Adventure of the Sea Review w/photos.

[waterbugohio]

Day 7, Saturday, St Croix

 

Late breakfast and off this ship about 9:30.

 

Welcome to St Croix.

 

 

I will admit I made a huge error on this island. We had meant to make this a leisurely port. With no excursion planned, I had read the boards and trip advisor and we had decided to do a tour of the Cruzan Rum factory. I had read that the Captain Morgan tour is over rated and that Cruzan is a much better tour.

 

So off the ship we go in search of a taxi. Well, I didn't bring my notes off the ship with me and I confuse the towns. We buy tickets for the shuttle to Christiansted. Once there I figure out my mistake and realize that we wanted to go to Fredriksted not Christiansted.

So we decide to just walk around the boardwalk at Christiansted and see the sites and do a little shopping.

 

 

 

 

While walking around we happened across the webcam at the boardwalk. Texted friends and family back home and was able to wave. Here's a screenshot of what they saw..... Thanks Kathy!!

 

 

Here is the website for the webcam if anyone else wants to check it out

http://www.gotostcroix.com/live/

Make out a time and be sure to wave to all your friends at home!!

 

After taking the shuttle back to port, we decide to just grab a drink and a snack and not try to head to Fredriksted. Back to the ship by about 1:00

 

This is one drawback to not having a sea day at the end of the cruise. You need to allow time this last day (or night) to get your bags packed.

[Time2Shipout]

You are welcome! It was fun seeing you all there and remembering the last time you and I were there with the gang on the "3 hour tour"!😱 Kathy

[waterbugohio]

OK, our last night on board.

 

We have the farewell show tonight. We have been to these before and while I knew it would be a repeat of what we have seen before, we still wanted to go for the one newbie in our group.

 

And it also stated that the farewell show included "Above the Sky" starring "duo Bolshakov"

 

Please be sure to check them out on youtube if you have the time. They put on what we thought was an awesome job. I have cheated here just to give you a glimpse of what the show is about. We were not allowed to take pictures during the performance, so I "borrowed" this photo from their FB page. I also want to use this picture in the book I am putting together for the family so we can remember this show.

 

 

Here are some photos of the crew during the farewell. Captain Toni talked again tonight and seemed very personable.

 

 

 

 

Finished off the night with a nightcap in the Schooner bar. This was the first night we had made it here. Normally this is a favorite bar of ours, but just didn't have a chance this cruise. Well, I didn't catch the name of the guy on the piano, but I will say he was a disappointment. After one or two songs, we headed out onto deck five to just sit and watch the waves and finish our drinks outside.

 

Back in to the promenade and another drink in the Duck and Dog pub. We were tired and didn't stay long, but there was a good party going on in there and the guy on guitar was pretty good the short time we sat there. Should have checked this out earlier in the week!!

 

Back at the room, we sat went out on the balcony for one last look at the ocean passing us by. Hope you enjoy this shot of the moon up to the front of the ship. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was a gorgeous site. Unfortunately for us, it was our last night!!!

 

Edited April 6, 2015 by waterbugohio

[waterbugohio]

OK,

 

In going thru my notes I see I made an error.

 

Our cruise director was Bobby. And the activities director was Tino.

 

Sorry to whoever it was that asked earlier about Tino. I had forgotten his name, but not his high energy!!! He was a riot!!

 

Will try to do a summary tomorrow. Have more random pictures to post from the week and will talk about departure and our time in San Juan before heading to the airport.

 

Good night all

[big al]

Agree. And several of our excursions had drinks included. We would have several during the day and then just a glass of wine with dinner.

 

We are on this ship in 3 weeks. We will be doing the other itinery. However reading about your trip and the ship really helps. Thanks for posting this. BTW we used to live in Ohio and are Ohio State fans. Love The Buckeyes.

 

Donna - Love your report so far! Golf43..I will be doing your itinerary in Nov..looking forward to your observations..my almost Diamond friends were on the AOS 14 months ago, and said it was the worst RCI cruise (as far as food & entertainment goes) they had ever been on..in fact, as I have posted earlier, I invited them to go with my DW & myself, and they said, "not even if it was free"..wow, that's bad! They loved the itinerary & staff were fine, but never agin on the AOS they said...I have read reviews the last 6 months , and they are quite mixed, but we are going for the ports ( never been to all but St. Thomas) , not the ship this time...

 

Big Al

[lrc04]

Thanks for doing the review!

[cruiseapril]

Great review. Enjoyed your port review details.

 

Some of you must have visited the "Flower Forest" on the Best of Barbados tour. Looks interesting.

[waterbugohio]

OK, going to try to finish this review tonight (while watching basketball) :)

 

First a couple answers:

Familygobosten: The I Love SXM sign is on the boardwalk, right near the water taxi. Not sure if new, it's been a couple years since we were on the boardwalk

 

cruiseapril, sorry don't know the name of the garden the other were at, but yes it was the "best of barbados" tour thru RCI. They all seemed to enjoy the tour.

 

OK, so time to get off the ship.

 

We were #11 with a time of 8:45. We left the rooms a little before 8:00 and headed to the windjammer. Didn't linger over breakfast, as others were waiting on seats. Our meeting place was the main dining room. We probably arrived about 8:20 or so. Was there plenty early and unlike others who just gathered in the entrance way, we actually went in and found a seat. Our time slot came and went without any announcement for our group. We heard them announce several times that group 1-10 should now be getting off. About that time, WITHOUT any announcement, most of the people sitting in the dining room just all started getting up and leaving. No order or instruction from any members of the staff. This was a little weird.

 

So off we all go. Down several flights of steps and out the ramp. That same lovely sound that is so wonderful now is so depressing as they scan your card for the last time :(

 

Takes us a little while to find all of our bags. And into line we go. As others always suggest (and my husband never thinks is necessary) Here is when it is usually smart to get a porter. They do go in a different line for customs and it does appear to go lots quicker. Of course, we just get in the regular line and stand and wait again. Not real bad, but still a line.

 

We clear customs and get outside within maybe 40 min of the time we left the dining room. I'm just guessing at this, as I didn't check the time for sure.

 

Again, this is a time we didn't have a plan. Our flights home are at 2:30 and 3:00. So we want to be at the airport between 12 - 12:30 . So we have right at two hours to kill. Not sure what to do. We first ask about a taxi driver/tour. They quote us $35 per person for a two hour tour and a drop off at the airport. Sorry, but I thought this was a little high. Especially since we have 7 of us.

 

So instead we just go price a taxi instead. Think it was $7 per person for us to downtown San Juan. We ask him to take us back to Barrachina, where we plan to check luggage and then walk around the area. Instead, he insist on taking us to a "better place" Right across from the downtown pier. And on the "free shuttle" route. So we listen to the taxi driver. Well, he fails to tell us that the "better place" charges $3 per piece of luggage to store our bags. Well with 7 people, this is 10 bags and another $30. At least he was correct in the fact that the free trolley stop is right across the street.

 

Problem is, the trolley only runs about every 20 min. So by the time we are on the trolley, we only have about an hour to spend. So we get on the "fort route" Ride past both forts, making numerous stops along the way. Was a gorgeous day in San Juan and actually a quite enjoyable ride. We didn't get off at either fort, as we don't want to have to stand in line to wait for a trolley to come back. We just ride the trolley back to the start.

 

Now when leaving the port that original taxi driver had given me his name and phone number. Tells me he will come back for us and it will "only" be $7 per person to the airport. Well I knew from past times here that San Juan has flat rates. And should only be $25 to airport. While the others are collecting our luggage, I talk to the cab drivers in front of the Sheraton downtown. Yep, $25 total to the airport for all 7 of us, from a very nice taxi driver. He talks to us the whole time to the airport. Just a real pleasant guy. I took his name and number and will share it if/when I find it. I already had given him $30 And when leaving the taxi we tipped him another $10. Just always amazes me that all people in public service don't realize that a little bit of kindness and just being nice, usually gets you a better tip!!! If you do your math here, you realize we spent about the same amount as we would of with the first guy. However, instead of trying to take advantage of us, the second guy charges us less and then ends up with a nice tip!!!

 

 

Get to the airport a little after 12. Of course, we knew from previous trips that we have to do the agriculture scan. This is a little crazy as the line is right inside the doors, but not enough room for people to make a line, so the line zig zags around making it hard to tell where the line starts and stops. But this scan is pretty quick and off to the airline checkin we go. We are flying US Air and they have "stations" out in front of the actual counter. Take a few minutes to get everyone checked in and off to the gate we go.

 

Will recap a fews more things and share a few pictures in the next post.

[waterbugohio]

Just a few more notes to go over before I end with pictures.

 

I will have to agree with past reviews that there is a notice in the food. While I would not say that it will cause us not to cruise. Or that we are highly disappointed. Only that we noticed the difference. Just not as much the WOW factor as from the first couple of cruises. However, the newbie with us loved all the meals!!

 

With this cruise so port intensive, I think we only had lunch three times on the ship all week. So we didn't really "get tired" of the same things. I can however see how some people would if they ate in the windjammer everyday.

 

We did try the dining room one morning. WAY to slow. It took us forever. Not sure what the problem was, but it took us almost as long to eat breakfast as it did to eat dinner!!!! Didn't go back again. Several mornings we either did room service (for my mother in law) Or my husband would just bring me breakfast back to the room while I got ready, Yes, I know, I'm spoiled!!!

 

Probably the biggest disappointment was the drinks. Don't think there is any way RCI will realize and go back to lower prices. But this will effect our drinking habits ( or lack of) and it may even make us explore other lines. I'm not one to say "I won't sail RCI again" as I do love their ships. But it may have me pricing other lines. Just need to look at the total $$$ amount a little closer.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have and I will try to answer. I have all of the compasses here and can look anything up you need. I won't scan and post them, as i know someone else from our sailing already did that. There was another thread started last week that he posted them to.

 

OK, a few more photos to close out.... Hope you enjoyed this.

 

A beautiful view coming into Barbados:

 

 

Never tire of watching us come into a port. This is the main reason I am a balcony snob!!!

 

 

Sorry, I also love all the shots of the pitons:

 

Our tour driver on Cosol's tour in St Lucia keep stopping as we went back to the ship, he had a bag of candy and would hand out to the school kids that were walking home.

[waterbugohio]

Forgot to mention I tried acupuncture on the ship one afternoon. I have been having trouble with a sore elbow and thought I would try. Did two sessions. First one seemed to help the next day. Second one I didn't notice and difference. Still having trouble at home. This was my first time trying this.

 

I will say the lady in the spa, Ana Maria, who took care of me was very very good and very nice. She explained everything she was doing and gave me the history on acupuncture. Not pushy at all. Just a real good experience. Wished it would have helped more. Debating if I want to find someone at home to give it a couple more tries.

 

 

Three of the five ships that were in port the day in St Maarten. Busy, busy port

 

 

No clue which port this is, but I want to go back!!!

 

 

[Familygoboston]

Our tour driver on Cosol's tour in St Lucia keep stopping as we went back to the ship, he had a bag of candy and would hand out to the school kids that were walking home.

 

Oh, so sweet! We are doing Pack For A Purpose in St Lucia! The Sandals resorts are a collection point and we have a collected a bag of school supplies we've been collecting from friends and family for the last 2 month for preschools on the island we are bringing with us! I,m so excited to help out the kids on the island! :D

 

Thanks for answering all our questions, and posting photos!

Edited April 7, 2015 by Familygoboston

[waterbugohio]

A couple shots from the trolley in San Juan.

 

 

 

 

 

Make sure if you have never been there to allow time to see the forts and Ole San Juan. It is a great city. Several years ago we did a segway tour of Ole San Juan, what a great way to see lots of area in a short amount of time. Still recommend that tour to any new.

 

And I will close with my view while in my chair on the pool deck. Sure wish I was back there tonight!!

 

 

[waterbugohio]

Here is the thread that Jason, from our roll call posted with the current compasses.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=46123647#post46123647

[racerxspeedy]

My feelings for St Maarten.

 

This is one of the islands we hope to return to soon for a week long stay. So much more we want to see and do on this island.

 

 

St Martin has grown on us as well. You can walk into town and grab the "Maho" bus to Mullet Bay or Maho Beach for $2pp. Keep that in mind for next time. The vans are never full in town and you can fit a lot of people.

 

I'm scared that RC is planning to (over)develop this port. Hopefully it will only get better.

 

Thanks again for the great review

[Luv06012012]

Yay!!! Thank you so much for answering my "Need Adventure Reviews" thread!!!! It is exactly what I was looking for!

 

Your trip looked amazing (and tiring, lol!). I have to say, your mother in does not look any bit of 82!!!! God bless her!

 

St. Maarten is definitely a fav of ours and we are excited to go back...the rest will all be new ports for us so we are excited.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this during the holiday, I know it's time consuming and I very much appreciate!!!!

 

I promise to return the favor when I return from ours.

 

Two questions:

 

1) What photo hosting site did you use to do this review?

2) With the issues with the drink prices being higher now, did they get rid of the Drink of the Day? They were usually slightly cheaper...are they gone now?

 

Thanks!!!

[Lindypops]

In an early post the OP said they called in CVS and walgreens prior to booking the cruise.

Where these in the old town?

Thanks

[waterbugohio]

Yay!!! Thank you so much for answering my "Need Adventure Reviews" thread!!!! It is exactly what I was looking for!

 

Two questions:

 

1) What photo hosting site did you use to do this review?

2) With the issues with the drink prices being higher now, did they get rid of the Drink of the Day? They were usually slightly cheaper...are they gone now?

 

Thanks!!!

 

1. I had not done photos for a long time. I ask others on the boards and was told I still had to use a photo hosting site. I think in years past I had to use photobucket. However, I found out on here that I can use shutterfly (where I store all my photos anyway) The way I did it was to open shutterfly in another tab. You need to open the photo and then right click, you will get an option "copy image ULR". click on that and then come back to your reply. click on the "insert image" icon at the top of here. (The little yellow box that looks like a mountain in it. ). that will open another box and you paste the url . took me a little bit to get used to doing it, but once you get the hang of it, its really easy. Every once in a while it wouldn't post the photo and i would have to try a second time. Not sure why this would happen?? Good luck. Hope I explained it right.

 

2. Yes there was a drink of the day each day. I don't drink much different. Don't like paying for a drink and then not liking it. The drink of the day was $7.75 plus tip (9.15) Here are the ones we had for the week:

 

Bahama Mama: shows same description as Pirates Punch. ????

Pirate's Punch: orange and pineapple juices, spiced rum and grenadine

Caribbean Tea: Vodka, rum, gin, curacao and sweet and sour, with sprite

Melon Margarita: tequila, triple sec, melon liquer, and sweet and sour

Pirate's Hurricane: blend of tropical juices, peach schnapps, spiced rum, vodka, and sprite

Pom Tree Margarita: Jose Cuervo margarita, with pomegranate, triple sec and sweet and sour mix

Caribbean Sunshine: vodka, triple sec, orange and sprite.

[waterbugohio]

In an early post the OP said they called in CVS and walgreens prior to booking the cruise.

Where these in the old town?

Thanks

 

 

OK, the walgreens is on Calle San Fransicso street. I'm guessing about three blocks "up" the street from the pier that Carnival uses. The CVS sits almost directly across from this pier. You can't miss it if you are walking along the waterfront.

 

Walgreens was closer to Barachinna's restaurant and we went in there first. However, when we continued on toward the water, I knew the CVS was there. It is much larger and has a nicer selection. If anyone needs actual liquor, there is a store right across the street from the CVS in a strip of stores. Sorry, I don't remember the name of it.

 

Hope this helps. Just google cvs San Juan and you will see what it mean.

[niksmom630]

Great review and photos, Donna! We did Adventure out of San Juan years ago...it was one of our favorite cruises!

 

Thanks for sharing--hope Casino Royale was kind to you!:)

 

Chris

[01Sweetpea]

Thanks for the great review...counting down the bays till we board...26!!! :D

[msakmom]

 

I absolutely love the fresh warm bread and cheese! You're right, it does hit the spot. I look forward to lunch every time I take Cosol's tour.

[waterbugohio]

Great review and photos, Donna! We did Adventure out of San Juan years ago...it was one of our favorite cruises!

 

Thanks for sharing--hope Casino Royale was kind to you!:)

 

Chris

 

Hi Chris, Yes we visited the casino quite often. Didn't do any good. I did try the slot pull tournament two nights. I didn't quality, but it was fun.

[Luv06012012]

1. I had not done photos for a long time. I ask others on the boards and was told I still had to use a photo hosting site. I think in years past I had to use photobucket. However, I found out on here that I can use shutterfly (where I store all my photos anyway) The way I did it was to open shutterfly in another tab. You need to open the photo and then right click, you will get an option "copy image ULR". click on that and then come back to your reply. click on the "insert image" icon at the top of here. (The little yellow box that looks like a mountain in it. ). that will open another box and you paste the url . took me a little bit to get used to doing it, but once you get the hang of it, its really easy. Every once in a while it wouldn't post the photo and i would have to try a second time. Not sure why this would happen?? Good luck. Hope I explained it right.

 

2. Yes there was a drink of the day each day. I don't drink much different. Don't like paying for a drink and then not liking it. The drink of the day was $7.75 plus tip (9.15) Here are the ones we had for the week:

 

Bahama Mama: shows same description as Pirates Punch. ????

Pirate's Punch: orange and pineapple juices, spiced rum and grenadine

Caribbean Tea: Vodka, rum, gin, curacao and sweet and sour, with sprite

Melon Margarita: tequila, triple sec, melon liquer, and sweet and sour

Pirate's Hurricane: blend of tropical juices, peach schnapps, spiced rum, vodka, and sprite

Pom Tree Margarita: Jose Cuervo margarita, with pomegranate, triple sec and sweet and sour mix

Caribbean Sunshine: vodka, triple sec, orange and sprite.

 

Thank you for the quick reply!!!! It is great news that it worked with Shutterfly as that is who I already use. I'll have to test it out!

 

Thanks for the drink info too...the DOTD price doesn't seem too, too bad. Maybe I will just stick with those throughout the week.

 

May 9th can't come soon enough!!! :)

[briceand4]

Thank you Donna for your review, it was very informative. I did want to ask you about RC's policy about bringing pop and water on board with you. Is it not allowed but they did not bother to take yours, or is it allowed? I have also tried to figure out their Avian water package but I cannot find anywhere on RC's website how much they charge for it. I do drink a lot of water especially on a warm cruise like this one. I do not like to drink water that is not bottled in a foreign place as it usually does not produce good results. Thank you for any information you have on this. Alice

[waterbugohio]

Thank you Donna for your review, it was very informative. I did want to ask you about RC's policy about bringing pop and water on board with you. Is it not allowed but they did not bother to take yours, or is it allowed? I have also tried to figure out their Avian water package but I cannot find anywhere on RC's website how much they charge for it. I do drink a lot of water especially on a warm cruise like this one. I do not like to drink water that is not bottled in a foreign place as it usually does not produce good results. Thank you for any information you have on this. Alice

 

 

Alice,

 

I have always taken water on board. Only one cruise in ten, have they every held it from me. And that time they didn't even have record of it, they just lost it. They replaced it with a case of theirs FREE

 

This time I bought 6 water and 6 caffeine free soda. We have a rolling under the seat bag that we put this in. And we put a luggage tag on it. The bag came just a little later than the others. It had a note inside saying it had been inspected, but that they didn't confiscate anything.

 

We also purchased a couple more water and soda's while in the ports. As long as unopened, they don't say a word. If fact on one port I had a half of a opened water in my bag that I forgot I had in there. didn't realize it till I got back to the room. They never said anything or double checked my bag.

 

I also drink lots of water. I do drink what royal offers at my meals, and I try to get several glasses in with each meal. However, it is nothing for me to drink 1 or 2 in the morning and one before going to bed. So, I like having bottles with me.

 

I know some people will try to bring a whole case of water on. Some say this is where Royal is starting to deny people. I guess the extra work for the porters and staff delivering it. And to me, its much easier to just pick up a couple in port each day, than to worry about lugging a whole case on in the beginning.