Advice please on Adventure of the Seas.

[goody1]

Hi,

 

My wife and I have been cruising since 2001, however unbelieveably not with R.C.I. We are about to book A.O.S for 15th October from Malaga to the Canaries for 7 nights. Specifically, I am looking for any thoughts on comparisons with Celebrity and HAL. We are late 40s and enjoy the entertainment on the ships. We also enjoy the speciality restaurants, so any comments good or bad most welcome. Thanks.

[cb at sea]

You will most likely find the food not quite up to Celebrity or Hals standards, but you won't go hungry. The specialty restaurant will probably afford you a more "upscale" experience than the dining room. The ship is VERY well laid-out...easy to get around. The service is great. You'll have a lovely time!

[suekay]

We found Adventure out of Malaga the least enjoyable of all our cruises, so don't judge RCI on this ship alone. Don't get me wrong, we still had a great cruise, and wouldn't discount sailing from Malaga again BUT the demographics meant it felt crowded and noisy with pushing and shoving especially in the Windjammer. The problem was large family groups who pushed tables together and who are used to spending a long time over lunch, meaning it was much more difficult than usual to find a free table. One woman even pushed me then my 82 year old mother out of the way in order to grab the table we were about to use:rolleyes:. Also, if you like late dinner, just be aware that it is at 9.30pm to allow for the later eating times prefered by the Spaniards who were by far the largest group on the ship.

[Bobal]

We also sailed on Adventure last year and it was one of our favourite cruises, partly due to a great Roll Call and some friends who were working on the ship.

 

You need to be prepared for a lot of Spanish on this ship as the Adventure is aimed at the Spanish market. This made for a different type of cruise. The announcements were always in English and Spanish and the dining times were adjusted to suit their preference to eat later. However, if you wish to eat earlier (i.e. earlier than 9.30) you will have no problem. I agree with the comments about the Windjammer - it was a nightmare finding a table as the Spanish groups tended to sit for hours without vacating the tables, however if you choose to eat a little earlier you should be OK.

 

They really liked to party and the deck parties were some of the best we've experienced onboard a ship, particularly the white party where everyone dressed in white clothes - great fun!

 

I can't compare food, not having tried Princess or HAL, but highly recommend that you eat at Portofino - book a table early in your cruise and I guarantee you'll want to eat there again. :)

[goody1]

Thanks very much for the replies. I appreciate that cruising from Malaga, the majority will be Spanish, however were there many Brits or Americans on board? We found on Azamara in 2008 that Spanish kids just ran about mad in the Dining room in the evening which didn't make for an enjoyable meal. The one saving grace is that they like to eat late and we prefer an earlier time.

[kernow]

Thanks very much for the replies. I appreciate that cruising from Malaga, the majority will be Spanish, however were there many Brits or Americans on board? We found on Azamara in 2008 that Spanish kids just ran about mad in the Dining room in the evening which didn't make for an enjoyable meal. The one saving grace is that they like to eat late and we prefer an earlier time.

 

We did Adventure out of Malaga last october, on our cruise the passenger mix was about 50/50, British and Spanish with a few others thrown in for good measure. There were very few Americans.

 

It was one of our favourite RCL ships mainly because we found the crew very friendly and happy. We had been on Celebrity a few months earlier and while the food was not quite as good on Adventure, it was still enjoyable. We've always found the entertainment on RCL far better than Celebrity and this was no exception.

 

Julie

[Bobal]

Thanks very much for the replies. I appreciate that cruising from Malaga, the majority will be Spanish, however were there many Brits or Americans on board?

 

There were plenty of British and a few Americans onboard, as well as other nationalities. There were definitely more than 50% Spanish on our cruise, probably more like 60-70%, however I know that the summer months meant very high numbers as they sail together in large family groups during school closures. There will probably be a more balanced mix in October and you are travelling early enough to miss the October half term break in the UK so shouldn't be overrun with kids.

 

I agree with kernow that the entertainment was good - we particularly liked the Beatles show and loved the fact that they turned up in the Schooner Bar on the last night for an impromptu jamming session.

[Merion_Mom]

I would expect that there will be far fewer children and large family groups on a sailing in mid-October than at other times which coincide with school vacations.

[warrington wanderer]

thanks for opening this thread ,we sail out of malaga on 28 oct and are very concerned that we may have chosen the wrong ship,due to some of the posts wev,e read ,never had to book shows b4 ,and extra tax whilst in spanish waters?hopefully this will come off for you once in duty free canaries (fat chance i suspect)