Just back from Adventure of the Seas, 8 April 07 Cruise

[Annefran]

Hi Anne,

Question, our family is considering this cruise for next year, departing on Easter Sunday.

Can you remember if the ship offered a Mass on Sunday? I know it departs that day, so I have no idea if they would offer a late afternoon one.

Thanks very much,

 

Terry in NJ

 

Terry, I'm not sure whether they had a mass on board on Easter Sunday or not. I know some fellow cruisers were looking for a church in the San Juan area to attend mass before getting on board.

[Annefran]

9 April - Forgot to mention it was our first formal night. They had plenty of photographers set up from decks 3-5 to take photos. Lines moved very quickly. The next formal night would Thursday (second sea day), 12 April.

 

10 April (Tues) - Aruba finally!!! We decided to walk into town around 10am, do some shopping and go to the Renaissance Hotel to use their private island for the day. It's only a 10 minute walk from the port area. We did stop at Diamonds International to get the Aruba charm for my daughter's bracelet. She's been collecting them since our trip in January. We paid $50 per person at the hotel, went downstairs in the hotel and waited for their small ferry boat to take us to their island. I got some great pictures of AOS on our way out to the island. The price included use of all their water toys, lunch, drink, ice cream and beach chair. The food was actually very good, I had a burger and my daughter had a club sandwich. The island was wonderful, it was surrounded by a reef so the water was calm, clean and the beach was white sand with flecks of pink. There were hammocks in the sun and shade, lots of beach lounges, waitress service, a small store, flammingos and lizzards wondering around. There was plenty of palm trees for shade too. We stayed for about 4 hours, took the ferry back into town and shopped a little more. After dinner I took my tablemates with me to the Crown & Anchor welcome back party. The drinks and appetizers were free and quite good. Afterward we went to the show, cannot remember the comedians name but he plays the dad on the show "That's So Raven". He was extremely funny, PG rated and put on a great show.

 

11 April (Wed) Curacao - We decided not to do an excursion that day. We took a taxi into town. I liked the town with it's cobblestoned streets, small shops and different colored buildings. The small flea market had some cute bags, necklaces, etc and what I liked about it, they didn't badger you to buy anything. The town reminded me of Germany a lot. There was a ferry that you take from the pier into town but the water was very choppy and my daughter opted not to take the ferry, she gets sick on smaller boats. Had a quiet night walking on upper deck and inside at the Promenade. There was something different each night for sale, jewelry, watches, sweatshirts etc.

 

12 April (Thurs) Sea Day - I was on deck 12 to sun about 10am, a little more crowded than the first sea day but still lots of lounges. They had the belly-flop contest for men and the horse racing that afternoon. The band entertained most of the afternoon on the deck and the weather was nice. I decided to take advantage of one of the Spa Specials this night; $99.00 for a choice of three different treatments. I opted for the hot stone massage, facial and reflexology. We went to the ice show before our main seating for dinner. The show was even better than the first one we saw on NOS two years ago. It always amazes me how they can do so much in such a little space. Well worth seeing!

 

More later; housework to do....

[Terry in NJ]

Anne,

Can you tell me if you tendered or docked in each port?

How were the lines to catch the tenders? (We were just on Princess the same week as you, and they were VERY organized, which was a pleasure. You went to a lounge and they handed out tickets, When they called your number you were escorted down below to the tender. Easy.)

 

Thanks very much!

[Tex_Jen]

Adventure docks in each port. Once customs for each port clears the ship, you just walk off. No worries.

 

Jen

[lovetocruise522]

JS was nice. Kids had a blast. Food was good but not great. Better when we sailed in June 2006.

 

G

[Annefran]

Anne,

Can you tell me if you tendered or docked in each port?

How were the lines to catch the tenders? (We were just on Princess the same week as you, and they were VERY organized, which was a pleasure. You went to a lounge and they handed out tickets, When they called your number you were escorted down below to the tender. Easy.)

 

Thanks very much!

 

Hi Terry, as Jen indicated, we didnt tender in any of our ports. In Aruba and Curacao we were in the only ship in port. In St Maarten, we were one of three and the same in St Thomas. Not too crowded at all.

 

Will finally finish my review today, sorry it's taken me so long. :rolleyes:

[mikeblum]

brings back very vivid memeories from 30 days ago when we sailed the AOS...did you have a chance to take in portofino's when on board...we liked this ship soooo much that my wife and daughter will be sailing on the adventure this coming march 23rd 2008...i think they actually sail on easter sunday...high school graduation gift for her...when we were on her last month they actually were able to upgrade teri and i to a jr suite in the middle of the trip and we liked it soooo much that when i booked my wife and daughetr in a jr also and got a wonderful price...thanks again for the great review...

[Annefran]

OK to finish my review.....

 

13 April (Friday) St Maarten - Our excursion was to Orient Beach (French) side of the island. Orient Beach has become my absolute FAVORITE beach in the Caribbean now! It was gorgeous, white sands, mountains along the side, miles of great beach, clean clear waters, and interesting little shops/eateries. Yes we did see some nudity, mostly topless women but after seeing a couple, the novality wore off, lol. Let's face it the women that tend to go topless shouldn't, :D . It was about a 30 minute bus ride from the port. It included lunch, chicken for me and ribs for my daughter plus a drink. Lounges were included but if you wanted an umbrella it was an extra $3.00, well worth it because the sun was intense. Lots of locals walking around pedaling their goods, not obnoxious about it though. My daughter had the top of hair braided for $30. Afterward 2 hours at the beach, you could either be dropped off in center of downtown to shop or back to the pier. We shopped of course. I bought my daughter an inexpensive Guess watch, I got tanzanite studs and we took the water ferry back to the pier for $3 each. Dinner was lobster night. I don't eat seafood. Everyone raved about how good it was. Didn't go to the show, opted to sit in the Promenade for the entertainment, singers and small band playing.

 

14 April (Saturday) St Thomas - Going through immigration was very quick on the ship. You had to have your seapass card and proof of citizenship. You went to the deck 5 dinningroom and we were in/out in 5 minutes. They mark your seapass card with a smiley face and you can get off the ship. We went to the shops near the pier. I have a local jewelry I like and wanted to buy a citrine ring (Majestic Jewelers). I ended also buying a tanzanite w/shell opals too because of the great prices. We were supposed to go to Magen's Bay. Unfortunately we decided to stay on the ship because we were so tired of the sun. The ship was very quiet and the pool area was great to relax with everyone off the ship. We packed i the afternoon, always a sad day when you have to pack knowing you will be off the ship the next day. I prefer to have a sea day the last day before we leave. We went to the show, they showed the AOS in review DVD, a good comedian (sorry I'm bad with names) and the production singers. The last night I just wondered around the ship, taking in all the sites one last time and enjoying the ship.

 

15 April (Sunday) San Juan - We met our tablemates for breakfast at 8;30 and took our time for breakfast. We all had late flights that day and were in no hurry. We had all taken advantage of the American and United Airlines taking our luggage/getting our boarding passes option. I would definitely do it again in a hearbeat, $10 per person. Getting off the ship was effortless, short line and no problems, 10-15 minutes tops. After dropping off our luggage to the airlines, we took a taxi into Old San Juan for the day. We got dropped off at Barrachina restaurant to leave our carryons with them while we walked around. I love Old San Juan, we explored the walkway along the channel, the shops and then came back to Barrachina for lunch. It was very yummy, I had the chicken nachos. After our late lunch, we grabbed a taxi to airport. Absolutely no waiting outside for American at all. Since we had our boarding passes, we only had to go through security and we were at our gate. Luckily flying into Philly, we didn't get hit with any delays with the Nor'Easterner. We were actually early. All in all it was a wonderful spectacular cruise on AOS. The voyager ships are our favorite ships currently.

 

If you have any other questions, just let me know or you can email me at AnneR40@yahoo.com

 

Happy Cruising!!!

[mikeblum]

great review...any yes another happy jewelry buyer in st thomas...

[Annefran]

great review...any yes another happy jewelry buyer in st thomas...

Hi Mike, thanks. We had a great time just like you. The JS in the middle of the ship (hump) are wonderful and I'd recommend them to all. We have already booked our next cruise for March 2008 on Explorer of the Seas out of NJ. No flights or pre-cruise hotel stays for a change. It's a 12 night with 2 days at sea going/coming back and 7 count 'em 7 islands in between. I hope my daughter's Easter break allows us to do it. If not, we were thinking of the Freedom or Liberty of the Seas this time. Take care, hope you have a great week.

 

Anne

[dagadget]

Hi Mike, thanks. We had a great time just like you. The JS in the middle of the ship (hump) are wonderful and I'd recommend them to all. We have already booked our next cruise for March 2008 on Explorer of the Seas out of NJ. No flights or pre-cruise hotel stays for a change. It's a 12 night with 2 days at sea going/coming back and 7 count 'em 7 islands in between. I hope my daughter's Easter break allows us to do it. If not, we were thinking of the Freedom or Liberty of the Seas this time. Take care, hope you have a great week.

 

Anne

 

Nicely done Anne. That was a well put together and thoughtful review. Have you considered putting it up in the review section (if you haven't already done so) It was a good idea to book so far in advance, you get a much better selection of cabins. Our son's spring break next year is not long enough for a long cruise so we booked Sovereign of the seas for a nice 4 night Bahamas cruise. Again thanks for the great review.

 

David Cathy and Charles

[kittymom65]

Thanks for the great review!

We have been reading so many great reviews on this ship lately, we may have to give it a try ourselves.:)

Happy you had a great cruise!

[Annefran]

Thanks for all the wonderful compliments and I'm so glad everyone is enjoying reading the review. Again, if anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know.

 

Anne:D