LIVE - Adventure of the Seas - July 17, 2021

[HBCcruiser]

I am starting the LIVE review early because some of our Roll Call members are flying to Nassau soon and I would like them to be able to post here. To make this review more fun, I would like to invite all 7/17/2021 passengers to contribute and post their experiences here. I have noticed that CC-ers are very hungry for these live reviews and I believe that the more experiences shared the merrier. Am I right?

 

Like many of you on the CC Boards, my family and I have had WAY too many cruises cancelled beginning back in March/April  2020. I lost count after a while. I have “owed” my 2 DDs a “girls” cruise since last June. My oldest turned 21 and my youngest graduated HS in June 2020. COVID lockdowns robbed both DDs out of experiencing big lifetime events that should have been enjoyed.  I did not want to wait until 2022 to celebrate together. Besides, who knows where my oldest will be living/working by then.  I signed us up for the July 17, 2021 AOS cruise because 1. I was 98% sure it would actually sail, and 2. The itinerary was far better that the Bermuda one – too many sea days. Oh and add to that the limited number of passengers that will be sailing with us. This is a ONCE in a lifetime opportunity! 

 

We have sailed on RCCL before way back in 2010 when the Mariner of the Seas sailed out of LA. The port of LA is only 20 minutes from where we live making it very convenient for us. From what I remembered it was a great cruise and nice ship. Because it has been over 10 years since we cruised Royal, I consider us newbies to the Royal sailing experience. 

 

[HBCcruiser]

I work hard and like to play (cruise) hard. YOLO. Make Memories with loved ones while you can. You can’t take it with you… That said, we are staying in a 2bd. Grand Suite. My youngest DD is bringing a friend with her so the 2bd made sense. Add to that some friends that are joining this cruise, a fun CC group is sailing with us, and well, suite parties will happen. 

 

Cruise Documentation Needed: 
1.    Original COVID Vaccination Card – Check 
2.    Bahamas Health Visa – Check we got it 2 weeks prior
3.    COVID tests – We get that today, Monday (crossing fingers) Ok if we fail the test then other Roll Call  members must continue this thread. 😜
4.    Passports – check
5.    Global Entry – oops, only me. Oh well, scratch that one. 
 

Edited July 12, 2021 by HBCcruiser

[HBCcruiser]

We are flying into Nassau on Friday. Our flight leaves at 6AM out of LAX (Los Angeles) with a layover in Dallas/Ft. Worth. We land in Nassau around 5PM. I think most of the people flying on the DFW flight are cruise passengers. It is completely full BTW. That should be a party! 

 

Luckily, we booked the British Colonial Hilton where the boarding process will take place on Saturday. We are hoping to be able to joint the CC party crew 7PM at the Hilton Bar Friday night. Praying for smooth flights.

 

Cruise Itinerary:

 

Saturday, July 17, 2021 – 
12:00 PM- Boarding Check-in Time. We selected this when they opened up check-in. Do it early if you want an early time slot. 
12:30 PM – Chops Lunch
8:45 PM – Sailaway Party 
9:00 PM - Departure 

 

Sunday, July 18, 2021 – 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM: Coco Cay Floating Cabana
                                   1:00 PM – 1:45 PM: (weather permitting) Balloon Ride

 

Monday, July 19, 2021 – 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM: Coco Cay Beach Club Cabana

 

Tuesday, July 20, 2021 – Sea Day

 

Wednesday, July 21, 2021 – Cozumel - 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM: Royal excursion Mayan Ruins, Island Tour and Beach

 

Thursday, July 22, 2021 – Sea Day

 

Friday, July 23, 2021 – Grand Bahama Island (Freeport)  - 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM We booked an all-inclusive for the day at the Grand Lucayan Resort (on our own) 

 

Saturday, July 24, 2021 – Departure. Fly home. Back to the reality of work. 
 

Edited July 12, 2021 by HBCcruiser

[sunshinetricia]

We're a few weeks after you with many similarities (floating cabana, 2 br suite, etc). I will be eagerly awaiting your reports! Especially how capacity is changing, what is still closed or limited, etc. 

 

Thanks for sharing!!

Edited July 12, 2021 by sunshinetricia

[HBCcruiser]

1 minute ago, sunshinetricia said:

2 br suite

We are in #9694. You?

 

 

[sunshinetricia]

Just now, HBCcruiser said:

We are in #9694. You?

 

 

 

9394. So the view and everything should be pretty similar. 

[slease]

We'll see you on the flight out of DFW (our hometown) and we are also staying at the Hilton Friday.  

 

Sunday at Cococay we have a Chill Island Cabana. 

Monday I anticipate setting up base at the pool and some of us have Thrill tickets.

In Cozumel we are doing Playa Mia.  I haven't seen any information on how it's doing post COVID so we'll post experiences there.

Grand Bahamas we are using as another ship day.

 

Our flight out on Saturday back to DFW is late so we have day passes at the Hilton to use their beach/pool which we probably won't have an opportunity to do on the front end of the trip.

 

See you on board.

[HBCcruiser]

4 minutes ago, slease said:

We'll see you on the flight out of DFW (our hometown) and we are also staying at the Hilton Friday.  

Cool! We are planning to meet with other passengers in the Hilton's Hotel Lobby Bar around 7PM. Please come if you are interested. I think we will have a fun group flying to Nassau. 🥂  😁

[Nautical but Nice]

We (5 of us) are also on the flight from DFW.  Staying at the HI Express down the street from the Hilton.  I will have to scope out the walk to the Hilton on Friday night to see if it is feasible to push my mom in her wheelchair or if we should just cab it over on Saturday, since we will have luggage.  

 

We really don't have much planned for the week.  Park it a chair on the beach or near the pool both days at Coco Cay.  A little shopping/eating/drinking in Cozumel and then grab a cab to Gold Rock Beach in Freeport.  

[HBCcruiser]

11 minutes ago, Nautical but Nice said:

We (5 of us) are also on the flight from DFW. 

This will definitely be a party flight! Is there only one AA flight from DFW to Nassau?  Did everyone book with A2S? Curious if this is a charted flight by RCI. 

[WxNerd]

35 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

This will definitely be a party flight! Is there only one AA flight from DFW to Nassau?  Did everyone book with A2S? Curious if this is a charted flight by RCI. 

Yes there is only one flight a day from DFW to NAS and no it’s not a chartered flight. 

[HBCcruiser]

2 minutes ago, WxNerd said:

Yes there is only one flight a day from DFW to NAS and no it’s not a chartered flight. 

Thanks again for the great info regarding VeriFly! A little scary to think that a fully vaccinated person on your cruise tested positive for COVID 😱  !!  Now I am worried about our tests this afternoon. 

[WxNerd]

6 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Thanks again for the great info regarding VeriFly! A little scary to think that a fully vaccinated person on your cruise tested positive for COVID 😱  !!  Now I am worried about our tests this afternoon. 

I was worried about ours too since I had just spent 2 weeks in the Delta Variant hotspot that is Las Vegas but was fine. I know easier said than done, but the chances are very small so try not to stress. 

[mo&fran]

Do not underestimate the amount of time it takes when departing the Nassau airport. Read WxNerd thread , especially about her departure.

 We were there week 2 , and there is no way all of those people were going on the ship. The airport was mobbed, both arriving and departing. I am guessing that a very small percentage of the other people were cruise passengers, given there were roughly 1000  passengers on the ship, and we arrived at 5pm.  I imagine most of the 1000 were already on the ship.

[long4acruise]

@HBCcruiser

Great checklist and itinerary info.

 

I flew in last Sat and onboard now for B2B sailings. Was on a nonstop AA flight from DCA, arrived 25 min early shortly before 11AM.  Almost no one at NAS airport except our flight. Was actually onboard ADV by 12:15 PM.

 

 Looking forward to your Live review. It'll be exciting times for you & your family as we all are overdue for an enjoyable cruise!

[HBCcruiser]

35 minutes ago, long4acruise said:

@HBCcruiser

Great checklist and itinerary info.

 

I flew in last Sat and onboard now for B2B sailings. Was on a nonstop AA flight from DCA, arrived 25 min early shortly before 11AM.  Almost no one at NAS airport except our flight. Was actually onboard ADV by 12:15 PM.

 

 Looking forward to your Live review. It'll be exciting times for you & your family as we all are overdue for an enjoyable cruise!

Enjoy your B2B! Please post any news or hints for us newbies. 

[karena1]

Please give us info as you can!  Have a fantastic trip.  We are super excited for our August 14th Adventure

[Akina13]

Hubby and I are also on that DFW to NAS flight 🙂 Staying at Margaritaville Friday night. 2pm check in for us on Saturday. 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

6 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

 I have noticed that CC-ers are very hungry for these live reviews and I believe that the more experiences shared the merrier. Am I right?

Amen to that! 😄Thank you for getting this started. 

[HBCcruiser]

COVID tests done! We had booked 5 appointments in a row. Five of us in 2 cars pulled up to CVS and got the vial and swab from the attendant. She gave step-by-step instructions and we swabbed both sides of our nose then placed the swab in the vial, broke off the stem, sealed it up, placed it in the bag then dropped it in the drop box. Easy. Now we wait for the results. They will email us a link to download them. 

[HBCcruiser]

For anyone doing the same test at CVS:

 

[RFerrington]

Thank you so much for providing these instructions.  VERY helpful.

[Nautical but Nice]

1 hour ago, HBCcruiser said:

COVID tests done! We had booked 5 appointments in a row. Five of us in 2 cars pulled up to CVS and got the vial and swab from the attendant. She gave step-by-step instructions and we swabbed both sides of our nose then placed the swab in the vial, broke off the stem, sealed it up, placed it in the bag then dropped it in the drop box. Easy. Now we wait for the results. They will email us a link to download them. 

 

I just did the same test at CVS this afternoon.  So now we cross our fingers and wait. 😃

[MorganClark]

9 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

I am starting the LIVE review early because some of our Roll Call members are flying to Nassau soon and I would like them to be able to post here. To make this review more fun, I would like to invite all 7/17/2021 passengers to contribute and post their experiences here. I have noticed that CC-ers are very hungry for these live reviews and I believe that the more experiences shared the merrier. Am I right?

 

Like many of you on the CC Boards, my family and I have had WAY too many cruises cancelled beginning back in March/April  2020. I lost count after a while. I have “owed” my 2 DDs a “girls” cruise since last June. My oldest turned 21 and my youngest graduated HS in June 2020. COVID lockdowns robbed both DDs out of experiencing big lifetime events that should have been enjoyed.  I did not want to wait until 2022 to celebrate together. Besides, who knows where my oldest will be living/working by then.  I signed us up for the July 17, 2021 AOS cruise because 1. I was 98% sure it would actually sail, and 2. The itinerary was far better that the Bermuda one – too many sea days. Oh and add to that the limited number of passengers that will be sailing with us. This is a ONCE in a lifetime opportunity! 

 

We have sailed on RCCL before way back in 2010 when the Mariner of the Seas sailed out of LA. The port of LA is only 20 minutes from where we live making it very convenient for us. From what I remembered it was a great cruise and nice ship. Because it has been over 10 years since we cruised Royal, I consider us newbies to the Royal sailing experience. 

 

 

Sorry I'm late, but I'm in the house...errr...ship...errr...hotel...errr...hotel then ship...errr...hotel then ship then hotel again.  First off, thank you so much for doing this review (it's looking great already!). I will post here as we go and I hope I can provide some valuable info, insight & experience to others, as well (for those with AOS booked after our cruise as well as for those not booked and just "coming along for the ride" on this review).

 

I'm one of the "early birds" flying in to Nassau tomorrow! (Great to be retired and have all kinds of time on your hands, lol). I'm also staying at the HI Express (down the street from the Hilton, hopefully within walking distance). I'll be at the 7 pm CC/AOS passengers party at the Hilton bar on Friday.

 

I can share more details on my plans (shore excursions, etc) on later posts. I just wanted to jump on this thread and say hi to everyone, especially the great person who started this review - @HBCcruiser. Btw, I'm cruising solo and I'm booked in a balcony stateroom (#8270). I put in a bid for a "Royal Up" upgrade to a spacious balcony stateroom. No word yet, but as I understand the program, I'm still "alive" for the upgrade all the way up to 24 hrs before the cruise departure. Fingers crossed! 🤞

 

For all who are booked on this cruise, I look forward to meeting you some time during the cruise or hopefully, on Fri eve (7 pm) at our get-together at the Hilton bar. Cheers! 🍻

Edited July 13, 2021 by MorganClark

[HBCcruiser]

10 minutes ago, MorganClark said:

 

Sorry I'm late, but I'm in the house...errr...ship...errr...hotel...errr...hotel then ship...errr...hotel then ship then hotel again.  First off, thank you so much for doing this review (it's looking great already!). I will post here as we go and I hope I can provide some valuable info, insight & experience to others, as well (for those with AOS booked after our cruise as well as for those not booked and just "coming along for the ride" on this review).

 

I'm one of the "early birds" flying in to Nassau tomorrow! (Great to be retired and have all kinds of time on your hands, lol). I'm also staying at the HI Express (down the street from the Hilton, hopefully within walking distance). I'll be at the 7 pm CC/AOS passengers party at the Hilton bar on Friday.

 

I can share more details on my plans (shore excursions, etc) on later posts. I just wanted to jump on this thread and say hi to everyone, especially the great person who started this review - @HBCcruiser. Btw, I'm cruising solo and I'm booked in a balcony stateroom (#8270). I put in a bid for a "Royal Up" upgrade to a spacious balcony stateroom. No word yet, but as I understand the program, I'm still "alive" for the upgrade all the way up to 24 hrs before the cruise departure. Fingers crossed! 🤞

 

For all who are booked on this cruise, I look forward to meeting you some time during the cruise or hopefully, on Fri eve (7 pm) at our get-together at the Hilton bar. Cheers! 🍻

Perf! Glad you are adding to this thread. Safe travels TOMORROW🥳🥳. Definitely keep us posted on the upgrade.