Allure of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Let me first say that we have cruised out of every cruise port in Florida on alomost every cruise line and I have to say that the embarkation from Port Everglades on this ship was one of the smoothest we have ever encountered. That does not mean that there were not lines inside the terminal, but that things flowed quickly and efficiently. The staggered boarding times probably helped with this process. Also, with boarding after 2pm (as we did) our staterooms were all ready and our bags quickly arrived and put in our cabin by our cabin steward while we explored the ship and searched out the best places to grab a drink and a snack. I would suggest ignoring the urge to be one of the first to board the ship and either enjoy Fort Lauderdale in the morning or start your journey from your home distination a little later in the morning (in our case about a 3 hour drive).
As a family traveling with two boys (18 & 9) we found that this ship provided lots of options for everyone. Although it is a large ship with lots of passengers, other than dining in the Windjammer buffet and the New Years party on the Royal Promenade, things were not what I would call "overly crowded". On the first couple of sea days the pool decks were near capacity with sunbathers but chairs were still available. There were some lines at the Flowrider, Zipline and on the Sports Court, but about what you would expect on any other cruise line.
The "Neighborhoods" provided lots of different options during the day.
Cabin Review
Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Large Balcony
Balcony Stateroom (7200)Cabin is little smaller than most other Superior Balcony staterooms on other ships we have been on, but not by much. Overall, the cabin functions efficiently. Although this cabin did not have the pull-out sofa, if it did it would be way too cramped for more than two people. The scheduling through the interactive TV was nice and allowed you to review your plans and change or add to them to meet your needs.I found deck 7 to be a good location to everything except the pool and sports decks. Everything else was either up or down one or two decks and easily walkable verses fighting for an elevator.The location was about 1/3 of the length of the corridor from the forwards stairs and 2/3 of the corridor from the aft stairs. A good location that eliminated most of the traffic and hallway noise outside the stateroom.The balcony was protected from most of the wind created from the ship's movement. Because the balcony is covered there may or may not be direct sunlight on the deck depending on whether the balcony has a southern exposure or not. The direction the ship is traveling will dictate whether the sun is beaming in the cabin for two days straight or none at all.Promenade View Stateroom (7201)Stateroom size and setup similar to D1 Balcony stateroom except instead of the balcony there is a window seat where you look out over the Royal Promenade. Great for people watching of seeing the activities going on at the street parties. Fairly large stateroom when compared to other "inside" statements on other ships.