If it's late August, I'm Probably Cruising - Allure of the Seas Trip Report 26/8/2018 - 2/9/2018

Day 7 - At Sea
I think that for a lot of us, the last day is “do everything we wanted to do, but didn’t” day, because we realize that there’s just one full day left on the ship. And yet you still want to relax. It’s hard to do with only 2 days at sea.

(spoiler alert: we didn't come close to doing everything we wanted to do, but didn't)

We ate breakfast, once again, in the MDR. I think it just worked best for us to eat here. After breakfast, the kids went up to Adventure Ocean, and we took a stroll around the ship. Promenade had a sale going on, and it looked like a feeding frenzy. I’m still not sure what exactly was being sold, but as Geddy Lee once said, “10 bucks is 10 bucks”. I will say that if anyone ever told you that they didn’t like the Promenade because it was almost impossible to walk through, this would be their Exhibit A.

After walking around decks 15 and 16, we found a shaded, breezy spot near the pool band and relaxed for a bit.

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I haven’t mentioned the band but they’d been playing on the pool deck all week. They do reggae-style music and are pretty good. The singer sounds similar to Maxi Priest - not a bad thing. I also liked that they’re a proper band. Cruise lines seem to be trending towards solo singers or duos + iPad, and while it’s cost-friendly and makes sense for the small bars and pubs, it’s just not the same as hearing a full backing band.

For lunch, we got to have our Central Park Balcony “free” lunch at Giovanni’s. In quotes because it’s free for only two people per stateroom. We had the kids eat with us, and it cost $10 for kids aged 6 and up. Good thing I won that $40, I guess. I think the kids were supposed to order from the kids menu, but our waiter (a wonderful young lady from the Ukraine) wasn’t exactly enforcing that.

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As you can see from the menu, the “free” lunch is a prix fixe affair, which sucks if there’s only two of you and want to try different things. And yet, they gave us some of the listed meat planks to start, which didn’t count as part of the prix fixe.

O ordered from the kids menu. She got a cheese bread as an appetizer. It was a rather large appy for a kid.

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I got the salad and Bucatini. The salad was a salad. The Bolognese was probably better than what they have in the MDR. It could be the exact same sauce, but I suspect that Giovanni’s makes theirs separately, and that it isn’t sitting in a giant vat in the kitchen (it’s probably a medium-sized vat). Or it could be that the bucatini (aka spaghetti with a hole in the middle) just absorbs the sauce better. Either way, I’d no reason to complain.

The linguine had mussels, shrimp, and some teeny, tiny bay scallops that practically got lost in the white sauce. Eggplant was not bad - a large portion that was fried very nicely.

Originally, we were going to try and make Ice Games, but no one was really feeling it, so that got missed. We also had Blue Planet for the afternoon, but the kids wanted to play in the pool instead. I honestly have the worst luck trying to see Blue Planet. The first time on Allure, we got to see it from the very side of the theatre, so it wasn’t the best of views. I’ve been hoping to see it again, but alas, it’s not to be.

Once again I’ve failed you readers and do not have a photo of the day 7 menu. I know I had a vol au vent and prime rib, but don’t remember what else was on the menu. After dinner we chatted a bit with our waiters and gave them an extra gratuity. I think they worked hard to earn it.

And then, it was packing time. Interestingly, we weren’t given a sheet to fill out regarding our departure times, etc. I suppose that they stuck with whatever we’d filled out during the check-in process. We originally had group #25, but I switched with J (who was staying an extra day and driving to Miami to watch a Jays game) so ended up with 60. We figured that we had a 1:45pm flight, so why rush to get off?

(note: foreshadowing)

Anyway, I got my rum back (yay!), immediately packed it away (boo!) and we stuck our bags outside (sniff!). After the kids went to sleep we went down to have one last slice at Sorrentos (seriously, why was the Sorrentos on Harmony so much worse?) and went up to the card room to play another card game - Exploding Kittens. After that, it was time to get that one last sleep before leaving the ship.

Next: Debarkation day
 
Great review, thanks! I forgot about the live band - always love them. I can't wait for Harmony - I'll let you know if Sorrentos is any better!
 
Day 8 - Debarkation
Let’s face it. We all hate the last day of a cruise. The kids more than most, seeing as school started two days after we got back.

Fort Lauderdale gave us the first rains we’d seen since the day we landed, and the forecast called for thunder showers, which meant that our flight could be delayed. Not ideal, but the flight wasn’t cancelled, so we should be able to get home, right?

The one thing about being one of the last groups is that you have time. Time to wake up late. Time to pack those final things into your carry on (carry off?) bags. Time to wait out the breakfast rush and eat at your leisure. We got to enjoy all of that. But still, we had to wait.

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Our designated waiting area was in the Amber Theatre, but the kids were watching The Boss Baby (ugh) so we ended up outside of On Air while they watched inside. It’s kind of funny seeing people milling about the Promenade yet not having that same “buzz” you see here during the week. Gee, I wonder why that is?

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Debarkation was going a bit slow. We were supposed to be off a little after 10, but instead we got called to leave at 10:30, which was the final call to leave. Crazy to think that we were one of the first people to get on the ship, and one of the last to leave. And also that in 30 minutes, a new crop of cruisers would be going through those deck 5 doors to start their week on board.

We get off, go down the ramps, and… get stuck in the upper hall. Apparently, traveling to Honduras requires the CBP to scrutinize the passengers a bit more than usual, resulting in long lines (the cruise terminal attendant estimated at least 2 hours wait time). Translation: getting to FLL before the 12:45 bag drop cutoff could be tricky. They actually split the line in two - American and non-American, because they split up the CBP booths in that manner.

After 30 minutes of waiting upstairs, they let us downstairs. The upside of waiting upstairs (if you can call it that) is that picking your bags up is very quick. But then there’s the line, and it’s as advertised - really long.

But… there’s an express line for Mobile Passport and Global Entry - and since we have NEXUS, we can use that line.

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But my brother actually had his NEXUS status revoked a few years back, so he has to take the regular line.

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So while in line he scrambled to get mobile passport downloaded and do the application process. Which was fine… until they got to F, whose passport expires in under 6 months, meaning that mobile passport wouldn’t process her.

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The upshot of this was that it took us 35 minutes to get to the customs line (11:10am), and another 15 minutes to get processed by CBP (11:25am) while my brother barely moved. He told us to go on ahead, so we did, while still trying to figure out what to do. At that point, there really wasn’t much we could do.

Once we were out of customs, it was off to the taxi stands. Being one of the last ones out, we could see the start of the passenger turnover, with people coming into the terminal. The ride, of course, was very quick, and we dropped our bags off at the counter (11:46am).

Despite having Global Entry, we didn’t get TSA pre-check, but fortunately it wasn’t too long to go through security, which is now one large checkpoint for the A-B-C wings instead of smaller ones for each wing. About 15 minutes and we were through (12:00pm). Since the gate area is crowded and chaotic we decided to sit in the seats just past security and see if my brother would make it. We saw on the board that our plane would actually be late getting in, but at the time, no departure delay was announced.

Finally, at 12:45, we got a message that my brother got through CBP… which was a problem, because in theory, the bag check-in would be closed. But as luck would have it, they made it to the counter just before they closed up. Whew!

The flight home proved uneventful. Finally home!

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(Touch 'em all, Joe)

Well, except for one last bit of gluttony.

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Next: Final Thoughts
 
Final Thoughts, Notes and a Dad Joke
General things about the Allure:

  • I’m still not a fan of having 4 stops on a 7-day cruise (probably a reason why I’m not high on doing a Mediterranean cruise). With the first day being embarkation day, that means having only 2 sea days, and that’s simply not enough on a cruise.

  • We did end up giving our servers a 10 in the survey. But if they were a 10, I guess the servers on DCL are an eleven.
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  • OceanAria is still the best show on the ship, and it’s not close. Mamma Mia is a better show than Chicago was, so that’s an improvement. Dragon is skippable.

  • I still haven’t tried FlowRider.

  • They still have stacks for printed photos.

  • We took nearly 200 photos, putting our effective cost at around $2CDN per picture.

  • Unlike Harmony, the stateroom doors have a raised “wave” pattern, making it tough to put magnets on there. We actually put our whiteboard on the wall beside the door, and no one seemed to have an issue with that.

  • We saw a few decorated doors on Harmony, but there really weren’t any on this cruise, save for some whiteboards or a “happy birthday” sign.

  • The kids pool never got to “kid soup” level, but it did get busy at times. Some kids got warned by the lifeguards for too much minor horseplay - the kind that wouldn’t be a big deal with a couple of people in the pool but is when you’ve got more than 10 people in the pool.

  • I think I like the Allure over Harmony. Harmony does have the waterslides, which is nice, but the lack of a pool in the kids splash area is a negative and the Abyss is an ugly, underwhelming purple tube that takes away from the overall look of the ship. Some of the things it didn’t like about Allure before (such as casino ventilation) appear to have been rectified as well.
Excursion thoughts
  • I’ve seen some discussion about how people don’t get off the DCL ships in Nassau. Based on an incredibly small sample size, this doesn’t seem to be the case on Royal.

  • Nachi Cocum was pretty good, but I’m still surprised at how few people were there. It’s probably a symptom of the “off season”, but with 4 boats in I expected many more people. I think that if we do Cozumel again this time of year I’ll give another beach club a try.

  • I don’t recommend the All-in-One Tour. It’s fine for a quick info hit on Roatan, but that’s about it.

  • Hanging out in the West End seems like fun though. The beach is beautiful and the town reminds me of Hale’iwa on Oahu’s North Shore. I guess it’s just the vibe the town gives off.

  • I thought Tropicante was great, but the amount of seaweed was problematic for the entire shoreline. I read comments about what a friendly guy Steve is, and I have to agree.
Things I forgot to mention:
  • Because of my wife’s accident, Royal ended up giving us a credit voucher worth 10% of our cruise cost (minus port fees and tax). My wife still didn’t want anything, but they actually didn’t give us a choice in the matter. We don’t have to use it, of course, but we probably will.

  • I did a lot of communication with the CruiseCritic group on Facebook, but ended up missing all the meetups. Still, it was fun talking to people over FB, seeing pictures, and basically getting excited about the cruise. That’s what it’s all about, right?

  • Half the cruisers did not disappear at the end of Infinity War. But because it’s such a large ship, it only seems that way.
Things I learned:
  • If you’re just going to walk around Nassau, wait until 10:30 or so. Because there is nothing open, and it feels like you’re walking around a ghost town.

  • Don’t be last off the ship if you’ve got a flight before 2pm, and went to Roatan.

  • Word Count in this trip recap: Over 10,000.

  • Next trip: Vienna, Austria in October without the kids.
And that, folks, is finally it. Thanks for following along with a recap that may in fact be longer than the cruise itself.

Until next year (unless I decide to recap my trip to Vienna)...
Fin

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Love your reviews and comments. Always helpful and love seeing how you and your family do things. Lovely family.
By the way, I'm with you and prefer more sea days. DH and I just booked a cruise and realized after we selected a ship I turned to him and said "You know...I don't even know where the cruise goes". With Royal, it's more about the ships and you want to enjoy.
 
You should have no problem finding adults only things to do and places to go. Depends on what you like to do...check out a comparable Cruise Compass (you can Google).

Just curious...what is the cruise you would have chosen?
Different travel time, different itinerary and ports ..since these are repeats.
It’s all good..
 
You should have no problem finding adults only things to do and places to go. Depends on what you like to do...check out a comparable Cruise Compass (you can Google).

Just curious...what is the cruise you would have chosen?
Just a different time, different itinerary and ports as they are repeats. It’s all good though:)
 


This is legitimately one of the most spectacularly amazing write ups I’ve ever read! Thank you so very much for sharing your journey with us. As a fellow Torontonian, I also very much appreciated your culinary comparisons ;)!

We are first time RC cruisers as of next March, so it was really neat to read some of the tips and tricks for sailing on one of these mega-ships.

Thanks again, looking forward to the next trip report! If you all like chocolate, try and get some Mozartkugeln in Vienna...marzipan, pistachio, and chocolate. Best thing ever.
 
This is legitimately one of the most spectacularly amazing write ups I’ve ever read!
Thank you for the kind words. I thought it might be a bit wordy, to be honest, but I try to be a storyteller with these things. I know some biases snuck into it, but I try to keep things neutral, and point out things I like and didn't like.

We are first time RC cruisers as of next March, so it was really neat to read some of the tips and tricks for sailing on one of these mega-ships.
I'm pretty sure I have more so if you have any specific questions I can answer them, at which point I can add to the RCL/DCL comparison thread.

Thanks again, looking forward to the next trip report! If you all like chocolate, try and get some Mozartkugeln in Vienna...marzipan, pistachio, and chocolate. Best thing ever.
Will definitely keep that in mind. No idea where I'd stick a Vienna report. Might have to start a blog or something.
 
Enjoyed the review so much. Thank you!! You provided great information on the ship and ports. I am looking at the same itinerary that you detailed. Would you recommend this to a first time cruiser?
 
Enjoyed the review so much. Thank you!! You provided great information on the ship and ports. I am looking at the same itinerary that you detailed. Would you recommend this to a first time cruiser?
I actually would not, nor would I recommend a port-intensive Mediterranean cruise for a first-timer.

For a 7-day Caribbean cruise (on any ship) I would recommend 3 ports (or 2 plus a private island) max. "Exploring/experiencing the ship" is a bit of a cliche but it's true. Going to different ports is great and all but the real star of the show is the boat where you'll be living on for 7 days. So 3 days in port and 3 days at sea gives you a great balance and affords you the luxury of enjoying what's on board at a leisurely pace. So whether you choose RCI or DCL or Carnival or someone else, make sure you get that balance.
 
Enjoyed the review so much. Thank you!! You provided great information on the ship and ports. I am looking at the same itinerary that you detailed. Would you recommend this to a first time cruiser?

For a 7-day Caribbean cruise (on any ship) I would recommend 3 ports (or 2 plus a private island) max. "Exploring/experiencing the ship" is a bit of a cliche but it's true. Going to different ports is great and all but the real star of the show is the boat where you'll be living on for 7 days. So 3 days in port and 3 days at sea gives you a great balance and affords you the luxury of enjoying what's on board at a leisurely pace. So whether you choose RCI or DCL or Carnival or someone else, make sure you get that balance.

Our Allure cruise in 2 weeks has 2 ports plus their private island. It's:
San Juan
St. Maarten
Labadee
So that itinerary would get you a good amount of time on the ship.
 
Our Allure cruise in 2 weeks has 2 ports plus their private island. It's:
San Juan
St. Maarten
Labadee
So that itinerary would get you a good amount of time on the ship.
I had this itinerary on Harmony last year (pre-Hurricane). It was really good.
 
I reading through the report and up to Nassau and really loving it so far! I got back from my first cruise on the Navigator (voyager class), and believe I may be hooked, but am interested in going on a much larger ship. This ship seems right up my alley. I look forward to reading more!
 
Great report!! I enjoyed reading this!!

We used the Royal app on our phones to communicate with friends that traveled with us that didn't purchase an internet package. It was spotty at best! Didn't work very well at all!! I had to keep turning my phone off and on to get the messages!

I liked your reviews of your excursions! We didn't do any on our cruise. I'd like to take advantage on our next cruise and it;s nice to read reviews and see pictures. Thank you!!
 
Writing about the excursions provides ample opportunities to work in bad jokes, so I kind of enjoy writing about them.

Good to know about the app. Magnetic whiteboards are kind of old school, but at least they’re consistent.
 
Thank you for the report, and especially for including the menus. I had been interested in how their vegetarian offerings compared to DCL. From these menus, DCL definitely looks like they have an edge.
 
Yeah I do think that vegetarians (and to an even larger extent, vegans) really get the short end of the stick with these menus. I mean, the pastas are quite good, but (with apologies to the Nona that used to live across the backyard from me) I don't think that one could live off of pasta alone.

I do know that people can - and will - talk to the waiters to get "off menu" orders, but of course you can do that on other cruise lines, so that's nothing special, and frankly a bit annoying that you might need to go that route to get some non-pasta, non-salad dishes.

With that said, if you do order off menu, I recommend asking for channa masala as it's pretty filling and tastes good to boot.
 

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