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My Adventure of the Seas T/A reveiw with pics from April 15, 2012


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So here is my attempt at documenting/reviewing our trans Atlantic on the Adventure of the Seas on April 15th through the 28th. I will start by saying it was one of the best experiences we have ever had with traveling. All flights, hotels, meals, bus's, tours etc went off without a glitch. It was just perfect. And regardless of what has been posted previously about the Adventure, she is a beautiful ship and she is in great condition.

 

A little back round, i am 48 yrs young and have been in public safety for 18 years. My DW, just a click older and is in insurance all her life. We have been married for 20 years and this was a 2nd honeymoon celebration for our past anniversary.

We have raised three kids and have had many trials and tribulations along the way. I think of myself as pretty easy to please and did not set out to do a spot inspection of the ship, but simply have a good time, and that we did!!!!

 

So here goes.

 

We left home in New Hampshire on Saturday morning April 14th and were driven to the Concord bus terminal by our son who then returned to collage life. Our 8 am bus took us to our first flight in Boston leaving at 12pm. All luggage checked and gone from our grasp, hoping that all my "fragiles" would make it to San Juan unscathed.

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Our flight was on time and we had great seats at the rear of the plane with one empty seat for extra room. We arrived in NYC on time and had a beer at a nice little bar before our next leg to North Carolina.The flight to NC was also on time and i was able to snap a few pics of Manhattan as we flew over head.

 

The last leg out of NC was also on time and we were now heading right for San Juan. The landing in San Juan was not so good. There were very high winds and it seemed that the plane was all over the place. But we made it safe and sound and headed right to the baggage claim.

 

San Juan airport at 10 pm was not that busy and we were able to get our bags and head to the taxi stand in very short time. A $20.00 taxi ride to the Holiday Inn Express was uneventful but it did make me wonder if we were heading into something i was not ready for. I guess the hour and not knowing were i was put me in a not so comfy state, but regardless, we made it safely.

 

The hotel was perfect for our one night pre cruise. The staff was friendly and helpful to us considering the hour and the fact that we were tired and in need of a bed. The rooms were very consistence of any Holiday Inn Express that we have been too. Clean and fresh for sure. After a night cap we bunked down for the night In the morning we went down to for breakfast and everything was good. Again pretty consistent for this chain. Not a restaurant meal but free so it works for me.

 

We headed out to explore the area and find the Walgreen's for some water and snacks to bring on board. When you exit the front door, go right up the street and in less than 75 yards you are at the main drag and right across from the ocean. There is a nice park for walking around the palm trees and a great public beach that we walked to the end and then took a side street back to the main road. We found the Walgreen's and were able to get plenty of snacks, a case of water and a 12 pack of soda. Only problem, the walk back was longer than i expected considering i had to carry the heavy stuff.

We loaded everything into our luggage and put on all the tags and were ready to roll. Went down to the pool for a little while for some sun and lounging. I ran up to the package store which was just around the corner, to get a couple cans of beer and decided i could have bought everything there and saved myself a lot of walking. Oh well. At 11:30 we had enough and decided to head to the ship. We gathered our things and the porter at the desk brought us out to the street and summoned a cab and we were on our way. The ride to the pier might be 5 minutes, very short and sweet.

 

We arrived at the Pier in no time at all. The ship is HUGE and she looked awesome. There were many people here already but things seemed to be moving fine. After getting all the luggage to the curb, which was a task, we jumped right in line. I read a lot about lines, baggage lines and check in lines. When we got there it seemed that these lines were one in the same, you get in the baggage line and drop your bags off and then it just turns into the check in line. Anyway, we made it to the check in just outside the main entrance to the terminal. Here they check your paper work and passports. While we were standing there a lady came out and said, no more after us. So, we were the last to get into the terminal on the first wave. The doors were locked right after we went in. The security was a breeze, all our stuff went right through. I had a twelve pack of soda that went through no worries. We were ushered to the Platinum line and right to the check in clerk who gave us our Sea Pass card in about 3 minutes. We were told to stand in a line with other C+A members and they were the first to board the ship, maybe 50 people. That would have been sweet, but when we got there i think there was a misunderstanding and we were told to start a new line, which was the last of the terminal to leave, no big deal, it only took about 10 minutes to start boarding after we got into the terminal.

We stood in line on the gangway, if that's what it is called. A welcome aboard picture and then another pass through a security check and then we were walking onto the ship. So, from the time we left the hotel at 11:30 to the time we walked on board, it only took 1 hour!!! Not saying that would happen every time, i just think we hit it right. It was a snap!!!! We were having a complimentary drink at 12:30 pm. Let the fun begin!!!!!

 

So, we stood there in awe that we were actually there. People were mingling and chatting it up and seemed to be as amazed as we were. We decided we should head to the Windjammer for lunch and to sit a bit. Already a very busy place but we settled into a table near the window and started what would be a 13 night food orgy!!!! The food was great, for me anyways and we had our first Red Stripe. We poked around a bit and found the ship very similar to the Navigator back in 2009. We knew that the rooms would not be ready until 2pm so we went to the pool for a little bit for some sun. At the stroke of 2 we went down to deck 9 and sure enough the rooms were ready.

We were walking down the hall looking for our room, as we got closer to it and found our door, wife was fumbling for her door key when our room steward Nigel appeared out of no where, called us by name and opened the door, i was so impressed that he called us by name, he had nothing in his hands so he must have committed it to memory. Nigel was great, he always kept our room clean and fresh and left us with a full bucket of ice every morning and night.

For the first time we had a JS and found it to be perfect!!!!! Everything was just a bit bigger than the regular balcony cabin, and we get double C+A points so that helps. One of our bags arrived and the porter was right on top of things bringing the rest as they appeared in his area. By 6pm all our bags were stowed nicely under the bed and we were settled into our new home for the next 2 weeks, that's right, 2 weeks. We have never, in 20 years been away from home that long. This will be very cool.

So we went to the welcome aboard show and saw for the first of many shows, Steve the comedian, I'm to lazy to get up and find his last name at the moment, but we would later meet him and find out he is a local boy to us. He was very funny and we made sure we had close to front row seats every time we saw him.

Dinner was good, i don't get overly excited about food, as long as it is hot when it is suppose to be hot and cold when it is, well you get the idea. And as long as there is a lots of it. Other than that, no biggie to me, that's why there is not to many food pics here, sorry.

Anyway, we decided to hit the sheets and after a night cap, because yes they all survived, we fell right to sleep.Our first night with the waves putting us to sleep. St Thomas up next!!!

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Sorry, i clicked submit to soon, heres the rest of the first two days!!

 

So here is my attempt at documenting/reviewing our trans Atlantic on the Adventure of the Seas on April 15th through the 28th. I will start by saying it was one of the best experiences we have ever had with traveling. All flights, hotels, meals, bus's, tours etc went off without a glitch. It was just perfect. And regardless of what has been posted previously about the Adventure, she is a beautiful ship and she is in great condition.

 

A little back round, i am 48 yrs young and have been in public safety for 18 years. My DW, just a click older and is in insurance all her life. We have been married for 20 years and this was a 2nd honeymoon celebration for our past anniversary.

We have raised three kids and have had many trials and tribulations along the way. I think of myself as pretty easy to please and did not set out to do a spot inspection of the ship, but simply have a good time, and that we did!!!!

 

So here goes.

 

We left home in New Hampshire on Saturday morning April 14th and were driven to the Concord bus terminal by our son who then returned to collage life. Our 8 am bus took us to our first flight in Boston leaving at 12pm. All luggage checked and gone from our grasp, hoping that all my "fragiles" would make it to San Juan unscathed.

 

 

Our flight was on time and we had great seats at the rear of the plane with one empty seat for extra room. We arrived in NYC on time and had a beer at a nice little bar before our next leg to North Carolina.The flight to NC was also on time and i was able to snap a few pics of Manhattan as we flew over head.

 

IMG_0531.jpg

 

The last leg out of NC was also on time and we were now heading right for San Juan. The landing in San Juan was not so good. There were very high winds and it seemed that the plane was all over the place. But we made it safe and sound and headed right to the baggage claim.

 

San Juan airport at 10 pm was not that busy and we were able to get our bags and head to the taxi stand in very short time. A $20.00 taxi ride to the Holiday Inn Express was uneventful but it did make me wonder if we were heading into something i was not ready for. I guess the hour and not knowing were i was put me in a not so comfy state, but regardless, we made it safely.

 

The hotel was perfect for our one night pre cruise. The staff was friendly and helpful to us considering the hour and the fact that we were tired and in need of a bed. The rooms were very consistence of any Holiday Inn Express that we have been too. Clean and fresh for sure. After a night cap we bunked down for the night In the morning we went down to for breakfast and everything was good. Again pretty consistent for this chain. Not a restaurant meal but free so it works for me.

 

We headed out to explore the area and find the Walgreen's for some water and snacks to bring on board. When you exit the front door, go right up the street and in less than 75 yards you are at the main drag and right across from the ocean. There is a nice park for walking around the palm trees and a great public beach that we walked to the end and then took a side street back to the main road. We found the Walgreen's and were able to get plenty of snacks, a case of water and a 12 pack of soda. Only problem, the walk back was longer than i expected considering i had to carry the heavy stuff.

101_0094-1.jpg

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We loaded everything into our luggage and put on all the tags and were ready to roll. Went down to the pool for a little while for some sun and lounging. I ran up to the package store which was just around the corner, to get a couple cans of beer and decided i could have bought everything there and saved myself a lot of walking.

 

 

IMG_0542.jpgOh well. At 11:30 we had enough and decided to head to the ship. We gathered our things and the porter at the desk brought us out to the street and summoned a cab and we were on our way. The ride to the pier might be 5 minutes, very short and sweet.

101_0123.jpg

We arrived at the Pier in no time at all. The ship is HUGE and she looked awesome. There were many people here already but things seemed to be moving fine. After getting all the luggage to the curb, which was a task, we jumped right in line. I read a lot about lines, baggage lines and check in lines. When we got there it seemed that these lines were one in the same, you get in the baggage line and drop your bags off and then it just turns into the check in line. Anyway, we made it to the check in just outside the main entrance to the terminal. Here they check your paper work and passports. While we were standing there a lady came out and said, no more after us. So, we were the last to get into the terminal on the first wave. The doors were locked right after we went in. The security was a breeze, all our stuff went right through. I had a twelve pack of soda that went through no worries. We were ushered to the Platinum line and right to the check in clerk who gave us our Sea Pass card in about 3 minutes. We were told to stand in a line with other C+A members and they were the first to board the ship, maybe 50 people. That would have been sweet, but when we got there i think there was a misunderstanding and we were told to start a new line, which was the last of the terminal to leave, no big deal, it only took about 10 minutes to start boarding after we got into the terminal.

We stood in line on the gangway, if that's what it is called. A welcome aboard picture and then another pass through a security check and then we were walking onto the ship. So, from the time we left the hotel at 11:30 to the time we walked on board, it only took 1 hour!!! Not saying that would happen every time, i just think we hit it right. It was a snap!!!! We were having a complimentary drink at 12:30 pm. Let the fun begin!!!!!

 

So, we stood there in awe that we were actually there. People were mingling and chatting it up and seemed to be as amazed as we were. We decided we should head to the Windjammer for lunch and to sit a bit. Already a very busy place but we settled into a table near the window and started what would be a 13 night food orgy!!!! The food was great, for me anyways and we had our first Red Stripe. We poked around a bit and found the ship very similar to the Navigator back in 2009. We knew that the rooms would not be ready until 2pm so we went to the pool for a little bit for some sun. At the stroke of 2 we went down to deck 9 and sure enough the rooms were ready.

We were walking down the hall looking for our room, as we got closer to it and found our door, wife was fumbling for her door key when our room steward Nigel appeared out of no where, called us by name and opened the door, i was so impressed that he called us by name, he had nothing in his hands so he must have committed it to memory. Nigel was great, he always kept our room clean and fresh and left us with a full bucket of ice every morning and night.

For the first time we had a JS and found it to be perfect!!!!! Everything was just a bit bigger than the regular balcony cabin, and we get double C+A points so that helps. One of our bags arrived and the porter was right on top of things bringing the rest as they appeared in his area. By 6pm all our bags were stowed nicely under the bed and we were settled into our new home for the next 2 weeks, that's right, 2 weeks. We have never, in 20 years been away from home that long. This will be very cool.

So we went to the welcome aboard show and saw for the first of many shows, Steve the comedian, I'm to lazy to get up and find his last name at the moment, but we would later meet him and find out he is a local boy to us. He was very funny and we made sure we had close to front row seats every time we saw him.

Dinner was good, i don't get overly excited about food, as long as it is hot when it is suppose to be hot and cold when it is, well you get the idea. And as long as there is a lots of it. Other than that, no biggie to me, that's why there is not to many food pics here, sorry.

Anyway, we decided to hit the sheets and after a night cap, because yes they all survived, we fell right to sleep.Our first night with the waves putting us to sleep. St Thomas up next!!!

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Here are some more pics from San Juan and boarding the ship!

 

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The pool at the hotel.

 

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More of the beach that is only a 5 minute walk from the hotel

 

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Inside the terminal.

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Almost there!!

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Lunch in the WJ.

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Excellent review so far, really looking forward to watching this one unfold. We spent four wonderful days on Adventure over Halloween last year. This will be like a little online homecoming.

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Monday April 16th.

Today we arrived in St Thomas with bright blue skies and some great scenery. It looks just as i remembered 20 years ago. It was very cool to watch the ship dock along side the pier from my balcony.

We ordered breakfast from room service the night before and when you request a time, it is there at that time, not a minute later!!! We had eggs, fruit and coffee on the balcony over looking the bay. It was perfect!!!!!

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Today we will do the shopping thing in town with a possible trip over to Megen's Bay. We went here on our honeymoon and loved it. I have heard many, not so good things about Megen's Bay, that it has changed and become very commercial. Not so sure that's what we want to see and remember when we leave.

Anyway, we left the ship and got the token snap shots with the lady pirate at the pier and headed to a taxi. RED FLAG---they are not taxis, they are vans and trucks converted to carry many passengers. So we find one that is packed with people and they try to squeeze us in and it was not going to work, at all. I cannot believe the people who were on it were not getting upset at the driver for not leaving, instead waiting to maximize his load. Crazy. Well we found one that was heading out so we jumped on and we were off to town. Very busy with at least four ships in port this day. Way to many people for my taste.

So we get to town and start the shopping adventure. DW was a bit over whelmed with all the stores and people. To many stores selling diamonds, watches and the every present jewelery/pharmacy too

 

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More to come from day two!

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Part two of Day two!!!

 

We stopped at a small store called Rajah on a side street. While DW shopped, a Texan about my age fed me beer and we chatted it up about kids and vacation. Good distraction as DW bought her token jewelery here.

We made our way down to tent city and by this time it is getting hot, so, more beer and water.Tent city, that's just my rendering of it is near the fire station, so with that said i stopped in to say hello to my fellow Jake's. We chatted for a short time and i gave a donation and was rewarded with a nice tee shirt. Great guys!!!

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Tent city was a bustling place and we bought a few trinkets to help the local economy. Lunch!!

We went to this little road side, second floor mom and pop joint, Bumpas, that over looked the street and bay with a nice view of the ship. We tried daily special which was awesome, i have no idea what it was, but it was good. A bit pricey but what can you do.

 

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Bumpa's

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After lunch we decided to head back. After a long tax/people move ride to the drop off area, we went to the Harley Shop for a tee shirt and then a wobbly pop at the Ship Wreck bar. Very cool place for a drink. We headed to the ship, a easy walk and the crowds seem to have dissipated a bit. Getting on the ship was easy but the guy getting his booze en away did not feel the same way i did. Oh well.

 

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Part Three of Day two!

 

More pool time on deck 11 and of course, the drink of the day was a must. There were plenty of chairs to be had and we even hit the hot tub once or twice. The sun was shining, the air was hot and life was good.

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In the middle of the picture just above, you can see a building with a green roof covering, this is Bumpa's where we had lunch.

 

We caught the show before dinner. I thought the Lyric Theater was very nice. A funny thing was that ever time we went there you could sit anywhere you wanted, very few people attended these shows. The show was good, not sure of the name but good anyways.

Dinner was great! The assistant waiter is a howl, not sure where he was from but he sure was funnie!! Not sure the head waiter agreed with me most times.

We are having second thoughts about this dining room thing. We have always had real good luck with getting a table with more than two people at it. We were hoping for a larger table but we decided to hold out for a while.

We poked around the ship for a little bit but still tired from all the traveling so we headed to the 9270 Balcony Bar and had a night cap.

we never did make it to Megen's Bay because we wanted our memory of to be good. Maybe next time.

Day two over!!

 

Day three up next!

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Tuesday April 16th St Martin

 

 

Today we arrived in St Martin to another beautiful day of blue skies and hot temps. A Celebrity ship shared the port with us today so as far as i know there were only two ships. Hopefully less crowded.

 

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We went to the Windjammer early thinking it would be slow and it was just the opposite, PACKED!!!!! The DW invites us to sit at a table with a couple from California, Cary and Ronnie. They were the nicest people and we seemed to bump into them all over the ship and we even shared a tour with them in Madeira. It was amazing that we were able to hit it off with just a simple breakfast. As far as i know they are still traveling now.

 

Today we are doing the Beach Rendezvous to Orient Bay, on the French side of the island. I'm not sure of the name of the beach but it is my new Megen's Bay! We met our guide Vilma on the pier with about 20 other passengers. By 9:30 we were off to the bus. The ride was great and Vilma gave us a great blow by blow of everything we passed. She is very knowledgeable of the island. The tour included the bus ride, a free drink at the beach, lunch and a beer, and a beach chair in a private area just for the tour. Everything was perfect. We got the front row of chairs and settled in for some great sun!The beach had a outside restaurant and beach bar with steps to where we were sitting. A cool Jimmy Buffett hang out if i ever saw one. For lunch we had chicken, fish or ribs and beer. Good food and a great view. A beach bums paradise!!!

 

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Vilma!!!!!!

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The dates on the pics may be off so disregard!!!

 

More to come

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More from St Martin.

 

We headed out at 1:30 pm with another nice guided tour of the island as we headed back to the pier. We crossed the smallest border crossing bridge in the world, from the French side to the Dutch, at least that's what Vilma said. Some of the areas we went through were pretty rough looking, typical of the Carib i think. I'm not so sure that all the locals are benefiting from the tourist industry here.

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Loved this beach

 

We stowed our gear and headed to the upper decks for the sail away. We watched for the Peekaboo Bridge which is very cool to see. We also watched for a long time in the kids area of Adventure Ocean. we were informed that this is for Kids only and Adults were not allowed. Hmmmmmmm!!!! This will come up again!

We are now heading into 6 days at sea!!! Giddy Up!

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We caught the early show in the Lyric Theater, plenty of seats again. I think this is one of the nicer theaters i have be to on a ship. One thing that struck me odd, the drink holders in the chairs would not hold any type of glass we had, odd. Just saying....

Dinner at 8:30 in the MDR again tonight. Food was great and the Staff even better. we called it a night early again tonight. Just to much to do and stay awake for it all.

 

Thats all i have for tonight. Work for tomorrow. I will try to post some tomorrow night from work. Starting our sea days.

 

More to come.

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Today we are doing the Beach Rendezvous to Orient Bay, on the French side of the island. I'm not sure of the name of the beach but it is my new Megen's Bay! We met our guide Vilma on the pier with about 20 other passengers. By 9:30 we were off to the bus. The ride was great and Vilma gave us a great blow by blow of everything we passed. She is very knowledgeable of the island. The tour included the bus ride, a free drink at the beach, lunch and a beer, and a beach chair in a private area just for the tour. Everything was perfect. We got the front row of chairs and settled in for some great sun!The beach had a outside restaurant and beach bar with steps to where we were sitting. A cool Jimmy Buffett hang out if i ever saw one. For lunch we had chicken, fish or ribs and beer. Good food and a great view. A beach bums paradise!!!

 

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Vilma!!!!!!

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The dates on the pics may be off so disregard!!!

 

More to come

 

:eek: Was on that very same bus and tour too, was a good day that! (intact the whole two weeks were!)

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Loving the review so far, really good. For the tours which you done in St Martin and St Thomas, were they through the ship or private tours? If private what company was it?

 

We are going on the A.O.S in september 2013 for 16 nights around the med from southampton.

 

Steven

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Keep it coming. We just sailed her the end of March. Loved it. I can't even imagine a TA.

 

Erika

(p.s. I'm sure the lobster tail doesn't even come close to Maine Lobsters. I know mine didn't.)

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Keep it coming. We just sailed her the end of March. Loved it. I can't even imagine a TA.

 

Erika

(p.s. I'm sure the lobster tail doesn't even come close to Maine Lobsters. I know mine didn't.)

 

Not a Lobster lover but my wife is, she was not impressed. LOL

 

The T/A was awesome!!

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Not a Lobster lover but my wife is, she was not impressed. LOL

 

The T/A was awesome!!

Definitely cheaper and better back your neck of the woods. Please go to Weathervane and have your wife have a lobster for me. :)

 

Erika

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