Allure of the Seas Review
Adventure cruisers should not miss this ship!!
Rating by category
Additional details
Pre-Cruise
I traveled on this cruise with my wife and my parents. We are thirty-somethings and we were celebrating my Dad's birthday. My Mom was in on it, but my Dad had no idea until we surprised him on the ship - it was priceless!!
I'm not a proponent for travel insurance, but if ever there was a time I should have gotten it, it would have been for this cruise. Due to an engagement the night before, we could not fly in until the day of sailing - something I don't normally like to do. Complicating things further, we were traveling from Albuquerque which required a connection and a loss of two hours on the clock. Our flight was supposed to get us in at 1:30pm, which would have been perfectly fine. However, we were alerted via email just before our first flight of a delay in departure for our second flight. We learned just before we took off that our second flight would not arrive until 3:50pm, which would have resulted in us missing our 4:30 departure. I was under the impression that we had to board by 3pm, but later learned that 4pm is the cut off - something you may need to know if you end up in our shoes. So the whole first flight had me thinking of ways I could possibly board the ship and also brainstorming how I might get us to Labadee two days later. I was pretty sure we would be screwed. As soon as we landed in Houston, we checked the status of the next flight, and were pleasantly surprised that it now showed 2:20pm as the arrival time. I still wasn't totally comfortable, but it was much better than 3:50. We were also a little concerned that my wife's bags did not make it since we checked in a few minutes after the 45 minute cut-off. Fortunately, we spotted them going onto the plane, and at that point we were able to relax a little. We made it to the port at around 3:15. Thank God everything worked out. If you ever have the option, always fly in a day earlier. It is cheap insurance and allows you to relax for a night before cruising. It also allows the opportunity to be amongst the first to board the ship. If you cannot arrive a day early, I highly advise travel insurance.
Cabin Review
Central Park View Stateroom with Balcony
We had a Central Park Balcony - 11187. It is a great room! We usually don't spring for a balcony since we are value cruisers, but in this case the price difference was very minimal. Plus, it was a unique room since we have never been on Oasis class. It was nice to be able to go out to the balcony on occasion and get air in the room, but I still don't think I spent more than 1 hour out there in total all week. If the price is minimally more, we'd book this cabin again, but we also have no problem being in an inside cabin. The cabin itself was not much different than other ones we've been in with the exception of the balcony. This room has the couch closest to the balcony and the bed closer to the bathroom. Some people have complained about the access to the closet with the bed right there. I agree with the setup causing some issues, but overall it wasn't a big deal. My parents had an oceanview balcony, and they had the bed closer to the balcony door. That is probably a slightly better setup, but I wouldn't fret too much if your cabin is like ours. The only other minor difference from our past cabins seemed to be a lack of a regular nightstand - only 3 or 4 shelves. This worked out fine for us. The bathroom was your normal setup and worked fine as well. Nice to have a shower door and not a curtain.
Port Reviews
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
Great place to depart from given close proximity to airport. Cab fare runs about $15 and should take less than ten minutes. Fun to see all the different ships lined up and ready to take off!
Labadee
Labadee is just a great beach day. I was however disappointed to see that they have removed the volleyball court from the island. I remember playing some great games there in the past, so I don't understand why they would take this down. The bbq they provide is good - they have burgers, dogs, jerk chicken, ribs, and sides. The desserts weren't too inspired, but I ate my share on the ship, so that was fine. The beach to the right was very peaceful, while fairly strong waves were hitting the other side. I always enjoy going to Labadee.
Falmouth
We didn't do too much in Falmouth. We had planned to go to the Blue Hole and Dunn's River Falls, but after our initial travel snafu, we didn't feel like poking the tiger again. We left the ship late and just strolled the shops inside the pier as well as those just outside. We bought a unique, hand carved, wooden tree with removable leaves and birds from a nice guy we met outside the gates. The folks outside are a bit more aggressive, but we never felt in danger or threatened by them.