Just off the Allure

[caggfamily]

We just returned from a great trip on the Allure. There have been many wonderfully detailed reviews with menus, cruise compasses, and photos so I won’t try to top them. Instead, here are some of my impressions and thoughts.

 

Cabin steward/ Main dining room servers:

 

Overall, it’s a terrific ship and we felt the service was great. Our room steward was unobtrusive, and we rarely saw him, but whenever we wrote a note with a request, he promptly complied. We ate in the main dining room 5 of the 7 days. Our main server, Ann Marie, from Jamaica was good. It was her first time as a head waiter so she kept asking about how she was doing. She doesn’t have the personality of some of the other servers we’ve had over the years, but she was capable and friendly. Her assistant, Seline (sp), was an older woman and she was fantastic. I don’t remember what country she is from, but she clearly spoke Spanish. When I told her that my daughters spoke Spanish and that my oldest was planning to minor in it in college and could use some practice, Seline always made sure to speak to her in Spanish to ask her about her day. They would discuss the proper way to say certain phrases. She was outstanding, and made an effort to memorize everyone’s names by greeting us by name each time she saw us. We also had a very attentive head waiter, Marlito, who stopped by every day to chat and help, and made sure everything was running smoothly. We tipped everyone extra at the end.

 

I heard mixed things about the service in general. Several Diamond members and others who have sailed this ship before felt that service had gone downhill, and speculated that the "best staff" had been moved on to other places. I have been on many different cruise lines, and my last Royal cruise was 2003. I felt the service was great and the staff friendly, just as I remembered from past cruises on Royal. I was always greeted by smiles from the staff, and asked about my day from stewards that weren't mine. Whenever i had problems, i was always able to find someone to help.

 

Crowds:

 

The ship is well designed to handle the large numbers of passengers, and there were many times I was wondering where everyone was. On sea days, it was of course more crowded, but I never had to wait more than a few minutes for any of the dining venues. I do not like crowds, so I didn’t attend any of the parades or other activities that were likely to be packed. The elevators were crowded sometimes, such as when everyone was trying to get to the gangway to leave the ship, but overall they weren’t too bad. I did wonder though, when I was in a crowded elevator with 14 people, what would happen if it was actually at the posted capacity of 24!! Not sure how that would be possible.

 

If you like to sit in the sun, but don’t have to be right by the pool, there were hundreds of empty loungers no matter what time of day. I never got near the beach pool because it was swamped with people crammed into the pool like sardines. Likewise, the Solarium pool was always packed, although I was able to enjoy the Solarium hot tub without too many people. The big problem was shade. There are not many shady areas on deck with lounge chairs. The promenade had a few regular chairs, and there were other chairs scattered about, but there were only a handful of truly shaded seats with a view. We got up early each day to secure our seat, and spent most of the day in them. Many people saved seats with towels, and I could have monitored them for the half hour and then taken them, but I didn’t want to waste my time. However, I did observe and even talked to people who were saving seats for hours for family members just in case they showed up (which they rarely did)

 

The Solarium was by far the nicest spot IMO, but it was very hot by the glass and what seemed like prime seats was apparently even too hot/stuffy for the sun worshipers as I never saw more than a handful of people seated there. Most people were on either the first or second level in the back where the nicest lounge chairs and regular lounge chairs were, and where it was shaded, with a bit of a breeze – these spots always were the first to go.

 

Teen club:

 

The Allure was the perfect ship for the teens with us, 4 girls 16 and 18, and they had no trouble finding activities and meeting new friends. The only issue the 16 yr olds had was that there seemed to be a very large number of Hispanic teens in their age group. This wasn’t a problem per se, but whenever they were somewhere with a dj playing music, they overwhelmingly played Hispanic music and songs my kids didn’t know. They kind of took over the dance venues and made it a bit hard for others to hear music they liked. They eventually made friends and found other places to congregate.

 

Royal needs to work on the 18-20 year old group. They are too old for teen club; they can gamble and go to the night clubs but they can’t drink. They had some gatherings, but they simply said 18-20+. My girls went to one event in a nightclub and they said it was “gross.” There were young adults like them but also much older (read: 30+) men trying to dance with the younger girls. Royal definitely needs to rethink that, as single people who are older do not generally need to be mixing with kids just out of high school. However, as with the younger teens, they eventually found some friends and found things to do.

 

Entertainment:

 

Everyone found the entertainment to be outstanding. I actually felt sorry for the few people I met who this was their first cruise, because I think they will be hard pressed to find equal entertainment on any smaller ship. We loved Ocean Aria and were impressed with Chicago. The Allure has a very talented cast and boy can they sing. The comedians were hilarious. We skipped the headliner show. Although I didn’t make it to Blue Planet, most of our group thought it was the weakest of the shows – no plot, lackluster acrobatics, etc.

 

We were onboard during some of the World Cup games, and while I am not a soccer fan in the least, it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement of those who were. There were many, many Brazil fans, and the games were broadcast in the Aqua Theater, the On-Air club, the cafes, pretty much everywhere with a television, and the crowds went nuts – so many people had on shirts for their favorite teams.

 

I was a bit disappointed with the live music. Obviously, this is just my personal opinion – I enjoyed the music around the pools, and the string quartet in central park was terrific, but the individual singers and the music duos around the ship were not great. I had a hard time finding music at night that I wanted to listen to. My in-laws enjoyed the larger jazz group, but the smaller one with a female lead was not good.

 

More to come soon, but feel free to ask questions if you have them.

[MandyMooToo]

Thank you for the review! We are on Allure in August :)

[caggfamily]

Cabins

 

We had a D1 cabin on deck 8. Deck 8 is a fabulous spot as you are right near Central Park which is a lovely place to stroll through on your way to anywhere on the ship. While I enjoyed the extra space of the D1 balcony, we were very busy and did not use our balcony quite as much as on previous cruises. The other downside of a D1 balcony is that you are in the center of the ship, which is good, except on a ship the size of Allure, it is a very long walk to the stairs or elevator lobby.

 

The cabins on Royal are small compared to Carnival, and we had the configuration of the bed near the closet, which was less than ideal. Only one of us could be at the closet at one time, and we had to stand sideways to access the items in the closet. Hanging space was adequate but I would have liked more shelves. There are some shelves next to the vanity, but they are very shallow, and are best for items like sunscreen.

 

We packed a rolling duffel with a case of water, which was handy for drinking on board and bringing on the ports. There is nothing wrong with the water on the Allure. I just like to have a sealed bottle to have with me wherever I go.

 

Some people have complained about the temperature on the Allure. Overall, the ship does seem to be warmer than other ships. I always bring a sweater or jacket for all public spaces, but only once did I need it during a show. Our cabin temperature was just fine. We liked to have the balcony door open when we were in the cabin, which shuts of the a/c, but as long as we closed and latched it when we were done and made sure the master switch stayed on, it was fine.

 

Food

 

Again this is subjective, and I certainly did not have time to eat everywhere, but here’s what I (and others in my group) thought.

 

Cupcake Cupboard – I never ate one, but the teens did and said they were delicious. 2 of the teens did the decorating class and it was well worth the cost for the fun they had.

 

Donuts – Again I didn’t have any but the teens loved them and my mother-in-law raved that the key lime donut was the best she’s ever had.

 

Park café – I know everyone raves about this, and those who had the roast beef sandwich or other items from here seemed to enjoy them, but I never ate here so I can’t comment.

 

Café Promenade – I only ate here once when I wanted a light lunch. My DH had the mini ham/cheese croissants and I had a tomato/mozzarella caprese on olive focaccia. I also picked up an espresso brownie – everything was fresh and tasty.

 

Sorrento’s pizza – it smelled really good but when DH and I went in for a slice, it looked like the frozen pizza from the grocery store. The kids liked it, but I didn’t try it.

 

Main dining room breakfast – we ate here once in the middle of the week and again on the last day. My teens were interested in the chocolate breakfast items. They were disappointed that the pancakes and waffles were not actually chocolate – they just put chocolate chips on them, but they were good. They also liked the chocolate milkshakes (more like frothy chocolate milk). My favorite part was the assortment of chocolate pastries they put on the table. The chocolate croissants were good, there were some chocolate muffins that I didn’t try, and the chocolate banana bread was by far the best. Other than that, the eggs benedict were cooked perfectly and everyone seemed to enjoy their selections. On the last day, they warned people not to order eggs because of the long wait, so I had French toast which was thick and tasty.

 

I had breakfast several times in the solarium – nothing fancy but they had the best assortment of fresh fruit on the ship. I looked at the turkey bacon, which frankly reminded me of the beggin’ strips I give my dog, only not as good  so I didn’t’ try it. My DH liked the otatmeal and toppings, and there was a variety of yogurts and cereals as well. We tried to eat in there for lunch one day, but honestly nothing looked good except the salad so we went to the windjammer.

 

Windjammer – Many people dislike the windjammer, but I think there are pros and cons. I loved how they have someone seat you during busy times – I wish all ships would do that. They also bring you coffee, iced tea, lemonade and water. The only time I saw it packed was at the end of the ship’s time in port – then the line seemed to wind down the hall, but it still seemed to be moving. I thought that the food in general was fine, but the layout made it hard to see what there was to eat. If you like Asian food, you are in luck as there are many options. My DH really seemed to enjoy meals there. He had a different curry every day that he raved about. One of the staff members told us that because they have a large international crew, they work hard to make food that they enjoy so I’m guessing that’s why they have a good selection of international dishes. I found the food to be meat heavy, carved meat, meat curries, bratwurst, burgers, dogs, etc. It was harder to find a variety of vegetarian options besides salad. They were there, but just not many choices.

 

The desserts were okay, but many were sugar free, which I have to avoid because I can’t have any artificial sweeteners. My teens said one of their few complaints were the lack of good desserts in the windjammer and main dining room. There was soft serve ice cream on the ship, but on other cruise lines it is offered 24 hours. Here, the evening hours were limited (unless you wanted to buy ice cream in the boardwalk ice cream parlor)

 

Main dining room – I enjoy a fixed seating in the main dining room as the servers get to know us and our food and drink preferences. I’d say the food is comparable to that found on Carnival. For the most part we enjoyed everything. My DH could not eat the pork chop because it was overdone, and my dad’s steak was overdone as well, but otherwise there was a good variety and everyone found something to eat. However, no escargot on the menu. As said before, the desserts were okay, but not great.

 

Chops – the 10 of us ate here one night and it was fabulous. 9 of us ordered steak and 7 of the 9 were cooked perfectly. 2 others found parts of their meat to be much rarer than ordered. The filet was tender and I hardly needed a knife. They brought pretzel bread to the table which was good. They brought dishes of all of the sides to the table so we could sample everything. We enjoyed most of what we ate. The desserts were better than elsewhere on the ship.

 

Chef’s Table – I don’t know why more people don’t sign up for this. I know many people have written extensive reviews of this, so I won’t go into detail, except to say that I loved absolutely everything I ate. The company was great, and I enjoyed the chef’s explanation of each dish as well as the sommelier’s description of why he chose specific wines for each course. I highly recommend it.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[kccrzr]

Yes, thank you. Very informative and helpful.

[dacsmom]

Thanks for the great review, it sounds like you had a great cruise.

[tuti57]

Can someone tell me what time you disembarked in st thomas? We are saily Allure July 6th. Thanks

 

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[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review, looking forward to more of it.

[riclop]

Thanks for starting your review.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for the review, we will be on the Allure this Oct.

[Merion_Mom]

Can someone tell me what time you disembarked in st thomas? We are saily Allure July 6th. Thanks

 

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The time is listed in your itinerary on the website and your invoice. The arrival times are pretty accurate; add 15 to 30 minutes (usually the shorter time) to know when you can walk off.

[lovetocruiserccl]

Thank you. I love your writing. It's very vivid.

 

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[wojcikgu]

it sounds like you had a great cruise.

[Keith1010]

Nice report.

 

Keith

[Lionesss]

Very nice review.

 

Eagerly reading all post about the Allure.

 

Cannot wait to sail her again this year.

 

It is amazing how much one can forget in one year.

 

Any further information greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Sea Ya

[mtns2sea]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

 

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[caggfamily]

Can someone tell me what time you disembarked in st thomas? We are saily Allure July 6th. Thanks

 

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I believe we were able to leave the ship by 10:00 am.

[molly361]

Thanks for the great review

[caggfamily]

Ports

 

Nassau

 

We were only in Nassau for a few hours, so it didn't make sense for us to shell out the money for the Atlantis experience. As I've been to Nassau several times before, there wasn't anything in particular we wanted to do, and if up to me, I would have stayed on the ship. With 4 teen girls however, we did go into town for a bit to do some shopping. I had forgotten how limited the shopping is right by the port, so we didn't find much. As I had two 18 year olds who were of legal drinking age in the Caribbean, we stopped at Senor Frogs for some refreshments. The younger teens enjoyed nonalcoholic drinks, while the rest of us had various mixed drinks. I think I am a bit too old for the Senor Frogs atmosphere, but the teens liked it, and as it was raining, it gave us a place with a nice view of the port and the ship to hang out for a while.

 

St. Thomas

 

As we didn’t arrive in St. Thomas until 10:00, I was a bit concerned about the crowds at Magens Bay, as the other ships in port arrived earlier than the Allure. Through cruise critic I found out about Emerald Beach (Lindbergh Bay Beach)at the Best Western Emerald Beach, which is much closer to Crown Point, where the Allure docks. We got off the ship as soon as we could, and caught a cab there - $4 per person I think. We were able to rent chairs/umbrellas for $7 each, and had the beach to ourselves for about ½ hour before the crowds came. It was perfect for us. If you arrive after 11:00, there didn't seem to be much shade left if that's an issue. FYI, the guy who rented the chairs/umbrellas told us that they are for hotel guests first, but I guess because it's off season for the hotel, I didn't see anyone there who wasn't carrying a cruise ship towel. There were restrooms, and the hotel has a restaurant but we didn't go. The beach was lovely, the water nice, and the girls rented waverunners for ½ hour. Again, I’m glad we got there early, because we had to wait about an hour to rent the waverunners. People who arrived after us faced longer waits for some of the motorized equipment. We stayed for a few hours and then went back to the ship for lunch. The Windjammer was empty, so we had a quick bite and then went back out to shop. We took a cab downtown and the girls found many stores to go to. We then returned to the ship to relax as we had an early dinner scheduled for Chops.

 

St. Maarten

 

This is a lovely island and I would have liked to have more time to explore. However, we chartered a boat with Celine charters for 9 people in our group and it was an amazing day. We got off the ship at 8:00 and met our bus driver who took us to where the boat was docked, about 20 minutes away. We were on the boat by 9:30 and had it until 3:00. I wrote a detailed review on trip advisor, but it was fantastic.

 

That's pretty much all of the highlights of my trip. Please feel free to ask questions.

[SBNDers]

My wife and I just booked the Allure for the 8/3/14 sailing. According to two different RCCL agents I talked to, they said the My Time Dining starts at 6PM. However, I remember reading on a post that someone mentioned that it started at 5:30 - would you happen to know if this was the case on your sailing? They also said that we could reserve a time before boarding if we selected My Time, but not sure how to do that.

 

Since we just booked, I had to choose three showtimes at 7:30, so I know that eating at 6PM would make for a rushed dinner. We are early eaters, so eating our evening meal at 8:30 wouldn't work, and although we could eat in the Windjammer those days, we enjoy the Main Dining Room.

 

Thanks!

[caggfamily]

My wife and I just booked the Allure for the 8/3/14 sailing. According to two different RCCL agents I talked to, they said the My Time Dining starts at 6PM. However, I remember reading on a post that someone mentioned that it started at 5:30 - would you happen to know if this was the case on your sailing? They also said that we could reserve a time before boarding if we selected My Time, but not sure how to do that.

 

Since we just booked, I had to choose three showtimes at 7:30, so I know that eating at 6PM would make for a rushed dinner. We are early eaters, so eating our evening meal at 8:30 wouldn't work, and although we could eat in the Windjammer those days, we enjoy the Main Dining Room.

 

Thanks!

 

As we ate at the 6:00 seating in the main dining room, I can't answer your question but off hand, I don't recall anything about a 5:30 start time for main time dining (of course I wasn't looking either). I do agree though that 7:30 is generally going to be tight for your shows, especially since if you have reservations you should show up approx. 1/2 hour before the show starts. About 10-15 min. before showtime, they open up to anyone in the standby line. If you can't eat at 5:30, I would recommend heading to the showtime reservations tables as soon as you board. For our sailing it was in Studio B (where the ice rink is). We had our reservations but needed a print out of dates and times. We waited about 15 minutes. Most of the people in line however, were making reservations for the shows, so you shouldn't have trouble finding later show times if you want. The people who miss out are those who wait until the day of a show to try to get reservations. Good luck

[wahoowa12]

Thank you for a comprehensive review in 2 short pages...good job for cutting right to the chase yet covering all the bases. Sometimes, 60 page reviews get tiresome. Looking forward to boarding Allure in a few weeks!

[cruiserdudebobby8]

Love the Allure

 

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[robflys]

Great review.

 

Boarding Allure tomorrow! I thought it would never come! woot!

[rlthng]

Sounds like a great time. Do you recall how much the wave runners were to rent? Do they have other water activities?

Ports

 

Nassau

 

We were only in Nassau for a few hours, so it didn't make sense for us to shell out the money for the Atlantis experience. As I've been to Nassau several times before, there wasn't anything in particular we wanted to do, and if up to me, I would have stayed on the ship. With 4 teen girls however, we did go into town for a bit to do some shopping. I had forgotten how limited the shopping is right by the port, so we didn't find much. As I had two 18 year olds who were of legal drinking age in the Caribbean, we stopped at Senor Frogs for some refreshments. The younger teens enjoyed nonalcoholic drinks, while the rest of us had various mixed drinks. I think I am a bit too old for the Senor Frogs atmosphere, but the teens liked it, and as it was raining, it gave us a place with a nice view of the port and the ship to hang out for a while.

 

St. Thomas

 

As we didn’t arrive in St. Thomas until 10:00, I was a bit concerned about the crowds at Magens Bay, as the other ships in port arrived earlier than the Allure. Through cruise critic I found out about Emerald Beach (Lindbergh Bay Beach)at the Best Western Emerald Beach, which is much closer to Crown Point, where the Allure docks. We got off the ship as soon as we could, and caught a cab there - $4 per person I think. We were able to rent chairs/umbrellas for $7 each, and had the beach to ourselves for about ½ hour before the crowds came. It was perfect for us. If you arrive after 11:00, there didn't seem to be much shade left if that's an issue. FYI, the guy who rented the chairs/umbrellas told us that they are for hotel guests first, but I guess because it's off season for the hotel, I didn't see anyone there who wasn't carrying a cruise ship towel. There were restrooms, and the hotel has a restaurant but we didn't go. The beach was lovely, the water nice, and the girls rented waverunners for ½ hour. Again, I’m glad we got there early, because we had to wait about an hour to rent the waverunners. People who arrived after us faced longer waits for some of the motorized equipment. We stayed for a few hours and then went back to the ship for lunch. The Windjammer was empty, so we had a quick bite and then went back out to shop. We took a cab downtown and the girls found many stores to go to. We then returned to the ship to relax as we had an early dinner scheduled for Chops.

 

St. Maarten

 

This is a lovely island and I would have liked to have more time to explore. However, we chartered a boat with Celine charters for 9 people in our group and it was an amazing day. We got off the ship at 8:00 and met our bus driver who took us to where the boat was docked, about 20 minutes away. We were on the boat by 9:30 and had it until 3:00. I wrote a detailed review on trip advisor, but it was fantastic.

 

That's pretty much all of the highlights of my trip. Please feel free to ask questions.