My wife and I have been cruising for over 20 years, mostly with Royal Carribean (Diamond plus member), but also have cruised with Norwegian, Disney and Carnival. We've been on the Allure of the Seas twice now and can say without any doubt we will not book another cruise on this ship. I will say before I get into the reason for our dissatisfaction with the ship that like with any place there were some excellent staff experiences, but unfortunately there were many negative experiences as well. Service at Royal Carribean has steadily declined the past few years and it's my personnel opinion that's due to the fact crew members get their tip regardless of their job performance. I do understand the need to mandate tips, but i'll never understand why as the customer you can't give the tips to those that earn it (Royal justifies their practice by telling you you can give extra to those you'd like to) to me that's not the point. Below is a list of complaints: Getting on the ship was a total cluster. We arrived at the port at 10:20 and didn't get on board until 11:35. We were supposed to get priority boarding, but were told that that group was already on board and could't stop the lines. There's a "sun" deck on floor 14, but there are no chairs? Weather was great all week for the most part. This was cruise number 21 for us and cabin porter service was by far the worst we've ever had. Normally the porter finds out what your habits/schedule are (when you leave your room and when you usually come back) not on this ship. Our room never got done on several occasions (each time we were out of the room better than 4 hours). We also received other passengers paperwork and never got ours several times. From day one and throughout the week of the cruise we never received our typical Diamond perks or paperwork We called the desk a couple of times, but that was futile so I'm guessing someone else enjoyed our perks. One night we pulled out the extra blanket that was stored under our bed folded in a plastic bag and it was disgusting. Large stains all over it. TV channel offerings are horrible. Slamming doors is a norm on a cruise ships , but hearing carts slamming so hard that walls shake at 1, 2, 3, am in the morning is not. We did't get much sleep on this cruise. Food quality has gone way down hill at Royal the last couple of years, and this Ship kept up with that trend and then some. One of the big reasons you go on a cruise is to eat, right? There was plenty of food at the Windjammer, but quality was pretty bad. The food was overcooked (by a lot) and in many cases items like spaghetti was clumped together dried out and hard. There's more, but I'll stop here and just say, my wife and I are retiring this year and won't let these experiences with Royal Carribean change the fact we plan on cruising a lot during retirement just not with Royal Carribean. We plan to give Norwegian cruises a try again. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the chance to go to Nevis, the sister island to St Kitts. It’s really bigger than we like. As Diamond members, it was especially disappointing. the happy hour was in a dismal room on the 4th deck “Blazes” — we much prefer a lounge where you can view the sunset. Alas, the Allure doesn’t have one. The main dining room was one of the redeeming qualities. Food was good for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our table mates were very enjoyable. One major caveat: Deck 7 dead ends at the rear of the ship. If you use the wrong elevator, you have to go up or down a floor to cross from port to starboard. This ship also used the make a reservation system to spread out the audiences among the various entertainment venues on different nights. This was the first time we encountered this system and had no idea how it worked. Made planning for the week more difficult. The app listed events day by day, when a weekly view would have been so much quicker and relevant. Read Less

Royal Caribbean gave us a wonderful experience for pur firdt time crusing. Getting on the ship extremely fast. I highly recommend people download the app and do early check in because that allows you to skip the long lines and wait times. We arrived and explodered and checked out almost everything. We met amazing people and the crew went beyond expectations for customer service. I feel as though those who complain are a bit high maintenance. Royal Caribbean goes beyond expectations to meet everyones needs. We had ocean view witg balcony. And i highly recommend it. We did the specialty dining everything was good but Giovanni's table. Not the best for a 5 star cruise. Windjammer has awesome lunch and dinner. Skip breakfast not very good there. Overall experience is a 5 star. Shore excursion were fun. Had to cancel last one due to poor weather. They did give a refund which they had automatically applied to our balance. One this i would recommend to save money is to purchase the beverage package. Going to the bar without it can add up quickly. Beer is about 10 dollars. Plus any girly blended drinks are 12 to 14 dollars. Its made a lot more sense to us to get it. Cause it also covers soft drinks, tea, smoothies and etc. Starbucks not included. We did comedy night the 1st night and the guys were funny. And has us laughing the whole time. Only 2 real downsides 1. They allow smoking near skybar. And also in the casino. Even for a large space it got to be a bit much and we had to aviod going to the casino after the 4th night. And 2. I wish they allowed more hot tubs and pools to be open 24 hrs. Most people on this cruise are older and i feel like we wouldnt need supervision. I feel like it would add a lot more romance and fun to those who want to each star gazing in the pools and hot tubs. Read Less

First time on mega ship, and came away very happy. A lot of people, but somehow we hardly encountered any long lines. Lots to do on a ship this size, so we kept busy. Our only issues would be that a few (very few) employees did not put on a happy face. It's as if they do not want to be there, but you can encounter that anywhere you go. My biggest complaint is the they have 12 elevators on each floor, and with that many people, why are not all of them operating at the same time? It appeared that only 6 were working at all times. But if that is my only beef, seems trivial. Foul weather made up most of our 7 days at sea, but you cannot fault Allure for that. Also, kudos to the Captain and Crew for their parking job in Nassau. Quite a feat with the wind and all. Cabin was a bit small, but comfortable. Specialty dining was pretty good, with 150 Central Park being by far our favorite, as we tried 4 of the restaurants. All in all, I would suggest this ship, just be careful of doing so in September. Read Less

My boyfriend and I cruised for a week in the Eastern Caribbean on Allure of the Seas. He was a first-time cruiser, while I've cruised with Royal Caribbean once, many years ago. I knew that RC would be perfect for us as we prefer luxury vacations with an array of activities that still provide the opportunity to relax. The ship is large and well-appointed. We were shocked to learn that it is nine years old! For the most part, it looked brand new! There was normal wear & tear in our stateroom but it was nothing to be upset about. The layout of the ship handles the number of passengers & crew EXTREMELY well. It never once felt like there were over six thousand people on board. The Windjammer did get crowded at peak times but that is to be expected. We spent the majority of our sea days in the Solarium, which is a beautiful adults-only pool area. I wished the pool was just a little bit bigger, but again, it was nothing to be upset about. It has two hot tubs and a bar as well, so you don't need to go far for drinks! For breakfast and lunch, we ate at the Windjammer which was very good. For dinner, we ate exclusively in the main dining room which was absolutely amazing! There are so many speciality dining options as well that I wish we could have explored. Customer service was truly next-level! Our stateroom attendant was so friendly and helpful. The waiters and bartenders were unparalleled. Every crew member always had a smile and was dedicated to making our vacation special. I've never experienced such excellent service! The excursions were great, although a little expensive. We still enjoyed them very much-- Our advice is to always consider the length of the excursions. Our beach excursion in St. Kitt's was 2.5 hours which seemed long enough when we booked it but ended up feeling a bit too short. There was a wide array of activities and entertainment onboard. We only made it to one adult comedy show which we enjoyed! TIP: download the RC app to help you plan your days & reserve shows! Our mistake was underestimating how quickly shows booked. In the morning, we would look at the nightly entertainment and choose what we wanted to do, but most of the time, they were already sold out. I would recommend planning the night before what you want to do the following night. I could write a book about our experience but here's the bottom line: we both agreed it was the best vacation we've ever been on & both want to cruise with RC again, no question! We HIGHLY recommend Allure of the Seas! Read Less

Our family of 3 generations loves to cruise together. This cruise on one of the biggest ships in the world looked like it would be great. First off, if you ever want to see the ocean, book an Oceanview balcony or cabin. The way the ship is designed, few of the bars and /or lounges overlook the ocean. We had two cabins; one an Oceanview veranda, and one a balcony overlooking the Promenade (shops). The way the ship is constructed, most of the inside cabins are sold as balcony, as they overlook "Central Park", the Prominade or the Boardwalk (think Coney Island). Our son and family said they only saw the ocean when they visited our cabin or went up to the Windjammer cafe or the pool. When you are in all the other areas there is no ocean to be seen. Mama Mia was presented in the theatre by a live cast and was fantastic. The water acrobat show was good. There was a Journey tribute band that was the talk of the ship, and not in a good way! Several months after we booked the cruise, about 6 months ago, we were told a propulsion pod was not operating, so the stop in St. Thomas would be cancelled, as the ship had to travel slower with one pod broken. Apparently repairs can't be done until the next scheduled dry dock! St. Thomas was the reason we booked the cruise, so we were disappointed to only have St Kitts, San Juan and Nassau for port stops. (no cancelations based on itinerary changes in the fine print). We were encouraged to use the app. It was never updated correctly. Twice we went to things that had been moved or cancelled with no notice. We bought the wifi package which was so slow our emails could only be accessed in the middle of the night. Once, when we were entering the Solarium cafe, the entrance was blocked by a female supervisor reaming out her staff about something. It made us very uncomfortablel! On other cruises, both Royal and others, the Windjammer buffet is usually open long hours. Not so with the Allure. There is a 24 hr pizza place, but that is about it if you want a snack late at night. The Windjammer closes at 9 pm! I always thought that Royal Caribbean was a little more refined than Carnival, but I guess I was wrong, since Royal now also has Belly Flop contests and Sexiest Man contest. EW... (Is that even Politically correct these days!?) The cruise director was like none other we have ever seen, very unprofessional. Now for the great... the food and service were excellent. Our waiter Marlon and assistant Allan quickly learned our likes and always remembered what we wanted and brought them before we even asked. Our cabin steward Mary Joy was a lovely woman who always checked to see if there was anything she could do for us. Our 5 year old had a blast in "his class", as he called the kids program. We were so happy with the fine people working there. I have tried to be as accurate and informative as possible about our experience on the Allure. Read Less

We booked this cruise last year whilst on Voyager of the Seas in Asia. At that time we were asked if we were celebrating anything special and advised that it would be our 25th wedding anniversary during the cruise. It was our intention to renew our wedding vows onboard and we mentioned this when booking our flights with our Travel Agent. RCI acknowledged this during this second booking contact. However it transpires that this is no longer offered by RCI and to renew your vows, you have to purchase from the Wedding Package range (minimum $5,000) Our main disappointment from this cruise was the complete lack of empathy or customer service when we challenged why RCI ask if you are celebrating something during the cruise and then choose to completely disregard the information provided. The colleague at Guest Services promised a bottle of wine and chocolate dipped strawberries when we advised that Princess Cruises gave us this when celebrating our anniversary with them. We got a bottle of red wine delivered to our cabin (which we gave to our waiters as we don't drink red wine). We are still waiting for our strawberries. We also had an issue with Photo Services due to an error with my wife's Seapass card not showing her Platinum status which affected the discount on our phot package. Even although it was obviously an RCI error, the Photo Services manager would not over-ride the decision on the till to only give one set of discount. No proactive initiative shown by the manager. Anyway on to the rest of the cruise, which was a very pleasant experience. Embarkation was very swift and without incident. We had special assistance booked and my wife had her mobility scooter with her which was a god-send, based on the size of the ship. Only issue with this, was the frequent rudeness of fellow passengers who barged into the lifts despite us being waiting longer. Ship is amazing and didn't feel crowded except first day during embarkation. Cabin was fine and our cabin Steward, Karen, arranged for our scooter to be stored in the hold overnight. No issues and we are pretty low maintenance guests. Food in Windjammer was OK for breakfast (our only meal taken there), but as usual bacon is atrocious and it's disappointing that there is no omelette station. We tended to use Sorrentos for pizzas at lunchtime and Café Promenade which were excellent. MDR was excellent with our Waiting team of Noel, Clifton and Head waiter Tony an absolute credit to RCI. Food was always good and I frequently had two starters with no questions asked. We did not use Specialty restaurants. Bar service was always very good with no issues. Surprised to see Newcastle Brown Ale on draught but good selection of beers and spirits. Entertainment was excellent although didn't see Mama Mia. Aquatheatre show and Ice show were amazing. Band in Dazzles, Great Ideas, were brilliant and could turn their hands to any musical genre. Enjoyed singing with them at the Live Karaoke night. As we had been to all the ports, we did not do port excursions, however I booked a Disembarkation excursion which included a transfer to Miami Airport with some sightseeing and shopping. This was cancelled with the most feeble of excuses (operational reasons), which the Excursions Desk felt was due to hurricane damage to the providers' tour buses!?! As a result, we booked an airport transfer onboard. This was nearly a disaster as all the buses were designated to go to Fort Lauderdale, not Miami. Eventually a gracious (not!) driver advised that he would do us paying passengers a favour by taking us to our airport which we had entered into a contract for anyway. He then refused to take my wife's mobility scooter, due to it's weight. Luckily me and a fellow passenger persuaded him to let us load it! Crazy customer service which cost him any chance of a tip. All in all a great experience, however I do feel RCI need to get a grip on their customer service to give customers a better service when things don't go quite right Read Less

Went for our 1st anniversary. Grouchy workers, we got yelled and snapped at us several times. The specialty restraunts just ignored us and wouldn't open the door. The specialty restraunts are very rude and treated us like we were too poor to be worth their time. We felt discriminated against. We had chunks of old food on our plates and silverware 3 times. I got food poisoning. They tried to scam us out of our non refundable excursion. They said we were an hour late when we had walked straight from our room with the clock we are supposed to go off of and confirmed the time. They tried to do rhe same thing to my brother on another cruise. The customer service was so bad I was in tears. I dont know what happened. I went with royal before and it was ok. We will never go on a royal Caribbean again. Read Less

Well due to the hurricane it was shortened to 4 nights,this was our second time on the ship and the first night I treated myself to the fire and ice pedicure which I never use spas on board due to the price but this time I did and wont again,its expensive and the atmosphere wasnt anything different then a plaza nail salon but no magazines to read,the tech was very nice but it's a sales pitch,they are constantly trying to sell their products,they give you small amounts ts to try and then tell you its 55.00 and 25.00 for gel polish if added.now the room,this was the first time we upgraded to a suite since the ship was empty we got the junior suite well after 3 hours back and forth with customer service and after 12am we actually got the room.It was on 7642 and the hallway smelled like mildew and unfortunately the room did to,now it's a much bigger room and a full size tub,big balcony and a curtain t separate the bed from the couch.the furniture definitely is worn out and we never got to experience the costal dinning because they never answered and we were told it's just dinner,the last night we were told they have a 830 opening,but we had reservations somewhere else,now theres no special anything with the suit which I was disappointed with.This cruise because of the mess from the hurricane I felt like everything was just rushed and wasnt ready for our cruise.The food for vegetarian options wasnt alot this time around,the first day I went to 3 places before I could eat something decent.The only best thing about this 4 night cruise was Giovanni's! This place is amazing and a perfect 10.the only meal that I left so happy afterwards..also a small but annoying thing was I went to the spa and had asked for a small sample of bubble bath for my daughter since we had a tub and wanted to make it nice for her well they said no but I can buy it lol..come on spa stop pushing that experience stuff on people.the family festival was lame and they were doing work on the boardwalk during it..last year we loved our 7 night cruise on allure unfortunately this one was not our favorite and being 4 nights from 7 with one stop wasn't what we hope for but it was nice having a empty ship.now also side note the pineapple was white and hard and yet they kept serving it and even in room service and for 8.00 a fee I'd expect better quality Read Less

We paid for a 7 night cruise on the Allure and due to hurricane Dorian the cruise was shortened to a 4 day cruise. This would not have been an issue if we had been properly compensated for the shortened cruise. Unfortunately not only did Royal Caribbean shorten the cruise but they cheated us by offering on-board credits that did not equal the loss in travel time or loss in ports. Originally the cruise was supposed to include three ports and we paid the port fees and taxes for the 3 ports but because the cruise was shortened we only went to 1 port and we missed out on Jamaica and Haiti. Royal Caribbean credited us only $27 in port fees for the 2 lost ports which was not what we paid. Now I do not understand how they do math but if you divide the expense of the cruise by the length and then subtract out the missing days we should have received a credit for $175 a day times 3 days the cruise was shortened. This was not the case and we were only given a total credit including port fees of $202. We were also told we would receive the unused portion of the on-board credit back as a refund which we are still waiting for and have called their customer service countless times only to be told that it is coming soon. Now with all that out of the way lets review the ship. Due to the shortened cruise the overall experience felt very much like no one cared and every thing was done with minimal effort. I understand the ship was not at full capacity and the crew may have been bored but they definitely showed they had little to no interest in making the cruise enjoyable. Everything on the cruise closed early and no matter what time of day it was we were hard pressed to find something to do. Everything seemed to have an extra cost associated with it and anything that was supposed to be free or unlimited closed before you could enjoy it. The unlimited ice cream closed at 6pm and only the paid ice cream shops were open. The hot dog shop was always closed and after 3 days of attempting to get a hot dog I finally did get one on the last day but i had to do it right before going to dinner. The unlimited pizza was terrible and on more than one occasion they were closed. The shows were always at inconvenient times and we missed several of them due to dinner times or conflicting times with other shows and everything on the entire ship seemed to close by 10pm which left us playing cards most nights just for something to do. This was by far the worst experience I have ever had and I will never sail with Royal Caribbean again. If you want to enjoy your cruise go with Carnival. Read Less

This was one of the sails that was shorten due to hurricane Dorian. We were bummed but we completely understood it had to be done for everyone's safety. After much discussion my husband and I decided not to cancel our trip and let me tell you, I am very glad we saw it through. Though we couldn’t go to Haiti or Jamaica, Cozumel, Mexico was still an outstanding experience! We did two excursions: one was a semi-sub where we saw various fish including barracudas and rays and the another was the Jose’ Cuervo Experience where we learned proper tequila tasting techniques and how to make margaritas. We probably spent way too much money there but it was fun and worth it. As far as the ship, there was plenty to do and places to go, like the pools, hot tubs, indoor park, casino, etc. There were also amazing shows like Ocean Aria and Blue Planet! I loved eating at the Windjammer and we even took our food up to our ocean-view balcony one morning. The main dining places were great too with an array of choices and unlimited supply. The waiting staff couldn’t have been better. They all were so personable and remembered our names after only one day. We requested the same seating area the rest of the nights because of it. Same with room cleaning and the bartenders. Outstanding service! This brings me to my one complaint. During dinner for the first three nights they had taken several photos of me and my husband. The photographers worked very quickly so every time we had tried to ask how to get our photos they were already at another table. “Oh well,” we thought. Maybe some photo previews or at least a flyer on how to purchase them will be sent to our room, we had reasoned. On our last night we had planned to ask before they took our photos again, only there were no photographers there that time. Hindsight, we should have gone to guest services but foolishly we assumed at that point that we would get an email about the photos. We’ve now come to find out that there is no way to purchase photos post cruise which is extremely disappointing considering we were celebrating five years married. We accept some fault but it would have been nice and less confusing to have been notified how to purchase our photos by one of the photographers. This is only our second cruise and our first was with Carnival. We didn’t like Carnival nearly as much as RC but at least they had no problem informing us during dinner how to purchase our photos. Overall, this was a great cruise and due to the graciousness of the company, we now have extra money saved from our remaining three days that were canceled as well as some credit towards a future cruise. Allure of the Seas is definitely a ship I would consider again. Read Less

Booking a cruise during hurricane season, one would have to understand that there may be changes to itineraries. Our Itinerary was changed the day before sailing from Fort Lauderdale from Eastern Caribbean to the Western Caribbean due to the impending tropical storm in the Eastern Caribbean. On the fourth night of our seven day cruise, we were told that our cruise would be extended 3 days due to the Tropical Storm being upgraded to a Hurricane. Royal Caribbean was right on top of the situation. Never once, did we feel uninformed or in any way in danger. We were confident that they had our safety and comfort at the forefront. Staff was eager to help - questions were answered politely and completely, and assistance was offered so that guests could contact family and airlines to change travel arrangements. Our bed was very comfortable. Television stations were very limited. Luckily we had access to the weather channel, but no movies were available without a fee. Didn't miss it, as there was so much entertainment around the ship. More about that later. There are no outlets for our phone chargers near our bed, so charging our phone at the desk was a little inconvenient. My husband and I used the gym quite a bit. Plenty of equipment of all kinds available with no wait. Walking and jogging track was nice - chairs around the track overlooking the ocean gave us a nice rest. We ate in the dining room most nights, food was good, but not exceptional. Our waiter and his assistant were very, very attentive. I left a lot on my plate one evening and our waiter insisted that he bring me something else. I realize that this is normally done, but his attitude made me feel as though he really wanted me to be satisfied, and I was. The dining room service is exceptional. We have been on seven cruises, and we rate Royal Caribbean the best in this category. Buffet layout was awesome. No lines or crowds as there were stations with different foods. Again, service was exceptional in the buffet. Cheerful, warm staff were eager to help us find a table and bring us beverages without a long wait. The entertainment on this ship was absolutely wonderful. Mama Mia was presented, a show no one should miss! The talent among these singers and dancers is extraordinary. We had two comedy shows, one adult and one family oriented. We enjoyed each one immensely. Diving show was great. A word about the cruise director - he was professional, informative and entertaining without drawing attention to himself. Some of the cruise directors we have come in contact with in the past, seem to make it "all about themselves".. he was a gem. Royal Caribbean is lucky to have him! We could find music and dancing every evening to fit our tastes. Part of the exemplary entertainment aboard the Allure. A huge ship, never felt crowed, could find peace and quiet if we wanted. Pool area had plenty of lounge chairs, and a the "adults only" area was a nice change. No children running around or in the hot tubs there! We noticed, however, a great children's pool area. The atmosphere was one of pure enjoyment at every turn. A great ship, and an even greater cruise. My husband and I look forward to sailing on the Allure again. We highly recommend it!! Read Less

We were there under bad circumstances! Hurricane Dorian was hitting the ports we were to go to. We were going to the Bahamas. Of course Dorian was to hit there. Our Captain informed us immediately our ports had been changed! I was so thankful that he did! As a matter of fact we had wonderful weather the whole time. There were people upset! I couldn't understand why they would be upset. Did they want to go through a hurricane? Then when the Captain told us we were going from a 7 day cruise to a 10 day cruise. We were so pleased, but lots of people were upset. I want to thank the Captain for saving us from a hurricane. He gave us a great cruise without bad weather! We didn't have to pay anything extra for the 3 days of the beverage package or for the tips. But the crew was absolutely fantastic, so we did the tips. Mimi and Ibrahim were our Waiter and assistant in the dining room. They went above and beyond in taking care of us. They became our friends! Arlene in the English pub was great! Our cabin Stewart, Abu was fantastic! Read Less

2nd time on Allure. Amazing ship with lots to do for kids. Chops was great, the food in the main dining room was great too and service was superb. Don’t miss the hotdogs on boardwalk, worth the calories. Rarely felt crowded even though over 6000 passengers were sailing. Don’t forget to try ice skating and zip line. Flow rider is great but gets crowded on sea days. All the shows were fun. Because of Dorian, our cruise was extended by 3 days. Captain kept us updated at all times and the fun never stopped. Our beverage package and internet was extended free of charge. My only complaint is that I felt our room was not getting cold enough, we spoke to our steward and his supervisor came down to talk to us and reassured us that it was on maximum cool. It’s moving to Europe after the upcoming refurbishment. We may try it again then. Read Less

This was our 4th cruise on Allure of the Sea's... Arrived at the port at 10:30 and on board the ship by 11 very easy no issue. We went to the Park Cafe in central park and that is where we realized our itinerary was changed to different ports. We were never told about the change until much later in the day. After 27 cruises we were fine with the changes and RCI refunded our shore excursion money right to our sea pass accounts no problem with that. Hurricane Dorian had a different agenda in mind for us!! Our 7 day cruise turned into a 10 day cruise. We visited 5 ports of call and RCI gave us the extra 3 days for free. New entertainment was brought on board, I have to say they really kept us safe and well fed!! Our captain kept the guests up-dated , we sailed in calm and beautiful waters. !. Food.. very good in dining room (had my time dining) If you go around 6 or 6:15 no wait after that we came out to see very long lines. Windhjammer ok, we prefer main dining room for breakfast nicer atmosphere a lot less congested, no wait ever. 2. Balcony room deck 9 , Phillip our cabin steward kept the room perfect! He was our favorite and we gave him a nice tip at the end. 3. Entertainment... Great, ice show, diving show, blue planet , headliner, comedian's (hilarious).. Tony Tillman was our headliner, very good!! 4. Costa Maya beautiful port , we took the tram to the beach (4.00 each) and it was terrible!!! Smelled of rotting sea weed or dead fish... gross. We left after an hour . There is NO beach just rocks and piles of seaweed do not go... Lots of little huts selling junk. Save your money stay around the port.Nice pool, shopping.... Nice cruise a little longer than we planned, but Royal Caribbean stepped up and kept us all safe.. You can't control mother nature( even though some guests were complaining ) We looked at it as a little extra vacay time and enjoyed it. can't wait until next cruise! Read Less

My wife, daughter, and I went on a 7-night cruise from Ft Lauderdale to St Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Labadee Haiti in August 2019. I could write a small book on our stay, but I'll try to keep it as short as possible but provide the important highlights. Onboarding was fantastic, it was extremely efficient and we had about 3 hours to roam the ship before we set sail. Disembarkment on the other hand was a bit confusing. Not clear on where luggage was, if either on or off the ship. Then I found out when they scanned my card to leave that I had to go to guest services to settle my account. It would have been convenient to find that out an hour or two earlier. It was due to the card used to book the trip not being valid because it was replaced a few months later due to a compromise. It would have been nice to know this up front on day 1. Then the credit card processing system was down so the customer service agent had to call in the transaction. Just terrible! Our interior cabin was surprisingly spacious including the bathroom and shower. Sleep quality not very good, though, as the bed was too hard as was the sofa bed. The room was very clean and staff was mostly excellent, but he didn’t do the best job every day to wipe down the bathroom thoroughly. We saw all the available shows and they were incredible! Broadway quality all around, just unbelievable talent, whether it was singing, dancing, skating, diving, acrobatics, etc. Be sure to reserve the shows ahead of time and arrive early to get a good seat. The pools and whirlpools are an absolute joke, they are more like sardine cans for people. The flow rider, though, was a lot of fun, and surprisingly it was not very crowded the few times we went. There aren’t a tremendous number of fun things for kids to do on the ship, and it can get boring for them after a few days, as was the case with my teenage daughter. She did join the teens club, though, and made a lot of friends to spend time with during the week. The ship itself is a sight to behold. It really is an amazing engineering marvel and work of art. The deck 16 solarium is the absolute best place to find a quiet place outside to read or relax. Nice breeze, shaded, and was never very hot during the day. Deck 15 is where one of the smoking sections is, and it was wretched having to walk through the area. The casino is another spot where smoking is allowed, on one side of it, and its smoky, musty smell actually permeates the fitness center. This is why we didn’t bother using the fitness center because it smelled terrible. Just a horrible design flaw to have the casino air mixing with air used to workout. Bingo was a joke. Very annoying setup and you were not told you couldn’t rip the cards of 6 in half until it started and not when purchasing the tickets, so ours were not valid. Totally stupid because the same serial number appeared in each card. The library is nice but very tiny for a huge ship. More quiet places are needed on the ship, in my opinion. By the end of the week you get really tired of all the noise and constant flow of people. The food on the ship in the dining rooms was incredible, as was the service. We ate at the American Icon Grill for dinner on 5 of the 7 nights, and it was superb. Shinta and Valentina, our waiter and assistant waiter, were friendly and helpful, providing some of the best service I have ever received on a cruise. I even tipped them $100 on top of the normal prepaid tips we paid for the trip. Some of the fabulous meals we enjoyed included parmesan-crusted salmon, broiled cod, potato garlic soup, spaghetti bolognese, NY strip steak, Moroccan tuna, Jerk chicken, lobster, crème brulee, cheesecake, chocolate cake, and apple pie from heaven. We didn’t try any of the specialty restaurants, as they can be quite pricey, but we enjoyed the formal dining so much we didn’t think it was necessary. For breakfast, lunch, and the usual overeating that occurs on a cruise, we either ate at one of the buffets or quick bite places. The Solarium Bistro provides beautiful views and layout directly at the front of the ship with a wonderful breakfast offering many healthier options when compared to the other buffet places. But the single line of people is a horrible idea because half the people don’t know how to simply scoop food and go. The Windjammer Marketplace Café line, however, moved much faster because there are numerous serving stations and not just a single queue. Park Café is a great place to hang out in Central Park, with a nice selection of sandwiches and small items. Sorrento’s Pizza was a frequent visit for my daughter and me, but the pizza is very average, kind of generic actually. But it’s open late until 2am most days, so you can’t beat it for the convenience, and it’s on the Promenade Deck, which was my favorite indoor area, with Central Park being my favorite open area. The boardwalk area has a hot dog place and donut place, and both were very forgettable. The donuts were always stale, so don’t even bother. And the last food place to mention is the Wipeout Café, which is named appropriately, as it’s a total disaster. Just a bunch of savages leaving a mess all over the café and surrounding area, and it’s nothing but fried food and junk food, so it’s a total bust unless you’re a teenager who doesn’t mind noise, chaos, and horrible food. We didn’t do any excursions, but we did get off at all three stops on the cruise. St Maarten was a decent experience because the beach is close to the ship and we had about 6 hours with time to spare. $7 gets you a round trip water taxi ride to the beach, and for $20 you can get an umbrella with 2 chairs from Cornie’s Beach Bar, with WiFi. We stayed about 3.5 hours on the beach then grabbed lunch at Burger Madness, a divey place on the beach. Front Street was real dumpy and disappointing, very beat up from a hurricane a couple years ago. Just spent an hour there and bought a few T-shirts before heading back to the ship. Puerto Rico was actually my favorite stop, even though we only had about 4 hours to enjoy it. We walked around and caught a few great sights, covering about 2 miles in that short time. Café Cuatro Sombras served up some of the best coffee of my life, then we walked around before visiting San Juan Bautista Cathedral and Puerta de San Juan. Senor Paleta finished up the day with a sweet treat, some really interesting popsicle delights. Labadee, Haiti was better than expected after reading some negative reviews, as it was clean and pretty, with plenty of free lounge chairs and clean bathrooms, except for one. We didn’t bother with the outdoor market, as numerous people warned of the potential scams going on. It was way too crowded in the water at one point, and some people were smoking all over even though it’s designated areas only. The sand is soft but there were quite a bit of small rocks on some of the beaches. The beach on the inlet side was my favorite, with very calm waters, soft sand, but it got a bit crowded in the afternoon. The beaches on the other side were nice but it was much windier with less shade and the water was loaded with seaweed. The food was terrible and I hardly ate anything and waited until we got back on the ship. Hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, fruit, salad, and it was tolerable for this type of venue but nothing to write home about. Overall, I really loved this cruise but there were enough negatives to only give it 4 stars. Besides the few things I mentioned already, there are just entirely too many people on a ship this large, and the worst of humanity gets gloriously magnified. By the end of the week we’ve had it with the large crowds with bad manners, negligent hygiene, and terrible perfume and cologne, as well as the constant noise throughout the week. We’ve cruised a few times before, but never on such a large ship, so I think we’ll stick to the mid-size ships from now on. The Allure of the Seas is an amazing ship and I’m glad we finally took this cruise, but it’s probably one-and-done for me. Read Less

huge ship with expected crowds at pools and even dining..even closed buffet dining until crowds had moved thru ...rooms at capacity. Our table assignment was changed after first evening in main dining room..confusing to say the least. First night was a cattle call .. some service personnel obviously not happy to be there..or we were ignored by waiters by pool and in other areas. This occurred mainly at breakfast venue and at poolside during sea days. in casino was given counterfeit bill by casino cashier,and when I complained later to corporate..was given a call back from some underling who apologized and proceeded to read me their protocol procedures. Experience was extremely upsetting..and dangerous...as this is a criminal offense. The on ship episode was handled poorly... some requests when booking not followed through. Royal Caribbean has been a favorite..but never again on this ship. on the positive side.. wonderful cabin..incredible entertainment ..and cabin attendant one of the best...as was our dining room waiter. Read Less

We went on Royal Caribbean cruise for our Honeymoon! Song of Norway, 1989 and have not been anywhere in long time! My children and brother and his family all went on this trip! It was great! I still keep thinking about it!! To embark and disembark very smooth! No problems! Ship great ,cabins great! 5:15pm Dining and that was honestly the highlight of the trip! Waiters were awesome!! Food amazing!! We did not want to go to a specialty restaurant because this food was fantastic!! Disappointments … we had the coca cola package and the cups rarely worked and there were certainly not enough coke machines for a boat that size! Also I paid $35.oo x4 for a Prohibition night! It was lame!! band was good but not sure what we got for $140 except some real sweet drinks ! Also , The land and sea excursion in Puerto Rico was boring and I could have seen more if I had gone out on my own!! Recently both my parents have passed and my brother and I wanted to do the bingo thing in honor of our mother! It was expensive!! $60 and we played 3 games! That was ridiculous! There should have been more games and more prizes for that kind of money! Yea, one prize was a cruise but I didn't know I was basically handing my money over to them!! It was rinky dink and disappointing and the guy who called numbers was making a lot of sexual innuendo that was inappropriate!! Mamma Mia show was great along with the comedians and the diving show. All Fantastic!! OVERALL THIS WAS AN ABSOLUTE DREAM VACATION! OUR FAMILIES LOVED AND WE WILL DO A CRUISE AGAIN!! Read Less

I have been on 85 cruises and I wanted to try a mega ship. What a mistake. From the moment I booked this cruise I felt like I was being hustled. I received emails informing me that I had to book my dinner reservations I had to book all my shows and I was given very unpleasant times with no choice in the matter . I also received several emails asking me to upgrade buying dining packages eating at restaurants and buying beverage packages and they just kept coming. Even at this early stage if I wouldn’t of paid in full I would’ve canceled the ship as I did read reviews and they weren’t very good. First of all the food is cold and second rate food they do not have good quality meat, fish chicken or pork. Everything is overcooked dry and tough. Most of them hidden with batter. When eating your dinner they come along and try and sell you a package to eat in their 12 private restaurants with no regard whether you’re eating or not. They hustle drink packages all along the boardwalk and every entrance throughout the ship. This ship should be renamed hustler of the seas. We joined the spa to use the steam room and they even added an 18% tip on top of that just to use the steam room and only 4 lounge chairs for 6500 people ruin the spa. We have never witnessed so many unhappy and dissatisfied passengers on any ship as this one. This ship has zero security they all hide. This ship is geared for mainly miss behaved children. We were in room 10 612 and it was very small for a balcony room but we had a great room steward. The drinks on the ship cost more than any other ship we’ve been on. We purchased a martini and a Cosmo and that bill was $31 for those two drinks. We were not interested in the drink package as people were complaining there was no liquor in their drinks. The shows were OK. The wipeout café is the only restaurant where you can get a omelette made. The wind jammer has repetitive food every day and some of it’s left over from last nights dinner. The solarium restaurant was nice but repetitive food again also cold. There is hardly enough entertainment and when there is they have five things going on at the same time. We were told that between passengers and crew there over 9000 people on board. It did not feel like a cruise it felt like a floating mall full of used car salesman. The staff is friendly but they’re trying to sell on a nonstop basis. On formal night I was in my tuxedo and next to me was a man with his T-shirt shorts and flip-flops eating dinner and that was acceptable on that ship. If you like to cruise for the art of cruising stay away from this ship you will definitely regret it. Read Less

This was our (a couple in early 50s) first cruise ever. Embarkation from Fort Lauderdale was quick and painless. If you use ride sharing to get to the port, I would advise against using Uber, they charge per minute and wait times can be long. Lyft has a flat fee per distance. I used the Royal Caribbean app to check in, and it gave us expedited boarding. RCL will give you a check in time but they don't enforce it. We showed up at the terminal around 10am, and were on the ship by 11am. We didn't realize that it would take so long to get our luggage -- we didn't get ours delivered until after 5pm on the embarkation day. Allure of the Seas is enormous, so even with 6000+ passengers, it never felt overwhelmingly crowded. Also, because the size of the ship, it did not rock or sway at all -- if you're worried about getting seasick, this is the boat for you. There are four large elevator banks and we never had to wait for a ride more than a few minutes. There are tons of secluded spots you can escape from the crowds. Our favorite was the stern part of the jogging track where there are some deck chairs and hardly any people. Service was prompt and courteous, but I got irked by the constant upselling of extra services. We couldn't finish a meal without a crew member trying to sell us the specialty dining package. We learned to tell them that we already have it, and it at least made them go away. The line to get to the Guest Service Desk on Deck 5 was ridiculous for the first two days. As the crew was mostly from East Asia and the Eastern Europe, some of them had really strong accents that made communication a challenge at times (not for the lack of effort, though, everyone did their absolute best). Also, the guests are from many different nationalities, and the concept of manners (or lack thereof) is different in other cultures. There are plenty of places to eat on the Allure, but finding out out what's open at any given time was a hassle. Even the 24/7 Cafe Promenade had sometimes pastries, sometimes sandwiches, and I could never figure out why. We went to the Windjammer Marketplace once for lunch and once for dinner and didn't enjoy either time much. Way too many people milling around and the layout was confusing. My travel partner saw a lady drop a spaghetti ladle to the floor and put it back into the sauce... blech. We mostly ate breakfast and lunch at the Solarium Bistro, which was never all that crowded and there was always a good selection of healthy foods. We chose the traditional dinner and enjoyed our table company a lot. Service was impeccable and the food ranged from quite decent to excellent. They would readily let us sample as many of the dishes as we wanted. One thing that concerned me was that hand sanitizer dispensers everywhere run out of soap towards the end of the cruise, and nobody was refilling them. We had the prepaid Refresh Drink Package which was a waste of money. There are only three soda machines on the ship, one on Deck 5 and two at the Windjammer Marketplace, and both are in the most crowded areas of the ship. We should've just taken our own bottles and filled them with free water and juices from the restaurants, and pay for an occasional few specialty drinks. Some of the specialty coffees and teas were okay but you can drink only so much Iced Chai Latte. We learned on the last day of our trip that shakes and malts at Johnny Rocket's are included in the Refresh Package! Another disappointment was the VOOM Internet. I got the "Surf & Stream" package, which was more like "Wait & Scream" package. Probably fast enough to check email, but I couldn't even pull up a YouTube video most times. Our cruise had only three stops, St Maarten, San Juan and Labadee. The day on St Maarten was outstanding, we joined a scooter/ATV tour by a local outfit called "ATV Island" and those guys were tremendous, I heartily recommend them. San Juan was a disappointment because the shore time was from 7am to 1pm, and most places didn't open until 9am. Labadee is just a cash cow for RCL, unless you want to join an overpriced shore excursion, there's not much there to do. We didn't even leave the ship. The entertainment crew on board was top notch. "Mamma Mia" was a super performance, and "Blue Planet" was quite enjoyable. They had karaoke every night and some surprisingly funny game shows we went to. There were quite good live bands every night as well. We avoided the Casino area because it reeked of stale cigarette smoke. We didn't spend a lot of time at the pools, but there were always available chairs. The music at the pool deck was blasting too loud for us, though. Overall, in spite of the negatives it was a fun and relaxing week on board the Allure. We wouldn't mind going back to Royal Caribbean, but will probably sample another cruise line next. Read Less

I had high expectations as I heard and read lots of raving reviews on this boat. Here’s a summary of our experience. Service was awful. Too many people on board. Lines were long. Dining staff completely disorganized. We had anytime dining and on one night it was a 1-2 hour wait to eat. In the buffet for dinner one night, a kid took a topping spoon at the sundae station, put the spoon in his mouth to taste the topping and put it back in the serving dish. Employee thought it was hilarious...I literally walked behind the buffet counter to remove the spoon and tray and expressed how disgusting it was that he wasn’t even going to remove the item from the topping station even though a kid just slobbered in it. Needed some credit adjustments on my folio for some refunds I was owed...spent 4 days trying to get that done and still not resolved and I’m already back home. Food wasn’t great. We grew tired of the staff continuously trying to force specialty restaurants and other up charge items to us. All they cared about was selling and selling. In addition, we also grew Tired of the staff trying to make us give them perfect 10s on the guest satisfaction survey so their respective departments won’t get in trouble. In April, I received an email that one of the ship’s engines wasn’t working so the itinerary was adjusted. Sailing was just this past week in August. We spent more time at sea than we did in ports. The ship was moving at a snail’s pace but when it needed to pick up speed to get to the next port all of a sudden the boat picked up speed with enough time to get to destination. At 10:30 pm Saturday night, we were almost back in fort lauderale so all this of “an engine not working and needing to adjust the itinerary for more time to get to ports” is a lie. Overall, very disappointed in Royal. I’ve been on 15+ cruises on many different cruise lines and Royal ranks near the bottom of my experiences. Read Less

We'd been on a Royal Caribbean cruise before and had a great time, but this trip we walked away with a few disappointments. If you want to lounge in the pool on sea days, then maybe the Allure isn't for you. Because of the open Central Park in the center of the ship, all the pools on board are quite small. During sea days when everyone is on board, the pools feel more like sardine cans with everyone crammed in and they were not at all enticing. We are foodies, so we were excited about all the dining opportunities on the Allure. But my husband needs to eat gluten free, and that ended up being a pretty big problem. We filled out the special needs form ahead of our trip, and we were advised that we could just inform our servers and we'd be fine. However, we walked away with the impression that most of the staff on the ship had no clue what was and wasn't gluten free. There were a few meals my husband ate that should've been gluten free, and his body told him they were not. There was even an instance at Coastal Kitchen where an appetizer was marked gluten free on the menu, and our server came back to use and said the chef told her that item was not gluten free. It's marked as such on THEIR MENU! Those issues aside, if you have any sort of dietary restriction, I'd think twice about this ship. Even though there are multiple restaurants on board, the gluten free offerings were suspiciously the same for the most part (aka, shrimp cocktail as an appetizer and chicken with a thyme sauce for an entree). That brings me to the beverages. If you order the same drink from three different bartenders, you'll walk away with three different beverages. The drink-making quality was very hit and miss. There were even times when I ordered a basic drink (ex, a mojito) and I couldn't even drink it it was so bad. Had I not had the all-inclusive drink package, I would've been upset and demanded they make me another one. My best advice — find a bartender you like early in the week and make him or her your bud. Our best bud was Charlie in the Schooner Bar. That bar had a wide variety of liquor and mixer options, plus bitters and other traditional bar ingredients. My husband works in the restaurant industry, so we know how to make good, classic drinks. With Charlie, we were able to explain what we wanted, and would make it exactly that way. One thing the Royal staff has going for them is their customer service. Across the board, everyone on the ship was friendly and courteous. The ship is also very clean and has a lot to explore. Our 12-year-old had a great time with all the teen activities and enjoyed being able to run around the ship with her new friends. The one caveat I'll give to other parents is make sure your children understand what's included on the ship and what costs money. For example, our daughter went to the arcade one evening with friends and racked up a $50 arcade bill by swiping her SeaPass. She knew she was spending some money, but as a kid she didn't exactly keep track of how much. Royal Caribbean has an app that's very helpful to keep track of your spending on board. It also allows you to message with other guests *without* having to pay for VOOM (their on-board internet). One note for parents with their app, children 12 years old and younger are *not* allowed to use the messaging portion of their app. Our daughter could see the events schedule and add things to the calendar, but she couldn't use the messaging feature. I understand the security concerns Royal has with young kids being able to chat anyone on board. But I feel like they should adjust their app permissions to allow kids under 12 to at least message with the other people in their stateroom. I ended up signing into my account on our daughter's phone so she could message us while on board (since my husband and I were together most of the time). One other piece of advice, be sure you *always* get a receipt. Whether it's an onboard charge, or when you check liquor purchases you make at port. One the last night, our liquor purchases were delivered to our room, but three bottles we purchase in Cozumel were missing. Luckily our stateroom attendant was right down the hall, so we flagged her and let her know. Within 30 min, she had found our bottles and had them in our room. The staff at the port had marked them with the wrong room number. Without our attendant, Lovelace, I'm not sure we would've have ever gotten those bottles! (and the staff at the port didn't give us a receipt for them when we checked back in to get on the ship... so we might have been S.O.L.) The onboard entertainment was pretty good. The Mama Mia cast was wonderful, and we even hung out with some of them a bit while they enjoyed some time off at one of the bars on the ship. However, I will say the ice skating show was the least exciting, and I love ice skating typically. We just felt the quality of the performance didn't match the other shows on the ship. And finally, we're not super experienced cruisers, so maybe this is typical for the industry — but I did feel like we were nickel-and-dimed on board. This is especially true for their private ports, like ours in Labadee, Haiti. Just about everything at the port costs money. An hour at their blow-up beach park? $20 each. One ride on the roller coaster? $27 each. But it also happened plenty of places on the ship. For example, they have a popcorn station on the deck with the two main theaters, but the small carton of popcorn costs $2.50. Seriously? After all the money everyone has paid to get on the ship, you can't include some simple popcorn in the cost?!? Come on, now. And as I mentioned earlier, people with kids who have their own SeaPass cards need to be sure their kids know what is and is not included! Read Less

This cruise was a honeymoon gift from my in-laws. The first issue we had was with my husband's luggage. The airport temporarily lost his suitcase, but then notified us that it was still in the airport. We had already embarked early and had several more hours before departure. My husband went to the customer service desk and offered to just get a taxi and get the luggage himself. The lady at the counter, Ann, offered to send someone from the ship to retrieve his luggage for him. Later that evening, after about 3 hours out to sea, my husband had not received his luggage. He went to customer service and a different person was at the desk and informed us that they are not allowed to go to the airport to get luggage and that we were never offered that service. So there are those lies and horrible service. Fast forward to the day of disembarkment. I was covered in bug bites. All over my legs, arms, hands, shoulders, and even some on my face. I noticed a bite or two early on during the cruise and didn't think much of it. Each day more appeared. By the last day, I was covered in bites. Since I had WiFi on that day, I googled possible causes and realized these were bed bug bites!!!! I went to the doctor the very next morning and got verification that they were indeed from BED BUGS. My father-in-law immediately filled out a report with Royal Caribbean that was never addressed. They completely ignored the report. At this point in time, my in-laws have been completely ignored when informing the cruise line and travel agent Vacationstogo about this disgusting issue. My mother-in-law called to check on the report that was filed and she was met with a rude lady named Paulie who made up all sorts of crazy scenarios as to where the bites could have come from and harshly stated, "There will be no compensation for this, we are not responsible." This issue was recently emailed to Royal Caribbeans Crown and Anchor. There was a response that they were looking into it, but now two weeks later.....NOTHING. She emailed them again asking why they are ignoring such a serious issue. People pay THOUSANDS of dollars for a luxury cruise and this is NOT acceptable. Not to mention the inconvenience of not having your luggage all week when we were more than willing to just go and get it ourselves. Keep in mind the bed bugs can and will travel with people. Once home, we had to wash everything in hot water and place the luggage in the hot sun. Also, my husband still doesn't have his luggage. Apparently it was sent to different ports we were visiting during the cruise in an effort of the airport to get it to us. It is completely lost at this point. Read Less

We normally do Celebrity cruises, but this time was all about my 13 year old son and making sure there was enough fun for him. So we went on Royal Caribbean and were very pleased. Here is a comprehensive review: Cabin - we were two people in a balcony cabin - plenty of storage space, shower was great, no signs of wear, bed was very comfortable. We had another cabin with a balcony facing the inside boardwalk which was a refreshing change of pace. Beware though, because it does get loud. Dining - dinner in the dining room was consistently good. I am vegan and the options were wonderful and delicious. People who had the lobster and steak raved. We had breakfast in the dining room a few times as well and were pleased with the choices. Yes breakfast is what you get at Windjammer, but you can customize and get made to order omelets so that's nice. Pastries are not great, but that's a good thing because I didn't need a daily tempting of a bread basket. Waffles are a winner. Embarkation and Disembarkation - both easy peasy with no complaints.They have it down to a science Activities and Entertainment: varied and really fun - you can't be bored here - kids loved the flow rider and the sushi making class. Something for everyone. Just walking around and meeting people is exciting. Casino though is lackluster. Not a lot of activity, but that might be the makeup of the people of the ship. It wasn't lively at all. Other than that, lots of fun things to do. One thing to remember: there are no water slides on this ship. That's important to some families, so please take note. Fitness: the fitness center had plenty of machines and things to do. The running track is in a great location. On Celebrity the track is up high and very windy so this was a nice change having it on Deck 5 (I think Deck 5). Public rooms: All the public areas are lovely and we enjoyed the many different bars and dance areas. Everything was well kept. We never felt we were stepping into someone else's mess or anything. Shore excursions - we didn't do any. Service - This I will say overall is meh. On Celebrity the service is stellar. You never felt like people were tired otherwise put upon. On Royal Caribbean, many of the crew seemed overwhelmed and impatient. I chalked it up to taking a step down in service, so I understood. Value for the Money - Here is what Royal Caribbean does: everything is extra. It's not a good feeling. I might be paying more on Celebrity, but I don't want to feel like I am. I feel like there are gimmes and gotchas everywhere. We had beverage packages, which make you feel less like that, but if I still really noticed it, then Royal Caribbean has to step up and start including some things in the price, even if they increase the cost just so you aren't constantly taking out your charge card. Side Note: People were complaining on Cruise Critic that there were too many people. Our ship was sold out, and I didn''t feel there were too many people. We are usually on Celebrity which are much smaller ships, but we didn't feel bombarded at all when there was nearly twice the people aboard. Also, regarding feel of the ship, my daughter usually requires dramamine for her experience, but because the ship is so big and well designed, there was minimal swaying and she didn't need dramamine at all. Overall: We would sail Royal Caribbean again. It was a different experience than we were accustomed, but it was a different kind of trip. If you want lots to do, do the Allure. Read Less

This ship does not live-up to the hype. Fool me once, shame on you..etc.. Too crowded, no one goes there anymore..as Yogi might say. Rub a dub...shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow in the pools. Never, in all our years of crusing (i.e. living in So. FL) like the Army have we hurried up and wait(ed) on line to get into the Windjammer buffet. Never before have we experienced a main cruise cafe to find it closed. Ah yes, the food, mediocre at best. Sorry as hell to write this, but too many fails. Casino and arcade, a joke, machines that don't work, except to take your money. Happily we had a wonderful dinner wait staff..waiter, pleasant, amiable man from India, head waiter from DR was friendly and gracious, assistant waiter as well...helped to save the day. Then again, the bar menu on our table listed a cocktail (Viking Crown) at one price but we were charged double the price because "It was an old menu." Of all the cruises we have taken, I'm sorry to say that this one is at the bottom of the list. I can list many more fails but at the risk of sounding like an old biddy, I'll stop here. Great ship for rock climbing, zip lining and Flow Rider surfing. Read Less