This ship is an older and smaller ship without many of the amenities of the larger, newer ships. However the staff excelled at making the most of the facilities available. The Windjammer had more selection of deserts, Asian, curries and other items than the one on the Allure of the Seas. The layout is actually two levels with Sorrentos, the deli (like the Park Cafe on some other ships) and Johnny Rocket's on the upper level. There is a nice little area with a few tables outside of this area, nicely shaded and out of the wind. Strangely, there was no thermos of milk for the tea, even at afternoon snacks time and the strawberries were completely absent in the sauce for the scones. The crepes were a nice touch!

The staff conducting trivia and other activities were excellent. The cruise director, Simona, looked and acted the part, unlike on some RC ships. We are Diamond Plus Crown and Anchor Society members and I was somewhat concerned that there was no Diamond Lounge or Concierge Club on this ship. But they had set up the equivalent each night in the forward section of the Viking Crown Lounge and that worked out just as well. The Allure doesn't even have a Viking Crown Lounge anymore after they took out this signature feature in order to add more cabins! They had also set up a Diamond section in the dining room for breakfast, which was greatly appreciated.

The two production shows were quite good, considering that the theater has a fairly small stage and pretty basic technical features. The first show was soul/r and b music and the second was seventies/disco music ( the same show as on Vision of the Seas). But the sound system was turned up beyond its capabilities causing distortion in the music and making it far less enjoyable. Why? The comedian was on a previous ship and was awful, so there was no need to go see him again. Read more