Allure Feb 26 Review

[zed]

I haven't read much of the reviews here nor have I been in the forums much lately, I'm just stopping in quick to give a few comments on our recent Allure cruise FWIW. (be ready for random memories, forgive my brain for not being very organized)

 

First, I hesitated booking on RC again and felt the big ship required much too high a price. My wife won that argument. Glad she did.

 

Stayed in a D1 (larger balcony) cabin. For just 2 people the extra balcony room actually wasn't worth the extra price. We booked on the port side, which was NEVER the actual port view, so were always with parents on a smaller D class balcony and it was just fine.

 

Room was nice, good storage, clean, decent bathroom.. really no complaints. Actually compared to recent cruises (Celebrity Solstice class ships and the NCL EPIC) the cabins were quiet. No slamming of wood cabinets like the EPIC has, and nice lack of deck chair noise like aqua class cabins on Celebrity have. The most quiet cuise we've ever had.

 

We got there around 11. As lowly Gold members, we sat in a large room and waited for all the other cruise addicts to get on first. Considering how many people were in the room it didn't take long to clear out, only like 30 minutes of waiting and we were on. I'd suggest arriving around 12:30 and avoiding that mess - our parents got on around then and walked right on. I was surprised at how quickly this ship moved passengers on and off. Getting off and on the ship at each stop was much quicker than any ship we've sailed on.

 

The ship did NOT feel crowded at all. Seriously. I don't know what others are saying, but this one was so relaxing - it felt like it was only 1/4 booked. Everywhere we went we could get in to eat. Only the cattle buffet areas were busy - we avoided those like the plague.

 

Best food I've had on a ship yet. We did the chef's table (which wasn't actually any particular star chef's table) and thought the food and wine was a bargain. The other specialty choices were great. (though the Italian place was family style.. with what really wasn't a family style menu. We were able to avoid that by just ordering what we wanted) Service in chops was really horrible, otherwise it was great for the most part. (they ruined the red velvet cake by putting chocolate in it, otherwise good eats)

 

Beer selection (see photos below) was best I've experienced. English pub had everything you could want - loved the Guiness and Blue Moon combo. I appreciate that cruises seem to be paying more attention to their beer selections. I like a good Blue Moon out in the heat. It seemed like they rotated the beers on tap as well. Thought beer was a bit expensive though. (paid almost as much per bottle as I could get a case at home)

 

Was able to bring some soda on board in our packed luggage with no issues.

 

The water show was excellent. Seriously.. diving from those heights on a moving ship? Almost had to close my eyes.

 

Wife said the spa was not very relaxing. Commented you have to wait in a room with men and women together. Felt it was less professional than the other ships we've been on.

 

Here is the big thing... the ship had a SERIOUS LACK OF CHAIR HOGS!!! WOW... can I say wow again? Just wow. Every other ship we've been on we battle the disgusting selfish chair hogs to get a half decent seat near a pool... not on this ship. Granted the pools were less fun (and certainly no water slide like the EPIC has) but it was nice to be able to get up after 9am and still get a decent seat. (by noon things were booking up, but by people actually using their chairs) RC had someone monitoring the beach pool - she would check in with each person and made sure they were not hogging chairs, then kept a timer and removed their stuff if they were away more than 50ish minutes. Kick a$$! RC, I love you. All other boats need to do this. Chair hogs must be defeated... selfish morons. Just because of this I have never felt as relaxed on a boat as I was on the Allure... just do what you want, no fear of things being too busy.

 

I will say I missed the EPIC's water slides, but not the over-crowded pool areas. I think it was well worth the trade-off.

 

What else... oh, smoking. (the other cruise wrecker) Not too bad if you stayed away from the left side of the ship. Didn't like how easily smokers out on balconies could force us into our cabin... but I bet someday soon smoking will be banished from balconies then hopefully all areas so we can all enjoy our vacations without the smell of death in our faces. (but I digress...)

 

They seemed to be having technical difficulties with most the shows, we even had the blue earth show cancelled on us because they couldn't get the computers to work. Seems like they need to hire new technical staff.

 

In the mall area on deck 5 they were always taking photos, which blocked walking areas. They also had the excursion desk in this area - dumb.. just dumb. You couldn't hear in there and never knew where the lines were.

 

They cancelled our float down the river in Jamaica with no help getting an alternate. I thought that was rather poor, basically wasted that port for us. Minor issue since I prefer hanging out on the boat or just shopping around anyway.

 

Labadee was a nice surprise - first look at the new digs. Got off early and went right up to the roller coaster (worth the $) then a lazy walk around on some pretty cool hiking paths. Nice not to be tendered there!

 

We weren't able to meet the top chef participant Molly Brandt because she was off ship, but loved 150 Central Park. (we almost didn't eat there, but glad we did!)

 

You know this will sound crazy but I'd actually consider the Allure again. Its made me wonder how I can go back to a smaller boat and enjoy myself. Even the Celebrity Solstice class ships seem dull now after hitting the EPIC then Allure.

 

We also met the captain for the first time on this cruise. (our 6th) Good for my wife and mother in law since he was apparently a "hunk" and they were all over seeing him.

 

I loved the running track (see photos below) that went around the ship. I ran 12 laps every day (5 miles) and actually lost weight even while pigging out and drinking lots of booze. People were morons about walking into the running lane but other than that it was nice to run outside vs. be in their stuffy workout area. (which had horrible views compared to other ships)

 

Getting off was a bit of a cluster.. we stayed an extra day in Ft. Lauderdale so were in the last group. Apparently they had half the customs agents so as we got off we had to sit and wait in a holding area for 30 minutes or more. From now on we're always carrying our bags off early to avoid all that BS. (hard to blame the ship or RC for that, apparently its government budget cuts... or they were trying to make some kind of stupid statement by making us all suffer)

 

I end this with some photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it so hard to post signs and monitor this so everyone can enjoy their vacation away from the selfish? RC did a nice job! I hope other boats do the same. (they even put it in the daily paper as a reminder on at-sea days)

[cot427]

Thanks for the review! Can't wait to sale on Allurd in October.

[Mmketeer]

Great review!! You actually calmed my fears about a few things and since I didn't have the extra cash for the upgraded extended balcony cabin I was really glad to hear you say it wasn't worth it.

 

Thanks...and my countdown continues....

[Bogos22]

Thank you so much for your review. Can you tell me if they had Bass Ale on tap in the pub? It's so much better on tap than out of the bottle.

[Familygoboston]

Your statement that Allure "never felt as stessful as other ships...just do what you want...no fear of things being to busy" is so spot on! ( or was for us on Oasis and why we've booked Allure;))

On some of the smaller ships, everyone might be headed to the theater at the same time for the same show ( or not!) so should I go there 45 minutes early? (or not?) To me that was more stressful than doing some advance planning to book the shows. By having reservations, I could show up 20-30 minutes ahead for a great seat or even 10 minutes before if I didn't care!

I also had he same experience with the deck chairs, we never felt we needed to rush to the pool deck to make sure we could get chairs, (and have to be there earlier than we might have wanted to be as to not " hog" them), when we were ready, there would be chairs...so much more relaxed!

 

Thanks for your review, it's an excellent explanation of why people like you and I ( skeptics before we sailed!) come home saying " that was great!":D

[luv2cruz93]

Thanks for the review. Glad to hear you enjoyed the Allure after the Epic since that was our last cruise also. Can't wait for our Allure cruise.

[MM4M]

Thanks for the review, we still have well over a year for our cruise but reviews like this get me excited. I must say that one member of our party will be saddened to know that they do not carry Labatt Blue beer...oh well-I suppose he has some time to get used to another variety.

[lori450]

Super review. Thanks. I've been wary of booking the "big ones" even though i can see them from my car when I'm on I-95 (OK, you can see them from space, too ;))

You mentioned the larger balcony wasn't great because it was on the Port side and the ports were not visible. Would you book a D-1 on the Starboard side??

[gelo7]

Nice review.

[hondarr9]

Nice review. I also failed to see most of the issues people complain about on here while on the Oasis. Needless to say we booked the Allure next!

 

Sent from my Galaxy Tab via tap-a-talk

[zed]

Thank you so much for your review. Can you tell me if they had Bass Ale on tap in the pub? It's so much better on tap than out of the bottle.

 

I saw Bass on tap the first day out by the pool but not again after. I'd guess they have it available in the pub, but not sure if they rotate daily or not.

 

I actually enjoyed a bass or two up in the solarium on a few occasions.. was out of the bottle but tasted nice and fresh.

[zed]

You mentioned the larger balcony wasn't great because it was on the Port side and the ports were not visible. Would you book a D-1 on the Starboard side??

 

I guess to me its more a matter of how many people you will have out there.

 

With two, the deck is nice and big but it seemed to take away from the view. The steward would not go get reclining chairs either (maybe others have had better luck), so you are stuck with two chairs and a table. (its not like we would have gotten much sun out there anyway) If we were "hosting" or had more people, I'd maybe consider it worth the money... starboard would be a matter of taste - we like to watch the boat come in and out of port (seeing people running for the ship before it takes off is priceless... and watching the captain do his thing as we pull out was fun too) They did mention a couple of times that starboard is used primarily for docking on the Allure.

 

So for me, 2 or less people i'd save your $. If you have a family or people who will come join you then maybe the extra space is a good thing.

 

(normally we like as much deck space as possible but for some reason on the Allure we also spent way less time in our room... maybe because there is so much to do and see)

[jagnum1fan]

We were on the epic last year in April and are doing our honeymoon in October on Allure.

 

I would be interested in any other comparisons between the two ships. Such as entertainment, decor, food options, etc.

 

We found that Epic didn't quite have enough things to do and the chairs were never available by the pool on sea days. It wasn't a bad experience just not as much going on as there was on our previous RCI cruise.

 

Thanks for any more info and great review.

[zed]

We were on the epic last year in April and are doing our honeymoon in October on Allure.

 

I would be interested in any other comparisons between the two ships. Such as entertainment, decor, food options, etc.

 

We found that Epic didn't quite have enough things to do and the chairs were never available by the pool on sea days. It wasn't a bad experience just not as much going on as there was on our previous RCI cruise.

 

A few things I'd note between the two:

 

You are right, the EPIC suffered from chair availability unless you wanted to get stuck way down the side of the boat away from all the fun and people watching. Allure had good availability, though around noon things will start to fill up. We were able to sit in the sun the first half then find room in the solarium in the afternoon - no way we could have done that on other ships we've sailed on. On at-sea days aboard EPIC I actually had to get up at 6am or earlier to get a good chair. Crazy!

 

On the EPIC we LOVEd the sushi place... on the Allure they have a good Japanese place as well. Not quite as good of sushi but much bigger place and more selection. This is a tie.

 

Beer, Booze and Food go to the Allure, though I admit we only ate in the main dining area once on EPIC and once on Allure. (we prefer specialty dining) The specialty selections on Allure were better.

 

Blue man group on EPIC was pretty sweet, but the water show and Chicago on Allure were good too. I'm not a huge fan of entertainment but they both had more than usual. Definitely see both if you can. The blue earth I heard was incredible too, wish I hadn't missed it.

 

I remember on EPIC there were always kids in the adult only area on back. I think partly because they had to walk through there to get up to the arcade. Nothing was enforced on EPIC (good or bad). The adult area on the Allure was definitely adult only. They also have a nice healthy buffet up there. It was so relaxing up there people were falling asleep all over the place in there (which is awesome).

 

Getting on EPIC was a nightmare when we went, but they may have fixed that now. They had put the photo booth right where you check in, and that caused a huge backlog of people. The Allure boarding had like 6 photo booths well before you even got close to the ship entrance.

 

With SO many different areas on Allure, it really didn't feel like I was on a ship. YOu could walk down the central park area at night and listen to the crickets - it was quiet and empty, then go to the mall area to be with more people, or go to the boardwalk for yet another experience. Each on a different floor, so it really split the ship up into different areas.

 

I may not do EPIC again, but will look to see what NCL's new ships are like and if it has a water park. (i'm like a 15 year old kid when there are water slides nearby hehe)

 

I hear the latest RC boats will be smaller again like the Freedom class but hold like 600+ more passengers. This is the "new economy" and I'm guessing will contribute to a busy feel. We'll have to see.

 

I miss the boat. You are all so lucky to have your cruises ahead of you! ENJOY!!

 

P.S. if you are Gold or above, be sure to check out your coupon books first thing when you get on-board (they should be in your cabins). There are some good deals in there that you could miss out on. I heard the platinum plus had a coupon for a free specialty dining when you buy one but only on the first day, so many missed out on that. Some of the coupons you can apply after the fact (like Internet discounts).

[jagnum1fan]

Thanks for the input, sounds pretty similar to my way of thinking about epic. I'll post my review in 7 months lol.

[silvermcs]

Your review was excellent. I enjoy reading all of the reviews and can't believe how people have such different experiences. Attitude must have a big part. People that tend to be picky or unhappy seem to not have fun on a cruise. One or two little things really set them off. If you are on a ship with 6000+ people (we cruise at spring break) something sometime during the week is not going to go as planned. As you talked about in the review, I can also go with the flow but the smoking on the balconies (making its way to mine) does put me over the edge. We also enjoy the specialty restaurants and do two or three nights that way. We did Giovanni's Table for lunch with the family last year and it worked out so well, that this year we are trying it on the first day so as to avoid the WJ. You have inspired me to write a review after our cruise in April.

[will773]

Great review! Glad you changed your mind about Allure!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Nice job .

[FirstCruise2331]

Great review. I see you only ate at MDR one night. How did I compare to the pay places?

[clwnmt2]

Zed, DH and I were on the Allure the same time. We had the tubing excursion cancelled also but were given an option to go on a different one that was 6 hours long. We were with 8 other people and we all decided to not change. Sorry you were never given that option. Also what shows, other than the Blue Planet, that had tech, problems? I know that replayed that one at 9:30 that night but BIL and SIL did not go as we had other plans. Too bad you missed that one it was good.

 

I agree with you about your review. We had a great time and are looking forward to going on the Allure or Oasis in the future. I could not believe how stressfree it seemed. No chair hogs was big for me as I like to be outside on sea days. I had no problem sitting where we wanted and we could usually sit with 6-8 people and not have to get up so early and stake a spot.

 

Wonder if we saw each other and don't even know it.:)

[rlpolobear9]

Really nice review