Back from an amazing AOS cruise!

[ArcticZ]

Stargate fan, I really want to read about your trip but cannot. The pink lettering makes me feel woozy. Do you know how I can change the color?

 

I also had the same problem, its a little bit better if you highligh the pink text and drag it down. It will make the text white with a blue back ground.

 

 

I was also on the AOS last week and had a GREAT time!! The weather was great, the ship was smooth for the most part and the food was great. Reall liked the lam and duck! :)

I also like the Mexican act, forgot his name. But he did the thing with rope and the help from "Hosa"(sp) pretty funny!!!

[TryingCruising]

Thank you for your great review! I will be on the ship Sunday! :D

[dkort]

hi stargate:

 

do you remember where the synagogue is in curacao? i'd really like to see that.

 

thanks for the review.

[stargate fan]

I'm sorry. No one ever said anything before. If you drag your mouse over the text, it will highlight and will be easier to read.

 

Stargate fan, I really want to read about your trip but cannot. The pink lettering makes me feel woozy. Do you know how I can change the color?

[rmchunter]

I'm back. Let's see, where did I leave off? Ah, the ship. One thing we noticed was the lack of smokers on the ship. We were very surprised. Other than Carnival Paradise, this has been the least smokiest ship we've sailed. I don't know why.

Speaking of smoking, on the sun decks, 11 & 12, there are smoking and non-smoking sides. For our sailing, port side was non-smoking. There were no ashtrays on the port side but there were on starboard side.

Most of the lounges have non smoking areas. The dining room, which is grand and elegant, is non-smoking. So is the Lyric Theater. On the other hand, the casino is very smoky, although there are a few small areas with slots machines labeled as non-smoking areas.

The ship itself is so beautiful! Everything was in such nice condition. This did not feel or look like a five-year-old ship. A few times we saw workers cleaning, scraping, painting, etc. But they were very unobtrusive.

And even though there were over 3,000 passengers, not once did we feel croweded or have to wait in long lines.

Kids: there were lots of kids on board, including ours, but we hardly ever saw them. There were no elevator-button-pushing, take-over-the-solarium kids anywhere. All the kids we did see were polite.

Dining room: While we dressed well every night, I honestly could not tell you if people came in wearing shorts or tunxedos. We really didn't care who wore what. No body else mattered except for our group. Heck, when seated at the table, all you can really see is mid-chest and up, so we couldn't tell anyway. We were too busy stuffing, er... eating dinner. We laughed and talked all night long.

The eight kids were at the next table and all behaved neautifully, but that was expected from all the parents so it was a non-issue.

Other stuff: Our room steward was fine. Our sons' room steward was an angel.

(She'd have to be with four stinky teen boys in one room.)

We did not have C&A coupons in the safe, so if someone left from from the previous cruise, we did not get them. Personally, I think it is better to bring the leftovers home and give them out here.

Important: We learned that all SeaPass cards work on the first day. Even though we did not authorize it, our sons were able to charge when they bought their soda cards. (We were with them, so it was not a big deal for us.) Later that first night, we did make sure that thier charging priviliges were suspended.

More later. Am I whetting your appetite???

We too were on that cruise, the smoke was everywhere. The Promenade was filled with smoke, the open area from the lower decks pulled the smoke from Jesters and the casino right up the stairs. The forward section from studio "B" right up the grand staircase was as bad as the casino.

Also,The smokers were standing just outside all the bars on the Promenade, there was no way to avoid them. Many times on sea days we had to have the staff ask smokers to leave the port side of the pool, they would just lite up anywhere. Not one club on the whole ship was smoke free. We would not go on The Serenade again if it was free. Tell it like it is people, I wish we had known before we went.

[Nevertoolate]

I so enjoyed reading about your trip on the AOS. We will be sailing on her March 26 - after reading your report, am now more excited than ever.

 

One thing, the poster just mentioned she had been on the same cruise and won't ever go on the Serenade again - all about smoking. Which ship, which cruise??? In any case, after reading all about smoking on these boards, the cruise ships seem to have about the same rules - Starboard (smoking) Port (Non smoking) Casino has non-smoking areas, also. Obey the rules everyone and maybe we can all be happy.

[stargate fan]

Like I said earlier, I have asthma and one thing that inducs it is cigarette smoke. I never even had to unpack my inhaler. Maybe we were just at different parts of the ship at different times.

 

We too were on that cruise, the smoke was everywhere. The Promenade was filled with smoke, the open area from the lower decks pulled the smoke from Jesters and the casino right up the stairs. The forward section from studio "B" right up the grand staircase was as bad as the casino.

Also,The smokers were standing just outside all the bars on the Promenade, there was no way to avoid them. Many times on sea days we had to have the staff ask smokers to leave the port side of the pool, they would just lite up anywhere. Not one club on the whole ship was smoke free. We would not go on The Serenade again if it was free. Tell it like it is people, I wish we had known before we went.

[stargate fan]

Thank you. I am excited for you.

 

I so enjoyed reading about your trip on the AOS. We will be sailing on her March 26 - after reading your report, am now more excited than ever.

 

On the first sea day, my husband and I plopped ourselves in the first loungers we found. All of a sudden everyone around us started smoking. It was then that I remembered that one side is smoking and the other is not. I very quietly got up and went to the port side. We were in the wrong place. I never saw anyone smoke on the port side.

 

One thing, the poster just mentioned she had been on the same cruise and won't ever go on the Serenade again - all about smoking. Which ship, which cruise??? In any case, after reading all about smoking on these boards, the cruise ships seem to have about the same rules - Starboard (smoking) Port (Non smoking) Casino has non-smoking areas, also. Obey the rules everyone and maybe we can all be happy.

[stargate fan]

I remembered a couple of things:

The jewelry store on St. Maarten is called Jewelry Outlet. The sales people were very helpful. They have beauiful jewelry there.

Security on the ship was very strict regarding kids. Not only were there constant intercom reminders about the 1 am curfew, crew members stictly enforced it. One morning, our group of teens was at the elevator, calling for it, at 1:01 am. A crew member saw them and ran to a phone to call security. The kids were in the cabin by 1:05, so no harm done. FYI-we saw no unruly kids, no elevator-button pushers, no rudeness. The passengers of all ages were courteous.

[2CoolCanucks]

We were on the same cruise last wek and just loved it.

I think the poster who wrote this:

 

Originally Posted by rmchunter

We too were on that cruise, the smoke was everywhere. The Promenade was filled with smoke, the open area from the lower decks pulled the smoke from Jesters and the casino right up the stairs. The forward section from studio "B" right up the grand staircase was as bad as the casino.

Also,The smokers were standing just outside all the bars on the Promenade, there was no way to avoid them. Many times on sea days we had to have the staff ask smokers to leave the port side of the pool, they would just lite up anywhere. Not one club on the whole ship was smoke free. We would not go on The Serenade again if it was free. Tell it like it is people, I wish we had known before we went.

_________________________________________

might just be a little mixed up??? The ship I think we are talking about on this thread is the Adventure of the Seas NOT the Serenade.

Anyways, we went on the AOS 02/26/06 as well and being non-smokers, were not bothered by smoke too much at all. This issue would be very far down on my complaints list for sure. BTW, my "complaints list" hasn't been written yet since I didn't have any complaints to speak of. :)

 

....and to add to what was said about St. Thomas.

If you walk to BlockBusters, about 5 minutes away from the the terminal, there is a bus stop where local buses come by. We took it and for $2 pp we went all the way to RedHook. We got out there and had a delicious, CHEAP coffee for $1.25 on a terrace there over looking the marina. It was gorgeous. Then we boarded an other bus at the same stop we got off, and went all the way back to Blockbusters for an other $2. pp.

The road is very scenic through the mountains. One of the bus stops along the way is a huge shopping mall so if you want to shop at "regular" prices, you can get off there , shop and then reboard an other one of these buses. They are open sided and you board them on the left side, since the cars drive on the left. You pay the fare at the end of the trip but tell the driver where you want to go when you board. There are little buzzers on the ceiling to press when you want to get off.

 

El Goucho was the Spanish entertainer form Uruguay. He was fabulous!

We also loved the Ice Show and watched it twice. The First time, Tuesday, was the best.

They deleted some segments on the last showing. NOT to miss this.

 

And about the Synagogue. It is on the Punda side of Curacao (the other side of the canal)

and it is right in the heart of the downtown. It has a large, high wall around it (yellow). Ask the locals to point you in the direction and they will.

It is well worth seeing. Be prepared for a security check before you go in there. I'm not sure if there is a dress code for tours but there were for services. I took in some services there in the past on Friday nights. Unique experience! No cameras allowed inside the "sanctuary".

[robinm918]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review! Enjoyed reading all of it.

 

April 16th can't get here fast enough for me! Any comments about the airport - especially on the way home? We are flying in on the day we sail, so I'm already expecting to be stressed before boarding.

 

Regards,

 

Robin

[stargate fan]

You are most welcome.

Regarding the airport...I had read many reviews about SJU being a crazy place. I even envisioned chickens and goats running around. Couldn't be further from the truth. SJU is a wonderful airport.

Flying in, we were greeted by a music and dance troup strolling around. I got pictures of these talented people in their beautiful costumes. Retrieving our luggage took no time at all, but one member in our group had a mipalced bag. Filing a report was a little nuts, though. Her bag showed up and was driven to the hotel before nightfall. (This happens at every airport around the world.)

We checked our bags with AA at the pier. Smartest thing ever! No luggage to worry about and we even stuffed ours a bit over the 50 lb. limit. :D

At the terminal there were plenty of seats to wait for our flight. There was a little cafe that sold hot dogs, cold pre-made sandwiches, and coffee and drinks. There were shops. It looked just like a smaller airport, say Manchester or Providence.

I would definitely fly into San Juan again. It was very pleasant on both legs of our trip.

Don't be stressed! As soon as you exit the airport, there are people milling about. You'll see a taxi stand, but you must wait in line. A dispatcher will come up to you, ask your destination, # of people, # of luggage. You'll then get a slip knowing exactly how much to pay the driver. We waited in line no more than 10 minutes, max. It is very smoothly run and very quick. And don't bother getting a porter. The distnce from the doors to the taxi line is maybe 100 feet! Save the money and pull your own bags.

Does that help at all?

Thank you for taking the time to write your review! Enjoyed reading all of it.

 

April 16th can't get here fast enough for me! Any comments about the airport - especially on the way home? We are flying in on the day we sail, so I'm already expecting to be stressed before boarding.

 

Regards,

 

Robin

[robinm918]

That has to be the most positive description I've ever read about the San Juan airport! Thanks for the tip about the taxi line, and also that you can check in baggage with AA at the pier rather than at the airport.

 

Thank you again!

 

Robin

[rmchunter]

It's like the rest of you were on a different ship not I. We were on the Adventure of the Seas 02/26/06 and it was bad. The ship is set up all wrong, the staircase draws the smoke out of the casino and Jesters right to the promenade deck. The clubs on the promenade deck were all smoking bars, there were always crusiers lined up blowing smoke into the promenade in the evening and on sea days. There was not one smoke free club on the whole ship. Many times we had to ask the crew to have smokers on the port side of the pool move to the other side, but they did go. (After being told they would be removed from the deck if they didn't do as asked).

[Coldhater]

We were on the same trip and the only time the smoking was bad was the casino. It does not bother me, so I may not be as sensitive to it as others. We did have one smoker with us and he was told that, in the pool area, one side is designated for smokers and one isn't. We lounged with him on the smokers side and had no problems.

 

We enjoyed the trip but felt the entertainment in the bars/clubs were lacking. But everyone has their own likes/dislikes.

 

We missed Orient Beach but we heard it described the same as your description. We have been to several islands on cruises-this island became our new favorite and we didn't even get to see the good stuff.

 

Thanks for the review-it brings back happy memories!

[stargate fan]

Like I stated earlier, I was expecting pure bedlam. But it was truly delightful.

We live in New England, where we have the option of smaller Manchester and Providence airports and larger Logan. SJU felt just like being in Manchester or Providence.

 

Whoever thought of checking in luggage at the pier is a genius. It was so nice not having to schlep our stuff through the airport or wait in a check-in line. Since we already had our boarding passes, we went right to security.

 

That has to be the most positive description I've ever read about the San Juan airport! Thanks for the tip about the taxi line, and also that you can check in baggage with AA at the pier rather than at the airport.

 

Thank you again!

 

Robin

[stargate fan]

Slowly I remember more good times...

As C&A members, we were invited to a Welcome back party with free drinks and munchies. The captain spoke and had a question & answer session. He was very personable. Since I am a scrapbooker, I asked the staff at the door who were collecting the invitations if I could keep mine. I was told it was not a problem.

Towards the end of the week, we came to our cabin to find lovely canvas bags. They have the Royal Caribbean symbol and Adventure of the Seas embroidered on them. Very lovely and unexpected, since I had forgotten all about it, even though I have read every single post on AOS for a year. :D

[compcookie]

Thanks for the info on AOS. We are going on the May sailing and have never been to any of these Ports so this is all very appreciated.

[LoonBoarder]

stargate fan --

 

I think our kids may have met up on the cruise. Were yours in the front row getting 'harassed' by the comedian one night?? :p My son & his friend were in the 2nd row with one of the girls from Merrimack.

 

We blew off the M&M because we were enjoying the pool area a little too much, unfortunately missed out on meeting everyone. :o

 

 

This being our 11th cruise, we sort of decided to do our own thing on all the islands.

On Aruba, we'd pre-booked a snorkeling trip through Jolly Pirates (www.jollypirates.com) which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Two stops (Malmok and the Antilla (?) shipwreck, then a third stop for lunch, rope swing, and a little more snorleking. Back to the beach by about 2:30, then we took the bus back to the ship.

On Curacao, we took a taxi to the KonTiki Beach club, just a relaxing day under the palm trees. DW and I walked the beach over to the Sea Aquarium and saw a couple of the sea lions there. The folks there tried to entice us into going through the timeshare spiel, but we declined. We had lunch at KonTiki, then taxied back to the ship.

On St Maartin, another short taxi ride to the Divi Little Bay Beach Resort, where the boys went out on wave runners; we walked this beach as well, as it was kind of small. Still interesting and beautiful. Met up with a couple from our dinner table, who had booked an excursion through the ship which turned out to be at this beach - they got lunch thrown in. We took a taxi halfway back to the ship, did some shopping along Front Street then walked back.

On St Thomas, we took the taxi to Red Hook, actually waited out the ferry to St John, then took the taxi to Trunk Bay. Worth every minute of the wait (sorry!) - the snorkeling at Trunk Bay was excellent...

 

So now we have to decide where/when and on which line we cruise next...:p

[stargate fan]

Yup...those were our kids. I heard that the comedian razzed the heck out of them.

My sons told me about the boys. Which one was yours?

 

stargate fan --

 

I think our kids may have met up on the cruise. Were yours in the front row getting 'harassed' by the comedian one night?? :p My son & his friend were in the 2nd row with one of the girls from Merrimack.

 

We didn't make it either...I was relishing the warmth and sunshine on deck.

 

We blew off the M&M because we were enjoying the pool area a little too much, unfortunately missed out on meeting everyone. :o

 

We were afraid to wait anymore because we weren't sure we'd make it back to St. Thomas with the ferry situation. I really wanted to see St. John too. Maybe next cruise.

 

Our 25th wedding anniversary is in three years, and we are considering a cruise to Hawaii. It kills me to wait that long, but maybe we'll be able to squeeze another one in sooner. Who knows.

 

This being our 11th cruise, we sort of decided to do our own thing on all the islands.

On Aruba, we'd pre-booked a snorkeling trip through Jolly Pirates (www.jollypirates.com) which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Two stops (Malmok and the Antilla (?) shipwreck, then a third stop for lunch, rope swing, and a little more snorleking. Back to the beach by about 2:30, then we took the bus back to the ship.

On Curacao, we took a taxi to the KonTiki Beach club, just a relaxing day under the palm trees. DW and I walked the beach over to the Sea Aquarium and saw a couple of the sea lions there. The folks there tried to entice us into going through the timeshare spiel, but we declined. We had lunch at KonTiki, then taxied back to the ship.

On St Maartin, another short taxi ride to the Divi Little Bay Beach Resort, where the boys went out on wave runners; we walked this beach as well, as it was kind of small. Still interesting and beautiful. Met up with a couple from our dinner table, who had booked an excursion through the ship which turned out to be at this beach - they got lunch thrown in. We took a taxi halfway back to the ship, did some shopping along Front Street then walked back.

On St Thomas, we took the taxi to Red Hook, actually waited out the ferry to St John, then took the taxi to Trunk Bay. Worth every minute of the wait (sorry!) - the snorkeling at Trunk Bay was excellent...

 

So now we have to decide where/when and on which line we cruise next...:p

[LoonBoarder]

Mine's Tim, the redhead. So is your son the one who works at Staples? Bubble wrap, aisle 4?? :)

 

ABSOLUTELY go to Hawaii, at least once. I want to convince DW that we need to go back. We went for a belated 20th and visited 4 of the islands. Very hectic; I think taking a cruise around would make the inter-island travel better vs. taking the time flying around (rental car checkin, airport, flight, rental car checkout..) Our 25th will be in '07, and I have a hunch we'll be on a cruise that June.

 

We did consider bailing out on the ferry to St John, but stuck it out. I completely understand being concerned about the back-and-forth. As you said, there's always next time :D.

[rwirwin]

Thanks for the review stargate. I'm a first time cruiser thinking of sailing the AOS in September. I've read a lot of reviews from ships going out of San Juan that complained of a lot of locals with little manners on board thanks to RCI selling vacancies last minute at cut rates. Did you experience any of this? That is really the one thing scaring my girlfriend and I from going - we don't want to spend all of our vacation dealing with rude passengers that also anger the crew.

[LoonBoarder]

sgf, hope you don't mind if I jump in.

 

The number of non-English-speaking passengers on this cruise definitely seemed higher to me, but I wouldn't say there was a lot of rudeness -- no more so than on any previous cruise we've taken :rolleyes: -- and that behavior wasn't confined to any particular subset of fellow passengers, either...

[stargate fan]

I don't know if it was just me being so excited about being on a cruise, but I experienced no rudeness whatsoever from anyone. (Not even my teenagers! :D ) I found all the passengers that I came into contact with delightful. I talked with people on the elvators, in line at the Windjammer, heck, I'm a talker. I had no problems at all.

Every night at the shows, the CD or the entertainer of the evening would start the show in English and repeat in Spanish. Each night only handfuls of groups answered back in Spanish. And there was no knowing if they were from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Mainland US, or any other place.

There was a sign at the purseres desk stating that all cabins were occupied. As to who was in which cabin, I dunno.

Go with your girlfriend. The ship is beautiful. San Juan is beautiful. The people are wonderful.

I can't wait to go back again some day.

 

Thanks for the review stargate. I'm a first time cruiser thinking of sailing the AOS in September. I've read a lot of reviews from ships going out of San Juan that complained of a lot of locals with little manners on board thanks to RCI selling vacancies last minute at cut rates. Did you experience any of this? That is really the one thing scaring my girlfriend and I from going - we don't want to spend all of our vacation dealing with rude passengers that also anger the crew.

[bettylou5]

stargate fan,

Great review so far. I know that clothing wasn't really an issue to you, but I am wondering if you noticed on formal nights what the dress length majority was? I am in my late 20's and will be on AOS April 2nd and I am just not sure what length dress to bring. Thanks

 

We just came off the Jewel of the Seas...(so sad:( I keep clicking my heels but I can't get back even though I'm chanting..."There's no place like the ship....there's no place like the ship.")

 

This was our first cruise that included formal nights so I was concerned as well but I saw so many women in so many different kinds of outfits...it was great. I took 2 cocktail dresses, both mid-length. I saw many women in full-length gowns, some of the younger ones wore what I would call "prom" dresses. Some had glittery tops with long skirts, some wore their best church dresses and there were some wearing disco dresses. I would say that there were probably more mid-length than full but it was really across the board.

 

The really neat part was that everyone was happy!! I felt beautiful in my little black chiffon and I think every other woman did too. Even those wearing dresses that weren't actually formal seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely and I never got the impression that anyone was looking askance at anyone else as if they were dressed improperly. As we all walked the ship on formal nights it was a pleasure to see all of the different ways that people "dress up."

 

You wear what makes you feel like a princess and you'll have a ball!!:D