Allure of the Seas Review - May 29 - June 5

[cruisingcouple2001]

My husband and I recently completed on our first Royal Caribbean cruise via the Western itinerary on the Allure of the Seas. Before I get started, here is some background information.

 

We are in early 40's without children and live in Northern Kentucky. We have cruised before on two other lines - Carnival and Princess. Our dear friends booked a cruise and asked us to tag along, so we did. Prior to the cruise, I had reservations regarding the number of people on the ship; however, I can honestly say my fear did not become a reality!

 

Pre-Embarkation

 

We flew from CVG to FLL via Delta without issue - except my suitcase didn't make it...YIKES! Luckily, we flew down on Friday night and my bag arrived somewhere around 3 AM on Saturday morning. We stayed at the W Fort Lauderdale and it was fantastic! I highly recommend this hotel. For our travels in FLL, we used Uber. Fast and efficient as always.

 

Pre-Cruise Activities

 

We selected "My Time Dining" but could not select a time slot in advance. Note that waiting to be seated was not a problem throughout the cruise. In addition, we purchased the Drink Package in advance. :) Lastly, we did book several nightly activities in advance as well including the Prohibition Event. More about that later.

 

Embarkation

 

Quick and painless. We arrived around noon. With the exception of our Uber driving getting angry at a police officer, the process was smooth, quick and efficient. We were on the ship within 15 minutes or less.

 

The ship is absolutely amazing! I was in awe from the time I stepped on the ship - until I was forced to use the hand sanitizer. I understand the purpose but it felt a abrasive walking in to this gorgeous ship and then "put your hand under here". After sanitizing our hands, we walked to the nearest bar to celebrate the beginning of our vacation.

 

Cabin

 

We had a balcony cabin (7314) which is Port Aft. I personally loved the location but DH wished we were a bit closer to the elevators. The cabin as spacious as any. I was concerned about the shower stall as I am not a size 2; however, it was fine. My only complaint regarding the shower is regarding the rack to hold toiletries - everything keep falling through. Other than that, it was perfect! Personally, I think we have decided that for as much as we are in a room, an inside cabin would work for us in the future.

 

Food

 

We ate in the main dining room, the Windjammer and the café with the roast beef sandwiches. We did not eat at any specialty restaurants. Personally, we enjoyed the selection of the food at the WJ versus the MDR; even for dinner.

 

MDR - The food was okay, not exceptional. The selections seemed sparse. We did enjoy a pre-dinner drink while waiting for a table inside American Icon. That is genius!

 

Entertainment

 

The water show was the best. We watched Mama Mia. The production was nice; however it is almost 3 hours long. We should have left at intermission. The Quest was amusing; however, there were many children in the audience. We were under the impression it was an adult game show. Perhaps it has been tamed down to accommodate those traveling with children? It still was a lot of fun! We also paid for the Prohibition event. That was a waste of $70. It was fun to dress up; however, the event was corny. Lastly for entertainment, we witnessed someone getting arrested on the last night of the cruise by the pool. That's not a way to end your cruise at all!

 

Ports

 

If I had to do this over again, I would not have even stepped foot off the ship. Instead, I would have just enjoyed all of the amenities on board while everyone was gone.

 

Labadee was a Labadon't. It is clear that RC is trying to make it a beach but it is not a beach. Also, we were told our drink package would work here - it did - for beer. I found one place that served Vodka and it was a 15 minute walk. We tried to take the tram around the island. Two passed our stop and didn't even stop. After this, we packed up and went back on board.

 

At Jamaica, we went to Margaritaville right at port. We were able to procure chairs by the pool and seats at the swim up bar. We were relaxed listening to Jimmy Buffett music until some patrons decided they wanted to hear club music. After playing the same Justin Bieber song back to back, we decided to go back to the Ship. We managed to do so right as it started raining. It rained for a bit too - maybe an hour or so.

 

For Cozumel, we booked the Three Reef Snorkel via RC. It was nice; however, moving 50 or so people on and off a boat for three different snorkel areas is just too much. We immediately went back to the Ship and boarded just in time. It rained off and on for the remainder of the day. Hard rain too!

 

Customer Service

 

Cora was our Room Steward and she was fantastic! Anything we needed, she made it happen and always had a smile on her face. We left her additional tips throughout the week as well as some candy and a bottle of wine we didn't get to drink.

 

Bryan was our favorite drink server at the pool. We tipped him daily in cash (not on the receipt) and he hunted for us to see if we needed a drink. LOVED HIM!

 

DH purchased a brand new pair of swim trunks in FLL. He put them on and sat on the wood railing around the pool. The black rubber rubbed off his shorts. We went to Customer Service and they reimbursed us for the amount we paid. We were pleasantly surprised!

 

Church

 

As luck would have it, there was a Priest on board. He celebrated Mass on Saturday at 4PM in Dazzles. Mass in a nightclub, that's a first for me. Appreciative of the Priest who was on his vacation yet celebrated Mass with about 50 of us.

 

Overall Thoughts

 

We very much enjoyed Royal Caribbean and the Allure. While the ship was big, it did not seem overly crowded. The service was top notch! The pools were fantastic as were the hot tubs. The food was okay - not bad but not great. We did not lose money on the drink package! We will cruise Royal again!

 

After 8 cruises, I think we have realized that we prefer sea days, less MDR eating, less getting off at ports and casual dinners. Otherwise, every day turns into a scheduling nightmare.

 

Here are a few pro's/cons:

 

Pros - Customer service, pools, cabin, drink package

 

Cons - The Captain only spoke one time outside of muster for the whole week. I personally like my Captain's report daily at noon. The MDR took on average two hours once seated. Supposedly, there is an "adult pool" outside of the solarium but there are no signs posted.

 

Go on the Allure! Great ship, great crew!

[katiel53]

Thanks for the review. We are doing the same itinerary on Allure of the Seas in Jan.

[KeywestK]

Thanks for your review and insights. We are doing Allure, Western Caribbean, in November. I have always had concerns about such a large ship (I typically prefer Radiance-class, or even smaller,) and I appreciate hearing someone else's viewpoint on its size. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[Dianka25]

Thanks for sharing! Going on her in February!

[packercruising]

What a neat review, thank you! Sounds like you tip like we do. Were there other bartenders you frequented?

[Tif1171]

I was on the same sailing😀Sherwin was our favorite pool waiter. My husband tipped him well and all we had to do was lift up our glass in the pool and a minute later we had a replacement. The first time we've experienced the wonderful pool drink service we always remembered PRIOR to the installation of the drink packages. Bravo,Sherwin!

-Tiffany &Rick

[packercruising]

Isn't it great when you get a pool waiter like that? We have been on cruises where they walk right by you.

[cybergenie]

Hi,

Just saw this on Cruise Critic. As you can see, we will be sailing on the Allure on August - really looking forward to it. We are giving Royal another try, since lately Princess hasn't been showing us much. Sounds like you tip like we do.

We are booked for Momma Mia, too. Loved the movie. Sounds like the stage production is great, too.

 

This will be our first cruise on a "mega ship". Love adventure, and this ship seems to provide plenty of it.

 

Your review was well done and informative.

[Hackpba]

We were on the Allure cruise right after you. The ship was awesome! Sorry you did not find the solarium pool, it was right up front by the solarium cafe. We spent all of our time in that area and in that pool.

 

Also sorry about your Labadee experience. This was our 4th time there and we love it! We went down to the Columbus Cove area and it was really nice.

[cruisingcouple2001]

We were on the Allure cruise right after you. The ship was awesome! Sorry you did not find the solarium pool, it was right up front by the solarium cafe. We spent all of our time in that area and in that pool.

 

Also sorry about your Labadee experience. This was our 4th time there and we love it! We went down to the Columbus Cove area and it was really nice.

 

We found the Solarium pool, but didn't care for the greenhouse affect from all the glass and no air movement. The pool on the starboard side just aft of the big hottub is the one that was supposed to be adult only and it was for the most part and at the beginning of the cruise the attendants would tell the young ones that they had to get out but we thought it was kind of unfair since their were no signs posted, it was just implied.

[cruisingcouple2001]

What a neat review, thank you! Sounds like you tip like we do. Were there other bartenders you frequented?

 

As for other bartenders, at the pool we stopped by a couple bars and received great service from everyone. We just formed a relationship with Bryan so tried to work with him as much as possible.

 

There was a bartender in the waiting area of the MDR for My Time Dining that we visited quite often but can't recall his name at the moment. He made a great Dirty Martini.

[packercruising]

Yup, that is what we do too. We'll even change bars if the bartender we like moves to a different one. MDR bartenders have been hit or miss for us. They have been either awesome or exasperating.

[urbancruiser]

How did you find out about the Saturday Mass? I understand that it's not a guarantee that there will be a priest onboard who will do this, but if there is, do they put it in the Compass?

[cruisingcouple2001]

How did you find out about the Saturday Mass? I understand that it's not a guarantee that there will be a priest onboard who will do this, but if there is, do they put it in the Compass?

 

No, it was totally by accident that we were walking near the customer service desk and there was a bulletin board that anyone could use, and someone had put a note on there.

[saintsfan777]

I was on the same sailing😀Sherwin was our favorite pool waiter. My husband tipped him well and all we had to do was lift up our glass in the pool and a minute later we had a replacement. The first time we've experienced the wonderful pool drink service we always remembered PRIOR to the installation of the drink packages. Bravo,Sherwin!

-Tiffany &Rick

 

We were on the Allure a few years ago and also loved Sherwin! He treated us like family and my wife has been Facebook friends with him since that cruise.

[urbancruiser]

No, it was totally by accident that we were walking near the customer service desk and there was a bulletin board that anyone could use, and someone had put a note on there.

 

Thank you! I will check there!

[marcyjane]

Loved reading your review. Not sailing until April 2017, but reading all the fun everyone else had and their experiences is helping me pass the time. :)

[KPfromCT]

Thanks for the great review!!!:D

 

We were on Oasis 6/11, and pretty much had the same experience as you.

 

LOVED the ship, although it was BIG...

Loved the pools vs Carnival.

Preferred WJ to MDR. Only ate at the MDR once out of 7 nights, however, we also dined at Chops one night, and Izumi Hibachi the other. Both great!!!

 

Like the beds better on Royal. They were HUGE in comparison to Carnival.:D

 

Just a LOOOOOOOONG walk to the elevators no matter which way we went.

lol

 

As much as we said we wanted to go back to Carnival, I am already looking at Allure for next June.

 

Hmmmmmmmmm. Which will win? Allure or Magic? Time will tell....:D

[Clarea]

Nicely written rewview, thanks!

[dnaman]

We're going on Allure next March. Can I ask a question about tipping generously to the pool waiters? What amount is considered generous and how often would you need to tip them to get the special service? Every drink? Once a day? Once at the beginning only?

Thanks in advance

 

 

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[Clarea]

We're going on Allure next March. Can I ask a question about tipping generously to the pool waiters? What amount is considered generous and how often would you need to tip them to get the special service? Every drink? Once a day? Once at the beginning only?

Thanks in advance

We tip cash with every drink.

[packercruising]

I can only tell you how we do it. You know, of course, that they get 18% gratuity already. If the server is good we try to tip a little extra. If they are really good, we seek them out on the last day. Good servers tend to give good service regardless of whether they are tipped extra.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.