Allured guest Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 New to RC…Allure of the seas ship. Give me your best and worst about this ship. Preferably from the last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 Welcome to the boards! Having no Playmakers is the worst, but OceanAria is the best. But considering you are new to RC, the best and worst from seasoned cruisers won't really matter as you should go into the experience with the most open mind. Something that is the best/worst for someone else might be the opposite for you. I would suggest looking at Matt's blog and post about the Allure. Mary Sue, CrimsonCruiser, Allured guest and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 Welcome to the boards. First, check out a full walkthrough tour of the ship I think you'll find this review interesting: Allure of the Seas review Allured guest and TessFromFlorida 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebagoSue Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 We love all the Oasis class ships, including Allure. All the entertainment options are fantastic. There are many specialty dining options and we really enjoy those in Central Park. I agree that I wish it had a Playmakers, but with so many other choices we still think it’s a great ship. Allured guest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 I'm on Allure now and it doesn't feel old or outdated to me. I was just on Wonder in June so I do have a good frame of reference. Allured guest, Neesa and FloatyBoaty 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recogneyes Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 My favourite thing about Allure is that when on the boardwalk you have a clear line of sight to the water. The other oasis class ships all have the Ultimate Abyss in the way. Jill, Cactus527, TXcruzer and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 We were on Allure in December, and we had no complaints. I liked the fact that it didn't have the slides. We enjoyed the promenade, the dining options, and the shows were great. Mamma Mia was an improvement over the other Broadway shows we've seen. wordell1 and Allured guest 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrinkm Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 We absolutely loved cruising on Allure in April 2022, so much so that we booked her again for this upcoming April. The ship just felt really elegant to me and had so much to do onboard. I'm super happy that we got a 7 night on her this time rather than the same 6 night we did last year because I'm thrilled to have an extra day on board with no port stop! My only complaint about the ship from last year is that we felt that there wasn't a ton to do late at night, but maybe that is because we don't drink (bars were open...). Food choices were very limited after 9pm and I got sick of pizza. But that may have been helpful that we went to bed earlier and weren't so sleepy to get up for our port activities. I loved OceanAria and the music in Mamma Mia, ice show was so-so. "Family" comedians weren't that great, but ok. I take my enjoyment of the entertainment with a grain of salt - it's all free and if I really don't like it, I can always leave and do something else. We didn't end up doing the adult comedians, but hoping to on this upcoming cruise. Food was pretty good, IMO. We primarily tried to eat in the MDR, due to my husband's preference, for most meals, but did try out some of the other places. I LOVED Central Park and the Boardwalk - both new to me since that was our first Oasis ship. I really enjoyed the free dance classes they offered. Our Voom worked pretty well (although it has switched to Starlink since then). Really enjoyed the zip line. My kids were happy to have 2 Flowriders. They liked going ice skating one of the days. The teen club seemed great, although neither of my kids really hung out with kids they met there - the oldest hung out with other teens from our roll call that we connected with beforehand (and met for the first time right before walking them all to the teen meet up the first afternoon). My younger teen really didn't end up connecting with the other kids and would either hang with the older sibling's group, or just stay with us. I think he was intimidated by a lot of the older boys in the teen club (he was still 12 and there were a lot of 15-17 year olds on our sailing). Pools seemed nice but we didn't spend a lot of time there since we had so many water activities during our port days. We chose to do a lot of the other stuff on board instead during the sea days. KristiZ and Allured guest 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipper Posted June 18, 2023 Report Share Posted June 18, 2023 (edited) Recently I have seen several negative reviews concerning the Allure of the Seas. That is very discouraging because we sail on the Allure of the Seas in September! I just read another review where an older couple didn’t have air conditioning the entire week dispute multiple efforts of maintenance crew trying to fix it. They were not moved to another cabin or offered a fan or any compensation! Many reviews about Central Park looking bare without trees even the smaller topiary trees. The arbor and the living plant wall still bare and looking half taken care of. Surprising that it still looks bare in places. Topiary trees don’t require a crane to be replaced. Flowers and vines are not difficult to replace. The food in the main dining room has received many negative reviews even with the new menu. Cold food , bland food and poor service. Adventure Ocean received negative reviews. The standing room only at trivia and other sea day activities. People saying to arrive an hour before if you want a seat. The windjammer cafe being overcrowded and unpleasant. To pay money to go on vacation and encounter bad food , crowds and poor service is not something that’s appealing! I want to look forward to my vacation. Hoping someone has some positive things to say! Edited June 18, 2023 by Skipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanHardlyWait Posted June 18, 2023 Report Share Posted June 18, 2023 7 hours ago, Skipper said: Recently I have seen several negative reviews concerning the Allure of the Seas. That is very discouraging because we sail on the Allure of the Seas in September! I just read another review where an older couple didn’t have air conditioning the entire week dispute multiple efforts of maintenance crew trying to fix it. They were not moved to another cabin or offered a fan or any compensation! Many reviews about Central Park looking bare without trees even the smaller topiary trees. The arbor and the living plant wall still bare and looking half taken care of. Surprising that it still looks bare in places. Topiary trees don’t require a crane to be replaced. Flowers and vines are not difficult to replace. The food in the main dining room has received many negative reviews even with the new menu. Cold food , bland food and poor service. Adventure Ocean received negative reviews. The standing room only at trivia and other sea day activities. People saying to arrive an hour before if you want a seat. The windjammer cafe being overcrowded and unpleasant. To pay money to go on vacation and encounter bad food , crowds and poor service is not something that’s appealing! I want to look forward to my vacation. Hoping someone has some positive things to say! As someone who panicked to the point of almost not getting on Wonder due to bad reviews / cut back reports etc recently, my advice is take everything with a big grain of salt. The only 100% unexcepteble issue would be no AC. Too me in hot Temps that's a heath hazard. As for the rest. It is open to individual interpretation. Bland food: They are trying to make six or seven thousand people happy. Doesn't make bad meals. Just some lack zip. But still fine. Windjammer: All you can eat buffets always get a little crazy/crowded etc. It just is. They do there best to help it along. Off peak times help. For me breakfast 7 to 8am. Lunch 1130am to 1230pm or after 215pm. Evenings never a crowd problem. Activities & Seats: 45 minutes in advance to get a seat was the norm for most things. Bring a drink or get one and take in the atmosphere of the room you are in. No venue is large enough for everyone. Just build in early arrival time to your plans. Less stressful if you budget time for it. Nice to just sit and sip before an activity begins. Once you get in that mindset, these things work out better. Since I wasn't on that ship I cannot comment on the plants etc. I do think the space is more than just the greenery, but again I didn't experience that problem. I did not find poor service. A little understaffed. Not much, but a little. Crowds: Again I was on Wonder not Allure. But yes. These big ships are at 100% capacity. I almost didn't get on because of all this. That would have been a mistake. Only at certain times were crowds as bad as what I read in trip reports. It varied from place to place, hour to hour. But it's six or seven thousand people. It's going to happen. Just know it comes and goes like the tide. I found one hour was completely different than the next. Again, different ship but same fears, so I thought I'd give you my two cents and back story. Don't let trip reports kill your pre trip buzz. At the same time be realistic about crowds, peak times, etc. Plan to do things at off hours for more elbow room etc. Tips on timing out off peak hours for things help a great deal. Instead of stressing on what you can't change, try focusing on the tips and tricks etc for making most of off peak hours, arriving early, etc. Things you can do to make the most out of each day. I'm not a sugar coating Pollyanna LOL. (No really, ask anyone and everyone here LOL) But hopefully am giving some practical answers / advice / observations on the issues you have mentioned. Focus on how to make the tips and suggestions you find on here help you make your most out of your trip. One person's spicy is another person's bland. LOL. That's out of your hands and you won't know till you try. Hope this all helped. Don't let review fears kill your pre trip experience. Just focus on the advice/tips/tricks/suggestions to make the most out of each day. Also, keep an open flexible mind. Have a wonderful trip!!!! Rackham, KristiZ, Cactus527 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted June 18, 2023 Report Share Posted June 18, 2023 10 hours ago, Skipper said: Recently I have seen several negative reviews concerning the Allure of the Seas. That is very discouraging because we sail on the Allure of the Seas in September! I just read another review where an older couple didn’t have air conditioning the entire week dispute multiple efforts of maintenance crew trying to fix it. They were not moved to another cabin or offered a fan or any compensation! Many reviews about Central Park looking bare without trees even the smaller topiary trees. The arbor and the living plant wall still bare and looking half taken care of. Surprising that it still looks bare in places. Topiary trees don’t require a crane to be replaced. Flowers and vines are not difficult to replace. The food in the main dining room has received many negative reviews even with the new menu. Cold food , bland food and poor service. Adventure Ocean received negative reviews. The standing room only at trivia and other sea day activities. People saying to arrive an hour before if you want a seat. The windjammer cafe being overcrowded and unpleasant. To pay money to go on vacation and encounter bad food , crowds and poor service is not something that’s appealing! I want to look forward to my vacation. Hoping someone has some positive things to say! You will see negative reviews on just about any ship and for that matter, any restaurant or hotel. Some people are never satisfied and they like to write about it. Some of the things you mention will definitely be true. There will be crowds on one of the largest cruise ships in the world and I can guarantee that the Windjammer will be overcrowded (and unpleasant) at times. Pretty much all of the plants in Central park have been replaced since they all died in January so it won't be as plush as a ship that has had the plants growing for years. I saw some pictures recently and it looked pretty good to me. No vacation is perfect and those looking to be disappointed will always find a reason. Royal Caribbean still offers a good value for your money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 4 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said: I'm not a sugar coating Pollyanna LOL. (No really, ask anyone and everyone here LOL) We appreciate you coming back and sharing your experiences! CanHardlyWait and KristiZ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drjohn4 Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 I was on Allure about 3 weeks ago with the ship at full capacity and had a fantastic experience. No A/C problems for us. Had a balcony and an inside cabin and both were in great shape. Central Park looked absolutely beautiful. Nice to be in a quieter place with so much greenery. This was my first time on an Oasis class ship, so I can’t compare it to what it was, but it’s still quite beautiful and impressive. Windjammer was busy at times, but we were never unable to find a table for up to 8 of us. The staff were cleaning tables immediately when someone would leave when it was busy. We had great service and quality of food in the main dining room. On par with a year ago on Odyssey before the menu change. I only went to trivia once. Harry Potter trivia on the last sea day and it was standing room only. In summary, don’t feel like you are doomed to a poor vacation. Everything won’t be perfect, but odds are you’ll have a great time and enjoy your vacation! Skipper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus527 Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 I'm sure there's a review out there of someone on a cruise ship saying "1 star out of 5! Ship was in the middle of the ocean for extended periods of time and I couldn't get off!" Like @CanHardlyWait and others have said, take negative reviews with a HUGE grain of salt. FloatyBoaty, WAAAYTOOO and DJsMrs 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJsMrs Posted June 19, 2023 Report Share Posted June 19, 2023 I always remember this fun fact from a customer service seminar. If a customer has a bad experience they'll happily tell, on average, 10 people. If they have a great experience they'll typically tell 2 or 3. People love to complain - keep that in mind when you're reading the bad reviews. Definitely worth considering, but I wouldn't take it as gospel. Hagar and Cactus527 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee23 Posted June 22, 2023 Report Share Posted June 22, 2023 We were just on Allure, and the ship itself was great... The cutbacks in service are noticeable (but are fleet wide). It helps if you ground yourself in the reality that we live in a world where everything is more expensive. I will say that AO on Allure did not live up to my expectations (especially in the 3-5 room). The staff there seemed cold, and generally non-communicative. Skipper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike n Ky Posted June 23, 2023 Report Share Posted June 23, 2023 On 6/22/2023 at 6:25 AM, LizzyBee23 said: We were just on Allure, and the ship itself was great... The cutbacks in service are noticeable (but are fleet wide). It helps if you ground yourself in the reality that we live in a world where everything is more expensive. I will say that AO on Allure did not live up to my expectations (especially in the 3-5 room). The staff there seemed cold, and generally non-communicative. AO on Allure? Can't figure out what that is. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike n Ky Posted June 23, 2023 Report Share Posted June 23, 2023 Sailing Allure first week of September and this will be our 5th time aboard. Last sailing was 1/2022 and at that time she was showing her age. We were aboard in February 2020 on one of the last sailings before COVID and she was to have been drydocked for an amping up/remodel but alas that couldn't happen. My wife's favorite thing about Allure? Mama Mia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCG Teacher Posted June 23, 2023 Report Share Posted June 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Mike n Ky said: AO on Allure? Can't figure out what that is. LOL AO = Adventure Ocean. There are enough acronyms and abbreviations when discussing RCI (see?) programs and ships to make your head spin sometimes! Cactus527 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike n Ky Posted June 23, 2023 Report Share Posted June 23, 2023 1 hour ago, USCG Teacher said: AO = Adventure Ocean. There are enough acronyms and abbreviations when discussing RCI (see?) programs and ships to make your head spin sometimes! Ok...now the 3-5 room makes more sense as well. Thanks! USCG Teacher 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jupiter03 Posted June 23, 2023 Report Share Posted June 23, 2023 I've been on Allure twice this year and had a fantastic time both times. They were both very crowded ships, but we tried not to do anything at peak times to avoid crowds. We found the service great. We had early fixed dining and our waiters were fantastic and routinely had us out in 45-50 min each night. We don't like to dilly dally and one night I think we set a new record, getting in and out in about 30 min. Food came out hot, picture perfect, tasty enough for me. Some nights the menu had so many things, I got multiple apps and entrees. Some nights didn't suit my taste, but I always found something good to eat. I also hit the Windjammer every morning for breakfast and lunch. Yes, it can be crowded around peak times, so adjust your timing if that's important. We'd always try to hit the Windjammer for a late night snack at 8:55pm right before they closed and it was pretty empty then. Central Park looked a ton better in June than it did in March. The arborists are doing a fantastic job filling everything in. It was very picturesque. I saw every show and they were all great, except for Blue Planet (that one seemed a hot mess and hard to follow). Almost all the shows required reservations and I showed up ~30 min before the show and was always able to find a good seat. Our room attendant cleaned our room when we were at dinner every night. Once a day cleaning is fine with me, except for all the plates/cups/trash that builds up. I wish there were a place to drop off these items, so my tiny table/counters weren't cluttered. I found the ship in good condition and it looked less tired than Liberty OTS did. It was nice overlooking the boardwalk without the big purple slide to block views, like you see on newer Oasis-class ships. Don't worry about all the bad reviews. No cruise is perfect, so some things might go wrong, but not everything will go wrong. As long as you don't let it 'ruin' your cruise, you should have a great time. Ex. Embarkation/Debarkation on my March cruise was a nightmare due to power/internet issues. Whereas my June cruise, we pretty much walked right on at 10:30 (we had an 11am checkin) and walked right off (did self debarkation and walked off at 7:30am). PPPJJ-GCVAB, Cactus527 and Skipper 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted June 23, 2023 Report Share Posted June 23, 2023 Did two back to backs on the Allure in 2016 and 2018. Would do it again. Nothing negative, but it has been a few years. Here's one thing I seriously doubt has changed. Go to deck 14, port side all the way forward. There will be a sliding glass door that takes you out onto the "wing" over navigation center where the captain and his crew control the ship. Do this on embarkation day from any port, especially Florida. It's really great. It will be windy so hang onto your hats and toupee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2plus8isenough Posted July 6, 2023 Report Share Posted July 6, 2023 On 6/23/2023 at 2:46 PM, Mike n Ky said: AO on Allure? Can't figure out what that is. LOL It took me a second to figure it out as well and I have several children. LOL It's Adventure Ocean, the kids club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambia-Zaire Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 Royal Caribbean’s Liberty: Allure to Undergo Modernization - Cruise Industry News | Cruise Newshttps://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/02/royal-caribbeans-liberty-allure-to-undergo-modernization/ PPPJJ-GCVAB and JohnK6404 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francois Boutin Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 Hi ! I booked yesterday a cruise Jan. 2026 with 13 peoples on Allure of the sea because I see that this ship will be Amplified in 2025. So I'm a little bit anxious because I see today that 2026 deck plans are available online and I didn't see the waterslide and Playmakers bar. Normal or not ? I said to my group that ship will be amplified and be same as Oasis of the sea ship features but it's not accurated on 2026 plans online. What's wrong ? I dont want to disapointed my cruisers. Please help me to sleep well thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 4 hours ago, Francois Boutin said: Hi ! I booked yesterday a cruise Jan. 2026 with 13 peoples on Allure of the sea because I see that this ship will be Amplified in 2025. So I'm a little bit anxious because I see today that 2026 deck plans are available online and I didn't see the waterslide and Playmakers bar. Normal or not ? I said to my group that ship will be amplified and be same as Oasis of the sea ship features but it's not accurated on 2026 plans online. What's wrong ? I dont want to disapointed my cruisers. Please help me to sleep well thanks. Just my opinion, but I'm assuming they will continue to show the current deck plans until they actually commit to (or make public) any upcoming changes. I'd be extremely surprised if they did not add Playmaker's at a minimum for consistency and due it's huge popularity. PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 6 hours ago, Francois Boutin said: Hi ! I booked yesterday a cruise Jan. 2026 with 13 peoples on Allure of the sea because I see that this ship will be Amplified in 2025. So I'm a little bit anxious because I see today that 2026 deck plans are available online and I didn't see the waterslide and Playmakers bar. Normal or not ? I said to my group that ship will be amplified and be same as Oasis of the sea ship features but it's not accurated on 2026 plans online. What's wrong ? I dont want to disapointed my cruisers. Please help me to sleep well thanks. Just my opinion but I wouldn't promise anything based on future plans. Anything could happen, i.e no slide or Playmakers but something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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