Our March 3, 2018 Adventure of the Seas Southern Caribbean cruise to the Dutch Antilles was one of the best Royal Caribbean cruises I have ever been on. The friendly staff, the excellent food/drinks, the newly refurbished ship and they entertainment all made for a wonderful cruise experience.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We flew in the day of the cruise and arrived at the Pan American Pier around 2:30pm. We are Diamond Crown & Anchor members and there was one group in front of us. The other lines were very short at this time too. We had completed the online check in and this made embarkation very quick. We were on the ship within 10 minutes of arrival.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food was really very good in all venues. The presentation was beautiful and the service excellent.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
This ship recently came out of dry dock with some wonderful updates. They added larger, round hot tubs in the solarium and the main pool areas and new pool chairs. This ship has a multitude of pool chairs scattered around the top decks from the main pool to the large forward deck.
We also went to Bingo on the second sea day. We were very surprised and disappointed that they used an "old fashioned" bingo ball cage and had no computer display of the numbers that had been called. This was not the typical Bingo for Royal Caribbean. They usually have the computer generated numbers and display as well as machines to play. They didn't.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The Cruise Director, Mercedes, was fabulous as well and very funny along with her entire staff. There was always music to be heard throughout the ship. The variety of musicians was lovely. There were two comedians and a magician during the week for headliner shows. We enjoy these shows more than the ship song/dance performances.
Children's Programs
No children with us.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Every employee we encountered was friendly and helpful.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The recent dry dock included new carpeting and furniture throughout the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We were in Jr. Suite 9264. I believe that Royal Caribbean Jr. Suites are the sweet spot for cruise rooms. There is plenty of room to move around, a large balcony, a full bathtub and lots of storage. Our room had all new carpeting, bedding, couch and chairs!
Ship tip
Take a look at the Peek-a-Boo Bridge which is located on Deck 11 Forward.
San Juan has done a wonderful job of cleaning up after the hurricane damage last fall. We went to a Resort For A Day at the Marriott Stellaris on disembarkation day because our flight wasn't until after 5pm. It was beautiful.
Curacao is a beautiful, colorful, quaint Dutch Antilles island. We did a Resort for the Day at the Hilton and it had a small beach and wonderful snorkeling. Our lunch was only average at this resort. The pools were nice and there is a walkway around the rocky shore line where we saw large iguanas.
Bonaire is a large island with a small population. It's main attraction is SCUBA and snorkeling. The ocean and corals are all protected and it very clear. We went out on a sail boat booked with Epic Tours on their Cruise Ship Special and had a great time and saw some amazingly large fish and coral heads.
Aruba is such a special, dessert-like type of island in the Caribbean. We went on an All-day 4x4 Jeep Tour booked with El Tours. They were excellent and our guide, Ronald, showed us most of the wild, rocky coast, along with the Aruba Ostrich Farm and beach time at Baby Beach on the southern coast.
St. Maarten is not one of my favorite places. We have been on many cruises there and the best thing one can do on this island is take to the water on a boat/catamaran trip. This time we chose to take the water taxi from the port to the main beach/shopping area in Philipsburg. It is definitely THE shopping destination of the Caribbean.
Disembarkation is always very cumbersome and slow in San Juan. It has nothing to do with Royal Caribbean. The fault lies with the poor TSA service in the terminal. They have three TSA agents for 4000 guests. This is the worst debarkation port ever! They need to expand to at least 6 or 8 agents!
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