Dannyboy72

I do think that one of the bigger ships may be then next cruise and maybe a little shorter - maybe 5 days. They wouldn't let my 12 year go with my 9 year old in the kids club unless she tried the teen club, to which they then said the younger club would be full so the chances are you couldn't have got in. Not ideal but to be honest my kids rarely do the kids clubs.

It's nice to know that RC do that with the food as at least it's giving something back - makes me slightly better when slipping on my Labadozy!

We did leave the sun deck as we couldn't get near the pool beds but it was a then leaving the beds to do something to then try and search around for a bed again and none where that exciting. The sea days aren't awful at all just not what I expected.

All, As a first timer cruiser I thought I would add my views / advice for newbies as there was some stuff which I didn't get or things I didn't expect. These are my views and I'm sure others will have different views so please don't judge me! We travelled as family on the 18th Aug on Adventure I'll start with the bad stuff: Chair Hogs - just annoying. I rise early and I saw people at 7am just laying towels and not returning for hours. Just felt this was a little rude to others Lack of time in some ports - we had just a couple of hours in San Juan and felt we could do with a little more time. I get that we booked this and should have understood but as a family we like to explore and felt we didn't or couldn't as we needed to get back on board. Windjammer - Breakfast was just a free for all and was busy all the time. Getting a seat was a pain and we would walk around to get a table, Food - For me, the waste is incredible, people just stacking plates and plates full of food as if it's it never going to be served again. I saw one kid with a plate of 10 donuts, I just hope he was sharing them as it was just crazy. I also felt guilty when we arrived in Haiti as we are sitting there having pancakes and bacon looking at one of the poorest countries - just me being a little globally conscious. Kids Clubs - The Opitx or the younger one neither looked very inviting. The staff weren't engaging and it looked very dated. The teenage one just looked like a free for all and my 12 year old was not really comfortable with it, I do think 12 to 17 is kind of an aged gap. The staff were the most uphelpful on the boat but quite some way! Sea Days - I've said we like to explore - we had a 4 sea days and I felt that was too many for us as family. I did think that the sea days would be a great chance to relax but we felt a little bored and a bit trapped - strange really as there was stuff going on but we either didn't make it or didn't want to leave our pool beds! Activities - A lot of the activities seem to last just 45 mins and by the time you get in to what is happening it then ends. This was a little odd but assuming you get used to it. Beer Choice - just me I suspect on this one but it's just the standard beers and I like IPAs or something different and the only place I could this in the pub but then I would miss out on some other activity somewhere else whilst getting a beer. Dress Code - just pointless. I saw people on Dress to Impress in shorts and flip flops. Either have it or don't..... Wifi - Don't bother! Slow and drops out. Leave your phone in the safe with flight mode on. The Good Stuff: Food and Service – just excellent. The Main Dining room was excellent with a great range of foods with our servers (Glen and Hubert) being just amazing. The food in the Windjammer was also very good indeed. You won’t go hungry and if you do then you have something wrong with you. Lots to do – there was loads on with some activities over lapping making it hard to do everything you want. My advice is scan the QR code for the planner as the apps isn’t as good. Relaxing – At times I did nothing. And that’s great as I have a very full life so anytime I get to sit and read a book is time well spent. Sea Ports – Although I did think we could spend a little more time in certain ports, I do also think it’s a good chance to see ports and countries you wouldn’t go back to for a week’s holiday. Bed – I’ve never slept so well. Every night I was out like a light and slept so heavy. It was either the motion of the boat or the just because I was very relaxed. Safe – I felt with safe on the boat, not just with covid but with other passengers. My kids (9 and 12) felt ok walking around on their own and liked the adventure of exploring the ship. Drinks – Although I think it’s expensive, the drink package was excellent and saved so much effort when we went to the bars. Nothing was too much trouble for the bar staff and would make any drink you asked for. Service again, tops! Flow Rider – loads of fun and well worth trying! Labadee –Some people have concerns around Labadee with it being a little older than CoCo Cay but I thought it was excellent, the beach was in very clean, the food was very good. The kids loved it and so did I. The local market is a little pushy but not too bad. Balcony Cabin – we stayed in 9622 which was a spacious balcony on a hump (I think that’s the term). Very clean, good size for 4 of us to sleep. The Stateroom attendant was excellent and I loved that he put the sofa bed up and down at night. The only issue was the shower went hot and cold at times but not really an issue. Formal Night – This was great as most people dressed up (apart from the swim wear and flip flops!) and the Dress to Impress night seemed more dressy than formal night. I think it’s night to dress up and sit as family and enjoy a good meal. The Staff / Crew – they make it. I don’t have a bad word to say about the crew, each one had a smile on their face and was willing to help all the time even when they are very busy. The main dining room staff were amazing with nothing being too much trouble. I would say that I will cruise again but I will research more on the ports and the sea days so we aren’t all at sea as a family! Royal, I thought as a company seemed to be excellent and I would consider booking again in t future but I do thing that I might need to try another cruise company to compare as others on the cruise did say that P&O and Carnival were better. If you haven’t cruised before, like me, try it, it’s great but accept that it's a flying visit to ports on what is a five star Vegas type floating hotel.

Finally got 3 out of 4 come back - 3 are all vacincated - the one outstanding is an unvacincated child so dropped them an email to check the ETA. This does put me off going to Bermuda..... but can't change it now!

We are the same, we have applied about 4 days ago with Adventure sailing on the 18th August and getting a little nervous! Is it worth calling them to check or just leave it??

Hopefully I'm being a bit dim here but do I (or should I) have booked a sun bed for Labadee? I've left things very late and wondered if I can just rock up and use any sun beds that are free? It's my first time cruise and I have to admit with all the testing to get on board, testing to get to Bermuda (extra $40 per person), getting to the port and everything else post covid - I think it may be my first and last one! Thanks All - Dan

Thanks all. Gotta say this forum is the best!!

Hi All, Travelling in August 2022 on Adventure in a Spacious Stateroom with 2 kids and a pull out bed for the kids, do they out the sofa bed away each day and then out again for the night? Just wondering how it works as if the sofa bed is down the whole time then it's going to be a little bit cramped. I'm a first time cruiser so not sure what to expect!! Thanks Dan

Thanks, my 12 year old will be good to go, it's the 9 year that's the pain!! Thanks for the info!

Hi All, I'm based in the UK and having testing booked to come to the US however I have 4 days in NY before we board the Adventure of the Sea in Aug 22 but we need to get tested again so looking for advice on where to go and what to look for in testing before cruising and where is reliable in the Manhattan area? 2 fully up to date with shots, one 12 year old with 1 jab 2nd pending and one 9 year old without any shots (yet). Any advice would be great!! I'm a first time cruiser (this has been booked for 2+ years!!) so just feel it's never going to happen!!