Adventure of the Seas October 28, 2007

[ckrobyn]

 

Ship had 3600+ passengers onboard. Passenger capacity per rccl.com is 3,114 for this ship. You think there were some people sleeping on those pull-out beds?!?! This fact alone made the onboard experience seem MUCH more crowded than on any other voyager-class ship. Over 1,600 of that 3,600 number were Puerto Rican.

 

 

And you know this information as fact......how??? Did you see a manifest?? Did the manifest break down the number of passengers by culture??? I think not.

[DonnaK]

And you know this information as fact......how??? Did you see a manifest?? Did the manifest break down the number of passengers by culture??? I think not.

 

 

Quite often, the Cruise Director or Capt will announce this sort of info at the Welcome show, or at the Q&A session. For example, on one of our cruises, it was announced that 60% of the passengers were from the NY area.

[Cruising89143]

You're right - Aruba is one of our favorite ports!!! I actually did an all inclusive in Aruba many years ago and had a wonderful time.

 

I'm going to have to try a Freedom class ship soon!!! Have fun on the Liberty!!

 

Robyn, I have read your comments on this thread and one thing to keep in mind is that you cruise on the Adventure during high season. I just looked at the rates for the first week of March and November of 08. I BIG difference in price. That has a lot to do with the type crowd one is going to have on board the ship.

[joelmarj]

I sailed AOS in August of 2006 and my experience was the exact same as the OP. It was horrible. They were rude and congregated in all the main areas to the point of making you feel uncomfortable passing through. In the evening you couldn't walk through the attrium because they were all congregating there dancing to the PR sounding music. (Definitely not Caribbean). There were diaper-wearing kids in the pool, rowdy kids in the elevators and don't even start me on the disembarking process.

 

In all honestly, I think that RCI just undercuts their rates to sell out the ship when it gets close to sailing. This can't just be a fluke with one cruise if this is a repeated theme on the boards. I'm sorry to say, I'll never book AOS as long as it is sailing from SJ. Sorry, just the way I feel.

[kevincruiser]

And you know this information as fact......how??? Did you see a manifest?? Did the manifest break down the number of passengers by culture??? I think not.

 

Do I know this for sure? Of course not. How could I? I was not onboard the ship. However, I do know that my parents were onboard and they met another couple whose daughter works for RCCL and was on the ship for this cruise. That's where the information came from. Yes, it's second hand, but I have no reason to not believe what I've heard. And the breakdown that I list is not by "culture", but rather by geographic location. Unless you can come back with factual information contradicting what I've stated you may not want to knock what very well may be "factual information".

[hcat]

I am sure this thread is headed for a lock down soon but have to tell you about a trip we took on Brilliance from Miami one Easter week (booked that week by acident) RT Panama Canal.

 

There were many many large families from Miami .. Many children ran unsupervised day & night all over the ship, spilling syrup onto the art auction & other assorted insane behavior. They took over the elevators & hot tubs ran rampant in the solarium damaging the jewels on the elephants & when chastised by other adults, the children were very insolent while their parents just sat there oblivious... The cruise line could not control it at all. They actually suspended room service requests unless ordered by phone as the children took all the cards & mixed them up..

 

There were many instances of rude, pushy behavior by adults . Although we enjoyed the itin & the company of others others on the ship including a great CC crowd, we now try very hard not to cruise from Miami if it is on Royal hoping to avoid a repeat. & we will never cruise over school break week again from any port... It was something we never experienced before & hope not to repeat...

[ckrobyn]

Robyn, I have read your comments on this thread and one thing to keep in mind is that you cruise on the Adventure during high season. I just looked at the rates for the first week of March and November of 08. I BIG difference in price. That has a lot to do with the type crowd one is going to have on board the ship.

 

The price I paid a year in advance for a JS in March 2008 was $1199 - pretty cheap for a JS. The price for the same JS in November 2008 is the same under special deals.

 

I guess it just gets to me when a few people who have had what they consider to be a negative experience, come on here and literally convince others not to cruise on a particular ship. I think the best bet for me is to stay away from these threads......I just end up getting defensive and frustrated!!!!:o

[Cruising89143]

[quote name='joelmarj;

 

In all honestly' date=' I think that RCI just undercuts their rates to sell out the ship when it gets close to sailing.[/b'] This can't just be a fluke with one cruise if this is a repeated theme on the boards. I'm sorry to say, I'll never book AOS as long as it is sailing from SJ. Sorry, just the way I feel.

 

There have been local travel agents from San Juan posting here in the past and have stated that all the cruise lines cut the rates to the locals when needed to fill the ship and the prices are dirt cheap. I have read complaints over the years on RCI, Carnival, Celebrity and Princess but the two worst seem to be Carnival and RCI due to the ships being based year round. I just don't know why both cruise lines don't move smaller ships like the Enchantment down there. Seems like there would not be the need to discount and that size ship would work great on a port intensive itinerary. Give Galveston the Adventure.

[Hflors]

I am sorry for all the people who have posted on this thread that had "bad" experiences on their cruises last week. I know how disappointed you must be when you work all year and save for that special cruise, then for what ever reason you are disappointed. BUT, I cruised out of SJ on March on Galaxy. We did not experience one of theses problems that you all are talking about with the exception of the anouncements, they were all announced in four languages. I believe English, spanish, german and french. Our boat drill took a long time just to explain what to do in the ship begins to sink!

 

What I can't understand about all the problems I hear about the people that sail from San Juan, and I am not doubting anything you say, since the topic has been brought up on a number of threads and also on reviews of the individual ships, is our stay in SJ last year the people we met couldn't have been nicer. Everyone spoke english and were very helpful! It's almost like we are talking about two seperate areas of people! Very Strange!

Anyway maybe the next time you think about sailing from San Juan maybe you should give Celebrity Galaxy a try. I think you will see a big difference.

[eetonaee]

And you know this information as fact......how??? Did you see a manifest?? Did the manifest break down the number of passengers by culture??? I think not.

 

In fact both the cruise director at the first night show in the Lyric thatre and the captain at his welcome gave exact breakdowns of every nation on board. (There were over 100 Mexicans and only 82 of us Canadians)

 

They announced 3000 Americans (out of 3600 pax) and then stated that 1400 of these were from Puerto Rico which resulted in a sea shattering cheer.

[Cruising89143]

The price I paid a year in advance for a JS in March 2008 was $1199 - pretty cheap for a JS. The price for the same JS in November 2008 is the same under special deals.

 

I guess it just gets to me when a few people who have had what they consider to be a negative experience, come on here and literally convince others not to cruise on a particular ship. I think the best bet for me is to stay away from these threads......I just end up getting defensive and frustrated!!!!:o

 

I can understand where you have had great cruises on this ship but do keep in mind that the amount of complaints seem to grow each year. Not only here but I read the same comments over on the Carnival board. Eventually something will have to give as more and more main landers will refuse to cruise out of San Juan.

[ckrobyn]

I can understand where you have had great cruises on this ship but do keep in mind that the amount of complaints seem to grow each year. Not only here but I read the same comments over on the Carnival board. Eventually something will have to give as more and more main landers will refuse to cruise out of San Juan.

 

 

I know. I have read the same complaints, and believe me, I do feel bad for these folks who had negative experiences. I guess because all 3 of my cruises out of San Juan have been great - I feel the natural urge to defend the ship!!!

 

You know that I am not the argumentative type! :)

[PhoenixCruiser]

In fact both the cruise director at the first night show in the Lyric thatre and the captain at his welcome gave exact breakdowns of every nation on board. (There were over 100 Mexicans and only 82 of us Canadians)

 

They announced 3000 Americans (out of 3600 pax) and then stated that 1400 of these were from Puerto Rico which resulted in a sea shattering cheer.

 

If you go to Guest Services they can also give you a break-down of passengers including the number of passengers under the age of 18.

 

I can understand where you have had great cruises on this ship but do keep in mind that the amount of complaints seem to grow each year. Not only here but I read the same comments over on the Carnival board. Eventually something will have to give as more and more main landers will refuse to cruise out of San Juan.

 

Robyn, I too understand your frustration and agree that you perhaps cruised during a different time. I hope you continue to have good experiences on the AOS.

 

Great point about a smaller ship G!! That way RCI would not need to always discount their cabins last minute to fill the ships.

 

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[Nothin' But Sun]

[boot a few off, the thrill stops being worth the risk and the problem goes away. My hunch would be that the majority of these issues were caused by the same few small groups of people. When they are gone, so are the problems.

 

Well said!

[PhoenixCruiser]

 

You know that I am not the argumentative type! :)

 

Oh, we know :D :D

 

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[ckrobyn]

 

 

 

Robyn, I too understand your frustration and agree that you perhaps cruised during a different time. I hope you continue to have good experiences on the AOS.

 

 

 

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UUUUUUUUUGHHHHH!!!!! LOL! I feel much better now. ;)

[Cruising89143]

You know that I am not the argumentative type! :)

 

We know that and I know how hard it is sometimes to read stuff on the boards and just feel the need to say something. It's all good!!!!!:)

[PhoenixCruiser]

UUUUUUUUUGHHHHH!!!!! LOL! I feel much better now. ;)

 

Hey I was being sincere! I loved reading your reviews because that gave us hope!! Unfortunately we cannot cruise during the months of February, March, and April.

 

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[Glama]

Robyn, I understand your frustration, but it's equally as frustrating for people who truly did have a bad experience sailing out of SJ to see posts about how awesome it is, and how some posters "never had a problem". We post about our experiences here, good AND bad, in the hopes that others can make and INFORMED decision, have realistic expectations, and take to heart others advice about the best time to cruise from SJ, etc....

 

This just seems to be a recurring issue, and it's not getting better. People are frustrated because they really WANT to have a great cruise, read CC, decide that they can get beyond all the negative things that "might" happen, prefer to listen to the great reviews of AOS, then some go on to have a cruddy experience (exactly like the OP did). Of course, others go on to have the best cruise ever.

 

Balanced reviews are a good thing. :o

[ckrobyn]

Robyn, I understand your frustration, but it's equally as frustrating for people who truly did have a bad experience sailing out of SJ to see posts about how awesome it is, and how some posters "never had a problem". We post about our experiences here, good AND bad, in the hopes that others can make and INFORMED decision, have realistic expectations, and take to heart others advice about the best time to cruise from SJ, etc....

 

This just seems to be a recurring issue, and it's not getting better. People are frustrated because they really WANT to have a great cruise, read CC, decide that they can get beyond all the negative things that "might" happen, prefer to listen to the great reviews of AOS, then some go on to have a cruddy experience (exactly like the OP did). Of course, others go on to have the best cruise ever.

 

Balanced reviews are a good thing. :o

 

Wow - that was very well said :) I think we should move your post up to page 1 and forget the rest of this thread!!

[Terpnut]

Please, Please, Please, before anyone accuses me or my family of being prejudiced or racist, let me just say that we are from New Jersey, and we complain about the same thing on Explorer going out of Bayonne. You get just as many loud and obnoxious New Yorker's up here. Same story, different location. You will definitely get more locals on the ships near to them. It's common sense. Now I know why I drive 3 hours south to Baltimore to go on Grandeur whenever I have the opportunity. Excellent ship and crew....and people with manners and who are considerate onboard. Wow, what a concept.

Before sailing Grandeur this past August out of Baltimore, I was a wondering what it was going to be like cruising with so many locals (my neighbors). I was very pleasantly rewarded with our best cruise ever on RCI! I'm glad to hear that someone else appreciates Marylanders and our good manners too! :D

[jouset_1345]

Hi !

 

I now I have posted this before but here in Puerto Rico, the cruise fare is completly apart from the port taxes and feeds. For example if you pay

$ 200.00 pp for a cruise you have to sum $ 197.25 p/p for taxes and feeds.

 

I now for sure I have never seen a cruise on the Adventure as low as

$ 200.00, the lowest I have seen is $ 300.00 + 197.25 = 497.25 p/p on September and October sailigs. :p

 

So please dont think, the puertorricans onboard are there because they get a wonderfull cheapy price. All of the pay the same or more that any other individual in USA.

[MakinGold]

Hey, jouset, or other posters who may be from Puerto Rico, what would "PR music" be like, and what is "Caribbean music"? I ask this out of admitted ignorance, but I've seen more than a couple posters mention this music was "definately not Caribbean." I don't know if they think it has to be a steel-drum band to be Caribbean or what?? I'm just curious, as I'm not really an expert on the various styles of music in the Caribbean islands.

[Glama]

Hi !

 

I now I have posted this before but here in Puerto Rico, the cruise fare is completly apart from the port taxes and feeds. For example if you pay

$ 200.00 pp for a cruise you have to sum $ 197.25 p/p for taxes and feeds.

 

I now for sure I have never seen a cruise on the Adventure as low as

$ 200.00, the lowest I have seen is $ 300.00 + 197.25 = 497.25 p/p on September and October sailigs. :p

 

So please dont think, the puertorricans onboard are there because they get a wonderfull cheapy price. All of the pay the same or more that any other individual in USA.

 

Hi Jouset :). On our Destiny cruise, we were sitting by the pool one day, and some people came right and asked my husband what we paid for our cruise, then proceeded to tell him that they got the cruise for $200 TOTAL. So, either they were lying, exaggerating, or Carnival sells the cruises for just ports and taxes.

 

Makingold, the PR music on the ship was Latin music, salsa type, spanish language. The Caribbean music was Steel Drum type, more of a raggae feel to it.

[kevincruiser]

So please dont think, the puertorricans onboard are there because they get a wonderfull cheapy price. All of the pay the same or more that any other individual in USA.

 

I'm sorry, but I have to beg to differ here. I was told that this specific sailing was offered to the local folks in PR at a super cheap price. I think we all agree that there will be more local folks out of each ship's home port, but this particular cruise was a special case. I don't know if this deal was offered because it's a slow season, or maybe some type of a holiday in PR (someone mentioned to me that Halloween is a HUGE holiday in PR; schools close, etc.; not sure if that is true or not). The $300 per person sounds about right. I don't know about any taxes that PR residents may have to pay.

 

Regardless of which side you stand regarding this entire thread, my only real gripe is that people should know what they're getting themselves into when they book a cruise. What I mean is that if half the ship is booked for a Nascar convention, for example, other folks who are looking into booking that particular cruise should be able to find out that type of information. It's all about the lack of information available so people can make informed choices.