This was my 9th cruise with RCI, and my first time on the Allure of the Seas. There is one word to describe this ship, HUGE. It was like being on a floating mall. It had it's advantages and drawbacks. The best advantages were the variety of shows and places to eat. The Ocean Aria show was amazing.

Getting on the ship wasn't too bad. We were there early and got on the ship by 11:30AM. The first day on board I knew I was on a ship with a lot of people. I hated it on the first day and was wishing we had chosen another ship. After the first day it got better. Unless there was a show, or a peak time for the Windjammer, or getting off the ship the elevators were not too bad. However, during peak times you were like a sardine crammed into the elevators which did not feel air conditioned at all.

If you cruise primarily to for onboard activities, you will be happy with this ship. If you cruise to actually go places and just use the ship as transportation to get there, you may not like it as much as some of the "smaller" cruise ships such as the Radiance class, which is our favorite so far. Read more