Allure of the Seas - Barcelona: Mini-Review

[CTMak]

We sailed the Allure 7/12 - 19 out of Barcelona celebrating our 40th anniversary. We also took with us our 3 adult children (28 - 34) with significant others -- 8 of us in all. DW and I have sailed about 15 times on various lines and various sized ships. Here's a quick review -- perhaps along with some tips -- for your information.

 

OVERALL: We all had a blast! DW and I were especially thrilled being able to give our kids a taste of Europe and, better yet, being able to share it with them. We are spread throughout the country so all being together for a good occasion was fantastic. It did not rain, but it was super hot -- 90's everyday. But seas were exceptionally calm.

 

EMBARCATION: As many have posted it was a breeze: cab to cabin in less than 20 minutes. TIP: We went through security upon entering the terminal, then through the check in process. Between check-in and boarding the ship there is a duty-free area with both wine and liquor stores. I won't say whom but people were buying several bottles of both wine and liquor, putting them in their carry-ons and boarding the ship no problem as there was not any additional screening. Not me, of course, just sayin'.

 

SHIP: Gorgeous. Recently out of dry-dock and you can tell -- everything new. FUN TIP: If you are looking for something a little off the beaten path, there are 20 art viewing devices "hidden" throughout the ship. You won't read about them in any of the ship's stuff and you would be hard-pressed to find a staff member who even knows they exist -- even at guest services. There are basically 2 types of devices: one looks like a pair of binoculars mounted on a metal rod atop a wooden base; the other looks like a large, upside-down telescope standing waist to chest high. Looking into them reveals a piece or art: either a photo, painting, sculpture, etc sometimes in 3-D, sometimes in black & white, etc. There's a small plaque near each one explaining what the artwork is and that there are 20 of these around the ship. They are all in open, public spaces (not, for example, in specialty restaurants or the spa.) One of our kids found all 20 -- the last at 2:30 am the last night of the cruise. They are in the open but off to the side. Hint: look to the side of a casino entrance.

 

CABIN: Fine for 2; would be mighty cramped for 3 (would have to live out of a suitcase.) TIP: while we had ocean balcony, the kids had adjoining balcony cabins overlooking Central Park. They were great. Less noisy than, I would suspect, balconies overlooking the Boardwalk. TIP: there are no self-service laundry facilities on-board -- you would have to send everything out $$$$. On Wednesday they give you a "wash-and-fold" (no iron) bag no more than 15 x 24 or so for $30. So bring enough T-shirts and underwear to last you for the trip.

 

FOOD: On average -- just average which I have found is not atypical for the large ships. We ate in the MDR every night and inconsistent best describes my experience with the food: duck was perfectly done and moist; chicken marsala was overcooked and dry. B'fast hot buffet was challenging. The tub of scrambled eggs were unappealing and inedible IMHO. The buffet ham and cheese omelets were not much better. The cook was frying eggs for the buffet and those were ok - but sometimes the yokes real runny and sometimes hard boiled. TIP: we went to the Solarium for b'fast every day. Found it quieter and less busy than Windjammer. The pizza in Sorrento's was no better than frozen pizza from a supermarket so save the calories for elsewhere. You might want to try Central Park Cafe for lunch: create your own salad, panninis. Pretty Good. TIP: We had the late seating for dinner (after 8:00 pm). So about 6 o'clock one of us would go to Windjammer and bring back a plate of cheese, olives, slices of salami, etc. to our room to have with wine as a before dinner snack.

 

STAFF: We found the staff first rate. Very good.

 

EXCURSIONS: Since we had 8 people we booked privately throughout (with both Italy Shore Drivers and Viator.) Both companies were fantastic. TIP: Highly, highly recommend going private. Even with 2 people their website will pair you with others to fill the van. Including gratuities for drivers and guides it was cheaper than the ships excursions -- at least that's what we found. At Pompeii, for example, licensed guides have separate windows for tickets and admission. It took us all of 5 minutes to get in. With the ship, they let you off and you stand in line which was, I was told, 45 minutes. TIP: be aware that in Florence the ship docks in La Spezia not Livourno. From La Spezia to Florence is 2 and a half hours each way! We did not want to sit on a bus for that long so we opted for a private tour of Chinque Terre and Portovenere and we were so glad we did.

 

AMENITIES: Even with 5,400 passengers it did not seem overcrowded, but there were moments. Take the Karaoke Bar for instance. There is only one and during prime time you could not get in. To me, they sacrificed swimming pool space for deck chair space and I guess I can understand why. So while there were a good amount of chairs (excepting Sea Day), the actual water space got extremely cramped. TIP: Plenty of room in the adults-only solarium. They have a small round pool with sprayers which is nice for cooling off.

 

CONCLUSION: As I said, we had a great time and RCCL did a good job. However some of the amenities they had -- 2 surfing pools, 2 rock climbing walls, zip line, ice skating rink -- are irrelevant to me ... others had great fun on them, just not me. In terms of the larger class of ships, I think I would opt for one that holds about 3,000 instead of 5,400 -- large enough to house the amenities that are important to me while still maintaining some charm. IMHO.

 

Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them as best I can.

 

CT Mak

[2CatsInFlorida]

Thanks for the review. We are booked on the June 1, 2016 Italy and Greek Isles tour on Jewel OTS and undecided whether to book ship excursions or go it alone with Viator.

[suite dreams]

We will be on the August 30 sailing out of barcelona. I have read other posts about the duty free shops. Are you saying that there is not another security screening on the ship.

[koopmanclan]

Great...thank you!! We sail on the 9th...very excited!

[kalliekae]

Congratulations on celebrating your 40th anniversary! We will be on the Allure for our 40th in November. Thank you for taking the time to review your wonderful trip.

[KiwiGal117]

What time did you arrive at the port in Barcelona?

 

As well, did your cruise pick up passengers in Rome or just Barcelona? Thanks!!

[California kitty]

Great review, we are sailing on her September 13th and can't wait. We have booked a couple of excursions on the ship and a couple thru viator. Was it difficult connecting with your tour driver from the viator ones...how did you locate them once off the ship? Oh the things that keep me up at night!

[Theredofshaw]

What time did you arrive at the port in Barcelona?

 

As well, did your cruise pick up passengers in Rome or just Barcelona? Thanks!!

 

we arrived around 1230 for ours out of BCN. Was about the same, maybe 20-30minutes to board and windjammer was fairly empty. ate lunch and by the time we finished cabins opened up.

 

Allure seems to pick up the majority in BCN and some in Rome.

[CTMak]

We will be on the August 30 sailing out of barcelona. I have read other posts about the duty free shops. Are you saying that there is not another security screening on the ship.

 

There was not when we went. And actually it doesn't make sense that there would be -- you already went through one, and then you are boarding on the Promenade deck being greeted by RCCL staff welcoming you. But, the wine/liquor shop folks said it would be no problem and also said they would gladly refund the purchases if there was a problem. Ports were different -- you went through security on the ship. But not in Barcelona -- security was at the terminal.

 

CT Mak

[CTMak]

What time did you arrive at the port in Barcelona?

 

As well, did your cruise pick up passengers in Rome or just Barcelona? Thanks!!

 

We arrived at about 12:30 which I thought was going to be prime time. But no problem.

 

The cruise did pick up passengers in Rome but it's like 2/3's or 3/4's in Barcelona.

 

CT Mak

[CTMak]

Great review, we are sailing on her September 13th and can't wait. We have booked a couple of excursions on the ship and a couple thru viator. Was it difficult connecting with your tour driver from the viator ones...how did you locate them once off the ship? Oh the things that keep me up at night!

 

Wasn't a problem at all. Your driver waits where the passengers disembark with a sign with your name. However, in La Spezia (Florence) the private tour drivers were not allowed to come right to the ship. RCCL provides a free shuttle to an area just outside the port ( 5 minutes or so) where all the private tour drivers wait -- again, with signs with your name. Please, a fantastic run in the casino should be what keeps you up at night -- not worrying about meeting your driver. Not an issue. They do it every day. Enjoy!

 

CT Mak

[California kitty]

Thanks CTMac!

[LookingForward2]

From La Spezia to Florence is 2 and a half hours each way! We did not want to sit on a bus for that long so we opted for a private tour of Chinque Terre and Portovenere and we were so glad we did.

 

 

Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them as best I can.

 

CT Mak

 

Sounds like your family had a great time - nice you could all travel together!

 

? Who did you use for Cinque Terre tour, and can you describe it please? thx!

We are planning to do this on our cruise in September, but haven't confirmed yet.

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[CTMak]

Sounds like your family had a great time - nice you could all travel together!

 

? Who did you use for Cinque Terre tour, and can you describe it please? thx!

We are planning to do this on our cruise in September, but haven't confirmed yet.

 

We used Italy Shore Drivers who were great. The driver met us (8 of us) at the shuttle stop (as I mentioned, in La Spezia the private tour drivers cannot come ship=side; RCCL provides a free shuttle to an area outside the port where they meet you.) The driver drove us to Portovenere where we met our guide. She gave us a walking tour, and in retrospect I wished we had spent more time in Portovenere. Fortunately, my wife and I went on a cooking tour of Tuscany and Portovenere and Chinque Terre about 7 years ago -- so we were familiar. Just wish we insisted on spending a bit more time there for our kids. Then our driver took us to one of the Chinque Terre lands where we again met our guide again (she drove her own car there). We took a ferry to another one of the lands, and a train to a third (you don't need to see all 5 -- especially with only a day.) Our guide was with us the whole time. In the last "land" we had lunch and split up to walk around and shop. At the appointed time we met our driver who drove us back to the ship. No issues whatsoever. A bit sad that there were a lot of ships in port and Chinque Terre has become a lot more touristy IMHO than I remember 7 years ago. Still worth the visit because the place itself is spectacular -- a must see. But it's no longer a "quaint" fishing village but a cruise ship destination. Hope this helps.

[CTMak]

Thanks for the review. We are booked on the June 1, 2016 Italy and Greek Isles tour on Jewel OTS and undecided whether to book ship excursions or go it alone with Viator.

 

As I mentioned, we've been on 15 or so cruises and we always try to book private -- Viator or any number of reputable companies, which, given you are on this board, are very easy to find.

 

After booking the cruise, flights, dinner, transfers, etc. it's easy to say let's just go with the ship excursions. And that's fine. But, we've found, it's just as easy to book privately. And we like it much better, and in our research it is cheaper -- at least in our situation. The good news is no matter what, you will have a fabulous time!

 

CT Mak

[CTMak]

Congratulations on celebrating your 40th anniversary! We will be on the Allure for our 40th in November. Thank you for taking the time to review your wonderful trip.

 

Congrats to you too on your 40th!!! You will have a great time!

 

CT Mak

[Theredofshaw]

As I mentioned, we've been on 15 or so cruises and we always try to book private -- Viator or any number of reputable companies, which, given you are on this board, are very easy to find.

 

After booking the cruise, flights, dinner, transfers, etc. it's easy to say let's just go with the ship excursions. And that's fine. But, we've found, it's just as easy to book privately. And we like it much better, and in our research it is cheaper -- at least in our situation. The good news is no matter what, you will have a fabulous time!

 

CT Mak

 

after our negative experiences with the ship tours this time around and the one we took last year in the Caribbean, I'll be avoiding the ship tours as much as possible in the future.

[JamesEM]

CTMak, Thanks for the review, as for the art work you were referencing, congratulation on finding all 20, it took me over 2 hours to find them all and I had a list. The one group is called Small Wonders and the other is the Steroscopic Viewers.

[celly]

We will be on the August 30 sailing out of barcelona. I have read other posts about the duty free shops. Are you saying that there is not another security screening on the ship.

 

That's correct. Best duty free shops to be found in terminal B just before going up the escalator to the ship. They are using two terminals in Barcelona B & C depending on the location of your cabin. It seems terminal B has the better selection at duty free shops after you clear security and check-in. They also sell large bottles of water.

[celly]

Thanks for your review! We think the same about the food in the MDR.

Edited July 31, 2015 by celly

[celly]

sorry double post.

Edited July 31, 2015 by celly

[CTMak]

CTMak, Thanks for the review, as for the art work you were referencing, congratulation on finding all 20, it took me over 2 hours to find them all and I had a list. The one group is called Small Wonders and the other is the Steroscopic Viewers.

 

Yes, those are the ones. Surprised you had a list. We went to Guest Services on the last day of the cruise and asked for the Small Wonders map. It took a while to even find someone who knew what we were talking about. They said they didn't have a map or a lost but to create one is a great idea and they would pass it along.

 

CT Mak

[suite dreams]

Thanks CT Mak and Celly.

[nlewis0801]

Great review, thanks for the tips!