Bowen Posted January 30, 2023 Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 We just got back from Allure! It was awesome! The ship was beautiful, very clean, in great shape. The staff were fantastic, friendly, quick, very helpful. We had connecting Central Park balcony rooms, they were very nice and the ambiance outside the rooms was great, especially at night. We ate in the MDR every night, the food was fantastic, so tasty! We had Elvis and Jaime as our waiter and assistant, they made dinner so much fun. We saw all of the shows except the main comedy show (but we did see both comedians in the opening night show, just not the adults only show). I wanted to see the 18+ shows, but I waited too long to book and they were all sold out. We tried the standby line two nights but could not get in. We only saw part of AquaAria, they kept having to cancel it because of the waves making the diving pool too shallow, and by the time we could see it again we had reservations for Mamma Mia and didn't want to miss that. MM was GREAT, a full on 2.5 hour show with a 15 minute intermission. I used to have tickets to TUTS out here in Houston, it was just about every bit as good as that. Clint Holmes performed three times, and while I didn't know him my mother did and she loved it. The show was very good, just a tad bit out of my music range, or rather I knew most of the songs but prefer comedians or theater to singing, if that makes sense. Still it was a great show and Clint was extremely talented. We also did a bunch of Trivia (lost horribly at airline logo trivia, but got 14/15 at "songs with colors in the title" trivia). Who's even heard of "Red Rain" by Peter Gabriel, for real? We hid ducks and actually found a few this time, even two crocheted ducks. We met the ladies crocheting them, so cool! I can also verify that if the staff sees a duck they pick it up. I don't know if they dispose of them or if they keep them, but we did see a staff member pick up one of ours and remove it from the premises. The ports were great. My mom, niece and son went zip lining in Honduras and had a great time. They met up with people on that same tour later on and we played dominos with them and rode Rising Tide with them, so that was very cool. We went to the aviary in Costa Maya, it was a lot of fun! We didn't do anything in Cozumel because it was raining cats and dogs. I scanned off the ship, walked out, turned around and walked right back on. My mom and niece stayed out and then came back in looking like drowned rats. They did get met at the entrance by the staff who handed them hot, dry towels, so they were very happy about that. Just another example of RC going the extra mile. We used the Diamond Lounge a lot, played cards in there, got coffee, ate the tasty food, etc. It was quiet and not super crowded, a nice perk especially when you couldn't find a table in the card room. I will say one disappointing part of the cruise, but just one. In Costa Maya we wanted to walk through the aviary, it was a little ways away from where we docked, not much, maybe like a five minute walk, but I wanted to make sure we could just walk in and buy a ticket so I stopped and talked to one of the last minute tour people at the port. They were NOT Royal Caribbean people, but they clearly were linked to RC. I asked the guy if we could just walk to the aviary and buy tickets, he was ADAMANT that we COULD NOT do this, we had to take a tour or we wouldn't be allowed in. He told us the tours were almost sold out and the next one he had room in was three hours away. We didn't want to miss the aviary, so I went ahead and booked the tour. He had me give him my RC card and room number, so I know for sure he was charging my folio on board (confirmed later by my folio charges). It even said that on the ticket he gave me. We decided to grab some souvenirs while we waited for the tour and that took us by the aviary, where we learned that we could indeed just buy tickets. I mentioned it to the lady selling tickets and she was like "Well yeah, they are trying to sell their tours." Okay, great, but no, not okay. I went back to the ship and talked to guest services, explained what happened and asked for them to refund my money because I could just go back out and go to the aviary instead of waiting three hours to do it. She said there was nothing they could do because they weren't RC tour guides. Clearly they were very closely tied to RC or they wouldn't have the ability to charge my folio, right? Anyhow, that left a bitter taste in my mouth and it will keep me on my toes from here on out. The people in the ports, even the ones linked to the cruise line, will absolutely scam you. Other than that the cruise was fantastic, we can't wait to go back! KristiZ, CharmMicah68, WAAAYTOOO and 5 others 4 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Va4fam Posted January 30, 2023 Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 Glad you had a great time on Allure. We hope to sail on her before she moves back to Florida in October. How was the condition of the trees in Central Park? Any issues of overcrowding at pools/windjammer/MDR that seem to be picking up on other ships? Did you have one or two housekeeping visits each day? Crew is finding and removing ducks?!!! Did they give a reason for it? Thanks for sharing your adventures, when is your next cruise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted January 30, 2023 Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 I love Allure and will be on her last sailing out of Galveston. I too feel like the staff on Allure was the best I had encountered. As far as the tour people. They aren't affiliated with Royal just sort of next to Royal. I ran into the same issue in Mexico. They are indeed independent contractors who can process payment through your seapass card but Royal won't be able to refund you. I learned this because they were trying to sell us one of the "last" tours and I said I didn't have enough cash or bring a credit card. The guy was like I can charge your seapass card to use the credit card on file. We declined. it sounds like that is what they did. Bowen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFishII Posted January 30, 2023 Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 I too loved Allure. I cruised on her last summer. I was wondering about the ducks. I never saw one on Allure. With everyone talking about how they hide ducks, I thought for sure I would find some. It makes sense for the crew to remove the ducks. I can only image the issues they could have with ducks if they left them alone, I can image one falling into a path and have someone step on it, falling and straining an ankle. I wonder why RC has not said anything about the ducks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowen Posted January 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 1 hour ago, Va4fam said: Glad you had a great time on Allure. We hope to sail on her before she moves back to Florida in October. How was the condition of the trees in Central Park? Any issues of overcrowding at pools/windjammer/MDR that seem to be picking up on other ships? Did you have one or two housekeeping visits each day? Crew is finding and removing ducks?!!! Did they give a reason for it? Thanks for sharing your adventures, when is your next cruise? Central Park was very pretty, but the big trees were brown and the plants were a bit sparse, looked like they were in the process of being replanted. Having only done one other ship in its class (Harmony back in 2019), I didn't really notice anything other than the brown leaves, but I think it's because I didn't really go to Central Park when we were on Harmony. It was still beautiful. There was no over crowding at the MDR or the pools from what I could tell, but I only swam on port days and didn't go to the pool deck on sea days, so that's probably not too helpful. The Windjammer was absolutely packed at peak hours, to the point where they were making announcements asking people not to linger. I'd say the hour between 9 and 10 was the busiest. We had two housekeeping visits each day. We didn't ask the crew member who picked up the duck. He looked a little bit excited so I wonder if he just found the duck and was keeping it, but I have no way to know. We didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. Next cruise as of right now is November, but I might see about booking one before then, possibly April or September. I'm so happy to be back to regular cruising. Va4fam, FireFishII and ellcee 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowen Posted January 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 14 minutes ago, FireFishII said: I too loved Allure. I cruised on her last summer. I was wondering about the ducks. I never saw one on Allure. With everyone talking about how they hide ducks, I thought for sure I would find some. It makes sense for the crew to remove the ducks. I can only image the issues they could have with ducks if they left them alone, I can image one falling into a path and have someone step on it, falling and straining an ankle. I wonder why RC has not said anything about the ducks. I wonder about it as well. I love hiding them and will keep doing so until RC comes out and asks us not to, but I have seen ducks in places that make me cringe. On the Explorer in 2019 we saw that someone had tossed a duck up in to the metal sculpture that hangs on either end of the promenade near the elevators. It was there the entire cruise and it frustrated me to know that the crew were going to have to go out of their way to get a ladder to get it down. Discourteous cruisers ruin things for others, it sucks. FireFishII 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowen Posted January 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 44 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said: I love Allure and will be on her last sailing out of Galveston. I too feel like the staff on Allure was the best I had encountered. As far as the tour people. They aren't affiliated with Royal just sort of next to Royal. I ran into the same issue in Mexico. They are indeed independent contractors who can process payment through your seapass card but Royal won't be able to refund you. I learned this because they were trying to sell us one of the "last" tours and I said I didn't have enough cash or bring a credit card. The guy was like I can charge your seapass card to use the credit card on file. We declined. it sounds like that is what they did. Okay, this makes sense. Live and learn! Ampurp85 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFishII Posted January 31, 2023 Report Share Posted January 31, 2023 19 hours ago, Bowen said: Discourteous cruisers ruin things for others, it sucks. Totally agree! Those are the same people that will complain when RCL implements a new rule to prevent people from doing something stupid that should have been prevent with an ounce of common sense. WAAAYTOOO and Bowen 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Wafford Posted January 31, 2023 Report Share Posted January 31, 2023 Did you bring back your Cruise Compass? Allure hasn't had a new Cruise Compass posted since moving to Galveston. Hoping one will pop up soon to aide us planning our upcoming trip. Looking for Allure of the Seas Cruise Compass, 7 day Western Carribean itinerary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrinkm Posted January 31, 2023 Report Share Posted January 31, 2023 19 hours ago, Bowen said: We didn't ask the crew member who picked up the duck. He looked a little bit excited so I wonder if he just found the duck and was keeping it, but I have no way to know. We didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. I love that he looked excited, no matter what he intends to do with it. Great use of a duck, IMO. 19 hours ago, Bowen said: Okay, this makes sense. Live and learn! It is great that you posted it here because I'm sure you are not the only cruiser this has happened to. We had a scam attempted on us in Cozumel and when I read about another poster having the same scam pulled on them several months later, I posted a warning in the excursions section of the boards. Most of us are willing to tip generously and spend in the ports, but no one likes something pulled over on them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Va4fam Posted January 31, 2023 Report Share Posted January 31, 2023 2 hours ago, jbrinkm said: I love that he looked excited, no matter what he intends to do with it. Great use of a duck, IMO. That is awesome. Maybe I will bring ducks and unicorns to give to crew members! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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