Adventure B2B Trip & Ultimate Beach Review 4/16/16 - 4/30/16 (photo bomb)!!!

[wannab4Ecruiser]

Thanks for posting this review! It has made me even more excited for my cruise in July! I will definitely be taking some of your tips/advice into consideration as we plan/cruise. And those drinks...which to try first? RC should pay you for advertising! :D

[readytolose]

Thank you for another great review. I'm sad to see it end. I still have over 500 days till my turn on Adventure. :(

 

I've taken notes and have a great list of suggested beaches to pick from!

Also I think I'm going to just start ordering "something fruity" and see what the bartenders come up with. I always seem to get in a rut and order the same drinks over and over.

 

Thanks again!

[twalker002]

Thank you for the review. So much to consider but we have time since our San Juan cruise is in 489 days. :eek:

 

Loved the pics and tips!!

[AZAficionado]

We spent a week on St. Maarten/St. Martin last April and absolutely loved it. We spent several days at Orient Bay since we were staying in a private villa there, but we also took the ferry to Anguilla one day, kayaked to Pinel Island one day, and spent a day with Capt Bob/Soualiga Destinations. Beautiful beaches, incredible food, ice cold rose with lunch, house made flavored rum after every meal... What's not to like?? It was up there with our favorite vacations ever.

 

We've been debating between a cruise on Allure or a week in Barbados for spring break 2017. Your photos of the beach in Barbados have me leaning in that direction.

 

Thanks for a great review!

Yea, a real stay in St. Maarten is on my bucket list. If for no other reason than the food.

 

You are welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed the review!! :)

[AZAficionado]

Thanks for posting this review! It has made me even more excited for my cruise in July! I will definitely be taking some of your tips/advice into consideration as we plan/cruise. And those drinks...which to try first? RC should pay you for advertising! :D

You are most welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed it!! :) Also, I'm glad my tips can be of help.

 

As for the advertising, I'd like to think of this review more as education. ;)

[AZAficionado]

Thank you for another great review. I'm sad to see it end. I still have over 500 days till my turn on Adventure. :(

 

I've taken notes and have a great list of suggested beaches to pick from!

Also I think I'm going to just start ordering "something fruity" and see what the bartenders come up with. I always seem to get in a rut and order the same drinks over and over.

 

Thanks again!

You are most welcome!! That's a long time to wait, but it will be here before you know it. :)

 

Keep your bartenders guessing. Mix it up and let them work their magic. Many of them have a host of drinks they are still perfecting.

[AZAficionado]

Thank you for the review. So much to consider but we have time since our San Juan cruise is in 489 days. :eek:

 

Loved the pics and tips!!

You are very welcome!! And I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

 

I've got 300 and change until my next cruise. And San Juan is a port of call. ;)

[seadog67]

Have to say it again, loved our cruise you took us on over the last week! Thanks again for all the pictures and details! Cannot wait for your Freedom report next year.

[Familfof4]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. As a first time cruiser my family have soaked it all in and we can't wait for August 27 to get here.

[Sky616]

Thank you for the great review and especially the photos of the beaches and drinks. It was fun reliving our cruise on the adventure a month ago. Will definitely look our for your reviews to come in the future.

[AZAficionado]

Have to say it again, loved our cruise you took us on over the last week! Thanks again for all the pictures and details! Cannot wait for your Freedom report next year.

You are welcome!! And I plan to review Freedom (again) next year.

[Ejak927]

Thanks so much again for the awesome review! Sailing on July! Few quick question! How much was the cake decorating contest? Seems like it would be a lot of fun! And I was not aware you could get the chops grill steak for an additional charge what an awesome thing to know! Did you just ask for the "chops grill" steak? For Barbados and brownes beach was it less crowd then the boat yard? We're there's cab drivers waiting for you when oh we're ready to leave or did you arrange a pick up time? Thanks so much

[Dorh]

Thanks for the great read. Now all i have to do is wait another 342 days to my days back on the Adventure

 

Thank you for this Amazing thread! Loved all the pics and beach suggestions.

We too, are going on a B2B in April, 2017. After reading your thread we are so excited to experience the Southern Caribbean cruise!

[AZAficionado]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. As a first time cruiser my family have soaked it all in and we can't wait for August 27 to get here.

You are very welcome!!

 

You (first time cruiser) are one of the key reasons I do these reviews. When I was a first time cruiser, I had no idea what to expect or what to do or not to do. A review (or three) would have really helped me out. Even to just get me more excited about cruising.

 

Enjoy your first cruise!!! :D

[AZAficionado]

Thank you for the great review and especially the photos of the beaches and drinks. It was fun reliving our cruise on the adventure a month ago. Will definitely look our for your reviews to come in the future.

You are most welcome and thank you for the kind words!! :D

 

As long as people keep reading them, I'll keep writing them. :)

[mwne2nks]

San Juan, Puerto Rico (Day 8/1):

18°27'31" N 66°5'44" W

 

We woke up to a pretty typical Caribbean day - it was drizzling a little, overcast on and off, blazing hot sun, the entire mixed bag.

 

We departed the ship at about 9:30 or so. With the express lines and In-Transit Cards, it took only a few minutes to get through customs. They (Immigration, et al.) wouldn't let me take pictures. Boo!!! Hiss!! To be serious, I get it. They don't want anyone being able to study photos and circumvent their security measures. Of course, there's a few hundred miles of border in AZ that doesn't have so much as a "Welcome to America" sign to stop anyone, let alone check the contents of their bags for prohibited items, but let's not open that little can of worms...

 

We grabbed a cab ($12 for two people) to Old San Juan and just wandered around.

 

Old San Juan:

18°27'50" N 66°6'54" W

 

There is a huge castle at the western end of Old San Juan. We lucked out as it was National Parks Week and the entry fee ($5 each) was waived.

 

 

 

 

This is one of our favorite ports! We loved the Fort and the food in town is fantastic!

[AZAficionado]

Thanks so much again for the awesome review! Sailing on July! Few quick question! How much was the cake decorating contest? Seems like it would be a lot of fun! And I was not aware you could get the chops grill steak for an additional charge what an awesome thing to know! Did you just ask for the "chops grill" steak? For Barbados and brownes beach was it less crowd then the boat yard? We're there's cab drivers waiting for you when oh we're ready to leave or did you arrange a pick up time? Thanks so much

You are most welcome!!

 

Cake decorating was on the Promenade and was free. Two people can participate and actually decorate a cake. Everyone else gets to watch. There were free shots during the competition and everyone got free cake at the end (not from Dan Dan's disaster).

 

The MDR on most (all?) ships have the Chops filet and whole lobster options. They are on the menu, so order them by name, or point.

 

To be honest, of all the days to judge how crowded the beach was, the day I went was the worst. It was an annual national holiday (think July 4th in the US). However, no part of the beach seemed more crowded than another.

 

The cabs were waiting (no pick up time). I think that is normal, but I was there on a holiday, so who knows?

 

Enjoy your cruise in July!!!

[kmkristianson]

Thanks again for the great photos and info....

 

Couple questions if you don't mind....

 

I know you did not stop in St. Lucia, (at least I don't think you did...if I missed that I will blame the side affects of looking at all your drink photos) but do you have a beach recommendation perhaps from a past trip? Headed there on our 12/31 cruise....

 

Also, the beach in St. Kitt's looks awesome, but we have 3 other ships in port that day with us, did you think it would be swamped? Looks like you were typically the only ship or with one. I fully understand it is speculation, but thought I would ask.

 

Thanks again!

 

Karen

[AZAficionado]

Thank you for this Amazing thread! Loved all the pics and beach suggestions.

We too, are going on a B2B in April, 2017. After reading your thread we are so excited to experience the Southern Caribbean cruise!

You are very welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed and it got you even more excited for your B2B!!! :D

[AZAficionado]

This is one of our favorite ports! We loved the Fort and the food in town is fantastic!

Yea, Old San Juan is just awesome. It is certainly one of my new favorites, so much so that I booked a cruise that has it as a port!! :cool:

[AZAficionado]

Thanks again for the great photos and info....

 

Couple questions if you don't mind....

 

I know you did not stop in St. Lucia, (at least I don't think you did...if I missed that I will blame the side affects of looking at all your drink photos) but do you have a beach recommendation perhaps from a past trip? Headed there on our 12/31 cruise....

 

Also, the beach in St. Kitt's looks awesome, but we have 3 other ships in port that day with us, did you think it would be swamped? Looks like you were typically the only ship or with one. I fully understand it is speculation, but thought I would ask.

 

Thanks again!

 

Karen

I mind greatly! :mad: Why do you people keep bothering me by responding?!? Just kidding.

 

You are very welcome!! :)

 

I did stop in St. Lucia (link) and my recommendation is Reduit Beach.

 

As to St. Kitts, I'm not sure and it would depend on the sizes of the ships. One Oasis-class ship is like two or three "normal" cruise ships. Several beaches came up in my research on St. Kitts, so the "masses" will divide between them. This beach was a bit of a drive, so that will cut down on the crowds. I would recommend it, no matter how many ships are in port.

 

Glad you enjoyed the review. I hope your upcoming holiday cruise is fantastic!! :D

[kmkristianson]

Yeah, totally missed that....... I am sticking with blaming the buzz from the drink photos!

 

Thanks again....

 

Karen

[floatel_lvr]

You are welcome!! And I plan to review Freedom (again) next year.

 

Thanks so much for the VERY entertaining review and photos. We set sail next week and this is providing a much needed distraction (who am I kidding, I am already very distracted this week). We have never done a B2B but certainly will someday.

[AZAficionado]

Yeah, totally missed that....... I am sticking with blaming the buzz from the drink photos!

 

Thanks again....

 

Karen

Good story to stick with. ;) The islands all kinda blur together after a while. This is made much worse with drinking. :eek:

[poffles]

What an awesome review. I want to do a B2B so badly and have looked to doing one of RCL out of San Juan. Have done from there twice but not together and neither a Royal Caribbean ship.

 

Question for you ... did you have the drink package? Curious, if you did and if you thought worth it with all the time off the ship. I keep being torn about it and having it included on the Summit cruise I got spoiled but if I had to pay for it I keep second guessing.