stjone, Welcome to CruiseCrazies!

Jason · April 3, 2014

Welcome to CruiseCrazies! It's great to have you. Why not begin with http://www.cruisecrazies.com/forums/forum/108-new-member-introductions/'>introducing yourself and engaging in some fun http://www.cruisecrazies.com/forums/forum/66-lets-talk-cruise/'>cruise discussion?

http://www.cruisecrazies.com/forums/user/75151-stjone/'>View stjone's Profile

stjone · April 3, 2014

Hi Thanks for the Welcome... My name is Steven and I've been on 5 cruises, my 6th one in Aug 2014. Our first one back in 1991. Looking forward to using this site more often

WeCruiseToo · April 3, 2014

Welcome to CruiseCrazies Steven! We all love cruising and this is a great place for help planning your next trip and talking about past adventures!

stjone · April 4, 2014

Thanks Michael and Amy... Wow 58 huh?...

WeCruiseToo · April 4, 2014

Thanks Michael and Amy... Wow 58 huh?...

Yep, 58 so far, plus the next six planned – we’re definitely addicted! Living in Florida helps. Plus there’s a lot of short (5-night or less) cruises in that total.

Since you’ve got your sixth cruise planned you’re well on your way as well, but feel free to ask if you have any questions – there’re lots of experienced cruisers here at CruiseCrazies! Happy cruising!

stjone · April 4, 2014

OK, thank you... well now that I have you here I might as well ask you... I'm going on the Allure of the Seas in August to the Eastern Caribbean... Any experiences with her, good? bad? and the port of calls? Nassau, St Thomas, St Maarten. Anything we should do while we are there? Done the eastern Caribbean 23 years ago, must be different now. We've got a boardwalk balcony 2nd from the last on deck 11. We're pretty excited about it.

DebbieandJerry · April 4, 2014

Haven't been on the Allure, but have been to these ports. The Allure is a beautiful ship. Look within this website because I do recall a "crazie" who posted pictures of her.

We love water sports and highly recommend the Rhino riding in St. Maarten. You can book it with ShoreTrips or with the ship. We've done both, but totally recommend on your own. We also recommend the double jet ski excursion in St. Thomas. This one we booked with the ship because of the drive to get there.

Each time in St. Maarten we've hired a taxi driver. The Rhino riding is at Simpson Beach. We told the driver when to come back to get us (he was able to fit another fare in between). Then we told him to drive us around both sides of the island and stop at the local places, not just the tourist places. We negotiated a fare for the amount of time that we had him.

If you don't do the shopping routine in St. Thomas, you will want to do an excursion. You should have enough time to do both.

We've been to Nassau a number of times. Not my favorite port, but certainly not the worst one that I've been to. Last year we walked around the outdoor markets and downtown shops.

Ft Lauderdale is a great port to sail in and out of.

stjone · April 5, 2014

Awesome! Great information to know. Thank you DebbieandJerry

WeCruiseToo · April 7, 2014

I'm going on the Allure of the Seas in August to the Eastern Caribbean... Any experiences with her, good? bad?

We sailed aboard Allure of the Seas back in October 2011 and had a great cruise!

Since this is your seventh cruise you know pretty much what to expect – but everything seems BIGGER aboard Allure of the Seas!

Be it the showroom, the high dive or the ice rink, all of the shows are not to be missed! If you don’t mind setting a schedule it’s a good idea to make whatever show reservations you can ahead of time online. You should have a good view of the high dive shows right from your balcony!

Regarding restaurants, we ate in the main dining room for most dinners (and loved it) but there are some wonderful included alternatives. We ate many a breakfast and lunch in the Solarium Bistro – it’s buffet style but much less crowded than the Windjammer and we liked the food a lot more. Park Café has the most delicious roast beef sandwiches and several other choices. Boardwalk Dog House has a great selection of sausages and hot dogs – very fun on the Boardwalk. Don’t feel the need to spend extra money on specialty restaurants but if you do decide to indulge on one or two evenings you won’t be disappointed (we had an amazing meal at Giovanni’s Table)!

Have a fantastic cruise!

stjone · April 7, 2014

That's terrific! Thank you to you both. All the reservations are done including two specialty dining options and 1 excursion in St Maarten. Yes there will be a great view of the Aqua Theatre from our balcony. Breakfast and lunch at the Solarium Bistro is a good tip... To bad it's all the way at the other end of the ship, lol