We chose this cruise based on price and ports visited. My husband and I had only been on one other cruise, in June of 2007, 12 nights aboard Oceania's Insignia to Croatia, the Greeks Islands and Turkey. We loved that cruise, but decided we should try another, much cheaper cruise to see what it was like. We booked this cruise on RCL's website, less than 90 days before the cruise, after checking the price online. The purpose of this cruise was to celebrate our "empty nest" syndrome. Both of our sons were off to college, and we didn't have to worry about anyone but ourselves. After booking the cruise through RCL, I started reading reviews of Adventure of the Seas on this website, as well as the "Berlitz" 2008 guide to cruising. Quite frankly, I was very worried. 3000 plus people, children running amok, someone trying to sell you something every moment, lots of noise, announcements, music, etc. was NOT our idea of a fun vacation. We decided to go with the flow, try our best to have a good time, and see how it went. Well, we had a WONDERFUL TIME!! We enjoyed ourselves immensely, and want others to know that they can too! Day One, Nov. 9th: We booked our airline tickets through CheapTickets.com. We boarded American Airlines at National Airport at 7:35 in the morning for our flight to Miami. From Miami we flew to San Juan, arriving on time at 3:35 pm. Then, along with about 30 other sets of passengers, we discovered that our luggage had not made it aboard the plane. We stood in line for nearly two hours to report our lost luggage, and everyone we spoke with in line were also on cruises out of San Juan. An AOS representative promised to bring our luggage to the ship if it arrived on the 6:30 p.m. flight as promised by American Airlines. We took a taxi to the cruise ship, and were about to board, when the doors were closed for the ships Muster Drill. We had to sit and wait for 40 minutes while the muster drill was taking place, then we were finally allowed to board the ship. Thank Goodness I booked a table at Portofino's the first night at 8:30 p.m., since we didn't even board until 6:45 p.m. We had requested an 8:30 p.m. dining seating, but had been assigned a 6:00 p.m. seating. After dropping off our carry-on luggage in our room, we went to Guest Services, where they acknowledged our baggageless state, gave us complimentary t-shirts and toiletries kits, and told us that our luggage had NOT arrived on the 6:30 p.m. American Airlines flight, and that we should receive our luggage in Aruba on Tuesday. Oh dear, at least I had packed an extra shirt for my husband, a dress and a pair of sandals for me, and my bathing suit. (Never again will I pack so little in my "overnight case". I have learned my lesson to bring a couple of days worth of clothes.) That night in Portofinos the restaurant was nearly empty. Despite how empty the room was, they seated the three couples at tables all right next to each other, by the windows. Since it was dark there was nothing to see outside, so it didn't make sense to me to seat us so close together. However, fortunately for us, we got to talking to the couple sitting to the right of us. We talked about how AA lost our luggage, and we would have nothing to wear the next night, which was "Formal" night in the dining room. The gentleman then told us about the "Mystery Dinner" that was being presented the next night, and called the Portofino manager over and asked him to put us at the top of the wait-list, since our luggage was lost and we had no formal clothes to wear. We would never have made this request for ourselves, and yet, because of this kind man, we got to attend the Mystery Dinner on Monday night and had a terrific time. Thank you, man from Boston, I'm sorry I don't remember your name.

Monday, Nov. 10, 2008: Our first day at sea. We ate breakfast in the Vivaldi dining room, and had a very nice meal served there. We proceeded to the various shops in the "Mall" in the middle of the ship. My husband bought a bathing suit, and I bought a t-shirt and pair of pants to supplement our clothing. We expected that AA would pay for these purchases. I booked a two-hour facial and massage combination in the spa, and was very satisfied with both. I especially loved the fact that my attendant Catherine, from the Philippines did not try to sell me all the products she had used on my face. It was a very enjoyable experience. My husband lay out on tone of the many lounge chairs available on the deck above the pool while I was getting my massage. In the evening I put on my same dress I had wore the night before, and we went to the Blue Moon lounge for the Cruise Critics members meeting. We were late to arrive at that meeting, but it seemed to mostly be an advertisement for "Oasis of the Seas", the new ship RCL will be premiering. I asked the assembled group if we dared to go to the formal dinner dressed as we were, since we had not heard whether we had tickets to the Mystery Dinner yet, and most people agreed that we could attend the formal dinner explaining to our tablemates that we were still without luggage. Luckily we did get to attend the Mystery Dinner, which began in the same Blue Moon lounge only minutes later. The "Mystery Dinner" was well worth the money ($49.50 each) and time. It began in the Blue Moon lounge, with champagne and passed hors d'oeuvres that were delicious. The characters were played (or Over-played) by members of the ship's entertainment crew, and the play was funny, the murder took place off-stage, and the discussion took place down in Portofino's. We went downstairs to Portofino's where we were seated at tables of about 10 couples. There was a choice between three meals, and the red and white wines flowed. Each character (or suspect) visited each table during dinner and we were allowed to ask each one questions. (however, they could lie with their answers.) We were given sheets of paper and pencils to explain who we thought the murderer was, and why. In the end, 13 people got the answer right, and they picked a name out of a hat to receive a bottle of wine as a prize. A grand time was experienced by all.

Day 3, Tues. Nov. 11, 2008: Aruba! We ordered our breakfast to be delivered to our room, and it arrived a few minutes before requested. The fruit plate was especially fine. We experienced a bit of waiting debarking the ship, and then again, as everyone who signed up for our excursion aboard the "Jolly Roger" sailboat had to sign a waiver. We went on an open air bus to the small pier where the Jolly Roger was docked and set off. We truly enjoyed this excursion, going first to a World War II shipwreck to snorkel, then on to a reef. At the end of the excursion we went to a place where the participants could swing off a rope into the water, and while the rum drinks flowed, a great time was had by all. When we went back to the ship around midday, we went to the Windjammer for the first time for lunch. I had a burger and some potato salad, the burger had been sitting in a steamer for a long time, my husband partook of the various salads for lunch. We then went to our stateroom where TA DAA! our luggage was waiting for us! We were so happy. My husband went back out to take pictures near the pier in Aruba, and I took a nap! At dinner time we went to maitre d' of Vivaldi, and requested the later dinner time. He was very accommodating and gave us the later seating. We then went upstairs to the Blue Moon lounge and later the 19th hole lounge to have drinks before dinner. Our dinner that evening was with two other couples, one British and the other a former air force colonel and his wife from Vermont. We had a lovely dinner and dessert, and I requested decaf coffee to end the evening. Later at 3:30 a.m. as I lay awake in our cabin, I concluded that the coffee must have been regular, and I was sad to have slept so little. Read more