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Adventure of the Seas Cruise Review!

louhun88

By louhun88,
in Royal Caribbean International

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louhun88

louhun88

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Our next stop was Corsica, we didn't really plan on doing much here just some lunch and free wifi to catch up on the gossip back home.

 

If you turn left outside the port (don't make the mistake we did of turning right - very rundown! you end up at an outdoor market and a line of cafes/restaurants.

 

FYI if you can't stand the smell of cheese avoid the market at all costs!!

 

We had lunch at Bar La Rade where we had a lovely view of the ship in front of us - you could eat at the main restaurant or they also had an atea across the road on the waterfront. Our lunch was lovely and a very reasonable price we thought - spaghetti bolognese, ham & egg crepe and 1/2 litre carafe of local wine for 22 Euro, we could have sat there all day drinking that local wine but decided to head back onboard and take advantage of our Premium Package (really liked today's cocktail of the day :D)

 

One thing we found on this cruise was the Captain really liked to leave as soon as possible especially today when we saw a crewmember get onboard about 1 minute before the back on board time. I was standing on deck 4 getting some fresh air when this happened and the Officer at the gangway was really quite rude to this guy and a passenger then shouted down to him saying technically they were early in pulling up the gangway so it wasn't the crewmember's fault!! :eek:

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louhun88

louhun88

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After a day at sea we were at Malaga next, we've been before so knew where we going which is always better than wandering around looking completely like a confused tourist :rolleyes:

 

Royal Carribean were offering a shuttle bus which we took advantage of as we weren't sure the distance to town since we were docked at the new port this time round - $10 per person vaild for one return journey.

 

As we headed into town we noticed there were shops and cafes along the waterfront within the port area and intended to head here for a look later on but ended up too tired after spending about 5 hours in Malaga!!

 

Malaga is one of my favourite ports for shopping and as usual didn't disappoint although I had intended to purchase a new jacket but the sizes in the shops were just weird - I'm a UK size 16 yet an XL jacket wouldn't even fasten :eek:

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louhun88

louhun88

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Cadiz was the next port which we had been quite looking forward to but we were quite disappointed as it seemed very dirty in parts and in some places the smell of sewage was very overpowering :(

 

It is quite a difficult place to navigate as there are lots of winding streets which shops/cafes etc in all directions. We found the prices in clothes shops to be on a par with everywhere else but for some reason perfumes and cosmetics were ridiculously priced!

 

In the end we spent less than 2 hours ashore which seemed to be the same for a lot of passengers as the ship was quite busy when we headed back.

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louhun88

louhun88

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Our last stop before heading home was Lisbon and unforunately the weather was not too great, it brightened up in the afternoon but then got really downcast and windy before we sailed.

 

The ships docks 6km from the City Centre but you can take the ship's shuttle bus but at $15 return per person there weren't many takers, outside the terminal there are tour buses and taxis sitting. The taxi drivers can be quite insistent that you use their taxi - one guy practically followed us shouting it was too far to walk into the town, we weren't even heading that way!!

 

If you turn left once outsde the terminal there are bars and restaurants alongside the marina, I thoroughly recommend Irish & Co we went here for a coffee and to use the wifi in the morning and you could tell you were in an Irisih Pub as the first thing we were asked was "Beer or wine?" and this was 10am!! We headed back to the ship for a bit but then decided to head back here for lunch since we had another two days at sea to go.

 

The woman that was running the pub recognised we were back and was very happy when we asked for two glasses of wine and even happier when we wanted more, first time someone running a pub has ever told we'd be cheaper buying a bottle rather than two more glasses! Then we decided to have something to eat and it was probably one of the best things we ate during the entire cruise!

 

They also kept giving out free keyrings, phone cases, hats and tshirts (tshirts only if you had 2 or more Guiness!) so we got some great mementos :D

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  • 3 weeks later...
louhun88

louhun88

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Sorry for the delay in finishing, I have been so busy at work!

 

I also tried the Spa for the first time on Royal Caribbean, they are constantly running different offers for packages - just watch as near the end of the cruise the package I had was being offered for $20 less although the weather was a bit rough so don't think I would have enjoyed it the same!

 

The package I chose was an hour long and consisted of a back, neck & shoulder massage, foot & ankle massage, facial and scalp massage plus a glass of champagne for $99 + 18% gratuity (this is automatically added on). I really enjoyed the treatment until the end when my therapist tried to sell me all the products she used! I must have said no at least five times yet she still kept saying "u buy these now"!!

 

 

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

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louhun88

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To sum it up quickly it was OK.

 

For the long winded version -

 

This was our first time sailing out of Southampton and I was very impressed with the organisation and the ease of checking in and boarding the ship however I do wish Royal Caribbean would still send out lugggage tags without a charge :(

 

This was also our first time on a larger ship with Royal Caribbean and while having some more food options was great we just didn't like the size - too many queues and trying to get seats in the bars/theatres/waiting times for dinner was just too annoying and not very relaxing. For me i preferred the Splendour of the Seas for size and also loved having a Park Cafe (those roast beef sandwiches were to die for :p)

 

The food was a disappointment on this cruise which is a first for us, usually i could eat and eat but a lot of the food wasn't cooked that great particularly beef in the MDR (either too rare or too well done never just medium!) We did enjoy Johnny Rockets and room service was great for a breakfast or a snack also Cafe Promenade when they had hot pies was great :)

 

Drinks prices have definately shot up onboard over the last couple of years and we were glad that we purchased the Premium Alcohol Package however if they were not running the special offer there is no way it would be worth the money as we wouldn't have come close to breaking even and trust me we drunk plenty of cocktails - Thank You Agnelo, Mohammed and Jose at Cafe Promenade for never letting us go thirsty :D:p

 

The shuttle buses that Royal Caribbean provide definately add to your bill, usually $12+ per person for a return ticket, if there's 4 or more of your it would probably be cheaper to split the cost of a taxi.

 

The Spa onboard was lovely but quite expensive and they pushed a hard sell after my treatment to try and get me to purchase their products which kind of ruined the experience :(

 

The itinerary on this trip was quite good but in some ports a little longer would have been great particularly Gibraltar, Villefrance and Malaga.

 

Overall this was a good holiday but not great and unfortunately we have decided to cancel our cruise that we had booked for next year even though we will lose £300 deposit as when we add up what we will spend onboard and the fact that there seems to be a lot of cost cutting going on and standards slipping we feel it's worth it.

 

I am quite disappointed as I was looking forward to increasing my Crown & Anchore Society level but i think we'll head back to hotels in the Caribbean for a while where you pay slightly more than a cruise but definately get more when you're there!

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