Allure of the Seas 4/22/12 Western Review

[Movieguy214]

Pros: Embarkation was a breeze. So nice to have a string of porters waiting to take your bags the second you get out of the taxi. My gf and I were on the boat in 15 minutes from leaving the taxi.

 

The ship is absolutely amazing. It really is as advertised and NEVER felt crowded minus the lifeboat drill. No waits for elevators (there are 24, more than enough). The neighborhoods theme works really well and definitely makes it feel like a city on water.

 

The service is the best I've experienced so far on the four cruises I've been on. They get an A+ in this regard. We did MTD and the waiter Oliver was one of kind. We tried to get him every night but didn't always manage to. All of the waiters were good, but he was special...funny, quick, personable, treated everyone the same. He would go out of his way to come talk to you even when you weren't sitting in his section. We mostly did breakfast in the main dining room and the service was also very good in that regard. The food was very good both for breakfast and dinner. I don't get how people can complain about the food. My first three dinners were seared sea bass, roasted duck, and lamb shank. Sea bass was a smidge bland, but the other two were top notch. I'd give the food overall an A-.

 

Bar service was equally good. Never had to wait for a drink, and they were always strong.

 

Room was actually more spacious than I thought. We had the standard sized balcony stateroom, but it never felt cramped to me...and I'm fairly claustrophobic. Didn't use the balcony as much as previous cruises because of plethora of stuff to do on the ship.

 

Public bathrooms were very nice.

 

Unfortunately, we didn't get to a lot of the shows, but Chicago was pretty much amazing. I've seen it on broadway with Bebe Neworth, and this was every bit as good. You can hardly notice the cuts to make it an hour and a half. Definitely wow factor here.

 

Snorkeling on Cozumel was the best of the three ports. The weather was also the best, but overall you can't really get a bad snorkeling spot. We had a fairly secluded resort which was only ten bucks per person. Well worth it.

 

Solarium is great. We spent most of our time there on sea days. You could usually find a chair as long as it wasn't noon on a sea day...even then you could with some searching.

 

There is a ton to do...too much. Too much to do is always a good thing with days at sea. Just don't try to do it all because it is pretty much impossible unless you rush things.

 

 

 

Cons: Our cabin attendant was the worst of all of the cruises I've been on, but they did seem over worked in this regard. The room was still made up twice a day though so nothing big. He did stay in the room right next to us though which I found somewhat odd, but once again nothing overly annoying.

 

Also didn't like the cruise director. I think CD on this ship is somewhat pointless, but Allan Brooks seemed slightly disinterested, disconnected, and really not that funny. He just didn't seem to have the energy of other CDs I've experienced. I had Ricky Matthews on my last cruise, so maybe I'm spoiled. Like I said though, it really doesn't matter as much on a ship like this.

 

Maybe an improvement in ports of call minus Cozumel. This trip really is about the ship, but there wasn't much to do on Labadee. I think the morning rain and overcast had something to do with it as well. We did the Dragon coaster a few times, and then just walked around/hung out on the beach type stuff. Also ate the free lunch RC provided which was better than expected. I'm not really that picky about food though. Jamaica had better weather, but you had to drive all the way to Montego Bay or Ocho Rios for more things to do. We did a beach and snorkel in Montego Bay, but it wasn't quite as good as Cozumel. It was fine and relaxing, but nothing too spectacular. We shopped around after then went back to the ship.

 

Why cram all of the bars next to each other in the Promenade? Makes no sense to compete against each other in that regard. The ship has Schooner Bar, Champagne Bar, Boleros, Rising Tide bar, and On Air all right next to each other. I only ever really saw people at Rising Tide or Schooner.

 

Disembarking could use a reorganization. Cramming people in the Amber theater while waiting for their number to be called didn't seem logical somehow. Just take your bags off yourself to save the trouble.

 

Hmm, that's about it when it comes to cons. Really not much to complain about.

 

 

Overall: Awesome cruise! The Allure is a must for any cruiser. It was the only ship I've been on where I didn't care if I got off of it at ports. I couldn't believe the service and lack of feeling crowded. Do it!

[calbar]

thanks for review i board this sunday for a b2b:):):)

[birdylady]

Thank you for your excellent review. We are looking at doing this next year. Can't wait.

 

Erika

[QTBabyNurse]

What resort did you go to in Cozumel that was $10 per person? Was anything included?

[Movieguy214]

What resort did you go to in Cozumel that was $10 per person? Was anything included?

 

It was Club Cozumel Caribe. You pay for drinks and food, but all the chairs were free. 4 bucks pp for snorkel gear. Really an excellent value, and it was beautiful! Great snorkeling considering it's the off the beach type.

[Movieguy214]

Oh forgot to mention that MTD is definitely the way to go. Didn't bother making reservations for every night because that sort of defeats the purpose. We only had reservations for the first night and really never had to wait otherwise. Fifteen minutes was the longest we waited for a table and always got one for two. It was so nice to just go eat whenever you felt like it.

[erries]

Our cabin attendant was the worst of all of the cruises I've been on, but they did seem over worked in this regard. The room was still made up twice a day though so nothing big. He did stay in the room right next to us though which I found somewhat odd, but once again nothing overly annoying.

 

:eek: This is so weird! I don't think I've ever heard of an employee staying in a guest stateroom.

[Rick-n-Lisa]

Did you happen to notice if there were any jet skis for rent in Montego Bay at the beach where you were?

 

Thank you!

[Movieguy214]

Did you happen to notice if there were any jet skis for rent in Montego Bay at the beach where you were?

 

Thank you!

 

Yes you could! You could also rent a glass bottom boat with guide to snorkel. Prices for that was 25 a person, and I'm not sure how much the jet skis were.

[CroozinFamily]

I was on the same cruise. Isn't it funny how we all have different tastes. I thought Chicago was just okay and I thought Allan Brooks was wonderful!!!

 

I think that it would be hard to find anyone on the ship, despite whatever hiccups they had in their experience, who would not still agree that it was a fantastic time, incredible ship and fabulous service overall (with an exception here and there)!

[karena1]

Pros: Embarkation was a breeze. So nice to have a string of porters waiting to take your bags the second you get out of the taxi. My gf and I were on the boat in 15 minutes from leaving the taxi.

 

The ship is absolutely amazing. It really is as advertised and NEVER felt crowded minus the lifeboat drill. No waits for elevators (there are 24, more than enough). The neighborhoods theme works really well and definitely makes it feel like a city on water.

 

The service is the best I've experienced so far on the four cruises I've been on. They get an A+ in this regard. We did MTD and the waiter Oliver was one of kind. We tried to get him every night but didn't always manage to. All of the waiters were good, but he was special...funny, quick, personable, treated everyone the same. He would go out of his way to come talk to you even when you weren't sitting in his section. We mostly did breakfast in the main dining room and the service was also very good in that regard. The food was very good both for breakfast and dinner. I don't get how people can complain about the food. My first three dinners were seared sea bass, roasted duck, and lamb shank. Sea bass was a smidge bland, but the other two were top notch. I'd give the food overall an A-.

 

Bar service was equally good. Never had to wait for a drink, and they were always strong.

 

Room was actually more spacious than I thought. We had the standard sized balcony stateroom, but it never felt cramped to me...and I'm fairly claustrophobic. Didn't use the balcony as much as previous cruises because of plethora of stuff to do on the ship.

 

Public bathrooms were very nice.

 

Unfortunately, we didn't get to a lot of the shows, but Chicago was pretty much amazing. I've seen it on broadway with Bebe Neworth, and this was every bit as good. You can hardly notice the cuts to make it an hour and a half. Definitely wow factor here.

 

Snorkeling on Cozumel was the best of the three ports. The weather was also the best, but overall you can't really get a bad snorkeling spot. We had a fairly secluded resort which was only ten bucks per person. Well worth it.

 

Solarium is great. We spent most of our time there on sea days. You could usually find a chair as long as it wasn't noon on a sea day...even then you could with some searching.

 

There is a ton to do...too much. Too much to do is always a good thing with days at sea. Just don't try to do it all because it is pretty much impossible unless you rush things.

 

 

 

Cons: Our cabin attendant was the worst of all of the cruises I've been on, but they did seem over worked in this regard. The room was still made up twice a day though so nothing big. He did stay in the room right next to us though which I found somewhat odd, but once again nothing overly annoying.

 

Also didn't like the cruise director. I think CD on this ship is somewhat pointless, but Allan Brooks seemed slightly disinterested, disconnected, and really not that funny. He just didn't seem to have the energy of other CDs I've experienced. I had Ricky Matthews on my last cruise, so maybe I'm spoiled. Like I said though, it really doesn't matter as much on a ship like this.

 

Maybe an improvement in ports of call minus Cozumel. This trip really is about the ship, but there wasn't much to do on Labadee. I think the morning rain and overcast had something to do with it as well. We did the Dragon coaster a few times, and then just walked around/hung out on the beach type stuff. Also ate the free lunch RC provided which was better than expected. I'm not really that picky about food though. Jamaica had better weather, but you had to drive all the way to Montego Bay or Ocho Rios for more things to do. We did a beach and snorkel in Montego Bay, but it wasn't quite as good as Cozumel. It was fine and relaxing, but nothing too spectacular. We shopped around after then went back to the ship.

 

Why cram all of the bars next to each other in the Promenade? Makes no sense to compete against each other in that regard. The ship has Schooner Bar, Champagne Bar, Boleros, Rising Tide bar, and On Air all right next to each other. I only ever really saw people at Rising Tide or Schooner.

 

Disembarking could use a reorganization. Cramming people in the Amber theater while waiting for their number to be called didn't seem logical somehow. Just take your bags off yourself to save the trouble.

 

Hmm, that's about it when it comes to cons. Really not much to complain about.

 

 

Overall: Awesome cruise! The Allure is a must for any cruiser. It was the only ship I've been on where I didn't care if I got off of it at ports. I couldn't believe the service and lack of feeling crowded. Do it!

 

Surprised you did not like Allan. We love Ricky Matthews, and will have him on Oasis next week, but I though Allan was fantastic, actually my sister and I thought pretty close to being as good as Ricky. He make Love and Marriage hilarious and did a great job at Quest also. Thought he was extremely active and very enthusiastic about everything he was involved in. Really liked him a lot.