Review: Adventure of the Seas 8 nighter March 1-9, 2024

[mizLORInj]

Hi all.  Just back from Adventure of the Seas 8 nighter.   Here is our experience on this cruise.   😊

 

We arrived in Orlando late Thursday night, picked up a rented car and drove to Hyatt Place in Titusville.   (The car they gave us had 82K miles on it shook the entire ride—they got an earful).  Dropped the car off at rental agency and they gave us a ride to the ship exactly at our check-in time.   Easily dropped our luggage and headed into the terminal.   Quick document check, relatively quick security check, and a few more minutes till the check-in agent.   Onboard!  Woohoo.   We had watched the muster videos in the app so we stopped at our muster station for the final “done” with muster.   Went to Windjammer for lunch. 

 

I will say I saw more kids at this point than I expected to see on a March cruise.

 

Cabin.   Got to our cabin at 1.   Small but efficient and showing its age.   Sufficient storage in the bathroom and the cabin.   Didn’t care for the sideways shelves in the closet, but made it work.  Fortunately brought hangers from home too.  Balcony is standard on this class of ship.   To turn the door handle to open was a workout on its own.   I wish the chairs there had multi-recline positions moreso than the ones they have there.   A lot of rust on the balcony, and it appears they’ve given up on varnishing the wood railings outside.   I did like the one solid wall but the one between us and the other cabin was too sheer.   We brought magnetic hooks (thanks to CC members for talking about these) and used them on the wall and ceiling for various items.   Bed was comfortable although I banged my knee into the frame around the edge many times.   No coffee table, just a grungy couch.   There is a soap/shampoo dispenser in the shower, but you can get tubes of shampoo and conditioner too.   Don’t like the once/day cabin service, but it seems to be something all lines are doing and I guess we’re all adjusting to that  (except for the cabin stewards who now have more cabins to clean).

 

Cruise Compass is not delivered to your cabin; they want you to use the app.   You can get a paper copy at GS if you want one.

 

We had chosen Mytime dining (or whatever Royal calls it) and learned that it opens at 6:45pm which is just too late for us for dinner.   I asked to have it changed to 5pm fixed – there was a lady at a desk near Windjammer who told me I had to go to the dining room to do this.   This was where I learned that certain Pinnacle level people wear a gold name-tag (I didn’t read its details—just noticed a gold tag) that made me think she worked on the ship so I asked her questions and was told “I’m a guest.”  Oops.   Anyway, we realized that we have a concierge in the Crown Lounge so he helped with changing us to 5pm dining (early, but better than 6:45).  

 

Crown Lounge for Diamond level and above.   Yes, after getting an email from Royal earlier in the week showing our Diamond level perks, including happy hour in Crown Lounge, upon arrival at our cabin we received “the letter” that due to # of pinnacle and d+ onboard, Diamond would not be allowed in lounge for happy hour.   The first night they actually had a guy guarding the door!   Funny.  Maybe Royal should do a separate HH for Diamond?  That or stop listing it as a perk when many times it is actually not available.  Top Tier party showed there were 91 Pinnacle, 332 D+, 521 D.   I did pop in to check out HH another night (needed to know—I write reviews!) and there were wings, spring rolls, charcuterie tray, some other fried foods.   A few desserts.  I felt no loss since there is always food around elsewhere.   We did use and love the cappuccino machine there though; it frequently ran out of coffee or milk as it got a lot of use from people.   I was grateful it was working most of the time.  Note that the former outside space for the Crown Lounge is no longer part of Crown Lounge.  

 

Lots of trivia and Name that Tune.   They need to figure out which are most popular games and use a larger space than Schooner lounge which sometimes had standing room only.   We played the 80s Name That Tune and it was fun.  Would someone on the next cruise please tell the host guy that they have several names of songs totally wrong.  (I did not use my free internet perk till later in the cruise—I like being disconnected—or I would have done this myself).  The song is NOT called “Jenny Jenny”—it is “8675309 Jenny.”  I was alive when it was a hit and I remember.  It is also “Down Under”-not “Land Down Under.”  I have no idea how they could have the wrong song name.  There was a tie, and then 3 more songs to tiebreak (didn’t work), so the host said they had no more 80s songs.  What?!?  No more?  From a decade of hits?   We got close but didn’t win due to one miss, but the wrong song names bugs me.   Occasionally the guy from Effy would bring some type of bracelet as a giveaway, but most of the time you win nothing.   Royal misses out on free advertising.   They also had lots of trivias we did not play—Ed Sheeran, 90s, Celine Dion, Tina Turner hits.   Oh we did play Queen vs. Elton John and joined a few people at the bar to form a team and that was a lot of fun, and we did get a prize for that one--a RC pen.   I like pens.   The girl from Brazil was hostess for that one and she’s very entertaining—has a great sense of humor.  We popped in on other trivia games here and there and attendance was usually good.  

 

Went to Finish the Lyrics in Imperial Lounge, and also some Karaoke there.  Went to one show in the theater though I forgot what it was.  Comedian on the early part of the cruise was good.  

 

Captain’s Corner in the theater. It was enjoyable to hear from the Captain and be able to ask him questions. 

 

We went to the ice skating show.  Note that the first show is always the most crowded.  You really can’t get a bad seat though.  It was good.   We also liked the silent dance party.

 

Windjammer usually busy but decent food.  Mandatory handwashing as you enter. (It still amazes me how many people leave a bathroom without washing their hands.)  Themed night dinners.   I’m happy to report that Coconut Ranger cookies were abundantly available.   Remember that the same food is also in the back part of the Windjammer yet everyone stops at the first station on the right as you enter.   There is bar in the back too and a nice wake view.   I do miss the outdoor seating area that many ships (and lines) have behind the buffet.   We ate in the dining room two nights and the food was decent and service was good.  Had fun people at our table too.  Occasionally had pizza at Café Promenade, where you could also get various other food, and coconut ranger cookies.  Bar service was usually good.  We spent a lot of time in the Viking Lounge/Blue Moon on deck 14 aft, and the bartenders were excellent with whatever we asked them to craft for us.  

 

NextCruise was pushed.  You could make an appt or just show up and put your name on a list.    We priced an Odyssey cruise that I had priced last month with my TA.   The “special price” from NextCruise was $500 more than with my TA, and RC offered a non-impressive $100 obc.   Do people actually get good deals with this?   I mean, did you price it first and then do it with NextCruise?   Their pricing has gone nuts, but that’s another topic. 

 

PORTS:  

Labadee.   Great place for ship pics!   Plenty of chairs and umbrellas at various beaches.   We hadn’t visited since maybe 2017.  Lunch is efficient with limited options but there are many stations so there really isn’t a backup of people in line.  The jerk chicken was really good.  Would like to do the zipline but not for $93.  Maybe more would do it if the price was reasonable.   Why is there no wifi here.  The swim-up dock and bar was pretty cool.  Stayed on the beach in shade till around 3 and it was quite quiet by then and very enjoyable.

 

Bonaire.   We had been there before and had rented a car to see the whole island, so we decided to rent a cute little boat this time.  It was fun, got GREAT ship pics from the water, and spent some time at Klein Bonaire.  

 

Aruba.   Went to Eagle Beach.  Get there early if you want a chair/umbrella rental.   We didn’t rush there and set up with our ship towels.  Water was beautiful.  Haven’t had a bad day visit at Aruba ever.  I think next time we’ll do some sort of sailing excursion.  

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Other random thoughts:

 

Temps varied from cool around the ship to quite warm.  Never knew what you’d get.  

 

People near our cabin put hangers on the sprinklers and set them off.  

 

Our toilet seemed to have rising water all the time due to a leak in the toilet, and one night when we did not use it, it overflowed.  There is clearly water leaking into it at all times.  Told the cabin steward who was supposed to call maintenance, but then asked US if they ever showed up.   How would we know—we were out and about.  We just made sure we flushed the toilet more frequently to prevent the high water level.  

 

You will hear noise from other cabins clearly; we always knew when our neighbors with children were back in their cabin.  

 

No one wants to hear other people’s personal music devices on the beach or on their balcony or other public space. 

 

Make sure you walk around the entire ship the first day to see spaces you may not realize are there.  

 

I loved having two relaxing sea days before returning.  And we had such glorious weather most of the cruise.   

 

It was a fun cruise, yet this ship needs some serious TLC.  Captain Jaret said it is going in for a 2 week dry dock in the fall.   I really like this class of ship. 

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Back at Port Canaveral dock and lines were tied around 6am.  At this point, the only other ship I saw was NCL Escape, and 2 others came in after that that I could see.   First walk-off group was at 7am so we headed downstairs and we were probably among the first couple hundred off the ship.  We were in a Lyft ride at 7:20, and at MCO at 8:10.  

 

[dadatsea]

We recently was on the Adventure and agree with this good short review. Especially  the lack of maintenance and ratty cabin furnishings . Thank you for sharing

[jeffr6596]

I just returned from the same cruise.  The coconut ranger cookies were good, but I want to know what kind of coconut cookies were on Labadee.  Those were the most amazing cookies I have had on a cruise.  I kept checking the windjammer to see if they were present but never found them.  It may have been some variation of the coconut ranger cookie, but they were bigger and much softer on the Labadee buffet.

 

We didn't visit NextCruise, although we had to walk through there multiple times a day to get to our cabin on deck 6.  I told my wife I could find better deals online.  The power of NextCruise is they get people thinking about their next vacation before the one they are on has ended.  They also tap into the fact that many people don't have internet access while on a cruise which prevents them from price checking.  "Buy now to save more" is the oldest sell pitch in the book.  I'm glad to know I didn't pass up a deal of a lifetime 😀

 

We visited the MDR every night and enjoyed most of the meals.  We had a great wait staff.  It was somewhat annoying to have them try to manipulate the post cruise review.   Our waiter and his boss both came to our table multiple times to tell us if we didn't score the food quality a 10 it would cause Royal to cut our waiter's pay.  We loved our waiter and gave his service a 10.  But I am not going to be manipulated into giving food quality a 10 when it was not a 10 in my opinion. 

 

 

[mizLORInj]

44 minutes ago, jeffr6596 said:

I just returned from the same cruise.  The coconut ranger cookies were good, but I want to know what kind of coconut cookies were on Labadee.  Those were the most amazing cookies I have had on a cruise.  I kept checking the windjammer to see if they were present but never found them.  It may have been some variation of the coconut ranger cookie, but they were bigger and much softer on the Labadee buffet.

. . .

 But I am not going to be manipulated into giving food quality a 10 when it was not a 10 in my opinion. 

 

 

I missed those at Labadee!  Where we were had chocolate muffins and some other stuff; I don't remember seeing cookies.   I'm going to try to make those cookies too.   

 

I hear you about the "10" rating pressure.   It's not right.   Not sure I believe they'll cut the waiter's pay.  Sounds cruel.   But who knows anymore. 

 

[Mum2Mercury]

4 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

Balcony is standard on this class of ship.

No, they have other cabin categories as well. 

4 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

Don’t like the once/day cabin service

Agree -- let's keep complaining about this.  Royal needs to hear that we do care. 

4 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

This was where I learned that certain Pinnacle level people wear a gold name-tag

How pretentious.

4 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

Would someone on the next cruise please tell the host guy that they have several names of songs totally wrong.

They had some wrong answers in Game of Thrones trivia too.  

4 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

We went to the ice skating show.  Note that the first show is always the most crowded.  You really can’t get a bad seat though

Agree that all seats are good, but front row is B.E.S.T. -- BEST!

4 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

NextCruise was pushed ... I mean, did you price it first and then do it with NextCruise?

And then once you've put money down you feel committed.  You're not going to price other lines if you've put money down.  

 

It's a brilliant marketing idea.  I always pick what I'm going to reserve before we board.  I don't like to feel rushed.  

4 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

Went to Eagle Beach.  Get there early if you want a chair/umbrella rental.

And bring $35 for that chair /umbrella.  

4 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

No one wants to hear other people’s personal music devices on the beach or on their balcony or other public space.

That is incredibly rude.  Drives me crazy.  

4 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

Make sure you walk around the entire ship the first day to see spaces you may not realize are there

We always do this on the first day -- preferably before lots of people board.  We like to go to the tippy-top and circle our way down. 

[doghog]

4 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

 1. I will say I saw more kids at this point than I expected to see on a March cruise.

 

 2. Don’t like the once/day cabin service, but it seems to be something all lines are doing and I guess we’re all adjusting to that  (except for the cabin stewards who now have more cabins to clean).

 

3. Cruise Compass is not delivered to your cabin; they want you to use the app.   You can get a paper copy at GS if you want one.

 

4. Crown Lounge for Diamond level and above.   Yes, after getting an email from Royal earlier in the week showing our Diamond level perks, including happy hour in Crown Lounge, upon arrival at our cabin we received “the letter” that due to # of pinnacle and d+ onboard, Diamond would not be allowed in lounge for happy hour.   

 

5. No one wants to hear other people’s personal music devices on the beach or on their balcony or other public space. 

 

 

1. Typical March cruise on RC. 

 

2. Agree. Did you voice your displeasure on your PCS?

 

3. Cruise Compass will be delivered to your cabin each night if you request it from your cabin attendant. I request it the first day. I never use the app once onboard. 

 

4. Bummer. Did you voice your displeasure about this on your PCS? 

 

5. Agree. 

Edited March 11 by doghog

[mizLORInj]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

1. Typical March cruise on RC. 

 

2. Agree. Did you voice your displeasure on your PCS?

 

3. Cruise Compass will be delivered to your cabin each night if you request it from your cabin attendant. I request it the first day. I never use the app once onboard. 

 

4. Bummer. Did you voice your displeasure about this on your PCS? 

 

5. Agree. 

Yep, did the survey today. 

[mizLORInj]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

No, they have other cabin categories as well. 

 

Yeah, I meant it was a standard balcony category cabin.

[getmeouttaohio]

My wife and I were on this sailing also. I had no problem leaving 2's on the post cruise survey. They misplaced our luggage and only found it after a visit to guest services. we requested a extension cord in the room 3 times for my wife's cpap and never received. We ended up making it work with various cords we had brought with us. We had requested a table for 2 and ended up at a table for 8. I don't like 1 and a half hour long meals .  The food imo was terrible except for a few Indian dishes. Lobster was grey in color. Deserts in the windjammer were a complete joke. If this was a land based resturaunt I would never return.

      My balcony was also rusted and always wet even though we were 7th floor on the hump. Overall ship condition was poor compared to the Mariner which we have been on multiple times. At least half of the hand sanitizers were empty by day 4. The casino was crampted with the amount of slots they had in there. I felt sorry for the people in wheelchairs trying to navigate that.

     We did like Dan and the activities team and went to most of the shows. 

      I had previously booked this ship for this upcoming October at Next Cruise but cancelled the that. Yes I could have switched sailings but was going to be out 200$ either way.