A few tips & feedback from Adventure, Canada/New England June 29/18 (Cape Liberty)

[hapster85]

Outlets

Again, I have read there are a few configurations of these in the rooms. We had 2 outlets by the mirror/desk. No USB on the light fixtures as in some rooms.

 

Our balcony room on Deck 8 was the same way, two standard (US) outlets and one European. No USB ports, and I checked the lamps very closely.

 

We have a travel adapter, so we can make use of the European outlet as well. Just have to be mindful of the current rating of whatever you plug into it, as it will still be 240V. All of our chargers are rated up to 240V, so it comes in handy.

[YlangYlangF9PB3E]

Great review. We are sailing on Adventure with a similar itinerary next year. Thank you for taking the time to give us your insight!

[vwgolf]

On a related issue we were thinking of taking the Manhatten highlights and JFK transfer at the end of the cruise as an alternative to taking a taxi. Has anybody done this before? Is it worth it? We are staying in New York before the cruise and I'm wondering if it will just be a repeat of what we plan to do there.

[hapster85]

On a related issue we were thinking of taking the Manhatten highlights and JFK transfer at the end of the cruise as an alternative to taking a taxi. Has anybody done this before? Is it worth it? We are staying in New York before the cruise and I'm wondering if it will just be a repeat of what we plan to do there.

We did it after our Anthem cruise in 2016. It's basically just a time killer. Our guide was great and pointed out as much as he could in the time we had. There were two stops, Rockefeller Center and the 9/11 Memorial. We'd made good time getting into the city, so we're able to spend about 25 minutes at each. I think 15 minutes is what's actually allotted.

 

For us, visiting the 9/11 Memorial made it worthwhile. The sampler nature of the tour only made us want to return and spend more time in the city, which we did, this summer before our Adventure cruise. If you're going to be spending time seeing the city before your cruise, then this tour would probably be a waste of time.

[vwgolf]

Thanks, that's what I suspected. Our flight doesn't leave until 7pm so I guess it's better than spending hours sitting at JFK, though. I assume you have to be off the ship around 9am?

[hapster85]

Thanks, that's what I suspected. Our flight doesn't leave until 7pm so I guess it's better than spending hours sitting at JFK, though. I assume you have to be off the ship around 9am?

I think the latest was 9:30. On the turnaround days at the start and middle of our B2B, boarding started at 10:20, so there was definitely no hanging around the ship. If you do book the tour, you'll be given a specific departure time.

[Crowls]

I am not sure if this helps but......we went directly to Manhattan when we got off the ship.

 

Took about 30 min - we were staying in a hotel for a few days to tour the city however I am thinking with a 7pm flight you likely have time to go into the city, check luggage at a hotel and tour for a bit?

 

We did this on our last cruise (not in NY; Miami) and it worked well. I had just called a few hotels ahead of time to find out who would store luggage for the day and we hung out around Miami for a day vs. sitting in an airport. Different city but may work here too? In Miami we found a hotel that would hold our luggage for no fees (although we tipped generously as it was a wonderful service).

 

Just an FYI as well, it may have been just rough traffic but our trip from Manhattan to JFK was an hour long......allow time :)

[chiacin]

Food – Sapphire (main dining room)

Oh goodness, I know this is a can of worms I shouldn’t open. But here I go:

It doesn’t rank to Disney. Honestly – Disney blows it away. Now that doesn’t mean it is “bad”– it isn’t…trust me we didn’t go hungry ;););):) but the variety of changing dining rooms nightly (on Disney), having different themes and no duplicates of food is refreshing and appeals to every taste. RC was good, but the menus became a bit repetitive each night. We realized after night #2 we probably should have done a dining package and tried the other restaurants…. we didn’t, and it was our loss. I think it would be just fine if you prearrange that variety (I take responsibility for not considering this earlier).

 

Summary:main dining room is just fine, food is good…just not “great” and the menu is somewhat repetitive. (Note: my husband insists that I put a comment in here about the steak :) Apparently the prime rib, etc is not the best cuts. Maybe it is just because we are from ranch country and are choosy about these things but he insists that others are warned that this is not fine Angus beef nor is it prepared like a good steakhouse. Take that as you wish ;)

 

Buffet

Disclaimer:I am a germ-a-phobe. Public food generally isn’t my thing, but my family does not necessarily feel the same way. The first day almost traumatized me – seriously we went around noon on embarkation day and it was disgusting. There was such a rush of people, so they couldn’t not enforce hand washing. People were reaching in (think the fries, cheese and buns) with their hands, others were eating while still in line and there was food all over the floor. That said, I got over my experience by day 3 and tried again…….it was marginally better.

 

Food was Ok, staff were super friendly/helpful finding seats and they cleaned tables quickly. Disney and Carnival seemed a little cleaner (buffet) and Disney enforced that EVERY single person entering all restaurants MUST use an anti-bac hand-wipe before entering. Disney wins a slight edge over food quality at the buffet but wins hands-down on cleanliness.

 

Note: handwashing stations at the entry of Windjammer are awesome! Convenient and easy! Just need more people to stop and actually use them.

 

Tip: we did the main dining room for lunch and sit-down breakfast a few days. It was fan-freaking-tastic! Think small buffet (more like pasta and salad stations) or a menu…..much quieter and friendly atmosphere than the buffet. It was awesome – totally recommend this vs Windjammer if you have time…..note they have very short breakfast & lunch hours but it is an alternative to buffet. (For me this was an option that didn't include fingers in the food, much better for germ-a-phobe's.)

 

Café Promenade

We ate here quite a lot due to location (only 2 floors below our room). It has a nice, quick selection and I prefer this manner of being “served” (handed items from a serving area) vs. the buffet. They offer chicken/veggie burritos, breakfast sandwiches, fruit, yogurt and a few other munchies for breakfast……lunch is pizza, salads, sandwiches and desserts for lunch and dinner.

Free coffee and tea is located here on the opposite side of the restaurant from Starbucks beverages. Starbucks bevy’s have a charge attached (if you do not have a bevy package), other tea/coffee is free. The selections are repetitive daily, but we found the food was pretty good.

 

Thank you for this info from a fellow germ a phobe. Is there a charge to eat at the Café Promenade or is this included in the dining plan?

[Crowls]

Thank you for this info from a fellow germ a phobe. Is there a charge to eat at the Café Promenade or is this included in the dining plan?

 

Everything at Promenade was free!! It was honestly the best choice for me - there isn't as much for selection but I loved that it was behind a closed display case and was handed to me by a worker with gloves (vs. slopping with the masses, it is very hard for me). The only charge would be if you wanted a Starbucks drink (and didn't have a bev. package). That said there is free coffee and tea on the far side of the cafe.