PHOTOS & Brief Review! Allure of the Seas: Western Caribbean Feb 21-28, 2016

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Hey everyone! :D

 

So another awesome cruise is in the books! I wanted to share my photos and some of my experiences, but I'm not up for doing a detailed review (As I did a photo review for my Oasis cruise last year: HERE or in my signature). But anyway, here is a link to my flickr album for this cruise: https://flic.kr/s/aHskuSCLMc There are also several pictures of both Liberty and Independence.

 

Tomorrow, I will also be sharing my (mostly) great experiences onboard the Allure of the Seas. I hope you all enjoy, and appreciate it!

 

:D

Edited March 6, 2016 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[WiscoGirl32]

Looking forward to a brief review! Enjoyed yor pics! Thanks for posting!

 

Sent from my SM-T807V using Tapatalk

[Keith1010]

Thank you for this and look forward to reading your review.

 

Keith

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Sorry, I got a little overwhelmed with work this week. I'm going to get going on my review.

 

Embarkation: Great. Once we got through the line entering Port Everglades (7 ships in port!) and arrived at T18, everything was a breeze.

 

First Impressions: Amazing. We were on Oasis last year, so Allure's WOW was not a surprise. I'm still in awe of the design of the Oasis Class.

 

Cabin: Good. We had balcony cabin 8312. Storage was a bit of a problem with 3 people (we had a GS on Oasis, so storage wasn't an issue last year).

 

Cabin Steward: Amazing, Fantastic, Outstanding. Josie from the Philippines was great. She earned herself a nice tip. (We've had great luck with stewards on the Oasis Class, as our room steward last year was amazing as well.)

 

Misc Ship Stuff: We love Central Park, especially hanging out there at night. The Promenade is awesome on the Oasis Class, too. Pools were good, although finding a chair was difficult if you weren't up early.

 

Dining:

MDR Food:

Good to great. No complaints. Of course there were some misses, but mostly hits. Not a problem for me.

 

MDR Service:

Well, we were in a group of 9. After receiving our SeaPasses on day 1, we realized that we were split between 2 tables on deck 4. Of course, we went to the MDR to get things fixed. We'll be together on day 2. Okay, good (spoke too soon). So on day 1, we went to our 2 tables. The 5 ladies that we were assigned with nicely offered to move to the rest of our groups table so that we could all sit together. Awesome. Our waitress and bar server were awesome. Now we have to cancel the request for tomorrow. Our Head Waitress said she would take care of it. Next day, we got a message that we were assigned to a table on deck 5 (ugh!). We head to the MDR prior to dinner in hopes of changing back (we had to try). Nope. Off to deck 5. Service was spotty at best. And our table was terrible. A booth against a wall with 5 two-tops pushed together (woohoo:rolleyes:). Service did not get better. Appetizers came out at various times, and wine orders were 'off' most of the time. Our bar server was great, however. Our waitress was not very pleasant, and our assistant was just good. So that was our dining experience in dining room for the week. I had just wished we never requested for that table change on day 1. Oh well, you can't change the past.

 

Giovanni's Table:

Awesome. Loved the family style atmosphere. I would definitely go back. Service was great, also.

 

Chops:

Although service was great, it was not worth the $39 IMO. The steak and the sides were very good, but I didn't think they justified the cost.

 

Windjammer Day 1 Lunch:

Surprisingly, not as bad as expected. The staff were seating people, instead of letting everyone in to fend for themselves. Nice touch IMO. Food was good.

 

Windjammer Breakfast:

Very good. We're big oatmeal (mostly), yogurt, cereal, and bagel fans so we were pleased.

 

Sabor:

Great. Love the atmosphere, and the food was very good.

 

Johnny Rockets:

Very good. Food was great, but the food took awhile to arrive.

 

Park Cafe:

Great roast beef sandwiches (as expected), and the salads were very good.

 

Solarium Bistro:

we had breakfast here one morning. It was very good. Same basic options as the WJ (oatmeal, yogurt, cereal, and bagels especially!) plus some healthier options.

 

Cafe Promenade:

The dessert options were subpar.

 

Vitality Cafe: The parfaits were very good.

Bar Service: We never had a problem, except for day 1 at the Pool Bar (Sand Bar actually).

 

Entertainment: Amazing. Mamma Mia and the Dive Show were awesome. Comedy (in the club) was very funny. Blue Planet was good. We didn't make it to the ice show.

 

Crew (in general): Most everyone that we encountered was super happy and friendly.

 

Well that's about it. That ended up being a lot longer than expected, but I guess it was because we had such an awesome time. Thanks for reading! :D

[chazg]

Glad you had a good time. I'll be back for round 3 with some first timers in a BW Balcony (DW requested).

 

Great recap, Thanks :)

Edited March 10, 2016 by chazg

[Grandma Petania]

Thanks for sharing your photos. I have a question about one of them. I think it is the 10th one, with Navigator of the Seas near a sandy beach, and people on the beach. What port is that? Is it a short walk from the ship to the beach?

 

I have cruised the eastern Caribbean several times, but next February will be my first time on the western route, so I don't know what to expect.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Thanks for sharing your photos. I have a question about one of them. I think it is the 10th one, with Navigator of the Seas near a sandy beach, and people on the beach. What port is that? Is it a short walk from the ship to the beach?

 

I have cruised the eastern Caribbean several times, but next February will be my first time on the western route, so I don't know what to expect.

 

That picture of Navigator is from the beach in Fort Lauderdale (as are the other pictures prior), as the ships were departing on Saturday 2/20. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the day before our cruise and watched the Saturday ships leaves. Our Allure cruise departed 2/21.

[Du vent dans les voiles]

We were on the same cruise.

First time on the Allure.

We had a fantastic time too.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Thanks for the responses everyone! Glad you enjoyed my pictures!

 

We were on the same cruise.

First time on the Allure.

We had a fantastic time too.

 

Glad you had a great time! :)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed your cruise.