Adventure of the Seas Review
Awesome Southern Caribbean Itinerary on a beautiful ship
Rating by category
Additional details
This is our 4th cruise with Royal Caribbean. We have done the western itinerary twice & the Eastern once. We really wanted to do the Southern Caribbean so we chose this itinerary on the Adventure of the Seas. First time in that class & it is not that much different than the Freedom Class of ships - biggest size difference we noticed was in the pool area. We loved this itinerary as it hit so many ports (St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Kitts, Barbados & St. Lucia - well it was supposed to & I will get to that......). That itinerary was worth the extra cost to fly into Puerto Rico for that experience - & we did fly in a day early.
Embarkation went VERY quickly (was surprised after reading some of the reviews). We were on the ship by noon & were able to enjoy the day even though the ship does not leave until 8:30pm. They staggered times starting with the 10th floor so we were first - that may have helped.
I had read that the Adventure was in dry dock getting revamped but was not completed due to weather. Was a bit worried about the state of the ship, but had I not read this I wouldn't have known. It was as clean & gorgeous as every other ship we have been on. I had also read other reviews that the food was not so good. Not sure what they were referring to. Same great dining experience as we have always experienced with RCI.
Cabin Review
Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony
This is a room that was revamped. It is Aft so it is larger & fits a family of 4 nicely. Not cramped at all. Beautiful view from the large, private balcony.
Port Reviews
San Juan
We flew in the day before our cruise departed. We stayed at TRYP Windham Isla Verde. It was good for a one day stay. Very clean. Close to airport & port. Restaurants nearby & beach across the street. Would have liked to have taken the El Yunque Rainforest excursion but time did not allow. The cost of that is actually very reasonable.
St. Maarten
This is our 2nd time in St. Maarten. First time we cabbed to Orient Bay. This time we took the water taxi ($7 pp for all day unlimited use) & enjoyed Great Bay Beach. As we were the only ship in port it was not crowded. Many people trying to get you to rent their chairs/umbrellas as you walked to the beach, but they were friendly enough. Lots of shops & restaurants nearby. Beautiful beach. Clear water, soft sand.
Antigua
We took a cab to Ffrye's beach. Beautiful beach. Restaurant & clean bathrooms. Very friendly. Definitely would go back.
Barbados
We took a cab to Carlisle Bay - it is a long stretch & we were situated at the Copacabana. More waves at this beach then any of the others. took a boat to snorkel with the turtles & a shipwreck from 1919 - it was amazing! Husband rented jet-skis.