For my 21st I decided that I wanted to book a cruise with all of my friends. They all see me cruise quite a bit, and I wanted to share my love of cruising with them. We were 50/50 on new cruisers and people who have cruised before, so it was awesome seeing all the new cruises step on the boat for the first time. I chose the Allure of the Seas (Royal Caribbean Oasis class), being one of the largest in its fleet it has endless entertainment and everyone would be able to find something to enjoy. Booking a cruise for 20 can be time consuming, so definitely inquire a travel agent Cruisingwithben.com
Day 1
I woke up early because I had to head home from school to pack. We wanted to be on the road by 10 AM to be on board by 11 AM. On Oasis class ships there is so much to do and 3 nights will not be enough, so every second counts. We made it to the cruise port and went straight through to check in. Had some slight hiccups at check in, some of my friends aren’t 21 yet, but we got it sorted and proceeded on board. For my first cruise my first stop had to be the bar. I did get the drink package and I definitely got my use through the weekend. My first stop was the schooner bar where I got a drink before proceeding to our muster station. After the mandatory briefing we headed up for lunch. We were so happy to get back into the windjammer. I then headed to the pool bar for a Miami Vice (definitely a must try)! We then headed to the flow rider (Day 1 is the best time for any activities because there are very little lines). Enjoyed some time surfing before we headed to the hot tub. A great perk of Royal is that they have servers walking around to take your order while you are lying around or in the pool. At this point the rest of the squad showed up, so we all met up and enjoyed some time in the hot tub. After some hours of enjoying everyone company it was time to hit the room and get ready for dinner. At this point I was pleasantly surprised by my brother. He had decorated our room with streamers and balloons while I was exploring the ship. If you want to see that check out his video here. We the got dressed for dinner and headed down to our table. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and this was the first time everyone was in the same room from our group (with 20 people its hard to coordinate). After dinner it was time for the aqua theatre show, these are a must do on and Oasis class. Tickets are recommended, but if you are ok with getting wet the front row it is always available (we wear our suits and bring towels). After the aqua show we headed our separate ways, some of us hit the casino, others hit the hot tub, and some hit the club. The great thing about cruises is everyone can find something they enjoy! We then got some late night Sorrento’s and hit the hay.
Day 2
We woke up early as usual to hit the flowrider advanced session. Normally these are early on, so we like to hit them before we head into port. We were docked in Nassau today and planned on getting off for those that have never been (Nassau can get old if you have been there a lot). We had planned on going to Senor Frogs and doing a little port shopping. After the flowrider, we assembled the gang and headed for a quick breakfast. The nice thing about Oasis class is the many breakfast options they have (Windjammer, Central park, Johnny Rockets, Main dining room, and Cafe Promenade). We headed to Central Park, it is always quick and tasty. We then headed off the boat to take on the day. After some souvenir shopping we headed to Senor Frogs to indulge in their frozen yard sticks (they are soooooo good). Senor Frogs had a great party atmosphere and we spent a couple hours listening to their DJ and playing games. We then decided to head back to the boat for free alcohol and food. We headed to Windjammer for lunch and the straight to the solarium to relax. Everyone went off to do their own thing and a group of us stayed in the solarium until dinner time. The great thing about cruises is all the awesome people you get to meet and everyone is just having a good time so the vibes are always immaculate. I then headed to get ready for dinner, we ate in the MDR (main dining room) all 3 nights, with 20 people it can be hard to coordinate specialty dining. We then headed over to Crazy Quest (THIS IS A MUST DO)! Crazy Quest is the best game show at sea. After Crazy Quest the floor turned into Club Red where we all danced into the night and enjoyed the DJ.
Day 3
I had a very late night and slept in for day 3. Today we were docked in CocoCay and a lot of my friends went to the water park. CocoCay is RC’s private island and it is magnificent. Their waterpark is a must do. Having done it a couple times I opted out this time around to sleep in. I met up with them later on where we enjoyed the island view (water is pretty cold in January). We didn’t stay for too long and decided to head onto the ship for the hot tub. It was also the conference championship for football, so we went to the big screen to watch some of the games. We then had dinner followed by a late night flowrider session where Ryan was finally able to get his blue band (took him a couple tries). We then ended the night relaxing as we had to be up early to get off the boat for class.
Wrap up
Overall a top weekend in my life for sure, I am blessed to have 20 of my friends all come aboard to celebrate my birthday. Spring break is the next cruise and I am so excited for it! The staff was awesome as usual, and RC has outdone themselves time and time again. Hopefully we can run it back next year.
Travelers
Will Howard – Mason Smith – Parker Smith – Lucas Aquino – Tyler Frew – Mark Frew – Conner Smith – Victor Huang – Luis Vega – Pablo Vega – Sebastian Vega – Nate Dunklin
Tommy Fenstermacher – Aidan Cristini – Max Carroll – Ben Carroll – Gage Anderson – Ryan Rizzo – Ethan Stone