Allure dining review

[LMaxwell]

My experiences, impressions, thoughts from the past week on Allure.

 

Dog House: N/A

 

Sabor: N/A.  Menu same as a year ago and that was poor experience, did not need to repeat

 

Johnny Rockets:  Breakfast, went once.  C+.  Lunch once (Drink Dine Discover package), B-.  OK, not worth paying for IMO.  Burgers much better than Windjammer or Labadee BBQ, but that's not a high hurdle

 

Café Promenade: B.  Good for quick little bites or coffee.  I *like* the included coffee, so it's fine for me.

 

Sorrentos:  A (for pizza place).  Really.  Much better than the past.  Daily rotating Antipasti bar with separate line for quick service.  Daily changing specialty slices. 

 

Park Café:  B.  Went here for breakfast 2 or 3 times.  Fresh, quick, clean.  Good spot for breakfast or lunch.

 

Chops:  N/A

 

Central Park 150:  A+.  Best food, best service of this cruise.  Right up there with best specialty dining I have experienced on any ship. 

 

Izumi:  B-.  Just felt a bit "off" from prior experiences; went first night onboard so food was freshest it was going to be.  Some of the cooked items were overcooked. 

 

Giovannis:  C.  Disappointing.  Usually always a hit.  This trip the meat and cheese plank was 3 slices of salami, 3 of prosciutto, couple small hunks of cheese.  The plank itself looked like from a dollset.  Wife ordered pork belly, completely all fat.  Was replaced.  Half of mother in laws order missing despite 3 requests.  My steak was improperly cooked.  Ordered a drink that was never received.  This was an aberration to me as, usually, Giovanni's is a solid A for us.  

 

Windjammer:  C+.  Never went for breakfast or lunch; could not get in.  ALWAYS lines down the stairs to get in.  Went twice for dinner and food quality good but lacking in variety especially compared to recent experiences on Navigator and Mariner where WJ's were exceptional.  Windjammer continues to be a problem on Oasis-class ships, IMO.  Way undersized for this class. 

 

Solarium Bistro:  B.  Had a few breakfasts and lunches here.  Definitely easier than dealing with Windjammer.  Felt breakfast was stronger than lunch offerings.  Depending where you sit though feels like being in a Sauna and uncomfortable after a few minutes.

 

Main Dining Room:  B+.  Went a few times for breakfast buffet; long lines to get in if you wanted to order off menu, but menu is reduced to only 4 or 5 choices total - what a joke.  So we skipped the a la carte line and went for the buffet line.  Breakfast buffet expanded from past with more hot items and lots of variety.  Went for a Seaday lunch; phenomenal.  Was blown away by choices and dessert spread put out.  That's what people expect from a cruise.  Had dinner in dining room on both formal nights.  Good quality and service, dishes well prepared.  Only suggest specialty for more variety, not for a difference in quality. 

 

Samba Grill:  N/A. 

 

Wipeout Café:  C.  Just quick bites here

 

Labadee BBQ:  D.  Simply awful.  Ribs tough.  Not convinced burgers were beef.  Bailed and went back to ship early for our complimentary Johnny Rockets lunch.

 

Popcorn and Cotton Candy:  N/A; won't pay for it... 

 

[nhraformula00]

We thought Chops was very good, went back 2 times. Giovannis, not the Italian we are used to.

[moesyk4]

We went to Giovanni's twice...the first time was the 1st night with all the kids. Service was super slow and that is torture with 3 young ones. We hadn't even gotten the dessert menu 1 hour and 40 minutes in and that was with finally asking to get the pasta and entree together. So essentially 2 courses in that time frame. We didn't get dessert because we just had to leave to get to the show. Waiter oddly seemed mad at us and complained that he "still had time" even though we had to get to the show before the standby crowd would be let in to get seats and we hadn't even seen the menu yet.

 

The 2nd time the food was top notch and I was so full I couldn't even do dessert. The only snafu was the waiter kind of seeming put out when my husband asked for seconds on a pasta even though we had read multiple places you can get multiples of everything but entrees. Other than that, we had a much better experience the 2nd time, but enjoyed the food both times!

[jordanaire]

We were on the Allure last week and didn't have ANY problems at the Windjammer. Great food and NO long lines at all during breakfast. And the main dining room meals were fantastic! No complaints at all.

[A2Mich]

On 4/14/2019 at 10:16 AM, LMaxwell said:

My experiences, impressions, thoughts from the past week on Allure.

 

Dog House: N/A

 

Sabor: N/A.  Menu same as a year ago and that was poor experience, did not need to repeat

 

Johnny Rockets:  Breakfast, went once.  C+.  Lunch once (Drink Dine Discover package), B-.  OK, not worth paying for IMO.  Burgers much better than Windjammer or Labadee BBQ, but that's not a high hurdle

 

Café Promenade: B.  Good for quick little bites or coffee.  I *like* the included coffee, so it's fine for me.

 

Sorrentos:  A (for pizza place).  Really.  Much better than the past.  Daily rotating Antipasti bar with separate line for quick service.  Daily changing specialty slices. 

 

Park Café:  B.  Went here for breakfast 2 or 3 times.  Fresh, quick, clean.  Good spot for breakfast or lunch.

 

Chops:  N/A

 

Central Park 150:  A+.  Best food, best service of this cruise.  Right up there with best specialty dining I have experienced on any ship. 

 

Izumi:  B-.  Just felt a bit "off" from prior experiences; went first night onboard so food was freshest it was going to be.  Some of the cooked items were overcooked. 

 

Giovannis:  C.  Disappointing.  Usually always a hit.  This trip the meat and cheese plank was 3 slices of salami, 3 of prosciutto, couple small hunks of cheese.  The plank itself looked like from a dollset.  Wife ordered pork belly, completely all fat.  Was replaced.  Half of mother in laws order missing despite 3 requests.  My steak was improperly cooked.  Ordered a drink that was never received.  This was an aberration to me as, usually, Giovanni's is a solid A for us.  

 

Windjammer:  C+.  Never went for breakfast or lunch; could not get in.  ALWAYS lines down the stairs to get in.  Went twice for dinner and food quality good but lacking in variety especially compared to recent experiences on Navigator and Mariner where WJ's were exceptional.  Windjammer continues to be a problem on Oasis-class ships, IMO.  Way undersized for this class. 

 

Solarium Bistro:  B.  Had a few breakfasts and lunches here.  Definitely easier than dealing with Windjammer.  Felt breakfast was stronger than lunch offerings.  Depending where you sit though feels like being in a Sauna and uncomfortable after a few minutes.

 

Main Dining Room:  B+.  Went a few times for breakfast buffet; long lines to get in if you wanted to order off menu, but menu is reduced to only 4 or 5 choices total - what a joke.  So we skipped the a la carte line and went for the buffet line.  Breakfast buffet expanded from past with more hot items and lots of variety.  Went for a Seaday lunch; phenomenal.  Was blown away by choices and dessert spread put out.  That's what people expect from a cruise.  Had dinner in dining room on both formal nights.  Good quality and service, dishes well prepared.  Only suggest specialty for more variety, not for a difference in quality. 

 

Samba Grill:  N/A. 

 

Wipeout Café:  C.  Just quick bites here

 

Labadee BBQ:  D.  Simply awful.  Ribs tough.  Not convinced burgers were beef.  Bailed and went back to ship early for our complimentary Johnny Rockets lunch.

 

Popcorn and Cotton Candy:  N/A; won't pay for it... 

 

 

Im hoping that your experience was just a fluke thing.  We are super excited for Harmony next year, as we simply can’t cruise but every few years, but have found a mixed bag of reviews.  Of course, it’s all subjective, as everyone has different tastes and preferences.  I’m the type that loves WJ/buffet meals for the variety, others, not so much.  I’m also not a fan of so many curry dishes, but other people rave about them. We’ve always been well fed, for sure😂, and have always been able to find choices that please everyone.