ScooterScott22

For those not familiar with the Wonder OTS, the Windjammer has quite a different layout compared to the other Oasis class ships.

Wonder is the image on the left and the other is Allure.  On Wonder it is on deck 15 and the stations are further back.  That allows the front area to accommodate the early breakfast items towards the front.  The seating area is further back and wraps along the upper Boardwalk where the mini golf and sports courts are on the other ships.  

For those not familiar with the Wonder OTS, the Windjammer has quite a different layout compared to the other Oasis class ships.

Wonder is the image on the left and the other is Allure.  On Wonder it is on deck 15 and the stations are further back.  That allows the front area to accommodate the early breakfast items towards the front.  The seating area is further back and wraps along the upper Boardwalk where the mini golf and sports courts are on the other ships.  

We prefer the Allure because it in not updated with the view blocking slide and the useless robot bar (instead of the champagne bar).  She is our favorite ship.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the wave pool, IMO.

Quick report on our Allure specialty restaurant experience.
- Chops - one lunch and one dinner - on par with most of our other Chops experiences.  Food and service were maybe a notch above the others.  
- Izumi - one hibachi dinner, one sushi lunch - both good, again on par with the other experiences in the fleet.
- Chef’s Table - food was very good, some dishes better than others.  Cannot say enough about Andrei (sp?). He is great and we were happy to see him again, dined with him on Ovation in 2019.
- Samba Grill - nice experience, food was decent.  Fun to do something a little different on the ship.  Not high on the list to do again but would go for the variety.
- Sabor - lunch - maybe we were just too far into meals and snack deliveries but just average.  The food and service was fine but we were running out of room when we dined so not a good time to judge.
- Giovanni Table - one lunch - it looked like the older menu and food was ok, service was a little slow.
150 - two dinners - both were good, service was very good.  Wonder OTS still is best 150 in the fleet but this one seems pretty close, especially for an older/un-amped ship.
- Coastal Kitchen - one dinner in CK, one dinner in room - food was pretty good, service in CK was good.  Have to say that overall was fine with limited time there.  Stopped in twice for a drink on the way to dinner reservations, and also when checking in dinner, and have to say that some guests in there created a negative vibe.  
 
So the scorecard is Chops, 150, Chefs Table and Izumi are all easy green lights.  Sabor, Giovanni, Samba and CK were all fine.  There were no “never again” in the dining.  

There are WAYYTTOOOOO many treats to list...
One notable item we encountered was the Blue Cheese balls that were delivered as part of afternoon snack a few days last trip.  There was quite a variety on most days and some we could determine where they came from but my guess is these little whipped dollops of goodness were something that was on the apps in the suites lounge on certain days.  

Quick report on our Allure specialty restaurant experience.
- Chops - one lunch and one dinner - on par with most of our other Chops experiences.  Food and service were maybe a notch above the others.  
- Izumi - one hibachi dinner, one sushi lunch - both good, again on par with the other experiences in the fleet.
- Chef’s Table - food was very good, some dishes better than others.  Cannot say enough about Andrei (sp?). He is great and we were happy to see him again, dined with him on Ovation in 2019.
- Samba Grill - nice experience, food was decent.  Fun to do something a little different on the ship.  Not high on the list to do again but would go for the variety.
- Sabor - lunch - maybe we were just too far into meals and snack deliveries but just average.  The food and service was fine but we were running out of room when we dined so not a good time to judge.
- Giovanni Table - one lunch - it looked like the older menu and food was ok, service was a little slow.
150 - two dinners - both were good, service was very good.  Wonder OTS still is best 150 in the fleet but this one seems pretty close, especially for an older/un-amped ship.
- Coastal Kitchen - one dinner in CK, one dinner in room - food was pretty good, service in CK was good.  Have to say that overall was fine with limited time there.  Stopped in twice for a drink on the way to dinner reservations, and also when checking in dinner, and have to say that some guests in there created a negative vibe.  
 
So the scorecard is Chops, 150, Chefs Table and Izumi are all easy green lights.  Sabor, Giovanni, Samba and CK were all fine.  There were no “never again” in the dining.  

There are WAYYTTOOOOO many treats to list...
One notable item we encountered was the Blue Cheese balls that were delivered as part of afternoon snack a few days last trip.  There was quite a variety on most days and some we could determine where they came from but my guess is these little whipped dollops of goodness were something that was on the apps in the suites lounge on certain days.  

We are debarking tomorrow and had dinner at Samba this sailing.  
I’ll add a few notes.  The meats vary but the tenderloin and rib were the best.  They have three sauces and the chimichurri may help with the rounds.  I was surprised that the bacon wrapped chicken didn’t please me.  Bacon is always a plus but I guess this was the exception to prove the rule.
For the self serve apps there are a couple selections that were interesting but it will depend on your interests.  They bring a plate of vegetables to serve family style.  The other apps were cheese empanada, yucca, and a fried banana.  A plate of small “cheese” bread was the initial dish.

We are debarking tomorrow and had dinner at Samba this sailing.  
I’ll add a few notes.  The meats vary but the tenderloin and rib were the best.  They have three sauces and the chimichurri may help with the rounds.  I was surprised that the bacon wrapped chicken didn’t please me.  Bacon is always a plus but I guess this was the exception to prove the rule.
For the self serve apps there are a couple selections that were interesting but it will depend on your interests.  They bring a plate of vegetables to serve family style.  The other apps were cheese empanada, yucca, and a fried banana.  A plate of small “cheese” bread was the initial dish.

Quick report on our Allure specialty restaurant experience.
- Chops - one lunch and one dinner - on par with most of our other Chops experiences.  Food and service were maybe a notch above the others.  
- Izumi - one hibachi dinner, one sushi lunch - both good, again on par with the other experiences in the fleet.
- Chef’s Table - food was very good, some dishes better than others.  Cannot say enough about Andrei (sp?). He is great and we were happy to see him again, dined with him on Ovation in 2019.
- Samba Grill - nice experience, food was decent.  Fun to do something a little different on the ship.  Not high on the list to do again but would go for the variety.
- Sabor - lunch - maybe we were just too far into meals and snack deliveries but just average.  The food and service was fine but we were running out of room when we dined so not a good time to judge.
- Giovanni Table - one lunch - it looked like the older menu and food was ok, service was a little slow.
150 - two dinners - both were good, service was very good.  Wonder OTS still is best 150 in the fleet but this one seems pretty close, especially for an older/un-amped ship.
- Coastal Kitchen - one dinner in CK, one dinner in room - food was pretty good, service in CK was good.  Have to say that overall was fine with limited time there.  Stopped in twice for a drink on the way to dinner reservations, and also when checking in dinner, and have to say that some guests in there created a negative vibe.  
 
So the scorecard is Chops, 150, Chefs Table and Izumi are all easy green lights.  Sabor, Giovanni, Samba and CK were all fine.  There were no “never again” in the dining.  

Quick report on our Allure specialty restaurant experience.
- Chops - one lunch and one dinner - on par with most of our other Chops experiences.  Food and service were maybe a notch above the others.  
- Izumi - one hibachi dinner, one sushi lunch - both good, again on par with the other experiences in the fleet.
- Chef’s Table - food was very good, some dishes better than others.  Cannot say enough about Andrei (sp?). He is great and we were happy to see him again, dined with him on Ovation in 2019.
- Samba Grill - nice experience, food was decent.  Fun to do something a little different on the ship.  Not high on the list to do again but would go for the variety.
- Sabor - lunch - maybe we were just too far into meals and snack deliveries but just average.  The food and service was fine but we were running out of room when we dined so not a good time to judge.
- Giovanni Table - one lunch - it looked like the older menu and food was ok, service was a little slow.
150 - two dinners - both were good, service was very good.  Wonder OTS still is best 150 in the fleet but this one seems pretty close, especially for an older/un-amped ship.
- Coastal Kitchen - one dinner in CK, one dinner in room - food was pretty good, service in CK was good.  Have to say that overall was fine with limited time there.  Stopped in twice for a drink on the way to dinner reservations, and also when checking in dinner, and have to say that some guests in there created a negative vibe.  
 
So the scorecard is Chops, 150, Chefs Table and Izumi are all easy green lights.  Sabor, Giovanni, Samba and CK were all fine.  There were no “never again” in the dining.  

We will be on Allure in about a month in Star and have tentatively only planned one - two dinners in CK at the moment.  We will be happy to report back since we are planning hitting all the specialty restaurants at least once, and feel that they all are not equal across the fleet.  
We did UDP on our last four cruises (Freedom, Wonder, Navigator and Harmony) and the last was in a CLS and we still only did one dinner in CK.  We did a couple lunches and breakfast, which was enough.  Izumi (both sides) and the Samba Grill are pretty unique and probably can't really be replicated by the MDR or CK.  There are positives and negatives to each, CK and UDP so to me there is a better question...  ...Which one do you think you would regret missing more, the variety and options provided by the UDP or the chance to dine exclusively in CK?
 

About cruise number 4 I noticed these gold bar pins some were wearing. I thought there was a convention aboard the ship and when I got on an elevator with a couple wearing 'the' pins I asked if they were part of a convention group...he stood up straighter and declared, no, we are pinnacle. 
Our status is diamond, a few cruises away from plus...I will never wear a pin nor do I mention my status when talking to the crew. There was a time when I looked forward to the discounts on balcony and suites as a part of our level but that really doesn't apply anymore. Now it's about some of the little perks, like not having to buy my wife the specialty drink package, and getting aboard the ship easier.
FWIW, I doubt we will ever hit pinnacle and once we have plus I expect we will begin to mix up our cruises between Royal and Celebrity. We cruise because we really enjoy it and already have 3 booked in 23 and looking at cruises for 24.

On a recent cruise we witnessed a couple who were pinnacle wearing their pins, they made comments about how other cruisers did not know what they were doing and the whole week we saw them with their pins on everywhere they went.  I think sometimes if you have to wear a pin for importance you have lost the reason to cruise.  Being Diamond almost diamond plus does not make me better than a first time cruiser it just makes me better acclimated to the ship so I can move around easier.  I believe pins and other awards are for those who feel the need to show off.  When I cruise I just want to relax.  I will never forget that couple as when we left the ship they were on our shuttle bus to the Park n Go and were still making comments about how new cruisers just did not know what they were doing.  Bad Look for them but it takes all kinds in this world.  

We just hit diamond with the last cruise and anticipate I’ll never wear one, even if pinnacle happens.  
Did pack our emerald pins on one cruise with some friends to wear as a joke.  (But even then didn’t put it on.) That is the only reason I would wear one.   Not one of the perks are connected to actually having a pin on so really not a factor.  

We are debarking tomorrow and had dinner at Samba this sailing.  
I’ll add a few notes.  The meats vary but the tenderloin and rib were the best.  They have three sauces and the chimichurri may help with the rounds.  I was surprised that the bacon wrapped chicken didn’t please me.  Bacon is always a plus but I guess this was the exception to prove the rule.
For the self serve apps there are a couple selections that were interesting but it will depend on your interests.  They bring a plate of vegetables to serve family style.  The other apps were cheese empanada, yucca, and a fried banana.  A plate of small “cheese” bread was the initial dish.

We are debarking tomorrow and had dinner at Samba this sailing.  
I’ll add a few notes.  The meats vary but the tenderloin and rib were the best.  They have three sauces and the chimichurri may help with the rounds.  I was surprised that the bacon wrapped chicken didn’t please me.  Bacon is always a plus but I guess this was the exception to prove the rule.
For the self serve apps there are a couple selections that were interesting but it will depend on your interests.  They bring a plate of vegetables to serve family style.  The other apps were cheese empanada, yucca, and a fried banana.  A plate of small “cheese” bread was the initial dish.

We are debarking tomorrow and had dinner at Samba this sailing.  
I’ll add a few notes.  The meats vary but the tenderloin and rib were the best.  They have three sauces and the chimichurri may help with the rounds.  I was surprised that the bacon wrapped chicken didn’t please me.  Bacon is always a plus but I guess this was the exception to prove the rule.
For the self serve apps there are a couple selections that were interesting but it will depend on your interests.  They bring a plate of vegetables to serve family style.  The other apps were cheese empanada, yucca, and a fried banana.  A plate of small “cheese” bread was the initial dish.

We were paired up with a couple from Canada that were sailing in Star and Jay was their genie also so we all made it through to the suites/Star area to wait.  
The wait was a little longer than anticipated but Jay collected us and we headed on board.  They only had one gangway for boarding for some reason so that was somewhat of the issue causing the slowdown.  Jay did keep us moving as best as he could and I really liked the way he used his briefcase to ease into line😀.
He said our rooms were ready so took both parties up and dropped us off into our suites.  It was right at noon and we had lunch scheduled at Chops so only a few minutes to check out the wonderful room and balcony.

And watching the bridge can be fun too😀.

Sorry, it was early and it looked like you and @CravingaCruise were blending the two threads some.  Since you were before us on Allure and she is after us, I have been following both threads.