We cruised on Allure of the Seas in June of 2016. This was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean. The embarkation process took no time. We arrived by 10:30 and were in the waiting area by 11:00. Since we were newbies to RCI, we were the last group to board, but we were still on the ship by noon. The dining areas were a bit crowded on the first day. Our group of 9 separated and found places to sit and eat. We were able to get in our cabins by 1:15. We were in cabin 12711 which was a Boardwalk balcony room. (We enjoyed having this room as we were able to see many of the Aqua Theater shows from our balcony.) We met our room steward, Floyd, who was fantastic! After unpacking, we toured the ship. We had the early dining time in the Grande Dining Room. Our waiters, Diyan and Jose, was so helpful. One member of our party had food allergies. A head waiter, Oscar, came around each evening and let him select his meal for the next night. They specially prepared his food to avoid tree nuts. We were very impressed by their careful preparation of his food. The food quality was about the same as other cruise lines we have used. I will say their desserts were better.

We saw OcenAria on night one. It was fantastic! I know they had to reschedule performances later in the week, so I would schedule it earlier on your cruise.

We docked in Nassau on day 2. Seven of us did the Rainbow Reef Snorkeling excursion through the ship. We loaded a boat and traveled about 30-45 min to a reef where we snorkeled. We saw hundreds of fish! The vests they provide allow you to inflate them or deflate them in order to dive down. We had a great time! Some beverages and chips were available to purchase on the return trip. The two members of our party who chose to remain on the ship that day said they felt like the ship was empty. We returned to the ship as soon as our excursion ended. We had reservations to see Ice Games at 5:00 (and this was one of the formal nights). Ice Games was enjoyed by all! As a matter of fact, our entire party chose to see it a second time later in the week because we enjoyed it so much! After dinner, we had reservations to see Mamma Mia. This show was Broadway worthy! The lead actress who played Donna had us spellbound the first time she sang. Definitely plan to see this if you take this cruise! Read more