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

[AZAficionado]

I use one called cruise tt....if you goggle ships in port, it will pop up.

 

Sorry not smart enough to put a link in.....

I am: linky

 

The way to do that, if you're interested is to type in what you want people to see. In my case above "linky". Then select that text and hit the button that looks like a world with a chain link below it. It is the button directly below the smiley face. A popup will prompt you for the web address. If you already copied the web address into your clipboard, you just hit paste. :)

[cruisinfromtampa]

To reiterate what others have said...Thank you so much for the depth of your review. We're new to cruising (but with 6 booked, we're taking to it like a fish to water!), and this information is invaluable. We are doing a B2B on Adventure June of 2017, and I have this bookmarked to review as we get closer. You've given us tons of ideas for what to do on board for the 14 days. Just the bar recommendations alone... Cheers!

[AZAficionado]

To reiterate what others have said...Thank you so much for the depth of your review. We're new to cruising (but with 6 booked, we're taking to it like a fish to water!), and this information is invaluable. We are doing a B2B on Adventure June of 2017, and I have this bookmarked to review as we get closer. You've given us tons of ideas for what to do on board for the 14 days. Just the bar recommendations alone... Cheers!

You are very welcome and I'm glad it could help!! :)

 

I'll confess that I didn't cover the ship nearly as thoroughly as I would have liked. But with an itinerary like Adventure's, all you really need to know about the ship is where your cabin, food, booze, and the ganagway is located. ;)

[Crznthrulife]

To reiterate what others have said...Thank you so much for the depth of your review. We're new to cruising (but with 6 booked, we're taking to it like a fish to water!), and this information is invaluable. We are doing a B2B on Adventure June of 2017, and I have this bookmarked to review as we get closer. You've given us tons of ideas for what to do on board for the 14 days. Just the bar recommendations alone... Cheers!

 

 

You sure are hooked! FYI - they take down reviews/forum after a period of inactivity, so not sure how long this will be around for you to link. :)

 

AZ - Great review! I now cannot wait til September for our B2B and I look forward to seeing/doing some of the things that I've missed before.

[beshears]

We just got off the Adventure of the Seas on April 9th, so I'm anxious to read your review.

[dani negreanu]

So, I've just finished reading this and ALL your other reviews -- to date - the Freedom, the Allure and the MiniLegend :)

 

SolsticeAZ (with her lawyer "dry" humor) and you have continuously put a :) on my face, so much so that for the last few days I've put aside the latest book I've been reading (JD Robb ... the "in death" series). Smiles r priceless. Thank you again. I didn't post thanks on the other reviews, don't know if u r still monitoring them.

 

Our cruise on Jewel which included Dominica, Grenada, St. Maarten, St. Croix and Barbados was chartered, and I have to settle for my second best itinerary which is St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.John/Antigua and Barbados.

 

I'd appreciate if you have any ideas for activities which are not "beach-related". We r just going for different views, atmosphere and cultures (a very beautiful Mediterranean beach is a mere 10 min drive from our house, and we almost don't have winters here. When, for example, every few years is snowing in Jerusalem, people take a day off & the kids from school to see the phenomenon :D)

[beshears]

Great pictures so far, "reminding" me of some that I had taken too. :)

[AZAficionado]

You sure are hooked! FYI - they take down reviews/forum after a period of inactivity, so not sure how long this will be around for you to link. :)

I don't believe this is true. If it is, they must wait several years. Just try the link to my 2013 Freedom Review in my sig below - it still works and the last post in that thread was September 2014. As long as you have a link to the thread, I think you'll be able to view it for the next few years, at least.

AZ - Great review! I now cannot wait til September for our B2B and I look forward to seeing/doing some of the things that I've missed before.

I'm glad you enjoyed!! :)

[AZAficionado]

We just got off the Adventure of the Seas on April 9th, so I'm anxious to read your review.

Happy reading!! :)

[AZAficionado]

So, I've just finished reading this and ALL your other reviews -- to date - the Freedom, the Allure and the MiniLegend :)

 

SolsticeAZ (with her lawyer "dry" humor) and you have continuously put a :) on my face, so much so that for the last few days I've put aside the latest book I've been reading (JD Robb ... the "in death" series). Smiles r priceless. Thank you again. I didn't post thanks on the other reviews, don't know if u r still monitoring them.

 

Our cruise on Jewel which included Dominica, Grenada, St. Maarten, St. Croix and Barbados was chartered, and I have to settle for my second best itinerary which is St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.John/Antigua and Barbados.

 

I'd appreciate if you have any ideas for activities which are not "beach-related". We r just going for different views, atmosphere and cultures (a very beautiful Mediterranean beach is a mere 10 min drive from our house, and we almost don't have winters here. When, for example, every few years is snowing in Jerusalem, people take a day off & the kids from school to see the phenomenon :D)

I'm humbled to hear you put down a book for my internet rantings. Thank you for the very kind words, and I'm thrilled to have entertained you (that is the goal, here). :D

 

As for non-beach activities, I know there are several on each island either through Royal or otherwise. Several of our table-mates did a variety of non-beach activities with mixed results.

 

I can't remember the island (someone help me out?), but there is a volcano with mud baths that everyone seemed to enjoy - it was the first week. I've heard good things about zip lines (again, someone help me out with which island?). The problem is that I can't give you any first-hand advice since I just laid on the beach with a Rum drip in my arm. :eek:

 

At the very least, you can do an "island tour", which was available on every island from the taxi guys for fairly reasonable prices. They'll take you to everything worth seeing and tell you everything they know about their home.

 

Another option is to check the appropriate "Ports of Call" threads which are cruise-line independent and full of really good info. You can also check other vacation sites (trip advisor, etc.) and see what they say.

 

As for the other reviews, I do monitor them. Not very often once they are silent for a few months. I must have missed the last set of posts in the Freedom review until a few months ago and decided it was too late to get in the "last word". I encourage anyone to post in them (it puts them back on the front page, again). ;)

[AZAficionado]

Great pictures so far, "reminding" me of some that I had taken too. :)

I'm glad you are enjoying them. :D

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[AZAficionado]

Thanks for the review.

You are most welcome!!!:)

[SolsticeAZ]

SolsticeAZ (with her lawyer "dry" humor) and you have continuously put a :) on my face, so much so that for the last few days I've put aside the latest book I've been reading (JD Robb ... the "in death" series). Smiles r priceless. Thank you again. I didn't post thanks on the other reviews, don't know if u r still monitoring them.

 

Our cruise on Jewel which included Dominica, Grenada, St. Maarten, St. Croix and Barbados was chartered, and I have to settle for my second best itinerary which is St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.John/Antigua and Barbados.

 

I'd appreciate if you have any ideas for activities which are not "beach-related". We r just going for different views, atmosphere and cultures (a very beautiful Mediterranean beach is a mere 10 min drive from our house, and we almost don't have winters here. When, for example, every few years is snowing in Jerusalem, people take a day off & the kids from school to see the phenomenon :D)

 

In appreciation of you recognizing my sense of humor (like a dry martini, it's an acquired taste :D), I'll share my thoughts on a couple of non- beach related options. Disclaimer (lawyer, duh): I have no first hand knowledge of this stuff!

 

St. Lucia has a volcano and mud baths that people raved about (I think this is what AZAficionado was thinking about). You can do it as a RCL shore excursion or plan through a private company. I heard both are good.

 

In Barbados, swimming with the turtles is supposed to be awesome. I'd skip the excursion. You can do it better and cheaper if you just head to the beach and ask.

 

In Antigua, we drove past a zip line that looked AMAZING. Probably worth considering, if you like that sort of thing.

 

And AZAficionado is right: you can't go wrong with just grabbing a cab and asking for a tour.

 

Enjoy!

[beshears]

Still enjoying your review/pictures. Bringing back good memories.

 

Sorry you were not able to go to Valley Church Beach, which we did the first part of April. Very nice beach.

 

The ice show is a MUST to see, but I had see another one on one of the other ships, and the other one was a tad better, but this was still good.

[beshears]

You finally stopped at my "favorite" island, (here lately, I have found many more that St. Lucia is their favorite NOW) St. Lucia. I hadn't been there in 9 years, and it was sooooooooo good to go back. We took about a 5 or 6 hour tour (not through the cruise line), doing "everything" that a person could think of when doing a tour. They fed us more than once, as well as giving us water, soda or beer. We would have paid even more for what we seen and did. It was worth every penny and more. I tell everyone back home here in KC, St. Lucia is the place to check out, as it has mountains, valleys, and "every" color of the rainbow there. Wish I could afford to go every year, as I would. :)

[AZAficionado]

Still enjoying your review/pictures. Bringing back good memories.

 

Sorry you were not able to go to Valley Church Beach, which we did the first part of April. Very nice beach.

 

The ice show is a MUST to see, but I had see another one on one of the other ships, and the other one was a tad better, but this was still good.

Glad you're still enjoying. :)

 

 

As for the rain, it happens, especially in the tropics. I'm a little surprised we didn't get sunny morning, clouding by noon, afternoon showers weather pattern that is so common in the islands.

[AZAficionado]

You finally stopped at my "favorite" island, (here lately, I have found many more that St. Lucia is their favorite NOW) St. Lucia. I hadn't been there in 9 years, and it was sooooooooo good to go back. We took about a 5 or 6 hour tour (not through the cruise line), doing "everything" that a person could think of when doing a tour. They fed us more than once, as well as giving us water, soda or beer. We would have paid even more for what we seen and did. It was worth every penny and more. I tell everyone back home here in KC, St. Lucia is the place to check out, as it has mountains, valleys, and "every" color of the rainbow there. Wish I could afford to go every year, as I would. :)

Since dani negreanu was asking about non-beach stuff, did your tour of St. Lucia include the mud baths/hot springs at the volcano? Either way, what company was it and what was the cost?

[Crznthrulife]

I don't believe this is true. If it is, they must wait several years. Just try the link to my 2013 Freedom Review in my sig below - it still works and the last post in that thread was September 2014. As long as you have a link to the thread, I think you'll be able to view it for the next few years, at least.

I'm glad you enjoyed!! :)

 

Silly me. Your reviews are so good, of course it will continue to thrive. :)

[AZAficionado]

Silly me. Your reviews are so good, of course it will continue to thrive. :)

Thanks for the compliment!! :D

[RI_Cruiser]

I just got off the Adventure today and the two guys in the Champaign Bar are still talking about you...I mentioned our thread and they were like...we know who that is!...they got a real kick at out seeing all the photos.

 

If anyone heads out on her...say Hi to Amar in the pub from Jayne and Tom. Thanks!

[dani negreanu]

Thank you for all the advice, AZ x 2 :)

 

I guess I'll start doing my "Ph.D." researching reviews, trip reports and port of calls....

 

BTW, I'm using tripadvisor a lot (I've done more than 110 reviews there), but found it more attuned to land trips. Using it mostly for hotel and restaurants.

[prekteacher]

Just finished reading your review. It was awesome! We have a NYE cruise booked on freedom and our first B2B on Harmony next year. This cruise is something I really want to look at after that. You mentioned that Adventure is going to dry dock? What changes will be made to her or does anyone know where to find that info? Kids are flowrider junkies so they are all about the big ships.

 

Thanks again for the great review!

Barbara

 

I will go back and read your freedom review. We were on her in 2009 so a long time ago!

[AZAficionado]

I just got off the Adventure today and the two guys in the Champaign Bar are still talking about you...I mentioned our thread and they were like...we know who that is!...they got a real kick at out seeing all the photos.

 

If anyone heads out on her...say Hi to Amar in the pub from Jayne and Tom. Thanks!

Those two guys are the best. :)

[AZAficionado]

Thank you for all the advice, AZ x 2 :)

 

I guess I'll start doing my "Ph.D." researching reviews, trip reports and port of calls....

 

BTW, I'm using tripadvisor a lot (I've done more than 110 reviews there), but found it more attuned to land trips. Using it mostly for hotel and restaurants.

You are very welcome. :)

 

I hope you find some good info quickly. I expect you will. As for tripadvisor, I agree it is more land-based. But, I've found lots of great info in the attractions or what-to-do area. That's where I found many of the beaches for this cruise.