Eastern Caribbean Cruise

In late October 2018 I went with a family group to spend a week doing an Eastern Caribbean Cruise on board Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Sea’s. Between us we would experience everything Royal Caribbean had to offer. Allure of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean’s ‘Oasis Class’ ships making it one of the largest cruise ships in the world. Our cruise set sail from Port Canaveral, an easy transfer from our apartments in Orlando, and over the course of a week we would visit Nassau, Saint Thomas and St Martin and have a number of sea days. We arrived around eleven to board a ship that had just disembarked nearly 5,500 passengers that morning and was about to board another 5,500, so you would expect chaos and delays, but there was none of it. Royal Caribbean is a well-oiled machine and before you know it your bags are whisked away, you are through security, checked in and are boarding the ship. We entered the ship at the ‘Royal Promenade’, a wide two storey internal street that is lined with bars, shops and restaurants and is the location of parties and parades throughout the week.

By 2pm we all had access to our state rooms and our luggage had been delivered there. We had all treated ourselves to Central Park Balcony rooms so our bright and airy rooms had balconies that looked down into Central Park. This is a park in the centre of the ship that is open to the air and surrounded by bars and restaurants. Several stories of cabins overlook the park and it can be easy to forget you are on a ship when you are looking at this view. We spent many evenings there having an after dinner wine and being entertained by live music.

In the afternoon everyone gathered on the pool deck to join the ‘sail away’ party as we headed out to our first port of call ‘Nassau’. A Caribbean cruise can be very relaxing. There are a number of excursions that can be booked on board. We all planned on doing as little as possible, just heading for the shops and beaches. There are bargains to be had in Caribbean ports particularly if you are shopping for jewellery because of the tax rules in this area. On the ship some of us attended the free talks on shopping. Royal Caribbean has a team of staff to help you with shopping advice. They also organise events in the shops and if you let them know what you are interested in they will have offers and vouchers delivered to your cabin.

Nassau was our first stop, and we were all on deck to watch the ship dock, as the view of the narrow strip of land you sail past, with its lighthouse and beach bungalows lets you know you are really in the Caribbean, and, it is beautiful. From the dock we could also see the tall pink towers of the Atlantis Resort hotel, somewhere I’d like to check out someday when we have more time. We walked to the nearby shopping street with its colonial style buildings and checked out some of the shops. At the end of the street we found ourselves at a picture postcard beach. Golden sands and warm turquoise water just like we imagined the Caribbean to be. On our way back we headed down a side street that led us to Government House, the residence of the Governor General. This coral coloured, colonial style building, fronted by a statue of Christopher Columbus, was well worth the detour.

Our second port of call was St Thomas, one of the US Virgin Islands. From the port we took an open air taxi into Charlotte Amelie, the main town. There is a large straw market there which sells all sorts of local crafts. The island has a number of beaches you can get a taxi too but we all headed back to the ship for a late lunch and drinks by the pool.

The last place we visited was St Martin, and the ship docked in Philipsburg on the Dutch side of the island. Have you ever seen the videos of the beach where the aircraft come in so low, to land at the adjoining airport, that the beach-goers can be knocked off their feet by the blast? Well this is that place, and a taxi ride to Maho Beach will allow you to stand in the flight path if that’s your thing. I was more than happy to spend the day on the beautiful and calm beach at St Phillipsburg. A water taxi from the port is one of your options to reach the beach and I cannot recommend it enough. Skimming over the crystal Caribbean waters in the large open air taxi, while the crowd enthusiastically sang along to ‘Sweet Caroline,’ as it was blasted out of the taxi’s speakers, is one of my best memories of the entire trip. Again we stuck to shops and beach. We had become so skilled in the jewellery stores by now that one of my sisters negotiated a great price on a diamond ring. An afternoon swim at the beach rounded our trip off.

On the days that we did not dock somewhere we found plenty to do on the ship. We spent our time lazily sunbathing by the pool or relaxing in one of the many Jacuzzi's. When we were feeling more energetic there was mini golf, rock climbing, zip lining, and ice skating among the activities on offer. There is also a full casino on board and as long as the ship is in international waters the casino is open. We found it a great place to finish off the night after dinner in the dining room and time spent in one of the many bars available.

Everyone had a great time on Allure and was more than happy with the food and the service not to mention the abundance of facilities. In fact, we had such a good time, that before we left the ship everyone had signed up the cruise the Caribbean again the next year sailing the Western Caribbean on ‘Oasis of the Sea’s’,