Worlds largest cruise ship, with the world's biggest let downs.

Allure of the Seas Nov 30 - Dec 7 2014 Western Route Cabin 12680 balcony room.

Ill write a quick review then go into detail. This will be my 4th cruise and my 3rd as an adult with my wife and some family members. If age helps you at all im 30 and my parents are around 60.

Ship was big! and really nice. Cabin was decent, big balcony. The crew for the most part was rude or just doing the job they were hired to do but just barely. Entertainment was the best of any cruise I’ve had. Activities are really good but mostly the same stuff as any cruise (belly flop contest, bingo etc.). The ports are terrible, Haiti is a beach cash grab, Jamaica has a nice gated area but don't leave the ship or the gated area big waste of money. Mexico was by far the best part of the cruise and you should spend every penny and second here. Food on the ship is terrible from the buffet to the dining room. It’s like they are forcing you to go to the specialty restaurants. 

Food- Across the board the worst food on any cruise we have taken. The buffet was terrible most things had 1 bite taken and then thrown out. The dining hall was pretty bad my wife ordered the same stuff every night a Caesar salad that’s about all that was good. One night we found 2 hairs in two separate dishes. The next night we found a bug. The smaller side places were better. The Park cafe being hands down the best free place to eat and the pizza place was good to.  We also enjoyed the hot dog place. It’s honestly like they are forcing you to eat at the specialty restaurants. We did eat at the Samba which was pretty good but not worth the premium price, luckily it was included in our cruise for free. We tried Rita cantina, surprisingly decent food at a good price. 

Ports- For the most part the ports were a waste of time and money. Haiti is just a large beach that has a bunch of overpriced things to do, a big cash grab from Royal Caribbean. 1 zip line for 100$ come on what a rip off. How about a float mat to lay and relax in the water? 15$ each please. Everywhere you turn is overpriced things to do. Jamaica another bad port, Royal Caribbean built a port and a gated are for you to walk around in and buy stuff. Or you can venture into the crappy town of Falmouth or get an overpriced taxi to something like Montego Bay. Which inside the gated area they wanted 160$ for 4 people to go to Montego Bay. Yes im sure in Jamaica you can get a decent tour from the ship but we kind of wanted to see the country, bad mistake don’t do this. Now finally Mexico the saving grace of the ports. The best port and best part of the cruise its self. We got off found our own tour from the locals. Got to snorkel for half the price of the ships cost. The city was decent and we actually found our self-walking the street. Got a nice Mexican meal We did some shopping at the port then were off to our atv jungle tour. The tour was decent but if you have ever driven an off road vehicle this well get very boring fast as all the quads are limited to around 20mph. As we get back to the ship late the crew was once again very rude acting as if it was our fault the tour booked through them was very late.

Crew- Usually rude or just not helpful at all. One day I asked a room attendant for towels and he stated he did not have enough for all his rooms and could not give me towels. One time someone asked for a empty cup and the crew member then decided to ask why as if he really needed to know what the empty cup is for. Our rooms for the most part were not clean or just missing a special touch. Say a mint on the pillow or a nice towel animal every night. If you have been on other cruises you’ll find the small details missing everywhere.

Entertainment- The water show on the back of the boat was really good don't miss this we even went to the kids Madagascar version which was good. Blue planet inside the theater was decent not amazing but still better than what other ships have. The ice skating show was actually really good i was surprised by that. No one in are party wanted to see Chicago so we skipped that. They also have live music being played in several parts of the ship which was actually really good. Also have movie theaters with one being a 3d movie theater. Across the ship at all times you can always find things to do.

Activities- Mini golf, zip lines, rock walls, ice skate, Pools, Jacuzzi and so much more. As far as things to do this ship has a lot. Lots of stuff to do from young kids to old grandparents. One minute you can be part of a Pixar parade and the next min playing some black jack in the casino, then you can get hungry and find some very unsatisfying food to eat.

Overall- We had fun and it was nice to be out on a big ship designed so well never really felt crowded except around meal times but that’s to be expected. But we had so many bad experiences from the crew to the food and just plain lousy ports everyone seems to have written Royal Caribbean off for our next cruise. The boat itself is amazing, everything else feels like it’s just there to make sure it stays afloat.  Were as our other cruises the boats were nice and decent but the crew, food ports and just overall happiness of everything was so much better. If you have kids especially younger ones I could see this being a good cruise because they have a lot to keep them busy but I think you could find similar on another cruise line. I would not recommend this cruise and if I could go back and save the money I would have booked a different one.