We cruised on Adventure of the Seas last spring, although not to the Southern Caribbean (Transatlantic, San Juan to Southampton, England).
I boarded the ship, knowing that it wasn't going to be Disney, and expecting to compare for the entire two weeks, and then go back to Disney. We had an absolutely wonderful cruise. So much so that we are taking a cruise on Explorer of the Seas (yes, the one that's "sick" right now) in 13 days.
We've done 15 cruises on DCL, and cruised both classes of ship, although we prefer the classic ships. We found the size of Adventure to be similar to the size of the Dream class, but we really liked the arrangement of space much better on Adventure. She is designed with a lot more indoor spaces for people to gather and people watch, enjoy some food, etc. We have found that DCL is lacking in places for people to just hang out, unless you're outside.
We were booked on the Eastbound Transatlantic on Magic for last May, but had to cancel, and took Adventure instead. We had booked an inside room on Magic, but for less than half the price got an outside room on Adventure. The room was a bit smaller (20 sq. feet smaller), but the storage space was more than adequate, and it was a treat to be able to see outside. Even with all of our onboard expenses, the total price of that cruise was less than just the booking price on Magic. We thought the quality was very similar, the service was just as good, the food was just as good. The main theater entertainment wasn't quite as good, but Disney does that better than just about anyone.
We thought the pool areas on Adventure were much better than similar areas on Disney, although the pools aren't heated, and the water was starting to get a bit chilly once we got closer to England!
We are an older couple and traveled without kids, so we can't tell you anything at all about kids areas or kids programming. In fact, I think there were less than 30 children on the entire ship for that cruise.
It certainly wasn't a
Disney cruise, but it was an equally wonderful experience, and the price difference will probably tip the balance of our cruising towards Royal Caribbean in the future.
Beth