Live From Allure- day 1 review

[marciab]

After 13 cruises, thought we would try a mega-liner. After1 day, I would give this cruise 1 star. I went back and looked through many reviews and I'm really surprised at all the glowing reviews!

The ship is big and beautiful, but very crowded. My husband said it was like a busy shopping mall at Christmas- so for all who like that expeirience, you'll love the allure.

Boarding went very well. Arrived at the dock about 12:20, on the ship in 20 minutes. Really this was the only positive expeirience so far...

Walked around a bit to check out the ship, then went to our room. I don't know if its the layout, but seems smaller than our cabins on other cruises- always book ocean view balcony. Storage fair. Looked in the mini bar and there was an open can of coke- gross-

Went up to the windjammer for lunch- impossible. Went to central park cafe and waited in line about half an hour. The food was ok.

Safty drill went smooth.

Dinner was a disaster- have never done my time dining- it is really their time dining. Could not get reservations online, except for 5 or 9. Went down about 7 waited in a long line that was barely moving for 15 minutes and left- most likely would have been an hour wait. Even those with reservations had to wait. Went to the samba grill for a 60$ mediocre dinner, with fair service. The restaurant was only 1/2 full. Since all this took so long we missed our9pm reservations for Chicago. Went in- standing room only - watched for 10 minutes, but didn't feel like standing for 90 minutes.

We then went to the Casino for a bit, forgot they allow smoking- even on the none smoking side- it's smoky. Ick

 

I know I am probably in the minority here,but not liking the Allure.

 

Wish I was back on the Solstace!

[gambee]

It's too early to give your final word, give her a chance and you might be surprised. One that I wil agree with you was that on day one you really feel the crowds, it was pretty bad. After that it was much better.

[marci22]

MTD is always very unorganized the first day or 2 (on any ship). It should get better soon.

 

We were on a very packed ship and it didn't feel crowded, but we didn't use WJ much. Park Cafe is also very crowded the first day but gets less so as the week goes on.

 

Samba Grill always gets mixed reviews.

[Langley Cruisers]

Wow, so negative.... :( but I agree, she is not for everyone but please give it a chance. Once you relax into the sheer size of her and the passenger load, hopefully things will feel more comfortable for you.

 

Best to you.

[sherilyn70]

Haven't done the Allure but did do Oasis. Day 1 was crowded in many areas... but after that I never saw many people. Let everyone get adjusted and I think you'll see things are much better after that. Lunch is a little chaotic becuase everyone wants to eat when they get on board. I'll be curious to see how your day 2 and 3 go. :)

[silvermcs]

We have enjoyed 3 Oasis class sailings at very busy times (spring break and Thanksgiving). The secret to day 1 is lunch at Giovanni's Table. The food is great and NO crowds! Relax, have a nice lunch and a wonderful conversation with the staff. They have very good suggestions and information. Also, we never do MTD, when the kids were younger we did 6pm MDR and now we can do 8:30 MDR. If you do late seating you will go to 10:30pm shows. Works for us but not everyone so pick the time that is best for your family. Also, Samba is the least appealing of the specialty restaurants. Try Chops and Chef's Table; both were excellent on our Thanksgiving cruise. The big ships can be wonderful but you need to know a few tricks. Also, if you can swing a GS or bettter or are D+, you have access to the lounge for breakfast, lunch and happy hour until 8:30pm. Enjoy!

[Cygneagile]

My sister and I are booked on the January 13 cruise. We are flying in on the 12. Just to be certain that will not be boggled down by snow, wind, de-icing and what nots.

We are looking forward to being on this big ship. Once we have experienced this large ship, we then can make an honest assessment. This is like a test. I have been cruising for years so with this cruise we may welcome the large cruise ship and return and then maybe not.

The first day is always extremely hectic. We always take early MDR. I trust we will get great table mates. Sometimes, we have had to change tables.

I will be looking forward in hearing your analyses on the second day.

[slh182]

I'm sorry your first day didn't go well. Hopefully, it gets better. You should have never went to the casino at the end of your bad day lol.

[funfamilyof6]

I'm very sorry you had a negative start on the Allure, hopefully it will get better! :(

[marciab]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions! I am honestly trying to keep a positive attitude and still looking forward to the rest of our cruise. And I have to note, I really am not a negative person, I was trying really hard to remember One bad day or One bad experience on any of our other cruises and I can't !

 

Too early to review day 2.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I hope the rest of your cruise goes better. I think we will just ry and stay low on Day 1 when we go in April!

[TonyFred]

I'll make you an offer. You come do my job and I will finish your cruise. You shouldnt have to put up with such terrible conditions on the Allure.

(I for one fell in love with her and it will be hard to cruise on another ship)

[SRQfireman]

Welcome to day 1 on those type ships.....that's pretty much the normal the things you describe.....now if that continues, I'd be surprised.

Hope things go better for you....I'd guess it will

if not, I guess it's back to the Solstace :D

[philip_g]

Well.... I felt the same way on oasis so you're not alone.

[BillOh]

Been hearing similar situations with MTD, I'm glad I'm happy with late seating traditional dining. I've read many varied reports about this time or that time not being available months in advance. Are you a couple without kids? Crowds are fairly easy to avoid on Allure if you don't need to be around all the dreamworks stuff. Check into a future showing of Chicago. Its a decent show, but a bit long. We looked at the schedule of it and saw the show and made it our late seating dinner. (We knew it would be close so we sat in the balcony for a quick getaway and informed our waiter what we were doing and that worked out great for us. The Windjammer at peak times was teh only place we could avoid crowds, but we only at lunch there once when we stayed on board at Nassau.

[spammie]

Well.... I felt the same way on oasis so you're not alone.

 

We also felt the same way and won't be sailing these mega ships again. We always do MTD, never make reservations before we leave (after all isn't that the point of MTD?) and have never waited more than 10 minutes for a table UNTIL Allure. We waited over 30 minutes every evening for a table no matter what time we showed up. It seemed very unorganized with very cranky people handling the reservations.

 

Try to enjoy the rest of your cruise after all at least you aren't at work. :)

[DISFANS3]

We are going back on the Allure next month, second trip on Allure in six months. It will smooth out by mon or tues.

[gvlgolflady]

I was on the Allure for the second time this past October. On most ships when you first get on board there are a lot of people. This is especially true with the Allure, because everyone is so amazed by the size when entering the ship. We had late dining and our waiter always asked when we sat down if we had a show. We were never late for any of our shows, even on Sunday (day1) to see Chicago.

 

I have a bad allergy to smoke and never had a problem on the non smoking side of the casino. The only time I encountered lots of people was at the parades. Sorry it was a disappointment for you.

 

I love the Allure and will cruise her again.

[philip_g]

We also felt the same way and won't be sailing these mega ships again. We always do MTD, never make reservations before we leave (after all isn't that the point of MTD?) and have never waited more than 10 minutes for a table UNTIL Allure. We waited over 30 minutes every evening for a table no matter what time we showed up. It seemed very unorganized with very cranky people handling the reservations.

 

Try to enjoy the rest of your cruise after all at least you aren't at work. :)

 

well, I've waited longer than 10mins on oasis even WITH a MTD res.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

Really? I was thinking of going on the Oasis/Allure. This is just more reason to stick with Celebrity?

[janetz]

My own thoughts, if you can, try the Allure or the Oasis. They are just so different with so many offerings. The shows, are so good. The best I have ever seen at sea. Dont let a few negatives, and I mean "a few" throw you off. Most things are subjective, depending on your likes and dislikes. We never waited for a table, and we were a party of 6 people. :)

[Langley Cruisers]

Really? I was thinking of going on the Oasis/Allure. This is just more reason to stick with Celebrity?

 

This is just one person's observations on the first day. It is not usually representative of the entire cruise, or we'd certainly hear more complaints about it.

 

Oasis and Allure are not for everyone. I don't think people can poo-poo these ships until you sail them, that's not fair. Those of us who have sailed them have our opinions, but I, for one, certainly waited the entire cruise before deciding if I wanted to sail again or not. :)

.

[tispwisp]

We felt that way about day 1 as well. In fact, DH didn't even want to book, but I talked him into it as I wanted to experience this class of ship. We usually book two weeks at a time and were booked 7 days on the Ruby Princess so this was our chance to try the Allure without committing to 14 days.

 

After day 1 we were ready for the Ruby. No doubt about it the ship is an engineering marvel. We had a hotdog for lunch on the boardwalk (we avoid the buffets) and felt very overwhelmed by the crowds and ship size. Definitely felt a disconnect to the sea as it felt kind of mallish (not as bad as the Epic though). The line for MTD was way long so we went to Izumi on day one and had a fabulous dinner - over ordered though. We ended up waddling out of there! :o

 

Day 2 we were starting to get the hang of it, but were commenting on how we were looking forward to our Princess cruise the following week.

 

By day 3 we were in the swing of things and having a good time. By day 7 - we realized that the Allure was not a traditional cruising experience but a destination in itself. I think we saw and did everything we wanted to - once, but there were things we wanted to do again. Was it a perfect experience - no. But Royal did do so many things right and the staff and entertainment were fabulous. We ended up booking the Oasis B2B next fall to get to some of those places we wanted to spend more time at. --Also I want another go at that zipline! :)

 

As a result, our upcoming spring cruises on the Eclipse will be our traditional cruise feel cruises and our B2B Oasis will be our ship destination cruise. Looking forward to all of them!

 

It will get better for you, I'm sure of it. At least it did for us!

[riclop]

After 13 cruises, thought we would try a mega-liner. After1 day, I would give this cruise 1 star. I went back and looked through many reviews and I'm really surprised at all the glowing reviews!

The ship is big and beautiful, but very crowded. My husband said it was like a busy shopping mall at Christmas- so for all who like that expeirience, you'll love the allure.

Boarding went very well. Arrived at the dock about 12:20, on the ship in 20 minutes. Really this was the only positive expeirience so far...

Walked around a bit to check out the ship, then went to our room. I don't know if its the layout, but seems smaller than our cabins on other cruises- always book ocean view balcony. Storage fair. Looked in the mini bar and there was an open can of coke- gross-

Went up to the windjammer for lunch- impossible. Went to central park cafe and waited in line about half an hour. The food was ok.

Safty drill went smooth.

Dinner was a disaster- have never done my time dining- it is really their time dining. Could not get reservations online, except for 5 or 9. Went down about 7 waited in a long line that was barely moving for 15 minutes and left- most likely would have been an hour wait. Even those with reservations had to wait. Went to the samba grill for a 60$ mediocre dinner, with fair service. The restaurant was only 1/2 full. Since all this took so long we missed our9pm reservations for Chicago. Went in- standing room only - watched for 10 minutes, but didn't feel like standing for 90 minutes.

We then went to the Casino for a bit, forgot they allow smoking- even on the none smoking side- it's smoky. Ick

 

I know I am probably in the minority here,but not liking the Allure.

 

Wish I was back on the Solstace!

For us there is no comparison The allure/oasis wins hands down. I hope you enjoy the rest of the days.