Allure of the Seas Review

Great ship but a lot has changed with RCI in the past several years

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Allure of the Seas
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Sun Lover
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Feb 2017
Cabin: Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

We like the big ships because of the wide choices in entertainment and activities. We were on Oasis about 5 years ago and liked it so much we decided to try Allure this time. The ship was pretty much the same and some of the shows were very similar. As far as the shows, the aqua theater show we felt was excellent as well as the comedy club. Those were our 2 favorite shows. Mama Mia was very good also and the cast did a great job, although this particular musical is not one of my favorites. Blue Planet we also enjoyed very much. We skipped the ice show this time because there was something else we wanted to do that night. The headliner show was Greg London, who was listed as being entertainer of the year in Las Vegas 3 years in a row. We did not like his show at all, and we ended up leaving after about 15 mins. I feel that if you're going to do impressions of famous rock stars, you'd better be pretty well spot-on. He would have been better off just singing the songs and not billing himself as an impressionist trying to imitate or look like the stars. We spent most nights in Dazzles and Boleros, where the bands were just excellent.

The upselling on this ship was unbelievable. Everywhere there were people trying to get us to purchase specialty dining packages, drink packages, photos, spa services, etc. It was not like that when we were on Oasis, and it really got pretty annoying. Also, we previously had dined at Giovanni's for $15/person and now it's $30 - double the price in a few years. In general it seemed like they have cut back on staff and many times we waited quite a while to be waited on at various bars. The food in the main dining room, while good, I did not feel was on par with our previous experiences and the portions seemed a bit smaller. I felt that the selection was definitely scaled down and did not like that they also added other menu selections now that are at an added cost in the main dining room. Even though you don't have to order an item with the added cost, it would have been nice to have the main dining room remain totally complimentary.

The embarkation went smoothly. We arrived at the port about 10:45 and were on the ship about 11:30. Disembarking was much more orderly than our previous cruises and took about 45 mins. to get off the ship. The service was very good overall but I felt like many staff were overworked and were racing around trying to do the best they could. We really enjoy this class of ships but were somewhat disappointed in some of the changes that have taken place. It seems like they are just trying to get every penny out of their passengers and are pushing people toward anything with added cost.

Cabin Review

Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin D8

We loved this cabin location. There are some cabins on Deck 6 where the view down to the water is partially blocked by lifeboats but this cabin had nothing under it so the view was great. It was very convenient to be located close to Decks 4 and 5 where the Royal Promenade is and many of the entertainment venues. It is also on the same deck as the boardwalk. This particular cabin is very close to the elevators, but we did not notice any noise from the hallway. I would definitely stay in this cabin again.

Port Reviews

Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the day before we sailed and rented a car, as we arrived early in the morning and had the whole day and night to spend here. We drove to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, which was a very nice area. We had lunch there at a restaurant right on the beach and walked out onto the pier and then spent the rest of the day shopping and looking around.

St. Maarten

We shared a bus ride with a bunch of people to go to Maho Beach, where the planes land not too far above your head. It took about 45 mins. to get to Maho, and we arrived about 10:30 a.m. It wasn't too overly crowded when we arrived, although there was a good amount of people. Within 2 hrs. it was just packed. It's the most crowded I've ever seen a beach. We were at the Sunset Beach Bar, which was a very lively and fun place. The food and drinks were good and they had a DJ playing music as well. If you go there, be sure to try the Guavaberry Colada. It's hands down the most delicious drink I have ever had in my life. By early afternoon you could hardly walk on the beach it was so crowded. But we were able to see a lot of planes come in. Most of them were fairly small but we did see 3 larger ones, and that was a lot of fun. We left there about 1:30 to allow plenty of time to get back to the port. We did some shopping right there by the ship, and I felt the prices actually weren't too bad on many items.

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