fitzy123

Got a little sidetracked with work and haven’t been able to continue writing. This vacation is starting to seem so far away now that reality has started to set in, so I better finish this review before I forget everything. We arrived in St. Lucia on Wednesday to terrible weather. It was pouring rain and it did not look like the type of storm that was going to pass over quickly. We had booked the Jalousie Beach Break with Spencer Ambrose Tours. I had read great things about this tour on Cruise Critic, and we were all so disappointed when we saw the weather. The thought of sitting on a speed boat or on a beach all day in the pouring rain was not too appealing to any of us. Since we had paid a deposit, we were not sure what we should do, so we went to the meeting place to talk to them and find out what our options are, thinking maybe they offer a different type of tour for bad weather. When we got to the meeting place, there were crowds of people standing around waiting on different tours. We found Spencer’s group and I found one of his staff members to talk to her. I asked her if the tour was still going as planned and she said it was and that she was pretty certain the weather would clear up. I asked if there was any coverage on the boat from the rain and she said no. So, I asked if we could have our deposit refunded and she said yes, but we would have to wait until the end of the day when she got back from the tour. We felt very torn as we really were looking forward to this tour, but we made the decision to cancel. Although it wasn’t raining the entire time, the weather never did clear up completely. I waited until a few days ago and when I did not receive the refund, I emailed Spencer and he graciously refunded my deposit today. Hopefully, we will have a chance to visit St. Lucia again and do this tour.

So, enough about what we didn’t do in St. Lucia, what we did decide to do is a land tour. There were many tour guides walking around offering different things so we decided to do a tour of the Island. Our driver, Vernon, drove us around and showed us the island. We had a great day seeing this beautiful island. We stopped at a banana stand and tried several different things they were selling (banana ketchup, hot sauce, plantains, homemade rum, piton beer) and bought some to enjoy for the tour and some to take home with us. The driver took us to the volcano and we had the option to go in (for an additional fee) or go to the sulphur springs and mud baths (also for an additional fee) but no one wanted to do this, so we just continued on the tour. We stopped at many different spots to take pictures, including a view of the pitons as well as Sugar Beach in the distance (which we would have gone to on our Spencer Ambrose tour) and of course there were local vendors selling lots of things along the way. St. Lucia is really a beautiful island and I would really love to go back some day.

When we got back to the port we did some shopping before getting on the ship and then we watched some latecomers running back to the ship as it was getting ready to leave.

Were there any sights to see on your way to the beach in Antiqua? On the beach was their food and drinks available?

I don't remember anything in particular along the way, but once we were out of main port area, which was busy and seemed a little overcrowded, it was a very pretty island. There was a restaurant at the beach we went to. We had lunch there (bbq chicken, jerk chicken, burgers, etc) and you could also get a drink or a beer and take it with you.

The next day in Antigua we had no excursion planned and wanted to go to the beach. We had planned on going to Dickenson Bay but when we got in a cab, the driver talked us out of it. He said Dickenson would be very crowded and Valley Church beach is the most beautiful beach in Antigua. The fare to Dickenson was $4 pp and it was $8 pp to Valley Church. Not sure if the driver was just looking for a longer ride to make more money. Valley Church was very nice, but also a little crowded and since we never saw Dickenson Bay, I guess we’ll never know if he had an ulterior motive. We rented chairs and umbrellas (Chairs were $5 each, umbrellas $10) and stayed on the beach and in the water all day. We were sitting very close to where the jet ski rentals were though which was probably not the best choice. There was a lot of activity in the water right near us as people were getting on and off of the jet skis and since they were busy all day, there were people standing around waiting for their turn. After the beach we went back to the port to do some shopping. We were dropped off near some small straw market type shops and had to ask around a bit to find the higher end stores because DS wanted to look at Ray Bans. We were directed to Heritage Quay which is down a boardwalk to the left if you are just walking off the ship. For the most part, this was a very relaxing, uneventful day.

There was a Caribbean theme one night, but I don't believe there was a white night. It was listed in the Compass along with the suggested casual or formal attire. I will see if I still have the compasses when I get home and can tell you what was suggested each night. I did notice that a large party (three tables) sitting near us at dinner one night all came dressed in white, but it seemed like something they had coordinated with their group.

I checked the Compasses and here are the dinner attire suggestions:

Day 1, 5 and 7 - Casual

Day 2 and 6 - Formal

Day 4 - Casual/Caribbean

I am missing the compass for Day 3 and I think there was a theme of some kind that night, but I can't remember what it was. Maybe someone else on here knows?

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I know life can get hectic once back from a vacation. We are going at the end of August and have the same stops as you. Did they have designated "wear white" or "Caribbean" theme nights. My teen daughter is starting to get her outfits together. Thanks a bunch.

There was a Caribbean theme one night, but I don't believe there was a white night. It was listed in the Compass along with the suggested casual or formal attire. I will see if I still have the compasses when I get home and can tell you what was suggested each night. I did notice that a large party (three tables) sitting near us at dinner one night all came dressed in white, but it seemed like something they had coordinated with their group.

When cruising from St. Maarten to St. Kitts Sunday night the ship was moving so slowly we seemed to be staying still in the water. I guess some of these islands are so close to one another they really don’t even need the number of hours they have to get there. Not sure why they don't allow for a longer day at port. Maybe that would interfere with the 1st dinner seating? When we woke Monday morning, we were already docked in St. Kitts. We had an excursion today so had to wake everyone to be off the ship by 9:15. We booked the Fantasea Catamaran to Nevis excursion through the ship. We looked to do this privately, but could not find this type of excursion anywhere else so we booked it through the ship. It was a little pricier than the other excursions we booked, but it was a great day. We walked off the ship and looked for the signs for our tour at the end of the dock. We waited about 15 minutes for everyone to arrive and then they walked us to the catamaran. They took our shoes before we got on board. My only criticism of this tour is that they packed this boat (60-70 people?) so it felt a little crowded. When we first boarded all the seats at the tables were taken and they announced that the nets on the front of the boat could only hold 10 people each so we sat along the sides of the catamaran. About 10 minutes after we left the dock, it started to rain so everyone tried to crowd into the only covered area where the tables were. We were starting to worry that the day was going to be a wash out, but luckily by the time we arrived at the first snorkeling stop, the skies had completely cleared and it was beautiful for the rest of the day. The crew handed out snorkeling equipment, gave instructions for those who needed it and we snorkeled near a ship wreck in ****ten Bay (yes, that’s really the name) until they called us back to the boat. When we got back on board, they served lunch, beer and rum punch as we continued on to Nevis. The lunch was a pasta salad, some really tasty chicken/potato salad, a tossed salad and banana bread. When we got to Nevis we walked through water that was about 2 feet deep to get onto the beach. The beach was beautiful and seemed as if it might have been pretty quiet until our tour arrived. There were beach chairs available for us to use and they brought the bar to the beach and kept the drinks flowing. We stayed there for I think about 2 hours (did I mention the drinks were flowing) then got back on board to head back. Once we got underway, they cranked up the music and had a dance party. Although the tour price ($119 per person) was a little more than we wanted to spend, we really had a great day. The crew was very attentive and did everything to make sure everyone was having a great time. When we got back to St. Kitts, we looked in some of the shops near the port, bought a few souvenirs and even got suckered into having our pictures taken with a monkey before getting back on the ship.

I liked the opened minded way you brought up this subject and reported on how it was remedied. We had a similar situation on deck 9 of majesty back in 2010, that turned out that a leak that was thought to be only in a storage area actually soaked into the carpet outside our cabin and when they shampoo'd that passageway, it was gone.

 

I am really enjoying this so far, IMO don't worry about giving too much detail. In the manner you are reporting it, its easy to skip over things that don't interest me in particular. Keep up the good work.

Thank you for the feedback. I would never let this ruin my vacation, and it was addressed right away. I don't like to focus on the negative, but think its best to just report the good and the bad and let people decided whether or not it would be an issue for them.

Saturday night after dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard show. Our cruise director was Hello Chloe and she was very funny and interacted with the audience really well. There was also a comedian who was pretty funny too, although I thought some if his jokes were a little mean spirited. This was actually the only show we went to so can’t comment much about the entertainment.

Sunday morning after breakfast in the Windjammer we got off the ship in St. Maarten at about 9:30 and grabbed a cab to Orient Beach. We had been to the Dutch side of St. Maarten twice already so decided to see the French side this time. The cab was $7/pp because of the size of our group (Would have been $20 for 2 passengers). It was a longer drive to Orient but we saw quite a bit of the island on the way. I think we paid $25 for 4 chairs and 2 umbrellas and it came with 4 free drinks. The free drinks were small Dixie size cups of rum punch. Three of the teens went parasailing for $120 ($40pp). They were in the air for about 20 minutes and loved it. We had inquired about jets skis ($50 for half hour), but since none of them had ever been on one before we were a little nervous about letting them take off on one for a half hour. Orient was a little crowded but it is a beautiful beach. There is definitely a lot more nudity on the French side, something to keep in mind if that bothers you. Also the vendors on the beach were a little overwhelming and I don’t remember it being that bad on the Dutch side. We were asked every 5-10 minutes to have our hair braided, get a massage or look at something someone was selling. Most would walk away after a polite “No, thank you”, but some were relentless and wouldn’t leave us alone. After a few hours on the beach and in the water, we had a few drinks at the bar and headed back to the ship about 3:00. We had to be back on by 4:30. We shopped a little at the port and then got back on the ship and headed to the Windjammer.

We had the same wait staff at the 6:00 seating on the same exact cruise. I will definitely post a review of our trip under a new thread. Looking forward to reading more of your review.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Did you love them? We had so much fun with them. I really thought they were great!

Did you ever find out what the cause of the odor was?

 

Patiently waiting for more.

No, we never determined the source of the smell. I guess it had something to do with the carpet though, since it went away once it was shampooed. But I'm pretty sure it smelled again for the next person in our room since it was starting to smell again as the week went on.

After unpacking we walked around the ship until it was time for the muster drill, which I believe was at 5:30. I know everyone has said it before, but I will say it again, the worst part of the drill is that they won’t start until everyone is there and people really take their time. So everyone stands in the crowded lines in the heat until the latecomers show up. Ok, rant over. Once they got started the drill took about 15 minutes.

We were scheduled for the late dinner seating (8:30) so we went to the Duck and Dog for a drink, then went back to the room to get ready for dinner. By the way, when we got our Seapass cards at the check in desk, the first thing we did was check our dinner table assignment. The number is on the card and on our last cruise, we were all seated at different tables and were not able to have that fixed until the second night. Thankfully, this did not happen on this cruise and we all had the same table on our cards.

I can’t remember what I ate each day, but will give an overview of my opinion of the food on this cruise. Of course, food is subjective and many may feel differently. Again, after having read so many reviews, my expectations were somewhat low. I can’t think of one thing that I ate that I did not like (except cold eggs, more about that later), although I am not an overly picky eater. Also, anytime someone was served something that they didn’t like, our wait staff was quick to offer an alternative. Here’s a run down of the places we ate:

Breakfast – We ate at the Windjammer buffet every day, except on the sea day. The buffet was…A buffet. There were mostly the same choices each day, but when you are offering just about every kind of breakfast food, I am not sure how this could be varied from day to day. My only criticism of the breakfast buffet is that the longest line is for omelets and the line blocks many of the other choices. If someone does not want an omelet, they have to ask the people on the omelet line to step aside so they can get to the other food. I think this could be set up better. On sea day, we went to the main dining room and I ordered eggs benedict, which was the only thing missing from the buffet and the only reason I wanted to go to the dining room. It was freezing cold. I was so disappointed since I was really looking forward to it. As I said, I am not a picky eater, but I can’t eat cold eggs. After the waiter brought our food, he seemed to disappear so I got up to find one and asked if I could order something else. I ordered a fried egg and hash browns and when they came, after everyone else finished eating, they were warm. Was not thrilled with the dining room experience.

Lunch – We ate lunch mostly at the Windjammer each day when we returned to the ship so it was towards the end of the lunch time. Mostly we were just grabbing something to hold us over until dinner. The choices varied somewhat, but many things were repeated (tacos, fried chicken, burgers, etc). Everything I tried was good. We also ordered room service one day when we got back on the ship, and everyone loved the chicken (I think it was honey something chicken).

Dinner - We ate in the main dining room every night. I cant say enough great things about the staff there (Waiter -Roberto, Asst Waiter - Ryndika, and Bar Server -Francis). Very attentive, offered seconds of entrees and even brought over extra entrees for us to try in addition to what we ordered. Roberto was very quick to notice if someone didn't like something and would immediately offer something else. Also, several times we ordered an entrée as an appetizer, or ordered two appetizers and they were happy to comply. I liked everything I ate but loved the rack of lamb, beef tendloin, and the tai chicken salad. On the second formal night, I had lobster. It was small, but I was offered a second one and it was very good. Those who ordered the prime rib that night, though, were very disappointed. It was sliced very thin (like cold cuts, someone said) and was extremely fatty. This seemed to be the only thing that everyone hated. Overall, I thought the dinners in the main dining room were great.

Promenade Café - We grabbed a quick bite there a couple of times. They had small sandwiches which were pretty good, pizza that was just ok and for an added charge ($6-8) they had sushi. I tried the crispy tuna and it was just ok. I didn't care for the "crispy" breading that was on it. Everyone said all the other sushi options were good and my son ate this every day.

More to come....

We're sailing Adventure in September and staying at the Caribe Hilton. Great info so far! I'm putting the restaurants you mentioned in my notes and I didn't realize you could walk to OSJ!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review!

You can walk, but it is about 30 minutes just to get to OSJ so you'd have to add the time it would take to walk around OSJ. Also, I am not sure if I would do it at night as I don't know how well lit the walkway is or if it would be safe.

Saturday, San Juan Cont’d – On previous cruises we always tried to get on the ship as early as they would let us. This time, since we were staying in a beautiful hotel, had asked for a late check-out (1:30) and the ship wasn’t leaving until 8:00, we decided to take our time. We grabbed a cab and arrived at the port at about 2:00. (Side note for those who have been on cruises with port stops in San Juan, this ship leaves from a different port, the Pan American. I learned this from reading reviews on Cruise Critic and don’t believe I saw anything in any of the paperwork that points this out, although I am sure all the cab drivers know. We originally thought of staying in Old San Juan and walking to the ship and this would not have been an option). So, it seemed as if everyone else had decided to arrive at 2:00 as the lines were outrageous. There are shorter lines for those who booked a suite or for Crown and Anchor members, but not Gold members like us. The lines were also split up by “Guests Dropping off Luggage” and “Guests with no Luggage.” Of course we got on the line for those with luggage and after waiting on the line for quite some time we realized that after we finished that line and dropped of our luggage, we were going to be sent to the other line – UGH! We also noticed that several people got on the no luggage line with their luggage and were able to check their luggage anyway. We didn’t understand how that was happening and it was pretty annoying, but being the rule followers that we are, we stayed on the long line, checked our luggage and then got on the other long line. I won’t go into detail about all the people who cut us on the line because I try not to let those things get to me. After going through the security check there is a duty free liquor store where you can buy wine or champagne. They allow you to bring 2 bottles per cabin. After buying our wine and getting ready to get on the next line my DS told me he couldn’t find his passport. We went back to the security check and a really nice agent went around to all the other agents and asked them to look for it. After about 10 minutes of freaking out my DH realized it was in his pocket. We all slapped him around a bit, thanked and apologized to the security agent and then headed for the check in line for gold members! We got our cards and were on the ship. The whole ordeal took about 2 hours, which I guess is not terrible and our rooms were ready when we got on so we went right to our room.

Before going on this cruise I read every review I could find. There were so many different opinions about the condition of the ship, the attitude of the staff, etc., so I guess I was prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. I will not focus too much on the bad things since so much of it was great! The ship is not brand new, you can see some wear and tear if you really look for it, but it really is a beautiful ship. That being said, our room had a smell. DH said it smelled like cat pee, I thought it was more like dirty feet. It may have been from previous cruisers leaving the balcony door open. Our friends were in the cabin next door and their room did not smell. Whatever it was, I also smelled it from time to time in other parts of the ship, in the hallways, etc. DH told our room steward about it and he told us he would shampoo the carpets the next day while we were in St. Maarten. When we returned to the ship on Sunday the room smelled fresh and the smell was gone. As the cruise went on, it slowly began to return. Again, I wouldn’t let it ruin our cruise but it was disappointing.

Sorry, have to sign off again to go to work. Hope this is not too much detail for everyone. At this rate, it may take me months to finish this!

Friday, San Juan Cont'd - After spending a few hours at the pool bar we went back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. We had asked the concierge for a recommendation for authentic Puerto Rican food and she recommended El Jibarito. Definitely a great choice! It is a small place, not very fancy, inexpensive, the service was great and the food was even better. Our waitress brought samples of several things for us to try while we looked at the menu and everything was delicious. I highly recommend this place! After dinner we walked a little in Old San Juan, stopped at Walgreens to buy a case of water to bring on the ship and then grabbed a cab back to the hotel, since everyone was so tired from the the early morning shuttle pick up.

Saturday, San Juan - Since we went to bed early the night before, we were up pretty early (not the teenagers of course, they were still sleeping) so we decided to take a walk to Old San Juan. There is a nice path from where the hotel is right into Old San Juan. There was some shade along the path but it was hot, even at 7:30AM. The walk to Old San Juan took us about 30 minutes. We didn't walk in town too much but stopped at San Cristobal Fort and took a rest and some pictures and then began the hot trek back to the hotel. We went back to the beach for a few hours, had lunch and then got ready to head to the ship. By the way, the food and drink were way overpriced at the Caribe Hilton but there is a small little restaurant called Cafeteria Tropical just outside the entrance to the hotel where we ate breakfast. It was really cheap and the food was good. Nothing spectacular, but fine for breakfast or a quick lunch.

Just returned on Saturday after an amazing week on Adventure of the Seas. After reading so many reviews while preparing for the trip, I thought I would write one this time.

This was my 5th cruise, 2nd on Royal. Have not felt a particular loyalty to any cruise line. We've picked our cruises based on the ports. My DH, DS19, DS16 and I were joined by another family with teens the same age who also joined us for our 2014 cruise on Explorer.

We flew in to San Juan from NY JFK on Friday. Our flight was at 7AM and Super Shuttle insisted on picking us up at 2:50 AM which we knew was way too early but after trying to push back, we gave in and got our teenagers out of bed at 2AM which was no easy task! We arrived at the airport before 4:00. I think the Delta counter opened at about 4:45. We were about the third group on line so we just waited on line to check our bags. Other than the fact that we were all zombies from lack of sleep, the flight was thankfully uneventful.

We took two cabs when we arrived at San Juan as no cab would take all 8 of us. I think the cab cost about $35 dollars. We had booked at the Caribe Hilton and when we arrived there at about noon, our rooms were not ready so we dropped our bags and went to the pool bar. The hotel was a good choice. The service was great, the grounds, beach and pool area were beautiful. The room was just ok. Not sure I would want to spend a whole week there as there was black mildew? stains around the air conditioner vent and we had a view of an old rusty basketball hoop in an overgrown courtyard. It worked for us for 1 night though and like I said, the grounds and pool area were beautiful!

Time to go to work...Will write more later.

I had heard about discounts for some C&A levels on Adventure, so I asked. Was told they were not doing those anymore (April 23 sailing). Did have the 10 drink card deal by day 3 or so. Glad we didn't get a package this time with all the port stops. We used the 10 drink card to sample some specialty drinks not offered in DL...

Where did you get the drink cards? Will the info be listed in the compass on the day they are available or did you already know about them?

I have heard of people sharing the package. You would not give your card to the other person, you would just have to go up and get them a drink. Obviously this is not sanctioned by the cruise line. Please don't lecture me about stealing, I have not done this but have heard about people who have and they say it is quite easy.

I'm sure you really came to this board because you wanted people to give you parenting advice!

I agree and disagree with you. Some things that you mentioned do bother me. Although I have kids do I want a vacation with kids running wild around me because their parents don't want to supervise? Absolutely not. We should always be courteous of others and how they want to vacation. Even when we sit on the deck to get some sun my family tries to talk quietly due to not wanting to disturb people around us. I also believe if an area says adult only like a Solarium it should be honored. That is not a suggestion, but a rule. It just really isn't that much to ask with all the other spaces your kids can be.

 

That said, I do disagree about your comments on formal night. I feel like some people on these boards assume because people don't want to dress up that we are somehow of a lower class. Not always the case. Maybe we have to dress up so much in our everyday life we see vacation as a place where we don't want to have to stand in heels that hurt our feet, etc. Maybe the guy who has to dress up for work all the time or sits in meetings with ties on just does not want to wear one on his vacation. They can call it formal night all they want but as I recall isn't it even listed as a suggested attire? It isn't exactly breaking a rule or snubbing others if you don't follow the suggestion and it isn't always lazy either. It is a personal choice. We usually dress up in cocktail attire the first night but honestly by the 2nd formal night we have either skipped or we go in a little less formal but still dress as to not completely stand out and remain respectful to the suggestion. I also agree with the above poster. On the NOS last spring break we had to really look around to see people that were really bucking the suggestion on the dress code in the dining room.

 

I feel on a cruise it is my job not to be rude to others and not let my kids be rude to others. We respect others space and follow the rules. We don't let our kids run wild and we use the dining room to teach our girls manners. However, I do not feel it is my job to dress in my best formal wear so that you enjoy your cruise more.

 

Debbie

Well said!!! I couldn't agree more! I never understood why people get so worked up over what others are wearing.

We will be cruising for the first time with Royal in April. We have cruised on Disney, NCL and Carnival. There have been little things that we have enjoyed on each, and very few things that we have felt were lacking. Some think Carnival is a "lesser" cruise line, but we loved it. I think its really just about what is important to you. We book based on the ports we want to visit. Some are loyal to an individual line. Some go expecting to be disappointed, and will be. We just go expecting to make the best of whatever comes our way, and always have a great time.

Loving the photos, thanks for sharing! Can't wait to get on Explorer in less than four weeks!!!:D

Really hope you are planning another Live review as I really enjoyed your last one (Enjoying this one as well, of course). First time on Explorer and Royal on April 10 (42 days!!!) Cruising vicariously through both of you for now.

Isn't there another bar close to Sunset? I can't remember the name? Does anyone recall what it is and how is their food compared to Sunset? I know Sunset has those huge cheeseburgers!!

I think the bar you are referring to is Guy's. I haven't been there so can't comment on the food is, but I have read about it on here. I think its a small shack-like place.

We went to Bermuda in May 2013 with 2 adults and 4 twenty-something "kids". Unless it's raining, I would suggest you take the bus to Horseshoe beach. It's absolutely stunning and should be seen even if you can't swim. There are rock formations and hills that the kids just loved climbing, exploring, and taking pictures. You can walk the shoreline from one beach to the other and just take in the beauty while the kids explore all the interesting little rocks and caves. After that, we returned to the dockyard and watched the glass blowing, had some lunch and just browsed through the shops. If you still have time, you could take about a 25 minute walk, or a 5 minute cab ride, to the glass beach which is just outside the dockyard and explore and collect some souvenir glass. This would make a wonderful, easy to do day that I think you would all enjoy. This is what we did and our "kids" said it was their favorite day in Bermuda.

Thanks for the suggestions! I haven't checked back here in a while since I posted. Now I am glad I did. Sounds like a great day and the beaches look beautiful even it we can't swim!

Yes, I am very interested in any and all details! We are booked on the 4/10 sailing (1st time on Royal) so have been scouring the boards for information. Really hope you have a great cruise and no one gets sick on this one or any others!

Have a great time and can't wait to hear all about it!

Thanks for all the info! These are some great ideas. Even if its not a hot beach day, we don't want to miss out on seeing Bermuda's famous beaches! Just wasnt sure if we would want to spend the whole day there. We will be there on Saturday, April 12, from 8:00 to 4:00.