Adventure of the Seas Review

Reminded us why we like Royal Caribbean

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Adventure of the Seas
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royal3
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Apr 2019
Cabin: Ocean View Balcony
Traveled with children

We picked this cruise since it was 8 nights, a great price, and went to one of our favorite ports (St. Maarten). It had been 3 years since we last sailed on Royal Caribbean due to them having limited sailings (seasonal only) on the West Coast. In that time, we have sailed on Holland America, Princess, and several Carnival West Coast cruises. Overall, Royal Caribbean is still our favorite cruise line.

Flying from the West Coast, we arrived the night before the cruise. We picked our hotel based upon free airport, and cruise port, shuttle transfers. The Quality Inn Cruise Port South met both these requirements. The airport shuttle runs until 12:30 AM which matches the flights arriving at Ft. Lauderdale Airport. However, due to a Southwest flight delay passing through Denver, our adult daughter arrived at 12:40 so a taxi ($25) was needed for her. The hotel is located next to McDonalds and Taco Bell. Within walking distance are several other restaurants and a K-Mart. Guests can make last minute purchases (wine?) or grab a bite to eat after a long flight. The hotel itself is old, but is fine for one night. The morning breakfast was better than expected and the shuttle to the cruise port was the most organized we have ever seen in our many Florida cruises. With the free shuttles, it was worth the price.

We had a scheduled boarding time of 1:00-1:30 PM. Due to the 11:00 hotel check out time, and shuttle schedule, we arrived at port at 11:30. To our surprise, we were allowed to go straight on the ship. Royal Caribbean allows guest to pre-load their security photo from home which really speeds-up embarkation. By 11:45 we were in the Windjammer eating lunch. The Windjammer, instead of having the usual alcohol based hand sanitizer dispensers, has built-in sinks. The 8 wash basins each have a faucet which not only dispenses warm water, and soap, but also contains a hand blower. It was actually fun to “washy washy” before each meal. The selection of food in the Windjammer was good. However, seating was an issue. The staff cleaned tables as fast as they came available, but you had to watch for people leaving and then make a dash for the table. We always found a table, but it took a little work.

Cabin Review

Ocean View Balcony

Cabin 1D

Nice cabin with a refrigerator. Although located by the elevator, no extra noise was heard. Would select this room again. The balcony has two chairs, which will lie flat, and a table. It is locate two decks above the rear of lifeboat #1(for location finding while looking at ship photos).

Port Reviews

Labadee

Relaxed on the beach. Chairs are free and the venders are kept to a designated area near the restrooms. The ship drink packages work on Labadee and they have a great BBQ lunch (free).

San Juan

Did the short walk from the ship to the two forts. The forts are run by the U.S. Park Service and only admission gets you in both forts.

St. Maarten

Took public transportation (vans which run about every 10 minutes) to Maho Beach for $2 per person each way. The vans have signs in the window showing where they are headed. Maho Beach is where the planes pass close to the beach as they land at airport. Was apprehensive about the van prior to the trip, but it was clean and easy to find. Most large planes land between 11:45-2:00.

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