Adventure of the Seas - August 12th !!

[blondcat]

8 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Is that the ribeye steak  you got at Chops?

I had the NY strip and BF had the ribeye - both were excellent. SD had the kids steak which was a really generous portion and waiter offered to cut it for her which was a really nice touch as she’s little and the angle doesn’t make it the easiest! 

[blondcat]

So cruise day 2 

 

We spent the day at the pool. The suite sun lounger section is really good actually - seems to be room for everyone that wants seats in that section. We had 3 loungers and another family of 3 came and nabbed the 4th and last in the row so we just gave them one of ours - plenty of room for all of us. We were all in and out of the pool anyways. 
I was walking past a lounger and overheard a couple saying it was much better now they clear the loungers that have been saved. That sounds like a good idea? We loved the belly flop competition and did the dance class on deck. Had wind jammer lunch which was wild and chaotic but actually pretty good.

 

It was formal night tonight and I would say it’s overwhelmingly more casual. My partner packed some chinos and he said FFS I have to wear trousers 🤣. I said yes - I want a nice family picture!! I definitely don’t want this to illicit a debate - I’m in the you do you camp. But I like it when BF makes an effort and I think he likes to make me happy :))

 

we went to giovannis and we really didn’t like it :((

I loved it on brilliance. Doesn’t matter though, we’ll just switch to something else as we were going to go there twice. 

didn’t get many pics from today - tried to get nice fam pic but didn’t come out too well!

 

 

[Monk86]

On 8/12/2023 at 9:06 PM, Biker19 said:

Send CEO Jason Liberty a thank you note for "enhancing" your experience.

Anyone have an email address for him...I have a quick query Id like to drop in his inbox. Thanks

[PashaPoo]

Blondcat:  We were on the Adventure early last year, out of Galveston.  We stayed in the same cabin as you - RS.  Wonderful cabin.  As a suite passenger, we ordered room service off the dining room menu instead of the room service menu.  Although we loved the cabin, the concierge (now gone on to bigger ship) and the steward, the perk was not good - the NY strip arrived cold as were the sides.  We were looking forward to a steak on the big round table and cushy chairs.  So sad.  We have ordered this perk on other ships and the food was always hot - breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

The patio was huge.  We did not take advantage of the hot tub jacuzzi tho.  We did take in a movie in the movie theater - Where the Crawdads Sing.  It live up to its haunting but sweet reputation.

 

We also had the UDP, ate at Chops once - for lunch on embarkation day and once for dinner - steak.  We do not care for Chops - steaks are inconsistent, sometimes tough and service is snooty.  We much prefer Giovannis.  The Adventure had the best NY Strip of all cruises we have taken.  I had the Osso Buco - falling off the bone tender.  Dessert great - gelato, choc, strawberry & vanilla.  Next night Blue Bell vanilla ice cream in a tall goblet with Kahlua poured over it.  We went to Gio every night thereafter.  As Royal Suite passengers, we were  not treated well.  We had early reservations at Chops and asked for a certain table - room was nearly empty.  But they refused a two top saying they had to save tables for larger parties.  On the other hand, Giovanni treated us as the concierge says "it  is good to be king."  We were 15 mins late for one dinner and when we showed up apologized for being late, the maitre'd addressed us by our first names and said, "why you are just on time." We are going on the Harmony next year and we are chagrined to see that they do not have a Giovannis. 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed Adventure and hope you have as well. 

[blondcat]

17 hours ago, PashaPoo said:

Blondcat:  We were on the Adventure early last year, out of Galveston.  We stayed in the same cabin as you - RS.  Wonderful cabin.  As a suite passenger, we ordered room service off the dining room menu instead of the room service menu.  Although we loved the cabin, the concierge (now gone on to bigger ship) and the steward, the perk was not good - the NY strip arrived cold as were the sides.  We were looking forward to a steak on the big round table and cushy chairs.  So sad.  We have ordered this perk on other ships and the food was always hot - breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

The patio was huge.  We did not take advantage of the hot tub jacuzzi tho.  We did take in a movie in the movie theater - Where the Crawdads Sing.  It live up to its haunting but sweet reputation.

 

We also had the UDP, ate at Chops once - for lunch on embarkation day and once for dinner - steak.  We do not care for Chops - steaks are inconsistent, sometimes tough and service is snooty.  We much prefer Giovannis.  The Adventure had the best NY Strip of all cruises we have taken.  I had the Osso Buco - falling off the bone tender.  Dessert great - gelato, choc, strawberry & vanilla.  Next night Blue Bell vanilla ice cream in a tall goblet with Kahlua poured over it.  We went to Gio every night thereafter.  As Royal Suite passengers, we were  not treated well.  We had early reservations at Chops and asked for a certain table - room was nearly empty.  But they refused a two top saying they had to save tables for larger parties.  On the other hand, Giovanni treated us as the concierge says "it  is good to be king."  We were 15 mins late for one dinner and when we showed up apologized for being late, the maitre'd addressed us by our first names and said, "why you are just on time." We are going on the Harmony next year and we are chagrined to see that they do not have a Giovannis. 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed Adventure and hope you have as well. 

It is a lovely room isn’t it! The only thing I find slightly annoying is that it’s immediately below the pool deck so pretty noisy! 
 

we haven’t tried the bigger ships yet but have icon of the seas - a sky junior suite booked for 2025. Although I think my family only ever want to stay in this suite. Tbh I think they’d be happier with the smaller ships. But seems a shame to cancel this suite as I think they were quite sought after. 
 

 

[blondcat]

So as usual I fell into a Caribbean dream and lost track of posting. In St Croix we did the turtle snorkel thing - it was brilliant. Then got a cab to rainbow beach. The cafe there was very expensive and took 45 mins for 2 x nacho orders and ripped us off a pina colada! But it was still nice to see the beach as well as to the turtle excursion. I think we saw about 10 turtles which was brilliant and got some great go pro footage 

you can actually see the turtles in the sea as soon as you pull into port and which is great for everyone 

 

[blondcat]

Dinner last night was chops again and I’d say don’t bother paying extra for the lobster - not worth it. We did enjoy sushi the night before at Izumi 

[blondcat]

Today was Tortola and we went to the Virgin Gorda baths - absolutely magical. Quite physical winding your way through the baths, my mother would struggle a bit I think l

Edited August 16, 2023 by blondcat

[whitecap]

3 minutes ago, blondcat said:

Today was Tortola and we went to the Virgin Gorda baths - absolutely magical. Quite physical winding your way through the baths, my mother would struggle a bit I think l

Have you had a chance to check out the buffet and if so, can you give a brief description.  Thanks

 

[blondcat]

6 minutes ago, whitecap said:

Have you had a chance to check out the buffet and if so, can you give a brief description.  Thanks

 

We’ve been for breakfast and lunch a couple of times and I think it’s pretty good! We aren’t fussy eaters, no allergies etc. I found the salad to be nice and fresh and I like that if you want to you can actually make yourself a healthy plate of food! Breakfast I liked that they did fried eggs and put them on little saucers for folks to grab although wasn’t that warm. I’m not a huge fan of scrambled egg. 

Took us a while to find tables but the staff are very quick clearing up from what i can see. I wouldn’t go to the buffet for dinner as the main dining would be my preference for the freebie option but I think the Windjammer is just fine! 

[whitecap]

1 minute ago, blondcat said:

We’ve been for breakfast and lunch a couple of times and I think it’s pretty good! We aren’t fussy eaters, no allergies etc. I found the salad to be nice and fresh and I like that if you want to you can actually make yourself a healthy plate of food! Breakfast I liked that they did fried eggs and put them on little saucers for folks to grab although wasn’t that warm. I’m not a huge fan of scrambled egg. 

Took us a while to find tables but the staff are very quick clearing up from what i can see. I wouldn’t go to the buffet for dinner as the main dining would be my preference for the freebie option but I think the Windjammer is just fine! 

Thank you and so glad you all are having a wonderful cruise.

[blondcat]

Day 6 and it’s actually embarrassing how lazy we’ve been today. 
 

Last night we went to the suite lounge as usual and played cards. We went to MDR for first time and actually had a great time! We thought the food was yummy. SD demolished her lasagne which is a good sign as she has such a small appetite. We went to pub after and nabbed the last table around 9pm and planned to stay for the 70s show. I ordered a vodka soda water and it was 17 dollars! I find that wild. I think it was 10.99 for the vodka and the rest was soda and service charge or whatever. Blows my mind how expensive it is! And yes I acknowledge we’re in this pricey old room but meh - double standards guy over here I guess!

 

the show was really fun and we got back  to the room around 11pm.

 

concierge invited on a bridge tour today which my partner was really excited about. The first officer was very generous with his time and answering questions and we got to take pictures. Was a really nice little treat! 
 

we’re back in MDR tonight for formal night 2 - partner will be thrilled about getting his chinos back out! SD loved dressing up though so it’s a win for her. Hopefully the food is as good tonight :))

[sailorcrew]

Blondcat - the $17 for vodka soda did that include tip?  Sailing soon

 

[Sea Dog]

Sorry I'm late but so excited to hear your thoughts on Adventure as we will be on her this October for the same itinerary. You mentioned that you did not care for Giovanni's, could you elaborate on what you did not like? Most of my experiences at Giovanni's has been great but I have not eaten at Giovannis on Adventure. Glad to hear Chops was good. we will eating there too. Curious how you thought the staff was and do the bars seem to have good stock of high end liquors especially bourbon and whiskey. If you have been to the Schooner Bar how was it? That's my usual hang out spot. Good bartenders? Thanks for this review!

Cheers,

Sea Dog

[whitecap]

Does anyone know if they have unsweetened almond milk in the buffet?  

Thanks

[Sea Dog]

Check in opened. Anyone here anymore????