I went on this cruise with my adult siblings and mother. She'd always wanted to go on a cruise and this was our gift to her as it's the first time any of us have been able to afford something like this for her. Allure seemed like it would cover everyone's interests and who wouldn't be interested in going on one of the biggest cruise ships in the world? This was my second cruise, first for the others in my family. I previously won a short cruise for Celebrity Millennium 5 years ago and it was lots of fun.

First the good things: Stateroom attendant and stateroom room were great. The ship was clean, well-maintained, sparkling. Endless choices of things to do. Very talented/skilled actors, figure skaters, acrobats, entertainers. I may be biased since I have a few friends who work incredibly hard as entertainers on cruise ships:) 99% of staff were very friendly and working their bottoms off with smiles. Really great staff for the most part.

Now for the bad: RAMPANT up-selling, crowds, lines, mediocre food in main dining and even Giovanni's. And smokers abound. We smelled cigarette smoke on our port side deck 7 balcony every day all day. Not sure if it was coming down from deck 16 designated smoking area or vents from the casino, but dang. Pretty strong. The worst part of our experience was the extra charges and up-selling. There were loud announcements selling things, constant "messages" on the TV, and a staff member waiting at every corner to sell something or get you to purchase packages. Just...NO! What happened to having a base fare that really meant all-inclusive? Also, we made reservations for everything for seemingly no reason. Other cruisers were increasingly crabby about the crowds as well. I am a sunny person (believe it or not!) and I never complained out loud and kept a smile but everyone around us on elevators or in lines were visibly irritated quite often. Lots of min-squabbles between couples and families...maybe that's normal. Read more