pattyw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2008
Love Vintages. One day we had "lunch" there. Ordered a bunch of small plates and a wine flight. Very, very good!!!
That sounds great! We didn't try it, but the menu looked yummy!
Love Vintages. One day we had "lunch" there. Ordered a bunch of small plates and a wine flight. Very, very good!!!
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
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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!or because there were no rides like a theme park? will we get 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!
We did it!
We loved it!!
Stay tuned for all of the details!!
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!! 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) 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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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.
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!!
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!!
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.