Allure of the Seas Review

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Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Allure of the Seas
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firstever
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

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Sail Date: May 2013
Cabin: Large Interior Stateroom
Traveled with children

Not to compete with the many excellent reviews already posted, I have decided to keep this mini-review short and well organized, covering just the essentials that I wished I knew after reading the many other posts/reviews on these boards. While I realize that just about everything I have to write is probably already posted somewhere, I am pretty sure they are not all posted in one place, and the following highlights things that I was still unaware of by the time I set sail after months of reading Cruise Critic reviews/forums. I also try to clarify from a newcomer's perspective many of the concerns and questions that were raised and caused much consternation on the boards. Since I am only one person, this FAQ only represent's my opinion and my sailing (in particular, the Allure of the Seas Eastern Caribbean May 12), and of course, your mileage may vary. Also, I stayed in an inside stateroom, so those with more expensive accommodations may have a different experience.

1. FOOD QUALITY

As a certified foodie, trained chef (although not practicing), and world traveler, I take my food seriously. RCI has received mixed reviews regarding food quality and thus I had some apprehension boarding the Allure. I want to say to all other first timer sailors, rest assured the food is quite good. Some of the food was actually rather good, and some other food could have been much worse. As many have stated, do not expect gourmet five-star level food, although do expect five-star level service. Although not every dish was hit out of the ballpark, nothing was terrible. To qualify, we ate mainly at the MDR and sometimes at Windjammer, and avoided surcharge restaurants except Giovanni's on the first day. Major nitpicks include the uninspired vegetables (seriously, cut and diced + boiled???), fake baked Alaska (it was not-to-be highlight of my trip, my favorite dessert was "deconstructed" but not in a good way, although certainly still satisfying), overcooked lobster/steak in the MDR, and extremely uninspired chicken Marsala. Giovanni's did not strike my wife and I as being superior to the MDR except in terms of atmosphere. The Windjammer is much-maligned, and unfairly so. The food there is quite good for a buffet, provided you do not expect a buffet to serve a-la-carte quality food (that has never happened in the history of food). The main failing of many buffets my wife and I have been to is not so much that the food is not spectacular but that a few dishes are downright terrible. This was not the case at the Windjammer - the worst I can say for some of the dishes is that they are uninspired standard buffet fare - perfectly edible. I personally liked the chili at the Wipeout Cafe. I did not think as highly of the food at the Park Cafe, although my wife enjoyed it. The Dog House was decent - again mid-level acceptable quality. It does not compare with the dogs in Central Park, NY. Pizza at Sorrento's was actually pretty decent, IMHO. Room service food was good, and I enjoyed the fried fish at midnight. Bear in mind you will not get sodas on the room service menu, and orange juice costs extra (apple juice and tea is free). The service at all the restaurants is above and beyond. Even if they aren't serving gourmet food, they acted like they were, so kudos all round to the wait-staff. Also, expect to be entertained while eating (singing, dancing, the occasional speech/joke). Wait-staff become telepathic to your needs over time (even in our case - we used My Time Dining). Overall, I went in with no unrealistic expectations and came away quite pleased.

Cabin Review

Large Interior Stateroom

Cabin L
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