My View: Live from a Back2Back Adventure on the Seas

[Cruisin Around]

Thanks so much for your quick reply. Noted - only one parade on the Promenade now! Fantastic review! Just one other question - you mentioned that you forgot to look for when certain menus were highlighted in the Windjammer. Do they actually tell you that on the compass?

[APDMOM]

Thanks so much for your quick reply. Noted - only one parade on the Promenade now! Fantastic review! Just one other question - you mentioned that you forgot to look for when certain menus were highlighted in the Windjammer. Do they actually tell you that on the compass?

 

 

You are welcome.

 

Yes, if you look at the dining times, the theme is listed for dinner in the Windjammer section. See below (This was day 5, for example):

 

[Cruisin Around]

Sorry I missed that before! Thanks so much!!

[hapster85]

Great- open noon until late! Perfect for our boarding day lunch.

It really is perfect. We opted for Johnny's on our second boarding day (July 6th), after finding out the consecutive cruisers' lunch was cancelled. So much quieter than the chaos of the Jammer, and we'd gotten in and out before it got really busy on our first opening day (June 29th).

[Cruisin Around]

Last question I promise!:)

 

 

Did you happen to notice if there were any deals for the specialty restaurants? I know that you can book them in advance and there are some discounts but the only one that we're even slightly interested in is the BOGO and what we don't like about that is that you have to use it on the first (no problem) and second nights. Second night is an issue because we love formal nights in the dining room. Someone else said they were able to book Giovann's Table for a reduced rate just by stopping and speaking with a rep who was outside of the Windjammer one day. Thanks!

[tedbearz]

Any tips for things that you must do when you first board? ie sign up for shows/dining, etc.

 

What would be your top 10 must do specific to this ship?

Edited July 12, 2018 by tedbearz

[trudnowskis]

Thank you so very much for this excellent review! We are especially thankful that you took the time to post all of the cruise compasses for both weeks! Very very helpful for us as we do some pre-cruise planning. :D We are also doing these same 2 itineraries back2back starting on July 27. We sailed Adventure last summer on a B2B out of San Juan, PR, and she is a lovely ship with a wonderful crew. We will follow you on Instagram! Best wishes, and happy cruising! :cool:

[APDMOM]

Last question I promise!:)

 

Did you happen to notice if there were any deals for the specialty restaurants? I know that you can book them in advance and there are some discounts but the only one that we're even slightly interested in is the BOGO and what we don't like about that is that you have to use it on the first (no problem) and second nights. Second night is an issue because we love formal nights in the dining room. Someone else said they were able to book Giovann's Table for a reduced rate just by stopping and speaking with a rep who was outside of the Windjammer one day. Thanks!

 

 

Unfortunately, I did not get any info on the specialty restaurants. I did notice that Izumi was almost empty most of the time. I assume they will have special prices onboard if the restaurants do not sell out. I know they don’t want them to sit empty. If you want a guarantee, the BOGO would be the way to go. You can still dress up:)

 

PS: You can ask all the questions you want. There is no quota on CC :D

Edited July 13, 2018 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

Any tips for things that you must do when you first board? ie sign up for shows/dining, etc.

 

What would be your top 10 must do specific to this ship?

 

If you have my time dining, check your reservations - see if you can make those prior to boarding. If you have assigned dining, you can check to wee where your table is located in order to make sure you like the size and location. Other than dining, Adventure does not have bookings for shows.

 

The top 10 question is a bit loaded, but I will answer it by sharing my top 10 favorite things (not in order of importance):

 

1. Watch the ice show.

2. Watch people surf & boogie board on the Flowrider

3. See Jomit in the pub for drinks - he is the best in the pub! See Vandyke in Boleros for drinks - excellent service!

4. Get a crepe from the Windjammer before they close (available every other night - we went there around 8:15 p.m.)

5. Enjoy Elevation band’s music in Boleros

6. See at least one sunrise and one sunset. Check if you will have a full moon on your cruise. If so, watch the moonrise and moonset.

7. Play mini-golf (fun course!)

8. Visit the bridge overlook

9. Get up early at least one morning to walk the entire ship and see the venues you may otherwise miss. That is how we discovered the ship models.

10. Be on the helipad for one of the sail aways (or all of them if you do not have a balcony).

 

Those are my favorite things... however, ask others too. I am not fond of trivia, but I know it is on the top 10 list for others. My mom would say the spa raffle is her favorite... and after many cruises, she finally won $250 of spa services! :D I, on the other hand, do not need the spa. So, see what you would like best.

 

Most importantly: Don’t pack your schedule with events. Take time to just relax and enjoy your vacation. You can not do it all in one cruise

[APDMOM]

Thank you so very much for this excellent review! We are especially thankful that you took the time to post all of the cruise compasses for both weeks! Very very helpful for us as we do some pre-cruise planning. :D We are also doing these same 2 itineraries back2back starting on July 27. We sailed Adventure last summer on a B2B out of San Juan, PR, and she is a lovely ship with a wonderful crew. We will follow you on Instagram! Best wishes, and happy cruising! :cool:

You are welcome! Wish we could join you again, but that “day job” is waiting for me to return. Enjoy your back2back adventure!:)

[perfect match]

I thought your review was just about done the last time I posted - 5 pages or so ago! That sure was a foolish assumption on my part! Glad I came back to see what I might have missed! I will check back again to see your videos.:D

[Needz2Cruise]

...The top 10 question is a bit loaded, but I will answer it by sharing my top 10 favorite things (not in order of importance):

 

1. Watch the ice show.

2. Watch people surf & boogie board on the Flowrider

...

6. See at least one sunrise and one sunset. Check if you will have a full moon on your cruise. If so, watch the moonrise and moonset.

7. Play mini-golf (fun course!)

...

 

Most importantly: Don’t pack your schedule with events. Take time to just relax and enjoy your vacation. You can not do it all in one cruise

 

We did some of those too.

 

1. I remember you mentioning the ice show wasn't your favorite on Royal, but it was a first for us and was amazing. Its amazing the speed they can generate on such a small rink, along with some of the maneuvers. The skater that did the backflip twice happened to be our muster captain on the first day and it was fun chatting with her very briefly...

2. We enjoyed watching Flowrider also a few times. No way would I try it (maybe on boogie board if no one else was around...lol). I don't know if you remember, there was a young Asian gentleman on your first week that brought his own board and was really good. My kids would have been all over it if they were able to come on the cruise.

6. We caught not a sunset, but some really nice moon lighting from the balcony the last night or two heading north towards Bayonne. The sunrise that last morning approaching Port Liberty was pretty spectacular too.

7. Mini-golf was fun! I was expecting a pretty lame layout, but it was really pretty good. We were lucky enough to play it one time when no one else was on it...I think it may have been in the afternoon of Nassau day...we had just walked around town and back on the ship by lunch time.

 

Definitely agree on your most important point! Relaxing is the best...

[Cruisin Around]

Thank you again! Since I'm not over my quota question...

Were the doors metal? We like to put a few little doo-dads on the door so it's easy to find our cabin and we like to use magnets. We are on the eighth floor. I was surprised last year on another ship to find out depending on what floor you were on, the doors might or might not be magnetic!

[Biker19]

The skater that did the backflip twice happened to be our muster captain on the first day and it was fun chatting with her very briefly...

I think she's the only one in the fleet that does that.

[APDMOM]

Thank you again! Since I'm not over my quota question...

Were the doors metal? We like to put a few little doo-dads on the door so it's easy to find our cabin and we like to use magnets. We are on the eighth floor. I was surprised last year on another ship to find out depending on what floor you were on, the doors might or might not be magnetic!

Yes, our doors on deck 7 were metal. Magnets are the best, or painters tape will work without damaging the door. 🙂

[APDMOM]

1. I remember you mentioning the ice show wasn't your favorite on Royal, but it was a first for us and was amazing. Its amazing the speed they can generate on such a small rink, along with some of the maneuvers. The skater that did the backflip twice happened to be our muster captain on the first day and it was fun chatting with her very briefly...

 

Yes, as far as ice shows go, the theme/storyline of this one was not as fun, and the costumes were not as spectacular as other ice shows on Royal. However, it is still a must do! These ice skaters have phenomenal talent. It is definitely worth standing in line for. :)

[Sobro]

APDMOM, I really enjoyed seeing you and your family again, even if it was just via this wonderful travelog. After riding Trikes Aruba with you last December, I bought some Aruba Heat hot sauce and just used my last drops at dinner tonight. Must go back!

 

I hope your next cruise is as fun as this one was. Thanks for doing this review!

[APDMOM]

As promised, here are a few posts with videos from the cruise. Disclaimer: I am not good at taking videos! Hopefully, you will get the basic idea. :)

 

First, the Duck Tour:

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[APDMOM]

Video of the parade, as seen from Promenade Cabin 7583:

 

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[APDMOM]

Video of the area where the studio cabins are:

 

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[APDMOM]

Wow thanks for the pics! It’s fantastic you’re doing this. I have a small request- if you find yourself in the Viking crown lounge, I would love to see some pictures! I will be getting married in there in October, and still trying to figure out how the layout will work for about 40-45 people. TIA!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Video of the Viking Crown Lounge: Enjoy planning your wedding!

 

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[APDMOM]

My review will not be complete without the “mandatory” spreadsheet! Here is how prices changed for the Bahamas week (6/22/2018). In the column where it says “up/down”, it only compares with the previous price. We never got a price drop on our price (which means we got a good deal, in my opinion).

 

Corner Aft Balcony:

 

Promenade view 7583:

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[APDMOM]

Prices for the Canada/New England leg: We were amazed at the good prices we saw when we first booked this. It was much cheaper per day than Grandeur. We booked right away, thinking it might be a mistake. I thought we did very well, which is partially why we ended up doing a back 2 back.

 

Corner aft: (On this one you see a price drop of $34, but we would have lost $100 OBC, so we opted to keep the old price for a profit of $66)

 

Promenade 7583:

[APDMOM]

With that, this review is now officially over, which means all I have left are loads of vacation laundry! Oh, and planning for Harmony... See you again in November with My View!

 

Thank you for following along!

 

I leave you with one of my favorite views:

[Cruise a holic]

What is a studio cabin? Inside? Do you have pics of one?