Allure of the Seas Mediterranean Cruise

Onboard the fantastic Allure of the Seas again but this time cruising around the Med. I visited Naples, Barcelona, Majorca, Marseilles and Florence/Pisa. The ship was amazing and offered the usual great choice of restaurants and bars and fantastic entertainment and activities. My two children very much enjoyed the Teen Club where they could chill out in there own lounge called the Living Room where games consoles were available, music and even their own refreshments bar! The staff in the Teen Club always had lots going on in the evenings from parties to games - always great fun! There are clubs for the younger passengers and with these they are supervised all day and evening (unlike the teens who are left to their own devices during the day). My two have been through all of the stages onboard in Adventure Ocean so any questions on this just let me know.

The many eating choices is one of the highlights on this ship, Allure of the Seas still offers the traditional 1st and 2nd sitting dining in the main dining room but also you can choose 'anytime' where you can choose what time you eat. There are also speciality restaurants all varying in price - the newest after the refurb in May this year is Sabor on the Boardwalk - this was a relaxed Mexican themed restaurant and the food was excellent teamed with a great choice of Tequilas and Sangria's. For during the day the Dog House and Jonny Rockets are still on the Boardwalk, the Windjammer is available for all meals for a relaxed buffet option or the Park Café is great for salads and sandwiches freshly prepared. The Café Promenade is 24 hours so you can always get a snack when you fancy it if you didn't want to have it delivered to your room which is also 24 hours. My daughter's favourite was Sorrento's - unlimited pizza all day long !!!

Now that you can take the option for drinks packages, I can say that these are well worth it. The Royal Replenish package I bought for the children meant they could have unlimited soft drinks and virgin cocktails throughout the week for just under $5 a day. The Ultimate Package I bought meant I could have anything from soft drinks, tea, coffee, beers, wine, cocktails and even champagne! At only $55 per day this was a massive saving. They do offer other packages in between as well so always something to suit. These prices could change of course.

The live entertainment on board was very enjoyable - from the DreamWorks characters at the Aqua Theater shows or on the Royal Promenade Parade to the more adult shows including the Beatles Maniacs in the Theatre to a singer in the Bow & Stern where the whole pub sang along! The band in Dazzles were superb playing a range of different music. Quizzes in the Schooner Bar were funny! And just chilling on the Rising Tide Bar was a quirky way to go from the Royal Promenade up to Central Park.

For the more active passengers the Zip Line, Rock Climbing Wall and FlowRider offer you an adrenaline rush. Mini golf, ice skating, swimming pools, even a kids zone pool with fun fountains and water guns for the little ones to play with. The gym and Spa are state of the art and offer treatments and exercise classes as well. There is also the Carousel on the Boardwalk which is great fun for adults and kids alike!

This ship is still the largest in the world, and seriously offers so much for every age group that you cannot possibly go wrong. The different stops were interesting and Royal Caribbean offered lots of excursions but you can also take the shuttles into the centre and visit at your leisure if you preferred. We took a private excursion into Pisa which was well worth it, we even took a horse drawn carriage ride around the city for only 40 Euros!

There are lots of different cabin types on offer on this ship, personally I prefer a balcony but on this ship you can have Boardwalk View or Central Park View which are the cabins facing the interior of the ship, bit more fun that looking out to sea!! And these are better value than the Sea View Cabins. But you can also have inside and outside cabins as well as the Suites - all depends on budget - there is always something to suit everyone.

Its a resort at sea to be honest and even if you just stayed on the ship all the time you wouldn't get bored and with Harmony of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas - sister ships - offering even more itineraries next year you can enjoy even more from the Oasis Class ship with Royal Caribbean. Definitely a WOW holiday !!!