Largest ship in the World…..

For many of you cruise lovers out there you will probably know that Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world closely followed by her sister ship Oasis of the Seas which is 6 inches shorter. As these are counted as joint biggest the next in line is NCL Epic, followed by Freedom, Liberty and Independence of the Seas in joint 3rd place followed my Queen Mary 2 in 4th place. It wasnt until I looked at these statistics that I realised I have been on the top 4 biggest cruise ships in the world. In 2010 I travelled on a 3 night cruise on Independence of the Seas and in November 2010 I was lucky enough to win a place on Allure of the Seas and had a 3 night trip from Miami. In 2011 I travelled on NCL Epic for a week (and have booked again for next year as I loved it so much) and the a couple of weeks ago I went on a short break on Queen Mary 2which I wrote about in my last blog. Over the next week or so I will be telling you about my trips on these ships and sharing some pictures with you.

My trip on Allure of the Seas is one I wont forget in a hurry. My husband and I flew to Miami on a cold November Tuesday morning after only arriving back in the UK on the Monday after 10 days in Tenerife and with a quick pack and unpack we were ready for the off again. We arrived in Miami early afternoon and were met by a Royal Caribbean representitive and were transfered to the ship. I was a bit apprehensive as I wasnt sure how long it would take for us to check in with it being such a large ship but everything went smoothly and it didnt take long to get onboard. We had a lovely balcony cabin while were were onboard and also had the chance to look around a lot of different grades of cabins which was good as there ane so many different ones on this ship. For people on a budget then there are various Inside cabins available with Family Interior, Superior Interior and Large Interior available and if you fancy a view of the Promenade then Inside Cabins with windows ovelooking the Royal Promenade are available. Outside and Balcony Cabins are available with an Ocean View or a View of Central Park or the Broadwalk and Suites are available all with Balcony and there are some available that overlook the Aquatheatre.

Me in one of the loft suites.

Our Balcony cabin

Me on the balcony behind the dry bar (not our balcony unfortunately)

Double Sink Bathroom in one of the Suites.

On the Balcony in one of the Suites

Wish this was mine balcony!

While we were onboard we also had a tour of the bridge and the galley which was an honour as normally you have to complete 25 cruises with Royal caribbean to get a tour of the bridge. It was amazing that one little joystick is what steers the ship.

My husband in the Captains Seat

The Bridge

One thing I didnt enjoy was being interviewed for a broadcast they were doing for the launch of the ship. I cant remember how many takes we had!!

The first time Ive ever been stuck for words!!

The tour of the galley was amazing, watching them prepare everything ready for the days meals and prepare all the displays from fruit and chocolate

We also went to the theatre to see Chicago which was a full length show as you would see on Broadway or in the West End and the production was just as proffesional. Another place where shows are satged is in the aquatheatre situated at the aft of the ship. Here stunning displays are performed from platforms with divers performing jaw dropping dives into the pool and fountains below.

There is also the rising tide bar in the centre of the ship which moves up and down between 4 decks and you can sit and have a relaxing drink watching what is going on below you. This starts on the Royal Promenade on deck  5 and goes upto deck 9.stopping between Chops Grille and Central Park.

Rising Tide Bar  Relaxing in Central Park