VOS - 7/24 gripes

Got back from the VOS about a month ago. My first cruise ever. Overall had a great time but here are my gripes about it:

Put nets on the pools at random times (to prevent you from going in) even though the itinerary says they are open 24 hours, VERY annoying.

I was very surprised at the size of the pools and hot tubs, very very small.

"Adults only" pool always had kids in it.

NO ONE was around the pool area after midnight. I was VERY surprised by this.

Most bars closed way too early and would open very early in the morning (like 9 AM, I don't need an "eye opener" at 9 AM).

Casino schedule was terrible. At night, I would stop by after the bar around 2-3 AM and they would close the place even if the number of people was decent. Very annoying when you want to gamble and they kick you out.

BINGO was the WORST thing on the ship :mad: . I know they want to make a profit but it cost $35 for the entire game and we had at least 200 people in the room. That's a $7000 prize pool and they only paid a total of $1000 in prizes!!!!!! Unbelievable! This is a nightmare for any gambler who looks at odds.

BlackJack tournament was similar to the BINGO but instead I paid $20 to enter and only got to play 7 total hands, which took all of 5 minutes.

Dinner in the dining room took at least 2 hours every night and we wouldn't get out until almost 11 PM.

They turned the basketball court into a volleyball court for us from 6-7 PM. We had a nice 6 on 6 game going, everyone was having a great time. The very second that 7 PM hit, they forced us off the court so everyone can play basketball again. All 12 of us left and about 2 people came on to play basketball. I saw this as being a little asinine. 80% of the day, it's a basketball court...the other 20% is split between volleyball and Dodgeball. They could of at least let us played some more seeing as how no one was there to play basketball and we had such a large group already playing volleyball. I find this similar to the mother who says to her kids "OK, next point wins" when the score is 74-30.

Overall, some places seemed to be overcrowded at certain times.

Only had one nightclub and it wasn't very full after midnight.

Most of the "singles" events that I read about in the daily newsletter were nothing more than just a "gather here at ..." and nothing else. I thought it would be some form of an organized event but really wasn't. I read a lot about singles and meeting other singles on the ship but I found this never to really be the case. As a 26 year old male, I only found those who were 18-19 and those over 35, nothing near my age.

Anyone ever experience these similar gripes? No more than 3 months removed from my first cruise, I will be going on the AOS on 10/23 with an entirely different group of friends. Hopefully it will be just as good if not better.

If you had a great time over all, how about listing what you did like? There was something I did not like on every cruise so far but I will had a great time and look forward to more.

I had similar problems on Explorer in July. It seems that there are too many people to get the "cruise" experience. We booked another cruise on a smaller ship and are looking forward to that. Although the ship was a magnificent vessel, the service seemed less than up to par for certain areas. I was really upset about the "24 hour pools and Solarium" what a joke. I wrote a letter to RCI about everything (trust me there was alot more) and they just sent a "form" letter with two $50.00 coupons, but heh, its 100 bucks.

Help me with this one. You said "Hopefully it will be just as good if not better", and yet you say nothing good about it? It is sad that you found so many thing wrong with your cruise. I was on the VOS 2 weeks ago and did not have the problems you had.

The compass states that there is always 1 pool and 1 hot tub open 24hrs. Couldn't you find it? I always did. And why were you "VERY" surprised that no one was in the pools after midnight since they were all closed according to you?

The bar hours are usually not a problem since there are 11 of them. All of them do not stay open all night, but there is always someplace to get a drink. It just might not be the ideal open that you are looking for. At 2am the disco always seemed to be jumping on my sailing, and there was usually a crowd in the Pig & Whistle too.

The casino hours were always good for me. Too good really since I don't play during the day and they opened at 9am on sea days. Maybe you need to get there a little earlier than 3am.

Don't play BINGO if you don't like the payouts!

Maybe you should try the early sitting for dinner if 11pm is too late. I have cruised 7 times on 5 different lines and dinner takes about 2 hours on all of them except maybe Disney since there are alot of kids and they won't sit that long.

I will agree that I do not like there sports deck schedule. Not the basketball court per se, but this like the rock wall and in-line skating could have better hours, but you just learn to work around these things.

I really hope that your AOS cruise is a better experience for you, but since it is the same cruise line and a sister ship you better prepare yourself for a similar experience.

Another 1st time poster....

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. Perhaps it will be different on the AOS. I sailed on the NOS in January and did not experience the problems you did. Perhaps though, given the fact that you are single, fairly young and are looking for a more singles-oriented party atmosphere with drinking and dancing, you might enjoy Carnival's fun ships?

In terms of specific gripes:

Got back from the VOS about a month ago. My first cruise ever. Overall had a great time but here are my gripes about it:

Put nets on the pools at random times (to prevent you from going in) even though the itinerary says they are open 24 hours, VERY annoying.

I was very surprised at the size of the pools and hot tubs, very very small.

"Adults only" pool always had kids in it.

NO ONE was around the pool area after midnight. I was VERY surprised by this.

We often had pools closed on our cruise due to very rough weather. This is for safety purposes. Perhaps it was the same on your cruise. When the water was calmer, there was always at least one pool and one hot tub open.

 

We also found that some nights there were people by the pool and others there weren't- but if there wasn't something happening outside, there usually was inside so this didn't bother us.

Most bars closed way too early and would open very early in the morning (like 9 AM, I don't need an "eye opener" at 9 AM).

Looking at my Compasses, very few bars were open at 9 am and most were open until 1 am. Casino and the night club were open later.

Casino schedule was terrible. At night, I would stop by after the bar around 2-3 AM and they would close the place even if the number of people was decent. Very annoying when you want to gamble and they kick you out.

That poor staff has to sleep some time! If you had done some research before you left, you would know this was not a 24 hour venue. I think 2-3 am is a reasonable closing time.

BINGO was the WORST thing on the ship :mad: . I know they want to make a profit but it cost $35 for the entire game and we had at least 200 people in the room. That's a $7000 prize pool and they only paid a total of $1000 in prizes!!!!!! Unbelievable! This is a nightmare for any gambler who looks at odds.

We only played the last round, the prize for which was $8,000. I didn't think that was anything to sneeze at. Yes the Bingo is expensive but you know that before you play, so it's up to you to choose.

Dinner in the dining room took at least 2 hours every night and we wouldn't get out until almost 11 PM.

When have you ever gone to a nice restaurant, had a 4 course meal and gotten out of there in less than 2 hours? Actually, my husband and I found that most nights we were done in 1.5 hours so we were usually out at 10 pm. A faster option if you don't want to miss out on the action would be the Windjammer.

They turned the basketball court into a volleyball court for us from 6-7 PM. We had a nice 6 on 6 game going, everyone was having a great time. The very second that 7 PM hit, they forced us off the court so everyone can play basketball again. All 12 of us left and about 2 people came on to play basketball. I saw this as being a little asinine. 80% of the day, it's a basketball court...the other 20% is split between volleyball and Dodgeball. They could of at least let us played some more seeing as how no one was there to play basketball and we had such a large group already playing volleyball. I find this similar to the mother who says to her kids "OK, next point wins" when the score is 74-30.

I checked my Compasses and the times for Volleyball and Basketball are clearly listed. It is a shame that your game was disrupted but you should have known that it would have to end at a certain time when you started.

Overall, some places seemed to be overcrowded at certain times.

That is a problem on the larger ships, especially in peak season. I did not experience it on the NOS but I can see where it would be a problem. Only thing you can do is sail on a ship with less passengers or in a quieter time of the year.

Only had one nightclub and it wasn't very full after midnight.

You should have known before you sailed that there was only one dance spot (it's in the brochures) and again, how busy it is varies from cruise to cruise. Some nights it was packed others slow on our trip.

Most of the "singles" events that I read about in the daily newsletter were nothing more than just a "gather here at ..." and nothing else. I thought it would be some form of an organized event but really wasn't. I read a lot about singles and meeting other singles on the ship but I found this never to really be the case. As a 26 year old male, I only found those who were 18-19 and those over 35, nothing near my age.

Again, it depends on the cruise. We had lots of people in their 20's and early 30's on our cruise (in fact a real mix of all ages which we liked). There is never a guarantee but you might want to try a cruise line more focused on your age group...

Anyone ever experience these similar gripes? No more than 3 months removed from my first cruise, I will be going on the AOS on 10/23 with an entirely different group of friends. Hopefully it will be just as good if not better.

I'm glad you liked it enough to go on another one, though you don't present any info stating what you did like. Seriously though, if this stuff bothered you, you might want to try another line/style of ship. Personally, as a 34 year old I LOVED the NOS, had no complaints, found lots to do, the ship shut down long after I did each night, I met a wonderful variety of age groups, married and single people, families and couples. Hopefully you Oct. AOS cruise will be a better fit for you.

Cheers,

The lack of enforcement of kids in the adult area is really the only thing I can see from your list of comments that RCI could have done something about. If this happens on my cruises, I call Security and then the Pursers Desk. I really enjoy the adult spots and want to be able to enjoy them.

I often cruise as a single and seldom go to any of the singles events. Even the ones that are organized have a "forced fun" feel and I have never cared for them. However, I do not cruise in the hope of meeting other singles as I enjoy cruising for its own sake.

Cruise ship dinners are always an event. Perhaps Windjammer would have been a better choice if you were in a hurry to get through your meals.

On many of my RCI cruises, the disco was hopping til 2 or 3. Perhaps it was just your particular sailing that was quieter in the evenings than normal.

I had a very good time on AOS and sailed solo so hopefully you will enjoy this cruise with your friends more than the first one.

Put nets on the pools at random times (to prevent you from going in) even though the itinerary says they are open 24 hours, VERY annoying.

I was very surprised at the size of the pools and hot tubs, very very small.

"Adults only" pool always had kids in it.

NO ONE was around the pool area after midnight. I was VERY surprised by this.

 

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There's usually two reasons for nets covering the pools. One is they are drained do to rough seas. Second they are closed for cleaning, which happens daily, and at night when very few people would want to use them.

NO ONE was around the pool area after midnight. I was VERY surprised by this........

 

Overall, some places seemed to be overcrowded at certain times.

 

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So which is it, do you want crowds of people or no one around???? I don't understand.:confused:

A ship is NOT Las Vegas, so if there are only a few people in the casino , they close it!:rolleyes: