Trip Report: Adventure of the Seas – Feb 18, 2017 Sailing….A boat load of fun!!

[zdad59]

A few more pics.......

 

A Batik demonstration

 

 

Another beautiful view

 

"Poulet" the rubber chicken and his? owner.

 

 

The Watch...... Citizen Eco-Drive Blue Angels edition

[beccawes7471]

Following, on this itinerary in 2 weeks! Love the review and pics so far.

[renjrusa]

Love your review looking forward to more.. On the Adventure in September with doing the abc islands and St Maarten..

[easyboy]

Another beautiful view

 

 

Very nice photos, especially this!

[musicdude415]

Following as well - boarding this same cruise on April 22nd!

[birdlord]

Wonderful review! I'm following along. I don't get to board AOS until December, but already planning / reserving all sorts of things. :-)

[dani negreanu]

Thank you. Well written review, and beautiful pictures.

Following for the itinerary, also booked with Thenford Grey :D

[zdad59]

 

Following for the itinerary, also booked with Thenford Grey :D

 

 

I hope you liked Thenford as much as we did. He had a style and way that put him above all other tours we took. Tell him the Delaware parents said hi.

[zdad59]

Day 4: A few beautiful views, and a great ice show.

 

Day 4 began with a driving rain storm when we got off the ship. I mean a real gully washer. We got a few towels, covered our heads and headed for the end of the dock. We met up with Lawrence of Antigua as the rain began to subside. Within 15 minutes of the gully washer, the rain had stopped and we were on our way for a tour of the island. The tour was ok, but not much to really get super excited about. The stop in the National Park, with an amazing view of Nelson’s Dockyard was fun. Nelson’s Dockyard was a nice historical stop as well.

Supposedly Eric Clapton's house

 

A beautiful view

My favorite picture of the whole trip

Our his and hers yachts in the harbor. (Mine is the blue one)

After the tour, again the food curious in our group got dropped off in town for lunch, while I headed back to the ship. I got on board and slipped on the swim trunks and headed for the Solarium. I sat in the hot tub for a very specific amount of time….exactly one frozen Blue Hawaiian drink. I must say too that I have never met a person in the hot tub in a bad mood. Always some friendly conversation and a relaxed time. Afterward, I found a lounge chair and took a nice nap. This is one of my favorite cruise activities. Nothing else clears the mind and allows you to open the “nothing box” in your brain.

 

Dinner in the MDR was good again, especially because of the service. They offered a chicken Caesar salad as a main course. I had it as an appetizer and it was wonderful. Whole leaf romaine, warm strips of chicken breast, and a very tasty Caesar dressing. Also, throughout the trip, the soups were very good. Anthony, the room MatreDi, brought some tasty curry dishes that are off menu and dessert was the yummy orange sherbet.

 

After dinner, we headed for the ice show. We go real lucky and got front row seats. J ust before the show began, all the singers and dancers from the theater came in and sat near us. Curious I thought. The show was wonderful as always. One of the skaters was a doppelganger for Ed Sheeran. They seemed to be really having fun during the show. As it ended and the Cruise Director came out, we found out why. After an 8 month tour together, this was the last show for these skaters. Lots of hugs with their entertainment mates, and they really soaked in the applause. A fun thing to be a part of.

The Ed Sheeran look alike

A perfeckt landing

We ended the day on deck 12 at the outdoor bar. Baileys on the rocks became our go to end of evening drink. All in all it was a great day.

 

Next: Independence Day, a change of plans, and a revelation.

[zdad59]

Day 5: Independence Day, a change of plans, and a revelation.

 

We didn’t have a tour formally booked today, and frankly after three island tours the last three days, we were kind of tired of the idea. So the plan for the day was to wake up late, stroll off the ship around noon and get a cab to a restaurant called The Pink Plantation. It got rave reviews on Trip Advisor so we figured it would be a good way to kill part of the day and see a bit of St. Lucia. So we wandered over to the Port area, where a nice gentleman hawking cabs informed us that today was St. Lucia’s Independence Day. He forewarned that many places would not be open and those restaurants that were may be full. He had one of the folks at his desk call the Pink Plantation and we came to find they were completely booked for the afternoon. So our plans went kaput. So we strolled the shops in the port area, bought a trinket or two and then headed to the Pink Papaya restaurant, right in the port area. Actually a nice little restaurant. They had a steel drummer playing, and many nice shady areas to sit and relax. 4 of our gang were with us so we all sat for a relaxing drink. Most had margaritas or daiquiris. I had a house special called the “Purple Nurple”. It wasquite tasty. During this relaxing time is when the revelation came to one in our group. We usually talk about our next adventure during relaxing times like these. Most of the talk this time was around doing either a Mediterranean or Greek Isles cruise. Sitting at the Pink Papaya though, my buddy just randomly blurted out…..”You know, sitting in the warm Caribbean sun in February, while our friends at home are freezing, doesn’t suck. Let’s just come back to the Caribbean each winter and save the exotic cruises for other times, when we are all retired, and can do it right.” BRILLIANT WE ALL THOUGHT. So our plans for next year moved to that idea. (More on that a little later.)

 

After our lazy time on shore, it was time to get back on the ship and be lazy some more. We had a few hours before dinner and we all did different things. Mama went and exercised. I went to the hot tub for another timed stew(exactly 1 Blue Hawaiian in length). Other pulled up a deck chair in various locations and watched the world go by.

 

Dinner again was in the MDR. Tasty as usual. Afterward we headed for the Next Cruise desk. We were all together and chatted with a nice lady about where we’ve been and asked for suggestions about next year’s Caribbean options. She came up with two nice, but different options. And she explained them in a way that made perfect sense and made our decision easy. The first option was an ABC cruise on Navigator. She said this cruise was all about the destinations. The second option was on Harmony of the Seas, going to St. John. San Juan, and Labadee. She said this cruise was all about the ship. That made all of us perk up. Our last two trips were all about where we were going. We said let’s make this next one all about the floating city we are on. So we all booked for the Feb 10, 2018 cruise on Harmony of the Seas. The written quote also indicated $100 PER PERSON on board credit…..(more on that in tomorrow’s post.)

 

Later in the evening we went to the show in the Lyric. It was entertaining but nothing special. Afterwards we went to watch late night karaoke. Sadly, the staff couldn’t get the karaoke machines to work. So we all called it a night.

 

(No pictures today. Only took a couple and none were spectacular.)

 

Next: A fun adhoc drive around Barbados. Next Cruise in crisis. Lobster night.

Edited March 8, 2017 by zdad59

[renjrusa]

looking forward to the rest of your review.. Enjoying your adventure...

[easyboy]

Enjoying your review.

[floatel_lvr]

Thanks for taking the time to review. Having fun tagging along.

[zdad59]

Day 6: A loop around Barbados, Next Cruise…read carefully, Lobster night.

 

Today was another planned lazy day. Wake up a little late. Have some breakfast. Maybe leave the ship and go to the rum factory. We did have our eye on a little locals place for lunch. We did the first part VERY well. By day six, we have become experts in “lazy”. We strolled off the boat a little before noon. Even though we had the prized docking location, it was still a bit of a walk to the Port Building. One good thing for all you AOTS groupies, we did notice that they were loading about six rolls of new carpet onto the ship. Not sure what it was for, but there will be new carpet somewhere on the ship soon.

 

As we had no real plans, one in our group went forward and began negotiating with cabbies on an island tour. One thing we noticed is that virtually every cab at the port area was identical. A minivan of sorts that sat 7-10 people. A deal was negotiated for $20pp for a 2 hour tour. So off we went with Clyde, our driver. Leaving was an interesting treat as Clyde apparently jumped the cabbie queue, and a fight between cabbies nearly broke out because we were “stolen”. Clyde won the day and we began a nice tour of the island. We got to drive through a couple very exclusive residential areas, as Clyde knew “the wave” for the gents at the security gate. Some serious money in these homes. We also stopped at a nearby beach for photos, a local church that Ronald Regan attended when visiting Barbados. We also stopped at some scenic sights in towns outside Bridgetown. When we got to what would be the turnaround or the 2 hour tour, Clyde offered another hour, and a trip through the sugar cane fields. With nothing planned, we opted in. Clyde even stopped in a cane field and cut some fresh sugar cane for us to taste. All in all it was a good tour. Relaxing, informative, and a few nice stops.

 

Our driver Clyde, and a look at a typical cab

St. James Church in Bridgetown - beautiful

As we got back into Bridgetown, we asked Clyde to drop us off at Mustor’s, a local’s restaurant in the heart of town. His reaction was precious….”How do you know about that place? Only locals eat there.” Well I read about it on Trip Advisor, and it turned out to be a great stop. A hole in the wall that you wouldn’t go into if you didn’t know where you were going. A few had the flying fish which they liked. I had the beef stew that was good as well. Not stew as you would think in the US, but it and the macaroni pie were yummy. We all tried the traditional Barbadian dish, cou cou. I voted “just OK”. It kind of reminded me of grits in its consistency. I didn’t dislike it, but it wasn’t something I would order again. The owner manned the cash register and gave us some cool insights to his family’s history on the island. We decided to walk back to the ship. Be forewarned that the walk from the center of town is a good 20 minutes. A pleasant walk, but further than we expected.

 

Mustor's Flying Fish

Cou Cou

When we got back, our booking confirmations made at NextCruise were on our beds. A quick review of them showed we only got a $100 PER CABIN OBC, not the $100 PER PERSON that was quoted. So we had to make a trip to Next Cruise to clear things up. Well we must have gotten the agent having a bad day. We explained the situation to agent Joel. His response was short and simple….accept the $100 per cabin or cancel the cruise. No other option. I immediately asked to speak to the Next Cruise manager. J oel said ok, but “he’ll just tell you the same thing”. When the manager arrived, I showed him the written quote, on RCL stationary that said $100 PER PERSON. He went flush right away. He simply asked for the day to figure things out, and we could meet again at noon tomorrow. It was clear he was going to work it out in our favor. A written offer is a written offer. As we left, I passed, Joel and said…”See Joel, nothing is impossible.” I got a giant FU stare from him.

 

Dinner in the MDR was lobster night, and a few in our group did their best to eat the ship clean of lobster tails. I think the table winner had six. I opted for the turf. Also, as always, I had my orange sherbet for dessert.

The evening ended by strolling the ship, with the couples heading in various directions. The plan for tomorrow was more of what we were good at….being lazy.

 

Next: A glorious day at sea, Next Cruise Mea Culpa, Damn…we have to pack.

Edited March 15, 2017 by zdad59

[riclop]

Thanks for the report.

[easyboy]

Is the Flying Fish the "special" at Mustors that people go for?

[zdad59]

Is the Flying Fish the "special" at Mustors that people go for?

Flying fish is a Barbados specialty. You can get it many places. Mustor's only has 5 main dishes on their menu. All are supposed to be good. Most in my group tried the flying fish because they wanted to get the Barbadian specialty. Me, not being a fish eater, went another route.

 

(The prices you see are Barbados Dollars. US dollar price is half. 2:1 exchange ratio)

 

[one9marine]

Go Blue Hens!!

i'm from Dover De.

 

FEAR THE HENS!

[zdad59]

i'm from Dover De.

 

FEAR THE HENS!

 

(y) (y) (y)

 

[easyboy]

Flying fish is a Barbados specialty. You can get it many places. Mustor's only has 5 main dishes on their menu. All are supposed to be good. Most in my group tried the flying fish because they wanted to get the Barbadian specialty. Me, not being a fish eater, went another route.

Seems like it with its highest price. Thanks for the response.

[Mairbair777]

Going on this cruise June 24, 2017. Can not wait.

 

 

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[zdad59]

Day 7: At Sea, More Blue Slushy Drinks, a nice Giovanni’s dinner

 

I like very much that the last full day of the cruise is a sea day. Nothing more relaxing than a book in the Solarium, a couple frozen Blue Hawaiians after lunch, and other general leisure. So that’s what we did most of the day. I also took a nice nap on our cabin balcony. The sound of the ship cutting through the open ocean is very peaceful.

 

For the evening we had our one specialty dining meal scheduled. We chose Giovanni’s after having a great meal the when on Navigator the year prior. We knew the menu had undergone some changes and they didn’t serve family style, but that didn’t prevent us from having a mostly family style meal. We all ordered individual entrees, but for appetizers, we had several things brought out, including items that are typically entrees. For example, we had two bowls of the delicious gnocchi brought out, along with the antipasto plate, and some mozzarella with balsamic vinegar. My entrée was the filet Mignon, which for me was prepared perfectly. The shrimp entrée and the eggplant parm entrée also got thumbs up. It should be noted that about halfway through our appetizers, Jeffrey, our MDR waiter comes jogging into the restaurant. Curious we thought. He came straight over to our table and let us know that he just brought up 6 orders of orange sherbet for us to have for dessert. He remembered my favorite dessert and thought enough to bring some up for us, even while he was serving the 6 o’clock seating in the MDR. That’s a perfect example of the service we had on this cruise. We loved every minute of our meals. The service made even the average meals taste a little better. It should be noted that that the ice cream cookie sandwich dessert was also sampled and it was quite good, with the cookies being served warm.

The antipasto plate

 

Mozzarella and balsamic

Filet Mignon entrée

Shrimp entrée

Warm chocolate chip cookie dessert

Sadly, after a nice after dinner drink, we headed to our rooms to pack up. We were going to do self-disembarkation, but we checked with guest services earlier in the day and they noted that since we had a flight that left before 11:30, we would be in the first groups off. With that, we let the crew take our bags. That made it much simpler the next morning.

Edited March 16, 2017 by zdad59

[zdad59]

Day 8: Going home (sniff)

 

Disembarkation came early on Saturday. Our group all met around 7:15 in the Windjammer for a final breakfast. It was busy, but we got through fine, again going “to the back and the other side” where the lines were much shorter. After breakfast, we went to our rooms, got our carry-on bags, and headed to the Lyric where Group 2 was to meet for an 8:30 disembarkation. Getting off the ship was easy peazy. At that point in the cycle there weren’t too many bags laid out and we all found our bags in short order. Now the key to getting out quickly……each couple grabbed a porter. H e loaded our bags on his dolly and then proceeded to a “porters only” line for customs. Not sure if that is unique for San Juan but in any event we were through customs in about 90 seconds. All six of us hopped in to one cab (van) and we were at the airport by 9:30. We all settled back and waited for our flights. It seemed that the whole plane to Baltimore was people from the cruise. We were in Baltimore 20 minutes ahead of schedule, and after an early dinner in Glen Burnie with friends, we were home in Philly by 6.

 

It was a wonderful cruise. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. The service on the ship was spectacular. AOTS herself was in good shape, particularly for an older girl. We would definitely sail her again. Next year though it’s all about the ship….Harmony of the Seas in March 2018.

 

I am available for any and all questions. For those of you sailing on AOTS, I hope you will be as pleased as we were on her.

We'll be watching for your review !

Edited March 16, 2017 by zdad59

[cinesage]

Have very much enjoyed reading your review, thanks! Looking forward to it ourselves in June.

 

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[tlaffin]

Thank you for the great review!!

 

 

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