voyager89

There was also a muster drill at 8:30 for those people that were off the ship during the 5:30 drill.

 

As far as choosing a night for Chops, they post the dining menus every morning outside the Tides Dining Room and outside of the Windjammer. So it would be easy to walk by and see if you like the menu for the night and make a decision on Chops.

 

This is super helpfull, thanks a lot. I didnt see that on the Oasis, or maybe I just didnt find it. I didnt bother on asking either LOL.

The more I read about the Jewel, the more excited I get about it!3.5 months to go :D

Outstanding message! I didn't have to make the choice because we are going again in May when I think Adventure goes elsewhere? I also loved the outdoor seating on Jewel. The Refurbishment doesn't make that go away does it?

It does! I just learned this, actually since Jewel is the only one that hasn't "suffered" the refurb yet, it's the only one that keeps the seaview cafe and the outdoor Windjammer. I am not sure about the last one, but the Seaview cafe is being removed to place this Oasis class restaurants.

I had the same dilemma as you did (as you can see in my signature I have an Adventure countdown) but we ended up going for the Jewel which we booked just yesterday First I really wanted the Jewel but the price was way higher, so we went for Adventure thinking bigger ship / smaller rate, why are we even deciding? Plus I really didn't want to miss the Promenade (like you, I also did the Oasis) and I thought I would feel the size change a lot. So the Adventure went up a lot, and Jewel dropped a lot, so we went for the last one.

I was fine with either or, since in one hand, I didn't want to miss that many Oasis features including the promenade which was my favorite venue but in the other hand I also wanted to experience the feeling of a smaller, more luxurious ship. The centrum looks beautiful as well, and overall it looks like it will feel more of a mature ambience.

We are also on our 20's so this is perfect for us. I think the Adventure attracts more families while Jewel attracts more couples and groups. I have been watching pictures over and over as well as YouTube videos and I am soooo excited about it, I guess even more excited than I was for the adventure for some reason. Plus, I believe Jewel is newer :)

We've stayed at the Caribe Hilton for both Adventure of the Seas cruises - a fantastic hotel. You can get to Old San Juan with a 5-10 minute cab ride from there. They also have their own private "cove".

 

...and for those who are regular travelers....YES...they accept Hilton points to reserve rooms.

I will check it out, thanks!

Wow, there is A LOT of information on the Adventure! just finished the whole thread an Im on page 8 of the other one... 250 pages to go... Im so glad since this will be our second cruise in January, and I really wanted a lot of info. We dont even have reservations yet haha but we have the flight tickets to SJU so that is a for sure we are going. I cant cant wait!

We will arrive to SJU on the 8 of January and staying 2 more nights after the cruise so we get to see the whole city, and maybe visit Vieques or Culebra. I´ve seen that there are 2 ship piers, one in Old San Juan and the other one in Isla Verde (?) I assume this is the one where they depart and the other one is where ships do the day visits am I correct? If you go to Google earth, you can see a Celebrity ship and a Royal one, which Im sure is the Adventure ha.

Which hotel would you recommend? I wanted to stay at Old San Juan so I see the ships coming by at a walking distance, but Im not sure yet. Also Ive heard dining in PR is expensive, so we wanted (if there is one) a hotel that had a kitchenette. Any suggestions?

Thank you!

greetings from Mexico City :D

Nice choice of location! Old San Juan is amazing. We stayed at Villa Herencia and El Convento last year. Next year we will stay at Caleta 64

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147320-d1050675-Reviews-Caleta_64_Apartment-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html

They are small apartments with kitchens, and there is a grocery store within easy walking distance.

You could also check out rentals on the vrbo (vacation rentals by owner) website. Many owners will rent out their apartments or condos on a nightly basis.(Although I'm not sure you'll find much in the $100 range, but the savings on food will be significant - dining is expensive there.)

 

As far as the docking in Old San Juan, Carnival does use that pier for embarkation and disembarkation. They other lines use OSJ for day stops.

Thank you so much! I will defintely put Calte 64 in my options, just googled it and it looks pretty nice. really dont want to be cooking during vacation haha but i would rather spend money I can save in expensive dining in the ports instead.

I am so torn about cruising out of San Juan now. I have read here in CC wonderfull reviews, and I really really want to Puerto Rico. I cant even change my mind anymore since I got my fligt tickets haha but there is also on the other side, people saying that the ship is old (Adventure) that the food is bad and it is full of locals (as if it was a bad thing) for some people it is, I have even read discriminating comments towards them. I am Mexican and I now that when most people hears the word Mexico, hate comes to their minds and thinks of it as if it was the worst disease you could ever get so I feel for people saying that Puero Ricans are "not the best people you would like to cruise with". I really dont care who I cruise with, I am there with my partner because we just LOVED cruising. If we had the chance we would do it 5 times a year. and we were just off of our first cruise in april and we thought we wouldnt cruise again until Quantum haha. It is again, expensive for us, but it is well worth it.

Bottom line, why would people think it is bad to sail with locals? and is the Adventure really shoing its age? I know its old, and I thik we will do feel the differnece between the Oasis and this ship, but I dont think it is as bad as some people describes it.

Hello,

I had a few questions that I hope you can answer for me,

We are going on the Adventure on January 12, this is our second cruise and first out of San Juan. So if I understood correctly, ships making stops will dock by Old San Juan, and ships departing will be at the Panamerican pier?

I want to book a hotel in Old San Juan so I can be at a walking distance from the pier and see the ships as they come everyday, I will be at San Juan from January the 8 (at 10:00M ugh) til out cruise on the 12 and then 2 more nights after the cruise. But geez all hotels are pretty pricey, for a pre cruise night I dont mind paying about 110-150 dolars, but for 6 nights all together, I could almost even book another cruise! and If I will have to pay more than 100 dollars a night I expect something -decent-

I was thinking the Doubletree if I can afford it, do you know how far/close it is from everything?

I dont want to be paying 20 dlls for each cab ride to be honest. We are kind of in a budget... We live in Mexico City so it is not cheap for us to go pretty much everywhere and we are actually having a really long vacation this time, on December the 31st we fly to Cancun to spend NYE in Playa del Carmen, we stay there 8 nights and we fly to SJU, 4 nights, then the cruise, 2 more nights at SJU, fly back to Cancun, we might saty a few more days there and then come back to Mexico City, so we will be out for 3 weeks, which means we are trying to cut expenses as much as we can.

A safe hostel could even work for us, and maybe Im asking for too much but if we had a kitchen and a Walgreens or Walmart close, that would be wonderful. Not only it is our first cruise out of SJ but our first time there so I really dont know much, any advise will be really appreciated, thanks!

Well I left my tip in the end of the cruise because I thought that's how you re supposed to do it, when I go to restaurants I don't tip the waiters in the middle of my meal, or when I go to hotels I tip the steward in full when I leave for as many nights I spent there. I realise now he thought I would leave him nothing, but then again this was my first cruise, so I will take your advise and tip him/her the night before departure.

What I still don't get and I don't like is the feeling that you are obligated to tip. If they provide me with good service, of course I will tip. And even when I'm not provided with good service, I will tip something. I am not a cheap person at all, my brother in law is a waiter so I know it is hard for them to make money, and how much the dislike cheap people. I always tip more than suggested if my expectations on the service were at least reached. I will gladly leave some more of they were exceeded. I did tip Omar well, was he good? Yes. Was his service outstanding? Not really. But that doesn't mean I didn't tip him, or even tip him less than suggested because he did his job, keeping our stateroom clean.

Yeah of course I did, that would be unfair since I'm sure thats where he earns most of his money from

I did my first cruise with RCI in April on the Oasis. I did remove our tips because first off, I like to tip the people that assists me, no one else. I didn't even I to the MDR but once, and we did tip our waiter that night. On the disembarkation day, we had our room open and Omar (our room attendant) told us why did you remove the tips? Didn't you like my service? I told him I did, I actually did, and that I would leave him a better tip in cash. I did not like that at all, because I felt he was requesting a tip when it is not mandatory at all. If it was, then they would be including it on the cruise price, like Seabourn for example.

I don't get people getting angry with people removing tips. I would get it if they just wouldn't leave anything at all. I like personally giving them a cash tip, cause that the reward for their service, good or bad.

One

2!!!!!!!

Does anyone know how expensive. the tatoos are?

Gosh, I'm Mexican and that food made my mouth water! I think ill have some enchiladas or flautas for lunch haha

Sherri, your review is phenomenal. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to share this with us. I'm gonna call you Share-e. Hahahaha sort I couldn't help it.

On the compass for day 2, did I read right you get a free diamonds international bracelet????? OMG is that true?

Also, I always wanted to ask, aren't the pools kind of small? The beach pool seeems way to small to me, is it usually crowded?

We always carry our luggage on and off the ship. No worries that way!

How do you do that? I know you can disembark with your luggage, but when checking in? I thought you had to leave it and you would just get in the ship with your carry on... Could you tell me how do you do it?

I have some LV luggage and I do not check it with either the airlines or a cruise ship. I would run, not walk, to Wal-Mart for some cheapo luggage. Our airline/cruising luggage is Samsonite. So common that no one will steal it and it's very sturdy.:)

 

Of course you are special.

 

Enjoy your cruise. :)

Aww that's sweet thanks, I feel special now :)

I guess you are right, we always travel with those but only through airlines. I really dont wanna go and try it at a cruise terminal and experience it by getting our luggage distroyed.

Thank you all for the input

I'm.enjoying your review a lot, great pictures!

BTW you have a lovely family :)

15! In two weeks from tomorrow I will be arriving to Miami by this time, Oasis sails next day, I am soooooo excited!

OMG... :eek: unbelievable... I'm getting worried, we are traveling with 3 rolling pieces and 1 big trunk, they are all LV... :o makes me wonder if we should just get some super cheap pieces at Walmart or something... We are not diamond or c&a or whatever, not even gold, this is our first cruise! So of course they won't even care, or won't even really bother if we complain..since we are not "special" hum...

Thank you for sharing your experience, I am sailing the oasis as well first time in a couple of weeks, being it my first cruise as well, I nervous but sool excited!

Sorry to hear your luggage was damaged, now that you mention this issue I got myself worried. My partner and I are traveling with quite expensive luggage pieces... Not that I want to brag but I want to be on the safe side. If those get damaged, I for sure won't take any replacement they offer me since I don't think it would equal the value of our luggage, and if they offer us money, I either dont think it will be enough, you can tell me to bring non-expensive luggage, which I would if I could, we dont have pieces that big, and believe me we pack a lot. This given in the worst case -hopefully not- that they get damaged

Would it be ok to to tell them when I hand it in to take care of it? Will they Even care? I will try to find proof of purchase of those just in case... That should be the last thing i should worry about right? But Then again I don't have any other as big pieces to take :/