Host Faith

Please let post information on Independence of the Sea. I'm going in April 2017

Hi there! Thanks for reaching out. I haven't sailed Independence, but I have sailed the sister ship, Liberty of the Seas, a few times. Click here for my review.

Happy cruising!

~Chrystal

Allure, March 2015.

Oh no. Ah well, we'll give it a try and I'll report back!

See, that's what I was hoping for & expecting when I ordered my dry-aged porterhouse, but mine didn't look much different than anyone else's at the table, just a little larger. Maybe I just didn't get a very good one, I don't no. But it left me thinking I won't order the upgrade again.

I would have been disappointed if that was our experience. Which ship were you sailing? We noticed the difference during our cruise on Quantum, and we're headed on the Allure next month.

We had a free specialty meal for two and went to Chops. DH was fine paying the surcharge for the Dry Aged steak since we didn't have to pay the initial fee. I ordered from the regular menu. There was quite a difference between my steak and his. DH's was a lot more flavorful and tender.

We have another free specialty dinner on our cruise next month. I think we'll both get the Dry Aged Steak this time. I don't think we would upgrade if we had to pay full price, though. We have the Capital Grille and Ruth's Chris close by. I would rather pay $50 for a steak at one of those restaurants.

No coffee maker, however room service is available.

Is there a charge of the Park Café. Thanks

It's complimentary :)

Wondering which Formal night Lobster is serving or is it both nights. Thanks

I know it's served only on one night. I think it's the second formal night.

I might have missed this but to you care to tell the number of your Cabana on Barefoot beach. It looks like a level area and I need that. Also is barefoot for anyone that want to rent a cabana or is it just for suite guest. Of sorry one more question does the cabana attendant bring your lunch? Thanks and loving all your photo's and review. Will be taking my grandson on his graduation cruise in April 2017 on the Allure. :)

My pleasure! We had cabana #S9. We never asked them to bring out lunch; I think you may have to get that yourself. They do bring drinks, though.

Congratulations to your grandson! What a nice way to celebrate.

I love having the bed by the closet. I enjoy being able to sit by the balcony and enjoy the view as well. I think it makes the room feel bigger. The other advantage, to me, is that you don't spend all of your time moving your chair for the other person to go by if you are trying to put on makeup and get ready for the evening.

So true. This time, we'll have our bed by the balcony. We enjoy that too, since you get that lovely view from the comfort of your bed. Either way, we're happy to be onboard :)

Thanks, Faith!

 

I'll be following!!!!

 

One question I had from your previous review - you posted the menus from the MDR that were taken off the TV screen in your cabin. Were you in a suite? or do all cabins have the menus posted somewhere on their TV screen?

All the cabins have the menus posted. I think it was visible under the guest services channel, where you can view the charges to your room, etc. There's a room service and dining room menu section in that area. If someone who has been aboard Allure recently could chime in to be sure I'm describing this correctly, that would be great. :)

When is your cruise on Allure next month? I'm wondering if I'll be able to read it before I leave on Allure - Nov. 27th

Yes! We're on the Nov 13th sailing. I normally start writing the week we get home :)

We got our son his first passport when he was 10 months old. To us, it's worth having for peace of mind and ease of travel.

Thanks so much for your review. I'm finding it super helpful as we plan our first RCL cruise in February. I had two questions: 1) I saw you grabbed breakfast/fruit at the Solarium. Can you take fruit to go? Am asking as my kids would LOVE fresh mango but I know that the Solarium is for adults only. 2) My second question is how did you do both shows and dinning. For us we have early dinning at 6 pm for the kids. I see that some of the shows are at 8 pm but don't think realistically we would be done in time. I would love if dinner was fast but experience on other cruises tells me it's always over an hour (more 1 1/2 hours) so I'm worried about having time for dinner and still being able to see the show noting that you have to get there early even with a reservation. Finally, how early would you recommend to get for the shows?

Thanks and thanks so much for your great review!

Hi there! Welcome to Cruise Critic, and to Royal Caribbean :)

Yes, you can take the fruit to go. I did that each morning on Allure, to complement our room service breakfast. Total yum!

We actually had My Time Dining, so we could enjoy dinner around the show times. It normally takes us about an hour to 90 minutes to finish dinner, so if you're seated and order right away at 6 PM, you should be finished by 7:30. Plenty of time to walk to the show venue.

If you have to see a show, feel free to let your waiters know that you would like to go a little faster. They'll do their best to accommodate you. I would say it's ideal to head straight to the show after dinner, getting you there about 25-20 minutes early. Enjoy!

Just read your Allure review and so glad you are going again. Looking forward to your review as we are sailing her in 2018.

 

 

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Thank you so much for reading! You chose well, she's a fantastic ship :)

Wow Chrystal! He's already 3? And that suit!?!? Cuuuuutie

Good Morning shonandsuzie! I can't believe it myself. Thank you; I just found his two suits for this upcoming cruise. Can't wait to share photos :)

So happy to you back, Chrystal!

 

You're little man is adorable, and I can't believe he's three already!

 

Looking foward to your review (since we have nothing booked at this time)

Hi Joan! Thank you so much. He's growing up way to fast for me!

Hello! Your son is absolutely adorable!! I do hope you'll let us all know when you do your review, it was wonderful to follow along on your travels!

Hi Buffett fan! Thank you so much. Will do, I'm looking forward to writing again :)

Hi CC Family! I got a little nostalgic about this cruise review since we're returning to the Allure of the Seas next month. It's been a while since I've done such a detailed review like this one. I think I'll give it a try again when we get back.

We're very excited about this upcoming cruise. We will be bringing our little guy with us, as well as his grandparents, extended family, and friends. He's three years old now. It's going to be awesome to see this come full circle since Isaac really has sailed Allure with me before; he was just in my tummy at the time :)

This will actually be his third cruise; he sailed Liberty at 10 months old, and Quantum at two years old. Here's his pic from formal night on Quantum.

Feel free to post any questions you may have about the ship, or any tips or advice you have (especially if you've sailed with a child) as we prepare to sail her. Thanks for following along with me through my reviews. It's truly a pleasure sharing our cruise vacations with you!

~Chrystal

Rum cream to go with that Blue Mountain Coffee. It's like coffee creamer with a shot of rum :)

Allure of the Seas in Falmouth (pardon DH in the photo, lol :))

Falmouth Port

Hi Everyone! I've done this in another forum and it was a lot of fun. Post your favorite photos from your time in Jamaica. The photos can show anything, from various excursions, historic sites, natural wonders, beaches, resorts, people or food. Show us what you enjoyed in Jamaica!

I believe pictures tell us so much more than just words, and can be helpful as people make their decisions for activities while in port. Share away!

I'll start:

Jumping at the Blue Hole

Blue Hole

Jerk Chicken being prepared at Scotchie's

Lunch is served at Scotchies! Some of the best chicken, ever...

I've enjoyed reading the helpful hair tips. I plan on either maintaining my Afro or twists...haven't decide yet. Any ideas on makeup??

I keep makeup pretty light when I'm in the Caribbean. Three things I can't do without: Mary Kay CC Cream (sunscreen with light coverage), waterproof eyeliner, and lip gloss.

Thank you all for the replies! I'm very excited to hear that it's still a fantastic place and can't wait to go again.

 

Host Faith, your pictures are awesome! I've wanted to try Mofongo while in Puerto Rico, and your picture made it look delicious.

Thank you! Please do try the Monfongo. You have a choice of two sauces. I tried the garlic cream sauce on mine and it was fantastic :)

Not interested in expensive hotel! How about $75-100 range?

Hi IsanTom! You may be able to find a hotel in the low $100's by using Priceline. Check out this thread for bidding tips.

We had a lovely time at Punto de Vista in March. You could see the cruise ships in the distance.

I had the shrimp mofongo, which was fantastic! Two for one mojitos were delicious. We tried the coconut and watermelon mojitos and would order both again. Enjoy!