Observations from Allure, Thanksgiving week

[PAL_1]

Of course we had a wonderful holiday. I say again, we had a great vacation. We made the best of our time despite the Allure's mechanical problems, which RCL was (in my opinion) unforgivably slow to acknowledge, causing us to scale back our excursion plans.

 

Four of us (wife and I, grown kids) booked late (June), which left us with connecting inside cabins on deck 10 forward.

 

Ultimately our big kids (17 and 22), didn't take advantage of the additional amenities (flowrider, rock wall, zipline, skating rink) that are so ballyhooed on the Oasis class. Much of that was due to inclement weather, but also to slow moving lines and inconsistent operating hours. The zipline was so short, they felt it was a waste of effort. They spent most of their time in venues found on most cruise ships: the library, card room, various lounges, the pool area. My son in particular loved the Living Room teen lounge.

 

Our show attendance record was dismal. I say that with more than a hint of humor. My family couldn't be bothered, although my wife and I enjoyed the live music in Jazz on Four and elsewhere. Oh, the comedy show was great, particularly Kivi, the second act. He killed.

 

A few notes that might be helpful to future cruisers. Shuttles to Miami are available at the Allure terminal on a walk-up basis for only $11 / person. That's about a third of RCL's rate, and they leave immediately whereas with RCL we had to wait (possibly hours) for ship clearance.

 

My wife and I have high standards when it comes to dining. We don't care much for mass produced food that sits around. The main dining room service and food was at best average to poor in our opinion, and the Windjammer couldn't match a buffet at a moderate Vegas resort. However, we thoroughly enjoyed many of the specialty dining venues. In particular I can recommend Chops, Vintages, Giovanni's and the Chef's Table.

 

150 Central Park was positioned as fine dining, but the menus were unsophisticated and the wine pairing a poor value ($40+$75), particularly when compared with the Chef's Table which included wine and a beautiful hardcover cookbook (was it $90 each?). The specialty dining service staff couldn't have been better. Top notch.

 

The best bet for fresh cooked breakfast including real eggs was ultimately Johnny Rockets. We ate there six mornings straight, which couldn't have been good for our waistlines but we very much enjoyed it. Friendly, happy service too.

 

The cabin steward was adequate (would you believe we found a previous cruiser's chocolate chip cookie under the desk on disembarkation day, and he kept topping off the shampoo dispenser with water?).

 

My wife and I bought the premium drink package on day 2. I tipped $1 a drink, usually cash. By the end of the cruise the bar staff was calling me by name almost throughout the ship. They brought us drinks to try, and took wonderful care of us that extended to my daughter, who only rarely drinks.

 

The port at Nassau was closed due to poor weather - the ship couldn't get in. As a result, we benefited from one extra hour in St Thomas (10-6:30, close to the original schedule). Our Power Raft Snorkel Trip with Capt Nautica was well operated, with top notch equipment, decent snorkel sites, not too crowded (they only take 20), and they didn't keep us on an excessively short leash. The other boats we saw crammed the cattle in.

 

I arranged my own private island tour on St Martin with a taxi driver who came well recommended (or I wouldn't have 'risked' it). We ate at a locals restaurant and appreciated the uncensored look at island life, hung out at Maho, visited Mullet Bay, a gorgeous and lovely beach with pillowy sand, and spent no more than ten minutes at jumping, touristy Orient Beach.

 

We found downtown Phillipsburg and St Thomas to be a waste of time, with identical mass-market touristy shops and no real local culture. I wouldn't bother again.

 

We're fairly well traveled, usually on the independent side, and I get to many rugged destinations for my work. We don't necessarily need or expect 4 or 5 star accommodations, and we certainly prefer authenticity.

 

This wasn't our first cruise, but our first on RCL. We will cruise again, but I doubt we will select another mega ship or this company. We loved our time in port (remember, we had only two days). Yes, the ship is magnificent. It wasn't enough for us. By the end of the week all of us were feeling like we were trapped in a mall. We'll stick to port intensive cruises from now on.

 

Finally, RCL's communication has tremendous room for improvement. This is endemic: from pre-cruise all the way to on-board. Staff shared incorrect information many times, or were in the dark themselves.

Edited December 4, 2013 by PAL_1

[tarajean1962]

Thanks for your concise, honest review. At least you tried this style of cruising. While we personally love it, we realize it isn't for everyone. Glad you had a pretty good time!:)

 

Tara

[PAL_1]

^Absolutely, you don't know if you don't try. Towards the end of the cruise one of the bar staff asked if the rain and wind were spoiling our vacation. I told him absolutely not. If you can't enjoy a full week off, it's on you.

[sweetpee_1993]

We were on the Allure with you. We have sailed with Disney 7 times, this was our first forray away. 2 years ago the inlaws started discussing a family cruise and this is one the one they chose. That's why we were here. Otherwise, I'd likely have been on another Disney ship. Still, no regrets. I'm glad we tried another cruise line. DH and I can honestly say we had just as good a time on the Allure as we did our last Disney cruise so it's all good.

 

You know I'm right with you on the lack of communication about the mechanical issues and modified port times pre-cruise. ;) I was also a bit vocal on that thread. :p Can you believe the amount of motion we had on such a massive ship??? We loved it but my BiL was sick the first day. My inlaws who had previously sailed the Oasis said they never felt that much motion before. Luckily, they had their patches on and didn't get sick. My FiL is super-prone to motion sickness.

 

The hours for the rock walls and zip line were limited on sunny days but practically non-existant on inclement weather days. It made us very aware of how much the ship depends on these big outdoor activities that they tout as their big pluses. I do, however, have a few great shots of some guys body surfing the waves out of the pools up top before they closed them down. Crazy cool!

 

My boys, 16 & 17, didn't care much for the Living Room. They much preferred the teens programming in the Vibe on Disney. The Living Room is basically a place to meet. Vibe provides that plus a lot of organized program options of fun things to do. There's more choices of activities within the teen group. Plus, my boys typically enjoy more interaction with the councelor staff who hang out with the kids. That was definitely missing for them.

 

We saw the big shows. Oceanaria got canceled on us the 2nd night due to the seas. We saw it the next night. The seas were still rocking and the water sloshing out of the pool bad. I was shocked they still did the high dives. Definitely a testament to the skill of the cast who always managed to hit the water when the ship had rolled to that side and the water level was up. Chicago was amazing. I really loved that. Blue Planet was good but not great. The ice show was quite a little ride unto itself. Very much enjoyed it. I'm totally with you on the comedy show. Kivi killed it. We bought his cd and listened to it on the way home in the car with our 16 yro who couldn't attend the adult show. He was snorting with laughter, too.

 

We're right with you on the standards for dining. We lived in the New Orleans area for many years and currently are in Texas. You gotta bring us food with really mind-blowing flavor to get our attention and don't try to drown a sub-par steak with a sauce to make it presentable. MDR? We went the first 2 nights then stopped. We were in a family group of 12. Not sure if that factors into the off service the first night but it was pretty bad. My beef was waaaaay overcooked and tough. Nothing was memorable except the slow, mixed-up service. Second night the service definitely improved but the food was just "meh" at best. I learned from the night before and ordered my beef medium rare in hopes it'd arrive cooked medium. Bingo! Prob'ly not a good thing to have to order meat undercooked from where you want it but it worked.

 

Chops. I asked the waiter for his recommendation for best flavor. He suggested the porter house. I ordered it medium. It arrived crispy and tough. The waiter plus the maitre d begged to get me another but it took 1.5 hrs from the time we had our appetizers to get the steaks. I wasn't even hungry anymore. I did order a dessert, the red velvet cake. The dessert was Chops saving grace. That was worth the price of admission right there.

 

Cancelled our 150 Central Park. From the sounds of things, we did the right thing.

 

Windjammer, to me, was on-par with cafeteria food....like maybe at a hospital. I found a few things that were okay. Johnny Rockets did have a fab breakfast. Heck, Johnny Rockets had a fab everything. We ate dinner there twice. LOL!

 

Our cabin steward was surprisingly good. She definitely ranks amoungst the best we've ever sailed with.

 

We did the premium beverage package, too. The bottled water addition pushed it over the top for us. We had a few days where we consumed enough cocktails plus bottled water to surpass the daily value. Even for days when we had few if any cocktails, the convenience and bottled water were well worth it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We quickly found our favorite bar/bartender (On Air / Roland) and he was an angel to us. Loved him so much. Final night we left him a huge tip plus a half dozen red velvet cupcakes. He loved those cupcakes. :p

 

My hubby watched us approach Nassau. He said it wasn't looking good. The pilot boat did attempt to get up next to us but then it bounced violently off the side of our ship and they veered off. He said that pilot boat would go down a wave and completely dolphin dive beneath the water. It was crazy out there that morning.

 

St. Thomas was a total madhouse for the taxis. Ugh. Our little eco-tour on Hassel Island was really fascinating, tho, and I found a message in a bottle. Very cool.

 

St. Maarten was our best day. Hubby is a huge aviation fan so it was all day at Maho or bust. We were really worried about the rain squals. By this time I was pretty much over being rained upon. 2 squals before we exited the ship. 1 squal on the way over the mountain to Maho. Sunshine and all happy for the duration. Cannot complain. The day was perfect! Parked at a table in the shade with a view at Sunset Bar. We were right next to the speaker box so we could hear the air traffic control transmissions. Each plane coming or going my guys would run out on the beach with cameras/iPhones. 8 cocktails, a couple pitchers of ice water, 4 or 5 sodas, some appetizers, a few lunch entrees, and our 4 hours at Sunset cost us $112+tip. What a bargain! We're definitely going back to St. Maarten on a dedicated vacation. Gotta see the "heavies". It's not done until we do.

 

Did you hear the "horn battle"? I say that with "" because it wasn't much battle. The Royal Princess had the theme from The Love Boat. We had a honk. Thank you, Royal Princess for sharing your awesome sauce with us!

 

My family all agreed, after St. Maarten we were ready to be home. But we had 2 more days of cruising.

 

The ship. It's definitely an amazing ship. Won't deny that. Very well kept (with the exception of the azipod issue). It did feel like a huge space all chopped up into smaller spaces. If any of the smaller spaces got busy they easily became overwhelming. And whoever decided the Promenade would be a good place for Zumba needs to be slapped. Nobody can walk past. It's insane.

 

Were you disappointed at the lack of Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving??? From what I had read I expected to see some on Friday, Saturday at the latest. Still next to nothing out when we left the ship Sunday morning. The Christmas music in the Promenade on Friday and Saturday especially with the "sales" was a bit off-puting with no holiday visuals to carry thru.

 

After much discussion during and after the cruise we likened the ship to a large house with lots of rooms. Rooms for everything. That's cool and nice to visit and all but it's not for us. We've lived in a lot of houses and our favorite was the smallest with the open spaces that were one. I think that is reflective in our preference for ships. We prefer smaller with smart, open spaces.

 

No regrets. Very glad we sailed the largest cruise ship in the world. Wouldn't book it again, tho. Interested to try a smaller RCI ship in the future. Mega ships just aren't for us, either. :cool: