ALLURE OF THE SEAS - Aug. 20-27 - Review

[rmurray847]

My wife and I were on the Allure for the first time Aug. 20-27 out of Ft. Lauderdale. This was the first cruise in the long series where RCI changed the itinerary. We were originally set to spend 2 days at sea, then 3 days in a row at St. Maarten, San Juan & Labadee, finishing with one sea day. This changed to 1 day at sea, then Labadee, San Juan & St. Maarten. Finishing with TWO sea days. We had booked private excursions for San Juan and St. Maarten, but fortunately, both operators were able to accomodate our change in date (and in San Juan, even our change of times).

 

Quick summary: GREAT cruise. This was cruise #6 for us, and the previous largest ship we were on was the NAVIGATOR and the EXPLORER of the Seas. So the ALLURE was quite a change for us.

 

But let me try to hit the major categories for you...but PLEASE, if you have questions, let me know. I am happy to answer as best I can. I should warn you, however, that I have no Daily Compasses nor photos of menus. But we're both pretty observant...so ask away.

[rmurray847]

EMBARKATION: We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale the day before (our first time there) and we stayed at the Renaissance hotel, fairly near the port (and located right across the street from Walgreen's, which was nice for a snagging a couple of minor items we had forgotten). The hotel was nice, but there are MANY nice ones in the area, so I won't go on and on about it. We had dinner than night at Mario's Catalina Restaurant (Cuban/Spanish), and this I do HIGHLY recommend. So tasty, great service and generous drinks (although it is pretty pricey).

 

The hotel does not offer a port shuttle, but they do allow a 3rd party vendor to sell transfers. At $6 per person, it was a pretty decent deal. We wanted to be early on the ship, so we took the first transfer that morning...10 am. We were the only ones on it. We arrived at the port, which was still pretty crazy with folks LEAVING from the prior cruise. But the van took us to the right spot, and as our luggage (pre-tagged, of course) came off the van, someone working for Royal came up and took it away! Then we entered the huge terminal. That early (10:15 at the latest), we took only a couple of minutes to get through security. We found the "GOLD" status check-in line and had NO wait. In fact, we had our choice of 3 clerks. Two minutes later (time mostly spent quickly filling out the health questionnaire) we had our Sea Pass cards. A brief stop to take the obligatory (and ultimately awful) photo...and we were heading up the escalator for the waiting area. We were politely pointed to our seating area, where we plunked down my backpack and kicked back to wait. At 11am sharp, they began the process of loading. I assumed it would take awhile from here, but I'm VERY happy to report that the lines moved fast. They had lots of people ready to check our Sea Pass card there in the terminal, and from there, you just walked up the gangway and onto the ship. By 11:15, we were trying to take in the Royal Promenade and orient ourselves. Having watched lots of Youtube videos and such beforehand, we were ready!! Off to the Boardwalk we went...and at 11:30 sharp, just as the Sabor bar opened, we ordered our first drinks (yes, we had the drink package). We had Long Island Iced Tea, and the bartender said "Getting off to a fast start, huh?" I agreed! A quick hot dog and we were off to our noon massage appointment. The $169 price tag for going that early in the cruise was too tempting, and it turned out to be a great way to kick things off...being abused by my masseuse for an hour! It was awesome to have some of the tension worked out of me. We then signed up for the thermal spa pass (a first for us) at a discounted price and then once we left, the cabins were available, so off we went.

[rmurray847]

CABIN:

 

We were in Oceanview Balcony cabin #7288. This was darn near ideal for us. It's aft, about 8 cabins back from the elevator lobby...so very close to it, but with none of the attendant noise. One flight down and we could walk right out onto the Boardwalk. One flight up, and we walked forward, right into Central Park. (And two easy flights down put us right on the Promenade.) The only downside to this cabin for us was that getting to Entertainment Place was tougher, because it is far forward, and going through the Casino on the 4th was a smokey experience we tried to avoid. So we got used to going down 2 flights to the Promenade, crossing the gauntlet of shoppers and sellers, and then, once forward, going down one more flight of stairs. Such first world problems!!

 

The cabin immediately struck us as lovely. For us, the bed was nearest the door and the sofa was nearest the balcony. The colors were lovely, and after two cruises without a balcony, we were immediately thrilled to be back with one. The balcony is quite small (two chairs, small table and not much extra space beyond that), but it is just so nice for us. We don't spend loads of time there, but just being able to step out there in the morning to check the weather and see the port coming up, or in the evening to enjoy the stars and the other cruise ships nearby (we passed half a mile from the Oasis going the opposite direction on our last night) is great!

 

The bathroom is typical for what we've had with Royal. The circular shower that always makes me think of the transporter on Star Trek. The tiny sink. But also the thoughtful shelf and the little counter. On Norwegian, counter and shelf space is almost non-existent (at least, on the Jewel class), but Royal gives you some, and it's great. It's a tiny bathroom, but we are so used to it by now, we have no real issues with it.

 

The closet location is the biggest problem. The doors are just about 10" from the side of the bed, so getting to the closet is a tight squeeze. Many was the time we wished for just a little more space. There would easily have been a way to have designed the beds to be perhaps 5 more inches away from the closet, but if we had simply moved our bed, we would have been out of alignment with the bedside lamps. So getting to the far side of the closet was a daily aggravation. Again, though, first world problems. The little table/counter in the room is where my wife put on makeup, did her hair, etc. It's small but the mirror is pretty big and worked out well. More drawer and shelf space here, although some of the shelves were SO tiny, I had to wonder what they thought anyone would use them for. It gave the appearance of more space than there really was. But still, a very nice, basic cabin.

 

Our steward, Pedro (from Peru) was a bit soft spoken, but friendly and helpful. He greeted us by name when he saw us, made small talk and I certainly had no complaints about him. HOWEVER (this is a big however), we did have to leave a note and ask him to vacuum the room. There was some debris on the carpet from the previous occupants and after this wasn't gone a couple of days later...we just couldn't tolerate it any more. But Pedro did make great towel animals. We had some complex constructions we hadn't seen before.

[rmurray847]

MAIN DINING ROOM:

 

We had, as always, My Time Dining, although I had booked all our times in advance, using the on-line tool. For the most part, I was pretty happy with the times we picked. We ate here 6 nights (one night we spent at 150 Central Park), and for 5 of the nights, our waiter was Jose and our asst. waiter was Gerardo, both from the Philippines. With the exception of the pair we had on our 12 night European cruise 5 years ago, this was the best staff we've had. Jose was always moving fast, but he was always cheerful and learned our habits quickly. Wine was brought out without ordering (and after the first time, we never had to show our Sea Pass card again). Water was refilled frequently. They were fun.

 

The food was generally quite good. I don't have all the names of the various menus memorized, but the most disappointing is Day One...the same as we experienced last September on the Explorer our of Seattle. The appetizers are the most boring, and the entrees are no great shakes. Get ready for that, and don't assume Day 1 will be your experience going forward. After that, you'll find several apps you want and several entrees. I always had tough choices to make. Desserts are the most hit-and-miss. But if there weren't great choices (often, there was something very chocolatey, and I'm not a big chocolate eater), I always defaulted to the tasty creme brulee on their "always available" section. One night, I just had vanilla ice cream. I was never disappointed, but seldom actually blown away. But the main courses were actually always solid, never cold, and there wasn't a clunker in the bunch, in my opinion.

 

The 3rd floor of the MDR (where My Time is held) was always packed. It's a madhouse in there and the seating is cramped. We often took long, circuitous routes to our table. But it's still attractive and if you just tune out a little bit, the noise fades away.

 

As a side note, we had two lunches in the MDR (never breakfast) and we went through the salad bar and hot items buffet. The salad bar is one of the best meals on the ship...even though it's so simple. You pick your items (lots to choose from) and the preparer puts it all together in a bowl, chops it all, and then serves to you. Cool and crisp and tasty. The menu items for lunch also sounded exceptional, but the salad bar just always called to us. The hot items available were limited, but always tasty. Things like Chicken Marsala. The shrimp on ice was a popular item...kinda like a bottomless shrimp cocktail. Lots of conspicuous consumption going on here!

[rmurray847]

SPECIALTY / OTHER DINING:

 

So, the Allure has lots of options for places to eat and we did NOT hit them all. Most noteworthy...we did NOT eat at the Windjammer. We hardly ever do anyway, but there were other far more appealing choices. We also never ate at the Wipeout Cafe, and except for grabbing one quick, uninspired snack early on, never ate at Cafe Promenade.

 

On night #5 (the end of a sea day) we had dinner at 150 Central Park. Awesome! We had already fallen in love with Central Park long before...but it was extra nice that evening (a formal night). Seeing couples strolling arm in arm in their nice clothes, with the lovely plants, live music playing and dark skies made for a romantic outing. At 150, we had the beef tenderloin for two and it was fabulous. So tender and tasty. Our waiter, House (yes, that was his name) was really a nice guy and very attentive. The place is pretty elegant, so I would say if you show up there (especially on formal night) in shorts or something very casual, you WILL feel out of place. Normally, I don't care too much about what others wear...but when we looked around the room, everyone was dressy. I was in a suit and tie and my wife in an evening dress. That felt right. We saw a couple of tuxedos, but I think suit/tie level is good. It's an escape from the bustle of the rest of the ship and just a treat. HIGHLY recommended for romance.

 

We had lunch the next day at CHOPS. We've had dinner at other CHOPS before and always enjoyed. But I can enthusiastically endorse the lunch too. At $19.99 per person, it's a good deal. The food isn't QUITE as "steak house" fancy, but you can still get a nice filet if you want. My wife had the steak salad, and it was LOADED (I mean LOADED, with slices of slightly warm steak done just to her liking). I had the burger, and it was fantastic and so juicy and tasty. Everything else was good too. (House wandered in from neighboring Chops, saw that our water glasses were getting low, and came over to refill and chat for a minute. The cruise lines need to clone this guy...he is really into providing upscale service at these upscale restaurants.) We VERY much enjoyed our lunch at Chops (having Central Park as a view doesn't stink either).

 

We had lunch once in the Park Cafe and twice, we had breakfast. It's a crowded place, but moves fast. We both tried the famous roast beef sandwich. Very tasty, but not life-changing. For breakfast, you can get all sorts of stuff, but the "Egg McMuffin" thing they prepare is the highpoint. Fast and tasty. We had our final breakfast here.. If you can get an outside table, you're right in the middle of Central Park. A beautiful way to start your day (or finish your cruise).

 

We had breakfast our first morning at Johnny Rocket's. There is no upcharge for this, so it's a nice treat. We sat outside and people watched on the Boardwalk. The food was tasty and abundant (standard American fare), but the tables are tiny so it was tough to juggle. Also, oddly, they don't have pepper. I asked for salt and pepper for my eggs and they could only provide salt. STRANGE!

 

Our favorite breakfast spot was the buffet in the Solarium. Basically the exact same food you would get at the Windjammer, but only two lines of food (not 500+!!!) and we never felt rushed or crowded. Great seats to choose from. Easy access to the food. MUCH more relaxing. A "secret" gem, to be honest. While never abandoned, it also never felt crazy busy. (And the extra secret plus side...the GREAT hot tubs that hang out over the side of the ship were NEVER busy in the morning. We literally came up to breakfast in our bathing suits, ate breakfast, then went to the hot tubs and got in for 15 wonderful, relaxing minutes. And we never shared these giant tubs with more than 5 other people, usually less. Oh, if only I could start EVERY day like that!!)

 

We had hot dogs at the hot dog stand on our first day on the ship, and although we talked about going again, it never happened. I had the brat, and it was tasty. What we really enjoyed for a quick, late afternoon snack was Sorrento's. The pizza was surprisingly good. I expected something akin to Dominos on a bad day...but it was tasty, the crust was thin (which my wife loves) and we just overall loved the spot. It's terribly crowded for eating there, so I started bringing a few slices back to the room (along with a couple of drinks from Schooner's Bar, so my juggling skills improved). YUM!! Just the plain cheese pizza was great...I think the secret is in their red sauce.

 

We grabbed donuts one day (nothing special) and had ice cream once at the Ben & Jerry's place. Not crowded, and friendly service.

 

There, I think I've covered all the food options, but certainly let me know if you'd like to hear more. (When I say "all", I'm exclusing the other true specialty restaurants. They all looked nice (especially Giovanni's) but I have no experience of the food or service.

[Florida Fan]

Thanks for the great info. I'll be on the Allure in Jan. I do have one question: What kind of food can you get for breakfast at Johnny Rockets?

[Clarea]

Thanks for the great info. I'll be on the Allure in Jan. I do have one question: What kind of food can you get for breakfast at Johnny Rockets?

[K L B]

This is all great info. You are answering questions I didn't know I had! We just booked Allure and I'm lovin' reading this!

[Dremac373]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a detailed review

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your review, what did you think of the Windjammer?

[easyboy]

Glad you had a great cruise! Thanks for the extensive review.

[Grandma Petania]

Thanks for your review, what did you think of the Windjammer?

They said they never ate at the windjammer

[yuvraj]

Thank you for a great review. I was on the Allure on the Subsequent sailing so just returned.

 

I also stayed at the Renaissance and agree that it is a great hotel. It is very close to the port.

[rmurray847]

Thanks for your review, what did you think of the Windjammer?

 

We did NOT Windjam!! Remember, we ended up at the Solarium Buffet, which we loved (at least, for breakfast). So we managed to avoid the Windjammer, which I do not regret in the least.

[rmurray847]

BARS:

 

We had the unlimited drink packages, and certainly did our best to get our monies worth (especially me). BUT we never really settled on a favorite bar. Usually it was whatever was closest when I had the urge for a drink. I'll try to run them down, but this part of the review is a bit skimpy. We had overall pleasant bar service, although some better than others. In our limited experience, the most friendly bartenders were at the Sabor bar on the Boardwalk (not the bar inside Sabor, but the one in the center of the Boardwalk.)

 

Schooners was in a great location relative to our cabin, but we only went a couple of times. During the day, it was a ghost town and would have been a good spot to sit and relax. In the evening, much busier. They seemed a bit understaffed, and service was pretty slow. It's a pretty place, though.

 

The Champagne/Martini bar became a running joke for my wife and it. We never went, though. It is at the far aft, starboard side of the promenade, and most of the time, it was completely empty. OR, there were a couple of groups sitting there looking exhausted. It seemed to be the place to crash when you just couldn't make it back to your cabin after a long day ashore. In the evenings, it seemed a little more full but no more lively. This struck us as a real downer of a place, and we never went. I'm sure I'm being unfair...but that was the impression.

 

Blaze nightclub. We went in one evening for about 2 minutes, just to see it. We're both in our early/mid '50s, so Blaze wasn't really for us. I will not comment on the "music." We went in on the very first night of the cruise, and while it was loud, and lots of flashing lights (and it was around midnight)...there were almost no patrons. We did not try the bar.

 

Jazz Club does NOT have a bar! They have servers coming around, but that's the slowest way of getting drinks. We spent some time there when they had a Beatles evening. It was relaxing. In fact, it was SOOO relaxing that we saw at least 6 elderly men asleep in their chairs, plus 1 lady who literally stretched out on a couch and was taking a full on nap! It's a nice place, but the music wasn't always for us. The comedy club, where we spent a hilarious late night the first night, also only has servers coming around taking orders. There is a tiny, makeshift bar just outside the door (also outside the door of the Jazz Club) and you can get limited drinks there, but I recommend it anyway because it's much faster than the servers. That little bar is also just outside the main doors to the theater, so if there is a big show about to start it becomes insane. The same man seemed to be working it every night, and he was amazingly fast. And you can buy popcorn there, if you like. $2.50 for a small bag.

 

I'm sorry I'm bouncing all over the place. So, back up to the Promenade. They also have the latin club, Bolero's. This is another well designed spot. We didn't spend much time there, but bar service was decent. Across from them is the Karaoke club, which has a small bar. It's a small place overall, so if you're there for an event that's busy, you'll have a wait. HOWEVER, during the day, this place is usually deserted, but the bar is open. It's then a very FAST stop for a drink...although the bartenders there were the most apathetic and poured the least generous drinks. I ordered a cape cod for my wife (vodka and cranberry juice...that's it) and the tender really needed to think hard about it.

 

The bars on the pool decks got very little activity from us, as we didn't spend much time there. I don't remember their names, but the one on the AFT side is the smoking section. Ugh! It reeks there...so unless you're a smoker, it's not much further to get to the bar on the other side and order from them. Typical service there...friendly and hard working tenders...but expect to wait a bit. Half the folks are ordering fancy, fruity cocktails that take some time.

 

In Central Park, you'll find the Trellis Bar. It's in a great spot in the Park and it is very attractive. While never SUPER crowded, it does get a bit of patronage in the evenings and I felt the bar was a bit understaffed. But if you can get a table there (we enjoyed one in the afternoon, with nice sun and the beautiful plants [and fake bird sounds])...it's worth the slower service. The bartender we had there most days was very chatty, and it slowed her service down to a level that strained our patience just a bit. Oh, and speaking of Central Park, don't forget the Rising Tide bar. This is a small bar that is basically a giant elevator, travelling from Central Park (Deck 8) to the Promenade (Deck 5) and back. About 30 minutes per round trip, although most of that is spend waiting. It's a novelty...but I didn't actually end up enjoying it all that much. Service was indifferent. Tables were TINY. And once you done the journey once, it loses its appeal, IMO.

 

As mentioned, our favorite was the Sabor Bar on the Boardwalk. It's right near the entrance to the Aqua Theater, so at show times, it gets quite busy. But during the early afternoon, the Boardwalk, even on sea days, is not terribly busy (unless the Belly Flop competition is on) and the service is friendly, the drinks are mixed well, with a generous hand, and the location is very pretty and relaxing. (The also seem to serve a few things at the Hot Dog stand, but we never got drinks there.)

 

On their drink menu was something call "Strawberry Mescal Pepperino." Strawberry Puree, Mescal & hot pepper. Sounded good to me. I tried ordering at the bar in Studio B (the ice rink)...she said she didn't have the ingredients. I figured the Sabor Bar would for sure. I tried...they did not have the peppers. So the tender said, "go into Sabor and order at the bar there. They can do this." NOT TRUE! The guy had never even heard of the drink. He said he had the peppers but not the strawberry. However, it was slow at this time, so he jogged over to the Sabor Bar and had a long talk with the bartender there. He got some puree from the guy, came back to his bar and started mixing. The "hot peppers"? Just the dried pepper flakes like you get at a pizza place. Massively disappointing. Needless to say, that drink was NOT worth the trouble!!

 

The bar in Studio B was busy. If you get to the show early anyway (which I recommend if you want decent seats that aren't behind a pillar), go right to bar and grab some drinks. Later, the place gets packed and the line gets long. Usually just ONE bartender! The bar in the main theater also gets crazy lines. Two tenders, but still slow and an inefficient set up. They also have limited mixers available, so don't order something frozen. No blender service. This is a good venue to get a neat bourbon (all their booze is on the shelf right in front of you, so you can do a little window shopping first and decide what you're in the mood for). One night, I was in line 10 minutes before the show, but when I ordered, it was only 3 minutes before the show, and they got in a fluster over what I ordered (long island iced tea, I think) and said "we'll have to run next door to get what we need" and then I never saw the guy again and the show started, so I left. So, word to the wise...get your drinks early in any of the entertainment venues. The Aqua Theater doesn't have a bar...it's server service again...so stop by the Sabor Bar first and get your drinks.

 

We only used the Solarium bar during one of the nighttime events. It was so loud, I had to shout my order several times. Hard to judge the bar based on that experience. The bar in Dazzles was nice, but it was downstairs, and I'd argue the best seats are upstairs, where you have to rely on servers. BUT the server service here was fairly brisk. This is a fun venue, by the way, which was often quite empty. (But if there was an event like the Battle of the Sexes...it was full to the brim. Again, get theretimely if you want a seat where you can actually see what's going on.)

 

Sorry this was so disjointed. Not sure it was very helpful, but if you have questions (or if I forgot a venue), please let me know.

[rmurray847]

DISEMBARKATION:

 

I still want to hit areas like entertainment and ports, but those will take longer. This should be a fairly short section.

 

Disembarkation was easy. It was the first time we just elected to handle our bags ourselves, because we wanted to be sure to be off the ship by 8, hoping that we'd be in our taxi by 9. (Had a 10:45 flight back to Albuquerque). Everything really was running smoothly on the ship, it seemed. We had breakfast at Park Cafe in Central Park at around 7:15. Busy but not too bad. Still nice and calm in Central Park, with very friendly service. Back to the room at 7:50. One last restroom break. Out the door by 7:58. 3 suitcases (yes, we can't travel light!!) wheeled to elevator. Only a few people. Down to the Promenade by 8:00. Quickly off the ship and down the gangway. We had downloaded the Custom's App the evening before (never used it before, but Royal really recommended it). We walked right up to customs. Showed them the app and still had to show passports too, but it took less than 2 minutes. We were in a darn taxi by 8:15! At the airport by 8:30 or so. Way too early!! But it was great and stressfree all round. Royal did a great job of herding everyone to the correct line. The line of taxis was VERY long, so we had zero issues. If checked out of hotels and had more chaos than we had that morning. Very impressed, to be honest.

[rmurray847]

ENTERTAINMENT

 

There is certainly quite a variety of high production value entertainment on the ship. We really enjoyed OCEAN ARIA, the high diving show at Aqua Theater. We attended our first night on board (having made reservations in advance) and a couple of nights later, we went again on stand-by (no issues at all getting in). It's always fun to see humans doing things that are amazing and a little crazy! By the same token, we enjoyed BLUE PLANET later in the cruise at the theater. Same group of acrobats, but with some singing and impressive scenery thrown in the mix. Though the implication at the beginning of the show is that there will be some kind of plot...there really isn't. Just the barest threads hold this thing together...so it's best just to look at it as a series of performances. It's fun and some scenes are downright beautiful. (The evocation of being under water is pretty impressive.)

 

MAMA MIA was a bit disappointing. The staging is adequate, but this is such a terribly thin show. The plot is silly at best. The music, of course, can be a blast if ABBA is to your taste. I enjoy it on a nostalgic level, and was certainly ready for a night of fun music from my teen years. I have to say that most of the performers were merely okay. The two lead females (mother and daughter characters) had decent enough voices, but to be honest, their acting left a lot to be desired. The lead male actor (one of the 3 "dads"...I won't spoil it for you more) was really pretty bad. He acted like he was a bit embarrassed to be there. Maybe performing on a cruise ship is beneath him. The dancing was okay but nothing spectacular. My favorite part of the show was the lengthy curtain call, where the cast just cuts loose and sings some ABBA songs without worrying about making it fit a plot. I enjoyed myself alright, but after 2.5 hours, it had become a bit tedious.

 

Other entertainment was fun. The two comedians onboard (Dan Friessen was one, I forget the other) were both funny. See them at the comedy club if you can...towards the end of the cruise, they performed at the big theater. It's just not as fun there. While they were certainly not for kids, the bad language was at a bit of a minimum and the material wasn't terribly controversial. These are "safe" comedians with some bad language sprinkled in. Good fun.

 

Joel Mason was onboard. We've seen this "Elton John" impersonator before, and he's really hilarious. Performing Elton John is just the jumping off point...this is not a serious tribute show. The ship's band gets really involved with the action, and my advice is just to go with it. It's not quite like any show you've likely seen before...but if you like rock/pop music, you should enjoy the heck out of this. The music gets loud. It's fun!!

 

We enjoyed the Ice Show, as always. Clever costumes, fast-moving and occasionally quite impressive. Yes, the skaters will fall at times...they are on a rocking ship, after all. But it's fun. We saw the show that uses the game Monopoly as a starting off point. We skipped HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON ON ICE, thinking it would be mostly focused on costumes. We heard later it was just as impressive, so I'm a little sorry we skipped it. Late in the cruise, the Ice rink is transformed into the site of THE QUEST, the funniest game show on sea. If you don't know it...it's like the world's nuttiest scavenger hunt, but that barely covers it. It's very much just for adults...but it's a hoot. You can get very involved in it, or just sit back and enjoy the hilarity.

 

We didn't see much of the bands on board. They were there...our schedule and interests just didn't lead us to spend much time in venues with live music. The Jazz Club hosted a Beatles tribute one night which I mentioned before, and we enjoyed about 20 minutes of that. We also enjoyed various "easy listening" performers in the evenings at Central Park. What a great location! Once it was dark, the lights in the park make the place very atmospheric. The live music just added an element of romance. Sometimes it was a guy with a keyboard, or a guy with a guitar. Once, there was a classical quartet, who were occasionally hitting false notes...but overall, it was a nice touch.

 

Advice: if these sorts of things are your cup of tea, do try to make reservations online in advance if you can. You CAN change once onboard...but it's best to have things locked down. Other advice: get to shows at the theater early. At 10 minutes til curtain, they will let standby in. But to be honest, by 15 minutes before showtime, the pickings for seating get pretty slim.

[hucifer]

A bit late, but I enjoyed your review. I'll be on the Allure in 11 days and appreciated your candor! Thank you!

[rmurray847]

A bit late, but I enjoyed your review. I'll be on the Allure in 11 days and appreciated your candor! Thank you!

 

Thanks. Hope you have a GREAT cruise (wherever they end up taking you)!!

[rmurray847]

PORTS - My Final Section of the Review

 

I nearly forgot to come back here and finish my review. I think the Hurricane situation pushed more "normal" posts like mine down the list quickly, and I got very little response. Totally understandable, but hoping still that my somewhat rambling thoughts might be of use. I certainly have benefited A LOT from the posts of other cruisers.

 

We stopped first at Labadee...our first time at this or any other "private island." We did the Paradise Cove/Haitian Village excursion, where you take a small boat with around 20 other folks on a short but scenic boat ride to a very nice, calm, warm cove. They'll take you through a sort of living history / low pressure sales trip through the jungle. We enjoyed this very much...seeing local crafts, understanding more about local flora, etc. Informative. Then the water! It's great. Not very deep at all (the boat docks 50 yards or so from the beach, and you climb out and walk through less than waist deep water to the beach)...and the temps were perfect. You have use of kayaks or other water toys. Loungers are available, although most folks on our excursion stayed in the water. It was super relaxing and I highly recommend this excursion. Then, after nearly 4 hours, we were back to the ship's island, and what a difference! Quite crowded. We had lunch, which was pretty good. The BBQ didn't include any chicken breast or beef, so my wife was a bit disappointed, but everything was flavorful, and it was easy to grab a beer or two or three. We wandered around a bit, and spent some more time kicking back at a beach. MUCH more hectic than our little cove. I noted the "private" cabanas...honestly, I have a hard time imagining they are worth the money from what I saw...but that's just me jumping to an ill-informed conclusion. Want some near privacy...take the excursion away from the noisy crowds. We also did the Dragon Tail coaster. It was fun, but debatable as to whether it's worth $25. Still fun though...no question.

 

My biggest complain was about the vendors. My wife and I usually are happy to spend a little time wandering amongst the local vendors selling "authentic local junk for tourists." Gift giving opportunities, plus sometimes you actually find a nice memento of your visit. We understand that the stuff is hardly the height of sophistication. But it's fun anyway. We COULD NOT shop at Labadee. The Artisan's village (or whatever they call it) is the most off-putting collection of vendors we've encountered, and we've run the gauntlet of pushy vendors in Egypt, Turkey and Cozumel. If you so much as look at an item, you are swarmed upon with that item pushed in your face. If you even look at a store from a distance, folks will run up to you and yell at you. They act super friendly at times, but if you say "no thank you" all pretense of interest in you not only evaporates (understandable) but turns into resentment (not acceptable). We didn't spend a time in this minor hell-hole. RCI really, REALLY needs to rethink what they allow to happen here. I know they must get a cut of sales...how about selecting vendors with a little more tact? I know these are poor people just trying to scratch out a living...but could someone not explain to them that Americans will part with money if you just let them breathe. (The vendors were far less pushy at Paradise Cove...guess where we DID spend some bucks).

 

Our time in Puerto Rico was limited, and we had hired a private guide to take us to El Yunque. So we saw very little of San Juan, but we sure enjoyed our time in the jungle. A few hours of hiking in this area was just fantastic. Guide service was pretty reasonable (less then $200 for the two of us to have private car and guide all the way. WE picked what we wanted to do) Even had time for a BRIEF city tour at the end, although it was getting dark. We had NO time for shopping here.

 

St. Marten/Sint Maarten was great (and we were there just 11 days before Irma paid them a devastating visit...kind of makes us a little sick thinking about it). We had a private snorkeling/beach excursion with Captain Jo. This was certainly pricey, but what a treat. We took a van around to the French side of the island, and thoroughly enjoyed chatting with our driver Joyce. She dropped off another family at their excursion and then we were off on ours. Snorkeling with turtles near Tintamarre. Time at Pinel Island to just chill out and sunbathe and swim. Then some more snorkeling amongst some very colorful fish. Very, VERY laid-back day with gorgeous scenery. On the way back, we had to wait with Joyce at another beach while the other family came back. There was a food truck there, and my wife and enjoyed a great meal-snack (a meal between meal times that is more meal-sized than snack-sized). Tasty food and great company. We just chatted with the vendors and other locals, and everyone was so very friendly. We pray they are all okay.

 

Shopping around the port was modest...but if you like Diamonds International, you're set. Two locations! We bought a few gifts here, but it wasn't spectacular. I gather the place to go is into Philipsburg, but we had no time for that. We really saw very little of the Dutch side. But we sure enjoyed our stop..now very poignant in retrospect.

 

So that's about it for me for my "formal" presentations. PLEASE let me know if you have any questions. I'm truly trying to write this so I can help others as others have helped my wife and I. Thanks.

[Jobe20]

Thanks for this review-brought back many happy memories.We were on there with you and had an amazing week :)

Agree with lots you have said.

Like you we had a PM ocean view balcony but on 10 at the front, great location for us too. We especially loved Central Park. We did the Central Park tour on the first morning at sea (left the kids to do their own thing). It was very interesting. The Park Cafe was our favourite place for breakfast (smoked salmon bagels) and lunch (hot beef sandwich/ salad bowls etc)

Just a different opinion on Mamma Mia, we all loved it but we have seen the show/ film a few times before and so get the thin story line/ know what is coming next. It did appear to us that the audience on ship is very different to the audience Mamma Mia cast get in theatres around the world and we could tell that a large proportion of the audience onboard just don't get it. I'm guessing it is a long show if you don't get it: but we named it as one of our top five things to do onboard :D

Thinking of all those places we visited that have suffered since we were there :(

[rmurray847]

Just a different opinion on Mamma Mia, we all loved it but we have seen the show/ film a few times before and so get the thin story line/ know what is coming next. It did appear to us that the audience on ship is very different to the audience Mamma Mia cast get in theatres around the world and we could tell that a large proportion of the audience onboard just don't get it. I'm guessing it is a long show if you don't get it: but we named it as one of our top five things to do onboard :D

Thinking of all those places we visited that have suffered since we were there :(

 

Now I have to defend my Mamma Mia opinion!! I have an undergraduate degree in theater, and spent the first 15 years of my career as Executive Director of non-profit theater companies. So from that perspective, I have to say the show MAMMA MIA is only so-so, and the production on the Allure is okay but not inspired. For a thin show like MAMMA MIA to really work, it needs more inspiration & talent on the production/performance side. BUT, there was still plenty to enjoy. When the folks on stage just sang their hearts out, it was still a treat.

 

I'm only offering the above to say that my opinion isn't based on not getting the show (there were plenty of people around us who clearly just weren't the right audience for an ABBA show...leaving at intermission or, in one case, dozing off. I could never sleep through that loud music!).

 

I really appreciate hearing your thoughts on the experience. It was a LOAD of fun!!!

[Milhouse]

Thanks for the review. It had lots of info we were interested in / curious about for our upcoming first cruise on Allure.

[Riverwinds 13]

Enjoyed your review. Going on the Allure 10/15. Your review will help. Thank you.

[sprint180]

Now I have to defend my Mamma Mia opinion!!

 

You don't have to defend anything. It is your trip, your experience.