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

AZAficionado
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AZAficionado

AZAficionado

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Yay! I get to relive the cruise, and AZAficionado does all the work!! But since I took part in this beach odyssey, I'll chime in once in a while...someine has to be the fact-checker on the storytelling here! :D

Hey! Are you saying my stories don't contain facts? If you are, that might be true. ;)

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AZAficionado

AZAficionado

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Loving your review already! I'm a beach lover and am very much looking forward to your thought and photos!

Thank you. I did put considerable effort in my beach analysis. Hopefully it will be enough. Photos are the easy part. I've got plenty of those.

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AZAficionado

AZAficionado

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Can't wait to see and read more review, we are on a b2b on the Adventure coming up real soon:D

Hopefully, I'll have gotten through most of it by the time you sail. You know everyone is jealous that you're about to do a B2B. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed ours.

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AZAficionado

AZAficionado

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This will be a fun review to read. We got off the Adventure on the 16th, the day you got on. Definitely miss it.

I kinda miss it, too. But after two weeks on board, I was ready to get off the ship and go home. Too much of a good thing, I suppose.

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AZAficionado

AZAficionado

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San Juan, Puerto Rico (Day 1):

18°27'31" N 66°5'44" W

Saturday_zpszhwjfjui.png

 

Embarkation

 

We caught a cab to the ship from the Ritz, it was $27. The Ritz-Carlton is located across the street from the airport, so I imagine the fare would be similar. They were charging a flat amount and adding $1 per bag or something like that.

 

The pier appeared pretty crowded, but I think that was due to have only a few lines for security. After security, the lines looked pretty reasonable. We were able to shortcut the lines due to status perks and having booked a Junior Suite. That is one of the few status perks that I would pay money to have - getting a shorter line. Anyway, about 20 minutes after arriving at the pier and resolving the payment issue (which was very easy to resolve at the pier), we were on board!

 

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The line outside.

 

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The security checkpoint - note only two metal detectors. Can you say "log jam"? I thought you could.

 

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The line for the counter. I've seen much worse.

 

Cabins were not ready until 2:30 pm. On most cruises, the cabins will be ready at 1:00 pm. I guess since departure isn't until 8:30 pm, they decided to give the cabin attendants a little more time. So, we wandered the ship.

 

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First stop was the Viking Crown for a drink. Sorry, it is called Blue Moon now. The Torched Cherry Sangria was excellent.

 

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The Royal Promenade. This is Main Street, Adventure of the Seas. It has a number of bars and shops, and hosts many parades, events, and of course, T-Shirt sales (watches too).

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AZAficionado

AZAficionado

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Centrum%20Sculpture_zpszoomwhs2.png

At the "midship" end of the Promenade (I'd call it the aft end, but whatever) is this sculpture that rises up to deck 12.

 

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This Japanese arch is at the other end of the Promenade. Beyond that is the Imperial Lounge where they hold many of the smaller events. These lounges tend to have a theme. This one is oriental.

 

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This is in the entrance to the Imperial Lounge.

 

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Just outside the Imperial Lounge is the Connoisseur's Club (aka Cigar Lounge). To get in, you have to spell "connoisseur" without the aid of your smart phone. That is not true - you just have to open the door. You can smoke any tobacco products here. Note, I didn't say you can smoke "anything".

 

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This is Cafe Promenade. You can get coffee and light snacks here just about anytime of the day or night.

 

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Part of Cafe Promenade is a Ben & Jerry's store (extra charge) in case you get a sudden ice cream urge.

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AZAficionado

AZAficionado

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Car_zpsqizgqzxf.png

The Captain thinks he can park his car anywhere... I guess that would actually be true with him being the Captain and all. I'll just shut up now.

 

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The Gravity Sports Bar. This will make more sense later in the review: this is where you can get beer. It is also where you can refill your soda cup. You can even get a frozen drink here. However, you can't get any drink that is double-strained.

 

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The Duck & Dog Pub, or the "Dodge, Dip, Dive, Duck, and Dog" as I call it. You can get the widest selection of beers here. They also serve the best Bloody Mary on board - called the BLT Mary (more on that later). However, you cannot get a bottle of Krug Champagne here.

 

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This is the Main Dining Room - each level has a different name, but they might as well be named "Three", "Four", and "Five" (the deck number). Few passengers called them by "Strauss", "Vivaldi", and "Mozart".

 

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Naturally, there was theme-appropriate art. Probably the most overlooked aspect of cruise ship is all the amazing artwork. You can borrow these on formal night for a small fee. That's not true, but it would be cool if it was. I can see the complaint thread already: "This one man wore a furry tri-corn hat on formal night! Why don't people obey the dress code?"

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AZAficionado

AZAficionado

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Casino%20Dancers_zps9wdh7nzw.png

This is in the casino. There is some very cool art in there, too. As well as some games of chance!

 

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Up on Deck 15 is the Skylight Chapel, just in case you have a sudden urge to get married. Another game of chance that appears rigged in the house's favor. Just kidding, SolsticeAZ.

 

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On Deck 9 is the Concierge Club, a private lounge for full Suite (aka Gold Card) guests and Diamond Plus/Pinnacle. This is where the 1% hangs out. It's not quite my style and I deliberately left my status pin at home. Seriously, one of the formal nights the Diamond Lounge was full, so we came down here. People were wearing their status pins on the lapels of their suits. That's all I've got to say about that...

 

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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.

 

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The Diamond Club has a really nice balcony that overlooks the Sport Court and allows smoking. You can get your smoke on, munch on some canapes, drink free booze, and catch a live game. What's not to love?

 

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Speaking of the Sports Court, here it is. Behind it is a mini golf course and an inline skate track. Wow, still rockin' the inline skates! Anyone want to bet if that is going to survive Adventure's upcoming dry dock?

 

There is still plenty more of the ship and our cabin coming up. With nothing else to do, we wandered quite a bit. Stay tuned....

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Dan-P

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We have well over a year (year and a half really) until we board the Adventure, but I am on-board with your review.

 

Thanks for the great pics and brief/concise writing style. Looking forward to MORE!

 

Dan.

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AZAficionado

AZAficionado

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We have well over a year (year and a half really) until we board the Adventure, but I am on-board with your review.

 

Thanks for the great pics and brief/concise writing style. Looking forward to MORE!

 

Dan.

BING! Welcome aboard Mr. Dan.

 

You are most welcome and I hope you continue to enjoy!

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