Live Review Allure 4/10/22-4/16/22

[Vibe]

Have a great cruise. Make happy memories!

[erinsmom03]

4 hours ago, Bradtez said:

Following along thankyou 🙂

 

One question from my wife when you board, are they still using the freestyle drinks machines on board or have they been shut down due to covid?

 

 

We were on Adventure a couple weeks ago, Freestyle machines were open. Ironically, we never used them once. I used mine for water in our cabin, my husband never unwrapped his. We had the refreshment package, and our cabin steward kept us stocked up with ice, so we never needed to use the machines.

Edited April 10, 2022 by erinsmom03
typo

[Ukigirl]

Will be on Allure May 8th as well! How was check in at terminal? Did you arrive at your scheduled time and if so, how long did entire process take? Can you take picture of entertainment schedule? Have an awesome cruise!

[CatLadyFemme]

12 hours ago, erinsmom03 said:

Looking forward to the review! 

 

We will be on Allure on May 8. I was wondering if your itinerary is the same as ours? We will be going to Costa Maya, Cozumel and Coco Cay. If you are, I would appreciate seeing the cruise compasses, especially the entertainment schedule.

 

Our daughter will be a U of M transfer student in the fall. We are thrilled that she will be a Wolverine! Go Blue! She is also a vegetarian, and this will be her first cruise since 2019 and as a vegetarian. Looking forward to your insight on the food options!

 

Hope you have a seamless embarkation morning tomorrow!

Similar, but not quite. Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya for us. 
 

Welcome to your daughter! What area does she study? If I can be of any support over in the School of Social Work, tell her to ask for Dr K. Everyone knows me 😂

[erinsmom03]

11 minutes ago, CatLadyFemme said:

Similar, but not quite. Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya for us. 
 

Welcome to your daughter! What area does she study? If I can be of any support over in the School of Social Work, tell her to ask for Dr K. Everyone knows me 😂

 

Thank you! She will be in the School of Kinesiology, she wants to be an occupational therapist. I will let her know you are there!

 

The itineraries are a bit different, but maybe since it's the same number of days, and same number of ports, the entertainment schedule will be the same? We have sea days on day two and day five.

 

We will have UDP for the first time, and want to try to make our reservations as soon as we board, so I want to try to plan ahead as much as possible.

 

Enjoy your day today!! 

[CatLadyFemme]

2 hours ago, Ukigirl said:

Will be on Allure May 8th as well! How was check in at terminal? Did you arrive at your scheduled time and if so, how long did entire process take? Can you take picture of entertainment schedule? Have an awesome cruise!

Here is the entertainment schedule before I forget. Will share the rest with my next update, but we are currently in Sabor’s having a lovely time. 

[CatLadyFemme]

We are officially boarded! A little complication this morning with our Lyft that took us on a major detour because of some huge rock festival in Ft Lauderdale, but since it was MxCatLady’s first time in FL, it was a welcome tour of the beach and downtown area. We got to the port around 10:50, and were on board by 11:10. I opted not to take a wheelchair as the line for that was so much longer to wait and get a chair than to just use my walker to go through, though my body is already cranky about that choice. Everyone was so nice and welcoming and helpful in the terminal.

 

We had done our safety videos in the Lyft ride over, so we just popped on over to our muster station upon boarding, and were checked off quickly before heading to the Boardwalk. The folks at Sabor weren’t open yet for lunch (it was 11:15 by then), but I gave them a list of dates/times/locations we wanted for the UDP and other than one night where we couldn’t get the 5:30 time we wanted at 150 Central Park so took a 6:15. We sat down at the Aqua Theater to wait for them to open for lunch, and to book entertainment. This is where we met our first challenge. Not only was the schedule different than I had expected based on previous itineraries, but I was unable to book on the app. Despite it costing $0 and me having a card on file, it kept saying there was an issue with my payment plan and to go to Guest Services. Once sat at Sabor, I sent my lovely partner down to GS while I sipped a virgin frozen strawberry margarita (delish, as was the later mango one). They returned, but both of our phones had the same issue. Once we ordered, I ventured down to the box office at Boleros to deal with it, and after waiting in a line, a lovely performer helped me fix the app (way more useful than just booking shows), so I booked what we wanted and went back to Sabor.

 

Ross at Sabor was delightful and helped us make sure I had a meal I could eat safely (and that was tasty). We started with salsa and guacamole, and MxCatLady got queso fundito with chorizo (I got some without the meat), the regular ceviche, the barbacoa tacos, and the desert sampler. I had my fundito along with they made me mushroom hardsided tacos, and grabbed me GF chocolate cake with strawberries from the dining room. All was tasty (though we ate too much! Part 1 of a 7 day story), and the service was impeccable from Ross and Rubi. We will be back for sure!

 

Next adventure was getting to our rooms (easy, and our luggage was already there by 1:30!). However, I noticed that despite being confirmed for early dining (a safe bet for me, especially for nights we are going to eat in Chops, where there isn’t much of an option for me), we had MTD on our cards. So down I went to deck 3 to get it figured out, and Eldora took care of that for us, despite needing to make a phone call and lots of key tapping). Now we are prepping for the CC meet up. 
 

Will follow up regarding freestyle machines once I figure it out.
 

[Ukigirl]

Wow the food looks delicious, I’m still trying to decide if I want the UDP. Great idea doing the safety video on the way to the terminal, I’ll plan on it just to get it out of the way. Does Allure still have the Champagne Bar and if so, can you take picture of drink menu sometime this week? Thanks for the entertainment picture! 

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, CatLadyFemme said:

Not only was the schedule different than I had expected based on previous itineraries, but I was unable to book on the app.

I have had that same problem.  That is why it is best to check the show schedule on the app, the morning of boarding day.  It gets updated around 9:30 am, when the prior week closes and the new week is loaded. 
 

To book on the app, you have to make sure you are in airplane mode, and connected to ship WiFi.  You may need to close and reopen the app for things to work.  At least that is how we got things to work. 

[CatLadyFemme]

35 minutes ago, Ukigirl said:

Wow the food looks delicious, I’m still trying to decide if I want the UDP. Great idea doing the safety video on the way to the terminal, I’ll plan on it just to get it out of the way. Does Allure still have the Champagne Bar and if so, can you take picture of drink menu sometime this week? Thanks for the entertainment picture! 

This is my first time doing it. Honestly, I like the MDR, but this made the most sense for us given how cautious we are around COVID. So many of the speciality restaurants on Allure have outdoor seating, we thought this would give us a guaranteed good option if the MDR is too crowded/tables too close.

 

Allure does have a champagne bar still! I will try to swing by. The menu in the app however, makes it looks like most of the drinks in the other places, unlike Schooner’s, where we stopped to meet up with some CC folks and I had a virgin Pedro Collins.

[CatLadyFemme]

11 hours ago, Bradtez said:

Following along thankyou 🙂

 

One question from my wife when you board, are they still using the freestyle drinks machines on board or have they been shut down due to covid?

 

Yes; at least the ones by Sorrentos are working (one was being refilled). However, unlike previously, the cups were not in the room, but instead, we had to ask for them at a bar.

[JamesEM]

Does the Allure still print copies of the Daily Planner?

[CatLadyFemme]

9 hours ago, JamesEM said:

Does the Allure still print copies of the Daily Planner?

I have not seen any at this time, so maybe upon request but not available as they traditionally were.

[CatLadyFemme]

Last night we dinner first dinner and second dinner like hobbits. I wanted to establish ourselves with the MDR folks, as it helps me to have my allergy and food needs met elsewhere on the ship. The MDR was super crowded in the main room, and to be honest, if that is where our table was, I probably would not have gone back, between the din (I am autistic and those kind of noises can be really overwhelming for me), and how many people were packed close together. However, due to the mix up, we had a nice table in the side room where it was much more quiet and several people didn’t show up, so it was less crowded. Our servers were all lovely (though the assistant waiter brought me three Shirley temples at once when there was no way I can drink more than one, and then brought me decaf English Teatime instead of the caffeinated English Breakfast I had ordered to help with my migraine). MxCatLady got the crab cake (they say it was excellent!) and I got the fennel quinoa salad to start (a real disappointment. I LOVE fennel, and whatever they did to it was unrecognizable), and we split the polenta entree. I got fresh fruit to finish, while they nommed a key lime pie (one of their favorites).
 

After exploring the pool deck and watching the waves, we went to Giovanni’s at 8:30. It was quite warm in there, but we had a table by the windows, which were open, and we could hear the Spanish guitar player, and it was so lovely. Service was impeccable. We both started with the mozzarella/tomato situation with lovely heirloom tomatoes, and MxCatLady got the filet upon CC suggestions and a side of the gnocchi, while I asked for GF pasta prepared in the Gorgonzola style. Everything was amazing; my partner said the two mains were some of the best food they have ever had. I had almond gelato and berries for desert while they had the chocolate hazelnut situation to go (later eaten around midnight). More watching of the ocean, and then down to the Boardwalk for Ocean Aria.

 

it was my second time seeing it, and still found it phenomenal. MxCatLady was in awe and kept exclaiming. I would easily pay $75 a ticket to see this kind of cirque style show if they came to town. Highly recommend.

 

To finish the night, we tried to go to grab some peppermint tea at cafe promenade, which use to be my cruise routine. However, they have changed their teas to Bigelow AND don’t have peppermint. A disappointment as I would have brought some more herbal teas if I had know. Oh well. We grabbed late night olives at sorrentos,  but they were in a sweet and sour sauce (not even kidding here), so gave up on those, and returned to the cabin to read and head to sleep. A lovely first time, and  so thrilled to be back on the water.

[kfnesq]

Thanks for all the info so far!  It's making me hungry reading it all 🙂

 

If you get a chance, would you let us know if the thermal spa pass is a "go when you want" situation OR if it is a timed reservation.  Previously it has been timed, as far as I know, which would be a deal  breaker for me, but if you can come and go as you please, that might make it more worthwhile (for me anyway).

 

Have a great cruise and thanks for bringing us along! 

[shellden]

Thank you for sharing in your journey!  We will be on Allure late May so excited to get back to sailing

Enjoy

[COCKYMARK]

Could you see if Samba grill is open? thanks!!

[CatLadyFemme]

4 minutes ago, COCKYMARK said:

Could you see if Samba grill is open? thanks!!

It is! It was both listed in our app, and when we were strolling along deck 15 exploring last night, I saw swords and meat!

[CatLadyFemme]

2 hours ago, kfnesq said:

Thanks for all the info so far!  It's making me hungry reading it all 🙂

 

If you get a chance, would you let us know if the thermal spa pass is a "go when you want" situation OR if it is a timed reservation.  Previously it has been timed, as far as I know, which would be a deal  breaker for me, but if you can come and go as you please, that might make it more worthwhile (for me anyway).

 

Have a great cruise and thanks for bringing us along! 

I will try to check when we are next grabbing a juice at the Vitality Cafe.

[gonole1972]

Is the crew wearing masks??

[CatLadyFemme]

Day 2: 

 

We slept in a lot as we both deeply need it. My body is hurting a lot today; I walked more yesterday than I have in almost 2 years, and it is letting me know how it feels, so today is a chill day for us. We spent a little time on the balcony before making a cameo in the MDR for lunch. I had the side of the cod dish as an appetizer (masked potatoes, sautéed spinach, and roasted cauliflower with a tomato caper vinegarette; folks with food needs, don’t be afraid to ask for something from one dish, even if you can’t eat the whole dish), and surprisingly, it was one of the best things I have eaten so far. I also got the butternut squash risotto which was fine, though the rice felt a smidge undercooked (I make a lot of risotto, so can be picky at times). MxCatLady had mozzarella sticks and the steak & frites, plus the key lime pie (likely left over from last night with a HUGE meringue addition). When asked about my desert, I said I’d probably just grab a GF cookie from Cafe Promenade later, so of course our lovely server showed up with not one but three, so I didn’t have to worry about it.

 

We then strolled the promenade, got fancy juices in the Vitality cafe (these alone make the refreshment package worth it to me on Oasis class ships), and proceeded to hang out on our balcony to enjoy them. After showing, we decided to go to the Boardwalk and rode the Carousel (always something I love, despite not being a child), and popped into JRs to see if they could make me a GF grilled cheese. They did! With any cheese I wanted, amd had a special pan to make me GF French fries (I usually cannot enjoy them because of shared fryers), so what a treat. Now, back in the room enjoying a little Siesta before the evening. 
 

Definitely a less active cruise than usual for me, but between trying to avoid crowded spaces (both for COVID safety and autistic stuff), both of us still navigating long COVID (meaning we get fatigued so easily), and my chronic pain, spending a lot of time on our balcony and later evening on Deck 15 to just really enjoy the ocean, has been really healing. Different isn’t bad, just noticing it. It makes me a little worried for MrCatLady (Leo) and my trip on Voyager next month, as I know there are a lot less outdoor spaces and we have a Panoramic OV at the moment. I bid on Royal Up for a Grand Suite, so fingers crossed.

 

more nap time now, followed by dressing up for formal night!

[CatLadyFemme]

6 minutes ago, gonole1972 said:

Is the crew wearing masks??

Yes. everyone has a KN95 or N95, with some also having a surgical mask over it, but maybe just 50%. However, some pull down their mask to make it easier to hear, which then defeats the purpose so 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️
 

Only one person so far has given me/us push back on our masks. We have seen a few other folks masking inside. Maybe 5% of people overall?

[Ukigirl]

Great review. Do you need to make reservations for lunch at MDR? Why can’t people mind their own business when it comes to whether you choose to wear a mask or not? 😠

[Sea Dog]

Great job on your live review. I love your cat pics! Have a great week and enjoy Allure. It's on my list of ships I really want to try.

[erinsmom03]

Thanks for the tip about ordering the side from a dish, sounds like a good tip for my daughter! 

 

We spent a lot of time on our Adventure cruise a couple weeks ago doing exactly what you are doing...relaxing and enjoying the ocean beauty and sounds. It was the most peaceful, laid back cruise we have ever done, but I don't regret that at all. I think we really needed it!

 

Loving the review!