The Allure of the Seas is a massive ship that feels much smaller than it is. Embarking in Fort Lauderdale we drove from Orlando and had an easy time of it, luggage drop off was smooth, but getting into the parking lot was a bit difficult. The signs are small and the taxis were blocking much of the way. Getting aboard itself was easy with Royal Caribbean's expedited arrival system. A host with an iPad scanned the Set Sail Pass on our phones and sent us on our way through the security checkpoint, again a quick scan and a wave to the next point. From getting out of the car to boarding the Allure it was about ten minutes. Disembarkation was just as smooth, we carried our own bags and got in line half an hour before the published disembarkation time of 6:30 a.m. We were in our car by 7 a.m. and on our way home. The Allure was clean and in good repair, crew members were always tidying up and asking if we needed anything. Due to the size of the Allure you never feel like you're on a ship with 5,400 other passengers. Even on sea days there was plenty of loungers available around the pool and in the Solarium. Mama Mia was delightful and had the song stuck in our heads all week. Oceanaria was delayed multiple times because of weather, but the dives and acrobatics were incredible and enjoyable. Sailing in September meant that there were few families with young kids, it was mostly 20-40 something DINKS and empty-nesters. The bars were often busy and it felt like everybody but us had drink packages, but a small cash tip to the bartenders at the beginning of the cruise ensured prompt (and heavy) service. The food in the main dining room was very good, the Windjammer was good for lunch, but be sure to get there early before it sits, same with breakfast. If you have a food allergy the main dining room will give you the best assistance, the head waiter will bring the next day's menu and place your order so it is prepared at an allergen free station. Windjammer and the Solarium Buffet require a chef/cook to come out and point out safe menu items and this process can take some time. 150 Central Park was delicious, and they were able to handle the allergy easily since everything is made to order. The gym is large and even at the busiest of times there were cardio and weight machines available. The track on the Oasis class ships is the best at sea, there are no deck chairs to get in the way and the length means even a 10K run isn't too repetitive. The ports of call for this sailing were Nassau, Cozumel, Roatan and Costa Maya. We didn't get off in Nassau or Cozumel, but booked third-party excursions in Roatan and Costa Maya. The Roatan cruise port is small and included a lot of vendors hawking their own tours; but once we were out of the port and with Roatan Ocean Adventures we had a nice trip across the island and snorkeling trip. Costa Maya's cruise port is a mini-resort on its own and probably the best I've seen; there is a free pool and water access inside of the port as well as a tequila tasting experience. We took a trip to the Chacchoben ruins with Native Choice tours, this required a brief walk outside of the port, but the area is largely undeveloped (but it's clear big plans are in place), so we didn't feel unsafe. The vendors were also not pushy and treated us well. Read Less

I wanted to try the big ship, and it is really big, although being this big brings less focus. There is a list of things to do every day but most of it is self led or not of interest to me. We had a balcony room with ocean view, on deck 12. The room was adequate, and had enough room for a couch. I have been on 17 cruises and my first cruise was on the enchantment of the seas, a much smaller ship but I did like it very much, I went on the enchantment twice. I have cruised on Princess, Carnival, Holland, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean. I found the ship to be very big, but it only had two elevator areas, the other ships I have been on were smaller but seemed to have 3 elevator areas. Less elevators leads to more walking, and more waiting, remember it is a really big ship. It seems that they decided to forgo elevators to build a park in the center of the ship called Central Park. There were some really good shows, I saw Mama Mia, went to the Ice show, and the High diving. Would have liked to see more comedy or magic shows. the comedy was in a tiny room most nights. The food on Royal Caribbean is good but not always great, our Waiters, Leonardo and Ajay, were excellent, and we enjoyed our dinners, did not see any reason to pay for specialty dining, when we were already getting 4 star meals. I could have been home eating hamburger helper. The buffet was just okay, sadly they did not make you omelets for breakfast, and they did not cook fresh hamburgers for lunch. I have seen all the ports before, so we mostly just wandered around. We did the under water sub in Cozumel, it went down 100 feet and we saw coral, fish, and a sunken ship. It was worth it. Embarkation and disembarkation were excellent on this ship hard to believe that with over 5000 people, it was the best I have had. The casino was good size and seemed to be very active. I can't say that I would want to go on this ship or another like it any time soon. I think I like the smaller ships that make things a little more organised for a smaller crowd. It is worth mentioning that the TV situation was terrible with very few channels, and the main movies of the week were documentaries, doesn't that sound fun. Read Less

Cruised Sept 23-30 Chose this cruise because it was my first time on Allure and the dates really worked for my schedule. The service model on this ship is broken and they could really use a week off to retrain everyone (not going to happen). I tried to write my experience in 3 categories. NEGATIVES 1. Upselling is out of control. Once you step foot on the ship you're being up-sold if you take a spa treatment, sit in the main dining room (while you're eating) or just going to get a drink. I understand being hustled in the various ports of calls because in most cases we are dealing with people who see us as well off compared to their circumstances, but the hustling aboard the ship to enrich an already wealthy corporation that I have already paid thousands to have a relaxing time, is offensive. 2. Took me a few days to realize that the bar folks did not need to present a white ticket for each drink and that this was a cheap ploy to get an "additional tip". This practice was pervasive. We had full drink packages and based on our sea pass cards the waiters knew that. Every drink includes a tip but the ticket has a space for "Additional Tip"????? I guess this is RCCL way of trying to make the tipping process transactional instead of tipping at the end of the cruise. I made a point of tipping at the end of the cruise the three people who did not present these tickets. 3. Some of the folks in the food and beverage service could really use some training on how to relate to guest and just good table manners. This was so pervasive I have to conclude that it is a lack of training issue POSITIVES 1. Pool life guards were very attentive and watchful during EVERY shift. This did not vary from person to person. It was consistent. 2. Room Steward was friendly and cleaned my room like magic. He cleaned twice per day without ever knocking on the door. It just happened. 3. Getting on and off the ship was relatively painless Read Less

First time on an Oasis Class ship. things are fairly well spread out so it took sometime to get around and see everything. Somewhat disappointed at some parts of the ship maybe due to the hype of the areas. Enjoyed the Solarium Bistro limited menu than the windjammer but it served it's purpose for me. Cafe Promenade is geat for earley morrning coffe & contentil breakfast Not rushing around to see everything as this is the first part of a back to back Disappointed with Schooner Bar layout front portion was used for other functions & servce was spotty. seating areas overlooking the Promemade (deck 5 ) was often staked out for watching the DreamWorks Parade & the area was often littered with dishes & cups and the bar staff seem very slow to clean up. The entertainment venues wre very good with the exception of the Headliner show of the week but don't miss the Broadway Show. Read Less

We fly in the day before and stay in the very cozy Victoria Park Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. It was a great start. We woke up early and took an Uber for the cruise terminal. (TIP: Download the RCCL App and do the check-in with it as early as you can.) I traveled with my wife and daughters 8 and 7. After checking-in thru the RCCL app I was exited of been selected for the “Express check-in”. We arrived at 10:30 am and about 10 minutes later we were done with check-in and on our way to the ship. To good to be true... We ended up embarking at 12:30 pm. Two hours after our arrival. “ because of an issue with the previous disembarkation. Express check-in” is only for registration. Once you are done with check-in, everything else is by your status at the Loyalty Program. I’m a Gold member, meaning I’m pretty much at the bottom of the food chain and by the time we got on the ship, everything was chaotic. (Tip: At embarkation day Windjammers is super full. Always find a table first, then serve yourself. There are other less crowded very good places to eat at this time but with very limited menu options.) Windjammers was super crowded and without available seats. A real challenge. But once seated they had a good selection of foods to please almost everyone and it was surprisingly good. (Tip: In the cabin put the sofa side table in the closet and move the center table as the side table. Put the empty luggage under the bed with what ever you aren’t using during the rest of the trip.) At 1:00 pm all cabins are ready. After lunch we went to see it. An ocean view with large balcony (#12598). It was nice and very clean. Our room steward, Carl from Costa Rica, was excellent. The bathroom was spacious an the extended balcony was huge, with a 3 chairs eating table and lots of extra space. Our bags arrived pretty fast (at about 2:00 pm) and we were able to accommodate everything. Make sure to put all your clothes and toiletries away in the closet, drawers and bathroom. If not, even with the cabin been comfortable, it’s super difficult to live in even for a week. (Tip: Make all possible reservations through the internet as soon as you booked or when available. Shows, Spa and Dinner fill up quickly.) So while my wife was having a great time unpacking with my super exited daughters I was heading to the Grande Restaurant to fix our dinner seating. I requested early seating and unfortunately was given late seating instead. All my shows were already reserved and if I didn’t fixed that, rebooking everything was going to be a real challenge. Fortunately, they where able to fix it. I don’t like “My time Dining” because even with reservations there’s always a line and even if there’s not one, you have to wait to be seated. In the traditional seating you get the same table and you can enter and seat yourself, you also stay with the same servers all the week and they get to know you better so they usually make an extra effort to pamper you. At 4:00 pm we had the safety drill that everybody hates. DON’T MISS IT. First of all, is for your own safety. Second of all, if you miss it THEY WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!!! and make you do it any way. And comparing to other cruise lines, is only a short movie. You don’t have to wear a life vest or make a line outside. At the beginning we had a few issues with our cabin. 1. The safe in the room was close with somebody else’s pass code and finding someone to open it in embarkation day was imposible. They finally fix it the next day, only because I called again. 2. Our toilet had an issue. It was clogged when we arrived and it clogged again two more times during the week. There was an issue with the toilet system in our cabin and the one next to us that share the same equipment, but every time we called they were very diligent in fixing it. 3. The cabin didn’t had bunker beds as in most ships. When the sofa bed is open there’s only about 10” between the bed and the desk to access the balcony. It’s pretty annoying. So far you can imagine the levels of stress we were having on day one. BUT BE NO MISTAKEN... Allure of the Seas is a wonderful ship. Once you pass the chaotic first day, the rest is great. You won’t find any other cruise line or even any other cruise class in RCCL that can compare to the Oasis Class Ships. For the last 30 years I’ve been in about 20 cruises in more than 10 different cruise lines. Most of them very good, but non of them can compare. Don’t get sad when you realize that one week is not enough to see or do everything they have to offer. (Tip: Always take time to review the “Cruise Compass” (newsletter) that they put the night before in your cabin. Try to make plans for the next day. The amount of activities are overwhelming and without planning you will miss a lot. Don’t over plan either. We saw the Blue Planet show and Mama Mia!, both have live music and the same singers but Mama Mia! is by far the best show I’ve ever seen on a ship, the actors we’re superb!!! We also saw the OceanAria Aqua show, the Ice Game Show, How to Train Your Dragon Ice show and the Madagascar Aqua show. (Tip: Unless you have a Voom internet package or Cellphone provider cruise package, make sure to turn your phone off because in open sea it will connect automatically and the roaming charges will be a fortune.) I needed to keep in touch with my job. To do so I purchased a cruise package from my cellphone provider that included unlimited calls and text for $60.00 and a Voom one device unlimited fast internet package for about $130.00. The internet was almost as fast as at home. We have no complaints of the food. There are many places were you can get breakfast and lunch around the ship to avoid the crowds at the Windjammers, even though after embarkation day, we were able to find available seating quite easily at the buffet and something that we like to eat every time. I wasn’t expecting a five star food and service, but my overall experience was very good. At main dining, my servers: Alvadean from Jamaica and Chunyue from China were very attentive and the food was more than good. I didn’t try any of the specialty restaurants, but I’ve try them in other cruises and don’t think is worth the extra charge. I was more than happy with everything we had for dinner in the Grande Restaurante. We visited St. Maarten, San Juan and Labadee. In St. Maarten We took the water taxi ($7 each round trip) to the beach downtown and rented to chairs with umbrella ($25) and a jet sky for half an our ($50). I’m from San Juan and unfortunately they deliberately let you be there only until 1:30 pm so you spend most of your money onboard or at their private island. With this little time I would only recommend to spend it walking around Old San juan. The spanish architecture and the cobbled stones streets are breathtaking. Get off the ship as early as possible And don’t forget to visit “El Morro fortress. You can search in advance to try to make an itinerary. (Tip: Old San Juan was designed to have a shaded sidewalk all the time. Use it.) In Labadee we had breakfast late to avoid the super crowded island buffet and took the trolley to Nellie’s Beach. It was beautiful with white sand and super clear waters. It was crowded but the peaple was very calm and relaxed and a local server from RCCL was very nice to immediately find us a nice spot with two launge chairs. Make sure to have cash for tips. I’ve heard that the zip line, the roller coaster and most of the extra charge entrtaiment in the island is super fun, but with all the complementary entrtaiment onboard the ship I don’ thik is worth to pay the extra charge. I prefer to take advantage of the beach that is not available onboard. We also avoided the market place because we've been there before and the experience was horrible. In conclusion, Allure of the Seas is a gigantic piece of engineering entrtaiment with more than 8,000 people in it. It’s not going to be perfect. Nothing will ever be. If you can’t handle a crowd here or there, if you can’t manage the constant selling of specialty dining, beverage packages or spa products, only if you are looking for a relaxed and secluded 5 star get away, this might not be the ship for you. For everybody else, you’ll have the most amazing vacation and you’ll want to repeat it sooner than later. I’ve already booked the Symphony of the Seas for a 4 and a 7 nights back to back cruises in next September. Can’t wait!!! Read Less

Overall, our Cruise was acceptable, for my wife and I (not for our entire party though) however there were many things that could have been much better that should have never been an issue. We have been on other Cruises, Disney in particular and the service and attention to detail is far superior on the Disney Ships. I have listed the Pros and Cons below. This is the same review that is attached to the review you received from That was submitted by my wife. We were in Stateroom 11697. Our cousins were in Staterooms 11695 & 11693. Stateroom 11693 smelled of urine the entire cruise and no one could solve the problem! Pros: Embarkation and Disembarkation were both smooth and quick. Very well organized. Ship, for the most part was clean - Stateroom and Public areas. (However there were many exceptions - see below). A large percentage of the Staff Members were polite. The Room Steward did ask, since we were a party with 3 Staterooms next to each other, if we wanted the barrier between the balconies taken down. The waiter we had in Giovanni's was outstanding. We took the "All Access Tour" and it was great. Very well run and informative. However, we were supposed to go to see the incinerator and never did. No reason was given as to why. Also, the Mayan Ruin and Chocolate tour on Cozumel was excellent. We had some issues in the American Icon and Grande with some food items and the waiter and head waiter did react and take care of the issue. Cons: Spills by the pool, tables at the bars and other venues took too long to clean. My wife had to go to the pool bar and ask someone to please clean up the ice cream that had been spilt by the pool and was sitting there for over 15 minutes. Had to ask the Room Steward for shampoo. At the Schooner bar, several servers passed our group that were sitting waiting to order drinks. Not until we went to look for one and got him to come over, were we able to order drinks and then he was pretty rude to us & never returned to ask if we wanted more drinks. The food in Giovanni's was not very good. The dining room food was much better. (We were at Giovanni's on Monday 9/10). There was a server in the Solarium on Thursday 9/13 tried to deliver a drink to us that we did not order. We told her we would take it and she could charge us, but she rudely told us she had to waste it. She then came back a few seconds later and offered the drink to us. She then proceeded to try to sell us a drink package for the rest of the cruise (10 drinks for $100.00). We declined and later that day saw the sign by the bar for (10drinks for $79.00)!!! Was she trying to scam us??? At the bar in the Amber Theatre waiting on line for a drink & some popcorn, there was a woman that cut the line and proceeded to have her order taken by one of the bartenders. She was called out on it by the people in line) my wife was one of them & she lied and told us that the bartender called her over (not true). When my wife and I got our order and started to walk to our seats she called my wife a "bitch"! Unfortunately, I reacted to her as no one says that to my wife! But, NO bartender, or anyone in charge stepped in and took control of the situation. Therein lies the problem with most areas of the ship. At all of the venues, Theatre etc. there is no one in charge. No one that is managing anything to insure that things are running smoothly. Lines at most of the venues are not managed. They are all over and all of the rude passengers (and there were many) just cut lines etc. When getting off the ship for any of the excursions, it is utter madness. Again, no one is in charge, helping to direct passengers to the right spots for their excursions. There were people with signs, but they were difficult to find. Signs need to be displayed higher so passengers could see. The announcements that were made over the PA System were for the most part inaudible, no matter where you were on, on the ship. No matter who was making the announcement. Also, the announcements are not piped into the Staterooms! What if there was an emergency??? How could you hear it? In several of the bars, there were children (under the age of 10), that were wandering around. Some unattended. In the Champagne Bar there were 2 children that were running around as the parents sat and took photos of each other. No server or bartender said anything. No one paid attention until the smaller child (probably about 2 years old) fell and got hurt luckily just bumped his head. There were even children (under 18) in the Casino!!! On Wednesday I sent some Laundry in and the cost was about $33.00. I then found out that night that on Thursday that there was a special (for every cruise) to fill the laundry bag for $25.00!!! I ended up having my wife's laundry one for the $25.00 and went to Guest Services to ask why we never were told of the "special" and is I could get that discount for my laundry. Was told no! And was told that it was only for laundry for that day (Thursday). When asked why no one ever told us about that, they had no answer. We had to review our bill daily as there were several charges on there that were not supposed to be there. They were charging my wife for drinks that she did not and could not order as she did not have the Deluxe (alcohol) beverage package. There were also charges for tips on our bill at venues that we were never at. Also, one of the couples that were traveling with us were charged for towels that they never picked up. They had their own towels and did not use the ships. At one of the ice cream machines there were kids touching every cone in the dispenser. There has to be a way to prevent that. We purchased popcorn by the Comedy Club and it was $2.50. We then bought popcorn by the Aqua Theatre and it was $2.95! Why a difference in pricing? The pool bar closed early on a couple of occasions. On one occasion it was 15 minutes before closing and we heard someone ask for a drink that required the use of the blender. The customer was told that the blender was cleaned for the night and could not be used!!! Communication from the Cruise Director was seriously lacking. On other Cruise Lines (Disney) the Cruise Director comes on each morning and reviews some of the highlights for the day (from the Cruise Compass etc.). And they also come on throughout the day with updates on happenings around the ship (character meet & greets etc.) This was nonexistent. But even if there were updates it would have been inaudible. I did get a massage on Saturday 9/15, our last sea day. The woman masseuse did not shut up the entire massage. I just wanted to relax and have the massage, not hear her life story. It should have been a relaxing massage and she really did not do a good job. I have had several massages before and this was not a good one. It seems like all she wanted to do was sell me products at the end of the session and seemed upset when I did not buy anything In addition, all 6 of the individuals in our party came home sick (cough, fever, chills, stuffy nose & one has a Urinary Tract Infection. Read Less

OK so here we go...The ship is amazing. Its beautiful, its big, it is really nice. This was our 18th cruise so we pretty much knew what to expect. We sailed with OASIS of the Seas a few years back which Allure is identical. The ship is so big that you have to reserve your entertainment which is annoying but I get it. With 6000 people, you have to in order for everyone to see the show. The downside is all the shows all week are the same thing where as other ships offer different shows every single night. So my advice to you, first day (or if you can prior to the sail date) go ahead and reserve all the shows you want each night so you will be garanteed a spot. The one thing they do every night is karoke, but that gets old after awhile. We just went to that because there was nothing else to do. Our room was amazing. We had a handicap room which is huge and had an oversized balcony which looked over the boardwalk. Downside of the room is it was on the 14th floor which the first day muster drill was annoying cause you literally had to walk down 9 floors to get to 5 then you know going back up we had to talk back up 9 flights of stairs cause the elevators on the first day are INSANE!! So don't recommend the 14th floor. YOu need to be careful if you are in the boardwalk area, as one side they play basketball allday and table tennis on the other side which is where we are you have alot of people running so if you like your afternoon naps, you will hear constant noise. I can't even imagine what it was like on the basketball side. So when booking I would find you a room that only has actual rooms above you not where people can run, drag chairs, kitchen, etc. The other downside is the bed was HORRIBLE!! It was so hard. If you like hard beds then you will love it, but my back was messed up all cruise cause of it. I asked for a foam topper just hoping but they didn't have any. I guess you have to be in the suites in order to get a comfy bed. The food was really good most days. The dining room on certain nights didn't have alot to choose from. Lobster night the lobster was very dingy but tasted good and I just asked for another. :D So this is just a petpeeve. We sailed Norwegian in June and got spoiled with the drinks. You could just go up and order, didnt have to worry about your card, or those dang receipts. Royal makes you sign a receipt everytime. Just wasted paper. If you have the dink package then I don't think they should make you do that. All in all its a good cruise. we just didnt plan really good this time with excursions and such so we were pretty much on the boat the entire time except for Honduras which we love. Cozumel it rained so we didnt get off. Nassau weve been a thousand times so we didn't get off. Costa Maya had another ship there so we knew it would be insane so we stayed on and just used the pools on the boat. So anyway thats that. Hope it helps!! Read Less

-Survey; While the Genie will look at them they won’t have it memorized so manage your expectations and make an effort to have your preferred drinks etc (note that if you like a certain type of liquor that is rare or Dr Pepper they will get it onboard for you but you need to say something before the cruise so they can plan)… Some people comment on the “gift from the Genie” being associated with the survey but don’t look at it that way as our cabins gift had nothing to do with the survey… -Intro email from the Genie: this is your welcome letter and its more or less a generic letter but it does give you an email address if you want to communicate with your Genie… -Genie/Loop App; possibly one of the worst designed communication platforms… first of all its not an app but a website that has to be refreshed constantly… long story short don’t use it… use your Genie’s email from your intro email or call them if onboard the ship by using the direct number on their business card they give you… -ASK FOR A DECT PHONE in your emails prior to boarding… for newbies it’s the same cell phone that the Genie and managers carry around onboard and can be used to call other rooms, Genie, and Room Attendants… -Make Thank You Cards… I’ll attach a copy of the ones I had done on one of those business card websites… its crazy cheap to do and people will be impressed… you would be shocked that the Genies we gave them out to and tons of the staff hadn’t seen them done before and actually kept them… They also served as a cool way to share your info with other cruisers you meet on board… -Get $2 bills… Yes, you read that right… whenever we travel we always bring a ton of $2 bills for tips.. it’s a fun gimmick as everyone loves $2 bills… this will also help them remember you… use the “thank you business cards” with a $2 or more tip as you hop around the boat and watch how everyone goes out of their way to help you… (yes, your gratuities are included but a few bucks here and there is always appreciated) -Bring a small gift for your Room Attendant and Genie on Day 1… don’t go overthink it.. something small and as easy as candy or something from your home town… it’s simply thought… -Order some fun envelopes for tips throughout the trip… I’ll attach some pics of the ones I bought off amazon.. we would generally only use these for nice lunches and dinners every night as well as the final “big tips” for everyone at the end of the trip… -Get there a day early and don’t party too hard the night before Read Less

We are pretty loyal HAL cruisers but liked this itinerary. Since we are used to smaller ships, was not sure if we would like this. Overall, enjoyed it and would repeat. On boarding, we were confused about finding our stateroom, 10635. Room numbers only went up to 700. As soon as it hit us that that meant deck 10, room 635, we never had a problem with that. Here are my pros and cons. Cons first. Muster drill is, in my opinion, useless. Appreciated being in a lounge with A/C but thousands of people talking, no one listening to instructions. We could not see the demo of the life jacket or direction to our evacuation station. We were lucky that we COULD see the instructional films as that was not true for everyone but I am sorry to say they were silly beyond belief. One was about washing your hands, and I have to say their practice was excellent on this ship for friendly confrontations with hand santintizer but the film was suitable for toddlers. Worse, the second film was a ridiculous beyond belief spy spoof about safety at sea. Insultingly awful. Most of the staff were very friendly. All the cabin attendants, staff in the buffet, room service, dining room service in the American Icon. Pool bartenders were not friendly. A couple times I asked for a glass of ice water and they gave it to me without a word or a smile. We weren't bothered by no notepad and pen, no toiletries except soap and shampoo/conditioner combo and no chocolates at night, but we were bothered by no ice bucket or bathrobe. Lo! You have to ask for them. They were pleasantly supplied. I think we should have been told that. The worst: You are nickled and dimed. We are used to free room service. Except for Continental Breakfast, there is a $7.99 per cabin charge, plus gratuity (and then we tip as well.) Room service is EXCELLNT, good quality food and excellent service. It winds up only being $9 and change and the food is well worth it, but we are used to it being included. The very worst: and this may keep us from coming back: if you drink, be warned. We paid almost $20 for two undersized Corona beers. We watched the bartenders make drinks and put about 1/2 ounce of alcohol in each over-priced drink. Their drink package is very expensive to buy these weak drinks. Okay, the pros! This ship is worth a trip as a destination. Incredibly beautiful. Do not fail to explore it all. Our room was in the Cental Park neighborhood and we only discovered on the last day how pleasant that park is in the mornings. This was our cruise number 30. We have never had a bad cabin attendant, but this one, Ana from Colombia, was the gold standard. Kudos to Royal Caribbean, they do this right. She works alone and watches her cabins like a smiling hawk. Many times, on other cruises, we have returned from shore mid-afternoon to an un-made room, no ice, etc. Never once with Ana. We think of all things on this cruise, the ships itself and Ana, were the best things. The Royal Caribbean App! Get this! We breezed onto the ship in minutes! You get a bar code on boarding day that they read with a gun and it is unbelievably easy. And you can check your account, read the restaurant menus, get info on activities. Then get the Mobile Passport App. Scan your passport, take a selfie, and be out in minutes. Wonderful! Final notes: In the dining rooms, the everyday menu has escargot every day. Loved it. The main dining rooms had excellent service, best was table 361 in the American Icon, but the food was so-so. We actually thought the buffet food was probably the best cruise buffet we have ever had. Loved room service food. Ate at Sabor. Don't worry about limited menu, MASSIVE amounts of food. Excellent service. We live in South Florida and did not find it spicy enough. Final note: Elvis impersonator Travis Ledoyt was a highlight. He is awesome! Google him! Great cruise for families. Great experience. Terrible drink value and would like to see serious improvement in muster drill. Read Less

Ship is huge, knew that in advance, but some of the things that I've come to enjoy about cruising, such as walking outside and listening to the waves, is just not possible. Certainly a lot to do, dining staff did a good job, food was fine, room was average, but just so many people and to few places to really relax and not hear all the commotion of things going on. Bigger is not better in my opinion, but would still do Royal Caribbean, am a total fan (primarily because I continue to get free cruises for spending (and winning) money in the casino so often. On this sailing, the headliner was TERRIBLE (an Elvis impersonator who was rude, arrogant and obnoxious), but Mama Mia was fine (I don't like that show to much, but it was done well). Blue Planet and the Comedians were the best shows on board (don't miss Blue Planet...best thing going). Again, overall, to big, no outside areas to really enjoy the sea and wind. When I refer to this, I'm not talking about the 16th deck but instead what you find on other ships, the deck right below the lifeboats, usually for jogging, etc. I wouldn't do this ship again. Read Less