We are Sailing... (Royal Caribbean International)

Member Name: grahamt

Product:	Royal Caribbean International
Date:	23/01/05 (239 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fabulous facilities, Impeccable service, Unforgettable visits

Disadvantages: Expensive

Now, don't get the wrong idea, a holiday afloat in style and luxury is not for us a way of life. It was a special occasion, our 25th Wedding Anniversary, and a special occasion demanded a special celebration.

Having said that, this was not my first experience of cruising or indeed Royal Caribbean. Some years ago the company for which I work hired a couple of ships from Royal Caribbean for a Kick-off Conference. Some 4,000 of us joined the ships at Miami and cruised to New Orleans where our Customer Conference was being held. We moored alongside the conference centre (center?) and the ships were used as hotels for the duration. At the end we cruised back to Miami.

Despite the fact that we were subjected to interminable presentations for six hours each day during the voyage, we were allowed to escape to enjoy the benefits on offer for the remainder of the time, an experience that left a lasting impression. It was for this reason that I was confident that Royal Caribbean, rather than one of the other competing lines, would be my choice on this occasion.

One thing was certain; we wanted a holiday in the Caribbean. More than that, I wanted to include a visit to Barbados. My family has connections. My Great-Great-Grandmother came from there. Legend has it that she was the daughter of a plantation owner on the island, who fell in love with a sailor out of Bristol and eloped with him, to be disowned and disinherited by her family. I have no idea if it's true but certainly no fortune is evident from that branch of the family.

Royal Caribbean does cruises all over the World, not just in the Caribbean. The one we eventually settled on was as much decided by the dates we wanted to travel as anything. We selected the Southern Caribbean cruise, departing from San Juan in Puerto Rico and visiting St Thomas, St Maarten, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados and returning to San Juan.

The cruise was to be on the Adventure of the Sea (all RC ships are called "The something of the Seas"), one of the largest ships in the fleet and temporary home to around 3,500 guests. My previous experience had been on the Grandeur of the Seas, hosting a mere 1,900 souls!


We're on our way
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our journey started very early on a Saturday morning at London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 3. Royal Caribbean had booked us on American Airlines for the first leg of our holiday, from London to San Juan via New York JFK.

They had also arranged for us to check in at the exclusive Park Avenue check-in desk, situated on the opposite side of the road to the terminal. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8.30am. Check-in was required to be completed three hours before departure. Park Avenue doesn't open until 6.00am! If this is an example of Royal Caribbean's organisational efficiency, already I'm not impressed!

So we checked in with the rest of the "hoi polloi"! Actually, the formalities were completed with great efficiency and with only a short wait so I doubt that the alternative arrangements would have made any significant difference.


New York
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We had to change flights at JFK but, because this was our first landfall in the States, all of the entry formalities had to be completed first. Not only did that include Passport Controls but we also had to collect our luggage and transfer it to our next flight.

We had 90 minutes between flights. We arrived at the Passport desks to find two queues, one for US Citizens containing around two dozen people, one for non-US citizens containing several hundred! That in itself wouldn't have been too bad but for the actions of the queue controller who, as soon as any Americans arrived, held back everyone else and sent them to the front! Suddenly 90 minutes seemed nowhere near long enough.

I approached him and asked him for some help as we had a connecting flight and it looked like we might miss it. His totally off-hand response let us know in no uncertain terms that he couldn't give a toss and it was just our bad luck we weren't born in the Land of the Free.

With only twenty minutes to go it became clear that we weren't the only ones in danger of missing this flight. Fortunately a female co-ordinator listened to our concerns and was far more sympathetic. She got us through to the front and we all made our flight, including collecting and transferring our luggage, with minutes to spare.


San Juan, Puerto Rico
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Our voyage was not to start immediately. Our time of arrival would have been too late and so arrangements had been made for us to spend our first night at a hotel close to the port.

We stayed at the Wyndham Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino. This is a huge hotel. It is built on both sides of the road with an aerial walkway to connect the two halves.

We had a room on the 6th floor, right at the end of the block, with a view of the port about half a mile away across the bay. From the balcony outside our room we could see our ship awaiting our arrival. The view was quite spectacular. Our room was large as is the norm with American hotels, and extremely comfortable.

As you will gather from the name, the hotel exists to promote gambling. The casino is open 24 hours a day. Everything is provided for the guests to encourage their habit. We resisted, easily in our case; neither of us are gamblers in any way, not even the nags, not even for the Grand National.

There is plenty else to entertain though. There are many restaurants. We used two, "Gusto di Italia" for our evening meal and "Las Palmas" for breakfast. Both were enjoyable experiences and we even had real French butter rather than the awful anaemic stuff that seem to be provided in most American eateries.

In the grounds are two swimming pools, one freshwater, one seawater, with a poolside bar and with entertainment. We enjoyed an evening drink before retiring and there was enough time the following morning for us to soak up some sun and enjoy a swim before having to leave to join our ship.

The Wyndham would be a very good base for a holiday in San Juan, especially if you are a gambler.


The Adventure of the Seas
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Royal Caribbean has various classes of liners. The Adventure is one of their Voyager class ships. These are the very largest of their ships. They tower up to 14 decks into the air. We were on the 9th.

Amongst the facilities found on these vast ships are a Spa, a Fitness Centre, a Theatre seating 1350 people, a Nightclub, an Ice Rink, a Climbing Wall, an Internet Cafe, a Library with 300 books (if you really can't find anything else to do!), various bathing pools and poolside jacuzzis, bars everywhere and restaurants in abundance.

And, of course, all of this was for the evenings since each day revealed a new island to explore. We were not going to be bored. Indeed, the problem would be finding the time to enjoy all of the benefits. We failed. We never did boogie the night away in the Nightclub.


Welcome aboard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Royal Caribbean has boarding procedures down to a fine art. Nevertheless, with 3,500 guests it still takes from mid morning to late evening to get everyone on board.

We were called to go to the ship from our hotel at 11.00am. Our luggage was to come on later, much later as it turned out! The registration takes place in a large hangar with many desks, each for a letter of the alphabet. Fortunately ours was free when we arrived. Maybe "T" isn't a common initial?

On presenting our vouchers, we were asked also for our passports, which were retained for the duration of the cruise. In return you are presented with a credit card pass that serves as everything on board and off. It's the key to your "cabin" (calling it merely a cabin seems almost an insult), your payment card for everything you buy, your passport when ashore and your pass to get on and off the ship.

At last we are ready to board. You have to present your pass card and this is inserted into a machine that takes your picture. From now on, when returning to the ship, we have to look like our picture or else we don't get back on board! So, no sunglasses or hats.

We join the queue at the top of the ramp and for the first but not the last time we have our photo taken as a souvenir (at a price of course). "Welcome back again". I'm impressed, they know it's not my first cruise! Then I realise, my pass card says "Gold Member" (no Austin Powers jokes please). You're a Gold Member of you've cruised with them before and not for any other attributes.


A Home from Home
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our cabin is on the 9th deck of 14. We have a cabin with a balcony on the starboard side (see, I'm even getting the terms right though we will slip into the slightly frivolous "Sharp End and "Blunt End" before long).

The cabin is superb. I've stayed in hotel rooms smaller than this. The cabin has an en suite with a proper washbasin, a proper toilet and a shower. I've stayed in hotel rooms with a bathroom smaller than this!

There's bags of storage space. We have more than enough room for everything we brought for the entire holiday. The empty bags fit under the Queen-sized double bed. If we were to stay in our room for the rest of the cruise we would do so in complete comfort.

However, our bags have yet to arrive. They will not do so for many hours. Our enthusiasm is tempered. Let's go and inspect the ship.


A City Afloat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you have never seen one of these ships it is difficult to imagine the sheer scale. I thought the "Grandeur" was something all those years ago. This is even grander.

The whole centre of the ship is occupied by a huge atrium that goes by the name of the Royal Promenade. This runs half the length of the ship and from deck 5 up to deck 8. The floor level is designed to look like a town street with shops and bars on either side. Bridges run across from side to side. Looking up from "ground" level the roof seems miles away. Above the "retail outlets" there are the windows of those cabins that have a view over the inside of the ship rather than the outside, like ours.

There are amusing little details such as a full-size model of a tourist, complete with camera, who is frozen in a stance of pointing to a feature on the wall above. Few can resist the urge to have their picture taken alongside him.

There are bars of all styles including an "English Pub" and a Sports Bar with seemingly unending baseball on the satellite TV screens. We resisted the urge to visit both; there are so many other choices.

The shops sell drink, clothing, jewellery and all manner of souvenirs. None of these are at especially cheap prices but then, you aren't obliged to buy. They do have feature evenings where supposedly bargains are to be had. We didn't feel that they were really bargains although we did indulge ourselves a couple of times.

As befits an American ship there is a large Casino, where those with a gambling urge can play the slots, roulette, poker and blackjack. Here you may drink free of charge whilst playing, the only place on board where the booze is free. Not being a gambler in any way shape or form, our only entry into the Casino was as a route through to another part of the ship.

If your inclination is to boogie the night away then there is a Disco. If you prefer more relaxed dancing then there is a nightclub.

If you want to be entertained in a more relaxed way then there is a Theatre seating around 1,400 with shows every night. The resident entertainer is the superb James Stephens III. I knew him from my previous experience of Royal Caribbean. He seems to be a regular on their cruises, not surprising really since he is a real class act. Comedian, Impersonator, Singer, on this trip he introduced us to his six-year old son, who clearly has the ability to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Many of the bars have live entertainment. The Viking Crown Lounge on deck 14 had an excellent group playing all sorts of styles of music, which enhanced the stunning 360-degree views from the all-round windows.

If you want a little exercise then there is a real ice-rink to enjoy. OK, this may not be the biggest stretch of ice you have ever seen but if it can stage a 1 hour ice show with professional skaters from all around the World, as it does, then it's certainly going to be big enough for you.

Decks 13 to 15 at the rear of the ship house the sports areas, with a basketball court, putting course, in-line skating course and, believe it or not, a climbing wall that rises the 3 decks from the floor. Of course, there are safety harnesses for those this adventurous but nevertheless, it looked a real challenge.


Eating Out (In?)
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If there's one thing the ship isn't short of, it's places to eat. When you book your cruise you have to nominate your preference for the evening dinner, either early or late sitting and large or small table. We chose late and small respectively, late because we preferred 8.30pm to 6.00pm and small because I suffer from tinnitus and I felt I would be better able to hear what my dining companions were saying on a smaller table.

The main dining room stretches through 3 decks. There is the bottom floor and above it two sets of balconies, so leaving open the centre of the room so that, if you have a table at the edge of the balcony you may look down on those seated below you.

The waiters at your table are assigned for the duration. We had a delightful couple who looked after us handsomely. The food was excellent and very varied.

The wine list is extensive but we decided from the beginning to take advantage of their special offer that provided 7 bottles of selected red, white, rose and sparkling wines for $140. We did, however, also have a bottle of genuine champagne on the night of our actual anniversary. That night we dined in one of the other restaurants.

You can have your bottles of wine at any time, not just at dinner. However, if you do, be warned, the lunchtime restaurants are not prepared. It seems that no wine is kept at these restaurants and in order to fill your order a waiter has to go all the way to the other end of the ship to get a bottle! Poor organisation, not typical of the ship, which generally has these sorts of things sorted!

For the special occasion however, you can eat in the Portofino Restaurant. As you can guess from the name, this is an Italian style restaurant. It also requires you to book in advance, the only one that does.

Our special day was, of course, our 25th Wedding Anniversary, so a special celebration was in order. Unfortunately we were too late and the restaurant was already fully booked on the day, well, almost. They only had a table for eight. They offered us a table for the following day but we were reluctant to accept and explained why. They then oulled out all the stops and rearranged the bookings to fit us in. How many restaurants would do that?

The evening was very special indeed. A bottle of champagne, of course. In all the cost came to just over $100, very reasonable indeed. Eating in the Portofino is not included in the all-in price.


The Excursions
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Of course, there is more than enough to keep you amused aboard but the whole point of a Caribbean Cruise is to see the Caribbean or, at least, the Islands. We had booked excursions on each island when we booked the cruise. On each we planned a different type.


St Thomas
~~~~~~~~~~~~
St Thomas is hardly any distance at all from Puerto Rico, no more than a couple of hours at a very modest speed on a ship as modern as the "Adventure". Leaving Puerto Rico at around midnight, we were already docked when we awoke the following morning.

St Thomas is one of the US Virgin Islands. We docked at the main port at the capital, Charlotte Amalie. Although US territory, St Thomas has one unique feature. All traffic drives on the left. That REALLY confuses US visitors, especially as all the cars are old US left-hand drive vehicles!

We had only booked one excursion on St Thomas and that was just a trip up to Paradise Point on the St Thomas Skyride. This is only a short stroll from where the ship docks. The trip up to the viewing point is aboard a gondola on the sort of cableway typically found in ski resorts.

The view over St Thomas is superb. I took many photos. Up here there is also a restaurant together with a number of stalls where you can buy the usual touristy things. There is also an aviary owned buy one of the stall holders where parrots and other noisy birds entertain the visitors.

Also here is a nature trail where you can climb up and down a marked pathway and see examples of local flora and fauna. A half hour is all that is needed and I recommend you take it in.

Afterwards we descended again took a taxi for the short trip into town. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the town, visiting the shops and having a drink here and something to eat there.

St Thomas make a point of letting you know that it is a "Duty Free" town. However, other than booze and fags, we really didn't notice any bargains.

St Maarten (or St Martin)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, two names for the same island? Well, yes, because this is the World's smallest island divided into two nations. We docked in St Maarten, at the capital, Philipsburg. This is the Dutch half of the island.

We had booked a tour of the island. We were collected by coach and we were on our way. However, the tour virtually ignored the Dutch half of the island. Other than a commentary about how the island had in that past made its money from salt, produced in the still evident saltpans that we passed, that was it. We were heading for the French half of the island, St Martin, and its capital, Marigot.

Now, for me that’s a good thing. Dutch I don’t speak, French I do. Not only that but, St Maarten/St Martin is officially an associate territory of the European Union. So the currency is? That’s right, the beloved Euro, loads of which I always carry in my wallet. Of course, they also drive on the right.

We had a couple of hours in Marigot, wandering around the shops and eating and drinking. More “Duty Free” though here at least the prices were more reasonable. There is also an air-conditioned shopping centre close to where the coach parks and we ended up there before returning to the coach to continue the tour.

We ended up at a beach club on Guana Bay, about 15 minutes from the port. Limited food and drink was provided. Extra drinks to be paid for. However, we were mostly there to chill out for the afternoon. Unfortunately, inclement conditions (yes, they do get rain in the Caribbean) caused us to cut short the afternoon and hitch a ride on an early coach back to the ship. Pity, with the right weather it would have been a very pleasant afternoon.

Antigua
~~~~~~~~~~~
Antigua has been a British colony (now independent) since 1632 (apart from a very brief period when the French tried to get their mitts on it), so it’s back to driving on the left, but this time with right-hand drive cars and English as the language.

Built on the sugar trade, the island now predominantly derives its revenue from the tourist trade. As usual, “Duty Free” shopping is featured everywhere.

We docked at the capital, St Johns, and here we had booked a beach day. Fortunately the weather was glorious and so made up for the disappointment of the previous afternoon. We were taxied to Miller’s by the Sea, where we indulged in the pleasures of a fabulous sand beach and warm calm seas.

The only thing to watch out for is the beach “health experts” who tout the anti-sunburn benefits of Aloa Vera, using the excuse of giving you a try by slicing open its fleshy leaves and rubbing them on you. Of course, they expect payment! Whether it works or not I can’t say but I didn’t get burnt so maybe it does. It felt and smelled quite nice anyway.

After a very pleasant six hours or so, we returned to St Johns for a look round the shops before returning to the ship. St Johns is a very colourful town and we had a very nice hour or so before retiring to the “safety” of the sundeck on board.

I would like to see more of Antigua so maybe we’ll go back some day.

St Lucia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
St Lucia is unquestionably one of the most beautiful islands I have ever seen. Discovered right at the end of the 15th century. It has changed hands between the French and the British so many times the natives must be dizzy. It finally became solely British in 1814 and independent in 1967. The natives are trilingual, with the local Creole as the first language, plus French and English in more or less equal proportions.

We docked at the capital, Castries. Our excursion was, once again, a tour of the island. This time the transport was after the style of open troop carriers! This works because you have a totally unrestricted view. The truck back is encircled by a padded framework so as to ensure you can’t be thrown out and that you have something to hang on to.

The scenery is simply staggering, lush green forests everywhere. At one point we drove through a huge banana plantation. This is still St Lucia’s main industry although the “banana wars” between the US and Europe has caused serious damage to the economy. Fortunately, people who visit St Lucia usually come back again, and again, and again… The tourists are maybe not making all the difference, but it helps.

We stopped at one point and trekked down to a pool by a waterfall, where we spent a very pleasant three-quarters of an hour before driving a little further to another pool and another paddle/bathe. The water was a little chilly but not unpleasantly so.

St Lucia is absolutely gorgeous and the real star of the cruise.

Barbados
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Barbados was discovered by the Portuguese in 1536 but became a British colony in the early 17th century. It gained its independence in 1966. We docked at the capital, Bridgetown.

Ironically, in view of my interest in the island, in the event we mostly saw it from the sea. We had booked a day on a catamaran, snorkelling. The boat was docked about five minutes from the ship and we were taken there by taxi.

The boat takes around 60 people and ours was full on the day. The weather was very pleasant so many decided to take advantage of the cargo nets at the front to sunbathe with the sky above and the sea beneath.

Unfortunately the wind was not in a favourable direction so the journey out to our destination was under power. We arrived a spot off-shore several miles down the coast, where a number of other boats had also congregated. It was clearly a popular spot.

The attraction was leatherback turtles. These delightful creatures seemed entirely at ease with their visitors although we were asked not to grab them. However, there was no problem in running your hand over them as they went past. The fact that the guys on the boat were feeding them probably had a lot to do with their presence.

Aside from turtles there was all manner of sea life, especially some enormous fish (NOT sharks) about five feet long! The whole experience was amazing.

We cruised back, the guys on the boat pointing out the homes of the rich and famous (Tiger Woods, Cilla Black…) on the coast. They also pointed out the Sandals resort that has been shut since it was built 14 years ago because Sandals got their noses out-of-joint over the Barbados authorities refusing them a private beach. No one in Barbados has a private beach.

We stopped once again for more snorkelling over a beautiful coral reef and for the barbeque. Then it was back to the ship. A wonderful and memorable day.

And finally…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The voyage back to San Juan took two days so we had plenty of time to enjoy the delights of the ship. Disembarking 3,500 passengers takes a long time but it all went like clockwork and we were well entertained whilst we waited. The return to the UK was smoother than the journey out, with no problems at JFK this time.

Conclusions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was one of if not the most memorable and enjoyable holiday of my life. I am very envious of those passengers for whom this is a regular affair. Some were on their twentieth cruise or even more! How the other half lives.

Would I recommend it to anyone? Without a doubt. Yes it is expensive but it’s undoubtedly worth every penny.

We will be back… Sometime.

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