NEW!! Christmas on the Adventure w/ Max's Mom: Photo Diary

[maxs mom]

Hi Everyone!

Last week I posted my photo review of our Christmas cruise on the Adventure. I was almost finished when I accidentally deleted the folder of pictures on Photobucket. Of course all the pictures disppeared. That just made me sick! Soooooo.....I am going to attempt to post again and re-insert the pictures. Here goes:

**********************************************************

Hi Cruise Critic Friends!

 

It's been about 5 months since our last cruise, so we were more than ready for this holiday cruise on the Adventure of the Seas!

We are Jane and John from North Carolina. We have cruised with Royal Caribbean for almost 28 years. We really enjoy the holiday cruises and this was our 7th in a row. I am a teacher, so this is one of the few times during the year that we can cruise. This is my 40th and LAST year of teaching, so from now on we can cruise whenever we want! Yippee!

We left Raleigh Durham early on Saturday morning, December 22. Everything was on time.....no problems.....and we arrived in San Juan around 3:30. Our luggage was already spinning on the carousel when we got to baggage claim. We claimed it quickly and caught a taxi to our hotel......The Embassy Suites.....$17.....it took 5 minutes to get there. We were in our room by 4:20 and spent some time resting. We have not stayed at this ES before and we found it to be quite nice.

 

 

Later on we went down to the Manager's Reception and had a couple of drinks. We ran into fellow CC buddies Barbara and Jeff. We cruised with them on the Allure last spring and it was good to see them again.

 

 

We weren't very hungry, so we just got a couple of sandwiches in the lobby store. There is an Outback right there in the hotel, though. Too bad we weren't hungry!

 

We turned in early and got a good night's sleep. This is a nice hotel and we will stay here again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

Sunday ~ December 23 ~ San Juan ~ Embarkation

 

We were up early and down to breakfast before it got too crowded. The breakfast at the ES was very good. After breakfast we got all our stuff together and then headed over to the port at around 11:00. We shared a taxi with a couple from Canada.

 

We got right over to the port (Pan Am Pier) and there were no lines....so we dropped our luggage off quickly......got through security and got checked in.....no muss, no fuss. Very smooth! They weren't letting anyone on board, though, so we had to find some chairs and sit for a while. There was no D+/Pinnacle waiting area. Boo! Here we are patiently waiting:

 

 

Soon we saw our friends and former cruise buddies, Guy and Lisa, waiting in line to check in. It was so good to see them. We were so happy that they were on this cuise as well. So I went over to talk to them and we noticed that they had stopped checking people in. The word was that the computers were down......uh - oh! People kept piling up and piling up. I can't even imagine what it was like outside.

 

Not sure what the real story was......they passed out a letter apologizing, but made it sound like it was our fault for showing up early. They started saying that people had not reported to immigration and the ship had not zeroed out yet.......computer problem.....whatever.......but we didn't get onboard until around 1:00 or so. I guess it could have been worse.

 

Here I am taking advantage of some rum samples while we were waiting. Like I said......it could have been worse!

 

 

Here are the pictures of the lines. I was glad we got there early and had a place to sit rather than having to stand in line like a lot of folks.

 

 

 

So we get on quickly once they start boarding and we find a place to sit in Boleros on Deck 4 until cabins are ready at 2 o'clock. Guy and Lisa join us there. Lisa and I ran up to Portofino and made our reservations there for this first night and then I went to make My Time Dining resevations for the rest of the week. No problems. At 2.....we made our way to our cabins.

[maxs mom]

Guy and Lisa are doing a back to back and had this wonderful Grand Suite (1556):

 

 

 

 

 

We are a little more frugal and have an E1.....but a good location on the hump right in the center on Deck 8 (8320).

 

 

 

This is our wonderful balcony:

 

[maxs mom]

We dropped our stuff in the cabin....and guess what? All our luggage has arrived! We were starving so we went to the Windjammer for lunch. We walked all the way to the back and it was not crowded at all. A lot of people don't realize there is that back section when they first get on, so it is usually not crowded back there on the first day. Lunch was really good. They were carving some roast beef at the carving station and it was excellent. That along with a salad made a great lunch for me. I had a coconut macaroon for dessert and it was quite tasty. I have never seen those before!

 

We got back to the cabin and got unpacked. It was great to have that overwith so early. I went down to deck 6 to make a reservation with the Loyalty Ambassador so that we could book our Spring Break cruise.

 

I showered and got ready for the evening before muster. Muster was at 6 and was not too bad.

 

 

Afterwards we changed for dinner and went up to the Concierge Lounge for drinks before dinner. It as very busy tonight. Silvia is the Concierge and she was so busy taking care of everyone.....trying to make excursion reservations for everyone. We did not meet her tonight but met her on the second night.

 

 

I believe I understood Silvia to say that she hasn't been a Concierge but a couple of months.

 

We did, however, meet the bar servers in the CL.......Herbie:

 

 

And Shawn:

 

 

Shawn was our bar server in the CL summer before last on the Serenade. It was good to see him again. As a matter of fact, we ran into many crew members that we knew from the Serenade on this ship. It was amazing!

 

Anyway......Herbie and Shawn took real good care of us all week.

 

Ross, the port shopping guy, came in and sat with us for a little while. He was delightful. Soon Guy and Lisa joined us.

 

We stayed here until 8 o'clock when we went up to Portofino for dinner. Guy and Lisa went with us. We took advantage of our 2 for 1 coupons. Great deal!

[stones902]

Very nice review and photos. Thanks for posting! Looking forward to the rest of the story.

[maxs mom]

We were seated right away when we got up to Portofino. They were not crowded at all. We had an excellent dinner and they brought us all kinds of extra things to try. We were stuffed and rolled out of there around 10. My camera was not behaving tonight so I don't have any good pictures, but I'll post what I have.

 

 

 

 

The desserts were very good, but not near as good as the desserts in Chops!

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

Monday ~ December 24th ~ St. Thomas

 

I was upearly this morning. My usual morning ritual is to go up to the Concierge Lounge first thing and get a mug of coffee. I take my own insulated mug and fill it up there. They have the new coffee machine there and it was working very well. I stay in there for a while, usually writing in my journal while John is getting showered and dressed. There is a continental brreakfast served in there, but we always go to the D/D+ part of the MDR for breakfast.

 

Here's the fabulous coffee machine and the continental spread in the CL:

 

 

 

 

Before going back to the cabin this morning I went up to the pool deck to get our beach towels for the day.

 

 

We go to breakfast in the D/D+ dining room and Guy and Lisa are already there. And.....there was a surprise waiting for us. Jeong, our wonderful waiter that we had on one of our back to backs on the Serenade, was there to wait on us for breakfast! How exciting! It was great to see him again.

 

 

It's always great to get back to St. Thomas! We had a great breakfast and then got ready to head on over to one of our favorite beaches for the day......Sapphire Beach. We know it will be very crowded today so we tried to get out there early. Guy and Lisa went with us today.

 

 

We were the last ship in line at the pier and we were very lucky to be able to get a taxi right there at the ship! First we had the obligatory picture made at the dock. And yes......this is a picture of a picture......but don't worry......we bought it! I'm just too lazy to scan it!

 

[maxs mom]

We got out to Sapphire and got our chairs. The beach boy put them in our favorite spot under the trees near the volleyball court. It tends to be a little less crowded in that area and it is close to the place where we get our lunch. I had a little run in with an iguana the last time we were here, but there were absolutely no iguanas on the beach today. This is a very nice beach, but excursions have started going there and that has made it very crowded. I just hate that all my nice quiet beaches are all being over run with just too many people. Oh well. It's still a lovely place to spend the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

We saw a wedding taking place on the beach today. That was neat!

 

 

 

There were a few spots to get away from the crowds:

 

 

I walked down to the end of the beach and found something that I didn't know was there. A very nice pool area for the condos that are there. I surely didn't know that this existed. It was a lovely area, almost completely deserted. We've been going here for years and I've never noticed this!

 

 

 

[Sunebeach]

Can't wait to read and see more...we'll be on her in roughly 90 days...

[maxs mom]

I talked to one of the owners out at the pool and she said that they were hoping to get the restaurant opened back up out there. I had always heard that there used to be a restaurant out there but it has been closed down for years. That would be nice if they would open that again.

 

There is a little place that you can get lunch. It's just an open air grill, but the food is good and cooked fresh right there. You can get some good drinks there, too. We got a couple of hamburgers today. The key is to order early!

 

 

It was such a nice relaxing Christmas Eve! I even fell asleep out there!

 

No iguanas today, but plenty of these little guys:

 

 

Here are a couple more pictures of Sapphire Beach:

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

We relaxed on the beach until around 2 o'clock or so then caught a taxi back to Havensight. We stopped in at the drug store and bought a few items that SOMEONE forgot......like toothpaste and shaving cream! When we got back to the ship we got ice cream and then had a nap. The soft ice cream or yogurt is not self serve any more. Someone is there to serve you. I guess that's probably a pretty good idea. Those machines would take a lot of abuse.

 

 

Late in the afternoon......a Carnival ship left first. It was a wild scene. Gangnam Style was blasting away......everybody screaming.

 

 

 

Next to leave was the Celebrity Equinox and all you could hear from them was a polite and quiet "Merry Christmas" coming from some of the passengers. It was so funny.

 

 

 

I love sailing out of St. Thomas at the end of the day.....It is such a beautiful sailaway!

 

[maxs mom]

We had a good rest this afternoon. It was such a nice day.....not hot.....low humidity......just perfect.

 

Tonight was formal night. This is the first holiday cruise in 7 years that formal night was on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day. It was kind of nice.

 

We got all dressed up and went to the CL. Most people went to the Captain's Reception so it was not busy at all. Silvia had some time to come and sit with us for a while and we had a nice chat. Lisa and Guy had early seating and they joined us after they finished dinner. They said that service in the MDR was really slow tonight. We enjoyed our time in the CL with them tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

So around 8:30, we head down to the dining room......My Time Dining. We had reservations......but there was this loooooong line. At first I thought it was a picture line, but no.....it was the dinner line. We had a 25 minute wait!!! Not good! All they did was shrug their shoulders and say, "It's formal night". Sooooo???? A lot of people were late and messed up the reservations. The couple ahead of us were in tradtional dining and were on the wrong floor!

 

Anyway......we finally got a nice table for two with a great waiter.....excellent service. The food was good......but Holy Sodium Batman!! Too much salt in the food. I prefer to salt my own food, which most of the time is none! I know we could do the low sodium thing and have done it in the past.....but it is such a PIA to wait for the menus for the next day every night........so I guess I shouldn't complain! We had really fast service tonight and I like that. We never had to wait on any courses. I had shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, filet of beef, and a chocolate souffle......all good.

 

 

A picture of our picture at dinner!

 

 

[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]

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.

 

 

 

[over the edge]

I have a few questions but I'm going to wait until you are done. Just wanted to say, "Excellent Review" and I love the pictures. You are all SO photogenic. We are sailing two weeks from today and this is making me even more excited!! Thanks! :p

[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]

I have a few questions but I'm going to wait until you are done. Just wanted to say, "Excellent Review" and I love the pictures. You are all SO photogenic. We are sailing two weeks from today and this is making me even more excited!! Thanks! :p

 

Thanks!! Be glad to answer any questions. The problem with re-doing this like I'm doing is that all the comments and questions from the other thread are not here.

Thi is more tedious than thought it would be! Actually it's Photobucket that is being contrary. Does anybody else get frustratedwith Photobucket or is it just me?!!

[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]

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]

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!

 

[LBumb]

excellent review