Adventure of the seas 12/9-16. Wonderful !

[Toledosfinest]

Wife and I flew down on Sat December 9th with another couple,and arrived landed at 4pm. Got our luggage quickly, and got to the taxi line and waited 2 minutes before we were off to the ship. With 4 adults, and 5 bags, it was $28. We arrived on the ship with no lines by 4:45p. The outside of the Adventure looked recently repainted, and showed no signs of any severe wear and tear. Inside you could tell much of the carpet had been replaces. Our room on the 8th floor was as expected. The room had that older smell, but you get use to it. One of the first things the 4 of us noticed was the amount of Puerto Ricans on board. I had previously read that there would be. We were somewhat surprised that 72 percent on the ship were from this island that is still a mess from the hurricane. Outside of Old San Juan many still have no power. We had first seating in the main dining room, and we had a great waiter and assistant waiter who took very good care of us. We all commented how good the food was all week. (Lobster on 2nd formal night). We ate at Chops Grill 1 night and loved it also. One thing we noticed was the price of drinks keep going up. Most drinks were in the $10-14 range, and aluminum caned beer $8.20 Inc gratuity. They do have 4 of the newer soda machines that are self serve. Windjamer is where the Buffett is, and it gets very crowded for breakfast and dinner. Omelettes are made in the back part of the restaurant. Our island stops were Curacao,Bonaire,Aruba, then Antigua. Curacao is a fun stop with with an island tour before being dropped off downtown for sightseeing and shopping. Most of the area was decorated for Christmas. On Bonaire, we rented golf carts from Bonaire Cruisers, and has a blast driving the entire island on brand new Yamaha 2 seat carts that are much faster than normal golf carts. HIGHLY recommend renting these. The island is mostly a desert with cactus everywhere, but beautiful sights. Aruba was next, and we rented a car from Royal car rental. We drove the island in our car, stopping at many sights. It's been quite a few years since we had been to Aruba, and this island is getting very crowded. The downtown area is bumper to bumper with traffic. We had 2 ships in port, and it was still very busy. We paid $50 total , and had the car for 7 hrs. Not the newest car, but document all damage with pictures before you sign anything. We had no problems at all. Antigua was our last stop, and was a late replacement for St Martin, who wasn't quite open. Antigua is a greener island than the other 3, and with 3 ships in port that day, was also very crowded. We took and island tour, and was just ok. We saw a harbor where $$$$ boats park. Saw an old fort, and took some nice pictures of breath taking coastal areas. Overall we had a wonderful cruise. The RCCL employees were great. The ship is not new, but we'll taken care of. The entertainment was typical of RCCL, but the Headliners were very good. The Eagles Tribute bad was very good. It was a live concert. El Goucho is always a good show to see. The man is very funny, and has a talent.

We had 500 children on the ship, and most appeared to be from Puerto Rico. They were mostly behaved, except when parents were not close by. Expect people to cut in front of you while in lines, because it will happen. When the ship's announcements are made, expect many not to understand, or don't want to listen. On our departure date, all people that had EARLY FLIGHTS and could walk off with luggage were to meet at 0645 in the conference room, and then be the first ones off the ship. Well 100+ local's decided they didn't need to follow the rules and congregated by the exit door. They tried to cut in lines that the crews tried to organize. They at times acted like they were going to do what they wanted to do. There seemed to be a communication problem, because Spanish isn't always known by the crew. Most were not waiting to get to the airport for a flight. Customs took 30 seconds, and $28 back to the San Juan airport. We are now Diamond Members , and look forward to many more cruises. This trip on Adventure of the Seas was won of our best.:)

Hints: If you get WiFi package for 1 tablet or laptop, you can actually use it on other items, just not at the same time. Most stops had free WiFi somewhere close to port. Water off the ship was $1.00 about everywhere. Much less than ships cost. $$$ accepted everywhere.

[Keith1010]

I greatly enjoyed reading your trip report.

 

Keith

[Clarea]

Apprecate the feedback.

[cruiseguy1016]

Thanks for the review. We'll be on Adventure in 74 days, shortly after her dry dock. Looking forward to visiting the ABC islands.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Thank you for the review.

 

I'll be on Adventure in September.

[davekathy]

Thanks for taking us along on your cruise.

[kimesu]

Thanks for the review! We will be on Adventure in February, and are also flying in the afternoon that the ship leaves. I have been a little nervous about whether we would be cutting it too close, but your review helps me feel better about our decision!

[Husky1987]

Thank you for the report. Bonaire Cruisers is the way to go!