Just Returned from 7/25 AOS Sailing

My wife and I just returned from the 7/25 sailing on AOS. Overall, we had a wonderful time but we were disappointed in alot of areas. This was our first cruise on RCCL. We have only sailed Norwegian prior.

The ship is unbelievable. It was everything I imagined and more. The promenade is something special. I thought the promenade would actually appear much smaller in person than the pictures make it out to be. To my surprise, the promenade was bigger than we could have imagined and we loved sitting in the various bars and cafes along the promenade. The ship is just beautiful and amazing. Anyone who hasn't sailed on a Voyager class ship will be amazed.

Positives
* As mentioned, the ship is just unbelievable
* The entertainment was just awesome. There is so much going on every night - you simple can't make every show. We saw terrific comedians, the ice show is special and we saw the Drifters who were great. There is also a terrific bands that play daily in various lounges.

Negatives
* The food in the Windjammer was GROSS. Breakfast and lunch was just plain awful. For example, the bacon at breakfast was 90% fat, the hamburgers at lunch were always so well done they were dry and the cold cuts were full of fat. Just plain awful! The food at Johnny Rockets was alittle better but below standards. The food in the dining room, however, was very good. We ate dinner there every night and one lunch. I did not have a bad meal in the dining room.
*In addition to the bad food, it was very difficult to find seats at the Windjammer. They closed one half of the buffet, including the seating area, sharply at 10AM every day. However, on most days, there were too many people who were still coming to breakfast at 10am to warrant closing 1/2 of the buffet. As a result, it was chaos! Walking with a heavy tray of food for 20 minutes trying to find a seat is something I would expect at the food court at the mall and not on a vacation I just spent $4,000+ for. This was unacceptable! Also, good luck getting a drink or coffee. When the staff was working for tips, they often did not work very hard!!
* Cleanliness of the ship - The bathrooms on the ship were not kept very clean and most smelled pretty badly. Also, my stateroom was not cleaned well.
* No robes!
* Impossible to get an elevator on the boat. Way too few elevators for a ship with approx. 3,800 passengers.
* crowds everywhere - everything was crowded all the time. Was usually hard to walk.
* Felt very rushed on the last day of the cruise. We had to be out of our rooms by 8am. Thats very early. While we had to vacate our rooms on Norwegian by about 9am/10am, the staff seemed to have an attitude of "thank you very much for sailing with us but now GET OUT!"
*Cruise director is dull
* While you can find food anytime on the ship, I did not find the food as plentiful as we were used to with Norwegian. For example, Norwegian had a bbq every afternoon around 3-4pm at the pool where they grilled yummy steaks, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. There was nothing like this on AOS.

Overall, we had a great time but I am not sure I would sail RCCL again. While Norwegian does not have a ship that can touch the Voyager class ships, I thought they did a much better job with the overall experience and certainly in the food area. The Golden Princess was in 3 of the ports we sailed to on the same day. We met some people from that boat who raved about the food, service and overall experience. I may try Princess for my next cruise.

Do you know how late passengers were allowed to check-in/board prior to the 10pm departure from San Juan? Thanks!

We did not leave until 11:30 because there was a late arriving flight from NY with 18 passengers.

Is there any chance that the "daily" from the first day stated what time boarding in San Juan was "supposed" to close?

yes, 8:30

Do you know what time the teens program met on the first day?

don't know

Was Mike Hunnerup still the cruise director? When we went in April, I thought he and his staff did an EXCELLENT job! Although it was my first cruise, I was amazed at everything he did throughout the day.

Funny about people's food tastes, I thought NCL food was awful! But then again I know low fat does not really do anything healthy for you ( the studies were frauds) so I am not upset by fats. And as for NCL buffet, ha! Old country buffet was 100 x better. But when I was on AOS everything looked and tasted good.The food on AOS was far superior in my opinion. I guess it is what you get used to. My SIL was an awful cook but her kids think she is the best, so I never put much weight in opinions on food.:eek: So for those who are sure that your trip will be ruined by th food, remember everyones tastes are different:rolleyes:

It is so true that everyones taste is different. I was on AOS 7/11 and thought the food in the windjammer was good and never had a hard time finding a table. I also liked the cruise director, Mike Hunnerup. I do agree about the uncleanliness in the public restrooms. RCI needs to work on this. I haven't been on NCL so I can't compare it.