Adventure of the Seas HONEST Review, May 16-23, 2015

[MrSmoofy]

The below is my honest opinion of RCI and AOS. Most will not agree as I've seen people state the complete oposite of my opinion about RCI and AOS.

 

This will be more like a summary review if you want to know my opinion on something specifically just ask.

 

I have been on many cruises with several cruise lines. This was my first with RCI and from the beginning it was a mess starting with the staff that books your cruise which I've been told it's to be expected which I complety disagree with. I took this cruise because of the BOGO 50 and I wanted to see why everyone I spoke to said how great RCI was.

 

As for the AOS the and pre and post cruise here is what I think of the process and the condition of this boat.

 

1. Arrives in San Juan the day of the cruise and paid for the transfer service which I had no problems with other then you have to walk around a while before you find an RCI rep they need to have more signs posted.

 

2. Check in and boarding the boat was A+ think we waited 5 min to get on, went up and got something to eat in the Winjammer and rooms were ready right at 2pm and our bags arrived shortly after really impressed with that as I didn't expect to see them till after dinner.

 

3. Windjammer food overall I give it a D, most foods were either cold or over cooked and not eatable. Breakfast foods were a little better. Their toast even freshly toasted was if the bread started out stale it just was not eatable. Average service in the Windjammer.

 

4. Bar service is very very slow even at the bars with no lines. The bar drinks were good though.

 

5. Main Dinner room service was awesome. Food I'll give a B to B+ some nights better then others.

 

6. Giovannies worth the $25 and then some the quality and amount of food will blow you away would of paid double for that experience.

 

7. Stateroom Steward was as expected and awesome!

 

Now onto the state of the ship which people seem to think it's in great shape they have really been drugged or something because I disgree. I counted dozens of light bulbs burt out all over the ship. Light figures falling out of furniture, out of walls and out of ceilings.

 

Carpet so warn it's nearly warn through and faded to have no color. Wood furniture so worn out the finish is gone. Places in the floor where it buckles and gives when you walk across, was so bad in 3rd deck main dinning you felt like you would loose your balance.

 

While I understand it will be dry docked soon it's still in really bad shape. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking it's in GREAT shape because they obviously have never been on a ship that was in great shape before to make the correct comparison.

 

The casio while it was awesome they had a $5 blackjack table the tables are so close together and so close to the walls it's almost impossible to walk around them without asking someone to move. If you are in a wheel chair then you can forget visiting the tables at all.

 

The tables in the casion are very warn and faded. The poker chips are also very warn with most of them so warn you can't read their face value.

 

Breakfast in the main dinning room while better then the windjammer the service is very crappy and very very slow compared to dinner service. We did not try it for lunch.

 

The staff on the ship gets an overall awesome rating from me except for the medical people.

 

On day 3 in St. Kitts when my GF was coming down the stairs on the Senic Rail Tour excursion she folded over her foot but it didn't really bother her and we kept going. 2 Days later in Aruba I notice at the beach her foot is very black and blue but again wasn't bothering her the next day in Carucao it started to swell so we decided to have the onboard dr. look at it.

 

IS this guy a real doctor. First off with only 2 other people in the waiting room we waited and hour before she spoke to anyone. While we were waiting to be seen I took our stuff up to our room and left her on the couch with her foot elevated. When I get back she said she got yelled at by someone because she had her foot elevated and was told it looked back and she shouldn't do that. We later learned that person was the actual doctor. Some standard medical things they should be doing they don't do for example they asked if she was on medication which she is but then they never asked which ones. They also took exrays but didn't ask if she was pregnant before hand which is a standard question that is always asked, she is not but if it had been someone pregnent that could of been bad. Luckly it was just a very bad sprain and nothing broken. The dotor's attitude and bed side manor is horrible as he was the one that told her not to put her foot up to later tell her she should be keeping it elevated and iced.

 

We did make an apointment with the NEXT Cruise people to talk to them about other cruises with RCI. Our experience here is an F they person here is very rude and shouldn't be selling cruises to people as she offers nothing to the experience. We didn't know where we wanted to go next other then to some place we hadn't been. The girl working the desk couldnt offer any help on suggestions she acted as if we were inconviening her and that we should already know what we want before talking to her which is not how this service is advertised.

 

So as far as my overall opinion of how great RCI is I would say they are no better and no worse then any other cruise ship out there. We did book a cruise for Sept 2016 out of Barcelona Spain for 12 days so I'm willing to give them a second chance but again I don't see all this greatness people say about RCI and their ships they are again no better and no worse then any other cruise line I've been on.

 

Almost forgot DO NOT LET ANYONE tell you that the Promonad rooms with the windows are muffled and not loud at all THAT is a complete lie. Even being on the Deck 7 (2 up from the Promonade deck) it was loud enough to make the bed vibrate and when on until midnight about every night. While the room was big I will never book that type of room again. It also didn't help we had the loudest neighbors in the world we could here every conversation and argument they had.

Edited May 25, 2015 by MrSmoofy

[Coralc]

Thank you for your review. I am surprised that you would book another. It sounds like sort of an unpleasant cruise.

[Langley Cruisers]

...It also didn't help we had the loudest neighbors in the world we could here every conversation and argument they had.

 

Oh dear, sorry to hear that and that happened to us on our Brilliance Med cruise. It was maddening and frustrating and awful and heartbreaking all at the same time. :(

[Aquahound]

Almost forgot DO NOT LET ANYONE tell you that the Promonad rooms with the windows are muffled and not loud at all THAT is a complete lie. Even being on the Deck 7 (2 up from the Promonade deck) it was loud enough to make the bed vibrate and when on until midnight about every night. While the room was big I will never book that type of room again.

 

Years ago, I remember someone posting decks plans for the PR rooms that have speakers right under the windows so people would know to avoid those rooms. I tried searching, but couldn't find it. I'm curious if it still exists. :confused:

[Ubiquitous Cruiser]

Now onto the state of the ship which people seem to think it's in great shape they have really been drugged or something because I disgree.

 

Was on the same sailing as you & I must have missed out the drugging sessions. Was that listed in the Cruise Compass delivered to your stateroom?

[denatravels]

I appreciate the "honest" review-- what I don't understand was why you would book another. You did not have much positive to say, why do it again?

[zapman]

I was on Adventure the week of April 26th from that time to your cruise the ship must have got trashed real bad, because i didnt find it that bad and yes i have been on other ships. For someone to go on a cruise and count how many light bulbs are burnt you have WAY to much time on your hands, I am an electrician and I didnt notice those things and its my job. I will agree with you some what on the food

[roe2ship]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The appearance of Adventure really does get such mixed reviews. The one time we cruised on her, I remember the same type of reports prior to our cruise. The most noticeable at that time was there were a large number of the strappy lounge chairs broken, several of the straps completely missing or hanging. But we LOVED the ship and the awesome itinerary that those little things didn't bother us.

 

The reports of her looking tired and old now are a little bothersome. Unfortunately, she has quite a way for her drydock.:(

Edited May 26, 2015 by roe2ship

[EjMc325]

This was our first cruise on RCL also and I must agree that I was definitely "underwhelmed". Seems like all ever hear about is how wonderful RCL is, so I had to give it a try. Honestly, we chose the ship for the itinerary, which did not disappoint. The staff of AOS was wonderful, given what they have to work with. But as you stated, there were very few, if any things that I found better than any other cruise line I have been on.

I'm quite sure that all the new ships in any cruise line are "better" but for $2600 for 2 people, I was really disappointed with the quality of the food and the layout of the ship in general, not to mention that the toilets on our deck (7) keep backing up!

Next cruise will hopefully be to Europe as well. I too am surprised you took the leap of faith to stay with RCL for such a big trip! Personally I'll be going with another line!

[crisndeefromde]

Still my favorite ship. As long as its clean, and I sure find something somewhere to eat, I am good. I am on a ship...blessed enough to be able to travel.

 

I am surprised you booked another cruise with the rude people. Enjoy your cruising where ever you go which ever cruise line you choose.

[radmax50]

This was our first cruise on RCL also and I must agree that I was definitely "underwhelmed". Seems like all ever hear about is how wonderful RCL is, so I had to give it a try. Honestly, we chose the ship for the itinerary, which did not disappoint. The staff of AOS was wonderful, given what they have to work with. But as you stated, there were very few, if any things that I found better than any other cruise line I have been on.

I'm quite sure that all the new ships in any cruise line are "better" but for $2600 for 2 people, I was really disappointed with the quality of the food and the layout of the ship in general, not to mention that the toilets on our deck (7) keep backing up!

Next cruise will hopefully be to Europe as well. I too am surprised you took the leap of faith to stay with RCL for such a big trip! Personally I'll be going with another line!

 

What about the layout of the ship disappointed you?

[kicker]

You said this was honest, so I don't know why some people have to bash you. Obviously you liked enough things to give them another chance.

 

Toast: I have never, on any cruise line I've sailed, had a good piece of toast, not even in the DR's! I think they teach everything to their staff except toast making!:rolleyes:

[skiiergirl]

Thanks for your review. Thanks for listing both the "good" and the "bad". So many people only list the "bad". We were just on AD in Dec and didn't think she was too bad. We are looking forward to the full revitalization/dry dock next year!!! However, we love the ship/crew and definitely the itineraries. While it is not our favorite...we do enjoy it.

 

I am glad you booked another RC cruise to give it another try.

 

For you and the the other posters who were on this ship for your first RC cruise....not trying to be snarky at all...I promise that I mean this in a good way....please don't judge the whole cruise line/ships/staff on your first experience when you chose to sail on one of the older ships that has not yet been fully "revitalized". I imagine you chose this ship for the awesome itinerary. I wish that "first time RC cruisers" would choose one of the newer or newly fully revitalized ships for their first cruise on RC and then move on to the older ships.

[cjdixon4]

This was our first cruise on RCL also and I must agree that I was definitely "underwhelmed". Seems like all ever hear about is how wonderful RCL is, so I had to give it a try. Honestly, we chose the ship for the itinerary, which did not disappoint. The staff of AOS was wonderful, given what they have to work with. But as you stated, there were very few, if any things that I found better than any other cruise line I have been on.

I'm quite sure that all the new ships in any cruise line are "better" but for $2600 for 2 people, I was really disappointed with the quality of the food and the layout of the ship in general, not to mention that the toilets on our deck (7) keep backing up!

Next cruise will hopefully be to Europe as well. I too am surprised you took the leap of faith to stay with RCL for such a big trip! Personally I'll be going with another line!

 

DH and I were on this sailing. The OP is certainly entitled to his/her opinion, as well as you. I'm curious though about the backed up toilets...I was in cabin 7240. Had no problems of that kind. Where were you?

[Booth44]

While I understand it will be dry docked soon it's still in really bad shape. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking it's in GREAT shape because they obviously have never been on a ship that was in great shape before to make the correct comparison.

 

Uh, well I'm going to take exception to this passage as I was on the same sailing as you and found Adventure to be in excellent condition. Let me assure you I've been on PLENTY of cruise ships both old and new across several different lines and don't use drugs.:D

 

Sounds like maybe we spent a lot of time in different parts of the ship as I don't recall any burnt-out lights, overly worn carpets, or light fixtures falling out of...furniture(?)

 

Totally agree with you about Giovanni's though. We had two dinners (and every breakfast) there and it was fabulous in every respect.

[cruiseclues]

I Thank You for your straightforward review...those are the best kind. :):):):)

[Thetrail]

The below is my honest opinion of RCI and AOS. Most will not agree as I've seen people state the complete oposite of my opinion about RCI and AOS.

 

This will be more like a summary review if you want to know my opinion on something specifically just ask.

 

I have been on many cruises with several cruise lines. This was my first with RCI and from the beginning it was a mess starting with the staff that books your cruise which I've been told it's to be expected which I complety disagree with. I took this cruise because of the BOGO 50 and I wanted to see why everyone I spoke to said how great RCI was.

 

As for the AOS the and pre and post cruise here is what I think of the process and the condition of this boat.

 

1. Arrives in San Juan the day of the cruise and paid for the transfer service which I had no problems with other then you have to walk around a while before you find an RCI rep they need to have more signs posted.

 

2. Check in and boarding the boat was A+ think we waited 5 min to get on, went up and got something to eat in the Winjammer and rooms were ready right at 2pm and our bags arrived shortly after really impressed with that as I didn't expect to see them till after dinner.

 

3. Windjammer food overall I give it a D, most foods were either cold or over cooked and not eatable. Breakfast foods were a little better. Their toast even freshly toasted was if the bread started out stale it just was not eatable. Average service in the Windjammer.

 

4. Bar service is very very slow even at the bars with no lines. The bar drinks were good though.

 

5. Main Dinner room service was awesome. Food I'll give a B to B+ some nights better then others.

 

6. Giovannies worth the $25 and then some the quality and amount of food will blow you away would of paid double for that experience.

 

7. Stateroom Steward was as expected and awesome!

 

Now onto the state of the ship which people seem to think it's in great shape they have really been drugged or something because I disgree. I counted dozens of light bulbs burt out all over the ship. Light figures falling out of furniture, out of walls and out of ceilings.

 

Carpet so warn it's nearly warn through and faded to have no color. Wood furniture so worn out the finish is gone. Places in the floor where it buckles and gives when you walk across, was so bad in 3rd deck main dinning you felt like you would loose your balance.

 

While I understand it will be dry docked soon it's still in really bad shape. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking it's in GREAT shape because they obviously have never been on a ship that was in great shape before to make the correct comparison.

 

The casio while it was awesome they had a $5 blackjack table the tables are so close together and so close to the walls it's almost impossible to walk around them without asking someone to move. If you are in a wheel chair then you can forget visiting the tables at all.

 

The tables in the casion are very warn and faded. The poker chips are also very warn with most of them so warn you can't read their face value.

 

Breakfast in the main dinning room while better then the windjammer the service is very crappy and very very slow compared to dinner service. We did not try it for lunch.

 

The staff on the ship gets an overall awesome rating from me except for the medical people.

 

On day 3 in St. Kitts when my GF was coming down the stairs on the Senic Rail Tour excursion she folded over her foot but it didn't really bother her and we kept going. 2 Days later in Aruba I notice at the beach her foot is very black and blue but again wasn't bothering her the next day in Carucao it started to swell so we decided to have the onboard dr. look at it.

 

IS this guy a real doctor. First off with only 2 other people in the waiting room we waited and hour before she spoke to anyone. While we were waiting to be seen I took our stuff up to our room and left her on the couch with her foot elevated. When I get back she said she got yelled at by someone because she had her foot elevated and was told it looked back and she shouldn't do that. We later learned that person was the actual doctor. Some standard medical things they should be doing they don't do for example they asked if she was on medication which she is but then they never asked which ones. They also took exrays but didn't ask if she was pregnant before hand which is a standard question that is always asked, she is not but if it had been someone pregnent that could of been bad. Luckly it was just a very bad sprain and nothing broken. The dotor's attitude and bed side manor is horrible as he was the one that told her not to put her foot up to later tell her she should be keeping it elevated and iced.

 

We did make an apointment with the NEXT Cruise people to talk to them about other cruises with RCI. Our experience here is an F they person here is very rude and shouldn't be selling cruises to people as she offers nothing to the experience. We didn't know where we wanted to go next other then to some place we hadn't been. The girl working the desk couldnt offer any help on suggestions she acted as if we were inconviening her and that we should already know what we want before talking to her which is not how this service is advertised.

 

So as far as my overall opinion of how great RCI is I would say they are no better and no worse then any other cruise ship out there. We did book a cruise for Sept 2016 out of Barcelona Spain for 12 days so I'm willing to give them a second chance but again I don't see all this greatness people say about RCI and their ships they are again no better and no worse then any other cruise line I've been on.

 

Almost forgot DO NOT LET ANYONE tell you that the Promonad rooms with the windows are muffled and not loud at all THAT is a complete lie. Even being on the Deck 7 (2 up from the Promonade deck) it was loud enough to make the bed vibrate and when on until midnight about every night. While the room was big I will never book that type of room again. It also didn't help we had the loudest neighbors in the world we could here every conversation and argument they had.

Uh thanks for such a wonderful in depth review, sailed AOS last year and had a wonderful cruise.....:):):) Just a sidenote, whenever I see a post that says the food was inedible as a whole in the windjammer, well to give an honest answer, I totally discount that post....:D

[CRUISEFAN0001]

The below is my honest opinion of RCI and AOS. Most will not agree as I've seen people state the complete oposite of my opinion about RCI and AOS.

 

This will be more like a summary review if you want to know my opinion on something specifically just ask.

Your content is of the type that reveals some details Royal Caribbean should hear about from you directly.

 

Whether or not others agree or disagree doesn't matter...it's your review, and everyone is entitled to their own assessment.

 

But it seems some of the ship's conditional issues would be something RCI should know about sooner than later. Dry dock is more than a year away.

[davenew]

2. Check in and boarding the boat was A+ think we waited 5 min to get on, went up and got something to eat in the Winjammer and rooms were ready right at 2pm and our bags arrived shortly after really impressed with that as I didn't expect to see them till after dinner.

 

3. Windjammer food overall I give it a D, most foods were either cold or over cooked and not eatable. Breakfast foods were a little better. Their toast even freshly toasted was if the bread started out stale it just was not eatable. Average service in the Windjammer.

 

4. Bar service is very very slow even at the bars with no lines. The bar drinks were good though.

 

5. Main Dinner room service was awesome. Food I'll give a B to B+ some nights better then others.

 

6. Giovannies worth the $25 and then some the quality and amount of food will blow you away would of paid double for that experience.

 

7. Stateroom Steward was as expected and awesome!

 

Now onto the state of the ship which people seem to think it's in great shape they have really been drugged or something because I disgree. I counted dozens of light bulbs burt out all over the ship. Light figures falling out of furniture, out of walls and out of ceilings.

 

Carpet so warn it's nearly warn through and faded to have no color. Wood furniture so worn out the finish is gone. Places in the floor where it buckles and gives when you walk across, was so bad in 3rd deck main dinning you felt like you would loose your balance.

 

While I understand it will be dry docked soon it's still in really bad shape. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking it's in GREAT shape because they obviously have never been on a ship that was in great shape before to make the correct comparison.

 

 

Breakfast in the main dinning room while better then the windjammer the service is very crappy and very very slow compared to dinner service. We did not try it for lunch.

 

The staff on the ship gets an overall awesome rating from me except for the medical people.

 

 

 

We did make an apointment with the NEXT Cruise people to talk to them about other cruises with RCI. Our experience here is an F they person here is very rude and shouldn't be selling cruises to people as she offers nothing to the experience. We didn't know where we wanted to go next other then to some place we hadn't been. The girl working the desk couldnt offer any help on suggestions she acted as if we were inconviening her and that we should already know what we want before talking to her which is not how this service is advertised.

 

So as far as my overall opinion of how great RCI is I would say they are no better and no worse then any other cruise ship out there. We did book a cruise for Sept 2016 out of Barcelona Spain for 12 days so I'm willing to give them a second chance but again I don't see all this greatness people say about RCI and their ships they are again no better and no worse then any other cruise line I've been on.

 

I second all of the above based on our Southampton based cruise in Sept 2014

[micmacmissy]

I suggest you try Celebrity (one of the S class ships) for your next cruise. I think they get a lot of the little things better than RCCL!

[MrSmoofy]

:eek: Thanks for all the replies. Will try to cover all the questions here.

 

1. Reason to book a second was this was first with RCI could just be bad luck. Also the price/timing is right and getting your deposit ($200) back as on board credit on the current cruise was a good deal. We still had a good time we were on vacation for a week no work and relaxing so I don't consider it a bad cruise I just think that RCI does not live up to the hype people give it. Maybe the Europe cruise in 2016 will change my mind and if not then I'll try another cruise line or just go back to booking based on price and destinations.

 

2. We were in 7587 and had no toliet problems. I did see where the speakers were under some windows on Deck 6. We picked 7 thinking it would be further away from the music/crowd noise. We didn't hear crowd noise just the loud music. While at the customer service desk we did see about a dozen people complaining about oder on their floor. The only times there was a bad oder were at port a couple of times smelled it on the ship and outside the ship. I really have no complaints other then the medical staff. Everything else while not living up to the hype that RCI gets I found it to be on par with every other cruise I've been on.

 

3. As for noticing things. When your siting waiting for a show or bar service you tend to look around. I look at everyone and eveything. The dining room floor 3rd deck where it had problems was when you went in and went to the right and just before you would go left after going right there was a large area where there was something wrong with the floor felt like wholes or something under the carpet at one point they did use masking tape and tape off the area maybe to repair it.

 

The windjammer food to me reminds me of the food you get at Golden Corral. I expected better on RCI with all the hype but again it's no better and no worse then any other cruise line I've been on.

[Sherri914]

I have been on many cruises with several cruise lines. This was my first with RCI and from the beginning it was a mess ....

 

 

Some of the items you noted seem to be safety-sensitive issues such as light fixtures falling out of walls or ceilings, buckled flooring, and the assertion that the medical staff mishandled your GF's care. Some of the items you listed were related to service such as the Future Cruise rep and the medical staff having less than a pleasant demeanor. Did you notify anyone at Royal of these issues either while onboard or once your cruise ended?

 

So as far as my overall opinion of how great RCI is I would say they are no better and no worse then any other cruise ship out there. .... but again I don't see all this greatness people say about RCI and their ships they are again no better and no worse then any other cruise line I've been on.

 

It's a shame that your cruise didn't meet your expectations. I'm honestly surprised you decided to give Royal Caribbean another try since it went so poorly. I do think it's unfortunate, however, that you ended with such a blanket statement about the condition of the fleet based on a single cruise on one (older) ship.

 

Hopefully your next cruise with Royal will at least meet, if not exceed your expectations.

[MrSmoofy]

Some of the items you noted seem to be safety-sensitive issues such as light fixtures falling out of walls or ceilings, buckled flooring, and the assertion that the medical staff mishandled your GF's care. Some of the items you listed were related to service such as the Future Cruise rep and the medical staff having less than a pleasant demeanor. Did you notify anyone at Royal of these issues either while onboard or once your cruise ended?

 

 

I did note them in the post cruise survey they sent. However based on my experience with their customer service staff prior to the cruise in trying to get information about the cruise the ports and the excursions I don't think they really care about their customers opinions as I spent hours a day for weeks trying to get answers. I posted about this and the general tone of everyone was to not expect anything from their customer service people because they don't know anything about the ships or cruises they are selling and to do your research online and not ask RCI questions directly. I disagreed with everyone about that and bascially got roasted for disagreeing with them.

[JohnGaltny]

Maybe I'm not getting it but I don't think this review was completely negative, nor that the cruise was "poor". On the whole, I think he balanced the good with the bad much like I try to do in my reviews.

 

I do think that the OP noticed things I didn't when I was on AoS May 3-10 but, then again, I don't really look so I can't disagree with him.

 

There are points where I disagree but, on the whole, it sounds like he had a decent cruise, just not the WOW that he was expecting. At home I always give a new restaurant a second visit before I write it off and sometimes that turns out well. OP is doing the same thing although I'm not sure a 12 day in Europe is the way I would go.

 

Lastly, I have noticed (and occasionally been part of) more and more reviews from RCI veterans discussing things like slow bar, horrendiomas at the WJ, and the lack of the former "WOW'. For my crowd, RCI is still a preference but it definitely appears that to many of us, it has come back to the pack of NCL, Princess and (gasp) Carnival. À chacun son goût .

Edited May 26, 2015 by JohnGaltny

[JimAOk1945]

MrSmoofy,

 

Thanks for your honest and well balanced review. I'm glad you are going to give RC another try. I have discovered, from my own past experiences, that sometimes my first impression of things does not live up to my expectations.

 

Have you considered booking a balcony room or a junior/mini-suite? I think you would enjoy it very much.

 

I hope you will post another review when you return from you next RC cruise. Happy sailing!