Not quite LIVE but reporting regularly, Adventure of the Seas, May 21-31, 2022

[Cruise a holic]

Do you know if the ship has night lights in the bathrooms of the Jr. suites?

[rafinmd]

37 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Do you know if the ship has night lights in the bathrooms of the Jr. suites?

No idea not a suite person.  Sounds like something to check on board.

 

Roy

[Cruise a holic]

2 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

No idea not a suite person.  Sounds like something to check on board.

 

Roy

guess I will bring a small night light.

[rafinmd]

Back on board, muster done without a hitch.  New room should be ready at 11:30 and consecutive cruisers lunch at noon.

 

Roy

[mizLORInj]

3 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

Do you know if the ship has night lights in the bathrooms of the Jr. suites?

 

Just off the ship and we had a Jr. Suite.   No nightlight in bathroom.  Totally dark.  There is ONE bathroom in the J4s on this ship.   Great storage space though. 

[DeeniEncinitas]

14 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Before I shutdown my laptop to prepare for the change in rooms:

 

 

 

Roy

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

My Dear Roy!

I am so enjoying your blog!! Have missed you and as you know always love your sunset and sunrise pics! This is such a keeper for me! Your pic with the chaise lounges you did great photography and I will save this for a sketch!

Was happy to see our Sandi at SAILAWAY in FLL!

You also have a outstanding cruise!

Take care Roy always.

Denise😊

[rafinmd]

Day 6, Thursday, May 26, 2022, Turnaround Day. Bayonne(Part 1, disembarkation)

 

I was up a little before 5 and on deck for a beautiful sunrise at 5:30 followed by pausing for a shot of the now vacant main pool deck.

 

I watched from my balcony as we passed under the bridge and then continued stowing my last minute items.  When I went up to the WJ I paused for a photo of the hand washing station that drives me crazy.

Not sure exactly when we physically arrived at the dock but a bunker barge came alongside about 8.  The meeting point for B2B cruisers was the Imperial Lounge on Deck 5 forward.  I went down about 8:30 after seeing that the other groups meeting.  There was a nice setup of drinks and pastries waiting for us.

A staff member came around checking each of us in.  Not sure if it was people or cabins but the number she was looking for was 67.  When everybody was accounted for we started with things normally handled in the muster drill including more or less detailed instructions on what to do and a life jacket demonstration.  When all was ready we headed down to deck 4 and the gangway.  We did not actually need to produce our passports but stopped in front of a facial recognition device to be admitted back into the US.  We then congregated in the departure hall and were given our new seapass and in-transit cards.  Final stop was a seating area in the departure hall where several crew members came around with tablets to ask the final health questions.  I guess they needed to go “by the book” and had to see and scan our vaccination cards.  Seems like a bit of overkill since we could not have been on the first leg without being vaccinated but procedure is procedure.  When everything was done those who wanted to headed back to the ship while I went out to the port.

 

My first stop was my car where I lightened my load a bit by dropping off things I would not need for the second leg like a bunch of dirty clothes.  I noted that Port Liberty does have a facility for covid testing for people unable to get it from regular sources.  It’s in a little cubbyhole in the arrivals building accessed from the sidewalk between the terminal and the parking garage.  They say they do take walk-ins.

I continued my time in the port by going over to the New Jersey 9-11 memorial, known as “The Tear Drop”.  It stands right on the water between the terminal and the adjacent shipyard.  It is a gift from Russia dating back to a bit friendlier time.  

It was also a nice spot for a good photo of the Adventure.

Roy

[rafinmd]

It's a chilly, windy morning on Adventure of the Seas.  Tanya just mentioned "over 3000" guests on board so I'm assuming the number is fairly close above that number.

 

Day 6, Thursday, May 26, 2022, Turnaround Day, Bayonne(Part 2, back on board)

 

Having missed boarding with the rest of the B2B people I had to wait for general boarding to begin but it was timed almost perfectly with boarding called barely seconds after I cleared security.  This time the new muster station worked for me as my seapass scanned perfectly for station B11.  It was still too early to do a lot as the letter said I could access my new stateroom at 11:30 so I grabbed a cup of coffee at Café Promenade and hung out in the Imperial Lounge until then.

 

My new room (6282) is virtually identical to the old one.  There are 3 power outlets at the desk, 2 120V us outlets on the left side,, and a single 240V European one on the right side.  My bags were not there but there were an array of papers on the bed including a Canada Customs Declaration which I filled out and left in the drawer.

US Power                                                                                  European power

There was a lunch for Consecutive Cruisers at noon in the Sapphire Dining room.  I chose the Spaghetti All’ Arrabbiata and NSA vanilla ice cream.

When the rooms were officially open I returned to my cabin and my bags were waiting inside.  Unpacking went significantly quicker than the first leg.  There was one further hitch.  Security called about 3:30 and said I was not shown as onboard.  I don’t remember being formally scanned at a gangway but I would have thought the scan at the muster station would have been enough.  A few minutes later a security guy came up to my room for a face to face verification.

 

I think we are officially due to leave about 3:30 but Captain Jared indicated it would be more like 5.  I went down to deck 4 around 4:45 and there was still a gangway out on deck 1.  No activity when I headed to the Dining Room at 5:15.  About 5:30 Captain came back on and indicated we now had a medical emergency and were waiting for an ambulance.  I saw from the dining room window we started moving about 6:05.

 

I’m moving up a bit in the dining world.  Instead of my former table on Deck 3 I am now at Table 422 on Deck 4.  It’s an 8-top with a gal from Connecticut, a couple from Dallas, and 2 local couples.  My new waiters are Glen and Chenee.  My choices for the first night were the Garden Salad, Prime Rib, and Key Lime Pie.

The welcome aboard show featured comedian Rodney Jackson.  I thought Rick Corso was a lot better.

As a parting shot Thursday was a rough day for cruise ships between the Royal Caribbean striking a pier and the Carnival ship catching fire.  I am thankful that neither turned into a major disaster but a good reminder of why we do those drills.

 

Roy

[Oceansaway17]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

It's a chilly, windy morning on Adventure of the Seas.  Tanya just mentioned "over 3000" guests on board so I'm assuming the number is fairly close above that number.

 

As a parting shot Thursday was a rough day for cruise ships between the Royal Caribbean striking a pier and the Carnival ship catching fire.  I am thankful that neither turned into a major disaster but a good reminder of why we do those drills.

 

Roy

I hope you do not have too much bad weather today or tomorrow due to all the storms coming diagonally across the country as well as up the coast.

Enjoy Bar Harbor tendering and enjoy Halifax.  I always go to Peggy's cove.

toodles

[rafinmd]

41 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I hope you do not have too much bad weather today or tomorrow due to all the storms coming diagonally across the country as well as up the coast.

Enjoy Bar Harbor tendering and enjoy Halifax.  I always go to Peggy's cove.

toodles

Definitely not a pool day for me.  The wind was brutal early this morning but seems to have become a lot less so after we made a sharp turn to the north and have a better direction.

 

Roy

[ecslady]

Enjoying your B2B blog.  Especially appreciate you uploading the compasses.  I'll be on Adventure again in September, but always learn something new from live blogs.  Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[rafinmd]

25 minutes ago, ecslady said:

Enjoying your B2B blog.  Especially appreciate you uploading the compasses.  I'll be on Adventure again in September, but always learn something new from live blogs.  Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Thank you.  I've been running a bit behind but just got the compases loaded through today.

 

https://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com/advcompass/

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I hope you do not have too much bad weather today or tomorrow due to all the storms coming diagonally across the country as well as up the coast.

Enjoy Bar Harbor tendering and enjoy Halifax.  I always go to Peggy's cove.

toodles

 

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

Definitely not a pool day for me.  The wind was brutal early this morning but seems to have become a lot less so after we made a sharp turn to the north and have a better direction.

 

Roy

A really sharp sudden turn as seen in the track on Channel 16:

 

 

Roy

[meadowlander]

The ship's departure was delayed for hours due to boarding issues. I was in the 1-1:30 time frame, 1:30-2 being the last group.

 

There was no issue passing the outside entry check point, as there was no line. Proceeded to the terminal, was 8th from entry into the building when we came to a standstill. I could see the backlogged security line inside, figured entry would be allowed when the security line lessened. This was at 12:55.

 

It was 2:15 when the line outside was allowed into the terminal. Told the computers went down. I could not see how many were in the terminal prior to 12:55 but there were hundreds inside when I entered.

 

I was lucky in that it only took another hour to get checked in and board the ship. I spoke today to someone in the 1:30-2 group, it took her 4 hours to board.

 

Problems were on the ship as well. As we were on the gangway, in sight of the entry scan point on the ship, there were 2 lines to be scanned it except 1 line pleaded with the 1 employee scanning to take those on the other line. Security stopped the line that was being scanned in to allow the other line to be scanned.

 

Then a single line was formed of those not yet off the gangway ramps. Within 5 minutes a different Royal employee told us to again form a second line. 

 

WJ never closed as scheduled. Muster station employee said he was there until 3:30. I told him hundreds were inside the terminal and he would not be leaving his station at 3:30.

 

At 4, an announcement was made of a 5 pm expected departure. It was almost 5:30 when the captain mentioned we were waiting on an ambulance.

 

Next Cruise could not book on boarding day, there system was down all day.

 

By choice, this was my first time boarding on Royal other than first entry group. I won't select afternoon boarding time again.😁

[rafinmd]

Just arriving in Bar Harbor, foggy most of the day yesterday,

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Day 7, Friday, May 27, 2022, at sea (Formal), Adventure of the Seas

 

I was out up early but only briefly ventured outside as the winds were howling and we were completely socked in by clouds.  We started the day about 50 miles south of Nantucket.  I walked about a half hour on Adventure’s indoor corridors slowly descending from deck 11 down to Deck 5 and Café Promenade for my first cup of coffee.

 

My main morning activity was the Crown and Anchor Event where we had a number from the Ballroom Dance Team and a number of awards and recognitions to top cruisers.

 

For lunch I stopped for the first time Café Promenade for Pizza, followed by a cone from the Arctic Zone next to the WJ.  Both very tasty.  At noon Captain Jared reported we were still 50 miles from Nantucket but now west of us rather than north of us.  After our abrupt change of direction and slowing to about 10 knots the pool deck was still chilly but much more comfortable.

 

The main event of the afternoon was the International Bellyflop competition.  After we
slowed down the weather was a bit nicer but there were still only 5 contestants.  The winner was one of the women.  It was also obvious from looking at the pool just before the event that schools are starting to end their seasons.  We have something over 200 kids on this cruise.

 

I strolled past above the Solarium after the event.  Unlike the Vision Class ships there is no moveable roof.

Formal is now known as “Dress to Impress” night on Royal Caribbean.  There were just 5 of us at Table 422 but everyone looked great.  I chose the Arugula and Radicchio Salad, Pork Chop and Lemon Curd Tartlet.

When I returned Sugi had created a wonderful elephant on my bed.

I think “Invitation to Dance” is jinxed on the ship but I find a silver lining there.  In it’s place there was a concert put on by the orchestra and some of the singers.  I was a bit shocked when the soloist on the first number was not one of the singers but the band leader who did a really respectable job singing.  Once he returned to his trumpet the singers came out one by one and in duets.  I did leave early not because the show was good but I wanted to check out the Schooner bar.

It was a musician break then but I returned to my room for a while and returned about 9 while Alan was doing the music of Elton John.  It was way beyond standing room for a very good reason.  I wonder if they would consider cancelling his regular show and having him do a cabaret in the theater on a day when the regular show could not go on.  I think he would do well.

My parting shot will be a tribute to the performers on the ship.  There is a wealth of talent there which sometimes gets bottled up doing exactly what the show producers tell them but they stand ready to put their creative talents to good use at the drop of a hat.  Not to mention being prepared to take care of us if we ever need to take emergency action as they are the organizers and communicators in an emergency leaving the rest of the crew free to handle the technical side of the emergency.  Well done.

 

Roy

[Oceansaway17]

7 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Just arriving in Bar Harbor, foggy most of the day yesterday,

 

Roy

oh well just enjoy the shops then and get something hot to drink

[rafinmd]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

oh well just enjoy the shops then and get something hot to drink

Much nicer day in Bar Harbor than predicted.  Was over for about 2 hours, pleasant weather with no sign of rain so far.  I think it's a bit foggy but the sun is coming through it.

 

Roy

[grapau27]

On 5/26/2022 at 12:50 PM, Cruise a holic said:

Do you know if the ship has night lights in the bathrooms of the Jr. suites?

In my experience sailing in balcony or junior suite cabins they have all had night lights in the bathroom.

Graham.

[Cruise a holic]

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

In my experience sailing in balcony or junior suite cabins they have all had night lights in the bathroom.

Graham.

On the adventure in a jr suite.  No bathroom night light

[Nabalab]

Hi Roy,

 

Thanks for your updates, I’ve been following along.  On Adventure now, on the first half of a B2B.  How did you receive the “consecutive cruiser” letter?  

We asked Guest Services on Day 1, they said we should receive it in our stateroom on Day 3 (today).

 

We didn’t receive it and our stateroom attendant seems to have no clue what a B2B (or a consecutive cruise) is!  Just an aloof confused look.  So we got the form from guest services. 

 

Thank you!

[erewhon]

@rafinmd Roy,   Thank you for these reports during your cruise.

Are there any cases of covid on board?

[Blur]

3 hours ago, Nabalab said:

Hi Roy,

 

Thanks for your updates, I’ve been following along.  On Adventure now, on the first half of a B2B.  How did you receive the “consecutive cruiser” letter?  

We asked Guest Services on Day 1, they said we should receive it in our stateroom on Day 3 (today).

 

We didn’t receive it and our stateroom attendant seems to have no clue what a B2B (or a consecutive cruise) is!  Just an aloof confused look.  So we got the form from guest services. 

 

Thank you!

Form?  Also doing b2b on this cruise and didn't get a letter either.  Asked guest services and they said I'll get a letter last night?

[grapau27]

9 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

On the adventure in a jr suite.  No bathroom night light

Last time we were on Adventure was 2011 but we have been on almost every Royal Caribbean ship and every P&O ship and there has been a bathroom night light on them all.

Personally I wish there wasn't a night light but my wife prefers it.

I am really enjoying Roy's live from review.

Graham.

[puppycanducruise]

Loving your reports and pictures.  Thanks.