Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Review: RC Adventure of the Seas Dec 19 2015

BoopTennis

By BoopTennis,
in Royal Caribbean International

 Share

Recommended Posts

BoopTennis

BoopTennis

Posted
Posted

We just got back from our wonderful cruise! Fantastic cruise! I will break the review up into pieces and try my best to also include photos if I can figure out how to post those.

 

Arrival and Hotel (pre cruise Thursday)

We flew from Chicago to San Juan on Thursday, two days before the cruise, to ensure we did not have any flight issues and to enjoy San Juan a bit. Arrived around 4:30 pm, taxi line moved quickly with a dispatcher that gave you a price slip so you knew exactly what you were going to have to pay. There were 5 of us and we were going to the Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino in Condado, taxi was $24 plus tip (included 5 people, 6 bags at $1 per bag). (Backpacks etc do not count as luggage for the $1 fee).

 

Traffic was awful but of course it was rush hour. Taxi driver was great and did his best to try to get around traffic jams but it still took 45 minutes to get to our hotel, just because of the grid-locked traffic. But it was ok as we got to see a lot of the city on the way by going on some back roads.

 

Marriott Resort is awesome, was clean and beautiful. We had 3 rooms (3 more of our group for total of 8 people arrived later Thursday evening). We were on the 18th floor and were on the side of the hotel so had a nice view of the beach if you looked to your left, not straight ahead. But it was very nice. 2 beds per room, plenty of space, had balcony with a couple chairs you could sit on and enjoy the view. The bathroom was big and clean and had shampoo, lotion, etc. This hotel is right on the beach and there are chairs and umbrellas to use. It also has a wonderful pool area with a couple pools, an adult only pool and a pool with a swim up bar. There is a small waterslide for kids. Also a hot tub. My 9-year old grandson was with us and he had a lot of fun at the pool and in the ocean. Ocean was not too rough and was nice sand.

 

Thursday evening we kept it simple and just walked across the street from the hotel to a burger place called BunsBurger Shop. I have a menu I will post later. They have burgers, hot dogs, different types of grilled cheese/panini style, I had one of those and it was very good.

 

Also there is a Starbucks right across the street. On the corner by the hotel is both a CVS and Walgreens where we got some wine to take on the ship and a few other supplies. There is a gelato place on the hotel property. We did not eat in any of the hotel dining areas but had drinks at the bar area which was a nice big area and they had a live band.

 

I will post more soon, or in meantime answer any questions as I go….

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BoopTennis

BoopTennis

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Friday San Juan

 

For breakfast, the 8 of us walked across the street and to the left about half a block to restaurant named CrepeMaker, it was fun and good. Quick service, lots of choices and a GREAT fun waiter! Crepes for breakfast or lunch or even dinner, we really liked it and I will post menu shortly.

 

Next we headed for Old San Juan to see the forts. We thought it would be fun to take the bus, so waited at an easily marked spot for the bus near the hotel. Had to wait about 10-15 minutes. 75 cents per person and you need exact change but there were plenty of seats and it was fun to experience the locals. Ended trip at the bus terminal in OSJ, we then walked just a few blocks up to the Fort San Cristobel. Toured that for awhile and was interesting to see everything. There is a free trolley that runs between the forts but we decided to walk to Fort El Morro. Somewhat long walk but not terrible and good exercise. Walked thru a little village area, then went into the cematary to spend some time there. From there, walked up a big hill where kids fly kites and on up to El Morro. Spent some time there then when done hopped on the free trolley which took us into town. You can hop on and off as you like. We decided to grab a taxi back to the hotel from there as it was early afternoon and we wanted to enjoy the pool and beach at the hotel for the afternoon. Great time, had drinks at the pool. Sunny and 80’s all day. Later played cards at a big table in the hotel lobby bar.

 

Dinner Friday night the 8 of us walked down Ashford Avenue just a few blocks from the hotel to a place called Orozco’s. We all really liked this as well, Puerto Rican food and tried different appetizers and entrées. Good drinks also. Friendly service.

 

Walked back to hotel, stopped and got some gelato. Lovely day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

Posted
Posted
menu attached for Buns Burger shop San Juan

 

Enjoying your review so far, though as you can see, I have more than year to go. I couldn't get the menu to open, but bunsburgershop.com has the menu. Looking forward to ship and port pics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BoopTennis

BoopTennis

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Saturday San Juan Embarkation and Cabin

Some of us grabbed quick breakfast at Starbucks, we checked out of hotel. Stopped at CVS and picked up several bottles of wine to take onboard with us (two bottles per cabin) are allowed. We put the bottles in our carryons, spread them around the 8 of us. Grabbed taxi with all 8 of us together with bags (!!) to go to pier. Got to pier around noon (not a very long ride maybe 15 min or less?) and it took about 45 minutes until we were on the ship, a little waiting but not bad, pretty orderly, we just gave them our large bags that we checked on the plane and we carried our own roller bags and backpacks on with us. (Boarding the ship for the first day is the most exciting thing to me!!)

 

Grabbed lunch on the ship at the Windjammer buffet, explored and hung out by pool. Cabins were ready at 2 pm and when we got to our room all our checked luggage was already there. We had 4 balcony cabins in a row Deck 8: 8282, 8284, 8286 and 8288. We had two people to a room. Each cabin had either 2 beds separated or 2 pushed together into one. Also had a sofa and small sofa table. One couple put that table in the closet to make more room to move around. Cabin was big enough for us. Room was clean and yes fabrics and colors are dated and a bit worn but not enough to bother any of us.

 

There was plenty of storage places in closet (wire shelves), in drawers in the desk area and bedstands, and behind the mirror doors on the desk. We put our luggage under the bed after we unpacked. One bag was too big so had to sit in corner but was not in our way. There are two AC outlets on the desk. That was enough for us to keep our electronics charged. I had taken an AC/USC charger with multiple slots but didn’t end up needing it. We did not have an extension cord and none was needed.

 

Balcony had one table and two chairs. I love balconies! This ship (and deck 8) has metal at the bottom of the balcony and then plexiglass so it’s not too bad. The only thing I don’t like about this ship’s balconies is that they do not open to the stateroom next to you. That is fun to do on other ships.

 

Bathroom had soap bars and shampoo dispenser in the shower (but I had taken my own shampoo since I am picky). The guys all used the shampoo in the dispenser. I used their Hairblower and it was good enough. Sometimes I Just went up on deck somewhere and the wind dried my hair fast LOL. I brought my own hair curling iron and flat hair iron.

 

Speaking of irons, I did not bring a clothes iron, that is a no-no on the ship. But I did bring a small steamer and they did not take it away (it was in a checked bag) and it worked fine for getting rid of wrinkles on shirts etc.

 

I had made door signs so hung those up with magnets not tape (doors are magnetic). Also had brought little magnetic white dry erase boards and dry erase pens that I put on the doors. We used those for leaving each other notes where we were going on the ship so we could find each other (eg pool, Windjammer, etc)

 

My 9 year old grandson got registered for Adventure Ocean (Kids club). More on that later but he loved it!

 

Muster was at 5:45 pm. Did not need to take your lifejackets. Very crowded but did not last too long.

 

Sailaway from San Juan was at 8:30 pm. Such a great feeling! Love it! We had traditional dining late seating every night with the 8 of us at one table. The main dining room has 3 levels and we were on the lowest level, Deck 3, called Vivaldi. More on food later. Dining that night started at 8:45 so there was time to enjoy Sailaway first. I thought the food choices in the Main Dining Room were great. I enjoy trying different things. I usually (always LOL) got 2 “starters” (appetizers) then one entrée and of course dessert. This first night I had Seafood Spaghetti which sounds like a weird name but was delicious.

 

While I think of it, San Juan is one hour later than U.S. Eastern Time zone (2 pm in San Juan when it’s 1 pm in New York), and that time never changed on the ship or any of the ports. No time changes anywhere. Some went to the casino and I went up to the pool with the big movie screen and watched Minions with my grandson. Very fun.

 

Our ports were:

St Croix

St Kitts

St Maarten

Dominica

Barbados

 

More to come…..

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BoopTennis

BoopTennis

Posted
  • Author
Posted

i did not purchase a Beverage Package. I was only drinking about 2 drinks per day, we had 5 port stops, and I can deal with Windjammer coffee and tea and water. There were a couple "specials" offered throughout the week, see attachments, we did not purchase those either although we thought about it.

 

Day 4 package looked like it was quite limited for type of cocktails you can order (I like cosmos and "fun" drinks). Day 7 package might have been worth it but we didn't try.

ry%3D480

 

ry%3D480

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...