Just off Adventure 12/26-1/2/05 - My thoughts

[BluIDblonde]

We were on the 12/26/04-1/2/05 sailing of the AOS. Here are my quick thoughts and opinions of thie trip. This by the way was our 5th cruise - 2nd with RCCL.

 

Ship itself - O.K. - our room had a worn look to it.

 

Guest Services - When we first got to our cabin (I booked this type cabin 1 year in advance) it was the wrong category. We wanted a cabin with pull out bed, we got a ceiling pull down. Guest services came through for us when we set sail and changed our cabin - Hurray! We used them thorugh out the cruise and they were very good.

 

Food - Fair to good. Desserts were fair. Room service - very unaccommedating and were charged for it.

 

Wait staff in Strauss D/R - Our waiter was not good. No personality, did not want to be accommodating in any way, and his service was pretty slow. The ass't waiter was far superior.

 

Entertainment - Not great! We are used to seeing several comedians, hypnotists and the normal musical shows. This sailing we had one night of Yakov Smirnoff (old comedian from Russia) who spent most of his time telling us about his resume - how he was at the white house and in the movies, blah, blah. The last night we had the cruise review and they had a comedian who was o.k., but it wasn't advertised in the compass that he would be there, so we were slighty surprised. The ice show was good of course!

 

Cabin stewart - was good, nothing great.

 

Excursions - We had the best time on the ones we booked without using RCCL. Shoretrips.com - nice work!

 

We have read on many threads about the large influx of natives from Puerto Rico. We didn't experience that. Yes they had latin music in several lounges and they were always hopping! We personally found a large influx of passengers from Long Island New York (we are from NY too, but not Long Isalnd) and experienced that they were the most rude and obnoxious individuals we came across on this boat. I will add we did not meet all the Long Islanders from NY but we we heard many comments, especially on New Years Eve and Day how many other passengers were fed up with their "it's all about me attitude." Sorry I wish I could have met nicer people, but we personally didn't.

 

Overall we had a good trip.

[Sea Island Lady]

Room service - very unaccommedating and were charged for it.

Are you sure the charge was for room service and not something you ordered that normally is not included like soft drinks?

 

It is too bad that the ship and service are lacking as our AOS experience was totally different two years ago.

[xpcdoojk]

Room service is always free, but a 12 year old bottle of Chivas is not. :D What exactly did they bill you for on the room service?

 

 

jc

[pltag]

BluIDblonde - Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, especially regarding local cruisers. It's been such a hot topic lately. We are on the AOS 1/30 - 2/6 (I guess I don't have to put the "05" part anymore..:D :D :D) and had become a little concerned about this.

 

Were you on the Aruba route? If so, would love to know more about your excursions.

 

Thanks! :)

[RichardK]

Thank you for your balanced report/review.

 

Sounds like all of the cruises I've been on --- i.e., some things were good, and some things were not so good. Only very, very infrequently did I experience the extremes of things/situations being outstanding or horrible!!

[Sea Island Lady]

would love to know more about your excursions.

Shoretrips.com books you on the same excursions as RCCL books you on. If you compare the sites, they both have the same excursions through the same companies. When we were in Hawaii, we met some people on our rafting excursion who had booked through Shoretrips.com, where we had booked through RCCL. I don't know if there is a price difference or not or any other advantages to shoretrips.com.

Your best bet when booking excursions, is to book them on your own instead of through the ship. We did this with all our excursions, with the exception of the snorkeling/rafting adventure. I tried, but the company said that I would have to book through one of the shore excursion sites or RCCL.

[Heidict]

We were on the 12/26/04-1/2/05 sailing of the AOS. Here are my quick thoughts and opinions of thie trip. This by the way was our 5th cruise - 2nd with RCCL.

 

Food - Fair to good. Desserts were fair. Room service - very unaccommedating and were charged for it.

We were just on the AOS on the 12.5.04 sailing. We ordered room service on several occasions and didn't get charged at all. Just the tip. Did you order something extra, such as drinks? Also, we found them to be very quick (within 15-20 min) and the food was always hot. Never ordered anything off of the menu though, so not sure how accommodating they would have been if we tried.

 

 

Wait staff in Strauss D/R - Our waiter was not good. No personality, did not want to be accommodating in any way, and his service was pretty slow. The ass't waiter was far superior.

Probably luck of the draw. Our head waiter, waiter and assistant waiter were great. Very friendly and accommodating. Didn't matter what you wanted, they went out of their way to get it for you.

Entertainment - Not great! We are used to seeing several comedians, hypnotists and the normal musical shows. This sailing we had one night of Yakov Smirnoff (old comedian from Russia) who spent most of his time telling us about his resume - how he was at the white house and in the movies, blah, blah. The last night we had the cruise review and they had a comedian who was o.k., but it wasn't advertised in the compass that he would be there, so we were slighty surprised. The ice show was good of course!

We didn't have Yakov Smirnoff on our cruise, but I wish they would have had alot more of a variety for their shows. I would have loved to have seen more comedians and a hypnotist or a magician.

 

Glad you had a good time and you didn't let the "little" things ruin it for you. We loved it also and can't wait to book our next one!!!!

[Ocean Boy]

Overall we had a good trip

Glad to hear it. I wouldn't have gotten that impression from anything that you wrote.

[BluIDblonde]

To Pltag - Yes we did the Aruba route. This was out first time on Aruba, and really enjoyed being there. Although, since it was during the New Years week, there were many fireworks going off throughout the island. Same goes for Curaco. Many of the shopping districts were filled with tourists and the fireworks going off every few minutes was alittle unnerving.

 

In Aruba my husband & son did an all terrain vehicle exursion thru shoretrips.com. This excursion is not offered through RCCL. They had a blast. The guides were great and informative, and the tour covered alot of ground. The roads and paths were very rough, so I guess for those with back problems or others medical concerns, this exursion would not be for them.

 

I did a bus tour and enjoyed that also. This was a great stop, and the people were very nice. We did do Carlos & Charlies for dinner, and that was a mistake. I thought it would be like the one in Cozumel, high spirited and entertaining, but the food was so awful and the service worse. The music was loud (no problem) but the fun atmosphere was just not there.

 

To Sea Island Lady - The sole reason for my family using Shoretrips.com was because they did offer excursions that are not offered by the cruiseline. So maybe the islands that you visited and did a compasion for, might have been an exception, but I do find differences between the both. Cost generallly is not my first concern, it's what is offered.

 

New Years Eve was done in a fun way also. RCCL offered free champagne to all in the promanade and supplied hats, noise makers and streamers. The boat was a mini Times Square! It was fun!

[QueensChick]

Food - Fair to good. Desserts were fair. Room service - very unaccommedating and were charged for it.

 

Is RCI insituting a service charge for room service, or did you order something extra (ie soda, alcohol, caviar ;) ).

[cruiselover4us]

To Pltag, We are also on the same sailing as you. Are you going down a day prior? Also was wondering if you signed up for the Meet & Mingle or do people not like to go to these kind of things? BTW it's my husband 46, and myself 44, going. How about you?

[alexkrn46]

Sorry to hear that you had some issues, how was New Years Eve celebrated on the ship?

How was your weather?

Thanks for the review, alex

[BornToTrave;]

Hey cruiselover4us - glad to see another Vermonter is about to escape from the cold. We'll be on the AOS a week before you (if US Air is still in business). Hope you have a great time.

[BluIDblonde]

Alex-

 

The weather was GREAT! Sunny and hot every day! Alittle rain in the evenings.

 

New Years Eve was on the promanade. There were passengers everywhere! In the main walkways, the bars, the stairwell to the casino, everywhere. The sprits were high and the so was the noise level ! It was fun! The captain came out on the bridge around 11:55 and they did a count down. Streamers and balloons fell from the ceiling at 12:00, the music was playing and everyone seemed to have a great time! RCCL provided free champagne. Like I said before, it was a mini Times Square!

[trbutler]

Hey Cruiselovers4us and Pltag

 

I will be on this sailing too! Actually I am a group leader for a group of 70 people. Hope to have a great time as usual.

[trbutler]

I was wondering was boarding was like, what time were people permitted to board the ship on Sunday?

[calenta]

BluID.............What excursion did your husband and son take? We are doing a quad racer tour with Rancho Natorious (I think thats the name) and wonder if it was the same tour. If so, what all did they do? We are the 2 1/2 hour tour without the snorkling.

[Merion_Mom]

Hey cruiselover4us - glad to see another Vermonter is about to escape from the cold. We'll be on the AOS a week before you (if US Air is still in business). Hope you have a great time.

Get back-up tickets on Southwest, or some other airline that services your airport. (you don't have a location posted)

 

Carol

[abridalmaven]

We personally found a large influx of passengers from Long Island New York (we are from NY too, but not Long Isalnd) and experienced that they were the most rude and obnoxious individuals we came across on this boat. I will add we did not meet all the Long Islanders from NY but we we heard many comments, especially on New Years Eve and Day how many other passengers were fed up with their "it's all about me attitude." Sorry I wish I could have met nicer people, but we personally didn't.

LIer's are no more rude than anywhere else. I am sorry but I have met ruder people from areas such as NC, SC, Ohio and so on!

[pltag]

To Pltag, We are also on the same sailing as you. Are you going down a day prior? Also was wondering if you signed up for the Meet & Mingle or do people not like to go to these kind of things? BTW it's my husband 46, and myself 44, going. How about you?

Hello....We are 42 & 41, traveling with best friends who are in their late 30's........crazy kids! :D :D We were on the Navigator in November / 03 and signed up for the M&M. I didn't stay long. There was a fairly large group, 40 people or so and the person presiding starts with, "let's go around the room introduce yourself and tell us a few things that you love about cruising." I'm sitting there thinking, I've spent the last 6 months on-line with these folks talking about the reasons I love crusing, I don't need to miss pool time to do it again, so I snuck out. Luckily we had set up an informal meeting shortly after we boarded, so I had a chance to meet several new folks. Anyway, I've looked at the thread for our cruise, noticed limited action (which of course I am partly to blame) and decided to not jump in.

 

We are going down on Saturday, staying at the Embassy Suites by the airport. We've been to SJ a few times now and have found hotels to be overpriced & undervalued. We are hopeful that the ES is consistent with their hotels here in the states, and even if it isn't......it's only one night! :) :)

[ab1881]

PLTAG I've stayed at that Embassy suites and it was great. This was two years ago so hopefully it's still great. I'm on the 2/13 sailing again this year of the aos and am booked precruise at the other embassy in dorado as it has a beach. The one by the airport has a great pool area also.

[xpcdoojk]

Interesting thing is the OP doesn't address the repeated question regarding the claim of charges for room service.....:rolleyes:

 

I think that is a more interesting topic than the times square on the ship topic, IMHO.:D

 

jc

[BluIDblonde]

To XPCDOOJK My son is the one one who ordered the room service and he said he had to sign the receipt of which there was a charge. I never looked at the receipt nor did look at the final bill for that charge (it wasn't going to break the bank.) He ordered a sandwich and drink of which he had a sticker for. My son tried to order a plain tuna fish sandwich on white bread, they refused to do that. They said they only had tuna in wraps that were pre-made and no fresh sandwich's can be ordered via room service. He was told his order would be delivered in 15 minutes, he waited 1 hour. Another young gentlemen I came across in the cafe promanade, said he ordered from room service 1 1/2 hours prior and they never showed up so he then went to the cafe promenade. I hope these details fullfilled your desire for the information.

[BluIDblonde]

To Trbutler - Boarding for my family and our friends went very smoothly. I would say by the time we handed out luggage over to the time we were in our room it took roughly 20 minutes. We were in our room by 1:30.

 

Here's a tip when getting into the airport at San Juan. Once we got our luggage and made our way outside to catch a cab, we noticed that people with porters got escorted thru the lines faster and got cabs quicker. So if you have alot of luggage get a porter. The cab line took about 20-25 minutes without a porter. Once you got your sheet of charges from the curbside clerk to hand to the cabdriver it was seconds before you were in a cab.

 

To Calento - In Aruba my son and husband did do Rancho Notorious. They had nothing but great things to say about this tour! They did not go snorkeling on this excursion. This was a 4 hour ride around Aruba.

[MonaCK]

"an influx of rude people from Long Island, NY".

You didn't even interact with the people directly, and you've assumed that:

*That all the rude people were from Long Island

*That they were rude at all...

 

Wow.. that's a heck of a statement...