Nicolas LaBarre

Trying to plan out a strategy for booking entertainment and dining. On a cruise out of Vancouver when do you think it will start to become "scenic"?

I wish I knew if any ships carried Angry Orchard Rose. I just discovered that i like it and am contemplating what drink package to buy for Ovation.

11 hours ago, ScooterScott22 said:

Awesome, now the countdown begins!

We booked an Inside Guarantee. What kind of room did you choose?

On 12/30/2018 at 10:34 AM, ScooterScott22 said:

We will be on that sailing, so haven’t been on yet but have done a lot of research.  Looks like the biggest “change” for the ship, from what is out there in the inter-webs, is the switch from Kung fu Panda to Johnny Rockets.  But I haven’t seen any updates on that thread lately.

We said YOLO BOOK IT and did it! Ovation here we come!

Has anyone been on Ovation of the Seas? Looking into the May 13th sailing on her with the family.

I can confirm that the pizza on RCL did get better in 2018. 

On 12/16/2018 at 4:05 PM, karl_nj said:

Quite an interesting theory!  Of course, many other cruise lines are moving ships away from China, and I think Quantum class is way too big Antarctica.  But it's certainly an interesting idea.

I think if the larger RCL corporation wants to do Antarctica, they would probably built a very small ship, and leverage Celebrity, a la their Galapagos ships.  

Royal Caribbean Cruises LTD. already does Antartica with Azamara and Silversea.

On 11/10/2018 at 9:59 PM, JLMoran said:

My wife and girls did their run in April of this year. It’s quite possible they just got some stricter staff and not all are that way, or as @twangster said they may have tightened up the rules this year.

I didn’t see any indication of head mounts coming off or loose in the videos I saw, but I’ve never used a GoPro so I don’t know what options there are with that.

My wife used a handheld grip on November 12. The crew were amazing and had no problem with people holding GoPros or other action cameras.

Still trying to rebuild after Hurricane Michael. We still don't have internet yet, power still goes out, and the water supply we have is loaded with contaminants. I don't think I'd mind another super chill getaway on a smaller ship. I was considering Vision because I wanted to do the Atlantis submarine in Grand Cayman but the wife is leaning towards doing Harmony at the moment. 

So it's been 2 weeks since we have been back from our cruise so it's time to start researching which ship will be next. My wife and I like finding really good values for our money. We have been on Enchantment, Independence, Serenade, and Adventure. We aren't opposed to speciality dining but it doesn't add weight to our decision. We do enjoy entertainment, but mostly like to relax and chill. We live in Florida but would consider traveling to New Orleans because its closer to us than Ft. Lauderdale/Miami. I'm curious about Vision out of New Orleans. What should we do?!

17 hours ago, accio7 said:

Loved your review, @Nicolas LaBarre! This is the exact same itinerary I am sailing on in 11 days aboard Adventure, first time to cruise on her  I did purchase the soda plus Voom package yesterday as I don't really drink alcohol, but I appreciate your feedback about the soda in general. Did you and your family dine at any of the specialty restaurants? Also, with a late port arrival in San Juan, did you guys dine in the MDR that evening or elsewhere (land/ship)? 

Thanks! 

We were in a group so MDR was usually easier for us (one person is vegan). I wanted to do the Izumi sushi class but i was always to stuffed to attempt it! We used some of our savings in that regard to give extra tips to the excellent dining staff. We ate on land in San Juan but we still made a Windjammer run before 9.

Cafe Promenade isn't 24 hours a day on Adventure. It closes at 3 a.m.

We have been back from the cruise for a week and I realize that I failed at a "live" blog but I didn't have the internet package so here it goes!

The Trip Down

We loaded up the SUV and headed out of Panama City before 9 A.M to head to Ft. Lauderdale. We were making excellent time and then right before we arrived things changed. Towards the end of the turnpike the vehicle in front us swerved at the last minute and revealed a rather large tire which made contact with our vehicle. Our vehicle was damaged but safe to drive. This is an example of why you should arrive in your port area the night before your cruise. If we were driving in on the day of our cruise we may have missed our cruise.

Pre-Cruise Hotel

We stayed at the Hyatt Place (17th Street Convention Center). The hotel was clean and at 8,000 Hyatt points per night was an excellent value. Parking is $7 per night unless you're a Globalist member. The hotel offers cruise parking for $7 per night. The Hyatt also operates a shuttle service that charges $7 per person each way you use the service. We decided that since our cruise was returning on Sunday we would park in the Port Everglades Midport Parking Garage to save time. Parking is $15 per day but you don't have to use a shuttle which ended up saving my family money.

Embarkation

Royal Caribbean had emailed us and told us that boarding would not start until 12:30 due to a USCG inspection. Thanks to Matt's recommendation and my good friend Brandon (who sailed with us) we arrived at the port and were on board at 11:10. The total curb to ship time including dropping off luggage, parking in the garage, and getting checked in was less than 20 minutes. 

THE CRUISE

Once we got on the cruise all the stress faded away. Adventure is in great shape. Our stateroom was 6665 and I feel like it had been updated which was nice. During the cruise our main hangout spot was the Blue Moon lounge on deck 14.  The lounge offered excellent views and fun dance parties at night. Cafe Promenade was also a frequently visited spot. The dining experience was excellent on Adventure. We ate dinner in the MDR 6 of the 8 nights on our cruise. Our waiter Raj was excellent and the meals were top notch. There was only one appetizer during the cruise that I didn't care for. It was the Asian Pork Tacos. All the steaks I ordered were cooked perfectly, the prime rib was excellent, and lobster on night 7 was the best dinner. The Windjammer was excellent but I wish it was open past 9 P.M. The bar service was always fast in the 'Jammer as we would call it. The entertainment was excellent. We enjoyed the theater productions and the ice skating show. The Farewell Show was top notch. We really enjoyed the activities from cruising on a mid-sized ship. We used the slides (which are fast but a bit rough), Flowrider, played basketball, and went ice skating.

LABADEE

LaBadee was excellent and the weather was great. We had much more fun here than at CocoCay in 2015. We enjoyed the Dragon's Breath Flight Line. I highly recommend that excursion. Its super smooth and you always feel safe. The view of the ship from the launch is amazing. We walked a few trails around LaBadee and settled at Adrenaline Beach. The beach is indeed rocky but we had a good time. We then got our LaBadoozie in souvenir cup and chilled in the hammocks. I fell getting into the hammock and that generated a lot of laughs at my expense which was actually quite funny. 

PUERTO RICO

We arrived into Puerto Rico around 12:30 P.M so we enjoyed the sail into port. Sailing past El Morro during the daytime and taking in the majesty of the fort and Old San Juan was one of the best moments of the cruise. We toured Old San Juan with my friend Brandon's aunt who lives in Puerto Rico and showed us all the spots. We walked a lot that day and were very tired when we made it back the ship in the evening.

ST MAARTEN

We had the SeaTrek helmet diving excursion booked and it was the most anticipated part of our cruise. However, early in the morning our stateroom telephone rang and we were informed that the excursion was cancelled even though the weather was fine. It was quite disappointing. In the afternoon we decided to take the water taxi to downtown Philipsburg. It was a great ride for $3. The water is beautiful in St. Maarten. We then took a 3 hour driving tour for $25 per person to tour the island. We asked to be dropped off at Maho Beach and we ate lunch at the Sunset Bar and Grill and saw a lot of small planes and one large plane land. The food is excellent at the Sunset Bar and Grill and you should go there! The bathrooms aren't free to use though. After visiting Maho Beach we toured the French side of the island. I wasn't impressed with St. Maarten/St Martin as a whole. The island wasn't very clean and reminded me to much of hurricane damage. 

ST KITTS AND NEVIS

St. Kitts and Nevis was the best stop on our cruise and we are dying to go back! We enjoyed the St. Kitts Open Air Adventure tour and its great to see the island as a whole on your first visit. The Romney Manor is beautiful and the Timothy Hill overlook is breathtaking. I think that the next time we visit St. Kitts and Nevis we will rent an ATV and do things at our own pace. The shopping in Port Zante was excellent. We got tons of souvenirs and clothing at the Caribelle Batik and surrounding shops.

OBSERVATIONS

This was the best cruise that we have ever been on.

RCL needs to step up their soda game. There were only 2 reliable locations to get a sufficiently carbonated soda. The Windjammer Bar and the Freestyle machines on the Royal Promenade. The freestyle machines in the Windjammer were always malfunctioning and the bars always had flat sodas. It was very weird.

4 port days in a row will make you tired.

We don't like 2 sea days in a row to end the cruise. The cruise starts to feel over when you leave your last port stop. That feeling lingered through day 7 and 8. One sea day to end the cruise is just about right.

So this is my blog. If you have any questions about Adventure of the Seas ask away!

The cruise is fast approaching. I have completed check-in and selected all the cruise planner purchases for our vacation. I purchased the Refreshment package (x2). I did not add an internet or dining package. I plan to book the Sushi making class on board. These are the shore excursions we selected:

Day 3 (9:30): Dragon's Breath Flight Line 

Day 5 (10:00) Sea Trek St. Last ten

Day 6 (10:00) St. Kitts Open Air Adventure

We did not book an excursion in San Juan. Instead we are going to explore and just relax. 

Very excited for embarkation day! We survived Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Florida and really need to get away for a week. My wife and I will be traveling with my parents (first time cruisers) and two of our best friends. Our itinerary is

Day 1: Ft. Lauderdale :)

Day 2: Sea Day

Day 3: LaBadee, Haiti

Day 4: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Day 5: Philipsburg, St Maarten

Day 6: Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis

Day 7: Sea Day

Day 8: Sea Day

Day 9: Ft. Lauderdale :(

If you have any questions about Adventure of the Seas or this 8 night itinerary dont hesitate to ask!

2 hours ago, twangster said:

I just pull my hotel key card out slightly and leave it propped in the slot but not inserted all the way when I leave.  I usually have an old set sail pass or hotel key card in my backpack from a previous trip.  When I return I just push it down all the way.

Does this apply to Adventure? @twangster

Pina Colada gets my vote

There's the chicken wings I have been looking for! 

Is there a non Starbucks place to get a Frap? It was nice to have a coffee shop on Serenade that worked with the refreshment package but I'm not seeing an option like that for my upcoming Adventure cruise. :(

I've been on Vision, Freedom, and Radiance class ships and I've never seen chicken wings on the menu? Do any of the ships offer chicken wings? They're nice to eat when watching football!