ADVENTURE (Canada/New England) Sept 16-27,2019 REVIEW w/lots of photos

[lr657]

Quebec City looks amazing! We've added it to our bucket list of new places to visit. 

[erinsmom03]

I am enjoying your trip report! Another itinerary to add to my to do list!

[Hoopster95]

We wake up to a pretty nice day today, our only sea day until the final 11th day on this sailing, so we made sure today would be a "nothing" day... hit the gym, slowly enjoy the morning, meander... and one of my favorite things to do is explore the entire ship. I normally do this on embarkation day, however that was impossible on this sailing since we were focused on Quebec City.

 

Because were weren't rushing anywhere, we did not make the M&M so I can't give you any feedback on that. However we did walk around the entire ship. It was mentioned earlier that someone was looking forward to seeing "the changes" to Adventure since they sailed... I sailed on her in 2016 just before her drydock and I can tell you very little looks different. There's a few major changes, but really not earth shattering at all.

 

So here are some photos to start the morning from the forward elevator shaft area since that is where our cabin in. I normally don't focus in on this end of the ship very much as I normally stay aft... the rear elevator shaft normally is my primary mode of transportation to get everywhere I wish to go.

 

 

 

Photo below taken from deck 6 above the Imperial Lounge entrance

 

 

 

From the Royal Promenade deck 5, edge of the staircase leading down to the Lyric Theatre

 

 

 

 

And a shot looking under the bridge through to the main part of the Promenade... note a little further and to the left, a large red awning. That is the biggest change to the Promenade on this ship, and is exclusive to this ship only.... more on this later

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

We headed up to top deck to enjoy the sunshine as we walked and explored.

 

 

I was eager to see the Sports deck and it's changes so we headed aft.... Adventure was the very last ship to have the roller blading course aft, so looking forward to seeing the changes there. Here's what the Sport Court looked like in 2016 prior to her last Drydock.

 

 

And now!

 

 

 

The mini-golf used to take up all of the starboard side aft area of the Sports Court...

 

 

And  now! Big changes with the Florider & slides.....

 

 

 

.... and very cool two story mini-golf!

 

 

 

Table tennis used to be located right by the main basketball/sports court to the side, under the stairs that lead up to the rock wall. Now they are here on deck 12

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

Heading away from the Sport Court area aft, we went through the pool deck, and noticed the immediate change with the Splashaway Bay area for children which was added to the pool deck. Here's what Adventure's pool deck looked like in late 2016... note the area where the arrow is pointing down to.

 

 

And here's the pool deck today, again red arrow for reference

 

 

 

More photos around the pool deck

 

 

 

 

From the small deck above the Sky Bar... it's not in the deck plans as deck 13, however I guess it should be

 

 

And from that same upper deck, looking down and forward into the open air Solarium

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Ocean Boy]

I so so many awesome family memories from the times we have sailed on Adventure.

 

That roller blading track I think was the most gimmicky thing the Voyager class ships had when they were launched.

[Hoopster95]

Forging ahead, we went down the stairs to deck 11, by the entrance to the Vitality Spa, and out the side entrance, which leads forward to the Peak-a-Boo Bridge

 

 

 

I did not remember, however this area also has an active radar display. Do the other Peek-a-Boo bridges have this as well? 

 

 

We also headed up to deck 13, and out on the forward outer deck, an area which I always thought is a colossal waste of space... I guess they maximize it here by adding hundreds of (empty) loungers and glass separators. There's no bar here, no area for a band, nothing ... just a lounging tanning area if you prefer to get away from the hustle and bustle of the noisy pool deck.

 

 

 

I've taken photos from this deck before, especially during docking or leaving port, a great vantage spot to get a view of the entire side of the ship looking back

 

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Ocean Boy]

I love it up on deck 13. And yes the peek-a-boo bridge is set up about the same on all 5 ships as I remember it.

 

Love the pictures.

[Hoopster95]

So it was getting to be lunch time, and having the UDP we were definitely going to take advantage of lunch at Izumi. Remember that photo I mentioned a few posts ago, regarding the red awning in the Promenade? Well that;s right! Izumi on this ship is smack dab in the center of the Promenade. I don;t have a clear photo today as we went down there, however I'll put one up later in the cruise as I get there (and can find it)

 

This Izumi is located right beside the stair entrance to the Casino. We dined there for 2 lunches and 2 dinners.... did not smell any smoke whatsoever at any time. Here's our view from our table. Great people watching but not my favorite location for an Izumi, or any dining venue for that matter.

 

 

The menu is truncated... the idea of this location as explained to us is as an "Izumi Express" so to speak. For those of you familiar with the Izumi menu, you can see it's much smaller, and only one of the three Chef's Signature Rolls are available. If you know the full menu, they will gladly make you anything you want however, including those other signature rolls.

 

 

Ready for some food porn???

 

 

Tuna Tatake above, and below the Ahi & Albacore Tatake Salad... super duper delicious and fresh!!!!!!!! We were going to make sure we tried a few different things on this sailing so we did

 

 

Rainbow Roll & Spicy Crispy Shrimp Roll

 

 

And my favorite of the afternoon, this was absolutely delicious... 

Poke Bowl with tuna, albacore & octopus

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Ocean Boy]

Izumi was not utilizes much at all this past January.

[Hoopster95]

22 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Izumi was not utilizes much at all this past January.

 

Agreed, same on this sailing. I'll mention more about this during one of my dinner reviews as they seemed to have a  brisk "take out" business.

[Hoopster95]

I put my camera away for a good part of this afternoon, however we did meander over to the MDR to check it out.... possibly for the only time on this entire sailing

 

 

Lunch service was on, however I did not see the Tutti Salad Bar

 

 

Heading back out to deck 5

 

 

 

Later in the day, I took what will perhaps be a rare photo after the next drydock

 

 

It's rare because deck 7 is high-lighted with "Library". As you may know, the Library is gone on Voyager and Mariner. Guess what they put their in it's place? That's right... what else but more cabins. I'm guessing next drydock more cabins will go here as well.

 

 

Tonight's dinner would be a Giovanni's. This is the best specialty venue on this ship for location and views. Giovanni's has been a go-to for us over the last few years, however we were disappointed on this ship. It was sub par for sure, so much so that we cancelled two reservations later in the cruise, opting for another excellent & fresh Izumi dinner and an extra time at Chops which was excellent.

 

Here's some Giovanni's food pictures

A laughable "Charcuterie Plate" and very weak mussels

 

 

Any guesses on what this is below?

 

 

The normally superb mushroom risotto was.... well ...  mushroom-less. The linguine vongole was bland. Really disappointing actually, just boring.

 

The photo above was eggplant parmesana... I'm Italian and I know what veal or eggplant parmesana should look like and taste like.... it's not that!

 

 

Anyhow, the night before we had our #1 go-to meal here, the Osso Bucco... again a disappointment. Very bland and extremely tomato-ey.  Was not good at all. We did not finish meals either night, and both nights spoke to the maitre-D who came over to ask how things were. We had Giovanni's booked for 5 nights on this trip so that we can enjoy the views and their expansive menu, but this was not looking good at all. Turns out we went back a third time mid-cruise and it was the same... we cancelled our last two reservations and never heard back from anyone.

Edited May 28, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Ocean Boy]

4 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

Any guesses on what this is below?

 

 

 

 

The photo above was eggplant parmesana... I'm Italian and I know what veal or eggplant parmesana should look like and taste like.... it's not that!

 

 

This Italian would never have come up with eggplant.

[Hoopster95]

A view of the elevator "Centrum" shaft looking down on this end (aft) of the ship

 

 

I took photos of the empty Lyric Theatre earlier in the morning, however I'll include them here

 

 

 

I purposely went up through deck 5 to sit in the balcony. I never sit here, preferring the first 10 rows or so of the lower level. I wanted to take note of "The Key" & reserved seating... those first three rows were empty. The show was to start in about 15 minutes, and staff was already gone. We went down to the first row of the balcony and grabbed seats beside a super nice PN couple we chatted with for a bit.

 

 

The shows were excellent for non-Broadway non-Oasis Class productions. I really enjoyed this. I've seen Invitation to Dance several times so this wasn't new to me, yet was still really cool to watch again, and this time from a different vantage point. SO if you are a RCL regular and bored of the shows, go sit in a different area and see if that gives you a different insight and enjoyment 

 

 

 

Tomorrow (and all subsequent mornings) would be early to get off the ship as soon as possible for the great ports we're heading to, so after this show we were off to our cabin to chill out and get some early sleep. 

Edited May 28, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Ocean Boy]

I am really not trying to be picky but the theater bslcony is deck 4 not 5. Sometimes I sneak out to the Schooner Bar to get a drink.

[denamo]

Thanks so much for the review.  Never having been on the Adventure, it's nice to see.  Have cruised on all of the other ships in the Voyager class.  Anxious to see more of your review.

 

Edited May 28, 2020 by denamo

[Hoopster95]

20 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I am really not trying to be picky but the theater balcony is deck 4 not 5.

 

Ugh!.... yes deck 4, my bad

[Hoopster95]

Depending on weather and what I wanted to see on any given morning, to start my morning I had two routes to get to the DL in order to retrieve a couple of double macchiato's for our cabin... I would either walk down to 5 to enjoy a walk through the Promenade to the aft elevators, or walk up to 12 top deck so that I can take photos as I head aft to the VCL. On this morning, I went down to 5 in order to get a couple of photos of Izumi which I had missed the day before.

 

I was normally up anywhere between 6 and 6:30am so that we can get ready and out right away for our full and long day ashore. Today no exception as sail-in to Charlottetown was around 7-7:30am with docking around 8am. The Promenade was basically a ghost town

 

 

And here's a great shot of the new Izumi 

 

 

 

Up at the very empty VCL I got some great shots in the early morning light

 

 

I wish this bar would rotate like the Radiance Class ships.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

With a gorgeous sunrise occurring, instead of taking the elevator back down to 5, I walked down two flights to deck 12 so that I could walk across top deck to enjoy some amazing views

 

 

Another photo from top deck before heading down to the cabin

 

 

I did not think a balcony would be overly important for this sailing, however it turned out it was. The reason was that many times during gorgeous times of the sail in we were in our cabin getting ready for the day. In an interior I would've missed some of these views as we were preparing

 

Ah yes... this is the life, sipping my machiatto on the balcony with a view and calm waters like this

 

 

The HAL Zuiderdam was here with us this morning

 

 

For anyone interested, here's a great map of the port area of Charlottetown

 

 

Approaching the port, you can see the piers & buildings which were defined on the map above... this is a very easy town to get around and walk in.... more on this later. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

Today's plan was to get to our pre-booked rental car as quickly as possibly, and head out to a region called "Anne's Land" of PEI, the central northern shore to drive through and see what PEI has to offer.

 

 

We booked with PEI car rental, located about a 20 minute walk through town inside a small mall area. It was very easy to find with GPS. There was one couple ahead of us in line when arriving there, however we had our paperwork done and into our vehicle in about 15 minutes. I figure we were driving by about 9am if memory serves me correctly. The cost for the day for a nice mid-size was $96 CAD.

 

 

Our first stop, at the very eastern end of the Prince Edward island National Park,  was the famous lodge "Dalvay By the Sea"

 

 

This is a historical site... would love to stay here for a day or two some day if/when I do a land/drive trip through these provinces.

 

 

This is a gorgeous old school property with great grounds/gardens. We ventured inside ... huge fire burning fireplaces with comfy furniture, large colonial style dining room/restaurant with big windows,  beautiful building.

 

 

 

 

Leaving the grounds we wished to get our first glimpse of the famous beach/ocean that lines this shore for kilometers on end. So just across the highway are several entrance points to the beach and another parking lot. Without the throngs of tourists here (or busloads of cruisers), we got to sit and enjoy an absolute perfect 10 minutes of listening to the waves and smelling the fresh sea air, exactly as advertised on the many photos/tourist shots you see on line of this area.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

There is superb on-line information for the various beaches, parks, campgrounds, etc. So if this kind of tour is something that would interest you, info is abundant, and with lots of options. Here's a great start

file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/Visitor Guide 2019.pdf

 

Leaving Dalvay Beach we headed west to enjoy the coastline drive and stop at a few other viewpoints along the way

 

 

Next stop is Stanhope ... by this time of year, totally empty and barren as the summer season is over. No one is swimming or sun tanning these days... it's now well into off-season in these parts. The life guard stations have been pulled up off the beach so to protect from weather

 

 

 

A little further along, after enjoying the rolling hills and views along the highway, we come across 

Covehead Lighthouse, just one of a few to visit. Knowing we would be seeing many lighthouses on this sailing (especially in Portland) we did not target the lighthouses here in PEI. There are many however, and there are driving tours you can do around the island to see their history.

 

 

 

 

At (almost) the farthest end of the National Park, we stopped at Brackley Beach. There is a full complex area consisting of bathrooms/changing rooms, shop(s), eatery, etc... most of which was closed at this time of year. However worth the stop for a short visit to enjoy the walk on the boardwalk out to the ocean and to see the awesome view of the ocean.

 

 

 

 

[Hoopster95]

Watching the time, it was approaching around 11'ish. We decided to head over to a target location rather early, a planned lunch stop at "The Dunes Cafe". They have tours that stop there, and it's written on line that at peak season they have hour long waits. Look them up... rated as one of the best stops on the island not only for food, but for views of Brackley Bay. Plus their gardens are spectacular and full of impressive one-of-a-kind sculptures and art from around the world.

 

From where we are in the previous post at Brackley Beach above, The Dunes Cafe is a straight line drive only about a 5-6 minute drive inland.

 

 

Not only are there foreign collectibles, there's a full artist studio that is open for public viewing... upon leaving, an artist was in their working. Very cool to see

 

 

They also have a full retail area. For you shoppers out there looking for one-of-a-kind items, this is THE place for you

 

 

I mentioned the view from the restaurant

 

 

We went outside and grabbed an empty two top at the railing. What a gorgeous setting for lunch.

 

 

OK ok... awesome place, superb art, great views.... how was the food and drink?

 

 

 

 

The home made chowders were literally to die for! 100% recommend for a lunch spot for those of you taking notes for a DIY day away from Charlottetown. It was so not expensive either.

 

With lunch finished, we wished to visit the rest of the property. They have an open deck upstairs with more views... and along the way several rooms of incredible (and pricey) artwork and sculptures

 

 

I mentioned the gardens and the amount of gorgeous stuff they have out there

 

 

 

 

Look this place up when you're in PEI, a very welcome detour for lunch.

 

Edited May 28, 2020 by Hoopster95

[BSocial]

Oh, I’m so glad I stumbled on this review.   Quebec, and this itinerary are on my bucket list.  Thanks for wonderful pics!

 

Enjoying the Adventure commentary and pics, too.  My first cruise was on Adventure in 2003, and she still holds a special place in my heart.  I imagine most people feel that way about their first cruise ship.  
 

thanks for taking the tIme to create and share your review.   

[Ocean Boy]

Those early morning pics on tbe ship bring back such good memories. Early morning is my favorite time aboard.

[Hoopster95]

Leaving The Dunes, we headed back up towards the coastline and westward, to visit the small community of North Rustico.This seems to be heavily publicized, especially in group tours, including ship tours.

 

 

While at the Dunes it was busy, there were no buses and hundreds of masses all arriving at once. At North Rustico it's evident that the tours (and thus buses and lots of groups) go here more predominantly.

 

 

We only stopped for a short stroll on the pier and to catch the views. I suspect at peak season there are many more vendors around and also fishermen (famous for lobster) selling various wares. 

 

 

Back on the road through the countryside, peak season calls for park entry fee. Today in this off-season, gates wide open and no payment needed.

 

 

We arrived to Cavendish Beach, and the famous area of Anne of Green Gables... more on this in the next post. Here, we wished to stop at the beach and walk the boardwalk.

 

 

 

There's also a well known cliff walk and "dunes', where most tours take you. I placed an arrow above the dunes area, and the buses/cars/people all congregated there. At the beach where we were at, there was hardly anyone

 

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by Hoopster95