Adventure of the Seas, 1st and probably last cruise.

[Havingfun2010]

We still have a couple of days left of our cruise, I will say my observations are mine alone and completely down to personal taste.

 

Embarking in NJ took us twice as long as it did to actually get from Manhattan to the terminal. Getting to the drop off point once we’d arrived took 2 hours it didn’t seem very organised, however, once dropped off security and check in were very quick and we were onboard 20 mins later.

 

Our cabin was (is) nice, no complaints. Large bed and pretty comfortable. Shower is nice and hot with good pressure.

 

Due to our schedules this was the only time we had for us all to be together at the same time, if things were different we would have chosen a different cruise.

 

The ports were disappointing, the Alligator jungle excursion in Port Canaveral was pretty awful although the people running the adventure jungle were very very nice and had great senses of humour the whole outfit was pretty poor. Rescued animals in very small concrete enclosures, having to watch an alligator with its mouth taped shut passed around like a cuddly toy. No lunch provided but you could buy fried alligator or a burger if you wanted. It was a very long 5+ hours.

 

Cococay felt like a tropical Blackpool in the UK, masses of bodies in a small space the water wasn’t great for snorkelling and overall just felt very over commercialised.

 

The food is mediocre at best, I’m a vegetarian and there really isn’t much of a choice for those like me. Salads and a veggie curry, I’ve seen broccoli on offer no other vegetables. Plenty of fruit though which is great.

 

Stepdaughter and husband both meat eaters said the meat is always very over cooked.

 

The staff are wonderful having done 3 8 month contracts on ships I know how hard they work and they have been exceptional they are the ones who make the cruises.

 

Mary Poppins is played on repeat by the pool. The ship I think is too big for us, it’s mass produced food and very commercialised.

 

We have enjoyed spending time together as a family and we haven’t hated our trip but I don’t feel we got our money’s worth and for what we paid I expected much higher standards.

 

I’m not at all knocking those who love cruising, it’s just not for us.

 

 

 

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Did I read this correctly? You did three 8 month contracts on a ship, and you had no idea what to expect on a ship? Average food? Touristy excursions? Lack of vegetarian foods? Private Island is commercialized? Thousands of people checking in during a very short window? I would think you would already know all this from living on a ship for 24 months (2 years).

[Ocean Boy]

Did I read this correctly? You did three 8 month contracts on a ship, and you had no idea what to expect on a ship? Average food? Touristy excursions? Lack of vegetarian foods? Private Island is commercialized? Thousands of people checking in during a very short window? I would think you would already know all this from living on a ship for 24 months (2 years).

With the lack of punctuation I was not sure if the OP was talking about himself or crew members.

[gatour]

Sorry you are not enjoying your cruise. But the "three 8 months contracts" also caught my eye.

 

About vegetarian items. From my understanding, there is a seperate "indian" menu that people have ordered off. It may have additional vegetarian options.

 

 

Did I read this correctly? You did three 8 month contracts on a ship, and you had no idea what to expect on a ship? Average food? Touristy excursions? Lack of vegetarian foods? Private Island is commercialized? Thousands of people checking in during a very short window? I would think you would already know all this from living on a ship for 24 months (2 years).

[BNBR]

I'm assuming you're on the PC, Miami, Nassau, Coco Cay itinerary.

 

I can't speak to Adventure as I've never been, but I will say that those are some of the worst ports and for the most part, a complete waste of time (IMO). I feel like a crappy itinerary can make one jaded about the entire trip as a whole. Like I said, the ship might be terrible, not questioning you, but if I were in your shoes, there isn't a ship in the sea that would make up for that itinerary.

 

It's all what you make of it. I could have a blast at all of those stops.

[L1211]

Hey OP, try speciality dining. We thought the MDR on Royal was almost average and who wants to experience that on vacation?? But we found the speciality venues outstanding! Good luck...

 

 

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[asalligo]

I am sorry you did not enjoy it. I know several people who have tried cruising at least twice and are sure they hate it. My next door neighbor says he felt trapped for seven days on a cruise and that there was nothing to do, where I could spend the rest of my life on a cruise and never look back.

 

I do know that I kept thinking on my sixth cruise on the Carnival Dream, that had this been my first cruise experience, I may have never become hooked on cruising. I think that boat is too large for me and very disorganized for it's size. With Carnival, I need smaller boats as I think they do not manage large ships well. So, I encourage you to try again if there was any part of the experience you enjoyed and my advice is a smaller ship with a better itinerary.

 

I have never had a good piece of steak on a ship yet, I think they are scared to cook it rare.

[marci22]

Can't argue about the food in the MDR. I agree that it was disappointing on AD.

[Rogueperson]

I can understand why they may feel that the itinerary wasn't very interesting. You have two apparently throwaway ports (Miami and Port Canaveral which are usually embarkation ports) and the private island Cococay.

 

Now, I for one understand about Cococay. I'm not a beach person, so Cococay is a bit lost on me. When I finally made it to cococay, I found it underwhelming considering the huge hype over it. I'm curious what the new developments will bring, but I get the impression if its like Labadee, I'm not going to be too thrilled about it. Private islands are big beach days, and you're kind of lost if you don't care about the beach much.

 

Now, Port Canaveral and Miami, I discovered recently on my Grandeur cruise in April, are hidden gems as ports.

 

Miami is super easy to navigate. They have a free trolley that circulates around downtown, but with uber, you can pretty much explore much of the downtown area for about 5 bucks a trip. With that kind of flexibility, you can visit little Havana, try a restaurant, bar, whatever. South Beach is chocked full of stuff to explore. I surprised myself when i discovered how easy it was (I don't usually use uber or lyft). I ended up at Midtown at a Diner's Drive thrus and dive restaurant which was very good.

 

Port Canaveral, a vehicle rental (or a friend with a car like i had) is essential. However, if you get that out of the way, the entire area opens up to you. Usually, the Port Canaveral stay is quite long, so you have time to drive. There are SOOOO many touristy things to do that is not a theme park. I personally went Zombie hunting. It was a combination of a haunted house and laser tag. We had so much fun. At Disney downtown, there's a Star Wars attraction one can go to (I would have done it if i had known about it and made reservations). The one bad thing about PC is around the port area, there's not much of anything.

 

The fact that you are still in the continental US, means your cellphone will work and you can pretty much have access to all data and apps. I will not hesitate to book a cruise that hits these ports again due to the fact I had so much fun the last time.

[Laurie12820]

So things shown at the pool can't possibly be different than "a few weeks ago"?

Never said it couldn't, just thought the OP was exaggerating a bit about the movie selection by the pool. Maybe they're actually on a Disney cruise instead. :')

[WanderingDust]

Never said it couldn't, just thought the OP was exaggerating a bit about the movie selection by the pool. Maybe they're actually on a Disney cruise instead. :')

 

 

 

No you implied I was lying which I am not.

 

I did do 3 contracts on ships yes. Never on RC and in the 90’s so it was very different. Also being a crew member you obviously don’t get the same experience as being a passenger.

 

Like I have said, we’ve enjoyed our time as a family however cruising on a large ship is not for us!

 

Have a lovely time those of you headed on cruises soon :)

 

 

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[Laurie12820]

No you implied I was lying which I am not.

 

I did do 3 contracts on ships yes. Never on RC and in the 90’s so it was very different. Also being a crew member you obviously don’t get the same experience as being a passenger.

 

Like I have said, we’ve enjoyed our time as a family however cruising on a large ship is not for us!

 

Have a lovely time those of you headed on cruises soon :)

 

 

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I definitely think there is something to be said for the smaller ships. My first cruise was on one of Royals smallest ships and there was definitely a different experience on a smaller ship.

[actuarian]

Agree, but celebrity buffet is much nicer, to get a good steak need to go to specialty , chops is normally very good. Agree ports are not my favorites but you should research that before hand.

 

In my experience, you do not need to go to a specialty restaurant to get a good steak but you do have to pay extra. Chops quality filet mignon is always available in the MDR for an up charge, $16.95 during my last cruise. The steak I got for the extra charge was as good as the steaks I have had at Chops for $35. Of course, if you get the extra cost steak in the MDR, you do not get the Chops service, side dishes, appetizers and deserts so, when you factor those in, you may get more for the money at Chops. That is certainly true if you can get Chops at a reduced price via a dining package or First Night Done Right.

[Merion_Mom]

No idea why every time someone does not fall in love with cruising there are always some who will try to convince them to try another. If I tried a certain type of vacation and it wasn't to my liking I certainly would not waste my money or vacation time on the same type of vacation again.

 

People seem to take it so personally if someone doesn't feel cruising is the best thing on earth.

 

I agree. Cruising is not for everyone.

 

I do however agree that I would NEVER book that itinerary. It, in my opinion if course, is horrible.

 

I was thinking that someone from Britain, who had not visited these places in the US, would enjoy it very much.

[lovesthebeach2]

You can’t compare cruises from the 90s to now, so much has changed. All the cruise lines have cut back as much as they can, in every way. I still love cruising, but it’s not for everyone.

[Ocean Boy]

 

I was thinking that someone from Britain, who had not visited these places in the US, would enjoy it very much.

That could well be. I approach itineraries as someone trying to escape New England winters as well as someone who loves being on islands. Miami and the Cape Canaveral area are just not the atmosphere I'm looking for when I cruise. They might be great stops for a U.S. visitor though.

[Bloodgem]

I was thinking that someone from Britain, who had not visited these places in the US, would enjoy it very much.

I won't. I hate beach day, mind you I hate sunbathing and lounging around the pool :D

[cruisinfanatic]

I won't. I hate beach day, mind you I hate sunbathing and lounging around the pool :D

If I hated those things, I'd be choosing a different vacation

[Bloodgem]

If I hated those things, I'd be choosing a different vacation

Wow no wonder you have said this after reading some of your reviews. Have you tried cruising in Europe? Imoh I would recommend a Norwegian Fjords cruise.

[cruisinfanatic]

Wow no wonder you have said this after reading some of your reviews. Have you tried cruising in Europe? Imoh I would recommend a Norwegian Fjords cruise.

Someday maybe. We did a 2 week land tour in Europe several years ago.

Wife has really bad back and long flights are a problem

[Bloodgem]

Someday maybe. We did a 2 week land tour in Europe several years ago.

Wife has really bad back and long flights are a problem

Sorry to hear about your wife bad back. My son cannot fly for medical reasons so I know where you are coming from and why we only cruise around Europe with him. <3

[wytygr8]

The first rule of Florida tourism is to never do anything with “gator” in the name.

[Miryam1234]

Like I said we haven’t hated it it’s just not for us. We’ve had a great time as a family it just hasn’t met our expectations. This is purely a personal observation not stated as fact for everyone!

 

 

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May I ask; what were your expectations? Because most of the times, the disappointment follows when the expectations aren't met.

 

Sorry your not enjoying thoroughly. We sailed with another family on our very first cruise. That family never returned, as they felt the same way as you (=cruising is just not their thing) and we were hooked from the first step, really looking forward to the next cruise in 270 days or something.

[welshrich]

Sorry you aren't having a great time, the itinerary is not one of my favorites either, but I'd certainly swap it right now instead of being sat at my desk. :D

 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation.

[lbjen]

Did you fly in from the UK for this cruise? I can understand why you’re upset if you have transatlantic flights tacked on to the price of your trip and you’re not really enjoying it.

 

I haven’t been to CocoCay but have been to Labadee. I’ve also spent significant amounts of time in Blackpool and I am really struggling to make the comparison!

[SWACruiser]

Sorry for your experience on the Adventure, We have sailed three times on that ship and will be on the November 10 sailing. It is one of our favorite ships, the staff are excellent, and the stops on our sailing are wonderful. I know cruises are not for everyone, but we think they are heavenly. SWACruiser