Adventure of the Seas highlights--May 14-21

[tupperny]

This is not a complete blow-by-blow of the cruise--but rather the highlights that two Diamond Members observed. Our ports: St Thomas, St Kitts, Curacao and Aruba. We had a great balcony cabin (8558).

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

1) First night menu was different. Instead of the normal Prime Rib, the "Chive" menu was used which featured Steak Diane. Although the steak was thin, it was cook perfectly for both of us (rare for me and medium-well for my wife) and extremely tender.

 

2) Great ports with Curacao being the least favorite. If you are a shopper--don't plan on shopping here. Tax is charged (depending on the store), selection is less and store employees less than helpful.

 

3) Ship is in great shape! Don't let other tell you otherwise. Yes, carpets need replacing as does bedding, but still a wonderful ship.

 

4) Meals were wonderful. Similar dishes were better prepared on this ship compared to recent experiences!

 

5) Giovanni's was wonderful (especially tenderloin)! We ate there on day 5 and there was a promotion ($20 instead of normal $30) for second formal night, so we took advantage of that! No regrets. For appetizers, we enjoyed scallops, risotto and gnocchi.

 

6) Diamond Club in main dining room is great for diamond members for breakfast. Complementary cappuccinos and excellent service.

 

NEGATIVES

 

1) Beds--not the most comfortable. However, we were tired enough so slept well each night.

 

2) Port and Shopping experience--adequate at best. VIP cards did nothing. Information given was inaccurate and several promotions were not available. Are ship drawings/raffles legit?

 

3) Communication--especially from Guest services. We asked at the beginning of the cruise about Beer tastings, ice skating, galley tours and each time received incorrect information.

 

4) Windjammer--selections are less than before and often the same each day. (Both lunch and breakfast). Where is Honey Stung Chicken? Yes, there is plenty of selection that everyone can find a meal that they like. However, it is the same each day and variety is lacking.

 

5) Draft Beer Selection--for the serious beer drinker--the pub has some half-decent selections (Newcastle was my favorite). RCCL needs to add more selection here.

 

POSITIVES

 

1) Dining Room Food--better than before! Quality is better (a unique experience for this ship?).

 

2) Ice Skating show--yes, these are not the Olympic Gold Medalists, but thoroughly entertaining. (The same for the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers)--we loved each show.

 

3) Shopping at ports--especially St Kitts. If you are interested in purchasing Liquor--St Kitts is your place--$27 for 1 L of Maker's Mark, great sales on Single-Malt Scotch. If your liquor of choice is on sale on the ship, buy it the first night--you won't go wrong. If it is on sale in port (especially St Thomas or St Kitts)--buy it there. We found the best deals at DURFY at St Kitts by the port.

 

4) Raffles--if you are into this--there are a lot in both the fine jewelry store and in many of the presentations.

 

5) Diamond Lounge--Wonderful. Great servers.

 

6) Overall experience--One of our best cruises!

 

Hope you all enjoy your RCCL experiences!

 

Bill

[Ms Jo UK]

Thank you so much for posting your thoughts we sail on her in September and I am soaking up everyscrap of information I can get - thank you

[danp]

Loved the review. we will be doing a B2B in September.

Does the D+ have an outside sitting area?

[tupperny]

Don't know about Diamond Plus, but the Diamond Lounge did have an outside area so I am assuming that Diamond Plus did as well.

 

Bill

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

 

Do you recall any drink cards for sale?

[rogicoco]

just came back from the same cruise. We were back to back on it. The service was wonderful on this ship. Everything you said is true about the food and condition of the ship. Everything is spotless. Sucel in a Diamond lounge is wonderful along with the staff. The lounge does have outdoor space which is great.

[gowensricks]

This is not a complete blow-by-blow of the cruise--but rather the highlights that two Diamond Members observed. Our ports: St Thomas, St Kitts, Curacao and Aruba. We had a great balcony cabin (8558).

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

1) First night menu was different. Instead of the normal Prime Rib, the "Chive" menu was used which featured Steak Diane. Although the steak was thin, it was cook perfectly for both of us (rare for me and medium-well for my wife) and extremely tender.

 

2) Great ports with Curacao being the least favorite. If you are a shopper--don't plan on shopping here. Tax is charged (depending on the store), selection is less and store employees less than helpful.

 

3) Ship is in great shape! Don't let other tell you otherwise. Yes, carpets need replacing as does bedding, but still a wonderful ship.

 

4) Meals were wonderful. Similar dishes were better prepared on this ship compared to recent experiences!

 

5) Giovanni's was wonderful (especially tenderloin)! We ate there on day 5 and there was a promotion ($20 instead of normal $30) for second formal night, so we took advantage of that! No regrets. For appetizers, we enjoyed scallops, risotto and gnocchi.

 

6) Diamond Club in main dining room is great for diamond members for breakfast. Complementary cappuccinos and excellent service.

 

NEGATIVES

 

1) Beds--not the most comfortable. However, we were tired enough so slept well each night.

 

2) Port and Shopping experience--adequate at best. VIP cards did nothing. Information given was inaccurate and several promotions were not available. Are ship drawings/raffles legit?

 

3) Communication--especially from Guest services. We asked at the beginning of the cruise about Beer tastings, ice skating, galley tours and each time received incorrect information.

 

4) Windjammer--selections are less than before and often the same each day. (Both lunch and breakfast). Where is Honey Stung Chicken? Yes, there is plenty of selection that everyone can find a meal that they like. However, it is the same each day and variety is lacking.

 

5) Draft Beer Selection--for the serious beer drinker--the pub has some half-decent selections (Newcastle was my favorite). RCCL needs to add more selection here.

 

POSITIVES

 

1) Dining Room Food--better than before! Quality is better (a unique experience for this ship?).

 

2) Ice Skating show--yes, these are not the Olympic Gold Medalists, but thoroughly entertaining. (The same for the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers)--we loved each show.

 

3) Shopping at ports--especially St Kitts. If you are interested in purchasing Liquor--St Kitts is your place--$27 for 1 L of Maker's Mark, great sales on Single-Malt Scotch. If your liquor of choice is on sale on the ship, buy it the first night--you won't go wrong. If it is on sale in port (especially St Thomas or St Kitts)--buy it there. We found the best deals at DURFY at St Kitts by the port.

 

4) Raffles--if you are into this--there are a lot in both the fine jewelry store and in many of the presentations.

 

5) Diamond Lounge--Wonderful. Great servers.

 

6) Overall experience--One of our best cruises!

 

Hope you all enjoy your RCCL experiences!

 

Bill

 

Thank you for the wonderful review! we board on Saturday and based upon your review, I am even more excited now!

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

You seem picky and hard to please...

[minnz21]

Any chance someone has pictures or know of current beer and cocktail prices on the ship?

[Clarea]

Any chance someone has pictures or know of current beer and cocktail prices on the ship?

Beer is in the $6 to $8 range and cocktails run around $12.

[Luv my furbaby]

Thanks for review. Will be doing same route in November - after refurb! This will be my first junior suite, aft cabin and the cruise that will move me up to the diamond level!!!

[riclop]

Thanks for the thoughts.

[Ashland]

We're just off the Adventure too...B2B May 7th & May 14th. We had an amazing cabin steward...Bruce. Surprised us (and certainly didn't ask) but he decided the shower curtain needed to be replaced, new headboard and shampooed the carpet...have never seen the attention to detail and pride of keeping his cabins looking their best.

 

Even though we could have used the CL we opted for the DL and loved Sucel and the waitstaff.

 

MTD food was great...but very disappointed in usually our favorite place the WJ.

 

Also DH wasn't happy with the bright lights at the poolside movies making it hard to see the screen, sound, seating poolside..not very easy to see the screen, and usually having the better movies play poolside and not rotating them with the screening room....and just a lack of courtesy of other movie watchers...really when you enter the screening room...shut the door...and do remove your big beach sun hat's.

 

Also they really seemed to push the med-spa, acupuncture, and foot analysis..having these 3 guys standing in the Promenade every night.

 

FYI...Do check your SeaPass account...many mistakes seem to be made (pre-loaded drinks & free wash-n-fold) during each of our two weeks....they were easy to rectify with guest services....but still.

 

And thought the Voom package we had pre-purchased for $63.63 per week was a great deal...considering there was still some kinks as far as reception to be worked out...but then again much better than the old version.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Ashland

[Yorkvillain]

Nice breakdown. Thanks.

[chawkjewel]

We were also on this cruise and had a great time. There apparently was a routine coast guard inspection the morning of the 14th that delayed boarding. Fortunately we were in the first group so we didn't have to stand outside in the heat. I did notice that our stateroom wasn't as cleaned out as I would have expected (dirty silverware in the drawer) but I attribute that to the inspection. No worries here.

 

The french fries were different than on the other ships we have been on this year and were not as good IMHO. But there was no lack of choices for things to eat. And the food was quite good. Of course food is always subjective but we enjoyed it.

 

There was the drink card offered on day 4. $85 for 10. We got several cards in our group and had to consume more than we preferred on the last sea day to get them all used up. Two long days in Curacao and Aruba prevented us from using them too much on those days.

 

We had a great time at each port. Only had one shower on our excursion in St. Kitts but that didn't impact our trip at all. I think our favorite stop was Aruba and we would like to go back to experience more of that island.