P Deck 16 looked just as crowded as it felt!

[Lorey2007]

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

[hiphopchop]

Okay so I have learned two very important things, first the chefs table is offered within a package deal (thanks Secret) and holy toledo that prohibition party sounds like AMAZING fun for all! Does that need to be booked before cruising?