Allure of the Seas Review: February 5-12, 2017 (second try to make it readable!)

[mizLORInj]

Hello all! We were on the February 5-12, 2017 Western Caribbean sailing of Allure of the Seas. This ship was the largest we have ever cruised. We have cruised many times on various cruise lines, most recently a 10 nighter on Anthem of the Seas, so I may make some comparisons to Anthem.

 

We arrived in FL a few days early and we enjoyed the beach till around 11am embarkation day, so we got to the port around 1. Embarkation was pretty quick and efficient. I did notice that Diamond people were asking where to go so maybe they can improve signage for that.

 

We had a D8 balcony cabin which was very nice and appears a bit smaller than Anthem's balcony cabins. Also we missed the chairs that recline a bit like Anthem has. Sufficient storage space for two people. Bathroom shelves were tiny and a bit awkward. TV has all account information and any activities you signed up for, but you cannot make changes to these activities via tv (you can on Anthem). Nice sized couch, counter space, and shelf above the tv. Our cabin had the bed near the balcony. We thought this was our preferred layout,however, after having the reverse on Anthem last year, either works fine for us.

 

Lots of ships in port this Sunday, including others we’ve sailed, and it was so cool at sailaway.

 

Muster is relatively quick and efficient. Reminder as you're on the way to muster that smoking is only in the designated areas--and is not permitted in cabins or on balconies.

The first sea day we had a fun CC get-together with giveaways from both RC and Cruise Critic. Thanks Adam (and one other person ?) for organizing the cabin crawl. It was great to see many categories of cabins and suites.

 

Around the ship:

Love the outdoor movies at Aqua Theater. There’s just something about a movie outside. The Ocean Aria show here was absolutely fabulous. Arrive early for good seats(this applies to shows in the Amber theater too).

 

So happy this ship had a walking (and running) track all the way around the entire ship that is not where people are sunbathing. AND it has nice chairs at the stern of the ship which was a great spot. Also it’s accessible from the fitness center forward on deck 6.

 

The shows we went to were very good. Didn’t get to any comedy shows as by the time our reservation was for we were just too tired. The space for comedy looked very small for a 5K+ pax ship, but we didn’t see it in action.

 

Dazzles was a very nice club space near the aft elevators, other clubs around the ship were different but good, but at many times packed to the door. The ice skating show was excellent.

 

Love the Rising Tide bar. Bolero’s had a fun mojito/margarita class that included sample sized drinks and then one full sized one of your choice plus a souvenir cup for $15(a good deal). The margarita/mojito class was in the Compass a second time, but it did not actually happen as the art auction was still cleaning up. The Champagne Bar has various wines, sparkling wines, and also a fun martini class where special drinks are made that aren’t on the menu. If you do this class for $25, sit mid-bar--if it’s full it is difficult to hear what is being said if you’re at either end. They offer this several times on sea days throughout the cruise. There is also a pub on the promenade, but we didn’t try it out. A large assortment of beer was on the menu.

 

Boardwalk. Arcade, and some kind of build a stuffed animal shop. There’s even a merry-go-round!Johnny Rockets, a hot dog place and Scoops are here, although I don’t feel the need to pay for cupcakes or ice cream when I can get them in the dining room or buffet included in my cruise fare.Same for burgers and hot dogs. There is a donuts place open here in the morning that is not an extra charge.

 

Central Park was a very nice feature on this ship complete with bird and cricket sounds. There are up-charge restaurants here as well as an included-in-fare café that is an alternative to the buffet. It does get crowded at peak times, and it offered salads and sandwiches for lunch. Nice seating area outside this café as well within Central Park.

 

Fitness Center had lots of equipment and offered classes. The foot print thing I just don’t get—seems like they just want to sell you orthotics for your shoes. We went to a foot reflexology seminar that was held and I did end up booking a session for the last day which was good. I just find all spa services to be very expensive considering I get the same service at home for substantially less $. And make sure you tell them ahead of time about your C&A status to get the discount as they had to void mine and re-do it to give me the discount for gold members.

 

There is ziplining (even though we forgot to do it), surfing on FlowRider in 2 places, mini golf, plenty of pools, basketball, hot tubs, Solarium,promenade shopping area. Sorrento’s pizza is here as is the Café Promenade which have eats and drinks. Loved the mud cakes from Café Promenade--best chocolate dessert on the ship.

 

Love the trivia held in Schooner lounge, and got RC hats for winning the 70s disco tunes trivia. Was a lot of fun.

Because we booked so late (late December) we could only get my time dining (or whatever RC calls it). We ate in the American Icon twice for dinner—once with a reservation and once not. Wait wasn’t too long. We ate in the dining room for lunch once and it was a very nice buffet or menu offerings. Here we were asked if we were interested in a $30 champagne brunch the last sea day. They tried to tell us it was discounted from $35, but I heard everyone paid $30. You arrive at 11am to a long line to get checked in, and then go to a grouping where you wait for a tour leader. There were strawberries and some other goodies there, but nowhere near sufficient for everyone. (Not to worry, the ship has plenty of food.) We got to see the kitchen areas for maybe 20 minutes, then came back to Silk restaurant for a plated lunch. There was a variety of appetizers(sushi from Izumi was great), guac, antipasto plate, fruit and cheese. Egg offerings from a menu (as it was a brunch), and lunch(beef Wellington and a few other options) followed by dessert. 4 choices in each category. A lot of food and sparkling CA wine served too. It was promoted as having offerings from the specialty restaurants, but nothing stood out to us as unique except the excellent sushi. I don’t see the need to pay $30 to do this again, but I don’t regret trying it. On the last sea day I’d rather be outdoors instead of inside for 2 hours. They also offered a $10 wine tasting the last sea day which was fun except for the one table of people who kept talking loudly. Note we found out about both the brunch and wine tasting during a lunch in the dining room on Wednesday. These are not in the Compass.

 

Windjammer seemed smaller to me than the one on Anthem. VERY crowded at times with lines to even get in. But things did move quickly. The offerings varied a bit at dinnertime and we always found something we liked. I loved the int’l stations with the Indian food. An Asian stirfry was one night but we had already had lobster in the dining room. Even the bread was good!

 

Don’t spend your $ on upcharge for meats in the main dining rooms. We did and the filet mignon was not a tender cut and was more strip-steakish. Won’t do that again. I had heard that it was better to eat in the steakhouse if you wanted filet, but to me the steak house is not worth $45 per person.

 

Shuffleboard is behind the Aqua Theater screens, as is a stairway down to the walking track.

 

Ports:

Labadee. Was nice to dock here and not have to tender like other lines’ private islands. Very large peninsula on the northwestern end of Haiti. Nice breeze all day too. The bay-facing beaches are nice but will be incredibly crowded. There is a waterslide and water park on the bay side too for an extra cost although I did not inquire as to what it was. Cabanas were here too. We opted for an ocean-facing beach. The first one you will pass has rougher water than the later ones as it appears there’s a reef that blocks the big waves the farther you go. Yet the water and sand is very rocky and I’d recommend water shoes. There are people working there who will put chairs out for you in the morning (bring tip $), or wait till later and just use ones that have become available. There’s a kids (and adults!)water park with sprinklers and buckets that pour on your head as well as water guns! We had a lot of fun with this later in the day. People ziplined down and that was fun to watch. We’ll do that next time. There’s lots of shade and plenty of space to move around to different areas during the day. The bbq was quite good and the bar is very scaled back—didn’t even have limes. We did stay on the beach in various spots until late in the day and it got very uncrowded by around 2pm.

Jamaica. We did a daypass at a local resort which was very nice. Booked through Island Marketing.

 

Cozumel. We did a day pass at Mr. Sancho’s this time. (last time we went to Nachi Cocum). Worth the money for sure. Had fun with Kirrarne and Brett from our roll call too.

Other observations/comments:

So we learned that half and half (for coffee) is an endangered item on this ship. Repeatedly had to ask for it as only non-dairy creamer pods were by the coffee. Finally I got tired of asking so I asked someone who worked in the buffet why it’s not out. He proceeded to give me a story of how it spoils so they keep it in the back. Well maybe if it was out for people to use it wouldn’t spoil so quickly. Other cruiselines, and in fact even their own Anthem, keep it out for guests to use.

 

My partner’s BOGO (buy one get one free) drink was not added to his platinum perk package in their system. We tried to use it and the bartender told us we must have used it already. Went to GS since we had not,and they were totally perplexed as to why it wasn’t showing and they credited one drink off his bill (I would have negotiated for more since it was for a BOGO).

 

I was surprised that there were no real long lines to get off the ship at the ports, or even to get back on. Security is set up before you get on the ship which may help expedite the lines at the ship.

Last day is light on activities. Why is that? I don’t want to feel like my cruise is winding down.

 

Note that if your cabin is near the Aqua Theater, you will hear noise from this venue. The boardwalk-view balcony cabins had a good view too. Central Park-view balcony cabins would be quieter as they are above eateries only.

I would prefer beach towels to be in the cabins vs. having to go sign them out.

 

While staring at the RC logo one afternoon, I realized it is not just an anchor, but it’s a crown over an anchor—thus the Crown & Anchor society. I am not alone in having never noticed—we laughed with our tablemates since none of us had realized this before and it was quite a moment for us! LOL

 

Be aware of your C&A level of discounts and ask for them when using because we had to have more than one receipt voided because it was not automatically given.

 

Drinks seemed to be highest price on any ship we’ve sailed thus-far. $14 martini? This is not NYC.

 

There are two banks of elevators. If you are at either extremity of the ship you will have long walks to the elevator. Which isn’t a bad thing for us.

 

Need technology update. While there are screens to check where a certain bar/restroom/restaurant is, as well as the current Compass available, you should be able to book and cancel shows through your tv. The Royal app should work too and it did not for us. At least not like it did on Anthem.

 

Check the Compass for included-in-cruise-fare venue options for breakfast and lunch.

 

Casino runs $1 mimosas special at certain times.

 

Take advantage of all the photo opportunities. We got some nice photos using our gold and platinum benefits--using the buy one get one half price.

 

The dresses displayed in the aft atrium between the elevators on higher floors was cool and I have a favorite dress there.

 

There were people from all around the world on this cruise. Many different languages were being spoken. Many very cute little children too, as well as more school-aged children/teens than I expected to see on a cruise that was during the school year. And please don’t be one who makes disparaging remarks about cruises from the NY area having rude people from that region. There were plenty of rude passengers on this one who were not from that area. Rudeness does not depend on geography; neither does kindness. :-)

Debarkation worked great with that new passport app and we were able to avoid a very long line at customs because we were using the app. There will be a paper in your cabin the last night that explains this process and what to download and fill out. My recommendation is take a photo of yourself and register ahead of time or your photo will be taken at 6am (not my preferred photo taking time!). The line to debark the ship formed a little after 6am and we were off the ship by 6:30 and at the airport by 7am. Allure was the second ship to come back into port.

 

It was a fun cruise on a fabulous ship. And yes I would cruise on it again!

[April Shar]

Great review! We'll be on the Allure in June. Glad to see you used the passport app. I plan to use it for our trip.

 

 

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[imlulu]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time. It's almost our turn. :)

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[easyboy]

Very nice review. Thanks.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your review, thinking about booking this cruise,

[EJPhilly]

DH & I will be on Allure in May.. How do you get this "Passport App"?

Thanks :)

[Clarea]

DH & I will be on Allure in May.. How do you get this "Passport App"?

Thanks :)

 

http://www.mobilepassport.us/

[drrich2]

Boardwalk. Arcade, and some kind of build a stuffed animal shop. There’s even a merry-go-round!Johnny Rockets, a hot dog place and Scoops are here, although I don’t feel the need to pay for cupcakes or ice cream when I can get them in the dining room or buffet included in my cruise fare.Same for burgers and hot dogs. There is a donuts place open here in the morning that is not an extra charge.

 

While Johnny Rockets has a charge, the hotdog place on the boardwalk does not (last I cruised Allure and Oasis).

 

Enjoyed your review.

 

Richard.

[mizLORInj]

While Johnny Rockets has a charge, the hotdog place on the boardwalk does not (last I cruised Allure and Oasis).

 

Enjoyed your review.

 

Richard.

 

Yes, that was my error. We saw someone take out their SeaPass and sign there so we just assumed. . .YIKES! :-)

[RedLightVegas]

Going on the Allure in May. Is there a charge for the zipline and flowrider? I heard there wasn't unless you wanted a private lesson on the flowrider

[mizLORInj]

Going on the Allure in May. Is there a charge for the zipline and flowrider? I heard there wasn't unless you wanted a private lesson on the flowrider

 

Both are included in your cruise fare.

[EJPhilly]

Going on the Allure in May. Is there a charge for the zipline and flowrider? I heard there wasn't unless you wanted a private lesson on the flowrider

 

 

Both are free. I did Zip line on Oasis in 2011. Will also be on Allure in May & hope to do it again. [emoji4]

 

 

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[Destaw71835]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing Allure for the first time in September. This is very helpful.

 

 

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[mizLORInj]

Just read a thread about mini bars being empty. Our fridge on Allure last week was empty which was fine because I brought seltzer and water and could keep it in the refrigerator w/o having to remove anything.

 

[Hard-habit-to-break]

G'day Lori!

 

Great review. We will put one up in the next few days as well. Just trying to get back into routine, only been back in Australia for a couple of days.

 

Was great spending time with you and Larry in Cozumel. If you ever make it to Australia, would be happy to meet up for a drink or meal or to play tour guide for you guys. :D

 

Cheers,

Kirrarne and Brett.

[shipshape sam]

Glad you had a great cruise!

[dancindr]

Taking this cruise in April/May. Thank you for your thoughtful and concise review!

[easyboy]

Just read a thread about mini bars being empty. Our fridge on Allure last week was empty which was fine because I brought seltzer and water and could keep it in the refrigerator w/o having to remove anything.

Just check your credit card to be sure none has really been charged. Just a precaution.

[buddyjones]

Great review! Would you mind mentioning the resort names for the day passes?

 

 

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[mizLORInj]

Great review! Would you mind mentioning the resort names for the day passes?

 

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We went to Mr. Sancho's in Cozumel. They have a website and you set up a deposit through PayPal and pay the balance when you arrive.

Jamaica. We booked through: jamaicacruiseexcursions.com/FalmouthBeachBreak

They don't post the name of the resort because they don't want people contacting the resort directly (resort won't book you directly) but we went to Royalton White Sands which is about 10 minutes from the port. There are reviews of this excursion on the Jamaica Ports of Call board, and I'll add my comments there too.

[buddyjones]

Great, thanks!

 

 

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