Adventure of the Sea's Critique

[marine vet 1968]

My family and I left out of San Juan for a 7 day cruise on RCI in late May/early June. Peviously, we have cruised 5 times on Princess. We were looking forward to cruising on the Adventure. I have to say that we were a bit dissappointed in the RCI ship.

1. The food in the main dining was average at best.

2. The staff on the ship went through the motions, but I generally did not get that "personal" feeling that I have gotten on a princess ship. I felt that the staff really didn't care that much. (who was our room attendant?)

3. The rock climbing wall was not all that accessible. Only 1 person at a time could go up it every time I saw it open (which was only once).

4. The ice arena was nice, also had limited hours.

5. What's with the buffet / cafeteria on this ship - limited hours:confused: . After a show, we wanted to get a snack, but it was always closed. After a while, we quit going:mad: .

6. Why do they have limited hours on the frosty ice cream machine? Ok, the one in the closed cafeteria was not available, but why close the one out on the deck? I always felt cheated when it was closed.

7. The stage shows were ok, but we always walked out on them due to lack of interest (we went to get a bite or an ice cream.....but noooooooo!:mad: ).

8. There was food available (limited) on the main concourse, but it was in a small area.

9. All the bars on deck seem to close early (or open later than we stay up). How many times did we stroll around deck looking to get a drink, but unable to sit and enjoy the evening?:o

10. The debarcation in San Juan was a absolute disaster. We had an early flight and just barely got to the airport in time. The choke point appeared to be US Customs, but RCI gave no indication as to what was going on. It appeared as if their computer system on their exit machine was not working. They had at least 4 time groups trying to get off the boat at the same time (we were in the 1st group). People were cutting lines (inadvertantly since there were no lines), people were getting angry. Lucky there were no fights thoug so word were flying around. A fitting end for this cruise.

 

This cruise experience was rated disappointing. Will we cruise with RCI again?, probably not. It has been a couple of years since we cruised with princess. Hopefully, they have not gone downhill since their merger with Carnival. We will cruise again.

[ckrobyn]

Yikes! So sorry your cruise was a disappointment.

We had the polar opposite experience on the AOS in January - had a great cruise with amazing crew and delicious ( as well as plentiful - food) I have re-booked us for a back to back in Feb 2007.

Hard to believe we were on the same ship?

[nanfromatlanta]

Sorry to hear that you did not enjoy the AOS. We cruised her last year on the Aruba route and had a ball. We loved the mini sandwiches and cookies at the Cafe' Promenade which were available at almost all hours. We are not fans of Johnny Rockets, but they seemed to be open late. Our dining room staff and our room steward were top notch.

 

We cruised on the Caribbean Princess two years ago and were as dissapointed with her as you were with the AOS. We has some seasoned Princess cruisers with us who were in total agreemant, and are now happy RCCL cruisers.

 

Hope you have better luck with your future cruises on whichever cruise line you select.

[cruisinmon]

Sorry if the AOS didnt meet your needs! Sailed on NOS loved it. Windjammer food was great. Ice rink was great. Promenade cafe was open most of the time with snacks and sandwiches . The cruise is what you make it and i think you were looking to not enjoy RCI good luck on Princess, sorry I wont see you in the future.

[TexasMom2]

I'm sorry the cruise didn't live up to your expectations. I sailed the AOS a year ago and it was near perfect, and sailed Princess in December and was surprised that the overall cruise experience fell way short of my 2 prior RCI experiences.

 

Sometimes it takes awhile to get your bearings on a ship to find out what is open and when, and where the best munchies are. The buffet should have the hours posted outside, and you can also find that information in the daily newsletter. The room service menus on RCI are pretty extensive. We always found something yummy at the Cafe Promenade if we were hungry between meals.

 

Now that you've found these boards, you can research your next cruise in advance to find the perfect fit. If you are considering Princess, understand that they don't have frosty ice cream machines and only offer ice cream one hour per day in the buffet so there is usually a long line. We were never available for that hour to get in line so can't speak to the quality of the ice cream. You can get ice cream in the dining room at lunch and dinner, though. Also, room service menu is limited to cold breakfast and a few items to choose from at lunch and dinner.

 

I hope your next cruise is a better experience.

[marine vet 1968]

To cruisinmon - there was food available on the promenade, though a limited selection. I didn't book 2 balcony cabins for my family NOT to enjoy the cruise. In fact, we thought that the AOS looked pretty cool based on the ads. My son is an avid rock climber. He brought his shoes to enjoy the wall...didn't happen. Believe me, we wanted and expected a great time.

 

To Cruize - please... I give you an honest assesment of my cruise experience and I'm asked if I'm a shill? I'm glad that you're in the RCI camp and they can do no wrong. I wished that my experience was otherwise.

 

As i said above....we wanted and expected a great time!

[GMoney]

Was there anything you liked?

 

I don't get the rock climbing limitation. I've always seen multiple people using it. Some times are busier than others, and I know it's usually not open while in port, but it surprises me you could find more opportunity to take advantage of it.

[Cruising89143]

In all due respect it sounds like you went on this cruise to eat rather than enjoy the other amenities on the ship. I have sailed the Navigator twice which is her sister and never had a problem finding food. You could have always gone to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream if you wanted it that bad and for a snack as you say then the Cafe Promenade offers enough for a snack.

 

Sounds like Princess might be a better fit for you. I would stick with them.

[happysinglemom]

Sorry to hear your cruise was not what you had hoped, but ours could not have been better.

 

1) We thought the food in the dining room was delicious. We ate there every night but one, and thoroughly enjoyed our meals.

2) Our room attendant was wonderful to us - extremely friendly and could not do enough. And the dining room staff? Wow. Just wow. We will never ever forget them.

3) No desire to use the rock wall, so we never tried.

4) No time to use the ice rink - so again, no idea about the hours.

5) We ate in the Windjammer for breakfast each morning - never had a problem. Since we ate in the dining room, we had no desire to go to the buffet afterwards. My son did enjoy a few of the chocolate chip cookies out in the promenade - they were always available.

6) My son had the soft ice cream only once...and it was working when he tried it.

7) I hit the gym most nights after dinner. My son went to AO. Frankly I never intended to see any shows - not my cup of tea - so I can't comment on them...

8) How much food do you need????

9) I'm not much of a drinker - I think I bought one drink the whole week. I will say I was disappointed in the "dance" bars - the only one that was open when I walked in was playing hard rap music. Ugh.

10) Our debarkation was great. But we were spending the night in San Juan so that any delays would not be cause for concern.

[marine vet 1968]

To cruisingator 2 - No, we didn't go on the ship to eat (well, not that much anyway :rolleyes: ). In fact, it was my 25th wedding anniversary and family vacation. But after a show, we often like to snack a little (a good desert). Its interesting that you bring up Ben and Jerry's. We thought of that too, but they were also closed that nite. My wife later found out that they had run out of ice cream:eek: and was closed for the rest of the cruise. You are right, if we wanted a snack bad enuf, we could have eaten at the promenade cafe. We were looking for the desert selection that was typically available at the buffet.

 

To GMoney - You raise a good point about the wall being closed in port (though I don't know why). This cruise was in port every day and we liked that. Maybe that's why it seemed to closed all the time.

 

For the most part, the cruise was good. The room service was always prompt. My wife really liked that. The room was clean and the towel animals were cute. Our cabin attendant did a good job (even got us an egg crate foam mattress for the bed the 1st nite). We were sorry that we didn't see more of him, that's all. The dining room attendants were attentive and for the most part, prompt. We didn't use the ice rink, but the ice show was good.

 

As Texasmom2 indicated, her princess experience fell short of her expectations.

[tccox]

Just got back from the Adventure Of The Sea, the July 2, 2006 cruise.

 

1. Food in Main Dining Room was excellent, my third cruise and by far the best food.

 

2. Service was wonderful, our room attendant MADE the trip for our 12 year old son, now known as "Funky" Very personal, excellent service. By far the best I've ever received on a cruise.

 

3. My 12 year son successfully completed all three courses on the rock climbing wall. Longest we ever had to wait was 5 minutes and there was usually at least two folks climbing at once. And it was open every time we checked. (Putt Putt Golf course stunk though)

 

4. Never even went to the ice rink so can't comment.

 

5. Not sure what you mean, It was open for breakfast, lunch afternoon snacks and dinner everyday , was open every time we went

 

6. Ice Cream machines wer always avaliable on our cruise.

 

7. Personal opinion thing. We loved the shows.

 

8. True, mostly shopping there but good pizza was avaliable and several bars.

 

9. We always could find a drink, never a problem.

 

10. From time our group was called to having our luggage and waiting for our ride to hotel was less than thirty minutes. Much better than previous cruises.

 

Sorry we had such a different experience. Would I cruise with RCI again ??? Its the ONLY cruise line I'll ever cruise on. It was just a perfect a week as a person could ever hope for. Totally pefect ??? well no

 

1. Food in Johhny Rockets sucked.

 

2. One grouchy waiter in the dining room one morning.

 

3. Steak was a bit overdone Friday Night

 

4. Hmmmmm, thats about it cept it ended way to soon.

 

Oh service ???? It was my in laws 50th anv cruise. Friday night the Captain came to our table, congradulated them on their 50th wedding anv. talked for a while and had picture made with us. Real real nice of him to do that I thought.

[NJ2003WVUGrad]

Just a thought, but here goes.

 

I think the food thing reflects an overall change in lifestyle of many new cruisers. As the cruise experience is being opened to more and more people and as these ships have more and more activities available to their guests, the cruise lines put a greater focus on what works and what does not work.

 

I think the focus on food in the past (10-15 years ago) was more to keep people occupied and happy while they were on board. I think the demand for mass quantities of 24/7 food is just not as high as it used to be and therefore was scaled back.

 

They have been trying to overcome the "newlywed & nearly dead" stigma in recent years and along with that they have been steadily moving away from the gluttonous image as well.

 

I think its more a reflection of societal changes based upon RCI's target demographic and fiscal responsibility

[vacationhappy]

We have done several Princess cruises and one RCCL cruise. We are book on the AOS in August.

 

We do prefer Princess for sightseeing cruises such as Alaska and Europe. The dining flexibility and self serve laundry have proven to be key for us for these types of cruises. After being on the go all day, it is noce to just relax in the evenings.

 

Having said that, we really like RCCL for the Caribbean. We like a bit of structure as well as the activities in the evenings after long lazy days at the beach.

 

We found the food to be good on both lines, each having their strengths and weaknesses. Definitely not 5-star gourmet but overall pretty good.

[PH8]

9. All the bars on deck seem to close early (or open later than we stay up). How many times did we stroll around deck looking to get a drink, but unable to sit and enjoy the evening?:o

.

 

That is one statement I am really having a hard time believing.....:confused: You had a hard time finding a drink???? You sure you were on the AOS???

 

In all due respect it sounds like you went on this cruise to eat rather than enjoy the other amenities on the ship.

 

 

I agree too.sounds like all you wanted to do is eat:p ....not saying thats true,just the way it comes across.....

[marine vet 1968]

Well, perhaps I wrote things poorly in my post. Neither my wife nor I are overweight. It was the convenience of having the buffet open rather than having mass quantites of food available.

 

After the shows, we would stroll around deck by the pools. The weather was nice and it would have been nice to sit by the pool and have a drink, but alas, the bars were all closed (at what seemed to be a very early hour). Yes, we could have found a bar that was open if we needed to have a drink. And I guess, we could have taken the drink up to the pool area. But we're not big drinkers, we went to our cabin.

 

My comments on the wall were based on my son. My observation was that it was always closed. The minature golf course was cool though. My kids did go to Johnny Rockets (after paying a cover charge). They liked it.

 

Perhaps my expectations of this cruise were too high.

 

I will stand by my comments on the debarcation though. That was a disaster and tempers were high.

[libertybelle41]

I will stand by my comments on the debarcation though. That was a disaster and tempers were high.

 

 

Why would you accept such an early flight. From my experience the cruise line suggest flights no earlier than noon.

 

I don't think your expections were too high, I just think you're a kinda "glasses half empty" kinda person. IMO:rolleyes:

 

 

Happy future cruising:) :) :)

[kcagg16]

We just came back from the AOS on the June 25th Barbardos route and had a blast.

Comments I have:

Food in the dining room I thought was slightly better than what we had last year on the Mariner.

Late night food - sandwiches, pizza and desserts in Cafe Promenade - loved them. I would stop just about every night to have a bite and this would be between 1-2 in the morning. My son's only complaint was he went around 3:00 a.m. and there was no pizza left. But they do mention limited food I think between 3-6:30 a.m

Shows were not as good on the AOS as the Mariner. I do have to say we did not enjoy them as much.

Drinks we found everywhere - Bloody Marys at 8:30 a.m. if you wanted. We never experienced that problem.

Room attendant - we also had the same experience - we never saw him. The room was fine most of the time until we ran out of kleenex and toilet paper once but soon had it delivered to our room.

The head waiter and waiter were very good. The assistant waiter was not as good and slow to serve.

Safe in the room needed repair. We locked all our valuables in and then could not get it out. They quickly came and fixed it. The keypad still needed fixing but we made it through our week.

Other plusses for us - luggage was delivered by 3:00 p.m. on embarkation so we were able to unpack and get organized early. Note we were in a junior suite which was great for the four of us. Walk in closet served as a dressing room for my daughter. The room was plently big for us and our balcony was great to sit out with a lounge chair, table and two additional chairs.

Debarkation - again not an issue. Our flight was on American Airlines at 11:41 a.m. We were off the ship and at the airport by 9:30 - two hours before we had to leave. The airport security and screening process is slow but we had plenty of time to spare. It helps to sign up with American to take your luggage at the port. Made it so much easier.

 

So all that being said there are always good and bad with every vacation. We had a couple of rainy days but made do with other activities. We still had a great time and did not let some of the issues bother us. In fact we booked for the Aruba route next June 2007. We did love Barbados though and would love to got back there too.

 

Sorry you will not cruise RCI again. We love RCI and are looking forward to trying their big ships Freedom and Liberty in 2008 after our Aruba AOS 2007 cruise. Hopefully your next cruise vacation will be a good one whichever you choose.

 

Happy cruising everyone.

[KKeeganS]

I've noticed that lots of folks (myself included) who travel on the AOS usually book another cruise on her because they have such a fabulous time. I think you are missing out by dismissing the AOS and RCI based on pretty paltry complaints. However, if Princess gives you a great vacation, the stick with what works for you and your family. I do agree that debarkation in San Juan can be rather sticky. We've always booked evening flights and a day excursion so we didn't have to rush off the ship and watch the clock in a panic. Maybe that is something to consider for future cruises.

[azcrdfn]

I am with everyone else that had a great time on the AOS. We have sailed on it twice; first on the 10 day before their dry dock and then a year later. We loved the boat so much the first time we booked our entire family reunion on that boat. Everyone in our party loved it; especially my kids who had never sailed before. They never seem to have a problem finding ice cream and I can assure you they were looking. I would recommend AOS to anyone I meet.

[SPARKLE10]

Hi:

 

I just had to reply. My husband and I have taken 40 cruises and we're Diamond Members with RCL. This past March we were on the AOS and it was without a doubt, one of the very best cruises we have ever taken. We have been on six different cruise lines. If it wasn't so far away, I would be on the AOS every year. It was a near perfect cruise and I can't say that about the other 39 we have taken. Have one RCL cruise yet this year,;) and two more booked for next year. We're also going on Princess next year and it will be our 7th Princess cruise. RCL is still my favorite. Sometimes we have to go with Princess because RCL doesn't do the itinerary we want....RCL please go back to Australia.

 

Happy Cruising.....Sparkle 10 (Anita)

[teacherkim]

Just a thought, but here goes.

 

I think the food thing reflects an overall change in lifestyle of many new cruisers. As the cruise experience is being opened to more and more people and as these ships have more and more activities available to their guests, the cruise lines put a greater focus on what works and what does not work.

 

I think the focus on food in the past (10-15 years ago) was more to keep people occupied and happy while they were on board. I think the demand for mass quantities of 24/7 food is just not as high as it used to be and therefore was scaled back.

 

They have been trying to overcome the "newlywed & nearly dead" stigma in recent years and along with that they have been steadily moving away from the gluttonous image as well.

 

I think its more a reflection of societal changes based upon RCI's target demographic and fiscal responsibility

 

 

This is a great observation! I think added to all these points is the fact that people are trying to eat in a more healthy way and have become much more portion concious.

We also had an awesome time on the 6/25 sailing. My DH had never cruised and I wasn't sure if he would like it or not. He loved it so much he is talking about a Med cruise:D I wrote a review that is probably 5 or 6 pages back at this point.