For all those who have booked or are going to book the AOS - read this!

[cara1484]

Leaving tomorrow to board the AOS - what is the first thing to do when we board other than go to our room and eat in the Windjammer??

 

CKRobyn - I cant wait to board your favorite ship - after all of your excellent reviews we booked the AOS because of your passion for this ship :)

[Teeara]

Leaving tomorrow to board the AOS - what is the first thing to do when we board other than go to our room and eat in the Windjammer??

 

CKRobyn - I cant wait to board your favorite ship - after all of your excellent reviews we booked the AOS because of your passion for this ship :)

 

Explore the ship and take lots of pix with no people in them!

 

Have a GREAT cruise!!!!

 

Theresa

[rupertfrog]

Leaving tomorrow to board the AOS - what is the first thing to do when we board other than go to our room and eat in the Windjammer??

 

CKRobyn - I cant wait to board your favorite ship - after all of your excellent reviews we booked the AOS because of your passion for this ship :)

 

Check your dining room seating, tour the ship especially the Promenade then the pool area ..... and have that first tropical drink by the Pool!!!!! Of course take lots of pictures in the process!!! Most of all .... relax & enjoy our ship!!! Be sure to come back here & let us know all about it too!

[schmoopie17]

Check your dining room seating

 

It seems that this is one of the first things most people do upon embarking the ship. But every time I read this I wonder, what exactly is a "good" table?? How will I know if my table is "good"??:confused:

[Bakincakes]

It seems that this is one of the first things most people do upon embarking the ship. But every time I read this I wonder, what exactly is a "good" table?? How will I know if my table is "good"??:confused:

 

 

People all have their own "good" as far as where they are seated.

 

Are you near a serving station? The back of the room...front of the room...near a doorway...how large is your table...pax have all sorts of qualifications of what a "good " table is.

[Ocean Boy]

It seems that this is one of the first things most people do upon embarking the ship. But every time I read this I wonder, what exactly is a "good" table?? How will I know if my table is "good"??:confused:

 

If it is located next to a window that is a good start especially if we have first seating when it would still be light out at dinner time. ALso, if we are on the second or third floor I also like being located next to the balcony railing. That tends to give me the feeling of having more space.

[rupertfrog]

It seems that this is one of the first things most people do upon embarking the ship. But every time I read this I wonder, what exactly is a "good" table?? How will I know if my table is "good"??:confused:

 

My issue is mostly about knowing where to go when it is time for dinner .... I like having the sense that I know where I am onboard. Also, it gives me an idea of how many new people I'll meet related to the dining experience. I've been located in different areas of the dining room on each cruise .... the key to my dining experience has been the waitstaff (all of whom have been terrific!) and the people I share the table with.

 

We've been at tables of 6, 4 (& when we were travelling with friends we were the table) and 8. We ask for the "smaller" table so we can enjoy the company of other cruisers .... It is fun to converse about the day, what's going on the next day & where we are from.

 

We've been by the window, near the servers station, in the balcony .... I believe it is what you make of it ... Luckily we've had good dining experiences overall ..

 

Our last cruise the table was for 8 .... 4 of us showed each night, one night a third couple showed but never returned. I was glad .... everytime the woman opened her mouth to speak (and the table at that time was 4 women & 2 men -- he & my DH) her husband spoke over her, interrupted her & corrected what she said --- IT would have been a very long dinner to have to experience that everynite (& thinking the other 3 women at this table wouldn't have tolerated it long without asking her to continue to speak) - she seemed quite pleasant & tried to be social. We did comment later how lovely she seemed & what an overbearing person he was - we thought she was probably looking forward to this social time.

[ckrobyn]

Leaving tomorrow to board the AOS - what is the first thing to do when we board other than go to our room and eat in the Windjammer??

 

CKRobyn - I cant wait to board your favorite ship - after all of your excellent reviews we booked the AOS because of your passion for this ship :)

 

Cara - Have a fantastic cruise! I know you will ....:D Like some of the other posters have suggested, get your camera out and take some pics of the ship before all 3000+ passengers are onboard!

 

Be sure to come back and let us know how your week went!

[rupertfrog]

I have sent emails to Spencer Ambrose and to Fabian Tours -- inquiring about availability and tours they will have available on the day (when our AOS cruise is in port - 3/23/11).

 

Fabian answered immediately with some options and questions re: how many are in my party? any children/ages?

 

If anyone is using either of these Tour providers OR has used them in the past .... I'd like to know your experience pros & cons.

[cookie225]

thank you CKROBYN for sharing your pictures....

Here are my questions....

1) your picture of mullet bay beach is beautiful, is it private or public? and i'm assuming is in ST Maarten:D

2) Did your Itinerary have Dominica? My Itinerary does and I haven't found a nice beach to go to, not any good pics anyway:(

3) I'm a little worried about my roll call, there are very few people listed, can this be a chartered trip? How can i find out?

 

After looking at the pics of Marriott Stellaris, i wanna go!! Have to get Toonjie to give me the "secrets" so i can get it on PL:p

Ok thats enough for tonight, will check back tomorrow!

[cookie225]

oops..I just noticed, i'm not stopping in ST Maarten:mad:

[ckrobyn]

thank you CKROBYN for sharing your pictures....

Here are my questions....

1) your picture of mullet bay beach is beautiful, is it private or public? and i'm assuming is in ST Maarten:D

2) Did your Itinerary have Dominica? My Itinerary does and I haven't found a nice beach to go to, not any good pics anyway:(

3) I'm a little worried about my roll call, there are very few people listed, can this be a chartered trip? How can i find out?

 

After looking at the pics of Marriott Stellaris, i wanna go!! Have to get Toonjie to give me the "secrets" so i can get it on PL:p

Ok thats enough for tonight, will check back tomorrow!

 

Hi Cookie :)

 

We LOVE Mullet Bay - in fact it was where we spent our honeymoon 16 years ago, so it holds a very special place for us. The beach is definitely public, and yes it is in St.Maarten!

 

Our first time on Dominica was last year, and we didn't do anything except walk around the port.....we are leaving in 40 days and we still haven't booked anything again this year! :eek:

 

Some roll calls are just painfully sloooooow! When are you cruising? I'm not sure exactly how you can find out if your ship is chartered.....

 

The Marriott Stellaris is by far one of my favorite hotels anywhere! Maybe it is because we are always there the night before each of our cruises and we are Soooooo excited! Having said that, it is a wonderful hotel in a great location on the Condado. We love having all sorts of shops and restaurants nearby :) The rooms are all modern and clean. A great place to start a cruise vacation!!!!

[Lorey2007]

Robyn your photo's are all just fabulous thanks so much for posting I am soooo excited! We also got Marriott Stellaris on PL and your photo's had be wanting to see more.

 

Cookie225 - Our roll call is also a little slow seems like no one wants to chat like I do.

[ckrobyn]

Robyn your photo's are all just fabulous thanks so much for posting I am soooo excited! We also got Marriott Stellaris on PL and your photo's had be wanting to see more.

 

Lorey - That's terrific! You will really love the hotel. We have stayed in both the tower and the cabana wings of the property, and while we enjoy the tower - we really prefer the cabana (the rooms are just a little larger!). Will you be arriving early enough to enjoy the pool and other amenities??

[SeaLuvrrr]

I feel so bad for people that book the AOS, are totally excited to go....then they read a negative review.....freak out....and want to cancel! You will not be disappointed in the AOS. Do keep in mind however that every cruise experience is different - maybe something you loved on the Navigator won't be the same as the AOS, or maybe there will be something on the AOS that you love more than you loved on the Navigator - see my point??

 

We spent our honeymoon in May 08 on AOS and had a great time. Being a lover of Latin culture and music etc. I had no problem with the Puerto Rican passengers at all at the time and it was a novelty too but..........We went back in Nov 09 and had a whole different experience. Seemed to be way more Puerto Rican passengers and the ship catered more to them by far. We felt left out at times. The clincher was as we were trying to leave the ice show, there were a bunch of them singing songs and waving flags by the exit and up the stairs totally blocking our exit. What if there was a fire? It took us what seemed like forever to get out of there. that was the last straw for us and we decided never to take AOS again out of PR. Not an indictment of the ship which we loved and not an indictment of the PR people either. Just not our cup of tea.

[Ocean Boy]

oops..I just noticed, i'm not stopping in ST Maarten:mad:

 

I very much dislike that they dropped St. Maarten from one of the itineraries. Now it is not possible to get St. Thomas and St. Maarten in the same week.:mad: Unlike Robyn, I can't do a B/B in order to get both islands.:(

[Teeara]

Our first time on Dominica was last year, and we didn't do anything except walk around the port.....we are leaving in 40 days and we still haven't booked anything again this year! :eek:

 

Hi Robyn,

 

We're not planning on doing any excursions in Domenica on our cruise either. Any recommendations for walking around the port or should we just stay on the ship? Any souvenir stores or local crafts? Did you feel safe?

 

Thanks!

 

Theresa

[ckrobyn]

Hi Robyn,

 

We're not planning on doing any excursions in Domenica on our cruise either. Any recommendations for walking around the port or should we just stay on the ship? Any souvenir stores or local crafts? Did you feel safe?

 

Thanks!

 

Theresa

 

Theresa - Last year was our first ever time at Dominica and we had heard some "not so good" things about the island.... we did venture off the ship to take a peek at the shopping area (which is a close walk) and we found mostly local artisans, crafts and a few flea market like areas. There are no shops like you would find on some of the other islands - for cosmetics and perfumes, purses etc. Now, having said all of that, our tablemates came to dinner that night and RAVED about the island and their excursion (although now I cannot remember which excursion it was!!!!!)

[ckrobyn]

I very much dislike that they dropped St. Maarten from one of the itineraries. Now it is not possible to get St. Thomas and St. Maarten in the same week.:mad: Unlike Robyn, I can't do a B/B in order to get both islands.:(

 

I know what you mean...

 

Although we will still have a stop in St. Maarten the second week, it is our favorite island and we LOVED going there twice during our B2B's :)

[cookie225]

My sail date is 3/27. We have been to all the other stops before except Dominica so i may just take a tour because i don't like staying on the ship even if its just for half a day. Well i'll still lurk on my roll call but will be here most of the time:D

When should I try for the hotel?

[ckrobyn]

My sail date is 3/27. We have been to all the other stops before except Dominica so i may just take a tour because i don't like staying on the ship even if its just for half a day. Well i'll still lurk on my roll call but will be here most of the time:D

When should I try for the hotel?

 

If you are asking about your San Juan hotel and bidding on Priceline...I don't have an answer for you :( So far I have been fortunate enough to get my hotel nights in SJU on points. Perhaps someone who is familiar with PL can come in here and answer your question?

[cookie225]

oh ok, i may try with points but yes through priceline i think will be better......

WELL IT'S OFFICIAL!!! JUST PAID MY BOOKING:) I'm finally going to see this ship of our CKROBYN that I have been reading about for 2 years:eek:

[ckrobyn]

oh ok, i may try with points but yes through priceline i think will be better......

WELL IT'S OFFICIAL!!! JUST PAID MY BOOKING:) I'm finally going to see this ship of our CKROBYN that I have been reading about for 2 years:eek:

 

Way to go Cookie!!!!

You won't be disappointed :D:p

[Teeara]

Theresa - Last year was our first ever time at Dominica and we had heard some "not so good" things about the island.... we did venture off the ship to take a peek at the shopping area (which is a close walk) and we found mostly local artisans, crafts and a few flea market like areas. There are no shops like you would find on some of the other islands - for cosmetics and perfumes, purses etc. Now, having said all of that, our tablemates came to dinner that night and RAVED about the island and their excursion (although now I cannot remember which excursion it was!!!!!)

 

I'm more interested in local artisans and crafts than perfumes, jewelry, etc.

 

I've been doing research on the island, but it just isn't exciting me. I'm not a big nature buff and it also sounds like the roads are pretty rough. With both of us having back issues, I don't think it would be wise to take an excursion. We'll book the spa onboard the ship instead for that day.

[ckrobyn]

I'm more interested in local artisans and crafts than perfumes, jewelry, etc.

 

I've been doing research on the island, but it just isn't exciting me. I'm not a big nature buff and it also sounds like the roads are pretty rough. With both of us having back issues, I don't think it would be wise to take an excursion. We'll book the spa onboard the ship instead for that day.

 

You may enjoy a leisurely stroll around the port area if you are interested in local crafts etc.

 

A day at the spa on a port day is perfect - the price certainly will be! :D