Adventure of the Seas post "dry-dock" review 1/14/17

Hello fellow CC members! I returned a few days ago from my cruise on Adventure of the Seas. I wanted to post my review for those wondering about the changes to the ship since the ship was in dry-dock this past October/November.

As many of you already know, Adventure was supposed to have an extensive refurbishment with this dry-dock, but the plans were altered due to hurricane Matthew. Many of the shipping containers that had the materials needed were damaged, destroyed, or delayed by the weather. Therefore, a lot of the upgrades did not happen such as many new cabins, Izumi restaurant, Chops (still coming but delayed), and stateroom refurbishment. Some of the upgrades that did occur were the addition of 2 water slides and Flowrider, a two story miniature golf course, a water park on the main pool deck, and the addition of Coke Freestyle machines. There was some updated carpet that I noticed, and new chairs in the main dining room.

I am in my late 40's and mostly cruised on RCL. I have tried Princess twice, but prefer RCL. For this trip, I traveled with my DH, DD-9, her best friend (9) and her parents. I have sailed on Adventure 4 times now and have sailed out of San Juan 10 times. It is my favorite home port for many reasons!

khm1...thanks for the updates.

We flew on SouthWest from BWI to SJU early on Friday morning, a day ahead of our cruise. I prefer to fly in 2 days ahead, but work schedules did not allow for this. We arrived at about 1 pm. After we retrieved our luggage, there was an ENORMOUS line for taxis. I have never seen it so long before! It took about ½ and hour to get to the front of the line. I think that several flights arrived around the same time. This overwhelmed the taxi line.

We fit all 6 of us and our 11 bags into one large van taxi. They tried to get us to take a smaller mini-van taxi, but I held out for the bigger vehicle. It cost $17 plus $1 per bag to get to our hotel in Condado.

We stayed for one night in the Renaissance La Concha in Condado. It was my first time staying in this hotel. I liked it, but prefer the Marriott Stellaris after staying in both. I also really like the Intercontinental in Isla Verde mostly for the pool and beach, which are superior to any Condado property. However, the Condado neighborhood has much more to offer, IMO.

It took minutes to check in and our rooms were ready. We had 2 oceanfront rooms in the older “Ocean Tower.” They were well appointed and the beds comfortable. The best part of the room was the VIEW! Spectacular!

Not seeing the photo that I attached. I will try again later when I continue my review!:)

Our view from our oceanfront room at La Concha.

We'll be on the adventure in a few weeks (Feb 18). We will also be lying from BWI, probably on the same flight you took, but on Thursday.....Southwest flight 1739, leaving at 8:30am. Wife and I are from Philly, but we used to live in Millersville, MD., and friends we are travelling with are from the BWI area. Love flying out of that airport.

I look forward to your reviews and suggestions. Please let us know what cabin you were in. We'll be in 7270, 7274, and 7276.

We'll be on the adventure in a few weeks (Feb 18). We will also be lying from BWI, probably on the same flight you took, but on Thursday.....Southwest flight 1739, leaving at 8:30am. Wife and I are from Philly, but we used to live in Millersville, MD., and friends we are travelling with are from the BWI area. Love flying out of that airport.

 

I look forward to your reviews and suggestions. Please let us know what cabin you were in. We'll be in 7270, 7274, and 7276.

Yup! We were on the 8:30 flight too! It is nice since you still have a lot of the day left to enjoy SJ.

We were on deck 7 too. We had the coveted corner aft, 7688. Our friends were in 7690 next door.

You will enjoy your cruise. It is a fantastic ship with great itineraries and a wonderful crew!

Stay tuned for more......

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We ate a late lunch at the Ben and Jerry’s just around the corner from our hotel. We then took a taxi into Old San Juan. The streets were not crowded. We shopped and wandered for about 2 hours to show our friends OSJ. It was their first time there.

After taking a taxi back to the hotel, we relaxed around the pool that evening and just grabbed some sandwiches at the Subway across the street. We were tired from our busy day.

The next morning was embarkation day! We tried to go to Pinky's, but it was very crowded. We had breakfast down the street from our hotel at a place called Pannes. They had a good breakfast at reasonable prices. We went back to the hotel and packed up to go to the ship.

We left the hotel at 11:30 and arrived at 11:45 to the pier. It was not crowded at all. There was literally no wait to check our luggage, enter the building, or to check in. We were on the ship and at the pool by noon!

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Thank you for taking the time to post. I'll be reading along. 16 days till I leave for SJ for 2 days pre-cruise

Subscribing . Looking forward to hearing more. I think they were adding waterslides?

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They did add the water slides during the refurb.

Looking forward to the rest of the review! We are sailing on her in June, we'll be flying down a day early also. Anything you recommend in particular in OSJ for a couple of hours? We're staying in OSJ the night before and Condado on the way back.

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We're leaving Friday to go on this cruise! We're staying at La Concha post cruise in an ocean view suite.

Can't wait to hear more.

How far out did you have to book to get the corner aft? I am waiting for the Fall 2018 itineraries to be released as we plan on doing a back to back So. Caribbean on Adventure (assuming the 2017 itineraries repeat). I plan on booking as soon as they are released. Do I have to book on day 1, or is there a little wiggle room in case I miss it?

Thanks

Chris

How far out did you have to book to get the corner aft? I am waiting for the Fall 2018 itineraries to be released as we plan on doing a back to back So. Caribbean on Adventure (assuming the 2017 itineraries repeat). I plan on booking as soon as they are released. Do I have to book on day 1, or is there a little wiggle room in case I miss it?

 

 

 

Thanks

 

Chris

I booked in March of last year. I was shocked that it was even available, so I jumped on it. I would have preferred 1688 or 1388 for the extra space, but those were not available when I booked. I have also had corner aft 1688 twice on Adventure and 1388 once on Voyager. I LOVE corner afts!

We ate a late lunch at the Ben and Jerry’s just around the corner from our hotel. We then took a taxi into Old San Juan. The streets were not crowded. We shopped and wandered for about 2 hours to show our friends OSJ. It was their first time there.

 

After taking a taxi back to the hotel, we relaxed around the pool that evening and just grabbed some sandwiches at the Subway across the street. We were tired from our busy day.

 

The next morning was embarkation day! We tried to go to Pinky's, but it was very crowded. We had breakfast down the street from our hotel at a place called Pannes. They had a good breakfast at reasonable prices. We went back to the hotel and packed up to go to the ship.

 

 

We left the hotel at 11:30 and arrived at 11:45 to the pier. It was not crowded at all. There was literally no wait to check our luggage, enter the building, or to check in. We were on the ship and at the pool by noon!

 

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Looking forward to more of your review!!

At 2 pm, our cabins were available. I dropped off our things and then took a little tour around the ship.

New hand washing stations in the windjammer. These are really cool! The soap come out of the dispenser as usual. But the "wings" on the the water spout are actually hand dryers. They work very well!

The new water park on the main pool deck. The pool is a little smaller on the side with the water park. The other pool is the old size.

Walking aft, starboard side, approaching the flowrider.

Here is a view from the other side of the water park. Note the attendant at the top of the slide. They seemed to be doing a good job monitoring the area and keeping the kids safe.

Lower level of the mini golf course. This photo is taken next to the most aft booth at Johnny Rockets.

Upstairs portion:

The new water slides and Flowrider:

My daughter (on the right) and her BFF coming off the water slides. The blue one has a weight limit of 260 pounds. The yellow has a weight limit of 220 pounds. WARNING: THEY WILL WEIGH YOU on a scale at the bottom of the steps. YIKES! My DH is very tall at 6'5" and was pushing the limit. You also have to climb a lot of stairs to get to the top. There is a crew member at the bottom and the top and the exit of the slides to keep everyone safe. The view from the top of the stairs is great. The stairs are in a spiral and in a clear tube. I went down both slides several times. They are very fun and very fast. Hold on to your suit ladies!

Interesting I love the review. Just curious how many freestyle coke machines are on this ship. I didn't think the adventure of the seas was getting any of them

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Interesting I love the review. Just curious how many freestyle coke machines are on this ship. I didn't think the adventure of the seas was getting any of them

 

 

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I was going to get to that later, but since you asked....There are 4: Two red ones in the Promenade, and one silver machine on either side of the Windjammer at the entrance to the back section aka the Island Grill.

They did add the water slides during the refurb.

 

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review! We are sailing on her in June, we'll be flying down a day early also. Anything you recommend in particular in OSJ for a couple of hours? We're staying in OSJ the night before and Condado on the way back.

 

 

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In OSJ it is great to tour at least one of the forts. It is also fun to just stroll around, eat at fabulous restaurants, or go shopping. You will find plenty to do!

Subscribing . Looking forward to hearing more. I think they were adding waterslides?

 

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Hopefully my photos answer your question![emoji12]

We're leaving Friday to go on this cruise! We're staying at La Concha post cruise in an ocean view suite.

 

 

 

Can't wait to hear more.

You will love La Concha. It is in a great area and has a very cool vibe.

Thanks for your quick reply. I appreciate it. For sure getting the soda package now [emoji3]

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