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I'm not going to repeat the accolades about this great ship...it's more like a floating city than a floating hotel. Great fun, great food....I only actually felt the sea three times in a week.
Dining
150 Central Park - Simply incredible meal. Must do the wine pairing option. Plan on 3 hours for dinner. You will be completely delighted. Note that the portions are not large (lots of small portions). If you like really good food, you'll simply love this. Highly recommended. Top level dining.
Chef's Table - This dinner is located in the Concierge's Lounge on Deck 11. The chef and a waiter run the dinner. Again, really good food. Table is set for around 14 people at one big table. Lots of fun...great food and wine. A really great night. Adults only...the kids would be bored to tears.
Chops - very predictable and good as expected. The creme brule is served "flaming"...everyone thought it was pretty cool when it was delivered. It was quite good.
Main Dining Room - very good food. The optional restaurants are a treat, but you can have a great dining experience in the MDR.
Tapas Restaurant (can't rememeber the name....located next to 150 Central Park) - good wine list...great Tapas menu. Stopped there twice around 4pm for a late afternoon snack when we had a later dinner. Really good stuff there...
Entertainment
"Chicago" - good, but I admit that I was a little bored. The teenage kids hated it.
Blue Planet - Great. Ditto for the water show (diving). The Monopoly Ice Skating show was cute and fairly entertaining. Casinos - forget it if you think you're going to make any $$ on the cruise. The slots are tighter than my ex-wife's attorney. The bellyflop show was pretty funny also.
Miscellaneous
I won a VIP seat for 4 (including a bottle of champagne) on the Rising Tide bar for the '70's Street Show on the main promenade....we had front row seats for the entire event. Cost me a $75 donation at the Make-a-wish Auction. This was the best money I spent on the entire cruise. You'll have a great time if you can win this, and it's for a great cause.
Ports of Call
Nassau - pretty much a waste. Caught a cab to Atlantis at shore. Kept the teenagers on the boat. Good place to score Cuban cigars. Cohibas are $12. Nice.
St. Thomas - The iguana's at the pier were interesting. The island is beautiful, and the shopping is pretty good. Still some poverty/begging hassles in town. There's an internet cafe across from the port terminal that's a lot cheaper than the ship if you need to check email, etc.
St. Maartin - Awesome. Grabbed a cab to Marisol (sp?) on the north (French) side of the island for $18 for 2. Had a GREAT lunch at the Tropicana Restaurant at the marina (get the goat cheese salad....it's to die for). Took the bus back to Front Street near the Water Taxi for $2 each. Easy ride, great scenery...Marisol has a daily flea market where you can get t-shirts for 3/$10. The Dutch side of the island (near the pier) is ok and touristy. Everybody on the island was really nice. Take the water taxi back to the boat. It's $4 each and a great view of the ship. Bring Euros if you have them for this island.
The ship is great. If you're in a suite, you'll love the Concierge lounge and the two concierge's. They're the best and funny as heck. And those darn gold seapasses get you in front of every line on the boat :).
Be prepared to be spoiled on this cruise. Royal Caribbean has a home run with The Allure of the Seas. Just stay away from the Casino...:)
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