Allure review Jan. 25

[pajazz28]

Background information I am 47 yrs old and my DW is 46. We have been on 6 cruise (3 Carnival and 3 Royal). We ususally travel in January to celebrate our anniversary and reconnect from a very busy life with 3 teenage daughters. WE have done 5 of the cruise for our anniversary and one with our daughter in the summer. I had originally booked an inside room for 606.00 p/p which was the cheapest I had ever seen on the Allure or Oasis. The week before the trip I took advantage of the BOGO 1/2 off to book a balcony guarantee cat. D6 for only 754.00 with a 200.00 OBC. We were assigned a cat. D2 on deck 10 which I quickly called and changed it to Deck 8 behind Park Café on the advice from all my friend on CC/ By the way friends you were right Deck 8 is the place to be on this ship. I made this decision because I cannot see myself in an inside cabin since we booked a balcony on the family trip we have to have the balcony.

 

I have had a difficult time deciding how to write this review. Whether is should be day by day, reviewing different aspects of cruising like dinning, service, entertainment etc. or a comparison between Royal and Carnival. I believe I will be doing them all but I will start with day by day review of our cruise.

 

We live in Miami so my brother and his wife drove us to port everglades and we arrive at 10:45am checking was very easy and then we were escorted to a waiting area for CAS Gold members. During our wait we overheard an RCI employee telling another couple that due to budget cuts they were only getting 5 custom agency for disembark the whole ship. I made a mental note for the end of the cruise. But overall the wait was fine we were onboard by 12pm. Once onboard I was head to Park Café to try there famous Roast Beef Sandwich but before we got there we were approached by a waiter at Giovanni's. We has already decide after looking at the menus online that we would use our OBC to book 3 specialty restaurants and take advantage of the promo 20, 25 or 30 percent off. We book Giovanni's, 150 Central Park, Izumi and Chops Grill so we got 25% off at each. Then we head over to Park Café I guess everybody has a similar idea because it was a little busy not to bad but it was worth it the roast beef sandwich was amazing. My DW had a tuna melt she odes not like an meat unless it is well done and the roast beef was medium, she also enjoyed her lunch. Next we went to Studio B and made a few changes to our show time by the way I agree that everyone should make show time reservation from home on line by there were plenty of time available in all shows onboard including the comedy show. So if for some reason you do not get to make reservation before the cruise just go over to studio B as soon as you get onboard and you should not have any problem booking the shows. Once we finish we went to stateroom at 1pm and it was ready. The only problem was we got the bed next to the door which is a little uncomfortable but not to bad. The balcony was definitely bigger than the other balcony we have has so that was good. Next we were off to explorer this amazing ship I have got to say the neighborhood area incredible the restaurant and shops were all perfectly placed in this neighbors making every outing or event a unique experience. When we arrived at the sport area I immediately went to the zip line, I have zip lined on two other occasion in rain forest so of course it did not compare to those but zip lining on a cruise ship over looking the boardwalk was amazing. After the muster station at the Studio B when well especially the washie washie your hand video they play I will never forget to wash my hand on a cruise ship again, corny and catchy enough to never forget and the talk of the ship amongst passengers why I do not know, very effective. After muster station we went to the Solarium to lay out on a lounge chairs overlooking the forward part of the ship. Unfortunately for the first two or three days every time we laid down we fell asleep right away and when we woke up we were out at sea. We did get to see other cruise ship also leaving out to seas so that was nice. We stay out there until sunset then we went to get ready for dinner at Giovanni's and then Comedy show at 10:30pm, Giovanni's ambience, service and food was amazing, we have come to the conclusion by the end of the trip that it is better in the specialty restaurant to ask the waiters what they recommend because after all they know better than anyone and they never steered us wrong. We had warm mozzarella chesse wrapped in prosciutto for an appetizer, mushroom risotto and spinach crepe with marinara sauce along with entrees of Garlic Shrimp and Short ribs and they were amazing. The tiramisu and cannoli for desert were very good. The comedy show was great it felt like you were at a comedy club back home and the comedians were funny without having to use a bad word every other word that was refreshing. after the show we went to bed looking forward to a great week.

[Diver2014]

only 20 days to go for us on Oasis. Thanks for the little details about things I wouldn't have thought of. Concerning debarkation, what was the earliest time you could get off the ship? DH has a lodge breakfast at 9am Feb 28 in Coral Gables so we were concerned if he would actually be there or not.

[pajazz28]

You can carry off all your luggage at about 6:30am.

 

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[Diver2014]

Good! I was hoping that would be the case. I'm only bringing one suitcase on this cruise - no dive gear this time, no formal wear, just 'smart casual' for dinner. I always take way too many clothes. I just hope they have enough Customs agents on hand in Pt Everglades this time. Only 2 on duty last November.....:eek:

[SF]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review. We leave in a few weeks so any info on Allure is great. We have experienced Oasis so are really looking forward to sailing on her sister. Glad to hear you had a good cruise and waiting to hear more...:)

[renza]

Can't wait to hear more. We are going on oasis in June. Thank you

 

 

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[LuCruise]

Would also love to hear more. We go on allure next year. Did you do eastern or western Caribbean?

[pajazz28]

Western Carribbean

 

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[pajazz28]

I am glad you are enjoining the review and I hope it helps plan and enjoy your cruise. Day 2:

 

I started the morning by visiting guest services I cannot remember why but on my why back to the cabin I stopped off at the Café Promenade and picked up some Danishes and chocolate croissants for breakfast. Upon return to the cabin room service had delivered coffee, fresh fruit for DW and an assortment of Danishes, this is why we like the balcony and a daily event during are cruise breakfast on the balcony. The weather throughout the cruise was awesome sunny and warmer also the sea were pretty much flat look like glass the first four days. After breakfast we went to the fitness center and walked the track on Deck 5 for 2 miles. This track was amazing only people on the deck were people exercising and I really like the facts that the miles markers took the guest work out of it. We only used it a couple of times during cruise but believe me between the size of the ship and the port we walked a lot the entire cruise. After the exercise we went to the Solarium to find lounge chair to relax and we picked up breakfast at the Solarium Bistro and had it on our lounge chair. Again we were so relaxed we fell asleep for about an hour or two. For lunch we went to the MDR I really enjoy being served and I was looking forward to lunch at the main dinning room. On RCI I like to get a tomatoes and fresh mozzarella salad at the buffet and for the first time there were hot food option I had the curry shrimp with white rice, a pork chop the lunch for me was very good. My DW wife has a chicken cesar salad and she says it was alright. WE did not like what was on the desert menu so we went to the windjammer and has a few deserts they were good. Now it was time for us to partake in another cruising tradition for us BINGO. WE always end up talking about our first BINGO called on the Liberty of the Sea he was amazing and hilarious, I believe he is what got us hooked bingo not just the game but the entertainment was exceptional. Well unfortunately this weeks BINGO caller was as bad as our first one was good. They need to find something else for him to do he was not very funny and could not deliver a punch line. He kept saying that it was a tough crowd not really probably a bored crowd, it was very disappointing and it kept us from Bingo till the last Bingo of the cruise. This is when we learned that BINGO was not about the game but about having a good time. Afterward we when to Vintage for a little wine and tapas my wife has become a wine drinker over the past few years and this place was really nice. We order a glass of wine and use one of our BOGO fro our CAS benefits plus we ordered some tapas I believe croquets of some kind which were good but the Manchego cheese on bread was amazing, so much so that we have already purchase some at our local grocery store on the main land. We then return to the cabin for a nap yes sleep again. MY DW and I figure the sleeping was due to how exhausted we were from our daily grind I think we may have been playing catch up. Tonight would be our first dinner in the MDR. We chose My Time Dinning we prefer this because it allows us to g to diner whenever we want and to plan our times around what is happening on the ship. Dinner was good, waiter was very good. WE had our lobster bisque and beef tenderloin and were very happy with it. For desert DW has Chocolate Soufflé which she loved and I had my go to desert Crème Burlee it was very good. On to Chicago our first real taste of how great the entertainment onboard this ship would be. In the past I have been known to fall asleep at this events after stuffing my self at dinner but the singing, dancing and acting was the best I had ever seen on the high seas. it felt as I was back in New York on Broadway, first WOW of the cruise. Before heading to bed we stop off by Sorrento's for our first pizza of the trip very disappointed, fewest pizza I have ever eaten on a cruise it was horrible, it was worse than frozen pizza. I could not tell if it was the dough or sauce but it was bad. Now off to bed to prepare for our visit to relaxing Labadee see you there in the morning. I will be posting early in the morning and maybe at night because I return to work today so I will be a little busy. Please feel free to ask any question I will respond as soon as I can. Have a great Monday.

[LuCruise]

Great description of day 2. So fun to read as can anticipate our trip (way off..ha ha) and wonderful to hear other experiences. Know what you mean as we like being served too and am thinking we'll try the MDR for breakfast on some days. Totally agree with you on My Time as the show times are all over the place so it must work well. And great to hear how good Chicago is...that the show is up to par with Broadway. Sounds like a great day 2 (obviously its a ship day for Western then).

[DCT61]

We were on this cruise as well. I couldn't agree with you more. Although this cruise was our favorite of the 17 we have taken...the pizza sucked. Wow. Just totally without taste.

[SF]

Does Sorrentos on Allure have make your own individual pizza like Oasis? Also, would you happen to know what the two menu choices are for 150 Central Park?

 

Great review.:)

Edited February 2, 2015 by SF

[pajazz28]

Does Sorrentos on Allure have make your own individual pizza like Oasis? Also, would you happen to know what the two menu choices are for 150 Central Park?

 

Great review.:)

 

Yes, you can make your own pizza on the Allure but I did not like the topping they offer they were strange not your regular toppings and even when you made your own it was horrible, I think it is the sauce.

[pajazz28]

Day 3- Labadee, Haiti

 

We began once again with breakfast on our balcony as we were docking in Labadee ( Rom Service for coffee and I went to Park Café and got some Egg, cheese and ham on English muffin and a Panini with melted cheese plus danishes) the sandwiches were really good. We then grab a cup of coffee and went out to the back of deck 5 on the exercise track there are chairs in the aft of the ship were you can sit and enjoy looking out into the ocean. As soon as the first rush of passengers got off we left the ship. Once off on the pier we took a boat from the pier to Columbus Cove we found a little area in front of the cabanas walls were we set up our lounge chair and I rented a floating matt for the day. The weather was great so we just relax and took a couple of dips in the ocean, by the way the water was really cold but good after a few minutes. We shared a Labadosee (that is the Labadde drink) servers walk around offering it and they pour the rum in front of you. We laid out all morning and then went to the BBQ lunch provide by RCI, it was ok, the has salad, jerk chicken ( very good), beef ribs ( ok but tough), corn, and desert. After lunch we went to there inside store for just a few minutes we have been to Labadee two other times and the shopping was the same so we took the trolley that takes you all over the island and headed back to the ship at around 1:30pm. When we returned to the ship we laid out in the Solarium and again took a nap when we awoke for our nap we went to Park Café for coffee and desert on port days Park Café have this desert it is like a cream puff it is delicious do not miss it. Also my wife love their cookie Coconut cookie. DW wife went back to the cabin and I head to the casino. For the second day in a row 3 card poker and blackjack where not very nice and I lost quickly so I was done gambling accept for a poker tournament later in the week. I am starting to think I should just stay away from the casino when I cruise. At night we went to Aqua Theater for the Ocenaria the next WOW of the week. The things they do diving as high as 60 feet in the air into a tiny pool and even more amazing they dive off and they do not come back off they swim under an area that you do not see them come up. The diving, acrobats and dance are really good. If you are going on the Allure the next two weeks the high divers are going to the RED Bull Cliff Diving contest and we not be on the Allure on the ship. Then off to dinner at our second specialty restaurant 150 Central Park the ambiance and service was very good and we chose what we though would be the right menu for us but the fact that they chose the menu and you have no alternative seem to take something away from the experience. My wife is picker than I am and she did not like most of the food. I though it was ok over all our least favorite specialty dinning of the cruise. It was nice to experience it once but I would not do it again. After we were off to another one of our favorite cruise activities the Love and Marriage Game, we love this because they our usually hilarious and my wife and I participate it the game on our first cruise for our honeymoon. DW is shy and doesn't like participating unlike me that I like to participate in everything, so I was fore warned not to volunteer us or else. Next we went to bed Falmouth, Jamaica tomorrow never have been there looking forward to it.

[pajazz28]

Great description of day 2. So fun to read as can anticipate our trip (way off..ha ha) and wonderful to hear other experiences. Know what you mean as we like being served too and am thinking we'll try the MDR for breakfast on some days. Totally agree with you on My Time as the show times are all over the place so it must work well. And great to hear how good Chicago is...that the show is up to par with Broadway. Sounds like a great day 2 (obviously its a ship day for Western then).

 

WE also has breakfast at the dinning room I believe a couple of times and yes we were on the Western Itinerary.

[pajazz28]

We were on this cruise as well. I couldn't agree with you more. Although this cruise was our favorite of the 17 we have taken...the pizza sucked. Wow. Just totally without taste.

 

Pizza was such a disappointment.

[LuCruise]

WE also has breakfast at the dinning room I believe a couple of times and yes we were on the Western Itinerary.

 

Great. There's something nice about being served on vacation isn't it?

 

Enjoyig your review so far. :)

[pajazz28]

Day 4- Falmouth, Jamaica

 

Coffee and hash browns on our balcony waiting to get to the port. 2 mile walk on the track. The Wipeout Café for fresh omelets very good. We have been to Ocho Rios but not Falmouth but we did not book an excursion they were all the same excursions that were available when we went to Ocho Rio on our last cruise. So we got off and look for RCI or private tours w could book at the pier. We ran into and RCI employee and we asked for suggestion she says I have to have an idea what you want to do we have way to many excursions, she did not seem lie she wanted to help us, so we moved on. I saw a trolley tour for an hour around Falmouth for 22.00 p/p and we decide to do it. The name was Historic Falmouth Jamaica and could be booked at the end of the cruise port. The tour guide was excellent and she knew a lot about the history of her county there was a short stop at St. Peter's Anglican Chruch Built in 1796 on top of a cemetery and by the ocean for picture and history on the church. The church was amazing best part of visiting Falmouth. When we return to the cruising pier we had Jamaican Patties and Red Stripe beer for lunch and did some shopping. We return to the ship mid afternoon took a nap in the Solarium and had our afternoon snack at Park Café, I can not say enough about how good the food was at the Park Café all day any time of the day. In the evening we visited our third specialty restaurant Izumi and I had ben trying to get my DW to let me change it for Giovanni's but she insisted and I am glad I did not change it. We had for apps shrimp dumpling and fire cracker spring roll they were amazing as an entrée we split a Philly roll and pork fried rice they were also excellent. We had reservation for the Headliner show but we found out it was a Elton John impersonator and we are not Elton John fans so we skipped it and went to the Battle of the Sexes. As I stayed earlier I participated in the game and my wife did not but it was a load of fun. Tomorrow Day 5 and 2dya at Sea can't wait.

[Skifanatic73]

Hi,

 

When the ship arrives back in Ft Lauderdale at 06:30; are you being thrown of the ship directly, or will you have the chance to have normal (free) breakfast that morning? Do you have any experience with that.

Also, ‘boarding’ the first day, is around 16:30 (no idea if the Western/Easter itinerary have different times, but ok); can you remember what time the ship actually left; do you have an indication what would be the latest time you can actually check-in without a problem (if my flight to Miami has any delay, it might be getting tight, so if the checking is a bit lenient and getting out of Miami airport is extra-slow, I have to stress less in order to rush from Miami airport to Port Everglades.

Hope you can help me, thanks!

[BekkaW]

Hi,

 

When the ship arrives back in Ft Lauderdale at 06:30; are you being thrown of the ship directly, or will you have the chance to have normal (free) breakfast that morning? Do you have any experience with that.

Also, ‘boarding’ the first day, is around 16:30 (no idea if the Western/Easter itinerary have different times, but ok); can you remember what time the ship actually left; do you have an indication what would be the latest time you can actually check-in without a problem (if my flight to Miami has any delay, it might be getting tight, so if the checking is a bit lenient and getting out of Miami airport is extra-slow, I have to stress less in order to rush from Miami airport to Port Everglades.

Hope you can help me, thanks!

 

On the last day you need to be off the ship by about 9am. Breakfast will be available in the main dining room and the windjammer buffet.

 

For boarding, 1630 is VERY late. We usually check in about 11am and are on board by 1130 or 12. Your documents will say what time you must be checked in, its usually 90 minutes before sail away time and there is no leniency because it is a government requirement.

[emmy]

Hi,

 

When the ship arrives back in Ft Lauderdale at 06:30; are you being thrown of the ship directly, or will you have the chance to have normal (free) breakfast that morning? Do you have any experience with that.

Also, ‘boarding’ the first day, is around 16:30 (no idea if the Western/Easter itinerary have different times, but ok); can you remember what time the ship actually left; do you have an indication what would be the latest time you can actually check-in without a problem (if my flight to Miami has any delay, it might be getting tight, so if the checking is a bit lenient and getting out of Miami airport is extra-slow, I have to stress less in order to rush from Miami airport to Port Everglades.

Hope you can help me, thanks!

 

Yep 1630 or 4:30 pm is way too late as that is the scheduled time of departure the first day of the cruise. You should be on the ship by 3 pm

 

She usually departs pretty much on time give or take 10 - 15 minutes but never before the scheduled time of departure

[pajazz28]

Hi,

 

When the ship arrives back in Ft Lauderdale at 06:30; are you being thrown of the ship directly, or will you have the chance to have normal (free) breakfast that morning? Do you have any experience with that.

Also, ‘boarding’ the first day, is around 16:30 (no idea if the Western/Easter itinerary have different times, but ok); can you remember what time the ship actually left; do you have an indication what would be the latest time you can actually check-in without a problem (if my flight to Miami has any delay, it might be getting tight, so if the checking is a bit lenient and getting out of Miami airport is extra-slow, I have to stress less in order to rush from Miami airport to Port Everglades.

Hope you can help me, thanks!

 

The windjammer open at 5:30 am to have breakfast. On our last day we went to the windjammer at 6am had breakfast and when we finish the self serve group was already called so we went to our cabin got our bag and exited the ship. So the answer is yes you can get breakfast before leaving and not they will not throw you off the ship. remember you have your bags with you so you can leave whenever you want.

[pajazz28]

Day 5 At Sea

 

The warm weather and ocean that looked like glass were beautiful. We had our daily coffee on the balcony and later went to the MDR for breakfast. DW wife has eggs benedict and I has fried eggs they were both very good. We decide to laid out by the main pol and get in the Jacuzzi for a little bit. Then we got some drinks and headed to the flow rider to watch some people wipe out. We had a great time as there are always people wanting to try that have no idea what they are getting themselves into, really funny. We had lunch at the Boardwalk- Hot Dog stand which I had try it sooner the Dog were awesome I has Italian sausage with peppers and DW had Coney island and Sat at the Aqua Theater to watch the New Belly Flop contest. The reason I call it new is because the Aqua Theater adds a new dimension it has perfect sitting instead of everybody fighting to get a good look around a pool and it has video replay and camera below the water to see their reaction we really enjoined the contest. Now it was time for our couples message DW had a Swedish message and I had a bamboo message in the same room WOW all I have to say. Make sure that you tell them about your CAS discount because it is not automatically applied and we has to go back later in the cruise and had the manager apply the discount we save about 30.00. After we went to Park Café for our afternoon snack, I cannot say enough about the Park Café, incredible. I wish it was a neighborhood spot here at home. Dinner MDR formal & lobster night, I forgot to mention the last formal night. I am not a formal dress fan and on vacation I want to be comfort so for the first time on a cruise I decide not to dress formerly in a suit, I instead dress in a pair dress slacks and a dress shirt. I made this decision because i have not enjoyed being dressed in the past and there are always people that show up in jeans and the dress code is not enforced so I chose to be comfortable. Lobster was very good. Before dinner we attend the ICE Games and it was really nice show. After dinner we were really tired so tried that we missed our favorite event on a RCI cruise The Quest but they scheduled it for 11:45pm and we tried to stay up but just could not. Maybe it was the great message we had that just got us to relax to much. Maybe next time. Tomorrow Cozumel.

[LuCruise]

Good to hear that you don't actually have to dress up for formal night. Definitely agree that it's better to be comfortable. Yum...looking forward to lobster night. Sounds like a good cruise so far.

[pajazz28]

Day 6- Cozumel

 

Started the day on balcony with coffee, sandwiches and danishes from Park Café. It was beautiful watching our docking from the balcony. We also saw other cruise ships arriving in total I think there were about 5 or 6 in port on this day. When we got off we took a taxi to the Forum for $8.00. The forum was about 3 miles away from the pier on San Marino Avenue, which is ocean front from the port to the shops and it is lined with shops, restaurants and tours attraction. So we decide to go shopping and sight seeing as we walked our away back towards to ship. The had really nice shop on the avenue and then had smaller less expensive shop on the cross streets down the block. Keep in mind the was serving tray my wife wanted to buy and we saw it priced from 92.00 US to 28.00 US so make sure you shop around before buying anything. On our way back we decide to see if we could rent a car for the day it would have been 50.00 to rent a convertible but I got nervous about the fact that if there was an accident we would be responsible for the damage to our car so I back out. I will do more research next time but I would definitely rent one in the future, it look like fun. At lunch we decide to eat at a local restaurant and found one that look really good is called Jeannie's (it was next to Margaritavile) we had margaritas and sol beer with lunch we has a great view of the ocean from our table the food was very good and we enjoyed the whole experience. We tried to walk back to the ship but it was to far and we caught a taxi back for 8.00. Returned to the ship and just relaxed by the pool. At 5pm we went over to Boardwalk and had some more hotdogs man they were good. For dinner later that night we went to Rita's Catina for dinner overall we did not enjoy it the food was not good however they so have a good desert churros with ice cream and you can order it to go and just have it sitting around watching whatever is happening. here is a great idea for a meal or snack at the boardwalk go to the hotdog place and great a hot dog then go to Rita's and get the desert I wish I could do that right now. After dinner we went to the glow party it was ok but it just look like it was a party set up to sell crap that glowed in the dark, they were selling it for two day before and that al they mentioned. After we when to Blue Planet another WOW they take the actors, singers and dancers from Chicago and the acrobats from Oceanaire and put together an amazing show. This is must see there is a point were a tree comes to life right in from of you it is amazing. Time for bed Day 7 our last day at sea.