Adventure of the Seas - Jan 19-26th...An installment review

[TerpsBball]

Forgot to add... We went ice skating on the last sea day. Open skate was fun and we all enjoyed. However, and quite sadly, we witnessed a lady fall on the ice. She could skate, but just went down backwards. Her wrist was broken. They attempted to set it on board, but it wasn't successful. She was likely facing surgery when she returned home. We saw her in the airport and spoke with her.

 

So, if you skate, please be careful!

[TerpsBball]

The morning came much too early, and what a difference a week makes. A week ago, we were waking up in the Embassy Suites, eager with anticipation. Today, we were sad to be at the end of such a wonderful journey.

 

Wait…I forgot. The day before (Saturday), we scheduled an appointment with a Loyalty Ambassador. Appointments are advised, as they get crowded. We book 2 open reservations. The cool thing is, each one cost $100. You also get a $100 credit. The $100 was the fee/credit for a week-long cruise. Shorter cruises are cheaper, longer are more. Anyway, these never expire, but are non-refundable. When we decide to take another cruise, we just add the rest of the family to the reservation (at $100/each). Seemed like a great deal, as we know we will be cruising more. I had not heard of this before. So, we bought 2.

 

Okay, back to the leaving part. We took all our stuff to the Imperial lounge. They had some breakfast pastries there. Around 8, we were led off the ship. We found our checked bags. There were porters available to put you at the front of the customs line, but the line wasn’t really long at all. We waited in line no more than 10 minutes and got through customs easily. Once outside, we placed our checked bags on the truck for transfer to the airport and took our carry-ons (and us) to the tour bus. Our largest carry-on wouldn’t fit on the bus, so we gave that to the checked bags truck.

 

The tour took us to Old San Juan, the Fort San Cristobal, and back through the newer part of San Juan to the airport. We were given 45 minutes at the port and an hour in Old San Juan. It was a nice way to see the city and spend some time. I would probably not take the same tour again, but it was good. We made it to the airport by 11:30-11:45.

 

Thanks to the good people here on CruiseCritic, we knew to check in with the USDA inspection first. We got through that in less than 2 minutes. Then, inside the terminal, the line for Southwest was waaaaaaay long. There is nothing like a curb-side check-in after you get through USDA inspection. If there were, that would speed up things immensely. But, we had a lot of time anyway and got in line. After a few minutes in line, we were told (heard from other people) that you could not check your bags more than 4 hours ahead of your flight time. Thankfully, we heard this before we waited too long. There were people who had waited in line for 20 minutes to over an hour only to find that out.

 

This brings be to some criticism about the San Juan airport. Things are not marked well at all. They could alleviate some of the hassle if there were check-in desks (like curb-side check-ins) after the USDA inspections. There were also people who didn’t know they had to have the USDA inspection. Again, it was not marked well at all. Also, we found the restrooms to be dirty. Now, mind you, I am a typical pig-like male who is perfectly content to pee anywhere, but there is a time for at least a semi-clean and maintained bathroom. Toilet paper, paper towels, and soap shouldn’t be optional items.

 

With some time to kill before we got back in line, we hit Subway for lunch. We got foot-long subs and saved half to eat for our dinner. We got back in line after lunch and we got to the front at 1:08, 2 minutes prior to the 4-hour window. The airline agent was kind enough to check us, and some others next to us in early. Security wasn’t a big deal, although I was selected for the body scanner thing. It seemed like they were doing that randomly. It wasn’t an issue.

 

We hung out at the gate, looked around, and the kids worked on the last of their homework. The flight was full, and we took off on time. The flight home was uneventful, although the lead flight attendant was hysterical. That made things go quicker. We left San Juan in the 80s and arrived at BWI in the 20s. Yuck.

 

Baggage claim at BWI was pretty slow. The first belt jammed, so they moved our flight to another belt, which also promptly jammed. It was remedied a few minutes later. It took 45 minutes to receive our luggage. Then, we took the rental car shuttle and got our car. We were headed up I-95 shortly after.

 

We made it home, kissed the cat, and went to bed. This was a phenomenal vacation.

 

Some general comments:

 

1. There were not a lot of kids on board.

 

2. This has been discussed before on CruiseCritic, but there was an average mix of nationalities on board. We saw no quinceaneras. There were a few adults and kids who needed an “adjustment”, but you get that where ever you go. 99% of the folks on board were enjoying their vacations.

 

3. We didn’t use the WiFi on board. I have Sprint (work cell), and my wife has Verizon (personal cell). In San Juan, I had complete coverage, but my wife’s phone was in roaming. Neither of us had coverage anywhere else.

 

4. The ship is in great shape. It’ll be interesting to see her post refurb.

 

5. Book early for your choice of staterooms and flights. Prices fluctuate greatly, but they never went lower from when I booked.

 

6. We liked the new menus.

 

Okay, that’s about it. If I think of anything else to add, I will. If you have any questions, please ask. Otherwise, thanks for reading along. I hope your upcoming trips are as enjoyable as possible. God bless!

[Koohiichan]

Hi, Wayne!

 

You arrived the day we left! While you were navigating the festival traffic on your way to the pier, we were trying to get to the airport. I'm so glad to have found your review. We did the A side last year. It was awesome.

 

Sorry if I missed it, but what was your cabin #? Just wondering b/c you mentioned the loungers. We were is 1688 which seems like you are describing. Our CD, Drew Devine and our steward were both leaving after our cruise. So, this was your cruise director's first week on AOS. You probably know that though.

 

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to reading more. Wish we were on AOS now!

 

Cheers,

 

Koohiichan

[Koohiichan]

This is Cheryl from #1688, Are you our neighbors from deck 10 who shared the Cosol tour with us? If so, "hi!" We enjoyed you meeting you and your family. I just found this thread today. Dreaming of our trip . . . It has been below zero in Chicago. Sorry. Don't want to hijack the thead. Just saying "hi!"

 

Koohiichan

 

 

:)

Enjoying the review - we were on Adventure the week before and wish we had made it a back to back!! Our Daughter and her family were in your cabin that week - you have us to thank for those lounge chairs because they were not there when we got on. There were three people in the cabin and they had just two chairs which was ridiculous!! It took a couple of days of asking before we got the loungers out there. You were also lucky because they were painting the balcony floors our week so we all had a day we couldn't even use the balcony. We seemed to have survived and had a wonderful time!!

[Engine643]

Wayne,

 

I was in a group of 14 that shared our flights with you and also did the zip line together. We ranged from age 23-69 and everyone had a fantastic week.

 

The baggage claim was quite an Adventure back at Bwi and your right about the flight crew, they were hilarious!

[TerpsBball]

Hi, Wayne!

 

You arrived the day we left! While you were navigating the festival traffic on your way to the pier, we were trying to get to the airport. I'm so glad to have found your review. We did the A side last year. It was awesome.

 

Sorry if I missed it, but what was your cabin #? Just wondering b/c you mentioned the loungers. We were is 1688 which seems like you are describing. Our CD, Drew Devine and our steward were both leaving after our cruise. So, this was your cruise director's first week on AOS. You probably know that though.

 

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to reading more. Wish we were on AOS now!

 

Cheers,

 

Koohiichan

 

Hi,

 

We were in cabin 1388, which is the mirror image of 1688.

Edited January 30, 2014 by TerpsBball

[TerpsBball]

Wayne,

 

I was in a group of 14 that shared our flights with you and also did the zip line together. We ranged from age 23-69 and everyone had a fantastic week.

 

The baggage claim was quite an Adventure back at Bwi and your right about the flight crew, they were hilarious!

 

Hello!

 

Ziplining was awesome. We were so happy to meet you guys. It was indeed a great week.

[sr71pav]

There was a Carnival ship, Princess ship, and a Seabourn ship in port with us.

 

Minor point.

 

I assume when you say "Seabourn" you are referring to the Ship that was docked on the port side. It was actually the FreeWinds which is a ship owned by the Church of Scientology. If there was another ship that I never saw, I apologize.

 

Seabourn Spirit was with us at St. Kitts.

 

The other ships in Aruba were the Carnival Breeze and the Island Princess (might be wrong on that one).

[sr71pav]

Some general comments:

 

1. There were not a lot of kids on board.

 

2. This has been discussed before on CruiseCritic, but there was an average mix of nationalities on board. We saw no quinceaneras. There were a few adults and kids who needed an “adjustment”, but you get that where ever you go. 99% of the folks on board were enjoying their vacations.

 

3. We didn’t use the WiFi on board. I have Sprint (work cell), and my wife has Verizon (personal cell). In San Juan, I had complete coverage, but my wife’s phone was in roaming. Neither of us had coverage anywhere else.

 

4. The ship is in great shape. It’ll be interesting to see her post refurb.

 

5. Book early for your choice of staterooms and flights. Prices fluctuate greatly, but they never went lower from when I booked.

 

6. We liked the new menus.

 

Yep...definitely sounds exactly like our experience. We kept wondering if it was because the ship was out of San Juan that we had less kids. Also, I never noticed anything like the local population that I had been expecting. I don't mean that as a good or bad thing by any stretch. I'd even brushed up on my (very mediocre) Spanish in case I needed it but never did.

 

The ship, also, was in much better condition than some have led others to believe. You really had to be looking for stuff to have found any issues. We actually found we enjoyed Adventure more than the Freedom-class ships for some reason.

 

Did your wife's phone say "Roaming" or "Extended Network?" I, too, had Verizon but it was the Extended Network and had a 3G signal, and that's completely free to use. I have to laugh at the Verizon coverage commercials now as you can see on the maps that every other provider has 4G LTE on San Juan and some I think have St. Thomas but not so for Verizon.

 

We booked a year in advance last year and it was by far the best price we saw. Julio (LA) also got us booked on next year's 9 night trip back to Southern Caribbean. That's just a nice itinerary.

 

How much of the aft rooms from our trip are on here? I've already seen 1388 and 1688. We were 7392. Cabins were awesome!

 

Oh...and if anyone watched the morning shows and saw the armadillo purse the one morning...that was my wife.

[TerpsBball]

Did your wife's phone say "Roaming" or "Extended Network?" I, too, had Verizon but it was the Extended Network and had a 3G signal, and that's completely free to use. I have to laugh at the Verizon coverage commercials now as you can see on the maps that every other provider has 4G LTE on San Juan and some I think have St. Thomas but not so for Verizon.

 

The 3G signal sounds correct. I could've mistaken it for roaming.

[todurkin]

Hey Wayne!

 

Fellow Marylander here! Live up in Baltimore...My GF is a Terp; got her undergrad and graduate degrees from Univ of MD. Much needed win over the Canes last night!

 

Anyway, loved your review! We will be on the AOS in March. We'll be staying at that Embassy Suites as well. How is the area around the hotel? My GF is a runner, and being that we are in the Caribbean, she was hoping to run outside the morning before we board the cruise. Just want to make sure it's safe.

[sr71pav]

If you're staying at the Embassy Suites, just walk over to the beach for a run. The area doesn't feel unsafe (police department is next door practically) but I don't think there's enough room to run either.

[TerpsBball]

How is the area around the hotel? My GF is a runner, and being that we are in the Caribbean, she was hoping to run outside the morning before we board the cruise. Just want to make sure it's safe.

 

To echo what has been said....the area around the Embassy Suites is not suited for running. You are in a downtown area, and there is some traffic. The streets are also quite confined with store fronts close to the street and walls around properties.

 

The beach is 1.5 blocks away. All you need to do is walk out of the hotel and head across the street by the Wahlgreen's. The beach is there. When we were out on the beach Sunday morning, there were a few people running.

[todurkin]

If you're staying at the Embassy Suites, just walk over to the beach for a run. The area doesn't feel unsafe (police department is next door practically) but I don't think there's enough room to run either.

 

To echo what has been said....the area around the Embassy Suites is not suited for running. You are in a downtown area, and there is some traffic. The streets are also quite confined with store fronts close to the street and walls around properties.

 

The beach is 1.5 blocks away. All you need to do is walk out of the hotel and head across the street by the Wahlgreen's. The beach is there. When we were out on the beach Sunday morning, there were a few people running.

 

Thanks guys, for the replies. I'll be sure to let her know. She'd love to run on the beach...great to hear that it's so close.