Hit And Miss

Adventure of the Seas Cruise Review

michcohen

Contributor Level: Second Mate

76 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 5

Helpful Votes: 97

Overall rating:

2.5 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 14, 2023

Ship: Adventure of the Seas

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 7 months ago

Review summary

We sailed as a family of five on Adventure, all adults. Even though we had a good trip the ports and ship would not be my first choice again. Boarding was a shambles, but not Royal’s fault. They had a Coast Guard inspection that morning, and there is no controlling how long the Coast Guard takes. Once we were released to board, even though it was hectic with so many people, it went smoothly. Stateroom: Our stateroom had long black hair on the shelf under the sink on that first day – definitely not ours. One of the pillowcases had black hair on it too (I used a different pillow, but examined the bed to see if the sheets were clean – they were.) The telephone was dusty, the carpet worn and stained, and the drying line in the shower moldy. The whole week we didn’t get clean drinking glasses, room service menus, nor tissues. The worst for me though was the first morning after the cleaning the room was left open – not unlocked but open. The balcony had thick layers of mold on the walls – I’ve never seen that on any ship, and this was our 17th cruise. Dining: We mostly used My Time Dining and we had pre-booked times. The service was so slow – one night it took an hour from being seated to getting our starters. We did Windjammer for dinner one night and we enjoyed it much more – the food was better, warmer, and it wasn’t at all crowded. However, Windjammer for breakfast was awful with the line to get in, mostly because of “washy washy.” Definitely using the hand sanitizer pre-covid days was more efficient. Breakfast in the main dining room was less stressful. Overall, the food was mediocre and at some meals bland – there was nothing I said I really needed again. Entertainment: From my understanding Royal caters for multigenerational groups, but the entertainment catered for the over 60 crowd. The worst had to be the washed-up Las Vegas singer complete with sequined jacket and slideshow bragging about who he had met. The young adults with us said the comedy show was good though. We did several quizzes which were fun, but avoided the movies that weren’t to our taste. Internet: The Internet was good and reliable, but the ships IT department had issues keeping the app synced correctly. There were times where I didn’t even have events show up on my app, but others did. There was also a date and time issue on the app where it was incorrectly set. After having used another line’s app, I think Royal’s app needs an update too. Shore Excursions: In Cozumel I wasn’t allowed to do the shore excursion because of a disability not covered on the liability waiver. I had no problem with that. However, hubby came back angry because the tour operator’s description of the tour left out details, e.g., nothing was mentioned about bringing waterproof shoes, but they were offered to rent waterproof shoes. It was also strongly suggested they take out the extra offered insurance on the ATV; that felt like a scam. We complained to the shore excursions desk and were brushed off. Husband went back later and saw a manager who took the complaint more seriously. We did the Mayan Ruins in Belize which was interesting, but the constant asking for tips by the operators and bus drivers takes a lot of the joy out of a trip. Costa Maya was a nightmare. There were 4 ships in, and I roughly estimated 8,100 people in the tiny port area. We did the aviary, and it was good, but we came back to the ship after that, because you couldn’t move with all the people. Overall, Adventure needs a complete revamp. She’s dated (think pinkish hallways) and tired, and the tech needs an update too. I believe she’s due for dry-dock end of the 2023/2024 season, but don’t quote me on that. We had fun with the family, but the ship I wouldn’t do again.