Royal Caribbean, Adventure of the Seas

The most important thing to mention first on this review is the possibly fatal danger to small children on this boat. My wife and I came out of the windjammer café and saw 2 small children app 2years old or less playing on the floor just a couple of feet from the balcony that overlooks a 100 plus foot drop, this balcony is bars the lowest bar was app 6" off the floor and it was clear too see from where we stood that one of these tiny children could so easily slide through that gap and plummet to their death. It was a heart stopping moment, I was about to run forward and grab these children but another man got there before me, possibly the father. There is toughened glass on the veranda each side of this balcony but there is absolutely nothing except bars on the balcony itself. There are other balconies at this end of the ship that are just as dangerous. At the other end of the ship the balconies are the same design but the bars are closer to the floor. Please be aware of this danger if you are thinking of taking your small children on this boat. Not trusting RC to do anything about this we will be reporting it to the relevant authorities forthwith.

Smoking-; Smoking on this ship is appalling, they even allow it on the inside of the ship in the casino and in smoking rooms, the stink from smoking in the casino permeates throughout the boat especially in the areas around the customer services desk and the adjacent bar, also at the front end of the ship in another bar and into the theatres. RC would have you believe that smoking is only allowed in designated area in the casino but cigarette smoke does not know that it is supposed to stay in one place!!. On the promenade deck there is a staircase that comes up from the casino and this staircase is more like an industrial chimney, it wafts up through here and spreads throughout the promenade deck, we would have liked to have gone into the casino but found on entering that the smoke was chokingly thick and the whole area stank of dirty ashtrays. RC seem to be going in the opposite direction to the rest of the world who are banning smoking. RC seem happy to expose you and probably more importantly your children to the very well known dangers of passive smoking. We will now have a large dry cleaning bill to get rid of the stink of cigarettes from our clothing. This smoking problem will be reported to the relevant authority.

Sewerage stink-; We had a cabin on deck 3 forward right by the lyric theatre and the lifts and there was a constant smell of sewerage in this area in our cabin and in the theatres, in the mornings and coming out to go to breakfast it was particularly bad and almost vomit inducing. We have since read reviews detailing this problem, obviously something else that RC has not addressed.

Food-; Food was plentiful but mediocre, nothing out of the ordinary. Twice in the Vivaldi restaurant I had to send back one pork and one chicken dinner as the meat was well under cooked.

Special Occasion-; As advised by customer services we talked to the Maitre D regarding our 45th wedding anniversary which was on the 5th july and was assured that they would celebrate it with us. On the day absolutely nothing happened although other people were celebrating other occasions in the dining room, to say that we were disappointed and upset would be an understatement, it was something that we were both looking forward to very much as were the other people on our table. Bad Bad Bad.

Tips-; In RC paperwork they do tell you something of the tipping regime, but you should be aware that on every drink you buy there is 15% tips put on, you do not have the option to say no to this, this is on top of your $12.00 per person per day that they put on your credit card, but they don't tell you that you can refuse at the outset to have that $12.00 per day charged to your card and opt to pay tips at your discretion at the end of the cruise. These tips can run into hundreds of pounds and we are not all rich just because we are on a cruise, some of us save for a long time to do this. Drinks on this ship are the most expensive I have ever come across anywhere.

To end this review I would just say to all prospective customers of RC please please consider the danger to your small children from falling hazards and from smoking.

Not a nice cruise, a smokey ship where smoking is allowed even in the no smoking areas, as a Brit did not enjoy the Spanish majority of paasengers habit of pushing and shouting whereever they are,even at the dining table.

Great food in the Mozart dining room but windjammer is a total bun fight,hard to get a seat as passengers save seats for the rest of their family/friends, sit at the tables even when finished eating,another Spanish habit, same with bookingsunbeds.

expensive for drinks with tax etc, cabins was good size and seemed soundproof so good nights sleep.

great staff on board but would be better if they prevented smoking in the no smoking areas, moved on people in the windjammer and stop people booking sunbeds.

was charged $15 each in Valencis for shuttle bus to town, yet there are free ones, bit cheeky of RC.

if you want a stressfree cruise, avoid RC and go with others, NCL etc, much better and dont tolerate anti social behaviour.

Disappointing! Smoking throughout most of the ship (inside and out)made many areas virtually uninhabitable. We have sailed with RCI before and this was far more "down-market" and low key.There seemed no escape from the noisy "belly-flop" and "sexy man" competitions around the pool that serve to epitomise the tone and flavour of the cruse. Perhaps this company have focussed on providing an experience that is less formal and luxurious, leaving Celebrity to provide a more "special" experience.We were on the wrong ship!

Ship's amenities are good, food excellent but entertainment mediocre.

Dress code was non-existent and some staff rather indifferent.

On more than one occasion, I found myself reassuring a disappointed first-time cruiser that we have enjoyed much better holidays afloat and that they were not all like this!

great cruise staff brilliant loved the stops but and it's a BIG BUT the spanish were awful !!!!! pushing in ignorant and as for the dress code well as far as they were concerned there wasn't one if it sez formal and they turn up in jeans and shirts with no ties or jackets they should be turned away, we make the effort so should they its not like you dont know before you book it will never sail out of a spanish port again

Just returned from my first crusise with my family and 2 other families. The Adnenture of the seas was very impressive for size, cleanliness and public rooms. We embarked in Malaga and stopped at Sardinia, Corsica, Rome and Palma. Sardinia was disapointing but the other 3 were excellent.The choice and quality of food was superb. All the staff were friendly, the entertainment was excellent and catered for all tastes. The drinks were expensive but that was not a surprise, the brochure states that water and lemonade are inclusive, but the lemonade is actually lemon squash, so I suggest if you have kids with you, take up the soda package from day 1 at $4 per day.

beautiful clean ship and all staff friendly and helpful

plenty to do day and night great ports of call

disappointed that on top of 15% service tax there was an additional 7% spanish tax which we were not advised of in advance of cruise

APPROX 80% of the passengers were Spanish and the cruise director was spanish and first intoductions at shows were in spanish with jokes and then in english no jokes.Pool party only catered to the spanish passengers this is our 3rd royal caribbean cruise and the menus have never changed

Dining requests were not catered for and we were seated with no other English speaking passengers which was disappointing for both parties

for the frist time in the med we felt the crew couldn't cope with the influx of spanish as we found out they had been offered a week for 600 euros a couple we as we paid £1000 a week apprantly this was a special offer to only our spanish friends who not only were ignorant but ignored all cruise protocal eg dress codes common curtisey to staff and fellow guests,but besides that we had a good trip. why wer't we offered an upgrade seeing you had plenty of cabins free and we paid a lot more than the spanish did gary and pat halligan we think the staff coped well in very difficult circumstances

The ship is well organized and as noted the service is superb.The food is very good and those who expect gourmet dinning are unrealistic.Getting 3,000 + passengers on and off ship is well organized and again, its 3,000 people and probably 9,000 pieces of luggage.The ship is immaculate.The entertainment is highly enjoyable.The ports of call are accommodating and well kept. It pays to do some research on your own to determine how you want to spend your time and money. The buyers regret on tours is often unfair, the cruise line is after all providing that service.I would do this again next month if I could get my wife to agree.A brilliant time

We bought their hot deal special right from the site. Ended up being $781 Canadian including taxes. We had an inside cabin with promenade view window. We booked the flight separately, if you choose to do this then you have to transport your own luggage. If you book the flight with Royal, then there is a guy waiting to take your luggage at the airport.

We took a van size taxi, we had 5 in our group. Cost was around $20, really good for 5 people. The driver was like a tour guide, really nice.

At Port San Juan we arrived about 3pm at the dock, the ship was not leaving till 10pm.

Pre-register online! Getting on board was very smooth, the long line went fast, the process took about 20-25 minutes, you receive your boarding pass they take your picture etc.

The ship is huge, it does have a wow factor. Decor is good. Kind of like having Vegas on a boat. Boat holds 3600 people, it did have enough space for more than accommodate. There is always something to do, pool, whirlpool, rock climbing, ice skating, mini golf, basketball, gym, sauna, steam room, lounge areas, shopping mall, cafes, etc. Ship is very well maintained, has a glitzy but still classy look. Fun boat. Various age groups on this boat and well balanced clientele from toddlers to seniors. More for families than couples, still a lot of couples though. A tip for you, there is a large whirlpool in the gym area that is rarely crowded.

Entertainment, lots of it. There will be special guest comedians, acrobats. There was a different show at the lyric every night after 2 viewings. They would sometimes add another late late show. There are a couple of Broadway-like shows that are very well done, considering it is on a boat. I would say just below Broadway caliber but much better then the shows at Mexico or Cuba in the 5 star resorts. The best show was their ice skating show, it is a must see. Oh you can't forget the Casino.

Food was great. Lots of it and tastes good. 1) Windjammer cafe, the buffet area, good buffet food pasta, roast beef, BBQ chicken, burgers, salad. They always throw in a couple ethnic dishes to try which we appreciated. 2) Main dining room 3 floors.

Food was great, remember you can always order more then one entree if you can't choose. You can never go wrong with the server's recommendations. Our dinner mates always ordered the steak, which I did try once and was great. There was one Lobster night, which was amazing. They had no problem with me ordering a couple more tails. 3) Portofino's Italian Restaurant is great. There is a $20 surcharge but it is worth the money. Food was around 4 diamond caliber. Food is cooked fresh once you order, again you are not limited to how many entrees or deserts you can order. Food was plated well and tasted great. 4) Johnny Rockets burgers, chili fries, shakes and sundaes!

Excursions: I am not going to go into much detail but I'll talk about the excursions a little.

Aruba: See and sea bus tour stops at the lighthouse, natural bridge, semi-sub boat excursion, we saw tons of fish.

Warning: Aruba is a desert, there is no lush green landscapes. Went to Palm Beach which was nice.

Curacao: Walked to ferry to get to town. Town had a Dutch look, colourful. We bought bottles of the blue Curacao drink.

St. Marteen ** was my favourite stop, we took a beach, shopping and BBQ tour. The boat goes to the Orient Beach at the Boo Boo Jam. The edge of the beach is more secluded, beach chairs are pre-reserved and provided. Lunch was a BBQ chicken or rib. This beach was really nice. It would be in my top 3 of beaches I've been too. Little bit of nudity but no big deal, just older Europeans, you get used to it.

Not the whitest of sand but the bluest water I've seen.

St. Thomas is like St. Marteen but a little more Americanized. Still nice scenery. Went to Magen's Bay, very nice and calm. Angel fish were literally swimming by our feet. This beach is for relaxing only. If you are looking for water sports, they are not available here.

San Juan: We bought an excursion that does a bus tour then drops you straight to the airport. Recommended if you have a later flight. Old San Juan was nice, lots of history.

Thanks for your time, hope this helped.