After all these years in the travel industry, I thought I knew a lot about cruise ships. But when we celebrated my birthday with a family getaway for 10 aboard Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas, I really did learn a lot more—thanks in part to the ever-responsive Vicki Freed and her team, who arranged for a bridge tour for my family despite the fact that those have officially been canceled since Covid.
How many of these facts do you know?
*There’s no easier vacation than a cruise from a port you can drive to. (OK, I did know that. But we all loved being onboard with a drink in hand just about two hours after we left home, instead of dragging four kids through an airport!)
*Adventure of the Seas was the first Royal Caribbean ship to return to service in North America post-Covid, sailing out of Barbados while the US ports were still closed.
*Beginning this month, Royal Caribbean will no longer require vaccines on many sailings and will accept unmonitored home tests. But cruisers still must follow the requirements of the ports they visit, including Bermuda, which is one of the strictest, and the Bahamas, which includes CocoCay. RCCL is currently in negotiations with the government of the Bahamas regarding vaccine requirements, says Hotel Director Francois Chevalier.
*New itineraries coming online include a New England Fall Foliage sailing and a Mexico/Costa Maya out of Galveston.
*Adventure of the Seas sails at a maximum speed of 22 knots, about 26 miles per hour, with a horsepower of 103,000, and uses more than 3,000 gallons of fuel per hour. There are 1.6 million gallons of fuel onboard. (And the engine is as big as 10 elephants, notes 7-year-old Cameron.)
*Should you fall overboard, the bridge will immediately drop a life vest and a smoke bomb, and launch a speedboat while the ship slowly comes to a full stop. Hopefully, you will grab the life vest and hold on while the crew on the speedboat follow the trail of smoke to find you. (While people do go overboard from time to time, you have to be pretty silly to do that. In his 10 years on the bridge here, Captain Erik has never been called upon to deal with one.) Asked how he got to be captain of the ship, he said he “wanted a job I could enjoy doing and be happy with. I didn’t have an intention to be a captain, really, but I did have a genuine interest.”
*Fire is the number-one enemy of a cruise ship—and there are 40,000 fire alarms around the ship to prevent its spread, noted Chief Engineer Zeljko. A high-fog firefighting system can quickly extinguish flames before they spread (and unlike on the Titanic, newer technology quickly localizes any leak in a small watertight area.)
*While the newer ships have four engines, Adventure of the Seas has six, three forward and three aft—a setup the engineers prefer, since losing one engine only reduces power by one-sixth, and so the ship can continue to sail at full speed. Losing one of four engines on the newer ships forces them to reduce speed—and that usually means skipping ports in order to get home on time.
*The ship carries a million gallons of water, which it produces onboard by desalinating ocean water in two freshwater generators.
*Each propeller weighs 35 tons.
*A dynamic positioning system allows the ship to remain stationary in port without having to drop an anchor, making it easier and quicker to dock and sail away.
*Pick-up soccer and basketball games take place nightly on the sports deck, and even big guys will play with kids who know how to pass and score (11-year-old Kayla). And yes, a 10-year-old can climb the rock wall (Caitlyn).
Nothing Like Family Time
Beyond the official tour, of course, my family learned many important things.
First and foremost, there is no better birthday present for most Grandmas than accompanying them on a family vacation. And yes, you must take off the soccer shirt and wear something nice to dinner at least one night, and stand still for the family pictures.
The staff is wonderful and grateful for your business, and they work harder than anyone you know at home. Head waiter Jean Paul, for example, has a new baby at home, but he will not see him until after Christmas. (And since Jean Paul is from Mauritius, where they speak French, his first name is pronounced John and you always call him Jean Paul, not just Jean.)
Bermuda is a pretty island but it is not as much fun as New York, says 8-year-old Brady. Count your blessings and be grateful for what you have at home, and for the chance to visit someplace else.
“May you see your sons have sons, in a land at peace,” says an ancient Hebrew blessing—and for me, sailing away under the Verrazano Bridge with my husband, four kids and four grandkids, that said it all. Thanks again to everyone at Royal Caribbean who gave us the chance to be together as borders opened and pandemics receded and our biggest concern was getting 10 people to our reserved seats in the front row of the 8:00 show.
How blessed am I?
Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook. As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.
