Voyager Class / 3800 Passengers / Maiden Voyage: 2001 / Revitalized in 2021 / Ports:  Port Canaveral, Grand Cayman (by tender), Falmouth Jamaica, and RC’s Coco Cay (multiple Spain and Portugal on Transatlantic)

Cabin Plusses and Minuses (June 2025)

• #8258 - Mid-ship - Starboard (right side)
• This “middle-middle” location is favorable, i.e., between the elevator banks and mid-level of the cabin decks.  Therefore, no particular noise from entertainment venues, fitness facility or dining areas
• On a family-friendly cruise, there was a normal amount of kids running down the hall before bedtime, with heavy traffic due to location and placement of interior cabins
• The cabin steward was very attentive and accepted our requests cheerfully
  • Extra towels, please
  • Bed topper to increase comfort - added first night
  • Ice bucket daily
  • Peferred cleaning time - during dinner

Cabin Notes on Prior Trips (January 2025 and November 2024)

• #1866 - Spacious OceanView Window for 6 night Caribbean - 

• #2584 - OceanView Window for 16 night Transatlantic - 

Crowded?  Kid-friendly? (June 2025)

• On occasion, and with a couple surprises, the ship seemed more crowded than average
  • Morning coffee lines at Starbucks (extra cost), could be lengthy
  • The 3-4pm lineup for pizza at Cafe Promenade would snake around, especially on port days; I guess cruisers with late dinners came back from excursions ready for chow
  • The Main Dining Room (MDR) appeared near-capacity.  Our request to move from an unsupervised table of children was accommodated  (adults sat next to, but provided no oversight for, the group of 10 children, aged 6-16)
• The Shows we attended alternated between full and sparse.  Our tendency to arrive 15-20 minutes early allowed us to find very good seats, without exception.
  • I love it when attendees arrive late to a comedy show; it happens often enough that comedians have ready-made jokes for those folks
• Voyager Class Ships (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure, Navigator and Mariner) have plenty of activities and more venues than Radiance and Vision Class Ships (but fewer than Oasis class and larger vessels.
• From swimming pools to the FlowRider Surf Simulator, climbing wall and ice skating rink, there were plenty of options.  Many families and groups of teens enjoyed the variety.

Entertainment (June 2025)

• Every ship has something for everyone.  The Adventure of the Seas offered Production Shows (Invitation to Dance), Orchestral music, and an Ice Spectacular (Smallish venue in Studio B, Deck 3; arrive very early for a decent seat).
• Another Production Show - “Can’t Stop the Rock” - will appeal to a smaller audience.  A number of early departures were noted.

• Crazy Quest is presented on the penultimate night of most RC cruises.  We’ve seen a couple of these over the years.  Even though we had seen an almost exact replication on this ship a few months earlier, it was still quite funny.  (You will have several warnings and adequate time to excuse yourself if you are sensitive to bawdy/blue jokes, or don’t care to see other people’s underwear thrown about.)
• NFL - we traveled during football season and there are options for catching some live games.  Some games are shown in bars, poolside and in your stateroom.
• Music - several musical venues feature solos, duos and small groups.  One of our favorites was a piano bar singer who took requests in the Schooner Bar.  Schedules change frequently, so you can’t show up in the same place each night and expect the same performer.
• Miscellaneous - game shows, Silent parties, Name that Tune, Belly Flop competitions, Karaoke, dance classes, onboard movies (poolside), and more.

Dining (also, see Tips) - June 2025

• We enjoyed the Main Dining Room (MDR) for most dinners, scheduling the 5:00 seating (in advance).  The food was high quality, sufficiently varied for a few nights, and usually (90%) the correct temperature.  Towards the end of the 6 nights, we grabbed dinner at the Windjammer (WJ), after the crowds dispersed.  The WJ serves food till 9pm, but I’d arrive no later than 8:30 so you don’t feel like you’re getting leftovers.
• In the MDR, we enjoyed ordering the cheese dessert plate - as an appetizer.
• Drink orders are a little slow in the MDR.  Patience is in order…or, bring your own.  The price is the same, or free if you have casino drink privileges.
• We enjoyed one specialty dining option - Chops Grille.  We’ve had excellent service and tasty meals here - a few times.  
  • Pro-Tip:  Lunches at specialty restaurants are only available at select restaurants, but you can save big by opting for lunch vs. dinner.  Reserve in advance of your cruise to obtain 20-30% reduced prices; we’ve been paying $20-$23 each (+18% gratuity included), although I have not determined why the prices vary by ship.
• With dinner as our main meal, we varied breakfast and lunch times to mostly avoid the busiest rush.
  • It’s not hard to run into the WJ, grab a bowl of oatmeal and return to your cabin for a quiet morning meal.
• Check your Ship App for up-to-date venue hours; breakfast or lunch times vary between port and sea days.

Vitality Fitness Center

• Fortunately (for committed exercisers), not everyone hits the gym while aboard.  The gym is open early to late, although I’ve not been there for either.
• The Adventure of the Seas was not very crowded.  I had no problems getting access to free weights (dumbbells), or stationary bikes - although the number of bikes was limited. 
  • Busy-ness can vary, especially on port days, so one strategy is to time your exercise to the least popular times, if you can also alter your port visit times.

Ports

• On this trip (#1, June 2025), we visited Georgetown Grand Cayman, Falmouth Jamaica and Coco Cay.  After booking, a stop in Labadee Haiti was replaced by Grand Cayman (some reports suggest Labadee is being phased out, but I’m not certain why this substitution occurred.  We had been to Labadee in January 2025 on a previous Adventure of the Seas trip).
• Georgetown, Grand Cayman - by tender
  • I’ve previously enjoyed Grand Cayman, but better when flying in
  • Using a tender is not my favorite approach, but avoiding the rush to be off first, it was not a bad process; the actual “trip” is less than 10 minutes; more time is spent lining up, entering and exiting the tender boat.
  • First and last tenders were scheduled for 11:00am and 5:15pm (return).  Tickets for departure were distributed between 9 and 11am.  We weren’t in a hurry to disembark, so we didn’t line up early for tickets.
  • If you do not have an excursion planned, expect to need a taxi to someplace of interest; the immediate area at the dock has very limited things to see or do.
• Falmouth, Jamaica
  • Port time was 7:30am till 3:30pm.  From past experience, we knew to expect the heat from bright sunshine, so we departed earlier than our usual mid-morning time.
  • After having taken a pedi-cab tour on our previous visit, we wanted to do it again.  The operation runs very smoothly, with the purchase of your tour for $25 (cash only) in a shaded location near the gate exit.  There is no scrambling or jockeying (or negotiating).  Both tours were interesting; the second one in June now used electric bikes - much to our pleasant surprise.
  • A tour guide talked as much or as little as we requested.  We tend to limit our intake of all the historical information that a guide can provide, but we encourage them to share personal observations.  The church where one guide attended with Usain Bolt (Olympic and world record holder in the 100 meters) was pointed out with pride.  One guide noted the high unemployment in the town, and without saying so explicitly, made it clear how much the tourism business meant to the surrounding area.

• Coco Cay - interesting that you will likely have a sister ship docked next to you (and not far away, you may see another cruise line which tenders its passengers to its own island)
  
  • You can pay a lot, or nothing - no charge for food; your drink packages are valid/active on the island
  • Food is cooked aboard the ship and brought out to the island venues
  • There are activities and special beaches with service at a premium; we have not yet partaken of these options.
  • At this port we often enjoy a brief frolic in the Oasis Lagoon pool, with a swim-up bar.  Lounge chairs - in the water and surrounding the pool (some shaded) - fill up quickly, but there are multiple pools on the island and we’ve always been able to find some accommodation, even if further walking is required (Note: there are shuttles to reduce the walking required, and helpful crew to direct you to shuttle stops)
    • If the swim-up bar is overly crowded, you can walk around to the land-side of the bar and receive very quick service

Port Highlights - January 2025

Port Highlights - November 2024