PAL Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Before I get into the meat of my trip report from the Allure Thanksgiving week, I want to tell you how much we enjoyed the private St Martin tour we booked with Leo Brown, as recommended by Matt Hochberg. Leo was waiting right outside the cruise ship port. He asked only $30 per person for a full day of sight-seeing including stops at Maho Beach, Mullet Bay (quiet, lovely, pillowy sand), Orient Beach (too windy, touristy for us), a local restaurant, and Phillipsburg. We felt safe at all times. I can't recommend him enough. Of course we had a wonderful holiday and made the best of our time despite the Allure's mechanical problems, which RCL was (in my opinion) unforgivably slow to acknowledge. Ultimately our big kids (17 and 22), didn't take advantage of the additional amenities (flowrider, rock wall, zipline, skating rink) that are so ballyhooed. Much of that was due to inclement weather, but also to slow moving lines and inconsistent operating hours. They spent most of their time in venues found on most cruise ships: the library, card room, various lounges, the pool area.Our show attendance record was dismal. I say that with more than a hint of humor. My family couldn't be bothered, although my wife and I enjoyed the live music in Jazz on Four and elsewhere.A few notes that might be helpful to future cruisers. Shuttles to Miami are available at the Allure terminal on a walk-up basis for only $11 / person. That's about a third of RCL's rate, and they leave immediately whereas with RCL we had to wait (possibly hours) for ship clearance. My wife and I have high standards when it comes to dining. The main dining room service and food was at best average to poor in our opinion, and the Windjammer couldn't match a buffet at a Vegas moderate. However, we thoroughly enjoyed many of the specialty dining venues. In particular I can recommend Chops, Vintages, Giovanni's and the Chef's Table.150 Central Park was positioned as fine dining, but the menus were unsophisticated and the wine pairing a poor value ($40+$75), particularly when compared with the Chef's Table which included wine and a beautiful hardcover cookbook (was it $90 each?).The best bet for fresh cooked breakfast including real eggs was ultimately Johnny Rockets. We ate there six mornings straight, which couldn't have been good for our waistlines but we very much enjoyed it. Friendly, happy service too.The cabin steward was adequate (would you believe we found a previous cruiser's chocolate chip cookie under the desk on disembarkation day, and he kept topping off the shampoo dispenser with water?), but the specialty dining service staff and bar staff almost everywhere could not have been better. We had a lot of fun getting to know them. It probably doesn't say anything in my favor that they knew me by name at most of the watering holes by the end of the trip.The port at Nassau was closed due to poor weather - the ship couldn't get in. As a result, we benefited from one extra hour in St Thomas (10-6:30, close to the original schedule). Our Power Raft Snorkel Trip with Capt Nautica was well operated, with top notch equipment, decent snorkel sites, not too crowded (they only take 20), and they didn't keep us on an excessively short leash. The other boats we saw crammed the cattle in.We found downtown Phillipsburg and St Thomas to be a waste of time, with identical mass-market touristy shops and no real local culture. I wouldn't bother again.We're fairly well traveled, usually on the independent side, and I get to many rugged destinations for my work as a sport fishing writer. We don't necessarily need or expect 4 or 5 star accommodations, and we certainly prefer authenticity. In my experience modest local restaurants often serve incredibly well prepared and tasty fresh meals. We don't care for mass produced food that sits around. This wasn't our first cruise. We will cruise again, but I doubt we will select another mega ship. We loved our time in port (remember, we had only two days). By the end of the week all of us were feeling like we were trapped in a mall. We'll stick to cruise intensive ports from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinTexan Posted December 9, 2013 Report Share Posted December 9, 2013 What you have just said is very much how we felt about our trip on the Oasis it's first year out. People everywhere and long lines that moved at a snails pace kept us from doing a lot of the activities. It is a beautiful ship but just too many people for them to adequately care for at the expected level of RCCL. I will stick to the smaller ships, leaving in less than two weeks...can't wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 Going on Allure in April and I am just not that excited other than to see it from reading some of the reviews. I am sadly more excited about Freedom later next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 10, 2013 Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 Before I get into the meat of my trip report from the Allure Thanksgiving week, I want to tell you how much we enjoyed the private St Martin tour we booked with Leo Brown, as recommended by Matt Hochberg. Leo was waiting right outside the cruise ship port. He asked only $30 per person for a full day of sight-seeing including stops at Maho Beach, Mullet Bay (quiet, lovely, pillowy sand), Orient Beach (too windy, touristy for us), a local restaurant, and Phillipsburg. We felt safe at all times. I can't recommend him enough. So glad to hear your family enjoyed Leo's tour. He's great and incredibly nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian91 Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 Really looking forward to Allure in Just 4 weeks time, fortunately we are doing the Western itinary. Thanks for the tips, especially Johnney Rockets for breakfast. I will be sure to reply with our experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarney Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 What you have just said is very much how we felt about our trip on the Oasis it's first year out. People everywhere and long lines that moved at a snails pace kept us from doing a lot of the activities. It is a beautiful ship but just too many people for them to adequately care for at the expected level of RCCL. I will stick to the smaller ships, leaving in less than two weeks...can't wait! I just got back from a week at Disney. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will top the lines I saw… I think I'm now adequately prepared for any sort of lines on my April Oasis cruise. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 I just got back from a week at Disney. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will top the lines I saw… I think I'm now adequately prepared for any sort of lines on my April Oasis cruise. :) I think we were both in WDW at the same time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarney Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 I think we were both in WDW at the same time! I think a full quarter of the earth's population was there so it's quite possible… :) We arrived the Saturday after Thanksgiving and came home on Sat Dec 7th. We had a layover in Minneapolis where the temp was a full 85 degrees lower than when we left Florida. Shawn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tylor Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 I just got back from a week at Disney. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will top the lines I saw… I think I'm now adequately prepared for any sort of lines on my April Oasis cruise. :) I thought Disney was suppose to be dead the week of Labor Day and the week after Thanksgiving? Guess not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 13, 2013 Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 I thought Disney was suppose to be dead the week of Labor Day and the week after Thanksgiving? Guess not? There is no such thing as dead at Disney these days. Always something going on it seems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCL4Life Posted December 17, 2013 Report Share Posted December 17, 2013 This wasn't our first cruise. We will cruise again, but I doubt we will select another mega ship. We loved our time in port (remember, we had only two days). By the end of the week all of us were feeling like we were trapped in a mall. We'll stick to cruise intensive ports from now on. What ship class do you prefer? I like the variety of choices the big ships offer and I never feel like it's very crowded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAL Posted December 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 The Allure didn't usually feel crowded. We've simply discovered we prefer port intensive itineraries. 4 sea days were too many for a week long Caribbean cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 The Allure didn't usually feel crowded. We've simply discovered we prefer port intensive itineraries. 4 sea days were too many for a week long Caribbean cruise. I'm with you there. I prefer port days to sea days and on a 7 night cruise, I think 2 days is the right amount of sea days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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