Page 29 - Explore Magazine Winter 2018

One of the best moments They really enjoyed the interaction with similar- travel party and in a family holiday of a lifetime 27
crammed with unforgettable experiences (we
aged children from all corners of the globe
was opening the curtains and all the activities they got to take part in, headed to Orlando after the cruise), it was a
on the first morning and so much so that time spent with mum and dad collective favourite. It has us wanting to find
was borderline-boring in comparison! On board
another cruise location to plan ahead for.
walking onto our connecting our floating palace our kids also adored the In loving memory of my very beautiful
balconies to take in the flowrider wave machines, the flying fox, the mother, Jill.
minigolf course and the swimming pools and
absolutely stunning view sports courts, and it would probably be poor of
of Nassau. me not to mention the scrummy frozen yoghurt
and ice cream self-serve machines!
Our next port of call was San Juan in Puerto Rico
which was also stunning. We enjoyed a walking On board our floating palace
tour which included a number of popular our kids adored the flowrider
landmarks as well as sampling local coffee and
food. Once we were left to ourselves to fill in wave machines, the flying
the remainder of our shore excursion we were fox, the minigolf course and
always assured of where we were in relation to
the port because of the sheer size of Allure of the swimming pools and
the Seas: she stood far above the majority of sports courts.
the buildings. From Puerto Rico we headed to
Charlotte Amalie on the island of St Thomas in Our group of 12 encountered no problems at
the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our boys were thrilled to all with dining on board and with the ship’s
meet a number of the “locals” – big iguanas! St My Time Dining programme mealtimes were
Thomas is another beautiful location and is full a breeze. Do remember though to pack your
of streets offering duty-free shopping as well sports or walking shoes as the food is so
as beautiful historic architecture. We enjoyed plentiful and delicious that you really need an
another pre-booked land tour which amongst added incentive to burn calories! And while
other things took us to Blackbeard’s Castle. some people might have qualms about being on
board a cruise ship with more than 5,000 other
At the beginning of the cruise and with passengers, let me say that Allure of the Seas
some initial reluctance, my husband and I
relinquished our children to the Allure of the is so well designed that we never felt crowded
or needing space. The ship also provides a
Seas Kids Club; there are a number of on-board
kids’ clubs for children of different ages. We wonderful array of never-ending activities for all
interests and ages. We pre-booked shows for
worried that our children would be upset that every evening we were at sea and each one was
we were not including them in our activities spectacular and memorable.
while they were at kids’ club but such was
their experience on their first visit that they Our Royal Caribbean cruise provided the perfect
demanded to return as often as they could. holiday experience for our large, age-diverse

HELLOWORLD : EXPLORE : WINTER EDITION