"Live from Adventure of the Seas"

[ckrobyn]

BRL -

 

Thanks for the play by play!

 

I appreciate the info on the Courtyard Miramar - this is where we are booked pre-cruise for Feb 24/07 and are really looking forward to it :)

 

Keep the updates coming and have a wonderful cruise!! :D

[BuyReallyLow]

First light wakes us up at a bit after 6:30. We're both early risers. Mission #1 - give my beautiful wife a kiss good morning - never pass up a chance to kiss someone you love and tell them you love them.....

 

Breakfast is delivered at 7:30 AM. Breakfast room service is easily ordered by hanging a order form on the doorhandle. Croissants, pastries, coffee, OJ.... perfect to wake up to while sitting on the balcony. Ah.... live is good!

 

Time to wear off some of that food! Get up stairs and walk a mile around the track (5 laps makes a mile) The weather is beautiful! Perfect temperature of around 78 for a morning walk. Get to the gym to lift a little.... wait, I'm on vacation! Do a VERY little and then get down to the Coinceige Lounge to speak with Ana about changing our Portofino reservation on Thursday Night. We will be eating at Portofinos tonight and now on FRIDAY night, the 40th birthday of the wife of our friends. Ana in the lounge is very helpful at changing the reservation. She also hooks us up with her favorite restaurant on Aruba for dinner tomorrow night. She is a delightful lady from Romania who is quick with a smile, very friendly, but also an attentive listener. We will be heading down to see her and others over drinks when I finish Part 1 of todays review.

 

After speaking with Ana, we head to the pool to claim our chairs. I have been told by some members of the crew that we are NOT a full boat - in fact they are giving away an Owners Suite AND A Royal Family Suite. So we have NO trouble getting chairs on the upper deck overlooking the pool on the end near the Blue Moon. We laid out and watched the Adventure Pool games (swim races, etc). until we were chased away just before noon by an agressive sun shower that caught many by surprise! After drying off, we headed off to Johnny Rockets for lunch. We had coupons from our Ultimate Value Books that waived the $3.95 cover charge. You still had to pay for drinks - but all the hamburgers, chilli, fries and ONION RINGS!! you ever wanted to eat. We were going to try to waddle back to the room, but first we had to swing by the showing of the Royal Family Suite to answer Dave&Micki's questions!:)

 

The Royal Family suite is like a very big base balcony cabin. Upon entering, you are in a hallway that has one room with two double beds on oneside. No TV and no hanging closet - but shelves for things to be placed on. Across the hall was the bathroom (normal in most everyway). Past the bathroom was the master suite, which is two singles put togther with its own bathroom. The "living room" was a nice sized area, with a TV, couch and two chairs, along with a table (about 3-4 foot around). The entire back wall was the large balcony - one slider from the master bedroom, and one from the living room. the Royal Family Suite we saw was room # 8694. It was nice, especially if your brining your family. It is said to sleep eight, but it looks like a family of six would be more comfortable. Dave&Micki - I hope this helps!

 

Time to wear off some food, so it was up for the first round of many to come at Mini Golf! It is a nine-hole course - and it was a bit wet from the earlier rain - but we gave it a good battle! The winner of the first round was mcsscott by one stroke over yours truly due to a miraculous hole-in-one on the Par 4 9th! The soon to be 40 year old was 3rd, and my DW came in 4th. She is normally deadly good at putt-putt - so I am afraid she is just setting us up! Then it was time for the Free Throw Shooting Contest! 26 people signed up of all ages - both male and female. Do you want to guess who won? The soon-to-be 40 year old! She beat all of us to become the champion. The crowd was cheering her on and it was quite a sight and experience!!!

 

I am now back in the cabin after getting CyberCabin working after having it break down for a 2nd time. I'm a patient man, but so far it has been the only part that has not been excellent. But the service people have been very helpful - it is just that the dial-up connection is ancient - it works off a satelite that drops signal like a bad cellphone connection - so as I type on my laptop, I continue to hope that I will not lose this material! It makes loading pictures on this site or any other to be quite a challenge, but I will persevere!;)

 

This evening, I will post comments on the upper decks, the Captain's Welcome Aboard Reception at 7:30 PM, dinner at Portofinos, The headliner of "the unique show of interactive comedy, music and visual effects" by El Gaucho, maybe take in some of the battle of the sexes game at 10:15, and if we're up to it some late night adult comedy at 12:15 - whew.... I hope I can keep up my stamina!

 

A final note - they announced last night on the show that there were around 400 kids under the age of 17 on board. Thus far I have not observed any behavior that I consider unruly, nor have they been rude. There are many people from Puerto Rico - but again I have not observed anything rude, pushy, or unpleasant. They appear to be on the boat for the same reason we are - to enjoy themselves! I will keep watching, but I really don't anticipate any troubles. We were joined at dinner last night by two couples from Sweden who were a riot! When they asked me where I was from I said "Wisconsin" and he held his hands out on the side of his head and said "Moose"? I thought he said "Moo" and said "Yes, we have lots of cows!" He then asked if I was a farmer, which brought many laughs from everyone. So even the eight of us, from two very different cultures - were able to communicate and enjoy each others company. I fully intend to continue to try to experience new people and make new friendships.... THAT is what the best Ship is (at least that's what I read on Blue T-Shirts on the ship today - which I think sums it all up!)

 

Enough for now.... I think I'll take a nap!:eek:

 

BRL

[mikeblum]

THIS ON GOING REVIEW IS FANTATICO....we are saling the AOS on 3-18-07 and also staying at ther miamar marriott st patricks night 3-17...really looking forward to getting out of minneapolis for some fun in the sun and humidity...the reviews have been outstanding...did they ever get your internet issue resolved in the room or are you still using the internet cafe'...have you had the oppoertunity to use the concerige (sp) lounge yet...enjoy the trip and let us know more on your day to day if not hour to hour updates...this is like chrismas early...may hat is off to you...

[rum runner]

We are sailing on April 1st on the AOS. This will be our 1st cruise on RCL.

I am also from Wisconsin and hope you have a wonderful time and thanks.

[drarill]

BRL:

Thanks for your review, I'm loving every post. Keep the updates coming.

Lydia

[MiniMom57]

Thanks for the on-going review.....we are on board in March, and this is just getting me exciteder and exiteder!!!!:D

[BuyReallyLow]

Buy- I have OS 1608 booked next Oct. Trying to get 1314 as it's on the hump so I'll keep trying. As for Freedom, get the OS! I was in an OS on Explorer and the Freedom OS is MUCH larger. It makes you feel like you're in a very large hotel suite with a balcony twice the size of Voyager class ships. Just awesome.

 

We loved the OS on Explorer (which should be the same as on AOS). Keep it comin'......

 

Our friends are in 1608 and are enjoying it. I keep trying to get an OS on Freedom - but according to the Loyalty Coordinator - there are only two rooms left on the ship. Will have to wait until December 10th to see if anyone cancels a room.

[dave&micki]

Thank you for checking out the RFS--Room #8694 __ THAT IS THE ONE WE HAVE!!!This is such a great review I can,t wait to get home each day and log on to your comments(not to mention it means one less day for us to go!! Really looking forward to your port comments!! Have a great time and REALLY enjoy yourselves!!!!!!!!!!!

[Finflapper]

My written review will soon be posted after it is reviewed. It was my first review after sailing with Royal Caribbean four times. It was written with total truth and no exaggerations if anyone wishes to know. It set sail on November 26, 2006.

[Gator0178]

We had El Goucho on the Sovereign Oct 27th cruise and he was GREAT!! Let me know how you liked him. I would see him again in a minute, and I don't say that about very many entertainers!

[BuyReallyLow]

Well, another evening, another set of memories that will last a lifetime!

 

Tonight we began by visiting the Concierge (sp?) lounge to visit our friend Ana (Concierge) and have some drinks and hors d'oevres. Was able to meet Brenda and her husband - it was wonderful to meet you and hope to see more of you in the days to come! Our dinner reservations were at 8 PM at Portofinos - so we made our visit to the Skyline Chapel on Deck 15 - a nice little chapel that would be perfect for renewing wedding vows or getting married for the first time. After that we had some drinks in the Blue Moon Lounge - which is a relaxed Jazz Club overlooking the pool area. One side is the Blue Moon, the other side is the 19th Hole. Both of these are found on Deck 14. The Kir Royals were flowing and prepared us for our fantastic dinner at Portofinos!

 

Portofinos never disappoints - from the Lobster Bisque and Tiger Shrimp Appetizers, to the Mushroom Bow-Tie Pasta, to the Filet Mignon and extra helping of Tiger Shrimp, to the fantastic Tiramasu and coffee - things could not be nicer nor better. It is WELL worth the $20 per person price tag. We were speaking over dinner tonight and in the Concierge lounge as to whether we thought the food quality had "dropped since the old days." One visitor had an interesting thought - the food quality had not dropped, just the items to compare it to had increased and improved. I thought that was an excellent point and something to ponder - especially on the threads devoted to the subject.

 

After dinner, it was time for El Gaucho. He was good and interesting - think Estaban and his guitar meets a South American Yanni on his Piano meets a tap dancer -with a lite show and comedy act. Interesting huh? His act certainly was - it was good and you certainly won't forget him if you see his name on a future cruise.

 

We meant to stay up for the Adult comedy of Eric Lyden, but instead went up on the Heli-Pad with the full-moon out to enjoy the absolutely perfect evening. It was wonderful and special. So we come to the end of another perfect day - temps in the low 80s, mostly sunshine - a full moon to walk holding hands to.....Could it get much better? Tomorrow is Aruba, we'll be visiting the Renessance (sp?) resort to go to their private island for a day at the beach - we'll certainly give you an update! Until then....

 

BRL

 

 

P.S. - the drink of the day was Razzonade. The special thick glasses made their appearance. I saw the colors of Yellow, Orange, Red, and Green stripe. They were $8.95 if you wanted it in the pretty glass - $5.95 if you just wanted the nice glass Royal Caribbean gives out with the drinks of the day.

 

Questions Answered (or attempted to:p :)

 

DivaofDisney - no new bedding yet on Adventure, according to Conceirge and our room attendant. They are both expecting a dry dock sometime in 2007

 

Daycare Provider - I remember seeing a vendor selling Bacardi right outside of the doors you enter for security. So after they take your bags, and you stand in the shortline - it was right there outside the doors.

 

Good Night all.....

[Daycare Provider]

Thank You for the info.

1. Which route are you on?

2. Is the Solarium as beautiful as pictures make it to believe?

[admiral]

BRL-It is wonderful to see your post. We are sailing soon and it is the first cruise in many years. Hoping Christmas will be special on board. Enjoy your time.

[BuyReallyLow]

Thank You for the info.

 

1. Which route are you on?

2. Is the Solarium as beautiful as pictures make it to believe?

 

We are on the San Juan - Aruba - Curacoa - St. Maarten -St. Thomas - San Juan route.

 

Solarium is very nice. But here is my opinion coming thru... I like the Solarium set up on the Radiance Class of ships a bit better - it is covered. It is not fully covered on the Voyager classes. But it is still nice a quieter than the main pool area.

 

Hope this helps,

 

BRL

[Daycare Provider]

BRL- thank you for the info. We will be doing the Barbados, St. Lucia, route at the end of April. I am really looking forward to using the solarium on our day at sea.

[mikeblum]

we are on the AOS in 3 months and can hardly wait...your review of each day is outstanding...i have to agree the moon the last 2 nites has been fantastic...unfortunately your seeing it from the caribbean sea at night and i'm frezzing my el muchacho's off in minneapolis...can't wait to go to the portofino's on board...we have been to chop but not portofino's...the $20 charge per person is nothing compared to the quality food and service...did you make your portifino reservation or did ana from cl...enjoy aruba and let us know how your day went...

[BuyReallyLow]

Just out of the shower after spending the first part of our day on Aruba. We decided to spend the day at the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino. For $50 per person, they take you to their private island, provide you with lunch, a drink, and any non-motorized item you wish (fins, snorkel, mats, etc). For us, it was $100 (couple) well spent! From the boat it is a 5 minute walk to the Renaissance Resort, where you pay for the pass and then catch the boat right in the lobby(cool!) and they wisk you out the island (which is maybe 10 minutes off shore in sight of the airport. This island has been completely retrofitted and is complete with a wonderful beach, rows and rows of well-spaced palm trees to provide shade for your lounge chair, and hammocks aplenty to lay back and read a book! It really is paradise (man made of course). The lagoon is plenty big enough to get around in Bannana boats, or float on mats, or to snorkel. It is shallow enough to walk 1/3rd of the way out to the breakwall.

 

The lunch was equally delightful - we had a basket of onionrings, delicious grilled chicken with a spicey peanut sauce, a Banana Raspberry Margarita, and a Haagen Daaz Ice Cream Bar - all included! After lunch we retired to our hammocks/chairs/mats and literally lounged the afternoon away. The skies were almost perfectly clear --86 degrees - - a few nice white puffy clouds floating by to provide extra scenery - we could not have created a better picture. We took the private boat back at around 4 PM (it runs every :15 minutes), and then took in the "guess the movie" trivia in the Schooner Bar. Another example of a memory we will never forget: we walked in a bit late, and did not know how the game actually worked. We thought it was "guess the song" instead of "guess the movie". There was a group of six that was working together as a team. The song "Can you feel the love tonight" from the Lion King came on. The group was having trouble picking it up, so as the "friendly" guy I am, I walked over to one of the ladies in the group and said "Can you feel the love tonight?". You should have seen the look on her face - a bit of shock, followed by surprise, followed by playful delight! They all broke out laughing! Imagine my embarassment - we had fun bantering back and forth for the rest of the game - which they ended up winning getting 18 correct! My wife and I will not forget this moment - we saw one of the couples in the Concierge lounge last night - I hope we run into them again! Another example of a cruise ship memory.

 

Tonight after cleaning up, we are going back onto the island to get dinner at a establishment suggested by our Conciege - The Flying Fishboat restaurant. It is a favorite of Ana and her boyfriend (they are going there tonight also), so we are looking forward to trying that tonight. I'll post tonight and let you know about our thoughts. The ship does not leave until 12:30 AM tomorrow morning - so we'll get a chance to experience some nightlife!

 

I will leave you with some interesting thoughts (at least to me) regarding a conversation I had this morning in the lounge with the Hotel Director Robert Taggart. We were comparing notes and thoughts on different ships and the cruise industry in general. He volunteered some interesting thoughts on the port of San Juan. He said that San Juan as a departure port was "dying on the vine". Not that the port was not a fantastic departure port - but that with American Airlines having almost a stranglehold on flights in-and-out, they have been able to keep the prices to fly high (don't I know!). He then mentioned the stack of emails/mail he has on his deck regarding the "Puerto Rico" situation. He asked if I have had any poor experiences, and I said no - I have had nothing but a good experience. But it got me to thinking about a possible chain reaction - More cruise ships means more supply. High Airfare prices means less stateside travel. This means an empty ship (this ship is 500 short of capacity. At 2 per room, that means 250 empty rooms.). Which means trying to drum up sales - which means deals for those who do not have to travel - which creates the current situation. He also mentioned that Casino sales and Portofino reservations were at low levels.

 

I know there are other threads that are dealing with this issue ad nausem, which I have refused to read during the cruise so as not to cloud any of my observations any more than they already are - but it is certainly on the radar screen of Royal Caribbean. Speaking of supply - only two boats in port today - us and Princess Regal - who just left. So the port is ours and ours alone tonight!

 

So until later..... enjoy your day - we are CERTAINLY enjoying ours!:)

 

BRL

[BuyReallyLow]

we are on the AOS in 3 months and can hardly wait...your review of each day is outstanding...i have to agree the moon the last 2 nites has been fantastic...unfortunately your seeing it from the caribbean sea at night and i'm frezzing my el muchacho's off in minneapolis...can't wait to go to the portofino's on board...we have been to chop but not portofino's...the $20 charge per person is nothing compared to the quality food and service...did you make your portifino reservation or did ana from cl...enjoy aruba and let us know how your day went...

 

Ana set them up for us - we'll be at Portofinos again on Friday. BTW - I'm a MPLS boy myself - I did see the weather has warmed up a bit compared to last week.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

BRL

[mikeblum]

great to here that your from minneapolis also...getting to 30 degree's today and tommorrow...thursday and friday back into to deep freeze...high in the single digits...this weekend it's supposed to hit high 30's to low 40's...sounds like shorts and coppertone weather...may have to break out the sun reflector and the weber grill and play some caribbean tunes and lounge in the drive way with my holiday decoraions swaying in the breeze...BRL reading your daily reviews has really made my week...please keep it up...we are going on the AOS in march (3-18-07) and also staying at the miramar...what nite would you recommend going to portofino's...

[Daycare Provider]

We are sailing on the AOS April 29th. I hope that everything will be alright with our cruise. We will be past spring break and before Mother's Day. I hope that is a lucky window for us.

Brl-will you be enjoying any of the spa amenities? when and if you do, could you please post them? I am cursious as to the price for a couples massage. We leave PR at 10:00 p.m. at night. We will have plenty of time before we sail to start our vacation off on the right foot.

Daycare Provider

[pambo]

BRL - Is Scott still the piano player in the Schooner Lounge? We had a lot of fun singing along with him last year at this time.

 

We're enjoying your posts - enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[dave&micki]

I think you two should charge RCCL for giving such in-depth commentary-- This is as good as the TRAVEL CHANNEL even without pictures!!! ENJOY YOUR TIME!!!!--- A quick question?? Did you have to pre-reserve for the resort tripon Aruba or can you just go if you feel like it ??THANKS AGAIN!!!

[ckrobyn]

Anxiously awaiting more !

Thanks for letting us cruise with you :)

[cme4ltc]

:D Both my sister and I are sailing on 1-28. This is so much fun living our future cruise through you and your wife's eyes. Can you stay on giving us these fantastic updates until we get on? Then we will take over the helm.

We too are in an Owner's suite. How do you like it? Is this your 1st OS? It is for us and we are really excited about the room. Ours is 1320, on the hump. Any advantage of being on the hump?

You sound like you are having a wonderful cruise. Did you book your excursions on your own? Since we are on the same islands as you, is there any advantage of booking through the ship. We think that we want to rent a jeep in Aruba and do the BOB underwater adventure. Anything else is still up in the air.

Keep up the great updates, you have many people smiling until they can get on the ship and begin their memories.

Terri

[swmichigan cruiser]

We just got off the ship on Sunday Dec 3rd and your right Ana is a great lady and is about the best thing on the ship. We had over 2200 Puerto Rican's on our sailing and I have contacted RCCL with my comments about that sailing and our experiences on the ship. We enjoyed the ports of call, the ship and the staff especially Ana. Please tell Ana we said hello and we will email her directly later after we get our pictures together to email her..Thanks