Allure of the Seas Reviews

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We came into Ft. lauderdale on May 12th and stayed at the Hampton Inn North airport and port area. Great beginning, free airport and port transportation. Great service at the hotel and it was reasonable. I've been reading the reviews for this ship for a year since I booked the trip and now I can write my own. Our stateroom attendant and waiter, assistant waiter were excellent. Rooms were always clean and ice bucket full. We had adjoining rooms and it was perfect to be able to go back and forth. Every staff member we encountered was very pleasant and have no complaints. I had been on 3 prior Carnival cruises and this is the first time on Royal Carribean. I booked the trip thru their web site. First cruise for my sister and nieces. The one room was larger then the other by the way the beds were arranged, and nieces had that one , so they were happy. Not much room though to move around if your beds are on the side instead of when you walk straight in. Enough shelfs and hangers for our clothes. The enclosed shower was nice, and you can fit in them, even if you're plus sized. I had signed up for a meet and mingle when I booked the trip, but was never given any info if they had one on this cruise. We were in awe when we walked on the ship. Never saw anything like it on the other ships. So glad we picked this ship. I mainly chose it since I didn't want to see Hairspray on the Oasis. I had always cruised on the largest Carnival ships at the time, and thought this ship would not move, but was surprised that it did. Thank goodness we all had the scopolomine patches for seasickness. Couldn't have done without it. We ate breakfast at the Windjammer, the Park Cafe, and enjoyed the food. We always found a seat in the windjammer and some mornings the crew found them for us. Food could've been warmer in the Windjammer though. We also ate lunch there and at Park Cafe and there was a large selection . Got the roast beef sandwich , loved it, my niece didn't. Food in the MDR was good, had great service, and the girls felt like queens. There are changes each time I've cruised. They like to decorate the food and plate, which I could care less about. Just give me good food. We didn't do any specialty restaurants. Also went to Sorrento's most nights before bed, and we liked the pizzas. Wasn't crazy about the Solarium buffet at lunch. We went to all the shows, liked them all excpet for the Blue Planet, it was too "out there". Comediennes were great. They had to put an extra show on Saturday night in the ice skating rink, because so many people wanted to see them. I had made reservations for all the shows ahead of time, so we had no problem getting seats. Spent a lot of time at the pools and hot tubs. I had a fall on the pool deck and it was so slippery and we saw others fall or almost fall all week. They need to put something on the deck surface to rought it up. The crew helped me up , but they weren't going to make an incident report, just said to mention it on the survey, which we all did. Went to Nassau and just shopped. In St Thomas took the power catamaran that took us snorkeling and to Honeymoon Island and it was a great trip. I chose this excursion since it had a canvas roof , since I'm very fair and have to watch even with sunscreen Water was very rough on the way out, as there was rain coming, another thank goodness for the seasicness patch. Many people were getting sick. The beach was beautiful and private. In St, Martin we did an island tour and then shopped in Phillipsburg for awhile when got dropped off. Ate at the Hard Rock and a heads up that the tip is already included , even for just 4 people and there are no free refills on any soda or ice tea, and we weren't told about this. Both excursions were booked thru the ship. Have no complaints about either one. Had fun at the casino. The 70's disco dance party Friday night on the promenade was the best. Cruise director Allan Brooks made it a fun week. He was a hoot. Getting on and off was a breeze. Did the walk off ourselves and the taxis were right there waiting for us, and no wait for empty elevator. At other times there were elevator wait times. People are very rude and are pushing their way on , when you're trying to get off. I did write on the survey that charging a tip for cotton candy was outrageous. Also if they could just put the whole disco party on the week's DVD to buy or sell a separate one. We were in a lot of the tape on the TV, but when the final DVD was available to view, most were cut out and there were a lot of people on the tape that would buy it , just to see themselves. My sister bought it anyway to show her husband the ship. There is so much to do, you need more time to explore it all, but that's for another time. I didn't buy alcohol in the ports , but the cost in the ships store beat all the port shops prices. Was able to print out boarding passes and also they touch screens to find what to do or how to get there, was great too. The character parades were cute. Bought some things at the everything's $10 sale and some watches at that sale. I would go back on this ship in a heartbeat, and hope you will enjoy it as much as we did.

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Two of us sailed for a week in the Eastern Caribs on May 6 on Allure of the Seas, our biggest Royal Caribbean ship yet! It' s a wonderful cruise ...and we are hard to please! We worried needlessly that 6,000 guests would be unmanageable! The ship design and procedures for going ashore divided guests so nicely we were hardly aware of the headcount. A nice design too is the elevator button that says "Gangway" ...so you don't care what deck its on. They open lots of gangways when you need them. Great idea! The diving aqua show was amazing, as was seeing Broadway's "Chicago" professionally staged at sea! We enjoyed watching the flow rider 'amateur surfers learning to surf' shows daily on the sport deck... Also an amazing delight was sitting in Central Park nite and day amid trees and exotic plants, and sometimes hearing the small musical concerts at night in Central Park, a lovely respite at sea! We like the Promenade (as we do on all the big RCCL ships) and this one is no exception...great to go to the Promenade Cafe and get light sandwiches and coffee/tea snacks, avoiding the crowds at Windjammer buffet esp at lunch. They could do more with their dancing water fountain shows at the aqua arena...no need for more performers, just some music and some colorful lights at night would be super (like in Vegas)!!

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Ok...so these tips are not really secret. I'm just an average guy that did some good pre-trip homework, and tried to make the most of my 7 days on the worlds largest ship. First off..I am not a "cruise person." This cruise was paid for by my company from sales, but I'm not sure if I could ever pay full price for one of these. There are just too many other cool ways to spend vacation. BUT, back to the tips! *Food options - There are tons of them. Its funny though. Most people don't bother to learn about all the different options to eat at. They simply go with the crowds to the nearest and easiest place. Stay away from Windjammer as much as possible! Half the people on the ship will go here for the first few meals because its the most obvious place to eat. I recommend eating your first meal at Park Cafe, and order the Roast Beef sandwich. This little cafe was actually a favorite of mine throughout the entire cruise. You will find that it is fairly empty for breakfast and lunch the first few days until everyone learns about it. Go there for lunch and breakfast the first day before 95% of the other guests start getting wise. Another excellent place is Wipeout Cafe. Again it seems to take half the trip before many guests discover some of these places. Wipeout has good ol simple american food, and pretty sure the same kitchen as Windjammer. For that late night snack, a must have is the pizza place in Promenade. I highly recommend that you do not waste your time eating breakfast in the dining room. It simply takes too long to get your food, plus you end up sitting with people you might not be in the mood to talk with (like the weird guy that has to brag that he is on his 25th cruise). Likewise, the dinner in the dining room takes a good amount of time. Take a look at the menu before you go, then you can decide which nights to skip and eat elsewhere. *Drinks and alcohol - Boy, the drinks are EXPENSIVE on the ship!! This is where they make all their money, on alcoholic saps spending a fortune on booze. I've got some great advice for you! First, the best deal is to order the "beer purse." Its literally a bag full of 8 bottles of beer on ice. After the first bag, they give you a FREE beer for each fill up. Also pay attention to the beer labels. Bud Light was $10 more per bag than Miller. Lastly in regards to the "beer purse", if you are a guy like me always looking for a deal, then listen to this inside tip: A few times I asked the bartender to "hook me up with more free ones". I tipped him big and he put another 1 or 2 free bottles under the ice! I made sure to keep going back to this guy. Another option is of course the forbidden smuggle. You can always try to bring alcohol with you in your luggage or sneak it in when at a port. Make sure to do your homework and order rum runners online to do this. This is the only way I have seen and read about that works, and I personally witnessed a friend use them with success. For port stops, another tip is to use empty coke bottles and have the guy at the liquor store put dark rum in it. I tried this and made it back on. The secret is to fill it up to where it looks full. They make you pour out half empty bottles of any kind. Ship Secrets - Deck 7 is a great place to watch the outdoor diving show without fighting crowds. Just get off on this floor and take the stateroom hallway to the back. Head to the Viking Lounge on the top deck during port departures. This room has a 180 degree view and is spectacular. Surprisingly enough, there was never too many people in there during departures. Bring your camera up there with you! Most guests head up to the outdoor deck during the initial departure. This lounge is above the deck and is the highest point of lookout! On the first day, make sure to check out the spa. They offer complimentary shoulder massages during this time as they are trying to book treatments. Just sit down and get a free one! Also not to be missed is the secret lounging area on the runners track in the rear of the ship. This secluded area has chairs and is very quiet, and offers some of the best views. When traveling the ship, I recommend you take the stairs if only going up or down 1 or 2 levels. The elevators are jam packed the entire cruise. Also I noticed the forward side elevators were less used, as the other set of elevators accesses the dining room and casino. I am sure I'll think of more to add to this, but hopefully my tips can help you make the most of your trip!

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DW and I Just returned from the Allure 4/22/12 sailing. A little history first, I did not originally book the CL. I booked a JS on deck 8 hump. The cabin looked great, we got double points but not the suite perks. I really wanted the GS but did not want to pay the additional upgrade cost. After final payment the cabin prices began to fluctuate. I caught a sale on the GS where I could upgrade for about one-third of the original difference. I called my TA and she was told this price was for new bookings only. After a little persuasion, she got RCL to agree to give me the reduced price. WOW, I got the GS for a great price. Friday before the cruise, I checked the website one more time and saw that RCL had changed our GS for CL 1726. I had never even been in a CL before so we were thrilled. It turned out there were some issues with the cabin/location but they were minor. We had a great cruise. Embarkation for suite guests is slightly different. We had a separate entrance and had to show our documentation to a guard in order to gain access. We were then escorted to the sign in kiosk and then escorted directly to the ship. This was at 11:15 AM. All the rest of the passengers were still waiting to board when we got on. Since we had been on the Allure the previous April, we knew what to expect and went directly to the Park Cafe for the roast beef sandwiches. They were as good as I remembered them. At 1:00 PM we finally got to go to our cabin. The Crown Loft is fabulous. There was only one issue -- it has stairs! Now DW and I have lived in Florida for the past 15 years or so and I have a slight mobility problem with my Achilles. Florida does not generally have stairs. At least we have not had to climb them for years. It turned into an ordeal trying to get the suitcases up those stairs. It was funny after, but not fun during. The other issue we had with the CL was its location overlooking the Boardwalk. Even though we were on deck 17 we could still hear the noise from deck 6. This did minimize the time we normally would have spent out on the veranda. The good part is we were able to see Ocean Aria twice more from our balcony. So I guess it was a fair trade. I do have to mention one of the high points of the CL -- the upstairs bath. Not only is it made for 2 -- with separate shower heads on each end, but it has a "rain" shower in the middle. It is great!!! There is also a second TV upstairs over the bed that drops down from the ceiling. Neat but we didn't really use it. The two-story drapes work electrically from both upstairs and down. Several other perks -- fruit baskets, petit fours, special reception, suite sun deck, better robes and slippers, etc. Because of my mobility issue, I rented a scooter for use on the ship. I encountered no problems with it. No rude people either on the elevators or on deck. In fact, most people blocked the elevator doors so I could get on/off. After shows, ect, when the crowds all tried to use the elevators at the same time, I usually found people to be in good humor and joked about the crowding (hold your breath type of humor). I did find interesting a comment I overheard that others did not feel welcome on the 17th deck. The Viking Crown Lounge is open and available to everyone. Not sure why the comment, I know I have never felt this way in the past when we were not in a suite. As I said, interesting. We tried as many of the restaurants as we could. We ate in the MDR for 5 dinners and 1 breakfast. Chef's Table was great (the Black cod was to die for), Chops was also very good, I like wet aged beef better, but the dry aged was cooked perfectly and was delicious. We had Johnny Rockets for both a breakfast and a lunch. We tried the CL for a breakfast -- I had the pancakes and they brought chocolate syrup instead of the maple type. Not good for me -- but fun. Personally, I felt the CL crowd was a little stuffy. We heard many pontificating about their D or D+ status. We very much like RCL but have traveled on 5 or 6 other lines. All are good -- some are better. I for one cannot get hung up on gaining "status". IMHO One other observation, this was the first cruise we have been on where it rained. Not so much that it was an issue, but it was still a first. That made it a little uncomfortable while we waited for the bus to take us back home to Fort Myers. But I am VERY glad I didn't have to drive in it to get home.

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We were first time cruisers. If I could do it again I think four days would of been perfect. By day five I was sick of the food, the tight quarters and was ready to get off the ship. Don't forget to print out the pre-boarding papers. I forgot and it took a while to get through. We used birth certificates for the kids and there was no problem at all. Glad we didn't waste the money on passports. I wish I would of realized how small the room actually was. If we could do it all over again. A balcony room was too small for the four of us. However, the rooms were very nice and clean. The interactive options on the ship are impressive!!! It was great to get off the elevator and figure out what to do next. The options for kids are limited later in the night. Mostly just character appearances. We normally eat dinner at 6:00 to 6:30 at home so I was ok with the 6:00 dining time. However, onboard a 6:00 dinner time was too early. We did not attend dinner in the dining room at all because it conflicted with too much other stuff. If I could do it again, I would do my time dining. The shows were great!!!! The water show in the aqua theater was different each time we saw it. We only went twice by chance and we were glad we did. The malts and shakes at Johnny Rockets were $5.00 in addition to the surcharge. We left with double the bill than we expected. And Parks Cafe had impressive salads...the sandwiches didn't win me over like the salads did. Be prepared to spend money. Cotton candy is $3, popcorn a dollar, ect. We left with a $641 bill and did not drink any alcohol. We took one couples trip to the spa....which was great...dinner at johnny rockets and a bunch of little things really added up. Our shore excursion was prepaid so the 641 doesn't include tips or tours. We did the Captain Hook adventure in Jamaica. It was top notch!!!! Best time my daughter had on the whole cruise. The nonpotty trained area of the pool for kids is very small. It looks big but is actually limited to one little area. If you have a swimmer in swim diapers they are not allowed in deep enough water to show off their skills. Amazing ship but many times I often felt the 5K people. If I could do it all over again. I would of gone for a disney cruise, largely because we were on a family vacation. My four year old didn't really want to go to the kids club. The activities were top notch for the kids club it's just she wanted to hang out with us. We just didn't fall in love with cruising from this trip :( ....we will stick to the all inclusive resorts in the future if disney doesn't steal our hearts.

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