Just off Adventure of the Seas- Brief Review

[cruz_happy]

Just off recent Adventure of the Seas cruise. I can only say positive things about the staff, the ship and the destination ports. Wanted to share a brief review of good and bad from my view.

 

Start with the Good: Staff was quite friendly and wanted to please. Dining room staff was excellent. We even had to move tables (more on that in the Bad) and they couldn't have been more compassionate and wanting to please. The ship looked fine to us. We had a Grand Suite and our room was perfect. Room Attendant was great; we hardly ever saw him but he was right on spot to have things fixed and prepared for us. Activities team made activities fun for guests, although many were the same activities across the ships. Bar staff was fun and quickly accommodating to serve us. (Viking Crown, during the day, was less attentive but it was livable.)

 

Ports were wonderful. We did the ABC (with S added, St. Marten--although we did not do anything there since we had been there before). The ABC islands were fun, beautiful water. Food was good; I'd give it a B+---nothing sensational but still enjoyable.

 

Now for the not so good: This cruise left from San Juan. If you are taking this cruise, be prepared for a LOT, LOT of loud latin music. There was a DJ on this cruise that knew 1 volume------extra loud, and only played latin music. I don't mind some latin music but it was constantly played. The DJ played it so loudly that it permeated throughout the ship, overtaking other music. They had another DJ who played other music occasionally. (Maybe it was more than what I experienced but we missed it.) I found many of the passengers to be quite rude. There was a screaming (& I do mean screaming---great lungs!) child who disturbed our dinner for the first 2 nights. After the second night of screaming, we asked to be moved to another table. The dining room staff responded quickly and positively, finding a new table for us. (Even then, we could still hear the screaming child at dinner. You could tell this was disrupting many people's dinnertime but this family did not seem to care or respond by taking the screaming child out of the dining room.) I would hope that RCI could set some guidelines that they can request a family to leave if they are causing that much disruption. (At our new table we sat close to another child who was almost unnoticable---very well behaved but still having a fun time. Both children were around the same age.) Concierge Club is on the 9th deck for now and was disappointing. As I understand it, plans are to move it to the Viking Crown area in the near future which will be an improvement. (We were less impressed with the Concierge on this ship but honestly, we didn't spend a lot of time there nor need many things.)

 

Lastly, I want to encourage Cruise Critic members to keep sharing what you like and don't like. We noticed that RCI has now discontinued having those guests who are on drink packages sign the tickets for drinks. This was quite nice and a big positive. So do plan ahead if you want to provide extra tips; you will need to leave cash instead or ask for a ticket to add a tip as the tickets are not automatic as they used to be. When we attended the Cruise Critic Roll Call, the RCI activities representative stated that RCI does read these and considers the requests. So all the posts complaining about having to sign these tickets if the person purchased the drink package appears to have been heard & responded. (Or was this just on this ship?)

 

Speaking of Roll Call, there were 29 people signed up for our Roll Call and only about 10 showed. (Good for us as we won a bottle of champagne.) I do realize the timing is not always perfect for everyone. AOTS Activities Staff did a nice job setting up the Roll Call event with good hors d'oevres, cocktails and prizes. My concern is if people quit going to these, Cruise Critic & RCI may discontinue them. Might be disappointing to those who really want to come.

 

So if you are planning a trip on AOTS, you should have a good time. It is a nice ship and the staff makes it fun and special. If you are leaving from San Juan, be prepared for a LOT, LOT of Latin music.

[wants2cruise2]

Thank You for this, We sail on her in about a month and a half. My 3rd time on Adventure, one of our favorite ships actually. Good to hear it's still sparkling.

[Husky1987]

Thank you for the review....Adventure-bound in September and can't wait!

[njkruzer]

Thanks for your review. W did a b2b in January. I agree about too much Latin music but not sure if it was as loud as you mentioned. RCI does pay attention to comments. The first week we were on board the meet & mingle was almost nonexistent. No crew or organization. I wrote a nice note to the Hotel Director about the poor program and got a phone call and a bottle of wine. The event the following week was much improved. I think they responded well because I was polite about my criticism.

[easyboy]

Thank you for the feedback.

[k2125girl]

We sail on Saturday for a B2B -- Thanks

[NemoCrownie]

I think they equate loud with fun. I have complained on several ships, with good results, albeit temporary. There is actually a decibel reader (not sure what it is really called) onboard and if there are at least two complaints to the Cruise Director, Activities Manager or Captain then readings will be obtained throughout the ship and the noise level then drops substantially, for a day, anyway. At least this is what I was told by one Cruise Director and an Activity Manager on a different ship. From my experience, a polite complaint does yield results.

 

I am half deaf and came of age going to a lot of concerts in the 70's so if the sound level is too loud for me I can only imagine what it is like for someone with normal hearing.

[baileybrad]

I think they equate loud with fun. I have complained on several ships, with good results, albeit temporary. There is actually a decibel reader (not sure what it is really called) onboard and if there are at least two complaints to the Cruise Director, Activities Manager or Captain then readings will be obtained throughout the ship and the noise level then drops substantially, for a day, anyway. At least this is what I was told by one Cruise Director and an Activity Manager on a different ship. From my experience, a polite complaint does yield results.

 

I am half deaf and came of age going to a lot of concerts in the 70's so if the sound level is too loud for me I can only imagine what it is like for someone with normal hearing.

Thank you so much for the informative mini-review. We sail on the AOS on 7/22/17. Can you recall what were the "guest" shows for the week? Not concerned about the RCCL staff but any comedians, outside singing groups, etc. If you happened to see them would love to hear your comments or any word of mouth. Thanks in advance.

[Nkelly14]

Do you have the Daily Compass for the week that you could share?

[Renken]

Thank you so much for the informative mini-review. We sail on the AOS on 7/22/17. Can you recall what were the "guest" shows for the week? Not concerned about the RCCL staff but any comedians, outside singing groups, etc. If you happened to see them would love to hear your comments or any word of mouth. Thanks in advance.

Just off the Adventure. Fun entertainment- comedian Michelle Balan- very, very funny! The Las Vegas Tenors- great vocals. And a ventriloquist- the young kids really liked him.

[happymanitee]

Do you mind sharing what excursions you took on the ABC islands? I will be going there next year and am always looking for good ideas.

 

 

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[cruiseguy1016]

Just off recent Adventure of the Seas cruise. I can only say positive things about the staff, the ship and the destination ports. Wanted to share a brief review of good and bad from my view.

 

 

Lastly, I want to encourage Cruise Critic members to keep sharing what you like and don't like. We noticed that RCI has now discontinued having those guests who are on drink packages sign the tickets for drinks. This was quite nice and a big positive. So do plan ahead if you want to provide extra tips; you will need to leave cash instead or ask for a ticket to add a tip as the tickets are not automatic as they used to be. When we attended the Cruise Critic Roll Call, the RCI activities representative stated that RCI does read these and considers the requests. So all the posts complaining about having to sign these tickets if the person purchased the drink package appears to have been heard & responded. (Or was this just on this ship?)

 

I hade the drink package on Radiance last month and I did not have to sign any receipts for my drinks that were included with the package.

[BillOh]

Do you mind sharing what excursions you took on the ABC islands? I will be going there next year and am always looking for good ideas.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

We did Aruba Trikes in obviously Aruba. That was one of our most enjoyable excursions ever.

[baileybrad]

Just off the Adventure. Fun entertainment- comedian Michelle Balan- very, very funny! The Las Vegas Tenors- great vocals. And a ventriloquist- the young kids really liked him.

Thanks so much.

[scurrymd]

Thanks for the review - we head out on Aug 19th, doing the ABC + St Martin itinerary. We have excursions for everywhere but Curacao....any suggestions on what to do there?

[Renken]

Thanks for the review - we head out on Aug 19th, doing the ABC + St Martin itinerary. We have excursions for everywhere but Curacao....any suggestions on what to do there?

Just off Adventure. Loved! We did not take a formal excursion in Curaçao. We walked across the bridge to town and visited the Synagogue. Fascinating because the floor is sand! The little museum was very interesting, and if you celebrate Passover, a joy to see the exact Seder table in the museum that we presently (and forever) use.

 

We then rented a car, drove around the island, stopping off at beaches, and getting in some snorkeling with the equipment we brought from home. Very relaxing and so pretty!

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review - we head out on Aug 19th, doing the ABC + St Martin itinerary. We have excursions for everywhere but Curacao....any suggestions on what to do there?

Lion's Dive area of Mambo (Seaquarium) Beach.

[JD2001]

we were in curacoa on a recent cruise you can go to the avila resort and use the beach for a day program very nice beach snorkling not too expensive not too crowded