Review of Adventure of The Seas 7/18/04

We began our journey on The Adventure of The Seas Saturday July 17. We left home for the airport at 3:50am. We traveled on Spirit Airlines and had no complaints, actually the price we got was great. We arrived in San Juan at 1:30 pm, and took a taxi to the Intercontinental which I had booked online for $128 for a pool-view room. We were upgraded to an ocean-view upon arrival, as they had put us into a non-smoking room, and we are smokers; it was a wonderful room with a great view. The hotel was beautiful! There was no charge to use the pool, you just need to sign in and get a wrist-band to identify you as a hotel guest. There is an area to get pool towels right by the pool. Also, there is a swim up pool bar there, and the beach is just a bit past the pool. All very nice!

We arrived at the pier at about 10:30am, and were the first in line to get into the building. We waited for about 30 minutes. It took less than 5 minutes to get our sea pass card, and then we went to sit and wait. There was lemonade, water and cookies for everyone. There was an area for Diamond and Platinum members, another area for suite passengers, and a third area for all others. The ship was full as a group, National Professional Network, had chartered much of the ship so there were no upgrades available. We waited about 1 hour and 30 minutes then we were onboard and in the Windjammer having a yummy lunch. After we ate we were off to explore the ship. Nobody could get to their cabins until 2pm-all the corridors seemed to be closed off.

We chose to go with a category B suite this time, and had cabin 1548. It was great! No excess movement at all was felt, which I had worried about since it is towards the front of the ship. Our cabin steward was Jermaine, and he was fantastic. We tipped him an additional amount up front, and he seemed very grateful. Being in a suite provided us with use of the Concierge Lounge, and afternoon snacks of sort. The snacks were canapes, or chocolate covered strawberries, fresh fruit, etc. In addition, the Concierge Lounge had hors d’oeuvres each evening with an open bar. The Concierge was Michelle, and she was fantastic. Always very kind, and with a smile. Passengers could also get DVDs to use if desired from the Lounge.

The next day was St. Thomas, and we had booked a day-sail on The Winifred with Captain Sharon. What an absolutely perfect day we had! I really cannot begin to tell everyone how enjoyable this day was. Sharon, and her mate Tommy were the kindest, friendliest people we have met in a long while! They made this day a lasting memory for us. We sailed to St. John, and snorkeled for quite some time; we were able to see so much there...eels, turtles, Conchs, and many fish. We also had a delicious lunch, then off for a leisurely return sail to St. Thomas. If you ever have the opportunity to book this, please do consider it. You will not regret it, and will not be disappointed in the least. Again, the best excursion we have ever had!

That evening was the Meet and Mingle. We got to place names with faces,and meet several people which is always nice! Gary won the Aqua Mouse, so he will be using it to send in his review :). Not too many folks showed up, but it was very nice meeting those that did.

This evening was the first formal night. We were quite tired from our day in St. Thomas, so we decided to skip dressing up and instead went to the Island Grill. What a wonderful surprise! The food was great, and the service was fantastic! We enjoyed our dining experience so much, that we had each evening meal there for the remainder of the cruise. There were always many things to choose from, and the hot food was always hot, and the cold food always cold. No Royal Steak, but they did have Minute steaks. In a few words...bad, tough, yuck.

The next day we were in St. Maarten. The weather was not good at all that day. Cloudy, cool and raining off and on. The excursion was ok, though I think it would have been much better if the weather had been warmer. Next time though I think we’ll skip the Rhino Riders, and go with the jet-skiis. We were able to get some shopping in here also, and the prices were good. I still think St. Maarten has the best prices on many things, though you have to “work at it” a good deal of the time. The ice show was on this night, and it was absolutely wonderful! These skaters are so talented and had the audience mesmerized with their abilities and performance. We were able to get tickets from the Concierge, so we didn’t have to worry about a line to get tickets that day.

The next day we were in Antigua and did Eli’s tour. A great tour! His boat is very new, and just beautiful. We had a nice day, and another good lunch served by Eli. He is much younger than I had anticipated, and a very nice young man.

That evening we received a phone call inviting us to dinner with the Captain the next evening in Portofinos. We accepted, and were very excited and looking forward to the next evening!

The next day we were in St. Lucia. The Pirate ship excursion was cancelled due to mechanical problems. We just took it easy on our own that day, with no tours. St. Lucia is so beautiful and lush. As we were leaving the island we passed the Pitons...breathtaking! Also, a pod of dolphins were swimming with the ship. What a neat thing to see! They were jumping, twisting, and seemingly playing and having a great time swimming with the ship! That evening our dinner with the Captain was wonderful. We dined with 4 other couples and the Captain. He is only 37 years old, and the youngest in the Royal Caribbean fleet. He will be leaving the Adventure of the Seas in about 6 months to go to the Voyager. The meal was fabulous! We enjoyed the evening very much.

The next day was Friday and we had booked The Silver Moon in Barbados. Again a wonderful day! The Silver Moon is a catamaran, less than 2 years old and a beautiful boat. They book no more than 12 people, so there is a lot of room. It is manned by 3 extremely nice, knowledgeable and pleasant individuals. We snorkeled in 2 different spots and one was over a wreck..very neat! There were plenty of drinks served on our trip back, after a wonderful lunch. I highly recommend this excursion while in Barbados! We were the only ones from the ship, and it was very nice to be on something that was not at all crowded! We were picked up from the ship, and taken back afterwards.

Saturday was a sea day, and there are indeed a lot of chair hogs out there! Many chairs in the pool area had been “reserved” with a towel, flip flop, etc. by 9:30am. All in all a nice relaxing day. That evening we tried to use up our remaining quarters in the casino. We kept winning them, and more back! The slots were good to us that night.

Sunday we awoke to rain and clouds as we were pulling into San Juan...it mirrored our feelings of the morning. We didn’t want this magical adventure to end:(. After breakfast in the Windjammer, we waited in the Lyric until our flight was called at about 10:30. We went to the airport and were prepared for the worst part of our journey. We were pleasantly surprised however. It took 1 hour to check our bags, and get through security and to our gate. Not great, but certainly not as bad as I had anticipated. It was air-conditioned, and plenty of seating was available.

We are suffering a major case of PCD right now, and we have that feeling that we are still moving. We enjoyed our cruise so much. The Adventure of The Seas is a wonderful ship, very clean, well kept and with a wonderful staff! We enjoyed ourselves so much we are planning on doing it again next year, only trying for a back to back with the two southern routes! If anyone has any questions at all, please ask away, and I’ll do my best to answer! Sorry that this has been so long, but I love reading everyone else’s reviews, that I wanted to share as much as I could with everyone else.

What a great review.We also had a very nice cruise. It was very nice meeting you. :D

Thanks for the review. We leave Saturday for SJ out of IAD and we are staying at the intercontinental also. We paid $140 for our room. I'm glad to hear that's this is a nice hotel. We are going on the same southern route you went on.

How did you book the Winifred and the silver moon execusions? I think I might be interested.

Annie, it was so nice meeting you also! :) Muscleman, I booked the two through their sites. I think it is too late for the Winifred, but perhaps The SIlver Moon still has some openings. The web site is http://www.oceanadventures.bb/lunchcruises.htm, you can even see a picture of the boat. It's great!

I had a wonderful time as well. Sorry I did not make the meet and mingle. I was so looking forward to meeting everyone.

Thanks NoVa. I sent them an email. By the way do you remember the price of the sail?

We are right down the road from you in Stafford. I commute to the Pentagon and my wife commute to Commerce Department in DC. So we have to fight 95 everyday and you know how that is.

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Glad to hear that you had a good time we will be on the ship in Oct. How was the evening entertainment, anyone we would know. 2 years ago when on Explorer Jim Nabors was lead singer he was wonderful. Really won't make a differance but I love to look forward to seeing a "big name"

Nova Mimi, what is the website for the Winifred in St Thomas. I looked at the Silver Moon and emailed them this morning. We are cruising in April 05 and my hubby would love an excursion like this one. Thanks for the great review.

Dayna

buzzandjulie

The Coasters were on the AOS 7/11 sailing.

I enjoyed your review of the AOS. My fiance, daughter and myself cruised her two years ago. It was our first cruise and we are hooked. We are cruising Explorer in January....can't wait!

I'm just curious, how were you fortunate enough to receive an invitation to the Captain's table for dinner? I'm sure that would have been a highlight of your trip!

Hi daynab, We too are thinking about the winifred sail. The price is $120 ea if you use a credit card or $110 in cash. The email address is below.

Sharon Allen [winifred@sailwinifred.com]

I'm sure you all will enjoy the day sail on Winifred! Be sure to tell her that Tami the Dermatology nurse sent you! :) Regarding the invitation to eat with the Captain, we got the call from the Concierge the evening prior to the dinner to invite us. She later told us that the Captain's social hostess spoke with her stating that they needed an extra couple to dine with him, and she thought of us as she thought we had been very kind and humble individuals when she had met us :) We took that as a great compliment, and yes it really was a great highlight of the trip! We each got a photo (group picture of all the couples with the Captain), and have very wonderful memories of the evening.

Thanks Muscleman for the email address. Have a great cruise.

Dayna

Muscleman,

My wife and I leave from IAD Saturday, 7/31, for San Juan also.

We are flying American Airlines flight 1565 and we will be staying

at the Marriott Resort and Casino. We stayed there 2 years ago

when we took the other Southern Route.

We are celebrating my wife's retirement from the DC Public School

system. I retired from IBM 2 years ago.

We live in North Potomac, MD not far from National Institute of

Standards and Technology.

Nova Mimi,

Thanks for the great review. We will be sailing AOS in October and also will stay at Inter-continental. We're paying about the same as you for the hotel. Glad to hear the hotel is nice too. We will be going to the Southern side too but the route will be a little different - Aruba, Curacao, St Maarten and then St Thomas. I just returned from Norwegian Crown to Bermuda, the week of July 4th. Bermuda was beautiful, Crown was okay. Fractured my ankle in Bermuda - on the moped, of course!! Had a very good time anyway.

Buzzandjulie - what week are you on the ship in October? We fly to San Juan on the 15th and sail on the 17th. If it's the same week, look for our roll call. We are registered for a meet and mingle.

Thanks again for the great review of the ship and hotel and all you fellow cruisers, happy sailing!!

JEJennings,

We are flying US Airways arriving SJU around 12:40. We are celebrating my 50th birthday. I'm traveling with a group of 32. Tell the wife congratulation on her retirement. What better way to celebrate a retirement than with a cruise. Hope to meet you on the ship. I going to win the sexy leg contest with the skinniest legs (-:

Three days left. One more working day. I'm thinking about taking a half day tomorrow.

JEJennings -

Saw below that you are staying at the Marriott in Condado. What's the hotel like? We are staying there pre-cruise in August. Would appreciate some feedback. Thanks.

Btw, who's the cruise director on the AOS now? How was he?

Mike Hunnerup from Australia. He was very good and good looking too :D

JanNSteH,

Wife and I stayed there pre-cruise in 2002. We had a room

overlooking the pool and out to the ocean. Hotel was nice.

Casino on 1st floor, nearby resturants. We however ate

dinner and breakfast in hotel.

We enjoyed the beach. It was not very crowded.

Thanks for the great review. I am counting the days until we leave!! Would you say getting to the pier around 10:30 am is good? Did you have carry on luggage? What did you do with it since you couldn't get to your room until around 2:00pm? Were the pools open?

Thanks Jodi

Jodi, I think 10:30 is a good idea. They open the building around 11:00. As to when you can get on, it often depends on the debarkation of the previous sailing. We just carried our carry on stuff around with us, and yes the pools are open:) You are going to have such a wonderful time!!!