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Adventure B2B Trip & Ultimate Beach Review 4/16/16 - 4/30/16 (photo bomb)!!!


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Just finished reading your review. It was awesome! We have a NYE cruise booked on freedom and our first B2B on Harmony next year. This cruise is something I really want to look at after that. You mentioned that Adventure is going to dry dock? What changes will be made to her or does anyone know where to find that info? Kids are flowrider junkies so they are all about the big ships.

 

Thanks again for the great review!

Barbara

 

I will go back and read your freedom review. We were on her in 2009 so a long time ago!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! :D

 

Yes, Adventure is headed to a dry dock in Sept/Oct. I don't know all the changes off the top of my head, but there is a thread about it (sorry I don't have a link). I believe a flowrider will be installed along with more specialty restaurants. The concierge club is being moved up to the Viking Crown. More staterooms are being installed. But that's just what I've heard - which means absolutely nothing as I'm not "in the know".

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Thank you for your well organized and fun review! You are definitely helping us to get a plan to maximize the value of our upcoming drink package. I made a list of drinks to order while reading through your review :D Of course, we have always held our own in that department, but kicking it up, is a challenge we are willing to accept :cool:

 

You stated you really liked the food in San Juan and St Maarten. Do you have any recommendations from previous cruises?

 

We leave in about a month for our daughter's 30th birthday celebration and looking to make sure it is as well planned and fun as your cruise was :p We did a B2B on AOS for our 25th wedding anniversary...11 years ago...so I am anxious to revisit an old friend:)

 

Thanks again for an awesome review!!

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Thank you for your well organized and fun review! You are definitely helping us to get a plan to maximize the value of our upcoming drink package. I made a list of drinks to order while reading through your review :D Of course, we have always held our own in that department, but kicking it up, is a challenge we are willing to accept :cool:

 

You stated you really liked the food in San Juan and St Maarten. Do you have any recommendations from previous cruises?

 

We leave in about a month for our daughter's 30th birthday celebration and looking to make sure it is as well planned and fun as your cruise was :p We did a B2B on AOS for our 25th wedding anniversary...11 years ago...so I am anxious to revisit an old friend:)

 

Thanks again for an awesome review!!

You are most welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed the review!!! :)

 

As for food recommendations, I don't have any specific places beyond what's in this review. This was my first trip to Puerto Rico. I've heard that the french side of St. Maarten (St. Martin?) is full of fantastic French restaurants, or so the internet tells me. But that's all I've got. Sorry. :o

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Diamond%20Club_zps1oj7gjus.png

Just aft of Blue Moon (Viking Crown) is the Diamond Lounge, a private lounge for Diamond and above. I suppose this is where the 10% hangs out? It still isn't my style for cocktail hour. However, the coffee machine in here actually produces something I'll drink. Yes! I'm a coffee snob, and I'm sensitive about it. Daily fresh ground espresso forever has me in its addictive grip. So, this is my primary breakfast locale..

 

Thanks for the review and this pic! I'm just getting caught up after being on Oasis while you started the review. I haven't been on a Voyager class ship since 2009 and now that I am a new Diamond, this picture has me looking forward to the lounge/club

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Thanks for the review and this pic! I'm just getting caught up after being on Oasis while you started the review. I haven't been on a Voyager class ship since 2009 and now that I am a new Diamond, this picture has me looking forward to the lounge/club

You are most welcome!! :) And welcome to the upper echelon of status!!

 

I'll admit that the layout of the Diamond club on Adventure is quite good. The outdoor balcony with smoking area seems like a really good idea, but hardly anyone was out there during "happy hour". I can't say I blame folks. I went out there a few times only to discover it was absolutely the fastest way to begin sweating again. :eek:

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I absolutely loved your review! We will be on the Adventure in November. The first sailing after dry dock:eek: I am hopeful all goes as planned. Your review has provided some much valuable information. This will be our first cruise without our children, so I think I will just ask for "something fruity" also.

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1. Browne's Beach, Barbados

2. Magen's Bay, St. Thomas

3. Dawn Beach, St. Maarten

4. Reduit Beach, St. Lucia

5. South Friar's Beaxh, St. Kitts

6. Grand Anse Beach, Grenada

7. Rainbow Beach, St. Croix

8. Cane Bay, St. Croix

9. Valley Church Beach, Antigua (rain)

10. Soufriere Bay, Dominica

 

We're not done yet. There is another sea day to go...

 

Great job so far, I do know how much effort this is, so it is appreciated. While we are two very different people, I can learn from almost any review, but it was easy with this one. I started reading for the beaches as we like to do a beach or two per trip. While all the beach reports were good, I was a little dissapointed that you got rained out on Antigua. On our only visit there we ended up on a Royal Rip-off land tour, (Since removed from Royal's offering) I've heard there beaches are really nice. But no loss, My next two trips don't go there, so I have time to look into that.

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I absolutely loved your review! We will be on the Adventure in November. The first sailing after dry dock:eek: I am hopeful all goes as planned. Your review has provided some much valuable information. This will be our first cruise without our children, so I think I will just ask for "something fruity" also.

I'm glad you enjoyed it!! :)

 

You're taking your children on vacation with you? What are you thinking??? Just kidding. Although you should know that the only place on the ship where you can hide from your kids is in the casino. It is true. :eek:

 

Enjoy your cruise.

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What a wonderful review

 

After reading the whole thread it became apparent that I "recognized" who you both are when the "lawyer" was mentioned. I'm the guy you met in the cigar lounge who has "been there for a long time".

 

I did a B2B2B ending a week after you as I went on the 4/30 cruise, a repeat of your first cruise.

 

If I knew that you were both into beaches that much, I would have suggested when you were in St. Maarten to go to Mullet Bay, located on the Caribbean side about a 1/4 mile past Maho Beach (where the planes fly in) heading toward Marigot.

 

Back in the '80's they're used to be a resort called Mullet Bay, complete with lake, casino & golf course, as well as one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL beaches in the Caribbean. Unfortunately the resort was leveled by a hurricane in 1989, but the beach is still there, used by locals who rent chairs & umbrellas along with making some of the best "jerk" food in the Caribbean. Very few folks know about this beach that are not local.

 

Think of a beautiful white sand crescent beach with turquoise water so clear that you can stand up to your shoulders , look down and see your toes while fish swim in between your legs and you know you are at Mullet Bay.

 

The Boatyard in Barbados is nice, as well as all the beaches along Palm Beach in Aruba. The nicest thing about the Palm Beaches in Aruba is that there are no waves, so you can go out , fall asleep and wake up a few hours later when the currents float you into a buoy where you hit your head.

 

As far as renovations go, I can tell you for sure the Cigar Bar (Connoisseur Club) will be a library after drydock. Chops will be on deck 4 across from the Schooner Bar & the Sports Bar on the Promenade will definitely be changed ( most likely to a Vintages.)

 

The reason I know for sure is that I was in the cigar bar on 4/30/2016 when the 3 designers - WITH THE BLUEPRINTS - came into the lounge to measure and take photographs. For a brief few moments they all left the room . so naturally I looked at the blueprints. I saw the blueprints for the new library and Chops, but before I could go further they came back - gave me "the" look - packed up their blueprints and went on their way.

 

Other changes as noted are the Wave Rider on the sports Deck (13), new panorama rooms on the front of the ship, more interior cabins, moving the bar in the WJ upfront and putting more tables in their place in the dining area. The CL is going where the card rooms are and most likely the card rooms will go to the interior on the 9th floor where the CL was.

 

Again, great report. I'm sure I'll run across you ant the missus on some future cruise.

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Great job so far, I do know how much effort this is, so it is appreciated. While we are two very different people, I can learn from almost any review, but it was easy with this one. I started reading for the beaches as we like to do a beach or two per trip. While all the beach reports were good, I was a little dissapointed that you got rained out on Antigua. On our only visit there we ended up on a Royal Rip-off land tour, (Since removed from Royal's offering) I've heard there beaches are really nice. But no loss, My next two trips don't go there, so I have time to look into that.

Thank you kindly. Any review is a lot of work. But if you have your *stuff* together, it is manageable. I've found that the more you can do while on the cruise itself, the easier it is.

 

We were disappointed about Antigua as well. The beaches looked really nice as we drove by. Valley Church Beach looked pretty awesome. But, what can you do? If it never rains, it ends up looking like Arizona desert.

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What a wonderful review

 

After reading the whole thread it became apparent that I "recognized" who you both are when the "lawyer" was mentioned. I'm the guy you met in the cigar lounge who has "been there for a long time".

 

I did a B2B2B ending a week after you as I went on the 4/30 cruise, a repeat of your first cruise.

 

If I knew that you were both into beaches that much, I would have suggested when you were in St. Maarten to go to Mullet Bay, located on the Caribbean side about a 1/4 mile past Maho Beach (where the planes fly in) heading toward Marigot.

 

Back in the '80's they're used to be a resort called Mullet Bay, complete with lake, casino & golf course, as well as one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL beaches in the Caribbean. Unfortunately the resort was leveled by a hurricane in 1989, but the beach is still there, used by locals who rent chairs & umbrellas along with making some of the best "jerk" food in the Caribbean. Very few folks know about this beach that are not local.

 

Think of a beautiful white sand crescent beach with turquoise water so clear that you can stand up to your shoulders , look down and see your toes while fish swim in between your legs and you know you are at Mullet Bay.

 

The Boatyard in Barbados is nice, as well as all the beaches along Palm Beach in Aruba. The nicest thing about the Palm Beaches in Aruba is that there are no waves, so you can go out , fall asleep and wake up a few hours later when the currents float you into a buoy where you hit your head.

 

As far as renovations go, I can tell you for sure the Cigar Bar (Connoisseur Club) will be a library after drydock. Chops will be on deck 4 across from the Schooner Bar & the Sports Bar on the Promenade will definitely be changed ( most likely to a Vintages.)

 

The reason I know for sure is that I was in the cigar bar on 4/30/2016 when the 3 designers - WITH THE BLUEPRINTS - came into the lounge to measure and take photographs. For a brief few moments they all left the room . so naturally I looked at the blueprints. I saw the blueprints for the new library and Chops, but before I could go further they came back - gave me "the" look - packed up their blueprints and went on their way.

 

Other changes as noted are the Wave Rider on the sports Deck (13), new panorama rooms on the front of the ship, more interior cabins, moving the bar in the WJ upfront and putting more tables in their place in the dining area. The CL is going where the card rooms are and most likely the card rooms will go to the interior on the 9th floor where the CL was.

 

Again, great report. I'm sure I'll run across you ant the missus on some future cruise.

Yay! A fellow cruiser. I know who you are. :D Thank you for the compliment. And I'm glad you enjoyed reading it.

 

I'll have to check out Mullet Bay next year when we're back in St. Maarten. It sounds like my kind of beach. Our taxi driver in St. Maarten told us Dawn Beach was where all the locals used to go when he was a kid.

 

While I do like a great beach, I only did the "beach contest" to give the review something different. ;)

 

I'll be sad to see the cigar lounge go. But I can see a few good reasons to convert it into something else. Just the fire risk alone is reason enough.

 

I hope to run into you again on a future cruise, as well. :)

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I'm glad you enjoyed it!! :)

 

You're taking your children on vacation with you? What are you thinking??? Just kidding. Although you should know that the only place on the ship where you can hide from your kids is in the casino. It is true. :eek:

 

Enjoy your cruise.

I just realized that I misread maryjaden's post as "first cruise with children" instead of "first cruise without children". D'oh. :o

 

Forget all my wise cracks about bringing your kids on vacation and enjoy your first "solo" cruise on a newly refurbished ship. :)

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That evening, we went to Chef's Table. I'll say right at the beginning that if you like food paired with wine and/or tasting menus, Chef's Table is for you. It was awesome and the best prepared meal I had on board all week.

 

 

Chefs%20Table%20Menu%201_zpsrga9zds2.png

 

Now, wait a minute. This little chef graphic is the same one I see on every local Italian restaurant's takeout/to-go boxes. Hardly what I'd expect of a high-end chef's dinner! :eek::D

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Now, wait a minute. This little chef graphic is the same one I see on every local Italian restaurant's takeout/to-go boxes. Hardly what I'd expect of a high-end chef's dinner! :eek::D

You have a good point. That is not the graphic I would choose for an upscale dining experience like Chef's Table. However, my Goggle-fu turned up that graphic as "royalty free and public domain". Why pay for a fancy graphic when you can use one that makes you look like every neighborhood Italian takeout restaurant for free??? :eek:

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It certainly didn't detract from the excellent review, in any case. We've been on Adventure three times for the southern route out of San Juan, so it's been nice reliving those cruises through your review.

I'm glad you enjoyed the review!! :)

 

That graphic didn't detract from the Chef's Table experience either. It was on the menu, which you don't actually see while at Chef's Table. The only menus I saw were at the Diamond Club and Giovanni's. I bet there was one in the Concierge Club too.

 

I really like the Southern Caribbean itinerary. I'm going to have to book another one at some point to do the ABC islands.

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I'm glad you enjoyed the review!! :)

 

That graphic didn't detract from the Chef's Table experience either. It was on the menu, which you don't actually see while at Chef's Table. The only menus I saw were at the Diamond Club and Giovanni's. I bet there was one in the Concierge Club too.

 

I really like the Southern Caribbean itinerary. I'm going to have to book another one at some point to do the ABC islands.

 

In January 2017, we're on a longer cruise on Serenade leaving from Ft. Lauderdale that goes to Curacao and Bonaire. We really like the ABCs (mostly B and C).

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In January 2017, we're on a longer cruise on Serenade leaving from Ft. Lauderdale that goes to Curacao and Bonaire. We really like the ABCs (mostly B and C).

I'm jealous. I haven't been to any of them. Maybe in 2018. Maybe on Adventure. Who knows?? :)

 

The Serenade cruise sounds awesome. Enjoy it!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Awesome review! I loved all the many beach pictures and your food descriptions. I love seeing food reviews from foodies as I'm a picky eater and will always be a chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and salad kind of girl. I had all of those meals vicariously through you lol. You have quite the sense of humor and made me chuckle quite a bit. Thanks for posting! :)

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Awesome review! I loved all the many beach pictures and your food descriptions. I love seeing food reviews from foodies as I'm a picky eater and will always be a chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and salad kind of girl. I had all of those meals vicariously through you lol. You have quite the sense of humor and made me chuckle quite a bit. Thanks for posting! :)

You are most welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it!! :)

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