Whoever said holidaying with young children is just parenting in a different location is absolutely right. As a mother-of-two, I can relate to that sentiment exactly. Long gone are the days of sunbathing by the pool, getting lost in a trashy holiday read, or watching the sunset with a cocktail in hand.
Our holidays now consist mainly of choosing a destination that will be easy with the kids: will it be buggy-friendly? Will there be enough activities for children? Is it a long drive from the airport?
Which is why when I was invited to sail around the Mediterranean on Royal Caribbean International’s newly refurbished Allure of the Seas ship (which, by the way, has just undergone a $100million glow-up), I was instantly intrigued.
I’d been on a cruise solo once before to the Bahamas, but going with my little ones in tow was bound to be the polar opposite experience. I was worried about how overstimulating it would be for a toddler and a baby. And if they’d get bored of being on a ship – literal cabin fever. If we were going for an all-inclusive type holiday, wouldn’t somewhere on land be better?
I couldn’t have been more wrong. What surprised me the most about our cruise with Royal Caribbean International was just how easy of a family holiday it was. My husband and I declared it was one of the most fun and convenient trips with the kids we’d ever been on, and will remain a core memory for us.
There was just so much to do for all ages, the food options were fantastic and wide-ranging, the staff couldn’t have been friendlier, and waking up in a different port each morning was a real novelty. It was the perfect balance between sightseeing on land – and then making the most of the amenities and entertainment back on board.
What the ship is like
If you’ve never been on a cruise before, I’ll be honest – it can be a bit overwhelming at first. The largest ships are often referred to as “cities at sea” and Allure of the Seas is exactly that. To give you an idea, it can accommodate over 5,700 guests in nearly 3,000 staterooms, over 16 decks. Not to mention the 2,000 plus crew members. I’ll admit it took a while to get my bearings and even by the end of the week I was still getting confused as to which end of the ship was which amenity.
But the boarding process isn’t as confusing as you might expect; it’s similar to checking in at an airport. On the first day, you’re given an allocated time to board and once you’re on, you’re free to enjoy all the complimentary activities and food and drink. However, you may not get your luggage until the late afternoon so top tip: pack a day bag with any essentials or things your children will want or need for the next few hours before your suitcases are delivered to your room that evening.
If you aren’t used to the cruise environment, it can be loud, particularly on that first day. Music blares and crowds of people mill around in the communal areas while waiting for their rooms to be ready – it’s a similar feel to a busy airport. But you quickly get accustomed to the volume, and I felt it was all part of the ‘setting sail’ vibe. There are, of course, quieter areas of the ship that you can escape to, and the rooms themselves are soundproof.
Since April, cruisers have been taking advantage of the new and improved Allure of the Seas, which is why now is a good time to go. The ship’s $100million refurbishment means everything is bigger and better – from the newly opened Pesky Parrot tiki bar and the Southern comfort dining restaurant The Mason Jar, to the resort-style pools and the ten-story dry slide the Ultimate Abyss. But more on the activities later.
What the rooms are like
Despite cruise ships being notorious for their small cabins, I was pleasantly surprised by how large our family room was. It was a lot bigger than I expected and could easily fit two travel cots and two buggies, plus a large armchair.
If you can, I would recommend booking a room with a sea-facing balcony, because it quickly became the go-to place to sit and relax at the end of the day once the kids were asleep. Watching the sun set and listening to the gentle waves as we cruised through the Med, with a glass of wine in hand, was bliss.
The room itself was quite basic in terms of what was provided. There was a fridge but no coffee machine for example, but when you have dozens of places to choose where to get your morning coffee from, who needs one? The bathroom was also a decent size but the shower area felt more like a wet room; again, not a big deal. And if we ever had any problems or queries, our lovely and friendly stateroom attendant was always on hand to help.
The restaurants and dining options
As with any cruise, eating is a big part of the experience. There are over 35 places to eat and drink on the ship, with a wide range of complimentary options. You can literally find food at any time of the day, be it six in the morning, or gone midnight.
Most people flock to The Windjammer for breakfast and lunch – the extensive buffet that serves everything from international favourites to American classics to signature Asian dishes. The buffet was great for kids, but it was always very busy and a little hectic, so we actually preferred to eat in the main Dining Room, which also had a buffet service at breakfast but on a smaller, more manageable scale. We also had most of our dinners there, dining from the ever-changing à la carte menu which often had fun themed nights.
It’s at this point that I have to mention the exceptional service. Our waiters, who were the same every night as we were assigned the same table, were the friendliest and most welcoming. They went out of their way to entertain the kids, making origami animals and even cutting up their food for them. It made dinnertime a much more pleasant experience because let’s face it, eating out with under-fives can sometimes be carnage.
As for lunch, I highly recommend El Loco Fresh, which was conveniently located close to the kids’ pool, for delicious Mexican fare. Sorrento’s on deck five also did great pizza, while the Boardwalk Dog House had scrumptious hotdogs. And for the kids, a daily favourite was heading to Sprinkles on the pool deck for the unlimited soft serve ice cream.
You can get away with just dining at the complimentary venues all week, however I would recommend buying a dining package for the speciality restaurants if you can. They’re more premium, but are totally worth it. We had fabulous meals at all three that we tried: the all-time favourite Chops Grille steakhouse, the newly opened Mason Jar for Southern comfort food, and the Brazilian meat feast eatery Samba Grill. Make sure to also pre-book the speciality restaurants, which you can do via the Royal Caribbean app.
The same can also be said for the drinks. Many beverages are included throughout your stay on the ship, but I would pay extra for the premium drinks package, which means you can almost drink all you want – alcoholic and non-alcoholic – without having to worry about your end bill. There were some exceptions, such as the priciest wine at the speciality restaurants.
And there are so many bars to choose from. We tended to gravitate towards the Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade on the boardwalk, because it was conveniently located right by the carousel which our daughter loved going on, and also had games on the tables like Jenga and Connect 4.
Meanwhile, the Lime & Coconut poolside bar is next to the kids’ pool area and is one sure way to get into the holiday spirit with its fruity cocktails and live music. This was, by far, one of the busiest bars so if you want a more relaxed and sophisticated tipple, I would also recommend heading down to the Trellis Bar on deck eight, which was always a quieter environment.
But there’s also the Bow & Stern English pub which hosted pub quizzes, the alfresco Wipeout Bar which served shaved ice in a variety of flavours, and the Pesky Parrot Caribbean tiki bar, to name a few. You could easily spend the week bar-hopping from one place to the next.
Child-friendly activities on board
On reflection, I would say that the older your children are, the more they’ll get out of a cruise because there is just so much to do. With our kids being aged two and under, we only skimmed the surface of what activities were available on board.
Our go-to was the kids’ pool area, Splashaway Bay, which provided a myriad of waterplay fun from slides and fountains to water cannons and drench buckets. Understandably, only potty-trained children can use the larger pools; younger tots are restricted to the smaller baby pool.
There is also a dedicated children’s zone, the Adventure Ocean kids’ club, which was surprisingly quiet most of the time. You can make use of the paid crèche if you want a few hours to yourself, or if you want a babysitting service for the evenings. They also run a genius – and complimentary – toy-lending service whereby you can borrow a bag of toys and give them back and swap them throughout the week.
Adventure Ocean also comprised a workshop that had colouring activities and arts and crafts on offer, a Play Place that sparked imaginative play, as well as the AO Theater that put on a glow-in-the-dark puppet show, which truly mesmerised our kids! Make sure to download the Royal Caribbean app which tells you what daily activities are on.
Another quieter area of the ship we liked was the Boardwalk. There was still a hive of activity, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as the upstairs pool deck. I lost track of the amount of times our daughter went on the carousel. For older children, there are also two rock climbing walls, the ten-storey Ultimate Abyss slide, and an outdoor theatre.
As for the other activities that are open to older children and kids at heart, I braved the zip line which was very short but slightly nerve-wracking nonetheless (not one for those scared of heights), while my husband put his core strength to the test on the surf simulator.
And when I say there is so much to do on board, I really mean it. Laser tag, mini golf, table tennis, shuffleboard, the sports court, a jogging track, the arcade, the outdoor movie screen, and the teen-centric Social298 hangout, were just some of the other activities we didn’t even look into because of our children’s ages.
Out of the seven “neighbourhoods” on the ship, one that we also gravitated to was Central Park on deck eight. Apart from being home to the aforementioned Trellis Bar, it also boasts some of the speciality dining restaurants like Chops Grille, but has a calmer and more zen vibe than any other part of the ship. It wasn’t particularly child-focused but worked for us when we wanted a moment of calm.
On a practical note, the ship was also so big that pushing our buggies around everywhere and bringing them into the restaurants was never a problem.
Other activities on board
If you’re cruising without children, other amenities that may be of interest also include the Vitality spa and fitness centre, as well as the salon where you can have treatments done. There’s also a host of boutiques and jewellery stores to do some holiday shopping.
There’s even a casino on board, and an art gallery where you can browse and buy your next masterpiece. Not to mention a portrait studio where you can have professional photos taken. The sheer amount of activities quickly banished my preconception that cruises are boring.
The evening shows and entertainment
One logistic I was apprehensive about was how the evenings would work on a cruise. We have spent a few holidays sitting in dark hotel rooms while the kids slept, but luckily our balcony was a game-changer.
We also ended up pushing the kids’ bedtime and keeping them up a bit later; thankfully the small time difference worked in our favour. So it meant we could have an early dinner and then go out and enjoy the evening entertainment.
The acts ranged from world-class Broadway musicals to ice skating shows to magicians performing jaw-dropping tricks, and as someone who loves the theatre but rarely goes now since having kids, it was a real treat to be able to sit and watch a performance almost every night. I wasn’t sure how our children would fare as audience members, but they were genuinely astounded by the shows and because the performances were only roughly 45 minutes long, the kids managed to sit through without getting too fidgety.
The sailing route
Our seven-night sailing started and ended in Barcelona, with stops in Spain’s Majorca, France’s Marseille, and Italy’s La Spezia, Rome, and Naples.
You can pre-book a Shore Excursion before your sailing date, again via the Royal Caribbean app, if you want to save the hassle of organising a day trip yourself. But these are generally more pricey and do sell out quickly.
We ended up making our own plans and managed to get off at three out of the five ports. We judged which places were worth seeing with the kids, so ended up skipping Rome because the port is actually quite far from the city centre, and missing out Majorca because it had an early departure time. Definitely make a note of the evening sailing time, because the ship will not wait for you if you’re late back!
The first time we got off the ship, we did feel a little angsty knowing that we had to be back by a certain hour, but we always planned our day to do a bit of sightseeing in the morning, go for lunch, and then head back to the ship in good time.
Final thoughts and the cost of the cruise
As for the cost of the cruise, prices start from just under £1,000 per person for the seven-night sailing. Considering the price of other luxury, on-land all-inclusive resorts, and given that you’re holidaying in peak season, I came away feeling that the cruise was great value for money.
The add-ons, such as the deluxe drinks and speciality dining packages, can be pricey, but I think they are worth the money. Plus, if you purchase said packages in advance, they are usually heavily discounted.
And then when you factor in the quality, variety, and availability of the evening shows, which are all complimentary and included in your trip, and compare them to the price of a Broadway or West End show, that’s another time you feel you’re getting your money’s worth.
One of the main drawbacks was how hectic and loud the ship felt at times, given the thousands of people on board, but we quickly acclimatised to the “city at sea” and learnt where to go for some quieter downtime.
As mentioned, it was a real novelty waking up in a new destination each morning. The fact that we got to combine sightseeing for us adults, with so much fun on board with the kids, was a real USP of cruise life.
But most of all, the outstanding and friendly service from all staff, who were so brilliant with kids, made it an easy holiday.
It’s safe to say we are cruise converts, and we’re already planning our next sail.
Allure of the Seas is sailing 7-night round trips from Barcelona through the Mediterranean this summer, with prices starting from £964pp. For a similar itinerary for 2026, brand new Icon Class ship Legend of the Seas prices start from £1212 per person and on Harmony of the Seas, prices start from £964 per person.