Review: Allure of the Seas - Oct 14-21

[elf426]

5 hours ago, Capt Snoopy said:

Great review so far! I was on the same sailing and did a live review and I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought this about CK. Everything came out as it should, it just wasn’t....there yet. I look forward to the rest of your review!

I just read your review now I'm racking my brain whether I recognize you or not! I'm glad I'm not the only one who had feelings about CK. We actually discussed on night 5 or 6 whether the specialty dining packages are worth it and your review definitely makes it look  like it is.

[eastoftheboston]

Fantastic review! Thank you for sharing. I did this same itinerary on Allure in August, and it's nice to relive it through your review. Of course, I was only in a lowly JS so I didn't get to experience CK or the suite lounge, but hopefully that will change next trip! 

Thank you for taking the time to post!

[BillOh]

On 10/21/2018 at 9:30 PM, elf426 said:

Hi everyone, long time listener, first time caller. Seeing as this forum has been a huge resource for me, I'm finally paying my dues with a review of my own. I truly had intended to start reviewing on board but the whole forum refurb really threw a wrench in that...........and get a little room envy 😉 Thanks in advance for following along.

 

 

I'm enjoying so far, thanks for taking the time. If I ever do spring extra $ for the 2 of us If will be those loft suites, I fell in love with those on a cabin crawl back in 2013.    By the way, the day you joined this forum I was boarding Oasis as my first diamond cruise. (Useless fact of the day) 

[Capt Snoopy]

1 hour ago, elf426 said:

I just read your review now I'm racking my brain whether I recognize you or not! I'm glad I'm not the only one who had feelings about CK. We actually discussed on night 5 or 6 whether the specialty dining packages are worth it and your review definitely makes it look  like it is.

I was trying to remember seeing you as well! We were there for breakfast every morning. I definitely remember the tuxedo and shorts guy 😂🙌🏻 

[Capt Snoopy]

2 hours ago, elf426 said:

Three other ladies had “Patricia” in their cabana…is that code?

Oh I’m glad I’m not the only one she made an impression on. She made quite a contribution to the comedy show on night 3 LOL

[elf426]

Final Thoughts

 

Ok guys, thanks to all of you that have followed along, and also to those whose previous reviews helped with some of the content I mentioned in our forthcoming videos.

 

To sum up my week, I had a great time. The ship was more than I expected and definitely has me wondering if I can go back to smaller classes. To be fair my only other cruise with Royal was on Freedom and I thought it was pretty awesome, too.

 

The room…what can I say. Crown Loft Suite or bust. Kidding. I’d have to start selling organs for that. But if this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it was worth it.

 

Food? Subjective, but in my opinion this was the weakest experience I’ve had cruising. Entertainment? Can’t really comment. Not that I don’t enjoy the productions, it just wasn’t my priority this trip. Service? Friendly, accommodating, no complaints.

 

Brandon and I filmed a much more thorough review of the week that you can watch here:

https://youtu.be/VYSFaBywu18

 

I hope that our feedback is helpful to you, just as many of you have been helpful to us. 

[tweety522]

1 hour ago, elf426 said:

Final Thoughts

 

Ok guys, thanks to all of you that have followed along, and also to those whose previous reviews helped with some of the content I mentioned in our forthcoming videos.

 

To sum up my week, I had a great time. The ship was more than I expected and definitely has me wondering if I can go back to smaller classes. To be fair my only other cruise with Royal was on Freedom and I thought it was pretty awesome, too.

 

The room…what can I say. Crown Loft Suite or bust. Kidding. I’d have to start selling organs for that. But if this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it was worth it.

 

Food? Subjective, but in my opinion this was the weakest experience I’ve had cruising. Entertainment? Can’t really comment. Not that I don’t enjoy the productions, it just wasn’t my priority this trip. Service? Friendly, accommodating, no complaints.

 

Brandon and I filmed a much more thorough review of the week that you can watch here:

https://youtu.be/VYSFaBywu18

 

I hope that our feedback is helpful to you, just as many of you have been helpful to us. 

 Thanks so much for this video . I think it is going to be helpful. I will be going on this ship in February  in a balcony room. Your room did look awesome . I read you got off the ship early. The ship when we sail will be in Miami and were not sure if we could make a 10:05am flight?

 

[elf426]

2 minutes ago, tweety522 said:

 Thanks so much for this video . I think it is going to be helpful. I will be going on this ship in February  in a balcony room. Your room did look awesome . I read you got off the ship early. The ship when we sail will be in Miami and were not sure if we could make a 10:05am flight?

 

Glad to help. My first question is are you flying out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale? If Miami, and you do self-debarkation (carry off your own bags), it's definitely doable, but risky depending on when you arrive and are able to get off (as well as the x-factors of checking bags, who you're flying, etc). If Ft Lauderdale, highly unlikely. We were fortunate to have the concierge escort us out through a shortcut; they even held up the standard line so our group could get our Sea Passes scanned to leave. The majority of the luggage was still being sorted as we were leaving, around 6:45.

[tweety522]

It would be out of Miami on American, we do have Global Entry, I do not know if Royal has a separate line for this. When we were on Princess they did. i Have not bought the airfare yet, till watching, but its $200 difference so far. 

[Bakeman02]

Yes - if you carry your own bags and everything works out you should be able to get to the airport by 8-8:30 in Miami.  It's a short drive from the port with minimal traffic at that time.

[elf426]

Thanks to everyone for liking and commenting on my review, it's a warm, fuzzy feeling to have followers (and not in a Kool-Aid drinking way). For more info, check out some extra videos we shot while on our cruise:

 

Full Ship Tour: https://youtu.be/x5b-NzHVGJM

Cabin Tour (CLS 1708): https://youtu.be/qkarcstuBeU

Barefoot Beach Tour: https://youtu.be/Tk-nOdVre8c

 

A few notes:

1. I say "boat" a few times instead of "ship". It's like squares and rectangles in my opinion, which is probably wrong.

2. I say "set sail pass" because my brain couldn't make the words "sea pass" come out. You may note I'm still drinking my coffee during the tour, so here I'll blame lack of caffeinating.

3. I apologize to anyone who gets "heyyy guyyyyyssss" stuck in their head. Brandon is literally saying it to me every time he sees me.

4. I am not an expert, nor am I perfect, just saying what I saw and what I know from experience. There are probably things I say incorrectly or that you know better than me. Maybe drop a comment for clarification?

 

Happy viewing and future cruising friends!

 

[emdia43]

3 hours ago, tweety522 said:

It would be out of Miami on American, we do have Global Entry, I do not know if Royal has a separate line for this. When we were on Princess they did. i Have not bought the airfare yet, till watching, but its $200 difference so far. 

We just did the self assist disembarkation on Allure and it was the best one yet. They gave 0630-0830 as the time you could leave and we went down about 0730 expecting ( based on past experiences) to be standing in a very long line, shuffling slowly out. But the exit point was via the dining room off the Promenade and we walked straight out. At the airport (FLL) in a 15 minutes. We had booked a flight at 10.10am, the only other choice was 4.30 PM so we hoped for the best.   MIA is about 20 mins from the port so you should be fine...

[tweety522]

4 hours ago, elf426 said:

Thanks to everyone for liking and commenting on my review, it's a warm, fuzzy feeling to have followers (and not in a Kool-Aid drinking way). For more info, check out some extra videos we shot while on our cruise:

 

Full Ship Tour: https://youtu.be/x5b-NzHVGJM

Cabin Tour (CLS 1708): https://youtu.be/qkarcstuBeU

Barefoot Beach Tour: https://youtu.be/Tk-nOdVre8c

 

A few notes:

1. I say "boat" a few times instead of "ship". It's like squares and rectangles in my opinion, which is probably wrong.

2. I say "set sail pass" because my brain couldn't make the words "sea pass" come out. You may note I'm still drinking my coffee during the tour, so here I'll blame lack of caffeinating.

3. I apologize to anyone who gets "heyyy guyyyyyssss" stuck in their head. Brandon is literally saying it to me every time he sees me.

4. I am not an expert, nor am I perfect, just saying what I saw and what I know from experience. There are probably things I say incorrectly or that you know better than me. Maybe drop a comment for clarification?

 

Happy viewing and future cruising friends!

 

I think you did just fine!

 

[BillOh]

15 hours ago, elf426 said:

 

A few notes:

1. I say "boat" a few times instead of "ship". 

 

No worries, I make typos!  Sometimes I say boat, just to annoy the people who obsessively have to correct people. 

[elf426]

1 hour ago, BillOh said:

 

No worries, I make typos!  Sometimes I say boat, just to annoy the people who obsessively have to correct people. 

Whaaaaaat?! Antagonize complete strangers?!? Never

[Patriot55]

Wonderful review! Thank you!