AOS 9/30/2007- Disappointment

[Loucat]

A bit off googling turned up the following...

 

AOS:

 

Start: 1/6/2008

Start: 5/25/2008

Start: 6/29/2008

Start: 7/13/2008

Start: 7/27/2008

 

 

Others:

 

Royal Caribbean Freedom

 

6-8-08

 

Royal Caribbean Freedom

 

6-15-08

 

Royal Caribbean Freedom

 

6-22-08

 

Royal Caribbean Freedom

 

6-29-08

 

Carnival Liberty

 

7-5-08

 

Royal Caribbean Liberty

 

7-12-08

 

Carnival Liberty

 

7-12-08

 

Carnival Liberty

 

7-19-08

 

Royal Caribbean Liberty

 

7-19-08

 

Royal Caribbean Liberty

 

7-19-08

 

Royal Caribbean Liberty

 

7-26-!!

Thanks so much! You were great at googling.:D

[PhoenixCruiser]

This has been used as an excuse before.

 

I don't care what group is on a particular sailing..this kind of behavior should not be tolerated. I would hate to think that the crew of the AOS would pander to this group of people simply because they booked alot of cabins. Why should other passengers have to put up with this kind of nonsense?

 

If current security can't handle this stuff they either need to hire more security..or announce when these groups are sailing so that others don't have to sail with them. That is probably why RCI won't divulge when certain groups are sailing because the word is out and the ship would be empty save those cruising with that particular group.

 

I agree! It is a beautiful ship and a wonderful itinerary, however we continue to hear more and more complaints.

 

Traveling with a large group is HORRIBLE!!

 

###

[Bakincakes]

I found out that our cruise on AOS on Jan 6/08 is a quinceaneras cruise by google-ing the ship name and date of cruise. I found an ad by a travel agent in Puerto Rico:

http://www.condadotravel.com/ct_detail_c.asp?offer_id=563

There are also quinceaneras on AOS on May 25, June 29, July 13, and July 27.

I have read a few reviews of cruises with quinceaneras and they range from 'hardly noticed them' to 'awful'.

Due to schedule and airline restictions, we kept our booking for Jan 6/08 on AOS but upgraded to a suite in case we needed to spend some time away from the crowd.

Pam

 

 

I think it is a shame to have to upgrade to a suite in order to be able to get away from a crowd that may, in fact, be inconsiderate and rude to other pax.

 

I hope that if you run into the same kind of situation you will complain and not just spend your cruise hiding out in your suite.

 

I agree! It is a beautiful ship and a wonderful itinerary, however we continue to hear more and more complaints.

 

Traveling with a large group is HORRIBLE!!

 

And pax should be privy to that info when booking. Shame on RCI for trying to keep such info hidden from other pax.:mad: I don't care what group it may be. Passengers have the right to know if certain areas of the ship will be unavailable to them because of committments to a certain group.

[PhoenixCruiser]

And pax should be privy to that info when booking. Shame on RCI for trying to keep such info hidden from other pax.:mad: I don't care what group it may be. Passengers have the right to know if certain areas of the ship will be unavailable to them because of committments to a certain group.

 

We agree. We had a large group while on the Grandeur in 97 - way before I knew about this site. This group was rude to their fellow passengers as well as to the staff. Several lounges were off limits and they pretty much took over other events. I won't tell you what the group was, I'll just say that it really relates to the topic/theme of this thread :eek: :mad:

 

###

[FL_Cruiser64]

It sounds like it may have been a QUINCEAÑERA'S cruise. Those are cruises for girls (and their families) celebrating their 15th birthday. The cruiselines advertise certain dates and they load up with the Puerto Ricans. I have heard lots of bad things about being on ships during those events.

 

I am sailing out of PR next year. How do I find out about that event? I may have to change my date.

 

EDIT: never mind. I should have finished the thread first

[puertorican]

It sounds like it may have been a QUINCEAÑERA'S cruise. Those are cruises for girls (and their families) celebrating their 15th birthday. The cruiselines advertise certain dates and they load up with the Puerto Ricans. I have heard lots of bad things about being on ships during those events.

 

These are two reviews from the Legend of the Seas in Europe; "Thanks to God they are in Europe"

 

Before you judge a group of people about its manners, first look and illustrate about "Cultural differences" ; not all of us are equally, With this I am not justify someone that did not apologize after hitting other people, that is wrong coming from anyone, but we know, we are noisy, yes that is how we are, anyway I had been in cruises departing from Miami that the people were way rude and noone said anything here. Out of Spain, Spaniards are more rude than us, if you measure them as well, but again, that is their culture and way of living. By the way about the comment, that I understand is very rude about "load up with the Puerto Ricans" man, the prices that people are paying are the same ones you paid to be there, not a cent less, if they paid them, then they have the same right to enjoy their vacations as you as well.

 

Enjoy the reviews from two passengers from UK.

 

***************************************************************************

 

Although we booked 5 months in advance we unfortunately missed the deadline by 3 days for free car parking at the docks but were told by Royal Caribbean that car parking charges were "nominal". It cost us £100 for 2 weeks which in my book is certainly not nominal.

 

Our cabin was clean, but "used" looking. The first thing we did was to inspect the pillows and all four of them were badly stained..........yuk! We asked for, and got unused pillows. During the cruise all the mattresses, pillows and bedspreads on the ship were changed causing much confusion in the corridors

 

We talked with 3 different couples, all first time cruisers, who had booked 3 weeks prior to sailing and were given Junior Suites with two bedrooms and a bath for £400 per person less than we paid for an ocean view. Another passenger had paid £500 more for her cabin than her neighbour. We are Crown & Anchor platinum members who have cruised with this company 6 times.........why I wonder didn't R.C. upgrade their regulars to these suites.

 

We were seated at a table for 12 although we asked for maximum 6. The wines were very expensive..........average

£12 per bottle for house wine. The food was good both in the restaurant and the Windjammer serve yourself restaurant but in the latter it was always tepid........ Salad and dessert plates were hot and entree plates cold. Some of the passengers who ate in this cafe had little or no table manners, filling their plates to overflowing and then leaving half of it. Saying that we accept that Royal Caribbean cannot be blamed for the eating habits of its passengers.

 

There were 250 babies, toddlers and school age children on board and who can blame the parents for taking their children out of school when the fare was only £28.........but what one could blame the parents for was for allowing their show-off children to monopolise the dance floor, the evening deck parties and the disco. One very rude child barracked the Entertainments Director at every show until eventually he was banned from the theatre.

 

Most of the evening entertainment was mediocre and R.C. should get the message when the Cruise Director has to ask the audience in the half empty theatre to clap twice as loud!!

 

We booked this particular cruise because we wanted the long stay in Palma de Majorca. It was advertised as being in port from 12 noon Sunday until 2am Tuesday but when the tickets arrived we saw the departure was 2am Monday and unfortunately there was nothing we could do about this as itineraries can be changed, as stated in R.C.'s booking conditions........let us try to change anything and we have to pay!!

 

The shuttle prices were really O.T.T. It cost 8 euros

Per couple return, prepaid, from the docks into Barcelona on the R.C. shuttle and 2.5 euros per couple on the service bus for exactly the same journey.

 

Why, I wonder did the ship dock so far out in Palma. Some passengers walked in and it took them more than an hour each way........the last time we docked in Palma, with another cruise company, we docked only a couple of hundred yards from the Paseo Maritimo.

 

Royal Caribbean seems to be cutting corners all the way round. No champagne waterfall on this ship, as with P&O and Princess Cruises, instead we had crew members waving flags and singing and the Greek captain doing Zorbas dance...........the champagne waterfalls are better!

 

The selection of books in the library was poor and mainly geared towards U.S. passengers.

 

The 'professional' photographs were very, very expensive and of poor quality.

 

A lot of the goods in the on-board shops, especially the jewellery was overpriced and the perfume shop was very poorly stocked.

 

We certainly noticed a big difference when we cruised to Hawaii on the Legend's sister ship "Vision of the Seas". A few years ago........sadly standards have dropped since then.

 

Perhaps in 2007 the Navigator of the Seas will be better....we shall see.

 

*****************************************************************************

HERE IS ANOTHER SAME SHIP/ROUTE

*****************************************************************************

 

We sailed from Southampton on Legend a month or two after she relocated to the UK in an attempt to crack the British market and set off for the Med. Having been on two other cruises ( P&O Oceana and Star Princess) we were interested to see how Royal Caribbean compared. Check in was simple enough and our balcony cabin was nice enough too although it looked a little tired in places. First impressions were ok.

 

Our cabin attendant made herself known soon enough and her first move was to tell us how hard they have to work and how little they get paid and if we have a problem with her then we need to tell her right away so that it doesn't affect how much we give her as a tip. Stroppy, forward and a little bit rude was my overall impression of a lot of the staff.

 

For dinner on the first night we found ourselves seated on a table for 10 (11 of us in total) a seat had to be pushed in and although our party and the party we joined complained, nothing was done other than an insincere apology. The family of seven that we had joined made us feel like we were gate crashing and the first dinner was an uncomfortable and disappointing start to the cruise.

 

Food was plentiful but bland and the menu became a bore soon enough. Breakfast buffet was the usual affair consisting of regular breakfast fare and recycled food from the previous night's dinner menu. Out of the three cruise companies that we have traveled with, Royal Caribbean came out bottom of the three in the food stakes.

 

On board entertainment wasn't up to much although I’ve not been impressed by any of the live shows that I’ve watched at sea so maybe it's me and not them. My main gripe was with the Bars on board where you really had to get out early to get a seat and soon enough people were standing all around and there was very little view. Legend is the only ship I know of where people queue at the bar for drinks.

 

Maybe it's because the ship was primarily filled with Brits and they don't really know any better but the waiters and waitresses who we became friendly with told us they'd not seen it before. The idea was, you took a seat and the staff waited on you with drinks from the bar. With people queuing at the bar the staff were forced to remain behind the bar to serve so the people who were sat elsewhere waited and waited and waited. The waiting staff who we thought were the highlight of the staff on board told us that the Brits were the most ignorant and rude people that they had encountered.

 

Unruly children were everywhere on this cruise and the parents of the kids were ignorant and oblivious. They ran riot, things were thrown from the top of the atrium, they played tag on the stairs and tore up the place in ignorance of any rules. Loads of people complained but nothing was done. A lady who complained after being hit in the face with a shoe thrown from the top of the atrium was told by staff that yes it was a problem but there was very little they could do.

 

The majority of the people on this cruise were not the sort of people that cruising was designed for. I'm no snob but I’m not ignorant either. If this is the type of people that RC are trying to attract then good luck to them. It was like a floating Butlins. There was never any room at the pool or anywhere else for that matter.

 

Princess and P&O have very little to fear from RC's competition. It was a huge disappointment with far too many people on board, far too many children and not enough facilities. There were more children on Star and I can't remember one of them. We never saw them. On Legend they were a real nuisance.

 

Thanks Royal Caribbean for attempting to gather all the people I wouldn't want to cruise with and get them all on one cruise line. I just wish I didn't have to sail around the med with you to find out.

 

Never again.

[pepsicruiser]

My sister, her daughter and grandson were on this sailing. When she came home she called and left a message and all she could do is laugh on the machine saying you are not going to believe this cruise. Anyway when I finally got to talk to her she said how rude the people were. She never experienced anything like it. When they went to the Windjammer one person would get in line and then after waiting behind him 14 people would get in front of this person. Then the midnight buffet they would take a whole platter (whether it be food or cake) right off the table. She said the table was cleared in no time lol like locusts attacked. And again she found the same complaint about young people laying out in the halls blocking the way. Another thing she remembered was when her grandson who always enjoyed the childrens program came back early because the movie they showed was in spanish. She said she didn't let any of it ruin her vacation but when she looks back she couldn't get over how rude they were.

[luckyprincess]

Hi,

I'm just curious as to what the two reviews had to do with the rude people on board the OP's sailing? I'm not being argumentative or anything, I just really don't understand the correlation. Also, just becuase someone is brought up somewhere culturally different doesn't mean they shouldn't adapt their manners in obvious ways. I mean, if you aren't used to waiting your turn for something and being served in an orderly manner, just look around. If other people are waiting on a line and are being served in the order they waited in, then get BEHIND them, not in front. I mean, thats common sense, isn't it? Also, even if you are loud, and I'm Italian, so we are, too - don't you look around and see people glaring or shushing you and get the hint? It's happened to me and I shut the hell up or at least tone down my voice. It doesn't matter what you were taught - virtually everyone can tell when they are being disruptive to others, you know?

 

 

These are two reviews from the Legend of the Seas in Europe; "Thanks to God they are in Europe"

 

Before you judge a group of people about its manners, first look and illustrate about "Cultural differences" ; not all of us are equally, With this I am not justify someone that did not apologize after hitting other people, that is wrong coming from anyone, but we know, we are noisy, yes that is how we are, anyway I had been in cruises departing from Miami that the people were way rude and noone said anything here. Out of Spain, Spaniards are more rude than us, if you measure them as well, but again, that is their culture and way of living. By the way about the comment, that I understand is very rude about "load up with the Puerto Ricans" man, the prices that people are paying are the same ones you paid to be there, not a cent less, if they paid them, then they have the same right to enjoy their vacations as you as well.

 

Enjoy the reviews from two passengers from UK.

 

***************************************************************************

 

Although we booked 5 months in advance we unfortunately missed the deadline by 3 days for free car parking at the docks but were told by Royal Caribbean that car parking charges were "nominal". It cost us £100 for 2 weeks which in my book is certainly not nominal.

 

Our cabin was clean, but "used" looking. The first thing we did was to inspect the pillows and all four of them were badly stained..........yuk! We asked for, and got unused pillows. During the cruise all the mattresses, pillows and bedspreads on the ship were changed causing much confusion in the corridors

 

We talked with 3 different couples, all first time cruisers, who had booked 3 weeks prior to sailing and were given Junior Suites with two bedrooms and a bath for £400 per person less than we paid for an ocean view. Another passenger had paid £500 more for her cabin than her neighbour. We are Crown & Anchor platinum members who have cruised with this company 6 times.........why I wonder didn't R.C. upgrade their regulars to these suites.

 

We were seated at a table for 12 although we asked for maximum 6. The wines were very expensive..........average

£12 per bottle for house wine. The food was good both in the restaurant and the Windjammer serve yourself restaurant but in the latter it was always tepid........ Salad and dessert plates were hot and entree plates cold. Some of the passengers who ate in this cafe had little or no table manners, filling their plates to overflowing and then leaving half of it. Saying that we accept that Royal Caribbean cannot be blamed for the eating habits of its passengers.

 

There were 250 babies, toddlers and school age children on board and who can blame the parents for taking their children out of school when the fare was only £28.........but what one could blame the parents for was for allowing their show-off children to monopolise the dance floor, the evening deck parties and the disco. One very rude child barracked the Entertainments Director at every show until eventually he was banned from the theatre.

 

Most of the evening entertainment was mediocre and R.C. should get the message when the Cruise Director has to ask the audience in the half empty theatre to clap twice as loud!!

 

We booked this particular cruise because we wanted the long stay in Palma de Majorca. It was advertised as being in port from 12 noon Sunday until 2am Tuesday but when the tickets arrived we saw the departure was 2am Monday and unfortunately there was nothing we could do about this as itineraries can be changed, as stated in R.C.'s booking conditions........let us try to change anything and we have to pay!!

 

The shuttle prices were really O.T.T. It cost 8 euros

Per couple return, prepaid, from the docks into Barcelona on the R.C. shuttle and 2.5 euros per couple on the service bus for exactly the same journey.

 

Why, I wonder did the ship dock so far out in Palma. Some passengers walked in and it took them more than an hour each way........the last time we docked in Palma, with another cruise company, we docked only a couple of hundred yards from the Paseo Maritimo.

 

Royal Caribbean seems to be cutting corners all the way round. No champagne waterfall on this ship, as with P&O and Princess Cruises, instead we had crew members waving flags and singing and the Greek captain doing Zorbas dance...........the champagne waterfalls are better!

 

The selection of books in the library was poor and mainly geared towards U.S. passengers.

 

The 'professional' photographs were very, very expensive and of poor quality.

 

A lot of the goods in the on-board shops, especially the jewellery was overpriced and the perfume shop was very poorly stocked.

 

We certainly noticed a big difference when we cruised to Hawaii on the Legend's sister ship "Vision of the Seas". A few years ago........sadly standards have dropped since then.

 

Perhaps in 2007 the Navigator of the Seas will be better....we shall see.

 

*****************************************************************************

HERE IS ANOTHER SAME SHIP/ROUTE

*****************************************************************************

 

We sailed from Southampton on Legend a month or two after she relocated to the UK in an attempt to crack the British market and set off for the Med. Having been on two other cruises ( P&O Oceana and Star Princess) we were interested to see how Royal Caribbean compared. Check in was simple enough and our balcony cabin was nice enough too although it looked a little tired in places. First impressions were ok.

 

Our cabin attendant made herself known soon enough and her first move was to tell us how hard they have to work and how little they get paid and if we have a problem with her then we need to tell her right away so that it doesn't affect how much we give her as a tip. Stroppy, forward and a little bit rude was my overall impression of a lot of the staff.

 

For dinner on the first night we found ourselves seated on a table for 10 (11 of us in total) a seat had to be pushed in and although our party and the party we joined complained, nothing was done other than an insincere apology. The family of seven that we had joined made us feel like we were gate crashing and the first dinner was an uncomfortable and disappointing start to the cruise.

 

Food was plentiful but bland and the menu became a bore soon enough. Breakfast buffet was the usual affair consisting of regular breakfast fare and recycled food from the previous night's dinner menu. Out of the three cruise companies that we have traveled with, Royal Caribbean came out bottom of the three in the food stakes.

 

On board entertainment wasn't up to much although I’ve not been impressed by any of the live shows that I’ve watched at sea so maybe it's me and not them. My main gripe was with the Bars on board where you really had to get out early to get a seat and soon enough people were standing all around and there was very little view. Legend is the only ship I know of where people queue at the bar for drinks.

 

Maybe it's because the ship was primarily filled with Brits and they don't really know any better but the waiters and waitresses who we became friendly with told us they'd not seen it before. The idea was, you took a seat and the staff waited on you with drinks from the bar. With people queuing at the bar the staff were forced to remain behind the bar to serve so the people who were sat elsewhere waited and waited and waited. The waiting staff who we thought were the highlight of the staff on board told us that the Brits were the most ignorant and rude people that they had encountered.

 

Unruly children were everywhere on this cruise and the parents of the kids were ignorant and oblivious. They ran riot, things were thrown from the top of the atrium, they played tag on the stairs and tore up the place in ignorance of any rules. Loads of people complained but nothing was done. A lady who complained after being hit in the face with a shoe thrown from the top of the atrium was told by staff that yes it was a problem but there was very little they could do.

 

The majority of the people on this cruise were not the sort of people that cruising was designed for. I'm no snob but I’m not ignorant either. If this is the type of people that RC are trying to attract then good luck to them. It was like a floating Butlins. There was never any room at the pool or anywhere else for that matter.

 

Princess and P&O have very little to fear from RC's competition. It was a huge disappointment with far too many people on board, far too many children and not enough facilities. There were more children on Star and I can't remember one of them. We never saw them. On Legend they were a real nuisance.

 

Thanks Royal Caribbean for attempting to gather all the people I wouldn't want to cruise with and get them all on one cruise line. I just wish I didn't have to sail around the med with you to find out.

 

Never again.

[lucky99]

These are two reviews from the Legend of the Seas in Europe; "Thanks to God they are in Europe"

 

Before you judge a group of people about its manners, first look and illustrate about "Cultural differences" ; not all of us are equally, With this I am not justify someone that did not apologize after hitting other people, that is wrong coming from anyone, but we know, we are noisy, yes that is how we are, anyway I had been in cruises departing from Miami that the people were way rude and noone said anything here. Out of Spain, Spaniards are more rude than us, if you measure them as well, but again, that is their culture and way of living. By the way about the comment, that I understand is very rude about "load up with the Puerto Ricans" man, the prices that people are paying are the same ones you paid to be there, not a cent less, if they paid them, then they have the same right to enjoy their vacations as you as well.

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I don't really care how many of what groups goes with me on a cruise. But what I do care about is that everyone respects each other. For a group to use the excuse "we are loud people", "we have cultural differences" just doesn't do it. So are you saying your cultural makes you act like bullies to others? You are right, you paid as much as I did BUT there is a protocol in life and that is respect everyone. Just because you paid as much as I did doesn't mean you can run amuck on the ship, bump into other passengers, block hallways, cuise others, spill drinks on people and act like bullies. The cruse line should have put every bad acting person off at the next port of call with no refunds. I have seen this "I paid as much as someone else" before. People need to realize that is not a ticket to do anything you want to just because you paid money to do it. I paid just as much for my car and the next guy but that does not mean I have the right to run people over on the road. The cruise documents (and common sense tells you) to behave yourself. If your idea of behaving is to bully others stay home and shove each other around on the streets. I think most parents teach their children manners no matter what the culture. Seems like some cultures have a chip on their shoulders and are using it as an excuse. A cruise ship is like staying in a fine hotel and you should adjust your behavior accordingly. What went wrong here is that RCI and their staff did not have the you know whats to get these people off the ship. Maybe they should radio ahead and ask the local authorities to board the ship for help in removing the offenders.

[PantherFan]

We have sailed on AOS twice a couple years back.

 

November & May and we did experience some of the rudeness & attitude the 1st poster mentioned. I was told San Juan folks get a huge last minute discounted price to fill the ship but nonetheless, they should not be rude & obnoxious.

 

Both times we had very large groups of people on there I guess in celebration of a girl's 15 birthday and those people were over the top in both rudeness and manners.

 

They blocked the halls and came into venues when the previous activities were not over and hovered over people so they could have a good seat. They saved rows of seats in the theatre and at the pools etc....

 

We did have a good time on each cruise but we haven't sailed out of SJU since then.

 

PS: Thanks for the info--it will be good to know about upcoming cruises on AOS which we will avoid.

[Bakincakes]

These are two reviews from the Legend of the Seas in Europe; "Thanks to God they are in Europe"

 

Before you judge a group of people about its manners, first look and illustrate about "Cultural differences" ; not all of us are equally, With this I am not justify someone that did not apologize after hitting other people, that is wrong coming from anyone, but we know, we are noisy, yes that is how we are, anyway I had been in cruises departing from Miami that the people were way rude and noone said anything here. Out of Spain, Spaniards are more rude than us, if you measure them as well, but again, that is their culture and way of living. By the way about the comment, that I understand is very rude about "load up with the Puerto Ricans" man, the prices that people are paying are the same ones you paid to be there, not a cent less, if they paid them, then they have the same right to enjoy their vacations as you as well.

 

 

Are you "noisy" or obnoxious? There is a difference and this isn't the first thread I've seen about this particular group and their behavior on a ship.

 

I don't care what you or anyone else pays for their ticket...you bring your own manners with you..the ships don't sell them or provide them for you.

 

RCI should let pax know if any large groups are on a particular sailing. Period. Allowing one group to take over certain parts of the ship may be RCI policy but other pax paid just as much as the group did for their tickets and should have access to all public areas of the vessel. RCI tries to keep the big secret because they know that others won't buy tickets for those sailings.

[knkbrand]

I don't really care how many of what groups goes with me on a cruise. But what I do care about is that everyone respects each other. For a group to use the excuse "we are loud people", "we have cultural differences" just doesn't do it. So are you saying your cultural makes you act like bullies to others? You are right, you paid as much as I did BUT there is a protocol in life and that is respect everyone. Just because you paid as much as I did doesn't mean you can run amuck on the ship, bump into other passengers, block hallways, cuise others, spill drinks on people and act like bullies. The cruse line should have put every bad acting person off at the next port of call with no refunds. I have seen this "I paid as much as someone else" before. People need to realize that is not a ticket to do anything you want to just because you paid money to do it. I paid just as much for my car and the next guy but that does not mean I have the right to run people over on the road. The cruise documents (and common sense tells you) to behave yourself. If your idea of behaving is to bully others stay home and shove each other around on the streets. I think most parents teach their children manners no matter what the culture. Seems like some cultures have a chip on their shoulders and are using it as an excuse. A cruise ship is like staying in a fine hotel and you should adjust your behavior accordingly. What went wrong here is that RCI and their staff did not have the you know whats to get these people off the ship. Maybe they should radio ahead and ask the local authorities to board the ship for help in removing the offenders.

 

why should everyone conform to your standards. The fact is that there are cultural differences. In Korea, everyone bumps into you and no one says sorry. That is the way it is. The city is too crowded and the culture dictates that an apology is implied. just because someone cuts in front of you doesn't mean they are disrespecting you, it means that where they are from they don't do lines. Once again, in Korea, if you waited your turn in line, you would never get what you wanted. They cut in front of other Koreans as well and push their way to the front...that is just how it is done. God forbid the whole world doesn't speak English. why do you think we as Americans have such a rude and arogant reputation from the rest of the world? I wasn't there so it could have indead been very rude behavior, but for someone to be mad that they played a movie in Spanish instead of English is crazy. JMHO

[Pootle]

Oh dear, I think you must have just been very unlucky I'm afraid.

 

The husband and I did a back to back on AOS back in August and, aside from a cancled trip that wasn't handled very well (which was more than amply rectified in the end with a future cruise credit of £100/$200), I couldn't fault them.

 

We did notice a high proportion of people from Puerto Rico on board, but didn't find them rude at all. In actual fact we had several people from PR on our table during the second week and they were lovely - even going so far as to talk to each other in English rather than Spanish so we didn't feel leftout. To be entirely honest, the only time we encountered a rude person on board was the overweight American lady who almost sent my DH flying into the cake stand as she shoved him out of the way to get in front of him!

 

I loved my experience on AOS, and if it wasn't such a mission for us Brits to get to SJ I'd be sure to go back on her again and again...

[uksimonusa]

Good point! I noticed you have cruised with Shane 5 times. He was on AOS and I must say the HIGHLIGHT in entertainment for the trip in the Duck & Dog. We were there 5 nights out of 7!! I told him how much good press he gets here and was happy to hear about it.

 

...editing signature now....

 

Rockin'

 

Pleased that there was some enjoyment on your cruise. A night in the Duck and Dog with Shane in a good night. I'll be seeing him at the end of the month, when he leaves AOS and I'll pass your comments on

[Pootle]

We were on the AOS the week before you, on some points I agree with you, there were a lot of rude people on board most of them didn't speak english or pretended not to understand when it was convenient.

 

 

Oh - my - God :eek:

 

I can't believe you have said that! Did you attempt to speak Spanish to them, or if you don't speak the language does that make you rude and obnoxious just because you are not multilingual?!?!?

 

If you don't like people because they don't speak English why bother going to a foreign speaking country at all?

[Mark_K]

there were a lot of rude people on board most of them didn't speak english or pretended not to understand when it was convenient.

 

Oh - my - God :eek:

 

I can't believe you have said that! Did you attempt to speak Spanish to them, or if you don't speak the language does that make you rude and obnoxious just because you are not multilingual?!?!?

 

If you don't like people because they don't speak English why bother going to a foreign speaking country at all?

Personally, I read that as two separate comments, not that they were rude because they didn't speak English.

[waterbugohio]

Do I have to worry about "quinceaneras" on the Serenade of the Seas???

 

We are in the process of booking for 11/08 but can chg dates if we are going to run into large partiesof young rude people

[Pootle]

Personally, I read that as two separate comments, not that they were rude because they didn't speak English.

 

Even so, why add that into the statement unless it was meant in a derogotorry way. How is it relevant to whether someone is rude or not?

[Mark_K]

Even so, why add that into the statement unless it was meant in a derogotorry way. How is it relevant to whether someone is rude or not?

Again, I don't think it related to rudeness, just explaining the situation as it was on the ship. A lot of rude people, a lot of Spanish speaking people.

[BEVGOO]

We sailed out of San Juan right after Thanksgiving for 4 years (2001 to 2004).

Two cruises on Celebrity and 2 on RCCL, the last was on the AOS in 2004. That cruise was a duplicate of what the original poster posted. We and the couple we crusied with switched to sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. We have been on 3 RCCL cruises since then and have not had any of the behavior mentioned above, just everyone having a good time but not bothering the fellow passengers.

 

We were thinking about trying the AOS again because the prices are good but we still have to pay air which is roughly $400.00 PP. A previous poster said the "locals" pay the same price we do but we have been told differently by a lot of people including the crew on the AOS. Even if they don't get a deal, they don't have the additional air cost.

 

We may decide to give the AOS another try but this really does not sway me in that direction.

[Snoozeman]

I was on this cruise last week as well, my review is on my blog. If anyone is interested. I guess I'll post it on here as well.

[lovetocruise99]

I sailed on AOS in June 2007 then again 9/16/07. On the September cruise there were 1700 Puerto Ricans out of 3100 total guests. September rates are very cheap and this seems to be a popular time for them to cruise. For the most part, I found them to be very family oriented with large families traveling together with Grandmothers, etc. We didn't have any complaints until the last couple of days when the pool appeared to be nasty with too many people in the pool with most of them eating drippy ice cream and drinking. We declined to swim that day. Also there was some rudeness during disembarkation. I believe this is attributed to the fact Americans are used to their personal space and don't like to be squeezed too tightly into elevators, hallways, etc.

 

The rudest passengers we encountered were a group of Germans who carried on loud conversations during the show.

[Fang]

My family cruised on the AOS last July.

 

I did find that there were a lot of Puerto Ricans on the cruise. How many, I do not know. This was our third cruise out of San Juan and will be out last.

 

While it may be acceptible to many that it does not matter how many can cram into an elevator, cut into the buffet line, etc. We were just not comfortable.

 

I have traveled many places and just found that the yelling to the kids, by adults, the rude people did take away some, not all of the enjoyment of the cruise.

 

I think that this is a cultural thing. While at the pool, I saw almost a fight between two men about chairs. In the kids program, I saw a mother yelling at the counselers about the program. We were fine with the program and I did listen to her complaints and found them very poor at best.

 

I really like the ports on the AOS, but will not be taking it again.

 

I do not think this is anything other than a cultural issue. There are many posts on many different cruise lines regarding how many people do find cruises out of San Juan, to be difficult, regarding other guests. We had an issue on our cruise when the pool band started playing, a lot, and would say at least 20 other passengers went to the band, started playing thier instruments and waiving the P.R. flag. Thats great for them, but most others left the pool area, including my family. Within ten minutes of this at least, and I am not underestimating at all, there were 100 people yelling and screaming songs. There was one man who jumped into the pool with all of his clothes on!! Thats great for them, but made a lot of other people upset. They did not think of others on the cruise.

 

We stayed at a hotel the night before the cruise and I was reading the paper in the morning of our cruise and could not believe the great deals offered in the paper for cruises.

 

I was told by the concierge that when cabins do not sell they open them up at a substantial discounted rate. Which agreed with the rates in the Sunday paper. If I remember right an inside cabin for four people was about $175 per day, for the cabin, for the next week cruise. This was much less than I paid, but we did have a balcony cabin.

 

I think it may be that airfare is more expensive to SJU and that the cruise lines do find it hard to fill up all cabins.

 

Once again, I do not think this is anything of a cultural issue.

[sandrapisc]

I heard nothing other than the same horror stories last year, so I changed from AOS the MOS and was so glad I did.

[nimbex1970]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. $4 a beer does not seem high at all, that is what we pay here at most bars. As far as your comment about the "Puerto Ricans", I find that as offensive as the comment made yesterday about the nice cruisers because they were all from one particular state supposedly. We can't pick who we cruise with, we just need to cruise with an open mind. I hope your next cruise is more to your liking.

 

 

It's very easy to go into a cruise with an open mind, harder to leave with a closed one after the experience.