Allure of the Seas will spoil new cruisers for choice. There are many activities, both sedentary and active available on board on sea days, and the ship's personnel and amenities are top-notch. The staterooms are well-appointed, and maintained with care. Although the recommended experiences at our ports-of-call were skewed toward Royal Caribbean-owned sites and associated businesses, by getting off the main track, or by booking private tours, cruisers can really get a good feel for the life of the islands. Avoid the shopping experiences recommended by the on-board shopping team, and go explore on your own--for shopping, get away from the Royal-Caribbean owned docks, and get local for better deals on handicrafts, t-shirts, costume jewelry, and souvenirs like tote bags and fridge magnets.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Much smoother than embarkation used to be!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Only rating is for the main dining room. The entrees were of good quality although a few of the appetizers and desserts were uneven, and the wait staff was very attentive. RCI has changed their recipe for creme brulee! We used to love their creme brulees, but now, they use gelatine to help set them, instead of using a baked custard. No matter WHAT dining time you reserve, if the unvaccinated dining rooms are full, you get put into "My Time Dining", which actually isn't as bad as we thought it would be. We used to LOVE the huge tables of diners where you could meet and become friendly with your shipmates. Now, due to Covid protocols, the maximum table size is 6, and you dine ONLY with folks in your party. We didn't have the opportunity to meet and compare notes with other cruisers. We did not dine in any of the specialty restaurants. We snacked only in the buffets (like having salad). There are almost no long lines in the buffet any longer, because now the staff serves you, more like cafeteria-style. Skip the hot dog cart on the Carousel deck.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Linda participated in the daily stretch class, and we went ziplining. There is no schedule for the rock climbing or zip lining posted in the daily e-bulletin, so you either had to go find a hard copy at guest services, or meander up to the sports desk to find out the hours. Staff in the fitness center had an opportunity to sell a yoga package to us on both the first night or second morning, but the yoga instructor was not present at the embarkation night, and completely ignored Linda on the second day when she tried to buy the class pass. So, Royal Caribbean missed out on some income, simply because of staff errors. The stretch classes were free, and fun. The ziplining was quite short, but fun. Something they don't tell you about the zipline until you are there, though.....take off EVERY piece of jewelry other than rings, take off your glasses, and empty your pockets. They DO have a monitored desk where you can leave your stuff in a pile with piles of other folks' stuff, but some people might be kind of uncomfortable leaving out a wallet with ID and credit cards and cash sitting right there.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Mama Mia was a Broadway-quality production. The musicians were uniformly excellent. The premise of the aqua show was strange, and really didn't work for us, but the diving was awesome. The ice show was good, but on the small rink, the skaters struggled with individual tricky jumps. The ice dancers did fine, as did the specialty acts. We did not see the comedy show.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our room steward, Bagus, was super-attentive, and on top of things. Our waiters, Pablo and Chrislie, knew exactly what we wanted to drink after only one evening. They were friendly, helpful, and did their jobs well.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
WOW. So many options on Allure of the Seas. She's a very well-kept ship, and the design is phenomenal.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Bagus, our room steward, was always there when we needed him! The size of the cabin was perfect, the bed comfortable, and the cleanliness was impeccable. The ONLY niggle that I have is that I wish there had been a couple of USB ports for charging devices.
Ship tip
Take closed-toed shoes as well as sandals, and stake out your chair on deck early in the day.
We've been to Cozumel before , so no excursions. We took a walk down to the main part of town from RCI's dock. As always, the levels of shopping (spending?) experiences were varied, and the tequilla tastings were fun.
We had booked a private island tour, and enjoyed practicing our Spanish with our driver and his family. It seemed to us that the people of Roatan and Bay Islands exhibit a lot of pride of place--the houses are much better-kept than some of the homes on other islands.
We walked down to the beach (about 2.2 miles), and had a few beers at The Krazy Lobster. It was great to sit in the shade, drink complimentary margaritas, $1 beers (8 oz guys), and watch people snorkle, kayak, and swim. Plenty of seating, and the toilets were very clean.
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