Late but Live from Adventure of the Seas. Feb 10-16

[badvector]

Good morning from the Adventure of the Seas as we currently sit at port in Nassau on a 6-night cruise vacation.  I debated whether to do a live from thread as writing is definitely not one of my hidden talents but figured I would force myself to expand my horizons as they say.    We are currently on leg one of a B2B trip that has to be one of the best deals we’ve gotten since we first cruised with Royal in 1997 on Sovereign of the Seas; a cruise we won on a scratch off lottery ticket.  Sadly, we didn’t get back to cruising until around 2007 when we decided it was cheaper to take our family of four on a cruise than go to Disney another time.

 

We are cruising by ourselves this leg so I figured I would have the time to put words to paper or in this case to a screen. We are being joined by family for the second leg so I’ll sign off after the current one. Leg one of our trip we are in a casino comp ocean view room on the 12^th floor and leg two we are in an ocean view room on the second floor. We were originally in an aft balcony for the second leg but since Royal oversold their balconies, we were one of a group of folks that gave up our balconies for an ocean view and a refund of our cruise fare. Not a bad deal at all in my humble opinion.

For a brief history on us, we are in our mid-late 50’s (Okay, I’m late and my wonderful wife is just this year entering the mid) and retired.  We have around 20 cruises under our belt with Royal and have done pretty much all of the different ship classes at this point (other than Icon). This is our first on the Adventure and Voyager class in general. Most of our cruises have been on the Radiance class of ships as we often sail in/out of Tampa. We are definitely not the most experienced cruisers by far but we have spent many nights at sea. Let’s get to this.

 

Day 1 and embarkation – We had a 10:30 arrival time at the pier and received several reminders that we needed to stick to our assigned time. We got to the port around 9:55 and unloaded our bags and proceeded to parking. Yes, parking at the port is stupid expensive, but when we do get back we need to be able to head directly to our car and start our trip back north ASAP as we also have a couple of stops on the way home to Michigan.  Upon entering the port and going through security they had three seating areas set up for the key, the 10:30 slot and the 11:00 slot. The suite guests and Pins also had their own area. Not sure what they were doing with anyone that had a different arrival slot and they really weren’t checking anything. They just asked what time slot you had and assigned you to the corresponding section.  They opened up boarding shortly after 10:30 and started with the Suites/Pins and then went in order of times after the “key” folks. Boarding was quick and we didn’t experience any issues at all.   The staff was directing everyone to their muster stations once on board and folks actually seemed to be following directions. I think we only heard one announcement that a few folks needed to finish their safety briefing. 

We grabbed some lunch in the windjammer and decided to schedule dinner at Giovani’s for the first time using one of our BOGO coupons. They didn’t require us to use it for any specific night and allowed us to schedule dinner for night six. I have seen different reports indicating that some had to use these only on nights one or two but we were pleased we could use it later.  Not sure if it’s an indication that the specialty dining isn’t a big seller this sailing or if it’s just the ship policy.  Lunch was the standard fare in the jammer and it was a combination of pretty good to meh, I’ll pass on this item the next time.  I get that the food is extremely subjective and opinions vary far and wide. All I can say is the food really wasn’t any different than our last cruise in September. It was standard buffet fare and the quality/taste was the same that what we’ve experienced the last few sailings.

 

After lunch we did a tour of the spa since this is our first time on this class.  I feel that the exercise room is smaller than what I’m used to seeing on the Radiance class and surprisingly, no thermal suite.  They do have a couples room that has salt scrub and seaweed skin cream with a steam room that you could book for $45 (plus 20% gratuity) for an hour per couple. Being the adventurous types, we decided to give it a rip and scheduled it for our first sea day (day 3). Honestly though, this is something we’ve never done but figured we’d try it since we really haven’t spent anything for this vacation other than port fees/taxes and eventually gratuities.  I am surprised though that the whole spa and gym area does seem considerably smaller for a larger ship than what we usually sail on. Maybe it’s just me. 

 

Had dinner in the MDR this evening and I went with the prime rib while the Mrs. went with the fried chicken. The prime rib was very good. It was tender and very flavorful.  The chicken on the other hand was a won’t get it again item.  The chicken was more the size of a Cornish hen, dry and the coating was really not that crispy. They serve the honey/tabasco sauce on the side so that’s not an excuse for the not so crispy chicken.  The waiter did warn though that folks had complained that the chicken was dry so we had fair warning.  As with recent past experiences for us, service was excellent and we were also visited by the head waiter and given his card. The card is something we haven’t seen before so not sure when they started it.  Maybe it’s because of the recent complaints regarding food and or service but again, our service was great.  Dinner service was quick and efficient for the first night and we did have early seating for dinner so I’m not sure how MTD went for decks 4 and 5.  There wasn’t a giant line waiting outside of deck 3 when we left so I’ll assume it was going okay. 

 

After dinner we walked around for a bit and made our way to the theatre for the opening show.  The orchestra started things out with a couple of numbers and then were joined by the singers and dancers for a quick number.  I’m always amazed at the talent in the orchestra. I don’t think we’ve ever seen a bad performance from them.  The main entertainment for the night was comedian Bruce Gold and he had a good show.  It was family friendly and he was quite entertaining.  Great participation with the audience and we’re looking forward to seeing him again.  After the show we did a brief run through the casino which was packed to the brim. Only played for about 15 minutes and left because it was just too tightly packed and smoky for us. You could barely move through the machines and many times you would have to turn back around and leave the way you came in because the rows were just too tight.  We finished the evening watching karaoke in the Imperial lounge.

 

Some general observations from the day. Saw a family walking around with a 35-bottle case of water so it appears no policing of that policy. We also walked on with four bottles of wine and nobody questioned us about it at all. I’m sure they didn’t know we were doing a B2B so no policing of that either.  Now I’m not recommending anything, just sharing our experience.  The ship is almost full and you can definitely tell.  This is the first time since the restart where we have encountered crowds this big. I imagine next week will be even crazier. You can also tell Royal has constantly been running the kids sail free promo. For the most part, we haven’t seen too many kids on the rampage and running solo through the ship but it is day one. 

[Tree_skier]

Awesome and just in time... We're joining you on the second leg. This will be there perfect primer to get things going.  

[Harrisonkid]

i gotta ask...was that prime rib One Order or a double? Looks great

[badvector]

1 hour ago, Harrisonkid said:

i gotta ask...was that prime rib One Order or a double? Looks great

It was a single order. Whoever cut it kind of butchered it so it was more like one and a half. It really was good.

[badvector]

Day 2 Nassau – Good afternoon from the Crown Lounge where I’m having my second latte of the day. This reminded me that I forgot to post earlier that there are no restrictions for the Crown Lounge this sailing.  All diamond and above are welcome.  It’s a beautiful day outside with clear blue skies, a temperature of 79 degrees and a light sea breeze.  We’re parked amongst family in the bustling little island of Nassau.

One new realization with our stateroom is that you can hear the winds battering against the windows through the night. (Well at least I could). I also can’t say I experienced the rock you to sleep motion as much as a shake you to wake you up motion.  Again, it may just be me but I may have changed my mind about booking this room in the future.  We’ll see how it goes the rest of the cruise.  I really like the view and location but I’m not sold on how well I’ll sleep.

The gym was pretty busy at the weight machines this morning.  One of the two multi-use machines was broken which caused a little wait for the machines but it didn’t take too long.  Lots of room available on the treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, rowers and climbers at 7am. 

We grabbed breakfast at the windjammer around 8:30 and the line to get in wasn’t too bad.  Having said that, It’s been a long time since we’ve had to wait in line to get into it.  I’m not sure if it’s because of the layout or if it’s just that busy or a combination of the two.  I like the layout in the Radiance class better but maybe it’s because that’s what we’re so accustomed to.  I ordered an omelet this morning and was given a pager to alert me when it was ready.  This is the first time we’ve seen this and I really think it’s a great idea. No more wandering around checking on the status of my order.  

Lots of room available around the pool as it looks like a good percentage of the passengers disembarked to visit the island today.  Based on the response of the crowd at the show last night it sounded like there are a lot of first-time cruisers on board so it’s not surprising.  The solarium was completely full by noon though. 

Well, we may have run into our first disappointing glitch of the cruise. I noticed on my statement that we are being charged $64 for our $45 spa special. I fully expected it to be $54 when the gratuity was added but I am being told that the gratuity is based on the non-discounted price.  I am trying to figure out how you can be charged a gratuity on a price that you aren’t paying.  This was not explained this way and I’ll have to take it up with guest services as if we cancel now, we have to still pay 50% of the cost.  Just a heads up so others can be aware of the practice. It may be the norm but as I said, it wasn’t explained this way and we’ve not really used the spa before.

Tonight’s show is the skating show at Studio B but we’ll probably opt for the Superbowl.  MDR menu for tonight is a taste of Mexico so not sure if we’ll do it or hit the jammer for Tex-Mex night.

[patattack]

Enjoying your review.  I have not been on the Adventure yet. 

 

pat

[Harrisonkid]

How about your thoughts on the Ships condition . Went on Her years ago and I understand it went thru some Updates in about 2018 so any insight would be wonderful 

[badvector]

1 hour ago, Harrisonkid said:

How about your thoughts on the Ships condition . Went on Her years ago and I understand it went thru some Updates in about 2018 so any insight would be wonderful 

 

I feel like the ship is in really good condition overall.  It has the normal wear and tear but it's definitely not the worst I've seen. Having said that, there are some large windows around the ship that could be replaced and many more that could just use a good cleaning. I'll try to grab some pics around the ship today since we're at sea.

[ramja96]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts/experiences.  We'll be joining you on Adventure in 4 days. Getting excited!

[badvector]

Day 3 At Sea – Good morning from Adventure of the Seas. We are almost halfway between Nassau and Puerto Plata currently heading southeast at 16.5 knots.  Congratulations to the Chiefs on their B2B superbowl wins.  I didn’t have a dog in the fight but it was still a great match up.  The gym wasn’t as busy this morning since it is a sea day. Had no wait to use any of the equipment.  Walking over for breakfast we noticed that there was still a lot of availability for seating around both the pool and in the solarium.  The pics attached are from around 7:45 am. Taking a more in depth look around the ship one will notice what I would consider the normal rust spots outside and banisters that need refinished. There’s also some stained furniture and carpet spots but honestly, given how much activity goes on, I feel like the ship is in good overall condition.  We have definitely seen worse. When we took Serenade from Tampa to Boston back in September she was in pretty rough shape and definitely needed some work. 

We did dinner last night in the MDR and opted for the pulled pork enchilada. The pork itself was a little dry but the flavor was delicious.  The waiter warned that it might be a little spicy because of the sauce and he was spot on. It was a good amount of spice in my opinion but if you don’t like spicy food, you will definitely want to try something different. I wasn’t a fan of the rice on the dish especially on its own. Mixed with the enchilada and sauce it was just okay in my opinion so I pretty much skipped the rice. 

Superbowl was available for viewing pretty much anywhere on the ship including the staterooms. ESPN carried a simulcast so you got the game but not the million-dollar commercials.

I’m sipping one of the fu-fu lattes from the wonderful coffee machine in the Crown lounge waiting to head down to the spa in about 15 minutes.  The lounge is nice but not real big. I can see it filling up in no time for happy hour and even for breakfast snacks and coffee on a sea day. If anybody wondered you can get the machine on-line for around $8k. It’s a Melita Kafina XT4. 

 

We plan to try and get down to the top tier event later today to get the numbers for this sailing.

 

[Harrisonkid]

This is awesome..keep your thoughts and pictures coming !

[cello56]

May I ask if you are in a two or three/four person cabin? (Does the sofa pull out into a bed). We are sailing in these cabins next month are trying to figure out the space available for my small scooter. We will be in cabin 1824.

[2chiefs]

We love the Adventure and have been on her 4 times (last time May of last year). We also sail her again in May 2025. Thanks for the review. We love the RCL ships with the Crown lounge way up by the Viking Crown Lounge. The new lounges in the "basements", not so good. 

[badvector]

1 hour ago, cello56 said:

May I ask if you are in a two or three/four person cabin? (Does the sofa pull out into a bed). We are sailing in these cabins next month are trying to figure out the space available for my small scooter. We will be in cabin 1824.

 

Ours holds 2 in 1856. The gentleman next to us leaves his in the hallway. If it fits through the door, I believe there would be space if the room is similar to ours. I'll try to remember and take a pic for you.

Edited February 12 by badvector
Spelling

[badvector]

Numbers for the cruise from the top tier:

 

Pins-53

D+-248

D-246

Em-110

Plat-195

G-709

 

Top 3 in points: 1784, 1681, 1562

[PhillyFan33579]

7 minutes ago, badvector said:

 

Ours holds 2 in 1856. The gentleman next to us leaves his in the hallway. If it fits through the door, I believe there would be space if it's similar to ours. I'll try to remember and take a pic for you.

Enjoyed reading your review so far. My experience on numerous ships is they will let you use the Diamond Plus BOGO for a speciality restaurant any night of the cruise (assuming the restaurant isn’t completely booked), but they will charge you for it on the first or second day. That has been the case for us over the last several months on Freedom, Independence, Liberty and just lost week on Icon. We normally use the BOGO at Chops, but last week on Icon we used it at Hooked, which is my favorite RCI speciality restaurant. 

[MLAW]

We will be joining you on Friday so thanks for the review to help get me excited (although, lets be honest, I don't need a review to get me excited LOL).   It looks like you are having good weather so far.  Hope it holds for us on the next sailing!

[cruisegirl1976]

We just got off Adventure this past saturday, loved it, have fun!

[badvector]

3 hours ago, cello56 said:

May I ask if you are in a two or three/four person cabin? (Does the sofa pull out into a bed). We are sailing in these cabins next month are trying to figure out the space available for my small scooter. We will be in cabin 1824.

 

Here's the pics. Hope it helps.

 

 

[GeorgiaGuys]

We are joining you this Friday.  So excited to set sail so your live report will help me get through this week!

[badvector]

Day 3 At Sea continued– Grabbed a little lunch after the spa and realized a couple of things I forgot to post earlier.  If you’re not familiar with the Adventure, it has one of the handwashing stations at each side of the entrance.  It’s a one-way street to enter (at least they have been maintaining that so far) and that is part of the reason for the back-ups.  The other thing I realized today is that there is no pizza in the windjammer.  The only place you can grab a slice on the ship is at the café’ on Deck 5.  There also is really cream in the cream container I posted the pic of earlier.  Just had to throw that in after some of the previous discussions I’ve seen on here.

 

The couple’s thermal spa suite was definitely worth the $45 in our opinion.  I still think the gratuity charge is complete crap but we enjoyed our time in there and felt completely refreshed and relaxed afterwards. 

 

Dress to impress night is tonight and this evening’s entertainment is the singers and dancers doing “Invitation to Dance”.  We’ve got no set plans for Puerto Plata tomorrow.  I think we’re just going to walk around and explore a bit.  Might take the cable car up and back.

 

Also threw in a pic of the chef's  amenity for those wondering. It's a couple of rum balls, peanut butter-chocolate crispy bar, chocolate covered strawberry and cake.

 

[texasts]

Thanks so much for the great review and pictures! We will be on the Adventure in May for our twin daughters college graduation trip!

[badvector]

13 minutes ago, texasts said:

Thanks so much for the great review and pictures! We will be on the Adventure in May for our twin daughters college graduation trip!

 

That's awesome.  Congratulations on their graduation! Our daughter just graduated in December. We'll be back on Adventure with our 20 something kids for the New Years eve cruise. It will be the first time in 10 years that we cruise together again. 

[Mary&Jim]

I'm enjoying your review of the Adventure. We were on her in November '23 and again last month. I agree with your observation of the public areas. Carpet and furniture need a good cleaning. Overall, a great ship, though. We will be back in March. 

 

[FusionMJM]

Great review! We'll be on the 3/9 sailing. If you happen to get a chance if you're at Cafe Promenade, could you ask if they stock any gluten free cookies there? Other ships I have sailed offered pre-packaged Udi's chocolate chip cookies behind the counter. Much appreciated if you could!