Allure of the Seas - Dining and Entertainment

[bsharynu]

I am going crazy trying to coordinate the dining times with the show times. It is like a puzzle trying to figure out what show times work with what dining times on different nights. Any pointers?

[nekzaadvakil]

Whatever you do, do not miss the Mamma Mia show. It was by far the BEST show I have ever seen on land or at sea. Absolutely brilliant cast.

[Biker19]

Know that the main shows are timed to be convenient for traditional dining.

[constable145]

I am going crazy trying to coordinate the dining times with the show times. It is like a puzzle trying to figure out what show times work with what dining times on different nights. Any pointers?

 

There are typically at least 3 performances of each show. There is also usually a matinee that should help alleviate some of the strain of planning around dinner.

 

 

As mentioned the shows usually work around traditional dining. Just tell your server you have a show and they'll ensure you're fed in time.

[bigsky]

We have anytime dining so that helped. I wrote out all the shows and times down to help figure it out as well. Yes it was like a puzzle because we're not real late people and some of the shows were.

 

 

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[Schasz]

We will be having the same dilemma as we have MTD. In the past we have done traditional dining. Our cruise is not until April 2017 so I have some time before I have to figure everything out.

[saphir]

On MSC you have two performance. ,one at 7:00 ( for second seating) and one at 8:39 ( for first seating). It's perfect!

[abisha]

I just got off the Allure 2 weeks ago. Had a great time. I enjoyed all the shows. I have to say Royal's entertainment is fabulous...Las Vegas quality. Mama Mia..very nicely done. Loved Blue Planet. Loved the figure skating ice show (nicely done despite small rink they had to perform in)..great costumes. Oceanaria ..very nice (saw similar to this in Las Vegas in much grander scale). Comedy show ..very funny.

 

Whatever you do..DO NOT MISS "THE QUEST" game show! We were in absolute stitches!! Most laughter we had all week. If you want to participate, get to the entertainment place lobby 45 minutes early and try to get in a row down below near the floor (it's in the ice rink..they place flooring down of course) and try to sit on the ends. We all participated in some way. So much fun!!!

 

Also, don't stress if you don't reserve all the shows. We found plenty of standby seats available. Also, on last sea day, most people have already seen the shows, so when they "repeat" those shows on last sea day, there's plenty of seats...they even let the standby people in early since shows were empty.

 

Anyways, enjoy the Allure. We had a great time. :)

[cb at sea]

You really don't need to stress..this is a vacation!Do what you want, when you want. You can make OR CHANGE your bookings onboard...It's really not the big deal they make it out to be!

[LuCruise]

I agree with the others. It's like a puzzle, but fun to do. (Or if you don't want to plan and aren't picky of your seats, then decide when you are there and just do stand by....except for the comedy show).

 

What I did was create a spreadsheet of the various options. One column per show. Then Day 1 was the first row, Day 2 was the second row, etc. and I filled in when the shows were playing (assuming that you have seen another compass - or create it when the reservations open up) Then when you look at the first row, you can see your options for Day 1, etc. And I'd highlight each one as I decided.

 

And you can think about things like if you like to stay up late or not, general eating time, etc. For us, we didn't want to stay late too many nights since we were coming with kids so we only had 2 shows 9pm or later...so that eliminated some later options.

 

PS - For the Aqua show (Ocean Aria), it's better to book earlier in the week since it can get cancelled and rescheduled if windy or rain.

 

I think too that it varies what opens up first...dinner or shows. For us, the shows opened up first.

[mediaase]

Keep in mind if you have reservations for the shows, you will need to arrive at the show a MINIMUM of 15 minutes early just to get a seat. Around 10-15 minutes before the shows starts, they let everyone in who do not have reservations, so seats disappear FAST at that point.

 

To get a GOOD seat, you'll need to arrive at least 30 minutes early. I didn't account for that in some of my dinner reservations.

 

We noticed that they normally had 3 or 4 rows reserved for "suite guests"...but about 10 minutes before the shows start, they open those seats to anyone if they don't get filled up with suite guests (we never saw them get filled). So we'd sit close to those rows and then we'd snag those seats as soon as they opened them.

[sdpete]

I vote for Mamma Mia as the best show to watch on the ship. Don't miss it!

[Ashleyregas]

I also create a spreadsheet. I just finished mine for my August Allure cruise. One tip, they won't let you book shows that conflict with dining or other reservations, so I found it was helpful to book excursions first, dining next (if you are MtD) and then the shows.

Because I'm a super planner, I actually went to the RC Blog and looked up a compass of a similar itinerary and noted when other activities took place and put them on spreadsheet so I had some idea when those events might take place (like Top Tier event etc.)

We also make a point to eat in a different restaurant for breakfast and lunch every day when on the ship so we plan those out too. But like I said, I'm a super planner and some people like to be more spontaneous.:)

[pharaoh]

What I did was booked all of my shows first, then booked dining around that. Didn't take long and wasn't hard to do at all.

 

As I booked things I put them in the calendar on my iPhone so I could keep track.

[LuCruise]

I also create a spreadsheet. I just finished mine for my August Allure cruise. One tip, they won't let you book shows that conflict with dining or other reservations, so I found it was helpful to book excursions first, dining next (if you are MtD) and then the shows.

Because I'm a super planner, I actually went to the RC Blog and looked up a compass of a similar itinerary and noted when other activities took place and put them on spreadsheet so I had some idea when those events might take place (like Top Tier event etc.)

We also make a point to eat in a different restaurant for breakfast and lunch every day when on the ship so we plan those out too. But like I said, I'm a super planner and some people like to be more spontaneous.:)

 

Good point. I too, looked at other compasses so I could see the non-bookable events/shows that we wanted to attend as well, and planned around them (but keep in mind that it may very on your actual cruise).

[flhartley]

I agree with the others. It's like a puzzle, but fun to do. (Or if you don't want to plan and aren't picky of your seats, then decide when you are there and just do stand by....except for the comedy show).

 

 

 

What I did was create a spreadsheet of the various options. One column per show. Then Day 1 was the first row, Day 2 was the second row, etc. and I filled in when the shows were playing (assuming that you have seen another compass - or create it when the reservations open up) Then when you look at the first row, you can see your options for Day 1, etc. And I'd highlight each one as I decided.

 

 

 

And you can think about things like if you like to stay up late or not, general eating time, etc. For us, we didn't want to stay late too many nights since we were coming with kids so we only had 2 shows 9pm or later...so that eliminated some later options.

 

 

 

PS - For the Aqua show (Ocean Aria), it's better to book earlier in the week since it can get cancelled and rescheduled if windy or rain.

 

 

 

I think too that it varies what opens up first...dinner or shows. For us, the shows opened up first.

 

 

How far in advance of your cruise he did shows and dining open up?

[Melozone]

Just off the Allure a week ago:( We did early 6:00 everyday. If there was a show a little close to that we told our server so he could get us out on time.

 

We saw all the shows. Even Blue Planet.....45 minutes I will never get back! It was the singing that killed it for us. Mamma Mia was outstanding!

[eellery]

I'm with the others- making a spreadsheet is the way to go!

 

 

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[LuCruise]

How far in advance of your cruise he did shows and dining open up?

 

It varies by cruise, but we were quite lucky as reservations opened up quite early. Shows opened up at 6 months ahead and dinner reservations opened up at 4 months ahead. But ours opened up the same time as the cruises 2 months ahead of us.