Allure of the Seas: Decks 17 & 18 Overview

Here's what I know of Decks 17 & 18.....

Deck 17 has the Pinnacle chapel, Pinnacle lounge, and Viking Crown lounge, as well as the first floor of the 2 storey loft suites.

Deck 18 has the second floor of the 2 storey loft suites.

End of review.  LOL.

The Allure of the Seas: Deck 16 Overview

Royal gets a little funny with the upper deck plans/floor numbering.  At the back of the ship, the top of the Flowrider is considered a different deck than the bottom of the Flowrider (which is at the same level as the mini-golf, and has open deck area that the plan doesn't really show you can get to).  Between the two Flowriders is another bar (surprise!), and the launch pad for the zip line.

 The Flowrider is almost always busy with spectactors and participants.  Check the schedule each day early to sign up.  The really neat time to go is late at night when the staff are practicing!

 Not busy at all!  During the day, due to the close location of the bar and the possibility of seeing some bathing suit mis-haps, this can be a rowdy spot.  But not at night.

 This is the zip line launch pad.  You stand on the white blocks after getting suited up.  They connect you, and you just step forward and take off.  Yikes.

 And this is where you "land".  There are foam blocks to cushion your landing.  You're supposed to make contact with that white ramp on the left and sort of "run" up it, but it took too long for my short legs to find the platform and I pretty much landed at the top LOL.

 Fun for everyone!

 Some are more brave than others, like this "thumbs up" dude!

 The view of what you're zipping over.  The take off is to the left, above the A in Allure.

The view from down below in the Aquatheater.  Can you see him, way up there?

Looking at the plans, it says you have to go down a deck to get across that gap.  It's not really a whole deck below, it's just the height of the Flowrider.
Across the gap is the Windjammer buffet restaurant.  A few floors higher than on the Freedom class, and you don't get quite the same rear views.  It also felt a little busy at times.  It didn't seem much bigger than the other Windjammers.  I guess Royal figures there's many more other food options on this ship that the Windjammer didn't need to be much bigger?
Usually when you board a Royal ship, you want to head straight to the Windjammer for lunch before it gets too busy, and your rooms aren't ready right away anyway.  This time, we got in our room right off, and it was early so we weren't ready for lunch!
I don't have pictures of the inside of the Windjammer, but from the Windjammer you can see cool things like these:

 Kitchen staff from the Norwegian Pearl trying out the hammocks reserved for the suite guests...

 The water slide ride on the Disney AquaDuck

And the sports court on the Pearl.

The rest of this deck is around the edges, open to the pools below.  There's two more bars in the middle, and then at the front is the Solarium Bar and front viewing areas.
This is where I get a little confused by the floor plan and my pictures.  The floor plan in the brochure leaves out a lot of details...like doors.  And how to access the front deck on Deck 15, in front of the children's area.  I assumed that was just for the children, but the hallway does go to the front; it just doesn't show a door.  And when you look at the front of the ship:

 


See the captain's bridge at the front...if you click on the picture, you can see a person above it.  That looks like it should be this area in the photo, below:

 which I assumed, from the plans, was inaccessible and just the children's area.

This area below, is clearly the Solarium area, showing the top of the hot tub.


 This picture below shows the upper level of the solarium, and you can just see the pool.  However, that upper deck is all covered by glass, and the photo above shows no glass cover...

 Another view of the viewing platform.  I'm guessing that's actually deck 14.

Okay, I'm looking at the artist sketch of the ship in the brochure.  It doesn't show being able to go out over the sides of the bridge, and it looks like the area at the front of deck 14 is for children (the deck is shown with partitions, painted floors and says "Youth Program").  It shows the Solarium pool level, then the upper level which is at the roof of the hot tub, and then another level which isn't shown on the floor plan!  So, I'm calling this upper level deck 16 1/2, LOL!  I don't know if I have any pictures of that level!  Or if it really exists?  Well, on the cover of the 2013-2014 brochure, they show the front of the ship, and it does show another top level, with deck chairs.  And the front deck on 14 is totally open with no partitions or kid's stuff showing.  Confusing!

The Allure of the Seas: Deck 15 Overview

Almost to the top now!
Deck 15 starts out at the stern with the mini-golf on the left.  On our first cruise, I thought "Mini golf?!  Meh."  But we played a round, and it was actually very challenging!  And I got a hole-in-one!  So now we make sure to play a few rounds over the week.  One of the great things is that it's "self-serve", you don't have to book a time and try to remember :)

 As always, RCI incorporates art into every aspect of the ship!

 Look who we found on the course!  LOL.

 There is also a little children's course right next to the adult course!

 Adorable!

Back here, you can get a view down over the Aquatheater and see just how high those upper platforms are!  Scary!

We're talking on the deck above the upper "Allure of the Seas" label.  Look how high it is compared to the Norwegian Pearl, which is not a small ship!

On the right side is the Sports Court.  Can't tell you much about it except it's a multi purpose sports court :)

Ahead ship, on the next section that goes across the ship, is the teen area.  There's a pizza/burger type joint, a patio type area, ping pong tables.  A great spot to watch the AquaTheater shows if you don't get tickets.  I don't have pictures of the teen area, though I'm sure you'll find some online.  Inside here, there is "The Living Room", a hangout, Fuel Teen Disco, and Challenger's Arcade. All intended for teens, but I think anyone can walk around.
Across the hall is Sea Trek (snorkel/scuba outfitting) and "Breeze" which I think was a little gift shop.

Then the ship splits again.  On the left is the sports pool, and on the right, the kid's "H20 Zone".  Then there's a bridge, with two bars, and then it splits again with the main pool on the left and the beach pool on the right.
It's hard to tell in my photos which pools are which, except for the Beach Pool.  It is salt water and has a sloped area where the chairs can sit so you can get your feet wet.

This is the Beach Pool

 This is someone beached by the pool..

 This is standing near the front and looking back, so the beach pool is on the left/upper portion.  I imagine those aren't quiet and serene balconies...

 This is taken from the same spot, just a little more to my right, so it's showing the main pool and two hot tubs

 This is showing it from the other end

 This is the kid's H2O Zone at the top, and the sports pool in the foreground.  The kids have their own hot tub (on the left) and a "whirlpool" on the right.  That is so much fun when you get a group of people going around the circle fast...

Here's the Beach Pool at night, after it had rained.  The water was quite a bit higher.

While three pools (and water play area) might sound awesome, there were a few issues, due to how it's spread out and split by the open middle area.  If you have multiple kids, then you'll have to make them all be in one area.  The H20 Zone and Beach Pool are too far apart to be supervised by one parent.  Also, if you want to leave your stuff and roam around the pools, it'll be out of eyesight quickly.  It is nice to have variety though, especially if you don't mind there's no shallow ends, and they're not very warm!

Further on up, on either side, are the giant hot tubs that extend over the side of the ship. 

 See how big it is?  Up there in the middle of the picture, right next to the Norwegian Pearl.

And again, centre of the picture!

Some of it is open at the top, and they had TVs on showing sports (no sound).  There's also pretty twinkle lights that change colour.

Really, each hot tub is split into two.  Each of the smaller ones is about the same size as the hot tubs on the Freedom class.  You can fit a lot of people in one of these!  Keep in mind though that quite often one will be shut down for cleaning, often around 11pm.
At the front of the ship is the Solarium Bistro...a "healthy" alternative...if your idea of healthy is turkey bacon and egg whites...we tried it once.  Since I do low carb/high fat, I didn't go back again.  It's a nice spot, but was very busy for breakfast.  At night it becomes a Brazilian restaurant. 
In front of the Bistro is the Solarium adult only pool.  Actually, the brochure says "hydrotherapy pool".  It's definitely NOT a swimming pool.  We were rather disappointed.  The Solarium pool on the Freedom ships is a real pool.  This pool...a wet gossip joint for the older folk :(

This was the best time we had in the pool---late on the very last night!
They show really cool chairs with awnings...but they're never available.  It was still a nice place to relax, away from the children and noise of the main deck areas.  It's just too bad there wasn't a real pool for adults that want to swim without kids (the sports pool does have lap swimming in the mornings, but I'm not a lap swimmer).

The Allure of the Seas: Deck 14 Overview

Deck 14 is still mainly cabins.  The aft end is closed off and joins both sides, though there's no access from one side to the other.  Mid ship is the "card room".  Didn't check it out.

At the forward of the ship is the kids' area.  This is an amazing area for children.  There are 9 or 10 rooms, ranging from Workshop to a science lab, to a theater, to the kid club rooms.    On the Freedom ships, they share the deck space with 'the public' near Johnny Rockets.  The artist sketch of the Oasis shows the kids' area having the front deck area to themselves, however, photos of the Oasis (and my photos of the Allure) show this not to be the case.  It appears you can access the front deck by going down the long cabin hallway on either side of the ship, and there's doors that open to the front.

 This is as forward as you can get outside, though it's not the highest.  And, in a port like Nassau, you're still running back and forth to check out the maneuvering.

The kids' area on the Allure kind of made me jealous, LOL.  I wanted to play and explore.  Indeed, they do offer some adult classes, but well...you have to pay extra and try to schedule them into your already busy day.

 There is still a kids' arcade in this area, so keep an eye on your kids' Sea Pass!  We did find the arcade on the Freedom ships to be very noisy, dark, and rather distracting to the other kid areas (it was like a hallway).  The Oasis ships also have another area on deck 15, in the "teen zone".

Many people love this ship because there is so much to do for the kids.  However, the thought of my kids running around on a ship with over 6000 guests (PLUS crew), makes me a little uneasy.  We might take them when they're in their older teens (there's a 5 year age difference between the oldest and youngest, so maybe when they're 17-15-12?).  I know the kids' programs are very secure and well run, but if I found the ship overwhelming, tiring, and huge at my age and cruising experience, then what would a 7 year old feel?

For more pictures, check out http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-Tour-3.html
This looks like a great site for "touring" other ships as well.  It organzies the pictures more by "theme" (ie:  kids' stuff) than by deck

The Allure of the Seas: Decks 9-12 Overview

There's not much to say about these decks!  Deck 9 has the second floor of Dazzles.  Deck 10 is strictly cabins, deck 11 has a small library and concierge lounge, deck 12 has the second floor of the concierge lounge.  Deck 12 also has the largest, and third largest suites.  The Royal Suite is 1275sq ft with 335sq ft balcony and the Presidential Family Suite has 1142 sq ft with 476 sq ft balcony.  Those two suites are bigger than our first house, LOL! 

An inside cabin on the Oasis/Allure ranges from 149sq ft to 260 sq ft (of which, there are FOUR).  We had booked "category z" which means you are assigned an inside room, usually in the category Q size (149sq ft), of which there are only 45.  Most interior cabins are in the L, M, N group, of 172 sq ft.  The first two ships we went on, the interior cabins were 152 sq ft.  I can't imagine being in a smaller room, though I guess it's only 1'x3'ft difference (seriously though...where do they take out that space?!).  We feel very blessed to have been upgraded to a Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony (182 sq ft with 50 sq ft balcony...the room didn't feel a whole lot bigger than 152 sq ft, and the balcony was a touch small (would have liked a lounger), but still awesome!). 

On the next few classes down, the interior rooms are larger--160-165 sq ft, but on the Vision Class they go down to 140 sq ft, and on the Sovereign class they're 119sq ft!  Yikes!  Some of these smaller ships do long cruises and I don't think I'd want to be in an inside room going for 12 days through the Greek Isles.  However, there are some larger interior rooms, just at a higher price! (and by larger, I mean, the same as the smallest on the bigger ships LOL).  However, even the Ocean View rooms aren't much bigger--122 sq ft, on the Sovereign class, which has only one deck of balcony rooms (all Junior Suites (173 sq ft) and larger).  You better pick a cruise that has a lot of port days because there's not a whole lot to do on that ship either!

I know people say "Oh, you never spend much time in your cabin anyway".  Well, we did, for several reasons.  Make sure you have at least a couch--I was looking at a Princess brochure for their newest ship, and the interior rooms don't have a couch; they don't even show a chair other than at the desk.  Don't be surprised once you board. Spend some time on YouTube and on Google and get pictures (and videos) of possible rooms.  On the Sovereign Class, the brochure picture for the interior room shows the bed pushed against one wall (so you get in either from one side or from the foot).  This would drive me crazy and I'd have to have the "outside" half, so I can have the night table and access to the bathroom LOL.

The Allure of the Seas: Deck 8 Overview

For the most part, deck 8 isn't much different than the other decks above/below.  It's mainly a cabins deck, with only two attractions.  But one of those attractions is a large selling feature for the ship.

Starting at the rear (aft), this deck is the first deck beside the rock climbing wall with suites at the very end (decks 9 and 10 also have suites).  These suites look like they would be fun, with great views of the AquaTheater...if you don't mind always being on display to anyone that turns their head and looks up.

I'm a little confused though...the layout in the brochure shows the Rock Climbing wall on Deck 7, with no suite (with balcony) beside it.  Does that not look like a balcony suite?  There should be only three suites, deck 11 shows a little staircase behind a wall, which might have access from the deck 10 suite, though the floorplan doesn't say this suite is two stories....and in the picture below, you can see people on deck 11:

So what's that area on the same level as the rock climbing wall?  A prep area for the wall?

Further up the ship is the nightclub "Dazzles".  I think we checked it out, but didn't stay (we're not nightclub people). Dazzles is not really in Central Park itself, but is accessible at the rear end of the Park after going inside.  It over looks the Boardwalk and AquaTheater.
This picture is the forward portion of Central Park.

The glass structure at the top is a giant skylight.  The triangle glass structure at the bottom of the picture is a sitting area that I'll show later.

 Here's another view of the skylight.  The great thing about this is that it allows a LOT of light into the Royal Promenade.  I always thought (on the Freedom and the Liberty) that the Royal Promenade needed sunlight.  Since the pools were on the upper decks above the Promenade, that wasn't possible.  It's not practical to have the Promenade open to the sky (too many shops, displays, etc), so this set up was a great way to improve the lighting on the Promenade.

In fact, it seems it lets in so much light, they put up that awning?

Look how bright it is!  Natural light!  Yay!  All thanks to this:

In the bottom of this bad shot is the Rising Tide Bar.  We never experienced it, since it wasn't open all the time, and like most things on the ship, you have to schedule it into your day.

 Royal doesn't leave any surface untouched.  You'll find art everywhere, and sometimes the lighting is the art.

 These light bubbles change colours slowly.

 Central Park is a wonderful place for a stroll.  The plants are real, but the sounds are a recording.  However, you might get lucky and spot a bird or two.  It is humid in this park, perhaps because it's mid-ship and no breezes really get to it.  I hope they realize this and add fans at some point.

This is the triangle shaped structure I mentioned earlier.  It'd be nice in a light rain, but it doesn't shade the sun at all, and it's sort of like a greenhouse under it.

 More art.  I loved these glass birds!

 An interesting sculpture, representing stone and ice.
You can also sometimes find Dreamworks characters here!

I know my pictures are rather scattered, but here's the lowdown on the floor plan.  Enter at the rear, two floors above the start of the Boardwalk.  Dazzles is to the rear (aft/stern).  Go past the elevators and to the outside.  On the left is Chips Grille (usually in the Windjammer area on other ships).  It's awesome for a special meal.  On the right is 150 Central Park, another restaurant.  Didn't go there.  In between is the Rising Tide Bar dock with a little bar in front of it.  Follow the path ahead, and on the left is Park Cafe.  A great spot to get a custom salad at lunch, or sandwiches.  On the right is Giovanni's Table, a family restaurant we didn't check out.  In between is the covered seating area.  Move ahead, another little bar in the middle, with "Picture This", "Parkside Gallery" and "Coach" on the left and "Vintages" (a wine bar/restaurant) on the right with the large skylight between them.  Then you go through doors again and are back inside, where there are a lot of inside cabins in the forward area.