Adventure of the Seas - Bed toppers & muster/dinner conflict?

[Clarea]

When you have a Known Traveler Number, you are guaranteed TSA pre- check.....

I thought the fine print said that they would still randomly send you through the regular security line.

[32Knocker]

Came back on Sunday from 2 weeks on Adventure. Our beds were really comfortable and drill was 8pm because we arrived after the first drill.

[cruisegil]

I just got off the AOS on Saturday. The beds were the hardest I've ever had on a Royal Caribbean ship! I asked my travel agent ahead of time for a mattress topper. When we got on board, our room steward specifically told us they were no longer using foam toppers/egg crates. So she had folded an extra "pillow topper" I guess and put it on top of there. It was really more like a mattress pad & really didn't help a whole lot - although I never compared it to a bed w/o one (just a note, we had our beds separated, so not sure what they do if the beds are together).

As far as the muster drill - the main one is at 5:45. We had 5:30 dinner reservations, so we just went after the drill.

For the shows - here's the schedule:

Day 1 - 10:30pm, Comedian

Day 2 - 9:00 & 10:45, Invitation to Dance w/ Professional dancers. Then there is also a late night adult comedy show at midnight in the theater w/ the same comedian as Day 1.

On the Feb 6 sailing, they will also be showing the Super Bowl on the big screen by the pool. Last year, they moved our formal night to Monday due to the Super Bowl being on Sunday.

Day 3 - 7:00 & 9:00, Two Funny Guys

Day 4 - Ice show at 7:00 & 9:00 in Studio B, Cool Art, Hot Ice. Nothing in the theater. (And they say they open the doors 30 minutes prior, but they opened them 40 minutes prior.)

Day 5 - 7:00 & 9:00, Spectrum, a Tribute to Motown

Day 6 - 7:00 & 9:00, Jackpot w/ the AOS singers & Dancers (This is also the 2nd formal night.)

Day 7 - Another showing of the Ice Show in Studio B @ 3pm. Then 7:45 is the only show in the theater, The Balancing Act of Luis Dalton & they introduced the captains & some of the staff.

At 10:15 there is an Island Frenzy Parade through the Promenade - I thought that was really fun! There's also late night adult comedy in the theater at 11:00.

 

Thanks, Haz73, for all the info and especially for the showtimes. That's something I've been searching far and wide for, so thanks. Also nice to know about the beds. I've requested a topper so we'll see what we get.

 

On another note, did you find much of a problem with mosquitoes? With the Zika virus, we're packing plenty of insect repellent but just curious how big a problem you had. Thanks again. Only 2 more days!

[cruisegil]

One other note about disembarkation - 7:00am is self assist, where you walk off w/ your own luggage. 7:35 is early departure. I checked into my flight & printed out my boarding pass on our sea day (you can get 30 minutes internet access for $10 - $9 if you're a Gold member). We had TSA Pre-Check. My parent waited until they got to SJU to check in & didn't have TSA Pre-Check. We printed our luggage tags at 10:45am and were through security at 11:30. My parents got wheelchair assistance so they didn't have to go through the regular line either, but the employee said the regular TSA line can take 2 hours to get through. So, do what you can to get TSA Pre-Check, like checking in early (I'm assuming anyone w/ a frequent flyer account is eligible, but it's still random who gets it).

 

Yikes! This makes me really nervous about getting to our 11:30am flight that Saturday. I'll definitely opt for the 7:00am self assist disembarkation. A member of our family is in a wheelchair so that will hopefully help all of us get through the process quicker, as well as any pre-check we may get. Too late to pay the $85 fee to get it now but I've gotten it more times than not when I check-in so hopefully will this time too. Thanks again for all the up-to-date info.

[Haz73]

Yikes! This makes me really nervous about getting to our 11:30am flight that Saturday. I'll definitely opt for the 7:00am self assist disembarkation. A member of our family is in a wheelchair so that will hopefully help all of us get through the process quicker, as well as any pre-check we may get. Too late to pay the $85 fee to get it now but I've gotten it more times than not when I check-in so hopefully will this time too. Thanks again for all the up-to-date info.

 

If you do Self Assist, you will need to take all of your luggage down a flight of stairs. Not sure how it works since you have someone in a wheelchair - I'm assuming they would need to use an elevator, so maybe you can get your luggage in with them. However, I would think if you get off at the 7:35 time, you should still be okay. When you get down to where they have all of the luggage, get a porter. They will take you to a special handicapped line (my mom had a cane so we were able to go in that line), and it looked like it was shorter & faster than the other line. Then there were plenty of taxis to take people to the airport (also some tour companies you'll have to pass). I would think you should be to the airport by 8:30-8:45. That would be plenty of time to get through security, especially if you already have your boarding passes printed.

 

And I don't recall seeing any bugs the entire week. Now, I mostly did tours, so it wasn't like I was spending hours hiking through a rain forest or even outside for a lot of time. But the time I did spend outside, I didn't notice any mosquitoes. I was with a group of 14 people & I never heard anyone complain about mosquitoes. I even had bug spray, but never remembered to put it on.

[cruisegil]

If you do Self Assist, you will need to take all of your luggage down a flight of stairs. Not sure how it works since you have someone in a wheelchair - I'm assuming they would need to use an elevator, so maybe you can get your luggage in with them. However, I would think if you get off at the 7:35 time, you should still be okay. When you get down to where they have all of the luggage, get a porter. They will take you to a special handicapped line (my mom had a cane so we were able to go in that line), and it looked like it was shorter & faster than the other line. Then there were plenty of taxis to take people to the airport (also some tour companies you'll have to pass). I would think you should be to the airport by 8:30-8:45. That would be plenty of time to get through security, especially if you already have your boarding passes printed.

 

And I don't recall seeing any bugs the entire week. Now, I mostly did tours, so it wasn't like I was spending hours hiking through a rain forest or even outside for a lot of time. But the time I did spend outside, I didn't notice any mosquitoes. I was with a group of 14 people & I never heard anyone complain about mosquitoes. I even had bug spray, but never remembered to put it on.

 

Thanks again for the info. It really is helpful. Glad you think we can make it to the airport on time. I'll check with Guest Services soon after boarding and make sure we have an early departure time, either scheduled or self assist, and I'll check on the handicap issue as well. Thanks again for your help!

[ckrobyn]

Can anyone who has sailed recently let me know how the WiFi is? I am wondering if there is now WiFi in the cabins as part of the drydock within the last couple of years?

[Clarea]

Can anyone who has sailed recently let me know how the WiFi is? I am wondering if there is now WiFi in the cabins as part of the drydock within the last couple of years?

Robyn, I can't give a recent report on the speed, but AD had pervasive wireless when we sailed on her a year ago.

[Haz73]

Can anyone who has sailed recently let me know how the WiFi is? I am wondering if there is now WiFi in the cabins as part of the drydock within the last couple of years?

 

I only got a 30 minute package the last sea day. I used their computers to check in to my flight & print our boarding passes, and then checked in a friend - those computers were REALLY slow. Then I walked back to my cabin & logged on w/ my phone for the last 10 minutes. I only checked e-mail, so I can't speak too much to speed (it didn't seem any slower than say 4G), but I was able to access the wifi in my room.

 

Keep in mind that St. Thomas & St. Croix are US Virgin Islands, so you should be able to get data there (well, anyone that is a US resident;). I have Verizon & was able to check my e-mail both of those days (from what I read, w/ Verizon you have to pay for phone calls & texts, but get free data - other carriers you can get free calls & texts along w/ data). I even did it on the ship.

[cb at sea]

Dinner is re-timed on muster day..no worries!

[CruisersfromMD]

Thanks, Haz73, for all the info and especially for the showtimes. That's something I've been searching far and wide for, so thanks. Also nice to know about the beds. I've requested a topper so we'll see what we get.

 

On another note, did you find much of a problem with mosquitoes? With the Zika virus, we're packing plenty of insect repellent but just curious how big a problem you had. Thanks again. Only 2 more days!

 

Who did you make the request to for the bed topper-egg crate? Do you have an email address to the person that you made this request to you?

[Zebby90210]

On embarkation a crew member selling internet

when asked said no matter what day we bought the package we had to pay for 7 days. When I went to guest services they said I could sign up 2 days in and only had to pay for that day forward. A lot of miscommunication from employees. With that being said the connection including in the cabin gets a B+. Not as fast as home however not bad.

[CRZAHOLIC]

I've read tons of reviews about the AOS, including the beds. Some say they're great and some say they're like rocks. Also seen mention of "bed toppers". I like firm support but a soft top. Should I (or can I) request a topper be put in our cabin? Can this be requested before we get there or do I have to wait until we're onboard? FYI, we have a promenade cabin.

 

Also, I've seen mention where the muster drill is at 5:45pm on Day 1. We have My Time dinner reservations for 6:30. How long does the drill take?

 

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

We have been on 18 Royal cruises and they had the best beds until last June when we were on AOS. The bed was horrible. It was like sleeping at a cheap motel mattress. On the second day I asked if the beds had been changed. She wasn't sure but she thought that they had. They said that they would give me a mattress had. It helped but it wasn't the same as before.