Adventure May 9th - 23rd...

[tserface]

We're just back from a really great Adventure of the Seas cruise over the last couple of weeks (B2B). I wanted to post a few observations based on comments and reviews I've read here over the past few months:

 

Embarkation - Not a problem. We were the first ones on the ship. We got there a little early, but the doors opened at 12p and everyone sitting in the waiting area was on in a matter of minutes. Very smooth. We got into our rooms at 2p sharp and our luggage a couple of hours later (before the muster drill)

 

Food - I can understand how some say the food is not as good as before. We certainly got plenty to eat and enjoyed some good food, but the things available are not like it used to be. I can't say it was inedible like some do. We certainly ate a lot of it, but it's not the same as it used to be and there were obviously a lot of cut backs.

 

We only got prime rib once during the week and they put it on the same night as lobster which made the choice difficult. Many people ordered both. Windjammer had the exact same thing for breakfast every day and mostly the same things for lunch. We ate in the MDR the first week and ended up eating in the Windjammer the second week. One thing that bugged us a little is the waiter in the MDR kept bragging about how great he was and how we should rate him high and get others to come to the MTD table. It got a little old having the constant reminder from him and announcements during dinner about "how great we are".

 

As it turns out we really liked eating in the Windjammer. Ironically, it is darker and quieter than the MDR and the food is about the same quality. No need to dress up. They always offered to get us drinks and "more of anything" if we wanted it. They always have some "made to order" stations. One night we had quesadillas and another incredible pasta. On one night Daniel (the special station guy) was making crepes (fresh) with all kinds of fruity and chocolate options. Very tasty. I think some people are missing out on a more intimate experience by going to the MDR rather than the Windjammer for dinner.

 

There were a couple of bad experiences, but not that bad. For one, we wanted something for lunch at 11:30a one day and the Windjammer was closed, dining room closed, Johnny Rockets closed, we didn't want to wait 45 minutes for room service (otherwise we'd wait for Windjammer) and we didn't like the same old sandwiches or pizza they had at the Promenade Cafe (just not good) so we went out on Curacao and ate at KFC with the locals. It was tasty and a nice respite from cruise food.

 

Giovanni's... literally the best filet steak I've ever had. Literally.

 

Crew - The staff of the Adventure were a constant joy for us. We never met even one person who didn't smile and say hello passing by. Many of them, like our favorite Micky Branco (from Brazil) from the activities staff, made us feel right at home and before the cruise was over we felt like really good friends. Other activities staff Antonio (Mr. Bingo) (Croatia), Erik (Mexico), Luisa (Mexico), etc. always made trivia, games, parties, and other activities really fun. I think a lot of the cruise experience is influenced by the chemistry of the crew and this ship has tons of chemistry. Even the muster drill was kind of fun (as much as it could be) The cruise director Bobby Brown, was mostly available on the TV morning show, as the MC at evening shows, and occasionally around the ship, but he was really funny and personable. We never waited more than a few seconds before being asked about a drink. We were made to feel very special.

 

Our cabin attendant Ed (Philippines) took incredible care of us and even came running to open our door if he ever saw us coming down the hall. He got us a couple of chairs with footstools for our balcony, an egg crate for the bed, and made some of the best towel animals we've ever seen. He even brought us a little tray of chocolate strawberries one day. The room was always neat and ready.

 

Announcements - After the initial muster drill announcements in many languages we were never bothered by announcements again. The Captain came on occasionally for an update, but we always appreciate those. They were selling stuff on the Promenade, as usual, but they never made a big deal of it with announcements or advertisements. They've obviously cut back a lot on sales pushing.

 

Condition of the ship - We thought the ship was in very good condition. There are a few wears and tears here and there, but overall it was very elegant and well presented. It was way better than we expected. Our bed was comfortable and Ed got us all the pillows we wanted. Some of the seats in the theater need repair and there were a few lights out here and there. We never found any odors. Much to our surprise we had no trouble walking through the casino even on sea days. We had one chair fall apart in the Imperial Lounge, but that could have happened on any ship new or old.

 

Ports - There were so many (10 over the course of two weeks). We didn't have any bad experiences. It rained for a while in St. Thomas, but we're from Oregon so rain doesn't daunt us much. Most of the days were very nice and we had plenty of time in port.

 

Diamond benefits - Wow. The Diamond Club was one of the highlights of our day. We went every night before dinner and always met some great people in a quiet place with a great view and great free appetizers and drinks. RCI really knows how to treat repeat cruisers. We were constantly reminded about how valuable we are to them. Sucel Anderson (Diamond Concierge) was the best we've ever had (OK so we've only been Diamond for two cruises).

 

B2B - Super easy. We just went to the Imperial Lounge at 11a, walked through and got a new Seapass card, then went to a special lunch they hosted for us where we had beef stroganoff that was very good. We never left the ship. We were able to go back to our room any time we wanted (had the same one both weeks) and we spent most of the early afternoon sitting on the balcony reading and relaxing. This is what makes B2B cruising so great IMO. It's like getting an extra day.

 

I almost hate to sound so upbeat, but this was easily one of our best cruises ever. To me, a good cruise happens when you can forget about your regular life and just feel "special" for a week or so. We definitely had that and more. The Adventure is a great ship, but mostly I think it's successful because of the great people working on her.

 

Tip: If you ever go to St. Kitts try getting a tour with Royston. It's the best island tour we've ever taken. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but if you want the real "feel" of St. Kitts this is the way to do it rather than some big fancy air conditioned bus. His tour is casual and personal. Royston (http://www.roystontoursstkitts.com/) is just a very great and special person and loves his island and demonstrates that like I've never seen before. We will never forget him.

 

Tom

Edited May 26, 2015 by tserface

[Siora7777]

Good review. I hope they are still making crepes when I sail in December. It's nice to hear good things, it's been a mixed bag lately. I'm doing a b2b in December. Excited.

[Ashland]

Enjoyed your review...We'll be doing a B2B on her early next May...and very interested on how this was done on this ship/itinerary.

Great that we won't have to get off to make the transition.

[Paddy41]

I also enjoyed your review and your comments regarding the B2B. We are in the same room for both cruises so it should be a relaxing day. Lunch sounds great. Did you take wine on board? If you did, did you take 4 bottles on embarkation day? If so, did they keep 2 of them and give them to you for the 2nd week?

[alfaeric]

Want to make sure this honest and positive review stays on the front page as much as the negative ones. More so, actually. IMHO there are as many or more positive reviews, but the negative discussions keep them front an center.

 

We sail on Adventure in about 6 weeks, and have always loved her.

 

Last time we sailed with her was for Christmas.

 

This time will be the first time we've not done a Southern itinerary with her, though. Which will be nice.

[racerxspeedy]

Great to hear you had a nice experience and recommend royston. We have him booked for our cruise - very excited about that stop.

[racerxspeedy]

Question - you mentioned no prime rib except 2nd formal night.

They normally have this on mojo day 1.

Do you remember the menu order? Did you keep the compasses?

Typical menu order has been:

Mojo, saffron, pimento, basil, hitake, jasmine, pomodoro

 

 

Thanks

[legaljen1969]

I almost hate to sound so upbeat, but this was easily one of our best cruises ever. To me, a good cruise happens when you can forget about your regular life and just feel "special" for a week or so. We definitely had that and more. The Adventure is a great ship, but mostly I think it's successful because of the great people working on her.

 

Why not be upbeat and tell how much fun you had? This site is quite full enough of the negative. Glad you had a wonderful time. I keep thinking about a cruise embarking from San Juan. May give this one a try.

[trev71]

Great Review,

 

We really enjoyed the first week, sorta kicked ourself for not booking a B2B that cruise.

[tserface]

We didn't take any wine on. There is a shop in the cruise port that sells some alcohol. It's like two separate cruises so my guess is you'd have to bring on two for each.

 

Tom

 

I also enjoyed your review and your comments regarding the B2B. We are in the same room for both cruises so it should be a relaxing day. Lunch sounds great. Did you take wine on board? If you did, did you take 4 bottles on embarkation day? If so, did they keep 2 of them and give them to you for the 2nd week?

[tserface]

I didn't keep track of the menus. There were lots of other beef choices. Like I said, we didn't go hungry by any means. I didn't even realize the menus had names :)

 

The food was still good, just not as amazing as some other cruises. Except Giovanni's, that was amazing!

 

Tom

 

Question - you mentioned no prime rib except 2nd formal night.

 

They normally have this on mojo day 1.

 

Do you remember the menu order? Did you keep the compasses?

 

Typical menu order has been:

 

Mojo, saffron, pimento, basil, hitake, jasmine, pomodoro

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks

[tserface]

We've been on a few cruises and, for me, it's about way more than the food or condition of the ship. I love meeting people from all over the world. There are not many vacation venues where you're expected to join on with others for meals, get to know the people that work there, don't have to worry about looking foolish, or driving, etc. I love little things like being outside when the sun is going down and being totally surrounded by the sea. It is humbling.

 

Leaving from San Juan is also cool. The Puerto Ricans are a very welcoming people and I had so much fun practicing Spanish on this cruise. We even sat one night with a couple that barely spoke English and, somehow, we had a great conversation both in our meager attempts. There was a lot of giggling. I loved having so many different cultures on the ship. My wife and I were commenting that cruise ships are living proof that people of all types could peacefully coexist on common ground (or sea in this case). It is encouraging.

 

Tom

 

Why not be upbeat and tell how much fun you had? This site is quite full enough of the negative. Glad you had a wonderful time. I keep thinking about a cruise embarking from San Juan. May give this one a try.

[5kids2dogs]

Thanks for your upbeat review! We will be on Adventure mid June and we're getting excited. Do you have the compasses for the May 9th sailing? We are on the same itinerary with St maarten, St kitts, Antigua, St lucia, and Barbados. I'd like to see when the game/production/headliner/ice shows are to plan out our evenings.

[alfaeric]

Thanks for your upbeat review! We will be on Adventure mid June and we're getting excited. Do you have the compasses for the May 9th sailing? We are on the same itinerary with St maarten, St kitts, Antigua, St lucia, and Barbados. I'd like to see when the game/production/headliner/ice shows are to plan out our evenings.

 

I'm sure the headliners will change.

 

And it's quite possible that the show themes will be different- but if you can see both weeks of production show- that should show all of the main themes that are done for this ship.

 

We do your itinerary on the 4th of July. Gotta get some more Mt Gay Rum in Barbados.

 

Oh, but you probably mean times...

 

(don't mind my blathering- just want to keep a non-nit picky review on the front page, and having one being this positive is good, too)

[tserface]

We didn't keep the Compasses. Sorry. There was a lot going on and my wife always highlights what we might want to do for the day. My experience has been that each cruise is slightly different so the times might not have been the same anyway. The shows are pretty intelligently planned and we didn't have any trouble seeing them or finding room to sit in the theater. There are a lot of things going on so I think some people opt out of the shows. The ice show was particularly good.

 

You will have a wonderful time. I'm jealous. Tell Micky (activities staff) that Tom & Judy from Oregon say hi! If she doesn't remember our names just say, "Tall guy, beard, dumb jokes..." she'll go "Oh yeah!!!"

 

Tom

 

Thanks for your upbeat review! We will be on Adventure mid June and we're getting excited. Do you have the compasses for the May 9th sailing? We are on the same itinerary with St maarten, St kitts, Antigua, St lucia, and Barbados. I'd like to see when the game/production/headliner/ice shows are to plan out our evenings.

[sbbquilter]

Thanks so much for the lovely review. We board her in 4 weeks and I am so looking forward to it. Also going to give the Windjammer a try for dinner as we looking to really relax and not bringing dress clothes this trip so your experience is very helpful.

Thanks

[cjdixon4]

Your review was wonderful. Hubby and I were on the 5/16 leg of the AOS cruise (St Thomas, St Kitts, Aruba, Curacao) and like you, had the best time ever.

[MrsTinks]

Thank you for the wonderful review. Glad to read the positives. So much I've read recently has been more towards the negative. I've remained very excited for our June B2B despite not so great reviews by others. This has increased my excitement level - didn't think that was possible!! Thanks again.

[tserface]

You be excited and I'll be jealous. You're going to love it.

 

Tom

 

Thank you for the wonderful review. Glad to read the positives. So much I've read recently has been more towards the negative. I've remained very excited for our June B2B despite not so great reviews by others. This has increased my excitement level - didn't think that was possible!! Thanks again.

[Darkingnj]

Thanks for you review. We'll be sailing the Adventure in late August and currently reviewing excursions. We definitely are interested in a tour of St. Kitts, so I will pass on your recommendation of Royston to my wife.

 

I'm also contemplating a beverage package. How where the drink prices on Adventure? My wife and I cruised Quantum in November and some of the drinks were $12.00. I'm trying to determine if it's worth it to get a package.

 

Thanks

[tserface]

It depends on how much and what you drink really. For two drinks after gratuities we averaged about $22-$25 U.S. so they are pretty expensive. But, we don't drink much and we get some free drinks from the loyalty program so we didn't do the package. Also, Adventure is very port intensive and if you do excursions or beach days you'll be off the ship a lot so there is less opportunity to drink. There were not many places to get a drink on the ship while people were out on port (Promenade Cafe bar mostly).

 

But, all that said, it's getting easier to justify the cost of the drink packages since the prices are so much higher now. Since each drink $8-$12 (mixed drink to blended or fancier drink) you'd only have to drink 4 or 5 a day to make it pay off. Plus, I think you get water and coffee (also not cheap) and if you drink soda that's just icing. There's also the added benefit of not having to think about the cost and just doing what you want. It gives you the chance to try some new drinks that you may not have wanted to pay for before. If you don't like one you can just go get another :)

 

Tom

 

Thanks for you review. We'll be sailing the Adventure in late August and currently reviewing excursions. We definitely are interested in a tour of St. Kitts, so I will pass on your recommendation of Royston to my wife.

 

I'm also contemplating a beverage package. How where the drink prices on Adventure? My wife and I cruised Quantum in November and some of the drinks were $12.00. I'm trying to determine if it's worth it to get a package.

 

Thanks

[blue eyes 43]

We are going on august 18, Just wood like to know what show are the putting on. Thanks

[tserface]

We are going on august 18, Just wood like to know what show are the putting on. Thanks

 

 

We had a coupe of comedians and some singing and dancing shows. There were also other types of entertainment around the ship. I wouldn't be surprised if they all change by August!

 

Tom

[blue eyes 43]

Ok thanks for the info. Can't wait to go.

 

Paul

[CaribCruiser54]

We were on the May 9th sailing as well and had an awesome cruise! Our second time on Adventure and no complaints regarding the ship, staff or MDR meals. We always do 6:00 PM dining because we try to squeeze in as much of the entertainment as possible. We were seated with 2 other couples each evening for dinner and had a great time getting to know each other. The only slight disappointment for us was the quality of the entertainment in the Lyric Theatre. We are not big fans of comedians plus the Mime at the Farewell production reminded me of something you might see at kid's party. However we had awesome excursions, the Ice show was beautiful, The Quest was hilarious, Karaoke was great (standing room only most nights), we didn't find pool deck crowded and the service and meals in MDR were excellent in my opinion. We made lots of great memories and met some really nice people over the course of the week.