Adventure of the Seas Reviews

Ship Ratings
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Areas
Entertainment
Cabin
Spa & Fitness
Shore Excursions
Rates

This is one of the best solo cruises I have been on. Previously I tried the IOS and the Naviagation OTS. But this cruise was exceptional. The company was suberb as was the care and attention of all the staff onboard the ship. Although the ship is older than what I've been on before, it was very clean, the food was great as was the entertainment. The excursions were also enjoyable and well organised. We visited, Civitaveccia, from where I went to a town called Tarquinia and learned all about the Estruscans. From the port of Livorno I visited Pisa and saw the Leaning Tower for the 1st time. A great sight. We walked around Valencia and visited the lovelly island of Corsica. I will go with Royal carribbean again can't wait till the next cruise all I need is the money! Must keep doing the lotto! I'd recommend a cruise like this to anyone.

Hide this review

Ship Ratings
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Areas
Entertainment
Cabin
Spa & Fitness
Shore Excursions
Rates

I would like to start off by saying Thank You to Royal Caribbean for adding to our wonderful wedding/honeymoon. We truly enjoyed our trip as a whole, and you helped make it memorable. Now... on with the review. After getting engaged February, a year earlier (2011), we've decided to go to Hawaii for our wedding. And, for our honeymoon, a cruise of sorts. For me, this was my 2nd cruise, so most of my review, I have something to compare it to. My last cruise was with Costa Cruise lines, on the Magica. After speaking with friends, many recommended RCCL, and reading some reviews, I've learned that it was one of the best cruise lines out there. We looked at various options, some of which were cruises leaving Vancouver, San Diego or Los Angeles, all of which meant we'd be on the seas for 8-10 days, with limited time in Hawaii itself. So we started looking at relocation cruises, and there were two options available at the time we were looking at and coincidentally, both were Royal Caribbean. I guess relocation cruises are more expensive than standard, but that was the price to pay for a far away vacation. The two ship available were the Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas. Radiance, which was a larger class ship, had 1 extra night on its agenda, but that extra night cost $500 per person, so we chose the 11 night Rhapsody cruise instead. A couple of uncontrollable facts to start off with. First off, this cruise takes place at the end of April, in the Pacific. Although, this makes weather and temperature comfortable in Hawaii itself, it does get cold by the 2nd/3rd day at sea towards Vancouver. Also, because it's slightly more expensive and it takes place in April, most college and kids are still in school (or have just finished and started working), so I'd say 65% of the passengers were 65 or older, which makes it for a very elderly/senior cruise. Great if you want peace and quiet, but as my review will point out, it does have its downside. Also, coincidentally, May 2012 had a super moon, which meant the tides were about 15% higher than normal... that may or may not have any effect, but because the ship is a smaller class ship, and the Pacific has big waves, it was a rocky ride the days at seas. Many people got sick on the ship, so if you easily succumb to seasickness, consider a larger ship. 1) Price. As I mentioned earlier, it is a relocation cruise, so, it typically has a higher price point. A year earlier, end of February, when we checked the prices, we felt it was reasonable. By May, a year earlier, when we finally booked, we found the prices were all about 25% higher for the following year. This might be a rookie mistake, by booking early, but we wanted a guaranteed room for our trip. What we found was, that after our final payment was made some 60 days before the trip (due date), prices dropped. What made me notice available space was the fact that family of ours got upgraded from Balcony to Suite for free after the fact (because they were seniors, whereas we were not), along with friends of family who booked after the 60 days / last minute, and got a suite at a cheaper price than all of us. For future cruises, we will book only 60 days from the cruise itself to get the best deals possible. And we may consider dealing directly with the cruiseline, instead of an agent. The price didn't include alcohol... which is no surprise. It also did not include freshly squeezed juices or soda pop. Although other juices were available, (which was fantastic by the way), I was told by friends that the pop was diluted and eventually not worth it. They had to pay extra to get canned pop, on top of what they already paid for fountain pop. Finally, it's a smaller ship. I'd understand if the ship was a larger class ship with tons of amenities, but it was a smaller ship, so price was a little high for this. Maybe it was the fact that there are limited relocation cruises from Hawaii. 3 out of 5. 2) Service. Good service all-round. Our stateroom attendant, was funny, charming and friendly. Same could be said with the Waiting staff at all restaurants. Professional and courteous. For many, (because it's a relocation), they've been at sea anywhere from 2 to 8 months (we were told) and the fact they still had a smile on their face, shows determination to offer great service. Only on a couple occasions where we found some surprises. For example, on our 2nd day at sea, we noticed one of the chairs in one of the lounges to be broken. We immediately pointed it out, and the first response we got was, "oh... sit there instead." It took 3 different attendants to have someone take the chair and put it aside. But what made it worse, is that on our last day at sea... I found the exact same chair, in the same lounge ... still broken. In general however, service was great, and for that I give it 4.5 out of 5. 3) Pool. One key point I really enjoyed was the fact that the pools were open late. On the Costa Magica, both pools and jacuzzi were closed at 8pm, and if you're like me, and after the 9pm Theatre Show, you want to head out to the pool and relax before going to bed, the fact the pools were open until midnight was amazing. Look up at the stars, and enjoy. Their stateroom documents pointed out that "certain pools" were open 24hrs... which really meant that the jacuzzis closed at midnight while the pools themselves stayed open, at your own risk of course. There were two pools on the ship. One outdoor, one indoor. By day 3 at sea, it was almost unbearable swimming outside, let alone sit outside. So having an interior pool was great. However, one big no-no. As I said earlier, it's an older clientele, so one of the rules was, while in warm climate, no kids were allowed in the indoor pool. But once in colder climates, kids were allowed in the pool between Noon & 2pm and again between 4pm & 6pm. I counted, at the most 30 kids under the age of 18 on this ship, one of which was a 5 year old girl who loved swimming, from friends of ours. 2 days before hitting Vancouver, the little girl was enjoying her swim, alone, in the indoor pool, where at 2pm, an attendant, dressed in a Parka, kicked her out of the pool and was told to swim outside. I understand rules are rules, but this one didn't make sense to me. Once in a colder climate, anyone should be allowed in the indoor pool, especially when no one else is swimming. Towel service was outside on the deck by the pool. Opened between 7am and 10pm. First off, it should be open as late as the pools. That said, I felt bad for the attendant who had to sit out there, during 12c temperature with 40 mph winds. I understand the logic behind it, but the smarter thing would be, make towels available in the staterooms, and if some go missing, then charge the stateroom, as per usual. By day 7, no one was on the pool deck as it was too cold, so why have the towel service there? Pool amenities, I give a 4 out 5. 4) Stateroom. Real simple. It was clean, large, and well decorated. You could tell that it was recently upgraded. Couldn't have asked for better. 5 out of 5. 5) Food quality. There was the Main Dining room, Windjammer (buffet lounge), Park Cafe and 3 pay-per-use fancy restaurants. Main Dining Room's food, we only used for dinner time 4 times. We were told lunch and breakfast were delicious. But for us, the dinner was the only time we used it, and it was very good. Three course meal, with fairly good options. The quality was great. It still fascinates me the quantity and turn around the chefs produce at dinner time. For a first time cruiser, I would think they wouldn't know the alternatives. As a 2nd time cruiser, I found that Costa had more choices, or ... 'higher grades' of food. For example, Rhapsody had only 1 lobster night... where as I've seen lobster served more frequently on the other. Filet mignon once. Only a 3 course meal, where I've seen 5 course meals on the other ship. I'm simply being picky at this point because the food was fantastic, but I can see where some people would give it a negative review. Main Dining Food quality: 4 out of 5. Windjammer Food quality... well... it's buffet. At dinner time, they had some of the Main Dining food available with added bonus. They always had pasta, but the sauces were watered down. They had great salads. And a good variety of desserts. But the quality at Windjammer was hit and miss. Every other day, it felt like dinner was good/bad. One day, Chicken Cordon Blue, the next day, Tacos. Didn't feel consistent. What we ended up doing for dinner was dropping by Windjammer first to see if what the quality was like... if we liked it, we stayed. If we didn't, we went over to the Main Dining (since we had My Time, but that's for later down below). Lunches were standard too... pasta, chicken, sandwiches, hot dogs, burger and pizza. No complaints on the lunches. And definitely no complaints for breakfast. Plenty of fruits, eggs, pancakes, bacon galore, etc... Windjammer quality: 3.5 out of 5. Park Cafe is simply a cafe that served sandwiches and desserts. Not much needs to be said. The other 3 restaurants were Japanese, Italian and Grill, with $15, $20 and $30 cover (respectively). The Japanese you also had a la carte prices. Italian didn't include gratuity. Like other specialty restaurants, these were also above and beyond great. Quality, quantity, and service was all above par. You don't have to use these, but they are there for your enjoyment. We tried the Japanese and Italian. They were fantastic.. no ifs or buts. However you pay extra. And because of the additional fee, I've knocked down a point and give them 4 out of 5. 6) My Time dining. Beware!!!! First, if you use My Time then you have to prepay gratuity. No problem, if fact, it made things easier, didn't need to do math at the end of our cruise. It begs though, why not include gratuity in the cruise price? I guess because you'd get sub-par service???? I don't know, I think it's becoming a little ridiculous. Regardless, the advantage of using My Time is that you're not typically set to the ships' dining schedule... at 6 and 8. You're supposed to have the freedom to choose whatever time you want to eat at. But what we found was that, they take reservations. It's not first come first serve. After speaking with others on the ship, we found that most of the Senior citizens made reservations as far back as last JULY. That's right. They all booked their dinner reservations between 5:30 and 7. So you could never get into the dining room until after 7 and in most cases, after 7:30. I'm guessing those people didn't want to be assigned dinner at 8, so they took My Time and forced a 6pm dinner. That was definitely annoying and was a big reason why we dined at Windjammer and the two Specialty restaurants ? 1/2 the time. What makes it worse is that, the "prepaid gratuity" no longer goes to those who served us at Windjammer or the Specialty restaurants. So our Dining Room Waiters received full gratuity amounts, even though they only served us less than half the time. I'd advise anyone to avoid My Time, on this ship (as we were told there are better My Times out there) and use your gratuity accordingly. My Time review 2.5 out of 5 7) Food Availability. This, along with My Time, are my two least favourite features of this cruise. Their food availability didn't make much sense to me. For 6 days, we were at port, and if you're adventurous, it means you were out and about during the day. You had to be back on the ship by 4pm. Main Dining was open for breakfast 7 to 9:30 (not so great for those who sleep in), noon to 2 for lunch, and 5:30 to 9:30 for dinner. Windjammer opened at 6:30 with cold foods and 7am warm foods were available. They had a nice over-lap system at 11:00 where ? 1/2 the bar became lunch. Lunch was served from 11:30 to 3. To 3pm. Windjammer didn't open up again until 6:30pm. The only thing available from 3 to 6:30 (5:30 if you're one of those Senior Citizens My Time Diners) was Park Cafe which offered a couple sandwich selections, pasta salads and cakes. This was a bit disappointing. Especially after being out and about all day, back on ship at 4, and have very little available for you to eat, with Main Dining seating at 7:30. That did not make sense. To make matters worse, lets say you did have a meal at 7 or 7:30, but wanted to make the 9pm Theatre Show. After that, you want to go to the jacuzzi and relax with a snack. Unfortunately for you, there is nothing open between 9:30 and 11pm. You cannot get a meal anywhere between those times. You might think, it's only an hour and half. Sure, but once Park Cafe opens at 11pm, the only thing they're servicing is Nachos, Calzones and Cheese Pizza. This definitely surprised me. Room service was available until midnight for free (a $4 fee between midnight and 5am), but their menu choices were limited to Spinach Dip, Veggies, Cheeze/Pepperoni Pizza, chicken finger like food and another option I can't remember, delivered only to the room. I guess things could be worse, and maybe I'm being picky, but I thought, like all-inclusives offer, that food would be available almost always. For this, I will give 2.5 out of 5. 8) Entertainment. First off, Casey the cruise director was fantastic. And his staff even better. Cheerful, funny, entertaining. Couldn't ask for a better crew of entertainers. The cruise performers were college graduates/students and worked very hard during their performances. But felt little to no attachment to them compared to Costa. What would have been nice to see was those performers helping out with other activities, poolside, lounges, or even Embarkation. The activities on-board were good. Lots of trivia, lectures, arts & crafts. Some paying, some free. Poolside ban was repetitive, playing 50's rock and Calypso, on a daily cycle. The cruise show band however were extremely talented and were definitely not used/seen enough. As for shows, it felt like they were geared more towards the older crowd. And by older crowd, again, 65 and over. In some ways, I felt bad for the middle aged group, who are young enough to appreciate and enjoy youthful shows and activities (which seemed available after 11:30pm) but were stuck with Barry Manilow, (he's good an all, but only at bedtime). Entertainment is subjective... so... for that I'm giving them 4 out of 5. Other notes: no self-serve laundry. I was stuck using their $25 bag for laundry, and 3 of my shirts got ruined with some sort of ink spots. Embarkation wasn't bad, but debarkation took forever, mostly cause of Canadian Customs. Vancouver port had two ships arriving at the same time that day. (Both RCCL) All in all, my general experience was good. I would give 3.5, but since I must give round numbers, I'm passing it along as a 4.

Hide this review

Ship Ratings
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Areas
Entertainment
Cabin
Spa & Fitness
Shore Excursions
Rates

This was our 2nd Transatlantic as we enjoyed the 1st one so much. This time we booked Adventure it visited islands on both that we had not visited before. We booked a flight inclusive deal. The flight to San Juan via Atlanta was long but went without a hitch. We were delayed getting to the hotel as the transfer bus was an hour late picking us up. We had one night in the Caribe Hilton which was very nice. Boarding went well. As RCI picked up our bags from the hotel and sent them directly to the ship we didn't see them again until they arrived in our cabin. From arrival at the Quay side we were on board in about 15 - 20 minutes. We had a balcony on Deck 7. Our balcony was little larger than average due to the location of the cabin on the "hump" of the ship. We were looked after by Grace who kept the room spotless and always wore a smile. The ship was full and had the most diverse range of nationalities aboard. Mainly American, Canadian, Puerto Rican , German and British. This bought with it a great atmosphere. You could go and do a pub quiz, listen to the Latin bands or a pianist etc etc. We had room service breakfast every day except two. This helped keep the pounds off as when we did go to the Windjammer I went a little overboard. The breakfast arrived on time every day and was always right. We decided to go for "My time" dining. On the 1st night we were advised to book a dining time for the rest of the cruise as we had requested a table for 2. Only very early or very late slots were left. Apparently you can now chose My Time and then request a table size and time slot before boarding. This kind of defeats the object in my opinion as it is then "Their Time" dining however it worked out well. We opted to eat at 6.15 and for the rest of the cruise arrived for dinner between 6.00 and 7.00. We always sat on the same table and kept our excellent waiting staff Osario and Merry, our drinks waiter Clyde was also very good. We ate in the MDR on every night except two. We ate once in Johnny Rockets which was good fun and once in Portofinos for the Murder Mystery dinner. The Fillet Mignon was absolutely amazing. Why can't I find steak that good back at home? Abel, the cruise director was the best we've had on any cruise. To be honest he is the only one we've ever remembered so he must have done something right. He was great in dealing with the very multi-national client??le as he spoke four languages fluently. The stage productions were excellent and got standing ovations at each show we saw and as always the Ice show was outstanding. There was always plenty going on around the ship on the seas days and when the sea got a little choppy on the east side of the Atlantic they moved some of the music and party events due to happen around the pools on to the Royal Promenade. We didn't do any RCI excursions as they wereexpensive. We did a tour of St Marteen with a local company called Bernard Tours which was very good. In St Thomas we walked the 20 minutes or so into town, had a look around the markets and shopping streets before heading back to the ship. We hired cars in Tenerife and Lanzarote to do our own thing and walked in to Funchal and had a look around as we had been before we were back on the ship in time for lunch. This was the only way to get a sunbed in the Solarium as they were normally all gone bay 8.30 on the sea days. Transfers and flights back to the UK from Malaga went with a hitch. It is difficult to find any thing to be negative about on this cruise the staff and fellow passengers made this possibly the best cruise we have ever been on.

Hide this review

Ship Ratings
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Areas
Entertainment
Cabin
Spa & Fitness
Shore Excursions
Rates

We travelled Malaga/Madrid/Miami/San Juan to join Adventure of the Seas. The flight from Madrid on Iberia was delayed 1 hour so we missed our connection in Miami. On arrival we were met American Airlines staff who had rebooked us on a later flight, however the transit at Miami was appalling, it took a full 2 hours to clear immigration, collect baggage, clear customs, hand the luggage on to American Airlines, go through security and get to the gate just in time to hear our name being called for the flight as it had already boarded. A totally stressful experience. Anyway enough of that After 2 nights in San Juan we boarded Adventure of the Seas, we arrived at the port at 1100 and waited in line 15 minutes to drop of baggage then another 15 minute to check in and followed by a 30 minute wait we boarded at 1200. This was our 4th time on AOS and she is in really good condition, we saw no signs of wear and tear and there were staff constantly cleaning. Our balcony cabin was ready promptly at 1330 and was clean and comfortable, and well cared for our throughout the 13 night Cruise by Cirrus our stateroom attendant. We were allocated a very nice table in the Dining Room next to the window and our table companions were good company. Our Waiters Salem and Jesus worked hard to ensure we enjoyed the Dining experience. With regard to the food, although we couldn't put our fingers on why, we felt that although it was good it was not as good as on previous cruises but this may just be compliancy as the menu remains virtually the same from cruise to cruise. For the first time ever we dined on 3 evenings in the Windjammer and were pleasantly surprised, the food was good, varied and hot. We had some great steaks in there. There were always plenty of waiters on hand for drinks etc. Which made a very pleasant dining experience; we shall certainly be doing this again on future cruises. Lunch on seas days we used the Main Dining Room, the Bistro Menu was excellent and there was an extensive Salad Buffet to compliment the meal. We felt that this was far better option than the Windjammer which was usually very crowded at Lunch time. We usually took breakfast the Main Dining Room where we were able to use the Diamond Area this was also good, however if you are in a hurry this was not the place to go for breakfast, we didn't once get out in under an hour. We did however enjoy our breakfasts and the company of other passengers who were seated with us and after all with 6 full days at sea did it really matter how long it took to have breakfast. With regard to on board entertainment we enjoyed the Daily Trivia but didn't participate in much else although there were plenty of organised activities if you wanted them. We are not really Show people so we didn't go to any of the Stage Shows on board so I am unable to comment on their content. The Cruise Critic Group was excellent and we joined in Slot Pull, a Progressive Poker hand and a Golf Tournament. A big thanks to those people who organised these events. This was our first transatlantic cruise and certainly won't be our last, the 6 sea days were just wonderful a chance to totally relax. We had been to all the ports of call before so didn't take up any excursions, however we have decided we would like to see more of Madeira and will be looking for an excursion there when we do the Westbound Transatlantic on AOS in November Disembarkation in Malaga was well organised and efficient we left the ship at 0810 and by 0830 had collected our luggage and on our way home. A really good cruise and we can't wait to do it westbound in November.

Hide this review

Ship Ratings
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Areas
Entertainment
Cabin
Spa & Fitness
Shore Excursions
Rates

I have cruised on this ship 3 times now in the past 6 years. The first two times were incredible - top notch entertainment, the staff was very friendly and catered to my every need. What I remember from those vacations on this same ship was that there was never a lack of entertainment - the food was incredible - and no expense was spared. After taking a break for a few years and traveling inland for vacations, I definitely noticed some differences. First and foremost - I want to say that it was still a very nice vacation. However, my experience was missing that added feeling of being "over the top". If you have never cruised before - you wont be disappointed by your experience. However, if you haven't cruised in a few years - you'll notice MANY places where the company has implemented cost cutting measures. While they wont detract from the cruise newbie - they are noticeable for individuals who have cruised before. The entertainment was significantly lacking. In years past - there used to be a major entertainment, either in the theater or up on the pool deck. In addition - every bar used to have live music each night as well. This year - they kept the major entertainment - but there were many nights where we went to a bar to have a drink and listen to a band only to be told that "This is the bands off night". It was Royal's loss as I'm sure my bar bill would have been about $300-$500 higher if they had some tribute or cover bands actually playing in their bars. So in hind-site - I should be thanking them for saving me money by not allowing me to find nightly entertainment and order another few drinks. One thing I noticed was the reduction in the size of the plates in the buffet - which was fine considering they were the size of lunch trays when we cruised before. The food options have also been reduced over the years as well. All in all - it's still a great vacation to take. My only complaint would be that I want more "bar entertainment". There were too many nights where I wanted to grab a drink after dinner and unwind - and their was nothing to do on the ship but essentially go to bed.

Hide this review