Adventure of the Seas - full dinning review 8/17/19-8/23/19

[MelissaM]

Ahoy there,

My family just got off the Adventure of the Seas 6 nights Canada New England out of Cape Liberty.  I thought I'd share my dinning review.

First, I bought  Bogo specialty dinning package.  This included one specialty restaurant the first two nights of the cruise.  As Adventure has a limited amount of specialty dinning we did Chops on the first night and Giovanni's the second.

Chops - it was good not great - my steak was a little overcooked but still tender, the side dishes were yummy we had the cheesy tots, spinach and mashed potatoes.  I added my 7 yr old son to the reservation when we got on the ship as kids are only $10 dollars but you would have to pay full price if you book in advance.  He ended up falling asleep at the table during dinner and our great server did not charge us for his meal.  We ended up just adding that to her additional tip we left.

Giovanni's  was excellent!  The bread service was awesome - mix of rolls/focaccia with oil/vinegar, olives and garlic side.  The meal was also excellent you can choose appetizer, pasta and a main dish.  I ended up with the pasta of the day which was a pesto rigatoni and the eggplant parm.  Dessert was a mix of whatever you wanted off the cart.  I had the tiramisu of course.

We ended up in the buffet for an additional dessert that night and found out the theme for night 3 was tex-mex -- well you know we had to be there for that.  I may have eaten my weight in nachos.

The Windjammer was the best part of this trip.  All meals were great.  The bread and cheese options fantastic.  The last night they had Manchego my favorite and feta with herbs.  I also ate probably about 50lbs of Honey Butter on the brown bread with fruit in it.

We ended up for dinner there on the 3rd night, 5th and 6th night.  5th night was Caribbean night and was our favorite night by far.  The last night they had an apple pie the size of a house.  The baking was also on point.  The cakes/pies and all the treats were really delicious. 

The main dinning room was ok.  We went on night 4th.  The food was good but came out luke warm.  It was like if you go to a wedding and they are trying to bring out all the dishes at the same time, they are just not going to be hot.  We had my time dinning and had mad a reservation in advance.  I heard if you did not you waited a long time.  After that night and missing Mediterranean night at the buffet we vowed only to do the Windjammer. - They did have Lobster night on the 5th night which was only Lobster tails.  I don't like seafood and my husband had a full lobster meal in Bar Harbor so we skipped it.  People did say you could ask for as many tails as you could eat.

Café Promenade did have pizza, sandwiches and treats but the pizza appeared to be just frozen and then cooked, it wasn't great but my son loved it.

My son and husband did sushi making class.  It was $30 but you ended up making 4 rolls, 1 hand roll and 1 nigiri- which you got to eat at the end, worth the $30.

Overall high marks to the Windjammer and Giovanni's.  We never went hungry and I am proud to announce I only gained 5lbs - which is 2 less than the average. 

[WannaCruise]

Thanks for the review.  DH and I will be on Adventure in December.

One note about specialty.  If you had booked you son pre-cruise for the specialty then you pay adult price upfront.  But they will credit you as OBC once onboard and the charge will just be the $10.  We did this twice for our younger one.  Always informed them and it wasn't an issue.

[MelissaM]

Thanks for letting me know.  I wasn't sure about it.  We got on board at 10:45am and I just went straight to the Specialty restaurant and added him.  

[Pima1988]

We did Adventure in July.   Our family is from NJ and Italian.   We had 5 nights for specialty restaurant (chops -2x, Izumi, Giovannis and Chefs table.  We had the opposite opinion regarding Giovannis.  It was fine, but I would not place it at a top tier Italian restaurant that you would find in Little Italy NY, or even Little Italy Inner Harbor.  Giovannis ended ranking as the bottom of our favorites.

I should note that on the day of embarkation when we made our reservations, being Italian we expected to eat 2x at Giovannis.  1st two nights were in the MDR. Our 3rd night we ate at Chops, and LOVED IT!  The fried goat cheese salad is a must, if goat cheese does not appeal to you the wedge salad is great too.  ----FYI, on night 1 in the MDR having been on RCL before I asked the waiter to give me a wedge salad for night 2, it is the same as Chops.  I had the branzino in Chops, and it was delicious.  Everyone loved their filets with the multiple sauces they offer you.  Our waitress also brought a plate of their spicy shrimp.

Night 4 we went to Giovanni's.  I agree the bread was excellent.  The ambiance imo is better than Chops since it has lovely ocean views.  Chops is an interior dining room, and it has the feeling of a steakhouse like Mortons, or Capital Grille, very dark.  I had the lamb with the bone marrow, which was very good, but not OMG.  My husband had pasta and admitted that the spinach gnocci that he had in the MDR for lunch the day before was better.  

As soon as dinner was done we went down to Chops and had our 2nd reservation for Giovannis changed to Chops.  

5th night was Chef's table.  For me, that was the absolute best dinner.   It is a 3 -3 1/2 hr dinner.  Nothing at your dinner is offered anywhere else on the ship.  Every course is paired with a wine.  

6th night was Izumi.  I do not care for sushi at all, but since we were in a group I went with the flow.  Adventure does not have teppynaki grill.   I ordered the soup, and the spicy shrimp rolls.  I enjoyed them very much.  My group loved the champagne lobster rolls.  They all like sushi, and stated everything they ordered were past their expectations,  nobody was able to hit their $ limit, and they tried.  We also liked the ambiance since it is located on the promenade.  

Our 8th night was back at Chops I had the filet this time.  It is was perfectly cooked and tender.  They brought out every dessert on the menu for us to share.  Again, they brought us a plate of their spicy shrimp entrée.  The sides are delicious.  We didn't order any of the starches, but the ones we did order were perfect, especially the asparagus.

 

 

[MelissaM]

2 hours ago, Pima1988 said:

We did Adventure in July.   Our family is from NJ and Italian.   We had 5 nights for specialty restaurant (chops -2x, Izumi, Giovannis and Chefs table.  We had the opposite opinion regarding Giovannis.  It was fine, but I would not place it at a top tier Italian restaurant that you would find in Little Italy NY, or even Little Italy Inner Harbor.  Giovannis ended ranking as the bottom of our favorites.

I should note that on the day of embarkation when we made our reservations, being Italian we expected to eat 2x at Giovannis.  1st two nights were in the MDR. Our 3rd night we ate at Chops, and LOVED IT!  The fried goat cheese salad is a must, if goat cheese does not appeal to you the wedge salad is great too.  ----FYI, on night 1 in the MDR having been on RCL before I asked the waiter to give me a wedge salad for night 2, it is the same as Chops.  I had the branzino in Chops, and it was delicious.  Everyone loved their filets with the multiple sauces they offer you.  Our waitress also brought a plate of their spicy shrimp.

Night 4 we went to Giovanni's.  I agree the bread was excellent.  The ambiance imo is better than Chops since it has lovely ocean views.  Chops is an interior dining room, and it has the feeling of a steakhouse like Mortons, or Capital Grille, very dark.  I had the lamb with the bone marrow, which was very good, but not OMG.  My husband had pasta and admitted that the spinach gnocci that he had in the MDR for lunch the day before was better.  

As soon as dinner was done we went down to Chops and had our 2nd reservation for Giovannis changed to Chops.  

5th night was Chef's table.  For me, that was the absolute best dinner.   It is a 3 -3 1/2 hr dinner.  Nothing at your dinner is offered anywhere else on the ship.  Every course is paired with a wine.  

6th night was Izumi.  I do not care for sushi at all, but since we were in a group I went with the flow.  Adventure does not have teppynaki grill.   I ordered the soup, and the spicy shrimp rolls.  I enjoyed them very much.  My group loved the champagne lobster rolls.  They all like sushi, and stated everything they ordered were past their expectations,  nobody was able to hit their $ limit, and they tried.  We also liked the ambiance since it is located on the promenade.  

Our 8th night was back at Chops I had the filet this time.  It is was perfectly cooked and tender.  They brought out every dessert on the menu for us to share.  Again, they brought us a plate of their spicy shrimp entrée.  The sides are delicious.  We didn't order any of the starches, but the ones we did order were perfect, especially the asparagus.

 

 

You have the same reaction to Italian as I do Bagels.  hahahah.  As a original New Yorker I just looked at them with distain and moved on in the buffet.  Glad you enjoyed all your dinning at Chops and Chef's table!

[WilsonLok]

10 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

Thanks for the review.  DH and I will be on Adventure in December.

One note about specialty.  If you had booked you son pre-cruise for the specialty then you pay adult price upfront.  But they will credit you as OBC once onboard and the charge will just be the $10.  We did this twice for our younger one.  Always informed them and it wasn't an issue.

Do we need to ask for their OBC conversion arrangement?  And, where can we inform?

Thanks!

[Lovetocruise2002]

@MelissaM and @Pima1988 really enjoyed reading your thoughts regarding the dining on Adventure. We have not sailed her since our very first cruise  back in 2002 and next July, we are most likely coming full circle back to her for a 9 night Canada/NE cruise. I am positive that she is a very different ship from what we remember. 

My question for both of you, or anyone else that has sailed Adventure recently, is do you think the UDP would be worth it seeing that there are not too many specialty options on board?  Or would I be better off grabbing a 3 or 5 night package? 

[Pima1988]

If I recall NE is a 5 night cruise.  If it were me,  I would buy a 3 night + Chefs table, and than just go to the MDR for the formal night.   If I am remembering correctly when we did the NE (Anthem) we only had 1 sea day.  We enjoy the MDR on sea days for lunch because we are fans of their tutti salad.    If that is the case than I don't think the UDP is worth it.

[Lovetocruise2002]

54 minutes ago, Pima1988 said:

If I recall NE is a 5 night cruise.  If it were me,  I would buy a 3 night + Chefs table, and than just go to the MDR for the formal night.   If I am remembering correctly when we did the NE (Anthem) we only had 1 sea day.  We enjoy the MDR on sea days for lunch because we are fans of their tutti salad.    If that is the case than I don't think the UDP is worth it.

Sorry, I should have specified.  It’s a 9 night sailing.

[Pima1988]

That would be a hard decision for me.  I am really not a sushi fan, and on Adventure they don't even have the hot rocks at Izumi.  Thus, for me it would come down to $$$.  If it was just a little bit more than the 5 I would do it, but again, if I had the choice and the costs were the same to do a 5 night + Chefs than I would do that instead of the UDP..  

I enjoy specialty restaurants, but I am also satisfied with the MDR.  On our 8 night we ate in the MDR the 1st, 2md and 7th (both formal nights).  The 1st night I asked the waiter for the bleu cheese wedge salad to be served the next 2 nights even if they were not on the menu.  They followed my request.  We also enjoy eating in the MDR because the staff really gets to know you and with so many people now doing specialty restaurants, we have never felt like we did not get optimal service.  We never had to wait for drinks, they made note what we drank the night before and asked would you like …. again tonight or try something new?  Within mins it was there on the table.   They always brought out additional apps and entrees to share.   

If I was on a ship like Oasis (plans for that next summer with my family) than yes,  We are doing the UDP bc they have more restaurants to choose from than Adventure, minus the Chef's table....$$$ goes only so far and we look for the best bang for the buck.

[Pima1988]

OBTW if you have had the round the world dessert at Wonderland, the only place you will find it on Adventure is the Chef's table.

[Lovetocruise2002]

Thanks for the suggestions @Pima1988. That was all along the lines of what I was thinking. I sort of just needed someone else to verify it.

To be honest, that itinerary is so port intensive, we might even just do WJ for dinner some nights.  I was leaning towards the UDP not being worth it.

Last question...does Adventure’s Izumi have the noodle soups and stir fry noodles? Or is it just sushi?

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

we might even just do WJ for dinner some nights

Who are you?!?!?! 

[MelissaM]

I think it depends what you prefer.  I like all options that's why we did two specialty restaurants, 1 MDR and 3 nights at WJ's.   I don't always like being tied down to a dinner reservation and a 2 hour meal. I also have a 7 year old, so our plans often change.   If you do love specialty though it's always more cost effective to book in advance a package.  So maybe do the 3 nights instead of ultimate. 

Also I agree with Adventure only has a few specialty restaurants so meals may start to repeat.  Our next cruise is on Ovation in Alaska and I am def considering more specialty packages as they have more choices including Wonderland.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

Who are you?!?!?! 

No CK.  She's not herself.

#DiscombobulatedBot

[Pima1988]

Izumi has only Miso soup and sushi.  

I forgot to add we also did the galley tour for brunch.  I felt the menu was very good from a selection perspective.  

Our Adventure cruise was the 1st one that we had ever taken which was not port intensive.  To be honest, we were concerned we would hate all of the sea days, especially on a ship this size....we were wrong.  

We don't go to WJ for dinner, we always have a later dinner (7 in specialty, 8 inn MDR)  At 6 every night I would go up an make plates of cheeses, meats, breads while my hubby got our drinks... WJ on Adventure has a bar.  we would take it to our cabin and eat it on the balcony.  When it was Indian night, I filled the plates with those dishes.  When it was Mongolian night,  I did the plates of cheese and meats to eat while getting ready for dinner, and I put the Mongolian bbq in a bowl and placed it in a bowl and the mini-cooler.  That happened to be the 70s night.  OMG it was the best night.  Went to the 70s party, than Schooners (great piano player for our cruise) and back to our room, bottle of H2O in hand on the balcony and eating cold Chinese food was sublime.

Off topic, but since you are going on Adventure for the 1st time in eons.  I would try to find out which night the 70's night is.  I would than go to Izumi that night and ask for a table on the Promenade if you are okay with a late seating  Time it so you can get a good spot.  The show is on the catwalk over head.  The pub is crowded early.  My husband and I have done 4 RCLs in 3 yrs., all different ships and classes.  We both agreed without a doubt Adventure's 70s night was the best.  It felt more interactive.   Flipside we felt that the Quest was not as amazing as it is on other ships because they do it the same location where they have the ice rink, so you are not as interactive as you would be on other ships.  

I would also say 2 things about schooners.  FIRST, if smoke smells bother you, beware the casino is attached next to Schooners.  The bar is maybe 10 feet away from the casino entrance.  SECOND, we were fortunate and had an amazing piano bar player.  It was wall to wall people every night.  People were blocking the staircases due to the location, and how packed it was.  He got everyone into it, even those that tried to navigate around people on they would than stand on the staircase until that song was done.  

Personally for me,  Adventure, if when they come out of dry dock has the ability to break down the balcony dividers.  My husband and I typically travel with our siblings and cousins, next yr on Oasis, we will have 6 balconies, and the dividers will be down.  We love it because we never have to go in the hall with our key to get back in our cabin, we just walk out on to our balcony and tap on the slider door.  Hopefully, they will add teppyanaki for Izumi, and Playmakers, if so, it will become my favorite ship and I would do the UDP.  I am not a fan of Wonderland.  I think that is a for show dinner.  Kind of like the Bionic Bar.  Do it 1x to say you did it.  Thus, if they add that to the mix, I  would probably stay with dining packages,

I would also say because I used a TA, in the end for the 4 nights specialty, + chefs + galley brunch tour, we only paid for 3 nights and the Chefs.  She gifted us, the 4th specialty, plus the brunch, and OBC.

 

[Lovetocruise2002]

5 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Who are you?!?!?! 

 

3 hours ago, twangster said:

No CK.  She's not herself.

#DiscombobulatedBot

LOL!!!  Exactly...no CK.  I have not a care what I eat! 

Truthfully, if we take this cruise, each port is an early start and we'll likely be out all day (7-8 hours out) since we've ever visit Eastern Canada or New England.  Hubby and I are guessing that we will be wiped out by dinner time and WJ might just be most convenient. 

1 hour ago, Pima1988 said:

Off topic, but since you are going on Adventure for the 1st time in eons.  I would try to find out which night the 70's night is.  I would than go to Izumi that night and ask for a table on the Promenade if you are okay with a late seating  Time it so you can get a good spot.

Great tip!  With your dining package, was Izumi covered for up to $35pp?

[Jojo9610]

@MelissaM can you tell me if the Chef's Table on Adventure of the Seas is still in the MDR or did they move it once they did the refurb?

[MelissaM]

18 hours ago, Jojo9610 said:

@MelissaM can you tell me if the Chef's Table on Adventure of the Seas is still in the MDR or did they move it once they did the refurb?

I'm sorry I didn't do chef's table so I'm not sure where it was located.