Our family has just recently returned from a cruise aboard the ship called Allure of the Seas, which is part of the Royal Carribean fleet. We went on a 7 day Caribbean cruise and left from Ft Lauderdale, Florida. I had never been on a cruise although I had heard of them, and it was one of my mother's dreams - for me, let's just say it never made my bucket list. So how did I get on it.... Well, its a loooooong story, and suffieceth to say - we made it....Checking in or actually getting onto the boat is just like an airport except for a couple of things - make that three - 1) it's faster, 2) there's a ship waiting and 3) people take photos of you......just like you do at a theme park - take now and pay later ;-) Once that was done - and we got on board - our cruising journey began and what a ride that was.... here are my top five things to know about cruising?
1) MONEY
One of the attractions to going on a cruise is that the cost includes both accomodation and food which on land is pretty expensive for families. However, what you need to know is that there will be things that you will have to pay for like your drinks and any shopping done on the ship (there are real shops on board!!) so how do you pay - because there is actually NO CASH on board.... Well, when you book your trip you register a credit card and you hook everyone in your travelling party to that card. So then when you check in, before boarding, you will be given a SEA PASS which has all that information on it. Everytime you want something that costs money like a drink or must-have diamond earrings - you just swipe the card. The night before the final day - is the time to settle the bill and all those transactions on your SEA PASS are tallied up and ch-ching! No cash... pretty tempting to swipe away and tell ya - my sons became expert at it ;-)
2) ROOMS I searched high and low for information about the room that we had booked. It looked roomy but really I had no idea. So I am going to try and explain it.... SMALL. But really it doesn't matter because you are not going to be in them much - unless you are on your honeymoon - then, if you are - you shouldn't be on a boat.... 'cos you are wasting your money - cruising is about being on the boat ;-). I took a photo and compared it to the ones I had seen online and they are pretty much the same...If you are used to camping in tents and caravans-then this is going to be an upgrade;-)
3) ENTERTAINMENT One word - AMAZING. The entertainment is world class - well it was on our board. We had former national, olympic, state champion ice skaters, divers and accomplished actors in our shows. And there is so much to be done every night, all day and all through the night. The main street gets cleared about 2am so up until then - it is just fun! fun! fun!. What I enjoyed was the range - there was latino dancing, karoke, through to string duet, big band performances and so much dancing - loved it! This was on top of the shows! The best tip we got was to book before we left which meant that all of the shows were loaded onto your SEAPASS. If you are not sooo organised you may be able to get into the shows - but you will have to wait in the standby lines which are pretty long!
4) FOOD
One word - FREE!! There are some restuarants that you pay for like regular restaurants but the main dining room offers three course meals with the menu changing every night so why dine elsewhere.... The only catch is that the drinks are not free so if you like a little drink here and there - those come at a cost that you just swipe away on your SEA PASS card. If you are a non-alcholic drinker like our group - don't worry there are virgins and mocktails available... My favourite was knowing that pizza - american pizza was on tap nearly 24/7 and american hotdogs were free as well!! The boys were told by one of the trainers at the gym that is is proven that people gain 3lbs a day on the ship! I don't agree - I reckon its more ;-) Awesome!!
5) TRAVEL COMPANIONS
You need to go on a cruise with a group. If you go on your own - there are single nights, and there are even single cruises. But I am talking about going (even if you are single) with other single or coupled friends and/or family. There were heaps of large groups/parties on board celebrating birthdays and anniversarys. Some even dressed up in the same t-shirts and a group even came to dinner one night dressed up as animals to celebrate a mate's 40th birthday so anything is possible. We went with some friends and there were 14 of us in the group and we loved it. Our teenage sons got to meet people, my husband got to play sports all day, and I got to 'be' and then at dinner we would all meet up again and then do our own things - or meet up and go dancing or whatever we wanted!
So, if cruising has been on your mind or maybe not - have another look. I loved it and looking forward to going again.... once the credit cards have bounced back a bit ;-)
Yours in friendship,
Mxo
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