• Thursday 23 December 2010

I was recently lucky enough to witness the splendour and majesty of the 1.2 billion dollar “Allure of The Seas” sailing from the Everglades in Miami. The Allure is offering 7 night Western Caribbean Cruise and 7 night Eastern Caribbean voyages for 2011. Before I speak about the ship I must comment on how easy the entire check in process is. I got to the port about 2.30pm and was in my cabin 45 mins later! My luggage was scanned prior to boarding by very pleasant, friendly security personnel. I queued at the check-in desk for about 15 mins before I was attended to. The check-in procedure was very straight forward and I had the option of taking my luggage to my stateroom or availing of the porter service. I opted to take my baggage with me. Definitely my holiday started once I arrived at the port as all the staff were upbeat and friendly! ACCOMMODATION I had an ocean view balcony cabin which was quite spacious. The decor is quite simple; no crazy colours and not over the top - very simple and stylish. The bed, bed linen and pillows are all of the highest quality and I slept like a log for three nights! All rooms come equipped with a flat screen tv and free movies. All the latest releases and old classics are available. I would say at least 50 movies to choose from. Internet is also available in the staterooms. There is even a docking station to charge and play your Ipod and your mobile phone. The TV will show you all pre-booked entertainment, your meal settings and the charges on your account. I also had a look at the inside cabins which overlook Central Park. They are equally spacious and the views of the park are impressive. Ideal for people watchers! DINING There are 13 complimentary dining choices everything from the “Boardwalk Dog House” serving the tastiest hot dogs to “Johnny Rockets”. There are 11 additional specialty restaurants that you need to pay for.  We dined each evening in the main dining room and I found the food only average; it was quite bland and the choice and presentation is not inspiring On the flip side the food available during the day was very varied and I was spoiled for choice. They even have a a donut shop and  the “Cupcake Cupboard” which offers freshly baked cupcakes!! $2 a cake but they are “melt in the mouth delicious”! This ship also has the first at sea – Starbucks! ENTERTAINMENT The Allure has plenty to offer and you really are spoiled for choice! The headline piece is “Chicago” the musical which was excellent. They also have Blue Planet which is an aerial acrobatic show – this was the highlight for me. It was truly jaw dropping! Also available is “Oceanaria” where the audience witness an underwater civilisation come to life! Some of the swimmers involved in this show were past Olympians! Also available is a live comedy club, a jazz bar, ice skating shows, a great nightclub open until 6.00am (I only lasted till 5!!).  In addition there are 13 other bars or lounges to choose from! They even have the “Rising Tide” bar which moves slowly up and down between deck 5 and 8! Up on deck 14 & 15 you have the pool and sports zone. There are so many sun loungers and all are well placed so you are not on top of your neighbour. There is the most amazing beach pool with a sloped entry area which simulates the ocean shore with lapping waves! Also up on deck is two Flow Riders and the only zip line on any cruise ship. Reccommend to your clients to have a “Miami Vice” coacktail whiil relaxing in the Caribbean sunshine and listening to a live reggae band  – total heaven!! DUTY FREE & SHOPPING EVERYONE bought on board because the prices were so ridiculously low! Some of the shops include Guess (I bought a Guess watch for $90 and priced it online and it was $250!!) and Coach stocking stylish wallets, handbags, jewellery and shoes. I was told that you could save up to 60% on high street prices! OVERALL This ship is ENORMOUS but I have to say it has a very personal feel to it. The ship can  accommodate over 6000 passengers and on my voyage we had close to 4000. The ship never felt busy and you always felt like there was only a few hundred on board. There is lots for kids to do and it's families I would recommend for this ship. There is a carousel, the flowrider, mini golf,  H2O Zone, rock climbing wall, zip line, youth programmes for kids 3 to 11 and for teens 12 to 17. There is a kid's arcade, ocean theatre, teen only night club and much more. Allure have teamed up with Dreamworks Animation so kids get to meet characters from Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda up close and personal during a spectacular parade along the Royal Promenade. There were hundreds of kids on board and they seemed to love the experience, children will not get bored on this vessel! The ship has two main areas; The Central Park which is the first “living park” at sea! It's quite surreal because during the day you hear the sound effects of birds singing and at night you have the sound effects of crickets and owls!! Central Park is very tranquil and beautifully designed, it's also home to many of the specialty restaurants. It's very romantic at night and ideal for couples! The other area is the Boardwalk with it's own handcrafted carousel, two rocking climbing walls and lots of dining choices. The ship literally has everything, you can even get Botox injections in their “Vitality at Sea Spa”!   It is a stunning piece of workmanship and with only 7 nights itineraries available you will be hard pressed to see even 50% of what this ship has to offer. [gallery]