Fort Lauderdale to some point in the Atlantic

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Geo: 26.1228, -80.1505

Awoke to the sound of some exotic birdsong. One of those pleasant moments when you realise your not at home and somewhere nice. No sirens, no car horns or heavy traffic.

I wandered through our expansive accommodation and out onto the balcony that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. The sun was just brushing the edge of the horizon, throwing pinks and oranges up into the sky. There were a few joggers out making the most of the cooler temperatures at this hour to run along the waters edge. Hotel staff in their little sand-buggies were setting up the loungers for today's sun worshipers.

We made our way down to the Palm Gardens room in the hotel for our breakfast. The chef made me an exquisite Eggs Benedict, Peters prefers his eggs 'over-easy'. We followed this with some nice pastries & pancakes with maple syrup. We had a very pleasant but short stay at the Lago Mar Resort, made that much nicer by the unexpected upgrade. Even so I think the stay would have been just as good due to the hotels location and friendly, efficient staff.

We loaded up the rental car and made out way over to the Crowne Plaza Hotel where Hertz were located to drop it off. They provide a free shuttle bus to the port and we were to share it with a small Spanish speaking group who seemed to take the longest time to do the most simplest of actions.

Little voice was in full swing again.

"Get in the bus. It's quite easy. You move your legs and park your backsides in the seats and we can be off". This simplest of actions seemed quite difficult for them where every decision was accompanied by endless debate.

Eventually we are off and within 15 minutes we pull up to what looks like a scene of chaos involving countless people and just as many bags and suitcases. Turns out it's deceiving and is in fact organised chaos. Royal Caribbean have this down to a fine art now and within 15/20 mins were are boarding the ship.

Superlatives are easy to come by and they drip freely from our mouths during our initial tour of the ship. We have seen plenty of pictures and videos beforehand but they don't do it justice. The scope and scale do not come across in a 2D picture or on a flat screen TV. I am worried about Peter's forefinger which seems to have developed a spasm as it's continually pressing the shutter button on his camera. There is a chorus of oohs and aahs from our fellow guest around us, Allure virgins like us it would seem.

We make our way to Central Park. Yes a real open air park in the middle of the ship. We head to the Park Cafe for some lunch. A lovely, make your own salad, followed by delicious roast beef sandwiches. We then head to Cafe Promenade. More photos, more oohs and aahs. This ship has just about more of everything. As impressive as it is I can't help but have the feeling we are in the middle of a giant shopping mall rather than on a ship. But that's just this section. The Boardwalk, Aquatheatre and the pool decks restore my confidence that this is a real ocean going vessel.

At 1pm we head to our cabin. Stateroom 12664 on deck 12. It's lovely. Efficient use of space and storage means we can finally unpack our bags that we have been dragging around for the past 2 days. We have a broad (compared to NCL Breakaway at least) and deep balcony which will be perfect for sitting out on early morning to write this blog.

More ship exploration follows and Peter quickly tries the zipline that traverses the deep drop to the boardwalk below. We try the new freestyle soda machines. We bought the soda package which gives us a unique thermal insulated cup with a microchip in its base. After inserting it into the machine you are presented with vast choice of different sodas for unlimited top ups. Very cool.

We head to desk 8 for sailaway. We have a Union Jack to wave to the webcam situated in one of the high rises as we sail out of the port. A few glasses of champagne and chocolate strawberries are consumed in our cabin afterwards.

We relax in the cabin for the rest of the afternoon before showering and dressing for dinner. Dress code for tonight is casual (in case your luggage hasn't turned up yet). But we like to make an effort and always wear a shirt and dress pants. Flip flops and shorts do not look right in the sumptuous confines of the Adagio dining room, not that that seems to bother some.

We venture down to the Blaze Nightclub on deck 4 for the daily Diamond event. One of the perks of being a frequent sailer is we get invited to these events were there is a free bar and canapés for a few hours every evening. Perfect for pre-dinner drinks. Joyce, Jerry and their friends join us later before we head off to the main dining room for dinner.

We now always opt for My Time Dining instead of the other 2 set dining times. We normally show up around 8.30 but its flexible and we can turn up earlier or later as suits us at the time. We have never had a bad meal in the main dining room and tonight is no exception. True the portions aren't so big but that's not a bad thing. I started with a Caesar Salad and then Slow Roasted Prime Rib followed by a chocolate mousse cake. Peter had a fish starter, beef sliders (like mini burgers) and a Baileys Creme Brûlée.

After dinner we headed for the Aqua-theatre. This large open air amphitheatre sits at the back of the ship and feature an innovative pool with rising platforms so it can be transformed into a stage in seconds. The show was called Oceanaria. It featured lots of nubile young men and women performing acrobatics, trampolining and diving from very high heights into the pool below. Very good and so different to anything else you would find on other cruise lines. Royal Caribbean really lead the way when it comes to entertainment.

It was 11.15 by the end of the show and we we both tired and so ventured to bed.

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