lauraodonnell86

Where did you buy the buss card. At the same place you get on the buss?

Yep, right outside of the bus stop at a little stand. You'll see the line. Basically when you walk off the ship, just follow the pathway along and you'll end up there. It's not hard to find like it was in Curacao!

Next up: Aruba!

We had read a lot about taking the city bus in Aruba so that is what we did! It was $10 for 2 people to go 1 place round trip. We went to Eagle Beach so it was only $10 for both of us, there and back. You have to buy the bus card before getting on the bus. There are maps inside of the cruise terminal that tell you how to walk there. It takes about 10 mins.

Eagle Beach was beautiful. We heard that it is much less busy than Palm Beach. We paid $30 for 2 chairs and an umbrella. The beers were quite expensive on the beach - about $5-$7. We ended up walking to a grocery store nearby and paying a little less.

Eagle Beach:

We went parasailing here as well which was gorgeous! The water is so clear and the color is amazing.

Since we didn't leave until 8pm, we got some cool photos of the island as the sun was setting.

Day 3 was at sea and we mainly hung out by the pool taking in the sun!

Day 4 was Bonaire! We'd never been here before so we were so excited to get out on the island. We booked an excursion with Renee Snorkel Trips and visited 2 areas. We snorkeled in each area for about an hour. This was the best snorkeling we've ever done! The colors of the fish are something that I can't describe and photos do not do justice! Renee was a wonderful guide. She only takes groups of 4 at a time so it is a very personal experience.

I don't have many pictures of the snorkeling because they are on our GoPro. Here is a picture from the first snorkel spot.

View from the ship:

View of Klein Bonaire from the ship. Heard the snorkeling was very good here.

After we got done snorkeling, we decided to walk around town. It is such a cute area and there are so many places to get coffee, gelato, and other food/drinks. Found this spot, Karel's to get a coffee and a beer. Such a great spot over the water and we heard the food was really good.

We would love to go back here one day.

Your pictures are beautiful! Glad you enjoyed Pinel Island. We were there in 2014 and it was our favorite thing we did on that itinerary! We kayaked over to the island as well, which was more challenging that we expected, but still fun! We're going back again this year, but with Soualiga Destinations Boat Tours.

Yes it was more challenging than we thought it would be! My poor husband did most of the work :D It is a wonderful place though! Was worth it! Glad you are enjoying the pics! Enjoy your next trip to Pinel!

Pinel Island, St. Maarten continued...

My husband had done some snorkeling right off of the main beach and saw several different varieties of fish. We had heard some people talking about how the snorkeling was really good on the other side of the island at a different secluded beach we hadn't been to. We were done snorkeling but wanted to check it out anyways. It took us about 20 mins to get to the opposite side of the island. It wasn't a strenuous walk, just very nice!

This is what we saw before reaching the beach...the vegetation is so diverse and pretty!

Here is the beach.

There were signs talking about the different types of sea turtles that you might see when snorkeling in this area.

This is a picture from a high point on our way back to the beach. Such beautiful views!!

We really enjoyed our day on Pinel Island and will be going back next year for sure. We found out that you can take a water taxi from Cul De Sac to Pinel for $24 for 2 people round trip. So if you don't want to kayak out, that may be a good option.

We saw another rainbow as we were sailing away from St. Maarten!

This sounds great! I have always wanted to go to Pinel island! I have read that it can be hard to get a taxi driver to come pick you up. This sounds perfect. I love to kayak. Do you have a link to the kayak company?

If you google Caribbean Paddling, it's the first website. I don't think it'll let me post the whole link on here. But it's www dot caribbeanpaddling dot com I really don't think you can beat the price because I think the taxi fare to get to Cul De Sac is a little expensive. It's about a 20 min drive from the pier.

Beginning of week 2! First stop is St. Maarten.

We decided that we wanted to rent a kayak since we've never done that before. I found the company Caribbean Paddling and decided to book through them. It was $40/person and that included transportation from the cruise port to Cul De Sac, the rental of the kayak for the day, and the return taxi to the cruise port. Cul De Sac is a little town where we picked up the kayak. As you can see below, it was quite cloudy and actually poured on us while we kayaked (for the first time ever) over to Pinel Island :D Luckily they gave us a waterproof bag for our belongings!

We made it to Pinel Island in about 20 mins on the kayak and the weather started to clear up!

We didn't know much about Pinel Island before we went. As soon as we got there, we quickly fell in love! There are 2 places to rent chairs/umbrellas but we decided just to throw our towels down. I'm glad we did because we didn't sit down at all! There are also 2 restaurants where you can get anything from lobster fresh out of the ocean to pizza! It smelled so good!

We decided to go exploring because we heard there were small trails all over the island. We "hiked" all the way to the other side of the island and found a secluded beach that was gorgeous.

There were iguanas and hermit crabs all over the island! We also almost stepped on a giant land turtle during one of our walks.

To be continued...

Since we're now to transition day, I'm gonna pause to talk about the ship and our experiences on board.

This was our 5th and 6th cruises on Adventure. Obviously, we love the ship. We've thought about sailing on the Jewel on the same routes but we LOVE the Royal Promenade and we think we'd really miss that on Jewel. We also like the Solarium being open and not covered. Therefore, we stick with Adventure and are very happy. I felt like a kid when I saw the slides for the first time. They make the ship look great and they are fun!

Here are a few pics my husband shot one night of the new Splashaway Bay, Flow Rider, and slides.

Our dining experience was great when it came to the food. We were happy with 95% of what we ate in Windjammer and MDR. Our table assignments were a little messed up both weeks but we made it work. I liked the change in some of the menu items. A lot of the food was the same though, which is fine with me because I have always liked the food. Like many people say, it depends on the person and what kind of food you are used to on whether or not you will like it.

The entertainment was wonderful in our opinion. We REALLY enjoy the ice show and went to it both weeks. I hardly ever hear anyone say anything negative about the ice show. We didn't go the first 2 years on Adventure because we weren't really into ice skating. I'm so glad that we decided to go last year! We (mainly I) love the production shows with the singers and dancers. The production shows were Jackpot, Invitation to Dance and Can't Stop the Rock. We were not a fan of Jackpot. Invitation to Dance and Can't Stop the Rock were awesome. The orchestra was especially great and we really enjoyed them during our cruise.

There were 3 different comedians during the span of our 2 weeks and all were really funny. We attended all of their shows including the late night comedy.

Our last day of the first leg was a day at sea. It was nice to relax since we'd been on the run for the last 6 days! We slept in and then hung out at the pool! It was nice to watch the sun set!

The best thing about a back to back cruise is seeing all the luggage out in the hall and not having to set ours out! :p

I'm trying to decide between Cosol tour (which seems busy and a long bus ride) or the Treetop ziplining. Any suggestions?

After reading this review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=52262036#post52262036 about Cosol, I will stick with Treetop Adventure Park! It is so amazing! You should go and see the reviews on Trip Advisor!

Any updates on Chops?

I heard that they are constantly working on it but I cannot confirm that. We don't do specialty dining as a normal rule so it wasn't a concern of ours.

Do you remember the name of the entertainer at the pub? We love hanging out there!

Had to grab my cruise compass to confirm this one! It was Lukas Borsten. The crowds seemed to like him but I will say that he wasn't as good as Derek Lewis last year. Lukas did a good job though and it was standing room only pretty much every night!

Hi! Thanks for posting your review.

We are on the b2b on Feb. 18 and Feb. 25th.

 

Did you notice at the top tier party did they present people with their crystal blocks for reaching a milestone ?

 

Thanks.

 

Sent from my L9 using Tapatalk

No they did not. We went to both top tier parties and that didn't happen at either. There is a new loyalty ambassador and I think she's still learning the ropes. I saw someone picking theirs up at the ambassador's desk.

I'm getting to the point for my next cruise that I do something cruise related every day. I'll spend a few upcoming Saturday mornings studying the deck plans as it has been 8 years since we have been on a Voyager class ship. Does anyone know if the deck plans on Royal's site are up to date at least a little ? Is the Diamond Club still up on Deck 14 near the VCL? I know Chops isn't open yet, but it is really going to be deck 4? I kind of thought it would be up near the Windjammer like it was when I was on Navigator back in 09.

Yes the diamond lounge is up on 14 in Blue Moon, Viking Crown. Chops is going to be on deck 4 right outside of Schooner Bar, Casino, and Lyric Theatre.

On night 6, we attended the Top Tier party. I was actually surprising how well put together it was. Captain Shawn came and talked and the ballroom dancers also performed!

After dinner, we hung out at the Duck and Dog. It is our favorite place and is very good for people watching on the Royal Promenade :D

Next stop: Barbados!

Barbados is always on the top of our list. The weather is always HOT and the beaches are always so beautiful! Normally we go to The Boatyard beach which is a great place. But we got there a little later (10:30) this time and they were already sold out of chairs! :eek: Darn! We will know better for next year! We had been waiting for about 15 mins for the taxi driver to find 2 more people and we got frustrated and decided to walk. I had heard that the walk was about 15 mins but actually it was about 25-30. It was a nice walk though and I think we'd do it again. Just earlier ;) The taxi was going to be $10 for 2 people one way.

We walked down just a bit from The Boatyard and rented chairs and an umbrella from another place for $15.

Such a gorgeous beach! We love Barbados!

Sunset as we are leaving!

Getting on the ship that "late", what time did your luggage get delivered to your room? We'll probably be getting on the ship at about 2 and I was wondering what time our luggage might be delivered. I've asked this from other people and have gotten various responses.

It was there after the muster drill so it got there anytime from 5:30 to 6 while we were gone. We go to late dinner so we weren't in a rush to get it. We also put an outfit in our carry on to wear to dinner in case it didn't get there in time.

Thanks for the review! We are waiting for the Fall 2018 itineraries to be released hoping that these same itineraries repeat as we are planning this same B2B. This will be our 1st B2B.

 

Chris

So excited for you to go on your 1st B2B! Seeing the luggage in the hallway on the last day of the first week is such a great feeling! Knowing you have another whole week ahead of you is the best feeling! :) We're anxiously awaiting the itineraries for Jan 2019! It's our 10 year anniversary, trying to convince hubs to do B2B2B :eek: Not sure if you've done any research but I found the release dates for 2018-2019:

Week of March 6, 2017

Europe (Phase I), Year-Round Caribbean & Bahamas

Week of March 27, 2017

Northeast & Seasonal Caribbean

Good luck!

You only get about 15-20 minutes to edit your post.

Thank you for the tip. I knew I'd read something was different with editing on the new update but couldn't remember what. I really love the new update though. I think it's a lot more user friendly now! One of the things that encouraged me to write this review.

Time for St. Lucia! I call it the land of the leaf blowers because every time the ship pulls up at the terminal, they are always running those dang blowers! :D:D

We took a taxi to Rodney Bay, Reduit Beach. Make sure you go to the taxi stand to pay and get your tickets. Many people make the mistake of just waiting for a taxi to pick them up in the crowded area and then that time is wasted. You pay for round trip at the stand. It is $28 round trip for 2 people. Definitely not the cheapest taxi ride of the trip! There are many different places to get chairs and umbrellas. If you walked to the left from where we were dropped, the chairs/umbrella were $15. There were also places for $20 and $25. We paid somewhere in the middle, I can't quite remember.

I will say that this isn't my favorite place. They are kind of pushy and just don't make the best impression (in my opinion). In the past, we did Treetop Adventure Ziplining and that was AMAZING! The price went up quite a bit or we would have thought about doing that again. I would recommend that to everyone though!

When we first arrived at the beach, it was super cloudy and we actually got sprinkled on for a few moments!

Here is proof though not to be discouraged! The sun will shine!

Since I can't figure out how to edit my previous posts, I'll just make a new one for the correct prices.

Taxi to Carambola Beach Club St. Kitts - $16 for 2 people round trip. 2 chairs and umbrella is $30 there.

Taxi to Dickenson Bay Antigua - $12 for 2 people round trip. But they made us wait for at least 2 other people. If it was just me and my husband, it would have been $24 round trip for the 2 of us. Still not bad at all! 2 chairs and umbrella were $20.

Enjoying your review. We will be on our first B2B January 6 and 13, 2018. For turnaround day did you have to disembark and then get your new Sea Pass and reboard?

My husband and I will be on with you Jan 13, 2018! We are doing 13th and 20th. B2B is the only way to go! On turnaround day, we all met in the Imperial Lounge at 11 and were issued our new Sea Pass cards. Then we were released...just like that! We did NOT have to get off of the ship. We didn't have to get off last year either on our B2B. But I will say that we talked to a couple who are on for 9 weeks and they say that it really varies from week to week. I guess it depends on what San Juan customs feels like for the week. So I won't promise that you won't have to get off the ship but we haven't.

We thought about going back to Isla Verde beach on turnaround day but it's actually really nice on that day because hardly anyone is on the ship. The pool and hot tub in the Solarium is nice and empty :D Fun watching the newbies come on as well :)

Next up: Antigua (one of my faves!)

I put this on my roll call board and I feel that it's worth mentioning on here. The taxi drivers in Antigua are very pushy and will try to talk you in to going to the beach that they want to drive to. So if you want to go to a certain beach, be strong lol. Most of them drive small vans/buses and generally wait for 6-8 people to join until they will take you. It is quite chaotic in my opinion compared to other ports but it is worth it when you get to the beach!!

We took a taxi to Dickenson Bay. We'd never been there before and wanted to try it out. It was about a 10 min drive. I'm sorry I can't remember the fare for the taxi but I don't think it was too bad. I will update this when I get home with the amount. I will also confirm on the chair prices.

Where we were dropped off, the Sandals resort was to our right as you are looking at the water. We walked to the left though to get a chair. It was a GORGEOUS beach! See for yourself...

This little "bay" area is where we swam. Water was very calm and no rocks to worry about.

These are near the Sandals property. We love walking the beach and came across these while we were on our walk.

When we walked the other way, we came to a point (at the end of Dickenson Bay) and it was so beautiful. There is something about the color of the rock, the sky, and the water....

A rainbow off in the distance during sail away!

Beautiful photos.

 

Is that Nevis you see in the distance from the beach?

Yes Bob, I believe it is. I looked at Google Maps and that would make sense. Never realized it! Thanks for pointing that out!

Great start. Did exactly the same B2B in the same order in September and I am having some awesome flashbacks!

 

 

Cindy

It is a GREAT back to back to do, that's for sure!