Royal Caribbean – Allure Of The Seas

Royal Caribbean’s Allure Of The Seas

Royal Caribbean – Allure Of The Seas (Official Site from Royal Caribbean)
Sailed October 2012
Fort Lauderdale –> Western Caribbean Itinerary

With thanks to Caroline at ParentClub.ca  & Family (Baby 18mos.)

Allure Of The Seas Staterooms:

With a total of 2, 706 staterooms (including wheelchair accessible staterooms, balcony, outside and interior room choices) this ship can welcome 6, 318 guests. Really…a floating city.

Our balcony stateroom contained one large bed, a fold out couch, mini-fridge, desk and chair, TV, balcony and of course a bathroom. Because of a four person occupancy limit for the balcony staterooms, our family of 5 had to split into two staterooms. This actually worked in our favour because it meant two bathrooms to use!

Every evening our stateroom attendant made up our beds. And in the morning, he folded away the couch so we could have more space to move around in. Very helpful! TIP: On Allure of the Seas breakfast room service is free. A breakfast card was left in our room, and every evening we could check off coffee/tea, toast, cereal, bacon and more with the quantities and times we wanted. This was a great thing for us – as we didn’t have to dress the kids to go for breakfast every morning.

I was worried about warming bottles in room (fyi – room service will deliver hot water day or night, free of charge, so you can warm your bottle that way).

I had read, on the web, many stories out there about cramped quarters in staterooms. I realized, with a bit of self-organization we could easily manage a stateroom. TIP: store your stroller and suitcases under your bed.

We organized ourselves by giving each person a shelf and hanging the rest of our clothing. We also put our backpacks in the closet so they were out-of-the-way. I put all the “pool stuff” (sunglasses, hats, sun screen) in one bag and stored it in the bottom of the closet as an always good-to-go-to-the-pool-bag TIP: Use the complimentary safe to hold your passports, jewelry and money.

Twice in our seven-day cruise, our stateroom attendant, sculpted a towel into an animal (to the delight of my kids!). However every night, we could count on a cruise compass to be left on our bed (a booklet with all the ship’s activities for the next day and also the day’s activities for Adventure Ocean – the kid portion of the ship) which was a great way to plan the next day’s adventures. TIP: Take a pen and post it notes to make notes in your cruise compass as well as to leave notes for family).

If you know me, you know bathrooms are kinda important in my life. TIP: take a full-sized bottle of head-to-toe baby wash. The ship only supplied shampoo and the baby soap was used by my entire family.

The private balcony off our stateroom on Allure of the Seas was…wow! Two chairs and a table – perfect for enjoying your coffee in the morning. Quite breezy, I laughed at the sign saying don’t leave things hanging on the balcony…of course, they would blow off!

Allure Of The Seas Activities:

The activities on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas are endless. From baby to grandparent – and everyone in between – there is entertainment on board. Let’s start with the seven “neighbourhoods” – Boardwalk, Central Park, Entertainment Place, Pool and Sports Zone, Royal Promenade, Vitality Spa and Fitness Centre and Youth Zone.

The carousel, located in the Boardwalk area, is magnetic fun (my kids rode over and over again). Face painting, balloon making, hot dog stand and shop made this part of the ship really feel kid-friendly.

The two rock climbing walls were NOT on my “things to do” list (it was super popular…and I recommend trying…just not ME trying).

The Aqua Theatre was the place for some amazing (dry and wet) shows. Open air entertainment was a must-for us and we were not disappointed by the awesome shows.

There is a big WOW factor to this ship. The green space in Central Park was a great area for stroller-strolling. We also enjoyed lunch in the comfy chairs and shaded many times throughout our voyage.

The Entertainment area of the ship housed a casino, comedy club, theatre, ice skating rink (yes really) and more. I was able to enjoy a broadway-calibre show, an ice show and the big kids went solo to a 3D movie – all within the Entertainment ‘hood.

The pool and sports area offered pools (and yes, some adult-only pools for those who don’t enjoy kid splashing). The H2O zone was a hit for kids. There is a baby pool (for those not toilet trained). Basketball court, ping pong tables, mini-golf, water volleyball, two flow rider surf simulators and more (makes you feel like you are at a dry-land-resort!).

The Royal Promenade boasts a Starbucks, shops, and dining options. It is also where you get the best location to see the parade on the last night on board (yes, there is a parade!).

For the foodie, situated in the Royal Promenade is The Cupcake Cupboard where you can take a cupcake decorating class (a big hit with my big kids).

Vitality spa and fitness centre looked great (looked because apart from the muster drill – I didn’t have time to visit!). However, my prince did work out in the fitness centre throughout our trip and loved it.

The Youth Zone was a much-anticipated area for us. The teen room was a laid-back lounge with activities, internet and gaming for the teen crowd.

Allure Of The Seas – The Nursery:

We registered our toddler at the nursery, hoping to drop him off in the care of the staff and have some quality parent/big kids time (didn’t work so well…more on that below). We were given a Fisher-Price bag to fill with what he needed while being baby sat (diapers, wipes, sippy cup, snack). Also, in the bag was a cd and colouring book (colouring book came in handy for in-room-activity).

The Fisher-Price Royal Babies – Royal Tots Play Class was awesome. In a nutshell, the program starts with a song, follows an age-appropriate theme, free play and then ends with a song. I took my son to every session (while my husband took the big kids to the pool). I kinda loved the Mommy/baby play time.

So about the boy going to the nursery. ONCE. In seven days.

Though the nursery was filled with comforting images of his Little People friends…he didn’t like it. You can’t blame a baby for wanting to hang with his family instead.

The Little People Live Show was a 30 minute performance. The Birthday Party themed show consisted of songs, birthday party crowns for the kids to wear and even loot boxes to take home.