AOS Review - August 23rd - 30 Southern Caribbean

[xcell]

This was our first Southern Caribbean Cruise but my 5th, DW 4th, DD5 3rd, and DD2 2nd

We have only cruised with RCI (got married on it and never left it). Last ship we cruised was Liberty of the Seas Eastern Caribbean.


Traveling to San Juan

We listened to all the CC advice and traveled the day before our cruise but the only flight we could get was a US Airways 6:45am, which meant we had to wake up at 4am to get to the airport on time. Luckily the kids were good (DD5 was so excited she went to bed very early the night before) and there was no troubles getting to the airport. Surprisingly there was a very long line up at the ticket counter but we still made it through with time to spare.

We had connecting flights in Philly and the plane had some mechanical problems so our flight was delayed. Luckily a Bremuda flight was totally cancelled and they gave us that plane, otherwise we would have been delayed for who knows how long. One hour behind schedule but still on our way, we arrived in San Juan and the car service (www.cabspr.com) I hired promptly picked us up at the airport and drove us to the Marriot Sterallis. We liked Evelyn so much and the rates were reasonable (approx. $30 with tips) we asked her to pick us up the next day and also after the cruise.

We booked the Marriott through price line and got it for $86 a night. We had two adjoing rooms, one with my family and the other for the grand parents. Adjoining rooms with kids, makes for more room and I highly recommend it if you can get it. DW was so tired when we got our rooms (city view, overlooking the entrance) she just crashed. However, after looking at that pool I just changed the girls and went down for a swim. The pool was amazing, the water was so warm, and we had a nice time.




Again based on a CC recommendation we went to Café de Angels (out the front door to your right, approx 5 min walk) for dinner. Prices were reasonable, I had the mofongo (plantains), DW had the roasted pork, DD2 & 5 had the fried chicken, Grandma had the Pork chops and Grandpa had the roasted pork. Although the mofongo is a traditional dished, I regretted ordering it because it was just too starchy. The roasted pork was too dry but the pork chop was to die for.

We went back home and on the way dropped by the Walgreen (on the way home) to pick up some bottle water (more on this later) and crashed in the hotel. The main complaint about this hotel as per other reviewers was that it is noisy. When we first arrived it seemed that the reviewers were wrong, it looked like any other hotel but at night, watch out. DW couldn’t sleep because she heard the cars and people coming in to party (we were on the 7th floor) but I was so tired I slept like a baby. The next morning, we went to breakfast at Danny’s (out the front and to your left). Great breakfast!! That’s all I can say. DD5, DD2 and I went to the beach to look around. The waves are always too strong so not recommended for kids to play but we just played in the sand and goofed around. Next time, I would have loved to stay an extra day to look around San Juan and enjoy everything it has to offer.



Evelyn picked us up at 11am as promised and off to the port we went. There are two lines, one to drop off the bags and the other to get into the terminal. Remember to drop the bags off first and then join your party in the other line. It was hot, so it felt like forever to get into the terminal but once in, it was less than 30 min before we were on the boat and eating at the WJ.


More to come....

[LadyQuasi]

Goody! A review of AOS! Keep it coming!

[cruzincanuck]

Fantastic start to your review !! Looking forward to the next installments!!

[xcell]

Thanks...how do you edit my original post - I made an error in the spelling of Bermuda....

[KTMay1917]

Thanks for the rec on the car service. I think I'm going to check into that for our Oct. AOS cruise.
Kind of an odd question but did you notice if the Walgreens also had the liquor store section in it like they do in Florida?
Thanks and can't wait to read the rest of your review.

[DrmnOfMaui]

I'm excited reading your review!! We did Southern Caribbean in July and I'm still having the Post Vacation Blues.

As for the edit.... I think you only have about 15 minutes after you post to edit. I think you are out of luck now! (I didn't even notice the misspelling. Don't worry!)

Looking forward to more review. (Your daughters are adorable!)

[travel_babe]

Great review so far, and I love the pics, those girls are so cute!

[masonpips]

Adding myself so I can read every word!! Great start!

[misty57]

Thanks for the tip on car service! That would be one way to cut down on the stress! Did she charge pp or a flat fee? It will be just my DH and I in February. We're staying at the Radisson pre cruise and the Marriott post cruise. How did you like the hotel other than the noise?

[Jan_In_Maine]

Jermaine - I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your review. We had a wonderful time on the cruise .... great weather, wonderful ports. Jan

[xcell]

From the airport to the hotel was $15 + $1/bag but if you make reservations ahead of time it cost me an extra $5 but for the convenience it was well worth it. (that's the fee for up to 5 people). If you want her number you can email me and I can pass it along...I promised her since we received good service.

I brough my car seat for the kids but really never installed them, I know I took a risk but the drive was short and relatively slow, plus it was a large van that picked us up. We did buckle them in and sat them in the middle but I know what might have happened... This happened in Miami as well...

When the kids go to bed I'll type so more...

[khank]

We fly to San Juan tomorrow for this cruise. I'm anxiously awaiting to read your review. Was there an issue with the water from Walgreen's? We plan to purchase bottled water there prior to boarding.

[retafcruiser]

Originally Posted by xcell

From the airport to the hotel was $15 + $1/bag but if you make reservations ahead of time it cost me an extra $5 but for the convenience it was well worth it....

What does the $5 do for you? Is your ride waiting for you so that you don't have to stand in a long line? Is it like a limo where someone has your name on a sign and wisks you away? I am all for convenience, but would like to understand what that convenience is. Thanks!!

[xcell]

For the $5 there's a person waiting at the airport with a sign with your name on it and you bypass the taxi line. I don't think she charged me the other two times (ie. from hotel to port and port to airport).

The water at walgreens was fine - 12 bottles for $3.00 but that was a sale. There was a watercard on the AOS (similar to the coke card) but if anyone actually bought it I would be surprised. I think it was like 28 bottles for $72 (regular price for water is like $4.00)...I swear if anyone bought that, shame on them.

khank - since you are going on the cruise tomorrow, here's what I suggest...don't book ship excursions, there are plenty of taxi's or tour buses waiting outside the terminal to take you around. Most are around $15 per person, except for Dominica where it was $20. There was a section for preferred taxis and they were charging $20 per person, but there were also taxis on the other side of the gate (who were not allowed in - our driver said because they all take turns on who gets in to the preferred zone - RCI comes once every 2 weeks and carnival once a week) that were willing to negotiate. We took a taxi for 3 adults and 2 kids and he just charged for the adults $15 pp. In St. Thomas we took a taxi to Maegan's Bay - it was $8 pp/each way and $4 pp to get into the beach. The cruise was charging $29 pp.

Any ways, I'm getting ahead of myself, I don't want to ruin the rest of the review...if you guys have any specific questions, feel free to ask...

[lostdart58]

Originally Posted by xcell

For the $5 there's a person waiting at the airport with a sign with your name on it and you bypass the taxi line. I don't think she charged me the other two times (ie. from hotel to port and port to airport).

...

The taxi line at the San Juan airport is not a big issue.

[Texas Teen]

Can't wait for more review!

[xcell]

Day 2 - Day at Sea

We woke up and had breakfast at the MDR. Food was...well, food. I'm not much of a picky eater, just happy to eat but it's much nicer than the buffet for sure. If you have the time, then I would suggest having Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in the MDR (lunch is only available on sea days).

We originally booked this cruise because we met a couple on the last cruise who we got along with well and they were going on this route as well. We linked our reservations together but the first night, we weren't sitting at the same time. They had a hell of a time getting to the boat, almost missing it because of a mechanical problem with the plane (continental). They made the boat (in the nick of time) but their clothes didn't (they had to wait to Aruba to get it). The funny thing was when we were booking this cruise I asked if they were going to come in the day before "just in case" but they said they never had a problem...I guess I jinxed it. We bumped into them at the Windjammer for lunch and DD5 was happy as could be. Service was nice...always someone asking to bring you a drink. Food was good...made myself something different each and every day.



This was the day of the M&M - my parents had fun. I'm not much of a social butterfly, so I'm not sure if any of the M&M people actually met me. They served some appetizers, and drinks (virgin). My mom thought the ice tea was coke...side note: why is american ice tea just cold tea? Canadian ice tea is much sweeter... They handed out some sort of wallet for the M&M group and a raffle for a few prizes...my dad won a highlighter...they really cut back on gifts.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the ship (since we went on LOS last time, this didn't really take up too much time) and planning what were going to do the next day. DD5 was in adventure ocean and she really enjoyed this, almost too much....



We took DD2 swimming...the pool was salt water. I think LOS was too but this time it was quite salty. I would suggest goggles to prevent your eyes from burning. We didn't notice any chair hogs, actually most of the time it didn't feel too busy. The frozen yogurt line was pretty short too



This was the first of two formal nights (both on Sea days). We dressed the girls up and came down for dinner. Again, the food was good, nothing to write home about but food is food for me. I didn't try any of the speciality restaurants.





On to Aruba...

[xcell]

Lostdart58 - I agree, the taxi line was easy and went quickly, but when you are travelling with 2 small kids, it helps when you arrive everything is arranged. Any ways, $5 is not a lot for pre-booking the taxi service. I was quoted from one shuttle service $65 each way for my party of 6, so $30 was a steal IMHO.

[lostdart58]

Hey...what happened to the rest of day one??

[khank]

xcell - Thanks for the info. We are doing all of our excursions on our own. I've done my research on these boards. I just finished packing and look forward to reading more of your review.