Allure of the Seas Review
Allure of the Seas was not so alluring on its first transatlantic cruise
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Additional details
Traveling with my wife on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas transatlantic crossing of April 19 - May 1, 2015 was our 11th cruise in eight years, on four different lines. Having done one cruise each on Norwegian and Celebrity, our remaining experience is about evenly split between Princess and Royal Caribbean. This was our second Atlantic crossing, having done the trip with the Royal Princess just about a year ago.
Over the years I have read plenty of Cruise Critic reviews and never having read anything that varied too far from my own experience, frankly I never felt the need to throw in my two cents. The reason for speaking up now is because of the extremely uneven nature of this trip on the Allure. I’m not sure I would have thought too much more about it but it came to mind that if a friend asked if I could recommend it, quite honestly, I could not.
Before I get too far into what was wrong in our minds, I do want to give a shout out to our room steward, Sheldon. He was absolutely terrific, best one we ever had. We’re of the opinion that a steward can’t ruin a cruise but they can sure made a lackluster one better and to be honest, Sheldon was about the best thing on the Allure.
Cabin Review
Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Large Balcony
Ordinary cabin, outstanding steward! Terrible couch, just awful.
Port Reviews
Malaga
It's a compact town with plenty to see ranging from a Roman amphitheater to an old Moorish palace and has a truly lovely cathedral, and of course, it's Picasso's hometown so if you're interested in him you would find several interesting stops. The locals were pleasant and the prices of goods and services seemed appropriate.
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
Ft. Lauderdale's an excellent port to catch a cruise from; the airport is nearby, there are convenient stores, restaurants and hotels to the port. A number of the hotels have 'cruise packages' where you can prepay for a pickup and delivery at the cruise port.