Spring Break 2017

Item: Allure of the Seas
Rating: 3
Author: juliewilliams70

Allure of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

juliewilliams70

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 51

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: April 02, 2017

Ship: Allure of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 12239

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

The Allure of the Seas ship is amazing. It's truly a moving city. The Boardwalk, Central Park, the pools and all that goes with them are fun and made for a fun week at sea. We found some of the dining room food and service to be less than other cruises. We did My Time dining which may have affected the service side, but the food I think would've been the same for everyone. The staff looked as though they were hustling ALL the time, but we still could not get through a meal in an hour or less and forget about getting drinks during dinner. We would wait about 20-30 min for drinks. The food was hit or miss. We found ourselves going to Wind Jammers more often than prior cruises because it was quicker and the food was about the same. Guest Services was probably the only reliable staff on the ship. Our room porter was again, working very hard, but he did not engage with us until he had a problem with something. Otherwise, we never say him and he barely spoke to us. Bartenders were seemingly very busy every time we tried to get a drink and they seemed "put off" by us asking for service. One of the bars by the pool was more casual and friendly but the kids had the drink package and the bartenders were not at all interested in filling up their sodas. All in all the ship was great, but for me it was a one time trip on this ship. I'll explore other ones to get better service and better food on future trips. I'm sure everyone's experience is different so perhaps going on the ship when it's not spring break would help? Anyway, I'd recommend the ship to others but it wasn't for me to return to on future cruises.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

The dining room experience was less than stellar. We did MY Time dining and perhaps this played a part but the staff, even though they worked incredibly hard, seemed overwhelmed and under staffed. We switched up servers every night and ever single server seemed irritated and "put off" that we were even there. We didn't feel welcomed or wanted, not one night. The food was sometimes cold (breakfast and dinner) and it took a very long time to get drinks, sometimes even the food. We ended up at Wind Jammers and going to specialty dining to get an enjoyable experience.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

The only staff that truly seemed happy to talk to us was Guest Services. Bartenders, wait staff, photographers, clean up crew, etc all seemed very annoyed that people were on the ship. I never once felt welcomed or saw a happy employee face. Not one time. They seemed over worked and overwhelmed in all aspects of the ship.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

The room provided what we needed and the balcony was fun, but the bed placement was awkward and hard to move around. On top of that our room steward, Mart, was horrible. He worked very hard (seemingly) but he barely spoke to us until he "chastised" my travel group about using extra sheets. It was rude and embarrassing for them. Mart talked to me about the fact that sheets under the bed were for the next voyage and not for the current passengers and for my friends not to use them again. He also spoke to my friends about it. Once we complained, the Head of Housekeeping spoke to Mart, who then confronted us about speaking up. It was awkward and uncomfortable. We don't see him all week until he has a problem and then wants us to talk to him at that point. It put a bad taste in our mouth.

Ship tip

The Central Park Café was great for breakfast. We loved going there for coffee and bagels to just people watch in comfy chairs every morning. We loved the pool options. You can go to the adult pool, or choose from four other pools. We always found chairs and enjoyed being in those deck areas.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

5 out of 5

Falmouth, Jamaica

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

6 Comments

ant1968 7 years ago

You absolutely wright. ...

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chicopeechic 7 years ago

I bet we were on the same cruise....i felt the same with my time dining, not a fan at all!!! I'll go back to traditional seating! we were told there 1500 teens I believe in board, that is A LOT!!

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50angie 7 years ago

I understand about tipping and I do tip but you shouldn't have too to get good service as we pay a lot of money to cruise .Maybe that's where I'm going wrong I always tip at the end of cruise from now on I will tip at the start

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mustang06 7 years ago

If you tip the bartender extra every time he sees you he is right there to see what you want i gave him cash and that's all it took

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cbelc2 7 years ago

Mama Mia is really good. We had a fixed early dinner in January and loved the food and the relaxed atmosphere of the dining room with our large family. Bartenders were always happy to serve us. We do tip extra. It seems like they recognized us and wanted to serve us. If you went during Spring Break, that could have been the issue. Try it again in the off season.

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cruisemomma52 7 years ago

What were the shows on the ship??

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