Adventure Southern Caribbean Adventure April 19, 2015

We are doing Calabazza in a few weeks! Turtle swimming is tops on my bucket list...can't wait to see your pictures! That was very kind of Gina to refund a portion because of one extra person! I'm so glad the weather held out for your day!

Your picture of the ice show is great! Did you take it with or without flash?

I just looked at your Twitter pics and I'm pretty sure we have the same cabin for Thanksgiving!! (Ok, other side of the ship). I'm GIDDY after seeing your pics!!

So glad! Yes, if you have one of the corners, the balcony is the largest on the ship according to our attendant and it feels that way! It's easily as big as the cabin ;) It's been just wonderful, we've been out there every day, even today in the pouring rain, it's completely covered! We do hear more vibration and "bumping" back here, even on the calmest nights- it almost feels as if we are feeling the stabilizers ballast bumping when a swell hits. It's random enough to disturb me out of sleep, but I'm a light sleeper! The other two aren't bothered a bit! For me it's not so bothersome because I'm comfortable with some ship motion.

Yay! Calabazas -- we are doing this in June. Can't wait!

You will love it! I recommend anyone interested book early- even a year! Gina is very responsive and she fills up fast! She's added a second boat now, but her tours are in demand by cruisers as well as folks staying on the island!

We are doing Calabazza in a few weeks! Turtle swimming is tops on my bucket list...can't wait to see your pictures! That was very kind of Gina to refund a portion because of one extra person! I'm so glad the weather held out for your day!

Yes, she was very fair about it, and it wasnt even her "fault" it was overbooked- we learned from another couple on board who were visiting Barbados for the week that they had booked the date and thought it was today, but it was actually yesterday (their error) so they got a call asking " where are u folks? " from Gina yesterday...realizing they could not make the boat (without holding up others) they asked if she could accommodate them today and she did!

It's one of our all the favorite excursions!

Your picture of the ice show is great! Did you take it with or without flash?

Thank you! We have many more too! They announce you cannot use flash (for safety obviously) and they don't want your video recording either! But DH has a camera he can use in low light and still get decent photos, glad you liked them...I'll post more when we get home.

We've seen that the entertainment schedule has changed dramatically from the Cruise a Compasses we'd seen before we left. For instance; we've had Jackpot (the Vegas themed show) while other Advetnure cruisers saw Invitation to Dance. Some Compasses showed the 3rd and 4 th ice shows in the last day, it will be shown again at 7 and 9 tomorrow (day 4) on this cruise. With a one time showing of "It had To Be You" a Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland tribute type thing. We thought tonight would be the white night/glow party, but it was 70s night.

There also appear to be several "game shows" we've never seen before "how to feel like a millionaire" (LOL! Can't wait to see what this one is;)) and even a game show in the casino as well as ones we've seen like "battle of the sexes" and "gone in 60 seconds" ! I'll post the compasses so everyone can see what I mean! There is no lack of things to do on board for sure!

But we are off to bed! We are meeting Janus from Real St Lucia tomorrow for a tour of the island (our first visit) and to deliver our Pack For A Purpose package. I'll bring my phone for a photo so we can tweet a photo of us delivering it, when we get back to the ship. We also hope to see the rainbow falls and hike the Tet Paul nature trail.

...usually I just check on loved ones at home with my free minutes,

And this trip you get to check on the loved one on Cruise Critic.:D:eek:

You should say a prayer of thanks that "Invitation to Dance" has gone missing from your cruise. Just in case you have missed my mutiple posts over the years on how much I can't stand that show I'll tell you now.... I can't stand that show.:rolleyes:

I've been following your review and blog but can't find where you posted your twitter handle. Do you mind sharing? I'd love to see the pictures.

We are in cabin 7688 on Adventure in a couple weeks so I'm loving this review... Just like the review you did of the exact same cabin we had on enchantment last year! You make things much easier for me by doing them first and so well!! :-)

We are doing Calabazza in a few weeks! Turtle swimming is tops on my bucket list...can't wait to see your pictures! That was very kind of Gina to refund a portion because of one extra person! I'm so glad the weather held out for your day!

Our favorite excursion of all time! Doing it for a second time in February!! You will love it!

Our favorite excursion of all time! Doing it for a second time in February!! You will love it!

Sweet! I've been a little nervous because although all of her reviews are good, I've seen people post that they have only seen two turtles, etc. It's mother nature, I know....I just am hoping I get to see them. Thank you!

Familygoboston,

You mentioned several times about your pictures on your Twitter account. I would love to see them. Can you post a link?

Thanks

Their Twitter handle is @GoSeeItTravel for anyone wanting to follow along!

their twitter handle is @goseeittravel for anyone wanting to follow along!

thanks!!

And this trip you get to check on the loved one on Cruise Critic.:D:eek:

 

You should say a prayer of thanks that "Invitation to Dance" has gone missing from your cruise. Just in case you have missed my mutiple posts over the years on how much I can't stand that show I'll tell you now.... I can't stand that show.:rolleyes:

Lol, OB! You seem to have been a fan since the ahem..."incident" on Oasis:eek:

Yeah, I read your review and IT dance isn't sound like it would interest us either!

The Vegas thing was ok, but we really enjoyed the headliners last night; a group called reVoiced. Ot was a 5 man acapella group, and they had the most amazing beatbox guy I've ever heard (and my girls are theater, band, chorus geeks, so I've heard a few!) They had to have him perform by himself for you to believe they were not playing a drum track- he sounded exactly like a drum kit...truly a talent! The group was entertaining and funny as well as really great singers! We did our usual, sit isn't he balcony in case we need to make a quick getaway, but instead we stayed for the whole show. Dinner was the Pimento menu, and I like the garlic tiger shrimp, so that's what we had. Someone talked me into the tiramisu, and I only had a bite...I'm always disappointed by the gelatinous quality of all of Royals desserts, the tiramisu tasted like a custardy gelatin instead of an espresso soaked cake. Tonight, I go with my better instincts and go to Johnny Rockets for a malted!

Thank you Love060 for posting that!!! My email had a slew of new follower notifications when I looked this afternoon!! :D It can always be found on our website- which is linked in my signature below...just click on the birdie on the bottom of the home page (any page really) Twitter is the quickest way to post photos, so for now that's what I'm doing live, but I will post them here when I return too, plus many many more!

I've been following your review and blog but can't find where you posted your twitter handle. Do you mind sharing? I'd love to see the pictures.

 

We are in cabin 7688 on Adventure in a couple weeks so I'm loving this review... Just like the review you did of the exact same cabin we had on enchantment last year! You make things much easier for me by doing them first and so well!! :-)

LOL, hope I like the same stuff you do! You are going to love this cabin...it's the best balcony in the fleet IMO, if you like a spot, sheltered from the sun!

Familygoboston,

 

You mentioned several times about your pictures on your Twitter account. I would love to see them. Can you post a link?

 

Thanks

Thanks everyone for following! :D

st Lucia

This was our very first trip to St Lucia! It's a place I would return to for a week, and I don't say that about every island we visit!

It was a busy day with 3 ships in port, the Maasdam, and Jewel as well as Adventure.

We planned a tour with Real St Lucia. Janus, the owner responded quickly and responded to each of my emails narrowing down our itinerary. His website lists a bunch of things you can include in the typical tour heading south to Soufrierre, but we really had a few things we wanted to try, AND we wanted a private tour. It was about $65 pp for a tour with a driver guide (Shane- who was great) This does not include admissions to the various sights or lunch, so we brought cash for those things too. He did have water and some local beers for us to try, as well as buying us bananas at one stop.

If you hired a taxi tour you could stop at many of the same places, but we prefer to book with a known and well reviewed guide, rather than take a chance at the pier. We were rewarded with a late model SUV with AC and very comfortable, up to date features (like seatbelts- trust me, you'll need 'em here, the roads are scary!!:eek:) Many of our stops could have been the same as the taxi or larger ships bus tours; the banana plantations, the road side photo stop lookouts (with their very ambitious craft market sellers- we found a polite no thanks worked and they quickly moved on) and the Diamond Falls and the so called "drive in volcano" . At the beginning of our tour we saw many people from the crusie ships stopping at the same places.

We visited Diamond Falls and Botanical Garden, $7 pp, which allows you to walk around the well posted garden and see the diamond falls (which were not colorful today) and take a dip in the thermal pools and change in the bath house if needed. At Diamond Falls encountered beautiful gardens, a rather ordinary waterfall, as well as 2-3 large bus tours from the ships.

Once we arrived in Soufrierre, we diverged a bit from the crowd, skipping the drive in volcano and mud baths (though we could see the steam and smoke from the geologically active place from the road side) Instead we hiked the Tet Paul nature trail. ($20 per person) This guided hike is a community run organization that bought the land where there is a dramatic overlook between the Pitons, and many native plants, fruit trees and food gardens. Our guide Mcgyver was very knowledgable and took us through the trail. Although there were some dramatic clouds we enjoyed the 360 panoramic views from the top of the trail. We had the place virtually to ourselves, which could not be said for the Daimond Falls.

The walk, with stops for pictures, including the classic finger on top of a Piton photo, took about 45-1 hour round trip, and while it was elevated with lots of up hill walking on uneven ground, and with a stairway to heaven (47 rustic steps made of bamboo and stones) it was not a difficult of technical hike!

After the hike, we had just about enough time to head back to Casteries and the ship, with a stop at Sandal La Toc to drop off our Pack For Purpose supplies to the Sandals Foundation. I probably should have emailed Sandals first, because the security guard had no idea what we meant when we arrived at the gate and said we had a bag of a school supplies to drop off! Lol!

Luckily, the front desk was aware of what we wanted to do, and we were waved into the lush resort where we dropped off our supplies at the front desk. Guest of the resort have the opportunity to GO to the school with supplies and to read to the children as part of Sandals Foundation, so they were surprised to find us coming off of a cruise ship just to bring supplies. Despite our unexpected gift, a pn executive in a suit hustled out of back office to thank us personally for donating to the island of St Lucia through the foundation. We shook her hand and then headed back to the ship- not wanting to take too much credit for all of the things our friends and neighbors contributed! All in all, it was a fun easy way to "give back" a little something to the people of St Lucia who were so welcoming to us!

Lots of photos to come of course! And I will try to get a few photos up on Twitter soon, maybe another post with more photos on the website tonight!

I don't know if you remember from my Serenade review but when we sailed away from St. Lucia the captain brought the ship to the Pitons where he first did a 360 degree turn and then sat there between the two Pitons and gave us a most memorable sunset. We then departed after the sun was down and it was turning dark. I will never forget that.

St. Lucia is such a beautiful island. I am looking forward in the future to finally seeing your pictures.

You will love it! I recommend anyone interested book early- even a year! Gina is very responsive and she fills up fast! She's added a second boat now, but her tours are in demand by cruisers as well as folks staying on the island!

We booked Calabazas a couple months ago -- so we're in!

Also -- we are booked for cabin 7688! Living vicariously through you right now. LOL (I'm going to nap on the balcony too -- hee hee)

Thanks so much for taking the time to post! Love your review. We are in 7688 on Sunday!! Booked it 1 year ago. We are very excited. :)

I've just posted some photos from our sea day with a little essay about Sea Days, that I'm sure most of you Cruise Critic folks will appreciate as the truth about these big ships we sail on!

It's on the blog, linked in my signature below!

We had a nice evening, our DD won the Millionaire game show, which was a highlight for her! Of course instead if millions (which certainly would have helped with college tuition) she won an ever increasing level of swag from key chain to far less crappy things like a cap and her ultimate prize- the Royal Caribbean travel mug! (Being a smart gambler, she quit before the last question because she had won her mug and didn't care if she got the less crappy tote bag that was the ultimate prize) While an actual million would have been great, or even a free cruise would have been terrific, seeing her happy smile with her bag of Royal swag was priceless! :D

Its past time for bed, and tomorrow we have a private tour of Antigua and beach break with Sean...hope to post some more St Lucia photos on the blog tomorrow! Till then, I'll think of all of you as the sea rocks me to sleep!

It was a beautiful day in Antugua! Sunshine and smiles everywhere!

We set out with Keisha, (Sean's sister) from Seans Antigua VIP tours. She had an older but reliable honda odyssey van and met us just as scheduled. We headed out and stopped first at Betty's Hope a nicely interpreted sugar plantation ruin, even though there is not much left, they did a good job with plaques and the little museum explaining the history of the plantation including the unfortunate slave trade which drove the industry (and whose emancipation caused it to collapse) I judge a guide by what extra they add culturally to the tours history. Keisha was an excellent guide because at this point she pointed out that on the island it's hard to get young people today to go into te agricultural business because of the history of agriculture being tied to slavery. That's one of those interesting socio political facts that adds a layer to the hsitory, and the best guides are good at doing it! We stopped at the Devils Bridge overlook, a natural feature on the west end of the island and then headed south to English Harbor and Nelsons dockyard.

The dockyard has been completely restored, and the development works because although it's a national park, it is filled with yacht related businesses and bad, restaurants and shops that all supports the conservation and creates a beautiful high end environment that retains its ship yard/repair roots in what was one a virtual prison for indentured British Navy!

We enjoyed a lunch at local home restaurant around the corner where we tried local specialties and this was included in our tour price.

After lunch we visited the Shirley Heights overlooks, and then made our way to the East coast via the Fig Tree road which is as close to a rainforest as the island gets (it's green and most of the agriculture happens here)

We ended up at the nearly secluded Valley Church Beach on the East Coast for a dip before heading back to the ship in St Johns. Keisha described everything all along the way, and we flet like we were touring the island with a friend...which is always my way to judge how well the tour went!

Tonight is the second formal night...I will usually post photos on the web late night when the internet is fastest...till the we are enjoying sail away on our balcony, along with the plate of nachos our daughter fetched from the WJ! :D

Have you seen any comedy acts? Do they have them on the ship?

It was a beautiful day in Antugua! Sunshine and smiles everywhere!

 

We set out with Keisha, (Sean's sister) from Seans Antigua VIP tours. She had an older but reliable honda odyssey van and met us just as scheduled. We headed out and stopped first at Betty's Hope a nicely interpreted sugar plantation ruin, even though there is not much left, they did a good job with plaques and the little museum explaining the history of the plantation including the unfortunate slave trade which drove the industry (and whose emancipation caused it to collapse) I judge a guide by what extra they add culturally to the tours history. Keisha was an excellent guide because at this point she pointed out that on the island it's hard to get young people today to go into te agricultural business because of the history of agriculture being tied to slavery. That's one of those interesting socio political facts that adds a layer to the hsitory, and the best guides are good at doing it! We stopped at the Devils Bridge overlook, a natural feature on the west end of the island and then headed south to English Harbor and Nelsons dockyard.

 

The dockyard has been completely restored, and the development works because although it's a national park, it is filled with yacht related businesses and bad, restaurants and shops that all supports the conservation and creates a beautiful high end environment that retains its ship yard/repair roots in what was one a virtual prison for indentured British Navy!

 

We enjoyed a lunch at local home restaurant around the corner where we tried local specialties and this was included in our tour price.

 

After lunch we visited the Shirley Heights overlooks, and then made our way to the East coast via the Fig Tree road which is as close to a rainforest as the island gets (it's green and most of the agriculture happens here)

 

We ended up at the nearly secluded Valley Church Beach on the East Coast for a dip before heading back to the ship in St Johns. Keisha described everything all along the way, and we flet like we were touring the island with a friend...which is always my way to judge how well the tour went!

 

Tonight is the second formal night...I will usually post photos on the web late night when the internet is fastest...till the we are enjoying sail away on our balcony, along with the plate of nachos our daughter fetched from the WJ! :D

Kathy, wasn't there supposed to be some kind of yacht race going on in the area of Antigua yesterday? I thought according to my notes there was. Just curious if you saw any of them while you were there or as you were approaching / departing the island.

Wish we were there with you!!!

Sweet! I've been a little nervous because although all of her reviews are good, I've seen people post that they have only seen two turtles, etc. It's mother nature, I know....I just am hoping I get to see them. Thank you!

We went in November. I don't know if the time of year makes any difference at all there.

We saw turtles!!! I don't like to go close to them so I saw them and got back on the boat. But you could actually see them from the boat. My husband fed them. They were huge!! Unbelievable!

Remember to wear shoes like flip flops. You leave them ashore when you get on the boat.

The day we were in Barbados it was raining pretty good. After we got on the boat, Gina said we would try it a little while and if we all weren't happy, we would go back in and she would refund. We all stayed. After all, it wasn't raining underwater! It cleared up and we had a nice day. Rain in the end again though. I remember sitting undercover but the rain still on me dripping into my wine glass and thinking regardless of the rain ( because I was already all wet), what a perfect day! Great food, great scenery, great company, great snorkeling, and wine in my hand on the Caribbean Sea ! Who could ask for more???

I remember sitting undercover but the rain still on me dripping into my wine glass and thinking regardless of the rain ( because I was already all wet), what a perfect day! Great food, great scenery, great company, great snorkeling, and wine in my hand on the Caribbean Sea ! Who could ask for more???

Great minds think alike . . . because that is what I would be thinking too!!

50 days until I do this exact excursion . . . they will have to pry me off the catamaran. (hee hee)

Kathy, wasn't there supposed to be some kind of yacht race going on in the area of Antigua yesterday? I thought according to my notes there was. Just curious if you saw any of them while you were there or as you were approaching / departing the island.

 

Wish we were there with you!!!

I wish you were too Teeara! You were there front he start and you should be here! Actually, Nelsons Dokpckyard was a buzz wih activity in preparation for Anifua sail week, which starts next week, so no excitement there yet, jsut lots and lots of crew varnishing yachts (which are all in ahead of their private jetting owners) and people setting up tents and signs for the swanky yachty pawtys (as we like to call them! ;))

I will post about Antigua tomorrow if I get a chance. Unfortunately, we also have to do the dirty four letter word that starts with P (pack:() So I may not have time, but I'll try!

Today I posted about St Lucia (we cannot post Barbados or St Martin because these are days we used the water camera and we forgot the cable that connects it to my iPad.

Here is St Lucia :

http://www.goseeittravel.com/travel-blog/2015/4/24/flora-and-people-of-st-lucia-aboard-adeventure-of-the-seas

We arrived in St Maarten, sunny skies and hot, hot, hot! A good day for Orient Beach, which is where we went! The cab to Orient is $7 pp for a van full, $8 pp for 3-5 and $20 for a cab with just 2. They usually wait till they get a van full!

We rented a cabana at Coco, our favorite beach, a little off the beaten path and more expensive, but it's more spread out and quiet, and the lunches are always excellent (I mean really, really excellent- French, of course, so our lunch there was probably the best meal we've had all week;)) At Coco, the chairs and umbrella are $20, the open Cabana with a sala bed for 3 was $30. Pretty much the exchange for euro to dollar is one to one right now. At another beach club a little further south of Coco, it was 15 for 2 chairs and an umbrella, and the furthest south was a club packed with chairs for $10 per chair, but it included free wifi and a beer. So with Orient beach you choose the price and "scene" you want; cheap packed party scene with included drinks or more pricey, secluded, quiet and private scene.

DH and dear daughter went parasailing, ($100 for 2 for a very short ride) because she's always wanted to try it. We enjoyed lunch at Coco which was about 100 dollars/euro, and they will run a tab which they will charge in euros in your cc or you can lay cash, you need to tip the beach boys in cash.

Back on board we had perfect view for runners, docked stern in, with the pier on our port side. Only one couple was late, and they started a jog, but we're picked up by golf cart, which is completey cheating all of us out seeing the runners and better than they deserve:p. We were docked alongside Celebrity, and it was a relatively quiet day inSMX with only 2 ships; there can be 4 or even a 1/2 dozen in high season!

We had dinner in Giovanni's tonight, and the menu was very good. We felt the meal was worth the extra money because the ingredients they use are better and the food is cooked in an open kitchen right in the restaurant by seperate chefs. Service was a little slow, because it was very busy when we got there at 8:30. Tonight's MDR menu was Basil menu, which our waiter said was one of the best to skip, however, o prefer to miss Shi take menu (with the lamb) which was on day 4 this cruise.

After Giovanni's we hustled down to Quest to try to pick the rowdiest, craziest team (we did not!) and after the Quest, Adventure throws a Flo Party hosted by the cruise staff and featuring the dancers in the beginning. Eventually, it turns Studio B into a dance club (which mostly attracted the teens in our cruise) Unfortunately, the way Royal pays royalties, even though they did play fairly current music (the last 5 years as opposed to the stuff form 5 decades ago!) they only play 30-1 minute second snippets of it! Oh, well, some is better than none, but usually at a dance party you expect an extended play version, not a shortened one! The good news is the cruise staff in this ship is super high energy and inclusive, encouraging guests and generally making sure everyone is having a good time! They impressed me:D

The show tonight was Invitation To Dance, and we took Ocean Boys advice and gave it a pass! ;)

Well, it's very late (but the internet is fast!) We are off to St Croix, where we have a kayaking tour scheduled. More to come...one last day!