Our First Cruise: On the Largest Ship in the World! By: Ryan Robinson
All of us in the “Robinson” family had never gone on a cruise before but the ALLURE of sailing and going to an OASIS really interested us. So, thanks to our family travel agent Carol (you can see her information below), we took our first cruise on the largest ship sailing in the world: the Allure of the Seas by Royal Caribbean!
The “Robinson” family decided to fly down a day earlier and stay with a family member outside of Fort Lauderdale where we’d also meet up with my Uncle Glen, since he’d be cruising with us. After a quick night, it was off to Port Everglades the next morning to board the massive cruise liner. When we boarded, the first impression was that 
this ship was essentially a floating city. With 16 passenger decks, 7 different neighborhoods, and 2,704 staterooms, this ship should have had its own zip code.
Since this experience was new to all of us, we did have some help from our family travel agent as well as family and friends. We learned to bring many bottles of sunscreen (as you use almost a can a day), pack a fair amount of cash since many places don’t take credit cards, and have an open mind as there are many activities and cuisines to try on board. Speaking of many activities, we had a ball on board participating and watching many of the many fun events available to us. We all participated in many rounds of trivia, played mini-golf on their specially tailored golf green, watched how towel animals are made (since you do get them in your stateroom), laughed watching a “Love and Marriage” game show as well as a great ventriloquist, and was part of a group to record as many wacky scenarios and encounters with people and things on the ship as possible.
Before getting to the many stops and activities, let me mention a bit about the ship, its crew, and its many neighborhoods. The ship, as everyone will tell you, is huge and you can actually get tired from walking from one end to the other. Some fast facts we were given on the ship was that 5,400 guests can be on board the Allure, there are 2,165 crew members from over 50 different countries, over 1700 tons of water are consumed every day, over 110,231 ice cubes are made every day, there are 20 chefs, 222 cooks, 188 bar tenders and servers, and there are 24 dining options (and 37 bars and lounges) to choose from. Now, I will say you need to be careful when eating on the ship. About half of these dining options are included in your cruise ticket. For example, the main dining room is “free”, a large buffet called the Windjammer Marketplace, a few small eateries like the Wipeout Café or the Park Café are all included; however, the other half is not. There are some special eateries and restaurants that either charge per person or charge for whatever you order in general. These nicer places are also on board for your dining experience, but we decided to stick with the restaurants included as they were all excellent.
Most of these eateries are located in one of the Allure of the Seas “neighborhoods”. There are 7 total: Adventure Ocean, Boardwalk, Central Park, Entertainment Place, Pool & Sparks, Royal Promenade, and Vitality. Adventure Ocean is essentially a day care/learning facility for younger children with activities like coloring, learning about different ocean life, etc. Boardwalk is essentially a boardwalk with an ice cream store, candy shop, a carousel, and it all leads up to the AquaTheater were water shows and cruise events occur. Central Park is a section of a deck that has flowers, trees, and winding paths with restaurants and shops on the sides. Entertainment Place is an area with several rooms for comedians and acts to perform including an ice skating rink where an ice show is held on board. Pool and Sparks is an entire deck on its own with 4 pools, 10 whirlpools, and an adults only section called the Solarium with a freshwater 
pool and 4 infinity whirlpools. The Royal Promenade is essentially a large connector passageway from one end of the ship to the other however, it is essentially a mall with shops and eateries lining the side of the main artery of the ship. Lastly, the Vitality section is a spa with massages, beauty salons, health eateries, a gym, and access to a jogging/running track that goes around the outside of the ship.
Captain is on the left, Cruise Director on right
So, all in all, the Allure of the Seas is a fantastic boat and the Captain, Johnny, and our Cruise Director, Ken, were both very nice, friendly, and informative about the goings on on the boat as well as the stops we’d be making. Speaking of, the Allure of the Seas made three stops on its Eastern Caribbean voyage. We first docked at the Bahamas where we decided to book our own excursion (some are provided by ship, but you may find a better and cheaper deal by looking yourself) on the island by taking a Segway tour. It was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed the ride very much . Our second stop was in St. Thomas, one of the US Virgin Islands, however we decided to take a ferry to St. John. There, we took a guided shopping tour which showed us good places to shop, and then we headed up a large mountain road which eventually took us to the popular tourist beach of Trunk Bay. We did some snorkeling at Trunk Bay, but with a 
beach and view so beautiful, we just relaxed in the crystal clear water that was all around us. Lastly, the boat docked in St. Maarten, an island not too far away from the Virgin Islands. St. Martin, as it’s also called, is shared between the Dutch and the French. The boat docked on the Dutch side, and you could go to the French side if you wanted, but we stayed on the Dutch side and went horseback riding on a nice trail which eventually took us riding into the ocean!
All in all, the staff was nice, the boat was beautiful, and the excursions were memorable. Even the days at sea were enjoyable because of the many activities to do on board this amazing ship that really is its own city. We were told before this first cruise that once we went on, we wouldn’t want to go on another cruise ship other than the Allure…and they were right. We loved this boat and couldn’t imagine what it would be like on anything else…smaller.
Please contact my cousin Carol Chalemian who works for Cruise 1 Travel Agency. You can give her a call a 201-396-5998 or send her an email at carol@ycruise.com and tell her that Ryan Robinson recommended you!