Back from Adventure of the Seas 09 August 2009

[antas901]

Background:

A few years ago one of my aunts had the idea that we should get together as a family on a cruise. So, in 2007 we went on the Liberty of the Seas (Royal Caribbean’s newest ship at the time). We invited friends as well as family and we had a group of 43 people on the Liberty of the Seas. We had an excellent experience and for 2009 we booked the Adventure of the Seas. Perhaps it was this ship or the itinerary or maybe the economy, but our group shrunk from 43 people in 2007 to 28 people in 2009. This group of 28 included me and my daughters (10 and 11), my brother and his “date”, my parents, several cousins an aunt and many family friends. There were four children, all girls ages 13, 11, 10 (those were mine) and 9. In April (of this year), my “significant other” of four years, and I broke it off, so I didn’t have a cabin mate. On the Liberty of the Seas in 2007, my daughters stayed in my parents’ suite instead putting them in my itty-bitty stateroom :-) and that was the original plan for this cruise. However, since my ex was not going, my 10 year old asked if she could stay with me in my cabin and my oldest would stay in the suite with my parents. Everyone liked that arrangement and that’s how the trip went.

Pre-Cruise:

I booked LaConcha in San Juan for Saturday, 08 August 2009 many months ago. The afternoon before we leave to go to San Juan, I get a call from Michael at LaConcha, who said that there was an electrical problem at the hotel which affected the room that I reserved. Michael goes on to say that we are being moved to the DoubleTree hotel, which is LaConcha’s sister property. I ask him if there are any other hotel options, such as, Marriott San Juan Resort & Stellaris Casino (which is where my parents have their reservation). Michael says that the DoubleTree is all he can offer and he offers the room at the DoubleTree at no charge. It was hard to pass up that offer so, I accepted :-)

Saturday morning, our flight is at 7:10 am. My daughters are surprisingly up and alert as we get to the airport. We’re flying Delta and I am a member of their elite frequent flyer program, so the checked baggage fee is waived (yaay) and our wait in line is extremely short. Let me say this, I thoroughly enjoy living in the mid-size city that we live in, but one drawback is there are no direct flights to San Juan (actually, there are not many direct flights anywhere except to the major airlines’ hub cities) so, we have to change planes in Atlanta. We get on the plane and push back from the gate on time, however due to heavy air traffic in Atlanta, we are not allowed to take off. We sit on the tarmac for over an hour until we are cleared and fly to Atlanta without any other complications. We arrive at concourse E and our connecting flight to San Juan leaves from concourse A. We have about 12 minutes to de-plane, get to the airport subway, get from concourse E to concourse A and then make our way to our departure gate! If you remember the old Hertz commercials with O.J. Simpson running through airport, I’m doing a re-creation of those commercials with a 10 and an 11 year old behind me. We get to the gate and the plane is still there. It seems that they were holding the plane for us, because as soon as we were seated, they closed the forward door and began the safety video and pushed back from the gate.

We made the connecting flight, but our luggage did not. We spent about 90 minutes killing time in the San Juan airport waiting for the next flight from Atlanta to arrive with our luggage. Looking back, I should have put swimsuits for the girls in one of the carry-on bags and we would have gone to the hotel. That way, the girls could have used the pool at the hotel while the airline delivered the luggage. The 90 minutes passed quickly enough and we got our luggage with no problems. Just outside the baggage claim area is the taxi stand. There is a line, but it moves quickly. We get a cab to the DoubleTree hotel. I can’t remember the cost, but it was maybe $20 for the three of us.

The DoubleTree was fine. I’ve stayed at many DoubleTree hotels and this one was about middle of the road. The girls were excited about the waterfall at the pool and the 2nd bed in the room was a Murphy bed, which they had only seen on television. I was excited about the price :-)

DoubleTree Room Pic 1

DoubleTree Room Pic 2

Within minutes of getting into the room, the girls are changed and at the pool. I don’t swim so, I’m pool side on the phone checking to make sure other members of our group that were scheduled to arrive on Saturday have arrived. I also make plans to meet my parents at their hotel and from there we’ll get dinner.

The girls swim for a while and make a new friend, Naomi.

We shower, change and catch a taxi to the Marriott San Juan Resort. The Marriott was a hive of activity; cars and taxis arriving and departing every 10 seconds. The lobby was buzzing with people from the bar and casino. It was a very different atmosphere than the DoubleTree (which was more subdued). The view from my parents’ balcony was amazing. It was an excellent view of the beach – a far cry from the pool view I have at the DoubleTree. I took a moment to enjoy the sea air from their balcony … a taste of what awaits us on the Adventure of the Seas tomorrow. We go to a Japanese steakhouse next to the Marriott for dinner. The food was good, the sushi was great and the chef’s presentation was better than most Japanese steakhouses. I liked that the chef used a lot more fire in the presentation than I’d seen in other Japanese steakhouses. Also, he included all of the children at the table in the show. My daughters and one other pre-teen girl from another party, each took turns trying to flip and catch an egg on a spatula as he did. That was quite funny. Excellent meal, excellent show, but kind of pricey.

At the Japanese Steakhouse trying to flip the egg

After dinner we walk to La Concha so my mother can check out the casino and I can see what the hotel was like (and what we missed out on). La Concha is beautiful. The Marriott San Juan Resort is quite nice, but I think I prefer the La Concha. The lobby of La Concha was elegant. While outside the hotel the same level of vehicle activity as the San Juan Resort Marriott, inside was as busy, but more spread out. We were not able to see the guest rooms or the view, but La Concha is also on the beach, so the view should be like what I saw from the Marriott San Juan Resort. We were able to walk through the common areas and out to the beach behind La Concha (more sea air … the anticipation is building). All of that to say, the DoubleTree is not as nice as either the Marriott San Juan Resort or the La Concha. The DoubleTree is nice and for one night (and all we really used was the pool). It was perfect for me and my daughters. I was splurging by getting a room at La Concha and I’m sure it would have been really nice. I have a loyalty to Marriott properties (La Concha is a Marriott property where DoubleTree is not). I would not stay at the DoubleTree if I were paying – not because there was anything wrong with the DoubleTree, I just avoid Hilton properties (a long story for another day). From what I saw, the DoubleTree, La Concha and Marriott San Juan Resort are all fine hotels. I’d recommend any of them to anyone that asked.

We walked back to the Marriott San Juan Resort, stopping at Haagen Dazs for dessert and Wal-Greens for one more underwater camera (we had two and needed a third). From the Marriott, it was a short cab ride back to the DoubleTree hotel. We turned in for the night and we would be off to the pier. Check-out time is 11am the next day at the DoubleTree and the Marriott San Juan Resort. My parents and I agree to meet at the pier shortly after 11am.

 

Day One Leaving San Juan:

As planned we took a taxi to the pier which cost about $20. The trip from the airport to the hotel must have been less expensive, because I remember thinking that the taxi to the pier was more than the day before. If you plan for $20 for the taxi to the hotel and $20 from the hotel to the pier, you’ll be fine. I thoroughly enjoy the feeling of seeing the ship for the first time and I think my girls act out my excitement. It is a pleasure to be with them as they bounce in their seats, smile and giggle with anticipation! We got to the pier about 11:20 or so and my parents were already in line. We took our bags to the workers who were going to put them on the ship. After I tipped the baggage handler, I asked where we went next (as if I couldn’t see that looooong line of people waiting). He asked if we were “Diamond or Platinum” and I said “no.” The said “then you go to the regular line” and motioned toward the line my parents were in. After we got to the end of the line where my parents were, I asked my mother, “Aren’t you Diamond or Platinum?” She said that they were (she told me which one, but it went in one ear and out the other). I said, I think there is a separate line for you then. I told her about my brief exchange with the baggage handler, and she and my daughters went to find out about the “irregular (?)” line :-) Shortly my 10 year old returns and says that we (my father) and I should leave the regular line and go with her. We end up in waiting area right next to the doors, by-passing about 200 or so people in the “regular” line. This waiting area is for Platinum and Diamond Crown & Anchor members, which I am neither. My mother explains that the reason that I am here in the “special people” section is that my daughter who is in their suite needs to check-in with them and they need me as her legal guardian and because her SeaPass card will be attached to my credit card. That sounded good to me – anything to avoid standing in that heat.

 

Check-in is a breeze and we are headed to the gangway. Between the gangway and the ship is someone in a uniform checking SeaPass cards and passports. We had to be one of the first 30 people he saw that day, but he was visibly displeased with his job. In fact, my brother’s date told of her encounter with him later that day. She said that she said to him, “you look REALLY bored.” He replied, “that’s because I am – REALLY bored.” Our encounter with him was brief and we were only mere yards away from the ship! Just a quick squirt of hand sanitizer and we were on board!!!!! The girls got wristbands indicating their muster stations. We purchased the soda package for them and we were off to the Windjammer for lunch.

I’d read rave reviews of the “honey stung chicken” and I couldn’t wait to try it! The chicken was a bit dry for my taste, but the sauce it was coated with was good. I brought Splenda with me on board (as that is the only sweetener that I use). My mother knew that they have Splenda: you just have to ask for it. The wait staff in the Windjammer seemed as if they paid for the Splenda from their pockets. A running joke for the week was that every pack of Splenda chipped away money from their tips. We finished lunch in the Windjammer. Of course after lunch in the WJ, you *have* to get some soft serve ice cream (yogurt) for desert :-) After ice cream, we explored the ship a little and my DDs wanted to toast the trip with (virgin) drinks from Gravity Sports Bar on the promenade. My DD (11) got a virgin margarita (she likes sour stuff) and my DD (10) got a Strawberry Daiquiri. My DD (11) would never admit to making a mistake, she never ordered a Margarita again. Throughout the cruise, she tried a Pina Colada and eventually settled on Strawberry Daiquiris. There was an Asian bartender (I forgot his name and I feel really badly about that) in The Duck and Dog Pub on the Promenade that put a splash of Pina Colada mix in the girls’ Strawberry Daiquiris and they really loved that. Based on their recommendation, I’d say if you like Strawberry Daiquiris give it a try.

At 2:00 we headed to the suite where my parents and DD (11) would be staying. It was a Grand Suite, 1588, which was laid out exactly like the GS on Liberty. We (me, my DDs and my Parents) headed downstairs to my cabin, 9390 – which is about the size of the bathroom in 1588 :-) I chose 9390 because of the view and the view was AMAZING. The aft view is breath taking. I liked 9390 because I didn’t see or hear any neighbors, except my brother who was in 9392 next door (more on that later).

The girls were off to the pool and I was off to a lounge chair in the shade listening to music on my iPhone. The girls hated the salt water in the pool. I’d read about the salt water on these boards, but they were expecting the chlorinated water like on the Liberty of the Seas. We ended up getting them some goggles, but that was a little later in the trip. They played in the pool for about 2 hours (maybe a little under 2 hours). I used the time to send as many “I’m out of the office with no e-mail” e-mails as I could while I still had my regular cell service in San Juan.

After the pool, my DD (11) went to her “suite” (she really enjoyed saying, “I’m headed back to the suite”) and my DD (10) went to our cabin to shower and change for the evening (if our luggage had arrived). When we got to our room, my brother and his date were arriving. His cabin was next to ours, 9392. Basically the same cabin, but his balcony was much larger, and had a similar view. In the deck plan diagrams from Royal Caribbean, the balcony is illustrated as a square, when it is actually more of a triangle. From 9392, you couldn’t see as much of the starboard side as I could from 9390, but I will certainly consider cabin 9392 for next time. The better view of the starboard side was one advantage 9390 has over 9392. The other advantage is 9390 doesn’t really have anyone directly over our balcony. When I was on my balcony, 9390, I felt as if nothing were overhead, just the sky. On the balcony of 9392, it has a more closed in feel, with the balcony of the cabin on deck 10 looming above. My cabin, 9390 had four chairs on the balcony, two lounge chairs and two “regular” chairs. We set the regular chairs off to the side as I don’t see how four people could sit on the balcony at the same time. My brother’s balcony, 9392, also had the same four chairs and a small table. You could sit four people on his balcony and even use the table if you desired. I really enjoyed the view from the balcony – watching the horizon sail away :-) The drawbacks that I found with that cabin were:

1. The chairs on the balcony were really, really dirty. We placed pool towels on the chairs to protect our clothes from getting dirty.

2. It seems like they wash the windows of the Windjammer daily and that water gets on the balcony. That means the run –off water gets on the chairs (which is probably why they were so dirty), on the pool towels (darn it. Now I have to go get fresh towels for the chairs – again). That leads me to my other drawback about the aft cabin, 9390…

3. It is a LONG walk to the elevators. I didn’t feel bad having that extra slice of pie from Café Promenade because I was going to walk off the calories on the way to the room :-)

Another thing to note is that in the aft cabin you definitely feel the ship moving compared to a cabin mid-ship. I was in my parents’ cabin, 1588 (which is mid-ship), several times during the week, chatting in their sitting area, and it felt nothing like the rocking I felt in my cabin. I don’t mind the movement of the ship, but some people may be more sensitive than I am, so I mention it as an “FYI”. Despite those minor drawbacks, I think I may have become an aft cabin junkie :-) I’ll certainly look for an aft cabin first from now on.

 

I was glad to have late seating because I read somewhere on this forum that the sail-away from San Juan is incredible and not to be missed. Maybe it was the build up about the San Juan sail-away, but it was just “ok”. There were other sail-aways on this trip that were more awe inspiring IMHO.

Dinner in the dining room was a bit disappointing. I had the Shrimp Ravoli and it was very bland. My father enjoyed what he had (I think he had Prime Rib). Maybe it was what I ordered. Next time, I’ll follow Dad’s lead. I liked our waiter, Raj, and assistant, Deral (both from India). Our group spanned three tables. Deral was the assistant for all three and Raj was the waiter for two of the tables. The third table had a waitress that I never caught her name, but she spent a lot of time at the third table talking with them about the ports, about the ship, about the survey. It was as if she only had that one table :-) The head waiter, I think his name was Mark, was at our table fairly frequently (at least he was around more than I remember head waiters from previous cruises). I think that was because my mother, who was the coordinator of our group asked him to help celebrate the special occasions of our group; two anniversaries, two birthdays and one honeymoon.

After the late dinner was the show in the Lyric Theater. The cruise director opened the show with a few jokes and announcements. The comedian performed his “family friendly” routine. I think he may have said a** twice, but (to my dismay) my DDs hear that and worse watching George Lopez on Nick at Night. He had a second show on Thursday for “Adults only”. I thought his Sunday night show was the better of the two. (Ooops. I don’t mean to get ahead of myself). After the comedian, the Cruise Director made a few more comments about the events of the next day and the show was over. It was about 45 minutes from start to finish (10 minutes of the Cruise Director in the beginning, 30 minutes of the comedian and a 5 minute wrap up by the Cruise Director).

After the show, my cousins and friends are in the hallway doing “what are you going to do?” “I don’t know. What are you going to do?” thing. My DDs and I went to see the parade on the Promenade. I thought it was fine – a good way to start the cruise. We decide that we are tired and will call it a night.

Parade Pic

 

Next installment "Day at Sea and Formal Night" …

[Aviator of the Seas]

Thank you for the review and the pics, antas! I think we had breakfast together on disembarkation day, although I was engaged by the other family at the table. I recognize the young ladies in your pics.

[wolfcathorse]

Who was the captain for the Aug 9th sailing?

[cruzincanuck]

Great review so far. Thank you for taking the time.

Looking forward to the next installments :D

[mc117]

Nice review so far. The bartender in the pub is Eric

[alexkrn46]

Thank you for your detailed review, looking forward to the next part.

[Loves_Dogs]

Thank you for taking the time to write. Hurry back :-), I am anxiously waiting for the next chapter!

[KTMay1917]

Hey,

Great review my fellow NC'ian!!! Sorry to hear your flight was delayed. We decided to fly in a day early this time as well. 2 yrs ago we flew the day of and made it w/ pleanty of time to spare but every plane we get on now is delayed.

Can't wait to read the rest of the review

[OceanDreams]

Our cruise on the AOS is scheduled for October 4th, and it is always great to read someone's reviews both our cruise. Keep them coming.

 

OceanDreams

[verodoodle]

more...please. :)

[OceanDreams]

......ready to read more when you're ready to post more. :D

 

OceanDreams

[masonpips]

Yea! Thanks for the review, it's almost our turn....

[rorito]

Yea! Thanks for the review, it's almost our turn....

 

Masonpips:We are the sailing just before you. I grew up in Norman. Sooner Fan?

Antas901:Keep the the wonderful review and photos coming! I'm loving it!

Howdy OceanDreams (and the rest of my friends from our roll call)!

[rorito]

bump this thread back to page one!

[masonpips]

Masonpips:We are the sailing just before you. I grew up in Norman. Sooner Fan?

 

Hardly! Grew up in midwest, I'm a Big 10 fan through and through. Dh did grow up here but went to (the other) OSU so he bleeds orange (side note: WHO thinks orange looks good on anyone?)

[travel_babe]

Thanks for the review so far, can't wait for the rest!

[Pat in NC]

Hello from another North Carolinan...Raleigh...

We will be sailing our of San Juan Sept 27th...

Your report is great....:D

[OceanDreams]

Pulling this thread forward....

 

OceanDreams

[cookie225]

alo?? we are waiting.......

[antas901]

Adventure of the Seas Day 2

Sea days… you can never have too many sea days.

I’m up fairly early … my DD (10) is still sleeping, I go up two decks to the Windjammer and grab some French Toast, and some juice and head back down to my cabin to enjoy breakfast on the balcony. The view for breakfast:

 

 

Call me crazy, but I REALLY enjoy the French Toast on the ships. It’s probably one of my favorite things they serve. At breakfast one morning in the WJ, my mother took a bite of the French Toast. While giving me the “are you crazy?” look, she asked, “is this the French Toast you rave about?” Clearly, she doesn’t share my affinity for it. I recognize that I’m in a small minority of people that love their French Toast, so when you read “I had an excellent breakfast” it was because I had the French Toast :-)

I finally wake DD (10) at 9:00 so she can start her day. While she is getting ready, I go down to deck three to the photo shop because I have a question about the camera that I bought the day before. They get me straightened out and as I am leaving, I see the LONG line for Ice Show tickets. Last cruise, my mother got tickets for everyone in the group, but I didn’t hear any mention of her offering to do that for this cruise. In 2007, when we sailed, the Ice Show on the Liberty of the Seas was the best show all cruise so, I really didn’t want to miss the Ice Show on the Adventure of the Seas. I see a house phone near the elevator and I call my parents’ suite to see if they’ve made arrangements for the Ice Show tickets, or do I need to get in the line (fingers crossed & thinking “please say that you already have tickets”). My father tells me that the concierge is getting the tickets for everyone and not to worry. Relieved, I head back upstairs When I get back to the room, DD (10) is up and dressed and doing her favorite pass time, watching TV. Her sister is on her way to our room so I can take them to breakfast in the Windjammer. By the time we finish breakfast and select a “gold by the inch” chain for DD (11), it’s about time to head to the Meet & Mingle. This is my second Royal Caribbean Cruise and this would be the 2nd Meet & Mingle that I’ve attended. I was a bit surprised at the turnout, I expected more people from Cruise Critic to be there.

 

The Meet & Mingle was fine, the assistant cruise director passed out these Royal Caribbean “wallet” type things. They fold up nicely and have a strap so it can be worn around your neck. Almost everyone in our group put them to use immediately. At the Meet & Mingle, they raffled off a few items such as a USB Flash drive, a computer mouse and a tote bag with an umbrella inside (all Royal Caribbean Logo’d stuff). They served light Hors d'oeuvres, lemonade, iced tea and pineapple juice (pineapple juice?!?) – I guess the pineapple juice was not moving too well in the Windjammer so they brought a pitcher up to the Meet & Mingle :-)

 

After the Meet & Mingle, it’s almost time for the Aruba & Curacao Port & Shopping Show. DD (11) wants to go because everyone that attends gets a free charm bracelet and she wants to collect charms from every port of call. We get to the show which is in Studio B (the ice skating rink) so it’s a bit chilly for my taste. It seemed colder during the Shopping Show than during the Ice Show; maybe because of the bright lights used during the Ice Show or maybe there are more people for the Ice Show? The shopping talk takes about an hour (maybe a little more). I admire the patience of my DDs (10) and (11) for sitting through what had to be a pretty boring presentation for them. During the presentation, I bought a coupon book. The book costs $25.00 and it has several coupons for stores in each port. I’m not a big shopper. I bought the book for two reasons: #1 They had a coupon for a tote bag from Del Sol (the store where everything changes color in sunlight). The tote bag is kind of feminine but there’s a tailor in the city where I live that can convert it into a masculine drawstring bag for around $6 :-) Reason #2: there were a lot of free jewelry coupons. I thought the girls would have fun going from store to store collecting these trinkets. This way they would have definitely have some souvenirs (since it seemed that they were going to spend their budgeted money on Daiquiris). The coupon book is divided by port and it seemed to have every port that Royal Caribbean visits (not just the ports on this trip). In the book, there was a coupon for one pair of Tanzanite earrings from Tanzanite International in Aruba. I have two girls that are eighteen months apart. Having one pair of earrings would start World War III with the two of them bickering over who gets the earrings. What I did was take the coupon for Tanzanite International Aruba and the coupon for Tanzanite International Acapulco (I have no plans to go to Acapulco in the foreseeable future) to the TI store in Aruba. Both girls got a pair of the earrings. Is that wrong? I hope not because I did the same thing with Diamonds International, Effy Jewelers, and so on :-) But I’m getting ahead of myself. At the end of the shopping show, the staff was at the door handing out certificates that you could redeem at Diamonds International for a free charm bracelet. The staff was kind of “snippy” when we were told “only one per stateroom”. I told the staffer to give one to each girl as DD (11) was staying in my parent’s suite and DD (10) was staying with me. I mentioned the long line for the Ice Show tickets and the staff rationing out the certificates for the free charm bracelets for a reason – but you’ll have to read the next installments to learn why :-)

 

It’s about 1:15 and it’s been about three hours since our last meal! Surely we were famished! Off to the Windjammer!! One good thing about travelling with a group of family and friends is that someone from the group is always in the Windjammer and you can sit with them or have their table as they are leaving (you really never have to worry about finding a table). We run into my cousin from San Diego, his wife and their DD (9). They are finishing and are going to the pool and want my girls to come with them. I think “Are you kidding me? Trying to squeeze into the pool at this time of day? And on a sea day?” But I what I say is, “Sure, we’d love to join you in about an hour.” Today, in the Windjammer, I am a little more conservative after the honey stung chicken at lunch the day before and the Shrimp Ravioli at dinner. I take my father’s advice, “get something you know you’ll like.” Cheeseburger for me! (And it was good!) Desert left something to be desired, so I took the girls down to Café Promenade. They had a really good cheesecake. This was the only place (and the only day I saw this particular cheesecake). They had a variety of other cheesecakes throughout the week, but this one was hands down the best. It was a caramel flavor - really good. A side note … they had many cheesecakes throughout the week and several of them I didn’t care for. My DD (10) said that was because I was spoiled by The Cheesecake Factory and she enjoyed a lot more of the ship’s cheesecakes than I did.

Headed down to the Royal Promenade:

 

After we have our cheesecake we realize that we have only a few minutes to get the girls changed and off to the pool to meet their cousin.

 

We get to the pool and it is fairly crowded. The three girls manage to get in but I don’t think they were actually able to swim – more or less playing around in the water. By the time that I find a chair in the shade and get my iPod playing the playlist I want to hear, the girls had enough of the pool and want to go to the arcade. Back to the room, shower and change and off to the arcade.

 

On the way to the arcade, I stop at the Royal Caribbean online area so that I can set up my iPhone to use the ship’s wireless internet. This is where we used the Crown & Anchor Coupon books for the first time. The Crown & Anchor Coupon book for Gold members has a $5.00 of free internet access and $5.00 in the arcade (if you spend $10.00). I fill out both coupons (name, folio number, etc) and take it to the Customer Service desk on deck 4. The internet coupon was applied immediately, but the gentleman behind the desk explained that I would have to spend the $10.00 in the arcade first and then they would apply the $5.00. What he told me to do was (since he had the coupon in hand) to go to the arcade, purchase $10 worth of credits, use the house phone to call him and he would apply the coupon immediately. Cool. I did exactly as he directed. In the arcade, I put $10 on my SeaPass card, went just outside the arcade and there was the house phone. I pressed zero gave my name and they were waiting for my call. By the time I got back into the arcade, the extra $5.00 was on the account. So the girls had $15 to spend in this session and the clock was running … could I send and receive emails with my iPhone before they spent the $15?

 

For those that are interested, to use the iPhone on the ship’s wireless network, first you have to create an account on one of the computers in the Royal Caribbean Online area on deck 8. Once you’ve done that, you can pick up the wireless signal in several places on the ship with your iPhone, laptop or any device that gets the wireless signal. Because the ship’s internet connection is so slow (and it’s really slow), what I would do is log-on, download the emails and quickly log off. That took about a minute, two minutes at the most, to get logged on and get the emails and get logged off. Later, when I had a moment, like when the girls were at the pool or while I was waiting for them to get dressed, I would compose my replies off-line. Then as we’re walking through a place that has the wireless signal like the Royal Promenade, I’d log-on, send the emails that I composed offline (also retrieve new emails) and log off. I used the internet daily and at the end of the cruise, I used the $5.00 from the coupon and had a whopping $2.20 in additional internet charges. The Cruise Compass lists the locations on the ship where there is a wireless signal. Although, the arcade is not listed as place where you can get a wireless signal, I was able to get a signal there. I think the wireless signal that I was getting in the arcade comes from the Adventure Ocean area. It wasn’t a great signal, but it was enough for me to do what I needed. So, while the girls were burning through their first $15.00, I was able to do my send/receive thing. In fact, I was finished sending and receiving with enough time to actually race against them in Mario Kart and play a couple of games of air hockey and a game of an old-school favorite, Ms. Pac-Man!

 

After the arcade, the girls want daiquiris to sip on the balcony. We get a couple of Strawberry Daiquiris from the Gravity Sports bar and a couple of cookies from Café Promenade (it is REALLY hard to pass that place not get something). We rest in the room until time to change for dinner. This is the first formal night and the girls are pretty excited about getting “dressed up”.

Dinner is good. DD (11) enjoys the fruit soups and escargots. DD (10) gets a Caesar salad and eats most of my Shrimp Cocktail before she decides she wants one for herself. I have the sirloin and the girls have some type of fish (I forget what it was they had, but they enjoyed it). The meals are getting increasingly better; lunch was today was better than sailing day and dinner tonight was better than last night! We’re pretty excited by that :-)

After dinner, there’s a performer in the theater; “Greg Bonham (from Down Under)”. I didn’t think that was going to be my cup of tea. Instead of going to the show, the girls get a scoop of ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s and they enjoy that in my room while watching Cartoon Network. I take a few minutes to enjoy the balcony and the sound of the sea.

 

End of Sea Day #1. Next Aruba …

[pinkmonkey14]

Awesome review! Thanks.

[SCCruzer]

Great review. Enjoying every minute. Can't wait for more. We'll be back on AOS on Sept 20 with a couple new to our passion. Thanks for sharing your trip.

[antas901]

Aruba!!!

 

The plan is to get off the ship and get to the Radisson early so we have the whole day at the beach. We, DD (10) and I, meet my father and my DD (11) at the Windjammer at 8:30 for breakfast. In the Windjammer, I run into my cousin from Maryland and his wife. He asks me what I have planned for the day and I tell him that we are going to the Radisson hotel. I enjoy breakfast in the Windjammer (excellent as always) with my girls and my father. I explain to my father, that I read on cruise critic, how you can catch the bus around the island fairly cheaply. He’s been to Aruba many times so he takes me to his cabin and points out the bus terminal from his balcony as well as where the Radisson hotel is located. Since he and my mother have been to Aruba, they have no definite plans for this port except, my mother is going to leisurely venture off to one of the casinos later in the afternoon. Although, I’m sure the Radisson will have towels for us, I take the pool towels that are in their suite, just in case we need them.

 

I’m still not sure about taking the bus. I grew up in the D.C. area, and I’ve taken the bus more times than I can count. But I’m in strange country… Will I need exact change? How will I know which bus to get on? etc. As we are getting off the ship, there is a stand just before you scan your Sea Pass card. On this stand are shopping maps of Aruba and a bunch of the certificates for a free charm bracelet – the same certificate that they were rationing out yesterday after the shopping talk! I’m kind of salty that we sat through that presentation to get the certificate and here they are; out for the taking. I’m even more salty that the staffer was rationing them out yesterday, just so they could place a couple of hundred of them in this stand today? What was that about? I can’t stress over that … I am thinking about taking the bus in a foreign country. We walk through the building at the pier and immediately outside the building is a taxi driver asking if we need a taxi. I’m thinking if it’s less than $15 to the Radisson, I’ll do it. He says “$14”. So, we take the taxi to the Radisson.

 

We arrive at the Radisson in 5 minutes or so (a very short ride). I pay the driver and walk into the hotel. The lobby is pretty; it is very open and the breeze feels wonderful. I used my credit card to pay for the day passes, thinking "the Radisson takes credit cards so, I can save my cash." They gave me prices in US dollars and the receipt showed US dollars, however, my bank charged me 3% conversion fee (what did they convert it to?) From the front desk we get the Radisson wrist bands and directions to the towel hut. As we walk to the towel hut, we pass a Diamonds International in the lobby of the Radisson. DD (11) is ready to get her charm bracelet! But DI is not open yet so we continue on to get our towels, umbrellas and chairs. There’s a hotel guest in front of us at the pool hut so we have to wait a moment. While we are waiting another hotel guest says to me “it’s better to reserve the umbrellas a day in advance; they fill up quickly.” I tell him, “thanks for the tip” but at this point, we’ve already paid our $16 per person so, they should have something for us. Maybe for those people that get there later in the day, availability could be a problem, but we were at the hotel before 10am, so we had no problems what-so-ever. We get our umbrella assignment and walk past the hotel pool to get to the beach. I put our stuff down and the girls remove their outer garments to reveal their swimsuits underneath. A quick spray of sunscreen and they are off to the water. I’m in no hurry. I give myself a good spraying and follow them at a much more leisurely pace. When we get to the water, my cousin from Maryland (the one I saw in the Windjammer at breakfast) is already swimming! His wife was just a few yards away sunbathing. They did not get day passes from the Radisson. Instead, they rented an umbrella and chairs from a place called Tito’s, which is right behind the Radisson. For $15 pp, they got an umbrella and chairs.

 

 

Included this picture to show the fixed “hut” type umbrellas provided by the Radisson as well as the canvas (?) umbrellas provided by Tito’s (closer to the water). Tito’s chairs were like the pool side chairs on the ship; strips of plastic w/ no cushion. The Radisson’s chairs did have a bit of a cushion and for lying around the beach all day, I like the cushion. For me, the Radisson’s $16 deal beats Tito’s $15 deal. With the Radisson, we got the better chairs, we could use their pool (and most importantly for me), their restrooms. I’m not sure what facilities Tito’s offered. The one thing that Tito’s offered that could be a plus is that his umbrellas are physically closer to the water. If you have small children, it may be a benefit to have chairs and umbrella closer to the water.

 

After collecting a few shells and rocks, the girls wanted to try the hotel’s pool. We spent most of our time at the hotel’s pool. The girls enjoyed the pool water over the salt water and were delighted to not need goggles for the pool. I arranged a chair poolside to allow just the right amount of shade. The girls are having a blast in the pool. I’m resting and enjoying the view:

 

 

While at the pool a woman said that she recognized the girls from yesterday’s Meet & Mingle. She went on to say that she’d also read about the Radisson on Cruise Critic. They took the bus; $2.30 round trip. What a savings!!!!

 

The girls go back and forth between the pools at the hotel and eventually back to the beach. Eventually, I decide to rent a wave runner. I’m unable to get them to lower the $65.00/half-hour price, but the sales lady throws in a floating mat that she normally rents for $5.00. 2 girls + 1 mat = problem. To avoid the potential problem, I give the mat to my cousin who is still swimming at the beach before the girls even know I have the mat. My cousin tells me that while the girls and I were at the pool, another couple from our group, honeymooners, arrived and were also using Tito’s services.

 

The wave runner place takes credit cards, so I don’t have to use cash for this either. We pay them and they take my DDs and me via boat to a floating dock where the wave runners are tied up. I put my camera and phone in a plastic bag that they provided and leave on the floating dock with the worker (whose job is to sit at the floating dock all day?). The wave runner was a lot fun. We had a 3 seater so we all rode together. The one complaint is the salt water really stings my eyes and my DD(10) eyes too. We rode for as long as we could until DD(10) said that her eyes hurt too much to continue. I took her back to the floating dock and the dock worker said we had five more minutes. I asked if DD(11) could drive. He said that technically she was not supposed to, but he let her drive (with me as the passenger). She loved driving it. It reminded me of that old Royal Caribbean TV commercial where the family is “in search of their daughter’s elusive smile” and the daughter doesn’t smile until she’s on the wave runner. We rode wave runners last cruise, but I guess the difference was that she was in control of it this time.

 

The girls are thirsty and starting to get hungry. They turn their noses up at the food options here and ask if we can eat on the ship. I make it clear to them that if we leave, we are not coming back. They are fine with that and we say good-bye to our cousins and friends that are still on the beach. As we are leaving I tell my cousin to use the floating mat for as long as he wants and I show him where to return the mat. My girls and I leave the beach and head into the hotel. The newlywed couple decides to rent a mat too. The women, my cousin’s wife and the bride from the newlywed couple, take the mats out in the water. Apparently, they were on the mats for a while and dozed off. The newlywed wakes up and has a panic attack because she is a lot farther from shore than she was expecting. Despite being a good swimmer, her body freezes and she is unable to swim! My cousin’s wife is trying to calm her, but the newlywed is frantically screaming for her husband who is ashore with a book. From where he is, he cannot tell that his wife is in trouble – he thinks she is just waving “hello”, so he waves back. My cousin is sitting beside the newlywed husband and they both are waving to their wives, completely unaware that there was any danger. Fortunately, another guy from our group was in the water, closer to the ladies and he could tell that something was wrong. He swam out to them and towed them back to safety. I didn’t hear this story until the next day talking to the honeymooners in the Windjammer. The wife was still clearly upset. While she never raised her voice, it was clear from her tone, that she was not a happy camper. She is from West Africa and has a lovely accent. It was almost like listening to music as she fussed at her husband. And unfortunately, the poor husband kept saying things like, “Honey, you’re good swimmer” and “you had the floatation mat”. Being newlywed, he has not learned the three phrases to marriage longevity: “You were right”, “I was wrong”, and “I’m sorry”. Of course these have to be practiced and the order changed from time to time. For example, “I was wrong. I’m sorry. You were right.” :-)

 

As we walk from the beach to the front of the hotel, we stop at Diamonds International in the hotel lobby. The store clerk is very helpful; she gives us three charm bracelets (I’ll hold on to the third one for if/when someone loses or breaks theirs). The store clerk also gives us a card that entitles us to get the charms from the DI store near the pier. The girls are pretty happy about that. In front of the hotel, we try to catch a taxi but, the taxi driver will not take us because we are wet. This is where the pool towels from the suite come into play. I take the towels from my bag and show the driver that we have them. The taxi driver agrees to let us ride if we sit on the towels. If the driver had not agreed to take us sitting on the towels, we would have dried off and changed into our street clothes in the restroom. In the cab ride, I realize that I should have put my wallet in the plastic bag with my electronics while we were on the wave runner. My wallet is soaked as are the contents inside. I make a mental note to get a water wallet.

 

Back at the ship, we shower, change and have a late lunch in the Windjammer. After lunch, we head into the shopping area to get a few things; mainly souvenirs for people that couldn’t make the trip, the free jewelry and the Del Sol bag from the coupon book that I bought the day before. My father has lunch with us and decides to get off the ship with us and join my mother at the casino. The first jewelry store we pass when we get off the ship is Tanzanite International. The girls each give the store clerk a coupon; one is from the Aruba section of the book, the other is from the Acapulco section. The girls get the earrings and their afternoon fun begins. It reminded me of trick-or-treating; except they were not getting candy, they were getting jewelry. The girls would go from store to store with the coupons, hand them to the clerk and receive the trinkets. One store, Effy Jewelers gave them the necklace with a charm and a certificate to take to the other Effy for a charm of a different color. After we exhausted the coupons and I got the items I came to get we headed back to the ship. We had a really fun time in Aruba; I only wish that I comfortable taking the bus to (and from) the Radisson hotel.

 

Back on the ship there was nothing eventful, just a walk through the Royal Promenade. The girls think we are on the Promenade for a snack from Café Promenade, but this is actually a dual purpose stroll down the Promenade. Yes, they can have a snack (the Café Promenade pizza is quite tasty) and I can quickly send and receive emails as we walk.

 

Tonight’s dinner was excellent! I loved the Garlic Tiger Shrimp and Creamy Roasted Garlic Soup. I first had Creamy Roasted Garlic Soup while working Slovakia a few years ago and I’ve been unable to find it anywhere, except on the ship! If anyone has a recipe for this soup, PLEASE share!!!!! I was enjoying the soup so much that everyone at the table ended up getting a bowl! In fact, the waiter brought one extra in case anyone wanted seconds (and of course, I did!)

 

As dinner was winding down, the girls asked if they could go swimming with their 13 year old cousin from New Jersey. My plan was to let them go without me as I’d yet to make my customary donation to the Royal Caribbean casino this trip :-) My cousins from California ask me if I will also watch their daughter while they go to the show. I was thinking “I wasn’t planning on watching my own kids.” But if their daughter was going, I wanted to be there. The 13 year old has been on 10 cruises and knows the ship layout inside and out. She is extremely well mannered and well-behaved. She is the model of how you would want your child to behave so, I like for my girls to be around her. Since she is older, they look up to her and follow her example. The nine year old from California… well, I’ll just say she requires a bit more supervision. The plan is for all of the kids to meet at my parents’ suite and go to the pool from there. I go to my room to get my iPhone (so I can compose some emails and listen to music while they swim). The pool is fairly empty and the girls actually get to swim.

 

From left to right: nine year old from California (mad about something), my DD (11) practicing her back stroke, my DD (10) talking to her cousin (13) from NJ.

 

 

While we were at the pool the ship staff sets up the midnight buffet. They have buffet lines on the port and starboard sides of the ship. If you want to take pictures, have your camera visible. The staff seemed prepared to beat me with a bread loaf for coming toward the buffet before it was officially opened. I showed him my camera and I was spared the public flogging.

 

 

 

 

While the girls swam, I took pictures of the buffet, pictures of the girls in the pool, composing email, and writing notes for this review. When the buffet opened, I was still stuffed from dinner. Even though, I was stuff, I was curious about what they were serving. I took one bite of many different things. I enjoyed everything that I tried. For the first time, I’m actually wishing I had main seating! If I had main seating, perhaps I still wouldn’t be full from dinner and I could really enjoy the buffet. I didn’t touch the deserts – I was just too full. I did take a picture so others could get an idea of what was served. It’s about 12:15 when the nine year old’s parents arrive at the pool, returning from the Love and Marriage Show. I regret that I didn’t see the Love and Marriage Show live. It was shown on “RCTV” in the room later in the week. It was hilarious - probably even funnier in person! At 12:30 I get the remaining girls from the pool and we call it a night so that everyone can be in their respective rooms before the 1am curfew. Plus, my girls and I have a tour scheduled in Curacao, so they need to get some sleep.

 

Next up … Curacao

[wolfcathorse]

Antas901 - who was the captain for your trip?

[OceanDreams]

Thank you so much for continuing your review.....I for one really appreciate the time that it takes to write them.

 

OceanDreams