'Falling' for the Adventure of the Seas Jan. 13, 2013

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

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Our FAVORITE day on my FAVORITE Island...

 

St. Lucia

 

We LOVE St. Lucia. This was our third visit to this wonderful island, the first time we did an ALL day island tour & the second time we went zip-lining & to Rodney Bay. This time we REALLY wanted to do a whale watching tour but the only ones I could find only offered a ‘three hour tour’ (sounded ominous) from 9AM until 12 PM. We wanted to enjoy St. Lucia for longer than three hours & a private tour was not cost effective since there were only four of us (at the time).

 

I E-mailed most of the tour operators in St. Lucia that had access to a boat to see what alternatives there were. I got some crazy responses!

 

I contacted Wendell Richards with Mystic Man Tours & he seemed to offer the best option for us with his Eco Adventure Tour.

 

This is from his website…

 

Cruise Ship Specials; Mystic Man’s Eco Adventure

 

The Eco Adventure tours depart from the ferry dock at Pointe Seraphine and La Place Carenage, a two minute walk from the cruise ship terminals. This 5 hour excursion sails south towards Soufriere and the Piton mountains with a chance to encounter wild dolphins along the way. The captain and guide will be happy to share their knowledge of the different species of dolphins spotted during the cruise.

 

With the Majestic Piton Mountains in sight, the sails roll in and it’s time to step into the crystal clear waters of the Soufriere Marine Reserve. Snorkel over a live tropical reef viewing sponges, sea fans, and a wide variety of reef fish with our snorkel guides close by to offer tips and information.

 

On the way back, cruise past the fishing villages of Canaries and Anse La Raye and circle historic Marigot Bay.

 

Come join us on the “Mystic” a spacious 52’ sailing catamaran with ample deck space to top up your tan or you can choose to enjoy a few cocktails in the shaded area.

• Tour: 8:30 am to 1:30 pm

• Snorkel equipment provided

• Complimentary: water, sodas, rum-punch, local beer

Light snacks and fresh fruits

 

This was my first (of many) E-mails from Wendell…

 

"Thank you for contacting us. We have an Eco Adventure tour that would probably fit best with what you are interested in. It includes Whale Watching down the Soufriere, snorkeling and also beach time. It costs only US$65 per person and we require a minimum of 8 persons. We use a 52ft sailing catamaran licensed for 55 passengers. We start off around 8:30am – 9am until 2 pm, roughly 5 hours. We provide snorkel gear, beverages, fruits, sandwiches, bbq wings and other light lunch items. Pick up would be from the cruise ship dock."

 

He had a family of 5 that was interested in going the same day we did but they never came through so Robin & I posted on our roll call about this tour trying to meet the minimum of 8 & a wonderful couple from our roll call, Manon & Patrice, decided to join us. In the meantime Wendell found enough people to meet his minimum.

 

This was BY FAR the best day of our cruise!!! :):):) A representative from Mystic Man Tours was waiting on us inside the terminal with a sign with my name on it & took us to the catamaran that was docked very close to the cruise terminal & it was GORGEOUS!

 

The six of us from our roll call were joined by two women from the Victory. We waited a few minutes for a family of five that was late but had called to let the crew know they were coming. We finally had to leave them since they did not show up.

 

About 20 minutes later the crew got a call that the family of five were at the dock. They left it up to us whether to go back & get them or not. We all voted to go back since we were not that far out & they told us they would add time on to the end of our day. We did give the five of them a standing ovation when they finally boarded! :p They all apologized & no harm was done.

 

We had the MOST amazing crew of four! Nick the first mate was incredible. J.R. & I went on three catamarans/boats during our cruise & this was by far the best & most attentive crew. I was on crutches & every time I stood up one of them had a hand out to help!

 

They had rum punch (yummy), beer, cokes & bottled water. They served light snacks later in the day that consisted of small cheese sandwiches, fruit on a stick & some of the best barbecue wings I have ever had. It was not a full lunch by any means but was just the right amount of food and all of it was so tasty!

 

The scenic view from the catamaran was gorgeous. Unfortunately we did not see whales or dolphins but we had such a great day I don’t think any of us were too disappointed! We did see a lot of flying fish.

 

We stopped by the Pitons for beach/snorkel time & a nice young man came in by boat to take those that wanted to go snorkeling.

 

I put a towel down in the sand & Nick (the first mate) came & sat with me while the others snorkeled. What a delightful young man! I really enjoyed getting to know him & hearing about his wife & two year old daughter that obviously has him wrapped around her little finger! Another unexpected blessing, if I had been able to walk & swim I would not have had the opportunity to visit with Nick!

 

We got back on-board & took a different scenic route. I cannot even begin to tell you how enjoyable our day in St. Lucia was with Mystic Man Tours. I would highly recommend them!!! INCREDIBLE & I am soooo ready to go back to St. Lucia soon! :D

 

This day was just what the doctor ordered! Thanks so much to Robin & John and Manon & Patrice for sharing it with us!

 

St. Lucia pics coming soon!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

St. Lucia

 

On-board the Mystic in St. Lucia (in my new bathing suit cover-up from Rima's in St. Maarten)

 

J.R. found his 'perfect spot'!

 

So did I!

 

Group shot!

 

John & Robin

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Patrice & Manon

 

And J.R. & I having the 'greatest' day!!!

 

Gorgeous scenery!

 

 

 

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Hope I am not posting to many pics but we I am having a hard time choosing which ones to show off how wonderful our day in St. Lucia really was!

 

 

 

Where we stopped for a snorkeling/beach break.

 

J.R. about ready to snorkel.

 

Unfortunately this is the point where the battery died on my new water camera. I usually keep up with those things but this cruise all the details were left up to J.R. & he 'mostly' did pretty well! :D So I had to 'borrow' more pics!

 

Heading back to the ship.

[Luv06012012]

Wow.....St. Lucia looks beautiful!!!! I'm loving the picture of the "high up" island with the remnants of a building on it! Amazing!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

 

We had so much fun but it was also an extremely relaxing day!

 

Fun in the sun with good friends!

 

Again all good things must come to an end & it our day with Mystic Man Tours was almost over.

 

After a WONDERFUL day we 'had' to go back to the ship! But we stopped for one more photo op with our new good friend & great 1st mate, Nick.

 

As much as we hated to leave the Mystic this is what was awaiting us! Not so bad!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

I can not even begin to tell you how much I love St. Lucia & how majestic it truly is! It does not have the beautiful white beaches of some islands because it is a volcanic island so the sand is a different color & the water is not that gorgeous turquoise but it is my favorite island by far. If you have never been to St. Lucia you will see what I mean the first time you get a glimpse of the Pitons! Majestic does not even describe them!!! We have LOVED all three of our visits there & hope to go back soon!

 

And look what was waiting on us when we got back on the ship! :)

 

 

 

And then there were TWO!

 

And then Robin & John captured this beautiful sunset!

 

What a PERFECT end to a PERFECT day in St. Lucia!!!

[toujours]

Gorgeous pictures ! Do you think Robin would mind if I used some of her pics from the Ice Show and from St.Lucia to put in my photo book ?

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Wow.....St. Lucia looks beautiful!!!! I'm loving the picture of the "high up" island with the remnants of a building on it! Amazing!

 

Did you gather from my posts that I LOVE St. Lucia? :D That is a neat pic. I believe it is one of Robin's so I will give her your compliments!

 

Gorgeous pictures ! Do you think Robin would mind if I used some of her pics from the Ice Show and from St.Lucia to put in my photo book ?

 

Robin said feel free to use any you want. I have mixed all of our pics up so I am not sure whose are whose anymore but the photos from the Ice Skating Show are definitely hers. They turned out great!

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Simply beautiful!!!! St Lucia is my most favorite Caribbean island, too!!! Your pictures have reminded me why!!! ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!

[zzmaxwell]

Hello! Thanks for all the info.! It's making dream of faraway warm places so I'm not as grumpy as I usually am! LOL! Gotta love January and February in the Midwest! ;)

 

I was so impressed with your pictures and writings of your St. Lucia day that I've already contacted him and I'm working on our private booking with them. It sounds to be an exciting day! Can't wait!!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing with all of us! This has to be one of the best reviews I've read in a long time!!!!! :)

 

Thanks for all of the ideas to do on ship for our group. Beings our group is made up of mostly balcony rooms with a few Promenades I think we'll do the Poker Run but do it at 7 different bars. I'll need to see how you do the slot pull. I think that would be fun also.

 

Thanks for the website you told me about. I went and took a look around yesterday. My most favorite scrapbooking projects are my Granddaughter and vacations!

 

Hope you're feeling lots better today and have a great weekend!

 

Take Care!

Robin

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Simply beautiful!!!! St Lucia is my most favorite Caribbean island, too!!! Your pictures have reminded me why!!! ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!

 

We are going to Hawaii next year for our 30th anniversary but I can not imagine that I will enjoy Hawaii more than I do St. Lucia!

 

 

Hello! Thanks for all the info.!

I was so impressed with your pictures and writings of your St. Lucia day that I've already contacted him and I'm working on our private booking with them. It sounds to be an exciting day! Can't wait!!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing with all of us! This has to be one of the best reviews I've read in a long time!!!!!

Thanks for all of the ideas to do on ship for our group. Beings our group is made up of mostly balcony rooms with a few Promenades I think we'll do the Poker Run but do it at 7 different bars. I'll need to see how you do the slot pull. I think that would be fun also.

Thanks for the website you told me about. I went and took a look around yesterday. My most favorite scrapbooking projects are my Granddaughter and vacations!

Take Care!

Robin

 

You are welcome. Wendell at Mystic Man Tours was great to work with & I am sure you can customize your day however you want since you have a larger group. We only ended up with 13 of us plus the four crew members so it was like having our own private catamaran! :):):)

 

Enjoy your planning! Wish we were going back. I love the Southern Caribbean!

 

I am not sure where our next journey will take us. We did four cruises last year that were all beachy plus we went to Destin & San Diego so we might try some different trips this year, possibly Alaska.

Juli

[zzmaxwell]

We did Alaska for our 25th. We decided to go with Celebrity for the first time as we were celebrating. After we did the first week inland tour and boarded the ship we really wished we had gone with an RCCL ship. We love RCCL and it was just different. I know people will say it's because it's a different kind of place we were going to but it just wasn't the same. The ship was more reserved. From your previous posts I see that you hadn't been on RCCL for awhile. What other lines have you gone with? We went there over the 4th of July and we were there for the longest day of the year and got to go to the Famous Midnight Baseball game in Fairbanks. It was a blast and there were so many things we were glad we got to experience. We were some of the fortunate who got to see Mt. Mckinley open up and it was certainly a sight to be remembered forever. Have fun planning it! :)

 

Yes, Wendell has been awesome and so prompt already and I'm sure it will be an amazing time! Thanks again for reliving your cruise on here!

 

Happy Weekend!

Robin :)

[Daycare Provider]

Did you notice a juice bar on board? If so where was it?

 

Thank you......for sharing all of your amazing photo's

 

 

Angela

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We did Alaska for our 25th. We decided to go with Celebrity for the first time as we were celebrating. After we did the first week inland tour and boarded the ship we really wished we had gone with an RCCL ship. We love RCCL and it was just different. I know people will say it's because it's a different kind of place we were going to but it just wasn't the same. The ship was more reserved. From your previous posts I see that you hadn't been on RCCL for awhile. What other lines have you gone with? We went there over the 4th of July and we were there for the longest day of the year and got to go to the Famous Midnight Baseball game in Fairbanks. It was a blast and there were so many things we were glad we got to experience. We were some of the fortunate who got to see Mt. Mckinley open up and it was certainly a sight to be remembered forever. Have fun planning it! :)

 

Yes, Wendell has been awesome and so prompt already and I'm sure it will be an amazing time! Thanks again for reliving your cruise on here!

 

Happy Weekend!

Robin :)

 

My 25 year old daughter & her hubby are both engineers & they did a 15 day Panama Canal cruise (chosen for the itinerary) on Celebrity in December. She loves to cruise but said Celebrity was not for them. Good thing there are so many cruise-lines so people can find the one that works for them.

 

J.R. & I actually love Carnival! :eek::eek::eek: You will notice in my signature line several reviews from Carnival cruises we have done.

 

RCCL & Carnival are more alike than different though & there are things I like better about each of them but we will probably cruise Carnival over RCCL in the future unless we find an RCCL cruise we want to do based on itinerary & or to cruise with friends. Any cruise is a good cruise!

 

An Alaskan cruise is on J.R.'s bucketlist. I got him the book 'Alaska by Cruiseship' for Christmas & told him he has to plan it since I am always the 'planner'! We are probably going to try Princess for our Alaskan cruise.

 

I will try to finish adding Barbados & our the rest of our trip tomorrow. Still sorting through pictures!

 

Juli

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

Did you notice a juice bar on board? If so where was it?

 

Thank you......for sharing all of your amazing photo's

 

 

Angela

 

Sorry I did not notice a lot of things on this cruise. :eek: We usually check out the ship & take photos of EVERYTHING! :D I am sure someone else can answer your question though.

 

You are welcome. I will add photos from our day on the 'Pirate Ship' in Barbados tomorrow.

 

Juli

[athenarit]

Thank you for your review! We leave in 1 week and I'm SOOO excited. Quick question for you. I tried to tell looking at your cabin pics, but couldn't tell. Does Adventure have the ipod dock/clock in the cabins? Trying to figure out if we need to pack that or not. Thanks!

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We decided not to go to the Production Show in the Lyric Theatre after our day in St. Lucia but I am so glad we went to the Quest. It was held at 10:45 that night in Studio B.

 

We laughed hysterically. I think our team did really well! Thanks again for your ‘contribution’ Robin! :D

 

 

Barbados

 

Last time we went to Barbados we hung out all day at Lobster Alive. It was paradise!

 

This time we booked the Barbadian Buccaneers excursion through RCCL on the Black Pearl Party Cruise aboard the Jolly Roger 1.

 

We rarely do ship sponsored excursions but it was actually cheaper to book through RCCL. Booking through the Black Pearl the cost was $87.50. We only paid $52 pp through RCCL & the only difference was ours did not include lunch but lunch was available to purchase for $20 pp.

 

We decided to book the ‘Pirate Boat’ after checking out their website & youtube videos of the Jolly Roger 1.

 

This is from their website & RCCLs description…

This is the original pirate party cruise that shan't be missed with the pirates from the Black Pearl Party Cruises and their Jolly Roger 1! After a brief transfer to the dock side, it's time for a 4 hour voyage of never ending fun, music and drinks as the pirates take you along the coastline of Barbados. Take the time out to tan or party while you tan on the top deck as the pirates dock for a while; take a swim or muster that courage and take a chance at the rope-swing and don't dare the pirates, you may just have to walk that plank!

 

Barbados Black Pearl Party Cruises aboard the Jolly Roger 1

 

As we leave from the heart of Bridgetown our Capital we travel along the outside wall of the Barbados Bridgetown Harbour. Sail along the picturesque West coast of Barbados with the occasional dolphin escort. At our lunch stop in one of our favourite bays, turtles swim amongst you.

4 hour cruise allowing you to sightsee as you tour along the south and west coasts of Barbados

- Open and fully stocked bar included for the duration of your cruise

- Famous Rope Swinging

- Walking the Plank if you so dare.

- Swimming with the turtles in the crystal clear waters when they are swimming by our mooring

- Music and dancing to vibrant calypsos and much more ensuring you party on the boat and for hours after

 

 

I think everyone had a great time walking the plank, swinging off the rope swing, snorkeling, swimming with the turtles, dancing & drinking plenty of the unlimited rum punch. They also have other drinks available free of charge & I switched to spiced rum & coke (my drink of choice) after a couple of rum punches because they were pretty sweet.

 

J.R. & John on-board the 'Pirate Ship'!

 

The 1st stop was for snorkeling.

 

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

The scenery was beautiful as we sailed along the coast of Barbados.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

J.R. loved swimming with the turtles which he had never done before.

 

A self portrait! :D

 

 

 

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

J.R., John & Robin walked the plank & swung off the rope swing. Robin & John even managed to swing together! John went 1st & Robin caught him as he came back to the boat & grabbed hold! We saw a youtube video that had five people on the rope swing at one time! That takes co-ordination (and a little craziness)!!

 

Walk the plank Matey! Arrgh!

 

 

 

 

In my 'spot' watching. No way could I have made it down that ladder!

 

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

The Pirate Boat might not have been the perfect choice for me since I was on crutches & the Jolly Roger 1 has two floors. The activities moved up & down the stairs & of course the restroom was down even more stairs & I was about hopped out!

 

I still had a great time though & love Barbados & we made more new friends! :)

 

Heading back to the 'real' ship!

 

The only time we were harrassed the whole week was right after this picture was taken. A man came up & put a necklace on me & said it was a 'gift' & he wished me a speedy recovery. This had happened before & I am not that gullible so I knew he wanted money but I did not 'get away' fast enough! We were trying to take another pic though so J.R. just handed him $5 but the guy got pretty aggressive & said he wanted $20! Really? J.R. was getting pretty ticked at that point & told the guy in no uncertain terms to take his necklace back & give back the $5 so the guy did & we resumed picture taking. :)

 

 

In the meanwhile we missed the free shuttle back to the ship that came with our excursion. Robin & John decided to do some shopping so they walked back to port & J.R. & I caught a cab. I do not remember how much it was but it was not very much.

Edited February 2, 2013 by Cool Breeze Cruiser

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We were starving when we got back to the ship so we had lunch at Johnny Rockets. It was good & there was no wait. J.R. tipped our waiter but a 15% gratuity was included in the $4.95 pp price.

 

 

Tonight was formal Night so we ran around taking tons of pics again. We were still full from Johnny Rockets but we went to dinner anyway (we were on a cruise ship & that is what you do):p! J.R. LOVED the lobster & he managed to find room for it!!!

 

 

J.R. hiding behind my curls.

The last day was a sea day & we finally got a chance to explore the ship.

 

What a beauty!

 

We usually do self-disembark but we could not with my injury so we put our bags outside that night.

 

I wanted to turn in the wheelchair & get off the ship on the crutches but J.R. convinced me that was not a good idea so we left our room & went up to the Wind Jammer & had a nice leisurely breakfast & then headed down at our set time to the place for wheelchair assistance. It would have been extremely hard to stand in the lines to get off the ship on crutches so J.R. was right but I will never admit I said that! :p

 

The representative from RCCL that pushed me off the ship was super nice & moved everyone aside (Sorry :o) to get me through. We were in the luggage area in no time & she waited while J.R. got a porter & found our luggage & we were through customs in a matter of minutes! She pushed me right out to the taxi stand. We somehow got separated from Robin & John getting off the ship. I was going to get up & wait but she insisted on waiting with us so I could stay ‘seated”. Talk about great customer service! :)

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

We stayed at the Comfort Inn again post-cruise. They had our rooms ready when we arrived. The first room they put J.R. & I in (room 211) was a nicer, bigger room than the one we stayed in pre-cruise but it REEKED of a musty, moldy smell & there was mold growing on the bathroom ceiling so we had to ask to be moved as we could hardly breathe in there after a few minutes. Our next room on the 5th floor was fine.

 

The Comfort Inn in Condado

 

The bathroom ceiling.

 

We inquired at the front desk about renting a wheelchair since our flight out was not until 4:30 the next day & I knew I would have a hard time navigating San Juan on crutches (obviously I know how wicked the sidewalks there can be)!

 

They said a woman had fallen on the sidewalk in almost the same spot I did! She rented a wheelchair to get around as she was staying in San Juan for the week. She had already gone home but the rental company had not picked up the wheelchair yet so I was able to use it. Another woman had fallen the same day I fell too so I guess I am not the only clumsy one! :p

 

One more pic of the 'evil' (I have plenty of other names for it too) & obviously much more treacherous when wet sidewalk!

 

 

We enjoyed our time post-cruise in San Juan. I LOVE Christmas so it was great seeing the Christmas decorations. We had planned to go to the Festival in Old San Juan but with my injury we chose to just hang out at the beach.

 

We rented beach chairs at the La Concha Resort. I would like to stay there next time we go to San Juan. We met people that were staying there & they said it was great!

 

 

We caught a cab to the airport the next day & got a porter since I was on crutches & the porter had me sit & wait while he & J.R. took our bags through USDA & then on to Delta. He even entered all our info for our boarding pass. Well worth whatever J.R. tipped him!

 

Delta was wonderful. They had us board first & had a wheelchair waiting for me as soon as I got off the plane in Atlanta & Nashville. Good thing they did or we might have missed our connecting flight in Atlanta.

 

I had wanted to see the movie Trouble with the Curve but missed it because we were travelling & it was the movie shown on the way from San Juan to Atlanta (another good omen?). Watching a movie makes a long plane ride go by so much faster.

 

Unfortunately my cold was full-fledged by then so I was ‘the one’ nobody wanted to sit by on the plane because I was coughing & sneezing the whole way even though I had taken cold medicine. I really hope nobody caught my ' cooties'!

 

Thanks for bearing with me while I ‘relived’ our very ‘different’ cruise! I would not take anything for the time I got to spend with my wonderful hubby of 28 plus years, our good friends Robin & John & all the wonderful new friends we made. The ship & staff on the Adventure of the Seas were incredible, the islands & our excursions (especially Mystic Man Tours in St. Lucia) were amazing & the memories we made will last a lifetime (especially once I get around to scrapbooking them)!

 

Edited February 4, 2013 by Cool Breeze Cruiser

[Cool Breeze Cruiser]

St. Maarten

 

We booked the SXM Island Tour II with Bernard's Tours from 9:00 am-2:30 PM

 

This is what it included from their website:

 

Beach, Sightseeing and Shopping - $40/pp

 

 

All tours depart from the Cruise Information Center

• Pickup at the cruise pier
  
• Iguana Farm (getting off the bus is optional) [5-10 mins]
  
• Stop at the French and Dutch border [2 mins]
  
• Brief stop at Oyster Pond over looking the island of St Barths [5-10 mins]
  
• Orient Beach where you'll be able to swim and have lunch [90-120 mins]
  
• Marigot - open market (French Capital) [30 mins]
  
• Maho Beach [40 mins]
  
• Drive through Simpson Bay marina
  
• Harold Jack Hill (View of Simpson Marina,Airport & Anguilla)
  
• Return to Philipsburg depends on tour departure time; all guests will be returned in time to meet their ship's sail time.
  

Our 1st stop was at the Iguana Farm & 'Sexy' was telling us on the way there that the only way the iguanas would bite you was if you stuck your finger in their mouth. Apparently the iguana our friend, Paul touched did not get that memo because it turned around & took a plug out of his finger. :eek: It would not let go & the tour guides had to lure him away from Paul’s finger by tempting the iguana with lettuce. (hopefully pics to follow when Stephanie gets time to add them). I was kind of glad I stayed on the bus for that stop! 'Sexy' brought one of the iguanas on the van for me to touch but I took one look at Paul’s hand & declined! :eek:

 

Here is the photo of the iguana 'bite'. The guide is trying to pry the iguna's mouth open & lure him away with lettuce. Paul said it ended up being nothing more than a scratch but obviously the iguanas will bite! :eek: