Wow. This post ended up being really long. (Remember me wondering what I was going to fill this blog with this winter?) This is another of those "cruisers posts", so if you're not, you can get an extra hour's sleep tonight by skipping it. ;-)
I was happy to receive so many emails when I posted that we were bound for the Allure OTS. Many people said that they had cruised on the Allure and loved it; others said that they wanted to cruise on the Allure and were looking forward to me comparing the Allure to Princess ships. Well, I'm afraid you might be disappointed about that. I'm not going to do a comparison to Princess; the experiences are just too different. But that's not a bad thing, and I've been trying to come up with an analogy that explains what I feel an Allure cruise is all about, and this is the best I can do...
A traditional cruise, such as on Princess or Holland America or Celebrity is like a traditional cell phone. They might have few extras, just as a traditional cell phone might have texting or a few games. But mostly they're for people who enjoy the simple act of cruising.
The Allure is like a smart phone. It's more expensive and once you get on the ship, it's almost impossible not to spend more...a lot more. And cruising is maybe just 10% of the total experience, just as phoning is just 10% of a smartphone experience. If you're not going to enjoy a lot of what it offers, then there's no reason to go.
In the end, I think G and I like the dumb phones of cruising. That's just who we are. That doesn't mean we didn't love our week on the Allure; we did, but only because we embraced so much of what it had to offer. And we'll probably make a point of taking a future cruise on the Oasis OTS, just to see a different set of shows. But we were wise not to book back to back cruises on the Allure, as over 100 people do every week; we are burned out after just 7 days.
So, end of analogy, and now I'll just state some thoughts about Royal Caribbean and specifically the Allure. Although we hadn't been on Royal Caribbean in five years, this cruise served to remind us of those things about the cruise line that we really liked...and those things that led us to start cruising on other lines.
The good: The Entertainment
The entertainment was far and away the best we have ever seen on a ship. I'm sure there might be better entertainment in Las Vegas or New York City, but we don't frequent those cities. The entertainment was certainly better than we can see at home, and was made even better by the huge number of options available.
The Allure was hopping from early morning until almost early the next morning. On sea days, there were so many appealing options to choose from that sometimes we ran from one to another while other times we just had to prioritize. OceanAria in the Aqua Theater and Blue Planet and the ice show were our favorites, closely followed by Chicago. Even the "filler" shows were of a higher quality than we've seen on other cruise ships. There was live music all around the ship sea day afternoons and all evenings (and you know we loved that).
I really enjoyed all the line dancing dance classes in the Royal Promenade: party line dancing, flash mob dance classes, Beyoncé, Michael Jackson and disco line dancing. What I would have loved to do (but it didn't make the cut) was go to water aerobics, or attend a jewelry making class, or go ice skating. While Princess' ever present trivia was available, it was far less visible, though I'm not sure if it was offered less frequently or just overshadowed by so many other options. Ditto the "game shows"; they were on the schedule but were way overshadowed by the live music and quality entertainment that we enjoy more.
Live music, live music, live music. Everywhere. All the time. Loved it!
Surprisingly enjoyable was watching other people enjoy themselves. I was highly entertained by the zip line and flow riders. I could have spent hours on the Boardwalk watching the little ones enjoy the family-focused entertainment. The Allure is really competing with Disney when it comes to family entertainment. I loved that they had programs starting with babies under one year old and a splash area for babies in swim diapers. I'd recommend the Allure for anyone with kids. No one will ever be bored!
There are so many activities on the sea days that it was hard to choose which ones to do. Jewelry making, scrap booking, dance classes of all sorts, live music all around the ship, ice skating and all the other sporty type activities, trivia, games...you name it, they had it.
I could go on and on about the entertainment, but I'll just leave it at: it's the best part of a cruise on the Allure.
The good: everything else
The Allure had the friendliest, most welcoming crew I've ever encountered. It's like they're trying to compete with Disney and make the Allure the happiest place on earth. In fact, it's exactly like that.
Service was top notch everywhere on the ship. It's far more casual than on Princess or (especially) Holland America, but that's not a bad thing. It's simply service in a more casual, more familiar way.
The ship is gorgeous. The art is creative and clever and really enhances the cruise experience.
There are plenty of unused loungers any time of the day on a sea day. There are almost none available near a pool, however. I think that having to check out pool towels deserves part of the credit. People are far less likely to hog a chair with a towel when it might cost them $25 if the towel ends up missing.
Speaking of pools, and hot tubs...there are many and they are huge. They are also well used. On sea days, they become a mass of humanity. (Side bar: body art is here to stay, folks. I've never seen so many tattoos).
The Solarium is beautiful and big and adults only and FREE! Very nice. The food in the Solarium Bistro, as on much of the ship, is hit and miss, but we generally found something good to eat there.
The walking/jogging track is wonderful. And because it's a single use area without views of the ocean (for the most part), there are far fewer "strollers and meanderers" than on normal promenade decks. People are there with a purpose in mind, and that makes it safer for everyone. Loved the encouraging Burma Shave-style signage!
That levitating bar, the Rising Tide...I'm still in awe about that one. Who thought to put this on a cruise ship? Amazing.
Central Park. Trees and bird song and crickets and lot of real plants and strolling paths between the trees. Pretty by day but magical at night.
The Boardwalk. It really feels like a Coney Island-style boardwalk. It's fun for kids and adults alike. I loved the vibe back there.
The Sports Deck. Didn't expect to even venture back there and ended up loving it. The Flow Riders, the zip line, the sports court...I hope I never hear another person say "I don't go on a cruise to surf or rock climb". Neither do I, and I didn't, but I still enjoyed watching others having fun doing it.
Dazzles nightclub. Gorgeous with beautiful views of the Boardwalk at night.
The Aqua Theater. Part of this belongs in entertainment, as it's the venue for OceanAria, but it's used for a lot of other fun things too (like the 50s/60s night party, and movies). Beautiful architecture and well used too.
Many pools and hot tubs, and huge ones too, with nice views. And on sea days they were full. But there were lots of them, fresh and salt water, to choose from.
Our cabin was huge (it was a large inside cabin). The beds were divine. There was a firm mattress topped with a 2" memory foam pad in a separate bag. This could be removed if you wanted it to, but the bottom line is that the bed came with it as the default and it could be removed easily. The pillows, the bedding were all great and in perfect condition (side bar here: when I think of some of the rags we've encountered for sheets on the Emerald Princess it makes me think we've been highly tolerant). The interactive TV was incredible (but we had to call to make reservations by phone to book a table in Adagio). The shower was very nicely sized with no shower curtain. I could bend over to pick up the soap without hitting my head on the shower door (nice!).
Our cabin location was perfect. We were in 12547, close to the Solarium and the front elevators. I would stay in that area again. It was such a respite to leave a noisy part of the ship, get off the elevator and enter that quiet enclave of our short passenger cabin area. Deep sighs of relief then.
However, this was definitely a case where we simply like more that which we are used to. We have the easiest time getting and staying organized on the Emerald Princess simply because we've had so much practice.
Royal Caribbean (as well as Celebrity and Azamara Club Cruises) have teamed with AT&T to offer great cell phone, texting and data packages as greatly reduced rates. In addition, RC offers an unlimited Internet package (it was $179 for our cruise ($199 for unlimited video streaming). In today's attached world, it's nice that they have options for those passengers who want them. Also, on the Allure, passengers could access airline websites and print boarding passes for FREE!!
The digital displays throughout the ship were perfect for pointing out what there was to do, restaurant availability, nearest bathrooms, etc.
The ship is large, but after the first couple of days we really did know our way around it, and could get around easily once we learned to use the passenger cabin corridors to quickly get to the front or aft elevator banks.
The elevators (24 of them for passenger use) were plentiful and fast. 7 times out of 10 they arrived with no one in them. On a ship with nearly 6000 passengers, that's impressive.
The bathrooms in the pool areas had interesting signage:
Embarkation was very fast (we were on board by 11:15am) and disembarkation wasn't bad, considering the number of people that they needed to get off the ship. The trouble began at customs, but that's not RC's fault.
The ship was in perfect condition. Nothing more to add here.
We loved the diversity of the passengers. Young and old, many of them (maybe 50%) from outside the US. People come from all over the world to cruise the Allure. There were many large family groups of 20 more people traveling together. That really added to the "specialness" of the cruise. Diamond Concierge Ana told us that Brazil makes up the single biggest passenger group outside the US, and they come on board and spend, spend, spend. Apparently many come during Carnaval, to get away from Rio, and when they do, they clean out the stores and buy a lot of Brasilian artist Britto's works (he has a ship on board). Smart RC...very smart.
I love that RC recognizes loyalty levels from Celebrity and Azamara Club Cruises. This is such a smart strategy. With only 6 RC cruises, we were getting $75 of free drinks every night of the cruise, and access to the Diamond Lounge for free specialty coffees all day and continental breakfast. We also got some other things, like 30 minutes of free Internet, BOGO drinks, % off on purchases, etc. but the single biggest value is the free drinks. It will be quite hard to go back to Princess' $5 drinks at the Elite lounge. And the minibar is no compensation...we got the value of the minibar in free specialty coffees and drinks every day of our cruise.
This is a RC thing, not just Allure, but we loved the way the Diamond Concierge was in the Diamond Club every morning for several hours, and then in the Diamond Lounge for 3.5 hours every evening. Ana was incredible at her job, and made a point of coming around to all of us each evening to ask us about our day. It was the first night when we asked her how to get the free Internet perk, and she got on her laptop and printed out access codes and instructions right then and there. She was highly visible and valuable, but she could be, because she was just one member of the loyalty program team. RC has one person managing the future cruise and loyalty program on board, but with two staff members for each function. And the future cruise people can provide information and bookings for RC's other brands, Celebrity and Azamara Club Cruises. They don't keep the brands apart as CCL does (although that might be changing). I just can't say enough how forward thinking this is. RC can hook passengers when they're young and keep them in the "family" by offering them one of their other brands when RC doesn't meet their needs.
Royal Caribbean is building three new ships- two Quantum Class ships and one more Oasis Class ship. These big ships sail full 52 weeks a year. Note to self: buy RCI stock.
The not-so-good
We had food availability and quality issues all week, punctuated by the day we returned from the beach on St.Martin at 3.45pm and the buffet was closed and didn't re-open until 6:15pm. That's craziness. Sure, we could have had pizza or a hot dog or sandwiches for free, or paid extra for a hamburger at Johnny Rockets, but we wanted something hot and healthy. At sail away, standing on the Allure across from people standing on the Royal Princess, we wanted to shout, "Send us some food!" It was painful knowing that they were enjoying that wonderful Royal Princess buffet and we had...hot dogs. Ouch!
Though a few food items were excellent, overall, the food was not the best (one lady we've talked with at the Embassy Suites said it was the worst she'd ever had, but I won't go that far. I've eaten my own cooking!). Overall, it was cheap food beautifully presented. The Allure boasts over 20 restaurants, and perhaps the extra cost ones had better food, but we were on a mission to not pay for a single specialty restaurant. We wanted to know what it was like to just use complimentary dining, and now we know. It's hard. We were hungry so we'd eat crap and then felt worse for it.
There are between 8000 and 9000 people on this ship, in including crew. If you're looking for quiet time, or alone time, it's tough to find. We felt herded around quite a bit, especially when leaving the ship in port and getting back on later in the day. Signs told us to board based on cabin location, and there were escalators and guides and security was the tightest I'd ever seen. Those things are good, but they're not good too. We were never unaware that we were on the world's largest cruise ship.
Another good thing turned not-so-good: the frenetic pace on board. Sure, we could have sat on deck and read a book, but why be on that cruise if that's all you're going to do? We kept busy every minute of every day, and were finishing up dinner after 10pm sometimes and then going to another late show. We'd never do that on Princess. We disembarked the ship exhausted, and I picked up a bad cold on the last day. We drank too much and ate too little healthy food. We could NOT spend two weeks let alone four months on the Allure.
But we LOVED the one week we spent on her and would do it again...after our Check Liver Soon lights go out. :-)