This was our first cruise and We Were not sure what to expect. The whole experience from start to finish was memorable. What an amazing ship with the most friendliest staff and crew you could ask for. Food and entertainment was fantastic and our rooms although dated were spotless. Henry and Rocky were fantastic cabin stewards with the most loveliest smiles for you every time they saw you . I can’t believe waiter staff knew our names after only a couple of days . Service was fantastic. Absolutely gutted this is the ships last year sailing . Only downfall was that there was only one charging socket for phones etc .And WiFi not so good although it was £49 for 7 days per person . The entertainment team were amazing as was the compare who was very funny. Shops ok but not much to purchase would have liked a little more choice Read Less

Thomson Dreamliner is a fantastic plane. Lots of leg room and free food and drink during the flight. But, what started well, ended badly. The Jamaican airport was hot, humid, crowded and queued. No where to sit, no air conditioning, no water and no where to rest in a confined corridor containing hundreds of people. Tempers flared after hours waiting to get to embarkation and some felt faint. A musical group from the island greeted us at the ship but the singer was out of tune and the musicians seemed fed up of playing it took that long for everyone to board. The buffets were always full of food and refreshments and the restaurant was great for an evening meal. However, the food was mostly overcooked, warm at best when eating and not very tasty in all the eateries. I did not like the fact you helped yourself to buffet with tongs. It would have been more hygienic to have been given the food by buffet staff. Despite the fact the ship had antibacterial dispensers throughout, many passengers ignored them. I had a bad tummy in the middle of the first week and was told by a passenger that the ship had had Noro virus aboard the week before resulting in the closure of the Jacuzzis. I was also by other passengers that many people were being treated for a bad cough, an outbreak which had been on board since December with antibiotic drips having to be issued for pneumonia and also that 5 people had died on board during this time. Myself and my husband both went home with a bad cough at the end of the cruise. One woman was badly burnt by a soot gob that had been blown from the ship's funnel. Many passengers had broken their arms whilst on board. Health and safety was an issue as I saw a crew member carrying two stacks of cups on his tray down a spiral staircase. Smoking was allowed on the decks which was very quickly extended to inside the ship and door areas by smokers who ignored the rules. It was hard to get away from cigarette smoke on the deck areas. We found it very difficult to get a sun lounger before 10am and these were hogged by selfish passengers all day despite the fact that they were not using them for hours. The ship had an overcrowded feel during the sea days and the days were quite strained. The behavior of some of the passengers was terrible despite their mature years. Tempers flared and a fight broke out over the use of a lift which carried on in the sun deck. There was a lot of foul language used by some of the down to earth types which did offend other passengers with their rudeness at times. Some of the deck flooring was bubbled and torn. The first port was La Romana. I wish I had stayed aboard the ship. We were transported by shuttle to the nearby town and was immediately bombarded by very persistent venders that were very intimidating. We all immediately got right back on the bus and returned to the ship. This port did not match the description at all. My favourite ports were St Maartin and Antigua. Shops were wonderful and there were many nice places to go. The Virgin Islands were a little boring as we had not been able to book a tour but on returning to the ship many passengers were disappointed with their trips here. One had gone to see whales and was told by locals that whales are a rare sight in April as they don’t arrive until June when the season for them starts. We did see some flying fish and dolphins on the sea days. Gibraltar is a nice place but there was very little time to visit more than one venue as the ship departs at 2pm and we had to be back on board by 1:30. We were talked out of using the cable car by the port taxi drivers who said that we would not have time to use it. The port inspector confirmed this when asked to back up the statements but on speaking to the tourist visitor centre they said we would have had plenty of time to use it. So I think we were conned into using them at a cost. To sum up, I personally quite enjoyed my time on this cruise but I know that quite a few other passengers were very disappointed and if rumors were correct some did not return at all. Read Less

Adventure of the seas Review - France and Spain 27oct - 04nov 2013 Ports of call: Southampton - Cherbourg - Vigo - Gijon - Bilbao -Southampton Embarkation: Smooth and very easy at the So’ton City terminal. Loyalty lanes were clearly labelled and took advantage of that as a crown and anchor member, saving up to 20 minutes of queuing. Once onboard by 1pm we headed to the windjammer for our first meal. Very busy as expected. By 2pm the cabins were ready. Our interior stateroom 6377 was roomier than expected and the stateroom attendant looked after our room extremely well throughout the cruise. It was a windy departure and captain Sorensen had adjusted the itinerary to ensure a smooth sailing as much as he could amid storms and low pressure systems developing in the atlantic ocean that were moving east, creating rough conditions in the sea. I liked the insightful updates in TV channel 27 between the captain and the cruise director informing everyone about the weather and showing their thinking on a daily basis. Portofino was excellent and we went twice. The second time we went with a lovely couple we met in dining room table #464. The risotto was great and the T-bone steak in particular was succulent, not to mention the tiramisu. Service was exceptional. Some of the servers were one of the most experienced with RCI. The Ice show and quest show were great. My girlfriend and I participated in a flashmob dance which was fun and took place at Studio B just before the Quest show; it was a nice touch to receive a certificate from the entertainment staff for our dedication to have fun during our rehearsals on sea days. Also attended the ballroom dance classes with the experienced couple “Val and Vira” and zumba fitness lesson in Jesters Disco during the sea days. It was great to get involved. Had nearly forgotten it was Halloween during our cruise but the Monster bash in the Royal Promenade was a lot of fun and we were surprised how many people dressed up. There was definitely a great atmosphere that evening. Took advantage of the martini happy hour for 6.00 USD each, Brilliantly served and by far excellent value for money when compared to the London standard; Similar story with the cocktails. For 8 dollars you could get a decent cocktail and for spirits and mixers served on double measure would equate to half price compared to London. My girlfriend was really happy she could keep the glasses as well. We hope RCI will continue doing it! We attended the two crown and anchor events. The captain was very cheerful speaking to us about his experience, working as a captain and shared his excitement about working for the company. Julio Gomez, our cruise sales manager made us feel very welcome and treated us as truly loyal passengers. It certainly made me feel at home. Two thirds of the cruise passengers were first time cruisers with Royal, of which many have not cruised ever before. Enough said, RCI is doing well in attracting not only the loyal, but new people onboard. One of the reasons I booked the cruise besides the ship, of which I will write about in the next paragraph, was the itinerary. At Vigo, we booked the excursion to Santiago de Compostela; a very notorious city for its cathedral and renowned for its Pilgrimage trail. At Gijon, we booked for Oviedo, the capital of the principality of Asturias, very beautiful and with plenty of local traditions such as the chorizo and its cider. At Bilbao, we only docked until 1:30pm, which was our new early departure time back to Southampton. Despite the short time we booked an excursion the previous night but we managed to oversleep the following morning! We were concerned about the money we had paid (67USD each) but after visiting the shore excursions desk in Deck 5 at 6pm, they were understanding and we were delighted to get a full refund.... which bought me a sale price Citizen watch later that evening ;) The departure time change was due to the weather coming into Bay of Biscay the next day so we wanted to make sure not to get caught in it although that evening it got very rough with up to 8m waves! But it was safe and an interesting experience. I must admit I could not sleep very well that night but on the flipside my tolearance to rougher weather is greater. The Ship: This is for me between 60 and 75% of my cruise holiday and with Royal Caribbean I am certainly not too choosy about which ship to go for because I trust all ships are kept to a high standard (It only takes 5 minutes or so to pay attention to the video of Royal in the interactive channel in your stateroom to appreciate that). The only variable would be the size and the number of amenities. Service is what counts followed by food quality and entertainment, in that order. I am pleased to share that the crew did a fantastic job. However, I feel shows in the theatre have degraded a bit and it’s lacking preparation, colourful stages and costumes (Serenade on December 2012 and Brilliance December 2010 was much better). Guests were ok. Bingo we only played on the jackpot which was a whopping 3900USD, the Lyric theatre was full of people, but I do feel the cartons are overpriced!! Jenny and Bjorn made the Bingo experience more fun. Also it was nice to have giveaways in between games. This is definitely a good idea! The Casino staff was wonderful, the tournaments on sea days are a good choice if you don’t want to spend too much but still have a laugh and who knows, you could win something, like I did with a 2nd place in Blackjack, taking 100USD. I also used the gym which was big enough with a Jacuzzi in the centre. Great layout, maybe the machines are a bit outdated but seeing as this vessel will undergo a revitalisation it might just get the treat, as well as many other additions and upgrades just before her second round at Southampton next year. Another spectacular cruise packed with unforgettable memories. Overall I am very satisfied and looking forward to my next cruise holiday with Royal Caribbean International. In fact, knowing that Adventure is coming next spring to Southampton I would sail on her again. But I might consider Independence of the seas this time if not both. Read Less