Adventure of the Seas - 10 Night Fall Foliage Review (9/7/18)

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Just back from a fantastic 10 night Fall Foliage Cruise on the Adventure, sans fall foliage :D

 

Easily the best crew we’ve had on our recent cruises. I honestly can’t say enough good things about our waiter and assistant waiter. They clearly cared about our experience in the MDR, but they were hilarious and loved to have conversations about both our backgrounds and theirs. We always saw our assistant waiter in the Windjammer as well and he’d offer great service there too.

 

The activities staff was fantastic. CD Bill Bronkhorst wasn’t very exciting, I must admit. The older crowd on this cruise resulted in a lack of participation for many of the game shows and competitions, but the activities staff made the best of it. The Quest was rather tame, but I’m the guy that won if anyone was onboard and attended.

 

We always request a table just for our family in the MDR, and we’re always accommodated. We lucked out with a wonderful couple being seated at the 2-top next to us. We ended up looking forward to catching up every night.

 

Food was great in the MDR and very good in the Windjammer. The Windjammer had some interesting offerings that I hadn’t seen before. We didn't do any specialty restaurants, mainly because of how much we were enjoying our servers and "tablemates" in the MDR.

 

Weather was nice, averaging around the low 70s I’d say. Only one day of rain in St. John. Sea days were chilly. We love the Voyager Class, but they’re not ideal for cold weather cruises. Inside spaces can get crowded when weather isn’t warm.

 

Ports were fantastic.

 

In Bar Harbor we did the 2.5 hour Acadia National Park tour with Oli’s Trolleys. We got off the ship before 8am and got coffee and blueberry pie before our tour at 10. We did lunch, shopping, and walked across the actual sandbar before getting back onboard the ship.

 

We just explored Portland on our own as all aboard was at 2:30pm. We ate lunch at Eventide Oyster Co. (highly recommend, but it gets crowded).

 

It rained the entire day in St. John. We had an excursion booked to the reversing rapids and St. Martins sea caves. It was tough with the rain, but I’m sure it would be even more beautiful on a nice day.

 

We rented a car in Halifax and drove out to Peggy’s Cove. Loved it and highly recommend. The drive out is beautiful and easy. And renting a car is cheaper than an excursion.

 

In Sydney we just walked along the boardwalk and got lunch. We were back on board early and spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool.

 

In PEI, we just explored Charlottetown, which is very cute and had some really nice shops. I heard really nice things about the red cliffs and lighthouses that you can see via driving or tours.

 

We had an overnight in Quebec. Morning of our first day we went out to Montmorency Falls. We took the shuttle from the tourist center which was a decent price. They drop you at the bottom of the falls though, and you have to either pay for the cable car ride up, or take the stairs. We did the cable car. It was enjoyable and beautiful, but I wouldn’t mark it as a must-see. Back in town, we got lunch at Lapin Saute which was excellent, and then explored the city. Our flight wasn’t until 5 on disembarkation day, so we just spent the day exploring again. The Port of Quebec has luggage storage, but no one seems to know about it until you get up to the front information desk. You do have to claim your luggage first and bring it to the desk.

 

Overall, a fantastic cruise on a great ship with an outstanding crew. I’d love to sail on the Adventure again.

Edited September 18, 2018 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[Tin can]

Always nice to hear good things about Adventure as we are on her next year and can’t wait!

 

Thanks for your review.

[nelblu]

Very nice and concise review. I was thinking of the 10 niter, but afraid of the one way fare to/from Newark Airport. We, instead did the Anthem 9 nite NE/Canada for a 2nd time and enjoyed this itinerary.

[cadoocrazy]

Our flight wasn’t until 5 on disembarkation day, so we just spent the day exploring again. The Port of Quebec has luggage storage, but no one seems to know about it until you get up to the front information desk. You do have to claim your luggage first and bring it to the desk.

We sail and the Adventure of the Seas on your same itinerary starting on the 28th. We also are flying out of Quebec on disembarkation day, around 6 pm, and we planned to explore the Old Town area until then. We also thought that we would use the Port area's luggage storage. Did you use this service, and if so, did it work well for you? Also, which transport method to the airport did you use?

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

We sail and the Adventure of the Seas on your same itinerary starting on the 28th. We also are flying out of Quebec on disembarkation day, around 6 pm, and we planned to explore the Old Town area until then. We also thought that we would use the Port area's luggage storage. Did you use this service, and if so, did it work well for you? Also, which transport method to the airport did you use?

Yes, we used the luggage storage service and it worked well. After claiming our bags, some port employees were trying to force us to the ground transportation area for taxis. We tried to explain that we wanted to store our bags, but they told us that was only available at the airport. We politely said no (because we literally double checked the day before). The employee went to find out and sure enough, you can check your bags at the information desk just before exiting the terminal. It is $5 CAD per bag.

 

We took a taxi to the airport and it was fine. There is Uber, but there aren't a ton of drivers.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Very nice and concise review. I was thinking of the 10 niter, but afraid of the one way fare to/from Newark Airport. We, instead did the Anthem 9 nite NE/Canada for a 2nd time and enjoyed this itinerary.

Yes, the one-way flight from Quebec can be costly. We flew one-way to Philadelphia (as that is much closer to our home) and the price was similar to what we've paid for a roundtrip flight to Florida.

 

I'd argue that Anthem is a better ship for the Canada/NE cruises anyway. It is unfortunate she never gets up to PEI or Quebec. I'm not sure of size restrictions?

[nelblu]

Yes, the one-way flight from Quebec can be costly. We flew one-way to Philadelphia (as that is much closer to our home) and the price was similar to what we've paid for a roundtrip flight to Florida.

 

I'd argue that Anthem is a better ship for the Canada/NE cruises anyway. It is unfortunate she never gets up to PEI or Quebec. I'm not sure of size restrictions?

 

We love the Anthem, however, we've been on her 3 times in the last 2 years and the entertainment, although not to our liking, has gotten stale.