All Things Adventure of the Seas ¡Olé! Edition

[cinnamon]

Just interrupting these frequent photo posts to mention that I have read the latest 2 reviews of Adventure cruises. They are both terrible, mentioning very poor staff and mediocre food. Rather concerning. We are sailing on 25th September.

[cclarke12]

Just interrupting these frequent photo posts to mention that I have read the latest 2 reviews of Adventure cruises. They are both terrible, mentioning very poor staff and mediocre food. Rather concerning. We are sailing on 25th September.

 

We've just come back and had a great time. I have posted a review but it is on a different site.

[teralin]

Hi Corinne, we got off the Adventure this morning in Malaga and we are now sitting on our terrace with a G&T watching the ship sail out of Malaga port for her next journey. After three consecutive cruises, it seems odd that the ship is sailing without us. I will probably post a review in a few days although most of what has been said already I concur with. Food indifferent, service better than some although we did seem to have a series of problems with guest services - more later. Don't worry, you will enjoy your cruise, you just have to take the best bits and ignore the rest.

 

Talk soon

Linda

[Jolimont]

We've just come back and had a great time. I have posted a review but it is on a different site.

Mind telling us where?

[cclarke12]

Mind telling us where?

 

You can't mention other sites on here I don't think. Here is my review. Two things, i) it is long....,:eek: ii) in part I am making comparisons with P&Os Ventura which is the last cruise we went on.

 

We have just returned from a short trip of Adventure of the Seas (17th-21st June) from Barcelona, visiting Toulon and then an overnight stay in Ibiza. We went as a family group (my parents, myself and my husband, and children aged 1 and 4). It was great and we preferred this holiday to our last with Royal Caribbean on Voyager of the Seas a couple of years ago.

 

I will make some comparisons between the Royal Caribbean experience and our trip on P&O Ventura in April, as they are similar sized ships and both appeal to the family market – so it may be useful to some people.

 

Getting on the ship was a breeze. We arrived just after 11am and even though loads of coach parties had arrived before us – we were on board by 11.45am. Much better than the c.2 hour wait to get on Ventura. Disembarkation was also easy , but because we were one of the last to get off we had to wait about 30 mins for a taxi.

 

Adventure is basically identical to Voyager so we knew what to expect. Royal Caribbean certainly do have the wow factor. I had forgotten different the Royal Promenade is to the atrium area on other ships, and the whole scale of it. The only disappointment was the stale lingering smell of cigarettes. I wish they wouldn’t allow smoking on the Royal Promenade. I had read several reviews where people said the ship looked tired and needing refurbishment. I didn’t notice this and given its age thought it was looking good.

 

Walking around the ship and the pool area I did get a real sense of the ship being much bigger (wider) and more spacious than Ventura was – despite it having a similar passenger capacity. The passenger flow was really good and we spent much less time waiting for lifts than we did on Ventura.

 

What we really loved about this cruise was the passenger mix. It was more balanced in terms of age than on Ventura, and a greater mix of different nationalities. I think the overnight stay in Ibiza attracted a much younger crowd. Spanish speakers were in the majority, but there were plenty of British and Irish, with quite a few Japanese, Dutch, German and Americans.

 

We didn’t use the kids clubs. They are fairly rigid and it was obvious my son wouldn’t like it. They have different activities every 15 minutes and the children are all expected to join in, i.e. no free play. In comparison Ventura’s kids clubs were brilliant and are probably the best for children under 5/6 years. However, it wasn’t a problem as Spanish and other guests onboard were much more tolerant of young passengers being around in the evening and at shows, e.g. there were loads of Spanish children at the 9pm dinner sitting. There was a real family atmosphere onboard, and more welcoming of children than there was on Ventura.

 

I didn’t recall the food being that great last time we were on Royal Caribbean. We went to the main dining room the first night. It was fine but nowhere near as good as the main dining room food on Ventura. We were on my time dining which worked fine. Second evening was formal evening and we hadn’t bothered bringing formal wear for a 4 night cruise so ate in the Windjammer. After that we never went back to the main dining room. The food in the Windjammer in the evening was great – steaks, kebabs, chicken cooked to order most evenings and a wonderful antipasti salad bar. The food here was much better than we remembered and much better than the main dining room.

 

The Windjammer was busy in the morning, but before 9am you could find a table easily. Lunchtime was pretty busy but again we always found a table. It was nice that staff were on hand to get teas/coffee/juice/lemonade for people at meal times and this probably helped in speeding up the turnaround of tables. My only gripe with the Windjammer was that at busy time (breakfast and lunch) there were not enough staff on to enforce people using hand gel. I would estimate as many as 50% of people just walked past it. It has always been much more enforced on other ships we have been on.

 

Entertainment was generally good given that it has to cater to so many different nationalities. Ice shows brilliant as ever, and other family members really enjoyed the parades along the promenade at night. Pool-side entertainment was really cheesy/tacky but the cruise director did a great job of getting people involved and everyone seemed to be having fun. It was definitely the most chilled out cruise we have been on. Far fewer announcements – particularly for art auctions - this time, which was good.

 

Royal Caribbean wasn’t top of my list of cruise lines before this cruise, but we will definitely be considering them for Summer 2011, sailing from Spain again.

 

My ideal cruise line would have the kids clubs, bar prices, and restaurant food of P&O, with the ships, passenger mix and buffet food of Royal Caribbean. Does such a thing exist?

[daliflor]

... to mention that I have read the latest 2 reviews of Adventure cruises. .. both terrible, mentioning very poor staff and mediocre food. Rather concerning. We are sailing on 25th September.

 

Some of the elements of those two reviews were already mentioned here too while some others were taking bit to extreme by those two particular cruisers as different people have diferent experiences or even diferent perceptions on the same cruise.

 

The beauty of this forum is sharing those experiences (excellent, good or not so positive), learning from some, respecting everyone's opinions and making the best out of our own cruise!

 

I agree with the advice below:

 

Hi Corinne, we got off the Adventure this morning in Malaga... I will probably post a review in a few days although most of what has been said already I concur with. Food indifferent, service better than some although we did seem to have a series of problems with guest services - more later. Don't worry, you will enjoy your cruise, you just have to take the best bits and ignore the rest.

 

Talk soon

Linda

 

 

... Here is my review. Two things, i) it is long...., ii) in part I am making comparisons with P&Os Ventura which is the last cruise we went on.

 

... It was great and we preferred this holiday to our last with Royal Caribbean on Voyager of the Seas a couple of years ago.

...

 

Adventure is basically identical to Voyager so we knew what to expect. Royal Caribbean certainly do have the wow factor.

 

...What we really loved about this cruise was the passenger mix. It was more balanced in terms of age than on Ventura, and a greater mix of different nationalities. I think the overnight stay in Ibiza attracted a much younger crowd. Spanish speakers were in the majority, but there were plenty of British and Irish, with quite a few Japanese, Dutch, German and Americans.

...

 

Far fewer announcements – particularly for art auctions - this time, which was good.

...

 

On our June 3rd 2010 cruise, there was also a nice diversity/ mix of cruisers. Per the Captain, the guests represented 60 nations (while the staff came from 66 nations from around the World).

 

Day 3 - The Art Auction almost did not take place in our cruise due to the lack of interest/ participation/ registration.... Not even the complimentary champagne can help place bids (despite the 600 works of art, lots of them Peter Max or even a Picasso)!

 

 

Art Auction, Imperial Lounge (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

 

Art Auction, Imperial Lounge (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

 

Art Auction, Imperial Lounge (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

 

Art Auction, Imperial Lounge (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

 

Art Auction, Imperial Lounge (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

[daliflor]

... Here is my review. Two things, i) it is long...., ii) in part I am making comparisons with P&Os Ventura which is the last cruise we went on.

 

We have just returned from a short trip of Adventure of the Seas (17th-21st June) from Barcelona, visiting Toulon and then an overnight stay in Ibiza. We went as a family group (my parents, myself and my husband, and children aged 1 and 4). It was great and we preferred this holiday to our last with Royal Caribbean on Voyager of the Seas a couple of years ago.

 

We didn’t use the kids clubs. They are fairly rigid and it was obvious my son wouldn’t like it. They have different activities every 15 minutes and the children are all expected to join in, i.e. no free play. In comparison Ventura’s kids clubs were brilliant and are probably the best for children under 5/6 years. However, it wasn’t a problem as Spanish and other guests onboard were much more tolerant of young passengers being around in the evening and at shows, e.g. there were loads of Spanish children at the 9pm dinner sitting. There was a real family atmosphere onboard, and more welcoming of children than there was on Ventura.

 

... My ideal cruise line would have the kids clubs, bar prices, and restaurant food of P&O, with the ships, passenger mix and buffet food of Royal Caribbean. Does such a thing exist?

 

Day 3 - Can't comment on the kids activities from the user's perspective, but on June 5th (with half Day at Sea before stopping in Ibiza, Spain), we had the chance to walk around and expore the ship and took some shots of few of the kids' areas:

 

 

Adventure Ocean Youth Programs (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

 

 

 

Fisher-Price Playgroups (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

 

Fisher-Price Playgroups (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

[daliflor]

Day 3 - We enjoyed watching the talented and energetic children on the roller blading track. Some parents came along, got involved with their kids, making this a fun family activity (same on the ice skating ring)!

 

 

Roller blading track (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

 

Roller blading track (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

 

Roller blading track (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

 

Roller blading track (Adventure of the Seas, June 5th 2010)

 

[Bobal]

daliflor

 

Your photos are wonderful and it's really good of you to post them, but I'm now really struggling to read this thread and wondered if there was any way you could start a new thread with 'photos of Adventure of the Seas' so that we can look at the photos on that thread and read any comments or questions on this one. I'm finding a bit difficult now to find information as it takes a long time to load with the many photos and sometimes a question of piece of info is buried among the photos. Hope you don't mind the suggestion :o

[Marty_Mc_Fly]

we travel on the Adventure of the Seas on Saturday and would like to know is it ok to tip using Euro coins rather than Dollars? Thanks!

 

Also has anyone taken any of the excursions in Palma, Ajaccio or Cagliari and if so which ones and were they any good? :D

[Bobal]

we travel on the Adventure of the Seas on Saturday and would like to know is it ok to tip using Euro coins rather than Dollars? Thanks!

 

Also has anyone taken any of the excursions in Palma, Ajaccio or Cagliari and if so which ones and were they any good? :D

 

I would say that since the staff are in Europe for a number of months to come they will be able to use Euro coins when in port, so they should be fine for tips.

 

The ship only started its 7-night itinerary which you describe, this week, so it may be a few weeks before people get round to sharing their experiences on this thread. You might like to take a look at the ports of call board for specific ports :)

[IrishComet]

Guys and girls, I got off the adventure on june 17th, all this talk about bad service and bad food, is a load of rubbish. The food was fine and the staff were superb. I will do a review soon when i have more time, but I will give 1 example, of how the staff go beyond what they have to. I was in the windjammer on the first day, just after we boarded, 1 of my daughters wanted a hot dog, and the chief gave it to her, my other daughter was standing beside and he asked if she wanted a dog? no, I would like the ham she replied (Breakfast ham) No problem he said, and returned with it. He didnt have to. The big problem is your fellow passangers. They seem to be lacking in 1 simple thing, that costs nothing, and that simple thing is MANNERS.

[Jolimont]

Thanks Irish Comet, I look forward to your review! I always wonder what people mean when the write negative reviews about petty things. What would they have been doing that's so great had they not been on a cruise?! For me it would have been work, make my own food, clean up after myself, etc. Give me a cruise any day!!! And cruise staff has always been nice to me, occasionally someone goes beyond as was the case for your daughters, and that makes it even better! Do tell us more!

 

Marty, we plan on doing a self-guided visit in Ajaccio, Palma and Cagliari because it'll be our first visit there and there's plenty to see and do without digging very much. Those are the kinds of places where you can walk off the ship and take a taxi or public transportation.

 

In Cagliari there's a citadel at the top of the town, there are public buses to get there, will have to ask, no details. You buy bus tickets at newspaper stands. Then walk down the hill and enjoy the view! There are also shops and restaurants along the beach front. Sounds like a lovely place.

 

In Ajaccio there is a tourist train, we may visit Napoleon's birthplace (since we speak French, I doubt the museum has very much in English but I could be wrong) and lovely beaches near where the ship docks.

 

Not sure about Palma yet, I think we'll just walk off the ship and see what we find. Every time we've done this we've had a lovely day. No stress, if we realize there's something not to be missed we can always go back on some other cruise (!!!)

[cinnamon]

we travel on the Adventure of the Seas on Saturday and would like to know is it ok to tip using Euro coins rather than Dollars? Thanks!

 

Marty, while I am sure Euros would be welcomed, did you realise that you can pay the 'basic' recommended tip amounts on your ship's account which is then put on your credit card? It saves having to have plenty of cash, especially if it means you have to get that in 'foreign' currency.

 

We always put the tips on our account, they give you a slip to put in the envelope to give to the staff on the last night. If anyone has provided service that we think is above average, then we add extra cash in the envelope.

 

Corinne

[1lovehols]

Just off the barcelona to Malaga cruise and I have to say that it was probably the worst serviced cruise I have been on.

 

1st day they ran out of english tea in the promende cafe & dining room. When asked about it said would get some next day (cannes). The coffee machine in promede was not working more times than was.

 

What I don't understand is why they didn't re stock in Barcelona but waited till day 3 Citivecchia for a huge re stock.

 

No booze or cigs on board the shops and no explaination as to why from RC.

 

Don't get me wrong had a great time but seemed lacking in something.

[cinnamon]

J

 

No booze or cigs on board the shops and no explaination as to why from RC.

 

I believe that there are not allowed to be any 'Duty Free' sales as the ship only calls at EU ports, so that is why they don't sell these things.

 

RCL probably has a large operation to vittel ships in Rome as other ships sail from there, so there would be an economy of scale for them to do the same for Adventure.

[1lovehols]

Last 2 years we've done the NOS from Barcelona and both times mums bought cigs & tobbaco as well as booze. None this year so it may be a new rule then.

 

I have seen the Marsk containers in Barcelona re stocking the ship. My friend thinks that cos there were 3 other RC ships in Citv they might have had to beg borrow and steal stock.

[Marty_Mc_Fly]

Marty, we plan on doing a self-guided visit in Ajaccio, Palma and Cagliari because it'll be our first visit there and there's plenty to see and do without digging very much. Those are the kinds of places where you can walk off the ship and take a taxi or public transportation.

 

In Cagliari there's a citadel at the top of the town, there are public buses to get there, will have to ask, no details. You buy bus tickets at newspaper stands. Then walk down the hill and enjoy the view! There are also shops and restaurants along the beach front. Sounds like a lovely place.

 

In Ajaccio there is a tourist train, we may visit Napoleon's birthplace (since we speak French, I doubt the museum has very much in English but I could be wrong) and lovely beaches near where the ship docks.

 

Not sure about Palma yet, I think we'll just walk off the ship and see what we find. Every time we've done this we've had a lovely day. No stress, if we realize there's something not to be missed we can always go back on some other cruise (!!!)

 

You paint a lovely picture Jolimont! I think we will just do as you plan to do, have a nice relaxing visit to each port and not stress too much! Will be a very good excuse to come back another time if we miss anything!

 

Marty, while I am sure Euros would be welcomed, did you realise that you can pay the 'basic' recommended tip amounts on your ship's account which is then put on your credit card? It saves having to have plenty of cash, especially if it means you have to get that in 'foreign' currency.

 

We always put the tips on our account, they give you a slip to put in the envelope to give to the staff on the last night. If anyone has provided service that we think is above average, then we add extra cash in the envelope. Corinne

Yes we have pre-paid our tips Corinne, i was thinking of the likes of room service and just to pass on a few extra Euros or Dollars if we thought it appropriate. I have 9 dollar bills from my trip to USA a few years ago and plenty of Euro coins so im sure no one will refuse!

 

I have read some very petty "poor reviews" of this cruise but i havent read anything thankfully that will spoil our holiday! Roll on Saturday!!!! :D

[Jolimont]

What I don't understand is why they didn't re stock in Barcelona but waited till day 3 Citivecchia for a huge re stock.

 

No booze or cigs on board the shops and no explaination as to why from RC.

Sounds like they're still trying to figure out how much they should procure in various ports. I can't imagine that a ship could easily get large quantities of stuff--even in a place like Barcelona--if they hadn't ordered in advance.

 

So were you upset about service just because you couldn't get cigarettes or were there other things?

[cinnamon]

I have discovered that on the cruises out of Malaga the dining times are now 6.45 and 9.15 to accomodate the desires of the Spanish to eat late. We were booked on late seating on our September 25th sailing but have now changed to early. I did consider MTD, but as there is no CC group onboard, and we travel as just a couple, we will stick with traditional in the hope of making some new friends at dinner as we used to do before CC.

 

Corinne

[cinnamon]

I have just been checking the lists to see if any of the Malaga sailings are currently expecting to have enough CC posters to run a Meet and Mingle party. While one sailing in July has 16 people registered and one has 11, most have 4, 2 or none. Our sailing on 25th September has 6 of us. I think the work load for the group organiser will be light this summer!

 

Corinne

[1lovehols]

I had a good cruise, the service was not a patch on the last 3 RC cruises I have been on.

 

I don't smoke so no cigs in shop was not a issue and as you can only take liquids in your case that wasn't a issue either. Would have been nice for an explaination as to why no stock. As said the last 2 cruises in the med stocked booze and cigs.

 

Its not put me off going again on a RC ship, in fact I spent most of yesterday eve looking for a Nov cruise. :D

[Jolimont]

I had a good cruise, the service was not a patch on the last 3 RC cruises I have been on.

Thanks for clarifying. I don't know the expression "not a patch", what does it mean?

[peteukmcr]

Thanks for clarifying. I don't know the expression "not a patch", what does it mean?

In this context I suspect it means 'not as good as'

[sandravb79]

hello everyone,

 

2 days ago, we booked our cruise on the Adventure, leaving October 9. I am really glad to have found this thread and to read a lot about the ship.

 

We were on the Liberty in April and on the Splendour last October. We have also been on a Celebrity and Carnival cruise.

 

 

 

Re: stocking the ship: those logistics can be complicated, and usually, they are done from 1 port. It isn't always possible nor done to just stock up on whatever at just some port.