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Royal Caribbean's
Adventure of the Seas
July 18 - 25, 2004
Cruise Review
by
Kern Greco

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Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2004 20:53:57 -0400
From: "Ken Greco" <kengreco@aol.com>
Subject: Review - Adventure of the Seas - July 18 - 25, 2004

My wife, my 13 year old son and I sailed of the Adventure in July. Looking forward to the cruise for the past five months; we we not disapointed with the ship. First getting on the ship in San Juan was a snap. We boarded about 2:30 PM and walked right on. Our cabin was on the second deck, window type, but no balcony. This cabin was typical cruise ship small but manageable for the three of us. We had been on three cruises already and know what to expect. The ship left at 10:00 PM. When we arrived on board the pools were open, the Windjammer restaurant had plent of food and people were slowly making their way on board. When we went to the first show that night we found out that a group of 700 people from the National Professional Network were on board. We were concerned about his group running the ship and it turned out just not the case. The group brought its own entertainment with them including singers and comedy acts. The shows on the ship were great. Do not miss the professional ice show. Get their early to get a good seat. Tickets are first come first serve, available a few days before the show. Seats are limited.

The ship is amazing. The Royal Promenade makes you feel like you are in a classy inclosed mall. There is two parades during the cruise. If you have been to the Disney resorts,think of these parades as much smaller verions of them. The restaurants were typical cruise type with both the Windjammer offering casual fare and formal restaurant offering the three to four entrees. We have noticed that RCCL has cut back on the size of the portions of the entrees so if you are hungry order two different ones. I talked to others who had been on RCCL before some people complained that the food quality was not up to their standards. All I can say is that they fed 1500 people per sitting or 3000 per night and it is hard to produce high quality food every time. I would rate the food as a you would find in a good wedding caterer. Some people went to Portafino's, the $20 extra per person fine restaurant that holds only 80 people. Everyone said it was worth the money. My son found Johnny Rockets 50s diner great. On the last night he got a group of kids together for their own "formal" Johnny Rockets night for dinner.

We stopped at five ports. St Thomas is beautiful. We took a catamaran to Buck Island for snorkling. The second stop was St Martin. We rented a car from Hertz for the whole day for $70. The Hertz counter was within walking distance to the ship. The weather was cloudy so we drove to Marigot on the French side. It has the feel of a resort on the south of France, fine shops, clothes and french cafes. Antiqua was our next stop where we swam with sting rays. Easier than you would expect, you are only in water about up to your chest. The locals bring th sting rays to you. The high speed boat ride to go out to the sting rays was a plus. In St Lucia we split up. My wife took a catamaran sail to the Pitons. My son and I took a four wheel excursion to the top of the rain forest. I would recomend ths trip to anyone who is adventurous. If was the highlight of our cruise. Your ride in one of three trucks that take you deep into the rain forest. You stop for some fresh coconut, pinnapple, mango and other fruit. Our guide was a young St Lucian that did a good a job of keeping us happy for the three hours as any one I have ever had on a tour. Be aware that the St Lucian people are very, very agressive about trying to sell you things such as jewelry and tee shirts every where even on the tours. Some people found them too offensive. They even tried to sell items to people as they are snorkling in the water. Remember you are in their country and just say no. If you go on a cruise expecting everyone to behave like quiet Americans in different ports you have lost your sense of adventure that should come with a cruise. Our last stop was Barbados. We were sold out of the cruises excursion on a catamaran to snorkel with turtles so we booked our own through shoretrips.com. Turned out our smaller catamaran held on 25 or so people and we got a much nicer trip that the large boat. The catamaran was called "El Tigre".

Our last day was at sea. There was the usual bellyflop contests and sitting around the pools. One contest you do not want to miss is the "Adventure Quest". I do not know if this contest is on all the RCCL Voyeger class ships but it is hilarious. I will not give anything away but come to the contest with a sense of humor and a camera.

All in all the cruise was fabulous. My hats are off to all the workers on the ship.
The Grecos
kengreco@aol.com

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