We were a party of 8 ( 2 families with older children) from upstate NY on the Jan 6th sailing. This was our first Royal Caribbean cruise for us, not for the people we traveled with. We previously sailed on 3 Carnival cruises (honestly I don't know why they get such negative comments from RCCL lovers) and 1 Disney. Overall we loved it but had a few problems. We arrived in San Juan the day before and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. It was a great place for a brief stay. Clean rooms (although small), continental breakfast included and a short taxi ride to the port. We took the public buses into Old San Juan for I believe $.75 each way. Easy and quite a bargain. I recommend getting a quote up front for taxi fares to the airport. We were a party of 8 (2 families) with the same amount of luggage and were charged 2 different fares. They supposedly have a flat rate and then tack on fees for each piece of luggage. Embarkation: Not pleasant. We took other cruise critic member's advice and got to the port around 11:30 hoping to be on the ship in time for lunch. Unfortunately that didn't happen. We were herded into the port after checking luggage outside and had to sit inside for 3 hours. We were told there was an immigration problem of some kind. Actually we fared much better than most. There wasn't enough room for everyone inside so hundreds of people had to stand outside, some getting rained on. We got on the ship at around 3 pm. Not a nice start. This was our first balcony room. Loved it! It was a little small but otherwise nice. Dining: We weren't crazy about the Windjammer. Very crowded and hard to find a seat. We had breakfast most mornings in the dining room which we liked much better. They have you share tables so it gives you a chance to meet others. Not as many lunch choices as other cruiselines , we found. We enjoyed the cafe on the promenade for quick lunches on island days. They had nice sandwiches and ok pizza. The people we traveled with had lunch once in the dining room and enjoyed it. We had very good dinners in the main dining room for the most part. Great waiters, Domingo and Cajetan. We also went to Portofino's one night. My dessert alone was worth the extra $20. Great tiramisu. Only used room service for our morning coffee but was always prompt using the breakfast menus provided in your rooms to hang on the door. Entertainment: We didn't go to all the shows but enjoyed the ones we saw. Ice show was great , singers and dancers in Vegas style shows and a trio who sang Motown songs were good also. The Quest game was hilarious but definitely for adults only. The only thing I felt was lacking was a place for dancing (besides disco). Due to the large number of Latinos, I assume , they had a Latin band playing every night Minor detail since we found entertainment elsewhere in the bars for listening. We didn't do any excursions so I can't comment on them. We chose to do our own thing. Aruba- Shopping is within walking distance which is nice. We used the public buses which were very easy and much cheaper than taxis if all you want to do is go to the beach, especially for large groups. The bus station is just a short walk from the ship. Curacao- Loved this island. Shopping is also within walking distance. We also used the bus system which is a riot. They use small vans which look exactly like the taxis. It is not as close of a walk as in Aruba but we asked a local policeman and he directed us to where you catch the bus. They charge $1 each way and the taxis were something like $3 each way and they look exactly the same. Funny! We went to Mambo Beach (beautiful). There is a $3 charge to get in and they have a bar/snack bar and charge extra for chairs. St. Maarten: We just went into town and did some shopping (they charge you to take the water taxi) and then off to Orient Beach. Had a very entertaining taxi driver who gave us quite a lot of info on the St. Thomas: First we walked to where you take the Skytram to Paradise Point. Beautiful views of the island and ships below. Make sure you try a Bushwacker, their famous drink. Delicious, and it makes the ride down the mountain easier for people like me who don't do well with heights. We then took a taxi to Morningstar Beach which was recommend to us by a local as being closer and less crowded than Magen's Bay. The men enjoyed the snorkeling there. You have to take a taxi into town but there are a lot of shops around the dock area so we opted to shop there before heading back to the ship. Overall we had a wonderful cruise but had just a few issues. First, we signed up for the Port Valet Service since we had a 6 pm flight home. On the night before leaving someone showed up at our door and hand delivered a letter, supposedly from airport immigration, stating we were randomly picked to be denied the service due to security issues. Now mind you, we were a party of 8 (in 4 rooms) and only 2 out of the 4 rooms got this letter. After trying to straighten things out over the phone and getting nowhere my husband went to the service desk and had a very unpleasant experience with one of the representatives. He was told it was an airport issue but when my husband called the airline the denied ever hearing of such a thing as being denied the service. So after a lot of exchanged words (some not so nice)the rep left my husband waiting at the desk for quite some time but then mysteriously returned with our luggage tags and boarding passes. Hmmm. The second thing I wanted to mention was of a personal nature. My daughter is a diabetic and uses an insulin pump. The "refrigerators" in the rooms we found out after a couple of days are not really refrigerators but "chillers" according to maintenance. They are just used to prevent the food inside from spoiling but are not cold inside. So when I asked customer service if there was a place we could keep her medication they acted like it was the first time anyone ever inquired about this. We got the same reaction from the medical facility but they did finally agree to keep her insulin in their fridge and froze our icepack for the way home. Just thought I'd pass this on since I'm sure there have to be many others in her situation. Disembarkation: Went rather smoothly especially after straightening out the valet issue. As soon as you got off the ship there was an area for each airline to take your bags. The cost for this service was $20 a person but well worth it for us. Finally I just wanted to say that the Adventure is a beautiful ship. Loved the promenade. The kids had the rooms that overlooked it which were cool. They were much nicer than having a standard inside room since you had a window with a window seat for people watching. We especially liked the Solarium also. The kids enjoyed the fact that the pools and hot tubs were open 24 hours. As far as all of the negative reviews regarding large number of Puerto Ricans. Yes, it's true there were, (surprise, surprise)which is understandable seeing as the ship departs from San Juan. But as far as any rudeness, we did not witness any more than you see in everyday life. Unfortunately everyone does not behave perfectly, including Americans. There was a Quinceinera celebration going on also which was fun to observe. Unfortunately I think some people just have a hard time accepting other people's cultures and traditions. My children enjoyed meeting people from other places. Enjoy yourself! Your vacation is what you make it!