We are experienced, 50+ yr. old, multi-branded cruisers. Our history encompasses Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, RCI, Seabourn and Silver Seas. We signed up because we had unexpected time off from work and it fit the schedule. The cruise by strange coincidence is also the same one we will be sailing on for a wedding in Jan. 2017. We booked that one back in the spring. So this was a pre-wedding cruise and recon. for our friends and family. We agreed we would not broadcast neg. experiences as we didn't want to color others' 1st impressions unless we were asked for honest opinions.

The Allure is a beautiful, well thought out ship. Our inside cabin was adequate and cabin steward did an excellent job. Service in dining room was a big hit or miss. Unfortunately the misses were bigger and more frequent. Any Time Dining was our only option as we had last minute booking. MDR lunch service was a miss; like a training grounds for unpaid interns. We gave it 2 tries to be fair and never went back. Sabor ($) was a good lunch option and Johnny Rockets ($) had a line out the door. Any Time Dining Dinner was ok on night 4 and outstanding on night 6. You just don't know who you will get for service. Food was average to good so no complaints. We tried Giovannis, Chopps, and 150 Central Park, all upcharge ($) dining options.

Overall, food was very good to excellent and service was also very good to excellent 2 out of 3 times. Giovannis could have been a bit better. Vintages is a wine and tapas bar. We love the wines and tapas products. The service was a huge disappointment. Waiter/wine steward? was a bit condescending and unhelpful when asked about upcoming wine tastings. I guess you don't need $40/person fees. I had walked in ready to purchase Caymus tasting but walked out feeling insulted. On last night we dropped in for tapas and wine for dinner. Staff literally forgot about us on the patio...a new guy shows up to clear our table before we were done, was insulted when we told him we weren't done. And we couldn't have left if we had wanted to because they still had our card and we couldn't ask for the check as our original waiter left and never came back. We guess they were given extra duties to help turn the ship; that's ok but let us know so we "get it." Staff was sorry about situation once they realized what went on. Windjammer Buffet did a nice job. Keeping 6100+ passengers fed is a tremendous task. Communication is major component for good service and I hope they will improve. Read more