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Adventure of the Seas does not offer as many specialty restaurants and dining options as newer ships, but the few venues that are on the ship offer great service and diverse menus.
The Windjammer Buffet has casual dining for all meals and serves a variety of international cuisine. The Café Promenade, on deck 5, serves up a continental breakfast and pizza, sandwiches and snacks throughout the rest of the day for those looking for a quick bite.
We enjoyed dinner every night in the Main Dining Room, which offers both early and late seatings, as well as My Time Dining with walk-up service. There is one specialty dining restaurant, Giovanni’s Table, which serves up Italian fare for dinner for $25 a person and a Mexican lunch on sea days for $12 a person. The ship also has a Johnny Rockets with the brand’s signature hamburgers, fries and sandwiches for $6.95 per person. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is also available at the Café Promenade at an additional cost for those with a sweet tooth. New venues since the ship's refurbishment include the Chef’s Table and Park Café.
Our original itinerary was altered not once but twice due to Mother Nature: Hurricane Danny and Tropical Storm Erika. Due to the inclement weather, our ship made its first scheduled stop in St. Maarten, but then headed south to Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Having been to St. Maarten many times before, we booked a tour with a trusted tour provider; no matter how many times we visit the island, we still can’t get enough of the planes landing over Maho Beach.
Having never visited the other islands, and having less than a day to plan, we opted for island tours of all the islands through the cruise line's tour company. In Aruba, you can’t go wrong with a beach break. Our time spent at Eagle Beach, with its clear waters and sandy beaches, was pure paradise. We also enjoyed our stops at the Casibari Rock Formation and Natural Bridge. Bonaire, less developed than its neighboring islands, is known for snorkeling and scuba diving. Next time we visit the island, we'll be sure to spend more time in the water. Curacao has a bright and colorful historic downtown area with plenty of sightseeing and shopping all within walking distance of the ship. The Hato Caves are definitely worth a visit while in Curacao, too.
Adventure of the Seas offers many of the same activities you find fleetwide on Royal Caribbean ships. During the sea days, there are tons of laughs to be had as fellow travelers bare it all in contests like the Belly Flop Contest and Sexy Man Competition.
For more audience engagement, there are plenty of trivia sessions and game shows throughout the cruise. From themed music and movie trivia to the Battle of the Sexes, the Quest, and the always funny Love and Marriage Game show, there is always something to keep you entertained.
Adventure of the Seas also offers more than 15 bars, clubs and lounges with live music, including the Duck and Dog Pub with a guitarist and the Schooner Bar with piano music. Sports fans will also enjoy the Gravity Sports Bar with tons of televisions broadcasting your favorite sporting events from around the world.
Adventure of the Seas has an entire children’s area on deck 12 known as Adventure Ocean. In this area you'll find special rooms set aside for children of different age groups, including a teen hangout. Families will also enjoy the sports deck, where parents can challenge their kids to a game of 9-hole mini-golf or maybe shoot some hoops. At night, there are parades and family-friendly parties like the all-ages Glow Party in Studio B, where you can dance the night away under black lights.
The Lyric Theater hosts nightly entertainment, including revue-style production shows featuring Royal Caribbean singers and dancers. For our sailing, those shows were Jackpot, a tribute to Vegas and Invitation to Dance, a contemporary show of different dance genres.
The Lyric Theater also hosts guest entertainers, who vary in style and quality. During our sailing, these guest entertainers included an Elvis impersonator, a vocal trio called the Las Vegas Tenors, two different comedians and a clown performer as part of the farewell show. We always make it a point to see the shows no matter what the performance and recommend you do the same. We particularly enjoyed the Las Vegas Tenors on this cruise.
Adventure of the Seas also offers an ice show; on our sailing, it was called "Hot Ice, Cool Art." Having sailed on many Royal Caribbean ships, it was one of our favorite ice shows to date. Make sure to reserve time to see this show!
We stay primarily in inside cabins when we cruise, and on this trip we opted for a Promenade Stateroom on deck 8, an interior room that has a window with a view of the Royal Promenade. This class of room is listed as slightly larger than other interior rooms. This extra space is primarily in the enhanced seating area with an extra sofa built in under the bow window. We never had any issues with noise, and the location was perfectly situated near elevators and right between the Royal Promenade and the outdoor decks.
Inside tips
There are two formal nights in the main dining room, and the rest of the nights are smart casual. Even on the formal nights, the dress code is only loosely enforced.
If the mood strikes you, try skating on either the inline skating rink on the sports deck or lace up your skates at the indoor ice skating rink. Check your compass for details as these activities are offered during select days and times. All necessary equipment is provided by the cruise line.
The daily gratuities are $12.50 per person per day, but of course, you can always tip additionally for that Royal WOW service. We had amazing service in the main dining room from our team of Leo and Jasmon, so we provided them with additional gratuities at the end of our 7-night vacation. Our bar server, Abel, was also great, so we gave him an additional gratuity as well.
Sailing from Puerto Rico, you’ll find a diverse set of passengers. During our cruise, there were quite a few passengers from the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as travelers from various European countries. All announcements are made in both English and Spanish for a more multicultural complexion. Sailing in late August, there were also fewer families than you would expect to find on this class of ship.
Royal Caribbean offers onboard sales and promotions for jewelry and watches, liquor and other goods. The $10 T-shirt sale is always popular among economical cruisers (like me). In terms of shops, there was nothing too unique or special on this ship.
While we do recommend attending all the shows, we will admit not all of them were the best. We found the Elvis impersonator to be subpar compared to other cruise ship entertainment acts. Also, don’t expect too much from trivia. Not only are the prizes lackluster, but there is definitely a growing trend of fellow passengers using the internet to get answers. What fun is that?
How about you? Have you cruised on Adventure of the Seas? We'd love to hear about your experience! What was the highlight?
If you're interested in a cruise on Adventure of the Seas, contact a Cruiseable travel advocate at 1-877-322-3773 or by email. We can usually offer a better deal than you can get by contacting the cruise line directly.
