Just Off Adventure 3/26-4/2 - Review and commentary

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[5thgirl]

Copacabana Beach in Barbados, Loved it here!

 

 

Restaurant and Bar

 

Day 7- Day at Sea

Our Last day was spent at sea. Nice and calm....the ship was the roughest when sailing into Barbados, it was the most movement I felt on a ship ever during the evening, rocking back and forth quite a bit. But last day was smooth sailing.

 

We tried to get to the pool as early as possible to find a couple of lounge chairs, but as expected, most of the good spots already had dibs. We managed to find 2 chairs right near the pool, got lucky. We had a quick breakfast at the WJ and spent a lazy day at the pool. Again, the kids did not care for the salt water pool, but played there in the morning for lack of things to do. It was a nice, hot day. We stayed there most of the day and enjoyed the usual pool side activities, and people watched - water aerobics and zumba with Renato who was Mercedes' right hand man, and activities manager. He was fun to watch.

 

International Sexy Man contest (I think they tried really hard to find men from different countries, but most ended up being USA), Belly Flop and then volleyball.

 

My daughter missed the ice show during the week and really wanted to see it, so I took her to the last show at 3pm, while my husband and son hung out and played some games at the arcade. We managed to have some fun at the arcade throughout the cruise with the kids, without breaking the bank. I agree with most folks, arcades are like 'kiddie casinos"!

 

We had our last dinner at the MDR, (casual) and hubby and son both wore nice shorts and I think it was okay. My daughter and I caught the last show at the Lyric, as the boys just wanted to chill. The farewell show featured a comedian, Louis Johnson, who was very funny! They did the usual, recapping the top ten silliest questions asked by new cruisers, then the comedian was very funny telling cruise related jokes. At the end the y had the customary intro of all the singers and dancers, and Mercedes brought out the Captain and a bunch of the officers and staff from the ship to say farewell and thank you.

 

Spent the last 2 hours getting packed up.....basically just threw everything into our suitcases, lol.

[TravelinGert]

 

Day 2 – Formal Night

So we had a little time to kill before dinner and decided to play a trivia game at the Imperial Lounge. Walked away with some pens and highlighters, usual RC giveaways. We all got ready for dinner (6pm seating) and headed down about 5:30 as I remembered that the lines for formal photos sometimes could get long. We were lucky to get our photos taken with no wait, and they turned out nice. As we waited for the doors to open, we took a few more with our own camera and I took the opportunity to check out what others were wearing, as I know there are frequent threads on formal night attire. The range was from really formal to more casual (sundress, shirt and tie). I’d say we were pretty okay with suits and ties for both my hubby and son, and nice dresses for me and my daughter. When we were allowed in, I was pleasantly surprised to have received a table for four as promised. One thing I noticed was that we didn’t have any ‘smart casual’ nights, which I remembered from the last cruise. Did RC eliminate this in favor of all casual?

Our waiter was okay – nice but not overly friendly, and somewhat aloof at times. It was hard to figure him out, as he sometimes looked away while speaking or explaining the menu. We all warmed up to each other as the week progressed. One thing I noticed was there was a bar waiter who stopped by to fulfill our drink requests, which I did not recall we had the last time. In the past, our waiter would put in our requests with the bar. Is this something new? We also would be asked our drink preferences by the waiter and assistant waiter, so there were times between the 3 of them that it did not seem coordinated, but not a big deal, just different from what I remembered. Food the first night was okay. Not bad but did not blow me away either. We had the escargot, lobster bisque and prime rib. Kids had the angus beef sliders.

 

The evening show was at 9pm, and I thought they used to be earlier, like 8pm instead. I remembered rushing to finish dinner to get to the shows, but this time, we had plenty of time. Or maybe the first seating used to be 6:30 instead of 6:00……does anyone remember?

 

I'm ok with people who don't go full out formal wear as long as they do the best with what they have. Our last cruise there was a couple at the table next to us where the guy wore obviously new dark jeans on formal night. They were starched and pressed. He wore a nicely pressed shirt and tie and a decent sports coat. His wife was in a nice dress and apologized for his jeans. She said he had a job where he had to wear jeans so it didn't make much sense to invest in an expensive suit. I made a point of telling them I thought it was fine since he'd obviously made such a nice effort to make the best of what he had after dinner.

 

I like the formal wear and so many of the couples just look so well turned out, but not many of us have much use for that sort of thing outside of cruises anymore, sadly. I had a new long sundress myself which I wore that formal night with heels and nice accessories. My spouse wore a suit. I thought the guy in jeans looked better than some of the folks I saw wearing a lot of wrinkled stuff, though I understand it can be hard to pack these days when so many airlines are so limiting on luggage and of course no irons allowed on ship to fix it once on board. We kind of cheated by arriving a day early and having my husband's suit and shirt pressed at a local cleaners before boarding.

 

Edit: I should add this was a short Bahama's cruise out of Miami on Majesty. Most of the women at least wore a nice dress and spruced up for formal night, though not too many were in full formal regalia. More men wore shirts and ties with khakis or nice slacks than anything else, but there were a sizable number in suits and a sprinkle in tuxedos. We may rent a tux for my spouse for our cruise on Adventure in the fall since I got a new formal gown on clearance after the holidays at Macy's for the cruise.

Edited April 10, 2016 by TravelinGert

[jimbri]

Photos are great!

[Krittie67]

Thank you for your review. Looking forward to our cruise in May.

 

Did you think this excursion was worth it or would you suggest to go to the fort on your own? In additional info on this excursion would be great. Thank you

[lag9122]

Thank you for your review . We are going saturday and looking forward to a wonderful cruise and lots of fun .

 

Lisa

[bobmacliberty]

Great review. Thanks. Do you have any pictures of the vehicles for the 4X4 tour? We're considering this for our Adventure cruise in June but our daughters are 18 and 20...closer to adults (Yes, I know that they actually ARE adults...I just don't like to admit it). Wondering if there's enough space in the vehicles or if you are squeezed in.

[14Terry]

Beautiful photos! Thanks for the review!

[AZAficionado]

Great review, love the pictures. I'm about to get on the Aventure for a B2B and it is nice to get a little preview. Thanks for taking the time to do the review.

[5thgirl]

Thank you for your review. Looking forward to our cruise in May.

 

Did you think this excursion was worth it or would you suggest to go to the fort on your own? In additional info on this excursion would be great. Thank you

 

We booked this through the ship, and I am sure you can find a more cost effective way to do it on your own as well, but we just like the ease and convenience and don't mind paying a little more. That said, it was an enjoyable excursion. IMO, The Brimstone Hill Fortress is a don't miss, however, although Romney Manor was very lovely, it wasn't make or break for me. The van we had held about 10 people, which I thought was a decent group - not too small or large. Brimstone is high on a hill, so not sure how driving on your own would be (I can't recall what side of the road St Kitts drives on), but there may be other tour operators outside of RCCL you can look into. Hope this helps.

[5thgirl]

Great review. Thanks. Do you have any pictures of the vehicles for the 4X4 tour? We're considering this for our Adventure cruise in June but our daughters are 18 and 20...closer to adults (Yes, I know that they actually ARE adults...I just don't like to admit it). Wondering if there's enough space in the vehicles or if you are squeezed in.

 

The Vehicle we were in seated 10 people, 5 across from each other sideways. It was 'cozy'. Our driver was good, but being an open 4x4 it was fast and windy, which for us was fine. The 4x4 part was a good 1.5 hours with a break in between at Bathsheba, then 3 hrs. at the beach. I personally thought this tour was worth it for us, even it was a little more through the ship, for the following reasons 1) factor in taxi costs to the beach and back 2) factor in the drink our driver gave us (rum punches and fruit punches) 3) factor in the drink included with the tour at the beach bar (rum punches and fruit punches again) 4) factor in the cost for the beach chairs and umbrellas at Copacobana ($30 for 2 chairs and an umbrella. We had 4 people so double for us), 5) cost for the island tour.

 

Here is the exact vehicle pic, hope this helps:

[14Terry]

Could someone please confirm if there is currently a Chops restaurant on board. We're thinking about reserving a 3 night dining package and wanted to inquire. Thanks, in advance.

[Clarea]

Could someone please confirm if there is currently a Chops restaurant on board. We're thinking about reserving a 3 night dining package and wanted to inquire. Thanks, in advance.

Currently no Chops on Adventure. Only specialty restaurants are Giovanni's Table and Johnny Rockets. They may add Chops during dry dock in the fall.

[14Terry]

Bob, you remain a wealth of knowledge! Thank you and happy cruising!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Clarea]

Bob, you remain a wealth of knowledge! Thank you and happy cruising!

You're welcome, and Happy Cruising to you too.:)

[cruisingbajan]

Enjoying your review and pics.