Adventure of the Seas post "dry-dock" review 1/14/17

[khm1]

because we arrive in San Juan on the day of The Feast of San Sebastian and San Fabian we are considering using them just for guarantee we won't be left behind. LOL.

 

 

 

Has anyone done this and can you tell us how much we can expect to pay?

 

 

 

I'm not sure what you are referring to? I know about the festival, but who do you plan on using? Pay for what?

[B&J_Pgh]

I'm referring to Royal Carribbean's transportation from the Airport to the Cruise Port

[khm1]

I'm referring to Royal Carribbean's transportation from the Airport to the Cruise Port

 

 

 

Oh my gosh, don't bother! I did that the first time I cruised from San Juan. Never. Again. You spend a lot of time waiting around. Jump in a taxi and get to pier ahead of the herd. It is very easy, and less expensive. There will be plenty of taxis. Don't worry.

Edited February 2, 2017 by khm1

[baileybrad]

I read about Royal car rental on Cruise Critic. I went on the website and filled out an email request form. Here is their website: https://royal-arubacarrental.com

 

They emailed back within 24 hours and told me what vehicle they had available. I filled out the online reservation form. I was instructed to find an agent outside the port gates at 9 am, our agreed upon meeting time. As promised, there was a guy holding a sign with my name in it right at 9 am. He walked us to a parking lot that was very close. We signed the paperwork at the vehicle and we were off. It was very easy. We met the same guy at the same place at 5 pm. It costs $20 more to keep the car past 5.

 

The beach at Carambola is beautiful. There is snorkeling, but no motorized water sports that I could see. There were small sailboats available for rent.

 

As you may remember from my review, I had to change our St. Kitts plans the morning we got there since our RCL excursion was cancelled. I HIGHLY recommend the excursion I was meant to do. It is called Fan-ta-sea catamaran sail to Nevis with snorkel. I have done it twice before and it is one of the best excusions that I have ever done (and I've done a lot). You may want to consider it.

 

The last time we did the Marriott day pass was 2014. I believe you need to reserve from a third party. Here is a link: http://www.resortforaday.com/Marriott-San-Juan-Shore-Excursion-Resort-Pass-p/sjumrs-l.htm

 

The deli we went to is North Shore deli. It has very good food. There are concessions at Trunk Bay, but they are slow and expensive, IMO.

http://www.mongoosejunctionstjohn.com

It is in a little outdoor mall as you get off the ferry in St. John. It is not easy to see from the street. Cross the street and turn left. You will see the shopping center. It is only a 10 minute taxi drive to Trunk Bay from the shopping center.

 

They are very clear about when and where to meet the return boat. I recommend this excursion. It is the third time I have done it. It is a safe way to get time on St. John.

 

The RCL online lounge is on deck 9 just outside the aft elevators in the centrum. I used those computers ro print boarding passes. You will need a internet package or purchase minutes to log in and print your passes.

 

Happy planning!

 

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Your information (review / and your many responses to all of our fellow members questions) is so very much appreciated. I hope you know that you are enabling our family's trip in July to be so much better. So much appreciated!

Edited February 2, 2017 by baileybrad

[khm1]

Your information (review / and your many responses to all of our fellow members questions) is so very much appreciated. I hope you know that you are enabling our family's trip in July to be so much better. So much appreciated!

Thank you! I am happy to help as others have helped me so much over the years on Cruise Critic!

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[mollyeilis]

because we arrive in San Juan on the day of The Feast of San Sebastian and San Fabian we are considering using them just for guarantee we won't be left behind. LOL.

 

 

 

Has anyone done this and can you tell us how much we can expect to pay?

 

 

 

The site indicates the exact dates haven't been set for 2018 and 2017 Sebastian is done.

 

And what I read (http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/san-sebastian-street-festival/) indicates that this is a old San Juan festival. Look at the map and find the main airport (not the airstrip near the cruise port) and panamerican pier (NOT the one in OSJ that is used for day stops). They are close for easy visiting, but they aren't right there in OSJ.

 

If you're going from the airport to the cruise terminal you might have traffic but I doubt you'll be impacted in other ways. Personally I wouldn't be too nervous.

 

We disembarked on Christmas Eve, and from all reports PR does Christmas big, and we had zero issues with a cab.

[khm1]

The site indicates the exact dates haven't been set for 2018 and 2017 Sebastian is done.

 

And what I read (http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/san-sebastian-street-festival/) indicates that this is a old San Juan festival. Look at the map and find the main airport (not the airstrip near the cruise port) and panamerican pier (NOT the one in OSJ that is used for day stops). They are close for easy visiting, but they aren't right there in OSJ.

 

If you're going from the airport to the cruise terminal you might have traffic but I doubt you'll be impacted in other ways. Personally I wouldn't be too nervous.

 

We disembarked on Christmas Eve, and from all reports PR does Christmas big, and we had zero issues with a cab.

 

 

 

I agree. We traveled to SJ for a week stay in 2015 during the festival. As long as you stay away from Old San Juan in the evenings, you will not have any trouble getting a taxi to or from the Pan American pier.

[baileybrad]

I agree. We traveled to SJ for a week stay in 2015 during the festival. As long as you stay away from Old San Juan in the evenings, you will not have any trouble getting a taxi to or from the Pan American pier.

 

Is the Pan American pier that the AOS leaves departs from the same port area where say the Navigator of the Seas might have landed ..... it was right across the street from a Senor Frogs and a fairly short walk to the large fort?

 

Any thoughts? Also, since we are flying in and cannot carry wine on the plane, is there somewhere near the dock to pick up a couple bottles of wine?

[davekathy]

Is the Pan American pier that the AOS leaves departs from the same port area where say the Navigator of the Seas might have landed ..... it was right across the street from a Senor Frogs and a fairly short walk to the large fort?

 

Any thoughts? Also, since we are flying in and cannot carry wine on the plane, is there somewhere near the dock to pick up a couple bottles of wine?

 

Your Adventure Cruise will start and end at the Pan Am pier. The Pan Am pier is across the harbor from OSJ. Ships that call on San Juan for a daily port stop will dock in OSJ. If you are not too particular, you can get wine at the duty free shop inside the Pan Am Cruise terminal. If you're flying in the day before your Cruise you'll find a lager selection of wines at one on the local stores like Pueblo, Walgreen, CVS.

Edited February 2, 2017 by davekathy

[khm1]

Is the Pan American pier that the AOS leaves departs from the same port area where say the Navigator of the Seas might have landed ..... it was right across the street from a Senor Frogs and a fairly short walk to the large fort?

 

Any thoughts? Also, since we are flying in and cannot carry wine on the plane, is there somewhere near the dock to pick up a couple bottles of wine?

All Royal and Celebrity ships that home port in SJ leave from Pan American pier. It is across the harbor and more towards SJ proper than the old SJ piers. SJ convention center is the closest landmark. The OSJ piers serve ships making port calls and Carnival home ported ships. The only way to get from one pier to the other is to drive about 15 minutes around the harbor. Check out this map. I have dropped a pin where the Pan American pier is.

 

There is a small liquor shop that sells wine and soda as you come in the Royal Caribbean terminal. Once you get through security, it will be on your left and a little bit behind you.

[runningmoms2girls]

Thanks for the great review!

[khm1]

Thanks for the great review!

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

[IBookHePays]

*snipped a bit of a quote*

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations:

We had good service in the MDR. However, I am considering doing a Windjammer only cruise next time. The quality of the food in the MDR no longer justifies a 1 1/2 to 2 hour dining time IMHO. It would certainly make packing easier for me. I'm not to big on dressing up anyway. I love my shorts and flip flops! Our Windjammer experience on the night we were in Aruba made me reconsider my dining choices. Time is a precious commodity on a cruise. Long dinners sometimes get in the way of other activities.

.

 

I completely agree with you! Time is precious on a cruise! One thing we have done the last 6 or so cruises, is to do MTD, and tell the staff that we don't want to take all night to eat, and we will have dessert TO GO! The servers are happy to oblige, we get out early, and there is dessert for my husband in the "fridge" when we get back from our fun that night! Win!:)

[trishs]

Overall observations about Adventure:

 

Food

This is such a subjective topic. I feel that the overall quality of RCL food has gone down over the last several years. It was OK. Some things I ordered were good, some not as much. None of it was bad, IMO. I don't cruise for the food. I am much more interested in the ports of call and the ship itself.

 

Windjammer food was just okay. We ate every morning there, about half the days for lunch, and one dinner. I was more impressed with the dinner there than our other meals. We went on Aruba night (Thursday) and it was an American theme. There was no omelette station for breakfast until our first sea day, Tuesday. It was also not available on debarkation day. The food laid out for breakfast was pretty much the same every day.

 

Main dining room is as described above. We had My Time dining and had reservations for 6:45 every night except the first night due to muster and sail-away. We ate at 6:30 that night.

 

I did not take photos of any of the menus. It was pretty much the same as last time I was on Adventure in July of '16. We did not eat at Giovanni's either.

 

The service in both the MDR and the Windjammer was wonderful. The staff on board was uniformly efficient and courteous.

 

Ship Appearance

Despite the altered dry-dock, the ship seems to be in good shape. The public areas are well maintained. I saw people cleaning constantly. The Promenade is unchanged other than the addition of the Freestyle Coke machines.

 

The biggest changes occurred on the pool deck with the addition of Splash Away Bay, and Deck12-13 aft with the addition of the water slides and Flowrider. We are water loving, adventurous people and we had a fabulous time at this area of the ship. We spent a large portion of our two sea days hanging out near the flow-rider. It is so much fun!

 

There was a mini golf prior to the renovation, but the new course is a bit smaller. It is two levels, deck 12 and 13. I didn't play it, but DH did and it took about 15 minutes. There is a cool metal device that takes the ball from the upper level to the lower level. I watched a few people get their ball stuck in it though.

 

There are some new chairs around the new Splash Away Bay, but the others aare the old ones. The chairs and pads in the Solarium are unchanged.

 

Entertainment

The choices were ho-hum IMO. We only went to one show: the Hypnotist comedian. Don't ask. You just have to go and see for yourself! It was pretty good. I did not see any of the production shows or the ice show since I have seen them already on previous, recent Adventure cruises.

 

Cabins

This is the most obvious area that needs updating. As far as I could tell, none of the cabins have been updated. The carpet is old, furniture old and stained (at least in our cabin), and the cabinetry is well worn. The mattresses are VERY HARD. Even my DH thought so, and he likes a firm bed. I took aboard my Klymit inflatable camping mattress and put it under the mattress pad. Try Amazon if you are interested in this. It improved things greatly for me. I was able to sleep comfortably for the entire cruise. None of these greatly impacted my enjoyment of our trip. However, an upgrade to the cabins is badly needed, IMO.

 

More to come, stay tuned!

 

Thanks for the info on the hard bed. I have a bad hip and it kills me if the bed is too hard.

We were on the Harmony and it was very hard too. They said they no longer can get the type of bed on the Oasis and Allure. (love thoes)

 

I looked on line and there are many styles, what one did you get?

Thanks for your great review, really enjoying it.

Also staying at the InterContinental, so I'm glad you liked it. That makes me feel better. :)

[khm1]

Thanks for the info on the hard bed. I have a bad hip and it kills me if the bed is too hard.

 

We were on the Harmony and it was very hard too. They said they no longer can get the type of bed on the Oasis and Allure. (love thoes)

 

 

 

I looked on line and there are many styles, what one did you get?

 

Thanks for your great review, really enjoying it.

 

Also staying at the InterContinental, so I'm glad you liked it. That makes me feel better. :)

 

 

I bought the Klymit Static V Luxe sleeping pad on Amazon. I started with the regular Klymit Static V. I cruised with the smaller version twice over the last year. My DH said he wanted one too, so I let him have the first one I bought. The Luxe version is a little thicker and wider. Deflated, it is not much bigger or heavier at all. It rolls up very small. It inflates, deflates, and packs very well as it is meant for camping.

 

If you were to use two of the Luxe sized pads together, they would cover the whole bed nicely. I put mine under the mattress pad. It did not need to be repositioned, re-inflated, or fooled with in any way for the entire cruise. I am in love with mine. I suffer with aches and pains when I sleep on a hard bed. It affects my sleep dramatically. I know that several people on these boards say the beds are just fine. However, until you walk in someone else's shoes.......well, you know!

 

The Luxe version cost about $85 on Amazon right now. I know that sounds expensive, but boy does it make my comfort level soooo much better! It is re-useable, so if you travel a lot, it should more than make up for the cost over time.

 

I stayed at the Intercontinental last February. It has the best pool area in SJ, IMHO. The beach is fantastic. The rooms are very comfortable. Over the years, I have also stayed at the Marriott Stellaris (my favorite), Condado Hilton, and Renaissance LaConcha. Featured in this review, we stayed at La Concha. Intercontinental is probably my second favorite in SJ.

[trishs]

I bought the Klymit Static V Luxe sleeping pad on Amazon. I started with the regular Klymit Static V. I cruised with the smaller version twice over the last year. My DH said he wanted one too, so I let him have the first one I bought. The Luxe version is a little thicker and wider. Deflated, it is not much bigger or heavier at all. It rolls up very small. It inflates, deflates, and packs very well as it is meant for camping.

 

If you were to use two of the Luxe sized pads together, they would cover the whole bed nicely. I put mine under the mattress pad. It did not need to be repositioned, re-inflated, or fooled with in any way for the entire cruise. I am in love with mine. I suffer with aches and pains when I sleep on a hard bed. It affects my sleep dramatically. I know that several people on these boards say the beds are just fine. However, until you walk in someone else's shoes.......well, you know!

 

The Luxe version cost about $85 on Amazon right now. I know that sounds expensive, but boy does it make my comfort level soooo much better! It is re-useable, so if you travel a lot, it should more than make up for the cost over time.

 

I stayed at the Intercontinental last February. It has the best pool area in SJ, IMHO. The beach is fantastic. The rooms are very comfortable. Over the years, I have also stayed at the Marriott Stellaris (my favorite), Condado Hilton, and Renaissance LaConcha. Featured in this review, we stayed at La Concha. Intercontinental is probably my second favorite in SJ.

 

Thanks I will check out the Luxe version. It's worth it to me. And if I don't need it, no harm :)

 

The Marriott Stellaris looks wonderful. I will have to check it out next time. My reservation is a non cancel for the Intercontinental . But 2nd place isn't bad. LOL

[cruzluva101]

Thank you so much for your detailed review. Im the group leader crusing in May 2017 on the St Thomas/Aruba Itinerary. Is it possible to post the crusie compass from that week. Thank you

[Daycare Provider]

Thank you so much for your detailed review. Im the group leader crusing in May 2017 on the St Thomas/Aruba Itinerary. Is it possible to post the crusie compass from that week. Thank you

 

we are on the same sailing...

[cruzluva101]

we are on the same sailing...

 

Yes we are! I see you on the roll call.

[mikmouse]

I was going to get to that later, but since you asked....There are 4: Two red ones in the Promenade, and one silver machine on either side of the Windjammer at the entrance to the back section aka the Island Grill.

 

 

You can only use these if you have a drink package, correct?

[khm1]

That is correct. They have a RFID chip in the cup that you get with the package. The drinks will only dispense with the supplied cups. There is also a time delay between refills. I'm not sure how long the delay is.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[mikmouse]

That is correct. They have a RFID chip in the cup that you get with the package. The drinks will only dispense with the supplied cups. There is also a time delay between refills. I'm not sure how long the delay is.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

 

Thank you!

[Clarea]

That is correct. They have a RFID chip in the cup that you get with the package. The drinks will only dispense with the supplied cups. There is also a time delay between refills. I'm not sure how long the delay is.

 

Last I heard, the delay was 15 minutes.

[KatPem]

I'm esctatic to have found your review via aubrey1988's. Even more excited to see since I had already decided on Carambola in St. Kitts (I've been researching for our next cruise for 10 days non-stop now) that the first picture appears to show the view I've read about called Timothy Hill.

 

I thought that my beach choice was going to circumvent this view and was constantly wavering on my prefered beach. Is there an overlook or pull off spot that the taxi might have stopped if you'd request?

 

We have been to Carambola twice on previous cruises. Cab was $4 per person each way if it was shared with others. The driver set up a time to come back and did both trips. We had reserved chairs and umbrellas ahead of time by emailing them. It seemed like IF they got full, the pre-reserved chairs were in the best location next to the water and closer to the center of the beach where the facilities are. I would recommend walking Left (while looking at water), there is some cool black sand beach not too far down and past that there is a shipwreck bar that you can sometimes see wild monkeys and mongoose. There is decent snorkeling that runs parallel to the beach, then length between shipwreck and carambola. Lot of urchins but saw some cool stuff too. Snorkeling is also along the rocks as she said. I like Carambola because it is definately higher quality so I feel like I am getting pampered. Nice tile restrooms, nice bar and restaurant (we got a bucket of 6 drinks (beer or soda) for $20), and the chairs are a teak looking wood, very sturdy with a 4 inch or so pad on top of it, very comfy!!!

 

Every cab we have been in has stopped at Timothy Hill. Very beautiful and most will take your picture for you!

[B&J_Pgh]

We have been to Carambola twice on previous cruises. Cab was $4 per person each way if it was shared with others. The driver set up a time to come back and did both trips. We had reserved chairs and umbrellas ahead of time by emailing them. It seemed like IF they got full, the pre-reserved chairs were in the best location next to the water and closer to the center of the beach where the facilities are. I would recommend walking Left (while looking at water), there is some cool black sand beach not too far down and past that there is a shipwreck bar that you can sometimes see wild monkeys and mongoose. There is decent snorkeling that runs parallel to the beach, then length between shipwreck and carambola. Lot of urchins but saw some cool stuff too. Snorkeling is also along the rocks as she said. I like Carambola because it is definately higher quality so I feel like I am getting pampered. Nice tile restrooms, nice bar and restaurant (we got a bucket of 6 drinks (beer or soda) for $20), and the chairs are a teak looking wood, very sturdy with a 4 inch or so pad on top of it, very comfy!!!

 

Every cab we have been in has stopped at Timothy Hill. Very beautiful and most will take your picture for you!

 

I can't thank you enough. How ironic the timing of your response. I haven't work on our itinerary since the original post. Sunday we booked our flights so I picked up where I had left off.

 

Jenny