Adventure of the Seas Review
1st time cruising with Royal, not sure I will be a repeat customer
Rating by category
Additional details
Chose this cruise due to itinerary. THEN they changed itinerary and eliminated St. Lucia which is only reason why I picked this itinerary!!!! We got balcony suite (first time ever for this type of room) and loved balcony and will not go to interior room ever again!! Getting on and off ship was really fast!! Totally impressed!! We were one of first 20 off boat at the no tag/carry own luggage category. We had early flight. But we got there early and the crew let people off boat based on when you got in line. It was nice!! The food was fantastic but it would have been nice to have other places to go besides Windjammer (buffet place), formal dining hall, and a small cafe (that served Windjammer food at). Carnival has several different options for places to get food (that is still free). I felt like we were "nickeled and dimed to death". Every time we turned around someone had their hand out wanting more money/tips/cost for everything. Even basic room service costs $7.95 per order to use it. The ship is so dated although the adult pool area is very nice looking for the most part. The interior elevators are pretty cool because they are glass and you can watch/see things around you. Lots of elevators which was so nice. Our room was kept very clean although the floor in front of the bathroom door and closet was soaked for some reason. They brought in fans to help dry it. They gave us $150 refundable credit for that inconvenience. They wanted to give me 20% off next cruise but I told them I have no intention of cruising with them again. The extra cost for this cruise line in comparison to Carnival and Norwegian is not justified. The last 2 days of trip they had envelopes out in your room and all over ship for you to tip people even MORE then what we are already tipping them. I think over $400 for 4 people for 1 week is plenty of money to be tipping anyone. But nope, they want you to pay even more then that! The ice rink, which I never saw, you must have socks and pants to skate! Daughter said sign said you have to wear helmet and elbow pads if you skate.
Cabin Review
Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony
Room was good size. The couch that turns into a bed is like a jack knife (like in a RV) where it folds down to flat surface. When in couch position, do NOt plop down, it is hard surface. And as you may guess, when it is flat for bed it is hard as lying on concrete. My teenagers were not so thrilled. Bed was large but pretty hard but did not complain because so much better then the couch/bed. Carpeting in front of bathroom door and closet was soaked a couple of days of our trip, no clue why. They put a fan on it for 2 days to dry it up. We got $150 refundable credit for that mess. They were quick to deal with it though. Bathroom has shampoo dispenser in it. No lotion or hair conditioner given. 2 bars of soap given each day. I assumed it was a refrigerator in room, but it is NOT, it is a "cooler" but no source of cold so it was similar to just room temperature so no clue why that is even in the room. Closet was good size and came with about 10 hangers, so might want to bring some more hangers if you need more then that. The AC worked pretty well especially when you close shades during day while you are out of room. Pillows were great.
Port Reviews
Barbados
Getting off ship at the port was probably the worst experience compared to other islands. Everyone was bombarded with taxi sales people more than anything. If your trip was not far away they wanted nothing to do with you. I asked 4 different drivers that we wanted to spend $15 per person (4 people) for a drive within an hour one way to just sight see. No one could accomidate it. They kept saying 2 hours one way and were all pushing to take us to Rihanna's childhood home and condo she owns now. I could care less where she lived in past or currently!!! I told them I wanted to see local towns, anything historical, and/or great views. Literally no one would help us. We were find if it was just one hour round trip!! We ended up taking taxi to town (15 - 20 minute walk) or $2 per person. Town was not really a great idea. The town is dirty, sketchy looking, and homeless people scattered through out and begging for money. Taxi drivers were everywhere in town though so you could catch taxi back at any time. They are clearly marked. Nothing pretty. Although some buidlings were quite interesting because they were shaped like traingles and just interesting. Taxi driver on way back told us town is most expensive place to shop and he offered to take us sight seeing for $15 per person. But we had already spent $20 to/from town and did not want to pay even more money. I regret our choices on this island. I wish we would have planned an excursion to a beach or other fun thing to do. I heard the cave tour had been canceled that day for those that booked that.