We sailed for the third time on the beautiful Allure of the Seas. This time, we were joined by our son, daughter in law and three grandchildren. We arrived at Port Everglades about 10:30 AM, and quickly registered to board the ship-no crowds at all. Took our family boarding pictures and were able to purchase lanyards after taking our picture. A great idea to do in the terminal. We then went to our seating area, since we are diamond members, we did have priority boarding after the suites.

We boarded the beautiful ship by 11:30. I proceeded to the spa to make hair appointments. We meet the group at the buffet- no problem finding a nice large table for seven. After a nice lunch, an announcement was made that our staterooms were ready. Our stateroom was a Central park view balcony cabin on deck 11. Our family was in a family oceanview cabin on deck 11. We have been in a CPV previously and enjoy it- weird not seeing the ocean as the ship sails and it is so smooth you hardly feel any movement. But it is a great budget option. We never had a boardwalk view, as I have heard complaints about a lot of noise. The boardwalk area is very popular and noisy. A merry go round is playing music most of the day as well as the aqua theater hosting many noisy events- The family ocean view was really a nice cabin for a family of five- They were in FO11534 and I think the cabins next door were slightly larger, but not sure as we didn't see them.

The first night we ate at Izumi (Habachi Experience) that was great and all enjoyed the "floor show" that the cook did as he prepared the food. We also saw Mamma Mia at the amber theater. The show was as good as the broadway version complete with an intermission. The second morning we all went to the Dreamworks character Breakfast- was really enjoyed by our youngest grandchild, but the 10 and 11 year old didn't love it. We saw Ice Games which the entire family truly enjoyed- such talent! Day 3 was a at one of our favorite ports, Labadee. We rented a Cabana and spent the day on the beach. Since we were in a cabana, we had a butler who provided us with drinks, towels and set up seats on the sand for all of us. In addition we had floating mats included in the Cabana rental fee. Also included was an ice chest with cold water. In the middle of the day- we were escorted by a golf cart to and from a nice barbecue lunch. The weather was perfect, actually through out the entire cruise . That evening, we went to the Ocean Aria in the Aqua Theater- another wonderful show with high diving- do not sit in the first 3-4 rows of the aqua theater, unless you do not mind getting splashed! Day four we went to Jamaica, we all just walked around the pier, then back on board to enjoy the ship- have been to Jamaica before and it isn't our favorite port. We dined in Giovanni's which was very good. Day five, the two older kids had flowRider lessons and each had fun. The two girls also had cupcake decorating classes that afternoon. That evening we saw the headliner show which was good entertainment. Day 7 we saw Blue Planet in the amber theater also very entertaining. Read more