Still quite an Allure :)
Allure of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
Contributor Level:
Cruise Director
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 6
Helpful Votes: 189
7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: November 26, 2017
Ship: Allure of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 6568
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
Great ship, great crew, great fun! I'm thoroughly happy I booked this ship again so that my husband could experience it. Don't be swayed by this being a big ship and overly crowded, it was really only in the Windjammer that we experienced there were a lot of people on board. There were enough activities going on to keep people in many places vice all in one place.Embarkation
Getting on the ship was super easy. We are crown and anchor members so we knew we had a separate area to check in. However, because we were getting to the ship later in the day than we had initially planned, they actually let us into the suite check in area and there was less than 5 minute wait time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Food and drink. Excellent. Windjammer, well we know it's a buffet, but it was always packed in the mornings and there were lines waiting to get in. We did some exploring after a few days and found some other options. The Solarium Bistro being a great alternative to the Windjammer. I miss set time dining where we have one waiter and a giant ballroom. They changed the ballroom so it has "restaurants", I think to match what we experienced on the Quantum class Anthem of the Seas. Not sure why that needed changing. It just seemed unnecessary, but still the food was great coming from the MDR restaurants.
Didn't try any of the specialty restaurants as we were more on a budget this time around.
We also did not buy the alcoholic drink packages. The price seemed insane. If you drink a lot, and I mean A LOT, go ahead. But by day 3, they offered drink cards for draft beer (10 drinks for $49) and any drink up to $13 (10 drinks for $85 - or close to that price) and I snagged one of each. I also drank mostly drinks of the day. My husband drinks more than I and still, I am a firm believer buying the drink package isn't worth it, especially if you spend most of the day in port.
If you like martinis...at the schooner bar, there is a Lavender daiquiri (I know I said martini, but it tastes so much like one vice the stereotypical strawberry daiquiri) that I fell in love with. Sounds odd, but one taste and I was hooked.
Onboard Activities
We rode the zip line, did the rock climbing wall, played some mini golf at night. My husband tried out the flowrider for the first time (I had already done it before). Lines were minimal at all but the flow rider. It always had a line. But it's fun watching so not a big deal to us. Note, ladies, wear a shirt if you ride the flow rider, cannot stress this enough. The pools seemed colder than previous ships. Used to the solarium pool being cold so I didn't even bother with that one. But many were surprised by how chilly it was and were not in them much. The gym was hopping but I never had to wait to get on the equipment.
Reason I give this 4 stars is that we both felt that the variety/amount of activities was not as much as prior cruises. I've taken belly dancing classes on two cruises, latin dancing on my last Allure cruise and never once saw any classes like this in the compass. Also seemed like there were more trivia/fun events on previous cruises.
We did two onboard activities you have to pay for, sushi making and a wine tasting. I recommend both! For sushi making, keep in mind you can only eat what you make there, so come hungry...we ate a big breakfast not thinking and were stuffed to the gills after eating most of what we made. Hated to be wasteful.
Entertainment
We saw Ice Games, Mama Mia, Blue Planet and Ocean Aria. All great shows with great talent. Also attended the Quest, which never lets us down. Such a fun time. We went to the twenty adult after party after going to Quest, had our white on and hung out for a bit, but it didn't seem nearly as well organized or as fun as it had been the last time I was on Allure, or on Freedom. The live music played in the Royal Promenade and also in the Bow and Stern were also very good.
Children's Programs
We don't have kids.
Service and Staff
Our room steward, Carmen, was very friendly and on point. Our room was always clean, as was the bathroom. She also had a towel animal in our room almost every day. Our waiter that we started of with, Roberto, was awesome. We had him 3 nights. Wish we had him all the nights. But since it was my time dining, it wasn't guaranteed. The rest of the staff we encountered were also nice/polite/helpful. No complaints.
Ship Quality
I loved the layout of the ship and especially loved just walking off the ship into a park for little break. It was very clean and since the introduction of the service charge for room service, there is a lot less dishes and food left in the passageways. The only place I found myself getting lost/turned around in was the casino. I think that's trickery to keep you there ;)
Cabin / Stateroom
Cabin was a good size and clean. The bathroom, albeit small, had enough space to move in and out without feeling like you had to squeeze in. (My first cruise ever on the Sovereign had the smallest bathroom that I'd ever seen and it was hard getting in and out). Storage space seemed less than what I've had on previous ships, which meant we left more clothes still in suitcases and pulled them out from under the bed when it was time for new clothes. We had a balcony. It had 2 chairs and a table.
Ship tip
Book ahead everything and anything you can in the cruise planner on Royal Caribbean's site, this includes your dinner times. It'll save you so much stress. We did that and it was nice just walking up to shows and getting in and the same with my time dining. There was a reservations line and a non-reservations line. The "non" line was always long and slow moving.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
It's the second time visiting here for me and while it seems slightly improved, I still was not wowed by Nassau. If you visit Atlantis, or the resort areas, I think it's more like paradise.
We unfortunately pulled into port super early (730am) and things didn't seem to start opening up until 9/10am. We had to leave port at 1230pm. That left us with minimal time to do much.
AFter arriving in port, we ate and quickly got off the ship and walked to Junkanoo beach. I did my research and saw the walk was doable (feeling bad for those who paid for the short taxi ride and later regretted it). It was ok. Make sure you have cash though as none of the venders or the bar there on the beach take credit. But there's great deals on drinks there and even a drink in a pineapple. Our fault for not being prepared with cash on hand. You can rent a chair for the day, but since we planned not to be there long, just laid out our towel and hung out a bit until the rest of the island started to wake up and go to work ;)
At 930 we started a walk towards the John Watlings Distillery (highly recommend, and do get a Pina Colada there, you won't regret it) and later Pirate Brewing (also highly recommend) as well as a few stores and purchasing my souvenir pin from Hard Rock Cafe.
Charlotte Amalie is still recovering from the hurricane damage when we visited so I planned ahead and opted to taxi out to Sapphire Beach and back. Some of the roads are even skinnier due to land slides and debris. Sapphire Beach, while the resort around it was still in shambles, was amazing and they had a beach bar open and bathroom facilities. ATM was onsite but out of commision due to storm water damage. We brought snorkeling gear and swam out just past where the waves started and it was super clear.
Basseterre was beautiful. A lot of good shopping right off the ship. We took an excursion from the ship for ziplining and were wowed. The views were amazing.
Now, keep this in mind, there are people with monkeys here and there. Look, but do not take photos unless you want to pay $10 each. Take two photos, make that x2. One lady who was on our excursion planned to tip and already had a couple bucks in hand to tip them, only to find out that the couple bucks wasn't enough. The man settled for $5 because she didn't have more than that.
Disembarkation
We had drive home so we opted to walk off in the early morning with our luggage. Grabbed some food, went back to the state room, grabbed our luggage, was directed where to go to get off, walked right off. Short wait at customs to show our passport. No more customs form. You can do that via an app on your phone now.
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