Allure of the Seas Review
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As a first time cruiser, I cannot compare my experience to any other ship or company. That being said, I am not a first-time traveler. Here we go!
Initially, we were extremely excited about this trip because upon purchasing we knew we were purchasing exactly which countries we wanted to visit prior to the changes (Bahamas, St-Kitts, St-Thomas). However, soon after our cancellation deadline passed Royal changed one of our ports (as they hold the right to change ports at any moment for absolutely any reason). The reason for the change...it was too far and the boat would not have enough gas. What?! I am pretty sure this could have been determined prior to the package being set in motion and claiming sales. Nevertheless, we rolled with the hit and St-Kitts was changed to San Juan. Hurricane season hit and St-Thomas and San Juan were no longer available (this we could understand as no one can do anything about changes to nature). Royal decided to send us to Bahamas, Cozumel, and Costa Maya. For those that have never been to Mexico these two ports may sound pleasant, but for someone that has been twice before... not pleased. Considering an all-inclusive trip to Mexico is much cheaper than a cruise, we were extremely upset and disappointed and made our displeasure known to our agent and Royal. This is where things go more displeasing. Royal basically threw Policy at us stating that they have to right to change ports and so on. They were very short in their replies and did not seem interested in trying to come to resolve in the matter (NOTE; Royal faced a class action lawsuit soon after Hurricane Harvey due to the policies they keep to). We asked for a credit, they said no, we asked for a refund but were told us no, we asked for some kind of compensation for all this inconvenience which ultimately turned our honeymoon into an overpriced trip back to Mexico. Royal finally provided us with a second dining voucher (60$ value) as well as a Spa voucher (119$ value). They stood by their policies and stated that although the ports changed for our safety we would still have access to the many amenities the ship had to offer. We were not and are still not impressed with the way things were dealt with on a customer service level. I know this may sound as though we are spoiled/privileged and demanded that they give us everything we asked for but this is not the case. It is not being told "NO" that is the issue, it is how you are told "NO" that determines one's experience (for the purpose of this review I have not gone into detail about our communications with Royal Customer Service). Now let's get to the actual cruising experience.
FIRST IMPRESSION:
Cabin Review
Ocean View Stateroom
Walking into our stateroom for the first time was very pleasant. We expected a much smaller cabin with a tiny window but it was quite the opposite. The ocean view window was very large with a perfect amount of exposure to the sea. The bed (2 doubles pushed together to make a King, which we could not feel the split) was very comfortable and clean (no bed bugs or stains). The stateroom attendants did a great job prior to our arrival. Our stateroom was located to the front of the boat which meant that we could feel the rougher moments more than those in the middle of the ship. For those wondering if you feel the boat moving a lot, there are moments that the ship does sway and you do feel yourself swaying left to right at a very slow speed, aside from those moments you do not feel a thing. We recommend either sitting down or making your way to the middle of the boat. DISCLAIMER: If you plan on staying in your room throughout your voyage, take the hit and get a large room with all the amenities you desire. This does not mean that our room was bad, on the contrary, this just means that we have heard people complain about the room size (not on this trip) but never spent a moment in the room. Your room should be for sleeping, showering, and getting changed. It should also be used as a meeting point for families because we cannot stress enough...THIS IS A VERY BIG BOAT.