Cruising, Food and a Whole Lot More. A Review by James Ringrose
Because we are giving away a cruise for two, we decided to make a sacrifice and see for ourselves what it's all about. We packed some suntan lotion and headed down to the Caribbean to check out cruising, see what the food and facilities were like and decide if it was anywhere near as good as promised.
First off, we want to thank Guaranty National Mortgage Corp, a New England Mortgage Company for sponsoring this giveaway. You can check out their site here and get yourself a complimentary cruise, if you sign up for a mortgage or refinancing through them.
We chose to go on a Royal Caribbean cruise out of San Juan, calling on Aruba, Curacao, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Unfortunately we were stranded in the Hyatt Regency at Boston's snowed in Logan Airport for three days because of that huge snow storm in January. We had to catch up with our cruise liner in Aruba. That's a story all on its own!
Say “cruise” to a lot of folks and an image of an elder generation playing bingo, while they binge drink and eat, may perhaps spring to mind. Do I have news for you! Cruising is 100% fun for all ages and packs in more stuff in a few days than even the most fanatical vacationer can handle. Our main goal was to review the food and accommodations, but the range of activities we enjoyed were staggering.
This a two part article, this section covers the basics of a cruise and the second section is about food and wines, with a sneak peak behind the scenes into a galley that can produce several thousand meals at a sitting, will follow next week.
Great Frozen Drinks
The frozen drinks are all part of the fun. They taste great in the sunshine and as long as you don't have too many and don't count the calories, they help lubricate your vacation perfectly. You can start with one during your morning suntan and finish the day with one as you watch the moon set over the ocean. You have to be a bit careful the week you get back home and go to work though - suggesting that you and your colleagues should grab a frozen Mango Tango or Bahama Mama instead of a mid morning coffee might not go down too well in the office.
Bahama Mama Recipe
1/4 oz coffee liqueur
1/2 oz dark rum
1/2 oz coconut liqueur
1/4 oz 151 proof rum
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 oz pineapple juice
Combine all ingredients and pour over cracked ice in a tall glass. Decorate with a strawberry or cherry and serve. If you get out that old sun lamp and a deck chair you can sit in your front room and make believe that you are in Aruba or someplace warm.
The first thing is to describe the liner. It's, well, vast. Not your normal vast, but rather, really vast, like a huge Las Vegas hotel lying on its side. Sumptuous decor, fantastic artwork, it's a decadent fantasy world that slips from port to port while you eat, drink and make merry.
For the fact loving among us, The Adventure of the Seas is one of 19 other liners in the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's fleet. She is the third of five Voyager-class cruise ships that have been built for the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line by a shipyard in Finland. The ship has a passenger capacity of 3,500 guests and a crew capacity of 1,200. The hotel facilities on board include 1,557 staterooms. The larger staterooms are located on decks 2 and 3. Of these 69% are staterooms and have a sea view, and 49% have balconies. The vast majority of the outside staterooms have a veranda.
Where else can you get a view like this and
a
glass of champagne?
The layout is a four-deck-high horizontal walkway called the Royal Promenade. The length of the promenade is almost half the ship's length, with an eleven-deck-high atria called the “centrums” at either end.
The closest analogy to this behemoth fun palace is a small town. Just some of the things you can do while you are on board:
Eat in one of several restaurants
Drink in one of the many bars, including a champagne bar and a jazz bar
Swim in one of the pools
Lounge on the deck in the sun
Gamble in the casino
Shop in the on board mall
Get a massage in the spa
Get a haircut and pedicure in the salon
Jog, play golf, rock climb, in-line skate, work out, play basketball, play card games and more
Watch cooking demonstrations
Watch live entertainment in the theater
...and that's before you have left port for the first time. Every place you go also offers local tours, places to see and things to buy, but if you like you can just stay on board the whole time and enjoy the view.
The islands are just beautiful and after
leaving Boston's snow behind this was heaven
Travel Tips
One thing we learned from our forced stay in Boston and subsequent dash to Miami and Aruba is – TAKE OUT CRUISE TRAVEL INSURANCE. Bad weather happens and in our case several hundred passengers missed the boat. If you have insurance then your revised travel and hotel costs are covered. If you don't, then you can spend the cost of the cruise just getting to the boat. The second sage piece of advice, is to consider arriving at your departure port a day early and staying in a local hotel the night before you leave. This has two advantages. First you have a better chance of making your departure even if you are delayed and second you get to see the place you leave from. If you arrive on the same day as you sail then you don't have any time to look around before you leave port.
Tipping!
This is a tough subject. Most everything is an extra on board. Room service, dry cleaning, trips, drinks, etc. You spend a lot, and for most folks, the allure of the casino and the shops is too much to resist. At the end of the cruise you are presented with envelopes for all the members of the team who served you and are asked to leave them a tip. The cruise line give you a handy guide to work out how much to leave. My view on tipping is that these folks earn ever cent you give them. They work incredibly hard to deal with all the demanding things that we want on vacation. Many of the crew are charming and helpful in the most trying of circumstances. So – just think how you would feel if you were on the receiving end, and give them a fair reward for helping you enjoy your cruise. On the other hand, if your waiter or other team member did a lack-luster job, then reflect that in the tip – it's only fair. Just make sure you keep some cash on hand for this last moment expense.
That's it for this first section. Next week we will take a look at the food on board and give you some insight into how it's all prepared and served.
Our thanks to Royal Caribbean Cruise Line for allowing us free access to the kitchens and for being such gracious hosts.
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