Because we’re fortunate enough to be friends and colleagues of Phil Reimer, who writes about cruising all across Canada under the banner of Port and Bows, we had an opportunity to see Allure of the Seas. Actually, we had “seen” her the week before as she arrived in Fort Lauderdale’s harbor for the first time, but we were standing on the top deck of another Royal Caribbean ship at the time, so it was a distant visual.
The Allure is the biggest, newest ship in the cruise world — or any world for that matter — and this Sunday it ventures into the Caribbean Sea for the first time.
Phil was among a couple of hundred media people invited to spend a few days getting to know the Allure as it was being prepped for paying customers. Simultaneously, we were on Norwegian’s Epic and, as luck would have it, both ships were close enough together in Florida that we could visit.
Phil, and the ship.
First impression? On the Epic, there were times we felt like we weren’t even on a cruise ship…just a giant hotel. On the Allure, we REALLY felt like we weren’t on a cruise ship.
Like the Oasis, its king-sized sibling, the Allure could be a reason for cruising all by itself. In a week, you’d have to be going 24/7 to see all of it properly. There is something for everyone to do and, while this is a claim all cruise ships can make to some degree (and do), the enormity of the Allure just multiplies the opportunity.
It is the only ship where you can be in “Central Park” and order a cappuccino from Starbucks. It is the only ship where you can meet Shrek, and a host of other DreamWorks characters you normally see only on the big screen. It is the only cruise ship on which you can see the Broadway production Chicago. And it’s the only ship where you can get a hot dog at the Boardwalk Dog House…it’s not a Coney Island dog, but it IS close to Central Park, the 57-tree, 12,000-plant replica that dominates the guts of the Allure.
As tours go, Phil gave us the Reimer special, and it was great. We had buffet lunch at the Windjammer, the only eatery open, and the food was excellent. We watched a woman probably close to our age try (“try” being the operative word here) her hand, or body, at “surfing.” 
We thought we’d seen the biggest floating casino on the Epic, but the Allure’s is like the ship itself …enormous. We stood at top of the “ship inside the ship” and looked across at the zip liners — declining Phil’s invitation to try it out — and down at the promenade, eight stories below.
We refreshed ourselves at the Champagne Bar (well, it was an exhausting tour!), and admired much of what this world’s largest ship is, and what the Allure is…is amazing. The only bad thing we saw on the ship was the “Visitor’s Pass” fastened to our clothes.
It meant we had to leave.