8-Day Christmas Cruise on Adventure of the Seas, Southern Caribbean (lots of pics!)

[LittleMissMagic]

Victoria,

 

Great review...one of the best I've seen on CC, probably because you're around my age...I'm 26 and my girlfriend gives me a hard time for being on here so much and that I must be the youngest one posting on here. Glad to see several other 20 something users!

 

You and Rachel are adorable and I enjoyed seeing the fun you had with your family...it was so addicting that I spent a bit too long reading during work! Oops. Anyway your review has convinced me to do a southern route for the next cruise I book! Oh and how did you develop this deep love for cruising?

 

Jeremy

 

PS. I'm a UMD graduate...our basketball team plays you guys down there in a few weeks...rawr

 

I'm glad you enjoyed my trip report! Lately, I've been spending wayyy too much time on CC, wishing I was still cruising the Caribbean. So all I can do is research for my next cruise. It's a big group trip with a lot of people who haven't cruised Royal Caribbean before (and several first-time cruisers), so I've been using Google Docs to store all of the information I find on the ship and the ports. I call it "productive procrastination." :D

 

I'm not sure when I fell in love with cruising. I went on my first cruise (Disney) when I was seven years old, but I think I was too young to fall in love with cruising itself. I also had a great time on the Alaska cruise we went on when I was 9, and several years later, we were looking for a vacation and the thought of cruising popped in my head. I remember sitting at the computer, 12 years old, having just picked out a cruise vacation and Dad said, "Book it!" But I think when we really fell in love was when we decided to cruise the Caribbean during Christmas time - it was a great escape, and we look forward to our Christmas cruise every year.

 

We've also found that cruising is a good way to kind of avoid crowds. There can only be so many people on a cruise ship. We love going to Disney World, but we don't like dealing with the spring and Christmas break crowds - so we visit WDW during the off-season and cruise during peak vacation time.

 

The southern caribbean route is wonderful - I really prefer it over eastern/western routes. Have a wonderful time on your cruise! :)

[DRWhit]

Oh my goodness! My wife I just booked a Southern Caribbean cruise on RCI, so I was looking at your thread. As I was reading it, I realized I was at your parents wedding in Jackson MS!! Tell them that Pam and Doug say hello and give them our warmest regards!

 

Its kind of funny how things turned out... your dad and I worked together back in the day. We both were bachelors and ended up marrying Mississippi ladies. I have two daughters. Like you all, we love to go to Disney (in fact I have one daughter who went to school and is now working at Walt Disney World), and we also love to go on cruises.

 

I can tell you have a wonderful family (no surprise, given your parents!) and I know your parents are very proud of you. Man, it seems like yesterday your dad and I were single guys in Mississippi. And now, we both have families with grown up girls, going on cruises. And I run across this thread on an internet site. What a life! :)

[terpfan101]

Oh my goodness! My wife I just booked a Southern Caribbean cruise on RCI, so I was looking at your thread. As I was reading it, I realized I was at your parents wedding in Jackson MS!! Tell them that Pam and Doug say hello and give them our warmest regards!

 

Its kind of funny how things turned out... your dad and I worked together back in the day. We both were bachelors and ended up marrying Mississippi ladies. I have two daughters. Like you all, we love to go to Disney (in fact I have one daughter who went to school and is now working at Walt Disney World), and we also love to go on cruises.

 

I can tell you have a wonderful family (no surprise, given your parents!) and I know your parents are very proud of you. Man, it seems like yesterday your dad and I were single guys in Mississippi. And now, we both have families with grown up girls, going on cruises. And I run across this thread on an internet site. What a life! :)

 

:eek: Small world...not involving me but the fact that this happened blows my mind!

[terpfan101]

I'm glad you enjoyed my trip report! Lately, I've been spending wayyy too much time on CC, wishing I was still cruising the Caribbean. So all I can do is research for my next cruise. It's a big group trip with a lot of people who haven't cruised Royal Caribbean before (and several first-time cruisers), so I've been using Google Docs to store all of the information I find on the ship and the ports. I call it "productive procrastination." :D

 

I'm not sure when I fell in love with cruising. I went on my first cruise (Disney) when I was seven years old, but I think I was too young to fall in love with cruising itself. I also had a great time on the Alaska cruise we went on when I was 9, and several years later, we were looking for a vacation and the thought of cruising popped in my head. I remember sitting at the computer, 12 years old, having just picked out a cruise vacation and Dad said, "Book it!" But I think when we really fell in love was when we decided to cruise the Caribbean during Christmas time - it was a great escape, and we look forward to our Christmas cruise every year.

 

We've also found that cruising is a good way to kind of avoid crowds. There can only be so many people on a cruise ship. We love going to Disney World, but we don't like dealing with the spring and Christmas break crowds - so we visit WDW during the off-season and cruise during peak vacation time.

 

The southern caribbean route is wonderful - I really prefer it over eastern/western routes. Have a wonderful time on your cruise! :)

 

Thanks! I can't wait for the Allure...I've been amazed by the design/engineering of it since the Oasis was first revealed. You'll definitely have to get on one of those two ships at some point! I was just looking up Disney World info and as I only was there once when I was 8, I was shocked by the high prices during peak season! Give me a cruise any day.

 

So do you have any suggestions for the ports of Cozumel or Falmouth Jamaica (feel free to Ochos Rios/Montego Bay if you've been there). Thanks :)

[LittleMissMagic]

Oh my goodness! My wife I just booked a Southern Caribbean cruise on RCI, so I was looking at your thread. As I was reading it, I realized I was at your parents wedding in Jackson MS!! Tell them that Pam and Doug say hello and give them our warmest regards!

 

Its kind of funny how things turned out... your dad and I worked together back in the day. We both were bachelors and ended up marrying Mississippi ladies. I have two daughters. Like you all, we love to go to Disney (in fact I have one daughter who went to school and is now working at Walt Disney World), and we also love to go on cruises.

 

I can tell you have a wonderful family (no surprise, given your parents!) and I know your parents are very proud of you. Man, it seems like yesterday your dad and I were single guys in Mississippi. And now, we both have families with grown up girls, going on cruises. And I run across this thread on an internet site. What a life! :)

 

NO WAYYYY!!!!! That is too cool - such a small world!

 

I will tell my dad that you said hello. He's not going to believe this! :D

[LittleMissMagic]

So do you have any suggestions for the ports of Cozumel or Falmouth Jamaica (feel free to Ochos Rios/Montego Bay if you've been there). Thanks :)

 

I've been to Cozumel three times, and I actually haven't found an excursion that I'd highly recommend yet. The beaches aren't that great because they're rocky. The snorkeling in Cozumel also isn't very good. We've done the "Adventure Park" ziplining (a little misleading - you zipline between rock walls, not trees), and while it wasn't what we expected, the staff was super friendly and we were also allowed to stay at the resort until we were ready to leave. We also did the clear-bottom kayak excursion through RCI and it was AWFUL! The resort wasn't at all what they advertised (the brochure had nice, cushioned chaises - we arrived to broken plastic loungers). We had to wait four hours for our kayaks - we were exhausted by the heat. They did give us some complimentary snacks and beverages to make up for it, but we were very disappointed. The cruise ship ended up giving us a little bit of money back in OBC.

 

Next time we're in Cozumel, I'd like to try a beach tour or bar hopping - I've heard that the bar hopping is pretty great.

 

As for Jamaica, I haven't been to Falmouth, but I have been to Montego Bay. We did the Jamaican bobsledding excursion through Mystic Mountain. Mystic Mountain also had a really good-looking zipline course. We really enjoyed the bobsledding (it was like a rollercoaster that you controlled the speed of) and the aerial tram to the top of the mountain was an excursion itself (you could actually book just the aerial tram, but that's a bit of a rip-off).

[LBumb]

great info

[lanikeekee]

Congratulations on a wonderful review...can't wait for your next one:D

 

As an Australian though I don't get all the tigers and Clemson stuff...but looks like you love it:D

[CFIGuy]

Thanks for the great review. It reminds me very much of vacations with my mother and father and sister. It was also nice to see a younger point of view.

[bonagrad]

I'm glad you enjoyed my trip report! Lately, I've been spending wayyy too much time on CC, wishing I was still cruising the Caribbean. So all I can do is research for my next cruise. It's a big group trip with a lot of people who haven't cruised Royal Caribbean before (and several first-time cruisers), so I've been using Google Docs to store all of the information I find on the ship and the ports. I call it "productive procrastination." :D

 

I'm not sure when I fell in love with cruising. I went on my first cruise (Disney) when I was seven years old, but I think I was too young to fall in love with cruising itself. I also had a great time on the Alaska cruise we went on when I was 9, and several years later, we were looking for a vacation and the thought of cruising popped in my head. I remember sitting at the computer, 12 years old, having just picked out a cruise vacation and Dad said, "Book it!" But I think when we really fell in love was when we decided to cruise the Caribbean during Christmas time - it was a great escape, and we look forward to our Christmas cruise every year.

 

We've also found that cruising is a good way to kind of avoid crowds. There can only be so many people on a cruise ship. We love going to Disney World, but we don't like dealing with the spring and Christmas break crowds - so we visit WDW during the off-season and cruise during peak vacation time.

 

The southern caribbean route is wonderful - I really prefer it over eastern/western routes. Have a wonderful time on your cruise! :)

 

Just wanted to chime in and agree with the rest!! This was an awesome review!! I'm quite a bit older than you(almost 36-man time flies!), but we feel your age most of the time! It nice to see younger cruise lovers. I too spend a lot of time on here before a cruise and when we start looking for the next one. My wife says I'm an addict and I'm proud to say I am!

 

Anyways, we're on Serenade in less than two weeks. This got me even more excited about it!

[LittleMissMagic]

As an Australian though I don't get all the tigers and Clemson stuff...but looks like you love it:D

 

Clemson University is where I go to school, and the tiger is our mascot (colors are orange and purple). Some of us Americans can go pretty crazy with school pride, especially during football season.

 

My sister and I decided - if we win the ACC Championship (our school's conference championship game), we'd decorate our door like Clemson maniacs. :)

 

Sadly, we lost the Orange Bowl (it was embarassing), but the good news is that we have a young team, and we've been predicted to be ranked 5th next year because of our awesome recruiting class.

[Jimbo]

This cruise would work better for you, it's a newer ship also. Plus it goes to 4 ports. Roatan is one of the greatest places for snorkeling in the world and there is the Costa Maya Beach Resort in Costa Maya that is beautiful http://www.costamayabeachresort.com/ and you can never go wrong with Grand Caymen and Cozumel.

 

Celebrity Solstice

 

Sunday, March 18, 2012 Fort Lauderdale - Florida -- 04:30 PM

Monday, March 19, 2012 At Sea -- --

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 George Town - Grand Cayman 07:00 AM 04:00 PM

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 Cozumel - Mexico 09:00 AM 06:00 PM

Thursday, March 22, 2012 Roatan - Honduras 08:30 AM 05:00 PM

Friday, March 23, 2012 Puerto Costa Maya - Mexico 08:00 AM 05:00 PM

Saturday, March 24, 2012 At Sea -- --

Sunday, March 25, 2012 Fort Lauderdale - Florida 07:00 AM --

 

Jimbo:)

Edited January 24, 2012 by Jimbo

[bonagrad]

Clemson University is where I go to school, and the tiger is our mascot (colors are orange and purple). Some of us Americans can go pretty crazy with school pride, especially during football season.

 

My sister and I decided - if we win the ACC Championship (our school's conference championship game), we'd decorate our door like Clemson maniacs. :)

 

Sadly, we lost the Orange Bowl (it was embarassing), but the good news is that we have a young team, and we've been predicted to be ranked 5th next year because of our awesome recruiting class.

 

Nothing better than college sports! My college didn't have football, but in 4 years I didn't miss a basketball game.

[LittleMissMagic]

This cruise would work better for you, it's a newer ship also. Plus it goes to 4 ports. Roatan is greatest places for snorkeling on the world and there is the Costa Maya Beach Resort in Costa Maya that is beautiful http://www.costamayabeachresort.com/ and you can never go wrong with Grand Caymen and Cozumel.

 

Celebrity Solstice

 

Sunday, March 18, 2012 Fort Lauderdale - Florida -- 04:30 PM

Monday, March 19, 2012 At Sea -- --

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 George Town - Grand Cayman 07:00 AM 04:00 PM

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 Cozumel - Mexico 09:00 AM 06:00 PM

Thursday, March 22, 2012 Roatan - Honduras 08:30 AM 05:00 PM

Friday, March 23, 2012 Puerto Costa Maya - Mexico 08:00 AM 05:00 PM

Saturday, March 24, 2012 At Sea -- --

Sunday, March 25, 2012 Fort Lauderdale - Florida 07:00 AM --

 

Jimbo:)

 

My sister has been dying to go back to Grand Cayman! We also really liked Roatan. My father has been really curious about trying Celebrity, ever since he saw the red carpet rolled out for the guests at one of the ports. :D Our only concern is that we've heard from several people that there aren't a lot of young people on the ship (not like that really matters - we were among the only 100 minors aboard the Grandeur of the Seas and had an amazing time) and that there isn't much to do after 10 PM.

 

I've seen the Solstice in port, and she looks nice. Have you sailed Celebrity? How do you think it compares to other cruiselines?

[Jimbo]

My sister has been dying to go back to Grand Cayman! We also really liked Roatan. My father has been really curious about trying Celebrity, ever since he saw the red carpet rolled out for the guests at one of the ports. :D Our only concern is that we've heard from several people that there aren't a lot of young people on the ship (not like that really matters - we were among the only 100 minors aboard the Grandeur of the Seas and had an amazing time) and that there isn't much to do after 10 PM.

 

I've seen the Solstice in port, and she looks nice. Have you sailed Celebrity? How do you think it compares to other cruiselines?

 

Have never done Celebrity, even though we had it booked one time but switched to a Royal Caribbean ship when we found a better deal closer to home that required no air fare.

 

We have cruised on Carnival, Princess, Disney, Royal Caribbean and Holland America.

 

From what I read and Celebrity also really being Royal Caribbean product, don't really think you will see much difference, I have heard though that the food is much better on Celebrity and they have some really nice pay restaurants onboard Solstice also.

 

Jimbo:)

[JohninDC]

In your opening you mentioned "I also have a greater appreciation for Hartsfield-International after departing from San Juan's airport, but that's a story for another day!" Any chance you'd care to share your San Juan airport experieince with the rest of us now that the rest of your review is complete? :confused:

[LittleMissMagic]

In your opening you mentioned "I also have a greater appreciation for Hartsfield-International after departing from San Juan's airport, but that's a story for another day!" Any chance you'd care to share your San Juan airport experieince with the rest of us now that the rest of your review is complete? :confused:

 

Yes, yes - I've been meaning to do that. I actually have a few more pictures & commentary/reviews to add, but I have an arch project due Friday, so I've been trying to limit my Internet time (going great can't you tell... :D).

 

Promise I will tell the airport story!!! So sorry for the delay!

[JohninDC]

I was an EE major - I feel your pain. I have a daughter who is waiting to hear from the Clemson admissions folks - keeping our fingers crossed. :)

[desaun]

Thanks for the awesome review and pictures. My families taking our second (my 12 y/o's first) Carnival cruise in March. I'm trying to convince the wife to break away from Carnival next year and venture into RCI or Disney next year. Your review is really helping me make my case. :-)

[LittleMissMagic]

I was an EE major - I feel your pain. I have a daughter who is waiting to hear from the Clemson admissions folks - keeping our fingers crossed. :)

 

Clemson is such a wonderful school!!! (I'm not biased... :D) Good luck to your daughter!

[LittleMissMagic]

Thanks for the awesome review and pictures. My families taking our second (my 12 y/o's first) Carnival cruise in March. I'm trying to convince the wife to break away from Carnival next year and venture into RCI or Disney next year. Your review is really helping me make my case. :-)

 

Carnival is a good line, but we prefer Royal Caribbean.

 

We still need to try other lines, though - we're considering Princess and Celebrity. But it's hard not to go Royal when we know we'll be in for a good cruise (I'm sure the other lines are great, too).

[bonagrad]

Carnival is a good line, but we prefer Royal CariWe took our first Princess cruise last year. We loved it!bbean.

 

We still need to try other lines, though - we're considering Princess and Celebrity. But it's hard not to go Royal when we know we'll be in for a good cruise (I'm sure the other lines are great, too).

 

We did our first Princess Cruise last year and loved it! If you like Royal, you'll like Princess.

[redwings1958]

Loved the pics and review; How far are you from HHI? This one of our favorite vacation spots when we aren't cruising

[erries]

As a WVU alum, I'll keep my mouth shut about the Orange Bowl... ;)

 

I really enjoyed your review; it was a nice change to read one from the point of view of someone in my age group. Also loved your dresses, of course! I have to ask: How many pairs of shoes did you take? I bet you guys had a lot of luggage... :D

[Coolcruise02]

Great review and pictures! Loved it :)