By The Cruise Web Inc.,
In September, Cruise Consultant Beth T. and her husband Dean celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary with an adventure on Royal Caribbean’s biggest ship, the Allure of the Seas.
Despite the fact that the Allure of the Seas is larger than some cities in the United States, Beth said she never felt like she was being crowded or had to wait in terribly long lines. She credited a lot of this to the fact that the Allure has “neighborhoods” which divide the ship into seven different areas.
“The ship is huge, but for being so grand it still has a feeling of intimacy,” she explains.
Beth was particularly taken by the ship’s own Central Park, a tree-lined space where birds chirped and you could find a seat and have a drink or a snack in this retreat at sea. “It was actually very romantic,” Beth said. “At night the park would light up with strung up lights that twinkled and there was a violinist. It definitely felt like you were not on the ship, but were transformed into another place.”
Beth and her husband stayed in a balcony in the Central Park neighborhood which, despite being in a very popular neighborhood where most of the specialty restaurants were located, was a complete oasis from the noise.
Another of the intimate touches came from the special attention that they received from the staff. After mentioning that it was their anniversary, they found their room decorated with streamers and signs, and at dinner their anniversary was acknowledged.
“It seemed they were always celebrating something,” she said, commenting on all the happy birthday songs they heard. “It was nice.”
The cruise visited three ports in the Caribbean – the Bahamas, St. Martin and St. Thomas. The other three days were sea days.
“If you are just looking for a port intensive cruise, this may not be the ship for you,” Beth explained. “The Allure is an amazing destination all on her own and the sea days are jam-packed with activities. The daily cruise newsletter was so thick because it was filled with an overflowing calendar of activities.”
On the ship, Beth and her husband enjoyed the Aqua shows, where divers would flip and glide into the pool from amazingly high platforms. The AquaTheater is an outdoor theater and many people could watch the amazing shows from their balconies. “It was neat because it’s outside so you could look out and see the ocean while in the theater.”
They also enjoyed people watching in the Promenade and a fun night at the ships’ casino where there were always encouraging announcements of cruisers winning big.
Beth also enjoyed some of the more playful aspects of the cruise, like being a grown up and still riding the carousel.
She even zip-lined over the top of the ship, a feature that’s only available on the Allure of the Seas and her sister ship Oasis of the Seas. “It’s really scary, but I braved my fear of heights and it was a blast,” Beth exclaimed.
Does the thought of sailing on the Allure appeal to you? Do you think a ship this size can actually feel intimate and romantic? If you’ve sailed on the Allure or the Oasis, please add your thoughts about these mega-ships in the comment section below.
The Cruise Web, Inc.
reply@cruiseweb.com
1-800-377-9383
An Alluring Anniversary on the Allure of the Seas