Allure of the Seas Review

Western Caribbean Allure of the Seas 04/2014

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Allure of the Seas
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aproka
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Apr 2014

I sailed RCCL's Allure of the Seas 4/6/14 - 4/13/14 and I had an interior stateroom, cabin # 8545 (starboard forward, I think). The previous year, was my first cruise ever. I had sailed on RCCL's Freedom of the Seas (Eastern Caribbean), interior cabin as well. My interior cabin was roughly the same size as the Freedom and the room was ample and well furnished, however, the layout of the beds was terribly awkward. You opened the door, took a few steps and ran right into the bed. Maneuvering around the bed to get to the sofa area was challenging and could not be done easily if you had spent any time at all at any of the fine bars on board. This glorious ship is massive and very luxurious. The "feel" of the ship is more mature and refined when you compare it to the Freedom which I thought was more relaxed and fun. The dining room was lovely, but again, I felt like the food aboard the Freedom was a bit better. Vitality Spa was phenomenal and I definitely recommend it. Central Park on Deck 8 was extraordinary and truly was a wonderful spot to relax in the evenings. My favorite breakfast spots were Johnny Rockets (breakfast was complimentary), Solarium Bistro (or was it a Grill?) and the dining room. I even enjoyed breakfast with Shrek one morning and there wasn't a child onboard with us. My favorite lunch spots was the Solarium, Central Park Café and the dining room. Dinner was always enjoyed in the main dining room. We had extraordinary service and I cannot complain at all. Snacks from Sorrento's and Promenade Café were also a welcomed treat. We often ordered coffee/tea and a fruit plate in the mornings while we were dressing and planning our day's activities. I can't tell you much about the night life, I'm in my 40's and gave up dancing years ago, but there was a lot of it on board and it all did look like a lot of fun. Terribly loud for me but tons of fun regardless. The zip line and rock wall were tempting but I didn't indulge. Chicago was good but not worth staying up as late as I did, I should have caught an earlier show. Blue Planet was very good. There was also a water show, OceanAria, and I highly recommend you see it at least once, if not twice. VERY GOOD SHOW. I had booked some comedy shows but found myself too tired to enjoy them as they were all late in the evenings. Our ports of call were Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel. Labadee was much better than CoCo Cay the previous year but be sure to bring water shoes as the coral in the sand is murder on the feet. Falmouth was wonderful and I took the $42 RCCL excursion to Montego Bay and I definitely recommend that. It was VERY well worth the $42 but be prepared to shell out $6/ per chair plus $6 for an umbrella if you want to enjoy the beach and have a place to keep your belongings (lockers were NOT an option). In Cozumel, we did the $105 excursion, Push, Pull, Swim with the Dolphins at Chankanaab (spelling) and it was also well worth it. Be warned though, photos are $38 for one or 3/$55. You can buy a CD for well over $100 but that was out of my budget. Lunch at Chankanaab was both palatable and reasonable at $10-$15 USD. Shopping in Cozumel was terrible as the locals were rude, pushy and misleading about their wares. All in all I did enjoy myself but I preferred the Freedom over the Allure. I cannot complain about either ship, they are both grand and worth every penny, but the Allure just had too many people aboard.

Cabin Review

My interior cabin was roughly the same size as the Freedom and the room was ample and well furnished, however, the layout of the beds was terribly awkward. You opened the door, took a few steps and ran right into the bed. Maneuvering around the bed to get to the sofa area was challenging and could not be done easily if you had spent any time at all at any of the fine bars on board.

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