Allure of the Seas Review

5.0 / 5.0
3,139 reviews

First Time Cruisers with Young Children

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Allure of the Seas
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mj75
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

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Sail Date: May 2011
Cabin: Central Park View Stateroom with Balcony
Traveled with children

I had been reading reviews about the Allure for months, and just got back from our cruise to the Eastern Caribbean over Memorial Day. I am trying to write this review to give the details that I wanted when I was reading them, especially the details that I wanted as a first-time cruiser with two children (ages 3 & 5). Be forewarned, there are a lot of details- and I would think this review is mainly for cruisers with younger children. I hope it is helpful!!!

Day 1- Arrived to FLL around 10:30am, arrived to ship by 11:30am, was on board by noon. The check-in process was amazingly quick and simple. We went right to Johnny Rockets for lunch and had no trouble sitting down- food was good, burgers had a really nice seasoning. We felt right at home on the boardwalk, and it became our go-to place most days since it is so kid friendly in the afternoons. Got to the room a little after 1pm, all of our bags were there. We unpacked, which made life a lot easier during the week. They provide a lot of hangars and nice storage space. We did move some furniture out of the way, desk chair went on balcony and side tables were moved out of the way. Our family of 4 had adjoining cabins on the 10th floor, overlooking the Central Park. The balcony was key- we really needed it to air out our wet clothes after a day at the pool/beach. The kids also would sit out there while my husband and I got ready for the day- it was very nice to have and I am not sure I would ever want to cruise again without a balcony. I did wonder if I would prefer a balcony overlooking the boardwalk- but with the young ones, I think it may have been a little too loud. We did bring a white noise machine though, which drowns out most noises, so it wouldn't have mattered.

Day 2- Nassau. I labored over the Aquaventure excursion since it's so pricey and you aren't there that long. Well, here is the deal. Was it expensive? Yes (though 3 year old was free). Was it short? Well, with 2 little ones, it wasn't that bad. We were kind of ready to go after lunch. We could have spent an entire day there though, of course. Overall, it was totally worth the money, since I am not sure when/if we will ever get back there. The tour moved too quickly for my kids, who wanted to stop and look at the nature and stuff- and I did not push them to keep up. Since you will have access to the entire place, I would not worry about keeping up so much if your kids want to stop and look at the fish- you can catch up eventually! There is a place to get food inside- very pricey though. The pools were perfect for the kids- we stuck to the first pool, which is 3 feet deep the entire pool, and it was perfect, and enormous. Behind that pool, there is this lagoon/beach type area, the kids loved it. We could have spent longer here. They had some good food to get outside, but it's very expensive, so bring your cash!! My husband enjoyed the slides a lot- he probably got the most bang for the buck out of all of us. We did not get to see the entire resprt, and hope to go back when the kids are much older so they can enjoy the slides.

Cabin Review

Central Park View Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin C2

We had adjoining rooms 10611 and 10613. Overlooking central park. Nice setup- spacious closet with lots of hangars and cubbies. Balcony was nice and opened up to our adjoining room. They seemed like pretty standard rooms. Would have preferred to be a little closer to the elevator, but it was VERY peaceful overlooking central park. Definitely a quiet location.

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