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Adventure Replacing Vision in Bayonne, NJ


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So according to the image in Matt's blog post about the 2018/19 Caribbean, Alaska, and Northeast itineraries (http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/03/15/royal-caribbean-announces-2018-2019-caribbean-alaska-and-northeast-itineraries ), Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ is going to get Adventure of the Seas doing the New England and Canada run (among other trips), and Voyager is heading off to Galveston.

 

Can anyone who's been on both give an idea of whether this is an improvement, a downgrade, or just a "lateral move" for those of us in the Bayonne area who would prefer to sail out of Cape Liberty and use the money not spent on a flight towards getting a better cabin or other upgrades? It certainly looks like it's quite an upgrade over Vision. Adventure is a much bigger ship, and I see in the brochure pages on the RCI web site that they put that larger size to use with things like a water park and racing slides, golf area, more specialty dining options, etc. Plus, it was recently refurbished, so it's got all the new shiny.

 

But how is it in person, not on paper? Is the overall experience on there better than on Vision for a family of four, where the kids are becoming older teens, or for a middle-aged couple traveling on our own? It's scheduled for the same itineraries Vision ran out of Bayonne, but will it be able to manage the same ports? Or will it have to change to some maybe less desirable ports because it can't navigate the same places that Vision could?

 

Looking forward to people's thoughts on this. Those New England and Canada itineraries on Vision looked really nice, especially for an alternative to a typical fall foliage tour. I'm hoping that Adventure ca hold up to that.

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Adventure is a beautifull ship. Been on her 7 times. Going back on her b2b on 15th April 17. Counting the days. Can't wait to see the refurbishment. Going by people's reviews they never got the staterooms refurbished because of hurricane Matthew. Chops Grille opened a few weeks ago.

Been on the Vision too, but my favourite is Adventure. So gutted that she is leaving San Juan

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  • 2 weeks later...

We booked a B2B on her as soon as we saw the change.  First two cruises, 7 nt. Fl/ Bahamas follow by 7 nt. Can/NE.  Great balcony rates.  Got deck 9 aft balcony, for $1852 & $1717 tax incl. for 2 (with d+ disc).  Got the same cabin for both cruises.  Wish she was there year round.  Want nothing to do with the new floating malls.

 

GP

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  • 1 month later...

I've sailed out of Bayonne for every cruise except 3 and I've been on 10. It's location is headache inducing but better than the alternative, NYC. For 3 out of those 7 cruises I sailed on Explorer of the Seas, and it was wonderful. The vision was a OK ship, but not as good as Explorer. That being said, I think this is a gamble for RCL, and its going to pay off. Royal has never had 2 RCL ships sail out of Bayonne at the same time period. With Anthem and Adventure at the same time, there seeing if NYC area residents want two ships, and we do. I can speak on more than half of us when we say were sick of Anthem and its screw ups.

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1 hour ago, aaliancewarfare said:

I can speak on more than half of us when we say were sick of Anthem and its screw ups.

What screw ups? I'm booked on Anthem for October next year, just a short 5-night to Bermuda to try her out.

@Matt's review didn't mention anything in terms of "screw ups", so I'm hoping just tech glitches that were more common in her first year and not anything related to service quality or other non-tech stuff.

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2 hours ago, JLMoran said:

What screw ups? I'm booked on Anthem for October next year, just a short 5-night to Bermuda to try her out.

@Matt's review didn't mention anything in terms of "screw ups", so I'm hoping just tech glitches that were more common in her first year and not anything related to service quality or other non-tech stuff.

We were on Anthem in March, 2016 and had no issues. Family members just returned from a May sailing and also had no issues. From our experience, you have no need to worry.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I missed out on a cruise on Adventure a cpl years ago....and was disappointed as not sure when I would be able to find a deal to get to San Juan again. Now that she is going to be much closer, a good chance I will be able to make it on her.

 

I really need to look into driving to port to save some $ and allow me to cruise more by avoiding high air fare costs.

 

My friends who made the cruise on Adventure loved it and want to do another Royal cruise (after only doing NCL prior to this cruise) so it must have been a nice ship and experience!

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On 6/22/2017 at 8:27 AM, monctonguy said:

I missed out on a cruise on Adventure a cpl years ago....and was disappointed as not sure when I would be able to find a deal to get to San Juan again. Now that she is going to be much closer, a good chance I will be able to make it on her.

I really need to look into driving to port to save some $ and allow me to cruise more by avoiding high air fare costs.

My friends who made the cruise on Adventure loved it and want to do another Royal cruise (after only doing NCL prior to this cruise) so it must have been a nice ship and experience!

Cape Liberty is all of a 45-minute drive from my house, so that's hundreds or even thousands saved on flights (family of four) vs. sailing out of Florida. On Anthem (which still charges a premium), the savings can get eaten up quickly with a longer itinerary like the 12-night to the "Southern" (lets be honest, Eastern) Caribbean. But on Adventure, where the rates are a lot more reasonable (I saw something like $1,600 per person for a suite on a Canada / New England itinerary), the combined savings can really add up fast.

I also have Baltimore as a driving option (about a 4 or 5 hour drive, IIRC). So I'm really looking to see how I can make the most of these port options while still getting some good / interesting vacation trips.

And as luck would have it, Cape Liberty is also the destination port for a trans-Atlantic on Serenade that departs from Denmark and goes to Iceland and Norway. So I'm giving serious thought to trying to book that trip in 2020 (assuming it's still offered then), rather than the 12-night to Caribbean on Anthem, as a 50th birthday gift to myself.

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@JLMoran That Serenade cruise is a killer itinerary. Norway and Iceland are must do's in my opinion and the Radiance class is the perfect ship for such an itinerary. We're headed back to Norway next year and you into the Arctic Circle because we loved Norway so much. It's very much like an Alaska cruise, just more majestic. 

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51 minutes ago, DocLC said:

@JLMoran That Serenade cruise is a killer itinerary. Norway and Iceland are must do's in my opinion and the Radiance class is the perfect ship for such an itinerary. We're headed back to Norway next year and you into the Arctic Circle because we loved Norway so much. It's very much like an Alaska cruise, just more majestic. 

Yeah, I know. Ever since your podcast episode with @Matt about your trip to Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands (which sounded like it wasn't a trans-Atlantic), I've been looking for similar itineraries. For 2017 and 2018, these TA cruises are the only ones I've seen that go to Norway and Iceland. And they give you multiple days in each!

Given that these go in August and you're right up at the Arctic Circle, I'm assuming it's the time of year when the sun doesn't really set at all, or maybe for just a couple of hours, so no chance to see the Northern Lights at night. That's the other thing I'd really like, is to see the Northern Lights at sea where there's no light pollution to spoil it. I saw them back in college when I was in Maine, thanks the heavy sunspots that caused the lights to go much further south than usual, and I've yet to see them again.

It's right up there with seeing a total eclipse of the sun, although I at least have a good chance of kicking that off my bucket list come August! :6_smile:

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@FManke I was surprised myself after having been to Alaska once by land and twice by cruise ship. However, the fjords are spectacular. There were no glaciers on my itinerary, though, but I did have a snowball fight with my son in August while there. 

@JLMoran I don't think Northern Lights come into play until September/October if my memory is correct. I'm guessing about 20 hours of daylight. 

The Serenade's Baltic itinerary for 2018 is also pretty awesome with overnights in Stockholm, St. Petersburg, and Copenhagen. It's a 13 night cruise with only one sea day and they pricing right now is really good. I wrote about it here and posted some photos of you're interested: https://mycruisecourse.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/now-is-the-time-to-plan-your-baltic-cruise-for-next-year/

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1 hour ago, DocLC said:

The Serenade's Baltic itinerary for 2018 is also pretty awesome with overnights in Stockholm, St. Petersburg, and Copenhagen. It's a 13 night cruise with only one sea day and they pricing right now is really good. I wrote about it here and posted some photos of you're interested: https://mycruisecourse.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/now-is-the-time-to-plan-your-baltic-cruise-for-next-year/

Given the current political climate in Russia, and between Russia and us, I'm very hesitant to visit there any time soon. Maybe a little paranoid, but rather be safe than sorry.

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4 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Given the current political climate in Russia, and between Russia and us, I'm very hesitant to visit there any time soon. Maybe a little paranoid, but rather be safe than sorry.

I know people who feel the same way. 

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21 hours ago, DocLC said:

@JLMoran That Serenade cruise is a killer itinerary. Norway and Iceland are must do's in my opinion and the Radiance class is the perfect ship for such an itinerary. We're headed back to Norway next year and you into the Arctic Circle because we loved Norway so much. It's very much like an Alaska cruise, just more majestic. 

Requoting for correct context. For 2020, this itinerary or one like it should be announced around March 2019, correct? Seems like the 2017 announcements included the August 2018 itinerary, so 2019 would seem like the right time to look for this and snag it ASAP!

Just want to put a reminder in my calendar for a couple of months ahead, to start discussing this with the wife and figure out if it's just the two of us or the whole family, cabin type, etc.

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