Allure Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5/11 Sailing

[hipster1]

HI Lyndamr!

Nice to know you can get a seat on the Rising Tides...and you answered a question I was going to ask..can you still get a sit down breakfast in the MDR. For the last few cruises, we have really enjoyed this over the Windjammer...Nice to know its still available on Allure.

 

Just goes to show what a great half off sale can do! I really never had an interest in the Oasis class ships..they didnt GO anwhere, but with the sale goin on, we decided it was a great time to try it..and now Im really getting hooked!:p

 

Ali

[Cruisegirl6]

Your going to love her the best Ali!

We also are tired of the same ports, we been there so many times, done it all would like to see different ports added but they don't. I want to go back on this ship but she goes to europe next year but I still have her sister ship the Oasis, only its the same old ports but it is the ship what counts.

[cruisingis1]

Another vote for Boardwalk balcony. We had 10717 (7 cabin from the aft) end of April and always had the breeze. Nice view of the ocean and the AquaTheatre, and full view of the boardwalk. Enjoy seeing the carousel!

 

No noise once you close (and lock!) the balcony door, and we are just above JohnnyRockets, opposite Rita's Cantina.

 

You can have ocean view any ships. You can have park view any cities. You can only get BOTH ocean view and boardwalk view on the Allure/Oasis.

 

 

Sent using Tapatalk. Sorry for typho.

Exactly about the uniqueness of the Boardwalk balconies. I have Stateroom 9729 on August 24th Sailing and am SO excited about it. Very close to the boardwalk and Aqua theatre that I don't even need to use my reservation for the show. Watching the action on the boardwalk will be fun too from so close.

Also, Lyndamr, Can you tell me if they had French toast at Windjammer and can you get 2nds or 3rds? Yes, I LOVE French Toast!

Edited May 21, 2014 by cruisingis1
mis-spellings

[Cruisegirl6]

LETS TALK ABOUT NIGHTLY SHOWS!

 

We were booked to see Chicago the second evening only we all decided we didn't want to go since we all seen it on broadway. I heard many say that there were parts that were left out that they would of like to see but this is not coming from me, I do like to hear Becci or Dave whether you went to Chicago and how was it?

 

I believe it was the second evening where they had the 80's flashback show on the promenade deck, this was the only time where you would see so many passengers but everybody was spread out it was ok. The best place to watch it is right at the photo shop, you look down onto it if you do not want to actually be down with all the people. The party continued in Dazzles, where we sat on the second level overlooking everybody dancing on the dance floor.

 

The fourth night I think was the 70's party this was great, so much wonderful 70's music and Ken Rush our cruise director was a hit lol We lucked out and found seats right in the front in the Schooner Bar where we were able to sit and look down to watch.

 

Another evening we went to Dazzles where they had a motown dance party. The DJ is wonderful and played great music, so many people were dancing.

 

We went to the Glow party on night 6 in Studio B, it was also the second most crowded place but again, everybody was happy singing and dancing. You can sit in the chairs (this is the ice skating showroom) and so many people had necklaces, rings and such glowing it was pretty. We were on the top level watching everybody dance and having a good time.

 

One evening we went to the Reggae party up in the Viking Crown Lounge and listened to some neat reggae and regular music of the islands. Its really pretty up here during the night.

 

We saw Blue Planet, certainly not what we expected at all, we thought it was more of a cirque du soleil show but it was nothing close to it. There was some decent music if you like that type of music and it was just ok, we really didn't enjoy it.

 

Ice Skaing Show it was very nice and entertaining watching the skaters and listening to the music they skate to but it did not give us the wow as the other skating shows did on other ships, but certainly something not to be missed.

 

 

There were other things to do on the ship such as:

Comedy Shows were shown nightly

Jazz Band playing on level 4

Boleros was always hopping with people dancing to salsa music

Bow and Stern every night was filled with people singing with the entertainer

Dazzles had bands playing before and after dinner

Blaze had music of today where you can dance on the dance floor

Schooner Pub at times had the guy singing at the piano and everybody singing along with him, I have to say he was not good off beat on most songs but people seemed to have a good time

There is a jazz band that plays in central park nightly

Karoke was a hit each evening

 

KEN RUSH IS one of the BEST cruise directors I ever had in the past many years, he really is THERE in all the major events and you see him and hear him, he really is into it all. I loved his glow clothes during the parties it was really neat and you can tell he loves what he does, he is so upbeat and happy and really makes everybody feel happy and welcomed, the best@

 

There were so many things going on its impossible to see and do it all, this ship surely is the best one to go back on and also to do a B2B for those who are interested.

 

This is Ken during one of the 80's parties up on the Rising Tide Bar,he really was funny and he can sing too haha

 

 

 

70'S PARTY CONTINUED AT DAZZLES:

 

 

 

THE GLOW PARTY:

 

Edited May 21, 2014 by lyndamr

[Cruisegirl6]

Cruisingis1 I have to be gluten free so most of the time I just overlook these items and not pay attention, but I do recall some of my family eating french toast I would believe since I seen it they would have it daily in the windjammer, and I am positive it be on the menu in the main dining room. There was also pancakes too and they had whipped cream to and some toppings for the pancakes and french toast. Yes, you can have as much as you want. :D

 

I personally don't care for the boardwalk balconies but thats just me, but I noticed you got the very end stateroom so if I had to choose that be the one I would want as you can see more of the ocean there and yes, you will see the aqua show perfectly there too!

Edited May 21, 2014 by lyndamr

[cruisingis1]

Cruisingis1 I have to be gluten free so most of the time I just overlook these items and not pay attention, but I do recall some of my family eating french toast I would believe since I seen it they would have it daily in the windjammer, and I am positive it be on the menu in the main dining room. There was also pancakes too and they had whipped cream to and some toppings for the pancakes and french toast. Yes, you can have as much as you want. :D

 

I personally don't care for the boardwalk balconies but thats just me, but I noticed you got the very end stateroom so if I had to choose that be the one I would want as you can see more of the ocean there and yes, you will see the aqua show perfectly there too!

Thank you, Lyndamr. Really excited about the Allure. Been absorbing all kinds of great reviews like yours, Bugsys', Gambees' etc. By the time I'm on her, It will be like being on her the 2nd time. If I couldn't get the cabin I got, I probably would have gone to Central Park balconies.

[Cruisegirl6]

Cruisingis1 your welcome if you have any questions feel free to ask.

[April29]

I love the minute details you are providing.

 

It's the exact same things I would notice.

 

Thanks !

[Cruisegirl6]

Your welcome more to come later on. :D

[TKcruises]

We were on this sailing, it was our second time on the Allure, have also been on the Oasis twice. The doors to the Boardwalk were completely closed off, you couldn't even see out there when the crew had their party. There was a sign on the doors that said closed for private function or party. Soooo, we went up to the pool and sports deck and looked over the railing, the large screens both read something like "congratulations on 60 days accident free." There was a band playing on the pool, and it was clear Johnny Rockets and Rita's Cantina were both open for the crew.

We went to Chicago (our second time). I wanted to leave half way through. I did not care for the singing this time around... personal preference of course. Same thing for Blue Planet, I don't believe any of the music was original and when they sang She's Like the Wind, I believe Patrick Swayze originally sang for Dirty Dancing, oh I cringed. So did my daughter who wasn't even alive for Dirty Dancing but knows the song! My daughter called most of the performances cheesy. The lead performers from Chicago were in Blue Planet.

I agree with Lyndamr as far as the Windjammer goes, seating was easy, I never felt it was crowded in there. Even saw Captain Johnny coming out one day at lunch with a plate of food... now why didn't we just follow him!! ;)

[Dave85]

We didn't care for Chicago either, I was actually dozing for most of it LOL. Blue Planet was okay, I liked some of the music. DW and I agreed that the shows were better on Oasis.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[Dave85]

One related comment on the shows, curious to hear if the other Allure 5/11s agree with me:

 

The number of seats they reserve in the Amber Theater for suite guests is asinine. Let me quickly add that I have no problem at all with them offering this perk for suite guests, I think it's a great benefit. However, the number of seats they're blocking off needs to be reasonable in consideration of the number of suite guests likely to attend. This was not so on the Allure. They were blocking off basically the entire middle section of the balcony in Amber theater, when, at most, 1 or 2 rows of suite guests (and usually fewer) were showing up to take advantage of these seats. They would then "release" this entirely empty section of seats at almost the exact same time that the standby folks were waltzing in, allowing all of them to take advantage of this prime seating.

 

IMHO this ridiculous situation penalized non-suite guests who made reservations and showed up as directed. Again, I have absolutely no objection with them offering this perk, but it needs to be executed better in the Amber Theater. I do not recall this issue on either of my Oasis sailings, where I think the amount of reserved seating in the Opal Theater was far more reasonable.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Dave85

[ttnc4me]

Thank you for taking the time to write this out. It's very helpful.

[Cruisegirl6]

TKcruises glad I didn't go to Chicago, do you feel their show quality is going downhill on RC or do you feel its a hit or miss depending on what they showing?

 

I will get to my specialty dining by tomorrow, another thing that I feel declined.

 

I also saw Captain Johnny a number of times, mainly at the specialty restaurants and around Central Park, he is truly funny, sorry I didn't get up to speak to him just figured he didn't want to be bothered. He seemed like a funny guy. I never seen a captain as many times on a week long cruise but the captain was all over his ship for sure....so wished I spoke to him had a few opportunities just like you had it too whats wrong with us!! LOL

 

Dave, I didn't go to Chicago but went to Blue Planet and I didn't find that happening in this show, we sat in row 12.

 

ttnc4me your welcome my pleasure.

 

More to come later, have to cook dinner.

[Dave85]

 

 

 

Dave, I didn't go to Chicago but went to Blue Planet and I didn't find that happening in this show, we sat in row 12.

 

 

I should clarify that this was only taking place up in the balcony. Were you up there for Blue Planet?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[Cruisegirl6]

I was on lower level.

[kkaren]

One related comment on the shows, curious to hear if the other Allure 5/11s agree with me:

 

The number of seats they reserve in the Amber Theater for suite guests is asinine. Let me quickly add that I have no problem at all with them offering this perk for suite guests, I think it's a great benefit. However, the number of seats they're blocking off needs to be reasonable in consideration of the number of suite guests likely to attend. This was not so on the Allure. They were blocking off basically the entire middle section of the balcony in Amber theater, when, at most, 1 or 2 rows of suite guests (and usually fewer) were showing up to take advantage of these seats. They would then "release" this entirely empty section of seats at almost the exact same time that the standby folks were waltzing in, allowing all of them to take advantage of this prime seating.

 

IMHO this ridiculous situation penalized non-suite guests who made reservations and showed up as directed. Again, I have absolutely no objection with them offering this perk, but it needs to be executed better in the Amber Theater. I do not recall this issue on either of my Oasis sailings, where I think the amount of reserved seating in the Opal Theater was far more reasonable.

 

I totally agree with this. We arrived half an hour before the show started but were not allowed to sit there. One couple who arrived about 15 minutes before the show started sat there and were asked to move as they did not have gold cards. They refused. As it was only a few minutes before anyone could sit there nothing was done.

[TKcruises]

I agree with the saving if those seats and then opening them up just as the stand by lines come in. We always sat in the balcony, to the left side and watched that happen night after night. Except for Blue Planet. They only blocked off one side of the middle balcony area.... I know this for certain because my daughter found the young man who also worked on the sports deck to be rather good looking, and he always stood on the left side of the middle balcony with the sign. He was not there for Blue Planet.

Lyndmar, For me, it was solely the singing that turned me off... i love most of the songs from Chicago and some of them were ruined by the 'over singing' if that makes sense. Aren't the broadway type shows outsourced? So it isnt exactly Royals fault? And jts all in the eyes of the beholder...or ears!

[Cruisegirl6]

NIGHT 3 DINNER IZUMI

 

We decided to dine at Izumi since were were unable to get other dining arrangements at other specialty restaurants. This trip we just wanted to avoid all main dining room dinner and just do the specialty restaurants, but all our past cruises we normally did 4/5 specialty restaurants and 2/3 dining room dinners. In the past we were always wowed by the specialty dining so we figured lets do 7 nights specialty dining during this cruise.

 

As you read above, our overall dining at Chops on night 2 was just good, nothing special and nothing blew us away in saying we loved it. We did have another reservation and figured lets all try other things and see how the food is, maybe we also had a "bad night".

 

Our friend the head waiter that we talked to in the windjammer during lunch upon boarding made us this reservation. We had reservations for 7pm and when we arrived they had a table ready right at the entrance and said a better table next to the window was opening up that the people are getting ready to leave if we wanted that one instead. Surely we said yes and waited to be seated at that table.

 

We sat down and were immediately greeted by our waiter who had a very nice smile, was cheerful and excellent overall. He went over our options what we could have and he knew I had to be gluten free and told me items that I can order that will be gluten free. There were only a handful of suggestions for me as I also don't really eat seafood but there were items I can have.

 

I really wanted some type of soup, thought before I got there that I ask instead of noodles maybe I could get rice noodles or rice in my soup but I was told the broth is not homemade it is purchased, so no soup for me.

 

Everybody ordered appetizers except for myself and enjoyed it thoroughly. For main course my sister in law ordered soup which came in a huge bowl filled with undone noodles, vegetables and some type of meat. The rest of the 6 of us had the hard rock, now, I have to say what a wonderful idea it was and how unique and fun, but at the same time it lacked food!

 

Two of us ordered the chicken and 3 of us ordered the beef tenderloin. They bought the hot rocks to our table nice and popping hot and also served us fried rice as a side dish which was very good. When the meal came to us, there were only 7 small slices of beef tenderloin/chicken that came with 2 PIECES of bok chou along with 4 small thin sliced carrots and two thin stalks of broccolini. This is no way enough for a main course but if you eat many different appetizers and have soup it can be filling, but all of us that had the hot rock agreed not much food there should of been more.

A few of us did run into problems cooking out meat because it would stick to the hot wok it really needs some spray/oil so this doesn't happen.

Desserts were unimpressive totally and none of us had any.

 

Our waiter was very tentative to our needs such as refills on wine and drinks and the service was excellent. I rate Izumi very good.

This would be an excellent place to have a lunch but I have heard the hot rocks are not served during lunchtime.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2014 by lyndamr

[Cruisegirl6]

TKcruisers I agree its not RC fault that the shows must be tweaked, its just that when you see the long real version the shorter version tends to be a bit disappointing and you know what to expect so its not as interesting than somebody who never saw the show attends on the ship and of course they will like it a lot, they can't compare it to to the long version show.

Your correct it depends upon the person, for my other half and myself we could't care less if we never seen a show on a ship, we don't cruise for the shows but its nice to have and many people enjoy the shows. Thats what I like about cruises we have so many options to do or not do.

[Cruisegirl6]

NIGHT 4 SAMBA GRILL:

 

All 7 of us has eaten at Brazillian Steakhouses numerous times and at different restaurants. We never had any negative experiences in fact all our experiences at these places always wowed us but this truly was and we all agree "THE MOST HORRIBLE DINNER WE EVER HAD ON ANY CRUISE".

(now remember, we are all different when it comes to food, what is great to me may not be great to another and visa versa, but taking into consideration we are 7 adults between the ages of 22 and 75 and if not one of us even said it was just good then I assure you it wasn't)

 

SALAD BAR:

 

Brother and sister in law asked the waiter if they can fill up the salad bowl as it was emptied, it took nearly 19 minutes for them to do so perhaps it took longer.

 

There were artichokes which were on the hard side

Very scarce chunks of two types of cheeses which was warm and mushy

Roasted peppers

Corn Salad

Mozerella balls and tomatoes

Calamari salad

Olives which were very tasty

Thinly sliced meats such as serrano, proscuitto, suppersata (these plates of meat did not contain many slices and were spread out evenly to appear as if there was a large amount)

Honestly, there were other items but nothing that did anything for me, and certainly this was the worst salad bar in any brazillian establishment that I ever been to. Generally you go to one and the salad bars are so huge, so many items all tasty and delicious that you overeat, well trust me, you won't overeat at this salad bar lol.

 

The waiter told us there was clam chowder and black bean soup we went all around the salad bar to find the soup then asked the waiter where can we find it he says he will bring it out to us. Some of us had the soup, I didn't, and it took nearly 20 minutes to get that.

 

They do not have the red/green cards for the table what they do is there is this small statute thing that when you turn the button it turns the colors.

 

We turned the statute to the color showing we would like to be served with the main entree's. The waiter came to the table with a small bowl of steak fries that had three small plantains in each, two bowls were given to our table of each side. They also gave us broccolini and mushrooms. These are not your typical sides for a true brazillian steakhouse! I was expecting to get black beans, rice, dish of plantains and grilled pineapple, items that are always served at these types of places, but not one! A huge disappointment here.....

 

The waiter asked how we liked our meat cooked, half of us said medium rare (as I love medium rare) and half said medium, the waiter made a comment that was good because he only could serve the meat two ways, I truly believe the meat even though was in a chunk its a lot smaller and less than would be served to you at real brazillian steakhouses and it only can be cooked two ways, if somebody wanted well done, that could not be done, this is how the waiter lead us to believe.

First came the chicken thighs...ugh....I past on it because it looked so very dry and family who did try it said it was too dry and chewy. Next came the sausage, again, not the very good tasty sausage you get at these places, it was bland and just ok, all of us didn't go for seconds on the chicken and sausage. The beef tenderloin came out (so they call it beef tenderloin but not one of us said it tasted like beef tenderloin in fact we feel its sort of like a mock steak) it was good but lacked flavor and seasoning also it was ok. Then came the ribs, they didn't look like ribs in fact looked like tiny pieces of meat (probably boneless not sure) that were burnt and overcooked, two of us tried it and they left it on the dish, then came the sirloin which was the best piece of meat served here, I rate it good. Next came the pork loin, again looked extremely dry, one of us tried it and said it was dry and chewy....then came the lamb chops, my daughter and I don't like lamb the others tried it said it was ok, then lastly came the brisket and the skirt steak...well, sister and I tried the skirt steak as I don't really buy that type of meat at home, I was curious...needless to say it tasted like grease/fat/duck fat something real bad and that was the last thing she and I ate so we had this very terrible fatty taste in our mouth from it that lingered on and on, until my other half gave us some spearmint gum to choose thankfully we got rid of that taste! The desserts were unimpressive and after having that meal that we did not like at all we just left.

 

When we got back into the ship all of us looked at one another and all said pretty much the same time it was the worst meal we ever had on a ship!

 

We NEVER EVER would recommend this place ever to anybody and we never will go back.

Edited May 22, 2014 by lyndamr

[Dave85]

NIGHT 4 SAMBA GRILL:

 

All 7 of us has eaten at Brazillian Steakhouses numerous times and at different restaurants. We never had any negative experiences in fact all our experiences at these places always wowed us but this truly was and we all agree "THE MOST HORRIBLE DINNER WE EVER HAD ON ANY CRUISE".

(now remember, we are all different when it comes to food, what is great to me may not be great to another and visa versa, but taking into consideration we are 7 adults between the ages of 22 and 75 and if not one of us even said it was just good then I assure you it wasn't)

 

. . .

 

We NEVER EVER would recommend this place ever to anybody and we never will go back.

 

Couldn't agree more, Samba Grill was HORRIBLE. My message to Royal in the comment survey was simple: either do it right or abandon the concept. The current product is unacceptable.

Edited May 22, 2014 by Dave85

[Cruisegirl6]

I also added a similar comment in the surgery David.

 

Sorry you had a bad meal to but we know not to go back next time and hopefully save other future passengers the experience.

[Cruisegirl6]

NIGHT 5 DINNER CHOPS:

 

As you read from an older post I made, we really didn't care for Chops but we figured lets try it one more time. This experience got even worse!

 

We had reservations for 7:30, party of 7 as you know. We were seated at a nice table, half round booth and the remainder of the table had chairs. The tables and chairs in Chops here are very crowded and it is somewhat difficult for the waiters to pass by without maneuvering their bodies to get around the chairs.

 

My brother in law was sitting and kept getting bumped by people walking by to and from their tables and going to use the rest room, the waiters also continued bumping into his chair. My daughter in law was seated next to him, had the same problem but the lady in back of her sat closer to the table so she didn't have as much problems.

 

Our waiter introduced himself he was pleasant but seemed to lack enthusiasm but that didn't bother us. He took our drink order and came back with the drinks but when he placed the bread on the table, he tipped over my brother in laws glass of wine which he didn't even start drinking yet. The waiter cleaned it up and placed a clean napkin over the area of the tablecloth that had the wine. He then proceeded to take our order and upon taking my sister in laws menu, he nearly tipped her water over. He went into the kitchen and this is when we heard a loud crash, waiters dropped a tray of dishes with food on them. Lets just say it was a very noisy experience with lots of problems.

 

I have to be both gluten and dairy free and don't eat seafood so my choices were limited for me. My father in law and sister in law had the jumbo shrimp they said it was good. I ordered the chop salad with oil and vinegar as I cannot have any dressing and when the water came he poured it over my salad and drenched my entire salad with balsamic vinegar! I could not eat most of it.

We all ordered different things for main course, but this time instead of ordering the porterhouse I ordered the filet mignon as so did my daughter. I ordered my meat medium rare it came medium to well done and my daughter ordered it the same to get medium. We never send food back so we just ate it but it was not memorable at all. I don't think any of us really enjoyed our meal here.

 

The waiter was very tentative to making sure we had water and our drinks he did excellent here but this dining experience lacked so much of what used to be. We all felt that Chops did decline throughout the past two years, last year we went on the Freedom of the Seas we had some hit and misses in Chops but now it has gotten worse. We truly believe the quality and now the selection has declined, we probably won't be coming back to Chops.

 

I know that I am sounding negative on my specialty dining experiences, but food is not the only reason why we are on this ship. This ship in so many other ways made up for these negative experiences that yes, we would go back on the Allure and the Oasis in a heartbeat only we would probably not do the specialty dining next time and go to the main dining room.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2014 by lyndamr

[Cruisegirl6]

NIGHT 6 GIOVANNI'S:

 

This is our second dining experience at Giovanni's on this cruise. As the first time, the wait staff was excellent, always had a smile and tentative to our needs. You definitely feel that the staff here is more friendly, more experienced and everybody had smiles on and was pleasant.

 

I did not care for the cappachio last time due to the fact that it was paper thin and there was no way you can pick up the beef without needing to scrap it off in pieces from the dish. We ordered the antipasto again which was EXCELLENT, full of artichokes, olives, cheeses, arugula, italian meats, roasted peppers, sardines (beware if your like me and don't like sardines). We also got the gnocchi which I was unable to eat as it contained cheeses/dairy but everybody loved it.

 

My daughter and I again ordered the beef tenderloin, tender, cooked to perfection but again needed seasoning. Honestly I still rate a steak at Longhorn to be tastier but to each their own right? I had no problem ordering a baked potato and the sides came out family style. Our family had the jumbo shrimp which they said was good, the chicken breast was good and two family members had the veal ossobuco and said it was very good.

 

 

I rate this meal very good and service excellent.

 

Edited May 22, 2014 by lyndamr