Let met start with my belief that any day spent on a cruise ship is generally a great day. That said, our experience on the Allure was not what we have come to expect from Royal Caribbean.    We like the mega ships and after 21 cruises, we know there are always glitches but clearly the Allure has staffing issues.

Embarkment was the fastest and most organized we ever experienced. We had high hopes for a great cruise as we boarded the ship. Sadly, it went down hill from there.

Service in the main dining room was unbelievably slow. Wait staff were hustling, but it appeared they were grossly understaffed. Bars often had only one or two bartenders and wait staff in the bars were almost non-existent. Other than our room steward, you didn't see staff smiling and they lacked the friendliness you expect. Most staff just seemed overwhelmed, stressed and generally unhappy. Read more