Allure of the Seas REVIEW (Sept. 2 to 9) - Super long with probably too many details!

Here's my super long Allure of the Seas review for our cruise, September 2 to 9.

There are A LOT of details here (probably too many) especially for families travelling with kids. I compiled all my research/learnings here and hope that it will help out another family! And I'm happy to answer any questions or clarify details if I can.

Here goes:

Background

Me and the husband (DH) have been away from cruising for 7 years because...kids. We finally decided that our 5 (almost 6 year old) daughter (DD) would be old enough to remember and enjoy a cruise. We chose the Allure of the Seas because it's a ship with something for everyone!

I booked the cruise in June but we kept it a secret from DD for almost the entire summer! We told her about the cruise through a hunt a week before departure - I printed the letters CRUISE and hid them around the house. Each letter came with a clue as to where to find the next one. DD loves hunts and she declared this one better than Easter! Take that Easter Bunny (oh wait, that's also me!).

This was our 8th cruise in total (4th on RCL) and we had previously cruised with Carnival and Princess without kids!

Pre-Cruise

We flew in the day before via Westjet direct from Toronto and arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 12:30pm. After we gathered our luggage, we walked out to the hotel shuttles area and caught our shuttle to the Hyatt Place (17th St Convention Centre location).

We checked in and and grabbed a quick bite at the Burger Fi location across the street from the hotel. Then DH and DD headed back to the hotel for an afternoon swim. I took a stroll over to the Ross and Marshall's, eventually ended up wandering the aisles and saddling up at the samples counter at Total Wine!

For dinner, we decided to Uber to the Wreck Bar at B Ocean Hotel to see the mermaid show. DD uses a booster seat at home but we didn't bring one with us. Since it was such a short ride (less than 7 minutes away), we used the seat belt to buckle her into the car. Our Uber drivers didn't say anything about the lack of a booster.

The doors to the Wreck Bar open at 5:45pm but the show doesn't start until 7pm. There was already a short line up when we arrived and by 6:15pm, most of the tables/seats were taken. It's not a huge place but they do open up the glass walls to the lobby. We were shown to a table for four at the back of the restaurant. We ordered a few drinks and cheese pizza.

Around 6:45pm, one of the mermaids came out for a photo op so that was exciting for DD. The show lasted for about 30 minutes and then Uber-ed back to our hotel.

I booked the Hyatt via ValueTrips for $119. I wasn't that impressed by the hotel. We were assigned a room on the second floor (Room 210) which turned out to be the handicap accessible room. We found the carpet and couch extremely worn. The bathroom with the toilet and tub was comically small - it wasn't even that accessible to us so I don't know how someone who needs extra space would fit in there!

We were awoken by a loud humming noise that vibrated our floor at 2am and continued on/off through the night. When I mentioned it to the front desk staff in the morning, they shrugged and said it was the washing machines - they do their laundry in the middle of the night. I think the hotel was comparable to Extended Stay and at the time of booking, it was the same price as the Embassy which had a bigger pool and free drinks! The Hyatt hotel location is fantastic - close to port, restaurants and shopping, although I probably wouldn't choose to stay here again.

Embarkation Day

After breakfast at the hotel, we walked over to the Publix to pick up a 12-pack of water, a case of La Croix sparkling water and some snacks for the week. As we were heading back, the skies darkened and the rain poured down! We quickly packed up our room and called for an Uber to port around 10:30am. The Hyatt does provide a shuttle but for $7 per person. Our Uber cost $7 for the 3 of us!

When our Uber dropped us off, the port area was chaotic as there were still previous week's passengers waiting for their rides. We weren't sure where to drop off our luggage - I wanted to ensure that our luggage was going on the right rack to the ship! We saw a porter to hand over our suitcases and went inside the terminal. I previously printed our Set Sail passes and had them ready to go along with our passports.

We did not have Expedited Boarding but we got through all the lines in about 20 minutes. We sat in the holding area for about 45 minutes and were on the ship before noon! Free wifi in the terminal made the time go by quickly!

The game plan was to have lunch at the Central Park cafe. It was raining so hard that all the indoor seats were taken. We managed to find a couch and small table that was partially covered for our embarkation lunch! We tried the roast beef sandwich, DD had a grilled cheese and I had a soup, salad and chips! Luckily, RCL provided some big umbrellas so that we could get around without getting too wet.

Staterooms opened promptly at 1pm and we were excited to see our home for the next week. We dropped off our carry-ons (we were able to carry on 2 bottles of wine, the 12-pack of water and the case of La Croix) and left to explore all the areas of the ship!

We registered for Adventure Ocean and the staff punched DD's seapass and gave her a lanyard which she proudly wore through the week.

Muster drill was held around 4:45pm and our station was F5. We gathered in one of the main dining rooms and watched the safety videos. It was all over quickly and by the time we left, sail away had begun and the sun was shining again!

Stateroom

Our stateroom was a Category D5 - 11316 (Deck 11, Aft, Port Side). The couch in this room was between the bed and the balcony. We were able to fit both suit cases under the bed and DD took over the drawers by the vanity for her clothes/books.

Our cabin steward was Ray from Costa Rica and he was great. Super friendly, personable, always around and he loved DD. He left her many towel animals over the week.

We weren't sure if DD would want to sleep on the couch or in the bunk. On the first night, Ray pulled the bunk down from the ceiling. He said she could have her choice and if she wanted the couch, we could call and have it changed. As soon as DD saw the bunk, she was excited. There is a small rail on the bunk to prevent rolling off. She slept soundly up there all week and we were happy to have a clear path to the balcony. We asked Ray to leave the bunk open during the day as DD would crawl up there to read or watch TV.

We don't usually book balcony cabins (only my second balcony in 8 cruises!) but I thought it would be nice to have the extra space to sit out at night after DD went to bed. In all honesty, by the time the shows were over or when we got back from picking her up from Adventure Ocean at 10pm, we were all wiped and ended up going to bed at the same time!

The room did seem a bit weathered...the carpet was worn, our couch had several mysterious stains that I covered with a towel to sit on. But it was okay for the week and had enough space for two adults and a child.

I though DD would be interested in watching sailaways from the balcony and she could have cared less...the TV was on with remote in her hand. She gets limited screen time at home so she took full advantage of having a TV in our room. I think we could have gotten away with an interior but I still enjoyed having the balcony!

A note about being on Port side - for this itinerary, all the action was on Starboard side. The gang ways all opened up on the other side so if you like watching runners, book Starboard.

Our area was very quiet - no slamming doors or people/loud drunks stomping through the halls. I know it's hard to control those things but I was very grateful for the peace!

Dining

Breakfast

We tried a few venues for breakfast:

Johnny Rockets – Breakfast is free at JR and there is service from wait staff. The menu is limited to a small menu - basic eggs/bacon/French Toast/omelettes choices but they do offer a fairly very large glass of orange juice instead of the tiny glasses that they serve in the dining room. And it’s nice to be able to sit outside in the Boardwalk area.

Solarium Bistro - Buffet style and even though the Solarium is adults-only, kids can eat in the bistro.

Room Service - The $7.95 charge for room service is annoying but at least continental breakfast delivery is still free! We ordered room service on St. Maarten day because I thought it would be cool to eat while we watch the ship pull into port. DD chose that day to sleep in and I was so worried that the room service delivery would wake her. I chose the delivery time of 7:30am to 8am and the food came at 7:50am. Unfortunately, by the time the food arrived, the ship had ported and it was now too hot to eat on the balcony!

Dining Room - We had breakfast here a few times but was disappointed that the a la carte menu does not change from day to day. Pretty much everything on the menu can be had at the buffet in the dining room as well with the exception of the eggs benny.

Our breakfast hack - order the eggs benny and the smoked salmon plate. Replace peamale bacon with smoked salmon - voila smoked salmon benny!

The buffet in the dining room also features fresh made waffles and a selection of toppings including sprinkles, chocolate chips, whipped cream, etc to DD's delight!

Windjammer - We made it here for our very last breakfast of the cruise on disembarkation day as the Windjammer is not my favourite. We stopped in very quickly to grab a bite to eat before leaving the ship and that was enough for me! Found breakfast gem: congee (Chinese rice porridge). It was salty but there were no accompaniments like green onion or peanuts.

Lunch

Dining Room - On sea days, we enjoyed lunch in the dining room as there was an a la carte menu and a buffet. The a la carte menu does not change unfortunately. We tried the crispy pork belly, lobster & seafood sandwich and the steak frites (the frites weren't fries, they were huge half cooked potato wedges).

In the buffet, there was a nice selection of hot entrees and on the last sea day, there was a shrimp cocktail bar with the HUGEST shrimp and we also did the noodle bar. Lunch hack - take some shrimps into the noodle bar line - voila shrimp noodle stir fry!

DD's favourite thing about lunch in the dining room - the dessert buffet with ice cream and toppings like sprinkles, mini M&Ms, chocolate/strawberry sauce, etc. The cakes and mousses in the champagne glasses were pretty looking but not great tasting to me.

Central Park Cafe - We returned to Central Park Cafe after our San Juan port for lunch and with better weather, there was plenty of seating both inside and out. We were able to grab a table with no problems and linger long enough after lunch to get a coffee and dessert!

Boardwalk Hot Dogs - We had a late afternoon snack after St. Maarten. Hot dogs were okay, enough to tie us over until dinner.

Sorrentos - DD had a quick salad and pizza lunch here while watching the Welcome parade. I actually didn't eat any Sorrentos pizza all week!

Dinner

Main Dining Room - We chose the early set dining time at 5:30pm because of DD. We didn't want to wait for the second seating at 8pm and we didn't choose My Time Dining because we enjoy having the same table and wait staff every night.

Our table was 548 in the Grande (Deck 4) and DD had a blast running through the empty dining room on the first day on the hunt for our table! It was a table set for 6 but on the first night, another family of 3 showed up, took one look at us and promptly requested a table to themselves. We weren't offended at all because our table had prime location next to a port hole where we could watch the ocean while we ate and we had it all to ourselves!

Our servers were Lina and Young. They were great. We got through our three course meals in about 1-1.5 hours.

We encouraged DD to read the menus each night and order her own meal with Lina. She preferred items from the kids menu and started with a fresh bun from the bread basket, a fruit salad appetizer and then a main (chicken fingers, burgers, cheese pizza) and a banana split for dessert. One night she ordered the Cesar salad and lasagna from the main menu. And she did try an escargot (we told her they were baked mushrooms!).

We found the dining room menus just okay. We weren't wowed by any of the offerings although there were a few favourite basics (escargot, French onion soup, shrimp cocktail). Even the lobster was sad...it was very small, only slightly bigger than the tiger shrimp!

There was one standout dish for us during the week - the duck - it came out super hot and the skin was perfectly crispy - basically the BEST dinner I had all week!

Desserts were also so-so. Mostly edible but also forgettable. I ordered the ice cream or creme bruelee to eat the sugar top.

For Savory Bite fans, they are still available if you pre-order them with your waiter. I was going to the washroom and saw them at another table. I asked Lina about them and she said they were discontinued about 2.5 years ago but if you put in a request, the kitchen might accommodate it. She had them at our table every night after I asked!

We were chatting about Filipino food with Lina as she is from the Philippines. I jokingly asked her if they had any adobo chicken and lumpia (spring rolls) in the kitchen and she asked the chef to prepare it for us on the last night! It was delish! Second best meal I had all week!

Our head waiter Jacob came around every night. I don't think I've ever seen a head waiter so often! In the past, the head waiter would appear briefly on lobster night and then again on the last night. We had a visit form Jacob every night and we saw him working the buffet on Labadee!

This was our first time at early seating dinner and I didn't mind it. We had lots of time to digest and didn't feel super full at bedtime. I did miss my late afternoon naps but I think overall, the early seating was the best choice for us this time.

We didn't do any specialty dining this time around because we weren't sure if DD would sit through dinner service. To our surprise, she always did and ate nicely (without the use of electronics!).

Drinks

We decided not to purchase the deluxe booze package but we did take advantage of the 10 for $79 drink card which was never advertised in the Compass. On Day 4, we saw a small ad in the Compass for the draft beer special (10 for $59) but we didn't get it.

I decided on Day 5 that we would get it and asked at the pool bar. The bartender said that the only specials they had was the buy-4-get-one-free beer bucket and the 10 for $79 drink card (with gratuity comes out to $93). We decided to get one and in the evening and noticed signage advertising it at the Schooner Bar. We bought a second card on Day 6 and the two cards was enough for us.

I found a majority of the slushy drinks too sweet and made from artificial fruit mixes. I did have a nice white wine sangria, some French 75s, a few strong Dark and Stormy and DH enjoyed the Crown Royal Manhattans. He also discovered the Italian Tea that contains a strong mix of 5 different liquors. Unfortunate expense (even more unfortunate that the imposed 18% gratuity) - Every time we ordered drinks for ourselves, DD would want a $7 virgin slush drink, takes two sips and says "I don't want to finish it!"

We noticed that there wasn't a consistency in the drinks between bars. Each bartender would make a drink based on their experience/knowledge so drink quality varied between bars. We liked the drinks made at the Schooner Bar - expertly proportioned and strong!

On sea days, the casino had $2 mimosas from 12pm to 2pm. We grabbed a few of those while watching the Welcome Parade on the Promenade.

Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle

We had our M&M on the first sea day at 10:15am in On Air. The M&M info is sent to the stateroom on a separate piece of paper and it's not mentioned in the Compass so be on the lookout.

I think we had over 200 people sign up but maybe only about half showed up. Activities Manager, Flavio, was there and raffled off a few bottles of wine and a sack of RCL items like backpack, hat, etc. Our group did a gift exchange and a fun BINGO game.

Ports of Call

This itinerary wasn't my favourite as we've been to these ports before. For the first time on a cruise, we didn't book any excursions and decided to do a simple beach day at the ports. Three sea days felt like too many to me at first but with the size of the ship and all the amenities, we enjoyed have the extra time on the ship to try lots of activities.

St. Maarten - We rode the water taxi to Great Bay - there are $1 off coupons at the Excursion Desk in the Promenade making the trip $6 per person round trip. Beers on the water taxi were $2 each.

We set up at the Holland House based on recommendations on CC and were quite happy that we did. Price was $25 for two chairs, umbrella, free wifi and four drinks in a bucket. The chairs were super comfortable and they were spaced generously. We noticed at neighbouring resorts, the chairs were packed in quite tightly. I inquired about ordering a second bucket of beer and was told the price would be 5 for $17.50.

I decided to check at a beach bar next door called Blue B*tch Bar and their bucket was 5 for $10 - Sold! Their bartender was also super sweet. We had originally walked past Holland House and were a bit turned around. I stopped and asked her and she was kind enough to point us in the right direction when a lot of others I had asked weren't as honest. So I was happy to get our drinks from her!

San Juan - Our time in San Juan was short so we decided to walk up to the San Cristobal. Entry was $7/person and free for kids under 15. We explored the fort and then walked through Old San Juan. I could have sworn there used to be a 7-11 in Old San Juan and we promised DD a Slurpee. We couldn't find it anywhere so maybe my memory is failing me? She settled for a strawberry Popsicle instead! We went back to the ship for lunch with plenty of time before sailaway!

Labadee - I've never been a Labadee fan and after this visit, I'm still not. We left the ship around 10am and took the free one way ferry (aka retired tender boat) over to Columbus Cove which I was told on CC that it was a great beach for kids! We were able to get three chairs under a small palm tree. Shade is at a premium on this small beach close to the water and there's not enough for everyone!

We had lunch at the buffet on the island and after lunch, that's when we noticed the beach getting busier. It was so busy, that a huge family set up their chairs around us - all chairs basically surrounding us with no personal space! I inched my chair into the sun and a couple came right behind, stored their bags under my chair and laid mere inches from my head. The lack of personal space was very uncomfortable.

The beach is good for kids as the sand is very soft, but it was so busy on the beach and in the water that it was hard to relax and enjoy it. Maybe we chose the wrong beach? I would have brought water shoes and gone to a much quieter section had I known.

Entertainment

We pre-booked all our shows before we boarded and used the RCL app to keep track of our schedule.

Mamma Mia (Day 1 - 8pm) - Wasn't certain if DD would sit through the entire performance but to our surprise, she did! A great production and the music/singing was legit professional. Show length is 2.5 hrs with a 15 minute intermission.

Ocean Aria (Day 3 - 7:30pm) - It's amazing what the divers can do in a small pool with limited space. We were wowed!

How to Train Your Dragon on Ice (Day 4 - 7:30pm) - There are no ticket reservations for this show and I believe it only happens once during the week. It's about 30 minutes but I think absolutely worth watching.

I would recommend getting to Studio B at least 30-45 minutes in advance to get a good seat. It gets very crowded and also they reserve the first 3 rows in the center for suite guests. Things tend to get heated when people see empty seats in these rows while looking for places to sit and the staff tell them that the seats are reserved!

Note: This show will conflict with the "Pirate Night" at Adventure Ocean as children must be signed in by 7:45pm to participate in the Pirate Show. We asked DD to make a decision as to what she wanted to do and she chose the show.

Ice Games (Day 5 - 7:30pm) - A mixed bag on the theme but worth watching for the costumes and skating athleticism. Show length about an hour. Again, get to Studio B early to get a good seat!

Headliner - Ronn Lucas (Day 5 - 8:30pm) - More traditional cruise ship entertainment. I thought it was a bit corny but if ventriloquism is your bag, then don't miss it! DD enjoyed it though - She was cackled like a fiend! Show length is about an hour.

Blue Planet - We had reservations but decided to skip it as we had seen a few other shows already that week.

Stand Up Comedy (Day 6 - 9pm) - The comedy club is a very small space, holds probably only about 40-50 people so definitely make reservations for this. The standby line for comedy was long each night. I wish I would have reserved the comedy on multiple nights so we could change our show plans once on the ship. Show length is about an hour.

The comedians also performed a family friendly set (Day 7 - 9pm) in the main theatre if you don't get a chance to see them in the club. Material is identical to the club shows minus the F-bombs!

Promenade Parades - We watched both Move It! Move It! Welcome (Day 3 - 12:30pm) and Farewell (Day 7 - 7:45pm) parades on the Promenade. Get there early for a good seat. For the Welcome Parade, we sat in the Schooner Bar and had a good view looking down but weren't close to the action. So for the Farewell Parade, we moved down to Deck 5 and sat in front of the Bow and Stern pub, right under the bridge. DD was much happier watching on the Promenade as the characters will come down and high five the kids. And we got showered by the streamer canon at the end!

Dreamworks Sail Away Party Celebration (Day 5 - 2pm) - This happened during the sail away from San Juan in the Aquatheatre. DD enjoyed it but I would have skipped it. There was dancing from the activities staff and appearances on stage by only Alex, Gloria, Puss in Boots, Shrek and Fiona. The characters did not stick around afterwards for photo ops.

Adventure Ocean

I was certain that DD would be excited to go to Adventure Ocean but the drop offs became a bit of a battle for us. She was always happy at pick up and enjoyed the program but there was a lot of resistance to go in. I think she had a few cases of FOMO (fear of missing out), which I've never seen before as we were at a resort in Mexico (Azul Sensatori) last December and she never wanted to leave kids club!

Because DD is still 5 (turning 6 in a month), she was grouped with the 3-5 year olds (Aquanauts). At registration on the first day, I did inquire about the possibility of putting her in the 6-8 group. The staff told me that it is possible but sometimes in the evenings, they put the 6-8 year olds with the 9-11 kids and the older boys can be rough.

We decided to keep her in the 3-5 age group and perhaps because she was one of the older kids, she wasn't with her peer group, which could have contributed to her hesitation to go? I don't have any reservations about AO. I think the program that they have there is great.

Adventure Ocean hours on sea days are: 9-12pm, 2-5pm and 7-10pm and on port days, it is opened all day and kids can dine in the Windjammer for meals with the staff.

On sea days, the 3 hour time frame was just enough to change into bathing suits, dash to the Solarium, spend 10 minutes in the pool, and slam back 2 drinks, before we had to change and go back for pick up. We didn't utilize AO on port days as we wanted DD to see the islands.

DD didn’t go to every session at Adventure Ocean. We tried to convince her to go to at least one session a day so that we could have a small break!

Things Kids Will Like

Boardwalk - Unlimited carousel rides, movies on the big screen in the Aqua Theatre, and small climbing gym made this area a favourite of DD. All this area is missing is an ice cream machine!

Skating (Day 3 - 9am) - The rink is small but DD loved the skating and asked to go several times. They don't have a lot of figure skates in size 13 (I think only 1-2 pairs) so if your child is used to those, they may not have them. DD had to use hockey skates which was challenging at first but she got the hang of it.

Rock climbing, zip line, Flowrider - DD was too short for all those activities but I know she would have loved them. The rock climbing had an age requirement of 6 and even though DD is sometimes taller (she's 48 inches!) than most 6 year olds, her age kept her off the wall. I tried the zip line and it was fine. It's a super short ride and if there's no line up, the staff will allow multiple rides.

I signed all the waivers online before we left so it was a simple scan of our seapass to do any of the activities.

Dreamworks Partnership - We enjoyed seeing the characters on the Promenade/Boardwalk area. DD got to meet Alex the Lion, Gloria the Hippo and one of the dragons from How to Train Your Dragon. DH and I saw Shrek and Fiona on formal night while DD was at Adventure Ocean. We missed meeting Puss in Boots and the Penguins!

We didn't do the character breakfast on sea days ($10 per adult - kids free) but the music and announcements can be heard as it was on one of the upper decks of the dining room.

Popcorn - RCL might as well offer a popcorn package! The popcorn always smelled so good, it was hard to resist. But the portions were small for $2.95 and it was never enough!

Ice Cream Machines - Soft serve with vanilla, strawberry and chocolate flavors near the kid’s splash park. Usually opened during the days. On port days, the ice cream tended to be a bit firmer as the machine wasn't as busy and the ice cream had time to thicken up.

Face Painting and Balloon Animals - There are many opportunities to get faces painted - they offer it at Adventure Ocean and on sea days, there is a face painter or balloon twisting outside of On Air. At least it's still free...for now!

Current Pool - DD could not get enough of this pool. Unfortunately, due to her height, an adult had to be in there with her. I likened it to a flushing toilet experience - water swirling round and round and a faint scent of urine.

Allure Dunes - DD loves mini golf so this was a highlight for her.

Things Adults Will Like

The Solarium - A sanctuary away from the madness of the other pools and hot tubs. A bit hot at times under the enclosed glass but we enjoyed it!

Sundeck - All the way forward on the 14th deck is a quiet area with fantastic views. There isn’t any seating or chairs but there are windows that allow a view into Adventure Ocean if you want to see what the little guys are up to!

Chair Hogs?

I was pleasantly surprised that we were able to find a chair near the pools any time of day. There was always at least one available chair that we can put our stuff on and the surrounding chairs would free up around us if we wanted a second or third chair.

Suggestions for Improvement

Focus Photo Gallery - Focus only offers digital copies of photos for a minimum package of 6 photos for $99. If you buy one photo at $20, you are stuck with an 8x10 hard copy. Some of the photos taken in the ports are not available in 8x10 size (ie: Labadee water picture) and you can't remove the graphics or border that surrounds the photo!

C&A Society - I don't think anything great happens with C&A until Diamond status but I still think it's worth trying to make us little people feel valued. C&A sent a note to our stateroom inviting us to the Top Tier Event and then in small font, it read "For Diamond or above members only". Just tacky. Don't send me the invite then!

No C&A gifts anymore...I always enjoyed a little trinket for my loyalty be it a hat, a pen, a key chain, etc. DD would have enjoyed the swag!

I don't think we utilized any of the coupons. We ordered drinks at the Champagne Bar one evening thinking that it would be covered by the Buy 1-Get 1 C&A coupon but noticed later that the Buy 1-Get 1 is only for beer, wine or pop.

Beer Selection - I knew going in that the selection of beers would be dismal but after digging around in the beer cart in the Solarium, we unearthed some tall boys of Red Stripe and Sam Adams! Huzzah! I think RCL can do a better job of curating the selection on board and offer more craft beers, especially in the Bow and Stern pub.

Ice Machines - A majority of the ice machines at the different eateries around the ship were all out of order.

Art Auctions – The art auction feels antiquated to me. Please stop sending flyers to our room! We're not coming, even if there is "free" champagne.

Casino - We are not big gamblers but I get that it's an "adult arcade" as DD called it. We found it tightly packed and too smoky to spend a lot of time in.

Disembarkation

Our flight was 10:30am out of FLL so we decided to self disembark and it was so easy. We walked off at 7:20am, luggage in hand and there was no lines at customs. I highly recommend this to avoid waiting around in lounges and long lines to follow.

Note: The free wifi inside the terminal does not work outside so if you are calling an Uber, do it while you are still on the inside. We ended up taking a cab to FLL ($15) as I didn't have wifi to order an Uber.

We arrived at our gate having cleared security by 8am. We were super early for our flight but I'd rather be early than late! Now if only there wasn't a 4 hr flight delay on top of our 3 hr layover in Atlanta! It was a long travel day home.

Things We Learned About Travelling with Kids

Obviously each child is different but here are a few things I wish I had known and/or learned about travelling and cruising with kids:

Kids might be overwhelmed - The Allure is massive and can be overwhelming even for adults. We tried to set aside about 1.5 hours every day of quiet time in our room to decompress and get out of the sun - whether it was watching TV or reading a book, we needed some time away from the action. Usually around 4pm-5:30pm, we did a shower, a TV show and then off to dinner. Unfortunately, DD doesn't nap anymore but I badly wanted one!

Kids need their sleep - At home, DD goes to bed around 7:30pm and wakes up around 7am. We were pretty liberal with bed time on the ship and were fine to have her stay up later for shows or Adventure Ocean. There was one or two nights where she requested to go to bed around 8pm and we were okay with that as well. She definitely needed her rest.

It's exhausting...for adults - Even though DD is a competent swimmer (Level 4 Red Cross), we still had to monitor her in the pools and beach. One of us was always in the water with her very close by. No naps by the pool or on the beach for us adults.

Sunscreen will damage the seapass - DD touched her seapass with sunscreen on her hands and it rubbed some of the text and barcode from her card. Security told us to get a new one from guest services as they couldn't scan the barcode for ID. It seems like it is a common issue and we got a new card with no problem.

Bag of Tricks - Before we left home, I went to the dollar store and stocked up on books, colouring/activity books, small toys, snacks and inflatables for the beach. I divided my stock pile into three - one pile for the flight down, on the ship and coming home. This worked nicely as we had a huge flight delay on the way home and I was able to keep DD entertained.

The Medicine Cabinet - I also stocked up every possible medication that I thought we could possibly need - Children's Advil, Gravol, Immodium, Tylenol Cold pills, allergy pills, extra sunscreen, Benedryl, etc. I forgot the aloe but we were able to buy that in San Juan.

Over the counter medications on the ship is very expensive. Sunscreen for example was 2 for $30!

Bring baggies and containers – Having a few extra Ziplock baggies or plastic containers will come in handy for storing lose toys/crayons, leftover snacks, etc.

On disembarkation day, it was hard to get DD to eat breakfast at 6:30am as she wasn’t hungry. I took a few muffins and pastries from the Windjammer and put them in a plastic container. She ended up eating the muffins at the airport an hour later.

Washy Washy - DD loves to use every hand rail on the stairs, pick up random pieces of garbage from the floor and touch every possible surface in public. We encouraged frequent hand washing and took full advantage of the Purell stations outside every eatery.

Final Thoughts

Although not our first cruise, this was a cruise with a lot of "firsts" for us:

- first cruise in 7 years

- first cruise with a kid

- first time with early seating dinner time

- first time not booking any excursions in ports

- first time not setting foot inside the gym (there was just not enough hours in the day!)

- first time with no specialty dining reservations

- first time on an "older" ship

It was nice to return to ship life for this vacation, although I'm not certain when we'd go again. DD is definitely hooked (it's now been a week since we've been home and she refuses to take off her muster bracelet). The Allure is a lovely ship - the size and amenities are perfect for families.

Do you think you could have purchased the 10 drink card on Day 4? you said you got it on day 5.

We have reserved the beach cabanas on Columbus cove did those look like they had space? I reserved this just for the issue you had, have not been to labadee in 4 years so this area is new to me.

Where you able to use your drink card at labadee for the labadooze? That is the reason we want the card.

Thanks for your reply.

C&A Society - I don't think anything great happens with C&A until Diamond status but I still think it's worth trying to make us little people feel valued. C&A sent a note to our stateroom inviting us to the Top Tier Event and then in small font, it read "For Diamond or above members only". Just tacky. Don't send me the invite then!

That may have been a typo - the Top Tier is usually for Platinum and up. You should have gone.

Great review and details. We've been on Allure when our younger one was close to your DD's age. (We're from Toronto too) She loved it even though couldn't go on zipline, flowrider, etc as you stated. That's surprising about Hyatt as it always get great reviews. Sounds like you all had fun. The Dreamworks are fun too on the ship. Too bad though that they wouldn't let your DD move up an age group in kids club. Sounds great overall though.

That may have been a typo - the Top Tier is usually for Platinum and up. You should have gone.

It might be dependent on how many C&A members are on the ship for a given cruise. A large C&A contingent might warrant the need to limit attendance. Just speculation, of course.

Cool trip report...

Loved your review. We will be traveling on the Allure in 25 days with our 7 and 8 year old girls. This will be their 5th cruise but it will all of our first Royal cruise. We are definitely excited about the Allure as well as RC. Your review was very helpful especially with the kids activities.

Do you think you could have purchased the 10 drink card on Day 4? you said you got it on day 5.

 

We have reserved the beach cabanas on Columbus cove did those look like they had space? I reserved this just for the issue you had, have not been to labadee in 4 years so this area is new to me.

 

Where you able to use your drink card at labadee for the labadooze? That is the reason we want the card.

 

Thanks for your reply.

Thanks for reading!

I don't think it would hurt to ask about the drink card on Day 4. The bartender at Schooner Bar said that they can sell the card as soon as they close sales for the Deluxe drink package. I don't know when they close on board sales for that, but I would ask as early as Day 3?

There was a part of Columbus Cove that had a few cabanas that were reserved for Sky Class and there was lots of room on the beach there. The cabanas were nicely spaced...I think only 5-6 in total. I also saw some cabanas near the ferry dock that were perched up, not on the beach.

I did use the drink card for a drink on Labadee but just a margarita. Didn't try for the Labadoozee!

Great review and details. We've been on Allure when our younger one was close to your DD's age. (We're from Toronto too) She loved it even though couldn't go on zipline, flowrider, etc as you stated. That's surprising about Hyatt as it always get great reviews. Sounds like you all had fun. The Dreamworks are fun too on the ship. Too bad though that they wouldn't let your DD move up an age group in kids club. Sounds great overall though.

Thanks for reading and hello to a fellow Toronto cruiser!

Loved your review. We will be traveling on the Allure in 25 days with our 7 and 8 year old girls. This will be their 5th cruise but it will all of our first Royal cruise. We are definitely excited about the Allure as well as RC. Your review was very helpful especially with the kids activities.

Have a great cruise! Glad you found the review useful! :)

That may have been a typo - the Top Tier is usually for Platinum and up. You should have gone.

I'm only a lowly Gold member...they would have stopped me at the door!

I'm only a lowly Gold member...they would have stopped me at the door!

The greeters at these events only care about the invitation, they have no idea what level C&A you are.

The greeters at these events only care about the invitation, they have no idea what level C&A you are.

GREAT TIP! Next time, next time!!!

There was a part of Columbus Cove that had a few cabanas that were reserved for Sky Class and there was lots of room on the beach there. The cabanas were nicely spaced...I think only 5-6 in total. I also saw some cabanas near the ferry dock that were perched up, not on the beach.

Just a minor correction: they call them bungalows at Columbus Cove and anyone who wants to pay the price can reserve them. They are not reserved for Sky Class. I have one reserved for our February 2019 Harmony cruise. They sell out quickly because there’s only a few.

I loved your review and saved the link. We will be traveling with (grand)kids for the first time and it will be helpful to refer to all the great info you provided. Thanks!

Really nice trip report. I appreciate all the work and info that went into it. THANK YOU

Wow! What a fantastic trip report. I appreciate you taking the time to write it all up. We are cruising Oasis on Sunday with our 5.5 year old. Exactly the same itinerary as you. We too haven’t cruised on Royal for years- our last was Allure in 2011. Our last cruise was Disney 5 years ago. Son was 7 months then and was with us but so tiny. Thanks for all the fantastic information and tips. Your reminder for downtime is important and something I hadn’t thought much about. We are also in a balcony port side so was a little sad to read it’s not the side they dock on at any port. We are cruising with family and have four cabins total. My son is SO excited for this trip and I just can’t wait to see what he thinks of it all. Thanks again!

Thanks for the write up! We're going on the Allure in January with 2 kids. 1 is turning 6 in December and the other turning 4 on the trip. I wonder if Adventure Ocean will allow my oldest to stay in the Aquanauts and how I can get the younger one to like it (she didn't want to go there on our earlier trip this year on the Anthem). How long did it take to walk to the Fort in San Juan?

Thanks for the write up! We're going on the Allure in January with 2 kids. 1 is turning 6 in December and the other turning 4 on the trip. I wonder if Adventure Ocean will allow my oldest to stay in the Aquanauts and how I can get the younger one to like it (she didn't want to go there on our earlier trip this year on the Anthem). How long did it take to walk to the Fort in San Juan?

You can always ask at Adventure Ocean on embarkation day if your 6 year old can join Aquanauts. I think it depends on if there is space. Perhaps if they are both in the same group, your 4 year old might be more inclined to go? I hope both of your kids go willingly - for your own sanity!!!

We saw a lot of kids bound into AO with no complaints...and some kids even CRIED when their parents came to pick them up because they didn't want to leave!

The walk to Fort in San Juan took about 15-20 minutes. It was mostly uphill but I bribed with a bag of gummy bears and said we can open them once we reached the top of the Fort inside.

We might have to resort to bribery as well. How was the beach and water condition at Great Bay? We've never tried that beach before.

We might have to resort to bribery as well. How was the beach and water condition at Great Bay? We've never tried that beach before.

Beach and water were both nice...very calm and sand is soft. I was initially worried as we had read some reports about pollution but the water seemed clean to us although I don't travel with a chemical test kit!

Thanks for the review! We will be on Allure in a few weeks with our 4 and 8 year olds so I appreciated the insight you provided from a family perspective.

Thanks for the review! We will be on Allure in a few weeks with our 4 and 8 year olds so I appreciated the insight you provided from a family perspective.

Thanks for reading and have a fantastic time!

Good detailed review!

When I read all of the feedback and suggestions for cruising with a young child, I felt as if I could have been writing it myself. Our son was just shy of four on his first cruise, and the overstimulation and not enough sleep combination led to quite a few cranky moments. But it gets much better as they get older. (He is eight now and quite the international traveler.) And all of the suggestions and things you brought, I was right there with ya.

One kid suggestion... Bring strong little magnets (can pick up on Amazon). Take the sheet from the pullman bed, and use the magnets to attach it to the walls or ceiling to make a fort bed. My son LOVED it, and it provided a little extra privacy for the adults.. if you know what I mean... ;p;) We've never had a steward that tried to take it down, so it stayed up all week for each of our cruises.

Thanks for the review!

Good detailed review!

 

When I read all of the feedback and suggestions for cruising with a young child, I felt as if I could have been writing it myself. Our son was just shy of four on his first cruise, and the overstimulation and not enough sleep combination led to quite a few cranky moments. But it gets much better as they get older. (He is eight now and quite the international traveler.) And all of the suggestions and things you brought, I was right there with ya.

 

One kid suggestion... Bring strong little magnets (can pick up on Amazon). Take the sheet from the pullman bed, and use the magnets to attach it to the walls or ceiling to make a fort bed. My son LOVED it, and it provided a little extra privacy for the adults.. if you know what I mean... ;p;) We've never had a steward that tried to take it down, so it stayed up all week for each of our cruises.

 

Thanks for the review!

OMG - the sheet idea is genius! And my daughter definitely would have loved her own fort! We will try this next time for sure!

I definitely think there should be a manual for parents travelling with young kids! I know I would have appreciated it!

I found this allure review the most helpful yet! We will be traveling next fall with our 6 year old. All of the info you provided was extremely helpful. I didn’t realize AO wasn’t available all day for sea days.

Did you happen to see the Trolls characters at all on the ship? My daughter lovesssssss Trolls.