Amazing family cruise
Adventure of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 44
6 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 21, 2019
Ship: Adventure of the Seas
Cabin type: Inside
Traveled as: Family (young children)
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
Great cruise. Highly recommend. Our family of four went with two other families, 12 total. We had a great time for our Spring Break vacation.Embarkation
Traffic was a little crazy, but we expected it since this was Spring Break and we knew the cruise we were on was sold out. We had to drop off our bags, then drive to the parking deck to park. Then we took the shuttle bus back to the port. It was packed, but there were a lot of ticket agents working and we got through quickly. We arrived at the port around 11:30 and were on the ship by 12:30ish. Our rooms were ready by the time we got on, and all our luggage was delivered by 4pm.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Food and drinks were amazing. We did not purchase any of the drink packages, but my husband had 1-5 drinks a day/night. I had about one drink a day. We had “My Time Dinning”, but made reservations for each night. We got the same waiter (Nitish) and assistant waiter (Shardul) each night. We LOVED them. We had a group of 12 (6 adults and 6 kids ages 7-12). The waiters were awesome. They would bring plenty of extra plates out for everyone to try just about anything on the menu. The kids caught on and would order 2-3 desserts, and the wait staff always obliged. They knew our drink orders and favorites before we even asked. We had two adults in our group with food allergies. All of the wait staff took the time to talk to them and make sure everything they could do to accommodate them was done.
There was only one time that the main pool bar ran out of just about everything to make the “drink special” of the day, but I just walked around to the Solarium pool on the other side and they were happy to make the drink I wanted.
Onboard Activities
The pools were great, but crowded on sea days, but that was expected. The hot tubs were more like bath water than “hot,” but for 80-85° weather, I was ok with that. The kids loved the Rock Climbing wall and ice skating.
Entertainment
The shows were fantastic. I loved that most of headliner shows were at 7pm and 9pm. We didn’t feel rushed at dinner to get to the shows.
There was so many things going on at one time we often had to pick and choose what to do.
The only real negative I had was the “Sexiest Man Contest” at the main pool in the middle of the afternoon. Not only did it get hot and heavy, they also displayed it on the big screen above the pool. We had several young children at the pool and would have rather not exposed them to that. They should move that event to the Adult Pool (just my opinion).
Children's Programs
The younger boys (7-8) in our group liked the Adventure Kids club. The older girls (9-12) hated going. They said they were forced to play “baby games.” I’m sure the girls went in thinking it was the worse thing ever, so they never really gave it a fair chance.
The girls did love a couple of the staff members. Connor was awesome at helping the kids on the rock climbing wall and Anna was great in the Flo-Rider.
Service and Staff
Everyone was great and very helpful. Kenneth, our room steward and Nitish, our waiter took time each night to tell us about the next day’s activities and give us some insider tips about the ports we were visiting. They made us feel like we were important and they really cared about us.
Ship Quality
The ship was very clean. It was easy to find the things we needed and get from deck to deck. The only complaint I have is the artwork on the walls featuring naked female bodies. Not great a trying to explain that to the young kids that were with us.
Cabin / Stateroom
Cabin was ok with four of us. It was crowded, but that was expected. The king bed was not very comfortable, but it was ok.
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
We drove down to Ft Lauderdale two days before we got on the cruise ship. We visited Everglades Holiday on our own. It was a great visit. A lot of fun on the airboat, seeing alligators, and feeding the birds.
Thumbs Up
7
We booked two-stop snorkeling and Stingray City through Captain Marvin’s (almost 1/2 the price from booking with RC). It was great. There was a short walk from the port to Captain Marvin’s. Then we rode a shuttle bus to the boat. Once at Stingray City, we could see that our boat was the least crowded of any of the others. So glad we booked with Captain Marvin and not RC.
My husband was scheduled to go Scuba Diving at Costa Maya. It rained that morning and the waves were very choppy. His excursion got cancelled. We spent a couple of hours taking the chocolate factory tour, shopping, and eating chips and guacamole at the tourist area. We got back on the ship early. When we go back, I would like to do one of the Mayan Ruin tours.
Here we booked the Amazing Secret River through RC. It was AMAZING!!!! I would recommend this to anyone looking for something adventurous. First we rode a jet boat for about 25-30 minutes to Carman De Playa. Then we walked through town with a tour guide who told us all about the trip and what to expect. We boarded shuttle vans that drove another 25-30 minutes into the jungle. Once there, we could change and get into wet suits, life jackets, water shoes, and helmets. Then we hiked into the forest and down into the caves. We explored the underground caves for about two hours! It was incredible! The views are unbelievable. When we finished, we changed back into our clothes, then had a Mexican buffet lunch waiting for us. Then we returned the way we came- shuttles back to town, shopping, and jetboat back to Cozumel.
Only negatives: you can not take your out camera into the caves. They supply a photographer and you have to purchase the photos or photo package. Also, we brought towels from the ship, but that’s not needed. They supply towels there. I wish someone on the ship would have told me so I didn’t carry towels back and forth for four people.
Disembarkation
Very disorganized. Even though there were set times, no one seemed to follow the times. There were people and lines everywhere. No one know where the lines began or ended, or how to get to the end of a line. Four lines were moving in, out, around, up, and down, and you could never find the end. When we finally started moving, we learned that four separate lines had to merge to one to get on the only ramp off the ship. Once we got off the ship, customs and the shuttle to the parking garage moved quickly.