Thrifty Couples Adventure of the Seas 2/1 to 2/9 Trip Report

[dani negreanu]

25 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

Would love to know if he can do Disney cheap.

 

It is my understanding that he has an annual pass, which might "lessen the pain". He aims to visit all Disney Parks world wide, this year they were in Tokyo🙂

[cgolf1]

3 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I also like the addition of cubbies in some areas for people to have a dry place to stash their bag / towel / whatever while they're in the pool.  Many times people use up a chair just because they need a place to drop their belongings, and there's not always a dry place to set things down.
 

 

I really like this idea because most times we just want to swim and other than a chair there isn't a good spot to set anything on. 

[cgolf1]

Well in Aruba our tour of choice was the best of Aruba to again give us a good feel for a large part of the island.

 

It started out with the bus driver stopping along sided the road and us wondering what the heck was going on. He came back onboard with a cashew and the fruit it grows with and passed it around. This did help explain why cashews are so expensive, because they essentially grow 1 cashew and fruit together, not multiple cashews in a bunch. Throughout the tour our driver gave us a lot of information.

 

The Aloe factory, first stop we got out, was actually pretty cool and we learned some things we didn't know about the aloe plant. We also made our most expensive purchase, 24$, on some aloe gel with lidocaine in it for pain relief. After a bit at that stop the bus took us to the Casibari Rock formations which was pretty cool. Essentially you climb some fun steps to stand up on a rock and they have a very low fence to keep you from wandering off the edge;) It was a great place to get some pictures so that was good. We didn't have a ton of time there, but enough to get a few more pictures in the general area.

 

Next stop kind of was the gold mill ruins, but we stayed on the bus and we got a brief history. As we were driving to the Natural bridge, he stopped the bus to allow us to get some pictures of the shoreline cuts that were eroded away. This shoreline was beautiful and I took a ton of pictures as the waves were crashing into shore. This area along with the natural bridge, we could have relaxed at and just ocean watched all day. It was just mesmerizing. There just seems to be a calm that comes over you looking at this, hard to explain, but was likely our favorite area to stop at on all three islands. The main natural bridge in the area had collapsed back in, 2005?, but they still had a baby natural bridge which was really cool. The only bummer is the ocean spray was so intense at times, not soaking wet kind of spray but a light mist, that it was a pain to keep my camera lens clean while trying to capture the pictures of the spray and the waves crash into the rocks. I did get some awesome pictures though.

 

The last stop was the California lighthouse and this was a disappointment. The lighthouse looked cool, but there was a 5$ per person charge to climb it which we chose not to pay. We then took the bus back to port, and unfortunately it went past houses, condos, resorts, timeshares, etc. It almost felt like an advertisement for these places;) That we could have done without. 

 

After lunch we did go shopping and I had been looking for an Orange Bulova watch and we managed to find one. Unfortunately my wife couldn't find a piece of jewelry so I had to pass on the watch. I think I annoyed the sales person when I stated price was the reason for not buying it, but I knew I left bargaining power off the table by not having another piece of jewelry to bargain with. Hopefully next year we will come across one. I will say jewelry shops are the one place I will bargain with and walk away from if I am not content with the price. If we buy something from the street side shops, I won't try to bargain much on souvenirs if I feel the price is pretty fair. I know you can, but I am guessing these people aren't getting wealthy by selling these items, so it is a way to help out the people on the islands.

 

I will say while Aruba had the prettiest area by far, but  it was also the island that really showcased the haves vs the have nots. We saw trailer homes all the way up to 7 million dollar homes. Great place to visit, but if we were to live on one of the islands it would have been Caracao.

[cgolf1]

[cgolf1]

One of the coolest things we got to see on the trip due to the bump out by the dining rooms on the Adventure was the pilots reboarding their boat. They use what looks like a sketchy ladder from afar, but is probably pretty safe. This was really neat and the first time we got to see it in 16 cruises!

 

[cgolf1]

While watching for pier runners, I will say there was a pretty rowdy bunch of people that were giving the late people a hard time. They bordered right on the edge of being too ugly so it was ok, but I have never heard it this pointed before.

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and playing some mini golf. After supper we attended the hypnotists show, TYZEN and it was very funny. The only bummer for me was the music or something he used when putting people under gave me a splitting headache. We did go back to the second show, but I stepped out for the part where people were hypnotized. This was a very entertaining show and we enjoyed it both times we saw it. After the second show we caught a little piano music and headed back to the room to crash.

 

I will say the excursion process of meeting in studio B was a bit strange. A lot of different tours met together so it was difficult to tell if you were in the right place or not. It ultimately worked out but could have been setup a bit better.

[cgolf1]

Day 7 Compass

 

 

[cgolf1]

Well the next couple of days will go quickly. for the most part. Tried to get into pickle ball again, but the courts were full and people were waiting to get on. Generally we spent the day relaxing, wandering the ship, or playing mini golf. We did have a drink of the day, Mai Tai, but that was about the highlights of the morning and afternoon. Seas were 8-10 foot, but the ship was very stable. I had hoped for higher seas with all the wind we were seeing.

 

At lunch I did try a gluten free pepperoni pizza and it was very good. Supper was formal night and I did the poor man's surf and turf with the new york strip loin and the lobster tail. It was a very good supper and I have always found the new york strip to be tasty on RCCL. We did see one person in shorts and a dress shirt, and based on the comments of the table next to us, there was at least one other person in shorts on formal night.

 

After supper we attempted the Invitation to Dance show and it wasn't for us. Had the singers been better we might have stuck it out, but watching dancing is not something that interests us all that much. Later we caught the game show the Perfect Couple, and it was hilarious. 

 

In our eyes the downer of the night was the Crazy Quest and it brought out the worst in at least one team. At one point when they said we need 3 bras brought down, one team was there pretty much as soon as the words were said, not a big deal since this is a repetitive game, maybe the crowd just anticipated it. Nope, that wasn't what happened. After their number was called, the lady took the bras to her friend in the crowd and she stuffed them in a bag. Then for the final task with dressing up a guy, they had everything in a bag to accomplish this. This was the first I noticed it, but since they were first or near first on the other tasks, they may have went to their bag of tricks for that too. Bummer the CD didn't bust them, because they ultimately won the whole thing. The crazy quest is supposed to be a fun thing, kind of sad some decide to cheat or bend the rules to win. after that it was off to bed to crash.

[cgolf1]

Day 8 Compass

 

 

[cgolf1]

The last sea day was pretty much a carbon copy of Day 7. We took it easy and relaxed during the day. I did enter the ping pong competition and won my first match, but lost my second match to a lady that had the most insanely wicked serve I have ever seen that was pretty much unreturnable. That decided the match unfortunately for me. Lunch in windjammer was changed up a lot from previous days, so while a nice change, wish it would have happened sooner in the week.

 

After supper we caught the farewell show and adult show with comedian Tom Foss. Both of his shows were very funny and a great way to finish off the cruise. After the show we went back to the room and set our wake up call and set our watches back and crashed to be ready for the long trip home.

[Ocean Boy]

I cannot stand the show "Invitation to Dance" and, even after all these years, it never goes away.

[cgolf1]

Well it’s time to get off the ship. We had booked the post cruise Everglades tour since our flight doesn’t leave till after 5. 
 

Our start of the day was a rather rude automated wake up call at 5 am that was set for 6. It turns out RCCL forgot to turn back the clock on the wake up call system. Since I was up I went out on deck 4 and ship watched as we were backing into our dock. Went back to the room around 6 and we went up for breakfast shortly thereafter. Saw the Edge in port and can’t wait to see the Apex next year. 
 

we met in the imperial lounge for our excursion and grabbed our luggage, tag number 1, on the way out. Once at the bus the hurry up and wait day started. Took a bit to get all the luggage packed and people on the bus. Once we got going it was off to the gator park. This was a lot of fun. Got to see a ball python, their big gator, and hold a baby gator before the airboat ride. Apparently it had been cold the last few days and the gators weren’t showing themselves, but we were able to see one which was really cool. Also saw a Heron hanging out on shore. 
 

After the gator park they added a quick stop because we had time on the way to the airport. It was an area with trees and different plants to show us a different part of the Everglades. They got us to the airport I believe around 1:30. We got lucky and were able to check our luggage right away and go sit in the departures area to wait for our flight. I have to say the excursion was a blast and exceeded our expectations. It was worth the money and also served its purpose off chewing up time and getting us and our luggage to the airport. 
 

Once we finally got in the air and got to Charlotte we got to wait almost another 3 hours before our flight home took off. When we finally landed in WI at 11:19 pm, the joke was on us. We had to wait 20 minutes for a plane to clear out of our gate. Then when we went to get our luggage 1 or 2 pieces would show up followed by a wait of 2-3 minutes. Thankfully our luggage wasn’t the last off the plane. We got to my parents at 1:15 am. Long day starting with the early wake up call;)

 

pictures and summary next. 
 

 

[cgolf1]

 

Cashew from Aruba

Edited February 17, 2020 by cgolf1

[cgolf1]

Before I start, I want to say that we never felt pressured to buy anything onboard. Our server mentioned the up charge items at the bottom of the menu once, otherwise their was zero sale pressure onboard!

 

The good

The ship is incredible. It is super easy to get around, and having been on the freedom, I instantly felt at home. It was very clean and well maintained and had a good variety of things to keep people busy. Overall the ship never felt congested, with the exception of the schooner bar during piano or trivia time. The guest performers were very good. Deck 4 our favorite place to relax and of course a mini golf course that wasn’t too tricked up so it was a blast. 
 

The So So

Food selection. Wife wife really missed her cold fruit soups and RCCL isn’t the most imaginative with their handling of gluten free meals. The fact that the menu and windjammer was so repetitive was disappointing as well. Thankfully my food tasted good, but repeating a supper 3 of 8 nights was a new experience for me. 
 

The Bad

The theater shows. If the singers would have been better we may have had a different opinion, but RCCL’s theater shows have not impressed us yet. 

This wasn’t as long of summary as I expected, but I think I covered everything pretty well in the full write up.

 

So overall this was another great cruise and we look forward to being on RCCL again in the future. 

Edited February 17, 2020 by cgolf1

[Russ Lomas]

On 2/10/2020 at 1:14 PM, cgolf1 said:

To start with us, we are a mid 40s couple traveling without our college age daughter. Being thrifty we generally don’t do specialty dining mostly because of cost, plus my wife doesn’t like the fancier foods so it would really be money wasted for her. So we are pretty much tied to the main dining rooms and wind jammer. Onboard we generally just chill and are in by 11:30 pm and up eating breakfast by 7:30. We have stayed in most cabin levels including a concierge veranda, but have pretty much settled now on insides and oceanviews. They fullfill the thrifty part of our cruising and we barely used our verandas anyways, so didn’t feel the extra cost is worth it for us.

 

Looking forward to reading about your trip.  We are similar in ages, do not pay for the pay restaurants and are usually in bed by 11 pm (and up to flowride the second it opens).  Oh yeah, I am told I am thrifty (cheap) as well - but how can I be cheap if I take my family on a cruise each year?  Now off to read your review because we board the Adventure for the first time in less than a month.

Edited February 17, 2020 by Russ Lomas
add more

[cgolf1]

Did want to add that we lived up to the thrifty part this trip. Onboard charges were the 4 drinks of the day, tips, and the post cruise excursion. In the ports we got the Aloe, cactus liquor (I goofed this may have been the most expensive at 25$), and some small gifts in a pottery store. 
 

Below are some general things we do cruise related to our thrifty ways, when someone asked me over on our TAs forum. 
 

We set a number per night per person we want to keep our cruise under before taxes and port fees, for us it is 150. This also doesn’t include tips or shore excursions. We then start researching the cruises that fit that criteria. We have searched multiple lines in the past, but now we are looking to build loyalty with RCCL and Celebrity.

Celebrity is a bit tricky to book. You need to be careful to ensure you book a refundable deposit. On our upcoming Apex cruise we broke our 150 rule to book an oceanview with 2 perks vs an inside with no perks. We got the classic beverage package and 300 OBC. We did the math and if we had 3 sodas and an adult drink a day each, the oceanview would be the same out of pocket as the inside. We later used a sale to get the free gratuities making this a very good deal. 

Our biggest score on Celebrity is our cruise after the Apex on the Constellation. The total cost per night with taxes and port fees and the classic beverage package, free gratuities, and 300 OBC was roughly 130 per night per person. That is a steal considering we will likely have minimal out of pocket on a ten night cruise.

To help keep costs low we book shore excursions on sale, and use our OBC to help pay for them. Many lines run sales from time to time on excursions so it pays to book before boarding.

After buying a lot of DCL gear on our first trips we have really limited what we buy on board. The shops being expensive on the Edge and RCCL not having anything that caught our eye helps. If you have any thoughts of buying something like a decent watch in port, the best way to do it is to get a piece of jewelry as well. Watches can only be discounted so much, but they tend to give you a better deal overall if you pair the two together. We don’t buy stuff like that often, but my Bulova has saved me money because my skin oils trash cheaper metal watches.

On RCCL we generally only get the drink of the day and hope for the 10 drink card allowing you to get ten drinks at a pretty good discount. The card can be shared but is not always available. Our first two RCCL cruises it was offered halfway through, unfortunately this last one it wasn’t. This year we each had two 8 buck drinks so with gratuities spent about 40 on drinks.

Flights and hotels are tough nowadays. Southwest used to be the cheapest for us until this year. Hoping when the 737 maxes are back in service their prices go down and they add some more fights. In Ft Lauderdale we have 2 hotels we like, but they aren’t dirt cheap unfortunately. Port Canaveral we have a hotel that has been a great deal but we haven’t sailed from there in a while. 

Other than that it is the stuff mentioned at the beginning of this thread outside of the cruise itself that allows us to splurge a bit.

[Russ Lomas]

On 2/10/2020 at 8:40 PM, cgolf1 said:

 The showers of course are still to small but you make it work.

In case you did not know, on the Adventure (til she goes in for AMPing), you can use the showers in the fitness area (along with the hot tub, saunas, and steam rooms) free of charge.  The showers are massive.  I let my family use the bathroom in the cabin getting ready for dinner in the evening.  We book a cabin right above the spa so I just wear a robe down there and enjoy the facilities for an hour and get dressed down there while the ladies fight over the teeny bathroom in the cabin.

 

On 2/11/2020 at 8:54 PM, Ocean Boy said:

No cold fruit soup in the Windjammer either during my week aboard.

I was surprised on our cruise last March that cold soups were served nightly in the Windjammer on the Freedom of the Seas even though they were not on the menu in the dining room.

 

On 2/12/2020 at 7:11 PM, Tom47 said:

I'm enjoying your review.  We board March 14.

Us too!  See you on the 14th for a wonderful 8 day cruise.

 

1 hour ago, cgolf1 said:

Food selection. Wife wife really missed her cold fruit soups

 

The Bad

The theater shows. If the singers would have been better we may have had a different opinion, but RCCL’s theater shows have not impressed us yet. 

Too late for you this time, but if you tell your head waiter on the first night of the cruise that you like cold soups, they will bring you one in the MDR every night starting on the 2nd night.  We do this all the time even though it is never on the menu.

 

I usually love RCCL's shows.  That said, the bigger the ship, the better the shows.  I expect a lower quality on the "smaller" and older ships, like the Adventure.  If what you said about some of the performers is true, I think I will be enjoying a late night swim and hot tub more than the production shows.

Edited February 17, 2020 by Russ Lomas
add info

[purplegrapefruit]

13 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

Caracao

Great review, but FYI, it's spelled Curaçao (or Curacao). Just in case someone is searching they won't find your review.

Edited February 17, 2020 by purplegrapefruit

[tinkertwo]

One of the best compliments I ever received was from a co-worker.  After hearing about our vacations for years and how I looked/got the best deals she said 'your not cheap, your thrifty!'.  That I am, that I am.  

[cgolf1]

32 minutes ago, purplegrapefruit said:

Great review, but FYI, it's spelled Curaçao (or Curacao). Just in case someone is searching they won't find your review.

Yup, I spelled it right once when I was looking at the sheet. I guess the years of mispronouncing the Blue Curacao mixer got to me when I was typing, and no I wasn’t drinking it;)  Wish I had the ability to edit them, I will hopefully remember from here on out. 

[purplegrapefruit]

16 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

Yup, I spelled it right once when I was looking at the sheet. I guess the years of mispronouncing the Blue Curacao mixer got to me when I was typing, and no I wasn’t drinking it;)  Wish I had the ability to edit them, I will hopefully remember from here on out. 

No worries! Hope you got to try some of the Genuine Blue Curaçao liqueur.  It's so much better than the blue colored triple sec we buy at home. So good in a margarita. 

[cgolf1]

8 minutes ago, purplegrapefruit said:

No worries! Hope you got to try some of the Genuine Blue Curaçao liqueur.  It's so much better than the blue colored triple sec we buy at home. So good in a margarita. 

 

We did and it was very good. We ended up buying a mixed drink there that we shared.

 

Of the islands we have visited, Curacao and St Martin (also a tough spell I had to google, but then found google was wrong and went with the spelling on the stained glass map we saw in Curacao that I had a picture of) are the islands we could see ourselves retiring on. Would likely misspell my address;), but wouldn't mind the island life at all.

[brillohead]

8 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

Of the islands we have visited, Curacao and St Martin (also a tough spell I had to google, but then found google was wrong and went with the spelling on the stained glass map we saw in Curacao that I had a picture of) are the islands we could see ourselves retiring on. Would likely misspell my address;), but wouldn't mind the island life at all.

St. Martin or St. Maarten, depending on which side of the island you're on!  😉

[okgladmom]

Great review @cgolf1

[purplegrapefruit]

9 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

 

We did and it was very good. We ended up buying a mixed drink there that we shared.

 

Of the islands we have visited, Curacao and St Martin (also a tough spell I had to google, but then found google was wrong and went with the spelling on the stained glass map we saw in Curacao that I had a picture of) are the islands we could see ourselves retiring on. Would likely misspell my address;), but wouldn't mind the island life at all.

I feel you. We felt the same way about Bonaire.  We thought about not getting back on the ship for a moment.