Allure of the Seas Review
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We Flew Jet Blue direct from Boston to Ft Lauderdale, we like Jet Blue and have never had any problems with them. We arrived Friday July 13th, early afternoon in Ft Lauderdale, took a cab for 20 dollars plus a tip to the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 which is located not far from the port. We got a free upgrade to a hypoallergenic room in the tower section on the 8th floor, great view all around and perfect to see the cruise ships from our balcony. The Hyatt was an outstanding place to stay pre cruise, they had great atmosphere, good drinks, nice pool and grounds. There was also access to the water taxi for dinning and to just tour around which was fantastic! We got up early to watch the ships come in which is a site to see when considering the size of these ships. The Oasis pulled in on Saturday and the Allure on Sunday. We took a taxi/van from the hotel for 14 dollars, plus we gave a tip and it took maybe 5 minutes to the ship.
We have previously sailed Carnival with our 3 kids the past 2 cruises which were also both quite good, this one was the first without them, also the first my wife and I have taken with Royal Caribbean. We were absolutely amazed by the speed and efficiency we got moved along and checked in on the Allure. From the street to walking on the ship was probably 10 minutes, incredible achievement considering the 6000+ cruisers boarding. We left all our luggage tagged with the baggage/porter and gave him a tip. Our luggage tags we had mailed to us pre-cruise by following the cruise online check-in. Note: I recommend completing everything in advance online with Royal Caribbean, all waivers for activities, dinning times, shows, check in and tours.
After getting on board we walked around, took pictures and got our bearings. We only carried one bag each to make it easier to get around since you can't get in your room until 1pm. We did try to go into the Windjammer to grab a bite and by the time we arrived, they were controlling the people going in so, we left and went back later when there wasn't a line. That was the first and only time we ever seen a line for food in the Windjammer the entire cruise. We knew there was a ton of places to eat so we got some Pizza.
Cabin Review
Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
Our room, 11676 on deck 11 was fantastic! The rooms alter the bed and couch as you go from room to room. We had the couch first when you enter then the bed and balcony. The rooms on either side of us had the bed first when you enter then the couch and balcony, It doesn't make a whole lot of difference. We liked it with the couch first when entering because it seems to give you better access to everything. The room space is creatively constructed with tons of space and little cubby holes to put things away. We had 5 suit cases and had no problem storing everything. The iPod docking station and flat screen TV was a plus. We loved the ocean view balcony instead of the inside park view balcony for we love to see and hear the ocean. The Bathroom showers had a cool round design, small but were well constructed and worked great. Note: Watch the steam from the bathroom keeping both that door open after a shower and the balcony door, if it gets to steamy the sprinklers can go off which happened to a room a few over from us and all their stuff got soaked. We heard they got taken care of and all ended well, no electronics got damaged however, it was a huge inconvenience for them, the water takes time to be shut off and they had fans blowing for days.