We recently returned from an 8 night/9 day sailing on Royal Caribbean's "Adventure of the Seas". The trip was fantastic, the ship was great, and the company was even better! We sailed out of Port Canaveral on May 16th and had two days at sea. With four kids, we can confirm that the ship was full of fun for a variety of ages. There were two main pools and a small water slide and baby/kiddie splash area on the main deck next to the Windjammer. Two floors above had a bigger water slide, flow rider, and mini golf. We didn't participate in any Club Ocean activities on this cruise, but the space looked great! The two sea days on the front end of the sailing was just what we needed!
Our first stop was Curacao. This is part of the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) and pretty far down south when you take a look at the map! As mentioned before, we had two days at sea as well as an 11:00 a.m. arrival into Curacao; it took awhile to get there! But it was worth it! We snagged a taxi and went to Mambo Beach. I highly recommend this beach for snorkeling and relaxing along the shore. It was very easy to get to, plenty of taxis and we were able to find a place to hang out for the afternoon with no problem. We met a lady who was on "holiday" for a few weeks there and she shared some bread with us to feed the fish. They were beautiful to watch and the kids and Eli really enjoyed snorkeling around the rocks. Due to our late arrival, the ship didn't leave this port until about 9:30 p.m. We would have loved to have gotten back out after dinner and explored, but ended up staying on the ship. I would definitely sail to Curacao again, and the rest of the family agreed!
The next stop was Aruba. I really liked it here as well and would want to come back! We took a taxi to Eagle Beach. It was an overcast day and we got in the port really early, so we got off the ship and found a really good spot on the beach with a palapa and two lounge chairs. The water and sand were so beautiful!
The next stop was Cabo Rojo, Dominican Republic. This is a fairly new port opening only a few months ago. When you get off the ship, you head down the pier to an area where you meet for shore excursions (if purchased. At the time of this writing, only ship excursions purchased through the ship were available. Shore excursions booked through third parties have not been established). I heard from fellow cruisers that the shore excursions on the ship were just ok and with so much to do right at the port, they wished they would have just stayed close. Moving past the excursions area you are greeted with the feeling of being at a carnival! Several rides and game booths are located in this area and are all free. There is also a really large pool and amazing lazy river surrounded by plenty of seating. We were able to get a seat with an umbrella right near the lazy river. We also found a place that had steps out to a pier where you could jump into some pretty deep water. It was so beautiful and fun watching the kids (and adults) take some big jumps into the water! There are a couple of restaurants so we had a snack/lunch before making our way back to the ship. This would be another good stop to revisit! I can imagine as time goes on they will be expanding the area and adding more shore excursions.
We had another day at sea which was perfect after three stops back to back followed by Perfect Day at Coco Cay! This was our second time going to Coco Cay and it does not disappoint. If you haven't been there before, this is Royal Caribbean's private island. This means that the ship's crew get off the boat as well and cook lunch, snacks and provide support on the island. You may see your favorite waiter in the restaurants! They have fresh made tacos, bbq and sandwiches in the main dining area, snack stands with mozzarella sticks, chicken sandwiches, salads, funnel cakes, and cookies. All of this is included with your cruise fare and any drink or internet packages work on this island as well.
We had one more formal night in the dining room and woke up back at Port Canaveral. This was the perfect itinerary! Highly recommend it. Please reach out if you would like me to quote a price for you and your guests for a wonderful cruise experience!
In the next post, I'll recap our room. It was such a fantastic set up for a family of six!