Allure Review June 21, 2015

[auxxcay]

We sailed june 21st out of Barcelona. I was worried about the two embarkation days but it was no big deal. I actually liked it better as the ship just seemed to go on as normal. All the usual restaurants were open .and there did not seem to be a big rush to get off. It did seem like most of the passengers got on and off in Barcelona. When we got to rome the on,y thing we noticed is we had to use the aft gangway to go ashore as the forward one was reserved for those who were disembarking. Once we returned to the ship we heard the muster drill call but that was it. Our disembarking was really easy since there was no immigration or customs. Beauty of sailing within the EU.

 

The ship had just come out of dry dock and looked great. Everything was clean and tidy. Loved Sanor for the quacamole and liked that you could order a la carte and it's out in the boardwalk with some chips, guac and a beer or margarita . Loved the new tepanyaki tables at Izumi. Our chef Orlando is one of the best Tepanyaki chefs I've ever had.

 

Food - after two previous disasters with My Time Dining we had regular early dinning. It was nice to have our table and staff even though we did only eat there 3 nights. The food and service in the main dining room was very good. I believe the quality of the food had improved . The service was back to the level of 5 years ago. We also went to Chops which is worth the increased price. The food quality is much improved. Giovanni's was our last specialty restaurant and met our expectations from previous voyages. We had breakfast in the solarium, main dining room buffet and wipe out cafe. All were good. Brits will like the Wipe Out cafe which has beans, brown sauce scones and black pudding. We on,y had lunch on the sea day and went to Vintages for a quiet peaceful lunch of wine and tapas. We did miss having the flights of wine though.

 

Cabin - we had a balcony suite on deck 12. It was very convenient. Our cabin attendant was very good. It was as expected.

 

Shows and entertainment. We saw OceanIria the first night and it was fun. I was disappointed that there was only one person who did only one high dive. Mama Mia was fantastic. It is long but very well done. I saw it in Vegas years ago and this was just as good. Go se this show! We did not see Blue Plant this time as we had seen it before but several of those traveling with us saw it and liked it. The headliner was AWEFUL!!. Bohemian is a Queen tribute band. I love Queen and thought this would be loads of fun. They sang very obscure songs. I on,y knew one. We left after about 30 minutes and we were one of the last to leave. Don't bother with this show. Cat in the pub was loads of fun. I loved her play list set out on each table so you knew what songs to request. We also enjoyed the Karaoke except on the last night when we got a new Host Edwin Namcatat? From the cruise staff. He was very rude to my 18 year old daughter . He kept repeating that no one under 18 could sing at the event. Ok fine no worries . But no one under age was trying to sing. When my 18 year old daughter took her 9 year old cousin to help her pick a song to sing Edwin was very difficult. He refused to let Lauren (9) see the song book and would not let my daughter bring it off a high table so she could see it. He made a big scene out of nothing for no reason. Lauren's dad finally came over to help out and try and get Edwin to be reasonable. Instead Edwin insulted him as well and refused to give us his name. He finally did after 4-5 requests. He had an attitude of superiority and obviously liked to hear himself talk. Maybe it was just a bad day but if this is a regular occurrence he has no business in a customer facing role.

 

We did our our tours. We were a group of 15 and it worked out great except when we nearly missed the ship in Marseiiles . They will not hold the ship for you. We did call the port agent as listed on the cruise compass so that helped. Always carry this info with you. Also carry your passports or leave them in the safe where the ship can find them. They got all of our passports and wallets from the safe and would have give. Them to the port agent to give to us to allow us to meet up with the ship in the next port at our own expense. I was comforted to know they had a procedure to ensure we had what we needed to be able to catch back up with the ship. Luckily we made it but there was a couple behind us who were not so lucky. Know that if you are on a private tour they will not wait for you. That is the risk you take.

 

Overall the ship was great. I wish they did not use La Spezia for Florence. It is just too far. I hope they go back to Livorno. There is really no reason to use Allure in the Med as the ship is the destination and you have only one and a half days to enjoy her. Sail on her in the Caribbean and pick another shop for the med.

[suite dreams]

Thank you so much for this review. We will be on this ship August 30 out of Barcelona. Our group sailed on the Allure in the Caribbean 2 years ago and loved her. I totally agree with your comment that the ship is the destination and am sad that there is only one sea day. I have been to most of these ports, so hope to spend extra time on the ship. Good to hear your reports on the specialty restaurants. So looking forward to this cruise.

[sparklymermaid]

We sailed june 21st out of Barcelona. I was worried about the two embarkation days but it was no big deal. I actually liked it better as the ship just seemed to go on as normal. All the usual restaurants were open .and there did not seem to be a big rush to get off. It did seem like most of the passengers got on and off in Barcelona. When we got to rome the on,y thing we noticed is we had to use the aft gangway to go ashore as the forward one was reserved for those who were disembarking. Once we returned to the ship we heard the muster drill call but that was it. Our disembarking was really easy since there was no immigration or customs. Beauty of sailing within the EU.

 

The ship had just come out of dry dock and looked great. Everything was clean and tidy. Loved Sanor for the quacamole and liked that you could order a la carte and it's out in the boardwalk with some chips, guac and a beer or margarita . Loved the new tepanyaki tables at Izumi. Our chef Orlando is one of the best Tepanyaki chefs I've ever had.

 

Food - after two previous disasters with My Time Dining we had regular early dinning. It was nice to have our table and staff even though we did only eat there 3 nights. The food and service in the main dining room was very good. I believe the quality of the food had improved . The service was back to the level of 5 years ago. We also went to Chops which is worth the increased price. The food quality is much improved. Giovanni's was our last specialty restaurant and met our expectations from previous voyages. We had breakfast in the solarium, main dining room buffet and wipe out cafe. All were good. Brits will like the Wipe Out cafe which has beans, brown sauce scones and black pudding. We on,y had lunch on the sea day and went to Vintages for a quiet peaceful lunch of wine and tapas. We did miss having the flights of wine though.

 

Cabin - we had a balcony suite on deck 12. It was very convenient. Our cabin attendant was very good. It was as expected.

 

Shows and entertainment. We saw OceanIria the first night and it was fun. I was disappointed that there was only one person who did only one high dive. Mama Mia was fantastic. It is long but very well done. I saw it in Vegas years ago and this was just as good. Go se this show! We did not see Blue Plant this time as we had seen it before but several of those traveling with us saw it and liked it. The headliner was AWEFUL!!. Bohemian is a Queen tribute band. I love Queen and thought this would be loads of fun. They sang very obscure songs. I on,y knew one. We left after about 30 minutes and we were one of the last to leave. Don't bother with this show. Cat in the pub was loads of fun. I loved her play list set out on each table so you knew what songs to request. We also enjoyed the Karaoke except on the last night when we got a new Host Edwin Namcatat? From the cruise staff. He was very rude to my 18 year old daughter . He kept repeating that no one under 18 could sing at the event. Ok fine no worries . But no one under age was trying to sing. When my 18 year old daughter took her 9 year old cousin to help her pick a song to sing Edwin was very difficult. He refused to let Lauren (9) see the song book and would not let my daughter bring it off a high table so she could see it. He made a big scene out of nothing for no reason. Lauren's dad finally came over to help out and try and get Edwin to be reasonable. Instead Edwin insulted him as well and refused to give us his name. He finally did after 4-5 requests. He had an attitude of superiority and obviously liked to hear himself talk. Maybe it was just a bad day but if this is a regular occurrence he has no business in a customer facing role.

 

We did our our tours. We were a group of 15 and it worked out great except when we nearly missed the ship in Marseiiles . They will not hold the ship for you. We did call the port agent as listed on the cruise compass so that helped. Always carry this info with you. Also carry your passports or leave them in the safe where the ship can find them. They got all of our passports and wallets from the safe and would have give. Them to the port agent to give to us to allow us to meet up with the ship in the next port at our own expense. I was comforted to know they had a procedure to ensure we had what we needed to be able to catch back up with the ship. Luckily we made it but there was a couple behind us who were not so lucky. Know that if you are on a private tour they will not wait for you. That is the risk you take.

 

Overall the ship was great. I wish they did not use La Spezia for Florence. It is just too far. I hope they go back to Livorno. There is really no reason to use Allure in the Med as the ship is the destination and you have only one and a half days to enjoy her. Sail on her in the Caribbean and pick another shop for the med.

 

Thank you for the review. Any chance you can scan the 7 day Compass? A lot of us are looking for them :)

Glad all went well for your cruise.:)

[California kitty]

Love the review thanks...and yes would love the compasses!

[transam84]

Thanks for your review. And ditto about the compasses. 😎

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Overall the ship was great. I wish they did not use La Spezia for Florence. It is just too far. I hope they go back to Livorno. There is really no reason to use Allure in the Med as the ship is the destination and you have only one and a half days to enjoy her. Sail on her in the Caribbean and pick another shop for the med.

Thanks for your review...but having been on Allure 3 weeks earlier, we would have to respectfully disagree with your last 2 points.

 

La Spezia was very easy to completely enjoy a full 11 hour excursion to Pisa and then Florence - no problem accomplishing it using RomeInLimo for the excursion service. Our group of 8 made us very "nimble" to see all these places have to offer, without ever feeling rushed. The Accademia Museum in Florence, various shops and city sites, as well as great sit-down lunch were fabulous!

 

As for Allure...we had full excursion days in every port...but easily got to our 6pm dinner and see all the main shows and also enjoy many of the other things offered on Allure...making the trip all the more special. We also did flowrider, zipline, mini-golf, and several other activities besides the shows.

 

We also had no problem numerous other things on Allure, including contests, the casino, parades, trivia, and 2 "how to" exhibitions. We did see a number of people come back later on excursions...which would limit their ability to enjoy all the ship has to offer.

 

But in the end...Allure made the trip all the more special, and we had no issues enjoying all Allure has to offer as well as the great port excursions.

 

The Captain's Corner session & getting to meet Captain Johnny was also a super experience. We would agree that without advance planning, enjoying Allure in balance with the great ports would be more difficult.

 

That said, the thought of doing this cruise on a smaller/lesser ship would have reduced the many memories and experiences we gained on Allure.

Edited July 2, 2015 by CRUISEFAN0001

[kalliekae]

Thank you for your review. Your review of the restaurants and the food in the MDR was most informative. We are looking forward to our November cruise on the Allure.

[Nkelly14]

What nights were the formal nights?

[redwings1958]

The Formal nights are Monday[Mallorca] and Friday[Naples]

Edited July 2, 2015 by redwings1958

[Hardrocknerd]

Thank you very much for your review. I always get a cold sweat when I read about passengers missing (or almost missing) the ship. May I ask what tour you were on and why you were delayed? I have also booked a private tour in Marseille, where they guarantee to have you back at the ship at 4:30, and I'm still nervous about being late. :o

 

I would also like to second (third? fourth?) the request for compasses if you have them. :D

[Nkelly14]

Thank you all for the helpful information.

[Lady Arwen]

Thanks for your review. We're sailing on Allure October 4th and we've booked our excursions with RCI. Our first time to the Med and we're quite nervous about missing the ship on private tours.

[TxStacey]

Thanks for your review...but having been on Allure 3 weeks earlier, we would have to respectfully disagree with your last 2 points.

 

La Spezia was very easy to completely enjoy a full 11 hour excursion to Pisa and then Florence - no problem accomplishing it using RomeInLimo for the excursion service. Our group of 8 made us very "nimble" to see all these places have to offer, without ever feeling rushed. The Accademia Museum in Florence, various shops and city sites, as well as great sit-down lunch were fabulous!

 

As for Allure...we had full excursion days in every port...but easily got to our 6pm dinner and see all the main shows and also enjoy many of the other things offered on Allure...making the trip all the more special. We also did flowrider, zipline, mini-golf, and several other activities besides the shows.

 

We also had no problem numerous other things on Allure, including contests, the casino, parades, trivia, and 2 "how to" exhibitions. We did see a number of people come back later on excursions...which would limit their ability to enjoy all the ship has to offer.

 

But in the end...Allure made the trip all the more special, and we had no issues enjoying all Allure has to offer as well as the great port excursions.

 

The Captain's Corner session & getting to meet Captain Johnny was also a super experience. We would agree that without advance planning, enjoying Allure in balance with the great ports would be more difficult.

 

That said, the thought of doing this cruise on a smaller/lesser ship would have reduced the many memories and experiences we gained on Allure.

 

I am booked on the Harmony next July and this is the experience that I am hoping for. I am as much excited about the ship as I am about the ports and hope to fully experience both! Thanks for your insight!

[CRUISEFAN0001]

I am booked on the Harmony next July and this is the experience that I am hoping for. I am as much excited about the ship as I am about the ports and hope to fully experience both! Thanks for your insight!

Thanks.

 

I think circling back to the original post and review...there were many great points made and information shared.

 

To this end...even things like planning daily onboard events, shows, etc. within the framework of the other off-ship excursions, etc. can have a worthwhile balance.

 

We also bought tickets online in advance to eliminate waiting times in line such as for the Colloseum in Rome, Accademia Museum in Florence, and other such destinations. That helped maximize excursion time so that we could really enjoy those places.

 

In a nutshell...planning the details ahead of time (including what you intend to experience each day, the destination of Harmony as well as these great ports can all be accomplished. We were able to do this, but a significant amount of time was spent in advance to figure out each daily "goal" in terms of what we intended to experience.

Edited July 2, 2015 by CRUISEFAN0001

[hummy0605]

Can you post how long mamma mia was please - we have reservations for 7pm but our meal is 8.30pm - thanks

[cocod08]

Can you post how long mamma mia was please - we have reservations for 7pm but our meal is 8.30pm - thanks

 

I read in another post that Mamma Mia is 2 and a half hours

[Jackamama]

Can you post how long mamma mia was please - we have reservations for 7pm but our meal is 8.30pm - thanks

 

 

Hi, we have just returned from Allure. You will not have time to do this. The show has a 15 minute interval, and is almost 2 and a half hours long. It is fabulous! :)

[hummy0605]

I will see about changing to the earlier one i think thanks for replies

[Soozgone]

We sailed june 21st out of Barcelona. I was worried about the two embarkation days but it was no big deal. I actually liked it better as the ship just seemed to go on as normal. All the usual restaurants were open .and there did not seem to be a big rush to get off. It did seem like most of the passengers got on and off in Barcelona. When we got to rome the on,y thing we noticed is we had to use the aft gangway to go ashore as the forward one was reserved for those who were disembarking. Once we returned to the ship we heard the muster drill call but that was it. Our disembarking was really easy since there was no immigration or customs. Beauty of sailing within the EU.

 

The ship had just come out of dry dock and looked great. Everything was clean and tidy. Loved Sanor for the quacamole and liked that you could order a la carte and it's out in the boardwalk with some chips, guac and a beer or margarita . Loved the new tepanyaki tables at Izumi. Our chef Orlando is one of the best Tepanyaki chefs I've ever had.

 

Food - after two previous disasters with My Time Dining we had regular early dinning. It was nice to have our table and staff even though we did only eat there 3 nights. The food and service in the main dining room was very good. I believe the quality of the food had improved . The service was back to the level of 5 years ago. We also went to Chops which is worth the increased price. The food quality is much improved. Giovanni's was our last specialty restaurant and met our expectations from previous voyages. We had breakfast in the solarium, main dining room buffet and wipe out cafe. All were good. Brits will like the Wipe Out cafe which has beans, brown sauce scones and black pudding. We on,y had lunch on the sea day and went to Vintages for a quiet peaceful lunch of wine and tapas. We did miss having the flights of wine though.

 

Cabin - we had a balcony suite on deck 12. It was very convenient. Our cabin attendant was very good. It was as expected.

 

Shows and entertainment. We saw OceanIria the first night and it was fun. I was disappointed that there was only one person who did only one high dive. Mama Mia was fantastic. It is long but very well done. I saw it in Vegas years ago and this was just as good. Go se this show! We did not see Blue Plant this time as we had seen it before but several of those traveling with us saw it and liked it. The headliner was AWEFUL!!. Bohemian is a Queen tribute band. I love Queen and thought this would be loads of fun. They sang very obscure songs. I on,y knew one. We left after about 30 minutes and we were one of the last to leave. Don't bother with this show. Cat in the pub was loads of fun. I loved her play list set out on each table so you knew what songs to request. We also enjoyed the Karaoke except on the last night when we got a new Host Edwin Namcatat? From the cruise staff. He was very rude to my 18 year old daughter . He kept repeating that no one under 18 could sing at the event. Ok fine no worries . But no one under age was trying to sing. When my 18 year old daughter took her 9 year old cousin to help her pick a song to sing Edwin was very difficult. He refused to let Lauren (9) see the song book and would not let my daughter bring it off a high table so she could see it. He made a big scene out of nothing for no reason. Lauren's dad finally came over to help out and try and get Edwin to be reasonable. Instead Edwin insulted him as well and refused to give us his name. He finally did after 4-5 requests. He had an attitude of superiority and obviously liked to hear himself talk. Maybe it was just a bad day but if this is a regular occurrence he has no business in a customer facing role.

 

We did our our tours. We were a group of 15 and it worked out great except when we nearly missed the ship in Marseiiles . They will not hold the ship for you. We did call the port agent as listed on the cruise compass so that helped. Always carry this info with you. Also carry your passports or leave them in the safe where the ship can find them. They got all of our passports and wallets from the safe and would have give. Them to the port agent to give to us to allow us to meet up with the ship in the next port at our own expense. I was comforted to know they had a procedure to ensure we had what we needed to be able to catch back up with the ship. Luckily we made it but there was a couple behind us who were not so lucky. Know that if you are on a private tour they will not wait for you. That is the risk you take.

 

Overall the ship was great. I wish they did not use La Spezia for Florence. It is just too far. I hope they go back to Livorno. There is really no reason to use Allure in the Med as the ship is the destination and you have only one and a half days to enjoy her. Sail on her in the Caribbean and pick another shop for the med.

 

 

Thank you, I found your review interesting as we have just returned from this itinerary on Sunday. As frequent cruisers, but new to Royal, we were a little apprehensive about travelling on such a large ship. Some of our concerns were realised, and others were not.

 

We didn't have the Queen tribute band. Instead we had The Magnets, who were wonderful. I agree with you about Mamma Mia. It was outstanding, and I would highly recommend it.

 

The ship was beautiful, but had many features that we did not use, so would not choose to travel on such a large ship again. We also found the levels of friendliness among the serving staff to be far below what we are used to, again perhaps because there were so many passengers. We felt very much just numbers rather than welcomed guests in the way that the cruise lines we normally sail with treat guests. This was apparent throughout the ship, except in the Main Dining Room where we were very impressed by the waiting staff and also the food.

 

We also thought Edwin at the Karaoke was rude and disrespectful. He seemed to think he was the star of the show, and was very annoying. We would have stayed longer to listen to the singers but he irritated us so we didn't hang around. We also did not like the Pub singer, Cat. We don't like songs full of innuendo, and we didn't like her playlist much. The Jazz band in the Jazz club were excellent, but unfortunately it was often empty. The band in Boleros was very good too. We expected more music at the pools during the day. Generally, we felt that the musical entertainment was below par, with the notable exceptions of the theatre shows.

 

We had been to all of the ports on this itinerary, so we didn't travel to the 'main' places on this route. I agree that the ports were sometimes too far from the main destination, but La Spezia is a lovely little place. We have visited Rome several times, and didn't wish to spend half a day on a bus.

 

We tried Allure, liked it but didn't love it, and will go back to the smaller, more service focussed and less dazzle dazzle lines for a while.

[Pencruise]

Can you post how long mamma mia was please - we have reservations for 7pm but our meal is 8.30pm - thanks

 

We were also on this same cruise - Mamma Mia show is about two and a half hours long which includes a 15 minute interval - we did the 4.30 performance on the Palma day, just after ship sailed. Fabulous show and great cruise with perfect weather.

[little britain]

Did you notice what the internet packages cost and was it the new fast WiFi please?

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

[PBNJ620]

Now that the restaurants are in place for Dynamic Dining , do they seat you in a specific restaurant and still serve main dining room food? Sailing in the Fall and hoping that Dynamic Dining will be in place by then!

 

How soon did you get to reserve entertainment? I still can't.

 

Any photos of the improvements made? I'd love to see!!

[Clarea]

Now that the restaurants are in place for Dynamic Dining , do they seat you in a specific restaurant and still serve main dining room food? ...

Currently all three DD restaurants serve the same MDR food.

[cooljla10386]

Were there discounts offered for any of the specialty dining restaurants on board?