AOS Review- Excellent Cruise!

[Boston14]

I will start this review by stating that both my husband and I are both 24yrs. old and this was our honeymoon. This was my husband’s first cruise and my third with RCCL.

 

We got to San Juan at about 5:00pm (after some plane troubles)... and we were so tired because we got married the night before. The ship is beautiful... words can not describe how large this ship is!! We had cabin 9390 Corner Aft balcony room... This room was so great! When we were on our balcony it felt like we were the only people on the ship, it was so private. Before going I didn't think it was worth it to have a balcony, but I am totally eating my words now... We actually spent a lot of time on the balcony. We had breakfast out there a couple of times, and it was a great place to sit while the other person is showering and getting ready.

 

Monday we ported in St. Thomas, we ordered breakfast room service the night before and it arrived at the time we requested and it was very good. It was a great wake up call. We ate breakfast on the balcony and enjoyed the beautiful view of St. Thomas. We then proceeded to get off the ship, there was no wait getting off the ship and we took the 10:00 ferry from Red Hook to St. Johns. We took a taxi to Trunk Bay. We brought our own snorkel gear and rented the flippers. This beach is so beautiful and has lots of trees so that there is lots of shade if you like shade. My husband loved the snorkeling, he did the underwater trail, but he said the best snorkeling was to the right side of the beach. He saw two barracudas and a ton of fish. I didn't go out too far because there were lots of jelly fish. I don't think they are always there, but this must have been the season for them because every time I turned around there was another one. We stayed on the beach until about 3:00 and took the ferry back and headed back to the ship. We then went strait to Jonny Rockets and had a late lunch. This night was the first formal night. We had second seating. The food was very good.

 

Tuesday we went to St. Martin. This was my favorite island. We took the water taxi which was $5 for all day use and it was worth it. We did some shopping, which was endless. Every street had so many shops and flea market type stands. We each bought our parents a bottle of Guavaberry Rum, which they are famous for. We stayed in the shopping area for about 2 hours and then we went back to the ship and changed into our bathing suits. We went to the cafe promenade (sandwich and bakery type cafe) and we got two sandwiches and put them in zip lock baggies. We then got off the ship and took the water taxi back and started waking down the beach which is right there when you get off the taxi. As you walk down the beach different people own different beach bars and they try to rent you chairs and umbrellas for $10. We kept walking until we got to "Pirates in Paradise" and the girl said that the chairs, umbrella, and floating mats were free if we bought a drink. So we ordered two Guavaberry Coladas and it was $10, so if you keep walking you can get a much better deal and it was a very short walk. The Guavaberry Coladas were awesome. We ate our sandwiches and cookies from the ship on the beach. We floated on the mats and just had a very relaxing afternoon. We got back to the ship and we ordered room service. We got Caesar salad, a cheeseburger and broccoli and cheese soup and ate it on our balcony as we sailed away from St. Martin. We went to the "Love and Marriage" game show this night and that was really funny.

 

Wednesday we went to Antigua. We had a tour with "Antigua Paddles" at 12:00, so we got off the ship in the morning and walked around the town. Nothing too impressive with the shopping or this part of the island. We ate lunch on the ship and then met the tour group right outside the ship. I book the tour online directly with "Antigua Paddles" before going, but everyone else on the tour booked it through RCCL. It is much cheaper if you do it online. We got in an air conditioned bus, and headed for the clubhouse. It was cool to see all the houses and locals as the bus was driving. The driver stopped for a quick photo opportunity at a beautiful cliff over looking the ocean. When we got to the clubhouse, we got on a speed boat which was so much fun and that took us to Bird Island. Bird Island is beautiful. We climbed to the top of it which took about 5 mins. The view is breathtaking and we took some pictures. We then walked down and we went snorkeling for about an hour. We didn't really see anything except little fish, but the water was so clear and beautiful that it didn't matter. We then got back onto the speed boats and headed to another area where the Kayaks were all lined up. We got a Kayak for two and as we went along the tour guide would tell us many interesting facts about the island. Then we got back onto the speed boat and went back to the clubhouse for banana bread and rum punch. This tour was wonderful! I highly recommend it to anyone as there is no experience necessary and you can do as much or as little as you want.

 

Thursday we went to St. Lucia. We had originally booked the "Jungle Tour", but two days before we left I got an email that the tour operators had a death in the family and would not be available. So last minute we decided to get a day pass from "Rendezvous" which is only 5mins. From the ship. It is an all-inclusive resort and was $38pp for the day pass. When we first got there we sat under an adorable hut on the beach. We ordered a couple of strawberry daiquiris and relaxed. We then went up to the pool area to find a really cool pool with a swim up bar. We had lunch which was delicious. After lunch we took out a sail boat which was very adventurous because neither of us had ever sailed before, but it was really fun! Then we decided to go tubing. They had two tubes on the back of the boat, and although I thought we were going to tip a few times, it was a blast. This was a great day. They had showers and towels there also.

 

Friday was Barbados- We took a taxi to the "Boatyard". It was $12 to get in, but then they give you $8 back in tokens to be spent on food or drinks. It was nice because the chairs and umbrellas were free and you could use the water trampolines and water rock wall for free. We just had a good time here. Jumped on the trampoline, climbed the rock wall, floated in the water, had a couple of Pina Coladas, and chilled out on the beach.

 

Saturday- At Sea. We actually slept in until about 10am then we got some breakfast and headed to the pool. There were lots of chairs available, just not close to the pool. We went around the ship and took lots of pictures and felt sad because our vacation was coming to an end.

 

Sunday- Debarkation. This took forever. We had a flight at 11:30 and were in the first group getting off the ship. It took at least an hour to get though customs. It was hot and the line didn't seem to move, but if that is our biggest complaint, then I really can't complain.

 

This was just a great vacation. We had a wonderful time and we can't stop talking about it.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Thanks for posting your review.....

 

Funny how a balcony makes your cruise so much more exciting! Glad you both enjoyed your honeymoon cruise it sounds like it was perfect . :)

 

 

 

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[NoVa Mimi]

Thank you for posting your review! We also enjoyed our trip on AOS in July.Does Rendezvous have a web site? We are going again next year, and that sounds like it would be fun! Congratulations on your marriage as well!! :)

[syndyj]

Thanks for posting your review, we are also doing this cruise for our honeymoon September 26th on AOS with the same itineary (sp) and it was nice to read your tips about doing tours on your own.

[trbutler]

Thanks for the review I am making mental notes for our cruise in Jan

[AOS Honeymooner]

Thanks so much for this great review! Our wedding is on Saturday and we leave on our AOS Honeymoon cruise on Sunday!

[trbutler]

Which beach were you at in St Maarten? Was is the Great bay beach?

[sscruising]

I am going on the AOS on Sunday and was curious about the Rendezvous in St. Lucia. Where do you buy the day pass, what is included in the cost and is it 5 minutes away by taxi or can you walk there?

I'm glad that you had a nice time on the cruise-I've been on the ship 2x before but I did the Aruba route both times.

Congratulations on your wedding and I hope you have a very long & happy marriage!

 

Sandi

[Boston14]

The website is:

http://www.theromanticholiday.com/Content/ContentCT.asp?P=60

 

It was a five minute taxi ride from the ship. We didn't make reservations or call ahead of time. We just took a taxi there and we were charged $38 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Included in the price was all alcoholic/non alcoholic drinks, lunch buffet, pool, chairs & umbrellas, and all non-motorized water sports.

[sscruising]

Thanks for the info. I think we will try that. It sounds like a really good deal.

 

Sandi

[Mdseagull]

Thanks for your great review. We are doing the same itinerary on 10/10 and we also have an aft balcony cabin. We had one on our HM last year on the Voyager and now are totally spoiled. How was Bird Island? We are going on Eli's Eco Tour and it stops there.

 

Also another question. On Voyager people got very dolled up for formal night, floor length gowns, tuxes etc how formal is formal night on Adventure?

[Boston14]

Bird Island is beautiful. The climb to the top is very easy and the views are breathtaking. We took lots of pictures at the top. The water is crystal clear all around the island. The water is also warmer than bath water, I had never been in such warm water. I guess it is so warm because there are lots of shallow areas.

 

I did see many people dressed in floor length gowns, but there were lots of women in all lengths of black dresses too. Some men were wearing tux's and many wearing suits. Everyone looked really nice.