Bit of a blog - Adventure of the Seas – B2B in the Caribbean – 18th November 2012

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

Angel and David......

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

Dear Cruise Critic,

 

Blogging live is expensive enough without you needing a minimum 60 seconds between posts.... just saying.

 

Much love,

 

Linda

aka NorbertsNiece aka Mama W

[johnbob7]

Came back and paid a visit to the Champagne Bar to pass on the message as requested previously.

 

Thank you, Linda! :D Enjoy your sea day tomorrow!

 

bobj

[MNfamilycruiser]

If you had told me at the start of the day how it would end I would probably have given you my sceptical ‘yeah right’ look.

 

At breakfast in the MDR I am invited to join some other Brits and we catch up on our trip. The Restaurant Manager, David, passes by as is his practice this cruise, to check all is ok. I tell him that I am joining a friend for dinner in ‘Johnny Rockets’ and do I need to advise them that I am coming (GF issues). He jokes with me and pretends to be calling them on his phone; he is very clear that they do not need to be pre-warned. I should have known better by now…… you think?

 

The Meet & Mingle is packed. The Entertainment Manager is there and he cracks a few jokes to establish a happy atmosphere. There is a raffle and we hold the gift exchange. Somehow more people take a gift than have given one…… and I know some of the people who did not come last week have donated way more than their share. I feel sad for Terri who is our youngest Brit who lands up with something from her own town. As I have organised the order of gift taking I feel bad; message to self….. leave the youngest out of the lottery in the future and have them choose first. She is incredibly sweet and takes it very well…..

 

I have learnt how a Slot tournament works. $20 gets you a card with the round you are in and the machine you are playing at. The machines are adjusted to accumulate points and not pay out. When your round is called you sit at that machine in the bank and at a given signal you get 5 minutes to accumulate as many points as you possibly can. After all the rounds have been progressed the top 10 people got to play again and the top 3 won some cash back. Techniques vary from violent fist bashing to gentle tapping. There is a theory as to which machine appears to be the highest point earner. Some people keep the accruing points covered until time up. The points are noted at the end of each round by the organiser so you know each round the minimum you will need in order to have a chance of progressing into the top 10. It was great fun. My $20 was spent with much fist bashing, gentle tapping and the occasional ‘Come on!!’ My score was reasonable but insufficient to progress.

 

Not hungry for lunch I stroll around; I have been sitting on my balcony more this week contemplating ‘stuff’ and I do some of that….. it’s nice to be quiet and alone at times. I meet up with a New York couple in the Library and we spend a couple of hours exchanging stories; I have run in to them earlier in the week and they have booked the same Curacao excursion as me. They only booked the cruise a week before embarkation and had not cruised with Royal before. I miss a fracas by the main pool…. Apparently a group of guests have taken over the bandstand and have played a few numbers….. complaints to security have been made and I believe they were encouraged to vacate.

 

Johnny Rockets. If you intend to go there with dietary needs give them a heads up. I realise that my experience at Portofino did not reflect a positive outcome to that advice but still…… give any dining venue a personal heads up…. Don’t rely on others by way of staff members doing it for you. I arrive there early, 640pm. It is almost empty. There appears to be members from a kids club sat indoors and one couple sat outside. A waiter approaches me with a menu and I ask what items on the menu can I have that are GF. ‘We don’t do GF here’. Oh. ‘You need to speak to the Restaurant Manager’. I explain that I had been advised by him that there would be no problem. He says he will get the supervisor. Another waiter approaches and says the supervisor is coming. Another waiter comes up and offers me water. 15 minutes later a lady in a suit approaches and says they can do GF and I can order anything off the menu. Phew. My CC friend arrives and I explain what has occurred. She has eaten in JR at lunch time and is happy to do so again.

 

A waiter approaches with a plate of bread….. it’s the sliced bread I get at breakfast / dinner….. I would like a hot dog do you have buns? ‘No’. I’m fine with declining and we leave. I think if my friend hadn’t eaten there already that lunch time I would have stayed and managed without the bun. My hot dog / chocolate milkshake yearning has dissipated.

 

Now. Picture this. We call for the lift (elevator) and when it arrives the Hotel Director steps out. The next couple of minutes are now a bit of a blur but I think I have it right. He gets out…… I step in…. my friend does a 180 and heads off after him. ‘Excuse me….. are you the Hotel director?’ Now I am deaf in one ear with an aid. Background noise / music means I don’t disseminate speech too well. She has her back to me. I am standing in the lift preventing the doors from closing. He is extremely tall and she is petite. I can see she is talking and her hand gestures in my direction to come on over are clear enough. I head over wondering what it is she talking to him about. She says,’ Go on. Tell him.’ Hmm?' Penny drops. So I tell him. And about Portofino last week. He makes notes. I tell him that I am due to have dessert in Portofino shortly (taking dessert with Patty, Scott, Paul and Erica) but I have yet to have dinner and we are heading for the MDR. He tells us who to ask for and gets on his phone to let the specific manager know we are coming.

 

We meet up with that manager and he is incredibly conciliatory. We are sat with my usual waiter on a table for 2 (my friend is normally first sitting MDR). I am happy to order from the menu but it is clear we are to have Johnny Rockets!! It takes some time. About half an hour later my milkshake, a hot dog (in a bun), a burger (in a bun) for me and a No. 12 (for her) and fries arrive!!! (I didn’t ask for the burger). The people sitting next to us are intrigued and the story explained.

 

More suited staff hover periodically. Is everything ok? Everything is fine thanks. I have sent a message to Portofino to let them know that I am delayed and to have dessert without me. The JR supervisor appears and explains that after we have left that venue the buns had arrived. I explain that all is ok. When we’re finished we ask for the specific manager we had met and I thanked him for organising our meal and could he let the Hotel Director know that all had been resolved. I said that I really did appreciate that this is a learning curve for everyone (where the new menus are concerned is what I meant) and I am good with being a guinea pig. He is incredibly charming.

 

Dessert. Portofino. They have been told I’m not coming.

 

Sigh.

 

We sit with my friends and I recount my evening so far. They have already finished their meal. 2 desserts appear. OMG. I eat the one that resembles what used to be the tiramisu….. it is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. The recipe has been especially provided by the Head Chef in Miami. It has chocolate, cream, raspberries and I have no idea what else inside. Absolutely fabulous. I am encouraged by the waitress to have the other dessert which is chocolate and dome shaped but the one dessert was more than ample. On my way out I thank the Maitre d’ for his assistance in organising this. I think he is surprised I am talking to him. He certainly hadn’t approached me.

 

I am high. OK I have finished off my bottle of wine with the hot dog…. It was less than half a glass. I think the chocolate / sugar has created a chemical reaction!! I used to think that I was good at this enabling stuff but being around someone who really gets how to handle people politely and totally non aggressively was a real education.

 

I was ok about letting the whole JR thing lie and would have eaten in the MDR and been….. not sure what the word is…. sad I guess…. but now they have an understanding of GF and not had a guest kicking off about it (I am NOT that person who demands OBC and free stuff when things don’t go right…. I think you will have realised that by now)

 

Linda - I am so happy to hear this! Their ability to handle special dietary needs is one of the reasons we stuck with Royal over Princess. My mom is highly allergic to MSG - which occurs naturally when vegetable protein is heated to a high temperature. (Thus soy sauce has a high amount of naturally occuring MSG). On past cruises the staff was able to verify which items were made ENTIRELY from scratch on the ship, and which had sauces or other elements that she needed to skip. It sounds like they are figuring out things a bit with the new menu - but I am hopeful she will be able to continue to cruise with RC :D

[Koohiichan]

Thanks so much for taking your time to share your experience. Its entertaining and I've learned so much. We'll be sailing February 2013. I've actually got a tour already reserved with Beulah! Cool to see her picture here and hear that you had such a good impression of her. Have a great rest of the trip.

 

Koohiichan

[pescatch]

Thanks for your response. Just so I understand correctly, you are saying that there is in fact reserved seating for suite guests/gold sea pass holders? I was looking at the pics Linda took of the pool area from the lounge, and I didn't see the different colored towels in the area I thought were for suite guests? For some reason I thought the towels on those chairs were a gold color and they fit over the head of the lounger? I may be wrong, or my memory is not serving me correctly! Anyone know?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

i was on the navigator last year and the reserved loungers did in fact have gold colored towels on them just as you describe.

[Cuda19]

Thanks so much for taking your time to share your experience. Its entertaining and I've learned so much. We'll be sailing February 2013. I've actually got a tour already reserved with Beulah! Cool to see her picture here and hear that you had such a good impression of her. Have a great rest of the trip.

 

Koohiichan

 

Koohiichan,

 

Which sailing are you on in February?? We are on the Feb 3.

 

Doug

[akcruz]

Dear Cruise Critic,

 

Blogging live is expensive enough without you needing a minimum 60 seconds between posts.... just saying.

 

Much love,

 

Linda

aka NorbertsNiece aka Mama W

 

Just love your attitude, very much enjoying your posts.

 

The pics of the pier, sailboats and sunset are absolutely gorgeous. The rest are very good as well, but these aahhh.

 

Thanks for putting in the time to keep us all entertained while we can't be on a cruise.

[Daycare Provider]

Koohiichan,

 

Which sailing are you on in February?? We are on the Feb 3.

 

Doug

 

 

Right now she is on the Aruba Route....

 

 

Angela

[Cuda19]

Right now she is on the Aruba Route....

 

 

Angela

 

Thanks Angela...was curious what sailing Koohiichan was on in February. There are two sailing for the Aruba route that month.

 

Doug

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Dear Cruise Critic,

 

Blogging live is expensive enough without you needing a minimum 60 seconds between posts.... just saying.

 

Much love,

 

Linda

aka NorbertsNiece aka Mama W

 

 

Nicely said :p - totally enjoying your blog and so appreciate the time, hard work and cost that is involved doing these live reviews! Your pictures are amazing!!! Wish I was back on the Adventure!!!

 

Barb

[Viki110]

Loving your blog! My first cruise on Royal will be on the Adventure in January. Thank you!

[ckrobyn]

Linda, thanks so much for the pics of the reserved seating area. I looked back at my pics from 2011 and the towels on them were definitely yellowish/gold.

Looks like you are having an amazing cruise! Thanks again for taking us along with you and spending all that time and $$$ blogging!!!! Enjoy your last day onboard - smooth sailing back to San Juan :D

xoxoxox

Robyn :)

[NorbertsNiece]

Having no expectations is a wonderful thing. I have had a fun day with interesting people in a lovely environment. I arranged a Jewish Heritage Tour with Gigi Scheper and I will write a full report on that for the Curacao board on my return. Curacao is an intriguing island and when you visit be sure to go to the Curacao distillery…. The coffee liqueur is delicious! You can easily pick up a taxi tour at the pier which is right next to the dock. You will have heard of the floating bridge and the floating market which are both within easy walking distance…. the market no longer floats by the way!! The shopping opportunities are plentiful….. though the store prices were not particularly attractive…. I would have bought a delightful Christmas table cloth but at $90 (already discounted) I figured I could do better back home.

 

I am so tired when we get back that I nap before dinner. I am not even aware that we have left port. I manage to catch some sunset.

 

I asked about an unlimited wine package this evening and have been advised that his hasn’t been discussed for Adventure as yet.

 

I want to say that this cruise has been the smoothest ride ever. Tomorrow is a sea day when I will spend some time packing. I had a conversation with regards to debarking with GS. I want to debark with the US guests who have an earlier time and I am advised that I can’t and that I should leave my bag outside the room and will be given the earliest debark time after the self assist people. When the advice arrives in my room I am to debark with the Americans. I will not be leaving my case outside my room. I am aware that earlier in the blog there was a conversation amongst some readers that was ‘off topic’ and apologies were made for hijacking the thread. I’ve not had a chance to read those posts yet but I want to say this.

 

I will never sail out of Puerto Rico again. And it’s not just because the port is in an inconvenient location. I have spoken to many first time cruisers this week and their opinion of RCCL is not good. The behaviour of some of the guests this week has been appalling; rude, inconsiderate and on occasion obscene. Patty has had obscenities written on the board outside her room. I have just (?) encountered rudeness. The Windjammer has been crammed and on occasion the queues have been unbelievable. I think the staff may have been overwhelmed and I’m not entirely convinced that the serving areas were utilised to their fullest potential….. it seems the left hand side as you go in wasn’t open for most of the time. I believe this may have been a school holiday for some guests. This week has been considerably different to last week. Musicians have taken over the instruments on the bandstand; I don’t know if they were the same group that on another occasion had been turfed out of the solarium for playing in there….. or maybe they had moved from the solarium to the bandstand…… shrug.

 

I’m aware that post final payment the cruise was discounted. The large group that took over the Conference Centre seemed to do everything together….. so when one person was in line others would join in….. you can’t be doing that in Windjammer or in a queue to board for example. Or at the Pool Party or trying to get into My Time Dining. An advisory leaflet on acceptable behaviour should not have been necessary but clearly lifestyles are very different. The poor behaviour of a few has impacted the opinion of many; I know many Puerto Ricans, staff and guests, were upset at the behaviour displayed.

 

I know there are many reading this blog who will now worry. I have to say it as I find it. Have I already recounted the story of the drummer outside my room one night? I won’t be leaving my case outside my room tomorrow night because I am concerned that it will come to harm. I have already been given information that I am debarking with the Americans…. Will see how that is dealt with on the day.

 

I have met many delightful people this week whose presence I know will enhance my life in the future. The ports of call have been wonderful and the choices I have made ashore have proven to be sound. I have been away from home for 2 weeks now and I miss my family tremendously. Edi and Marin who have been my waiters have taken really good care of me, as has Bruce my room steward, and I have been extremely appreciative of all their efforts. The crew are awesome in general. When they know something isn’t working they do do their very best to sort it out. I would love to sail on her again…. Hopefully this coming summer in the Baltics…. Will have to see how the finances are….

 

I don’t want to leave this blog with a sour taste so I have plans for picture taking tomorrow that will involve the final appearance of the pink boa. I have arranged to meet some people to show them Nevis pictures. Captain Ron has his Q&A at 1015am so I will likely go and disrupt that again this week! There’s a Blackjack tournament that I may join but as my expertise lies in losing I may just observe. Think I’ll pass on the ‘Miss Biceps’ competition ;)

 

On my way down to post this there was a security guard standing at the deck 6 landing. I had a few gentle words about drums, boards, pens and he countered with kids button pushing all the floors in the elevators..... he's got his hands full.....

[NorbertsNiece]

 

Coming in to Curacao

 

 

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

My travel companions today

 

 

One of our stops is at a private library and museum..... I am fascinated by genealogy

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

The architecture in this town is colourful and unique

 

 

Floating market

 

 

It's not floating!

 

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

 

Breakfast anyone?

 

 

 

We have noticed in previous ports the bulk purchase of Dutch cheese..... really curious about that...

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

 

 

[AOSmom]

Wow, just Wow. Those sunset pictures Linda are incredible. As for the large group. Not sure if you saw my post last Sunday. My DD said their was a large Christian organization onboard comandeering the theater and other places. I guess they made a lot of demands....interesting if they are the trouble makers.

[Cuda19]

NN: "I will never sail out of Puerto Rico again. And it’s not just because the port is in an inconvenient location. I have spoken to many first time cruisers this week and their opinion of RCCL is not good. This week has been considerably different to last week. The behaviour of some of the guests this week has been appalling; rude, inconsiderate and on occasion obsceneI’m aware that post final payment the cruise was discounted. The large group that took over the Conference Centre seemed to do everything together….. so when one person was in line others would join in….. you can’t be doing that in Windjammer or in a queue to board for example. Or at the Pool Party or trying to get into My Time Dining. An advisory leaflet on acceptable behaviour should not have been necessary but clearly lifestyles are very different. The poor behaviour of a few has impacted the opinion of many; I know many Puerto Ricans, staff and guests, were upset at the behaviour displayed."

 

Not sure if the behavior of your second week is a function of the port sailed from...particularly if the first week's passenger behavior was good. Every holiday can have a few bad apples.

 

Our sailing has been sold out for a while and we are very much looking forward to an excellent and relaxing time.

 

Happy Sailing...

[ckrobyn]

I am probably the biggest AOS cheerleader on Cruise Critic, so it saddens me to read that you won't consider sailing out of San Juan again :( Honestly, in all my cruises on the Adventure I have never encountered what you have described - maybe it's the time of year? I always sail in February/March. In any case, there is no excuse for rude behaviour and I am sorry you have had to deal with it. As for buttons being pushed on the elevator.....I've seen that on every ship I've been on :o Darn kids! LOL

[Coralc]

Wow, just Wow. Those sunset pictures Linda are incredible. As for the large group. Not sure if you saw my post last Sunday. My DD said their was a large Christian organization onboard comandeering the theater and other places. I guess they made a lot of demands....interesting if they are the trouble makers.

 

I sort of doubt that the large Christian group was disruptive. :D

 

Cruises out of Puerto Rico are just like that. Not everyone's cup of tea. And there are good weeks and not so pleasant weeks. We were on a B2B in 2011 on Serenade, and I actually switched one of the weeks to earlier, when I started to get an idea of the passenger mix. (mostly more kids)

 

One of our luckier decisions. Our previously scheduled later week had a very different "vibe" according to roll call members. :p

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this Linda! We've really enjoyed following along on your "Adventure" :D

 

~Patti :)

[Miss Vickie]

I sort of doubt that the large Christian group was disruptive. :D

 

Cruises out of Puerto Rico are just like that. Not everyone's cup of tea. And there are good weeks and not so pleasant weeks. We were on a B2B in 2011 on Serenade, and I actually switched one of the weeks to earlier, when I started to get an idea of the passenger mix. (mostly more kids)

 

One of our luckier decisions. Our previously scheduled later week had a very different "vibe" according to roll call members. :p

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this Linda! We've really enjoyed following along on your "Adventure" :D

 

~Patti :)

 

I'm sorry, Linda, that your 2nd week was impacted by so much negative behavior. I have to disagree, though, that this is "nature of sailing out of Puerto Rico." We sail Adventure in January. It's our first time on anything larger than a Radiance class ship, and we're very much looking forward to it, especially after following Linda's blog. However, we've sailed Southern itineraries out of San Juan many times. We've never seen fire sales on the Radiance class and smaller ships, and have not encountered large groups exhibiting disruptive, rude behavior. Maybe we'll see more of it on Adventure. We're going in with a positive expectation, and hope that our experience is more like Linda's first week than than the second. That being said, we're already booked back on a Radiance-class ship, Jewel, out of San Juan for a B2B in January 2014. We love cruising out of San Juan, we'll have to see if this year's trip is a one and done on Adventure.

 

Thanks for mentioning the cemetery on Nevis. We've done "Jewish tourism" on St. Thomas, Curaçao, and Barbados, several times each. We'll be going to St. Kitts for the 4th time in '14, and may have to visit Nevis this time to see the cemetery. Happy Chanukah to you!