First time cruisers ensured to be "Allured"?? -April 2019 TR

Wonderful review and Great pix. Thank you! We are headed on the Allure soon. Also purchased the Key. Just received the UP offer. We re balcony already, slightly tempted to try JS but cruise is showing available JS, several decks lower. Not sure
...
 
Wonderful review and Great pix. Thank you! We are headed on the Allure soon. Also purchased the Key. Just received the UP offer. We re balcony already, slightly tempted to try JS but cruise is showing available JS, several decks lower. Not sure
...

Thanks so much for reading along! :)

I think the Key program is nice- it's new so there is still some confusion about the perks. The main perk we missed was the embarkation lunch. Next time we will make sure to board by 11am. The lunch is from 11:30-1:30. The debarkation breakfast was great! We had a leisurely sit down breakfast in the main dining room- reserved only for Key guests. Then we could leave the ship whenever we chose! :thumbsup2

The jr suite was very nice! If your cruise schedule allows you to enjoy your room, it is worth the $$. We did spend a lot of time in our suite. We also liked having loungers on our balcony in addition to the table and chairs. We didn't have to worry about getting to the pool area early or staying to save our chairs. But, you can't go wrong with your balcony room! It truly is a beautiful ship!!:)
 
After our delicious dinner at Chop's Grille, we spent some time in the casino, then on to Schooner's piano bar, and finally made the rounds on the Promenade to enjoy the entertainment at the Bow & Stern and Bolero's. This is what is so nice about a cruise. So much entertainment- ALL THE TIME!!!

It was always so exciting to come back to our room every night. It was refreshed with new towels, bed turned down, curtains drawn, a cute towel animal posed on the bed and the next day's Cruise Compass!

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We couldn't believe it was Day 6 already! Our cruise was almost over! This morning we slept in and had breakfast in our room again. We splurged and instead of just the complimentary continental breakfast, we ordered blueberry pancakes, hash browns, an omelet, and bacon! All of our choices were very tasty! Our room service breakfasts always arrived right on time!

After breakfast, we were heading up to the solarium to spend some time!

Loved the decorations we saw from the elevator!
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Uncrowded pool areas:

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Celebrity Edge:

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We continued our tour around the ship!

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Samba Grill:

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We didn't try Samba Grill. The Brazilian steakhouse wasn't a place that interested us- although we were offered 1/2 off discounts a few times. So, if you are interested in dining here, don't purchase a dining plan. You will more than likely be offered a deal here.
 


I actually liked Samba. It's interesting because I think this is the only "Brazilian" steakhouse in the fleet. The cuts aren't as good as what you get at some of the other restaurants (I think sirloin is the common cut here) but everything is quite flavourful so you don't miss the more expensive cuts.

IIRC price isn't that expensive (especially relative to the other restaurants and Brazilian steakhouses on land) so a half price offer would seem to be extremely good value for the up charge.

tl;dr - it's not exactly Fogo de Chao, but I think it's a place worth checking out.
 
Ahoy all fellow cruisers!!

First, let me introduce myself and my DH. I'm Patty-accountant by day. My DH, Joe, is a maintenance supervisor. We share the joy of traveling! Orlando has always been a preferred destination for our family! Disney was our first love. Universal has now captivated our hearts as well.

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Cruises have never appealed to us. Maybe it was the idea of being on a ship out at sea with no way off!:eek:or because there were no rides like a theme park? will we get sick? :sick: will we find enough to do?? Let's just stay on land!!!!

Well, our friends, avid cruisers, have long touted the advantages of cruising! While reluctant at first, we agreed to join them on a cruise.

We were to set off on the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas 4/14-4/21/19. We booked the cruise in October 2018 so there was plenty of time to research cruising. or chicken out!!!

Well- we didn't chicken out!:thumbsup2

We did it!:cheer2:

We loved it!!:goodvibes

Stay tuned for all of the details!!:)

As you know, I just got off my first cruise on the Navigator (voyager class) and absolutely loved it. I found the ship a bit stifling however, and am interested in a larger ship such as the Allure. I very much look forward to hearing all about it!!
 
Dinner was great!! Our friends- seasoned cruisers- suggested the escargot appetizer! Joe and I aren't fans of exotic food. They let us try one of theirs- so yummy!! They are cooked- no shells, and in a butter/garlic sauce!! They each ordered two orders a piece! We followed the next few times we ate in the main dining room!!

This is what was so nice about a cruise. You can order as many orders of an appetizer, salad, entree, dessert as you want!! :thumbsup2 All included!!

So, tip of the day- Order the escargot!

After dinner, we spent a little time in the casino! Joe and I are not lucky! We only played the penny and nickel slots- (big spenders:laughing:) It was fun!! Then, we spent some time at the Piano Bar- Schooner's. So fun!!

Here's some pictures of Schooner's- note we took these on an afternoon when we were at port and Joe and I stayed on the ship. You can see how nice and quiet is in on the ship on port days!

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The ship looks absolutely amazing!! Its like a whole city. Did you find it manageable?
 
May I ask if you purchased an adult beverage package and if you found it worthwhile? I did not purchase one as I planned on keeping the drinking to a drink or two a day at most (that didn't happen), and wonder if any are worth it.

Looks amazing so far! Thank you for sharing!!
 
I actually liked Samba. It's interesting because I think this is the only "Brazilian" steakhouse in the fleet. The cuts aren't as good as what you get at some of the other restaurants (I think sirloin is the common cut here) but everything is quite flavourful so you don't miss the more expensive cuts.

IIRC price isn't that expensive (especially relative to the other restaurants and Brazilian steakhouses on land) so a half price offer would seem to be extremely good value for the up charge.

tl;dr - it's not exactly Fogo de Chao, but I think it's a place worth checking out.

That's great info- thanks!! We've been to other Brazilian steakhouses and they are very good!
 
As you know, I just got off my first cruise on the Navigator (voyager class) and absolutely loved it. I found the ship a bit stifling however, and am interested in a larger ship such as the Allure. I very much look forward to hearing all about it!!

Thanks so much for reading along !!:)


The ship looks absolutely amazing!! Its like a whole city. Did you find it manageable?

It was our first cruise so we have nothing to compare it to- but yes the Allure is huge!! It took us a few days to really know how to navigate around! We had a hard time with the elevators- and which ones to take to get to the right side!
I think I should have looked at the deck plans online before our trip to get better acclimated. By the end, we found it easy to navigate, though!
 
May I ask if you purchased an adult beverage package and if you found it worthwhile? I did not purchase one as I planned on keeping the drinking to a drink or two a day at most (that didn't happen), and wonder if any are worth it.

Looks amazing so far! Thank you for sharing!!

Yes- we pre-purchased the deluxe beverage package. We thought it was a great deal. All drinks up to a $13 value were included. I believe we paid $44/day each for the package. So, if you have 3 drinks a day, you almost break even- at 4 you're ahead. We stayed on board most port days, so we definitely got our money's worth. But, at dinner alone, we had about 2-3 glasses of wine. The waiters were always refilling our glasses! And we would have a drink or two later in the evening.

On Navigator, could you use the drink package at Perfect Day?
 
Yes- we pre-purchased the deluxe beverage package. We thought it was a great deal. All drinks up to a $13 value were included. I believe we paid $44/day each for the package. So, if you have 3 drinks a day, you almost break even- at 4 you're ahead. We stayed on board most port days, so we definitely got our money's worth. But, at dinner alone, we had about 2-3 glasses of wine. The waiters were always refilling our glasses! And we would have a drink or two later in the evening.

On Navigator, could you use the drink package at Perfect Day?

I'll def go with the deluxe package in the future. It sounds like a great deal.

Yes! Especially at Snack Shacks (of course bars were abundant). They also had these beverage machines with complimentary juices all over.
 
We continued our tour of the ship!

Breeze- for all of your pool essentials! They only were open on sea days

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