Photo review: Adventure OTS, Hurricane rerouted itinerary

[EJPhilly]

We used San Juan Happy Tours. It was $25pp and our luggage was in the bus with us. They are set up right outside the terminal. When we left the ship, we grabbed a porter and told him what we wanted to do. He took care of everything. We just settled ourselves in the bus and waited for it to fill, which took about 10 minutes.

 

 

 

The last time we traveled out of San Juan was on Celebrity, but they have the same tours as RCCL. We booked the Rain Forest with Airport Drop-off. We were put on a creaky old unairconditioned bus while our luggage went in a trailer to the airport, where it sat outside with just one attendant watching over all of the luggage from all of the tours. When we arrived at the airport, we really could have picked up any luggage we wanted. :eek:

 

 

Thx for the info. Not thrilled with the luggage issue though. [emoji33]

[swandie27]

Thank you for a great review, Cindy! Your pictures are gorgeous. I have some questions for you.

 

The food on this cruise was really disappointing. I was never impressed with the food in the main dining room. We did not go to Giovanni’s Table. Windjammer was unimpressive too. It was also always crowded, hot in the aft section and just generally unimpressive. Our one experience with room service took over an hour to receive our order of cookies and a slice of cheesecake. We fell asleep waiting for them! It’s a good thing we don’t cruise for the food!

 

It seems like this is a common theme in recent Adventure of the Seas reviews. I am a food person so this makes me a little nervous! I know better than to expect Michelin star level fine dining but I would hope it would at least be on the level of decent banquet food. I think I can deal with that. What was it exactly that made it so disappointing? Quality? Variety?

 

Did you enjoy your meals in port?

 

We used San Juan Happy Tours. It was $25pp and our luggage was in the bus with us. They are set up right outside the terminal. When we left the ship, we grabbed a porter and told him what we wanted to do. He took care of everything. We just settled ourselves in the bus and waited for it to fill, which took about 10 minutes.

 

My mom and I have a 7:05 p.m. flight out of San Juan on disembarkation day and this looks to be the best option. Were they cash only or did they take credit cards? How long did you get to walk around/stop for lunch? Did they drop people off based on flight times or did they drop everyone off at the same time?

 

P.S. I live in Maryland as well and work with plenty of passionate Ravens fans! I'm also one of those ones who don't care too much.

[Heytray41]

Beautiful underwater pictures in Bonaire! We are booked next October...looking forward to a great cruise! Thanks so much for your review :-)

 

Traci

[pinkroses]

Did you rent your car at the hotel? Then where were you able to drop it off? The hotel looks fantastic! We are there in November and have booked the Embassy Suites for four nights but may change for two of them to El Conquistador. I see they picked you up at the airport.

[cyntil8ing]

It seems like this is a common theme in recent Adventure of the Seas reviews. I am a food person so this makes me a little nervous! I know better than to expect Michelin star level fine dining but I would hope it would at least be on the level of decent banquet food. I think I can deal with that. What was it exactly that made it so disappointing? Quality? Variety?

 

Did you enjoy your meals in port?

 

It was decent banquet food. Nothing was bad, though a few things were overly salted or the sauce was overpowering. My parents really enjoyed the food. I think I'm just jaded.

 

 

My mom and I have a 7:05 p.m. flight out of San Juan on disembarkation day and this looks to be the best option. Were they cash only or did they take credit cards? How long did you get to walk around/stop for lunch? Did they drop people off based on flight times or did they drop everyone off at the same time?

 

We paid cash. I do not know if they accepted credit cards, though I would doubt it.

 

The driver dropped everyone off at Plaza de Colon around 11:30. Based on everyone's flight times, he determined two pickup times, 12:30 and 2:00.

[cyntil8ing]

Did you rent your car at the hotel? Then where were you able to drop it off? The hotel looks fantastic! We are there in November and have booked the Embassy Suites for four nights but may change for two of them to El Conquistador. I see they picked you up at the airport.

 

No, we rented off airport from Dollar. There was a shuttle van that picked us up outside the terminal. The rental car location was about 5 minutes away.

 

On the day of the cruise, my husband dropped me, the kids and the luggage off at the pier, returned the car, took the shuttle back to the airport to meet my parents, and finally a taxi to the port. The whole process took about an hour and a half, including waiting for my parents to get their luggage.

 

El Conquistador did not pick us up, but it is a service they offer. I saw the pick-up at the airport.

 

If you have any interest in a BioBay excursion, the resort is located in the same area.

 

And I didn't even mention the three great restaurants we found. Dinner at La Estacion (http://laestacionpr.com/) and Calizo Seafood (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g612474-d1493272-Reviews-Calizo_Seafood_Restaurant-Fajardo_Puerto_Rico.html). Brunch at Las Vistas Cafe (http://www.lasvistascafepr.com/intro.html)

[pinkroses]

No, we rented off airport from Dollar. There was a shuttle van that picked us up outside the terminal. The rental car location was about 5 minutes away.

 

On the day of the cruise, my husband dropped me, the kids and the luggage off at the pier, returned the car, took the shuttle back to the airport to meet my parents, and finally a taxi to the port. The whole process took about an hour and a half, including waiting for my parents to get their luggage.

 

El Conquistador did not pick us up, but it is a service they offer. I saw the pick-up at the airport.

 

If you have any interest in a BioBay excursion, the resort is located in the same area.

 

And I didn't even mention the three great restaurants we found. Dinner at La Estacion (http://laestacionpr.com/) and Calizo Seafood (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g612474-d1493272-Reviews-Calizo_Seafood_Restaurant-Fajardo_Puerto_Rico.html). Brunch at Las Vistas Cafe (http://www.lasvistascafepr.com/intro.html)

 

Thanks Cindy! We are on the Adventure in November and coming to San Juan on Tuesday prior. We are meeting friends who are coming Thursday at the Embassy Suites. They want to do the BioBay excursion. It sounds like it may be a little out of the way. Our intent is to pick up the car near the airport and drop it off Thursday when we meet our friends.

[swandie27]

It was decent banquet food. Nothing was bad, though a few things were overly salted or the sauce was overpowering. My parents really enjoyed the food. I think I'm just jaded.

 

Thanks for answering. This makes me feel a little better and makes it easier to manage my expectations.

 

 

We paid cash. I do not know if they accepted credit cards, though I would doubt it.

 

The driver dropped everyone off at Plaza de Colon around 11:30. Based on everyone's flight times, he determined two pickup times, 12:30 and 2:00.

 

Good to know. I'll be sure to have enough cash on me.

[cyntil8ing]

Have a great time!

[coppermouse]

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you Photoshop the sign? We go there every year and I never seen the sign that clean.

[cyntil8ing]

Did you Photoshop the sign? We go there every year and I never seen the sign that clean.

 

Nope! Maybe they had just replaced it.

 

I don't edit any of my photos. Except for some occasional cropping, everything is straight out of the camera.

[Ladysilver]

I enjoyed reading your review! :)