Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas Ship Review

Six nights into my family’s week-long Mediterranean cruise onboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, I still hadn’t found the courage to tackle the Ultimate Abyss. Even the sight of the duo of slides, which corkscrew down 10 stories at the aft of the ship, was making me break out in a sweat. (I’m scared of heights.)

As I packed our suitcases before dinner on our last night, however, the words of a Royal Caribbean executive speaking on the in-room TV feel targeted: “We want everyone to step outside of their comfort zone at least once on our ships,” they say.

It was now or never. I grabbed my seven-year-old daughter, and we made a mad dash up to deck 17, the top deck. We slip into the queue five minutes before the slide closed for the day. We’d be off the ship by the time it re-opened the next day.

As our turn inched closer, I tried to ignore the fact that I was standing on a transparent platform 490 feet above the sea. Suddenly we were next. I clung to the entrance of the slide and closed my eyes. A crew member shouted, “go!” and I propelled myself into the abyss.

It was dark and narrow when I opened my eyes, and the flashing lights and eerie noises playing inside the slide reminded me of a haunted house at the fairground. The twists and turns were over in a few seconds. Suddenly, I emerged into daylight as my daughter appeared, laughing, on the slide next to me. I was speechless.

The second in Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class, Allure of the Seas was launched in 2010. At the start of 2025, it got a $100 million makeover. The addition of the Ultimate Abyss was one of the key “amplifications,” the term Royal Caribbean uses to describe its upgrade program. Alongside it, a re-imagined resort-style pool deck with a trio of waterslides, new restaurant and bars, an escape room, and an updated kids’ club area. An additional 111 staterooms were also added, to bring capacity up to 5,718 guests (at double occupancy).

While it might not be the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet, the revamped Allure of the Seas now packs in plenty of Royal Caribbean fan favorites, without the price tag of newer vessels like Icon and Star of the Seas.

From the staterooms, to the bars and restaurants, amenities and entertainment, and more, read on for my full review of the newly upgraded Allure of the Seas.

The Staterooms

There are a host of new staterooms, including two forward-facing Ultimate Panoramic Suites above the bridge with 200-degree ocean views. Allure of the Seas’ cabins weren’t touched during the renovations. A neutral palette of light woods and blue carpets, the staterooms are an older model of what you’ll find on board newer ships in the fleet.

Accommodations include interior staterooms, some with virtual balconies (floor-to-ceiling screens projecting images of the water captured from cameras placed on the exterior of the ship); balcony staterooms overlooking neighborhoods such as Central Park and the Boardwalk; and ocean view staterooms (with or without balconies). At the top end, the Royal Suite trio of classes (Sea, Sky, and Star) come with progressive levels of luxury and pampering.

Our family of four was split between two Ocean View Balcony staterooms which, while compact, never felt cramped, with good storage in the cupboards, a TV with live-channels and pay-per-view movies, a desk, fridge, sofa area, and decent-sized bathroom. There’s an argument that, on a ship with this many trimmings, you really only use your cabin to sleep, but the balcony became an oasis of calm away from the crowds on the two sea days of our itinerary.

Bars and Restaurants

New venues on the amplified Allure of the Seas include Pesky Parrot, the Caribbean-themed tiki bar previously found only on Utopia of the Seas, and Mason Jar Southern Restaurant & Bar. Among the other anticipated additions are the buzzy poolside hangout, The Lime & Coconut, whose frozen cocktails were a treat, and the included taco and burrito lunch spot, El Loco Fresh. On the Boardwalk, the newly added Playmakers Sports & Arcade Bar became our go-to meeting spot, with live sports on TV screens and family-friendly games like Jenga and Connect 4 on every table.

Of Allure of the Seas’ 35-plus food and drink venues, nine are included in the fare, including the split-level main dining room for dinner. Considering the enormous task of feeding nearly 6,000 people every night, I was impressed by its à la carte menu that changed nightly, even if the 5.30pm meal time we were allocated was much earlier than we eat at home. Despite worrying about how busy lunches at the main buffet Windjammer would be, I was also surprised to find pockets of calm in the venue and a flow of freshly prepared meats, salads, and sides.

The most memorable experiences, however, came from the specialty restaurants. We clocked servers pulling drinks trolleys to make fresh cocktails and mocktails at French-inspired 150 Central Park and enjoyed the chef performances at Izumi Hibachi & Sushi.

Where Allure of the Seas Sails

Until March 2026, Allure of the Seas will be based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, setting off on eight-night eastern Caribbean sailings to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island in The Bahamas; and six-night western Caribbean sailings to Mexico and The Bahamas. After that, cruisers can board Allure of the Seas in Galveston, Texas, where it will be sailing seven-night western Caribbean itineraries to Mexico and Honduras.

Shore Excursions

In each port we visited, an impressive choice of shore excursions could be booked through Royal Caribbean for an additional fee. These included typical guided coach tours to places like Pompeii and Cinque Terre in Italy to more unusual experiences such as a Tuk Tuk tour through Rome. Costs pile up quickly for families booking excursions every day, however, and, given the distance from some ports to destinations like Rome and Florence, many also involved early starts and long days. Save for Civitavecchia, where we spent a morning immersed in the Italian rural idyll, tasting olive oil on a farmhouse estate once owned by Napoléon Bonaparte’s brother with about 30 fellow passengers, we preferred organizing our own adventures. We took advantage of the shuttle service from the ship to the city centers to meander around new-to-us destinations like Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and Naples, Italy, on foot. It also meant we were back onboard earlier than most guests, so there was less competition for sun loungers on the pool deck.

Amenities and Entertainment

As cruisers have come to expect from the Royal Caribbean fleet, Allure of the Seas is nonstop action, as much for adults as for children. Adults-only spaces include the Solarium, with a serene sun deck and whirlpool area that I longed to spend an afternoon in, casino, comedy club, and after-hours nightclub. It was also evident as we took the kids to bed each night that the party was just getting started, especially along Royal Promenade, the ship’s main street.

Seven days of blue skies meant that the pool deck was the place to be during the day—and a sun lounger prime real estate. Brightly styled casitas, another touch added during the upgrade, could be reserved for privacy and guaranteed lounging at an extra cost. We preferred to wait until late afternoon when the area emptied as people prepared for the evening’s entertainment and the pools became much calmer. Similarly, my husband found that if he hit the gym before breakfast, there was always a treadmill with sea views available. The good-sized gym was accessed through the spa area, with its extensive program of treatments and beauty services, and was also connected by a staircase to the running track on the deck below.

Most cruise chatter with fellow passengers revolved around the high quality of Allure of the Seas’ program of complimentary nightly shows, which I had pre-booked on the Royal Caribbean app in the lead-up to our departure. The ship’s headline act, “Mamma Mia!” didn’t disappoint and had the audience singing along from the first song. Ice-skating show Blades, as well as the acrobatic and diving extravaganza Aqua80, were the other high notes of our sailing.

Family-friendly Offerings

Allure of the Seas’ mix of activities and entertainment for children kept my two daughters busy from the moment they woke until they collapsed, exhausted, into bed at the end of the day. There was always something on the program they were excited to try, from rock climbing, ice skating, and mini golf to family karaoke, drawing classes, and even Taylor Swift and Harry Potter–themed quizzes. My seven-year-old, the daredevil of the family, was just an inch or so off the height requirements for zip lining high above the Central Park neighborhood and the FlowRider surf simulator, much to her dismay.

Added as part of the upgrades, Splashaway Bay, the childrens’ water park complete with water cannons, slides, and fountains, was a huge hit with my two kids, as was the trio of Perfect Storm water slides. With so much to see and do, we struggled to get them on shore, let alone to Adventure Ocean, the onboard kids’ club, despite the newly revamped quarters being bright and welcoming and split by age into three rooms: babies and tots, children, and teens.

Accessibility

Allure of the Seas has 46 wheelchair accessible staterooms, with features such as bathroom grab bars, a lowered sink, and lowered closet rods and safes. Wide elevators serve all guest decks and accessible bathrooms are located in public areas across the ship. For visually impaired guests, certain members of the crew are trained as qualified readers.