Everyday I check my BlackBerry to see where our Food and Beverage Director Joao is inviting us to dinner. Today I was surprised when the invite was for the Grand Opening of the Samba Grill a Brazilian style steakhouse that is exclusive to Allure of the Seas.
There is a very playful competition between our equally amazing Food and Beverage team (F&B) and our Entertainment team. The F&B team has done several ribbon cuttings on this journey. To compete, the Entertainment team rolled out a red carpet and served champagne for the opening of the 3D Movie Theater Experience. Not to be outdone, the F&B team wanted to come up with yet another way to commemorate the big event of opening up another new venue.
Instead of a ribbon cutting or a red carpet, we had a ceremonial meat carving! One of our Gauchos (servers) brought out a skewer of filet, and I had the honor of carving the first piece of filet for Samba. (Frank Weber, our Vice President of Food and Beverage gave me lessons with a very large knife prior to this event).
For our actual dinner, we started with the salad bar, which is quite extensive. For those guests that don’t wish to partake in the meat offerings, we are offering a vegetarian option for Samba Grill for $15.00.
Our Gaucho was from South America, and it was a great experience. Naturally we had to taste every course that she brought. We had everything from chicken wrapped with bacon, to scallops, shrimp, pork loin, filet mignon and lamb to name a few! There were also several side dishes that accompanied the proteins, such as black beans and rice, corn on the cob, zucchini, fries, and plantains.
I didn’t think my fellow tablemates, all the members of the F& B leadership team, were ever going to turn the light on our table from green to red, signaling our surrender to stop the plethora of meats from coming. Finally the group agreed that we had sampled everything, and just when I thought we were done, out came the desserts. My insider tip is to try to save at least a little bit of room, because the desserts were great.
The cover charge for Samba Grill is $25.00 and I believe our guests will really enjoy this new dining experience on Allure of the Seas. My other insider tip: you may want to skip lunch if you are coming to the Samba Grill for dinner. Or you could do what I did and run 5 miles after!
Love Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships and associates
Thank you for your praises Rose. We are always striving to deliver the WOW to our guests and that includes having some of the best crew and ships in the industry.
I would love to know your favorite dining experiences on the Allure. Please share!
Thank you for your topic suggestion Michele, it will be a great way to showcase all of the great dining options onboard the ship. So many great options to choose from! I will definitely take your idea into consideration. We hope to see you onboard soon.
I am reading a lot about the specialty dining onboard Allure. What about dining in the main dining room? Will there be additions to the standard fare on all RC ships, or will this be a little different and better?
Hello Linda, dining in the main room is consistent across our entire fleet, but we’re always looking for ways to enhance our guests’ experience. As a matter of fact, after listening to a few of our guests’ comments and suggestions, we have spiced up our food a bit, resulting in even tastier dishes. If you would like to see a complete list of restaurants onboard, please click here.