Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas

Just love her...Royal Caribbean's Senior VP Sales, cruise Veteran Vicki Freed.

Royal Caribbean President Adam Goldstein with me in the Central Park neighborhood of the ship.

Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain - very funny - a terrific wit and truly nice man.

Was I skeptical about what it would be like cruising on a 225,000-ton mammoth that carries 5,600 passengers?   You bet.   Did this mammoth called Allure of the Seas win me over?   YOU BET!  Lucky for my partner and I we got to experience the inaugural sailing in November 2010 of this newest, largest ship in the world – usurping the previous record held by Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas in 2009 by a mere 5 centimeters in length (the Allure captain’s bragging rights no doubt).

While I haven’t sailed Oasis and personally prefer smaller ship cruising, Allure completely won me over in many ways – particularly in entertainment and in its magnificent design - never feeling overwhelmed by size.   The “neighborhoods” that have been created onboard include the Boardwalk,  a throwback to Coney Island days featuring a carousel and birds eye views of the zip lining fun above (yes real zip lining on a cruise ship); Central Park complete with lush foliage and live trees, surrounded by shops and restaurants, along with a dazzling “Aqua Theater” outdoor amphitheater, home of one of the best shows anywhere at sea – the water spectacular extravaganza called “Oceanaria”, with high flying acrobats, divers and Cirque style thrills, and a backdrop of glittering fountains.  With the ship’s innovation of balcony staterooms facing the neighborhoods in addition to the traditional ocean views, I loved my position in the very aft (rear) of the ship – facing the Aqua Theater, Boardwalk and ocean beyond.  I was able to view the Oceanaria show right from my balcony – best seat in the house!  Check out the video I made of highlights from the show from the perspective of my balcony.  What a thrill!

How cool it was to see  DreamWorks honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg onboard to launch the film company’s new partnership with Royal Caribbean.   Allure of the Seas introduced their famous movie characters who are onboard each sailing interacting with guests… favorites such as Fiona and Shrek, Puss n’ Boots, the Penguins from “Madagascar”, and Po of ”King Fu Panda”.  The eye-popping, dazzling and fun-filled  Move It! Move It! parade features these characters prancing on the Royal Promenade with guests of every age group gawking in giddy delight.



Taking the characters one step further, Royal Caribbean’s legendary ice shows bring the animated film “How To Train Your Dragon” to life recreating the film on ice in a children’s spectacle.  I’ve always loved Royal Caribbean’s ice shows, previously seeing incarnations on both Freedom and Liberty of the Seas.   Their second ice show on Allure, is based on the board game Monopoly, and is not to be missed.   Take a look at the fabulous photos captured from our front row seat.

Entertainment continues with their main stage productions - a superb (but shortened in length) recreation of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, “Chicago”, an acrobatic show called “Blue Planet” and a wildly fun adults-only late-night dance party called Club Twenty, transforming the ship’s serene and posh Solarium into a South Beach like themed oasis.   This ship is geared for families and Allure boasts the largest dedicated youth area of any ship afloat, including an outdoor water park area and multiple supervised programs divided into age groups.   Kids will find their cool factor in every turn.   One thing for sure – no matter what age child or adult, you can’t be bored on Allure of the Seas.  

Balcony, Outside and Interior staterooms throughout are well designed with ample storage area and featuring the latest technologies.   Deluxe accommodations include the Royal Loft and Royal Suite, both exquisite and exceptionally large (averaging 1,500 and 1,700 square feet respectively), with personal affection for the AquaTheater Suite with Balcony (accommodating up to 8 guests) – a wraparound oceanview outdoor space that screams out party and entertaining.  

Dining presents over 24 venue options aboard Allure.   As I was onboard just two nights, I could not possibly sample as many restaurants as I would like to have, however, I experienced the very fine Brazilian churrascaria (sumptuous meal with superb service) and the main dining room which did not disappoint.    The afternoon lunch buffets were exceptional.   Great layout and splendid choices of international favorites.   

You would think the check-in embarkation process would be a nightmare on a ship this size.  Those trepidations I was weary of quickly disappeared the moment we arrived inside the Fort Lauderdale ship terminal.   This terminal was specifically created for Oasis and Allure of the Seas and I kid you not when I tell you the process of checking in was a breeze.  They have it down to a science with multiple counters and in less than 20-minutes we were checked-in and onboard sipping champagne ready for our weekend of fun.

Whoda thunk we’d have celebs onboard our sailing?  Allure of the Seas was home to Adam Sandler and  Katie Holmes (Suri and the nannies too) shooting the upcoming motion picture “Jack & Jill” throughout the ship.   Although I never personally got to see them, there were film crew everywhere and it was fun to see the extras and tech guys run about.

It was very cool seeing a major motion picture being filmed onboard during our sail.

When certain locations or rooms were being used for the film, we'd see signs like these.

And Kathie Lee & Hoda spent time onboard filming their terrific piece that aired on the Today Show, November 19. 

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