A few post-cruise thoughts about May 2022 Allure Southern Caribbean sailing

[Itchy&Scratchy]

I will simply highlight a few points, and mainly compare this sailing to our November 2021 Harmony sailing. There have been quite a few significant and a few insignificant differences.

 

The first difference was traveling with a fully vaxxed 11 yo as opposed to partially vaxxed 10 yo. No bracelets of any kind to indicate the vaccinated vs. unvaccinated status on the Allure. Check-in was a breeze because DS didn't have to do the antigen test at the terminal. In November it took us an extra 45 minutes to get through the extra step. On Harmony there were quite a few venues not available to unvaxxed people, including Solarium Bistro, and we were limited to the theater balcony. During our November sailing we were required to take ship excursions only because of the kiddo, while there were no restrictions on this sailing.  MTD was not available to us on Harmony, while it was available on the Allure.

 

We arrived at our designated arrival time of 11:30.  The staff lady took us out of the general line because we had a kid and directed us to a much shorter line for families with kids and people in wheelchairs. That was nice. 10 minutes later we were on the ship and heading to the buffet.

 

The buffet food was the second significant difference between the Allure and Harmony. Harmony in November wowed us with lobster and shrimp during the embarkation buffet, and a multitude of great and mouthwatering choices. We had all of our breakfasts and lunches in WJ and were very happy. Allure's WJ buffet was quite underwhelming during the embarkation, and remained so during breakfasts and lunches for the rest of the sailing. Must be those supply chain issues or something.

Harmony offered made to order eggs at WJ, while Allure didn't. You could get them at the Solarium bistro on Allure, but SB didn't have waffles that my DH is very fond of.

 

Masks were required on Harmony in November in most indoor places, and we felt very safe covid-wise.  Social distancing was encouraged and in some cases enforced - for example, leaving several seats between groups in the theater. We were relaxed and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Not so on the Allure - nobody wore masks, yet many people were coughing and sneezing profusely, and not even bothering to cover up. We wore masks at all time while indoors, but they don't work if you are the only ones wearing them. Strangers didn't distance at all, and it was actually encouraged by staff. Our neighbors got a visit from medical around day 5, because they reported their covid symptoms and we didn't see them for the rest of the cruise. The combination of these factors lessened our enjoyment of the cruise because I was constantly in the state of a heightened awareness of all the behaviors and symptoms. People behaved like the pandemic never happened and isn't still going on. This is my opinion.

 

MDR food quality and offerings were the same, imho, on both ships, with the exception of a special Thanksgiving dinner on Harmony. We usually order the same food anyway, and we were happy with most of our choices on both sailings. Learned my lesson with the beef stroganoff on Harmony, so I didn't order it this time, lol. 

 

To be continued.

Edited June 7, 2022 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

So, a bit more about MDR.

 

We made MTD reservations at 6:30 pm every day in advance. Never had to wait more than 5 minutes, despite a seemingly long line, except for the first formal night - about 20 minutes until the table was ready.  People without reservations were waiting for much-much-much longer, and were complaining about it a lot. We tried to show up about 6:15 every night, though, without much success.

 

Waiting staff seemed very overwhelmed while still being very friendly. We got a different table every night, except for 2 nights. Many of waiters and assistants were absent, I am assuming, due to being sick. The hostess up front disappeared on day 4. The small name plate on the table didn't mean anything. Random waiters and assistants would take our orders and then other random waiters would bring them out. 

 

Some tables were much speedier than others. Some waiters would bring out wrong orders or forget about our orders.  Some waiters gave preferential treatment to larger tables - we had to wait for 10+ minutes just to get a menu and then 20 minutes between courses, while the same waiter would immediately serve the table of 10 next to us. Some tables next to us would have 2 changes of clientele while we were still waiting for our main course. And then this particular waiter had the nerve to ask for a 10 on the survey. We missed a couple of shows due to the extremely slow service.

 

This was very different from early dining on Harmony - we had a fantastic team, who we generously tipped at the end and whom we wrote a glowing review about in the survey. We also had my parents with special dietary needs with us back in November, and their needs were very well attended to. So glad we didn't have my parents with us this time.

 

The food was good, and like I said - we always order the same, so if you want pictures, just check out my Harmony review in the signature. We didn't take a single picture of the food this time.

 

A couple of comments about the food - DH was unhappy that his vidalia onion tart didn't have enough onions this time. Apparently, Harmony's version was superb, so he ordered two this time, and neither had onions in them. That's ok, I ate them because I hate onions, and truly - these tarts didn't have any in them. 🙂

 

DS11 was happy with spaghetti marinara a couple of times, he got a fruit salad as an appetizer every night, and he tried a few things off our plates, but his favorite dish turned out to be cheese tortelloni. This was the only dish he actually finished - and with gusto! It was an adult portion. He lurrrrved it. Didn't love anything else. Chicken cordon bleu was not good - even for us.  Allure's chicken nuggets looked very different from Harmony's, but DS refused to try them because he hated Harmony's nuggets. He is very set in his ways. We have had a cruise rule with his since he started cruising at 3 - he eats whatever he wants for breakfast and lunch (I don't interfere no matter what), but I order a sensible dinner and he has to at least try it. If he dislikes it, he doesn't have to finish. I usually order something I think he may like which means no seafood of any kind.

 

So, all in all - happy about MDR food, but not all that thrilled with the service. Not unhappy, but not thrilled either.

[mickeygirl78]

I think some of the differences you are seeing have to do with the capacity/regulations in November versus now. I was on Harmony in May and many of your complaints about allure apply to Harmony now. I appreciate your insight and comments. I’ll be sailing Allure in September, hopefully things are good.

[pcur]

4 minutes ago, mickeygirl78 said:

I think some of the differences you are seeing have to do with the capacity/regulations in November versus now. I was on Harmony in May and many of your complaints about allure apply to Harmony now. I appreciate your insight and comments. I’ll be sailing Allure in September, hopefully things are good.

I was on the Jewel, Vision, and Navigator, and saw the seafood buffet in the Windjammer on embarkation day on one ship, and on the last sea day on one other ship. So, that varies from ship to ship, and I would imagine depending on local suppliers.

 

When are you on the Allure in Sept?  I'm on the 9/17 cruise, and love the itinerary.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

The cabin.

 

On the Harmony we were in an ocean view balcony cabin 9546. It wasn't by choice due to it being a L&S, however, we were super duper happy with it, so when an opportunity presented itself, I booked 8546 on the Allure.

 

We loved it. Short and simple. Loved the location (central park deck) and the cabin. It was very quiet and our stateroom attendant Carl was terrific.

 

Word of advise - do not turn off the master switch, because AC turns off as well. Turn lights off, but leave the master switch on. We didn't know this.

 

Another thing - this particular cabin didn't have a bathroom night light. I don't know if it's just this cabin, or all balcony cabins on the Allure, but it was very dark and I actually fell down one night, stumbling into the bathroom. Didn't get hurt, but still. If it were my mom or dad, they would have been hurt.

Harmony had a nightlight in the bathroom. We bring one with us when we travel and stay in the inside cabins, but usually don't bring one when we stay in a balcony. Well, not bringing it this time was a mistake.

 

On this particular cruise our balcony remained mostly in the shade, most likely due to the route and ship positioning. I spent many hours on the balcony reading. It was very lovely.

 

OK, I have to mention that Allure is starting to show its age in spots - a lot of rust on the balcony, nobody ever cleaned the outside of the balcony railing so it was murky, and the sofa has seen its better days (a long time ago). The beds and the sofa bed were a bit hard, but not as bad as Regal Princess beds in 2019 (before the change). The bedding had some stains and tears. But in general - nothing to cry about. Would definitely book this cabin again.

 

Sorry about the mess, but here are some pics of the cabin and the balcony:

 

view to the right

 

view to the left - had to use a wash cloth because on day 2 the separator started loudly banging. A wash cloth fixed it.

 

a view down

 

view of the balcony

 

a view of the sofa:

 

 

a view of the sofa bed - perfect for a 5' 100# kid. Or an adult.

 

 

 

Several times a day somebody smoked something foul smelling on their balcony, and we all smelled it. However, it was impossible to pinpoint where this person was.

 

[doppelganger2621]

Thanks for the write up—sailing on Allure myself in a week and half. We’re 8722 so pretty similar to your cabin (just aft rather than forward). We’ll also be using the sofa bed so good to see it “in use”. We’re doing traditional dining instead of MTD so hopefully that helps.

 

Regarding health protocols—I just wish people would use common sense. I’m going on the cruise well aware of the risks of cruising, but you would think after the last two years, we would minimally be able to understand that no one wants to be near people hacking and coughing and sneezing all over the place. I had a bad non-COVID sinus infection in March and just had the decency to wear a mask when I went out (though I typically do not wear one in my normal every day life anymore). At the very least cover your mouth when you cough or something.

 

Also did the balcony smell you smelled smell like a skunk 😆

Edited June 7, 2022 by doppelganger2621

[mickeygirl78]

18 minutes ago, pcur said:

I was on the Jewel, Vision, and Navigator, and saw the seafood buffet in the Windjammer on embarkation day on one ship, and on the last sea day on one other ship. So, that varies from ship to ship, and I would imagine depending on local suppliers.

 

When are you on the Allure in Sept?  I'm on the 9/17 cruise, and love the itinerary.

We are also doing the 9/17 sailing on Allure. I love the itinerary too. Aruba and Curaçao are amazing. I haven’t been to Labadee since 2017, so that will be nice.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 minutes ago, doppelganger2621 said:

Also did the balcony smell you smelled smell like a skunk

🙂skunk smell is a bit more like garlic, I guess, but whatever this was - it was sharp and unpleasant.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we also used plastic food service gloves in the buffet to handle public utensils. We've received some "that's crazy" looks and some positive comments like "Oh, I wish I'd thought of that". 

And then I saw a woman lick her fingers in the buffet and then proceed to use the tongs and I was once again reassured that I was doing the right thing. What's the point of washy-washy if you are gonna lick your fingers?

 

If you didn't bring your own, but want to use one, just ask the staff - they had boxes of gloves behind pretty much every counter at the buffet.

 

There was no distancing at all in the buffet or MDR. Tables were right next to each other, practically touching elbows.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we'd never bought a beverage package of any kind before, even though DS had begged many times before, but this was our kid's elementary school graduation cruise, and I found a great deal on Black Friday, so I got him a Classic Soda package for $6.5 a day (plus tax/grats). We kept it a secret until we boarded and then let him choose a cup.

The cups were stacked on the table on the Promenade and the crew marked it on the list of names when you picked one up.

 

DS was thrilled and put the package to good use. There were a lot of great choices in the machines.  DS mostly used the machines, but once in a while he got a soda at a bar. 

 

All of the machines worked great, except for the one in the Wipeout cafe. That one was a bit temperamental. The machines next to the Sorrento Pizza ran out of ice quite a bit, but that was no problem - DS doesn't need ice in his drinks. A crew member refilled the ice constantly. 

 

The package also worked on Labadee (we brought the cup).

[The Fun Researcher]

Great summary.  Thank you!

 

We'll be on the Allure on Saturday for the same itinerary.

 

Did you have any trouble with booking the shows?  We can't embark until 2pm so I'm a tad concerned with availability being used up by the time we can book shows.  Hopefully this isn't the case though.

 

Good to know about the buffet.  In our experience the Oasis class has the weakest (and most crowded) buffets of all the ships we've sailed.  However, we've only done one cruise on the Oasis, so not a good sampling size.  It is the only buffet that had people spilled out in line regularly waiting to get in though.

 

I think We'll stick to the MDR for as many meals as possible, including lunches when available.  I just like that atmosphere more.  This is the first cruise for 5 of the 10 in our party and it's all immediate family so more relaxing, quiet time in the MDR may be better.

 

Did you make use of the solarium?  Was is ok finding a spot to sit/lay in there?

 

A number of us have the soda package.  We'll be at CoCo Cay our first full day.  I would hope the soda package works there too?

Dan

Edited June 7, 2022 by The Fun Researcher

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Did you have any trouble with booking the shows? 

not when we just got onboard. That said, in the next few days when I tried to rebook a show, the app malfunctioned every time.

We missed a couple of shows due to a slow MDR service, but we were able to just walk in without a reservation when they opened up the remaining seats 15 minutes before the show.

 

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

A number of us have the soda package.  We'll be at CoCo Cay our first full day.  I would hope the soda package works there too?

yes, it does.

 

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

However, we've only done one cruise on the Oasis, so not a good sampling size.  It is the only buffet that had people spilled out in line regularly waiting to get in though.

we couldn't use the Allure buffet back in 2019 because it had long lines to get in all the time. But this time we used it quite a bit, even though the offerings weren't all that. So, back in 2019 we used the Solarium buffet quite a bit for both breakfast and lunch, but not this time. But this time it was only open for breakfast anyway, and they didn't have waffles.

 

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Did you make use of the solarium?  Was is ok finding a spot to sit/lay in there?

 we didn't because our DS11 is always with us and he is not allowed in the Solarium. DS doesn't do kid's club, so he is always tagging along with one or both of us.

[Vs1023]

I appreciate this summary. We board in a few days and I already know I am going to be like you noticing the people not being cautious. We plan to be cautious and continue masking. We've gone this long without covid. I had mentioned to our party about not using the WJ this time and this sounds like a good call. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Sorrento pizza was very good as always, and I loved their grilled eggplant and zucchini.

Our favorite is pepperoni, but we've tried a primavera pizza and it was pretty good as well. 

Don't be afraid of the "long" line - it goes by very quickly.

 

DS loved a 3 cheese panini at the Park Cafe. We didn't eat there as much this time as we did on Harmony.

 

We don't do specialty dining.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

29 minutes ago, Vs1023 said:

We plan to be cautious and continue masking. We've gone this long without covid.

I definitely recommend that. We haven't gotten covid until now either, but both DS and I started feeling sick on Sunday (disembarkation day) and now DH is feeling sick as well. I will be using a home test in a moment...

[Itchy&Scratchy]

yeap, I am positive. 😞

Have managed not to get covid for 2.5 years, and this cruise has "gifted" me with it. 

[vettesale]

36 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

I definitely recommend that. We haven't gotten covid until now either, but both DS and I started feeling sick on Sunday (disembarkation day) and now DH is feeling sick as well. I will be using a home test in a moment...

Even if home test or Walgreen's rapid test are negative, follow up with a pcr test. The result might be different. Don't ask me how I know...

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 minute ago, vettesale said:

Even if home test or Walgreen's rapid test are negative, follow up with a pcr test. The result might be different. Don't ask me how I know...

oh, it's lit up like a tree with a super positive result...

[vettesale]

4 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

oh, it's lit up like a tree with a super positive result...

Bummer! Sorry to hear it's positive! I hope it's a mild case.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

7 minutes ago, vettesale said:

I hope it's a mild case.

thank you!

So far it is not too bad, and we are vaxxed and boostered. Well, DS is only vaxxed, and now DH and I have to keep away from him, because at this time DS tested negative.

I will be super bummed, though, if my dogs get it from me and my favorite one dies...

Edited June 7, 2022 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Ukigirl]

Loved Park Cafe, their salads were fresh and made to order and I liked that they limited the number of passengers inside. Ate at Vintages few times, tapas selections were very good. I was thrilled to come home with no symptoms…until day 6. Luckily I was home and my symptoms were relatively mild, DH never got it. Would I cruise again? Heck yea!

[RJ257]

4 hours ago, Vs1023 said:

I appreciate this summary. We board in a few days and I already know I am going to be like you noticing the people not being cautious. We plan to be cautious and continue masking. We've gone this long without covid. I had mentioned to our party about not using the WJ this time and this sounds like a good call. 

Hope you guys have a good trip. I was on Allure in mid April. Probably was a little better time than now but few people with masks. I think its a good call on not using WJ. I travel solo so my schedule onboard is easy to mange but I didn't and don't do the WJ on my cruises. I had a balcony room on deck 12. Each time I rode the elevator I wore a mask for the short trip. I stayed outdoors a lot for food and drink also. Breakfast was room service. It was a great trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sandebeach]

4 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

oh, it's lit up like a tree with a super positive result...

Oh dear, hope you have a mild case and recover quickly.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

42 minutes ago, sandebeach said:

Oh dear, hope you have a mild case and recover quickly.  

Thank you!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

okie-dokie, onto the more pleasant topics: the ports of call.

 

Labadee, Haiti

What a lovely place. This was our third time here, but we haven't been here in years. We went to Nellie's beach yet again - just love that small bay. There were chaises and umbrellas. The lifeguard told me that the umbrellas were added just recently, when cruising resumed.

 

The water was clear and not as warm as we'd like, but not icy cold either. We enjoyed our beach stay very much. There is nice snorkeling next to the rocky wall (under the cabanas).

 

 

 

right on Nellie's beach:

 

 

The buffet was just down the road a short walk away. Yeah, it's not Coco Cay food that's for sure,  but it was edible and free and close by.

 

Corn on the cob was pretty bad and stuck to your teeth, but we enjoyed a caesar salad, jerk chicken (quite a bit spicy), rum cake, fresh fruit, pasta salad, brownies, etc.

 

We didn't walk over to the city square, as we didn't bring any cash with us, but there quite a few cruisers there looking at shopping stuff.

 

There were a couple of musicians right outside of Nellie's beach desperately trying to sell some little bracelets and wooden things...