I was a bit hesitant about a ship this large but DH won the cruise playing poker so I was happy to “suffer” along with him- resulting in an excellent week on the Allure. As others have reported, the ship did not feel crowded instead we were always able to find a place that was not crowded so we could enjoy the beautiful ship.

What a great way to start in the lovely new Pier 1 - easiest embarkation ever. We arrived at the terminal at 11:15 - plenty of agents with I-pads to check you in then immediately to Security. Walked into the lovely waiting area, light and open with plenty of seating, but they were already boarding so we walked right on board. We had eaten a hearty brunch at Cafe Bastille in downtown Miami so eating was not of interest. We headed to Central Park to verify dinner restaurant for BOGO - we were set for Giovanni’s that evening and when we tried to make the next meal at Chops we were told our only choices were Cafe Sabor or Samba Grill as part of BOGO.

We explored until rooms were available at 1300 - balcony cabin 11650 was as expected. It is an adjoining cabin to the Owners Suite and we had no issues with noise from our neighbors. We pack pretty lightly so we’re able to quickly unpack finding plenty of storage for everything. The balcony had two chairs and a small table which was fine for our needs as we did not try to eat out there. Read more