A Wonderful Birthday Getaway

Allure of the Seas Cruise Review

RyanWoirol

Contributor Level: Purser

103 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 9

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

4 Night Bahamas & Perfect Day (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 30, 2024

Ship: Allure of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8727

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 month ago

Review summary

This was our second ever cruise and my birthday nestled right in the middle. Our first and only other cruise, was on Independence of the Seas and this ship is wildly different, yet familiar to that one. It made me excited to try even more ships. Perfect Day was exactly as advertised, and if it wasn't so hot, we would have stayed a bit longer. Nassau was fine. It was basically what I expected. The ships to me are more fun and exciting than the ports. Can't wait for Allure's amplification. I wanna see her shine.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

We somehow got selected for Express Boarding. This let us completely skip the lines for security, however, it didn't let us board before people sitting up in the waiting room upstairs. But that still only took 5 minutes. Overall, I'd say it took 18 minutes from dropping off the bags, to walking on the ship.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Food seemed on par with our only other cruise, on Independence of the Seas, back in April. Way more options on an Oasis class ship, so that's a huge plus. Main Dining was delicious. We went every night, except for my birthday, where we did Samba Grill. Our servers were the most polite and kind hearted guys. It was our servers last trip on Allure, and he said he'll be going to Utopia in a few months, so we hope to see him there. The buffet was great, but we only had it for breakfast. There are just so many other options on board for food, that we managed lunch elsewhere the whole cruise. Our favorite part was how each morning they had staff walking around with trays of mimosas. We called them "Mimosa Slingers."

Boardwalk Bar

2 out of 5

A bit of a disappointment. I love tequila and this is the Sabor Tequila Bar. The menu that I had seen leading up to the cruise and the one in the app showed a unique menu with specialty margaritas. However, when we went to the bar, it had just the generic RC bar menu. I'm not one to bother an employee, so I just ordered their best margaritas and it was just average. A real shame.

Rising Tide Bar

2 out of 5

Cool concept, but uncomfortable execution. We were walking through Central Park and saw that it was about to go down to the Royal Promenade, so we boarded. There was a very loud and annoying group on the opposite side of the bar, so we went over by the bar and tried to squeeze around a smaller table, they suggested that we go to bigger table by that group. We were sitting rather uncomfortable around the little table, so we moved.The stools are all way too tall and uncomfortable with no back support, yet having a back rest. I felt unstable the whole time. It was cool seeing the mechanism and operation of the lift, but I quickly stopped caring as the entire think vibrates as it's moving, at least down. Uncomfortable stools, tight quarters, jostling lift and annoying neighbors. These all lead to a unfortunate experience and we chose to not do again. They really should have bench seating around the outside, would be way more comfortable.

Samba Grill

5 out of 5

Oh my god.This place was incredible. We went for my birthday and everything was perfect. Staff were all so nice and funny. It was our first ever Brazilian steakhouse, and we were caught off guard by how much you get and how often they come by. I've never been so happily stuffed before. Only thing I would have changed would be to have eaten a bit earlier, so I had more time to digest before bed. But it was so good.This needs to be an option on more ships.

Dog House

4 out of 5

It was a good bratwurst, and they had a unique beer that I didn't see anywhere else on board. It was the pilsner they say was made by Messi, I didn't fact check it though.

El Loco Fresh℠

5 out of 5

Cheese was a bit runny and thin, but this place was great. Quick and easy snack/lunch and then on your way.

Schooner Bar

2 out of 5

This was the biggest disappointment from the ship. Our last cruise was on Independence of the Seas and we ended up spending every evening in Schooner Bar because of how good Alan, the piano player was and how well laid out that bar was. On Allure, the bar is in a very awkward configuration and it doesn't make it as intamate of an experience. Indy had guests walking by constantly from either the casino or Izumi, and stopping and listening for a second and either staying or leaving. The Oasis class doesn't have that "feature" and it's hard to stumble upon the bar for a listen. The drinks were all good, and the crew were great, but the layout and placement just suffers.Also way too hard to hear the staff running trivia, due to the layout.

Boleros Lounge

4 out of 5

Wish I had stopped in again for another cocktail, but the bar seemed swamped everytime we walked by.

Windjammer Cafe

5 out of 5

Only had breakfast on this cruise. But the food was all tasty, crowds manageable and there were mimosas all around.

Globe and Atlas Pub

5 out of 5

We stopped here often. Sadly they didn't have the beer cocktails that were on Indy, but the pub cocktails were still good. We never stopped by when the guitar player was playing.

Solarium Bistro Restaurant

5 out of 5

Lunch on boarding day!Smaller selection, but delicious and not busy at all. Best way to start the cruise.

Vintages Wine Bar

5 out of 5

Stopped in for a quiet place to play my Switch and have a glass of wine. The rose was fine. The venue is very nice and cozy and the chairs were very comfortable, almost fell asleep playing. The guy behind the bar was very nice.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Carousel

3 out of 5

We love carousels. And we're excited to ride it. We didn't get to it until our final day, but it was a letdown. Ride is in great shape and the sounds are phenomenal, however it only has a rung on the left side and it caused me and my wife to cramp up in our right legs. Add rungs to both sides, and it'll be A+

Entertainment

4 out of 5

We booked this cruise so that we could see Mamma Mia. We did not see Mamma MiA. We had made serservstions for the final day at 2:30pm. We ended up missing it because we were in the casino and we're doing good. We did peek in and watch about 30 seconds though. It gives us another reason to boom this ship after it's Amplification. Blue Planet: Home was great. A fun and talented cast. The Aqua show was also incredible. We were able to watch it from our balcony and that was such a magical moment on the cruise. Only knock I have, is that I felt there was more entertainment on our last cruise on Indy, than this cruise. I'll leave reviews for each of the venues.

Central Park

5 out of 5

A beautiful surprise at sea. I kept hoping to see a real bird, but only heard the audio of recordings. It can get a bit warm in there though, with little to no breeze and lots of sun.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Our servers were incredible in the main dining room. We had anytime dining, but had made reservations for 7:15 every night and ended up requesting our servers. They honestly seemed happy to see us each evening. Our servers in Samba were so great as well, and damn you Robin for feeding us so much. They were great. The bartenders all around were great, we had some good moments in Champagne Bar and the Pub.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

She's older but not tired. Definitely ready to be amplified and I can't wait to see it once that is completed.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We originally booked an interior room. Then the prices dropped and I saw I could get this room, 8727, for only $5 more than what I originally paid for the interior room 3 months prior. I couldn't have called them any faster. Layout was great, and spacious. We didn't get any noises that people complain about being on a boardwalk cabin. Our views of the Aqua show were incredible and one of our favorite moments. A could have been a tad colder, and thank goodness I brought a little fan.

Ports of call

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

5 out of 5

This was our first time and definitely not our last. It's so relaxing and nice. I liked seeing the bartenders from the ships and I loved that our drink package just worked here as well. I was worried about not finding shade, but it's so plentiful. Food was decent, will have to try more next time. Also liked seeing our last cruise ship, Independence of the Seas there next to Allure.

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Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5

It was fine. Very hot, thank goodness for those roofs. We had a beer at the brewery, walked around the block and then went back on board. It was fine, I'd go again if someone really wanted to, but I'm more into the ship than the port.

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