Going on a cruise should be fun. There is nothing like watching the calendar tick by, knowing that you will soon be heading out to sea. There is something magical about leaving a port knowing that your next five, six, or seven days will be on the ocean.
For more than a decade, we cruised the open waters on Carnival, but this time we decided to upgrade our adventure by choosing Royal Caribbean. It’s one of those vacations you wish you could have back.
The seas were calm, so we couldn’t blame the weather. The ship, “Adventures of the Seas,” was an older ship, but we wanted that. We didn’t want to board a mega-liner with twice as many people. The rooms were a bit outdated, but that’s o.k and it didn’t bother us in the least.
Royal Caribbean’s “Adventure of the Seas” is an adventure for the wrong reasons
Let’s start with what went right. The ship wasn’t overly big, making the navigation of the liner easy. Because of work, I needed to rent a cabana for the two days at sea that we had. I wish I had booked more.
It’s basically a first-come, first-served assignment. If you want a specific cabana, you need to meet with the staff on that deck around eight in the morning and ask for the one you would like to be assigned. I booked one overlooking the pool so I could keep an eye on my kids.
The cabanas have outlets for your phone, and I was able to tie into the ship’s internet, which, of course, you need to purchase either before you cruise or once on board. I was surprised by how adequate the internet was.
Once at your cabana, you have a personal waiter from the bar on the same deck. They check in frequently, and if you purchased the drink package, you could order all day. The cabanas are available for you from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Drink packages
There are no limits with the drink packages, so feel free to take the top-shelf liquor, but be warned, we have heard rumors that this line dilutes their drinks. I didn’t see it actually happen, but I ordered two drinks from two different bars and they were not the same.
One, from the pool deck, tasted watered down; the other was ordered from a bar inside on another deck, which was much stronger. Both were the same drinks.
What didn’t work
Sadly, that was about all we could compliment them on. The food in the buffet dining room was actually much better than that in the dining hall. Our problems started there.
Dining room – there are two types of sit-down dining. A scheduled dining for every day, and a your time dining option. The problem with “your time” dining is that it doesn’t start until 7:00 pm, with most of the shows taking place at 8:00 p.m., you are going to miss everything.
The food here wasn’t good. It was bland, with smaller portions, and the steaks were mediocre at best. Our children love trying new things and odd meals like escargot, or braised ox tail, etc There wasn’t much of a variety, and what little they did offer was, well, far less than any cruise we had been on before.
Of course, everyone has their own tastes, so I’m certain that others found the dining experience to be exactly what they wanted. I spoke with one couple from the Midwest who opted to try the buffet offerings on the last night of the cruise. They were disappointed that they had eaten in the dining hall all week.
On night one I got into an argument with the head maitre’d after we were told to line up on one side of the dining room entrance, and then after waiting an hour we were told to go to the end of another line. A rather long one that was supposed to be for people without reservations. We had our time reserved. It was our last night eating in the dining room.
Onboard entertainment: No one expects Broadway-quality shows, and if you have been on a Carnival ship, you know they are “off, off, off, Broadway” at best. This was worse.
For starters, the shows started at 8:00 pm and were over by 9:00. There are only two shows for the entire cruise, so if you miss it, you may not get another chance. The ice-skating show was far better than the “rock” show they had, but there were only two shows all week. No repeat visits.
The ship has a piano bar that is located directly outside the smoke-filled casino, and you can smell it from the bar. It’s horrible. There are comedy shows, which many of the guests were complaining about. There are two different shows, both at 8:00 or 9:00, and they run once per week.
Karaoke – Most cruises have Karaoke throughout the week, often starting with a family-friendly hour or two, then moving into the 1:00 am hour. Not here. There were only two times they ran the show, and both were for an hour ending at 9:00. They held a contest for an hour on two other nights, with the finals taking place on the third evening. If you like to sing, entering the contest is probably your best option because during the hour-long sessions, if you are not there to sign up immediately, you will not get a chance.
The K.J. stopped the show when the last person who signed up finished. No extra allotted time for those coming out of dinner at 8:00. You snooze, you lose.
Ice Skating – The rink is open during the non-show days, which on our cruise were five of the seven, as they only did the two shows. Skates are free, but you need to reserve a time slot, and you only have one 45-minute slot. You could go back if there was time, but there were no guarantees. My kids at least had fun.
VIP passes – After booking your cruise, you have the chance to purchase a VIP pass. We did because it included the internet. It was supposed to provide you with front-line access to the slides and surf wave. It does not. You get priority seating at the shows, but you have to arrive early to get them. On this ship, they didn’t take reservations despite saying they did.
My kids were excited to climb the rock wall, but there is only a short one-hour window for kids, then it’s open for adults. The passes don’t move you to the front. The water slide is open for anyone, and again, the passes do not work.
Water attractions – AotS has a wave pool where you can boogie board and try your hand at surfing. It was billed to us as a VIP option (it is not) and that our youngest, a seven-year-old, could enjoy it too. He was not permitted on it, a rule change they said.
There are times that are blocked out for guests who have paid for lessons. We all get that, but on one of the port days, they had a four-hour window reserved for those travelers who had booked lessons. No one was on it. My wife approached them to find out if one of our kids could get on it, and was told no. While we sat and watched them ride the slide, the two Royal employees rode the waves for hours because no one had booked the times. Why could they not open that?
Despite talking to guest services, we were told that two employees needed to be at the wave pool (there were three), but we were repeatedly denied. Here is the kicker: when the window finally closed, so did the wave pool, despite the sign that said open at 5:00 pm. When asked why, they said it was time for their break. Disgusting behavior.
The shopping – Cruise ships like to sell stuff, cheap stuff. For many ships, the shops are spread around the ship; on AotS, they are all on the promenade, which is the main thoroughfare of the ship. Every night as you headed to dinner, you got hassled to buy something. This was their nightlife as well, one of the few things open past nine.
Starbucks and the all-night food – Both are located near the shops so you have to go by them. Starbucks isn’t cheap, but it is free with the drink packages. The all-night (or most of the night) food option is a small counter service restaurant that serves pizza and sandwiches. O.k. sounds good. In the window at the counter are small finger sized sandwhiches. We figured these were samples of what they had, but instead, they were the size of what they were offering.
When we ordered a pizza, we expected a cardboard-style late-night cruise pizza, and that is what we got. All two slices of it. If you wanted to order one to take back to your room, you could. It was a 10 to 20-minute wait, and they gave you dirty looks when you ordered a whole pizza.
Making it worse is that there were six of us, so we needed more than one. You don’t get to choose your toppings. It might be pepperoni or cheese one night, and then three-meat the next, but you can’t change it up, even though they are making them when you order.
We ended up getting more food at the buffet dinner and taking plates back to our room. We were told once that we were not allowed to leave the area with food, but after watching several others do the same, we followed suit.
Smoking – For years, my wife and I smoked. We don’t get upset when we walk through it. On every other ship we have been on, there are designated smoking areas. On this ship, it was at the casino and along one side of the pool deck. That was horrible. No matter what you did, you crossed the smokers, and with kids, that was not good.
Late-night movies – Yes, there is a big screen outdoor theater that is awesome (if you can get an unobstructed seat). I’m a sports journalist as well, so watching the NFL playoffs was important, but they didn’t show all the games, and there was no other place on the entire ship that showed them. At night, they showed the game, but when there were no games, they either showed a movie or nothing at all. The movies were billed as first-run theater films, but having a double feature of Downton Abbey and Alexander was not a great option for our kids.
For the first time in more than 10 cruises, my wife and I were both in bed at 9:00 p.m. every night but the ones I was watching the games and working. We are in our late 50s, but we still like to enjoy a nice evening of fun on a ship. There simply were not enough things to do after the shows were over, and as mentioned earlier, if you missed one, you probably missed them all.
When debarkation day arrived, we were sent to a holding area. We informed the woman that we had VIP passes and asked to be directed to that area. She had no idea what we were talking about. Finally, another woman who had the pass told us to follow her. Despite the staff member yelling at us to turn around, we found the right place and immediately skipped the line, went through customs, and got the hell on the road.
If you like to cruise, you know there are options. Royal Caribbean may be a great liner, but this ship has phoned it in. Not by the older charm that it has, but by the staff who don’t care, the entertainment that is fleeting, and the overall feeling that they just want you to get back to your room and then get off the ship.
It’s hard to say whether or not we will someday take another cruise, but if we do, it won’t be on another Royal Caribbean.
Passes to Passports 
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