Thankful to be on the Allure 11/23/14 Mini Review

[ksawyercruiser]

Hello! We were on the Thanksgiving sailing. And what a fantastic sailing!!! This trip truly made me remember why I love RCI and cruising so much. I don't have time to do a full review but will give you my thoughts ...

 

Cabins

We had two cabins side by side on Deck 7. They were Boardwalk view cabins with a porthole at the back of the ship. Our cabins were directly over Johnny Rockets. There were four of us on the sailing ... so my husband and son (17) took one cabin and my daughter (11) and I took the other. But we all bounced back and forth.

 

We had originally booked an OV balcony, but I downgraded after final payment and got two cabins for the price of the OV balcony. (Thanks, Royal!)Best decision I could have made. the extra bathroom and closet more than made up for the loss of the balcony. And my kids didn't fight over what to watch on TV when they were in for the night.

 

No complaints at all about these cabins. They are perfect for two people. I would book again. Deck 7 was a fantastic location. Up one flight to Central Park, down one flight to Boardwalk.

 

Ship

The ship was absolutely beautiful ... just as I remembered from our cruise two years ago. I enjoyed this cruise even more than the first because I felt no real pressure to do everything. The staff was incredibly helpful and friendly. Really top notch.

 

Dining

This was the first time we didn't eat in the MDR. My husband I went on the Liberty the following week and we were planning to only eat at the MDR on that cruise. So we decided to forego our table in the Allure's MDR (alerting the dining staff, of course) and tackle all the specialty restaurants.

 

Chops: We ate at Chops on Thanksgiving. Great food, great service. My son devoured his steak. My husband also enjoyed his. My daughter ordered a chicken breast off the kids' $9 menu. And I had a crab cake for my entrée. Sides were delicious -- mashed potatoes, mushrooms and asparagus. Appetizers were also good -- forest mushroom soup and shrimp cocktail. We missed the roasted potatoes from the old menu. But all in all, a great meal.

 

Giovanni's: We made the mistake of reserving it for night #1 and it was beyond crowded. The servers were running around like crazy. It was chaotic and noisy. And my entrée was overcooked. Everyone else enjoyed their meals. And the caprese salad was yummy. Not the relaxing, pampering first night meal I had envisioned. But I will go back since we had such a great dinner there on our previous sailing.

 

Samba Grill: I know this restaurant has received mixed reviews but we all thoroughly enjoyed our dinner here. The meats were delicious and the "appetizer bar" was very good. We didn't get to try all the different meats ... we filled up too fast. But there's always next time!

 

Rita's Cantina: We went on a non fiesta night. Meh. Not bad, not great. We wouldn't go there again.

 

Izumi: Wonderful food, but pricey. I would eat there again to grab a couple sushi rolls for lunch. But we won't go back for dinner.

 

150 Central Park: Our first time dining there -- and it won't be our last. Wonderful food, fabulous service. My husband and I split a wine pairing. I would highly recommend sharing the pairing. It was still a lot of wine. This restaurant is well worth the extra $$$.

 

 

We ate dinner in the Windjammer one night. No complaints. It was nice and quiet, and I enjoyed the Indian curry dishes. Park Café was excellent as always. Love the salads and roast beef sandwiches. Johnny Rockets was good as well. And Sorrento's did the trick to satisfy late-night munchies.

 

More to come!

[ksawyercruiser]

Entertainment

Simply spectacular. Ocean Aria was great. We missed this show on our last sailing, and I'm so glad we got to see it.

 

Chicago was phenomenal. (If you go, this is the Broadway version ... not the movie version. There are no sets. It's an orchestra and the singers/dancers.) We sat in the front row and loved every second. We saw the last show for the current cast. The cast had been on board for six months and were being replaced with a new cast. I brought my 11 year old and she loved it. There are a couple swear words and the dancing is suggestive. But no worse than a Britney Spears video. ;)

 

Ice Games was good. I'm not sure what drugs the person was taking when he/she created that show but it's pretty fun ... especially for kids. The featured ice skater was amazing. Best part of the show.

 

How to Train Your Dragon on Ice was a cute way to spend 30 minutes. My daughter really enjoyed it.

 

We also watched a DreamWorks show in the Aqua Theater. "Let You Entertain Me." Also very cute. There is a "secret" deck to watch the Aqua Theater shows on Deck 7 next to the Rock Wall entrance. Check it out.

 

We didn't make it to Blue Planet this time and didn't see the headliner either.

 

Ports of Call

We stayed on the ship in Nassau since we were only there for a few hours. We took a family flowrider lesson (around $270 for four of us) instead of doing an excursion. Really fun. Do it early in the cruise so you can enjoy the flowrider for the majority of the sailing.

 

St. Thomas was our only real major disappointment on this cruise. We had planned to spend the day in St. John but the Allure has propulsion problems so we got into St. Thomas much later than planned. Our excursion was refunded and Royal gave us a $100/per cabin credit. Other passengers received $150. I think it was based on category. That was a really nice and unexpected gesture.

 

St. Maarten was great. We went to Maho beach to watch the planes and then walked to Mullet Bay to enjoy the beach. Mullet is about a 15-20 minute walk and is much quieter and much prettier than Maho. We did this on our own.

 

Almost done ... :)

[tinaky1114]

Kim, you and Tom are back! A week without you and I have been having withdrawals...lol

 

Sorrentos for a late night snack? A few times!!!

 

 

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[ksawyercruiser]

Awww thanks, Tina! We miss you too! Liberty was great but we missed our role call buddies and Those Girlz.

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.