jhatle01

Well.....the seagulls will take care of THAT!

After key breakfast this am, we were escorted off of the ship (bypassing all lines) and into the terminal where we picked up bags. We were then ushered into a separate customs line (with no one in it) and out of the terminal in what seemed like seconds. I wont spoil other perks of the key for you ?, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat! 

Day 9 - Bamboo Room - Late
Beyond the drink menu the Bamboo Room can make other drinks.
Margarita on the rocks:
(Not from a pre-made mix, really good)

Americano

Some other concoction Zoltan dreamed up for me topped with an edible flower:

@Vee2525 I just caught that you wrote "drunk package"  Maybe the best typo ever. ?

Check out this guide: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/04/14/things-do-old-san-juan

Recently, Dan and I were on a cruise and eating in the Windjammer.  There was a couple next to us with 2 small children.  The table was a complete wreck !  There was food on the floor everywhere and I said to Dan - "this is why they charge gratuities for children !".  I feel terrible for whoever had to clean up that mess.

Here are the numbers for full transparency:
Ebates cashback of 14%  $357.28
Using Chase Sapphire Reserve card to book this cruise: 3x pts. = 9,141 pts. which equals $137 in travel thru Chase
$200 on board credit for balcony from Royal
$75 on board credit from Orbitz

i just had these custom vans designed for our upcoming April cruise, does that count?  ?
 

@jhatle01 If you like Caribbean food, they have a couple of spots they sell amazing "Rotti's".  I'll be on the same cruise, happy cruising...I'm soooooooooo excited lol 

My family and I will also be sailing on Adventure starting April 13th.  Thanks for the great information

Which spawns the question, why did she bring a crock pot to a hotel?

@Wilmsta I am going to be on Adventure in April as well and look forward to trying these too!  ?

Hi.
I found this video to be useful when considering the key. It's basically a front of the line pass with internet. 
 

@bhageerah My thoughts exactly about the ER trauma bay.  Just got home from working the night shift in the ER and can't wait to be sailing away in April!

I will gladly take a view of ice, and snow and ESPECIALLY the view of Navigator of the Seas over a trauma bay in the ER any day!!!!?Yes I am officially jealous!  I truly think that it would be hard to get my work done if that was my view though! 

Lol! Thanks for clarifying.....I promise I spent 20 minutes earlier Googling "offer buckets"....it was interesting!

Food Tour time!
Booked the very last minute for the Old San Juan Food Tour with Flavors of San Juan (not a ship sponsored tour). Our guides for this journey were Shannon and Fernando. The size of our group for this culinary journey hovered at 8. Meeting point was at POPULAR Bank/Carli's Fine Bistro & Piano between Calle Tizol and Calle San Justo and Calle Recinto Sur at 2:45 pm.
Stop 1 was at Cafe Cuatro Sombras where we enjoyed a croissant with black forest ham, provolone cheese, and guava butter along with a cortadito coffee. What made the coffee unique was the fact the beans are single origin local to the island.


Nonfood stop 1 was bonus stop at a shop called The Butterfly People. Here was on display and for purchase artwork made using butterflies that had lived their life to the fullest. No butterfly were purposely harmed for use in the artwork.  
Stop 2 was at Marilyn's Place where we had a nice refreshing rum punch. What made this rum punch unique was the homemade punch blend consisting of 10 different types of juices (passion fruit, orange, pineapple, apple, grape, peach, pear, mango, grapefruit, and final cranberry) mixed with Club Caribe rum. Inside of the venue was plenty of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia.


Shopping stop 1 was quick stop at Spicy Caribbee. As the sign below states they has all sorts or sauces and spices plus a few other odds and ends. The shop also had out a few of their sauces and jams for tasting. As a guest of the tour we also received 10% off any purchases made.

Nonfood stop 2 was a brief tour of Catedral de San Juan Bautista.
Stop 3 was in Old Town Princesa Park where we tasted a passion fruit popsicle from Señor Paleta.

This is more or less a @Matt warning, on our way to stop 4 we passed by pigeon park. While the park wasn't open at the time the pigeons don't understand the concept of a fence. Other word plenty of pigeons in the street that one could have at their feet.
Stop 4 was at Cafe El Punto where we got to mash our own plantains for a chicken mofongo along with rice and beans. Plus, we got a mojito as a reward for our hard work and to wash down our meal with.


The final stop on our culinary journey of Old San Juan was Chocobar Cortes. There we had hot chocolate, churros, plus chocolate and cheese. Process for enjoyment at this stop was placing the cheese in the hot chocolate to melt and then fish out using the churros. Sound weird but it was very good. 




At this point it was just a bit after 6pm and the group parted ways to enjoy the rest of the evening. Overall, I had to stay it was great tour and something different to give a try. Plenty of historic tibits and other details were given. Having done a tour with the same company in St. Martin it held up to the expectations from that tour.
Note that this tour has plenty of walking up and down hills with a good slope, few steps here and there outside of the steps leading up to the entrance of the Catedral. Also note with the Catedral we were told to remove our hat and sunglasses.
One other thing to keep in mind is these stops aren't set in stone. So others may be added or removed.

18 more days! I hear the fried ice cream and margaritas calling!

17th street next to the Port Everglades in the Harbor Shoppes.

Haha! I responded to this thread and just ordered takeout from there! The grilled chicken breast with onions and side of rice and beans is legit! 

Here’s a few ideas:
Before Cruise:
Take an Uber to Fort Lauderdale Beach and spend the day by the beach. There are plenty of places to grab a cocktail or lunch around Las Olas Blvd & A1A. For dinner without zeroing in on a type of food I could recommend Franco & Vinny’s Pizza Shack (great Italian food, casual), Rustic Inn (garlic crabs are really good). If your into something more proper I would highly recommend Mastro’s Ocean Club (excellent and top notch steaks and seafood), Steak 954 (located inside W Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort), Cafe Vico (excellent but pricy Italian), Cafe Martaranos ( Great food but turns into a louder nightclub vibe PM).
If your not into a beach day take a boat ride. Here’s a couple suggestions: Fort Lauderdale (hop on, hop off pass) on the Water Taxi, Jungle Queen (very touristy but if you just want to sight see and don’t mind all the people then it’s ok), wind pirate sailboat charter (very highly recommended and reasonable price to essentially charter a 40’ sailboat with a great and informative captain that will take you down the river and out into the ocean for snorkeling or just sight seeing)
 
After Cruise:
If you still seek Adventure after getting off the Adventure of the Seas then rent a car and drive to the Florida Keys (Key West if you wanna get real crazy) and spend the day in island paradise!
or
Go have breakfast or lunch at Top Hat Deli and then take an Uber to Everglades Holiday Park and do an airboat ride. Maybe go to try La Bamba Mexican for dinner. If your not into an Airboat ride then your options are simple:
The only thing we do in East Fort Lauderdale is go out on our boats or go to the beach (and flip flops + shorts are a must). 
 
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions. 

@FloridaCruiseGirl1210 We have never been on any RC ship before so we can't wait to see!

I'm glad I found this blog and review it on a regular basis!  My drink package just dropped to $46, putting $56 back in my pocket!

I'm glad I found this blog and review it on a regular basis!  My drink package just dropped to $46, putting $56 back in my pocket!