Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas Cruise Review Part 1

So... let's start with this. My family and I have been fortunate enough to travel quite a bit. Hubs and I have been to all continents except Antarctica (and plan on making it there eventually!). We love all-inclusive experiences and have spent quite a few vacays enjoying them. 

All of that being said, we've never had much interest in going on a cruise. We'd rather GO somewhere, you know? Put us in a place for a week, let us really explore and see the destination, give us a passport stamp and a thorough experience. It has always seemed like, on a cruise, the SHIP is the destination, and we've just never been inclined to pick that over all of the other options out there. 

And then, back in the spring, our 9 year old was given the opportunity to perform on Allure of the Seas over Thanksgiving break. She has taken voice and piano since she was 5 at a Louisville fine arts school and the school's performance groups were invited for a 5th time to join the official onboard entertainment. The opportunity was too good for her to pass up so... all aboard! We packed up and headed out to see what cruising is all about! 

Packed up and ready to roll! 

Our Eastern Caribbean cruise departed from Ft. Lauderdale at 6pm on a Sunday night. To avoid the stress of traveling on cruise day, we flew to FLL the day before and spent the night at the Pelican Grand Resort on the beach. We got upgraded to an amazing massive room and could happily have spent the week here! The place was amazing. Seriously!!

View from our balcony

Kids faking trauma... haha

Ahhh... family happy place!

Wouldn't be south Florida without the expensive rides parked out front! ;)

On Sunday we checked out and headed over to the port. The entire boarding process was organized and quick, kind of like a "light" version of airport security! Before we knew it, we were aboard the Allure, the largest cruise ship on the water! 

Checking it out! 

The view from our balcony!

The week was packed with all kinds of stuff! We tried to experience everything the ship had to offer and definitely learned a lot about the whole cruising experience! I'll be doing posts on the food, the ports we visited, the onboard activities and the shows! I tried to do lots of research before we left but still traveled with lots of unanswered questions. Hopefully I'll be able to offer some helpful, unbiased advice to  some of you who might be considering a vacation like this! Stay tuned! :D