Adventure to Norway - review

[little britain]

Just back from a 7 night cruise to Norway on Adventure. This has been my first cruise with RCI for a while (having favoured X and Azamara over the past few years) so please excuse me if I state things that you know!!!

 

My first comments will be about the refurb....RCI have supposedly spent $50million on the recent refit. If I were RCI I would ask for my money back :eek:

The ship is in terrible condition in places - like the banquettes in the Windjammer...

The rust round the balconies has not been tended in years, the railings need varnishing, the pools need tiling.

All I can see that is new is a flat screen TV in the room, every thing else is the same, old curtains, ripped nets, saggy sofas...

The big screen by the pool seems to be underutilised. And the only film that people seemed to watch (One Direction movie) they turned off before the end!

 

The cruise was during the UK half term so there were over 500 children on board. Most were well behaved; others were not, and the parents seemed to pay little notice when the children were screaming around people trying to read in the lounges. There is only one 'child free' area on the ship and that is the Solarium. However I even saw children here on the sun loungers. I really do think that perhaps RCI should enforce the rules - the towel police were not around either and I lay next to a chair that was unoccupied for 2 hours (until I removed the towel...).:rolleyes:

 

The weather was fabulous! We had glorious sunny skies for 3 days.

 

....more to follow - happy to answer any questions too...

Edited May 30, 2014 by little britain

[little britain]

We visted Kristiansand, Alesund, Flam and Stavanger and had a day at sea each way.

 

Kristiansand we visited on a Sunday. It seemed to come as a surprise to most people that Norway is closed on a Sunday! There was a HOHO bus for 200NOK and a little train for 100NOK to take you into town. Or you could walk. A very pretty town with lovely cathedral but as we were only there for a few hours it was a flying visit

 

In Alesund it was unfortunately overcast. A very easy walk into town, with the pretty buildings and cobbled streets.

Again there was a HOHO bus but we caught the little tram for a city tour up to the viewpoint for 150NOK.

 

There was free wifi in the main street opposite the hotel - just look for the crew with their iPads!

 

Flam was another beautiful day. We did not take the train trip as we have done this before (it was around £70pp) so we strolled around the few shops and then relaxed by the pool in the sunshine with the snow on the mountains around us.

 

Stavanger was the highlight of the trip... a really lovely city with cobbled streets, good shops, a beautiful cathedral and a charming old town with white wooden houses right opposite the ship.

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2014 by little britain

[Sultan84]

Uups, now you have me worried. We are going to sail on her on the 12th and we were hoping for spruced up ship.

 

If you have a moment, can you please answer my long list of questions? I would really appreciate it.

 

Which cabin did you have, can you post a picture? Were kettles provided?

How was lunch served (buffet and service or buffet only) in the main dining room? How was the food in general?

 

Did you use the in-line skating, was it open regualrely? Same question about ice skating.

 

Thanks for your time in writing your review and in answering questions.

[hairymelon]

Thanks for the review and I was in Norway with Indy last week so we were at some of the same ports (but not at the same time). We also had changeable weather.

 

Shame to hear about how Adventure is. What a pity the refit hasn't sorted what really needed to be sorted from the sounds of it.

 

Hope you enjoyed your trip and with thinking about other cruises lines you have sailed on, would you stick with RCI or try something different?

[little britain]

Uups, now you have me worried. We are going to sail on her on the 12th and we were hoping for spruced up ship.

 

If you have a moment, can you please answer my long list of questions? I would really appreciate it.

 

Which cabin did you have, can you post a picture? Were kettles provided?

How was lunch served (buffet and service or buffet only) in the main dining room? How was the food in general?

 

Did you use the in-line skating, was it open regualrely? Same question about ice skating.

 

Thanks for your time in writing your review and in answering questions.

We had a balcony on deck 7. Sorry no pics of the cabin.

Yes there was a kettle, (take a carton of milk from the WindJammer to keep in the fridge). Teabags are Tetleys and not Liptons :)

 

Lunch options - were the Windjammer, and there was the Brasserie 30 lunch in the MDR on the sea days and interestingly enough there was also a buffet in the MDR on the day we left Kristiansand served from 12;30 - 2;00 ( we sailed at 2;00) and on the day we were arrived in Alesund at 11;00 which was served from 11;30 - 1;00.

 

I'm a bit too old for inline skating ;) but I saw that the icerink was open for eight 40 minute sessions on Day 6 (a sea day), and for a few other random sessions.

[little britain]

We had MTD so ate in the dining room except for one where we went to the WindJammer. I was disappointed to see that they did not lay the tables with tablecloths any more and it lacked little atmosphere.

Our waiters/esses in the MDR were very good.

Food was generally good - the cold cherry soup was one of the best I have ever had!

 

We also dined once at Giovanni's Table. Very good - but don't bother booking in advance as they were always seen around the ship touting for business offering 25% off.

 

At lunch they also set up a table in the RP and served what I assumed were the famous Roast Beef sandwiches ..... I never had one as I am waiting till the Oasis and the proper Park Café!

 

On formal nights I have never seen so many DJs! I would estimate that at least 80% of men were in a DJ.

 

In the cabin there were larger round bars of soap instead of the tiny ones left before. There is still the Fairy Liquid like gloop in the shampoo dispenser so if you value your hair take your own shampoo.

The hairdryer is in the top drawer and is very powerful. Don't use it standing up by the mirror otherwise you may set off the smoke alarms.

 

The queue for tickets for the ice show stretched the length of the RP. Don't worry - you can pick them up from a stand by the Guest Relations desk or also in the Diamond Lounge.

 

Talking of the Diamond Lounge, this was a new addition and it was very nice indeed! Lovely new furniture, outside seating area and Dionne was an excellent hostess.

 

I am a Diamond member and got 1 hours free wifi. No coupon booklets so I found it rather difficult to keep track of what I was entitled to, and probably didn't use everything I was entitled to.

 

Entertainment: we had a BeeGees tribute band and a comedy magician - both were very good; however the shows by the ships singers and dancers I found a bit 'screechy'. There was no band by the pool any more.

There is no charge for pool towels any more.

 

The quizzes were held several times a day but you could never get a seat as they were so popular. Perhaps they should consider a bigger venue?

 

The Times and The Sun were available to buy (sorry didn't see the cost) as there were free copies in the DL.

 

Usual TV channels - strangely enough with adverts in Polish.

 

Drinks have been rounded up to include the service charge. It is $2.50 for a Diet Coke, $8 for a whiskey, $9 for a Hendricks and tonic and $10.90 for a frozen strawberry margarita! All wines we had were either $35 or $40.

 

The M&M was rather poor. No open mike introductions and one person he spoke with didn't seem to know what CruiseCritic was and obviously wasn't a contributor!

 

In summary, despite the disappointing condition of the ship, the cruise itself was good. As with everything Royal "it does what it says on the tin" and you know what you are going to get.

 

Hope you enjoyed your trip and with thinking about other cruises lines you have sailed on, would you stick with RCI or try something different?

 

My next cruise is on Azamara and then I have both Oasis and Allure booked!

Edited May 30, 2014 by little britain

[kaznaid]

I am sorry to hear that you think the refurb is not up to much! It seems a shame that there are so many odd bits which they didn't seem to touch.

 

I went on Navigator a couple of years ago and it was wonderful ... since then I have been "bigging up" this class of RC ship to my husband for ages which is why we booked. I am going on AoS in two weeks time to the Baltics and I have a feeling that if it isn't up to much then we will be returning to Celebrity!

 

We are on MTD for the first time in 8 cruises - was this OK for you? You say about the lack of tablecloths - is this in the MDR or Windjammer?

 

I truly believe that a cruise is what you make it ... if the worse things are cosmetic then you can put up with it. As long as the service is still there ... :) :)

[Missus Makkem]

The refurb on the Adventure was only a mini one mainly for the mechanical side and those of us who were on the Transatlantic told it as it was.

The main one will be in 2016

[BillOh]

The refurb on the Adventure was only a mini one mainly for the mechanical side and those of us who were on the Transatlantic told it as it was.

The main one will be in 2016

 

Good to know, earlier today I was looking at Adventure out of San Juan in 2016. i'll keep an eye on that.

[amajaa]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on the 12th and had an e-mail saying about road works in Southampton and giving us boarding times per deck. We are on Deck 7 so been given 1.15 pm, I was originally intending to get there about 11.30 but don't want to be turned away. Were they turning people away if they got there before their boarding times?

[kaznaid]

I got notice about that ... I can board when I want but my husband must wait until 2.15 apparently! :D :D. We are different loyalty levels!

 

My sister works at Southampton cruise terminal and, apart from last week when there were 4600 passengers, of which 1300 were children, boarding Independence (:eek: :eek:), she said that they haven't been adhering to this too strictly. She has advised me to get there by 12 noon before all the buses arrive. That's when they might revert to boarding times!

 

However, as Adventure is the only cruise ship leaving Southampton on 12th, we should be OK.

[amajaa]

Thanks, I was thinking about the buses and realised that those on the upper decks would get there later than their allocated time so hopefully they wouldn't mind if some on the lower decks got there earlier. See you at the M & M.

[Barnum42]

 

Did you use the in-line skating, was it open regualrely? Same question about ice skating.

Just to expand on Little Britain's answers as we used both these. The in-line skating was open most days - as long as the track was dry.

 

The Ice skating is a sore point. They use it as a sales feature then keep it shut for most of the week. It was open only on the last day at sea, plus for an hour and a half towards the start of the week. That was it - unless you were in the teen club when they had it for an hour at 10pm on the early day.

[Barnum42]

As a fellow passenger on the same trip, I can back up that the ports were lovely. Flam was my favourite. Stunning scenery. We did not take the train journey (a wife with motion sickness and an easily bored teen put paid to that) but if you pick up the free maps there are lots of scenic walks you can take. We really lucked out on the glorious weather there.

 

The ship was disappointing, grubby round the edges, very poor in Windjammer, not too bad in the main dining room, and many agreed that the production shows were really poor.

 

However, if you get the chance to see Graffiti Classics then go see them. They were brilliant.

 

Little Britain, did you ever encounter the tone deaf singing pianist in the Schooner Bar? I thought it was a Karaoke competition, not an actual performer.

[MariahJ]

Thanks for the review! Were the pools warm enough for swimming generally? Or did it vary from day to day? I know they are heated but if the air is very chilly then it is still uncomfortable to swim. Do you think I would be able to get some lap swimming in on my upcoming cruise on June 12?

[little britain]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on the 12th and had an e-mail saying about road works in Southampton and giving us boarding times per deck. We are on Deck 7 so been given 1.15 pm, I was originally intending to get there about 11.30 but don't want to be turned away. Were they turning people away if they got there before their boarding times?

 

We were there at 10;40 and were on board by 11;05. We saw no one being questioned about their status either at the gate or at check in. We came in from the west down the M271 rather than through town and there was little traffic.

 

I got notice about that ... I can board when I want but my husband must wait until 2.15 apparently! :D :D. We are different loyalty levels!

 

You and your husband should both be the same level. Call Guatemala and they should fix it!!!

[unrulyjulie]

We went in the pools most days, about 6pm even on the cooler days. Suffice to say, I have had colder baths.

[Barnum42]

I went on Navigator a couple of years ago and it was wonderful ... since then I have been "bigging up" this class of RC ship to my husband for ages which is why we booked.

 

We are on MTD for the first time in 8 cruises - was this OK for you? You say about the lack of tablecloths - is this in the MDR or Windjammer?

 

I truly believe that a cruise is what you make it ... if the worse things are cosmetic then you can put up with it. As long as the service is still there ...

 

It's because we cruised on Navigator that we chose Adventure, which turned out to be disappointing in comparison. Whether it's a case of cutbacks affecting the whole fleet or just Adventure I can't say. I started a thread about the quality in Windjammer having plummeted, and from the replies it seems to be across the ships that this is the case.

 

We were on MTD, and in the end booked the same table all week as we got on so well with a couple that we met. The lack of table cloths applies only to Windjammer - where "lack" is the key word all over.

 

The staff are doing their best to provide service, but with fewer of them trying to do the same job, the service will and does slip.

[Barnum42]

The refurb on the Adventure was only a mini one mainly for the mechanical side and those of us who were on the Transatlantic told it as it was.

The main one will be in 2016

 

They were still refurbishing on this trip. On the outdoor promenade at the aft were lots of rolls of carpet which were being installed during the cruise - the aroma of of adhesives was a regular feature of the trip.

[Missus Makkem]

Sorry to say new carpets are not part of a major refurb for me.

Some cabins and corridors had the new carpets when we got on in Miami.

[MDNOTMD]

I am so upset that the AOS is obviously in poor condition. I suppose that now I have to make the best of it, as we sail June 12, on the Baltic cruise. But poor conditions as have been described tend to actually make me ill; e.g., rust, smells, dilapidated seat cushions, old bathrooms, etc. Question: Aside from the disrepair conditions, is the ship clean? If the ship is clean, I think that I can handle it. Otherwise, I'd better go to the drugstore and get some nausea pills.

[Two 2 Tango]

We have just returned from the Norway cruise and will do a full review later but must agree with OP that the ship was not the highlight of the cruise. We booked because it was embarking before the half term holiday was starting but there seems to have been a lot of children taken out of school. I had just retired from teaching and was hoping for a rest from kids. The ship is very shabby in places and needs either a full refurbishment or selling to Thompson. The service was very good and the food in the main was good, apart from being served a stone cold curry in the MDR; this was returned and came back in the same condition. There was no supervision of a minority of children in the evenings, though it was due to poor parenting, RCI could ensure that adults have some adult time in proportion to the time given to children during the day. Kids and toddlers were running between your legs on the dance floor and on the evening of a guest performer (magician) in the theatre one small child was jumping up and down the steps from top to bottom on each step (bump bump bump). Using the Jacuzzi was impossible as they were full of children, and in the present climate were parents worry about child safety it feels very uncomfortable as an adult to be in such close proximity to un-supervised children. We are regular cruisers and have used RCI many times but standards of both the ships and clientele are moving to the same style as all inclusive holiday resorts, and I think it is time for me to change to another cruise line.

[little britain]

Thanks for the review! Were the pools warm enough for swimming generally? Or did it vary from day to day? I know they are heated but if the air is very chilly then it is still uncomfortable to swim. Do you think I would be able to get some lap swimming in on my upcoming cruise on June 12?

I only used the Solarium pool (to escape from the screaming children) and it was very very warm - rather like a bath!

[Two 2 Tango]

I am so upset that the AOS is obviously in poor condition. I suppose that now I have to make the best of it, as we sail June 12, on the Baltic cruise. But poor conditions as have been described tend to actually make me ill; e.g., rust, smells, dilapidated seat cushions, old bathrooms, etc. Question: Aside from the disrepair conditions, is the ship clean? If the ship is clean, I think that I can handle it. Otherwise, I'd better go to the drugstore and get some nausea pills.

 

In general the ship was clean, we had a junior suite and it was very clean but we still go round with antiseptic wipes. don't forget tv control and telephone. its not the ships that cause epidemics it is people who bring them on and try very hard to avoid the hand gel. Bit more information on my previous post, but won't be back on AOS any time soon.

[Barnum42]

We have just returned from the Norway cruise and will do a full review later but must agree with OP that the ship was not the highlight of the cruise. We booked because it was embarking before the half term holiday was starting but there seems to have been a lot of children taken out of school.

One suspects that different schools may have different holiday times, but for us AOA departed one day before our daughter's half term started. Hence 500 of the little darlings being on board.

 

I do agree that a number of parents were less than vigilant with there charges - but I have no problem telling a kid to stop annoying folk in a theatre. I only had to do that twice.