Fun cruise to the Western Caribbean

Allure of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

tammo3

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 45

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 23, 2020

Ship: Allure of the Seas

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

I'm not much for shore excursions and when I cruise, the ship is most important to me. The Alure is a marvel of cruise ship design. With a passenger load of 6000+ people on board, it did not feel crowded (except for the parties on the Royal Promenade in the evenings. the sheer size of the ship is awe inspiring; hard to believe you're on a ship. Loved it and going to be hard to cruise on anything less than 4000 passengers :) Btw, the bridge and Engine Control Room were part of the extra All Access Ship's Tour.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The restaurants were great, but typical of other cruise lines I've been on. I felt that the food on Princess was better. But there was a nice variety in other complimentary eating venues, each with a specialty. 150 Park Cafe had great salads and sandwiches, Sorrentos was great for pizza snacks and the Dog House had a great selection of wursts and hot dogs.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

I did the Zip Line, pickle ball, mini golf. All fun

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Main Theatre featured Mama Mia. I've now seen it 7 times on stage and this was one of the better productions. Standing ovations. Comedy was good and Headliner was talented and funny.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All the staff was very friendly and accommodating. My main co0ncern was that the crew was just about entirely foreign, which is OK, but some of them had poor command of the English language; created some communication challenges. I joked a few times to my friends that the next cruise will be on an "American" ship. But overall, the staff was great.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The Alure is an awesome ship. It is heading to dry dock in Europe for an extensive overhaul. Even so, it was in great shape (10 years old) and the layout is just fascinating. I mean, a two block long park with real trees and plants? An ice rink of some size? An aqua theater that reminded me of Cirque Du Soleil's "O" in Las Vegas? The Pool Deck is just about as wide as other cruise ship's pool deck is long. The elevators were quick and awesome. To sum it up: I was impressed.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The cabin was totally clean, everything functioned well, no leaky plumbing and adequate storage space despite initial appearance. Two of us had no trouble finding space for stuff. I did think the mattress was a bit hard (I felt like I was on Cloud 9 when I got into bed back home), but that is a matter of taste and I think they could have swapped it out for softer; didn't ask.

Ship tip

If you'e thinking of booking a cabin facing the Boardwalk or Central Park, even though they have balconies, consider that you will be facing opposite cabins only about 70 feet away; you'll ahve your curtains closed "all" the time for privacy. For that you can have an inside cabin.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Huge, 8 or 9 ships in port at the same time and no problem. We flew in the day before and the hotel had great shuttle service tot he ship.

Thumbs Up 0

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

3 out of 5

Cute but just another water park and beach resort. Don't need to see it again.

Thumbs Up 0

Nassau, Bahamas

4 out of 5

Fun shopping

Thumbs Up 0

Cozumel, Mexico

3 out of 5

Similar to Coco Cay, not much to see without excursions. I generally don't do excursions; they are too damn expensive for what you get.

Thumbs Up 0

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

4 out of 5

Little better than Cozumel, but we did mostly shopping; didn't find anything worthwhile to buy.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

We did the DIY disembarkation and took our own luggage off the ship. Itr was much quicker and with wheels on the suitcases it was a breeze.

Traveler Photos

6 Comments

sparkeybob 4 years ago

Glad you had fun . You talk the truest words.

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Shh813 4 years ago

We also loved the Allure when we were on in November. We did have a Boardwalk Balcony and it was great. Only had to close drapes at night. It was great being able to see up close the Aqua theatre, wall climbing and zip line. Oh yes and ocean view. We had no problems with his big the ship is and found some easier ways getting around. Food in MDR was absolutely delicious every night. Loved the Park Cafe for lunch . Great salads and prime rib sandwiches. Shows were fantastic as were our ports. Would definitely go on the Allure again.

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Cruiserike0322 4 years ago

Super review, good for you!

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Dcruisingqueen 4 years ago

Thanks for a great review.

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daisydoozy 4 years ago

Great review!

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portofrome 4 years ago

Thanks for your review

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