She is one of only four former Miss World semifinalists to place in the Miss Universe semifinals, the others being Christine Straw of Jamaica in 2004, Yendi Phillips also of Jamaica in 2010, and Patricia Yurena Rodríguez of Spain in 2013 (coincidentally de la Cruz, Phillips, and Rodriguez all finished as 1st Runner-Up).
Ada is the first Dominican to win the Miss World Beach Beauty. She placed in the final top 16 at Miss World 2007.
In the competition, Ada was awarded the 2nd best body in the swimsuit competition in Miss Universe 2009. On August 23, 2009, during the final ceremony, Ada received the highest scores in the evening gown and the second highest in the swimsuit competitions. She walked in her gown to which judges awarded a 9.428. In swimsuit, she was awarded 9.189, despite achieving the highest overall score, de la Cruz was the eventual first Runner up. Same situation happened one year before in Miss Universe 2008 with Taliana Vargas.
