1st Time Cruiser-Allure Review; Sort Of

[OhioMike2016]

Just came back from a week on the Allure. Without going into a lot of detail; lets just say it was great. So great in fact, I am planning on making plans to doing this again and again (i.e. I am now a 'hooked' Cruiser).

 

Instead of a full blown review, I just like to address a few areas that might help clarify what I learned on Cruise Citric from the reality I found.

 

Food: on Cruise Citric a lot of people said the food was not the best. I understand that everyone's taste is very different but I found the found to be exceptional. Of all the meals I had in the MDR, one was not to my liking (duck). No big deal, I just ordered something else. Again, food was GREAT!!! Windjammer and all of the other venues was fantastic (I tried them all expect for the Specialty Dinning). Breakfast at Jonny Rockets is a must.

 

Staff: I found every single staff that I had any contact with were OUTSTANDING!!! The ones that I had the most direct contact with (Cabin Stewart & MDR Wait Staff), where not only great staff but are even better people. Tip: take the time and get to know these people. You will be glad you did.

 

Staff PS-when talking to them, I learned that the little friendly gifts (t-shirts, cookies, etc.) is nice but not nearly as meaning full or appreciated as money. "Money is a true expression of gratitude for a job well done," MDR Staff Member when directly asked.

 

Staff PSS-I did not experience any staff members 'hounding' me about giving them positive makes on the end of cruise survey. Maybe this is because we developed a little bit of a relationship and they knew where I stood on their performance (i.e. Great!!!) or that RCI has cracked down on this type of behavior (on the survey was a question that asked if anyone tried to 'encourage or influence' you on this survey).

 

Bed: We did request a mattress topper and received one. I latter found out that everyone in our group had a mattress cover on their bed even though they did not request one. Maybe this is new and everyone gets one now. Either why. The bed was great.

 

Reservations: Doing as much as you can before the actual cruise makes the whole cruising experience smoother and calmer (i.e. less waiting in lines). You do not want to miss the Entertainment so get those reservation when you can. Also, if you are doing Traditional Dinning with a group (we were a group of 14), contact Dinning Services to get you table and seating assignments when you can.

 

Packing: The one area where all the advice on CC was spot on. My family and I definitely over packed in the area of having too much clothes. One area that I am glad we did over pack in was the area of Medications. My wife is a nurse, therefore we became the 'go to' area every time someone in our group needed an aspirin, cold med., bandage, twisters, etc. (the Aloe was a very popular request).

 

Chair Hogs: yes they do really exist but not to the extend that it prevented me and my family from finding places to hang out in the sun. It might not have been a 'prime' place around the pool, but the ship is so big, places can be found.

 

Up Sale: yes there is some of this but not nearly as much as I thought after reading many CC posts. I found that after I said 'no thank you,' they moved on.

 

Best Tip: of all the research I did before going on this cruise, the best tip I got and was most beneficially to me was the following: '...one thing that everyone needs to take is a positive attitude and the ability to adapt.' I know, it sounds very 'new age' but nothing is more true. No matter how much you plan (for me it was to the point of a spreadsheet with every single minute scheduled), things WILL go wrong or not as plan (i.e. show reschedule due to rough seas, not feeling 100% due to those same rough seas, excursion started late due to another cruise chip being late, not all staff are perfect just like not all of your fellow cruisers are not as nice as they should be, etc., etc.). When this happens, don't sweat it. Just remember that you are on vacation, on a great cruise ship, weather is probably great and you are in a great part of the world. As opposed to at work, in the cold, in not as great part of the world ('Ohio is Great but it sure is not the Caribbean).

 

For a first time cruiser, this cruise far exceeded my expectations and may expectations were very high to start with.

 

I am now looking forward to my next cruise and the pre-planning that goes into it (know of any good deals)?

[sml3]

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

[drdestructo]

Thanks Mike for your input! I like your perspective. We try and not sweat the small stuff. I too am an extensive planner, but I have learned how to "hit the curve". I did find, like you, that pre-planning helps me roll with the punches easier.

 

We are on the Allure in a little over 6 weeks. Can't wait!

[deliver42]

Thank you for your imput. We are going on the Allure in December.

[boubear360]

Great review and advice. I too over plan and like that the ship is big enough to offer more if a curve ball is thrown. Allure in August here I come.

 

 

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[MCManders99]

Thank you for your review. We will be on Allure in 4 days. Cannot wait!

 

 

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[TxStacey]

Thanks for coming back Cruise Critic to report back. I love to read first time cruiser's reviews because for the most part they are positive! Just remember that lots of folks here started cruising in the "olden days" meaning 5 years or so ago..and things have changed quite a bit since then. Many have a jaded view of how things are now compared to how they used to be! Lucky you! You got to start on one of the best classes of ships! Welcome to our obsession!

[cha4244]

Thanks for your review. Will be on Allure in December.

[mrpayroll]

Thanks for taking the time to express your thoughts. We love the Oasis class ships. :)

[Pratique]

Thanks for the review. We learned the hard way not to forget to bring the Aloe with us because it can be hard to find some for sale on the ship after the first day.

 

RCI just extended their schedule into Spring 2019. Now's the time to start planning. Cruises are the only vacations we plan more than one year in advance. It's nice to always have another one queued up. We've got a countdown clock on our kitchen counter, ticking down the days until the next cruise. We are on Allure again in a couple of weeks. Followed by Harmony, Oasis and Symphony between then and January 2019.

[crashdavis565]

From a gentleman with over 30 cruises who was also just on the Allure I would add:

 

Chair Hogs- This is deplorable. We searched high and low on sea days for chairs and they were very hard to come by. I would love to see some kind of policy implemented to really remove people's belongings after 30 minutes as most chairs sit unused with simple towels on them all day.

 

Stewards and Waiters: They come in all shapes and sizes. I have had the best and unfortunately, the worst at one time or another. I am happy you got a good set. All waiters on this ship sure did try hard but they just seemed to be overwhelmed at times and I wonder if they have not added more work for them nowadays. The cabin steward we had on the Allure was perfect.

 

I agree with the rest of your review as being spot on. I do find the food in the MDR is not as good as it was 20 years ago but like you said, seek and you shall find, there is always something very palatable to be had on the menu.

 

Thanks for the great input and I am happy to hear you liked your cruise.

[crashdavis565]

P.s. try Chops on the next cruise, it is worth the extra money.

[Riff Sniff]

Thanks for your review, Mike! My wife and I will be sailing on the Allure next month. We've done several previous cruises (all RCI), but this will be our first on an Oasis class ship so I really appreciate your opinions. Cruising is definitely addictive!

 

- From another "Ohio Mike"

 

 

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[brojimmy]

Hey Mike,that was a fantastic review, nice to hear there are others who are just as positive about cruising as we are.we will be sailing on Allure in August for the second time.Fun and joy is a matter of rolling with the punches and moving on. Ditto on all your comments.

Go Bengals.

 

 

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[LipstickLeslie]

We just returned too from our first time cruising in 18 years on Allure with a group of two families and I too read read a ton on here to be prepared. I agree with you about your review. We had an amazing time, the staff was great, beds comfortable, and the food very good overall. We ate at the MDR for 5 of the 7 nights because the kids liked it so much. My 15 year old son was in heaven. We didn't eat at any of the specialty places because we didn't want to spend extra $. My husband won a free cruise playing Texas Hold'em!!! I'm a little bummed that it's the same ports and ship but hey it's a free cruise in Dec.

 

 

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[boubear360]

Hey Mike,that was a fantastic review, nice to hear there are others who are just as positive about cruising as we are.we will be sailing on Allure in August for the second time.Fun and joy is a matter of rolling with the punches and moving on. Ditto on all your comments.

Go Bengals.

 

 

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I here reading reviews and find a fellow Bengals Fan. And to boot going on Allure in August like me and my son ( another huge Cincinnati fan). What sailing maybe we will be on same cruise 13-20.

 

 

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[bellabaloo]

Thanks so much! We sail her in 65 days and cannot wait!

[brojimmy]

Sorry,will miss you,we are sailing 6-13

 

 

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[CruisinShips]

I guess we were on your same sailing and I posted a brief review earlier in the week (from a suite perspective)....our experience was great as well. The staff was completely on their game and they exceeded our expectations in many ways (and our cruise last year on the Oasis was, I thought, going to be impossible to match or beat). Some cruises you go on and you find the employees are either in good or bad moods....our week was as a really good one.

[SET TO SAIL]

Congratulations on your first cruise on the best ship. We were on Harmony when you were on Allure. She, too, is a fabulous ship with excellent crew and food. We missed the pool in the Solarium, so it's back to Allure for us. Welcome to cruising.

[waterfever]

I was on the same Allure cruise. I didn't find anyone pressuring us for up-sells , and the cruise & staff were great. My granddaughter was the first one on the carousel & rode it about 100 times. It was never crowded when we were there. We were in a central park balcony cabin (12199 & my son's family was in 12195). For someone who doesn't appreciate the pool music during the day, that's not the cabin for them, but I enjoyed it. My sons got up early & went to the bridge wing (down the port side of deck 12) every morning. One day they saw whales & dolphins following the ship. One big hint: There is only one kind of hemispherical thing on the vanity counter with 3 outlets. It's hard to plug things in, and it's hard to get anything in the middle outlet. But, if you "crawl on the floor" & look under the vanity counter behind where the door that has the shelves is, there's another outlet. That really helps with all the chargers!

[5797gkc]

Great review, thanks for sharing. I say its what you make it.

[Jewells of the Sea]

Glad to hear you are hooked on cruising! Great review and all you are so right about being flexible and adaptable. We sail on the Allure spring break 2018!