Blue Collar Diamond cruiser on the Adventure of the Seas Southern ABC Islands

[BillOh]

After a very nice anniversary dinner at Chops we went ahead and joined our tablemates at their dinner and we had a 2nd dessert with them. I found it funny that nobody knew it was the 2nd formal night already! I guess nobody read the compass! We were in our planned smart casual for Chops dinner. I had the crème brule for the first time.

 

We made it time for Love and Marriage. The middle couple audtion was semi lame, we could have made it on the show, but we declined and sat and watched. For the first 4 questions when the wives were backstage we recognized all the questions. But for the 2nd half of the show, all new questions. Casey did a very good job as host, it was entertaining.

 

We finished our 36th anniversary with another soak in the port side solarium hot tub. It was a consistent 102F every night and always open!

 

Coming up, a really fun Aruba day!

[BillOh]

It was hard to believe it was already Wednesday and Aruba day. After 700 days of waiting it was going way too fast. The only excursion we planned here was one I booked 500 days ahead of time, that was a new record for us. On Facebook, I discovered "Aruba Trikes" Between their facebook page and lots of good reviews, I talked Jon into doing this way back in 2015.

 

They take reservation by the web and don't require any deposit! I made the reservation for 2 couples/2 bikes and got an email confirmation with lots of info. We also got a reminder email with pickup instructions a few days before our cruise departure. The cost was $190 per couple, which is steep for some excursions, but hey I'm a scuba diver. :). They tell you they prefer cash, but will take credit cards.

 

As we got off the ship in Aruba, our pickup was there waiting.

 

At least 2 other couples from our cruise including 1 from the roll call was with us. It was about a 5 minute ride to the shop. It took about 15 minutes to make payments and fill out paperwork before we were taken out to the trikes.

 

When Aruba Trikes first came out all the trikes were 5 speed manual transmission equipped. This year they started adding a few automatic models. This is probably good as they are expanding into St Martin and Cozumel. The manual transmissions would be tough on some of the hills of St Martin. Speaking of transmissions, 2 of the men in the group had to admit they were slightly less masculine in front of the group by saying they needed the automatic trikes. After we stepped back smirking at the less masculine men were assigned their rides.

 

Gina picked out the orange trike because it had a single rear seat and easily accessible storage comparments.

 

Jon and Penny picked the white ride.

 

The employee that stayed with our group drove this.

 

 

This employee rode around the parking lot once to make sure everyone could handle the vehicle. I went first and was given the opportunity to practice while others qualified. As stated, I can drive a manual car, but its been 40 years since I rode a motorcycle. I've never rode a trike. On this vehicle there is a car like stick up in the center of the gas tank. The clutch is a pedal on your left foot and the only brake is the right foot pedal. The throttle is a conventional motorcycle type.

 

 

I caught on to this configuration quickly, the other thing that took getting used to is the wide rear end of the bike 6 feet behind the driver. I turned a couple of corners a little tight.

Edited May 14, 2017 by BillOh

[BillOh]

As soon as we left the Trikes Parking lot we were right into downtown traffic. It was sink or swim pretty quickly. Gina felt comfortable with my driving enough to take a lot of pictures.

 

 

I had the rear of the 5 bike parade as it made its way around the Island. Jon and I got used to these rides pretty quickly and enjoyed ourselves. I have to rat out Jon a little though The only thing he did wrong was leaving his turn signal on. I've never rode a motorcycle on urban streets so I don't know if this is the same or different, but lots of people left their signals on quite a while. At the back of the parade I got to see that a lot. I liked my spot in the back, it let me get use to the throttle/acceleration and braking easier.

We got to see some of Aruba's nicer beaches.

 

 

We also stopped for a photo opportunity at this spot.

 

[lauraodonnell86]

Loving your review! You're doing great and I'm so happy I can see the pics now :D Can't wait to hear about Curacao because that was our very favorite!!

[BillOh]

Loving your review! You're doing great and I'm so happy I can see the pics now :D Can't wait to hear about Curacao because that was our very favorite!!

 

Speaking of Curacao, I think I'll have a shot of Chocolate Curacao before bed!

[BillOh]

Going back to my dive in Bonaire again, The Go pro in 4k High res can only record 17 minutes before it has to write the file and start another file so my dive is broke up into 17 minute segments. Here is one.

 

 

If you have a youtube app on your TV, watch it there. I viewed it on my laptop, but watching it on a 60" screen is amazing!

You can probably find it by searching wmccall vip diving Bonaire and sort by recent dates.

[BillOh]

Loving your review! You're doing great and I'm so happy I can see the pics now :D Can't wait to hear about Curacao because that was our very favorite!!

 

 

I hope you will post a lot from Jewel next year before we go.

[Az's Cruising Nana]

Going back to my dive in Bonaire again, The Go pro in 4k High res can only record 17 minutes before it has to write the file and start another file so my dive is broke up into 17 minute segments. Here is one.

 

 

If you have a youtube app on your TV, watch it there. I viewed it on my laptop, but watching it on a 60" screen is amazing!

You can probably find it by searching wmccall vip diving Bonaire and sort by recent dates.

We just looked on you tube for your video could not find it.

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[BillOh]

We just looked on you tube for your video could not find it.

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

 

I should have checked. search Bill McCall Bonaire

[Az's Cruising Nana]

I should have checked. search Bill McCall Bonaire

There you are!

 

Sue

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[JamesEM]

Just found your thread, following along.

[lauraodonnell86]

I hope you will post a lot from Jewel next year before we go.

 

I will! We've never been on Jewel so I'm sure I'll be taking all the pics! You'll have to tell me what you want to see so I know what specifically to get. I need to find an All Jewel board like we have the All Things Adventure board.

[APDMOM]

Hi, Bill! I had a BUSY week and just now saw this review. I am still on page 1, but want to thank you for posting! We got a great deal on Adventure for New England next year too! In fact, it was so good we could have booked a Grand Suite for about the same price as we normally pay for a balcony. Instead, we threw around the idea of doing a our first back to back. We booked the second cruise just in time! The day after we booked, the price jumped by $333! We were able to snatch our favorite corner aft for both legs... (7688).

 

I look forward to getting to know this ship through your eyes! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BillOh]

I think the trike tour in Aruba might have been one of our best excursions. Here are more pictures.

 

One of our stops about an hour in was a rock formation with a view and a place to get a drink.

 

 

 

When we stopped Gina put some junk in her trunk.

 

 

 

Looking from the top back toward the ship. I had forgotten this was the only port we had another ship with us, Pullmantar Zenith.

 

 

Looking the other way I see our caravan parked among the other tour busses. I see Jon and Penny waiting for us to come back down. Our caravan was really popular with the other tours. We will undoubtedly show up in many home videos and pictures.

 

[Ocean Boy]

I think the trike tour in Aruba might have been one of our best excursions. Here are more pictures.

 

One of our stops about an hour in was a rock formation with a view and a place to get a drink.

 

 

 

It always amazed me that Aruba could find a way to turn a bunch of piled up boulders into a tourist attraction!:D

[BillOh]

Next on our trike tour we visited this place.

 

 

 

[perfect match]

As a fellow diver, I enjoyed your dive pictures and videos from Bonaire. I can hardly wait to dive there myself this coming fall. I have been wanting to dive there for a looong time! Do you happen to remember the name of your dive site? Also, what was your entry into the water like? Did you have to walk across a lot of sharp, slippery ironshore? I'm asking because my replacement knees and hips really do not like walking on ironshore, so any info would be helpful.

 

The Trike tour in Aruba looked like fun! I plan to show DH your pictures to maybe convince him to give it a try.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what you did in Curacao. You always seem to plan fun excursions, so I'm looking for ideas. :D

[BillOh]

As a fellow diver, I enjoyed your dive pictures and videos from Bonaire. I can hardly wait to dive there myself this coming fall. I have been wanting to dive there for a looong time! Do you happen to remember the name of your dive site? Also, what was your entry into the water like? Did you have to walk across a lot of sharp, slippery ironshore? I'm asking because my replacement knees and hips really do not like walking on ironshore, so any info would be helpful.

 

The Trike tour in Aruba looked like fun! I plan to show DH your pictures to maybe convince him to give it a try.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what you did in Curacao. You always seem to plan fun excursions, so I'm looking for ideas. :D

 

I don't remember if she told us the name of the dive site, but it is adjacent to their airport and there was a large dirt parking area. We could see the ship 3-4 miles away. I'll see if I can find a name on the map. The entry could have been a little treacherous, but our leader knew a new good path through it. It did help to go in twos and help each other.

[BillOh]

One of our final stops on our Aruba trikes tour was this popular attraction, this church.

 

I can't tell you must about it, I tend to catch fire when I walk into churches. :evilsmile: Kidding, but several members of my wife's catholic family know about it. I've now been there. From here it was about another 30 minutes ride back to their shop, We passed by a lighthouse and took a caravan photo, but didn't stop. Others stopped here, but we must have been running behind, no problem from me, it was one of the most fun excursions ever. Most of these photos are from my camera, but the company did take many themselves and made them available on Facebook for two weeks.

 

I think we got back to the ship around 2pm and it was quite overcast so we decided to shop a little more in the port area and returned to the ship in time for a pre-dinner happy hour in the Diamond Club. The Concierge did ask if we had a nice anniversary the day before, we told him we did and thanked him for the champagne.

 

Before dinner we stopped back at our room and found addtional room decorations. I think they were from the Concierge as I don't remember ordering them.

 

 

Once again, I don't remember what we had for dinner in the MDR that night. I think I went to one of the daily standards the Marinated chicken breasts. It would probably be the 2nd best dinner in the MDR all cruise. I can't remember a cruise when I was so underwhelmed by the entres in the MDR. The chocolate lava cake was really good though. Service however was excellent the final 3 nights with our waiter and new assistant waiter.

 

We got out in plenty of time for Quest. Quest was just a bit of a different experience. Casey Pelter's Quests are barely past PG and nothing new, at least to me. One thing did make it stand out. We were 2 rows up from the floor in Studio B. I saw roll call member JDELTA (Joe) out on the floor. A moment or two later he was climbing up the stairs and he was right in front of me. I thought he was coming to say hi, when suddenly he grabbed the guy right in front of me who had slumped over in his seat. I was in shock that this happened, and that I was oblivious. Joe pulled the guy up in his seat and spoke with him. The guy was having severe breathing problems and was very red. Joe told the guys wife that he had Medic training and asked if he was having an asthma attack and she confirmed he was. I couldn't hear much of the conversation as after Casey asked if the guy was ok, the show went on.

 

The wife went back to her cabin for the man's inhaler. I don't know where their cabin was an how mobile his wife was, but it seemed like 15 minutes where this guy's only contact was a fellow passenger. I know I could go anywhere on that ship and be back in no more than 5 minutes in an emergency. I don't know if the wife had an escort to her cabin or not. The only time I saw ships personnel interact with this man was to put an O2 monitor on him about 5 minutes after his inhaler was brought down. They let him stay for the rest of the show.

 

I believe that in Casey's quest, no points are actually recorded and I think he just picks winning team numbers from gut feel or pure chance. We won, but it might have been a concession to our medical emergency, though I think we had everything but the false teeth. Casey was entertaining, but in the end only the team captains walked away with an RC memento. Was it a lanyard?

 

Next up Curacao.

[renjrusa]

Great review and pictures.. We booked our trikes tour a month ago and have been waiting for your review...Thanks patiently waiting for more...

[BillOh]

It was already Thursday and that was Curacao day, the last port of call.

 

IT LOOKS LIKE MY PICTURE HOSTING SITE IS HAVING PROBLEMS AGAIN. I'LL TRY AGAIN AT LUNCH TIME (EAST US)

 

 

IN 17 YEARS IVE NEVER HAD THIS MUCH PROBLEM WITH TRIPOD/LYCOS.

[BillOh]

It was already Thursday and that was Curacao day, the last port of call.

 

Jon picked our only excursion for this stop and it was through Royal. It was described at CURACAO DISTILLERY and Beach Tour.

 

WE got off the ship in plenty of time to do a little shopping right in the port area and my Gina loves to shop.

 

 

All the merchants directly outside the ship seemed pretty helpful and easy to get along with and no pressure.

There was one store in town that I thought had a funny name

 

If you were planning on a lot of shopping you could buy a really big bag from this store. On the side of the bag it said, "Super Dushi Bag" I just find that funny.

 

We boarded the tour bus to start our tour, going by the famous swinging bridge. This is as close as I would get to it, Our tourguide told us what we needed to know about it.

 

 

 

In about 20 minutes we pulled into the Distillery part of the tour. I must have gotten tired because I didn't take many pictures here.

 

 

We walked into a pavillion that was perhaps 10 yards wide and about 50 yards long. It contained several museum type signs and displays. They were interesting and informative. We walked by one of the original "stills" . Now I wish I had taken a pictures because our tourguide said it was still in use today. Nearby was a couple of tables that several locals were sitting at, and it appeared to be an assembly line. I didn't see anybody doing anything, they must have been on a 30 minute break. I think our tourguide implied that the museum piece was the one producing the Liquour. Maybe I'm wrong, but I was beginning to get skeptical of this tour. That was heightened when our guide picked up a bottle of what he called "liquid air conditioning" and sprayed it on people. It evaporated right away and of course if you remember your grade school science evaporation is a cooling process. Of course this miracle fluid was on sale in the gift shop. I thought we were then headed into the actual distillery, but I was told we just went through it.

 

What we did see was a bar where you could buy drinks, and a tasting station of the Curacao liquours out side of a gift shop. Oh, there were nice clean bathroom facilities. A couple of years earlier my daughter did stay a week in Curacao and thought they could by the Blue Cuaracao at the airport, which they couldn't, so she asked us to bring her some. We did buy here a sizable bottle and I bought a bottle of the Chocolate version myself.

 

 

It was time to get back on the busses and continue the tour.

[BillOh]

We toured the island a little bit, the beach part of our tour was a little more than 2 hours at Mambo beach.

 

 

Our bus parked in the parking lot and we were shown where the beach was, where the restrooms were and told to be back at a given time. (2pm I think) The beach appears to be a man made cove built some time in the past and has plenty of beach space and from what I am told, good snorkeling and diving right there. I didn't bring my mask and was pretty much just looking for a place to relax and be fed.

 

 

You can see that ferry boat at the top of the pic, it was at our pier, so I assume there was a beach excursion just to this beach that this shuttle carried people here. There were a lot of chairs and beach beds, like the ones at Coco Cay. We were told they were $20 for the day, so we figured we have wasted more than $10 per couple on other things. I think because we didn't get there till around noon, Nobody ever came to collect the money, we had 2 hours of free use of the bed while we swam, relaxed and eventually ate lunch at a nearby outdoor restaurant. This wasn't the best excursion we ever had, but it was relaxing and as the cruise wound down, it served that purpose.

[denamo]

Bill, Enjoying your cruise report. Getting ready to jump back on the Allure this Sunday. We'll be with a family & friends group of 12. Always enjoy cruising on the one of the big ladies. :) I will say, the CC roll call group on the Allure when we cruised with you and Gina is definitely among the best we've ever been a part of. (y) Our current roll call group is a lively bunch as well.

 

Thanks for posting the picture of the full face mask you bought for Gina. We've got a snorkel excursion booked with an independent tour provider, Cozumel H20, with 6 of our 12 going. I've ordered one, and it should arrive by Friday. Just hope I can get it into the luggage. LOL

 

Sounds like the waitstaff change made for more enjoyable dinners in the MDR after a rocky start. I've subscribed to your thread, so will continue to follow.

[BillOh]

We got back to the ship around 3pm and I had avoided doing a lot of shopping this cruise, so I took my wife Gina . Shopping in the port area isn't too bad in Curacao. While normally trying to disconnect from the world while on a cruise, I went ahead and brought my phone with me as free Wifi is plentiful in the shopping areas. A few weeks before the cruise I had gotten one of the first Samsung Galaxy S8+ phones and was still figuring out the new things about it and still setting it up, so I let Gina shop while I found a comfortable spot and caught up with the world.

 

 

After going by at least 50 shops in the main port area, we walked by this place. Then we came to this place that had a few shops as well as food and drink for me to relax in while Gina finished up her shopping, which included another Pandora store.

 

 

On the way back, I got a couple pictures of the ship.

 

Dinner that night was a pleasant experience as far as the service and the company. It may sound cliche, but the 4 couples were really bonding and enjoying our time together. Once again, I didn't even write down what we had. The unremarkable food continued. The final nights food was the only memorable of the trip.