This worked well, initially, but the motion of the ship caused gas leaks to develop at the joints in the pipework and the system had to be removed.

Adriatic was similar in configuration to the earlier Oceanic-class ships, with a single funnel and four masts, with the highest towering to 150 ft (46 m), and the first three square-rigged.

A month later, during a subsequent Atlantic crossing to New York, Adriatic maintained an average speed of 14.52 knots and won the Blue Riband away from the Cunard Line's Scotia, which she had held since 1863.

[4] On 4 January 1873, Adriatic rescued the crew of the Norwegian barque Carmen, which had become waterlogged in the Atlantic Ocean whilst on a voyage from Saint George, New Brunswick, Canada to Liverpool.

Harvest Queen sank so quickly that the crew of Adriatic could not identify what ship they had hit, and only a records search later showed who the victim had been.

When RMS Oceanic entered service in 1899, Adriatic was sold for scrap, arriving in Preston on 12 February.