Pros and Cons RE: Sailing on the Allure

[jaredgold33]

Now for us, one of the pro's was Allan Brooks. When he hosted the Love and Marriage game show on our first cruise, my family and I were all crying with laughter throughout. There are five of us and there is a 3/2 split as to our views on what is funny or not, but because of him, it was one of the onboard highlights for definite. It really does depend on what you want out of a CD.

 

I'd have to agree with you here! Our trip in June was our second time having him as a CD on Allure and he was excellent both times, one of my favorite! Haven't had the chance to have Ken Rush though so I can't say I prefer one over the other...

[Cruiser Forever]

Avoid Windjammer, many other places to eat.

 

Thanks for the tip. I usually try to avoid the Windjammer. I agree many other places to eat.

[Cruiser Forever]

The ship is an experience....you will hear people (even from me) that like things and other things they disliked....remember most things are subjective.

 

Go and enjoy yourself.

 

Yes, you share the ship with over 5,000 other people, but only at some times (parades in the Promenade and at times in WJ) will you notice it.

 

Most of the time, I came across the same 100 people; those people who enjoyed the same things I did.

 

We had early dinner seating and did do Izumi on one night of our Allure sailing. Izumi was wonderful and the only specialty restaurant that interested us. Food in MDR, was just fine on other nights -- great wait staff.

 

I did not like the Solarium nor the Solarium café. The Solarium itself was noisy (to me) with no shaded areas where there were lounge chairs for my DH. Food choices in the Solarium café, were not to my liking. Nothing really interesting that would tempt me.

 

Shows were very good, and we enjoyed Allan Brooke as our CD and Zach as the Activities Mgr. I guess where we were one of them seemed to be, and made it more fun (for us at least). I spent plenty of time on Flowrider and that is so much fun.

 

There really is no movement on the ship. It was truly a floating city, without feeling the float. I missed a little ship movement.

 

We had an inside balcony overlooking Central Park. It was delightful. Where our cabin was located had a blend of shade and sun; we were on deck 11 midship. But no ocean to see from the balcony at all. When we cruise Allure next time (and we will) we will try a Boardwalk balcony, close to the Aqua Theater. It will give us a little view of the ocean....but it will increase our walking to the other side of the ship, but that is OK.

 

MDR for breakfast was nice, but we did WJ as well....when we were in WJ it was not as crowded as others have complained about....so it depends upon the time you are there.

 

Lots of food choices and we tried many of them....the hotdogs on Boardwalk are OK, nothing to rave about (IMO); donuts on the boardwalk, were too doughy for me; Roast beef sandwiches at Park Café -- super wonderful; even went back one day for lunch, and had roast beef with potato salad, without the roll (not a big bread eater); We did Johnny Rockets for breakfast and it is great -- their milkshakes are great, and we enjoyed them for an afternoon snack.

 

Plenty to do, and plenty of places to eat.

 

You will have fun.

 

 

Paulette Thanks so much for all these suggestions. The other BIG ship I was on was Independence but I know Allure will have so much more people. I can't wait till next year to sail on her. I may even try the Zip Line.:)

[sr4mjc]

Cons (for me):

 

Doesn't really feel like a ship.

Lack of sea views from inside (opposed to something like Radiance class)

Itineraries are less than exciting.

Too many sea days.

Windjammer is nuts

 

Pros:

If you get seasick, it really doesn't feel like a ship :D

If you like malls, this ship is for you.

Diving show is pretty darn cool.

[gelli8112]

Pro: Largest cruise ship on the planet!

 

Con: Largest cruise ship on the planet! If you attempt to do everything on the Allure of the Seas, you'll leave the cruise exhausted.

[ryano]

Pros: Most innovative and largest ship in the world! And all the other Pros listed above!

 

Cons: Still a little out of my budget.:o

[ryano]

.......

Edited July 23, 2014 by ryano

[shellunderwater]

I'm going to respectfully tweak a couple of things others have said....

 

Captain Johnny (who seemed to be great) has TWO motorcycles on board. One that he rides up on the pool deck, the other is his full sized Harley he rides in port. It is too big to fit in the elevator to take up to the pool deck, he said.

 

The ship absolutely can rock and roll if the seas are rough. We sailed on the Allure first time... couldn't feel any motion. Then we sailed on the Oasis.... HOLY COW did you feel it. Nothing worse than trying to eat dinner and you can't get the fork into your mouth. :) Ok, one thing worse... doing the wine pairing in 150 CP, then trying to walk back to your cabin with the ship tossing. Honestly, I wasn't THAT drunk. Was so rough, water splashed out of the pool and down into Central Park. The water was moving 3 - 4 rungs on the ladders in the pool.

 

But, yes, the ship is awesome. There will be a few times when it will seem crowded, but that is just when a show is opening or ending, or maybe when the MDR is opening. You'll adjust. Its vacation.... take your time, enjoy. There is so much to do, most of the time, the crowds are spread out and you won't notice them.

[SB9]

(My opinion may not be shared by others)

Allure may not be for everyone, but RCI sure did a very good job at designing a ship that would work for a majority of people.

 

Maybe a few people said this above or something to the effect, but it's not like a normal cruise ship at all. It is completely different.

 

I've said this a bunch of times it rained 6 of the 7 days on my Allure cruise and I still had an amazing cruise.

 

Don't bother with the windjammer. We walked through it once and I grabbed a cookie in passing. That was the extent to my windjammer use on that cruise.

 

The ship is the destination not the ports. The ports for the most part are just pit stops. There are other ships that visit nicer ports.

 

The Viking Crown lounge is amazing on this ship with great views. Never did I see it crowded. That is good for the people that actually go up there.

 

I went out of my way to walk through Central park whenever we could. Especially at night.

 

It actually has enough life boats... ;)

[ryano]

 

The ship absolutely can rock and roll if the seas are rough.

 

Exactly right :) I have to chuckle at all the "you cant feel the ocean" and "it doesnt feel like a ship" comments.

 

Lets ask the crew if they could feel the ocean or not when Allure (I believe?) sailed across the big pond in 80+ ft seas on its way to the US for the first time ;) Didnt it damage the ship some? Or at least a couple lifeboats?

 

These ships are HUGE but they are nothing compared to a vast ocean with its angry.

[John&LaLa]

The above con should have read

 

4. If the entertainment (e.g. Comedy night or any of the shows) is full, you are not in luck.

 

I forgot to add a couple of words in my original post. :o

 

We did 4th of July and there was practically a riot trying to get into aqua show. Los of pushing and shoving to get past ticket scanning

 

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[John&LaLa]

Forgot to add my pro

Beach pool is the best, but obviously a limited amount of lounges in the water. Get one early if you can. :D

 

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[OCruisers]

No real cons.

We booked her as a floating resort and that what we got ... and we had a very good time. :D

LuLu

[akcruz]

Exactly right :) I have to chuckle at all the "you cant feel the ocean" and "it doesnt feel like a ship" comments.

 

Lets ask the crew if they could feel the ocean or not when Allure (I believe?) sailed across the big pond in 80+ ft seas on its way to the US for the first time ;) Didnt it damage the ship some? Or at least a couple lifeboats?

 

These ships are HUGE but they are nothing compared to a vast ocean with its angry.

 

I would agree with this, however the seas don't need to be rocking and rolling to make the ship move. On our first cruise coming back the last sea day the ship was definitely swaying, a very different movement than we had ever felt on another ship.

 

People do need to know that it is possible to feel motion, not keep hearing you won't feel a thing!

 

To the OP, go for it. We have been twice and feel we needed both to see and experience the ship. May even need one more to see and do everything.

Edited July 23, 2014 by akcruz

[m*u*g*]

Pros of Big Ships and Allure in Particular (Been on Oasis and Allure):

 

1. Dog House (Hot Dogs) but don't forget the pretzel dog in Wipeout Cafe

2. More room in pool area-never had to search for a lounge chair on deck (Solarium)

3. Photo review process is easy-all (most) are put into a binder for you

4. Promenade is Huge-Wow-I've seen smaller malls at home.

5. All the shows are very good-Go.

6. Central Park

7. Starbucks-wife happy=all happy

8. Passengers from other ships stare at your ship in amazement-cool factor

9. Best feeling all week is when you step foot on the ship.

 

Cons

1. More room-longer time to traverse the ship if in a hurry to get to a show

2. Windjammer-may never go back-too small, food-meh (Liberty's WJ is Ideal) A lesser version of Golden Corral.

3. Can't visit all ports (no tender), could also be a plus. Port in St. John is further away due to size.

4. Too much to choose from, yeah

5. Elevators are inadequate for the volume-but I use stairs anyway

6. Nightly sales booths on Promenade=frenzy, and for what?

7. Specialty restaurants-would have liked more free options with that use of space.

8. Process of getting back on ship while in port (more people to process)

9. Seems like room attendants have more rooms to service=less attention

10. Worst feeling all week is when you step foot off the ship-swipe that card again honey, we're going on.

Edited July 23, 2014 by m*u*g*

[rodenboy]

Just to echo previous posters, the biggest con is that you have to get off on that horrible Sunday morning, when you know it is all over and you can't spend another day on there (Unless you are part way through a back to back of course!)

[awhcruiser]

Says who? No one has to have his/her picture taken.

Because 1 is enough, and the Promenade gets crowded on Formal nights from people wanting their photos done from Photographers who call themselves pros.

[magicolor_girl]

Says who? No one has to have his/her picture taken.

 

Well according to novicetraveller obviously. :rolleyes:

 

This thread has me super excited Sunday! I can't wait to get onboard!

[John&LaLa]

Says who? No one has to have his/her picture taken.

 

Yea, but the rest of the ship having theirs taken tends to disrupt flow of traffic

 

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[executive2]

Cruised on the Allure 3 years ago.

 

Elevators in the front and back of ship. Allow 15 minutes to get to most places on the ship.

Especially when leaving your cabin.

 

150 Central Park was one of the best restaurants we've ever eaten in.

 

Chefs table was magnificent. Pricey but well worth it

 

Big negative...no omellete station in Windjammmer or anywhere else on the ship (or wasn't when we sailed)

[crusinpeg]

Cruised on the Allure 3 years ago.

 

Elevators in the front and back of ship. Allow 15 minutes to get to most places on the ship.

Especially when leaving your cabin.

 

150 Central Park was one of the best restaurants we've ever eaten in.

 

Chefs table was magnificent. Pricey but well worth it

 

Big negative...no omellete station in Windjammmer or anywhere else on the ship (or wasn't when we sailed)

 

They now make omelettes at the whipeout cafe

[Paulette3028]

Cruised on the Allure 3 years ago.

 

Elevators in the front and back of ship. Allow 15 minutes to get to most places on the ship.

Especially when leaving your cabin.

 

150 Central Park was one of the best restaurants we've ever eaten in.

 

Chefs table was magnificent. Pricey but well worth it

 

Big negative...no omellete station in Windjammmer or anywhere else on the ship (or wasn't when we sailed)

 

We sailed on Allure 6/29/14, and although I was disappointed that there was no omelet station in WJ, they do have an omelet station in the Wipeout Café. They were very good. You can also have omelets in the MDR for breakfast.

 

Park Café had terrific roast beef sandwiches.

 

We had a cabin mid ship on Deck 11, and it did not take us long to get to any area of the ship we wanted to go to. I can't say we planned an extra 15 minutes when leaving our cabin. I did not find that it took much longer than on other Royal ships we have cruised on, and we have been on every class ship they have, to this point.

[awhcruiser]

This made me laugh. Have a great cruise..We still have a ways to go until our next spring!

Well according to novicetraveller obviously. :rolleyes:

 

This thread has me super excited Sunday! I can't wait to get onboard!

[awhcruiser]

What is the best way to get to the MTD MDR without using the promenade?

Yea, but the rest of the ship having theirs taken tends to disrupt flow of traffic

 

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[Langley Cruisers]

...people wanting their photos done from Photographers who call themselves pros.

 

Oh my goodness, that's a terrible thing to say. The photographers we have encountered (when we chose to have photos done - otherwise we say "No, thank you.") have always been pleasant and professional when taking portraits. Sorry you have experienced otherwise. :(

.