"Amped for the Allure of the Med" - Allure, 5/11/25-5/18/25

[JohnK6404]

Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all that celebrate the holidays!!!

Wow, one year flies by so fast! Our last cruise on Icon will be exactly one year ago to the day of this upcoming sailing. It’s been way too long!  

As always, I’m trying to start the blog a little early before the pressure mounts to get everything done. As @Lovetocruise2002 can attest to… one of the most difficult parts of starting a live blog is creating the name!  

We’re just about 3 weeks away from sail away!

I've also had my iPhone lockscreen ready to go!

 

This trip is a bucket list item for my wife (Christine) and I (John)! I’ve never been overseas, but my wife has been to the UK many times as a child and young adult (family in England & Scotland - my MIL is British). She’s also been to Paris, but has not experienced any of the locations we’ll be visiting on this trip. The extent of my travel has been limited to the continental U.S. and foreign ports that we’ve visited together by cruise ship (Bermuda, Bahamas/Caribbean countries, Mexico, etc.). We will be travelling once again with my wife’s uncle and fiancée (recently engaged)!

We of course have been living vicariously through the many amazing live blogs posted here on the forum. Recently, I’ve especially loved the live blogs of the Western Med sailings including the more recent ones from @Lovetocruise2002 and @FionaMG! They really ramp up our excitement level and anticipation! Love all of the photos!!!  

The last few months have been a little crazy for us. My wife underwent surgery on her left foot in mid-December. She did not believe she could handle the demands of this trip without taking care of her foot. She was non-weight bearing for a full month into January (so much fun for me! ), but she’s really coming along now and her surgeon and PT feel she should be fine on this trip with some minor precautions. We're trying to get out every evening to walk a bit.

Around the same time in early December our beloved Golden Retriever, Bella (12 years old), was diagnosed with thoracic carcinomatosis which contributed to fluid build-up in her chest around her lungs (pleural effusion). The diagnosis was grim, but we had hoped she would make it comfortably through the summer with routine check-ups and treatment.

Unfortunately, she passed away suddenly a little over a week ago in her sleep just one month shy of her 13^th birthday. We rescued her at 13 months, so she’s been with us for almost 12 years. Thankfully, we have some time to grieve before our big adventure. Her loss is also affecting our male Golden, Jake (7 years old). 

If you know me, I have to include pics of our pups… a couple of shots of our Bella (Jake will be "showcased" later of course ).

One of my favorites of her at age 3… in deep thought!

... and one of the last taken this year... almost 13... 

Don't let the pics fool you... she was always smiling! 

 

OK, I’m really sorry for the downer … the good news is we're in discussion with our rescue to hopefully adopt a puppy when one becomes available. We both feel this would be the ideal time to raise a puppy now that I work from home (since Covid) and Christine's office is only 5 minutes away in our town. We definitely think Jake will always need a buddy! The 6 years he's been with us, he's always had Bella.

I’ll break for a bit and then get into the fun stuff a little later... the trip details!     

[FionaMG]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your beloved pup @JohnK6404. I know the feeling only too well. It's just coming up to 2 years now that we had to say goodbye to our Kitty. I still can't think about her without tearing up.

On a much happier note, I'm thrilled to have been able to help with your cruise planning and will enjoy following along with your blog.

[InmyElement]

So glad your wife is doing well and your able to travel...what an awesome trip. Its definitely on our bucket list! Trisha was a flight attendant while we were dating and flew all over the world, but i haven't made it over yet!   So sorry about Bella we lost Buddy last year after 14 yrs, just starting to look at rescues..

Safe Travels and looking forward to hearing all about your trip..

[JohnK6404]

34 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

Sorry to hear about the loss of your beloved pup @JohnK6404. I know the feeling only too well. It's just coming up to 2 years now that we had to say goodbye to our Kitty. I still can't think about her without tearing up.

On a much happier note, I'm thrilled to have been able to help with your cruise planning and will enjoy following along with your blog.

So beautiful! 

[JohnK6404]

OK, the fun part... I have a few moments before company arrives!  

Trip details!

This will be our second time on Allure… our first Oasis-class experience was on her back in May 2019. Our favorite cruise (all things considered) to date!

Since then, we’ve been hooked on Oasis, and now Icon class! Can’t wait to see the updates in person!

 

Flight Information:  

Departure:  Flying out of JFK the evening of 5/7, changeover in LHR (5/8), then finally on to BCN via British Airways (both flights).

Return:  Nonstop from BCN to JFK on 5/20 thru BA, but on American Airlines.

• Booked airfare via Air2Sea… shout out once again to @Lovetocruise2002 for answering my many questions!
• Still planning the transportation to/from JFK…  I was told Uber XL should be able to accommodate our group of 4 with bags (6 checked bags, 3 carry-on). I would think we’ll need to check the model/make of vehicle to ensure they can actually handle our needs! Any recommendations when dealing with Uber are greatly appreciated! I would prefer to pre-book of course!

 

Pre-Cruise Information:  

(5/8-5/11):   Barcelona, Spain

Hotel: Barcelona Universal (booked via RC/Priceline)

Tours/Excursions: Besides the usual wandering…

• Park Guell & Sagrada Familia Tour w/ Skip the Line Tickets (via Expedia)
• Barcelona City Tour Hop-On Hop-Off Bus (via Expedia)

 

Post-Cruise Information:  

(5/18-5/20):   Barcelona, Spain

Hotel: Hotel Barcelona Center (via Expedia)

Tours/Excursions: More wandering…

• Private Full-Day Tarragona and Sitges Tour (via Viator)

 

Cruise Details:  

• Allure of the Seas, 7-night, Western Mediterranean Itinerary
• Out of Barcelona, Spain
• 5/11/25-5/18/25

Itinerary:

• Day 1 (5/11):            Barcelona, Spain  
• Day 2 (5/12):           Palma de Mallorca, Spain  
• Day 3 (5/13):           Provence (Marseille), France  
• Day 4 (5/14):           Florence/Pisa (La Spezia), Italy  
• Day 5 (5/15):           Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy  
• Day 6 (5/16):           Naples, Italy  
• Day 7 (5/17):           * Sea Day *
• Day 8 (5/18):           Barcelona, Spain  

Cabin Details & General Plans/Stuff:

• Ocean View Balcony Stateroom (Deck 8, Midship, Port side)... LOVE this location! We booked a similar cabin back on Oasis (thanks for that recommendation @WAAAYTOOO!) and loved the quiet of Deck 8 (no rooms across the hall since it's the back of the CP shops and restaurants). Also, we love CP so it's nice to step out of our cabin and before you know it you're in CP!
• Selected Traditional Dining (6:00 PM)
• Purchased 3-Night Dining Package
• Purchased Refreshment Package + VOOM Surf & Stream Combo
• Purchased 10-Photo Package
• Purchased a-la-carte specialty dining lunches (Giovanni’s and Chops Grille)
• Purchased “Easy Palma” excursion for Day 2
• Purchased “Scenic Marseille” excursion for Day 3
• Purchased “Best of Florence & Pisa” excursion for Day 4
• Purchased “A Taste of Rome” excursion for Day 5
• Purchased “Capri, Sorrento & Pompeii by Land & Sea” for Day 6
• Booked the major entertainment via CP (Mamma Mia!, Blue Planet, Blades, and Aqua80Too)

What did we skip this time?

• The Key… no need to get into details here. IMHO, not worth it at this time especially at the prevailing prices ($30-$40+ pp/day). We purchased the Key numerous times in the past, but will not purchase it again unless there are meaningful changes and/or the price goes down.
• Unlimited Dining Package… simply due to the fact that we won’t be able to really take advantage since we have 5 ports and only one sea day with some really long (8-10+ hour) excursions in the Italian ports. We did purchase the 3-Night Dining for the shorter port and sea days.
• Deluxe Beverage Package… Woo hoo!  We’re finally Diamond on this sailing! Same reason as the UDP, we would not be able to benefit/take advantage of the DBP with such a heavy port-intensive itinerary (and no Labadee or Coco Cay). We’d rather use the Diamond vouchers and the few 50% discounted wine/beer coupons and pay a-la-carte if we go over the daily limit. Maybe they’ll offer a drink card later in the sailing ! We did purchase the Refreshment Package w/ VOOM at a very good price!

 

We booked all Royal excursions because our party did not want to worry about getting back to the ship on time, etc. I know many people make it work, but we had no desire to take any chances with our group on this sailing. The hope is that we can do a round-trip Rome, Greek Isles sailing down the road and we can then do our own thing in Rome at our own pace since we'll be staying in a hotel in Rome. 

 

That should be it for the synopsis... I'm sure I forgot something, but still 3 weeks to go!

[Lovetocruise2002]

I have followed along your planning for this trip, and I am so here for this! It's looking to be such an awesome itinerary (pre-cruise stuff too). Cannot wait to see the pictures of this one!

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, JohnK6404 said:

Purchased a-la-carte specialty dining lunches (Giovanni’s and Chops Grille)

1 hour ago, JohnK6404 said:

Purchased 3-Night Dining Package

I forget, did you try Mason Jar on Wonder for either brunch or dinner?

Have you decided on the 3 dinners yet?

[JohnK6404]

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

I forget, did you try Mason Jar on Wonder for either brunch or dinner?

Have you decided on the 3 dinners yet?

Yes, we enjoyed Mason Jar once for brunch and once for dinner on Wonder. I liked the relaxed vibe and menu, but I'm not sure if our group will want to go again (same couple was with us on Wonder).

Loved the bar too and the band that played around dinnertime. I also loved the PB&J Old Fashioned and the Mississippi Moonlight! Will have to at least stop by the bar on this sailing for drinks! The only drink I could not stand was the No Joke, Smoke & Coke. I now know that I'm not a fan of smoke infused drinks. 

We all agreed we need to go to 150 Central Park... and IF we can somehow book it... Izumi twice (hibachi and table sides). I was willing to try Samba Grill, but no one else likes the Brazilian-style menu. Mason Jar will be the next choice if we can't book Izumi and then we'll have to repeat Chops and/or Giovanni's (we booked lunch on embarkation day and the only sea day at these restaurants).

[asquared17]

14 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said:

I was willing to try Samba Grill

did they keep samba after the amp?? 

 

also i’m excited for you guys to get back on allure this sounds like a wonderful itinerary!!!

[FionaMG]

1 minute ago, asquared17 said:

did they keep samba after the amp?? 

 

also i’m excited for you guys to get back on allure this sounds like a wonderful itinerary!!!

Yes, it's still there.

[OCSC Mike]

20 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said:

I was willing to try Samba Grill, but no one else likes the Brazilian-style menu.

I've never tried Samba but I used to go to a local churrascuria for my birthday every year.  I love them but the middle of a cruise may not be the best time to OD on meat.

[JustMeJoe]

24 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

Yes, it's still there.

Thank goodness; only 2 ships left (Allure and Radiance) !  Such a great place to lounge and eat; kinda like "old-time cruisin'.  Lots of meat for those interested.  We had Samba on Radiance this winter --- paced ourselves --- but soooo good.  I'm glad they kept it on Allure !

[JohnK6404]

1 hour ago, asquared17 said:

did they keep samba after the amp?? 

 

also i’m excited for you guys to get back on allure this sounds like a wonderful itinerary!!!

Thank you so much! 

Yes, they kept Samba Grill... I believe it's held in the Solarium Bistro for dinner.

[FionaMG]

9 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

I've never tried Samba but I used to go to a local churrascuria for my birthday every year.  I love them but the middle of a cruise may not be the best time to OD on meat.

The trick is to wave them away when they come round with the sausages, chicken and pork and wait for the really good stuff like maminha and picanha. Which is not easy when everyone else around you is getting stuff in.

[FionaMG]

7 hours ago, JohnK6404 said:

Thank you so much! 

Yes, they kept Samba Grill... I believe it's held in the Solarium Bistro for dinner.

Correct!

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

The trick is to wave them away when they come round with the sausages, chicken and pork and wait for the really good stuff like maminha and picanha. Which is not easy when everyone else around you is getting stuff in.

That’s no fun. The variety is part of the allure! (see what I did there?)

I do skip the chicken at least.

[Ampurp85]

This will be a wonderful trip.

I am sorry about Bella. I hope your wife heals wonderfully and is able to enjoy your first European vacation/cruise together. 

[JohnK6404]

2 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

This will be a wonderful trip.

I am sorry about Bella. I hope your wife heals wonderfully and is able to enjoy your first European vacation/cruise together. 

Thank you so much! 

[asquared17]

i am also very sad to hear about bella and hope that your wife (why do i think her name is christine??) is on the mend

[JohnK6404]

35 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

i am also very sad to hear about bella and hope that your wife (why do i think her name is christine??) is on the mend

Thank you!

Yes, Christine is her name. 

[JohnK6404]

OK... rolled the dice and hope RC IT doesn't screw up on my CP refund and pull it from the wrong account!

Please, no e-mails claiming I now owe cruise fare! 

I cancelled and re-purchased our 3-Night Dining package so we could book our reservations... works well and as described by Matt in his article he posted today:

Royal Caribbean extends a fix to a huge dining package problem | Royal Caribbean Blog

 

 

It will be nice to just board and relax for a change! No need to wait on a long line at Izumi and hope to get a reservation!

Unfortunately, the Mason Jar did not appear as an option to book... it is available to book a-la-carte in the CP. We'll just have to stop by the bar during the sailing! We just booked the other side of Izumi instead! 

We already have Giovanni's and Chops booked for lunches, so I think we're set! 

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, JohnK6404 said:

OK... rolled the dice and hope RC IT doesn't screw up on my CP refund and pull it from the wrong account!

Please, no e-mails claiming I now owe cruise fare! 

Oh no! Bad memories! I did the same, not for my 3 night package but I re-priced my UDP on WN when it went lower a few days ago. I am checking my cc like crazy for a refund to come back. Also very nervous seeing how badly it got screwed up last time. I am so nervous I haven’t even told my TA yet what I did

[JohnK6404]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Oh no! Bad memories! I did the same, not for my 3 night package but I re-priced my UDP on WN when it went lower a few days ago. I am checking my cc like crazy for a refund to come back. Also very nervous seeing how badly it got screwed up last time. I am so nervous I haven’t even told my TA yet what I did

Fingers  AND toes  crossed for both of us! 

I gave in and bought the UDP for our JAN '26 OY sailing this afternoon... at $290.99 for 11-nights, including 6 sea days, it was hard to skip! The 5-night package was only $100 cheaper pp. Doesn't look like you can book anything yet since they have not uploaded the restaurants to the planner just yet.

[Lovetocruise2002]

On 4/21/2025 at 6:16 PM, JohnK6404 said:

Fingers  AND toes  crossed for both of us! 

So...an update from my end. The refund on our UDP came back to the cc on Thursday. Not bad considering I purchased on the weekend and Monday was a holiday. Anyhow, typical Royal fashion, the UDP for 4 people, came back as 3 separate amounts that totalled our price for 4. Oh well, at least I got it back in a timely manner. I have not made final payment on this sailing yet so fingers crossed in a few weeks when I do. Last year, it was when I made final that things got weird.

[JohnK6404]

2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

So...an update from my end. The refund on our UDP came back to the cc on Thursday. 

Still waiting, but it's only been 5 days and it's now SAT. Only 15 days until the cruise, so they best not play games, LOL! 

[JohnK6404]

Wow, not sure how I missed it... the CP credit refunds officially posted on 4/24  ... only 3 days later. If there are any future shenanigans, I'll update! 

We board in 14 days!  

 

EDIT: Just heard that there will be a 10K run in Barcelona on boarding day! I hope it won't impact our arrival at the port too much! 

[Lovetocruise2002]

39 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said:

Wow, not sure how I missed it... the CP credit refunds officially posted on 4/24  

Phew! 

[JohnK6404]

OK... one more big thing crossed off the To-Do list!  

We secured our transportation to/from JFK!   

We went with a highly recommended reliable local car service for the 4 of us and all of our luggage! Uber was too much of a PITA... surprisingly (or maybe not ), we could not pre-book an Uber XXL and we did not want to play games with just an XL (or 2 XL's) with our group's needs. Cost will be on par with a single Uber XXL, but we'll have peace of mind. These folks do the JFK run on a regular basis... not sure what level of experience we'd get with an Uber.

Now, it's time to research transport to the port from our hotel in Barcelona! That 10K race better not slow us down... we have the earliest boarding window at 11:00 AM.

If anyone has sailed out of Barcelona and has suggestions, it would be so greatly appreciated! I'll create another dedicated post on this topic. 

[FionaMG]

9 hours ago, JohnK6404 said:

OK... one more big thing crossed off the To-Do list!  

We secured our transportation to/from JFK!   

We went with a highly recommended reliable local car service for the 4 of us and all of our luggage! Uber was too much of a PITA... surprisingly (or maybe not ), we could not pre-book an Uber XXL and we did not want to play games with just an XL (or 2 XL's) with our group's needs. Cost will be on par with a single Uber XXL, but we'll have peace of mind. These folks do the JFK run on a regular basis... not sure what level of experience we'd get with an Uber.

Now, it's time to research transport to the port from our hotel in Barcelona! That 10K race better not slow us down... we have the earliest boarding window at 11:00 AM.

If anyone has sailed out of Barcelona and has suggestions, it would be so greatly appreciated! I'll create another dedicated post on this topic. 

For transfers in Barcelona, I used Suntransfers.com. Their prices were similar to taxi prices so not stupidly expensive and all 3 bookings went smoothly (airport-hotel, hotel-port and port to airport). They were very responsive when I had to change the pick-up time of the hotel-port transfer at short notice due to the delay in our embarkation. If you contact them before booking I'd guess they can probably advise re the impact of the 10k race because they are actually based in Barcelona.

The only slight negative was the slightly older/tatty vans but that was a very minor thing for transfers that only took around 30 minutes each.

[JohnK6404]

Almost single digit time!  

Starting to organize what we're taking on this trip. Using a guest room as a staging area! I think we're on target, LOL! 

[InmyElement]

4 hours ago, JohnK6404 said:

Using a guest room as a staging area!

That's the best isn't it..you gotta lay it all out I take over the upper living room..the freeloaders just laugh as they go down the stairs..

10 days..sweet!

[JohnK6404]

Looks like the escape room is available online now... we'll have to skip it since we really won't have too much down time. We enjoyed the one on Oasis!

[JohnK6404]

We all decided to also book the Mason Jar one night for dinner (evening of Day 3, Provence/Marseille)... decent sale price!

Thanks for the temptation @OCSC Mike...   Great pics of the drinks and food in your recent live blog! 

So, we'll have 4 nights in specialty and 3 nights in the MDR... plus the 2 lunches in specialty. I think we're finally done with the dining reservations!

... 7 days until boarding day, but who's counting! 

[OCSC Mike]

3 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said:

We all decided to also book the Mason Jar one night for dinner (evening of Day 3, Provence/Marseille)... decent sale price!

Thanks for the temptation @OCSC Mike...   Great pics of the drinks and food in your recent live blog!

Hope you enjoy it! Now when you blog about it I'll be tempted to add it to our upcoming cruises, lol. We decided to go back to brunch instead of dinner (although I keep re-thinking our plans for everything).

[JohnK6404]

Down to the wire now... we fly out tomorrow to Barcelona and board in 5 days! 

Took the day off from work to tie up loose ends around the house and to focus on packing.

Jake has been extra mellow since the passing of Bella. He definitely misses her... he sometimes walks around the house and whimpers. We try to give him extra attention, walk him more frequently, and arrange puppy play dates whenever possible, but reality sets back in when he's back home. 

Christine already has something in the works with our rescue for when we return. She's set on rescuing a female Golden puppy this time. We keep telling Jake he's going to be a big brother soon! 

Tonight, we dropped him off at my sister's house (he usually goes there when we go away). She doesn't have a dog, but they will shower him with plenty of love and attention. Unfortunately, he also tends to gain weight when we go on a cruise!  Too many treats! They also have 3 cats which interact a little with him and we think he'll be fine.

Not too thrilled that we're going away again I'm sure... and soaking up the sun the other day on the patio!

OK... no more dog pics... I promise! Vacation pics only from now on! 

I'm getting yelled at now... back to packing! 

Have a good night all!

[Sweety]

Love the dog pictures. 

[Ampurp85]

We always welcome a photo of a fur baby .

I hope the flights and travel are smooth.

[FionaMG]

Safe travels over to this side of the pond.

[Cruising_Figure_Skater]

Looking forward to following - I did this itinerary almost exactly a year ago (May 12, 2024) on Oasis, minus Marseille (we had a second sea day).

I hope you enjoy the ports and the ship!

I'm cruising on Voyager in 4 weeks... is it too early to start a blog of the prep???  

[JohnK6404]

Good afternoon (I think!) everyone! Getting used to the time difference… Once again, this is also my first time overseas!

Let’s see if I can get through the first day plus of our trip!

Car service arrived on time on WED, 5/7, and actually got us to JFK 30 minutes earlier than planned. No issues getting on our flight which was on time. We went with economy seats purchased through Air2Sea on British Airways. The other couple we are traveling with booked direct, but chose seats next to us for both flights (JKF-LHR & LHR-BCN).

Yes, it was very tight, but not as bad as it could have been since we were sitting next to each other! I still don’t think I would spend double our ticket price to upgrade to economy plus… it’s definitely worth upgrading if you use airline miles/points for sure. The Air2Sea fare for Christine and I was only $1,224.00 ($612/pp) round trip. I remember how scared I was a couple of years ago planning the trip thinking the airfare would be more than the cruise! We also got a $50 Air2Sea BOA credit bringing it down to $1,174.00 because I gave in when we were in Next Cruise on Icon and opened the RC credit card with BOA .

A few shots from the plane as we closed in on Barcelona…

I shot a video of us passing Sagrada Familia from the air, but did not get any good still shots.

We finally arrived in Barcelona today in the mid-morning and grabbed a cab to take us to our pre-cruise hotel. Of course I had to see what ships were in port today… among the major lines, Princess and MSC had one ship in port (that I could see). We also got a peak at our friend Odyssey which was also docked in Barcelona this morning! So excited to see her! We have to wait 8 more months before we sail on her again! 

We booked Hotel Barcelona Universal based on some recommendations and online reviews. Nothing fancy like the Intercontinental we stayed at in Miami for sure, but modern, basic, and clean! Perfect for the two of us! Just some pics I took throughout the day before it became overcast toward evening… inside pics to follow when I get the chance! 

They have a cute little hangout area on the roof with a bar, etc. Great panoramic views from here!

We were able to check in almost 2 hours early and took full advantage and took a loooong 4+ hour nap before dinner!

Woke up round 6:00 pm and headed to the hotel’s single restaurant, The Wolf Tavern, They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well, as drinks until around 10:30 pm.

The restaurant had been booked for an event that evening, so we headed down the street to another restaurant recommended by the staff.

We all throughly enjoyed “Antic Cafe Espanyol”! Excellent/friendly service and food! I’m still getting over how much cheaper many things are here in Barcelona compared to home!

Wine cellar downstairs… cool glass floor!

Had to try the sangria… strong and excellent!

Two of us ordered the Chicken and Vegetable Paella… our waiter had a sense of humor!

My wife ordered the Charcoal-grilled Loin of Cod with Vegetables, Caliu Potatoes and Aioli… she LOVED this dish!

… and we also had ordered the special Sea Bass dish which was excellent as well!

For dessert we ordered some sort of flan… forgot the exact name… was a special not on the menu…

… another special Crème Brûlée…

… and the Homemade Pudding with Cream which was a custard consistency and excellent as well! I’m my wife’s “Royal” taster! 

We headed back to the hotel to have a couple of drinks in the hotel restaurant and called it a night.

Tomorrow, we are getting up early forbreakfast in the hotel and weather-permitting, we have scheduled the “Park Guell & Sagrada Familia Tour w/ Skip the Line Tickets”…

OK, time for me to crash again! Have a great night!!!