Adventure out of San Juan

[BigHouseFootball]

Hello all, I am starting to plan our next cruise and I need your expertise and experience. My wife and I are seriously considering Adventure of Seas out of San Juan that visits St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. John's, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

 

I have read a few trip reports on Adventure recently but wanted to get some more opinions.

 

How was it sailing out of San Juan? Is the clientele much different than what we have encountered on Freedom and Allure out of Florida? I only ask this because one reviewer said the other cruisers were loud, obnoxious, and crazy. I know the refurb was cut short because of the hurricane but that things have slowly been added but the room still were ignored? Are they really that tired looking? I'm fine with worn out carpet and couches but I read where there were broken lamp shades and torn curtains?

 

We have only ever sailed out of Florida but we are thinking of this cruise because of the itinerary and thinking this might be a great one last trip before starting a family but we don't want to be stuck for a week if the other cruisers are going to be crazy.

[mlmbar]

We are booked on Adventure Oct 14 and this is second on Adventure. We have also sailed on Jewel. San Juan is wonderful. It is a beautiful , lively city with great restaurants and beaches. Boarding is easy and you can buy wine right after you check bags in terminal. Last sailing on Adventure was before drydock. LOVED the ship and crew! We had a junior suite and I really did not look for worn things, etc. We ate in Giovannis three times and loved it.

 

Barbados is one of my favorite ports. Both times we went to the Boatyard and beaches were like baby powder. Water was stunning blue and clear. Also LOVE St Kitts. Went to Carambola Beach Club which is on the Caribbean and looks at Nevis.

 

St Lucia was amazing. We took Spencer Ambrose tours Jalosie Beach break which was a speedboat ride around the island to a beautiful beach between the Pitons

[Clarea]

We've taken at least a half-dozen cruises on Adventure out of San Juan. The guests are more international than what we've experienced out of Port Canaveral and Port Everglades. More Canadians, more British, more European. Don't recall any crazy cruisers, just a bunch of people having fun. The ship was in fine shape.

[Sky616]

As Bob said you will see more Europeans out of San Juan but really not much difference. We've cruised seven times and three times have been out of San Juan. You get to see the deep southern caribbean islands. As the other poster said the Boatyard in Barbados is great. One of prettiest beaches and a great beach experience overall. It was $15 per person last April when we were there. That included a lounger, umbrella, 1 drink which could be alcoholic or not and a ride back to the ship. Adventure is a fabulous ship also.

[BigHouseFootball]

Thank you for the responses! The islands of the Southern Caribbean is what drew is to this trip. Looks like maybe the one reviewer was just particular about things.

 

We are thinking of flying down a few days early to explore San Juan before the cruise as well. We are looking at April 2018-I know way far out but that will allow us to get a balcony as we can spread the payments out.

[ColoradoGurl]

I would say the passengers are less crazy, if you're using the word to describe unruly, rude or inappropriate behavior. I think the southern route draws less of a "mainstream" crowd and therefore less of the "crazy" because it is a more expensive trip than say, your average Florida cruise. However, if they meant "crazy" as in "Different culture than I'm used to because the crowd wasn't American," then yeah maybe. There were a lot more Caribbean people on our cruise, we met several from Antigua, a few from Jamaica etc, which I thought was awesome. It was fun to get tips for places to go and suggestions for good food. They were also a lot more social; inviting us to share tables in the windjammer for breakfast and always wanting to chat about what we were doing that day.

 

 

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[Big_G]

No craziness a couple of weeks ago and I highly recommend the galleon excursion to the Pitons. I was skeptical because it was a cruise ship excursion and worse, on a pirate ship but we had a great time with great scenery.

 

 

Sent from my Bat phone using Tapatalk.

[soccer2010]

We're going on our 3rd Adventure cruise out of San Juan in a few months. Yes the cruise is more diverse culturally but I would say no more and no less rude people than other cruises. We have never been on your itinerary but we have found the Southern Caribbean Islands wonderful, especially the ABC Islands.

[Rewind]

I've sailed out of San Juan twice, once on Jewel (2013) and once on Adventure (2016). For us in Ohio, the flights to San Juan are just about the same price as they are to Florida and it feels more special as San Juan is a port stop in itself.

 

I do recommend spending a day or two before the cruise - you can wander around Old San Juan for a whole day if you want, check out the forts, etc. Head over to the rain forest and hike the mile+ to the water fall. If they are still running it, check out the bio-luminescent bay which is only one in a handful in the world (Fajardo).

 

As for Adventure, as of last year she was still in great shape. Clean and well maintained from everything we saw. Maybe the only odd thing we noticed was new lamp shades installed around the light fixtures in the main dining room - the fixtures still had the faux crystal chandelier behind the new shades. If you don't look too closely, you probably wouldn't even notice (of course now that I said that, you can't help but look).

 

 

Go BigTen!

[bigque]

We have cruised out of San Juan twice, once on Adventure and once on Serenade. We thought Adventure wasn't a bad ship but then too we don't really go around looking for things that could be wrong. If it don't just jump out at us we are not looking for stuff to say this is old or that is worn or this was outdated looking. Here is a link to my review on Adventure: :cool:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2275038

[alfaeric]

Thank you for the responses! The islands of the Southern Caribbean is what drew is to this trip. Looks like maybe the one reviewer was just particular about things.

 

We are thinking of flying down a few days early to explore San Juan before the cruise as well. We are looking at April 2018-I know way far out but that will allow us to get a balcony as we can spread the payments out.

So you will be among the last Adventure cruises out of San Juan- that should be interesting.

 

Like Bob, we've done 6 of cruises out of San Juan on the Adventure (with two more scheduled)- but go to Puerto Rico a lot more than that for family reasons.

 

Depending on how long you can fly down before, there are other great parts of Puerto Rico to visit- rain forest, ruta panoramica, Arecibo, beaches, etc. It's not a bad idea to rent a car.

 

+1 to all the notes about how much you'll love the islands. And if you are a rum enthusiast, try the different styles of rums on the island- they all make it a little different, including Puerto Rico.

 

IMHO, the passengers are more like out of Miami- more international, and more Spanish will be heard- including all of the announcements being repeated. Lots of B2B passengers from Europe. To me, the only "rudeness" possibilities- if there's a quinciero group- like any teen group, they can be obnoxious. Teens don't really matter where they are from- groups can be really nice and fun, or obnoxious.

 

Lots of planning ahead of you.

 

And if I get your name right, Go BLUE! We are just over a mile away from the Big House.

[lauraodonnell86]

Hello all, I am starting to plan our next cruise and I need your expertise and experience. My wife and I are seriously considering Adventure of Seas out of San Juan that visits St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. John's, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

 

I have read a few trip reports on Adventure recently but wanted to get some more opinions.

 

How was it sailing out of San Juan? Is the clientele much different than what we have encountered on Freedom and Allure out of Florida? I only ask this because one reviewer said the other cruisers were loud, obnoxious, and crazy. I know the refurb was cut short because of the hurricane but that things have slowly been added but the room still were ignored? Are they really that tired looking? I'm fine with worn out carpet and couches but I read where there were broken lamp shades and torn curtains?

 

We have only ever sailed out of Florida but we are thinking of this cruise because of the itinerary and thinking this might be a great one last trip before starting a family but we don't want to be stuck for a week if the other cruisers are going to be crazy.

 

Hello! As you can see from my signature, we are big fans of Adventure. Sailing out of San Juan is the best if you like to visit many islands and not be at sea all of the time. The clientele is actually really great. My husband and I go in January because that is our anniversary so we don't take kids. There are not many kids on the ship because of the cost to fly to San Juan (I believe). The other clientele is not "loud and obnoxious". I will say that there will be more Puerto Ricans than you would find out of Florida but that isn't a bad thing at all. We've never had a bad experience!

 

You are right that the refurb didn't fully happen. The rooms aren't bad at all. I have never heard of broken lamps or torn curtains. There are places that the carpet could use replacing but it's not as bad as people make it sound. The complainers are the loudest, just remember that. When you are sailing out of San Juan, you aren't necessary going for the ship like you are when you sail out of Florida. Because you get off the ship every day but 1. With that being said though, Adventure is a gorgeous ship that I know you will have a blast on! Let me know if there are any other questions I can answer for you!

[bouhunter]

Another vote of support for San Juan cruises. We've been on Adventure/Jewel from there 6-7 times. The ports are great. Never a problem with the passengers. B2B scheduled on Adventure next January. We usually stay 2 days pre-cruise and 2 days after.

[bneems]

Hello all, I am starting to plan our next cruise and I need your expertise and experience. My wife and I are seriously considering Adventure of Seas out of San Juan that visits St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. John's, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

 

I have read a few trip reports on Adventure recently but wanted to get some more opinions.

 

How was it sailing out of San Juan? Is the clientele much different than what we have encountered on Freedom and Allure out of Florida? I only ask this because one reviewer said the other cruisers were loud, obnoxious, and crazy. I know the refurb was cut short because of the hurricane but that things have slowly been added but the room still were ignored? Are they really that tired looking? I'm fine with worn out carpet and couches but I read where there were broken lamp shades and torn curtains?

 

We have only ever sailed out of Florida but we are thinking of this cruise because of the itinerary and thinking this might be a great one last trip before starting a family but we don't want to be stuck for a week if the other cruisers are going to be crazy.

 

I went on the same cruise in April 2015. I thought the ship was very nice. I don't recall having unruly passengers or a ship that looked completely broken down. The casino was very nice to me :). It was the first time I had Johnny Rockets (It was free because it was my birthday!) on board. Our service was excellent, as always. Come to think of it- I played 3 card poker with a bunch of ladies from Smithfield, VA for most of the cruise (they were 70+ and I was 28). It was a delightful time. Food was okay- I remember the Lobster not being as fresh as I had remembered being on board in 2008. Probably just have had really good lobster since 2008 and my tastes had changed.

 

I remember the Cruise Director being fun, the pools being open, and never have to rush to get a pool chair early in the morning. I had a great time. The stops were nice, but St. Maarten was by far the best stop on the tour. No one hassling you to buy things right when you get off the ship. Oh- there is a casino right were you Dock in St. John. I had good luck there too. Most of the stops you could find a free WIFI hotspot at a local bar to connect for a few hours. This was before I knew VOOM was on board.

 

Overall, I recommend the cruise, however, I probably wouldn't go back- it was an expensive plane ticket for the experience, regardless. I am happy to have done it once. But i'll stick to Baltimore/Port Everglades, Miami from now on.

[SailingSal]

Thank you for the responses! The islands of the Southern Caribbean is what drew is to this trip. Looks like maybe the one reviewer was just particular about things.

 

We are thinking of flying down a few days early to explore San Juan before the cruise as well. We are looking at April 2018-I know way far out but that will allow us to get a balcony as we can spread the payments out.

 

It can never be too far out to plan a cruise!

We love sailing out of San Juan. Always stay at least a day or two before the cruise. Love staying at the Sheraton in Old San Juan since you can walk everywhere or take the free bus service. You will always hear negative things from people - as did we about Adventure. But we did a Back-to-Back on her last march 2016 and loved every moment of it! We loved it so much that we are booked for another Back-to-Back in March 2018:D

[davekathy]

BigHouseFootball...We've done two different B2B Cruises (2012 and 2015) on the Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan. We like the ship and like leaving out of San Juan.We've also sailed on Celebrity a couple of times leaving out of San Juan. We like the more port intensive cruises vs more sea days. We are doing a B2B on the Jewel out of San Juan April 2017. The Jewel (Radiance class ships) is our favorite RC ship of all we've sailed on. You may also want to look at the Jewel and her two different itineraries for April 2018. Can't go wrong with either ships or itineraries. BTW never to early to plan and book a cruise.

Edited March 22, 2017 by davekathy

[mollyeilis]

Our December 17 sailing was filled with fun people. There was a group onboard connected with some tv or radio personalities, so if you ended up near them you were bound to be overwhelmed. :) They were parading back to the ship in Antigua, complete with "boom box" and everyone singing. This continued in the elevator lobby and you could hear them as they went on up in the elevators. I'm normally a subdued person so I had a choice to be irked or to smile. I chose to smile. They were having fun, and hurt no one except my ears.

 

I felt surrounded by Spanish and loved it. I grew up in CA and had many friends whose families were from Mexico, I took Spanish, and it just feels like home. Took me a week of being at home to get used to English-only.

 

Even the flight to San Juan felt like a party flight (we took southwest from Orlando). Excited people going home for the holidays. It was pretty cool.

 

I saw no wear and tear in the ship, but here or on another board I talked with someone who had our room in the second sailing after ours, and we figured out that the people in between had done something to stain the couch. So things do happen.

 

I liked it a lot. The ship and the Spanish all around me and the people and the general vibe of it. Would love to do it again.

[zdad59]

We loved this itinerary. Vey port intensive. Don't try to do everything on every island or you will be exhausted. San Juan was awesome. The ship was in great shape. I hope yo got a chance to read my Trip Report.

[BigHouseFootball]

So you will be among the last Adventure cruises out of San Juan- that should be interesting.

 

Like Bob, we've done 6 of cruises out of San Juan on the Adventure (with two more scheduled)- but go to Puerto Rico a lot more than that for family reasons.

 

Depending on how long you can fly down before, there are other great parts of Puerto Rico to visit- rain forest, ruta panoramica, Arecibo, beaches, etc. It's not a bad idea to rent a car.

 

+1 to all the notes about how much you'll love the islands. And if you are a rum enthusiast, try the different styles of rums on the island- they all make it a little different, including Puerto Rico.

 

IMHO, the passengers are more like out of Miami- more international, and more Spanish will be heard- including all of the announcements being repeated. Lots of B2B passengers from Europe. To me, the only "rudeness" possibilities- if there's a quinciero group- like any teen group, they can be obnoxious. Teens don't really matter where they are from- groups can be really nice and fun, or obnoxious.

 

Lots of planning ahead of you.

 

And if I get your name right, Go BLUE! We are just over a mile away from the Big House.

 

Thank you for the info. The only thing we were concerned with was if this would be more of a party boat atmosphere but it looks like that worry was unwarranted, sounds like it will be more or less the kind of atmosphere we've come to expect from RC.

 

I grew up 20 minutes east from the Big House and graduated from UM in 2008. Life has taken me to Richmond, VA. And as the Alumni Association would say "for those who leave Michigan, but for whom Michigan never leaves." My heart will forever be in Michigan. Go Blue!!

[BigHouseFootball]

We have cruised out of San Juan twice, once on Adventure and once on Serenade. We thought Adventure wasn't a bad ship but then too we don't really go around looking for things that could be wrong. If it don't just jump out at us we are not looking for stuff to say this is old or that is worn or this was outdated looking. Here is a link to my review on Adventure: :cool:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2275038

 

I will definitely give it a read!

[MaryL31]

Just got off Adventure on 03/18/17. I found the mixture on this ship very nice...extremely respectful crowd up until Day 6, which was St Patrick's Day...it was the only time I came across any obnoxious behavior.

[Familygoboston]

We also have a full photo review of Adventure 2015 linked in our signature..

We loved this cruise...a good percentage of passengers are from Puerto Rico, it feels more "Latin" than cruises from other embarkation ports, I think that's just how it goes. We've recently booked Liberty from Galveston and I noticed all the Cruise Compasses list a plethora of "country" music. The culture of the place you sail from and the people from there who sail with you will change the culture of your cruise. For us, that's what makes trying different places fun! :D

[CanadaDeb]

So you will be among the last Adventure cruises out of San Juan- that should be interesting.

 

 

Ok I missed something...the Adventure will not longer be based in San Juan? I've been waiting for the 2019 cruises from San Juan to open to book the ABCs...can someone fill me in, please?

[Clarea]

So you will be among the last Adventure cruises out of San Juan- that should be interesting.

 

 

Ok I missed something...the Adventure will not longer be based in San Juan? I've been waiting for the 2019 cruises from San Juan to open to book the ABCs...can someone fill me in, please?

Adventure will be banished to New Jersey, to be replaced by Freedom.

[CanadaDeb]

Adventure will be banished to New Jersey, to be replaced by Freedom.

 

Thanks for your quick answer :)