Thread: Adventure of the Seas; Sep 6 - 13, 2009; Southern Caribbean

I'm a little late on starting this Review since we returned this past Sunday and I'm just starting it now, but I think I have a great excuse We moved 9 days prior to this cruise and I'm still unpacking the contents from that, although the suitcases from the cruise are unpacked

I went on a cruise with my friend as my roommate, another couple I know (jasp and her husband) and Lars and Arnaldo, back in November 2008 and we got the deal of a lifetime on Brilliance of the Seas. We booked suite guarantees and ended up being assigned Grand Suites Well, I did not know at the time all of the perks that came along with those Grand Suite cabins, but when we came home my friends and I made the mistake of raving about them to my DH so he said he would only cruise with me if I booked one of them!

We booked this cruise on May 29, 2009. Since DH made me promise him a Grand Suite, that's what we booked. At the time, DH and I really needed a vacation since so many things had happened over the winter and spring. Little did I know that the chaos would be even worse with moving so close before a cruise

Since we live in Philadelphia, there were nonstop flights to San Juan that would get us to the Ship in plenty of time. Since the ship didn't set sail until 8:30 pm we decided to fly down to San Juan the day of departure and skipped a pre-cruise stay. We booked the 9:40am flight that arrived in San Juan at 1:33pm. The flight was uneventful and we arrived in San Juan and collected our luggage then headed out of the airport to find a taxi and into the rain The remnants of Erika were still floating around San Juan, but the sky looked like there may be a chance of sun soon. We had 3 pieces of luggage and the taxi for the 2 of us was $22.00. We had a very nice taxi driver, but they really should put grab bars in the back seat for the passengers

We arrived at the Pier around 2:15pm and the line was enormous! One of the benefits of booking a Suite is that there is a different check-in line....the only problem was that the line was so long that we had to get to the luggage drop off point before I could find an employee to tell them we were in a Suite and ask them where we needed to go. Once we found the first employee she had us follow her and bypass the line entirely to the check-in area. Just bypassing that line was enough to make DH say he would never stay in a lower category cabin again We were onboard the ship within 15 minutes after finding that employee.

Once we got onboard, I couldn't wait to see DH's reaction to the Grand Suite (I also wanted to drop off the carry-ons so we didn't have to lug them around) so we headed straight to the Cabin #1274. DH was very impressed with the size of the cabin, balcony, and bathroom we'd have for the week. I, on the other hand, was a bit disappointed because the Grand Suite on Brilliance of the Seas was bigger I couldn't help but compare the differences and I also didn't like the fact that the balcony had this big metal thing dead center blocking my view. DH pointed out that without the big metal thing, the deck above would drop into the ocean, but I still didn't like it since that thing wasn't on my Brilliance balcony

Here are some pictures of Grand Suite #1274....

And the balcony with the big metal thing!

Once we checked out the Cabin, we decided it was time to hit Windjammer for lunch I also grabbed the key to the Concierge Lounge so DH could see that when we were done eating. DH is a big coffee drinker and the coffee machine in the Concierge Lounge is one of the reasons that I wanted him to experience the Grand Suite so much. He doesn't like the layout of Royal Caribbean ships vs. Carnival's ships when it comes to access to coffee and a place outside to sit and drink it. The Lounge was on Deck 9 and not a far distance from our cabin so I figured he would get his coffee and could bring it back to the Cabin for his outdoor experience.

We found the lounge and went inside. The Concierge, Vanessa, was there speaking with some other passengers and we walked back to the coffee machine and it wasn't on. I thought we may be too early and maybe they were cleaning parts of it from the last cruise so I got in line to ask the Concierge. Well the first issue was that the person who had the keys to the bar and various other items in the Lounge left for vacation and didn't leave the keys The second issue was that the coffee machine was broke and they were waiting for someone from maintenance to come fix it. We figured okay, no big deal it will get fixed once maintenance gets here today so we'll go get DH a coffee up in Windjammer for now.

We headed back up to Deck 11 and Windjammer was packed so DH decided he wanted to skip the coffee and we'd just go get a drink at a bar instead.

We were both very tired from the move the week prior and were worried about falling asleep before the Muster Drill so we were trying to make sure we stayed awake that first day. We went back to the cabin about 15 minutes prior to the time of the Drill for our life jackets and then heard the announcement to not wear them down to the Drill. This was a first for us so we waited to hear it again and make sure we heard right I have to say, it was very nice to not be tripping over other passengers life jacket straps after the drill

We headed back to the cabin to see if our luggage had arrived and it still wasn't there. I thought it would be there for DH to change into casual pants before dinner, but we had a 7:00 reservation for My Time Dining so he had to go to the dining room in....shorts I apologize if we offended anyone, but I packed his swimsuit and an extra pair of shorts in the carry-on and not any pants so we didn't have a choice. I figured our suitcases would arrive fast since onboard the Brilliance they arrived so quickly.

This experience with My Time Dining was different than my experience with it onboard Brilliance. They seated based on "first come, first served" even with a reservation. Not a problem really, I just didn't bother making the reservation when we were leaving the night prior for the following night and we just showed up instead. It seemed that there was a very small line if you went to eat between 7:00 and 7:30, but if you were before or after those times, the line was very long.

After dinner we were stuffed and exhausted, it had been a long day. We walked around the ship for a little bit, went to the casino and then headed back to the cabin. Tomorrow was a Sea Day and we planned to catch up on some much needed sleep since we had been going non-stop for the entire month of August with the move.

I woke up to DH coming back in the cabin with coffee and tea. He went to the Concierge Lounge and the coffee machine still wasn't working, they put carafes of coffee and hot water out, but they were empty so he went to Windjammer.

We had a coffee maker and an electric kettle in the cabin and planned to stock up on some tea bags, sugar and a carton of milk when we went to Windjammer for breakfast so we wouldn't have to run out for anything the next morning.

On previous cruises, our sea days were spent by the pool, but this time I am on a medication which limits my amount of time out in the sun and we had some shore excursions that would have me out in it for extended periods so I was trying to avoid the sun when I could. We didn't have any plans really for the day so we just wandered around the ship while I took pictures for most of the morning.

We went to Johnny Rockets for lunch that afternoon. They have the best milk shakes!

Some pictures from when we were wandering....

Judy - love it so far. Keep it coming

I would not like that metal thing in the middle of my balcony.
Is it Mike in the one of the pictures?? (the one in the middle??)

Judy! You have found time for this review even with all your "getting settled" activities at home!

Thank you! I love your writing style and will be watching for the next installment.

Judy .... So FUN to read! Looking forward to MORE!

Originally Posted by *Lars*

Judy - love it so far. Keep it coming

I would not like that metal thing in the middle of my balcony.
Is it Mike in the one of the pictures?? (the one in the middle??)

Lars, that metal thing drove me nuts! As Mike would say, it's not a far drive It felt like it was always in the way for some reason. The plus side is that it was on everyone's balcony and not just ours, it's the way the ship was designed.

Mike is the guy in the picture standing by the Rock Climbing Wall

Originally Posted by Char

Judy! You have found time for this review even with all your "getting settled" activities at home!

Thank you! I love your writing style and will be watching for the next installment.

Thank you Char. I'm hoping to work on it at night this weekend and that I'm done it by Sunday.

Originally Posted by LuLu

Judy .... So FUN to read! Looking forward to MORE!

Hi LuLu There should be more tonight, we have to go pick up our new lawn tractor this afternoon when I leave work in a few minutes

Judy, loving this. Keep it coming