Quick review - Allure of the Seas March 10, 2019

[Madsofa]

 I have read many reviews and always appreciate the info/stories people share, so I thought I’d give it a try. Here is a brief review of our Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Allure of the Seas. 

 

Who we are - group of 14 family and friends from southwestern Ontario ranging in age from 15-70, including 5 teenage girls 😱. My immediate group included 6 people - my husband, two daughters, one of their friends and my 20 something niece. We had 3 rooms booked - 2 connecting ocean view balconies and one ocean view room.

 

We departed a very cold Ontario on March 6 and welcomed the warm Florida sunshine. We flew into Fort Lauderdale and stayed at the Marriott Hollywood Beach hotel. It was a nice little hotel right on the Broadwalk (yes Broadwalk, although I always referred to it as boardwalk 😂). The staff here were all fabulous, always smiling and always so friendly. We had access to the concierge lounge and enjoyed breakfast and evening snacks every night. I would stay here again, rooms are a bit small, but the location is perfect for spending a few days.

 

While we enjoyed the Marriott Sunday couldn’t come soon enough. We took a shuttle with our friends to the cruise port in Miami. It was less than 30 minutes to get to the port from the hotel. We arrived at the port around 11am. Check in for the cruise was amazing, so quick, so organized, we were all aboard in 15 minutes.

 

We had sailed on the Oasis a few years ago so once on-board it felt like home. We wandered around for a bit enjoyed a beverage or two and found some lunch. We had salads and sandwiches in Central Park. Not crowded and it was yummy. Our rooms were ready, as promised, at 1pm. We had our luggage before the early seating for supper. All is going great. 😁😁

 

Cabins - as mentioned we had 2 connecting ocean view cabins on deck 9. #’s 9186 & 9188, plus an ocean view on deck 8 # 8506. All cabins were standard and exactly what we were expecting. Our cabin steward was good, rarely saw him, which is good I guess. He left a few towel animals over the course of the week that even my teenagers enjoyed seeing.

 

Food - we are not foodies, but enjoy a good meal. We only had dinners in the main dining room. Over the course of the week I think we only went to the Windjammer a couple of times. We enjoyed breakfast either at the solarium bistro or main dining room. Most lunches were either in main dining room or a late afternoon hotdog on the boardwalk as breakfast was very filling. Dinner each night was good, a few great meals. Our service in the main dining room was outstanding. We were on deck 5 at tables 516 & 517. Our waiter was Mario from Ecuador. Hands down best waiter we’ve encountered. He called us by name each night, made recommendations on what he thought was especially good that night, brought out different things that we didn’t order because he thought we’d enjoy trying it, treated my girls like princesses and shared stories about life on board the ship and off the ship. By the end of the week we felt like we were leaving family on-board. Our assistant waiter was Michael from the Philippines - he was good too. Always had the girls drinks on the table when they arrived and waited until we got there as we changed it up a bit each night. I left nice reviews for both with RC.

 

Entertainment - went to see Mamma Mia - amazing show, didn’t know what to expect but loved it! Went to see Ocean Aria - great show as well. Headliner Earl Turner was just ok for me. He started slow for me but ended up enjoying it by the end. Some people left. Saw one show with 2 comedians, 18+. I can’t remember their names but enjoyed the female comedian more than the male. Had reservations for the other shows, didn’t make it to them though. Enjoyed the Irish pub on deck 5 and Dazzles on deck 9. And of course we made it to Quest, took our girls for their first time - quite the eye opener for them. 😂😂

 

Ports of Call

St. Maarten- spent the day at Holland House. Took the water taxi across the way and then it was a short walk. Great spot to enjoy the sun, beach and water. Nice view of the ships from there. Day pass was $25 included 2 chairs, an umbrella, 4 drinks and wifi. We didn’t order food but our friends did and thought it was good.

San Juan - not there for very long. We just got off the ship, walked to the fort and then checked out some shops on the way back to the ship. All aboard time was 1:30, so not much time for anything else. Some people we were with did the rainforest excursion and enjoyed it.

Labadee - as expected a relaxing beach day. Our girls did the zip line and the alpine coaster and enjoyed both. 

 

Overall - loved the cruise. We never felt crowded always found sun chairs by the pool ( out by the pool by 8-8:30). We had the deluxe beverage package and made goood use of it. 😍 My girls had the pop package.

 

Sadly leaving the ship was just as easy as getting on. We were off the ship by 9:30 and heading to our post cruise hotel by 10am. We stayed at the Embassy Suites on 17th street in Fort Lauderdale. Hotel was nice, great breakfast, nice pool, but the rooms were a little tired looking - clean but tired. We stayed there for two nights before heading home on March 19th. This is a typical cruise port hotel.

 

I’ll do my best to answer any questions you may have. Thanks for reading!

[ShillyShally]

Great review and sounds like you had a wonderful time - thanks for sharing!

[queenfrostine22]

Thank you for the great review! 

Glad you all had a wonderful time.

We love the Allure!

We absolutely love the Quest!