Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas - Cruise Review

Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 13:05:56 -0500
From: cpies@go.com (Christy)
Subject: Review

This was our 3rd cruise with Royal Caribbean and we were traveling with another couple who was on their first cruise. However we had some problems getting on the ship. Our original flight to Atlanta were we would then fly to San Juan was canceled due to mechanical problems. The Delta agent put us on another flight to Dallas and confirmed us on a flight to San Juan landing at 10:08. That wasn't good, because the ship leaves at 10pm! They told us to try and get on standby for a flight that would arrive @ 8:30pm. When we got to Dallas we were told there were already 7 people on standby. So, we talked to Delta to see if the could find something else. They found a flight going to Miami and then on to arrive at San Juan at 8:30 on American Airlines. The flight was leaving in 40 minutes so they drove us to the AA terminal. The AA representative said we only had one voucher and we needed two. There was no time to go back to the other terminal get another voucher and get back in time. After much arguing, the AA representative booked us on a flight leaving in an hour that would go to Orlando and then on the arrive in San Juan at 9:30 (which is really pushing it time-wise). We had to get a ride back to the other terminal to get the other vouchers (why didn't Delta give them to us at first?) then get a ride back to the terminal where the AA flight was. We make it on the flight and are wondering if we will ever see our luggage again with all this shuffling. We try to land in Orlando two times with horrible weather and then the pilot gives up and announces that we are heading to Ft. Lauderdale. Now we miss the connecting flight out of Orlando. There are no other flights available. We call Royal Caribbean and they tell us they have an agent in the airport who will meet us. She helps us fill out a baggage search form. She gets us a ride to Miami (about a 30-minute drive). They put us up in the Wyndham and arrange for us to fly to Aruba, the first port of call where we will meet the ship. They pay for all our meals, hotels, and transfers and give us an onboard credit for the days we miss on the ship. The moral of this long story is do the air/sea package (where RCCL books your air) and get the insurance. The agent told us we would have been on our own had we not done the air/sea package.

The Ship:
It was wonderful - beautiful and clean. You can imagine how excited we were to finally get on it! We had a balcony stateroom on deck 8 and our friends overlooked the Royal Promenade. We had plenty of room and a great room steward. The Entertainment was great. We saw the wonderful ice show. And the RC singers and dancers are so talented. Cruise director Kirk was full of energy as was all the staff.

Aruba:
We got on the ship early enough to find that our luggage was already there (somehow it made it on to the ship on Sunday). We got changed into our swimsuits and took the Sailing and Snorkeling tour. We love relaxing on the catamaran. We stopped at the Antilla wreck first. The water wasn't very clear here, but it was neat when they fed the fish. They were swimming all around us. Then we went to the second stop near the shore and had better visibility and saw lots of fish and some coral.

Curacao:
We took the Canoe Safari tour. I didn't get sore; I guess my hubby did most of the work. But after about 30-45 minutes in the canoe, we went snorkeling around at Baya beach around a tugboat. It was a great site - clear with lots of fish and coral. Then she took us under the pier to see all the coral growing there. We enjoyed the snorkeling more than the canoeing.

St. Maarten:
We took the St. Maarten Island Tour so we could see both sides of the island. There was a 45-min shopping stop on the French side. It was interesting, but I tend to be more active and wished I was in the water!

St. Thomas:
We did the Turtle Cove Sailing and Snorkeling Tour. They take you on the Doubloon sailing boat (doubloon.com). At first I was disappointed that it wasn't as roomy as a catamaran might be. But the crew was great. We actually ended up upgrading to Snuba. On the way they did a great job briefing you on Snuba. We saw sea turtles and lots of coral and fish again. The visibility was great! On the sail back the crew pampered us with drinks we started out with rum punch then tasted the even better Pain Killer and then tasted the even better Banana Bender! (My hubby later went shipping to get the liquor needed to make those back home.) They gave us all temporary tattoos; it was a lot of fun.

The Shopping talks were very informative, I am glad we went to the one on St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

We loved Johnny Rockets - great food. There was a nice variety of food at the Windjammer. The food there and at the dining room is good, but not as good as I would find at my favorite restaurant. The service is excellent. I was disappointed that sodas were not included with the meal (didn't they used to be?) You could purchase a soda card or other drink packages.

We never found the time to try ice skating, roller blading, the miniature golf, or rock-climbing. There is so much to do on the ship. We will continue to cruise with Royal Caribbean! And yes, I am going through ice cream withdrawals now.

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