It was our first cruise ship trip, and we had a great time. I heard about the Allure of the Seas through someone else before and they were all positive comments. Most of the staff were very friendly and they want to make sure you have a fun while you are on the ship. The quality of food was great. I would suggest either make a reservation or eat early or late. Try to avoid have traffic hours to any dining facilities. Specialty dinings are worth trying out - great food, wine, an extra level of service, and more relaxed environment since they don't have to process several hundreds of people in 3 hours.

They offered variety of port and shore excursions. Those can add up quickly and you have a limited time, so it would be smart to plan things and populars ones can be sold out. Amiga Island Experience at Labadee, Haiti was awesome. It was a short (25 minutes) boat ride to a small tiny island (you can walk the whole island in 10 minutes) with a pristine beach with beautiful surrounding. You can swim or just relax at the beach. This is a great opportunity to separate from several thousands of other guests. I would recommend Dragon's Bereath Flight Line ( I did not get to do it because conflict of schedule), but this would be a one of kind experience... I would also recommend All Access Tour of the ship - you will learn about the ship and more... but it is $119 person ( I did not go after all). You can watch one of the channel to learn more about the ship also (facinating to see how they provide fresh water and treat all the waste/trash...). Dunn's River Falls at Falmouth,Jamaica was nice but expect some large crowds and locals will try to sell you souvenirs.... All the shows on board was great. Mamma Mia was fantastic!! OceanAria was fabulous!! Blau Planet was great!!

Unless you need something quickly, wait until towards last day to purchase any souvenirs on the ship. A lot of items will go on sale towards the end. I did not understand about the art auction, but it appears to be a big deal. Watches and jewelry sale was going on daily basis.. Read more