We recently returned from a 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas. As experienced cruisers who have cruised with this line many times before, some things met and sometimes exceeded our expectations.

We spent two nights pre-cruise at the San Juan Marriott Stellaris Resort and Casino. The hotel underwent an extensive refurbishment since we last stayed there. Our room on the ninth floor was bright and clean and had an ocean view. We were starved after our early morning flight from Atlanta, so we headed down to the pool bar for a quick burger and my first Mojito. We then headed down the street to Walgreens to pick up some last minute toiletries which we could not bring on the plane. That evening we opted to dine at the buffet in the hotel.

The following day, after a quick breakfast at Starbucks which was across the street from the hotel, we took a taxi into Old San Juan for a day of sightseeing and an early dinner at the Parrott Club (I was not impressed, and whatever I ate did not sit well on my stomach). Read more