Photo review: Adventure OTS, 8/13/16

[BillOh]

Thanks for the pictures of Ponce. I got to spend 4 days there on business 20 some years ago. One of my better business trips. Wrigley's used to have a gum factory there and another medical tubing company that supplied much of the SE USA and all of the caribbean.

 

Being that I have a Spring cruise on adventure, I'm watching every review. Thanks for taking the time.

[cyntil8ing]

Thanks everyone! I'll get back to the review and photos later tonight.

 

For anyone impatient, here is a link to last year's review:

 

Photo review: Adventure OTS, Hurricane rerouted itinerary

[Mamacane71]

Loving this review. We did similar route a few years back on the Jewel. Anxious to hear the rest!

[catella02]

We have a port stop in Ponce in February of 2018. I am so glad you posted those pictures as there is not a lot out here to look at. Thanks.

[beccawes7471]

Loving the pictures and reviews, we are traveling as a family March 2017 on AOTS, can't wait to see the rest, thanks for taking the time to review!

[cyntil8ing]

We have a port stop in Ponce in February of 2018. I am so glad you posted those pictures as there is not a lot out here to look at. Thanks.

 

I had no idea Ponce was going to be a port stop! That's exciting. The downtown area is probably a 15 minute or so ride away.

 

I don't remember seeing anything that looked like a cruise ship terminal, but it appears the first port stop there isn't until December 2017.

 

Google found a couple of articles, the latter in Spanish.

 

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2015/03/05/singapore-portek-to-develop-port-in-southern-puerto-rico/

 

http://www.periodicolaperla.com/cobra-forma-primer-plan-operacion-del-puerto-las-americas/

[catella02]

I had no idea Ponce was going to be a port stop! That's exciting. The downtown area is probably a 15 minute or so ride away.

 

I don't remember seeing anything that looked like a cruise ship terminal, but it appears the first port stop there isn't until December 2017.

 

Google found a couple of articles, the latter in Spanish.

 

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2015/03/05/singapore-portek-to-develop-port-in-southern-puerto-rico/

 

http://www.periodicolaperla.com/cobra-forma-primer-plan-operacion-del-puerto-las-americas/

 

Thanks Cindy for the info.

[BillOh]

We have a port stop in Ponce in February of 2018. I am so glad you posted those pictures as there is not a lot out here to look at. Thanks.

What ship is stopping in Ponce?

 

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[cyntil8ing]

What ship is stopping in Ponce?

 

Serenade has three stops scheduled and HAL Prinsendam has one.

 

Schedule found at http://www.whatsinport.com/Ponce.htm

 

Oh, and for any non-Spanish speakers, it is pronounced pon-say. :)

Edited August 30, 2016 by cyntil8ing

[BillOh]

I had no idea Ponce was going to be a port stop! That's exciting. The downtown area is probably a 15 minute or so ride away.

 

Back in early 2013 someone posted a link from the Port Authority there that talked about port improvements and it mentioned cruise ships. At the time Oasis and Allure were only doing the same ports over and over again and had not yet been to San Juan, so I asked the Captain of Allure about going there and he had no idea of any ships. I'll be glad to hear an update.

[BillOh]

Serenade has three stops scheduled and HAL Prinsendam has one.

 

Schedule found at http://www.whatsinport.com/Ponce.htm

 

Oh, and for any non-Spanish speakers, it is pronounced pon-say. :)

 

Good to know, I'll keep an eye on Serenade reviews.

[drarill]

We have a port stop in Ponce in February of 2018. I am so glad you posted those pictures as there is not a lot out here to look at. Thanks.

 

Loving this review...

You can also visit Ponce's Art Museum http://www.museoarteponce.org/index.php?idi=2

Most people come to see Leighton's Flaming June...

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jun/20/flaming-june-frederic-lord-leighton-house-museum

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1632584-leightons-erotic-flaming-june-both-fascinates-and-irritates-art-world/

[catella02]

Loving this review...

You can also visit Ponce's Art Museum http://www.museoarteponce.org/index.php?idi=2

Most people come to see Leighton's Flaming June...

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jun/20/flaming-june-frederic-lord-leighton-house-museum

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1632584-leightons-erotic-flaming-june-both-fascinates-and-irritates-art-world/

 

Thanks so much for the additional information. Yes we are on the Serenade. I am sure someone will do a review of this port once we have been there. Still quite some time away for this cruise.

[cyntil8ing]

The highlight of our day was a trip to meet the “Yoda Guy”, Nick Maley. I thought this would be a huge hit with my son, but it turned out my daughter was the one who was enthralled. She is interested in video, direction and production and the scripts and storyboards made her swoon. My son just wanted to see Yoda. Everyone enjoyed the stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, on our walk back to the port, we saw this road sign and could not decide what it meant. Any ideas?

 

[cyntil8ing]

I have to share this photo, just because it meant so much to me. This was the first time ever my son felt comfortable enough to go into the pool by himself. It was an historic day!

 

 

In the dining room that evening, our assistant waiter Topan amazed us with his talent.

 

 

And our first towel animal made an appearance.

 

[cyntil8ing]

We were invited to a bridge tour this morning at 10:00.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cyntil8ing]

After the bridge tour, we left the ship and walked to our destination for the day – Palm Court Gardens. This was a wonderful, relaxing day! Highly recommend. The walk was about 15 minutes and it was HOT, but it made us appreciate the nice pool even more when we finally got there.

 

http://www.palmscourtgardens.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cyntil8ing]

 

 

 

 

 

[aml716]

Great pictorial review so far! Thank you!

 

 

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[perfect match]

Thanks for this review, Cindy! I am enjoying the journey. Can't wait to see what you do on all of the islands. Loved the stay in Ponce. :D

[cyntil8ing]

This is not a very good video. It was originally just a quick fb live to gloat to all of my friends at work that day. :) It's shaky. But it gives a sense of how quiet, relaxing and peaceful Palm Court Gardens is.

 

As the day went on, more people arrived (including dancers from the ship and their families) and the music got more recognizable and less "spa". We stayed until around 3:30 (all aboard was 4:30) and the pool side loungers were never full.

 

We made reservations about a month beforehand so we had four loungers waiting for us when we arrived.

 

[YOUTUBE]cLFf_Mr-9qg[/YOUTUBE]

[cyntil8ing]

We have visited Antigua before and we did a traditional island tour. This time, we just wanted to take a taxi to a beach. The suite concierge, Ryno, suggested Jolly Beach, so we decided to try it.

 

We looked up taxi fare and saw that it should be $18 each way (http://www.antiguanice.com/v2/documents/Taxi%20and%20tour%20fares%20-%20ABTB%20final.pdf). So when we left the ship and went into the throng of taxi drivers, we knew how to negotiate. They started with $10 per person. We got a roundtrip fare of $30 plus tip and our driver picked us up when we requested. Two chairs and an umbrella was $20. We probably could have negotiated that too.

 

For quite a while, we had the place practically to ourselves. No crowds. No noise. It was fantastic!

 

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My son had a blast diving for shells.

 

 

[cyntil8ing]

We decided to try stand up paddle boarding. My daughter and husband were naturals. I struggled and never got quite upright before giving up. Had we had more than one board, I think I would have gotten the hang of it. Anyway, it was fun and there was lots of laughter as I fell over and over again.

 

DD got it right away.

 

 

I had a few issues.

 

 

Ooops.

 

 

This was as close as I got to upright.

 

 

DH was a show-off!

 

 

DD would have stayed on the rest of the day.

 

[cyntil8ing]

I think this day was the highlight of our cruise. We booked Spencer Ambrose’s Land and Sea Adventure Tour.

 

http://spencerambrose.com/island-tours/spencers-land-and-sea-adventure1/

 

 

 

 

The mud bath. These pools were hot! About 100 degrees.

 

 

Mudded!

 

 

I have to mention that I was injured at the mud baths. I slipped and fell while trying to guide my son. It was totally my fault, but I really scraped up my leg badly.

 

Luckily, I carry a small first aid kit with me in my backpack, because the tour provider had nothing to offer me except sympathy. I washed and cleaned it as best I could, then applied anti-bacterial ointment I had in my kit. Hooray for Girl Scouts! I was prepared.

 

It did not ruin my day, and I continued to enjoy the falls and the swimming at Sugar Beach. But the fact that the tour provider carried no basic first aid supplies was concerning.

 

Even more concerning was the manner in which one of the tour employees talked to me at the end of the tour. For the rest of the day, all the employees were very solicitous of me, asking how I was doing constantly. But once we were off the boat, one pulled me aside to remind me that the fall was my fault and ask that I not include mention of it in any review.

 

Well, I guess you can tell how I feel about being threatened! Had he not pulled me aside and said that, this would have never made it into my review.

[cyntil8ing]

The next stop was a waterfall. I thought I took more photos, but this is the only one I can find. It was a very quick stop. We waited in line to stand under the falls to get our photos and then headed back to the van.

 

 

The next stop was Sugar Beach, where we had a nice lunch of chicken and salads served on the beach buffet style and plenty of time to swim and snorkel. There were lots of sea urchins in the snorkel area. Take care!