Port Everglades – 1850 Eller Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

In addition to an array of Complimentary Dining Options available onboard Allure of the Seas, which are all included in your cruise fare, guests onboard Allure of the Seas also have the opportunity to dine at the below-listed Specialty Restaurants for an additional fee.  Specialty Restaurants offer cruisers the option to enhance their onboard dining experience for an additional fee.

With our Unlimited Dining Package, we had the ability to eat at each of these locations as often as we’d like free of charge thanks to the all-inclusiveness of our Package.  The following Specialty Restaurants and For-Fee-Dining Locations are available onboard Allure of the Seas:

Sabor – Specialty Restaurant located in the Boardwalk Neighborhood with an additional charge of $19.00 USD per person

Sabor serves mouth-watering Mexican cuisine in an open air setting.  Sabor’s menu is a fiesta of flavors from mild to medium and spicy.  There’s something on this menu for everyone.  Grab a margarita, some guac, and take in the Boardwalk views all while enjoying delicious Mexican cuisine.  The best part of Sabor for us is the fresh made flour tortillas.  We really enjoy Mexican cuisine.  We honestly eat Mexican at least once a week, and we have truly come to enjoy fresh flour tortillas which can be hard to find.  The fact that a cruise line puts so much effort into creating fresh made tortillas ( … and invested in a massive open-kitchen-concept tortilla maker – which not trying to give Royal any ideas here this space could absolutely be used to seat more people in the restaurant but thank goodness it isn’t!) instead of simply serving frozen tortillas (or corn – yuck) really appealed to us.

From chips to salsa and guacamole to cinnamon churros, Sabor is somewhere we could eat lunch daily – and did.  Sabor quickly became our ‘Favorite Lunch Spot’ onboard Allure.  We ate at Sabor so many times during our cruise that we were fortunate to sample every single menu item the restaurant offers.  Some of our favorite menu items are the guacamole, the carne asada, the spicy beef empanadas, the steak quesadilla, and the spicy chicken tacos.  Also, don’t leave without trying the cinnamon churros.

Johnny Rockets – Located in the Boardwalk Neighborhood with an additional fee of $6.95 USD per person for lunch and dinner.  Breakfast is complimentary.

Serving classic American fare like hot dogs, hamburgers, and grilled cheese, Johnny Rockets is a cruiser favorite! The above-mentioned surcharge includes everything on the menu except ice cream, milk shakes, soda and alcoholic beverages which are also an additional fee.

During our cruise planning, the one consistent thing we heard was that Johnny Rockets was the best spot for breakfast on the ship.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t until our last sea day that we finally made it to Johnny’s, and it most definitely stood up to the hype.  This is a ‘must eat’ for us.  Johnny Rockets, which is included in your cruise fare, is located in the Boardwalk neighborhood of Allure of the Seas, and it offers both inside and outside seating.  We prefer dining outside, but if you’re looking for the classic diner vibe, request a booth inside next to a tabletop jukebox.  Buttermilk pancakes, omelets, French toast, and more are all on the menu.  Jared raved about the a dish called ‘The Works’ which consisted of Country Potatoes and Ham while Janine loved her Three Egg Omelet with peppers, onions, and cheese.

Izumi – Hibachi and Sushi Specialty Restaurant serving table-service sushi or teppanyaki dining hibachi-style.  The teppanyaki menu is a-la-carte, but there is a $30.00 USD per person charge for one meat entrée or $35.00 USD per person charge for a two meat entrée when dining hibachi.

We loved this restaurant so much that we ate here multiple times on our cruise.  Once for hibachi dinner and twice for sushi lunch.  Our favorite hibachi chef was Chef Jose.  If you have a chance, we highly recommend you request him when making your reservation.  Some of our favorite menu items were the complimentary edamame, the pork gyoza dumpling appetizers with gyoza sauce, and the shrimp firecracker spring rolls.  We’ve had our fair share of hibachi over the years from national chains like Benihana to locally owned establishments, but Izumi was by far the best hibachi we’ve had in years – and it was on a cruise ship.  It was not what we expected at all, and we were delightfully surprised at the excellent service, generous portions, and fantastic food offerings.

Giovanni’s Table – Specialty restaurant located in the Central Park Neighborhood with an additional charge of $39.99 USD per person.

Giovanni’s serves delicious Italian cuisine from calamari to carbonara. The best part of a meal at Giovanni’s is the exclusive menu items.  Jared was on a hunt for calamari throughout our entire cruise, but it seemed impossible to find.  However, while dining at Giovanni’s one night for dinner, our server recommended we return one day for lunch to try the calamari, and we did just that.  The fried calamari at Giovanni’s was perfection, and we were so glad we returned for lunch to try this!

Samba Brazilian Steakhouse – Specialty Restaurant located in the adults-only Solarium on Deck 15 – Forward with an additional fee of $30.00 USD per person

Serving all-you-can-eat meat churrascaria-style.  Enjoy your meal poolside while the open-air breeze blows through the Solarium and the surrounding palm trees.  This location serves dinner only and offers a selection of nine specialty cut slow-roasted meats served table side.

The meal begins with a visit to the salad bar which serves delicious appetizers and salads.  We must warn you though, although there is a lot of delicious things to be had on the salad bar, don’t fill up on these goodies.  Make sure you pace yourself because you’ve got a lot of eating ahead of you!  When you’re ready, flip your restaurant-provided card to green as Brazilian Gauchos begin to serve slow-roasted meats table side.

This is where you will select your meats from a variety of cooking preferences such as rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, well, and well done.  When you’ve had enough, flip your card to red for a break.  If there is something you haven’t tried yet or if it was so good you can’t get enough of it, don’t be afraid to request a specific item from your waiter.

Save room for dessert though as the salad bar also features some amazing desserts you won’t want to miss!

150 Central Park – Specialty Restaurant located in the Central Park Neighborhood with an additional fee of $40.00 USD per person.

150 Central Park’s intimate setting is a wonderful choice for a special occasion dinner.  We dined here on our first formal night of cruising, and it was a great introduction to dining with Royal.  Our favorite menu items were the Japanese Scallops and the Veal Medallions.

Chops Grille – Royal Caribbean’s signature steakhouse & specialty restaurant located in the Central Park Neighborhood with an additional fee of $40.00 USD per person

This restaurant is not unique to Allure of the Seas as it can be found across Royal’s fleet of ships.  After reading a multitude of reviews online, we were most excited to eat at Chops.  However, for us, this is one dining option that did not live up to the hype.  For our reservation, we elected to be seated outside on the patio overlooking Central Park.  This was by far the nicest thing Chops had going for it in our opinion.  In addition, the Colossal Shrimp Cocktail (which featured three 16/20 size shrimp) was the best tasting item we were served at Chops.

Overall, we were extremely disappointed in the service, selection, and quality of food at Chops Grille.  For a restaurant that *specializes* in steaks, we honestly expected more.  The bone-in rib eye was overcooked and lacked flavor.  In addition, the tenderloin at 150 Central Park was more flavorful and better prepared than what we were served at Chops.  In addition, our crab cake appetizer was barely edible and uncooked.  We had to send the crab cake back, and we never ever send food back.  We realize every meal can’t be perfect, but as a Specialty Restaurant and Royal’s ‘hallmark’ steakhouse, we simply expected more.

Snacks & More:

The Vitality Cafe – Located inside the Vitality Spa & Fitness Center, the Cafe serves snacks, sandwiches, wraps and fresh fruit.  This is not included in your cruise fare or the unlimited dining package.

We visited the Cafe in the mornings for a few delicious post-workout smoothies.  In addition, we grabbed a few smoothies post-spa treatments as well.  Each were made-to-order and charged to our stateroom for around $9.00 USD plus tax and tip per smoothie.

Cups & Scoops – Located in the Boardwalk Neighborhood and serving Ben & Jerry’s branded ice cream for an additional fee.  This is not included in your cruise fare or the unlimited dining package.  On average, we spent around $3.00 USD plus tax and tip for each cup or scoop of ice cream nightly.

Starbucks – Located along the Promenade on Deck 5.  A full Starbucks menu available for an additional charge.  This is not included in your cruise fare or any drink packages.

The Cupcake Cupboard – Located in the Boardwalk Neighborhood and serving fresh-baked cupcake creations for an additional charge.  This is not included in your cruise fare or any dining packages.

Studio-B Snack/Drink Cart – Located on Deck 4 and serving your favorite night time snacks, the Studio-B Snack/Drink Cart is easily accessed before, during, or after your favorite shows.  While watching the Comedy Show onboard, we grabbed a few cocktails and some popcorn from the cart which was then charged to our stateroom.

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The one thing we failed to do prior to boarding our first Royal Caribbean Cruise with Allure of the Seas was arrange our dining reservations for the Specialty Dining Restaurants.  It wasn’t clear if this was something we could do prior to sailing, but if it wasn’t for another friendly cruiser who was filling us in on all things Royal while we were lounging poolside after we made it onboard, we never would’ve known that we needed to make reservations.  Our new friends sent us to the Promenade Deck where we met a Royal Staffer who assisted us in making our dining reservations.  Luckily, we were extremely flexible with where and when we ate (we don’t mind eating late and it’s just the two of us), so we were able to grab reservations at each of the Specialty Restaurants onboard.

If we can offer you one piece of advice for your first Royal Caribbean cruise, we’d recommend you do everything you can to either make these reservations ahead of time or as soon as you set foot onboard.  If we could recommend one thing to Royal, it would be the ability to prearrange and prepay for all of these reservations ahead of sailing in order to guarantee cruisers get to experience all the different restaurants of their choosing.  Now, on to the good stuff – the food!

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Our very first ever cruise with Royal Caribbean International onboard Allure of the Seas was beyond incredible.  We often refer to this cruise as one of our best vacations to date.  We both agree that it is firmly in our Top 5 Trips Taken.  Allure of the Seas offered everything we were looking for, a good mix of activity and relaxation, fantastic food, and the ports of call were fantastic.  Although we consider our activity level on this cruise a pretty active one in that we made it to the gym or ran on the track each day and also managed to see and do so many things both onboard and in port, we still managed to arrive home feeling so relaxed.

We’re so glad we finally decided to take a chance on Allure of the Seas and Royal Caribbean, and we’re are kicking ourselves that it took us so long! We will absolutely be cruising again on Allure of the Seas in the future, and we can’t wait to try another of Royal Caribbean’s ships on our next cruise!

Have you ever cruised or are you planning to cruise with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines? If you have, tell us your tips and tricks in the comments below to help us plan our next cruise with Royal!

The comments, opinions, and views set forth on this site are the reflected personal positions of the site’s creators.  This site is not an affiliate of Royal Caribbean International.  The comments, opinions, and views set forth within this site are not the official positions of Royal Caribbean International, and they do not reflect the Company’s position.