Adventure of the Seas Review

[ds521]

We just recently returned from our March 18th cruise aboard the Adventure of the Seas. Thank goodness the cruise itself was wonderful because it was a comedy of errors right up to the time we boarded the ship. Originally, we booked with RCCL aboard the Serenade of the Seas out of San Juan. We loved the itinerary – Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, and St. Martin. BUT – not even a month after booking it, the airfare, and a non-refundable hotel stay through Priceline, we got word from RCCL that they were dry-docking the Serenade and the cruise we booked was cut to a 5 day – minus the Barbados and St. Lucia stops. Unfortunately, those were the two ports we’ve never visited and were interested in – not to mention the fact that we weren’t interested in just a 5 day cruise.

 

SO….we decided to go with the Adventure of the Seas since it also left out of San Juan – a day later. This meant that we had to rebook our air – RCCL reimbursed us the $100 pp re-ticketing fee. They also gave us a $200 cabin credit, and we got a free upgrade from outside cabin to balcony D2. But we did have to stay a 2nd night in San Juan since the ship was leaving a day later, and we couldn’t get Priceline to add a 2nd night to the hotel we already had for the 1st night, so we ended up having to book a different hotel for the 2nd night.

 

OK – here’s where it gets crazy……most of you will remember the terrible weather some of us had in the eastern part of the US that St. Patrick’s Day weekend – flights canceled all over the place…..Our AA flight was departing from Cleveland and we were lucky enough to have a connection in Dallas so we felt pretty confident that we’d be ok since we weren’t getting tangled up in the mess on the east coast. Well, we boarded the plane – and 45 minutes after we were supposed to leave, the capt announced that they were experiencing a possible mechanical problem with the engine – eventually we were asked to take our belongings and get off the plane. We waited for over 2 hours at the gate and finally were told that the problem was fixed and that we’d re-board. We did, then waited and waited…..the pilot again announced that they were still hearing a noice in the engine and we had to take our belongings and get off the plane. He said it was his call but he would not fly the plane as long as he was hearing what he was hearing. We definitely appreciated the decision he made – but what a mess it caused everyone because it was nearly impossible to find flights with 4 available seats going to San Juan when we needed to be there. Luckily, they found a flight on NWA leaving the following morning that would get us into San Juan at around 2:00 PM. We’d at least get in the day before the cruise left. AA also put us up in a hotel in Cleveland – but our rooms at the hotel in San Juan that we had prepaid were left empty – and non-refundable 

 

Of course the “adventure” didn’t end there……I only packed sandles…..of course, the next morning there was 4” of fresh snow on the ground, and we had no walkway to the plane, so we had to pull our carry-ons outside, trudge through the unshoveled snow in sandles, struggle up the snow and ice covered stairway to get into the plane. Good God – would it ever end?

 

Finally, we landed in San Juan – temp is 85….that’s more like it! The four of us got into a van/cab, and headed for our hotel – the IHP Hotel Consulado. Now, we’re accustomed to older vehicles in some of these area so we weren’t alarmed at the condition of the van, but the driver kept pulling off the side of the road to use his cell phone which we thought was sort of weird. Eventually, he told us that there was something wrong with the cab….he had to call a friend to come and rescue us. SO….we had to unload all of our luggage from the broken down van and reload it into the 2nd van.

 

The IHP Hotel Consulado….that’s another story….we booked this hotel through hotels.com. We really did a lot of research – actually had 2 other hotels booked but we canceled those reservations because we heard so many great comments about the IHP on tripadvisor.com. The hotels are VERY expensive in San Juan so we felt good only having to pay $110 for this hotel. The first thing we noticed when we pulled up in front of the hotel was a large construction project that looked like it had been abandoned years ago – right across the street. Ok – it’s just one night – no biggie……but when we checked in and got a 6” long skeleton key for the door – I kinda worried. The rooms are so in need of updating. There is virtually no hot water, cracks in all the walls and floors…our friends’ room was the worst though – it smelled so moldy they just couldn’t stand it. And there was such a huge gap between the door and the door jam you could actually see right into the room!

 

Our first night in San Juan…

Before dinner, we decided to stop at Pueblo in Old San Juan and stock up on some “beverages” for the cruise. Liquor is very cheap there and they box it up for you. We wrapped it up in clothing really well and packed it away in our “checked luggage” for the cruise. I read about a nice restaurant in Old San Juan called La Barrachina – I made reservations from home and we were glad we did. We ended up going to the dinner show which was neat. They have a nice bar there that’s in an open air courtyard, complete with parrots, etc. We had planned to do some shopping after dinner – which was about 9:00 or so BUT Old San Juan completely shuts down on Saturday night. Nothing is opened – except restaurants. So we headed back to the hotel area where a few shops were still open. We did take a walk to the beach just a couple blocks from our hotel BUT once we stepped onto the sand we saw that it was a pretty crowded gay beach. We decided to go back to the hotel, and call it a day.

 

Sunday – 1st day on the Adventure of the Seas

We got to the pier at around 11 AM and we went right to the front of the line because of our Platinum status. We were onboard at 11:30, took our carry-ons to our cabin, and headed up to the Windjammer for lunch. The ship is in great shape and has probably the best crew we’ve ever had with maybe the exception of the Legend of the Seas. That’s one thing about Royal Carib. Ships – you can always count on good food, great accommodations, and great service. At least that’s been our experience…. We loved our wait staff in the dining room. Head waiter, Diana; waiter, Lolly; and Asst. waiter, Katut – just wonderful!!! And the new bedding was there in all cabins and very comfortable! Also, the entertainment on this ship is wonderful – try not to miss any of the shows…just great!

 

Aruba – 1st port

We’ve been there before and there’s not a whole lot to see except for the great beaches. We decided to do the DePalm Island excursion and we really enjoyed it. The snorkeling was just OK because the water was pretty rough but the fish we saw were just gorgeous. The food and drinks are all included, plus they have a pretty neat waterpark there – lots more to do than what we expected, and great facilities.

 

Curacao – 2nd port

We loved this port – Williamstad is so colorful and we did quite a bit of shopping after spending a day at the beach. We took a cab to KonTiki beach and we just loved it there – beautiful facilities and a protected beach – very calm water. We had a great day here – there is a fee to use the beach and chairs, etc. so be forwarned.

 

St. Martin – 3rd port

We’ve been to St. Martin before…..the traffic seems so congested so we decided to stay away from shopping in town. Again, we took a cab to Orient Beach and spent the day enjoying the warm sun and ocean. The waves are pretty big here so if you like to body surf - this is the place. One end of the beach is clothing optional, the other is a little more conservative. There’s also a fee for chairs and umbrellas. We did shop a little when we got back to the pier – there are a few nice shops there.

 

St. Thomas 4th and last port

We’ve been to St. Thomas several times so we opted not to do a sight-seeing tour. With the terrible winter we had this year in Ohio, we just wanted to take full advantage of the warm weather and the beautiful beaches – in St. Thomas we took a cab to Coki Beach because the water there is calm and the snorkeling is really good. We just loved it there – saw tons of fish and just had a great time. Again, there’s a charge for chairs and umbrellas but you can negotiate prices here. We got there fairly early and were lucky enough to find a shady area under some trees so we didn’t need the umbrellas.

 

Disembarking

This went so smoothly – not a problem at all.

 

AA flights back home – of course….they lost our luggage!!

 

Overall….we had a great time – Royal Caribbean has never let us down. We did the Diamond Princess 2 years ago and we’ll never do Princess again – we’re so glad Royal Caribbean has maintained their standards. I know they’re not perfect, but if you don’t have fun on their cruises – it’s probably your own fault.

 

PS We finally got our luggage 2 days later – but now we just laugh about the negatives we experienced on this trip….after all…..we took the “Adventure” of the Seas ;-)

[trishalee]

Comgratulations on your great attitude toward your "adventure"! I'd have been so freaked by the pre-cruise problems it probably would have taken me the whole week too get over it! (But then, I tend to be somewhat anal-retentive.) Glad everything turned out all right!:)

[ds521]

I guess if you travel nowadays you just about have to have a calm attitude or it'll just ruin your vacation, and hey, what's the point of that???? We work too hard to go on vacation to have a bad time because of unexpected events....and there's almost always unexpected events anymore.

[Suzanne74]

but when we checked in and got a 6” long skeleton key for the door – I kinda worried

 

I am sorry - this just made me laugh out loud :D

 

I can not believe all the mishaps off the ship before the cruise and then to lose your luggage after - holy cow!! I think the ONLY positive I found of your "off the ship" ordeals is that they didn't lose your luggage BEFORE your cruise. I think someone would have had to check themselves into a mental institution.:D

 

I am so happy you love AOS. We just booked it yesterday for next Easter week - same itinerary. Nice that they upgraded you too. The balconies are wonderful.

 

One quick question about your Aruba excursion. Did you use RCCL to book the excursion or someone else? Where their kids on this excursion. We will have our 6yr old daughter with us.

 

Thanks again for a funny and well informed review! :)

[sunny fla]

We're on the 4/29 So Carib cruise - in a balcony cabin 86..something. Does anyone know if the cabins in this area have new bedding yet?

Thanks!

[Suzanne74]

I heard the bedding will be completed on all rooms on AOS by April. I am sure you will have new bedding!

[ds521]

The DePalm Island excursion is the only one we did through the ship. There were a few children but not many on the excursion or on the ship. It was the cruise 2 wks before Easter so that's probably why.

 

As far as the bedding on the AOS - we were told that all new bedding is now every cabin on the ship. I believe they started on deck 10 and worked down - we were on deck 7 and we had it so I'm sure deck 8 had it which is where the 85?? cabin would be. Hope this helps.

[Daycare Provider]

We're on the 4/29 So Carib cruise - in a balcony cabin 86..something. Does anyone know if the cabins in this area have new bedding yet?

Thanks!

 

 

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DS521-Even though you had a great time....I hope I don't have those negative experiences. We will be on the AOS 4-29-07.

Did you use the spa????

How was the Casino? Any Texas Hold 'em?

Was there a vendor at the port selling alcohol?

[mjyanne]

Just out of curiosity, wondering if you had trip insurance. If so, it should cover your non-refundable hotel room and could also cover the lost (ok delayed 2 days) luggage. Worth a shot.

 

BTW, we sailed the Serenade (the one you changed from) that same week. I booked it knowing it was a 5 day cruise. We also flew down the same day. No problems for us (out of DC) but there were a lot of people trying to make flights and change reservations. We even had people show up 3 days after we sailed (they arrived in Antigua).

[MiniMom57]

ds521 -- your trip sounds a LOT like ours!! We were on AOS 3/4-3/11, and had a heck of a time just getting to San Juan......our original flight on Saturday was canceled because one to the flight attendants didn't show up for work! We got a flight the next day, but didn't get to the ship until 10 minutes before dinner.

 

Monday was an at sea day with very rough water and high winds....and I was more seasick than I've ever been! The pools were like wave pools!

 

Our excursions in Aruba and Curacao were much less than we expected

 

The Thursday at sea day was even windier.....drinks were actually being blown out of glasses on the pool deck!

 

Friday and Saturday were fabulous

 

Our return flight was on time out of San Juan, but delayed by several hours out of JFK (for no apparent reason).....we got into our home airport around midnight, and they only had 3 of our 4 bags!

 

BUT.....we had a week off work, met some great people, got out of the cold nasty weather, and had a LOT of fun on our "Adventure"!!

[DrSeuss]

ds521 -- your trip sounds a LOT like ours!! We were on AOS 3/4-3/11, and had a heck of a time just getting to San Juan......our original flight on Saturday was canceled because one to the flight attendants didn't show up for work! We got a flight the next day, but didn't get to the ship until 10 minutes before dinner.

 

Monday was an at sea day with very rough water and high winds....and I was more seasick than I've ever been! The pools were like wave pools!

 

Our excursions in Aruba and Curacao were much less than we expected

 

The Thursday at sea day was even windier.....drinks were actually being blown out of glasses on the pool deck!

 

Friday and Saturday were fabulous

 

Our return flight was on time out of San Juan, but delayed by several hours out of JFK (for no apparent reason).....we got into our home airport around midnight, and they only had 3 of our 4 bags!

 

BUT.....we had a week off work, met some great people, got out of the cold nasty weather, and had a LOT of fun on our "Adventure"!!

 

 

Who did you fly with - so I can avoid them!! I don't want to risk missing the ship because an air hostess takes a sicky!!:(

[ds521]

We did get the trip insurance and we are waiting to hear about our claim - hopefully they'll cover it.

 

We did do the spas in the solarium and around the outdoor pools too - didn't do any of the spa treatments though. We didn't play in the casino - not usually too lucky in cruise casinos so we don't bother.

 

We flew American and I won't be in any hurry to use them again. I can't believe any airline would cancel an entire flight because a flight attendant called off sick - what the heck's that all about??

[MiniMom57]

The flight attendant didn't even call in sick......she was a "no call, no show" and wasn't answering her phone when they were calling her from the gate (with a plane full of people waiting and looking very perturbed!!) By the way, our flight was on Delta. When we were telling our story to some people on the cruise, they told us of a friend of theirs in Seattle who was on another airline and had the exact same thing happen!

 

I complained to the airline and got 2 travel vouchers for $100 each for our trouble, but that doesn't make up for the disappointment, aggravation, and basically 2 missed days of vacation!

[DrSeuss]

Thank you - I have booked the AOS for next July - maybe we will set off a little earlier!!

[ds521]

.....

[uksimonusa]

we'll be there 5/20 and really looking forward to our first cruise on the AOS and to the S. Caribbean

[IBookHePays]

Just wanted to compliment you on your great attitude! I'll try to remember your good humor if something goes wrong on our cruise! Thanks for the review!:)