sunshine66

Hi everyone...

 

 

 

My name is Rob. I am from Baltimore, MD (Owings Mills to be exact) and I work as a Operations Director for a Wealth Management Practice affiliated with a large NY based Investment Management Bank. My DW, Lisa, is a Social Worker for one of the hospitals here in Baltimore.

 

 

 

We are taking this cruise to celebrate Lisa's 50th birthday and our 25th anniversary which occurs on July 4th.

 

 

 

We are the proud parents of two wonderful teenagers. Our DD, Allison, is a rising Junior at the University of South Florida and our DS, Jordan is a rising Junior in a private high school here in Baltimore.

 

 

 

This will be our first 7 day cruise that Lisa and I will be taking by ourselves without the children. Allison is currently taking summer classes at USF while we will take Jordan to camp next Sunday morning. We felt it was a great time for us to finally take a week for ourselves and visit the Southern Caribbean an itinerary that we had yet to cruise.

 

 

 

About one month ago, our vacation was put into jeopardy because Lisa had a health scare which required surgery and hospitalization and an extended recovery time of 4 to 6 weeks. Fortunately, she is almost back to normal and will return to work two days before we leave for our vacation. :-)

 

 

 

Ok enough of the background....

 

 

 

We are leaving on Friday, July 6th on an 8:30 AM Southwest flight from BWI to SJU. We will be staying at the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel in an Ocean View King Suite courtesy of Lisa's brother. (Thanks, Paul).

 

 

 

We should arrive at the Vanderbilt by about 2:00 PM on Friday and expect to be poolside by 3:00 PM.

 

 

 

We plan on having dinner somewhere in the Condado area of San Juan.

 

 

 

Between my OCD planning and vacation excitement, we never fly in the day of the cruise so we expect to have a nice day before the cruise in San Juan.

 

 

 

Saturday morning will be a lazy morning before heading over to the Pan American pier to board the Freedom.

 

 

 

As of right now, our only plans for excursions will be the St. John beach trip while in St. Thomas and Mahlo Beach while in St. Maarten. We do not have anything set for Aruba or Curacao as we just like to explore the downtown areas when making our first visits to new Ports of Call.

 

 

 

On board, we only have the Deluxe Drink package as of now. We will look for specialty restaurant deals once we are on the ship.

 

 

 

I hope to start posting updates as we get closer and once we are on our way.

 

Picture of our family:

 

I so looking forward to your review. I am also staying at the Vanderbilt. We are on the August 11 sailing and staying at the Vanderbilt the 9 and 10. Enjoy..

I just got off AOS, had 9692 and will do it again. It was fabulous to sit on the balcony and have breakfast or lie out and read a book. Will book it again, next year.

I have stayed here several times, usually 2 or 3 days post cruise. I think it is one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in. The architecture is old Spanish, built in 1650 I believe, warm woods and floor to ceiling windows. The restaurant is an open courtyard and although the breakfast is pricey, it is simply divine.

The service is world class, call ahead a couple of weeks and make sure they give you a full size bed, I did not do that and had 2 twin beds in my room. It was fine still amazing.

You wont be sorry you stayed. Then you can walk all over OSJ and enjoy the amazing city.

Have fun

I am leaning toward this approach. I wasn't clear before he has been on 4 cruises in the past with me. He just like variety for vacations. If I wait until we are on or just when we get home from the February cruise, I will mention it then. Of course if we do not have a great time it will be a non issue.

 

As far as work timing, the cruise isn't until April 2017 so plenty of time to make arrangements at work.

 

Thanks everyone for your insight

I agree, wait until the Feb. cruise. Either way have a great time and enjoy every single minute.

We will be in Boston off the Liberty of the Seas in August. I have been reading about a cruise line shuttle service from Black Falcon to Faneuil Hall. Does RCCl provide this service, and for what price?

Here is a great link for you, you have many options. I am not sure about a cruise line shuttle. I personally would take the silver line trolley. I live here and find that to be the most efficient unless you can walk. Boston is a walking city and very easy to get around on foot.

http://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/black-falcon-cruise-terminal-to-faneuil-hall.html

No, Giovanni's is the only specialty restaurant on Adventure, unless you count Johnny Rockets. It was phenomenal though!

A little weird, last time I was on Adventure, there more specialty restaurants..

Thanks for this review. I leave Sunday and very excited. We are not doing any RCCL tours and after reading your post I am good with that.

I try to avoid the WJ at lunch and breakfast when I can and go to the dining room. I just told my DD to be prepared to wait in line for a milks shake and she is good with that..

Thanks Again..

Hello,

We are considering booking a holiday cruise for our family. Me, DH, DS(15), DD(28) and DSIL(28). There is a possibility that DS may have a buddy joining us.

 

We are not able to do a 7-day cruise due to work schedules so we are limited to a 3 or 4 day itinerary to Bahamas which means Enchantment of the Seas or Majesty of the Seas.

 

I'm asking for advice/opinion on whether or not our DS will be occupied enough on one of these smaller ships. TIA

I travel alone with my 14 year old, trust me, you will looking for him. If not have him bring homework and a book, he can tell all his friends he did his homework by the pool... He will be fine.

Just off Navigator (5/25 cruise) and it was my best cruise thus far. Totally worth the transportation cost. Not sure where all you have looked but check out this helpful link. We Used Cool Tours and would definitely use them again.

 

http://www.galvestoncruisetips.com/how-to-get-to-the-galveston-port-without-a-car/

 

Some cruise ports are easier than others. Much like cruising out of San Juan comes with higher airfare (for me anyway) and very expensive hotels. Galveston transportation is more costly than others I have encountered. Still a great port and after cruising from there not one I would write off. Have a GREAT cruise!

Thanks for this website, It may just save my bacon..

I agree. There is a particular Galveston-ite on these boards that will attack anyone and everyone who doesn't love every single aspect of "her" cruise port. ;)

 

I also feel your PAIN and the OP's. Live and learn as they say. We're going to end up dropping over $300 just to get to/from Galveston from HOU. That's about $230 more than we have ever spent to get to/from the Orlando airport to Port Canaveral.

 

What baffles the beegeezus out of me is that there are NO car rental places with hours that coincide with the cruises that come and go from Galveston :confused:. We'll have to drop our rental car off in Texas City and pay $50+ for a cab back to Galveston and the same on the return trip. In Port Canaveral, you drop the rental car off 2 miles from the port and you are shuttled for free.

 

I'm still excited about our upcoming cruise and am looking forward to exploring Houston and Galveston but the expensive hassle of getting to/from the ship is a deal breaker for any future cruises out of Galveston.

 

Happy Sailing!

I must agree, as my cruise is 42 days away and the hotel alone is a bit of a challenge. I learned early on most hotels are sold out and the ones that are not are very expensive for what they are worth. I have traveled a lot over the world and I agree, transportation is an issue for sure. No car rentals, no public transportation and very expensive rates. I would have considered renting the car for a week, but it is 1 week and 1 day so it is not worth it.

I am also excited for my cruise and will live and learn but of all the places I have cruised, this has been the most labor intensive getting to the port.

I am sure Galveston is lovely and I almost wish I had stayed longer, but if I ever do it again, I will plan 2 years out so I can find affordable accommodations.

While I appreciate being proud of where you live and being a port town ( I live in Boston) it is never helpful when you are defensive and critical. It is always helpful when you can give insightful suggestions. I do like cruisecritic but will never understand why people take it so personally. These are opinions and not facts, lets keep it in perspective after all we all love cruising!!!

I too have sailed out of SJ several times. Everything Jbond says is accurate. Have a great time, you will love SJ and your cruise..

Hi Everyone,

I am planning a 2015 European trip, Rome rt on the Allure. We will have an ocean balcony and I would like advice on which side of the ship we should do to make sure we have a view pulling into port.

Thanks in advance for your help...

Diamond Plus member in an interior, is this unusual ?

 

I have an interior booked for may 2014 and reading CC get the impression a lot of frequent sailors seem to look down on interior cruisers as a bit of a lower level passenger. This will be my first RCI cruise and hope I am wrong !!!

 

Have a fab cruise.

 

Dave.

I am a frequent cruiser and I prefer balcony but will sometimes do an inside cabin depending on circumstances and where I go. I actually wish I could do an inside cabin from a money perspective but I hate not knowing what time it is.. I don't look down, I envy!!

Enjoy your cruise..

Hi, I'm new to cruise critic. Hello everyone !!!

 

Can anyone tell me where to see what changes were made to Adventure of the Seas when it was getting updated recently please.

 

Thanks

I was on AOS last in 2009 and that was my 4th year in a row on that ship. I loved it Great ship. I loved the Promenade and I had a deck 8 midship hump cabin. Perfect location across from elevators.

I am traveling on the Navigator in August, it is currently in drydock. I missed the Adventure so much I decided to go on its sister ship. Book it you wont be sorry..

Seems funny that that many people got sick so quickly. Maybe it was something in the food. I know I got sick once on the Explorer after dinner. Of course I was better the next day, but sometimes the food poisoning lasts longer.

 

Anyway, I sure hope they get it contained quickly. Must be an awful way to spend a vacation.

 

Gwen :)

We have seen record flu this year with healthy people getting sick and it lasting weeks. I was sick for 3 weeks as was several people I know. I wonder if some of this is a result of sick people getting on the ship. Because I agree it was quick.