Michael Rogers

Age: 27
Occupation: Sales
Number of Cruises: 1st (booked on Panama in Oct/2004 on RCC
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Ship: Adventure Of The Seas
Sailing Date: October 21st, 2003
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean

This was our honeymoon and 1st ever cruise. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly and recommend both the cruise line as well as the ship. This is my story.

Embarkation :
We flew into San Juan from Montreal, Canada (via Newark, NJ) on Continental. We passed by security with ease, and met up with our RCC contact. The transfer was a smooth transition, and our luggage showed up at our room without incident. One thing we did not do was put our luggage tags on our bags before we left home. I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU PUT YOUR TAGS ON BEFORE YOU LEAVE. We took the Royal Caribbean arranged shuttle to the ship.

When we arrived at the ship we were able to check in without a problem and didn’t have to wait at all. That was a huge relief. We got our ship card and got right on the ship after a painless picture was taken.

Ship:
The Adventure Of The Seas was a relatively young ship, no more than 1 year old. It was huge, tastefull, and relatively easy to navigate through. The elevators (though there are many of them) are usually in use when you seem to need one. I recommend waiting only if you have multiple decks to climb, and to take the stairs when going down.

Stateroom:
We had an balcony stateroom. We were pleasantly surprised at how spacious it was even though we hadn’t cruised before. There are tons hidden cubbies behind mirrors above the desk and in the bathroom and the closet is a decent size. The love seat was comfortable and all of our suitcases easily fit under the bed.

Food:
We ate in the main dining room every night. We found the food to be great, and I am one picky eater! We thought about eating in the Portofino restaurant, but couldn’t seem to justify the extra spending, especially since we had no bad experiences in the main dining hall, and that the food was already paid for/included.. The best part is the variety - there is something for everyone. Our waiter was great with his recommendations for the meals. We ate our breakfasts and most lunches in the Windjammer, though we did try breakfast in the main dining hall once, but was unimpressed.

Entertainment:
Overall we enjoyed the entertainment, however trying to stay awake after dinner was difficult for the late late show, and we didn’t want to rush to the early one. That’s the only downside to the late dinner seating. The animators and staff on board were fantastic, and tried their best to accommodate in every way possible.

Ports:
We enjoyed our port selection, and had great weather in all locations. Aruba, Curacao, St.Marteen, St.Thomas are the islands we visited. Jewelery was abundant, and guys, don’t let your girls try on too much stuff. It gets easy to get caught into buying too much, especially when the beer is on the house while you’re waiting. Shop around, and follow the RCC guidelines.

Days at sea were restfull, even on the cloudy days. Never worry about potentially bad weather… you can’t change it, but can certainly make the best of it.

Disembarkation L:
It was a sad day leaving the ship. We ate our last breakfast in the dining room, a nice change from the Windjammer, but remember that food issue I said earlier. Disembarkation went very smoothly. We had no problems going through customs. We put our bags on a truck to get to the airport and got on a bus for the airport. Unfortunately our flights were delayed, and all we wanted to do, was to get home.

All in all, we can thank Royal Caribbean for making our honeymoon the best that we could have hoped for.

Ask a Question About Royal Caribbean Cruises