My wife and I have now been on the Allure of the Seas twice. The first time was the very first pre-inaugural two day sailing (to nowhere) for travel partners, etc. During this cruise the upcoming film Jack and Jill with Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes and Al Pacino was being shot in various locations throughout the ship. During these various "shoots" access to certain parts of the ship were limited. Notwithstanding, who can complain about a free cruise on the newest and biggest ship around? No me...or my wife. We appreciated the break from our normal routine. Since we had sailed on the Oasis of the Seas in January of 2010 we already had a pretty good idea of what to expect. (My review of that sailing was posted back in February of last year.) However, we heard that some modifications/additions had been made so were looking forward to our customary anniversary vacation, this time on the Allure, for a whole week on the January 23, 2011 sailing. This is a review of that sailing since we were able to get around considerably more.

As was with the Oasis, boarding the Allure was quick and without incident. I like to be early, and now that my wife and I are RCCL platinum members we boarded shortly after the suite and diamond class members. From our previous experience on the Oasis we also knew that there are more food options than the Windjammer which everyone tends to flock to. So Instead of following the crowd to the Windjammer we headed straight to the Park Cafe and had a wonderful lunch with very limited activity! My wife loves salads...of which you can make your own...and I love their roast beef and other hot sandwiches. (Their desserts aren't bad either!)

We've learned to check out the location of our main dining table early to avoid an undesirable location. They had placed us by the main entrance so we asked to be moved closer to a window which they graciously accommodated. You can do this shortly after boarding. We were in our rooms by 1:00PM with luggage following soon after. Next: RELAX! OK, we did have to go through the muster drill which, as opposed to making everyone don a life jacket and head to an actual emergency boat station, was held in various "areas" of the ship with instructions shown on large TV screens. If an emergency were to happen each passenger heads to their respective "area" to receive a life vest and then head to each group's respective life boat. It's never "fun" but it does beat donning a life vest and standing in rows. Read more