Adventure of the Seas, Malaga 16-23 July

The largest vessels we have previously been on had some 30 passengers, so it would be an experience as to what sailing with some 3,598 others would be like on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas. We live in Malaga and it seemed a convenient way of visiting Rome, Florence and Ajaccio in Corsica. No flights to organise, no hanging about in airports and less than an hour's drive to the port. On the Saturday boarding was very quick and efficient and our owner's suite on the 10th deck was more than ample for our needs. There were eight elevators forward and eight aft giving access to all of the decks and a Royal Promenade on deck 5, lined with shops and cafes, creating all of the hustle and bustle of a city street. We were in time for lunch and the only restaurant that was open was the Windjammer. The jostling and difficulty in finding a table in what is a very, very large self service restaurant was an experience not to be forgotten. Spaniards are considered to be the second noisiest people in the world and our shipmates were no exception. Lesson one learnt. An invitation to the Concierge Club lounge to enjoy the complimentary champagne and hors d'oeuvres from 6.30pm onwards saved the day after the awful lunch experience and this became an evening event for the duration of the cruise. We enjoyed the special attention from our Concierge, Reshma, who explained that there were five dining rooms which were available for dinner. Our travel agent had not advised us about My Time Dining and having read a review we had chosen the second sitting at the Mozart at 9.30pm as an alternative to the rather early 6.30pm. Our lunchtime experience was almost equalled in the evening by the line of jostling Spaniards who practically stampeded when the Mozart dining room was opened. As our choice of cabin entitled us to gold sea-pass cards, we were immediately escorted to a rather nice table for two in an otherwise very packed restaurant. The three main dinner restaurants are on different decks and the Mozart looked down on the other two. Dinner was fine and the service was very good, but even though it was now nearly eleven in the evening there were a lot of children. Spaniards like to dine late and we left them to it.

We had departed Malaga on Saturday evening and arrived at Valencia at noon the next day. The dock is 15 minutes from the town and a fleet of coaches had been laid on. As with everything else on this cruise, apart from your meals, this is an extra expense. I had wondered why the ship stopped at Valencia as, although it is a very nice city almost everything is closed on Sunday and it lacks the character, interesting architecture and culture of Barcelona or Palma de Mallorca. The answer was simple; some passengers disembarked and some joined the cruise in Valencia but it was a waste of a port of call for the passengers who boarded in Malaga. That evening we spoke to our concierge in the peace and tranquillity of the Concierge lounge whilst sipping more champagne and attended to by our excellent Portuguese and Indian waiters. Reshma explained that My Time Dining could have been booked at the time of our reservation and, although she would try, in all probability it would now be fully booked. I am not sure if the description of MTD is correct. For example booking a table at 8.30 might be possible, but it needs further research. To cut a long story short she suggested that we arrive at the dining room at 9.10 pm, to avoid the crowd, show our gold card and the waiter would escort us to our reserved table early. Frankly we were not up to a repeat of the previous evening and decided to opt for the Italian restaurant, Portofino, which is a small quiet restaurant completely separated from the main dining rooms with its own kitchen and staff and it is well worth the extra charge of twenty dollars. Once seated, we saw the Captain and the first Officer having dinner and we knew that we had come to the right place. The meal was excellent and way beyond our expectations, as was the service. Now we had found somewhere to dine and relax and enjoy dinner for the rest of the cruise, Read more