My husband and I and 25 year old daughter sailed with a group of 14 family members. Allure was chosen by the group and was highly recommended by others in our party who had sailed previously on Oasis. Because of Hurricane Matthew and tropical storm Nicole our itinerary was adjusted omitting St Thomas and Nassau and instead sailing to San Juan and Labadee Island off Haiti instead as well as St. Maarten which was part of the original route. We had relatively smooth sailing all week although a few people commented they could feel the ship moving a bit which we don't mind.

We arrived st the pier around noon and embarkation was organized and quick. We headed to Central Park for roast beef sandwiches and Sunday football in the On Air venue. The good: the ship is beautiful and spotless, we found all the staff to be very friendly and efficient, especially our room steward and the entertainment was excellent (adult comedy club, oceanaria and the ice show. Did not see Mama Mia). Our balcony cabin 8180 was in a great location, right near the stairs and just around the corner from Central Park for coffee, quick bites to eat and the specialty restaurants. The suitcases fit under the beds and the room was tight for three, but we were really in there just at night. I have cruised about a dozen times on Carnival, Royal, Princess and most recently NCL Epic and the cabin was what I expected. (Glad NCL has taken the bathroom sink from the cabin space as was done on Epic and put it back in the bathroom.) My only complaint with the cabin that even with the air conditioning all the way on cool it was rather warm and stuffy. Although that may be because this was the first time we had ever cruised in the fall rather than Jan. or Feb. and the weather was much hotter and more humid than in the winter. On prior cruises we were able to keep the balcony door open all night without it getting too hot. We did not hear any noise at night rom other cabins or the hallway.

I highly recommend the specialty steakhouse Chops and Giovanni's Table. The food in the Grande main dining room was okay, nothing outstanding and we decided it was the most mediocre to any of our other cruises. The service, however was excellent. Breakfast in the dining room was fine. We only had breakfast in the Windjammer once and beat the crowd which was madness at about the time we were done. I recommend beating the onslaught at noon for lunch as well. I would recommend a quick, fresh cooked breakfast at Johnny Rockets and my daughter enjoyed sleeping a little later and getting a bagel at the bagel bar (salad bar and good sandwiches for lunch) at Park Cafe. We also enjoyed a light lunch worth the $5 cover charge at Sabor. We were usually up on deck by 10 am at the latest and did not have any trouble finding lounges in the sun. The pool decks did get crowded by early in the afternoon. Bar service was also quick and efficient and we had no issues with our beverage packages which were well worth the price especially when you add a bottle of water at over $4. Read more