Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Our Royal Adventure- Adventure of the Seas- February 2023

Adventure of the Seas 
February 20-25, 2023 
Galveston, TX 

In 21 cruises, we have never seen a ship AT NIGHT 
(Be sure to follow along for the details) 

It's hard to believe that this was my TWENTY-FIRST cruise but here I am... Killing it on the HIGH SEAS! This would be our THIRD cruise since the restart of cruising after the pandemic and the FIRST cruise for the kiddos in nearly 5 years. Luke has practically DOUBLED in age since the last time he stepped foot on a cruise ship! 

 We have cruised 12 previous times with Carnival, 5 times with Royal Caribbean, 2 times with Norwegian and 1 time with Princess

This blog will contain entries of our day-to-day life aboard the Adventure of the Seas as well as a "Foodie Blog" highlighting all of the food options the Adventure of the Seas offers. 

Throughout the blog posts, we will also share the lots of tips, tricks and insiders knowledge about the Adventure, cruising with kids and even life on a cruise ship after the pandemic! 

Check Out our Cruise: 

Day 1- Galveston "Majority Rules"

Day 2- Sea Day "Deck Adventures"

Day 3- Cozumel at Night "Adventures in the Dark"

Day 4- Cozumel "Adventures in the Sun"

Day 5 - Sea Day "Deck Adventures"

Adventure of the Seas - The FOODIE Blog


Once again, thank you for following along and support our business! I hope this will help someone planning a cruise on the Adventure or planning to get back to cruising after the pandemic... Or even a first time cruiser! Feel free to reach out with any questions! 

Up Next... It's time to FINALLY time to sail on a MEGA SHIP!
Allure of the Seas- July 2023

WE CANNOT WAIT!

God is Good... ALL THE TIME!  

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Carnival Breeze- KELLIE's 40th September 2022




 


Out Royal Adventure- Food

 The Foodie Blog- Royal Caribbean New Menus 
Adventure of the Seas- February 2023
 

Chris and are such FOODIES and dining on a cruise ship is one of our favorite things about cruising. We love trying all of the weird and exotic menu options and we LOVE the casual and relaxed dining that cruising brings. 

On this cruise we were able to try out the BRAND NEW (only been on AOS for 3 weeks) menus that RCCL is pushing out fleetwide. These menus were extensive without being overly dramatic and the options were very good. 

This cruise we were also cruising with a "label"... Diabetic. For the 1st time since his diagnosis in December, we went on a cruise and for the most part had to follow a low-carb, low-sugar and diabetic friendly menu. Royal Caribbean was beyond accommodating and Chris was able to find something EVERY NIGHT. Thank you RCCL

Cafe Promenade- Deck 5 Forward 
(FREE 6AM-11AM and 11:30 to 3AM)


Breakfast pastries offered 6AM to 11AM 


More breakfast options! 


Fresh (usually piping hot out of the oven) pizza! 


Variety of sandwiches. 
The Tuna and Chicken salad were fairly good! 

Embarkation Day- Galveston 
Main Dining Room- Welcome Aboard Menu 


The Welcome Aboard Menu


Spinach and Artichoke Dip 
This was lacking a bit in my opinion and the chips were "stale" tasting! 


Caesar Salad
The kids ate this every night! IT was AMAZING!

Tomato Soup 
I love tomato soup and this one did not disappoint! It was rich and very flavorful! 
Do not miss this one!
 


New England Crab Cake
This was so fresh it tasted as if they caught the crab the same day! 
Do not miss this one... And order TWO! 


New York Strip Steak 
This is offered EVERY night and it really good. 
Luke ordered this almost nightly! 


Prime Rib 
This was delicious and Chris LOVED it! 


Spaghetti
Luke ordered this nightly! Not much to "write home about" but it was really tasty!
 

Sugar Free (Diabetic Friendly) Chocolate Mousse 
Chris really enjoyed this and said it tasted GREAT! 



Boston Creme Pie 
This was a GREAT dessert! It was light and moist and rich! 
Do yourself a favor and get this one!
 


Day 2 - Sea Day 
Main Dining Room Breakfast 8-9:30AM 


MDR Menu 
The food was GREAT but a full service dining option. It took us about an hour! 

Mozzarella Sticks 
These were REALLY good! 


Steak Sandwich 
Chris really enjoyed this and said it was similar to a "Dairy Queen" steak sandwich. 


Mushroom Gnochi 
This was WOW... So good! 


Butternut Squash Risotto
I LOVE the risotto that RCCL makes and this one was good but not phenomenal like I was expecting! 


Spaghetti 
Luke LOVED this!
 


White Chocolate Mousse 
Wow... This was absolutely stunning. The texture and taste were SPOT ON! 
Be sure to try this... It is only on the Sea Day lunch menu. 


Main Dining Room- French Night (Formal Night)

The French Night Menu 
(Formal Night- Lobsters are no longer on the menu for cruises shorter than 5 days) 

Caesar Salad 
Someone in our family ordered this every single night


The Crispy Calamari 
This was exceptionally well done

The French Onion Soup 
This is always a hit in my family and RCCL did this well. 


The Seafood Linguini
Natalie and Luke devoured this. I personally thought it was a little dry and could use more sauce. But the seafood was very fresh


The Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chris really liked this entrée 


The Beef Tenderloin Filet 
Chris and I both really enjoyed this plate. The meat was incredibly tender and full of flavor. 


The Crème Brulee 
This is always a fan favorite and one of RCCL best dessert options. 

Day 3- Costa Maya Cozumel at Night 
Main Dining Room BRUNCH Menu 
This is only offered on late arrival port days 


The Brunch Menu 
This was extensive enough to offer both breakfast and lunch options! 


Charcuterie Plate 
This was light and delightful!


The Fruit Plate 
Luke loved the pineapple and strawberries 

Potato Soup 
This was not as big of a hit as Luke wanted it to be when he ordered it. 


Loaded Omelet (Made to order) 
This breakfast is ALWAYS a hit and so very fulfilling. 


Butternut Squash Risotto 
This was available again and we wanted another try. It was better on this day!
 

Key Lime Pie 
We all enjoyed this dessert option. 

Main Dining Room- Caribbean Night 
We had reservations at Izumi so we did not get to try any of these menu options. 

MDR Caribbean Night Menu 
(Supposedly it is the favorite of the new menus based off a fleet wide poll. Mexican is the favorite of guests sailing from Galveston) 

Izumi
Izumi is a Specialty Restaurant on Voyager Class and above ships. It offers a la carte' or Prixe Fix menu options. We opted to order the Prixe Fix menu and an additional 2 rolls for our family.
 

The Izumi Menu 


Firecracker Shrimp appetizer
Chris really enjoyed this one but said had it not been on the fix menu he may not have ordered it. 


Shrimp Spring Roll 
This was a traditional spring roll but LOADED with flavor.
 

Vegetable Fried Rice 
Nothing too special! 



Luke's Shrimp California Roll and Salmon Lovers Roll 
He devoured these almost as fast as I snapped the picture. 



Natalie's Lobster Champagne and Salmon Lover's Roll
She especially liked the Lobster roll.
 


My Dynamite and Futotaki Rolls 
These were some of the best sushi I have had in recent memory.
 


Strawberry Mochi Ice Cream 
I know this is a new "fad" but these were just not for me. Way too weird of a texture. 


The Chocolate Lava Cake 
Luke LOVED this dessert! 

Day 4- Cozumel 
MDR- Mexican Night 


MDR Mexican Night Menu 
(Keep in mind this is Mexican and not Tex-Mex)


Roasted Poblano Pepper Soup 
This was not a winner for me but Chris enjoyed it. 


Chilled Shrimp Cocktail 
A fan (and my family) favorite. 


Tortilla Soup 
This was a good, rich and rather spicy soup. Luke and I enjoyed it very much


Pulled Pork Enchilada 
I am not really sure what I had pictured in my head as to what this would be... But it wasn't that. I ate maybe 3 bites and was done. 


Chile- Lime Crusted Salmon
This was a good salmon but not a huge fan of the Mexican flavors. If it ain't broke... Don't fix it! 


Spaghetti Bolognese
Luke ordered this every single night. I guess when we can't have it at home due to diet restrictions, the kid just wanted it! And he ate every single bite every time. 


Carne Asada 
This was a traditional Mexican dish and it really hit the spot! 


Mexican Tres Leches Cake 
This was easily the BEST dessert of the entire cruise. I said in the moment "I should ask for one to go" and as I type this, I really wish I would have. It was incredible! DO NOT sit on this one! 



Day 5- Sea Day 
Main Dining Room- Italian Night 

Italian Night Menu 


Crispy Arancini 
These "rice balls" were good and worth ordering again.
 


Minestrone Soup 
This was good but not great. 


Chicken Parmesan 
This was a very good but Chris agreed that Olive Garden (or the like) was just as good. 


Lasagna 
This was SO GOOD! Be sure to order it if you like lasagna! 


Mushroom Risotto 
HOLY MOLY... Best dish of the entire cruise. I was so full from the previous appetizers, I didn't even get to fully enjoy it! This was phenomenal. 


NY Strip Steak 
This became a staple for Luke but this night it also featured a delicious sauce as well. 




Italian Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake 
This was interesting but good 


Tiramisu 
Wow... Just wow! I asked the waiter to bring us another one, it was SO GOOD! 

Debarkation Morning
MDR Port Day Breakfast 

The Port Day MDR menu 


Breakfast Burrito 
WOW... This was crazy good. I really wish I would have found this earlier in the cruise! 


Luke's pancakes... This boy LOVED the RCCL pancakes! 

The food overall on this cruise was as to be expected for Royal Caribbean but the service was much slower overall. The dinners often took 2 or more hours; which is common for formal night but regular dinners should NOT take this long. A typical night in the MDR is 90 minutes. Our formal night dinner clocked in a 2 hours and 12 minutes. At that rate it is hard to even be able to catch nightly entertainment. However, we still LOVED our MDR experiences and cannot wait for our cruise on the Allure in July. I believe we will indulge in a Specialty Dining package for that cruise. 

Thank you for following along and supporting us! I hope you were able to see the new RCCL menus in a new light and maybe gain some perspective about dining on a cruise ship! 

Up next... ALLURE OF THE SEAS- July 2023

God is Good... ALL THE TIME!  

Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Carnival Breeze- KELLIE's 40th September 2022