Photo review: Adventure OTS, Hurricane rerouted itinerary

This is a story about letting go of expectations and going with the flow. We were on the Adventure of the Seas cruise August 22, 2015 that had its itinerary changed first by Hurricane Danny and again by Tropical Storm Erika. Our original itinerary was St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados. Our completed itinerary was St. Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. We had beautiful (but hot) weather for six out of seven days. The final sea day was rainy and windy.

My family consists of me, my husband and our two kids, DS9 and DD12. DH and I started cruising for our honeymoon in 2003. We’ve been on about 20 cruises, but this was our first time back to RCCL since our honeymoon cruise. In the meantime, we’ve done Celebrity, Carnival and HAL. This was our kids first cruise on RCCL. Well, my DD was technically along for the honeymoon cruise, but she wasn’t a fare paying passenger. Anyway, the kids have been on about 10 cruises on Celebrity and Carnival. A month or so before the cruise, we were talking about it with my parents and on a whim, they decided to join us. This was our third cruise together.

In the months leading up to the cruise, I did lots of research on our ports of call and booked excursions for each port except for Antigua. In St. Maarten, we booked Bernard’s Tours. In St. Kitts, we planned to go to Palms Court Gardens. In St. Lucia, we booked Spencer’s Land, Sea & Beach Adventure. And in Barbados, it was to be the Calypso 5 Hour Lunch Cruise. We ended up cancelling all except Bernard’s Tours in St. Maarten. All deposits were refunded easily.

The complete photo album is at Cruise Summer 2015

We flew into San Juan on the Tuesday before our Saturday departure. Our flight was on time and unremarkable.

Our first view of San Juan. A ship was departing from the downtown pier.

Our home for the next five days was El Conquistador Resort We booked under a promotion for stay three nights, get one free. At check-in, we upgraded our room to La Marina Village, down at the bottom of the hill and convenient to the ferry and water park. We loved this hotel, though there was an incredible amount of walking. Our room was 1/3 of a mile from the lobby!

Our room view:

That night, we were watching the local news, which was all about Danny, which was expected to become a hurricane in the next few days. We were immediately concerned and posted on our roll call. My first comment to my husband was, “I bet we’ll get to visit the ABCs!” I ended up being exactly right.

Day 1: El Yunque and Kioskos

After an hour long detour caused by Google maps, we arrived at El Portal Visitor Center. Do NOT just enter El Yunque into Google maps, or you will end up on the wrong side of the park with no way to get in. Instead, search for El Portal Visitor Center.

Anyway, we spent some time at the visitor center and then started following PR191, the road which runs through the forest. We stopped here and there for photo ops, before parking at the top of the trail for La Mina Falls. This is about a 30 minute hike. And it is a hike, not a walk. Be prepared for lots and lots and lots of steps. The path is down to the falls and up coming back. Take water.

After our hike, we were starving! We headed back toward the hotel, stopping in Luquillo at the Kioskos. This is a set of restaurants lining the highway. My daughter, who is a very picky eater, is still talking about the fried cheese she had at our stop there.

Day 2: Palomino Island and Coqui Water Park

Palomino Island is the hotel’s private island. It’s a 20 minute ferry ride. On our way over, we watched a helicopter shooting photos and/or video, including of our ferry. I am not sure if it was for a travel show or a hotel promotion.

After returning from dinner, we received emails and text messages about our itinerary change due to Hurricane Danny. Instead of St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados, we would visit St. Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire and St. Thomas. We were upset, of course, but with only a day’s notice, we decided just to wing it in the ports. We had never been to Aruba. DH and I had been to Bonaire once before and loved the snorkeling.

Day 3: Cueva Adventura

Weather was a little concerning this morning, but other than driving through a few brief showers and an overall cloudiness, we had a great day. The view from the cave was absolutely breathtaking. Again, this was not a leisurely walk, but required some climbing both up and down. There were also bats in the caves, but if you didn't bother them, they didn't bother you. Just remember to close your mouth if you look up.

Our original plan for the evening was an BioBay electric boat tour. The BioBay was the reason we decided to stay in Fajardo. Unfortunately, our trip was canceled. All of the Caribbean is dealing with seaweed issues this summer and the Laguna Grande was no exception. Seaweed had gotten into the lagoon and the bioluminescence was not visible. This cancelation coming just a few hours after the cruise itinerary change was really disheartening.

Day 4: Embarkation day

We sadly said goodbye to ElCon. We took our final funicular ride up the big hill. There was so much more to this resort than we ever got to do. We missed most of the pools, all of the shops, most of the restaurants. We could have easily spent another few days there. But Adventure of the Seas was waiting for us.

But first, we needed to do laundry. So, we found a laundromat and got busy. It took about an hour to wash and fold everything and we were on our way to the ship by 10:30. The plan was for DH to drop me and the kids (and all the luggage) off at the ship, then return the rental car, then meet my parents at the airport and share a taxi back to the ship. Everything went smoothly.

We had not told the kids that we had booked a Grand Suite. We’ve stayed in insides, outsides and balconies, but never a suite with the kids. However, the concierge, Ryno, emailed all of us the week before the cruise, so my daughter knew something was up. And when we arrived and went into the VIP line, she had a big smile on her face. She hadn’t yet connected it to a big cabin, because she had never seen one, but she knew we were receiving special treatment.

The kids and I went to Windjammer for lunch while waiting for my husband and parents.

The cabins were ready around 2:00. My husband arrived right around then, so we waited so he would be with us when the kids saw the cabin. They were amazed! They were so excited! Our cabin was 1274.

Following....love your photos.

Enjoying your review and photos.

Keith

Thank you cyntil8ing!!!

Saw that Ravens hat in a photo... We are from Maryland, too.

Thank you for taking the time to write and post this review. I have sailed from PR three times, and will again in January, and never tire of looking at photos. Sorry your ports were changed, but impressed that you decided not to let it ruin your cruise. New experiences can be great, too.

Looking forward to reading more.:)

Thank you cyntil8ing!!!

 

Saw that Ravens hat in a photo... We are from Maryland, too.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write and post this review. I have sailed from PR three times, and will again in January, and never tire of looking at photos. Sorry your ports were changed, but impressed that you decided not to let it ruin your cruise. New experiences can be great, too.

 

Looking forward to reading more.:)

My 2 favorite teams are the Steelers and whoever is playing the Ravens!!!!

excellent photos!

we are in 1274 on our Adventure cruise:D

I am enjoying your review and great pictures. I am on Adventure in 33 days so I am loving this! :cool:

My 2 favorite teams are the Steelers and whoever is playing the Ravens!!!!

Truth be told, I cannot stand the Ravens. :eek: I am a Denver fan, but grew up in N. California. I just recognize the distinctive purple hat as a fellow Marylander.

Cruise Day 2: St. Maarten

We have visited St. Maarten three or four times, but this was our kids’ first visit. We knew they would be most interested in Maho Beach. We had done Bernard’s Tours before as a private tour with our roll call. We had such a great day that we wanted to do it again. Unfortunately, this was a much more reserved group and while it was a good day, we ended up wishing we had just rented a car and drove to Maho. Next year, we will.

In Marigot, we went to Serafina’s, the French bakery. I think this was the best strawberry tart I’ve ever had.

My daughter loved the chocolate éclair.

That evening, our first towel animal made an appearance

One bad picture doesn't spoil the whole bunch! Great start.

One bad picture doesn't spoil the whole bunch! Great start.

And the funny thing is that though this photo has generated the most comment, none of our family are big football fans. Like eating steamed crabs, it's more of a cultural thing than something we really enjoy. :D

I found your review right when you started posting last night and am really enjoying it. I can say that I've never seen a review post faster. I would read one part, go read another thread and before I was done with that, Tapatalk notified me that you had posted again (within a few minutes)!

I'm glad you were able to be flexible and good spirited about the itinerary change. I'm also impressed that you drove in PR.

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I'm also impressed that you drove in PR.

Ha! I didn't. My husband did. At first, it was harrowing, but after a bit, we got used to it.

In the states, some people drive aggressively, with a sense of entitlement, if you will. And others get self-righteous and try to police other drivers. We didn't find that in PR. Yes, people made their own traffic rules, but it was more of a co-operative effort. Jumping in didn't seem to cause any issues. Everyone just continued on. People's egos didn't seem to be involved. Hard to describe the difference.

You don't need to explain anymore. I know exactly what you mean.

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