Adventure of the Seas: June 11, 2006- A Novella

[hokie78]

Well, here goes. I posted a day or two ago inquiring about protocol regarding incredibly long--ridiculously long--reviews. The answers were primarily in the "bring it on" category. Regardless, it is with trepidation and apprehension that I make this post. Hope it doesn't get me booted. So long that on my first attempt I got an error message to shorten it! But it's very positive and with a level of detail I hope some of you find useful. There will be sectrions on background, embarkation, ports, ship activities, dining and general observations. I look forward to your feedback and questions.

 

Background

 

As with most cruises, this one was months in the making – 13 to be exact. The passengers were DW, DS (18), FDS (Friend of, 18), DD (22), BFDD (Boyfriend of, 28) and myself. We zeroed in on this timing—with hurricane season very much in mind—due to Spring 2006 being a time of several milestones. DS graduated from high school, DD from college, and I recently celebrated a half century on this earth. DW hit the same mark not too long ago, so something for everyone. We are fairly well-traveled which I mention only to give perspective to our opinions. Those travels are mostly in tourist class, with first class travel or luxury properties coming rarely and usually as a result of frequent flier miles or credit card points. I’d consider us on the more adventurous side when it comes to travel. We’ve been to the Caribbean several times for week-long land-based vacations, but are fairly new to cruising. Three years ago, to celebrate our 25th, we took a 3 night Bahamas/Coco Cay “shake-down cruise” on Majesty to see if we liked it. We did. We followed that less than a year later with a 5 night Western Caribbean itinerary (Key West, Belize, Cozumel) on Enchantment. We took DS on that one. And now the 7 night Southern Caribbean (Barbados route) on Adventure. So you can see we’ve increased trip length and ship size with each successive sailing. I think a Voyager class ship was the choice for this cruise before the research even began. The Promenade was one aspect that drew us in. We wanted a port-intensive cruise to check out a couple of islands we’d not been to, and opted for a San Juan departure to give us the opportunity to get deep into the Caribbean. Those choices narrowed down the options quite a bit. So it was this, or the Adventure’s alternative itinerary to Aruba. But since we weren’t sure we’d like two sea days, we took the Barbados route. So the weekend of June 9th, 2006 arrived after a year plus of waiting, and we were off.

 

Pre-cruise

 

Even without the advice of the CC boards, my paranoia would have driven me to arrive in San Juan a full day before departure. The availability of award tickets pushed the issue even further when the only choice was to have DS and I arrive in San Juan TWO days before sailing. DW had work time off issues and could not travel before Saturday. No sweat. As said, we’re adventurous and willing to compromise to save a buck. DD and BFDD were both traveling from Virginia, but from different cities. And FDS was coming from Wisconsin where we’d lived for 12 years prior to our move to Utah. Needless to say, coordinating arrivals into San Juan was a bit of a challenge. I’d promised to meet everyone on their arrival since I’d be there first, and then started to do the math on all the taxi fares back and forth to the airport from Condado. As a result, I rented a car and turned limo driver for the day. No problem. This ended up being a rather long day with a total of four round trips to the airport, including a wasted one due to a long delayed flight. But the car paid for itself after the first couple of trips over taking taxis. But no worries—there’s was lots of in-between time for sunning, swimming, and fruity drinks.

 

The pre-cruise stay was at the San Juan Marriott and Stellaris Casino in the Condado area. I was steered to this choice by CC postings regarding its location and the deals folks seemed to be getting. It looked like the right spot for both convenience to the pier and property amenities, so I Pricelined it for 100 bucks a night and got it. Based on the property website, and what I know about Marriott Resorts in general, this appeared to be a real steal. Then (after being booked and paid in advance), I started to see some not-so-glowing reviews both on this board and on Trip Advisor. Apparently there was some renovation and construction going on that was probably key to the great rate. Others complained of poor service, not getting into rooms in a timely fashion, amenities not available, etc. So the fear set in . . . and it was totally unfounded. Of course we should all keep in mind as we read these reviews we all have different standards and experiences, and what happens to one person may or may not happen to another. But for us, this was a problem-free arrangement, and I’m not sure we could have done any better with a pre-cruise hotel, even with tons more research. We got to the hotel at about 2PM on Friday totally prepared to not get a room right away, and be content to hang around the pool or casino. We got there and immediately noticed there was no construction or renovation going on. Next door yes, but not here. And I wasn’t hearing any noise anyway. And it looked like a pretty up-scale property. As I approached the front desk, I was prepared to be assigned a room that would not only not be ready, but when it was, would be one tucked away between the housekeeping closet and the ice machine with a view of the crane next door. A hundred bucks a night for this place? I figured I wouldn’t be entitled to much at that rate considering the kind of place it was. But you definitely don’t get anything if you don’t ask, so I took a shot at asking if there was a ready room this early, and even though I had a low rate, could that room have at least SOME sort of pleasant view? Well, not only was there a room ready, it was in the so-called Cabana Building, 8 floors high directly facing the pool and beach. Surely our room would face the opposite direction. Nope. 6th floor, directly pool and ocean front. I also needed a roll-away bed. No problem, and no charge. The room itself was fairly standard for a Marriott. Very clean, new-looking and with an in-room coffee maker. Perfection. Let the vacation begin!! The property was in excellent condition on all fronts. Pool and surrounding area ultra clean, patrolled by security staff to ensure you belonged there. Restaurants all open (but expensive) and casino up and running. Beach bar right there, but only one 9 dollar pina colada for me thanks! Included in the $100 rate was a resort fee that allowed use of beach chairs and umbrellas. Beach was large and clean. The ocean was a little rough, but still great for cooling off. Just spectacular.

 

I’d never been to the Condado area in San Juan and wasn’t sure what to expect. An excellent location to be sure. And this Marriott was in a perfect spot. A Walgreen’s just down the street for those last minute forgot to bring items, and just around the corner from there, a little market that we affectionately dubbed “The Beer Store.” All sorts of restaurants and bars along Ashford Avenue (the Marriott street and main drag), and all of this walkable. But our restaurant of choice for the two days we were there was considerably lower scale than most of the others you’ll see along the strip, and it was based on CC postings. We highly recommend Danny’s International Restaurant for all your pre-cruise dining. Atmosphere is incredibly basic and coffee shop-like. It has outdoor seating as well. It’s almost like a Denny’s, but with a bar! The menu is pretty straight-forward and I think would serve the younger set especially well. Burgers, fries, sandwiches, pasta, salads, steaks, chicken, fish and 50 different types of pizza. Coronas were 2 bucks. Breakfast too, served anytime I believe. Between the Marriott and this place, did I really need to get on that ship?!?! Well of course, but you get the point.

 

Day One (Sunday) Sail-away Day and Embarkation

 

The day has finally arrived (along with all of our passengers). The first order of business would be to turn in the rental car. I was dreading this even though I knew my way to the airport pretty well by now. No regrets about having the car for the various airport pick-ups, but still one hassle—and airport trip—I would have preferred to do without. But in my travels around the hotel property the last 2 days, I noticed a Hertz rental counter in the lobby. Could I be so lucky as to be allowed to return the car right here? YESSS! And even better than that, the clerk told me what I should really do is to go down the street to the Hertz office (just past Danny’s on Ashford) and turn the car in there where they would provide us a free ride to the pier. Are you kidding me? It all sounded just too good to be true. So I was sitting at Danny’s having one of those Coronas and contemplating the best move when in walks a guy wearing a Hertz name tag. He was picking up his lunch I guess, and I stopped him and asked about the drop-off and ride to pier story. It’s true, it’s true!! It was getting so I was almost afraid for the cruise to start as I began to think THAT’s where all the problems would be! This whole two days just couldn’t have been any sweeter. So we dropped the car at the Hertz office at about 10:45am and proceeded to load up not one, but two vehicles full of 6 people and their luggage. Know that it’s not a shuttle service like you might see at an airport. No bus or van or anything. And I think this is an unadvertised service. Ask and they’ll do it, but they take you in one of the rental cars and the driver could well be the guy who was just washing the returned cars. Ours was. There was a bit of waiting while they organized who would drive who and in which vehicles, but we were on our way to the Pan American Pier shortly after 11.

 

It’s been said many times before, but is there any better feeling than rounding that last corner just before getting to the pier and seeing your ship tied to the dock and waiting for you? What a rush!! I was fully prepared for the size of Adventure, but until you’ve seen her with your own eyes (if you haven’t before) you just can’t imagine. What a behemoth! Our “shuttle” pulled up to the drop-off area at about 11:20 and we saw that there was already a pretty good sized line waiting to get into the building. Check-in had not yet begun. It was already a very hot and humid day, and while being first in line may have its perks, I’m not sure I would have wanted to wait standing outside in the heat as long as some of those folks probably did. On our two previous cruises we did not check any bags—strictly carry-on—so I wasn’t sure how the bag check process would work. Had to do it this time. The bags were so much heavier this time for some reason. Hmmmm . . . . . . I knew there would be porters ready and waiting to assist, and I had envisioned them pouncing on you as soon as you got out of your ride. Not the case. They have a stand set up near the door to get in, and you come to them. Works for me, even though we had to do just that much more bag-lugging. Our bags had the ship tags on them, we wheeled them to the stand along with a few bucks, and we were done. Simple and painless. No sooner had we done that than the doors opened, check-in began and the line began to move. And it moved pretty quickly. You walk through the front door and security with the metal detectors and x-ray belt is right there.

 

Since security was the first step, this is probably as good a place as any to address THE big question: what about the smuggling of various beverages?!?!?! Let me first say that this was THE big question for me too prior to sailing. We’ve all been suspecting a crack-down of sorts what with all the recent incidents and such. As a result, I put a great deal of thought into how and if I was going to BMOB’s (bring my own bottles and beers). Probably TOO much thought, but now it’s become a quest as much as it is to save a few bucks on the bar tab. It became all about the challenge! I put vodka and light rum in water bottles, dark rum in ice tea bottles, stuck a couple of 12-packs here and there (I’m not a soda drinker, so you can surmise the cargo), and had brought various mixers as well. I scattered all this among the various bags both checked and carry-on to ensure that at least SOMETHING would make it through. Well let’s cut to the chase. There was no challenge at all. If there is any cracking down going on, it’s sure as heck not happening at San Juan with AOS. The carry-on “bar bags” sailed through the machine with nary a hitch. Turns out it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I’d read on this board that depending on which gate your ship had, you might have access to a duty-free liquor store on the OTHER side of security. Another “too good to be true” story? Nope. There it stood in all its glory just past the machines and waiting for us descend upon it to buy multiple bottles of that 7 dollar rum. AND, to make it even more interesting, there was absolutely nothing subtle about it. Just past security, there was a lady standing there hawking the store’s wares, offering rum punch samples, and reminding us all that we were already through security and we should feel free to have at it. Many did. Guess that answers the smuggling question; at least on this day, for this cruise, at this gate, etc. Point being that even having seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t be surprised if this little gem of a perk disappeared without notice some day. Even if it did, I get the impression anything in your bags would still get through without a problem. Of course no guarantees as to what may happen for your cruise, your ship or your pier.

 

The actual check-in process also went very smoothly. Remember, by now I’m thinking SOMETHING has to go wrong! It did not. We had our on-line SetSail passes ready to go, and there’s a separate line for those who did versus those who didn’t. Most seemed to be going the SetSail route, but there were lots of spaces and agents and we waited in that line for probably no more than 5 or 10 minutes. Also fairly painless even though we had to make an adjustment as to how one of us would be handling their on-board account. Total amount of time in front of the agent before all 6 Sea Passes were in hand? Five minutes. This all takes place in this one huge, warehouse-like room. This is where those infamous white plastic chairs ($4.99 at Wal-Mart) are lined up and waiting. But they had a long wait for this cruise because once you got your Sea Pass it was directly on to the ship. Wait –I lied. I did sit in the chairs for just a few minutes while various members of our party hit the post-security liquor store. And even had another one of those rum punch samples while waiting! There was lemonade and cookies available to all in this waiting area leaving me to think that sometimes there must be longer waits than there was today. I had been led to think by reading the boards that the refreshments were only for higher level Crown and Anchor members (we’re only at the lowly gold status) and suite passengers. But us riff-raff got a little taste as well. Another note (or guess) about the wait to get on the ship. Again, virtually none for us. But I’ll bet it’s much different for those heading out on the Aruba route. I believe there was a recent posting on this. As you probably know, Adventure alternates the itinerary every other week. If you’re on the Aruba route, St Thomas is your last stop and you clear customs there and it’s clear sailing in San Juan when you return. For the Barbados route, the first stop back in US territory is the ending point of San Juan so you have to clear customs there as you depart the ship. There’s no way those waiting to get on for the next cruise after us (to Aruba) got on as early as we did due to how long it takes to clear customs. More on that later, but this is clearly the driving force behind the itinerary change on the Barbados route making St Thomas the last stop instead of the first. Now both cruises should have no problems at all with getting on and getting off. But I digress. So from the (no) waiting area it was on to the ship security photo. It was about 11:45 as we walked up the ramp and onto the ship. All said and done, from dropping off the car to standing on Deck Four of the Adventure of the Seas, it was about an hour.

 

Enjoying the ship and waiting for departure to St. Thomas at 10PM

 

So after 13 months of planning, we’re finally on board. What a great feeling. There were some among us (chiefly the newbies) who seemed concerned about how (and why we’d want) to spend over 10 hours on board just waiting to sail. Those concerns quickly evaporated once they got the full scope of the ship and all that there was to explore. As you know, once on you can get on and off just like San Juan was one of the scheduled ports of call. DD & BFDD had designs on doing that, but once they were aboard I never heard it mentioned again. The sun was shining, the pools were up and running, the steel drum band was playing and the bars were open (including my own per the above). What else do you need? It was clear we did not need to be anywhere else.

 

My first impression of Adventure was a very positive one. It was spic and span clean and looked brand new to me. Was there wear and tear? Yeah—probably. But remember we’re not super fussy, and there would have to be a burn hole in the carpet the size of a man-hole cover before we’d be bothered. OK—maybe a sauce pan cover. You get the gist. But there was nothing even close to that. If anyone has complaints about the condition of this ship, they’ve clearly made finding the foibles a primary objective of their cruise. I think you’d have to look really hard to find anything in obvious need of maintenance, or in a state of disrepair.

 

As usual, cabins would not be ready until 2PM (I thought it was 1, but no matter). The doors to the cabin hallways were not closed, so some snooping on our deck was in order. I found our cabin which appeared to be in a fully ready state, then quickly found the cabin attendant to inquire. No it wasn’t quite ready, but we could stash our carry-on luggage in the closet (the door remains propped open until the 2 o’clock green light, so the closet storage was to keep bags out of sight, and leaving them there was at our own risk). The checked bags arrived much earlier than I anticipated at about 4PM. We had two cabins. E1 balcony #7298, starboard side, slightly fore of midship. The second was an inside L, down the hall fairly far forward at #7233. The arrangements were DW, DD and myself in the balcony cabin (DUH!), and the boys in the other. I figured it would be no problem for the love birds to pretend it was still the 50’s, and not the new millennium, for the sake of us parents and of course it wasn’t. The cabin space was absolutely fine for us. Nothing new here. Sure it was tight, but everything fit nicely in the various drawers, nooks and crannies, and the suitcases fit under the beds with no problem. We put our daily use stuff under the beds too—back-packs, beach bags and the like. It was our first experience with a drop-down pullman bed, but it was perfectly situated above the two twins (our preference for this cruise), and positioned perpendicularly so as not to block the balcony door. It was only down at night anyway. As has been said, if we were all in the cabin at the same time other than at bedtime, it was a bit cramped. That was alleviated by setting up a loosely followed schedule for getting ready for dinner each night. What that usually meant was me heading to the gym to shower which was no problem as I rather enjoyed the alone time. And I usually had the whole place to myself. Got that idea from this board, and it’s a good one. And since DD and BFDD were seeking time together whenever possible, DD wasn’t in the cabin much anyway.

 

The attendant’s name was Mervyn, and he’s from Trinidad. The national origin of the attendants is usually irrelevant for me, but important to note here. On a Caribbean cruise, it’s just icing on the cake to have a guy from the area waiting on you all week. Hearing that great lilt that those from the West Indies have in their voice was a nice bonus. Of course every request was met with “No problem Mon!” So what was our first request? Robes? No need. Mattress topper? Nah—these beds are fine. Extra towels? Nope. What was sorely needed was ice for my 36 can collapsible cooler! I included a 20 dollar bill with my request which was intended to be a never-ending one for the week (the request, not the twenty!). So before heading to the Windjammer for lunch, I opened up the cooler, and placed the warm beverage cans in it. When we got back an hour or so later, the cooler had magically filled with ice, with all the cans neatly arranged to ensure the best chilling. Right then and there I could have cared less if I ever saw a towel animal or a turned down bed all week. He could keep his chocolates too. This was truly a case of this guy having me at hello! And this is a pretty good-sized cooler when you compare it to the size of those puny ice buckets they’re used to filling. So without every uttering another word, the cooler had fresh ice with the contents rearranged every day when we came back from port, and again every night after dinner. Of course all the standard stuff was there too—including the animals. The room was kept immaculate throughout the week, no thanks to us. The cabin got a “lived in” look to it pretty quickly, and because I know the attendants work so hard, I found myself straightening up to make things a bit easier for Mervyn. Having stuff piled on the beds when he has to turn them down seemed like more work than he should have to do, so we just tried to make things more accessible for him. The balcony is a wonderful thing, and just like almost everyone else, I’m not sure there’s any way I could ever take an inside cabin again. It got the most use during arrivals and departures, depending on which side was against the pier. I just can’t get enough of watching tie-ups and cast-offs. The bathroom was, of course, also a tight spot. Yes, the shower is small, and yes, try not to drop anything! But those rounded sliding doors are a God-send. Don’t know if it’s an enhancement or if Adventure was designed that way, but what a big step up from flying shower curtains. Before leaving home DW—who does about zero research for any trip until we’re on the plane—reminds me not to forget the binder clips for weighting down the shower curtain. Thanks to CC I knew about the doors, so that was one less thing to pack! Overall, we felt like the cabin was a good selection both for its category and location on the ship. Some things up (Windjammer, the pool, sports deck), some things down (dining room and the casino) and just a few cabins down from a bank of elevators. No noise to speak of in this area, except for one late-night/early morning return of the next door neighbors after a night of revelry. And even that was nowhere near obnoxious. We’d take this cabin again in a heartbeat, unless there was an upgrade available of course. Speaking of which, this was a fully booked sailing and no upgrades of any kind were available, and a nice big sign at the pier coordinator’s desk said so which kept me from standing in another line unnecessarily. Dinner times were different for this night only at 6:30 and 9:00, with muster at 8:30. It was strictly SOP and over in about 20 minutes.

 

Day Two (Monday) – St. Thomas

 

For us, I can sum up this port in just a few words. Been there, done that. Many times. If ever there was a port where we just might stay on the ship and have it to ourselves, this was it. So did we do that? Of course not. We just couldn’t resist what has become an almost annual sojourn to Sapphire Beach Resort where we have a timeshare. In the bank this year due to the cruise, but we still wanted to check it out in the face of what we’ve heard lately about them being in some sort of financial trouble. I previously posted on this subject on the St Thomas board, but here’s a first hand update. The restaurants and bars are in fact closed due to what appears to have been some sort of mismanagement along the way. Not too long ago there was no public bathroom available either, but that has now changed. The restrooms in the main building near the pavilion are fully functioning and quite clean. No shower there (never was), but a fine place to at least change if you’d like (and take of other business as well). The pool is operating and clean, but the outdoor shower there is not working. The water sports shack is also functioning, so you can still rent your beach chairs, snorkel gear, kayaks, Hobie Cats, etc. The beach is still as gorgeous as ever, and the snorkeling is still among the best for being that close to shore. And on a final positive note, as we were leaving, I noticed that the bar in the pavilion was being stocked! Looks like recovery is well under way.

 

Let’s back up. For St. Thomas day, everyone wanted to do something different. No scheduled tours here since we know it so well, but still not comfortable letting the kids roam too far or too free. DS and FDS wanted to beach, snorkel and jet ski, and DS knows Sapphire well so he opted for that. DS and BFDS are more the environmental, tree-hugging types so they opted for the National Park environment of St. John. But they ended up at Trunk Bay with the other bizzillion people from the ships. (Carnival Destiny was also in, but that’s it.) I guess it is one of the most scenic beaches, and good snorkeling is pretty much guaranteed, but I had to laugh at the final choice after all I heard about them wanting to find a deserted beach and veg all day. So anyway, back home I did the math on taxi fares and quickly realized another rental car was the way to go. The 54 bucks at Budget just across the street from the pier would easily be a better deal than all the fares added up. So I played limo driver again today. And I really didn’t mind. Got the kids where they needed to go (Sapphire and the ferry at Red Hook are virtually next door to each other) and that left us with a pretty care-free day. Scooped everybody back up at about 3, and had time for a drink at Duffy’s Love Shack—another annual tradition made more interesting by the fact that this was the first time everyone was legal. Got back to the pier in plenty of time for perusing the stores at Havensight, the shopping area right at the dock. Lots of the same stores you’d find downtown without having to hear, “Taxi to the ship?” every two minutes. I really don’t mind that by the way. Just reminds you of where you are and what folks need to do to make a living. I’m pretty sure that “Taxi Mon?” is a universal Caribbean expression since we heard it in each and every port. After shopping (an additional dig camera card for $30 after haggling) it was back onto to the ship to end yet another day without glitches. Could the streak continue?? This was the first formal night, but I’ll cover all the dining experiences (very good) in a separate section.

 

Day Three (Tuesday)—St. Maarten/Sint Martin

 

Unfortunately, a near wash-out today. The chair and snorkel guy at Sapphire the day before had mentioned weather could be an issue today, but you know how it is down there. A few showers almost everyday, interspersed with brilliant blue skies and sunshine. Not today. Overcast, with periods of HEAVY rain all day long. But would we be deterred from our appointed rounds? Absolutely not. We just pretended to be mailmen (excuse me—mailPERSONS), and forged ahead. All 4 kids were signed up for the Loterie Farm Tree Top Adventure through the ship. (I keep saying kids—including the 28 year old. Don’t tell them!) We know you can do it on your own for cheaper and with less crowds, but us parents weren’t going and we felt a whole lot better leaving them with an organized tour than having to deal with it on their own. The day was definitely not a perfect beach day, but it wasn’t so bad that this excursion was going to be called off. Some of the boating related excursions were cancelled. The report back from the kids was a glowing one. And it turned out to be a bit more than they bargained for. I had described it as zip-lining through the trees which doesn’t sound so ominous. In fact, it’s more of an obstacle course with various suspension and rope bridges to traverse, along with the zipping. They had their doubts that we could have handled it had we been along. Would have loved to have had the chance to prove them wrong! They got all the proper equipment and instruction, and there was a “double-safe” system whereby when you moved your clip to the next line, a second clip was always in place on the previous line as a back-up. Bottom line—they loved it, and bought the action photos to prove they were indeed George (and Georgia) of the Jungle for one day.

 

As for the parents’ day, it did not go exactly as planned. Another car rental day since we like to be independent, and picking up from the Hertz window just outside the pier gates was a breeze. Signs direct you to the rental car windows. In this same area are a few shops, and more importantly, the water taxi pier. As has been reported often, just 5 bucks for an all day wrist band to go back and forth between the pier and the Front Street stores and restaurants. I believe this is the most cruise friendly set-up I’ve seen. This was to be Orient Beach day where we’d hang out all day and perhaps go for the all-over tan. Unfortunately, it was an ugly enough day that not even half of the beach bars along the strip were open. Pirates and Pedro’s closed; Bay Watch, Kon Tiki and Kakao open. According to one bar-keep, they saw the weather forecast and threw in the towel. Good call as they wouldn’t have had much business. Had high hopes when we first got there as there was a bit of blue sky, but it didn’t last long. We tried to wait it out thinking this too would pass, but no luck. So after an Amstel or two we continued the drive around the island to explore and scout out locations for a possible future land-based vacation on St. Maarten. Very easy to get around this island, especially on the French side. Roads are well marked with plenty of directional signage. Reminded me very much of the roads around the outskirts of Paris. We were intrigued by what we saw, and plan to work a trade of our St Thomas timeshare next time around. The weather was still not cooperating, but I could not deal with the thought of not “experiencing” Orient Beach. So back we went, and when there was a break in the rain, with the air and water temps still quite warm, I took my dip. Pretty easy when there’s no crowd to worry about. Might as well have been in my bathtub at home. But there were a few stalwarts in front of the Orient Beach Club, and another couple (looked like cruisers as well) took their own casual walk and swim as I was leaving. Had a brief chat with them commenting about the “lovely” weather, and the interesting thing was how normal and natural it was to be conversing with strangers in the buff. Looking forward to a return trip.

 

Since the visit to Orient was so short, there was time to check out Maho and the airplane landings. I think we were a little late to get the full compliment of arrivals that day, but we did catch a 757 landing as we got there. Definitely true what they say about how low to the beach they get just before touch-down. Pretty cool despite the inclement weather. Had a great mango daiquiri at the Sunset Beach Bar, although I did not see any topless women drinking free as has been advertised. In fact, I saw no such sign, unless they bring it in when the rains come. Still and all, a great little spot for plane watching and a bit of beaching. The seating on their deck is set up kind of stadium style for plane viewing. Also worth a return visit when we get back to St. Maarten. We got back to the pier area with enough time to drop off the jeep and explore the Front Street shops. The main objectives here were the Guavaberry Emporium the Belgian Chocolate Shop, and any place with Cuban cigars. All missions accomplished. So bad weather for this stop, but far from a wasted day.

 

 

Day Four (Wednesday) - Antigua

 

Day four dawned with a brilliant and mostly cloudless blue ski. Yesterday’s weather thankfully turned out to be an anomaly, with all the days before and after absolutely stupendous weather-wise. Once again a day where everyone’s desires were a bit different, and once again a car rental day. First, we put DS and FDS in a cab and sent them to Dickenson Bay. They were looking to jet ski and be at a beach that was more hustle-bustle and less deserted. Don’t know the name of the associated resort, but since this was a busy, commercial area, we felt OK about them heading there alone. 12 bucks each way in a cab, and they even arranged on their own to have the same guy pick them up. Bad news for the driver—they left earlier than planned and grabbed another taxi at the resort. DD and BFDD were once again interested in desolation, and DW and I wanted to check out Nelson’s Dockyard before beaching it, so it was off to find the rental car. Not quite as easy as at previous stops, but we got ‘er done. The Hertz instructions were to find the office/agent right at the pier. There was absolutely nothing in sight, and anyone I asked for directions were completely clueless. I finally got some directions to a FORMER Dollar rental car office, and in that building I found an attorney’s office where someone made a few calls for me. Finally found out that there’s no Hertz office at the pier, but rather a rep who hangs around the tourist info booth. Finally found her, and she is wearing a Hertz uniform, but there was absolutely nothing to indicate how or where to find her. This really isn’t a complaint, but rather just passing along my learnings for anyone who might go this route. Once we got together it was relatively painless to get the car, but the paperwork took longer than at St. Maarten. The good news is, there’s no lot they take you to in order to get the car. The bad news is, they drive in that day’s cars to the pier area and park them wherever they can. We did the paperwork standing along side the car in its parking spot on the main drag out of town. Some would call this a pain. I would call it quaint, and yet another Caribbean island experience. The woman was a real hoot too. When we first got to the car (which she had driven in herself), and she switched the key to check the mileage, the radio was blasting full bore with this great Caribbean calypso music. She apologized, but I said that was EXACTLY what I was looking for in the way of tunes while visiting her island. We were instant friends, complete with a recommendation for other stations and the best Antiguan rum. From initial search for her to being behind the wheel was almost an hour, but ultimately we got it handled.

 

We did get lost as we tried to make our way to Darkwood Beach to drop off DD and BFDD, but eventually got there. The roads are mostly fine, but not very well marked. St. Maarten spoiled me. We got onto a dirt road that I was convinced would lead us to nowhere or worse, but it turned out to be exactly right and got us to Darkwood. Nearly deserted as they’d hoped for, yet manned with a chair rental stand and a small bar. I don’t think they had any snorkeling to speak of, but it was incredible scenery and worth the trouble getting there. Eventually, we made it to Nelson’s Dockyard, which I could have done without. It was interesting enough I guess, and I suppose I’m glad we saw it, but between yesterday’s bad weather and the brilliant sunshine today, I was anxious to be beaching and snorkeling. We paid the 5 bucks a head and took our own whirlwind tour of the place. Nicely restored 2 or 3 hundred year old buildings, one of which had beautiful exposed beams in the ceiling. The maritime museum was pretty cool but again, I was antsy to get moving.

 

As you know, there are supposedly 365 beach choices on Antigua. Can’t say we researched them all before choosing, but we had narrowed it down to Dickenson, Darkwood, Half Moon (far), Jolly Harbor and Turner’s. We chose Turner’s mainly for it’s proximity to Nelson’s, and Darkwood would be on the way back if we needed to pick up DD. Turner’s has a little bar and grill, and you can rent chairs and umbrellas there. Didn’t see a place to rent snorkel gear, but after exploring with our own gear realized there wouldn’t be much calling for it. Not much to see. A very nice white sand beach with great views. One of the day sails pulled up for some beach time and swimming while we were there, so we figured that legitimized our choice. There’s also a small hotel/resort on this beach, but I can’t recall the name. There were a couple of vendors on this beach, but a polite “no thanks” and we were left alone for the duration. We were hungry so we checked out the restaurant, but settled for a bag of chips after seeing the menu prices.

I try not to be a cheapskate while on vacation, but burgers were 12 bucks and we weren’t THAT hungry! We had brought along a small cooler, so key items of sustenance were in plentiful supply. Sun, sand, surf and cold ones – we were happy. As had become routine, we got back to the pier in plenty of time to return the car and check out a few shops. The “Rental Car Return” amounted to finding a legal space on the street (hit or miss), walking to the tourist booth and finding my Hertz girlfriend, then walking BACK to the car for the once-over and final paperwork.

 

Old news, but Antigua is not the shopping mecca that St Thomas or St. Maarten are. Shops from upscale to trinkets and junk are everywhere, but no deals to speak of. More independent vendors set up on corners than elsewhere. I did find a liquor store to purchase the recommended Cavalier Antigua Rum, and a run-of-the-mill IGA grocery store where I bought a few bottles of Red Stripe, and some of the local brew called Wadadli (Wah-DOD-lee). Those sailed through ship security unscathed, but they snagged the bottle of rum to hold until the last day. Interesting, since the bottle of rum I bought in St. Maarten sailed through. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the confiscation process. No matter, as you’ll recall we were well stocked from the minute we boarded in San Juan. A general observation about Antigua that will match that of others. A little bit more poverty-stricken than where we’d been so far, and the taxi drivers, tour operators, vendors and shopkeepers were much more aggressive. Aggressive really means persistent, and in no way did we feel threatened or put upon. You just have to keep remembering what part of the world you’re in, and realize these ports are not in the good ‘ol U.S of A. So due to the rental car confusion I wouldn’t call it a glitch-free day, but otherwise problem free and we boarded just as they were breaking down the entry way on the dock. Not a close call or anything. We just took every minute that was allowed us this day. If Antigua was a port of call on a future cruise it wouldn’t deter me, but it’s not in the running for a land-based vacation.

 

Day Five (Thursday) – St. Lucia

 

This is another island that we’d visited before on a week-long stay, and also not one we’d do another land-based vacation on. It’s a lush and beautiful island, but having spent a week there already, we’d pretty much seen it all. Nothing really beckoned us to return for another lengthy stay, but as a port of call it’s a fine choice. Even though our four immediate family members had already seen all the sights and attractions the island has to offer, we thought it might be nice to take them in again since we had two newbies with us, and do it in a more organized, concise fashion. And the best news today? No rental car!! Regulars on this board will be able to guess how we decided to do this, and with whom. Cosol, of course! Everything positive you’ve ever read about him, his brother and the tour they offer is all true. At least it was for us realizing that stuff does happen on occasion, and there are probably some people out there who won’t like this tour. Hard to imagine, but we actually had some in our group. You arrange this tour via email directly with Cosol himself, and we did so months in advance without a penny of deposit and nothing but each other’s word. As promised, Cosol was waiting just inside the cruise terminal lobby with a sign with his name on it making it very easy to find him. We were 6 of about 18 he had booked that day, meaning some of us would not actually have Cosol as their driver for the day. I don’t know what system he used to assign which driver to which group, but it almost seemed like he was giving preference to us CC’ers. We did not have Cosol as our driver, but he set us up with his brother, Yellowbird, who has also received great reviews on this board. So while it was Yellowbird providing narrative as we drove along, at each stop it was Cosol who gathered us together and gave the speech about whatever it was we were looking at. Turns out—and maybe you all already know this—this tour is really no different than what you’d arrange with any taxi driver at the pier. His van is actually a taxi like any other, including having his name printed across the top of the windshield. The difference is Cosol has become so well-known and well-liked via CC that he realized he could start doing bookings in advance and take some of the worry out of where his next tour (and dollar) was coming from. He attributes his success to CC, and is well aware that we talk about him. This will be serious repetition of most things said about Cosol and his tour, but take it as one more validation of all you’ve read about him. The key stops are the mineral springs and waterfall (with incredible flora to look at), the Pitons and the drive-in volcano, but there are other interesting tid-bits along the way. One of the first stops was at the biggest banana plantation on the island, if not on all islands combined. He gave us a nice overview of how bananas are grown and how the plantation works. He worked there himself as a wee lad hauling boxes and boxes of picked bananas for pennies a pound. Bananas have become so plentiful and therefore so cheap, it didn’t take long for him to make the leap to tour operator. We got some samples of course, and I swear he’s right about these being the sweetest bananas you’ll ever taste. There was another overlook/scenic view where there was a lady selling various fruits and vegetables of which we got samples. Coconut meat, coconut milk and mangos were all on the menu. We saw almond and cashew trees, and the calabash tree from which they make cups and bowls from its fruit/nut. The food highlight had to be “Big Momma” (and she was) who was set up just outside the entrance to the water fall/flora park. She sells fishcakes and Johnnycakes to all comers, but for us there were free samples. There is no formal lunch stop on this tour, but this stop clearly served as the mid-day meal for me. The fishcakes were fantastic made even more so by topping them with a mixture of banana ketchup and hot sauce. Johnnycakes are like a sweet biscuit you’d make with Bisquick mix, but delicious nonetheless. I was devouring all that was given me, along with some leftovers from my family. I had gotten through most of that when Yellowbird asked me if I wanted more. I was embarrassed to say yes, but what the heck!! So he went over to Big Momma and grabbed a few more fish cakes and Johnnycakes, and Big Momma was flattered that I liked her cooking so well. She does the cooking right there at the stand. She also sells bottles of the ketchup and hot sauce, and I willingly bought one of each mainly because they were good, but also out of gratitude for her hospitality. I now had a second girlfriend in the islands which was sealed when I shouted to Momma as we drove off that I wanted to take her home with me. She would have taken me up on it if there had been room in the van! And what do you wash all this food down with? Problem solved with the breaking out of the infamous cooler full of beverages that Cosol provides as part of the deal. Soda, beer, rum punch and water. Can’t decide? One (or several) of each is no problem. The Piton beer was good and cold, and the rum punch was a delectable concoction. Water and soda? PUH-LEEZE!! I may not have the order correct, but one of the next stops was the sulphuric drive-in volcano which was particularly pungent this day. Cosol hooks you up with one of the tour guides there, which is not really a big deal as the whole dissertation on the volcano takes less than 10 minutes. By the way, this admission and that of the waterfall and garden, was covered by Cosol. I also saw him paying the various food vendors whose wares we were sampling. The next stop was some beach time which was well deserved after a hot and tiring day. We were taken to the Jalousie (Jah-loo-SEE) Plantation which used to be a Hilton but is now something else. As with many of the lodging properties on St. Lucia, the cottages and rooms are situated hillside but the beach sits directly between the two Pitons—Gros and Petite. A perfectly picturesque location. It’s a black sand beach as most are on this island, and the water is crystal clear although that’s hard to see with the sand being black. The snorkeling here is supposedly fantastic, but we never got to see it due to an influx of jelly fish. I doubted the warnings at first and waded in knee deep for a first hand investigation. Sure enough I spotted a few of the little critters but still did some careful body dunking. Snorkeling however would be pretty risky, so we passed. Cosol felt terrible about the jelly fish problem, and made it seem like it was all his fault. He kept apologizing for the bad beach day but those three key ingredients—sun, sand surf—were all still there and we still thoroughly enjoyed the beach break. After this stop the tour was essentially complete with nothing but a long ride back to the pier facing us. He broke it up with one last stop at a roadside rest and snack bar that had an overlook with a view of Marigot Bay. We all agreed we could have done without it preferring instead to just get back for a quick look at the pier side shops and then up to the ship’s pool. But it was an OK break where we bought an ice cream cone for the final leg of our journey. Needless to say this tour was money well spent, and at 40 bucks a head you couldn’t really spend any less for what you get. But there is one caveat you should be aware of in the event you are put off by such things. The various food sampling and rest stops I mentioned all had a variety of vendors, and even hucksters, associated with them. Once again folks, we are these people’s living. So while sampling the mangos, expect a guy selling his hand-made necklaces to take a shot at you. I already mentioned Momma was selling her sauces. At one stop, there was a guy standing there with a huge snake that he’d wrap around you for a photo opp, and a little tip of course. At every stop it seemed the locals knew Cosol was coming through with a load of tourists and they were ready. I had absolutely no problem with that, but a few folks in one of the vans didn’t like it at all. Different strokes I suppose, and no one was forcing you to give or buy anything. But I guess I understand how some people just don’t handle such situations very well, and they were a bit uncomfortable. Guess they felt they were being “set up,” but I didn’t take it that way at all. To me, it’s all part of the charm and the experience, but everybody’s different. As we departed I did tip Yellowbird an amount equal to about 10 bucks a head which I hope he felt was fair. 25% of the fare seemed right to me. He wouldn’t tell you if it wasn’t. These two (don’t know about the third driver) were consummate professionals that any US cab driver or tour operator could take a lesson from. Bottom line from me? Hook up with Cosol and you won’t regret it. We did get back to the pier in time for a quick look around the shops, but there wasn’t enough time to get over to the public market where we really wanted to go. Lots of crafts and local spices to be had there, but we had to save that for another cruise. All in all, another great day in the Caribbean.

 

(To be continued in second post)

[pinguino]

woah crazy long. but really good =) waiting for part 2! thanks for posting all this =)

 

seriously though.. whats banana ketchup taste like? is it sugar and bananas? or bananas and tomatoes?

[gizmo13]

great review...cant wait for part 2

[Shazni]

I've only read part of this at the minute but intend to read the rest (and your second part!) at home later. At the minute I just want to reiterate what you've said about the Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. I researched hotels for days and every time I thought I'd chosen one I looked at TripAdvisor only to be put off by bad reviews. In the end I just went for it with this hotel and was actually angered by the amount of people who would write bad reviews about such a great hotel. I'm not usually one for writing reviews on these websites but I felt I had to go onto TripAdvisor and give them a really good review - because they deserve it!! I understand the hotel is undergoing major refurbishment at the minute which will make it even better and there will probably be some disruption but when I stayed there (Saturday June 10 2006, pre-Adventure of the Seas) I could not fault it or the staff in any way. I think maybe the people who write these reviews are the type who have to find something to complain about to make them happy!!!

[rascalious]

Great review!

[greyhairbill]

Great review -- keep it coming!

 

I'll be making my second visit to St. Thomas in July and had wanted to get a drink, make that a large drink, at Duffy's. How long would it take by taxi to get there? Any idea on the fare?

[rascalious]

Here is a link to part two (posted on a separate thread): http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=371487

[mouseyy]

Thank You for taking your time to give us so many details!!!! It sounds like you had a blast!

 

Mary

[KKeeganS]

Awesome review - thanks for posting. Now on to part 2!

[PrincessJen]

I'm loving the review. It's very detailed & giving me great ideas. I'll be on AOS August 2007!

[jstpshe]

Hokie78,

 

Hi and thanks for some of the imformation on your trip.

 

Was wondering when you were going to start posting part 2 of this cruise like you said you would?

 

Have a great day and keep smiling! CJ