Christmas on the Adventure with Max's Mom: My Photo Diary

[maggieq]

Hi Jane,

 

I love, love, love...did I say love? your reviews. Keep the pics and review coming. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this.

 

Need to ask a question as I think one of your previous cruises had a stop in St. Kitts and you went to the Marriott resort? If I'm right, can you tell me if you had to prebook your daypass and what the approx. cost of a taxi is? My sister is going on the Brilliance next Saturday and thought this would be a good idea for her day there.

Thanks!

[maxs mom]

After dinner we went to the casino (no smoking) to make our taditional donation. I played a couple of quarter slots for a few minutes.......that's all it took to eat up $20 real fast. Then I found a $1 Pink Panther machine.....I love Pink Panther machines! I put in another $20, and on my last spin, I hit the bonus spin thing. It spun and spun and I finally ended up with $135!! Yay! First time in a loooonnnng time that I have won anything at all at the casino. John even won a little bit, too.

So......we collect our winnings and happily walk up to the Promenade.

Picture op at the tree:

Earlier Guy and Lisa had procured wonderful seats at the Cafe Promenade, so we joined them for the Christmas Caroling. Soon the caroling began and .....really.....it was one of the best carolings we have been to. We sang lots and lots of songs. Really nice!

After that.....we called it a night. Nice, nice day!

[maxs mom]

Hi Jane,

 

I love, love, love...did I say love? your reviews. Keep the pics and review coming. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this.

 

Need to ask a question as I think one of your previous cruises had a stop in St. Kitts and you went to the Marriott resort? If I'm right, can you tell me if you had to prebook your daypass and what the approx. cost of a taxi is? My sister is going on the Brilliance next Saturday and thought this would be a good idea for her day there.

Thanks!

 

Hey Maggie!

Yes.....we always go to the Marriott on St. Kitts. They have a sign outside that has a ship on it. If the ship is red.....then they are not taking cruise ship people that day, but if it is green, they are. It has always been green when we have been there. You do NOT have to prebook the day pass. Just go up to the front desk and they will fix you up. We usually spend time out at the beach for a while and then do the pool and lunch thing. It's a lilttle $$, but it's worth it to me. Taxis are very reasonable in St. Kitts. I don't think it's any more than $12. We were supposed to go to St. Kitts on this cruise, but they changed it to St. Maarten. I was diappointed that it was changed. I hope your sister will have a good day there. We'll be there in April!

[maxs mom]

Tuesday ~ Christmas Day ~ St. Maarten

The original itinerary had St, Kitts as our port of call, but for some reason they changed it to St. Maarten. Now.....I love St. Maarten, but this is Christams Day.....there are 5 ships in port.....and the stores were not open. (Most of them anyway) NOT our idea....NOT good.....but what can you do?

I was up early again for coffee in the CL, then we went for breakfast in the D/D+ area. I think I had an egg white omelet today. It was piping hot and very good!

The promenade was pretty quiet this morning:

Usually Christmas Day is a day at sea and I really enjoy watching Santa's arrival and all the kids sitting on his lap, and the snow falling on the ice rink.....but we were in port and there were 4 other ships out there! We had to get out to the beach early if we wanted a chair!

We took a taxi out to Orient Beach....Kakao to be exact......I just love it here. The taxi driver was great and took us directly there. Most of the front row chairs were reserved, so we got some nice second row chairs. It wasn't crowded....yet! I made reservations with Karl as soon as we got there, so there would be no problems getting a table later.

It was a beautiful day.....a light breeze....no humidity. Just perfect.

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Very nice review and pictures - looks like you had an absolutely wonderful Christmas holiday on board.... We were on the Adventure last year and made many new friends. Can't wait to read more!!!

 

Barb

[maxs mom]

I immediately make my way over to the beach bar and find GP, the best bar tender on the beach! He makes the best Bloody Mary's, soooooooo.......

GP is always here and his little bar is the best!

I actually got him to step out and maKe a picture with me.

I love this beach!

[maxs mom]

Very nice review and pictures - looks like you had an absolutely wonderful Christmas holiday on board.... We were on the Adventure last year and made many new friends. Can't wait to read more!!!

 

Barb

 

Thanks, Barb! We always have a good time! And we are so fortunate to have made so many wonderful friends on board each sailing. Many of them have become lifelong friends. We really enjoy cruising again with the folks we meet!

[ckrobyn]

Jane - were you ever told the reason you skipped St. Kitts? I'm wondering if this occurs often? I hope not, as it is the only island on my B2B that I have never seen!!!

Your review is so well done, and I am thoroughly enjoying it!:)

[Bu Kitty]

Great review Jane!!! It was an awesome cruise!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tak8]

Geat review. I love all the photos. i was just on The Brillance, so it's also nice to compare the ships.

[maggieq]

Hey Maggie!

 

Yes.....we always go to the Marriott on St. Kitts. They have a sign outside that has a ship on it. If the ship is red.....then they are not taking cruise ship people that day' date=' but if it is green, they are. It has always been green when we have been there. You do NOT have to prebook the day pass. Just go up to the front desk and they will fix you up. We usually spend time out at the beach for a while and then do the pool and lunch thing. It's a lilttle $$, but it's worth it to me. Taxis are very reasonable in St. Kitts. I don't think it's any more than $12. We were supposed to go to St. Kitts on this cruise, but they changed it to St. Maarten. I was diappointed that it was changed. I hope your sister will have a good day there. We'll be there in April![/size']

 

 

 

Thanks Jane! Looking forward to the rest of your pics and review.

[maxs mom]

Jane - were you ever told the reason you skipped St. Kitts? I'm wondering if this occurs often? I hope not, as it is the only island on my B2B that I have never seen!!!

 

Your review is so well done, and I am thoroughly enjoying it!:)

 

Thanks, Robyn!

I believe the reason givien was that there was not berthing room for the Adventure that day. We had the same thing happen to us this summer in the Med. We were supposed to port in Corfu, but went to Kotor instead. That day in Kotor ended up being the most fun day of all our 28 years of crusing!

St. Kitts does not have room for many ships. I don't think you should worry.....it should be fine when you are there. St. Kitts is beautiful.

[maxs mom]

Well......it wasn't long before the people started showing up in droves! Good grief! I do believe this was the worst I've ever seen it. But I didn't let that spoil my day. I just relaxed in my little area, read, and did a LOT of people watching. So much going on on the beach and in the water.

This yacht was anchored in the bay. I wonder whose it was!

[maxs mom]

Like I said.....lots going on out in the water:

We had reservations for lunch at 12:30 and we were escorted right to our table. It was a private little area......so nice. This was the view from our table:

John got a cheeseburger and fries and I go La Salade de Poulet. Wonderful!!

They brought us some complimentary apple cinnamon shots after lunch.

I stopped back by GP's bar after lunch and got a Bushwhacker for dessert......delicious!

[maxs mom]

We just relaxed on the beach some more until around 2:30 when we caught a taxi and went directly back to the ship.

Here's a thirsty little doggie who was relieving his thirst in the beer bucket's melted ice!

Waiting for the taxi:

Back at the dock:

Our ride!

[maxs mom]

They had ice water for guests while they were getting backon the ship:

And here we go......back on board:

Once back on board, we showered and had time for a good two hour nap!

[maxs mom]

Great review Jane!!! It was an awesome cruise!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Hey! Yes, it was an awesome cruise. Soo good to have met you!

[LABCHICK]

Hi Jane

 

I am loving your review and pictures. We are considering doing a B2B on the Adventure for Dec. 2014. There are a few islands on that itin. that we have never visited.

 

See you on the Indy in Dec.

[maxs mom]

Hi Jane

 

I am loving your review and pictures. We are considering doing a B2B on the Adventure for Dec. 2014. There are a few islands on that itin. that we have never visited.

 

See you on the Indy in Dec.

 

Judi.......Back to Backs out of San Juan are the best in the Caribbean! Do it!! Looking forward to meeting you, too. I've seen a lot of your posts over the years and it will be nice to put a name to a face!

[toto6]

Thank you for all your information. Congrats on your retirement. Looking forward to more. We sail in March and plan on doing a B2B in March on Jewel in 2014. Think we will get hooked on the southern route. Hope we dont skip St Kitts, but shall have the same thinking as you did...what can you do? Good way to think. ;)

[maxs mom]

So it's Christmas night and we make our way to the CL at around 7.

We meet up with new friends and old friends there and have a nice time before dinner.

We went back to MTD at 8:30 and tonight there was only a small line. We got in right away. and were taken to a really nice table back in a secluded area by a window. It was nice. The head waiter in that area remembered us from the Serenade and he took care of us the rest of the cruise. We stayed at this table the rest of the week and had a wonderful waiter, Christopher, that I believe I remember from the Explorer. He was top notch.

I started ordering a few new menu items and they were all very good. Tonight I had a scallop and tuna skewer with edamame, a great salad with brie and strawberries with mixed greens.......we both had the traditional turkey with stuffing. There was also lobster tail and shrimp tonight. For dessert I had a chocolate Yule log at the waiter's recommendation and it was very good.

We were pretty tired, so we just took a short stroll by the Gingerbread Village and went back to the cabin after dinner.

When I got ready for bed, I found that Santa had left a little bauble for me under my pillow!! Nice way to end the day!

[maxs mom]

Wednesday ~ December 26th ~ At Sea

Finally.....a day at sea....ahhhhhh......I love sea days!

We slept in a little today and I got up to the CL just a little later than usual. Silvia was there and I had a nice visit with her. In the night at about 2:15, there was announcement. All I heard was "Ladies and Gentleman......blah.blah.blah.blah. blah.....guest services" We didn't have the speaker turned on in the cabin, so I couldn't hear what they said. About 15 minutes later.....they made another announcement so I went to the door and listened. They called out three girls' names and asked them to call guest services immediately. Soon I heard security in the hallway with their walkie talkies. Hmmmmm......some girls were missing. I'll bet there were some mad parents somewhere! I asked Silvia about it and she said that indeed some girls had gone missing, but they found them. She didn't offer any more details.

We met Guy and Lisa in the MDR and had breakfast with them.

We had a 10:00 appointment with the Loyalty Ambassador, Julio Gomez, and he was ready for us when we got there. We already had a cruise in mind that we wanted to book for Spring Break.....the Indy 8 night....so we took care of that right away. Since I am retiring, we probably won't cruise during the Christmas week any more since it is so expensive, but we like cruising in December, so on the spur of the moment we decided to book the Indy again for the first two weeks in December doing a B2B 6 night 8 night. Wow! That felt good. So it won't be quite so depressing getting off the ship knowing that we have more cruises lined up! Julio was a big help and he took care of it so quickly.

On the way back to the cabin there was another picture op by the tree! I just love those big Christmas trees!

[maxs mom]

It was a busy morning. The Meet and Mingle was at 11:00 up in the Blue Moon Lounge, so we hoofed it up there. There was a nice turn out. Drew Divine, the Cruise Director, was there and they raffled off some very nice prizes. We won a picture frame and $25 internet credit.

[maxs mom]

Afterwards it was back to the cabin for some reading and relaxation. We went to the WJ for lunch around 2. Not crowded at all and the food was very good. I had a little bread pudding for dessert.....Yum!

When we got back to the cabin, there was a message from Lisa on the phone to come up to their cabin to visit for a while. I already posted some pictures of their cabin, but here is the little Christmas tree that they brought and set up. Nice touch!

I always bring some Christmas Clings for our window. Easy to pack and no weight!

We usually bring a picture of our dog, Holly, to put on the mirror.

The afternoon consisted of more reading and more napping. Did I say I love sea days?!!

[B_Mc]

Hooray!!! Haven't read a word yet, but I'm so excited to see your diary! I love your reviews and I've been looking forward to this one since you booked. We'll still 2 months out until our Adventure adventure. You were on the Jewel the week before us and I wish I had been able to preview my trip through your posts back then!!!