First Cruise

Adventure of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Qholic

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 9

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Southern Caribbean (San Juan Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 12, 2015

Ship: Adventure of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 9564

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The Adventure is older and shows some signs of wear. Our Junior Suite was spacious and our cabin attendant O’Neal was very thorough and made sure we had anything that we asked for. My only accommodation complaints are that room service totally blew us off one morning and we did not have time to call and wait for service. The other complaint is with the laundry and it is twofold (pun intended) was that there was a special for 20% off which was worded to mislead you that all laundry services were 20% off when in fact only pressing was discounted. Then to top it off they messed up and charged me more than 30$ more than what the normal wash and fold price should have been; luckily I caught this on the bill and had it rectified.

The food in the Windjammer and the main dining rooms were average buffet food; quite frankly Golden Coral is better. We did dine at Giovanni's Table one night and the food and the service was excellent. We also did the Chef's Table, great concept; execution by the cruise line not the greatest. We were in a private but open area in the main dining area which made it hard to hear the Chef or the Waiter/Sommelier's explanations. The food was excellent however, the menu and the wine pairings were not picked by the Chef and Sommelier but came from corporate; which took away from concept of this being created by the Chef himself. We also ate once at Johnny Rocket's which is the only other specialty food venue on this ship. The burgers and onion rings were very good but why am I paying $6.95 for a "better" burger? This level of food should be the norm throughout the ship; sadly it's not.

We did not go and see any of the shows we did however, spend out evenings in the Duck and Dog Pub. The bartenders were some of the best bartenders and some of the best people that I have ever met. For entertainment Derek Lewis was funny, engaging, and entertaining. The Duck and Dog was the most fun to be had on the ship.

We only took one ship sponsored excursion and that was the catamaran sail with lobster lunch. The beaches, crew and the lunch were well worth the price!

Will we cruise again? Probably but on a newer ship and possibly another cruise line.

I would like to add that our cruise consultant Angela Dawson was awesome.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food was OK, nothing special except at the specialty restaurants which there is only two.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cleanliness was very good, ship is dated.

Ports of call

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

3 out of 5

Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I.

3 out of 5

St. John's, Antigua

5 out of 5

Castries, St. Lucia

3 out of 5

St. George's, Grenada

5 out of 5

19 Comments

deboftheseas 8 years ago

princess goes onto Grand Turk ad well

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BroncosFan9 8 years ago

I have only been on RC(5 cruises) but am trying out Carnival Splendor on Jan 3rd. Hope all the bad comments aren't true. We love RC but got a good deal for Carnival and wanted to go to Turks which Royal doesn't do. Fingers crossed!

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irishrabbit 8 years ago

Stay away from Carnival! We sailed on the Liberty earlier this month, Worst Cruise Ever! This was our 12th overall cruise, but the 1st and only cruise with Carnival! I am kicking myself for not booking with RCCL!

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deboftheseas 8 years ago

it's Carnival corp that is the largest, they have Costa, Princess, Holland America and more underr their corp umbrella, Carnival themselves aren't any bigger than rc. We have tried Carnival 3 times ,Princess 6, and rc 11. we prefer RC, we like their ships the best, their entertainment, and we've never had issues with strange charges, And I am A travel agent, and Rc does win every year as #1 cruise line overall. Yes, they've had a couple minor fires recently, but so far not engine issues leaving people stranded at sea. I think Carnival had to step up their game to keep you coming back after all the bad publicity they have had. I find people find a niche they are comfortable with and stay there, after a while the loyalty perks are worth it

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badlcho 8 years ago

read the reviews on this app and you will see it is a running theme with rc.

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badlcho 8 years ago

whatever. done arguing with you. you missed my point on my first comment. you kept trying to argue that rc is this and that. i said i wasn't knocking rc and that carnival is not as bad as people think.

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Patrick4 8 years ago

I forgot to add, 5 cruises w rc and never charged anything I didn't purchase and always get my onboard credit, always.

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Patrick4 8 years ago

not sure I ever saw myself in a ship vs ship debate. rc and carnival basically have the same# of ships. Also, everyone knows rc is a step above. Every travel agent will tell you this. You are misinformed. Let me say this and this will be it for me. I was at St. Thomas on the Oasis the first year it cruised. I sat next to Carnivals customer relations rep at a bar, super nice orderly lady. She was asking me all about my experience and the ship in general. Her comment to me before I left after asking her about Carnival..."we are currently trying to get to the level of rc, not sure if we will but we will keep trying". Again, ask any travel agent in America what the best line is. Happy cruising and Happy Holidays!

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badlcho 8 years ago

you keep referring back to the Triumph because that's what's stuck in your mind. Old news! Carnival by the way is not only the largest but also the most popular. Royal continues to build bigger and bigger ships to try and set themselves apart. one thing i have noticed about the Royal Caribbean as far as reviews on this app is that customer service is poor. multiple times i have read that people have charges on thier bill that they did not charge and have a hard time having the charges removed or they are promised on board credits that they never receive that makes me cautious to sail with Royal Caribbean. I will take my chances with Carnival.

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Patrick4 8 years ago

not sure largest or smallest has anything to do w it!?

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Patrick4 8 years ago

so much larger than rc?

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badlcho 8 years ago

if i am not mistaken Royal just had a ship this past july that had a fire and also 2 years ago another one of royal ships caught fire and was out of service. just saying they have all had their fare share of issues but because carnival is the largest they get reemed for it. Like I said before I am not knocking Royal Caribbean. I was simply saying don't knock Carnival until you've tried it. Carnival does have good customer service, good food and entertainment. they wouldn't be the largest cruise line if they sucked so bad.

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Patrick4 8 years ago

plus, negative attention? There is a reason it is the #1 cruise line year after year!

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Patrick4 8 years ago

running grounds and ships stuck at sea for days...rc can't claim that or the amount in the last year or so

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badlcho 8 years ago

Carnival is the largest cruise line so it gets all the negative attention even though the other cruise lines have had their share of norovirus outbreaks and fires.

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Patrick4 8 years ago

this ship is being dry docked and refurbished in October...sucks I'm going this summer lol

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Patrick4 8 years ago

maybe some day. I have had good experiences, especially a new ships. Oasis was amazing. The stories I hear w Carnival and the press they get...I'm cautious

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badlcho 8 years ago

Everyone gives Carnival a bad wrap but i am telling you Carnival is a good cruise line especially if you go on the newer larger ships. There is no charge for the specialty burgers and fries at Guys Burger joint as in Guy Fieri from food network. you can have as many as you want at no charge. we have been on 5 Carnival cruises and have never had poor service or experience. i am not knocking Royal Caribbean either I am just saying give Carnival a try. they are not as bad as everyone seems to think.

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Patrick4 8 years ago

newer ship for sure, another cruise line...don't do it :-)

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