Very Large Ship!

Allure of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

jbenham

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 6

Helpful Votes: 85

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 19, 2017

Ship: Allure of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9624

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

2017 CRUISE ALLURE OF THE SEAS Sun. Feb 19- Embarkation Day! We got to port around 12:30 and were on the ship by 1:00. Our cabin was ready already and or luggage came shortly after we got there. They mixed up our drink packages so we had to stand in line at guest services to get it straightened out. They also changed the time for one of our excursions to one we do not want so we will have to cancel that. We had supper at the Windjammer buffet. Quite an assortment of food to eat. Highlight of the night was the Ocean Aria water show. Fantastic blend of talent and humor! Mon Feb 20- Sea day! The food has been very good. I hope the service improves, because it has been a disappointment. We had breakfast at the Windjammer, which is their buffet. Whatever you like for breakfast, they probably have it there plus some great tasting food you never heard of. Coffee is really good too, which is not always the case on a ship. We are not the types to sit by the pool so we walked around, checked out the shops and took some pictures. Highlight of our day was going to a wedding reception for friends of ours. We went to supper and have never seen a main dining room look so disorganized. They apparently overbooked for our time slot, so they shuffled us off to a different dining room. The server seemed friendly enough. Apparently her assistant was off doing something else, which made for more work for her. She whisked my cantaloupe away before I was done with it and my lobster bisque as well. We didn't see any wine servers so we asked her to flag one down but she didn't do it. Asked again and she took our drink order. Impossible to know if it was her fault or the wine server. The staff couldn't seem to stay out of each other's way. After supper, we walked around to a couple bars. Tues Feb 21- Cozumel. We stayed on the ship as we have been to Cozumel several times. They love to barter there. In 1998, I had to give up a Packer cap in a deal. We found a good server, Michael at the Pub. Unfortunately he wasn't there later when we went to see the guitar player. We also listened to the brass quintet in Central Park. Wed Feb 22- Sea Day. Good thing because I am not feeling too well. Also cold and rainy day. Not much to report as we didn't go to any shows. The guitar player we found had the night. Because of the rain, the concert in Central Park was moved to a place where it was too loud and no place to sit anyway. Food continues to be very good. Overall service, except for our cabin steward continues to be mediocre with a few bright spots here and there. We called it a night fairly early. Thurs Feb 23- Falmouth Jamaica. In port with Independence Of The Seas. They really have this port laid out pretty nice. Lots of shops like Diamonds International, but also little kiosks where you can watch the craftsmen work and buy local products. And of course, Margarita Ville! Formal night. Things are looking up in terms of service. We went to the dining room we are assigned to and had a very good waiter, Ronaldo. We explained to him our problem from Monday night. He told the hostess and she came right over. She arranged for us to have Ronaldo again tomorrow night. Same table too. Also, the bar server, Dane, was very good. Too bad it took us to day 5 to find these guys. We went to see the main show, which was an acapella group. They are very talented, but it wasn't our kind of music, so we left after two numbers. We ended up at the Bow and Stern to listen to the guitar player. One of the few people on the ship we have tipped extra. Fri Feb 24- Labadee. We stayed on the ship and took lots of pictures. Much less crowded that way. The Entertainment tonight was called Blue Planet. Lots of music and dancing. Again, not what we usually like so we went back to the Bow and Stern to listen to the guitar player. He appears to have developed a following as it was more crowded than other nights. Sat Feb 25- Last day of the cruise. Packing day. We went to see the ice show in the afternoon and it was terrific! I am glad we saved it until last. Our cabin steward, Kusnanto, has been very good. We prepaid our gratuities and he is the only one we wanted to tip extra of the service staff. Sun Feb 26- Easiest disembark ever. They now have a mobile app for Customs. Fill out your information on the app and then Customs just scans the barcode. Taxi to the airport was a breeze as was our flight home. In summary, we had a great time on a beautiful ship. It was a bigger ship than we feel comfortable with. Our next RCI cruise will undoubtedly be on a smaller ship.