We had a great time on the Allure of the Seas. It was our first time on an Oasis class ship, and we really enjoyed it. We have cruised a lot on Celebrity (a sister line to Royal Caribbean), and transferred into the Crown and Anchor Society with Diamond status. We really enjoyed the Diamond lounge, the evening happy hour, and the coffee machine. There were so many shows and entertainment options that we did not have time to do everything we would have liked to.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was very smooth. We parked in the terminal parking garage. The porters were at the elevator (on the level we parked) which was so convenient. We only waited in short lines to go through security, check in, and get on the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The Windjammer Cafe (the buffet restaurant) is too small for the ship. It is often crowded - difficult to get food and even harder to find a table. We ate at the Brazilian steak house (in the Solarium) one evening. It was quite good (but not comparable to Brazilian steakhouses on land). We ate one lunch at Giovanni's Table, and it was very good. The main dining room was very good.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The jogging track was excellent. It's on the fifth deck and very long (2.4 laps per mile). It is dedicated to running and walking - much better than weaving around people on the pool deck. We went on the zip line (fun but short) and played mini golf. We did not use the pools or other activities. There are a lot of options on board.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Mamma Mia and the Blue Planet show (same cast basically) were both excellent. Mamma Mia is the full, complete Broadway show. The aqua theater show was great. The ice show was weak. The headliner act, the acapella group ReVoiced, was fantastic. We mostly went to the main shows, and did not see many of the other musicians and groups that play throughout the ship.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward was excellent. On our second evening in the main dining room, we were seated with an excellent waiter/assistant waiter team. We requested them every night after that. We had difficulty getting a couple issues resolved with Guest Relations - not sure why.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was clean and well maintained. We loved the layout with the different "neighborhoods". Although there were over 6000 people on board, it did not feel crowded (except in the Windjammer buffet).
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
The cabin was nice. We had enough room to unpack all our clothes. The bathroom was adequate (although the shower was quite small). We had a balcony overlooking Central Park which we really enjoyed.
We love old San Juan. We had limited time in port (onboard time was 1:30 pm). We visited both El Morro and San Cristobal forts (on our own), and loved it. We have been to San Juan before.
Labadee is a fun beach day. We did not do or pay for anything extra. We had beach chairs in a nice shady area, enjoyed swimming in the ocean, and had lunch. The barbecue lunch was OK.
We took our own luggage off the ship. We were in our car in the parking garage in about 15 minutes. It was the easiest and fastest disembarkation we have ever had.
We did the Allure twice in six months, we liked it that much. This June, however, we are going to Alaska on Celebrity Eclipse. Do you have anything you could share about Celebrity? How does it compare to Royal C?
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