LarryShirley

Overall we had a blast on our cruise. Cruise days on the ship were great. At Nassau, we were very disappointed in the Essential Nassau excursion. We were expecting to see churches and forts and other landmarks. When we passed these landmarks, the tour bus didn't even slow down so we could take pictures of the outside. Instead we were taken to Atlantis to see where the rich people stay and given 30 minutes to shop in the expensive shops where the rich people shop :-(; then to a fort (which cost to enter), then to a rum distillery where we did get a good tour but only had 10 minutes after the tour to get a sample drink; then to a group of restaurants where the drivers "herded" us into a restaurant that appeared to be there buddy's place and barely had time to force the food down before or 30 minute stop was completed; and then on to a beach for a 10 minute break to lay on the beach (however the people on the bus were so tired of the tour we requested to go directly back to the ship). At St Thomas, we took the '5-Star Island Tour'. It was a really good tour. The only down side was we were unable to go to the botanical garden and Blackbeard's Castle. This was no fault of the tour company because these 2 stops were closed because of Hurricane Irma. We enjoyed the rest of the tour and had a nice long stay at Megan's Beach. Our tour guide Nilsa did a great job and was very knowledgeable of island history. At Sint Maarten, we did not do an excursion but instead went down to where the shops and restaurants were and just walked around and relaxed. I would return to the island and stay a few days so I could explore both the Dutch and French sectors leisurely. But it was a good stop. On cruise days, we enjoyed the amenities of the ship and just sat on our balcony with family drinking wine and enjoying the water. Again, our cruise was overall excellent and I would definitely like to cruise on Allure of the Seas again.