Allure of the Sea Quick Trip Report - July 30 - August 6th

[apierson23]

Hello all!  I enjoy reading all the trip reports leading up to the cruise so I thought I'd write a quick review while I'm adjusting back to life and work.

 

I went on this cruise with 12 friends and family for my 50th birthday.  We typically travel in off seasons but with a couple teachers and a college student coming along we had to book a trip with the rest of the masses.  I'll write the review with no pictures but each day will have it's own highlights.

[apierson23]

July 30 - Travel Day

 

We flew out of Cleveland on Southwest and had a stop in Saint Louis for a few hours.  Or so we thought but the weather had other thoughts.  A huge thunder storm came into town soon after we landed and they had to shut down the entire airport for a while since lightning was popping everywhere and the power even went out for a few minutes.  We ended up arriving into Houston at about 9:30 PM which was an hour behind schedule (which isn't bad considering the storms).  We got an Uber to a hotel 15 minutes away from the port and crashed hard.  Nothing like extra storm stress to wear a guy out.

[retiredgram]

Looking forward to your review.

 

[apierson23]

July 31 - Boarding Day (Part 1)

 

We got to the ship at around 11:15 AM after stopping for wine and pops at the nearby Walmart to the hotel.  Traffic was pretty light that time of day and the check in was a breeze with us all getting on in under 15 minutes.  The ship was busier then I thought but they really were not checking the time we were suppose to board so maybe everyone was itching to get the party started.  We headed up to our room but the entire floor was pretty much shut down with signs saying to come back at 1:00PM - lugging around our bags it is then!  Half the group had ocean balconies on the 11th floor and the other half had indoor facing balconies and everyone enjoyed their rooms.

 

Up to the Windjammer for lunch and it was of course packed - probably the busiest it was all week.  But the food was readily available and very hot and fresh tasting.  The lunch selection was pretty good with stuff like fried chicken and hamburgers but I went for the Asian and Indian food area and all of it was tasty.  I didn't hear any complaints from my group about the food in the buffet and we went for all meals other than dinner.

 

Room was ready at 1:00 and our luggage arrived at around 1:30 so we unpacked and then took a tour of the ship.  Very, very big ship!  Biggest we have been on by far.  I swear I kept finding hidden rooms or spots I hadn't seen pretty much every day.  We ended up in the Solarium pool with a ton of other people and enjoyed meeting some very cool people.  The pool had an oil slick on it pretty quickly with all the sun screen being used but the water was pretty cool and inviting. 

 

We had 7 people with the drink package and 6 without (I'm one of the typically non drinking people) and it was interesting to see how the other half lives.  The bar tenders were so nice and my crew ended having at least one drink at all the bars on the ship.  I'd say all 7 of the drinkers got their money worth and it started out hard on the 1st day.  Bars couldn't serve much until they left TX but everyone found something they liked and we had a very tipsy group going to dinner.  We are bourbon and whiskey drinkers and they make a mean Old Fashion at pretty much every bar we went to.

 

[apierson23]

July 31st - Evening

 

We got somewhat dressed up and went to our 5:00 PM dinner which worked out great for us.  There was some grumbling from the group with the early dinner time but with us getting out of there by 7:00 most nights it would have been rough to have the late dinner time.

 

They had us on the 4th floor way in the back which was perfect since my group was drunk most of the trip and I'd have been embarrassed if we were in the center next to kids.  The waiters were all from India and they were attentive but very quiet and generally very hard to hear in every instance.  The 1st day meal was great with most people going with the prime rib and various appetizers and deserts.  We had no complaints in terms of the food options and everything tasted fresh. The selection was reduced compared to previous cruises but everyone found something great every night.

 

The only issue we had was the overzealous drink guys and the time it took for gluten free meals to come out.  Some times the gluten free meals were not even brought out until everyone else had finished their meals.  We eventually complained and thing eventually got better but it was odd.

 

The drink guys were seriously trying to kill my group.  They took orders initially and then brought the same round of drinks every 20 minutes or so.  There was so many drink at the middle of the meal that people were just passing drinks around since pretty much even the non package people were drunk by the end.  I'm not complaining but when you have 13 people staggering out of a meal it may have been too many drinks.

 

We all had tickets to Ma Mia at 8:00 but only 3 people ended up making it since there was people passed out in rooms right after dinner.  I tried to watch the show but it's very long and I tapped out at 9:00 and fell asleep right away on our comfy and cool bed.

 

 

[apierson23]

I've got to get some work done but I'll check back in tomorrow and write up a few more days.  Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them.

[flcruiser05]

Great work so far. Can't wait to hear the rest.

 

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, apierson23 said:

July 31st - Evening

 

We got somewhat dressed up and went to our 5:00 PM dinner which worked out great for us.  There was some grumbling from the group with the early dinner time but with us getting out of there by 7:00 most nights it would have been rough to have the late dinner time.

 

They had us on the 4th floor way in the back which was perfect since my group was drunk most of the trip and I'd have been embarrassed if we were in the center next to kids.  The waiters were all from India and they were attentive but very quiet and generally very hard to hear in every instance.  The 1st day meal was great with most people going with the prime rib and various appetizers and deserts.  We had no complaints in terms of the food options and everything tasted fresh. The selection was reduced compared to previous cruises but everyone found something great every night.

 

The only issue we had was the overzealous drink guys and the time it took for gluten free meals to come out.  Some times the gluten free meals were not even brought out until everyone else had finished their meals.  We eventually complained and thing eventually got better but it was odd.

 

The drink guys were seriously trying to kill my group.  They took orders initially and then brought the same round of drinks every 20 minutes or so.  There was so many drink at the middle of the meal that people were just passing drinks around since pretty much even the non package people were drunk by the end.  I'm not complaining but when you have 13 people staggering out of a meal it may have been too many drinks.

 

We all had tickets to Ma Mia at 8:00 but only 3 people ended up making it since there was people passed out in rooms right after dinner.  I tried to watch the show but it's very long and I tapped out at 9:00 and fell asleep right away on our comfy and cool bed.

 

 

Was going to ask since you had a pretty large group, I bet the bartenders really don't know who had the drink packages or not. Pretty sure it was going to end up a drink fest for the entire group. Just like you are describing. MDR or Bars, drinks were going to get passed around to the entire group, drink packages or not for the entire 7 days.

Hard for Royal to police that.

 

Party On !   🍹 🧉  🍺

Edited August 7, 2023 by Jimbo

[apierson23]

21 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Was going to ask since you had a pretty large group, I bet the bartenders really don't know who had the drink packages or not. Pretty sure it was going to end up a drink fest for the entire group. Just like you are describing. MDR or Bars, drinks were going to get passed around to the entire group, drink packages or not for the entire 7 days.

Hard for Royal to police that.

 

Party On !   🍹 🧉  🍺

The first few days it was kind of a free for all but they seemed to check more as the week went on.  Not sure if the managers stepped in but the first few nights were crazy at the dining room (bar tenders at the bars always checked cards).  I typically just bought my couple drinks a day but with such a big group there was a couple drinks that people didn't like that went into my belly lol

[dna1990]

We were on same cruise and had a great week.  Looking forward to the rest of your comments.

[apierson23]

Whoops looks like I messed up the dates in my first few posts so I just call out the day instead of the date.

 

Day 2 - Sea Day

 

We got up early due to the 1 hour time change and walked the upper deck for a mile or so.  The weather was extremely hot to the point it was pretty uncomfortable even in the morning.  Once the sun comes up its sweltering out there.  The AC in the room worked great and the bed was nice and sof after the extra padding put on it (got to request it).

 

Breakfast at the buffet was very nice.  I tended to grab a made to order omelet and some protein like bacon or a pile of smoked salmon but I did try the eggs benedict, waffles, donuts and all were very fresh and nobody complained about breakfast.

 

My wife put on a small meet and greet after breakfast since some of my friends didn't really know the family that could make it.  We played some games like Have I Ever and Andrew Trivia (I'm Andrew) and it was a big hit!  I'll attached a couple pictures of the first morning where we played some games.

[apierson23]

1st Sea Day Part 2

 

The rest of the day was spent by the sports pool having drinks and getting some sun.  The pools are split up into 4 main pools and then there is a big one in the Solarium so the pools were all crowded but everyone could find a spot.  The no saving chairs was very refreshing since there was always chairs available in the prime areas if you looked around a bit.  Great change RC!

 

We met up for pictures before dinner since it was the formal dress up night and we took a bunch of pictures and even bought a couple since they turned out so well.  I'm the tall guy and my wonderful wife is the one in the green dress.

Edited August 8, 2023 by apierson23

[BecciBoo]

Love the guy in the plaid shorts...too funny!!!!!!  Where did you get the sunshades....I want one.

[apierson23]

1st Sea Day Part 3

 

The dinner on the fancy night wasn't anything special but we did get another huge batch of drinks delivered every 20 minutes or so to the point one of the ladies talked to the waiters and told them to limit the drinks to maybe 2 rounds for the meal (party pooper).  Unfortunately this was another night where everyone was pretty drunk when leaving dinner.  I think the diving show was the next night but after all the drinks all week I really am having a hard time keeping track what day was what 🙂 

 

All I know is the everyone had a blast being dressed up and splurging for the evening.

 

Here is a picture of the group after the meet and greet with funny glasses.

Edited August 8, 2023 by apierson23

[apierson23]

2 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

Love the guy in the plaid shorts...too funny!!!!!!  Where did you get the sunshades....I want one.

His wife wasn't too pleased with him since she thought the 2nd night was fancier.  We all thought it was funny.  My wife got the glasses so I'll get the info but I'd guess she ordered them on Amazon.

[apierson23]

I'll have time for maybe the rest tomorrow.  Here is a picture of a mom and baby dolphin which was hanging along side the ship the 1st day.  Very cool to see them so up close.

[BecciBoo]

I found them, just ordered some.  I always present our fellow cruise buds a goody bag with all sorts of things, and these are perfect!  Thanks.

[taznremmy]

@apierson23 Enjoying reading your review.  I was also on this cruise and I'm jealous....I didn't see the Mom and baby dolphins. 😞

[perfect match]

I’m enjoying your review. Thank you for sharing your birthday cruise with us! Congratulations on celebrating 🥳 your 50th! 

[txaggie12]

Are you having to tender in Honduras? Marine traffic is showing the ship anchored but I thought they had just built a bigger pier in the last couple years for the bigger boats

[apierson23]

22 minutes ago, txaggie12 said:

Are you having to tender in Honduras? Marine traffic is showing the ship anchored but I thought they had just built a bigger pier in the last couple years for the bigger boats

We did have a stop in Roatan, Honduras and we had a fantastic time on a tour but that will be Day 4 🙂

[apierson23]

2nd Sea Day

 

The second sea day was pretty calm with more sun to the point we started to attend a few trivia contests during the day and those turned out to be really fun.  My only complaint was the planning seemed a bit off when it came to where events where held.  The trivia put on by Super Mario was decently packed but it was held in the biggest hall in the place where the classic rock trivia was help in the tiny venue which was overflowing with people.  My advice is to check out the venues and be ready to get there early if you want to do stuff like karaoke.

 

The ship has a wide variety of stuff to do like the Central Park and the put-put area which has basketball courts and a couple flow riders.  So many places to enjoy a day relaxing that there was only a few situations where we felt cramped which is a testament to the design of the ship.

 

We found a great spot in the front of the ship which had a couple lounge chairs and it was mostly empty but the wind was pretty severe in the afternoons but this let us get some great pictures pretending we were in a hurricane. I think several old fashions were consumed prior to the shirt off pictures lol

[apierson23]

2nd Sea Day - Part Two

 

Dinner started get a lot more tame at around this time which was probably good since the hang overs were starting to catch up with everyone.  We did have a great sunset which was proceeded by a ton of lightning and a red moon.  The diving show was this evening and I'm glad we got tickets for everyone since it was a great show all the way around.  This is a can't miss event!

[apierson23]

Honduras Day

 

We docked fairly early in Honduras and we proceeded to get off the ship and hop on a private tour bus which was booked by one of my friends.  The tour took us to a chocolate and rum factory on the west side of the island which was nice but the biggest treat was being able to go to a wildlife facility where everyone got to hold a sloth and have a play session with some monkeys and parrots and lizards!  Very fun tour and it only cost $50 a person.  We got back on board a bit before dinner and it was one of the best experiences of the trip.

Edited August 9, 2023 by apierson23

[apierson23]

Honduras Part 2

 

That evening my wife put together a small 50th birthday celebration which included a cake and a sash and glasses for my outfit.  This led us right into the 70s party which was a crowd favorite since they had people dressed up at the Village People and it went strong all the way to midnight.  Very fun day!