Adventure of the Seas Review
Honest, Detailed Opinion About a Fabulous Ship and Crew!
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My mother chose this cruise due to its itinerary, which included St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Curacao, and Aruba. She turned 60 this year and a Caribbean cruise was on her bucket list. After viewing the itinerary and exploring the ship online, my husband and I decided to join her. We arrived in San Juan the day before the cruise. We chose to stay at the Sheraton Old San Juan because of its Trip Advisor reviews. It was in an excellent location where we were able to walk everywhere to enjoy delicious, authentic Puerto Rican food and also to sightsee. It is a ~10 minute cab ride from the hotel to the Pan American pier where the ship docks. Most of the hotel patrons are also cruisers so it gets very, very busy around check-out time the day of the cruise. Just a word of warning.
Once we arrived at the pier, embarkation went very smoothly. We arrived around 11:15 AM and expected to wait until 12 PM for the doors to open. We entered a long line, but one that steadily moved at all times. It took ~45 minutes for us to pass our luggage on to a porter, receive and fill out the health forms (while waiting in line), receive our Sail and Sea Pass at the desk, and actually board the ship. We were on the ship by 12 PM. We assumed that Windjammer (the buffet) would be crowded so we sat down at Schooner Bar for a drink. We received drinks fairly quickly and enjoyed them at a table before heading out to explore the ship. We were able to enter our room at 2 PM as promised and then went to Windjammer for a buffet lunch. The buffet was not nearly as crowded at that time so we enjoyed a leisurely lunch before exploring the ship some more. We returned to our room around 5 PM and 2 of our 3 pieces of luggage had arrived. The 3rd piece did not arrive until ~8 PM, but the dress code was more relaxed in the dining room on the first night so my husband was able to wear shorts. Due to the muster drill, which took about 15-20 minutes, we had cut our dinner reservations close but were able to make them on time at 6:15 PM. We explored the ship some more after dinner and determined that it was the perfect size for 7 nights; large enough to have plenty to do at all times, but not so large that it was a burden to walk from one end of the ship to the other. We also made note that there were PLENTY of elevators at different parts of ship and that some elevators (usually the ones that were not glass) were typically less crowded than others.
I have reviewed our cabin below, but I wanted to praise our stateroom attendant! Our stateroom attendant was Richard and he was spectacular! He knew our schedule and had our room made up in the mornings once we returned from working out and coffee and he had turn down service complete by the time we returned from dinner. He provided us with clean towels twice a day without our asking, cleared all room service dishes (the hallways become too cluttered if left outside of the room), and left 3 adorable towel creatures. On my birthday, he surprised me during turn down service by hanging a "Happy Birthday" banner from the ceiling and leaving a "towel cake" on our bed. No one in our party told him that it was my birthday, so this kind gesture came completely from him. He was awesome!
Cabin Review
Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony
Our cabin was a deluxe balcony stateroom on the 8th deck, starboard side of the ship. This location was about 5-7 rooms away from the elevator (those large glass elevators previously referenced) so it was convenient but not noisy in the least. Our cabin was decently sized for a cruise ship with PLENTY of storage space. My husband and I packed 2 large suitcases and a suit bag and all of our belongings were easily stored between the nightstands, vanity, closet, and shelves in the mirror in the bathroom. Our suitcases, suit bag, and carry-on duffle bag were also easily stored so that we had absolutely no clutter in the room our entire trip and we were able to maneuver easily. Our balcony was small; enough room for 2 chairs, a small table, and little room to move. The bottom half of the front of the balcony was metal while the top half was glass. There were metal walls between our balcony and the ones on either side of us so we would have had to lean over the front of our balcony to see our neighbors. We loved the privacy and the small space did not stop us from eating breakfast on our balcony most mornings and taking in beautiful views both day and night. The starboard side (even numbered rooms) allow for spectacular views of St. Thomas and St. Kitts as we were pulling into port.
Port Reviews
San Juan
Old San Juan is beautiful with much to do and see. I recommend eating at Raices for lunch or dinner and Café Manolin for breakfast. Both are a short walk from the Sheraton Old San Juan, just ask the concierge for a map and directions.
St. Thomas
We decided to visit Trunk Bay on St John and went about the excursion on our own. We caught an open air cab from the port (which was POORLY organized) to the Red Hook Ferry Terminal for $11/person; $22 total. We then waited in a short to line to purchase round-trip ferry tickets to St. John for $14 each; $28 total. We then took another open air cab ride from the ferry terminal to Trunk Bay, which I believe was $10/person; $20 total. Although it seemed to take FOREVER to get there with all of the cabs and the ferry, Trunk Bay was absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth the travel time. If there were 100 people on the entire beach, it was a lot. Since it is a national park, it cost $7/person for entry; $14 total. It was so romantic and the perfect way to spend our afternoon! We are so thrilled that we chose to do it on our own as we were able to spend as much time as we wanted to while there, giving ourselves plenty of extra time to do some shopping in St. John. Plus, we were able to save a little money by doing the excursion on our own. Plus, since Red Hook is on the complete opposite side of the island from Charlotte Amalie, we were able to experience breathtaking views on the drive.
St. Kitts (Port Zante)
Once again, we decided to venture out on our own and booked an excursion through A Taste of St. Kitts, which we had found on Trip Advisor. It was a walking tour of Basseterre with 4 stops for local, authentic food. The cost was $75/person and we felt that it was worth the money spent. We were completely immersed in the culture of the island as we were walking off the beaten path with our guide and eating at local restaurants frequented by government officials on their lunch break. It was an excellent experience!
Curacao
Curacao was so amazing simply because of its architecture and color! The port is very well organized and we were able to follow a walking path through the courtyard of the Renaissance hotel where there were numerous shops, a beautiful infinity pool that could be visited for the day, and even a casino. The path then led to an old fort where there were more shops and some restaurants as well. We walked through the fort and out onto the main streets, crossing the moving bridge and exploring all that we could on foot. We felt safer in Curacao than we did in St. Thomas and St. Kitts and recognized how much more developed the Dutch islands are compared to the USVI and British Virgin Islands. Even though we did nothing special other than walk around, it was one of our favorite ports!