Beautiful Ship, Staff not RC Quality
Allure of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 54
7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 14, 2018
Ship: Allure of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 6678
Traveled as: Family (young children)
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
Husband dropped us off at the curb to unload our own luggage before he returned the rental car and the porter said "I'm either going to need cash or collateral for putting your bags on this cart", my husband had already drove off with all our cash so that was a lovely start to our vacation especially since the porter did nothing to help. Our balcony room was nice but it was even smaller than we had imagined and planned for. Tight squeeze for a family of 4. We had the alcohol package so gratuity was already included. However the schooner bar, casino bar & sabor bar all kept adding $1 tip to every drink we ordered even when we wrote $0. This extremely pissed me off. I found it super shady and disgraceful. Please note we did tip with cash for some of the specialty drinks. Ocean Aria, Love & Marriage, The Quest & Comedy Show were our favorite shows. My kids wanted to watch ocean aria every night it was that good. The main dining room sucked. When it was lobster night they took our plate away after 1 tiny lobster and we tried to tell them that we would like more but the guy walked off. The table behind us were getting served 4 lobsters on a plate with a different server so that was pretty harsh to watch while we were sitting there starving. My kids were never offered anything to drink besides water. I went all 5 meals we ate in there without being asked if I wanted a refill. We had to wait each night 5-15 minutes although we had reservations. The Windjammer was pretty crowded and hard to find a table at but had better quality food and service than the main dining room. My kids loved kids club, the teachers were very friendly and you could tell they were passionate about their jobs. One night I went to pick up my daughter and the second she turned and saw me a little boy had punched her in the face. She was absolutely hysterical crying and I guarantee she will not be returning after that. She still has a black eye from the ordeal!! My son was dancing at boleros and a little kid ran up and knocked him over, he got a pretty bad scrape on his knee. I just felt like this whole cruise was full of evil bratty bully kids who ruined it for us. I would expect this from carnival but not royal caribbean. This kind of behavior should not be tolerated. Philipsburg, St. Maarten was absolutely beautiful, way better than we expected. The water was super clear. We loved the beach and shopping area. San Juan, Puerto Rico was amazing. We walked through the San Cristobal fort and pictures do not do that place enough justice. It was probably the highlight of our trip. Labadee, Haiti was beautiful but the local market vendors ruined it for us. They were super aggressive in your face "how much money you got, come here, I got something for you", they wouldn't take no for an answer. They were super rude in the way they served and spoke to us. We felt very scared for our safety and vowed if we made it out alive we would never return. The beach was gorgeous and no one bothered us. This was our 2nd Royal Caribbean cruise but will be our last one on the Allure which is such a shame since it was such a beautiful ship and we had such high hopes and expectations for this cruise to be the greatest one ever.Embarkation
Husband dropped us off at the curb to unload our own luggage before he returned the rental car and the porter said "I'm either going to need cash or collateral for putting your bags on this cart", my husband had already drove off with all our cash so that was a lovely start to our vacation especially since the porter did nothing to help.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We had the alcohol package so gratuity was already included. However the schooner bar, casino bar & sabor bar all kept adding $1 tip to every drink we ordered even when we wrote $0. This extremely pissed me off. I found it super shady and disgraceful. Please note we did tip with cash for some of the specialty drinks.
The main dining room sucked. When it was lobster night they took our plate away after 1 tiny lobster and we tried to tell them that we would like more but the guy walked off. The table behind us were getting served 4 lobsters on a plate with a different server so that was pretty harsh to watch while we were sitting there starving. My kids were never offered anything to drink besides water. I went all 5 meals we ate in there without being asked if I wanted a refill. We had to wait each night 5-15 minutes although we had reservations.
The Windjammer was pretty crowded and hard to find a table at but had better quality food and service than the main dining room.
Onboard Activities
Wish they had more to do for kids who do not reach the height requirement. My sons pediatrician said he is 52" but everytime they measured my son for the activities they believe he is just a tiny bit off of that and he couldn't do anything. Huge bummer for him.
Entertainment
Ocean Aria, Love & Marriage, The Quest & Comedy Show were our favorite shows. My kids wanted to watch ocean aria every night it was that good.
Children's Programs
My kids loved kids club, the teachers were very friendly and you could tell they were passionate about their jobs. One night I went to pick up my daughter and the second she turned and saw me a little boy had punched her in the face. She was absolutely hysterical crying and I guarantee she will not be returning after that. She still has a black eye from the ordeal!! My son was dancing at boleros and a little kid ran up and knocked him over, he got a pretty bad scrape on his knee. I just felt like this whole cruise was full of evil bratty bully kids who ruined it for us. I would expect this from carnival but not royal caribbean. This kind of behavior should not be tolerated.
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Our balcony room was nice but it was even smaller than we had imagined and planned for. Tight squeeze for a family of 4.
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Thumbs Up
0
Philipsburg, St. Maarten was absolutely beautiful, way better than we expected. The water was super clear. We loved the beach and shopping area.
San Juan, Puerto Rico was amazing. We walked through the San Cristobal fort and pictures do not do that place enough justice. It was probably the highlight of our trip.
Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)
Labadee, Haiti was beautiful but the local market vendors ruined it for us. They were super aggressive in your face "how much money you got, come here, I got something for you", they wouldn't take no for an answer. They were super rude in the way they served and spoke to us. We felt very scared for our safety and vowed if we made it out alive we would never return. The beach was gorgeous and no one bothered us.
Disembarkation
Traveler Photos
5 Comments
chadley77 6 years ago
We have cruised 3 times on Carnival, 1 on NCL, and 1 on Royal Caribbean. We had a suite on Carnival Sunshine in May and loved it. Plus my daughter, her husband and 2 sons usually get an inside cabin since they just sleep and shower there, as the rest of the time they are out and about enjoying the ship. Tips are usually added even if you have included gratuities. Maybe cruising isn't for you.