We arrived at the pier around 11:45 AM, and were somewhat surprised to find that quite a few travelers were there ahead of us -- we thought we would be a bit early, and we wanted to be early, because we had not booked our shows in advance. RCL allows you to book the shows on line, but since we usually make plans at the last minute, the shows always show 'full' when you try to book them on line. Plus it is a pain to book on line, as you go through all the steps only to find the show is full, and then you have to start over from scratch. RCL needs to streamline this a little more.

Boarding was very easy to do - they have optimized the check-in procedures and even if there is a small line, it moves very quickly. You drop your luggage curbside, and a porter loads it onto a cart and it is delivered to your room, as on all cruise ships we have ever taken. Then you park your car -- the Allure uses the outside lot which is very convenient -- only about a 100 yard walk from our car to the check-in entrance. You then go through the radar (which was actually on this time -- a lot of people were rejected and had to be hand-checked with a wand). You then queue up at the registration desk, which is divided by cabin number and cruiser type (frequent cruisers have their own stations). Once the clerk has confirmed that you have the proper documentation and that your credit card is OK, you advance to the photography stations and then walk up the escalators and go on board ship.

We had a balcony on floor 6, which we really liked. The cruise lines like to make you think that an identical cabin on a higher floor is an upgrade, but we disagree. We like having everything convenient, meaning we rarely have to use the elevators (which move quickly, but never quickly enough it seems). Floor six has the Boardwalk and photo station, as well as the Diamond lounge for frequent cruisers. Perfect for us. And it is only one flight down to the Promenade and to our restaurant. Read more