Cruising is Back!
- ashleybittenbender
- Aug 3, 2021
- 11 min read
Cruising is back baby! Last week, from July 27-July 29 I was able to spend some time with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line on a test cruise aboard the Allure of the Seas. I was invited to participate in this test cruise so the crew on board could test out their new health and safety protocols.
Ship
This was a 2 night cruise aboard the Allure of the Seas. This ship is one of five in the Oasis class for Royal Caribbean. With 16 decks, this ship has 7 distinct neighborhoods for you to visit; Central Park, Boardwalk, Entertainment Place, Pool and Sports Zone, Vitality Spa and Fitness Center, Youth Zone, and the Royal Promenade. These 7 neighborhoods made you feel like you were in a major city in the middle of the ocean. Allure of the Seas also has many dining options that will suite whatever your craving. With a normal capacity of 5,402 you could say I was spoiled when I heard that there was only roughly 700 aboard the ship during my sailing. I also want to mention that the crew made this an AMAZING experience! The staff was always smiling, saying good morning/ afternoon/ night, asking if I was enjoying myself, willing to have a conversation about anything, kind when enforcing the new health and safety protocols, etc. I cannot praise the crew enough for how great of a job they did of being professional, kind, and passionate about what they do.
Room
I was placed in a king bedroom ocean view balcony on deck 9. Located in the middle of the ship, I was very impressed with my stateroom. This style of stateroom is perfect for an adult couple. Two twin size beds were pushed together to form the king. With a large sofa and desk area right off the balcony, there was plenty of space to relax and get ready. I also must point out that I was positively surprised by the size of the balcony and the modern touches in the bathroom. The only place in the stateroom that seemed small was the entrance into the shower, even I myself had to slide in sideways. Overall though I was very impressed and happy with the Ocean View Balcony stateroom.
Perfect Day at Coco Cay
It truly was a perfect day at Coco Cay. We pulled into port at roughly 6:30am. After a quick breakfast at Windjammer I was off the boat by 7:45am. Due to the low capacity of the cruise, I was one of the first people on the island. I was greeted by a Caribbean band and costumed dancers. I headed straight for the Thrill Waterpark as I wanted to experience the attractions with minimal wait time. One of the nice parts of this area is that there are free lockers. This is the only location on the island that has lockers. I locked away my belongings then headed straight for Daredevils peak-a 300ft waterslide-the tallest in North America. After plenty of stairs, the view from the top is easily the best on the island! The slide itself was incredible and safe for the whole family (as long as they meet the height requirement). There are no steep drops here, just 300ft of enclosed winding with areas of rainbow lighting.
From Daredevil's, a few colleagues and I went to try the group raft slide-Slingshot. THIS WAS BY FAR MY FAVORITE PART OF THE WATER PARK! Once you're weighed (the group has to be under 550lbs) we climbed to the entrance where we were greeted by two lifeguards who put the tube into the entrance of the slide for us. This slide includes two zones-the first is a mini bowl and the second is the long slide into the upward wall. If the heaviest person in your group is in the back of the tube for zone 2, the people going backwards will get airborne so HOLD ON TIGHT! I kid you not when I say that the three of us-all adults-rode this 3 times in a row because it was so much fun!
I then explored the rest of Thrill Waterpark which consists of- a kids pool play area with a ropes course and climbing wall, a wave pool, a restaurant, two bars, and 3 other slides connected to Daredevil's. This was a great way to start my morning on Perfect Day by Coco Cay.
I then spent the rest of the day (until 4:00pm as our all aboard was at 4:30pm) exploring the rest of the island. There are numerous inlets with sun loungers and access to ocean water, 2 restaurants (one complimentary), a market area to purchase souvenirs, an airballoon (similar to the one in Disney Springs), over water cabanas, a zip line, rentals such as snorkeling and jet skiing, and my favorite-the Oasis Lagoon.
The Oasis Lagoon is the largest fresh water pool in the Caribbean. With a swim up bar with stools in the water, to the sun loungers submerged in the shallow end, to the sand lined edges, this area truly is an Oasis.
The island followed the same cleanliness and modern touches as the ship did. There were hand sanitizing stations before every slide and near most pathways. The island itself was void of trash and even natural droppings such as palm fronds. The bathrooms were also modern with beach flare. Overall I was very impressed with my time on Perfect Day at Coco Cay and think it is a great one day stop for the entire family.
Entertainment
In Entertainment Place there was a comedy show the first night of cruise. The second night of the cruise, I saw the Ice Games! This is an ice skating show all about popular board games. Think Glee, meets partner figure skating, meets Cirque du Soleil. The 12 athletes that put on this show are spectacular! This show was put on twice a night-one show was vaccinated only and the other show was for everyone (masks had to stay on for this showing). During the cruise I did not visit the main theater, but they had music and a ventriloquist there while we were sailing. I did test my lady luck in the casino, but managed to lose all whopping $2.00 in penny slots in the matter of 1 minute, but this ship has a pretty extensive casino complete with slots, tables, and even events where they teach you how to play popular casino games. And don't worry, RCCL managed to create the aroma of a typical casino-but it stays in that area.
In terms of club atmosphere, Dazzles was dazzling with a big band and a relaxed atmosphere. This was the area of the ship that I saw the most people in one area (besides the main dining room). There was also live music in the Royal Promenade, the pool deck, Schooner Bar, Bow & Stern, and Boleros
I also want to mention that the Vitality Spa and Fitness Center was in operation while I was on board. The spa has 3 couples massage suites, 7 individual rooms, relaxation rooms, and offers a variety of services from Botox to teeth whitening. The Fitness Center has 158 machines, free weights, studio classes, spinning classes, is home to the largest jogging track at sea and operates on vaccinated and unvaccinated times.
As you can see, two nights was not enough time to experience all of the entertainment options on board the Allure of the Seas.
Food & Drink
During this cruise, I decided to eat only at complimentary locations. I wanted to be able to give you, the reader, the feedback on options that would available to everyone aboard the Allure. It is only fitting that the first thing I ate on board was a free chocolate ice cream cone on the pool deck during a walk through of the ship. During the rest of my stay I dined at Windjammer Market for breakfast, Sorento's for a snack, Park Café for a snack, Skipper's Grill for lunch on the Island, and I had dinner each night in the Main Dinning Room.
Windjammer's
This location is opened for breakfast and lunch and is buffet style served by the crew. I went for breakfast before going to Perfect Day and I was very impressed! Standouts were the chocolate chip pancake (there was either marshmallow or white chocolate in there that made it fantastic) and the oatmeal! The veggie scrambled eggs were okay-I should have just went with a veggie omelet instead. I'll also add that the coffee here is very good-I just got it black and it was very tasty. The floor to ceiling windows also give you a great view while dining.
Sorento's
This pizzeria is opened 24 hours and serves thin crust pizza as well as other Italian appetizers. I had the supreme pizza with olives, spicy cheese, and mussels. All around this was an okay meal-nothing terrible but nothing great!
Park Café
Located in Central Park, this café offers complimentary sandwiches and salads. I got a Waldorf Salad and my colleagues split a 3 cheese panini with a bag of salt and vinegar chips. I was able to customize my salad which made it yummy and my colleagues said that the panni was delicious and that they would definitely order it again in the future.
Skipper's Grill
This restaurant was located in the middle of Perfect Day at Coco Cay with American and Mexican Cuisine. From tacos, to hot dogs, to salads this was a great stop for every eater on the island. I ordered a carnitas and a chicken taco with a side of pineapple and watermelon. They also serve a variety of juices- I went with the Strawberry Kiwi and asked for a refill to take to the Oasis Lagoon with me. The tacos were a great portion size and kept me full until dinner. The staff was also very thoughtful in shooing seagulls away so guests could enjoy their meals.
Main Dining Room
When you think of dinner on a cruise ship-that is the Main Dining Room. I ate dinner in the main dining room with my colleagues every night on board. With a rotating menu of complimentary options it was an easy choice for all of us. We had the flexibility of My Time Dining, but we ate every night right when the dining room opened at 6pm. We were greeted each night by two rows of crew members applauding us and telling us how excited they were for us to be there. We then had to sanitize our hands before entering the main dining room. Each of us chose to dress up for these meals, but patrons were wearing formal and everyday casual wear as well. Our first night dining, we each ordered our own meals. I went with the French Onion Soup, Crab Cake, Seafood Sampler, and the Blueberry Peach Cobbler.
Stand out- the French Onion Soup! The portion size was big and it was executed deliciously. It was so good I almost ordered it again on night two. This was one of my favorite items during the entire cruise.
On night two, we decided that we were going to order many items and share them so we could all experience them. Stand outs- Calamari-coated and cooked perfectly, seafood linguini-sauce was a light alfredo and seafood was grilled which helped to keep the dish light, spinach and mozzarella stuffed portabella mushroom-it was covered in a marinara sauce and this was a great option for non meat eaters, pumpkin soup- we were all skeptical of ordering this, but we all loved it! It had a great taste that wasn't squashy at all.
Beverages
In terms of dining on the ship, this is the area where my expectations were not met (except for the Malbec that I had with dinner on night 2, that was chef's kiss). Throughout my experience aboard the Allure, there were multiple times that a drink I ordered could not be made as described because they were out of / missing an ingredient or it took a longer amount of time because the bartender did not know exactly how to make the drink I ordered. Again I was on a test cruise so maybe they were still waiting for some supplies and bartenders are still learning the menu, but I am just sharing my experience. My last day, I decided to only drink canned Corona Extra because I knew what I would receive and pay for-again except for the 2 glasses of wine I ordered at dinner. I can't honestly say that I found a signature cocktail or drink that I would order again if I were to cruise on Allure in the future.
Health and Safety
Boarding
This was honestly the most unorganized aspect of the entire trip. Prior to the cruise, you are asked to mobile check in up to 72 hours in advance. You will fill out a health survey and then choose a boarding time that works best for you and your party. I selected 12-12:30. I arrived at the port at 11:35 and just sat in my car for a bit. At 11:50 I went down to the main floor of the parking garage. Near the entrance, was a line of people that had a call time of 11:30-12. A crew member then directed me to the "12-12:30 line." As it neared 12, the line began to move. I was then quickly brought near the front of the line because the 12 line had joined the 12:30 line. This threw me off as I thought the point of a staggered boarding time was to limit the amount of people standing in line. At 11:55am there was a man in line who did not have a call time until 1:30pm. This is the one major area that RCCL could improve on for upcoming sailings. Once I was with the correct people, it only took me 5 minutes to get inside.
Once inside, a staff member scanned my Sea Pass and confirmed that I had done all of the questionnaires and other processes online. This gentlemen scanned my vaccination card and then gave my a purple wrist band that signified that I was vaccinated.
I then went through metal detectors with my luggage. After this, I was lead to another counter where a staff member asked me the exact same questions as the man below, even asking to rescan my vaccination card and my passport, which I had already uploaded. Once this was all finished I was given a tracer bracelet. These bracelets are to be worn at all times, except while in water or sleeping, as they are trackers in case you or someone you're with frequently is contact traced. I love this technology and I hope it is beneficial to RCCL in the future. Then I was on board.
Overall the boarding experience took roughly 30 minutes. The crew seemed to be mastering their technology and were very thankful for patience if problems did arise.
Muster Drill
In the parking garage while I waited for my boarding time, I completed 2 of the 3 steps of the ship safety protocol-life jacket video, ship emergency horn video. Once on board I went directly to my stateroom to drop off my luggage and then I proceeded to complete step 3-check in at my muster drill location. My location was the Aquatheater, so I went that way, was the only person there, and the crew was able to give me individual attention to describe the process. I then received a green sticker for my Sea Pass to signify that I completed the drill. Hopefully this process stays post pandemic as I believe it makes the process more enjoyable for all crew and customers.
Masks and Hand Sanitizer
As I have mentioned many times in this blog post, masks needed to be worn at all indoor locations, unless actively eating / drinking, or marked in a vaccinated zone. Even in vaccinated zones, crew members asked us to keep our masks on, which I was fine with, but I found that to be odd. Hand sanitizing stations are positioned around the ship and in heavy trafficked areas (before you enter any venue, near elevators, etc.)
Debarking
The complete opposite of the boarding process, I thought getting off of the ship was the most organized and safest part of the cruise. The day before our last day, sailors were asked to choose a de boarding time that worked best for their group based on flight info. etc. I then received confirmation and luggage tags that marked which group I was in. The morning of de boarding, I turned on the Allure's safety channel and monitored when my group was called. My assigned time was 8:45am and I was called at 8:30 am. I had to go directly to the gangway and to customs. There wasn't a line and the customs agent used face scanning software to clear my arrival. Due to us only stopping at RCCL private island I did not have to talk to an agent to clear any purchases. I was back at my car by 8:45am. Round of applause for RCCL for making this process efficient and safe!
To sum it all up-
Rose: The limited capacity allowed me to experience EVERYTHING in 2 short nights
Thorn: Food and drink was good not great
Overall, I had an experience that blew my expectations out of the water. For my first cruise I was very spoiled. I would recommend sailing with Royal Caribbean Cruise line to my clients, friends, and family and I hope that I get to cruise with them again soon!
If you have any questions, want to know more, or are ready to book a cruise with RCCL comment below or email me at ashley.bittenbender@mei-travel.com
Travel Adventurously,
Book It with Bitt
-Follow me on Instagram for videos and photos of this cruise and more: @Bookitwithbitt
Comments