gottalovecruising
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Posts posted by gottalovecruising
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Day 5 St Lucia:
We were very excited that the port issues were resolved and we were able to dock in St. Lucia. The boat docked at 9 instead of the usual 8AM- it was nice to have an extra hour to get breakfast and everyone ready to go.
We chose to do an island tour and booked Serenity Tours. Our group rate was $72 per person for a full day tour, and we absolutely loved every minute of it! Our driver was Hans and he was the best!!
Highlight of our tour:
- Cathedral stop- I believe it was the oldest church on the island and was very beautiful.
- a banana plantation- learned how bananas grow- got to try a banana which was very good! We stopped at a local shop for some tastings of hot sauces, BBQ sauces and banana ketchup and banana chips.....all of which were for sale of course
- Maranatha botanical garden- very scenic and peacful
- Creole style buffet lunch overlooking the Pitons the Piton mountains were amazingly beautiful. The lunch was included in our fee and we had a private area of a covered porch to eat with a view of the mountains.
- Visiting Soufriere Volcano- they have a mineral bath there- You get into a small pool of the hottest water you can imagine and then they have buckets of mud from the volcano to "bathe" in . This is a very popular tourist attraction and was very crowded when we were there. The mud baths are believed by some to help with medical issues as well as make you look 10 years younger-- that is all we needed to hear to give it a try!! (just wish it could have taken 10 pounds off as well!!
- After your are coated in mud we went to a nearby waterfall and were able to rinse off in the refreshing water.
- We then ended our tour with a stop to a rum distillery and were able to sample about 15 different types of rum
We all enjoyed our day tremendously- We were able to see alot of the beautiful island, met some nice people, and tasted some of the local cuisine.
We returned to the ship and got cleaned up for dinner in the MDR. It was 70's night, but no one really dressed up. After dinner, went to the comedian show. Afterwards we visited some bars and got ready for the disco party. This was alot of fun. Great music and dancing.
Another great day!
- Cathedral stop- I believe it was the oldest church on the island and was very beautiful.
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I think it's totally crazy to touch one. A bite or scratch and I can hear the doctor saying "did it have rabies shots?"
Just beware-- some of them are very pushy! We were all kind of distracted just getting to the port and they went right for the kids and put the monkeys on them...we did not prepare our kids for that, and it happened so fast.
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We were on Adventure two weeks ago, 4 cabins on deck 8, insides and balconies, and didn't have any smelly cabins, toilet issues, or any of the other maintenance issues that have been described. We found the ship to be gleaming from stem to stern.
I agree that the ship was very clean-- the issues were from our rooms, but I don't want to give the impression that our rooms were dirty. They were well maintained, but not the rooms that were renovated. The crew were well aware of the issues. There was also one instance in the MDR where we were all overcome by the same smell. It lasted for about 5 minutes and then was gone....it was very strange. We were very grateful that it was fixed.
Hopefully it will be an easy fix for them when it goes back into dry dock as otherwise it is a very beautiful ship
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Day 4: Antigua
Sorry it took so long to get back into this..... chalk it up to the harsh reality of vacation being over!!
For our excursion we booked Antigua Paddles. They picked us up at the port
Our group rate was $59 per person and this included transportation- We took a motorboat to the kayak base for a beautiful kayak ride- the water was so clear and blue!! We had 2 guides with us the whole time- one in the front and one in the back to ensure everyone was doing well. We stopped periodically and were shown star fish and sea urchins. He would hold them and pass them around to anyone that wanted to touch. We learned about sea turtles (didn't sea any unfortunately) and some of the plants in the area. It was very peaceful. It was the first time I kayaked and it was one of the highlights of my vacation.
After kayaking, we returned to the motorboat for a ride to a beach area. We went on a short nature hike to bird island to enjoy some amazing panoramic views. Afterwards, you could choose to stay and swim at the beach or get back into the boat for some snorkeling. The equipment was all provided and was very clean and in excellent condition. The guides showed everyone what to do and kept a good watch on the group.
Afterwards we took the boat back to the Antigua Paddling facility and enjoyed their beautiful grounds with some complimentary rum punch and homemade banana bread.
The staff were extremely friendly and professional and we all had a super day. I would highly recommend this company
We returned to the port, which took a bit longer than anticipated, as it was Carnival day. Some streets were closed, and some of the shops were closed as well. We were able to see some people in their costumes preparing for the parade. We were too tired to stick around for the main parade, but we did see a small group of people warming up for the main event, which was very interesting. We decided instead to head back to the ship. We headed for the pool for a dip and a refreshing cocktail...(or two...) and eventually got cleaned up for dinner.
After dinner we went to the ice show and it was good. I am not a big fan of shows, and often go only because many members of my group were going. The show was quite good- the skaters are very talented and perform to some great music-- Beatles, Stones etc. We spent some time in the Casino and someone in our group one $500 on the $1 slot machines!
It was a great way to end to a wonderful day!
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In your review you stated that you had drink packages....so you had the coffee package they offer? Ithought about purchasing this but I was told that there is no starbucks on adventure. Is there a restriction on the size of drink you can get with the coffee package?
At the Promenade cafe they have a Ben and Jerrys and they serve starbucks coffee- it is not an actual store like other ships have
you have a small choice of coffees- and they open at 6:30 AM. In addition, you can get specialty coffees in Windjammer and MDR such as an expresso.....all included in drink package
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Day 3- St Kitts
We didn't have an excursion planned for St Kitts so we were able to relax a bit in the morning. We decided to go to the MDR for breakfast. This was a nice change of pace and highly recommend this for a change of scenery. You can choose between a buffet or ordering off of the menu.....(or both!!). Plenty of variety and the food was good.
A nice feature of the drink package is having the water bottles included in the package. They have water bottles available as soon as you exit the ship, so it's nice being able to have a few bottles of cold water to bring with you. We packed a small soft cooler with us and small ziploc bags that we filled with ice before leaving the ship...this helped keep the water cold for a little while and easily fit into my beach bag.
We got off the ship to check out the shops, and we were immediately swarmed by people trying offer you taxis, tours, popcorn....and the dreaded monkeys! I have read before about how pushy the people with the monkeys are-- and it is totally true!! Before you knew it, they practically threw the monkeys on you and then wanted $10. Be very careful around them and make sure you agree upon the amount before hand.
We shopped and stopped for a drink and did some people watching and then went back to the ship for lunch and some pool time. The ship was surprisingly crowded, but we still were able to get seats. The kids did the water slide and they said they didn't have to wait, which was nice.
Dinner in the MDR and we went to the ice show. The show was nice- great music and very talented performers
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I have the same concern as I will be in Deck 7
Whenever we noticed the "smell" we let our room attendant know and it was immediately fixed- my guess is that they adjust something with the AC and then the smell would disappear. It was nothing that was a huge issue for us
( the room with the toilet overflowing wasn't fun) but the rest of our issues were more of an inconvenience
We weren't in our rooms that often either, though
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I'm curious what staterooms you were in regarding the toilet issues on 7 as we board in October on deck 7.
I'm really enjoying your review!
toilet issues
7516
7553
AC issues/smelly
7544
7553
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Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We will be in Adventure of the Seas on the trip of Sept 23. This will be our first cruise and are very exited. Thank you for the overview of the drink package we are thinking of getting one and still trying to figure out if worth the price. I think you have convince me to take it and not worry about it!
Keeping up with your postings!
Thanks- At first DH was getting the drink package and I wasn't going to...but I am glad I did. I am not a huge drinker, but I felt I got my money's worth. I was nervous I wouldn't get my money's worth, considering this is such a port intensive cruise. ....It was fun being able to try so many different types of drinks. They add up fast- especially when you are sitting in that hot sun!!
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Day 2: St Maartin
Each morning, we woke up early to check out the sunrise and enjoy our coffee with our friends. The pool deck is very quiet and relaxing for several hours in the morning.
After Breakfast in the Windjammer, we got off the ship shortly after 8 to begin our day. Our group decided to go to Pinel Island.....a beautiful island on the french side of St Maartin. To stay together and be sure we can all get back when we wanted, we hired Speks Transportation to meet us at the port. Their van was clean and spacious and they were prompt and friendly. It took about 20-25 minutes to get there (there was no traffic since it was Sunday and we were the only boat in town, and the cost was $10 per person. Pinel Island is near Orient Bay. We needed to pay $12 each for round trip ferry service to Pinel Island. The island was small, with two main sections of beach, two restaurants/bars and nature/hiking trails and an iguana farm
The island was absolutely beautiful! We rented chairs and umbrellas for $10 each (they gave us a deal since there were 13 of us). We had a great beach day with drink service. The area filled up throughout the day, but the crowd was predominately people that lived on the island-
We took the ferry back to meet our driver and made our way back to the port. The guys in our group wanted to stop for a drink at a local bar so our driver pulled over at one of his places that he goes to. Needless to say, this very small bar was surprised to see a van full of people show up! It was fun to talk to some of the local people and have a drink.
Instead of going back to the port, we were dropped off at the boardwalk for a little shopping and then took the ferry back to the ship
It was a wonderful day! If you are looking for a beach day- I highly recommend Pinel Island- a bit pricey, but we felt it was worth it
Tonight was the first formal night- Instead of MDR, we went to Chops. The service was friendly and we had a nice dinner. The appetizers were great, and many of us tried different entrees. All of us liked our entrees, but they weren't outstanding in our opinion. When we were on the Allure, we ate at Chops and thought it was fabulous....this time is was just good.
Next stop: St Kitts
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Following along, as we board Adventure in 32 (ish) days! Which southern itinerary did you guys do? Did you happen to keep copies and/or take pics of the daily Cruise Compasses that you would be willing to post as you do your review?
Thanks,
Dan.
I tried to attach a copy of the compass but it wouldn't let me- saying the file was too large. I only tried to attach one compass, so I am not sure how to do this. Our itinerary was St Maartin, St. Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados, At sea
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Boarding Day:
We had our shuttle meet us at the hotel at 10:00- This was the one part of our trip that I was very grateful for the shuttle service over the taxi- there weren't many taxis readily available and obviously, we were not the only ones that needed to get to the port!! Our shuttle was right on time and we got to the port around 10:20. We waited on the baggage claim line for about 30-40 minutes. They had people selling water and lanyards while in line, and there was a very nice man that was handing out luggage tags if you needed them....so don't stress out if you forget them. Once we dropped off our luggage we were into the terminal and when to check in....there was no line and check in was a breeze!! As soon as the gates opened, (I would guess around 11:30), we took our "Welcome Aboard photo" and were soon on board!
The ship was beautiful! It was clean, modern and I could not tell that I was on an older ship. We made our way to the Windjammer for lunch- but stopped at the Solarium bar to christen our drink packages! We got our lava flows and toasted to the start of a wonderful week together. I know many people asked if they felt the drink packages are worth the cost, and for us, there was no question that we got our money's worth. Each day we had a drink of the day, a few frozen cocktails by the pool, freshly squeezed OJ for breakfast, a coffee from starbucks, a few glasses of wine for dinner, the after dinner cordial, as well as some water bottles throughout the day. DH drank more than I did;) Not only from a money perspective, but it was really nice being able to sample different drinks without feeling pressured to finish the drink if we didn't like it. You do need to be careful not to exceed the $12 limit- especially with the wine.
Windjammer- had a great offering of various foods- and they even have a bar! Some foods were better than others, and by day 7 you certainly can get tired of the same foods....but any time I don't need to cook for my family, I am grateful!! We then headed out to enjoy the pool- the ship was not crowded at all and it felt like we had an extra sea day to enjoy the sun, pool and cocktails.
Muster drill was at 5:30 and felt like it took forever! You are packed in lines in your assigned areas and need to wait until all the late comers decide to join the group..... Please be on time for your muster drill! It was hot on the deck so we were grateful we did not need to wear life jackets.
Dinner- we had the 6PM dinner, which is delayed on the first night due to the muster drill. Dress was very casual as some of us did not have all of our luggage yet. The food was the same as windjammer- some food better than others, but overall, we all left our dinner each night very full and satisfied. The waiters are all very kind and hard working and we appreciated their efforts.
We spent the rest of the evening checking out the ship and got unpacked and situated in the room
Our family had two rooms- DH and I had a balcony and our 3 kids had an interior room across he hall- Oddly enough, it was cheaper for a family of 5 to get two rooms rather than one. We were grateful for the extra space and the extra bathroom, so it worked out well for us. We were on deck 7. This is where I could tell the ship was outdated. The rooms were clean, but they had a musty smell, the air conditioning was inconsistent (sometimes you were hot, sometimes cold) and there was sometimes some plumbing issues with the toilets not flushing. A member of our group had their toilet overflow, which was not fun. The staff admitted that these are ongoing issues and I believe they are being addressed when the ship goes into dry dock
We had a wonderful first day and are looking forward to our first stop in St. Maartin!
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First of all, I wanted to thank everyone on the boards for the information you have all shared. Reading your posts not only added to the excitement of my cruise, but I got so many valuable tips. I wanted to do my part in giving back to all of you and sharing some of our experiences on the Adventure of the Seas.
This was my 5th cruise and 2nd Royal Caribbean Cruise- we had done the Allure of the Seas about 4 years ago. We were a bit nervous going from a newer and larger ship to the Adventure, but everyone in our group agreed that being on a smaller ship was actually nice- less crowded and easier to navigate. We are a group of 13 consisting of three families with children ranging from 15-22
Pre-Cruise: Our adventure began on Friday, August 4th. We flew in a day early to San Juan. Our 7:15 AM flight was delayed, which caused us to miss our connecting flight to San Juan. We didn't make it into San Juan until about 6PM...it was a long day!! Even though it was a long day, we were grateful that we weren't flying in the day of the cruise and have to worry about missing the cruise-
Since we were a large group, we made the decision to hire a shuttle service. We used Puerto Rico Green Transportation. We used them from the airport to hotel, hotel to port and the port back to the airport. It may have been slightly more expensive for us to do this, but it was worth it to us not to have to worry about taxis, room for our luggage, and having the group stay together. We were very happy with their service- the van was clean, drivers were friendly and we had enough room for all of the luggage.
Hotel- We stayed at the Sheraton in Old San Juan. The hotel was in a great location. The rooms were nice and clean. Our family had a larger room ( I think a one bedroom suite) and upon check in they told us they didn't have that room available so they needed to upgrade us to the presidential suite! It was a great treat for us and a nice way to start the vacation... (Too bad Royal Caribbean can't do that for us!!). The only negative I can say about the hotel was the service. We requested a cot upon check in and we had to call 5 times before we finally got it at 11:00 that night. The Check in process took a very long time for some reason. The pool and hot tub is on the roof- it is very small, but we had great views of the city and the water. None of these issues were big, and certainly would not deter me from staying there again in the future.
We got settled into our room and then went to grab some dinner. We went to the El Jibarito Restaurant . We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. It was a cute place, very casual and a decent menu. The service was a bit slow and while we were all happy with our food, I wouldn't say the food was excellent. But it was a fun place and met our needs. We walked around San Juan for a bit but were really tired from our long day of travel. We went back to the hotel and when we finally got our cot, we went right to sleep....anxiously awaiting the start of our cruise.....
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That's where we were[emoji3]
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Did you dock in town, or at Pt. Seraphine (where the dredging project is)?
I believe it was port seraphine... we did see some construction. Not familiar with the port names though
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Not sure what tracker you were using, but Adventure of the Seas is in St Lucia today.
Just off Adventure and we were in St Lucia
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Just off Adventure today and we did go to St Lucia
It's a beautiful island and so glad we were able to go
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No they don't have any American options. We did go back here. Food was good, but not as great as it was two years ago.
Ugh... thanks. Have a picky eater and was hoping to at least get her some fries or something while the rest of us enjoy dinner
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Pinel taxi rates.
1-2 passengers $25 total
3-5 $10 each
6 or more $9 each
Current as of February, 2017.
gary
Thanks, Gary. Decided to book Speks transportation so I don't have to worry about getting taxis back to port
I have heard Pinel has a seaweed issue.... hoping it's short lived!!
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Does anyone have an updated list or picture of the taxi fees from the port? I want to go to Pinel Island and wanted to know if it was a set stop and how much it would be per person
thanks
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Anyone have a recent photo of the taxi rates from the pier? Looking for a rate from port to Cul de sac
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Hit up Speks Transportation and go wherever you wish! Good price and very prompt. Fitzroy the owner is the bomb and will take you to all the main sites.
We were interested in a semi-island tour with beaches included- Spent an hour at Rainbow Cafe on the French side which had an amazing beach and then 2 hours at Sunset Bar at Maho beach. In between we shopped, stopped at historical sites, fed iguanas.
Such a cool island with a great tour guide!
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Do you remember how much they charged? Is it per person? I tried emailing them but it got rejected.
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Hi- Staying at the Sheraton Old San Juan. Last trip we ate at El Jiberito which we really enjoyed. Wondering if there is another authentic place to eat or should we just stick to this place. Thank you
Thinking of trying El Jiberito and was wondering if you recall if they had any American food options in the menu?
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Just got info Aug 26th sailing is due to go to St. Lucia
What info did you get?
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Adventure of the Seas Happy Hour or Bogo?
in Royal Caribbean International
Posted
There weren't any when we were onboard
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