Allure of the Seas Cruise Review by jc70

We learned a lesson about flying in on embarkation day, as our flight was delayed way past boarding time. But the RCI people were great (Eunice!), stayed in touch with us all day. We ran through the airport, leaving our bags behind, jumped in a cab and raced for the port. One advantage to being so late was that there was no waiting of any kind. They ushered through check-in and on to the ship. Luggage mysteriously arrived on ship the next day with no extra charge. They completely won me over at that point. My one complaint about the RCI customer service is that they want so much to say yes, that I think they sometimes promise things they really can't do. But having said that, the level of customer service the provide (at least what they provided to us all week), should be the goal for every company in the customer service business. Waiters, porters, stewards, concierge (Marina!) were just incredible.

Family Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony was great for us, one adult, two teenage girls. Certainly room for two parents and two kids. Might have been tight with more than that, but the extra space afforded by the balcony is wonderful.

Bottlenecks at the elevators at busy times? Yes, so take the stairs! Food in the main dining hall was good, but not as good as people had led me to expect.

All the entertainment was excellent. Definitely try to book in advance. I don't know why some reviewers have complained about Chicago, it was great. The big show in the aquatheater was truly amazing.

The wait for the flow rider can be long, we'll book a private lesson next time. But what an amazing thing to have on the ship?!

Snorkeling on St. John was a bit touristy, but it's incredibly beautiful, so really, no worries. We did the Loterie Farm Canopy Tour (zip lining) on St. Maarten and had a great time.

So, went in to the cruise idea with some trepidation (what do you if on the 2nd day you don't like it?), but had a great time and can't wait to do it again.