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We're Going on an Adventure! 8 Night Eastern Carib on Adventure of the Seas 5/1/26-5/9/26

melmar02

By melmar02
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melmar02

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We have had a busy 6 months since our last cruise, so I haven't been on the boards recently. But tomorrow we fly from Dallas to Orlando, and we board Adventure of the Seas on Friday.

In true Melmar family style, we're working right up to the last moment - last weekend I had the biggest cake in my career, and I just finished cleaning up all the icing. I teach at our AHG troop tonight - I'm teaching the Travel badge so at least it's something I'm passionate about 😆. Plus I'm trying to get our social media stuff done and scheduled before we leave too. DH was going to work half a day tomorrow before our flight, but just decided against it. I'm pretty sure he's working late today as well.

I have the kids 90% packed, and I needed a break. So I figured this was a good time to start the blog (which will most likely turn into a trip report as I tend to lag behind in posting about half way through the vacation).

What Happened to Bilbo Between The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings?

 

Flights were way cheaper on Wednesday than Thursday, so we're going 2 days early. We plan to spend Thursday at NASA. We have an 11am boarding time at Terminal 5 - Utopia will be at Terminal 1, and there will also be 3 other ships embarking that day. We will visit St. Maarten, St. Croix, San Juan, and Nassau on this sailing. We have the America's Cup yacht race booked for St. Maarten, and Royal's Beach Club in Nassau. We're headed to Rainbow Beach on our own in St. Croix, and exploring up to the fort and back in San Juan on our own as well.

Embarkation day lunch is booked at Chops, and we'll probably do another specialty dining at some point. I'm not sure we will feel like taking advantage of our D+ BOGO for dinner after Chops on day one, so maybe Giovanni's Table on night 2? 

We're in connecting balconies again on deck 7, but my MIL moved in with us a couple of months ago. She's not on this trip, but to celebrate her arrival, we booked our beloved 2 BR suite in November on Liberty.

I think that's all the main points. Let me know if you want to know anything specific while onboard. 

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melmar02
melmar02

We have had a busy 6 months since our last cruise, so I haven't been on the boards recently. But tomorrow we fly from Dallas to Orlando, and we board Adventure of the Seas on Friday. In true Melm

melmar02
melmar02

We couldn't wait😆, so we left the hotel about 10:15. There is a little construction we had to walk around at the terminal. We went through the express check in with no lines. We sat for less than 5 mi

melmar02
melmar02

I received an email a day or two ago from the Crown Lounge concierge saying this sailing had a lot of D+ members and everyone would need to limit their time in the lounge to share the space. She wasn'

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melmar02

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Since we are flying, we thought we would save the worry of being over the 50 pound limit with our luggage, and we bought medium size suitcases. We tend to have to shuffle things between cases last minute to even out the weight. DD didn't want one and is bringing her large case...the rest of us are all eyeing her extra space this morning. 😆

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melmar02

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Airport check in was painless,  and there was no line at all at security. We grabbed a bite at La Madeline, and had a gate change while eating. Our flight has been delayed about 25 minutes, but the plane is here now at least. 

The flight prior to ours going to Orlando was canceled, and they were offering $850 vouchers. We considered it, but stuck with the plan instead. 

We decided to use Mercado Transportation to get from the airport to our hotel by the port. It was just under $200 for a luxury SUV, and our driver reached out today to confirm our details.

We are staying at Home2 Suites Cape Canaveral. We probably won't get there until 8:30 or 9, so I'm thinking door dash for dinner.

Time to board the plane.

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melmar02

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The flight was quite turbulent to start as we flew over the storms that caused all the delays in the first place. We landed safely, and our driver met us in baggage claim. All our bags arrived too with no broken wheels this time. 

The drive to our hotel was about 45 minutes. The hotel offers a shuttle for $12 per person, but an Uber xxl looks to be $25, so we'll go with that if we don't get caught with surge prices in yhe morning. 

The hotel has a bar with some food options next to the pool - mozzarella sticks, chicken sandwiches, cobbler salad, etc. Nothing really stood out (other than a glass of wine for me and DH) so we ordered a pizza. 

We're in a 1 bedroom suite with 2 queens and a sofa bed. We're in a hearing accessible room, and it's quite roomy. I'm not sure if there is bit more space due to it also being wheelchair accessible (it wasnt listed as such), or if this is just the size or this suite. The bathroom is accessible through both the bedroom and living room which is nice for when DH is kicked to the living room at 0'dark thirty when he gets up.

We did check out the laundry facilities as DS spilled a soda on the plane. The laundry room is connected to the gym, so you can work out while waiting for your clothes to dry.

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Ampurp85 Pinnacle

Ampurp85

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I know at the Holiday Inn Express we have stayed at, the gym is right next to the laundry room. So being connected is a decent deal. I stayed at the Hampton INN the last couple of times I sailed from Canaveral,  which is connected to the Home2Home and I found the queen/king rooms to be quite large. So I can only imagine the 1/2 bedroom suites are massive. 

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melmar02

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Breakfast was meh. Typical barely-above-a-continental type fare. The kids enjoyed the waffles as usual though. The hotel is a little weird in that it shares some public spaces with the adjoining Hampton Inn. Breakfast was available on both sides of the lobby with slightly different offerings. The Home2 Suites side was more of a make a breakfast sandwich with pre-made omlets, chicken, croissants/english muffins...oh and we have waffles. While the Hampton side had scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes, (more waffle stations) etc. We went back and forth picking and choosing what looked best from each. Coffee was better on the Hampton side.

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melmar02

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Uber to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex was about 20 minutes and $30ish. We spent the day exploring, and we're done before seeing everything. I think we would go back to see the rest of the exhibits, but I dont think the kids could handle two days in a row... I think we would need to space it out with a visit to Universal or coming back after getting off a ship if the future. 

I completed our health screen while at KSC, and we got Express. I checked in right at 45 days, but our boarding time is nit until 11:30...I'll be tapping my foot in the morning. 

When we got back to the hotel, Carvinal Freedom had already sailed away. We were trying to decide on dinner when I heard MSC's horn faintly. She’s headed out now.

We're Door Dashing dinner - the kids haven't eaten since breakfast and they're getting hangry. The kids and I might check out the pool tonight, otherwise it's repack the carry ones and cycle some laundry.

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ScottD Pinnacle

ScottD

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CRUISE DAY!!

I just got all caught up. Looking forward to the reports and pics!!  Hope you do get to see a launch, we got lucky and saw one from the ship last year while docked in PC, it's definitely a cool experience!!  Say hello to the kitties in San Juan! 

 

Hope everything goes nice and smooth and you are on board in a few hours! 

 

 

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ScottD

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40 minutes ago, melmar02 said:

Woke up to a couple of ships out there! One is Utopia, and I can't really tell what the other is. 

 

Looks like Carnival Glory next to Utopia and a few Disney ships on the other end

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melmar02

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We couldn't wait😆, so we left the hotel about 10:15. There is a little construction we had to walk around at the terminal. We went through the express check in with no lines. We sat for less than 5 minutes and were onboard by 10:45.

Muster done. We decided to use our bogo after all and are doing Giovanni's for dinner. Food coma, here we come!

Now we're waiting in the Champagne bar, spicy bloody Mary in hand, waiting for Chops to open for lunch. 

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OCSC Mike Pinnacle

OCSC Mike

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3 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

god i need a margarita 😂 that looks incredible!!!

Seriously! I love following others’ blogs leading up to my own cruises but May is gonna be a struggle. Everything is making me hungry and/or reminding me of stuff I didn’t get much/any of last month b/c I was busy with family & a different routine (not that I didn’t stuff myself & have a good time b/c I definitely did).

Have one (or several) for me! I hear they go well with upscale hot dogs when there’s no ELF. 🤣

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