Just Off The Allure's 8 Day Cruise

[JamesEM]

I'm just off the Allure and would like to share some hits and misses, check in was e-z, however my COVID document was scrutinized.  My bag was delivered to the wrong cabin, so I went on a luggage hunt and found my bag after about 10 minutes.  Enterminent, no Mama Mia due to the cast having COVID, no Quest, and the Headliner Shows and Comedy Show was average at best.  Food, Windjammer OK, Park Cafe, salads good, but the roast beef sandwich was a big miss, Main Dinning Room, our service was great, the beef dishes were outstanding, the other options not so good, example Tiger Shrimp dish were 5 memium regular shrimp.

 

The staff could not do enough for us and the ship was very clean and our room guy was the best.  However, after day 5 it was a little unsettling seeing people in Haz Mat Suites on our deck. In Aruba there is a free hop on hop off trolley worth taking that is close to the point where the ship docs.  All in all it was a very nice cruise experience.    

[AF-1]

Thanks for the review.  What else was closed due to Covid or crew shortages?  Allure is a great ship;  also how many passengers were onboard your sailing?  Thanks

[Ozark_Kid]

Thanks for the review.   Did you try the Samba grill?  Does the free trolley in Aruba go by any of the beaches?

[bucfan2]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

Thanks for the review.  What else was closed due to Covid or crew shortages?  Allure is a great ship;  also how many passengers were onboard your sailing?  Thanks

It was full.  Mama Mia was cancelled for the week.  MDR efficient w/ the exception of staff having time to mingle.  Great cruise.

[jamon]

thanks for review

[loman]

Thank you for the review , Allure is our favorite ship .

[babyblue78]

What do you mean by your Covid paperwork was scrutinized?  I know they check your vaccination record and Covid test, is that what you are referring to?

[ARandomTraveler]

2 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Thanks for the review.   Did you try the Samba grill?  Does the free trolley in Aruba go by any of the beaches?

I don't think there's a free trolley in Aruba. I've been there a couple times on cruise stops as well as a couple land vacations and I've never seen a free trolley. Last time I was there was in November 2021 (7 months ago).
 

They do have really inexpensive buses, it's like $2 (US dollars) to ride from downtown (cruise port area) to the beaches. There's a stop right in front of the Palm Beach area hotels (Hilton).

Edited June 25, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[Ozark_Kid]

7 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I don't think there's a free trolley in Aruba. I've been there a couple times on cruise stops as well as a couple land vacations and I've never seen a free trolley. Last time I was there was in November 2021 (7 months ago).
 

They do have really inexpensive buses, it's like $2 (US dollars) to ride from downtown (cruise port area) to the beaches. There's a stop right in front of the Palm Beach area hotels (Hilton).

Thanks.  The $2 ride is what I have been hearing.   The thought of walking was there but hard to beat a $2 ride.

[Mum2Mercury]

11 hours ago, JamesEM said:

In Aruba there is a free hop on hop off trolley worth taking that is close to the point where the ship docs.  All in all it was a very nice cruise experience.    

I was just reading about the trolley yesterday -- did you personally take the trolley?  What kind of stores /restaurants did you see as you rode?  I'd love to hear more about it.  

[Mum2Mercury]

19 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

They do have really inexpensive buses, it's like $2 (US dollars) to ride from downtown (cruise port area) to the beaches. There's a stop right in front of the Palm Beach area hotels (Hilton).

I'd also like to hear more about the busses to beaches -- and back to the port.  

[Ozark_Kid]

I found this website that talks about the Aruba buses.

 

https://www.aruba.com/us/plan-your-visit/getting-around-aruba/aruba-bus-schedule

[BillB48]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I was just reading about the trolley yesterday -- did you personally take the trolley?  What kind of stores /restaurants did you see as you rode?  I'd love to hear more about it.  

Here's the trolley route, passes a variety of downtown businesses.

 

[ARandomTraveler]

2 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Thanks.  The $2 ride is what I have been hearing.   The thought of walking was there but hard to beat a $2 ride.

It wouldn't be an easy walk from the cruise port to Eagle or Palm Beaches. I would guess that it would take a healthy, fully mobile walker about an hour. Very easy and quick bus ride though (maybe 10 minutes).

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I'd also like to hear more about the busses to beaches -- and back to the port.  

There's a bus "station" in the downtown area at the cruise port (I don't remember which shops are next to it, but it's kind of at the end of the shopping area, a local or maybe Google maps could point you to it pretty quickly I think. 
 

This station has busses that go to different places so make sure you're getting on the correct one (I don't recall which bus it is but it was easy to figure out). 
 

The bus ride is about 10 minutes to get to the Palm Beach area (get off at the bus stop across from the Hilton Hotel). There's  also a bus stop near the Riu hotel (the Riu is next door to the Hilton, and that stop will come before the Hilton stop. If you accidentally get off at the Riu stop, you'll be fine, you'll just have to walk a bit further to get to the path that takes you to the beach).
 

The only reason to get off at the Riu stop is if you have a day-pass there, in which case you'll be able to walk through the hotel to get to the beach, rather than needing to use the public outdoor path.

The Hilton is right across the street from a small shopping area that has a bunch of restaurants, and the walkway to get to the beach area is right next to the Hilton. This is the best stop to get off at in order to get to the beach. 

 

I walked from Palm Beach to Eagle Beach (and then back to Palm Beach) once. I wouldn't recommend it. If you're completely mobile and can walk a mile or two in the heat, carrying all your beach stuff, on a road that doesn't always have a sidewalk, then it's really not that bad, but because there's only intermittent sidewalks, and it's kind of a "long" walk (maybe 30 min?), you'd be better off taking the bus or a taxi. I've never tried taking the bus there so I'm not familiar with where the bus stop is for Eagle Beach, but the bus driver will tell you. 
 

I didn't like Eagle Beach as much, but that's because I prefer more calm water where I can sit on a floatie all day (Palm Beach). Eagle Beach has rougher water than Palm Beach, but it's a more quiet beach if you're just looking for a place with a lot of sand to spread out on while reading a book.

 

I've also taken a water taxi (speed boat) from Palm Beach to Eagle Beach (because they keep the jet ski's at Eagle Beach). That ride seemed to take about 5 minutes but maybe it wasn't that long. 

Edited June 25, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[pcur]

There IS a free trolley in Aruba.  I spent a half day on it in 2020.  I believe they stopped during COVID, and hadn't restarted again when I was there this past March.  So, I'm very happy to hear it's running again.  Very nice experience, the trolleys are really great:  ours was all wood, shiny brass, and red.  It had a spiral staircase going up to the top deck.

 

The route is nice, too, and I love the street with all the palm trees.

 

When getting off the ship, go to the left where the little kiosk buildings are located.  You will notice the the "turnaround circle" tracks on the other side of those kiosks.  Wait there for the trolley, but ask anyone selling around there if it's running that day.

 

Edited June 25, 2022 by pcur

[JamesEM]

To answer some questions, the ship was full around 5k passengers, the Allure has just started one behind the seans tour for top tier C&A members.  As for documentation, my COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card was not reviewed however, my COVID test from CVS was looked at quite closely.  We did not try Samba's, and yes I did ride the trolley, very nice dubble decker whichs takes about 15/20 minutes to go the entire length and at the end of the line there is a 15 minute break and then starts back. Unfortunately many of the stores were closed, but well worth the ride.   

[jamon]

JamesEM....was the trolley free??? Did the trolley go to beaches or just down the main road that passes all the shops and casino??

[nelblu]

On 6/25/2022 at 1:00 AM, JamesEM said:

 In Aruba there is a free hop on hop off trolley worth taking that is close to the point where the ship docs.  

Where does the trolley go?  I'm on the September 3, 8 niter and our Aruba departure was changed from 11 to 8 PM.  I was hoping to take one of those evening tours, but leaving at 8 it's not conducive.

 

Loved when we sailed from San Juan and left Aruba at 1AM.

 

Ps.  My luggage was also misplaced some 10 cabins away on Anthem Easter sail.  We Will Rock You was never shown.  The excuse, based on the substitute act (comedian), was that the concern on the staff due to the ship's movement.😀 Since the show never took place our suspicion was that it was C related.  Also, on the last night Headliner show one of the Season's of the Frankie and the Dreamers (Jersey Boys base)was missing and again possibly due to C. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we did see some fun looking trolleys in Aruba 3 weeks ago. I didn't know they were free, but we took a taxi to the beach anyway.

[Sunshine3601]

Yes, the Trolley is free.    There are single layer and one or two that are double deckers; however, I do not recall if they stopped at a beach.     We took the bus to the Eagle or Palm beach.     we took a taxi to Reflections beach bar resort for day pass and a taxi to West Deck for dinner 

[premier cruiser]

Does anyone have the daily cruise letter from a recent Allure Western Caribbean cruise?

[DustFSU]

12 hours ago, premier cruiser said:

Does anyone have the daily cruise letter from a recent Allure Western Caribbean cruise?

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass