Adventure of The Seas Photo Review 4/19/2015 (S.Caribbean B)

[Familygoboston]

Always appreciated. Watch for my take in 2017 ;)

 

Will you be a cruise character? ;) Enjoy your cruise...we don't have many Royal Cruises planned going forward, but I'd do this one again!

[Familygoboston]

There is no Day 8!

 

Arrival back in in OSJ

 

 

 

 

 

So all you can do is get dressed, stuff your jammies into a bag and go to morose breakfast with everyone else. (the Back to Backers, were having their own "ha, suckas!" breakfast elsewhere) We had been having great luck in the Windjammer all week, and although it was a little busy, we still had no trouble finding a table! We headed to the Diamond waiting area in the MDR, and shortly after we arrived, our departure time of 9:45 AM came, and everyone stood up and started moving to the exit; of course there was staff member with the walkie talkie at the entrance who looked panicked as Diamonds (and PLUS!)started moving towards the exit, so I'm not sure the whole room was supposed to evacuate at that moment, but they did! There is no stopping stampeding Diamonds once they start!;) Woe betide anyone barring the way of a Pinnacle, so out we all went since there was no formal protest on the part of the staff there.

So here is my exit time line (your experience may be different)

 

9:45 AM left MDR (legally?, illegally?, who knows?)

We took one of the porters because last time we left San Juan one of our bags wasn't stored anywhere near the actual number they gave us. Luckily, this time our bags were right at our number and our porter grabbed them and put us in the porter line (there seemed to be only 2 lines with 2 officers)

 

10:10 AM We were thru customs with our bags with the porter and met Johnny Taxi who was waiting for us outside. (we had called him when we got our bags)

 

10:30 AM Arrived in OSJ by, checked bags at the Sheraton (we got a special dispensation because I lost my glasses, and needed to "do business" with the security office to look for them -no dice:() and because Johnny Taxi vouched for us, and we gave a BIG tip to the bellman in advance. But even if you stayed there before the cruise, if you do not have reservations at the Sheraton for that day, that place is locked down like Fort Knox, you will not be allowed to store bags at the Sheraton!

Our back up plan (after checking the Sheraton for my eye glasses) was to have Johnny Taxi take us to Barrachina on Forteleza where they allow you to check bags there for a tip. They hope you'll have lunch, but it's not required. Since we didn't need to do that -

 

11:00 AM We were walking around Old San Juan

[cruiselife4me]

Loved EVERY minute!!! Waaa I was sad it ended.

Can't wait for your next cruise and for our cruise on Adventure in Feb.

Mary

[Familygoboston]

Loved EVERY minute!!! Waaa I was sad it ended.

Can't wait for your next cruise and for our cruise on Adventure in Feb.

Mary

 

Thanks Mary!! I hope you have a ball in February!

Our next cruise (I think unless we do a last minute one) will be Azamara, from Miami through the Panama Canal to Costa Rica. In the meantime we are headed to Cuba for a people to people exchange called Jazz in Havana for 5 nights. We've got lots of family traveled planned with our girls making big plans to work and study all over the country! (and of course we will have to visit;)) We are blessed to travel and we are happy to share our stories!:D

[Familygoboston]

San Juan

 

We walked around Old San Juan for a while to work up an appetite before lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is from the top of the city walls near Calle Las Monjas

 

 

 

 

 

Old Casino at Avenida de la Constiticion

 

 

 

 

 

Chess players in Hostos Plaza

 

 

 

 

 

An alley in Old San Juan

 

 

 

 

 

Ladies heading home from church

 

[Familygoboston]

San Juan

 

At 11:45 we went to Rosa De Triana in Plaza Catedral for an early lunch. We had seen the restaurant during our earlier stay and decided if we didn't need to leave luggage at Barrachina we would try it. It offers mostly Spanish style specialties and DD, who visited Spain last year said they were good, but not as good as what you would get in Spain.

 

We noticed two groups coming through on a tour called Flavors of San Juan. It looked interesting and the participants said they were enjoying the tour and all the food they had been eating all over Old San Juan all morning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked back to the Sheraton to get our bags and change into "plane" clothes and got a cab to the airport. Don't forget to leave time for the agriculture check at the airport. As you walk in, the very first thing you'll encounter is the conveyor belt where all luggage must be scanned as part of an agricultural check. every bag gets a sticker, so make sure the sticker stays on! The airport floor is littered with thousands of colored stickers stuck to the floor, counters, and luggage belts! Our luggage didn't have to go through because one of our fellow Adventurers had left a lonely bag behind (it had RC group tags on the bag) which was causing a security "incident" at the very moment we arrived. So we got our stickers after answering the screeners questions and moved on! After that, you check your bags and then pass through security as usual.

 

I wish we could report that it was smooth "sailing", but that is never the case with the airlines, but I'll spare you the "nails on the chalkboard" retelling of the tale, plus I lived it once and don't wish to re live it!:rolleyes: Safe to say days later we did in fact end up on a plane headed back to Boston- because I have a picture to prove it!

 

[Familygoboston]

Thanks everyone for following along! I hope anyone who spent time following along found something helpful to prepare for their own cruise!! Follow our upcoming "adventures" on Azamara to Columbia, Panama and Costa Rica, and our trip to Cuba and other travels, and I look forward to following yours!

 

I wish everyone safe travels!!

[happyiam]

Oh how happy I am (get it...happyiam, not happy jam) to have read your latest full review. I liked the "Live" but missed the colourful details like in this one. Congratulations and Happy Birthday to your DD. From your previous reviews I can not picture her as being a 'cruise character', but pictures don't lie. It looked like you all had fun, as usual. The picture of the moon above the deck has become my favourite. I really liked this ship and itinerary but my DH has his eyes on an Alaska cruise. I may have to give him that one. Thanks again for posting your trip. Safe travels. :)

[Familygoboston]

Oh how happy I am (get it...happyiam, not happy jam) to have read your latest full review. I liked the "Live" but missed the colourful details like in this one. Congratulations and Happy Birthday to your DD. From your previous reviews I can not picture her as being a 'cruise character', but pictures don't lie. It looked like you all had fun, as usual. The picture of the moon above the deck has become my favourite. I really liked this ship and itinerary but my DH has his eyes on an Alaska cruise. I may have to give him that one. Thanks again for posting your trip. Safe travels. :)

 

Thanks Happy! I could not be more "Happy" to be done actually, just in the nick of time, starting tomorrow, out of town guests in for a few non stop weeks of celebration and excitement! Last concerts, awards, graduations, I won't have much time for Cruise Critic ;)

 

Don't fear Alaska too much, it's a pretty amazing trip, even though it's not white sandy beaches, I'm sure you will love it! But no moons, it will be daylight up there almost all day!

[BillOh]

Thanks everyone for following along! I hope anyone who spent time following along found something helpful to prepare for their own cruise!! Follow our upcoming "adventures" on Azamara to Columbia, Panama and Costa Rica, and our trip to Cuba and other travels, and I look forward to following yours!

 

I wish everyone safe travels!!

 

If you think of it, a link here to any Azamara cruise would be appreciated? How is Helen Hunt doing at school?

[Ocean Boy]

I want to hear about Azamara too... from someone I trust.

[Familygoboston]

If you think of it, a link here to any Azamara cruise would be appreciated? How is Helen Hunt doing at school?

 

I want to hear about Azamara too... from someone I trust.

 

That means a lot to me :o

 

Will do for sure, since people seem interested in comparing Azamara to my experiences on Royal, I will post a thread here comparing them and linking to the Azamara review next March!

 

I'm curious myself, I've done small ships before, but this is the first one that comes with the "rights and privileges" of my Crown and Anchor level. I've not really fully enjoyed the "medium" sized ships (ie small ships of RCI 2-3 K Pax) because I felt they didn't 1- have the benefits of the small ship (ie less crowds, better on board environment) or 2- have quite enough to do (compared to the RCI "big" ships)

I have had amazing trips on other lines smaller ships because I was happy to trade off "busy big ship activities" for tucking into small ports and the more personal service.

 

I'm anxious to see how Azamara delivers on that, will it just be a "small" ship with Royals over worked, harried service? Or will it truly be that personal touch? I'm holding off on booking an Adriatic cruise in 2017 for our anniversary until after our Azamara experience to see which ship I'd like to do. And I'm really looking forward to the South and Central American itinerary!

 

I was so busy this month and pulling this review together really was tough, but you are all making me motivated to do one for Azamara now, it's good to know people do appreciate the "research" and DHs photos! :D Thanks!

[perfect match]

There were paddles on board each kayak, you'd need them if the pedals ever get fouled with weeds, fishing line etc (that didn't happen during our trip, but you'd need the paddle as safety equipment anyway to be prepared for that!) One man got tired of peddling (or wanted to mix it up) and paddled for a while! It's fine either way! Don't let it discourage you, it was one of our better excursions, so long as you don't mind a lot of history and context included in the paddle (we actually really appreciate that, but some people just want a "workout"- maybe just rent in that case rather than a guided tour!!) Luckily everyone on our trip appreciated the stories and history and we learned a lot about the place, which was great!

 

Thank you for replying to my question. I know how much time you put into doing your reviews.

 

I am glad to hear that paddling was an option on your kayak tour. With my painful bad knees and all the walking they are subjected to on our cruises, those knees really appreciate it when I give them a break by choosing an activity like kayaking where some other part of my body is doing the work. I would probably have enjoyed your guide's stories very much, as I enjoy learning about new places I visit.

 

I will be looking forward to your Azamara review, as I have been thinking about cruising with them myself.

[Siora7777]

Wonderful review! Can't wait for my turn in December on AOS.

[js4rq]

What a lovely photo review. It looks like you had a great cruise!! :D

[DutchCruiseFan]

Great pictures!:D

[Familygoboston]

Thank you for replying to my question. I know how much time you put into doing your reviews.

 

I am glad to hear that paddling was an option on your kayak tour. With my painful bad knees and all the walking they are subjected to on our cruises, those knees really appreciate it when I give them a break by choosing an activity like kayaking where some other part of my body is doing the work. I would probably have enjoyed your guide's stories very much, as I enjoy learning about new places I visit.

 

I will be looking forward to your Azamara review, as I have been thinking about cruising with them myself.

Will do! Glad that kayak trip will work for you,,it was a womderful way to se the area!

 

Wonderful review! Can't wait for my turn in December on AOS.

And I can't wait for Yoir review! ;)

[Familygoboston]

What a lovely photo review. It looks like you had a great cruise!! :D

 

Great pictures!:D

 

The photos are all thanks to hubby! (Except the bad ones!) thank you for Yoir kind words.

[capriciousc]

By planning and packing as early as I did, I knew about a month in advance I had room to Pack For A Purpose. You can find more about PFP on their website here:

 

http://www.packforapurpose.org/

 

The site makes it very easy to participate, with detailed wish lists from organizations in need. I noticed that most of the Caribbean organizations in need partner with the Sandals Foundation. That made it easy to drop things off at Sandals and go on touring, or if you make arrangements, you might be able to actually schedule a visit to deliver the items you bring while you are in port. I'll have more details about our PFP experience during the St Lucia post where we delivered our items.

 

But here is our collection...we used social media to let our friends and family know what we were planning and to share the PFP wishlist for St Lucia. We collected new and gently used items and we purchased several items on the wishlist to bring ourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

Their tag line "small space, little effort, big impact" was certainly true for our experience..tune in to St Lucia day to see how it turned out!

 

Thank you so much for sharing the information about Pack For a Purpose! What a wonderful idea :) We are heading out on this same itinerary in a few weeks and I'm going to have my daughter help gather items for donation.

[mollyeilis]

Very nice review.

 

Our son is much younger, but he LOVES the opportunity to dress up on cruises, and wears his suit with panache. There's just no other opportunity where we live (PacNW), not really, and sometimes I think half the reason we like cruising is because it gives us a reason to get all gussied up.:p

 

 

We have that stateroom booked just before Christmas in 2016. :) My husband wants our rooms to be a surprise (I love interesting staterooms and he knows this) so he won't let me share pictures. We have an interesting room booked on Freedom in 300 days from today, and now this in 572 (oh wait that might be yesterday's countdowns), and I can't talk about our staterooms with him! That's what message boards are for, LOL.

 

 

If you could only do ONE excursion, which would it have been? Which felt like the most worth it, the most "yes I saw this place", etc?

 

 

I can't find what's wrong with the namesake of the marine place in St Croix. Only thing that tweaked me was in the PDF listing her accomplishments, of clearing land for Hess, but that was decades ago (and is my own personal issue, I don't like land being cleared, which I've been told is a totally babyish way to look at things and I must get with reality...why is my best friend a city planner? why?). Not finding anything in the news after 1999, and while that news wasn't pretty, there's no followup about it that I can find.

 

Anyway, you mentioned it, and I can't find anything.

 

 

I really wish they would fix that Jasmine menu. In no way, and on no other menus they create do they call seafood vegetarian, is "snow crab" vegetarian. I even talked to the chef on Vision last October about it, and he was totally embarrassed (about the mistake and that no one had brought it to anyone's attention) and said he'd work on it, but it's still there. The vegetarian option isn't marked as such, but the snow crab is called veggie. Silly. Glad you posted the menus so I could check that out. :)

Edited May 25, 2015 by mollyeilis

[Phyllis Flipflop]

Loving the review...great pics too :)

[Familygoboston]

Very nice review.

 

Our son is much younger, but he LOVES the opportunity to dress up on cruises, and wears his suit with panache. There's just no other opportunity where we live (PacNW), not really, and sometimes I think half the reason we like cruising is because it gives us a reason to get all gussied up.:p

thats great! I'm sure he's popular in the dining room, I motice that people give the kids lots of positive attention when they dress up! Of course I still endorse "right to wear" especially for children, because it vs. Get expensive for families to outfit kids in dressy stuff every six months- sometimes you make do with neat and clean!

 

We have that stateroom booked just before Christmas in 2016. :) My husband wants our rooms to be a surprise (I love interesting staterooms and he knows this) so he won't let me share pictures. We have an interesting room booked on Freedom in 300 days from today, and now this in 572 (oh wait that might be yesterday's countdowns), and I can't talk about our staterooms with him! That's what message boards are for, LOL.

thats funny! My hubby likes to see the cabin, but our oldest daughter likes to be surprised about trips too. I was just reading our itinerary for Cuba when she said "stop, I want to be surprised!"

What is your Freedom cabin? We haven't sailed Feedom class and we've thought about the Ben and Jerrys Sweet because we are HUGE fans (obviously) but when I booked Adventure, it was already gone on Liberty and Freedom

 

 

If you could only do ONE excursion, which would it have been? Which felt like the most worth it, the most "yes I saw this place", etc?

For "seeing and experiencing" the island I would say Antigua, but you have a young boy and I think one of our favorites would be popular with him too- Calabaza. The turtles, the shipwrecks, snorkeling, it's very active and if your son likes swimming, I think it's a day that can't be beat! Thr downside is you don't "see" much of the island of Barbados

 

 

I can't find what's wrong with the namesake of the marine place in St Croix. Only thing that tweaked me was in the PDF listing her accomplishments, of clearing land for Hess, but that was decades ago (and is my own personal issue, I don't like land being cleared, which I've been told is a totally babyish way to look at things and I must get with reality...why is my best friend a city planner? why?). Not finding anything in the news after 1999, and while that news wasn't pretty, there's no followup about it that I can find.

 

http://www.goseeittravel.com/travel-blog/2015/5/18/a-little-trouble-in-st-croix

 

I blogged a little more about it- I'm careful because the woman is on trial, which means she's innocent, but it wasn't the only example of "while the cat I s (so far away) the mice will play (squander resources) story we encountered there, as I explain in my blog!

 

Anyway, you mentioned it, and I can't find anything.

 

 

I really wish they would fix that Jasmine menu. In no way, and on no other menus they create do they call seafood vegetarian, is "snow crab" vegetarian. I even talked to the chef on Vision last October about it, and he was totally embarrassed (about the mistake and that no one had brought it to anyone's attention) and said he'd work on it, but it's still there. The vegetarian option isn't marked as such, but the snow crab is called veggie. Silly. Glad you posted the menus so I could check that out. :)

i never even noticed that! I have not eaten meat in decades, but I do eat seafood, so I guess I never noticed they have it listed as "vegetarian" - it is one of our least favorite menus!

 

Thank you so much for sharing the information about Pack For a Purpose! What a wonderful idea :) We are heading out on this same itinerary in a few weeks and I'm going to have my daughter help gather items for donation.

 

That's wonderful! We were also able to "fill in" items like scissors and erasers with gross packages from Oriental Trading Company fairly inexpensivly. Do take a peek at PFPs website because they do have several islands listed, that way you can find the sandals on the island closest to the other plans you have for the day. If you contact Sandals in advance you may even be able to arrange a school visit!

Be sure to let us all know how it goes!

[Familygoboston]

Loving the review...great pics too :)

 

Thanks! The pics are all hubby's fault! He thanks you too!

[rose102798]

Got a call from RCCL today and they asked us to upgrade to Owner's Suite #1292 (free of charge) and give up our 7688 and 7690. We booked these purposely well over a year before sailing. DH and myself in 7688 and 22yo DD and 12 yo DS in 7690. Please reassure us that "no" was the right decision. Your photos sealed it for us, do you agree?:confused:

[Familygoboston]

Got a call from RCCL today and they asked us to upgrade to Owner's Suite #1292 (free of charge) and give up our 7688 and 7690. We booked these purposely well over a year before sailing. DH and myself in 7688 and 22yo DD and 12 yo DS in 7690. Please reassure us that "no" was the right decision. Your photos sealed it for us, do you agree?:confused:

 

Wow, quite an upgrade- almost sounds like they double booked that cabin to make that "sweet" an offer, or you must love the casino ;)

 

Well, I'm not a suite dweller, so I can't commet on the general awesomeness of the Owners suite, but our steward told us, 7688 (7388) was the biggest balcony on the ship! For me, I'll take outside space over inside space everytime. Do you have much interest in the concierge lounge? (Or maybe you already have access?) Im not much of a "lounge" lizard myself, so access to that wouldn't matter to me either! I hope you love it as much as we did- there is just tons of room for 4 people (or more! ) on that balcony! ENJOY! :D