AOS from San Juan on 3 Sept

[foresthills]

Me and my boyfriend will be going on the AOS departing San Juan on 3 Sept 2006. Has anyone recently been on a RC cruise and packed wine (or any other liquor) in their luggage and have you had any problems?

 

The excursion brochure is quite overwhelming...69 pages. Does anyone have any recommendations for the excursions on this itinerary of Antigua, Barbados, St. Thomas, St. Lucia and St. Marteen? Has anyone else traveling on this ship booked excursions?

[robinm918]

With all the new restrictions on what you can take on airlines these days, I would be very hesitant to pack any type of alcohol in my checked baggage. If it should happen to break, you'd have a real mess to deal with.

 

We were on the Aruba route this year, but in St Maarten we went to the Divi Little Bay resort (on our own - much cheaper) for half the day. In St. Thomas, we took the skyride to Paradise Point. The tickets were cheaper thru RCCL. The view was really spectacular as we had a very clear day.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Robin

[mom kaplan]

foresthills, my family and I just went on AOS in July, the same route you're doing and loved it. In terms of excursions, we did the Swim with the Sea Turtles (through RCCI) in Barbados--didn't leave us much time to see the island but we were fine with that; St. Lucia--we arranged our own tour with Cosol (excellent and saw a lot of the island): Antigua--barely got off the ship;St. Maartin--we took a taxi on our own to the French side and then to Orient Beach (glad we saw both sides of the island); St. Thomas--went to Trunk Bay (through RCCI) and loved it.

 

You'll love it...the ship and the itinerary! Have a great time!:)

[KKeeganS]

Looks like there is a very active thread of cruisers who will be on the same sailing with you. Here is the link - they may be able to give you some more detailed ideas.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=328526

 

Hope you have a great trip!

[rotty2]

We were just on the AOS on the 8/13-8/20 sailing. It was our third time on the ship. We packed some liquor in our checked baggage in San Juan before using RCCL's bus transportation to the ship. They made it on just fine. They do check carry on luggage just before you enter the ship. I saw a few bottles confiscated right in front of me. Enjoy!:D

[beachdiamonds]

You are on an awesome itinerary!! We did that route and loved it.

My recommendations for the islands are (we are Beach people so all my recommendations center around that):

 

St. Thomas: Either do Trunks Bay (can do on your own) or The Bob. If you would like to do the BOB, make sure that you book ASAP or once you get on the ship, as it limited capacity and sells out quick. The BOB gets rave reviews.

 

St. Maarten: Orient Beach Gorgeous, Gorgeous, Gorgeous!!! One of my favorite islands!

 

Antigua: Pineapple Beach Resort (on your own). Awesome, Awesome, Awesome beach. We took a taxi and got day passes. I would go back in a minute and stay FOREVER!

 

St. Lucia: Try Reduit Beach. It is next to Sandals. Again you can get a taxi and arrange for the driver to pick you up at a designated time. (Pay him when he picks you up....not before)

 

Barbados: We got in a Taxi and toured the island for next to nothing and then went to Malibu Beach. The water was breathtaking. If you want to book a ship excursion make sure that you do it ASAP because they do fill up. ( I know that the swim w/ turtles filled up quickly. Upon embarking, there were no slots left for any of the more popular excurisons...so book now)

 

As you are now 10 days out of your cruise, you may not be able to book any more ship excursions on-line. I would suggest that if you have your heart set on any that you book them as soon as you get on board at either your excurison desk or on your Cabin TV.

 

Also, if you want to see what some of the island look like, go to www.webshots.com and put the island name in your search. You can also include Adventure of the Seas in your search along with the Island name to get a "flavor" of what past cruisers have experienced.

 

If I can be of any more assistance, let me know....I can talk and type for days:p You will love the AOS.

[texancruzer]

We did same route last Nov.

 

Here's what we did. We tend to stay away from cruiseline excursions... too crowded.

 

St. Thomas - took taxi to Red Hook - took ferry to St. John (Cruz Bay) - took taxi to Trunk Bay. Spent the morning at the beach - then burgers at Woodys in Cruz Bay and reverse the above to Charlotte Amalie and shopped.

 

St. Maarten - rented a jeep (convertible - $80.00 for the whole day) and drove all around the island.... to Marigot for lunch - then to Orient Beach and then back to port area and shopping.

 

Antigua - also rented a car ($60.00 for the whole day) - over to Long Bay for a few hours on the beach and then a big loop down to Nelsons dockyard and over to west coast and back to port area for shopping.

 

St. Lucia - did an RCI tour on this island- roads too twisty windy up and down and all around..... did Land & Sea to Soufriere. Great tour. Took bus down the coast to Soufriere by way of banana plantation, fishing village and volcano with lunch included. Then on to a large catamaran for a sail and snorkle stop back to port for "you guessed it" shopping.

 

Barbados - did a private tour with Cameron Reid. Awesome day. He took us all over the island and gave us history, background, reglious, social and lots of other information about his beautiful island. There were four of us and we paid $ 150.00 total for 5+ hours of private tour. That works out to 37.50 per person :D and he took us back to the port area so we could SHOP :eek:

 

Have a great cruise.........

[baabtx]

I was alson on the 8/13 sailing and depending on what type of liquor you'd like to "smuggle" onto the ship is the question. We enjoy Capt Morgan and Seagrams 7. Purchased both at home in a plastic 750ml bottle (it's kinda flat instead of round which made it easier to pack). used some 2.5 gal heavy duty zip lock bags and they made it to San Juan just fine. That being said, if you're going to San Juan a day early (or get there early enough), try and find a liquor store (or the nearest grocery store) and purchase a couple of bottles right there in San Juan - pack carefully into your checked luggage and bring to the ship. You may want to buy any mixers (unless it's something too obvious) and carry this on the boat - we brought on a six pack each of Coke and Sprite. It's always nice to enjoy a cocktail on the balcony.

[Ohio-C-Luver]

Me and my boyfriend will be going on the AOS departing San Juan on 3 Sept 2006. Has anyone recently been on a RC cruise and packed wine (or any other liquor) in their luggage and have you had any problems?

 

The excursion brochure is quite overwhelming...69 pages. Does anyone have any recommendations for the excursions on this itinerary of Antigua, Barbados, St. Thomas, St. Lucia and St. Marteen? Has anyone else traveling on this ship booked excursions?

 

We can't answer that question, but we're all on the same sailing. C'mon over and introduce yourselves, and sign up for the Meet & Mingle party on 9/4 at 5pm in the Blue Moon Lounge on deck 14. We'd love to meet you!

 

[zinman]

We just got off Adventure last Sunday - did the opposite route of Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten and St. Thomas. We have packed wine in our checked luggage three years in a row now for cruises with no problem. Just make sure your luggage isn't over 50 lbs. or you have to redistribute everything in the airport. I always pack an extra empty bag in case that happens. We leave the wine out in the cabin, and nothing has ever been said. Usually I bubble-wrap the bottles, but I don't know that's really necessary.

 

We usually do excursions on our own. It's cheaper than going through RC, but you need to make sure you calculate the correct times to be back on the ship prior to sailing. Some islands are on a different time zone. If you keep your watch or cell phone set for ship time, you'l be ok. We have just done shopping in St. Thomas, but I've heard from several people the beaches on St. John are amazing. Have a great cruise - wish I were back on the ship right now!

[foresthills]

This has been my first time ever posting on any kind of online bulletin board and I would like to say Thank You to all of you that have responded - you have all been a great help and if possible, I am looking even more forward to my cruise! Thanks again!

[teacherkim]

We were on the AOS in June, awesome trip. I agree with Beachdiamonds, Orient Beach on St. Maarten is a great beach. Just the right mix of natural splendor and things to do, perfect. Like Texancruzer we rented a jeep and did it on our own. You can even reserve one from hertz ahead of time on line and then walk to their office on the pier. Marigot is a perfect lunch stop with lots of little french cafes and an open air market that is a step above most of the others, right on the waterfront. You can also get a great view of Marigot by climbing up to the top of Fort St. Louis.

[Sheffie]

We sailed the same itinerary on the Serenade and loved it so much that we are doing it again next year!

 

Here are some things we have enjoyed doing on the islands:

 

St. Thomas - we have done the Buck Island excursion through the cruise line 2 times. We have gone over to St. John on our own 2 times. If you like snorkeling, both are great.

 

St. Maarten - one of our favorite excursions is the America's Cup Regatta. You get to crew one of the boats that was in the real America's Cup. You can only book this through the cruise ship.

 

Antigua - we did Eli's Eco Tour after reading about it here on CC. It was a wonderful excursion. Here are some pictures from that day.

 

St. Lucia - we took an island tour with Frank. Here are our photos. It is such a beautiful, lush island.

 

Barbados - we took a wonderful catamaran tour on the Silvermoon. It was our favorite excursion last year. We loved swimming with the turtles and relaxing on the catamaran. It was the perfect excursion to end the week with.

[rnsharon]

Hi Foresthills,

 

Just returned from AOS on Aug. 6th on the St. Martin itinerary. No hard liquor allowed and they were screening. I bought rum, hoping to take on board. They were x-raying and opening carry ons. Checked water bottles and other containers as well. I turned mine in.

 

They allowed my 2 bottles of wine. We drank them in our state room. Now, taking wine would be more trouble than worth what with airlines disallowing too. We're sailing on LOS in Dec. out of tampa, so we will buy a few bottles in Tampa to carry on (they allow 2 each as long as the wine isn't on the wine list) to drink where and when we want, and will buy the 5 or 7 bottle wine package. Wine list for ship is pretty slim, and the markup is ridiculous, but it is easier than all that trouble sneaking and still cheaper than ordering mixed or fancy drinks all week.

 

Enjoy!

[BopRN]

Buckeye...We are going on the AOS in March and now checking airfare to San Juan. We live in Dayton but it looks like the cheaper fares are out of Columbus. Can you share with us what airlines you are flying and the lowest price you were able to get? How far ahead did you book? Thanks!

[Sheffie]

We sailed the same itinerary on the Serenade and loved it so much that we are doing it again next year!

 

Here are some things we have enjoyed doing on the islands:

 

St. Thomas - we have done the Buck Island excursion through the cruise line 2 times. We have gone over to St. John on our own 2 times. If you like snorkeling, both are great.

 

St. Maarten - one of our favorite excursions is the America's Cup Regatta. You get to crew one of the boats that was in the real America's Cup. You can only book this through the cruise ship.

 

Antigua - we did Eli's Eco Tour after reading about it here on CC. It was a wonderful excursion. Here are some pictures from that day.

 

St. Lucia - we took an island tour with Frank. Here are our photos. It is such a beautiful, lush island.

 

Barbados - we took a wonderful catamaran tour on the Silvermoon. It was our favorite excursion last year. We loved swimming with the turtles and relaxing on the catamaran. It was the perfect excursion to end the week with.

 

Oops. Forgot to add the Silvermoon photos.

[Nurse Daybreak]

On St Maarten my DH did the Harley excursion. He had a blast. Saw both sides of the island. It is a bit pricey but he thought it was worth it. Your SO can travel with you on your bike for free. We didn't do that though, but that's another story.....:)

[Ohio-C-Luver]

Buckeye...We are going on the AOS in March and now checking airfare to San Juan. We live in Dayton but it looks like the cheaper fares are out of Columbus. Can you share with us what airlines you are flying and the lowest price you were able to get? How far ahead did you book? Thanks!

 

We booked in March 06, but are using DH's frequent flyer miles for this trip.;) We are flying with Delta. Columbus to Atlanta about an 1 hr plus, a 3 hr layover both directions in Atlanta and about a 4 hr flt to San Juan and back to Atlanta! No food is served, but they are serving beverages and we get to see a movie-We have traveled a lot but this will be our first cruise, so we're getting pretty psyched about the trip!:D

 

[Nurse Daybreak]

Guess this thread is full of nurses. I'm an RN, work in Emergency/trauma. Where do you work?

[aashby]

I have a question for those that have been on this route before. Any experience with using pre-paid phone cards on the islands to call home? When my wife and I sailed the Western Caribbean route in 2004 on NOS we had an AT&T pre-paid card that we planned to use to call the kids. But on all but one island (Cozumel I think) the card would not work, we had to buy "the local card" that would work their phones. Of course these were quite a bit more expensive.

Allen

 

AOS 02/25/07

[momofslg]

I found airfare from Columbus to San Juan on American Airlines. We leave at 7:45am with a 1 hr layover in Chicago. On the way home we flyout at noon to Miami an have a 2.5hr layover. I checked prices for 7months as they were rediculous and just happened to find a great deal I called and got a price reduction. I did notice that airfares rates did decrease about 75 days before our cruise. I booked for 468pp and found a fare sale for 258pp. I called AA up and asked if they refunded fares,I had to pay a change fee, but I wound up with a nice credit (voucher for future travel) so now I get to try and find a nice weekend getaway.

[BopRN]

32 years in Pediatrics...currently a nurse manager in the surgery dept. of a children's hospital.

[Lost_At_Sea]

Just got back a week ago.

 

Bags may be scanned before loading on to the ship?

 

Be parpared to have the bottles taken.:confused:

 

But the ship and adventures were GREAT.

[foresthills]

Thanks Lost at Sea!

[foresthills]

Hi Foresthills,

 

Just returned from AOS on Aug. 6th on the St. Martin itinerary. No hard liquor allowed and they were screening. I bought rum, hoping to take on board. They were x-raying and opening carry ons. Checked water bottles and other containers as well. I turned mine in.

 

They allowed my 2 bottles of wine. We drank them in our state room. Now, taking wine would be more trouble than worth what with airlines disallowing too. We're sailing on LOS in Dec. out of tampa, so we will buy a few bottles in Tampa to carry on (they allow 2 each as long as the wine isn't on the wine list) to drink where and when we want, and will buy the 5 or 7 bottle wine package. Wine list for ship is pretty slim, and the markup is ridiculous, but it is easier than all that trouble sneaking and still cheaper than ordering mixed or fancy drinks all week.

 

Enjoy!

Thanks rnsharon - sorry for the delay!