Just Off AOS 12/18 somewhat lengthy

[kenden1959]

Hi. Wanted to do a review of the AOS while it was still fresh in my mind. Four of us travelled - myself, DW, DD (age 7) and DS (age 9). Flew into San Juan Sunday morning, 12/11. Airport wasn't too crowded, and our flight arrived around 1:00 pm. Booked RCCL's transportation from airport to pier - if you don't mind paying the extra cost over a taxi, it is well worth it, because the line at the pier to get on the ship with luggage was three times longer than the line to get on if you took the cruise line's transportation. It took us a total of about 20-25 minutes to get on the ship from the time that we arrived at the pier.

 

After getting on board (about 2:00 pm), we were able to immediately go to our stateroom. We had a hump balcony stateroom on Deck 9 - a little snug for 4 people, but manageable. Views were fantastic the whole cruise - I even slept out on the balcony one evening! After checking out thr room, went to the Windjammer for lunch. Food was pretty good - certainly not gourmet, but tasty nonetheless. DW and I disagreed slightly on this topic - she was a little more critical of certain food items, as were DS and DD. Overall, we all rated the food as "good", but not great.

 

Ship was totally full, and at times seemed a little crowded, especially at breakfast time in the Windjammer. However, we were always able to eventually find a seat. We got three of our bags delivered to our stateroom well before our 6:30 dinner seating (dinner seatings the first evening were 30 minutes later than usual to accomodate all of the people getting on board). The final bags came just as we were leaving for the dining room.

 

Service the whole week was fantastic. Our dining room staff was wonderful, particularly with the little ones. Cabin attendants also were great - did the usual cabin towel animals (hanging monkey, stingray, dog, and a few others). Generally found all of the ship's staff to be friendly (with a few minor exceptions, which I think are to be expected with a crew of something like 1,200 people).

 

The ship was in great shape - no signs of wear or tear, even with the throngs of teenagers and younger children on board. My major complaint was that we often encountered rude, pushy people on board. DW and I learned to just deal with it during the week.

 

The ship's main "people" persons were Kristy, the shopping director, and Richard Spacey, the cruise director. Richard was extremely funny all week, and be sure to take in Kristy's shopping talks for some excellent recommendations on where to shop (and also for her free giveaways and coupons for free stuff in the shops in port).

 

Sorry I didn't mention it before, but our cruise was the Aruba southern caribbean route - ship stopped in Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten and St. Thomas. We always do an excursion in the morning and then shop in the afternoon, and this cruise (our 2nd with RCCL) was no exception. In Aruba, DW and DS did the dePalm Island snuba adventure. DW loved it, but DS had to bail out because he was having trouble breathing through the regulator. Didn't matter too much, though, he still had fun snorkeling with DD and myself. DW got to touch an octopus and saw a barracuda on the snuba adventure. The rest of us saw a wide variety of very colorful and even large (e.g., blue parrotfish) fish. It was a very enjoyable morning, topped off with a barbecue lunch that was included.

 

We found Aruba to be a very pretty island (as were all of them!). DW in particular enjoyed shopping there, although she did much better (as I will mention later) with deals in St. Maarten. Transporation to the shopping area was easy (as it was in all four ports).

 

The second port was Curacao. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by this island's beauty, especially along the coastline near the Seaquarium. Since DW and my children love animals (we have done dolphin swims and dolphin encounters on previous vacations), it was only natural for us to select the Sea Lion Encounter. The kids thought this was the best part of the trip. It was just the four of us and a trainer with one sea lion, a four year old female sea lion whose name escapes me at the moment. She was wonderful - did some tricks for the kids, they shook her flipper, got to pet her, and received a kiss from her as well (as did DW and I). All of us really enjoyed this excursion, and the photographer took a lot of great shots. You can buy pictures individually, or you can purchase the entire CD of pictures. I recommend you buy the CD - price is only about the cost of a few individual shots, and you get all of the pics taken.

 

Shopping in Curacao was also good, with DW picking up a few good buys on jewelry. ( However, the best shopping opportunities were found in St. Maarten, as I will report later). Make sure to pick up a bottle or two of Curacao while you are in port in Willemstad.

 

Going back to food for a moment, I forgot to mention that DW and I enjoyed an evening at Portofino's on Monday evening (Aruba). Make your reservations early in the cruise (recommended to do so when you first get on board), as Portofino's fills up quickly. Food and service were fabulous!! Food was much better here than anywhere else on the ship. Also make sure to hit Johnny Rocket's at least once, at least for a shake. Cover charge is $3.95, and that does not include any beverages. It does, however, cover all of your food. If you are a Crown and Anchor Society member, you will get in your coupon book a coupon for one free admission to JR's, so use it and enjoy. As for beverages throughout the ship, we purchased soda cards for the children. Cost is $32.00 pp for a 7 day cruise, which includes the tip. Bar prices were reasonable, averaging about $5 - $7 per drink. The after dinner cordials in the dining room were especially good, and were $5.95 each. At breakfast, juices (orange, apple, tropical and cranberry) were all free. Lemonade, iced tea, water and fruit punch were free all day in the windjammer (I assume also in the dining room, although we did not drink any of these there). Ice cream machines are located on Deck 11 by the windjammer, not on the Royal Promenade on Deck 5 (took DD and DS a day or so to figure this out).

 

One tip - formal nights on the cruise were Monday and Thursday (the two sea days). However, lobster was served on FRIDAY, not on either formal night. Keep that in mind when you are making Portofino reservations - you can make them for Thursday, avoid a formal night if you wish and still not miss the lobster.

 

Going back to the ports, our third stop was St. Maarten. DS and I took the Bubba bottom fishing excursion, while DW and DD went to the Butterfly Farm and Marigot. DW and DD liked the Butterfly Farm, but said Marigot was pretty boring - not much to do and very little shopping available. DS and I had a great time fishing - we caught ten incredibly colorful fish between us in about 2 hours, including rainbow grouper, butterfish, porgy, trigger fish, squirrel fish and yellow tail snapper. A few were rather large in size, requiring the captain's help in reeling them in. DS has some wonderful pictures to show his friends. However, he did get a little queazy about halfway through the morning - it was a little rough out at sea, and we were in 120 feet of water, but he was a trooper and stuck it out (especially when a fish was on his line).

 

After we got back to the ship and had lunch, it was off to shopping. A must is the Guavaberry Emporium - grab a bottle or two of this tasty liquer. They have a small bottle 6 pack sampler for $14.95, or larger individual bottles. But the main shopping item here is JEWELRY! This is where Kristy's talk on board is particularly helpful. My wife did most of her buying at Kay's Jewelry and Omni Jewelers, but there are about 10-15 great shops for purchasing jewelry, depending on what you are looking for and the type of gem you want to purchase. Liquor prices were pretty good, but save those purchases for St. Thomas, where the pricing was better and your duty free limits are $800 pp.

 

Our last port was St. Thomas. We did the Cas Cay Eco Tour here. It was great - DW liked it the most. It combines a short boating trip on a rubber raft with some hiking and scenery on an island and culminates in snorkeling - so you get a chance to do a variety of things. And, oh yes, I don't want to forget to mention the hermit crab races.

 

Again, shopping here was very good, although we never ventured out of the ship area and Havensight Mall. Kristy will tell you that if you have enough time to really do some power shopping, then take a cab into town where the vast majority of the shops are. However, most of the main jewelry stores have a store at Havensight as well, so if you are pressed for time (as we were) to shop, you can still do very well there. A particularly good special was the 2 Movado watches for $299 deal.

 

A few more things about the cruise. Adventure Ocean program was great. DS and DD went every night, and stayed till at least 11:00. After 10:00, they impose a very reasonable charge of $5 per hour per child, and believe me, it is well worth it.

 

On board, there were so many activities that we didn't have time to do everything we wanted to. We are art collectors, so we took in the three art auctions during the week (and bought 8 pieces in the process). We also played bingo, miniature golf, and I used the fitness center several times. DW did the ionothermie cellulite reduction treatment at the spa, and enjoyed it (she lost 2 inches of waistline with that initial session). We also spent some time in the casino and the piano lounges. And, yes, we did go to a few shows - in particular the ones which featured the singers in the Royal Caribbean entertainment group. DW and I both thought they were fantastic - as good as Broadway entertainers. The comedians were also extremely funny.

 

At the end of the cruise we spent a few days in San Juan to unwind. We stayed at the Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino. Nice hotel, right on the beach, with a great pool, and breakfast for two (full, not continental) included in the price. DS and i also took a trip to the rain forest - he is studying about it in school, so now he can tell everyone that he was actually there.

 

Sorry this is so long, but there is so much to say and i didn't even touch on everything. If anyone has any particular questions, i would be happy to answer them if i can. Happy cruising to all!!!

[cruiseapril]

Great review. Glad you enjoyed Curacao. We lived there for two years, went back on a cruise in April and had a fun time. We love Willemstad.

[alchemy101]

I am definately considering booking that same cruise for the 17th of next December. I'll probably be doing that tomorrow if I get the go ahead from my fiancee. Seems like you had a fantastic time, I will probably be getting a balcony in hopefully a hump cabin. I was definately interested in hearing reactions of the Sea Lion encounter. I have been on a cruise before (Carnival Western) and did a Dolphin encounter at Chankanaab. My fiancee hasn't really done anything (in or out of the US) so I was really interested in either of those. Do you think it was worth the money? What was the weather like for the most part while you were there?

[MGoBlue2]

I'm on that one in February, thanks for the review/info.

[spbflseas]

Kenden:

 

Great review. The AOS is our favorite ship. We have been twice and we find this to be one of the funnest ships we have been on. Richard Spacey is awesome. Glad you had a good time and I bet you can't wait to go again.

[kenden1959]

Was definitely worth the money just to see the beaming smiles on my son and daughter's faces. I believe the cost was $65 pp - not terribly expensive. The weather all week was gorgeous - I think we saw about 5 minutes of rain in Aruba and about 10 minutes in St. Maarten and the rest of the time it was sunny and warm - average temp . is about 80 degrees on those islands, even in Dec.

[lucky978]

I'm so glad I found this trip report! I just booked the same trip/itinerary for next Sept (06). I can't wait!

 

My husband and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary and are taking our twin daughters, 8 y.o. along with us.

 

A few questions for you:

 

I'm thinking about booking the dolphin encounter in Curacao. Do you think it's worth it?

 

Did you take the kids to Portofino's with you?

 

What types of activities did they do at the kids club? I think the girls will like the kids club, but not sure what to expect? My husband and I will probably take them there for babysitting one night so we can hit the casino.

 

The soda card - you say it was $32pp for the 7 day cruise. Is that the same for adults and children?

 

Thanks again for all your information. I was very helpful and answered many of the questions I had. If you have any pictures, I'd love to seem them!!!

[dad son team]

I'm so glad I found this trip report! I just booked the same trip/itinerary for next Sept (06). I can't wait!

 

 

Did you take the kids to Portofino's with you?

 

 

Careful, this is a hot topic.

 

Kids under 13 are not allowed in Portofino's

[ckrobyn]

Thanks for a terrific review!

We are sailing on the AOS in 39 days :)

A few questions -

Our cabin is also on the hump, 10th deck. Did you hear any "noise" in that area because of it's location?

Glad to hear the ship is in "ship shape" - did you have early or late seating?

Was the pool overly crowded on sea days? What was the children's pool like? Was there a waterslide?

We are taking our 9 year old with us and she loves the slides....

Did you have a lounger on your balcony or just chairs?

Once again, glad you had a great cruise!

[LetsGoCruisN]

What hump cabin # were you in?

[kenden1959]

Let's see - I will reply in order that the questions came in:

 

1. Lucky 978 - I saw the dolphin encounter and it looked like everyone enjoyed it, but we were on the other side of the facility where the sea lions were. If your children are fond of animals, I would go for it. We did a dolphin encounter a few years ago and our little ones loved it (they were 5 and 7 at the time). Can't take children under 13 to Portofino's - however, on 3 or 4 nites during the cruise, Adventure Ocean has a kid's dinner program in Johnny Rockets from 6-7, before the normal AO program which runs from 7 to 10. We booked our Portofino's reservation for one of those evenings at 6:45, which gave me time to take the children to Johnny Rockets at 6:00 and still get ready for dinner at Portofino's. As for the programs at Adventure Ocean, my little ones were especially fond of the dodgeball tournaments, pirates night, movie night, pajama night, the scavenger hunt, and the crafts program. The programs vary slightly by age group, and as a testament to how well run and enjoyable they are, I practically had to tear my children away each evening at about 11:00 or 12:00. They wanted to stay to the end of the late night, which is 1:00 am. Remember that the program charges $5 per hour per child after 10:00 pm, but we thought it was well worth it to have the adult alone time. I believe the soda cards were $6 per day per person for adults - if yoou buy an individual soda, it will cost about $1.50 plus tip, so if you are going to drink at least 4 sodas per day, the card is worth it. Will try to download some of our pictures as soon as possible.

 

2. ckrobyn: We were in Stateroom 9322, right by the stairs and the elevator. DW loved the location - about a 30 second walk to the Windjammer Cafe on Deck 11. We were surprised at how little noise we heard from this location - there is a partition that separates the elevators from the hallway where the room is located, so you are isolated from people waiting there. And while you can see the door from the steps, people didn't congregate on the stairs, so we had no noise factor there, either. We had early seating for dinner - easier with the children to do the early seating, plus it gave them more time to spend at Adventure Ocean. Because the ship was full (over 3,100 people), it got a little crowded around the pool at sea days, but was manageable. Also, you are not allowed to reserve lounge chairs, so they open up frequently during the day. The kids pool is at Adventure Beach on Deck 12 near Adventure Ocean and Johnny Rockets, and it does have a waterslide! On the balcony, we did not have a lounge chair, but we did have 2 regular chairs and 1 kids size chair. There is a small table as well, but not large enough to have breakfast on. What we did to make up for this is bring the glass table from inside the room out onto the balcony and the chair from the vanity and this allowed all 4 of us to eat breakfast on the balcony.

 

3. Letsgocruisin - we were in Stateroom 9322, right on the middle of the hump. The views were fantastic - unobstructed both forward and aft.

 

Hope this info. is helpful!!!

[lucky978]

Careful, this is a hot topic.

 

Kids under 13 are not allowed in Portofino's

 

Sorry - wasn't looking for a debate, I honestly didn't know. I have no problems leaving the kids at the kids club for an adults' only dinner! Thanks!

[RN7997]

Kenden,

Thanks for the review. I will be on AOS in April. CANT WAIT!!! Our 2nd cruise but 1st voyager and 1st with our children. 2 DS age 6 and 8. How was the kids club?? Do they have a water slide at their pool?? Did your kids go to port with yo ever time??? What dining did you chose? Main or late? We picked late figuring we could SOMETIMES feed the kids 1st and then have a quiet adult meal, but we do plan on taking them to the dining area some nights. The evening club for the kids, what types of things do they do with them. I am worried about them getting tired while they are there. I saw they have in room sitting, but thought I'd get your input.

Any pointers for a 1st time cruise with kids would be apprecited. We have an inside cabin, I hope we'll be ok in that size. We may try to upgrade at the pier.

TIA,

Chrissy

PS

Do you have any pics of the ship or kids areas????? Would love to see them.

[ckrobyn]

Ken - thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. We are in 1324 on deck 10 - really looking forward to the "hump" cabin :)

Did you do a pre or post cruise stay in San Juan - if so, where?

Have a Merry Christmas :)

[pambo]

My husband and I were also on this cruise - had a wonderful time. We stayed at the Sheraton Old San Juan pre-cruise. It was a great experience. The staff was extremely courteous and helpful. I highly recommend taking the Night Tales in Old San Juan Walking Tour. It's offered on Saturday evening from 6:00-8:00. Debbie Molina Ramos was our guide (also the designer of the tour). She is a fantastic story teller - you will come away with an appreciation of the history of this beautiful city. Afterwards we went to Divino Bocadito on Calle Cruz for dinner. They have a flamenco show on Saturdays at 8:00pm. There is no cover charge and the tapas and paella were fabulous. Debbie was kind enough to not only escort us there when the tour was finished - she also went inside to get us a table.

 

AOS is a beautiful ship - enjoy every minute of your cruise! Don't miss the Ice Show! This was our second time on the AOS - in May of 2004 we did the alternate itinerary. We have no complaints for either cruise.

 

Happy Holidays to all.

[pambo]

Also - be sure to stop by the Piano Bar in the Schooner Lounge. Scott is fantastic - you'll have a great time!

[kenden1959]

RN7997: Our children were almost the same age as yours - DD is 7 and DS is 9. We couldn't get them away from the Adventure Ocean program in the evenings. Apparently the dodgeball tournaments are to die for - that's all my two kept talking about. In the late night program (10:00 pm to 1:00 am), they grouped the age 6-8 and age 9-11 programs together, which my little ones really enjoyed. Some of the activities included pirates night, pajama night, a scavenger hunt on the ship, and a variety of games and arts and crafts. Yes, the ship does have a waterslide. It is in Adventure Beach on Deck 12 right outside Adventure Ocean and Johnny Rockets. Our children went to port with us each time - they loved the excursions and also did not mind shopping. I know that a lot of parents do allow their children to stay on board in ports, and Adventure Ocean I believe is open continuously all day while the ship is in port (versus sea days when it is open from 9-12, 2-5 and 7-10). I will try to post some pix in a few days. We had a balcony stateroom and had plenty of room. Not sure whether you will feel a little crowded in an inside - I know those rooms are a bit smaller. If you decide to opt for a larger room, not sure whether you will be able to do so pierside. I understand from other posters that this ship usually sails full, which was the case with our sailing. I inquired at the pier about upgrading (we were there around 2 pm) and was told that the ship was completely full and there were no staterooms to upgrade to.

 

 

ckrobyn: We did a post-cruise layover in San Juan for 2 days. Stayed at the San Juan Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino. Price was $199 per night exclusive of taxes, which included a full breakfast for 2 each day. Hotel was right on the ocean with its own beach and two nice-sized pools. We all enjoyed our stay there.

[ckrobyn]

Thanks Ken - I appreciate the information.

We are really looking forward to this cruise, and we also have 4 nights in San Juan before we embark. We are staying at the Marriott Courtyard which is also right on the beach :) The hotel prices in San Juan are insane - it doesn't matter where you stay, it is at least $250 a night for Jan/Feb.

[alchemy101]

I just booked December 17th, 2006. Balcony Stateroom: middle of the hump cabin.

 

Woohoo!!

[kenden1959]

Great choice, alchemy!! Happy cruisin!!!!

[SPARKLE10]

Hi:

 

We're booked next March on the AOS, and have the Sheraton Old San Juan booked for a night before our cruise. It was recommended by our TA, but then I read some reviews of the hotel that weren't too favorable. Also, I read that it wasn't safe to walk around Old San Juan at night. Did you find this to be true? Did you like the hotel?

 

Thanks....

 

Happy Cruising...Sparkle 10

[kenden1959]

Hi. Our hotel actually was not in Old San Juan near the piers, but rather out in the resort area. We walked around our hotel at night with no problems - however, we only strayed a few blocks or so, so I really can't comment too much from experience.

[pambo]

Sparkle - we had a wonderful experience at the Sheraton Old San Juan. We found the staff to be extremely courteous and helpful. They went above and beyond to help us and answer all of our questions. It was also very easy to get a cab to the pier. I would certainly stay there again. We found no problems with walking around Old San Juan at night. We felt very safe. There was so much to do in the evening. I also highly reocmmend the Night Tales in Old San Juan Walking Tour.

 

On a previous trip to San Juan, we stayed at the Wyndham Condado. We had some issues with an uncooperative staff when I had a piece of luggage missing. I found them to be quite rude in their attempts to help me retrieve it - also reported this to the manager with no results. We did not feel as safe walking around that area at night. I much prefer the Old San Juan area.

 

Enjoy your stay - San Juan is a beautiful city.

[cruzfiend]

Ken or Pam, did either one of you buy booze @ the duty free shop in the terminal, and if so, did you have any problem bringing it on board?:)

[kenden1959]

We bought all of our liquor in the ports, although we were tempted to shop at the terminal liquor store. On the ship, they delivered all of the purchased liquor to our stateroom on Saturday afternoon. Tip - we were able to purchase a few bottles of liquor at the San Juan airport before our flight left on the last day. Since you are already through customs at that point, you don't have any customs issues to deal with.