Aos Member's Review

[Catnip]

Unfortunately, we DON'T miss it..... June 24, 2007. :(

 

Tim,

This far out, can you change your weeks and go another week?

[Family Man]

Coordinating my FF miles was difficult. It may be worth a try.

[Cruising89143]

Coordinating my FF miles was difficult. It may be worth a try.

 

Tim, I would try to change it. I was on the Sensation ten years ago when they had one of these groups on board. They took over the entire ship. Not fun.

 

And to the person that stated that the TA should have told them about this group, how do you expect the TA to do this when the cruise lines will not give out information concerning groups on board?

[BuyReallyLow]

I always feel bad when someone has a bad experience on a cruise. We have had so much fun and have enjoyed it so much ... I guess that's why we keep coming back!

 

To a point, I think you make your own fun as well. We have experienced a few things that we have not liked on past cruises, such as people who have a different value set than you (whether it be their behavior, their music, their dance, their "idea of fun" etc). Or people who are not having a good day who are "helping" you. (Bad Service, No Ice in a bucket, etc). Or once in a while something that is not "perfect" like we've come to expect (remotes that don't work right, less than perfect food, etc). But we have never allowed it to ruin our enjoyment. We believe in "making our own weather", which we try to do.:) But if they were messing with my sleep, I guess I would certainly make it known that it was not appreciated!

 

We leave on Adventure this coming Sunday. We'll keep our eye out for things, and will be posting live from the ship to answer any questions and to provide observations of the goings-on. But we will certainly walk onto the ship believing that the weather will be 85 and sunny!

 

Thank goodness for cruising (and Cruisecritic!;) )

 

BRL

[bgomes]

We were on the October 8 sailing of the Adventure and had pretty much the same experience as Thornhillcruiser. We had sailed the year earlier on Serenade also from San Juan and loved it. Probably will not sail on Adventure ever again, but will definately sail RCCL

[hstrybuf]

Coordinating my FF miles was difficult. It may be worth a try.

 

Tim, give it a shot! I posted "elsewhere" about my own experiences sailing from San Juan on the Destiny during one of these quinceaneras. It was not a fun cruise except when we were in port. Because of that cruise, I absolutely refuse to sail any ship that embarks in San Juan. The locals were ill mannered and rude, rude, rude! And this was in 2002 so apparently nothing has changed.

[Tex_Jen]

Okay, my two cents are going to be added here.

 

I have cruised out of San Juan twice and will again in a few months. Both of those previous cruises were wonderful. Granted, I was on the Serenade during Easter week so there probably more children than usual, but luckily everyone was fairly well behaved.

 

My only cruise taken that I did not sail out of San Juan was difficult due to large numbers of roving teenagers. It was the Jewel out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

I think that you need to prepare yourself for rowdy kids and parents abdicating responsibility when you cruise on a holiday week (Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas). The OP had the added burden of a "theme" week. Again, the OP's experience sounds very much like my Jewel experience and as previous posters have stated, ethnicity has nothing to do with this rude behavior.

 

Hope future cruises are more enjoyable. Again, I plan on enjoying my Adventure again having not had any previous problems out of San Juan.:)

Jen

[Family Man]

Tim, give it a shot! I posted "elsewhere" about my own experiences sailing from San Juan on the Destiny during one of these quinceaneras. It was not a fun cruise except when we were in port. Because of that cruise, I absolutely refuse to sail any ship that embarks in San Juan. The locals were ill mannered and rude, rude, rude! And this was in 2002 so apparently nothing has changed.

 

I saw your post Deb. Thanks for sharing your experience. Deb, Denise, and Gordon, I am looking into alternatives. Thanks for your input.

[memoie]

OMG !!!!! We are booked out of And Juan Puerto Rico on the AOS in May, 2007. I can't believe this, it's horrible! We are a family of 6 and this will be our 1st cruise. We are flying from Calgary, Alberta to San Juan and the cost of the flight down is almost the same price as the cost of the cruise itself, all totalled rather a lot of money but we don't mind as we've heard many wonderful reviews UNTIL now, and for all of us it will probably be a once in a life time holiday as living so far away I don't see us doing a Caribbean cruise again - we will probably opt for something closer such as either a Mexican Riviera Cruise, Alaska Cruise or Hawaii Cruise. We have wonderful suites booked but I still don't plan on spending my holiday cooped up in there because the ship is overrun by a large group. I don't think that ethnicity comes into the factor but I could be wrong - like one poster said what else do you expect from a bunch of 15 year old girls. Based on my Granddaughter and her friends, all age 12, I think they're just as bad when they all get together - its nothing but giggles and screams expecially if there's a boy within their sights. Nevertheless, a holiday like this would be the "Holiday from Hell" and to pay big $$$ for it would be intolerable. I mean we're not talking a $10 bus ride across town are we. How very, very sad for this poster and others who have experienced the same. Those of you who live in the south western states and cruise more than once a year have the option of putting such a bad experience down to just that - a bad experience and then you are able to take another cruise the same year which I'm sure will more than make up for this horrible experience. But coming from so far I'm seriously thinking of cancelling our cruise. Could someone please reasure me that this is NOT the norm. And could someone please tell me I'm just in panic mode and really shouldn't be. I'm literally sick to my stomach after reading this - I cannot believe how these poor folk must have felt.

[lauren0309]

Hope January 7th will be a "safe week" for any kind of groups not coming on our ship. We want some peacefulness and not groups or clubs taking over the ship.

[weary traveler]

I sailed on the LOS outta Hawaii and the damned ship was "overrun" with those senior citizens... my goodness.. we were not prepared for them.. people falling asleep in their Lobster Bisque... miles upon miles of lines of seniors waiting for that last and largest piece of pizza at the 24 hour pizza station.. grumpy, slow and pasty looking people. why didnt RCCL advise us of this possibility????????? The men's room??? forget it.. how long do you have to stand and go number 1?????? and the fights over who was first in line????? we go to see a show onboard and had to climb over all those walkers and canes and i wont even mention wheelchairs (all which dissapeared in the casino or upon debarkation...(after the luggage))... :)

All I heard all week was "this food is terrible... put your teeth back in....Harry, your fly is open... It wasn't this way on the Titanic..." never again...

 

just ta make ya smile

Weary.. ( i really luv them all)

[kcagg16]

Family Man - I am on your post for our cruise next year. Please note that this year when we went we were also saw the first day a large group of young girls on the ship walking the promenade. Kimberly and I looked at each other and though oh oh - is this going to be bad. Well we never saw them again. Never ran into them wherever we went. We had early seating and maybe we missed them because of that. We had an awesome cruise which is why we booked the Aruba route for next year. I guess I am not sure what happened on the cruise for this post. Hope you stay with us.

[cruzin virgin]

We're on the July 8 sailing of AOS and I see it is listed as one of the "theme" dates. I don't think we will be able to change the date, so I am very hopeful that our experience is better than the one described here.

We are coming from British Columbia so this vacation will be quite expensive for us too.

 

I hope somebody has sailed on one of these theme cruises and not had their holiday ruined. Please tell us about it if you have, we're starting to panic here in Canada.

 

Thanks, Cruzin.

[lauren0309]

How do you find out if it is a "theme" cruise?

[cruzin virgin]

I read it in post #19 of this thread

[Family Man]

Here is a site I found yesterday. After seeing post #19 on this thread, I did a search and found this..... [URL="http://www.mediatekpr.com/aatours-av/ofertas-cruceros.htm"]http://www.mediatekpr.com/aatours-av/ofertas-cruceros.htm[/URL]

[schlannysays]

We travelled on the Serenade of the Seas on December 03, 2005 out of the San Juan port. Had it not been for the Southern Caribbean itinerary, I would never sail out of this port again. San Juan is a lovely city to stay in and it has a rich history, but in regards to cruising, it is subpar. The cruise terminal is makeshift and nothing in comparison to that of Miami's cruise terminal. I just found myself much more comfortable in Miami's terminal, which provided lounge seating and many other ammenities as opposed to the long crummy lines outside of what looks to be a warehouse. The airport was also a disaster. There was absolutely no organization and people were everywhere. I have never felt so claustrophobic in my life. I felt as if I was in a human pinball machine and I was getting bumped by rolling luggage constantly. Part of the problem was the abundance of families from Puerto Rico waiting to see their loved ones. Everyone was in a chaotic state and searching for their families while a huge line of people, including myself, inched forward every few minutes to find transportation to the pier.

As for the number of Puerto Ricans on the ship, yes, there were quite a few. Actually, I for once felt what it was like to be the minority as a white, well-off American. To be perfectly honest, the number of Puerto Ricans on the ship made me uncomfortable. I am fluent in the Spanish language, so I didn't mind too much that the language was in abundance around the ship. It seemed, however, that many of them travelled with particularly large families and they would clump together throughout the ship. I found them, at times, to be unsociable and rude, especially in regards to the buffet lines and tables at the Windjammer (They were always reserving seats for their large families and there were never any tables available. You would always see one lone person at a table for six or so and they would still be there waiting for their family as you left). It was also a problem on the elevators when they rushed in and you found yourself practically crushed by a huge family that was talking in a foreign language. This happened constantly. The Puerto Rican children were a tad rowdy, but not so much moreso than any other child on the ship. I suppose I just noticed it more because there were more of them. They seemed to stick their own, as is understandable, but it made it awkward many times. I felt very alienated and it was hard to find anyone to socialize with that had a similar background to me.

[lauren0309]

What about other "theme" cruises. Not necessarily the 16 year old girls cruises. Is there any way to find out dates of other themes.

[Yankee_Fan]

[quote name='schlannysays']We travelled on the Serenade of the Seas on December 03, 2005 out of the San Juan port. Had it not been for the Southern Caribbean itinerary, I would never sail out of this port again. San Juan is a lovely city to stay in and it has a rich history, but in regards to cruising, it is subpar. The cruise terminal is makeshift and nothing in comparison to that of Miami's cruise terminal. I just found myself much more comfortable in Miami's terminal, which provided lounge seating and many other ammenities as opposed to the long crummy lines outside of what looks to be a warehouse. The airport was also a disaster. There was absolutely no organization and people were everywhere. I have never felt so claustrophobic in my life. I felt as if I was in a human pinball machine and I was getting bumped by rolling luggage constantly. Part of the problem was the abundance of families from Puerto Rico waiting to see their loved ones. Everyone was in a chaotic state and searching for their families while a huge line of people, including myself, inched forward every few minutes to find transportation to the pier.

As for the number of Puerto Ricans on the ship, yes, there were quite a few. Actually, I for once felt what it was like to be the minority as a white, well-off American. To be perfectly honest, the number of Puerto Ricans on the ship made me uncomfortable. I am fluent in the Spanish language, so I didn't mind too much that the language was in abundance around the ship. It seemed, however, that many of them travelled with particularly large families and they would clump together throughout the ship. I found them, at times, to be unsociable and rude, especially in regards to the buffet lines and tables at the Windjammer (They were always reserving seats for their large families and there were never any tables available. You would always see one lone person at a table for six or so and they would still be there waiting for their family as you left). It was also a problem on the elevators when they rushed in and you found yourself practically crushed by a huge family that was talking in a foreign language. This happened constantly. The Puerto Rican children were a tad rowdy, but not so much moreso than any other child on the ship. I suppose I just noticed it more because there were more of them. They seemed to stick their own, as is understandable, but it made it awkward many times. I felt very alienated and it was hard to find anyone to socialize with that had a similar background to me.[/quote]

I had a similar experience, except sailing out of Miami for last week's Thanksgiving cruise. Tons of families who were also unsociable and rude and worst of all....none of them spoke Spanish :eek:

[PA Dutchman]

I hope all the unsociable and rude people were on all the othe cruises, maybe they will be out of unsociable and rude people by the time we go in January.:D Always the luck of the draw.

[nrdsb4]

[quote name='schlannysays']
As for the number of Puerto Ricans on the ship, yes, there were quite a few. Actually, I for once felt what it was like to be the minority as a white,[COLOR=red] well-off American[/COLOR]. To be perfectly honest, the number of Puerto Ricans on the ship made me uncomfortable. [/quote]

How do you know if you were in the minority as it relates to being "well-off" and how is that really relevant to your enjoyment of the cruise? :confused: You're only comfortable around other "well-off" people? How can you tell by looking at people whether or not they are "well-off"? Sure, some could have told you they got a cheap rate on the cruise, but on a ship of thousands, you couldn't know how much they all paid, so how could you really know whether the majority of passengers are or are not "well-off?" My husband has a big income, but I'm pretty sure you would never know that by looking at us.

[schlannysays]

I chose the term well-off over middle-class because I wouldn't even dare say that I am middle-class, but I am lucky enough to be cruising and that is why I am well-off. I believe that many people on these boards look into things way too much and assume and nitpick. I wasn't classifying the cruise ship's demographics, I was classifying the American country's demographics that I am used to living in. Where I live, the majority of people are white, middle-class Americans. That was simply a description of my background and the background of those I'm surrounded by daily. I never said that the Puerto Ricans weren't well-off, obviously as they wouldn't be cruising. But as a caucasian from the suburbs of the United States, I was a minority on the ship. I'm sorry, is that a better way to phrase it for you? I guess I should put more thought into my language, especially being an advertising major with a sequence in public relations. Haha.

Now, when I go on a cruise I look forward to being able to use my knowledge of the various languages. I enjoy learning about other cultures and actually experiencing them outside of the textbook. But, to be quite honest, anytime I even approached anyone on the ship outside of my race I felt snubbed by them. Two women would walk in the elevator and I would say hello and they would look and turn their heads away and begin talking in Spanish, believing that I couldn't understand them. This happened quite frequently, it wasn't just a few isolated experiences. I happened to be travelling without a companion, so there were many times that I tried to engage myself with others. Now, I don't expect to "hang out" with a large Puerto Rican family because I would feel out of place, not because they're Puerto Rican, but because it is a large family and that is typically the scenario on cruises from Puerto Rico.

Oh well, in response to your question, I think it is natural for some to gravitate towards those of their own background. I see it all the time on college campuses, etc. I just found it hard to do on this cruise because of the overwhelming majority of those from the port city. Some people look forwarding to getting to know others on cruises and being able to keep in contact with them and such, so I would advise a different port. I have never had trouble making acquaintances on any other cruises, but I did on this cruise. I think it has much to do with the diversity of the Puerto Ricans, as opposed to what you would find from a cruise from a port such as Bayonne or Galveston.

That is my opinion on the matter. Take it as you wish

[frugal one]

Back to OP's Questions....
[COLOR="Red"]What should RCI be doing to ensure cruisers enjoyment. I am only looking at the lack of supersvision and decorum issues. What recourse do cruisers have during the cruise when it appears they have been denied the ability to enjoy their vacation? What would you do? Can you organize a group while on board to complain en masse?[/COLOR]

Hubby and I are on AOS during Christmas week and I HAVE A PLAN. I've read many of the threads concerning sailing out of San Juan and AOS and written down many suggestions that previous sailers have given. I love the fact that I can utilize the experience of others here. It doesn't appear that RC is willing or able to address the lack of supersvision and decorum issues from what I've read here in numerous posts.

So we're going to take matters into our own hands to ensure our enjoyment.

[B]Dining[/B] - For breakfast & lunch, if the Windjammer buffet lines are crowded, we will go in the back or try the other side. Folks tend to stop at the first lines. If it's completely out of hand, Plan "B" is to eat in the main dining area or order room service. We will eat all evening meals in the main dining room. We've requested a large table with NO kids and all ENGLISH speaking. From the current "member" reviews that I've read, it appears that RC now does put the Americans together for dining - especially if they request in advance.

[B]Disembaration[/B] - I've 2 suggestions written down here. One is to sign up for a ship's excursion. We've got the walking tour of San Juan registered and we are able to cancel that up to 24 hours. The other suggestion I read was to find a nice quiet spot by the pool or elsewhere and continue to enjoy the ship for the final day. The idea is to pack a carry-on with swimsuit, change of clothes, book, cards or small game, etc. to continue to have fun while the masses are in the public areas. Once the masses are off, it's easy to navigate the stairs.

[B]"Adult Areas"[/B] - Someone noted that the Cafe Promenade restaurant charges for some items and not for others. And that most tend to avoid paying so they don't go here for the free coffee and free pizza and free sandwiches. We're gonna check this out if the Windjammer is crazy.

Solarium Pool is adults only. We're hoping that this is enforced during Christmas week. I'm guessing that the spa in the Steiner Spa is adults only and free of charge? This is another note I have to check out. If the Solarium Pool is being overrun with kids, I will ask for a free pass to the Steiner Spa "spa" if there are charges. Whether or not, we receive, who knows?

I've also noted some other areas/activities that may attract more adults than kids:
Tours of the ship (art/kitchen/bridge)
Steiner Spa
Piano Bar/Aquarium Bar/Imperial Lounge
We will explore to see where we fit in best!

[B]Spanish[/B] - And last but not least, we are learning a bit of Spanish NOW to be able to interact and have fun with the Puerto Ricans. We are learning basic greetings and the basic words.

Yes, we are going on this cruise for peace and relaxation as well as to experience and participate in the new adventure of fantastic ports and cultures. Yes, we are aware that we are traveling during the busiest season of the year. So having the best outlook possible as well as being prepared to find "our" quiet spot is what we going into this adventure with.

And worst case senario... if the kids get to me... I'm going to Adventure Ocean and pee in their pool :p

[nrdsb4]

[quote name='schlannysays']I chose the term well-off over middle-class because I wouldn't even dare say that I am middle-class, but I am lucky enough to be cruising and that is why I am well-off. I believe that many people on these boards look into things way too much and assume and nitpick. I wasn't classifying the cruise ship's demographics, I was classifying the American country's demographics that I am used to living in. Where I live, the majority of people are white, middle-class Americans. That was simply a description of my background and the background of those I'm surrounded by daily. I never said that the Puerto Ricans weren't well-off, obviously as they wouldn't be cruising. But as a caucasian from the suburbs of the United States, I was a minority on the ship. I'm sorry, is that a better way to phrase it for you? I guess I should put more thought into my language, especially being an advertising major with a sequence in public relations. Haha.

Now, when I go on a cruise I look forward to being able to use my knowledge of the various languages. I enjoy learning about other cultures and actually experiencing them outside of the textbook. But, to be quite honest, anytime I even approached anyone on the ship outside of my race I felt snubbed by them. Two women would walk in the elevator and I would say hello and they would look and turn their heads away and begin talking in Spanish, believing that I couldn't understand them. This happened quite frequently, it wasn't just a few isolated experiences. I happened to be travelling without a companion, so there were many times that I tried to engage myself with others. Now, I don't expect to "hang out" with a large Puerto Rican family because I would feel out of place, not because they're Puerto Rican, but because it is a large family and that is typically the scenario on cruises from Puerto Rico.

Oh well, in response to your question, I think it is natural for some to gravitate towards those of their own background. I see it all the time on college campuses, etc. I just found it hard to do on this cruise because of the overwhelming majority of those from the port city. Some people look forwarding to getting to know others on cruises and being able to keep in contact with them and such, so I would advise a different port. I have never had trouble making acquaintances on any other cruises, but I did on this cruise. I think it has much to do with the diversity of the Puerto Ricans, as opposed to what you would find from a cruise from a port such as Bayonne or Galveston.

That is my opinion on the matter. Take it as you wish[/quote]

I addressed only your comments about being a minority as it relates to being "well off", not anything about race (Puerto Ricans are not a different race than you), nor nationality (Puerto Ricans are Americans).

As to your comment that it is natural for one to gravitate towards others of the same background, that may be true for many, but when traveling to far away places, one could miss out on many wonderful experiences by doing that. You did, as you say, make an attempt at interaction with others, but felt rebuffed. That's unfortunate. I hope you will not let those experiences cause you to write off Puerto Ricans in general, or anyone else for that matter who doesn't share your background.

[ckrobyn]

[quote name='schlannysays']We travelled on the Serenade of the Seas on December 03, 2005 out of the San Juan port. Had it not been for the Southern Caribbean itinerary, I would never sail out of this port again. San Juan is a lovely city to stay in and it has a rich history, but in regards to cruising, it is subpar. The cruise terminal is makeshift and nothing in comparison to that of Miami's cruise terminal. I just found myself much more comfortable in Miami's terminal, which provided lounge seating and many other ammenities as opposed to the long crummy lines outside of what looks to be a warehouse. The airport was also a disaster. There was absolutely no organization and people were everywhere. I have never felt so claustrophobic in my life. I felt as if I was in a human pinball machine and I was getting bumped by rolling luggage constantly. Part of the problem was the abundance of families from Puerto Rico waiting to see their loved ones. Everyone was in a chaotic state and searching for their families while a huge line of people, including myself, inched forward every few minutes to find transportation to the pier.

As for the number of Puerto Ricans on the ship, yes, there were quite a few. Actually, I for once felt what it was like to be the minority as a white, well-off American. To be perfectly honest, the number of Puerto Ricans on the ship made me uncomfortable. I am fluent in the Spanish language, so I didn't mind too much that the language was in abundance around the ship. It seemed, however, that many of them travelled with particularly large families and they would clump together throughout the ship. I found them, at times, to be unsociable and rude, especially in regards to the buffet lines and tables at the Windjammer (They were always reserving seats for their large families and there were never any tables available. You would always see one lone person at a table for six or so and they would still be there waiting for their family as you left). It was also a problem on the elevators when they rushed in and you found yourself practically crushed by a huge family that was talking in a foreign language. This happened constantly. The Puerto Rican children were a tad rowdy, but not so much moreso than any other child on the ship. I suppose I just noticed it more because there were more of them. They seemed to stick their own, as is understandable, but it made it awkward many times. I felt very alienated and it was hard to find anyone to socialize with that had a similar background to me.[/quote]

Now it is crystal clear why I am staying away from this thread. You single handedly solidified it. :cool: