Jump to content

Young Couple's Allure of the Seas Review - 9/16-9/23 Sailing


kingkopes
 Share

Recommended Posts

2018 Royal Cruise Review:

 

 

Hi y’all from Maddison and Connor!:

I (Connor) am 24 and my fiancé, Maddison, is 22, and we are from Arizona. We have cruised quite a few times and I like to be able to give us younger cruisers a voice on the forums and reviews!

We are a very active couple who loves adventures, participating in events, tons of food, and good times with each-other!

Here’s a pic of us! (most other pictures will be added because Cruise Critic doesn’t allow more than 6 photos in a post!)

yLUUJXzoy2ibJSfyTjqCOXX62vYzLeTdGd7vG5zUaR7_w9Bvtzz8Pjif4LBXYHk6a4SPh6fxrQEuMjlN21gKuQ2HQmGfMj4c3LQ7ZNs9pN9ObYz60-YYi62SzBdS2X-4yI1tFTtJ

 

We did not do any specialty restaurants, but we do the MDR every night. (Menu for each night at the end of the review. I must’ve missed one night..sorry! lol)

 

We do not drink, but I do enjoy soda and Red Bull galore, so I get the Refreshment package. Red Bull was readily available at pretty much everywhere I asked. (This was a big problem on Liberty last year.)

 

We had room #14558 which was an ocean view balcony. The room was a great location because it was about 3 doors from the elevator (no noise issues). The room was actually directly below the overhanging hot tub. It did obstruct our view a few times, but it also helped with shade. We normally do interior cabins because we really don’t care for anything more, but we were upgraded to this room for only $50 total. We enjoyed the balcony, but only used it a handful of times. No problem going back to an interior. We’d rather spend the extra money elsewhere!

 

 

C98qGCFDe9dK0jOkY3MRCxm-W1xCNRLjisqxKaKAVhOuJJrxdQbc1fvzzs4Zw10H8fhBNTps3SkalbeVi9M52bnmnxdIwURTWpSJpjW-7w5fzCxZcs_frqmeRlPA7DTLJERH3a4q

 

Pre cruise:

 

We flew in from Arizona the Saturday before and arrived around 5:30pm. We stayed at a new (6 months old) Comfort Suites 5 minutes below the FLL airport. They had a free shuttle to and from the airport. They also had a $10pp shuttle to the cruise port. (We ended up just getting an Uber for $8 or so to the port.)

The hotel had free breakfast with the basics and we enjoyed the gym as well.

 

Since we eat very healthy when not on a cruise, and we were on an extremely strict diet the past month, we were looking forward to a fun dinner that night we flew in to kick off the vacation! We found this super cool place on Instagram called New York Grilled Cheese just north of Ft. Lauderdale. Wow, just wow. All the grilled cheeses are made with a waffle iron and they have the most elaborate fries for sides. If you don’t eat enough on the cruise, we highly suggest this place! Haha

Weather:

 

We got lucky with weather the entire trip. It sprinkled for less than a minute one sea day and it did the same on St. Maarten. Other than that, it was mostly sunny!

Interest fact: there was a “haze” in the sky throughout the trip. It was actually sand that comes over from the Sahara and causes this “haze”.

 

Favorite (new) drink:

Strawberry Lemonade with Sugar free Red Bull. (Add vodka if you want it spiked!)

 

Favorite food:

Pizza

 

Favorite dessert:

Warm chocolate cookie with Vanilla Ice Cream in MDR

 

Old time favorite:

Coconut Ranger Cookies

 

Bonus Favorite:

Chorizo quesadilla at Park Cafe

 

Embarkation:

 

We arrived really early at 9:20, in preparation to get on the ship ASAP.

Seated and waiting by 10.

 

Starting the review off with a big kicker, as soon as we got in line outside the cruise terminal, the family in front of us had a small (“service”) dog in a stroller with them. We asked if the dog was going on the boat and they said yes. I told them that supposedly RCI was not allowing any type of dog on board, but they told me that they had numerous recent conversations with RCI and it was going to be fine.

*Spoiler* - They got on with no problem and there were also 3 other dogs on board that we saw. We did not see any problems caused by any, but definitely interesting considering the recent news.

Expedited check in was quick, but it seems unnecessary.

We did not end up getting on the ship until 12:15. This was much later than we are used to. Supposedly they were having some delays on the previous cruise, as well as coast guard inspections.

Once we were on, the Promenade was packed with people boarding, but we walked around the ship and it was quiet everywhere else. Staff were around trying to sell drink packages and specialty restaurants, but they weren’t being too pushy.

Sea passes were waiting on our door number at 1pm. Pretty easy for someone to take your keys, which I don’t like. Also really weird with getting drinks before being able to get to your room. Some bartenders just asked if you had a drink package and gave you the drink, and others were hand writing room numbers which seems hilarious.

Speaking of that, there were other times where bartenders were hand writing drink orders (cart in front of windjammer and at bars on Labadee). Seems extremely annoying and not efficient.

The promenade was playing cool “party” music. Remixes of popular songs. We really enjoyed that.

 

Day 1:

The promenade was crazy packed after muster. Sorrentos and cafe promenade could just not keep up. (Common theme throughout the trip).

There were lots of good flowboarders, and most of them knew each other from previous cruises, or they always cruise together. Since that is where we spent the majority of our time, we ended up becoming great friends with them, eating with them at the MDR, and will probably plan cruises together in the future! We always tend to meet amazing people at the wave and this cruise was a great example of that!

 

The pools were quiet today actually. We were able to get chairs in the beach pool in the water. People are still boarding and it tends to be a good time to hit the pools.

The pizza was so so so good this cruise and we ate pleeennttyyyy of it! Haha. We believe it was far better than previous cruises, and we liked it then too. We loved the pizza of the day each day.

 

We go to the MDR every night and enjoy the service. I will say up front, that we were disappointed with the menus in the MDR. Most nights my fiancé did not even get an entree because none of it sounded appealing to her. We are not picky people either. We understand that we are on a ship trying to feed THOUSANDS of people and we do not normally complain about the food. Unfortunately, the MDR was not impressive this cruise.

Crab cakes. Antipasti. Chicken salad. And more crab cakes. Is what I had for dinner. I liked them all. Crab cakes pictured below. Didn’t really take many food pics.

 

 

Oceanaria was amazing. I could watch that multiple times. The hand balancers are crazy impressive. I have so much respect for those guys and I don’t think people understand the strength necessary for that.

The weather was great and I don’t think any of the shows were ever affected.

Late night around 11pm was packed at promenade cafe again..

 

Day 2: Sea Day

First time trying out donuts on the Boardwalk and there were 6 or so types of donuts. I liked the cinnamon sugar ones which are normally pretty good and the sprinkle ones were pretty good this trip too.

Like I was saying about all the good riders, there were about 10 advanced flowboarders there in the morning for the advanced session. Way more than any previous cruise I’ve been on, but like I said, we became great friends with them.

 

My fiancé and I are big time gym rats and we enjoy going on the ship. The gym is smaller than I remembered, especially the free weights section. Seriously so small and crammed. There is also no cool view like on Freedom class ships. Nonetheless, they had good Hammer Strength machines and it definitely works for getting a good lift in.

 

Headed to the The Windjammer for breakfast. It seems small and poorly designed (compared to liberty). You walk right into the first buffet station and it causes a crowd.

Hash browns were really good throughout the entire week!

 

Pool (beach) was really packed. Only got 1 chair in the water area. Barely any room to stand in the pool, or even sit on the edge.

The band was good though with the reggae jams and we enjoy just hanging out.

 

Johnny rockets wasn’t busy at 2pm. Good food, but nothing crazy special. It was about $23 after service charge for 2 of us. Milkshakes are 100% included in the refreshment and deluxe drink package. You can also just stop in and order a milkshake to go.

*Pro Tip* you can order a chocolate peanut butter shake... thank me later!

 

 

EDXEVptEb4TZowboSzI1v8YEU4wQLwch_MtoRt5YgtQYSYxxnWiidYaW1onKjshPQ7Kiq7pw8hUt3_G445a0zWY4c9eapaA1jyv99pb10JLG-ikdgWGvmzb9PKdQbDIoklPmFobA

 

 

Only 7 people showed up for adult dodgeball, which was very surprising because on all my past cruises you have to get there super early to get a spot on a team. The 7 of us just played best 3 out of 5 and had a good time anyways!

Flowrider was busy in the late afternoon, which is normally the case.

Snack time!! Caribbean dream? Pizza was amazing!

 

I’m pretty sure we went to adult karaoke tonight and it was pretty good. It’s normally pretty entertaining. It seemed like they did it too often and it wasn’t as “exciting” if you will, because it was never a packed venue.

 

Day 3: Sea Day

We tried breakfast at park cafe.. bagels station, euro breakfast sandwich, fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, assorted pastries.

We wanted more, so we got donuts haha More different donuts at boardwalk today. Different frostings and fillings.

We also went to wipeout cafe for more food... I guess we were hungry! Made to order eggs at wipeout cafe. Good enough choices. Basic eggs, bacon, sausage, pastries. Juice, milk.

Only the freestyle machine for soda. I asked a worker and he like secretly took my cup and filled it up in the back because I didn’t have my freestyle cup. Seemed odd to not have a hose fountain at Wipeout.

 

Same lots of riders at the flowrider in the morning.

Gym still packed and tough to find room in the free weight area. Literally bumping weights with people.

 

I did the World's Sexiest Man competition again and it was very “extra” haha. It’s at the aqua theatre, so they used all the fountains and water was spraying everywhere. I ended up getting 2nd, but it was hilarious and fun to be a part of.

 

 

Went to the pool in the afternoon and it was busy, but still enjoyed the music playing and the sunshine.

 

Love and marriage was hilarious as usual. Cruise director was so so good. He reminds us of Jack Black. Couples had some ridiculous answers as usual. About 15 honeymoon couples auditioned.

 

Day 4: St. Maarten

Windjammer for breakfast, which was packed. We Couldn’t find a table for about 10 minutes. Nothing special breakfast. Hash browns are still awesome.

 

We don’t normally do many excursions, we normally just do our own thing or bring our own snorkel gear to a beach, but I surprised my fiancé with the Rhino rider tour. It was so much fun! You (single or double) drive your own little dingy boat with a 30hp outboard engine in Simpson lagoon and out into the open ocean up to Creole Rock to snorkel. It was a blast to drive! It was very interesting to see different parts of the island, especially after the hurricane last year. We drove right next to tons of yachts and sail boats sunk, destroyed, or abandoned and just left in the water. Much of the land on the island seemed to be a abandoned as well, which was sad to see.

Our guide also mentioned that the coral and sea life around Creole Rock was destroyed during the hurricane. It is just now growing back and fish are coming back.

I booked directly with Rhino Rider and we basically got a private, extended tour. (See pics to see the cruise excursion vs our excursion). It was just us and another couple.

We did transport through Twin island excursions, and it was $32 round trip for 2 people.

Cruise excursion briefing

E1zrWx_3OSBZFCeKKQEwNCP1yK_CQ9J-4N5eLObcN4OMZW2riLfqqkdfBonAhfb5OrLORibBhio2sJK3R5gV74CB3tdHvwDMw38JDrzVHd-rcKTS7VUNdQHsj4AkB5VdpD_MHJGb

Private excursion briefing

Nkdk_Em3uLbIZDJG2rJAEOcblR7DArS9mzh6rAaHT9-BKxgNojl3KdLY1NKlLPD_Pc5KAjRR8g3bhonayYmP-KVDzm-epENAfZNCmjy3OfTt_HxbnU74AqIePqAyOvB0HTLQjvR5

 

 

After the excursion, the downtown beach area was very low energy. Not much going on. Sort of a ghost town feel. We paid for a few chairs to relax on the beach and chill in the water.

Many places were closed, including Diamonds International, for Yom Kippur. This was the case on Puerto Rico as well.

Taxi driver ripped us off taking us back the 5 minutes to the ship. Demanded more money once we got to the port. Not a big deal, just one of those things that can happen.

 

Good flowrider time in the afternoon once we got back to the ship.

 

Warm chocolate cookie in MDR is amazing. Like a pazookie. MUST order!!

 

Comedy show was hilarious. Sat up front and both comedians were messing with us and using us for jokes. We loved this intimate setting of Comedy Live! Much different than in a theatre setting.

 

Day 5: Puerto Rico:

No morning flowrider, not even advance.

Johnny Rockets breakfast. Cooked to order, and it’s a la Carte. Very good. No milkshakes in the morning. Lol

 

I believe we were in port from 7:30-1:30. We got off around 9:30am and many things were still closed in port, even after 10am. The fort that is closest to walk to was closed and you could only look from the outside. The whole port seemed very Americanized.

Came back to the ship early and enjoyed a quiet pool and chatted with another couple for a while.

Chorizo quesadillas at park cafe are awesome. (And we love good Mexican food coming from AZ).

Was going to buy chips and guacamole from Sabor (yes you can just buy that and get it to go. I believe she said $8), but I checked the windjammer before we did to see if they had any.. and they did!! I made an awesome plate of nachos with quac, white cheese sauce, and refried beans. It was surprisingly good!

 

All afternoon on the flowrider.

We also did the 10-11pm 18+ flowrider. Only 4 of us. We got some amazing practice in! And it was really fun to ride under the party lights at night!

 

Day 6: Labadee:

Early flowrider until 10:30.

Donuts were great at the boardwalk.

We wanted to grab more food, but there was no food in the whole promenade because of breakfast/lunch transition. Never seen that before, but we just decided to get off the ship and get lunch on Labadee.

Boat ride to Columbus cove was quick and easy. I know many people on there did not believe them when they told people it was only a 1 way trip... it was indeed a 1 way trip! Something to remember if you were counting on it.

Grabbed our own chairs and put them underneath the waterslide for shade. Had that whole section of beach to ourselves.

 

 

Lunch on the “island” was good, but the basics. Hot dogs, burgers, chicken, ribs, sides and desserts.

Walked back to the ship and it really isn’t far at all. Probably only 10 minutes if we didn’t stop and enjoy a super comfortable lounge section made out of a boat.

 

 

Virgin labadoozie was awesome.

Went back to the flowrider for the afternoon.... typical.

 

Tonight was Quest! If you haven’t done Quest before.... GO! You will laugh yourself to the floor and see things you may or may not have wanted to see! Haha

Parents beware, there was full female and male nudity multiple times, as well as plenty of other inappropriate jokes, moves, thrusts, etc etc haha. Always a highlight of the cruise!

Yes, that is me and my “buddy” from the flowrider dresssed as my “date” hahah

VwlHUvt57HJQAaXEtHLPEIGBxzyofTy6jiwfu6m_xjMzy-nPQSggt4mpf36e67RejerZxUA-PmQle3UBFra2cNCAVH0z-HzPBr1A_hyx0oT6deTnyhumEMb3rIr_Gzq9ZFArS8EV

 

Day 7: Sea Day

Had buffet breakfast at the MDR and we thought it was much better than at other locations. Much calmer too. No crazy lines or problems with seating. The waffle section was awesome with all the fun toppings including sprinkles and chocolate chips!

Went to the flowrider and we were there alllll day.

Grabbed lunch at the wipeout cafe which turned out to be super convenient for how much we rode this cruise. The hot dogs were awesome all beef dogs and the fries were seriously good. I only wish they had cookies available!

 

My fiancé and I both placed in the Best of the Best flowrider competition. (She just learned this week and did amazing and is now hooked!!)

The international flow show was right after and it was a blast. The staff was super awesome and really helpful all week. They gave everybody a few shots each turn (even us advanced guys to try another trick) and really helped a lot of people improve over the week. Diego, Max, and a guy from Portugal with a name starting with Y (also looks like Marc Andre Fleury’s twin.. NHL fans will know) were names that stuck with me as awesome guys. The whole staff was really cool.

 

Sadly had to pack up our bags and put them out my 11pm for the next day.

We actually ate at a friends table this night, as well as a few nights ago. The staff was extremely accommodating and had the table set for us as our friend told them that we would like to eat with him.

 

We went to the Perfect Couples Game Show and it was really fun! We had never been before, and honestly had never even heard of it (which was surprising because we love all the stuff like this.) We were one of the couples competing and I know it was much funnier for the people in the crowd! It was in the comedy club, so it was small and intimate. 4 couples compete in 3 inappropriate challenges. Each challenge is worth a different amount of points (1,2, or 3) and then there is a winner. Kind of weird in my opinion because 3 different couples won each challenge but the couple that won the challenge worth 3 points won the whole thing just because it was worth more. We got 3rd because we won the first challenge worth 1 point. This was also at 11:30pm, so a pretty late event!

We grabbed a few last late night snacks and headed to sleep.

 

Day 8: Disembarkation:

AC seemed to not be working starting in the middle of the night/early morning. Never too hot, just stuffy and not like the other nights.

There was a wait to get a table in the MDR breakfast. Today the waffles were very soggy and did not have the options like earlier in the week.

Our group was slated for an 8:15 disembarkation, but our flight out of FLL was at 5:30pm, so we were planning on staying on the boat as long as possible.

There was actually a random charge on our account that we had to wait in the crazy long line at guest services to get sorted out. It was a couple of mojitos, which definitely wasn’t us because we don’t drink and I have the refreshment package. They quickly refunded the money.

We also had to ask about a photo question. My parents were actually on the September 6th sailing and they ordered a USB with 6 pictures on it, but ended up forgetting to pick it up, so they asked if we could try and get it. We have always been told that after each sailing, actually starting on day 7 of the cruise, they delete all of the photos and information from the previous cruise to make room for the new cruise. They told us to wait until 10am to see if it would be possible for them to find it. They also said they would refund us their money if they couldn’t find it. They ended up finding it and giving it to us. Great customer service!! Another reason to love Royal!

We walked off the ship right after 10am and the baggage claim was extremely quiet and there was no line for customs, which was very nice.

Pickup area was pretty crazy, but our Uber was able to pick us up easily and off we went...

 

Killing Time in FLL:

We got to the airport and paid the $8 per bag to have our luggage stored at “Bags to Go”. It’s on the baggage claim level.

We then took the free “Sun Trolley” which takes you up to a cool little area in FLL. There are free water taxis there, as well as others you can pay for. There are also other Sun Trolleys which are $1 per ride or $3 for the day which take routes along Las Olas BLVD or to FLL Beach. We took it to the beach and walked around a bit, but we were done with the sun. We shopped in a few local surf shops and ended up at Jimmy Johns. We grabbed a cheap and quick Uber back to the airport and waited for a few hours before the flight.

FLL airport is pretty nice. Security wasn’t busy at all.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

We had an amazing cruise as usual! We truly love cruises and the WOW that RCI delivers. Their ships are top notch and I don’t think they can be beat!

We really loved Allure and all that she has to offer, but we have to be honest and say that we think we prefer Freedom Class.

Allure seemed to be far too crowded and crazy in too many places. Sorrentos, Cafe Promenade, bars, pools, etc. it just seems like they can’t keep up on peak times.

Even on peak times, we never ran into crazy crowds on Freedom class ships.

 

We also heard people mention there wasn’t as much of a personal connection with the staff as there can be on smaller ships. I think that is partially true. It just depends on where and when you go.

 

For us, coming from Arizona, the cost to get on an Oasis class ship just doesn’t put it as our #1 option. We have family in Texas, making Liberty out of Galveston far more affordable.

If we lived in Florida, or at least closer to Florida, we may feel different and be ok with the sightly higher cost of an Oasis class.

 

My fiancé and I spent a TON of time at the flowrider. I have always loved it, but she got the “bug” this cruise and is obsessed! She was so determined to get good at it this week and she did so amazing.. I mean come on, she made it to the Best of the Best competition!

Oasis class ships are great if you want more Flow time. One side is always boogie, and the other always stand up. (I’ll post a pic of the schedule.)

 

Customer Service throughout the ship was exceptional. We sat at Table 654 on deck 4. We had Zhi as our waiter, and Suarsana as our assistant waiter. They were both great. It was a table for 2 in a great location looking over deck 3. Kenta was our stateroom attendant and she was great and very nice!

 

I commend you for reading this far and I hope it was helpful to someone out there! Please feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer!

I will try to add photos to this thread, but if there are problems, I will put them on a Dropbox or Google Drive and share the link!

 

Here is the link to view the Cruise Compasses, Showtimes, and Bingo Schedule!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s35JrPzpiB9ZR_hL4AI_MqmKL2aom_m4

 

Sea you on the next one! 😉

God bless! 🌵🛳🏝

The additional pics will be added!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love a couple that loves to ride. I’ve won BOB a couple of times, on two different ships. My philosophy is, if I sign the board once I don’t compete again on that ship. It gives new and different riders a chance to sign the board while I cheer them on. I always love to meet new folks in line.

 

Sounds like you two had an awesome time. Hopefully we’ll meet in line one day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great review! We were also on the cruise and are also from Arizona (Tucson). We ran into a few other people from Arizona over the course of the week. We enjoyed everything but agree that the long travel time is kind of a drag.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the review! Looking forward to doing to itinerary in November.

Question: can you make reservations for time in the Flowrider? How does it work-stand in line and wait or set up a time?

TIA!

 

Flowrider is first come first serve during open hours. Advanced riding is for riders that can self load.

 

It can be rented for a fee, for after hours riding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were on the same cruise and I remember seeing you a few times (Flow Rider & Quest) which is hard to believe considering there were so many passengers. My input about the cruise, pizza was good, after the first night in the MDR we gave up and ate in the Windjammer rest of the cruise. I did see a few non service dogs when I was on the jogging track a along with several Chinese folk going the wrong way. But, over all our group had a great cruise, thanks for your review.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love a couple that loves to ride. I’ve won BOB a couple of times, on two different ships. My philosophy is, if I sign the board once I don’t compete again on that ship. It gives new and different riders a chance to sign the board while I cheer them on. I always love to meet new folks in line.

 

Sounds like you two had an awesome time. Hopefully we’ll meet in line one day.

 

I know many people that do the same.. they don't compete because they ride so often! I still wanted to compete since I only ride once a year if I'm lucky! ... I think we will be riding at our local AZ wave now that my lady is obsessed! haha

 

I don't doubt we will run into eachother one day!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...