AOS Review- Nov. 22 sailing; first timer!

[christian19]

Background: first time cruiser on family trip- 16 in our group total. Myself, husband and sister are in our 30's. Never been to the caribbean.

 

Day One (Saturday) Arrival and La Concha Hotel: arrived in San Juan. Taxi to La Concha hotel was $19 plus $1 per bag- this was the price per vehicle, not per person. We pricelined the La Concha for exactly $100. The hotel itself was gorgeous. Probably one of our top 3 priceline wins ever. The Delta magazine had a blurb about the hotel saying that Jlo and Marc Antony stayed here last NYE. It was very “south beach modern”, with beautiful infinity pools, lush vegetation, and lots of great spots to sit and have an expensive drink ($10 for a gin and tonic). All this said, our initial impression of the resort was sour. We arrived at the resort at 5:30 pm. We were told that a room was not available. Having read many reviews that said the hotel is very loud (and it was!!!) we requested a room as high as possible. We said we didn’t care about the view- we just wanted to be away from the noise. We were told they were at 100% capacity and the only rooms available were around the pool area on the first and second floors (where the bands and music play until 2 am). We were very disappointed, but said we’d take what they had. The gentleman (who was very friendly) told us that he would put us as far away from the pool as possible if we were willing to wait awhile for a room. We agreed.

 

We checked our luggage and took off down the Condado strip in search of food. Condado is a mix of high end hotels and abandoned buildings. There were plenty of sports bars and restaurants. The food we found (we tried one place for apps and another for a sandwich) was not good but drinks were pretty cheap ($4). After two hours of strolling around in the heat we went back to the hotel at 7:30 pm. Our room still wasn’t available. We spoke with a manager and complained, and she said she’d find us a room quickly. A half hour later we were taken to room 101- literally the room directly in front of the band on the first floor. We waited 2.5 hours for this?! Now my husband was getting really upset and called the manager back and complained louder. 10 minutes later we were escorted to a beautiful room on the 9th floor of the hotel overlooking the ocean. Not a sound could be heard other than the crashing waves. It was splendid and we quickly forgot about all the troubles we encountered to get there. We did have to deal with some more mixups throughout the night- we had 3 people in our room and they only had rooms with one bed, so they had to “go out to the nearest store to buy an inflatable mattress”- it took several hours, but by bedtime we had something to sleep on.

 

Day Two (Sunday) Embarkation Day. Because our hotel was so beautiful we wanted to stay there as long as possible. Check out is at noon but as I explained we didn’t get into our room until 730 the night before so they let us stay until 1 pm. We laid out by the beach and enjoyed the gorgeous gym facilities. By 230 we were ready to taxi to the Pan Am terminal. The taxi was about $15, I think.. Arriving at 3:00 it took us approximately 1 hour to get through all the lines and securities at the port. Aboard the ship we went straight to our room which was open and clean. We were in 6658, a D2 balcony. I have to say- it was nicer than I anticipated. The balcony was spacious enough for 3 people to sit comfortably with 2 side tables. (We had to ask the stateroom attendant to bring an extra chair) The bed was firm and felt like a full queen. My sister (our third person in the cabin) complained that the pull out couch was too firm and that you could feel the gap in the middle of the bed. There was ample storage for all of our stuff. Hubby was happy that he had all his channels to catch football games.

 

First impressions of the ship: nicer than I anticipated. Public areas were spacious, clean, nicely appointed. Plenty of pool chairs available. Things were fairly easy to find as there were maps at every turn. The wait for elevators was usually not too long, although we tried to take the stairs as much as possible. The gym was a spot we hit several times- my favorite was the spacious shower facilities- with 3 adults in our room it was nice to spread out and enjoy a nice long shower at our leisure.

 

Dinner that night was very casual because a lot of people didn’t have their luggage. 2 of our 3 bags arrived prior to dinner. We were traveling in a group of 16 and many of our family did not have bags yet and were worried it was because of the many “rum runners” we had packed. FYI: the three of us had the equivalent of about 3 handles of liquor packed in our bags in rum runners and nothing was confiscated. One family member even smuggled a travel iron on! We were so surprised at the lack of security. Our last bag arrived later that evening, closer to 10 pm. This night we went to what became our favorite bar- the Blue Moon. Very classy, quiet, pretty views of the ocean. This bar is adjacent to the 19th Hole, which had sports on, and also the game room- can’t remember what it was called, but they had lots of board games.

 

Day 3: At Sea. Breakfast was in the main dining room most days. We really did not care for the Windjammer at all. The food was not appetizing, and in the main dining room at least you could get eggs to order and freshly made omelets. Most in our group loved the omelets and French toast in the dining room. We did hit the WJ a couple times when room service failed us in the morning when we just needed a bowl of cereal and coffee. On our sea day we found a quiet spot on the deck to sit away from the very loud and raucous main pool deck (quiet areas abound towards the front of the ship). Lunch we tried the WJ but found it very disappointing- we just wanted a “big salad” and the salad bar was lackluster and they didn’t have grilled chicken breast. There were hamburgers but they were sitting in a big grease pit on the steam table.

 

In the afternoon we joined the rest of our family who was enjoying the raucous pool area. We watched the sexy legs competition and the belly flop contest- pretty funny. This was the first formal night so we took our showers in the gym after a nice workout (spinning, pilates and yoga are all $12 btw) and got ready. DH brought a suit along, against his wishes, and he fit in fine. There were a few tuxes but I didn’t notice anything really over the top. Some of the ladies wore prom style dresses, but cocktail dresses prevailed, and even just some sun dresses.

 

The food at dinner was usually very good- better than I expected. We honeymooned at a 5 star all inclusive in Mexico and I would say the food was actually better in the AOS dining room. The salmon or steak would usually be slightly overcooked, but the sauces and vegetables usually made up for it. Dinners I remember having: sea bass, sweet potato feta tart, salmon, seafood pot pie, seafood penne (the only dish I really didn’t care for). Hubby had the steak and prime rib, said both were pretty good- about the quality of a nicer Applebee’s. There were plenty of healthy options- even with desserts which were always wonderful. Appetizers were very good as well. Service was very good. We had the early seating because of some elderly in our group, and I think if given the choice we would have rather had the late seating because it was difficult to get put together by 6 pm. On the other hand, dinner took no less than 2 hours each night, so we had from 8 pm on to do things on the ship.

 

I am embarrassed to admit that we did not do a single “show” or scheduled activity on the ship. We were just too tired and none of them struck our interest. We are not gamblers and did not frequent the casino. Mainly we hung out at the Blue Moon or sometimes the Gravity Sports bar. We had the pop plan but regretted it- it was easier to just bring pop in at the ports. They didn’t check anything, ever, that we brought in from the ports. I bought approximately 4 bottles of liquor at port and they were never checked.

 

Day 4: Barbados. We didn’t have a plan here other than to hit a beach/bar. We chose Bar K’nai at Rockley/Accra beach. It was okay. Very quiet, pretty beach. Very little snorkeling. I saw a snake which freaked me out and prevented me from swimming much. $10 for a beach chair that could be redeemed at the bar- however we think we got cheated a bit as the tab was very high. Anyway we didn’t complain, just took it as it came. Had a flying fish sandwich which was very good albeit expensive ($15) Taxi to Accra beach was $6 per person each way..I think.. we tried to walk around a bit to find shopping but couldn’t go far due to an injured person in our group. Found a couple shops with cheap souvenirs within walking distance. Others in our group went north on the island and found good snorkeling. The elderly went to the orchid farm and had a good time.

 

Day 5: St. Lucia. Cosol Tours Day!! This was a super fun tour, highlight of our cruise. Our driver was lots of fun and these guys had a lot of energy. They wanted you to drink a lot which added to the fun. The rum punch was delicious and not what I expected (tasted like a strawberry daiquiri). The food they served was unreal. The photo stops were breathtaking. I wish we had skipped the drive through volcano (boring) but at least it was a short stop (15-20 min or so). The highlight was the water taxi to the Jalousie Plantation resort beach. A gorgeous beach with great snorkeling.

 

Day 6: Antigua. Another day without a real plan. Spent the morning shopping with the elderly in our group (there were a few cute shops around the port area) and then taxied to one of the closest beaches to port- Dickenson beach, which was $3 per person each way. We sat in front of Sneaky Pete’s. Chairs were $5. They got upset when we unknowingly purchased a drink from a neighboring bar. Food was okay, expensive. $12 for a lobster sandwich (think tuna sandwich); $15 for chicken and red beans and rice. Had a coconut with rum from a guy on the beach- it was cute but really gross. No snorkeling here.

 

Day 7: St. Martin. This was Bernard’s tour. Unfortunately we had a bummer of a day with Bernard. Our driver (not Bernard) waited over a half hour for some people to join our group (they never showed), which cut into our day. It poured all day- not Bernard’s fault, but I wish they could have re-planned the day. The first stop was Orient Beach where he just dropped us off in the rain and promised to return in 2 hours. We sought shelter under umbrellas at Kon Tiki- whoa, wish we had read the reviews of this place, what a bunch of jerks!!!! Stay away from Kon Tiki at all cost!!! We got yelled at three times for things like leaving our beach sandals on the beach chairs. After an hour of sitting we spotted our driver and asked him to take us elsewhere. We went to Maho beach which was really cool. Expensive restaurant but decent food. Saw many planes come in and the fools try to get blown into the water. Good pictures. Then on to shopping in Marigot- ladies save you money for shopping here!!! Way better than any other island. I purchased some beautiful handmade jewelry and some framed prints at a local gallery. Last stop was shopping on dutch side which was also very good. We had to taxi back to the ship and barely made it in time. I wish this tour was better organized.

 

Day 8: St. Croix. Snorkeling trip with Big Beard’s. Took the Christensted shuttle for $12 pp round trip. I don’t know why anyone would bother with a taxi- this was a great deal and we didn’t have to wait at all to fill our van. Big Beard’s was a well oiled machine and we had great snorkeling on Buck Island. Great- but not the best. A lot of the coral is dead due to hurricanes. We saw more colors in Cancun snorkeling. Ate lunch at Fort Christian brewery- great place. Heard good things about Rum Runners as well. Some okay shopping here and back at port.

 

This night we tried to nap and slept through dinner. Went to Johnny Rockets and it was empty. They really push food on you and we totally overate! It was all very good. We packed up and purchased the check your bag through to the airline option that the ship offers for $20 per person. The down side to this is that you also pay $20 for baggage fees (as opposed to $15 through the airline). The up side: my sister’s bag was well over 80 lbs and the ship said there were no weight requirements and she would not be upcharged. So this saved her about $150 that the airline would have penalized her. Also, the ship prints your boarding pass with this option so you can skip a lot of hassle at the airport.

 

Day 9: Debark. We requested an early departure because we wanted to check out Old San Juan before our 2 pm flight. Off the ship at 9:00 and it only took us about 15 minutes to get through customs. We strolled around Old San Juan and hit the outlet shops and bought last minute souvenirs. Taxied to the airport at noon. Security lines were very long but we made it through in about 40 minutes.

 

OVERVIEW

 

Better than I expected:

· the food in the Main Dining Room (breakfast got pretty boring but was still okay);

· the amount of public space (for example, public restrooms were spacious and clean);

· the quality of the bars (very nicely appointed, great live music playing everywhere); friendliness of most staff people (there was one at guest services that was just awful);

· the behavior of people on board (I had read so many reviews of obnoxious Puerto Rican’s- I would say the ship was about 50% PR but they were just as polite and well behaved as any other);

· the spaciousness of the staterooms, including the balcony- wow, my sister was tempted to sleep out there!;

· security at ports- we bought on 2 bottles of rum to bring home thinking they would be confiscated but they were not. We probably would have skipped the rum runners if we knew we could just bring stuff on from port;

· The gym: lots of machines, great shower facilities. We made it here 4 days of the cruise which was more than we thought we would;

· for whatever reason the people in our group had hundreds of dollars of on board credit. They had a hard time spending it all! We had $400 for our cabin and I think we owed total about $60 at the end. We did not use it for excursions, just drinks and a few souvenirs

 

 

 

Worse than I expected:

· the food in the Windjammer;

· our stateroom attendant did not fulfill our requests for ice despite the extra $20 we slipped him at the onset of the cruise, also we requested that he break down the pull out couch very early in the morning so we could get ready with it being in the way and he simply smiled and said he’d do it when he normally did;

· the shopping in the Royal Promenade- I would have probably shopped a lot here because a lot of the ports were tacky tourist stuff. Our group had a LOT of shipboard credit and I wished there was more stuff to buy other than diamonds and tacky RCI gear. The only shops were RCI gear, a “fashion” shop with a very small selection of cute clothing and some jewelry, and a fine jewelry store, and a general store with mostly liquor. Each night there was a jewelry show but it was mostly very expensive (over $100);

· the munchies available via room services- one night we were craving junk food and ordered the pizza, wings, and chorizo dip for our room. The dip was edible but the rest was worse that elementary school cafeteria food;

· the pop card- we thought we’d get more use out of this and wish we hadn’t bought it. The diet coke tasted funny and I swear more than a few times it was regular coke. It was more of a pain to go out in search of pop from a bar- I should have just brought a case of diet coke on board. It would be nice if they had fountains available for people to just fill up themselves, but I suppose that’s hard to monitor;

 

What I would have done differently:

· Maybe planned an excursion for Antigua and Barbados and those days were a little boring and left me not really knowing what those islands had to offer;

· Not worried so much about rum runners. I enjoyed the mixed drinks at the bars better than the homemade ones in our rooms. They weren’t too expensive- $6-8 per drink including tip. I drank a lot less than I expected because we were too exhausted to care. Tours during the day that included alcohol really zapped your energy;

· Tried extra hard to stay up later than 9:30 each night!!! We are early risers (we have a toddler at home) so were up by 6:15 each morning and therefore dead on our feet by 9:30. There were great movies on TV (the same that they showed in the movie theatre on board) so we usually ended up in bed watching movies each night. I feel like we missed out on a lot this way. If we had a later dinner seating we might have been able to squeeze in a nap before dinner. We were never able to stay up to see Jester’s nightclub (didn’t get going until 11:30). We also never made it to the rock climbing wall or any of the shows.

· I packed pretty spot on. A dress for dinner each night. I wore cotton sundresses for excursions each day. I only wore 1 pair of shorts and 1 tee shirt. I wore about 4 of the 6 pairs of shoes I brought. I did not wear the slacks I brought- too hot. I wore most of the swimsuits (just bring the comfortable ones because wearing it all day under clothing can be annoying if one is tight). Lots of books and magazines. SPF 15, then 10, then 4 for the last day and I never burned;

· Because we were in a large group we skipped Portofino, opting instead to eat with the rest of the family in the dining room. We heard it was quite good and I missed going.

[Loves_Dogs]

Great detailed review! Thank you for taking time to share (good and bad). Just one question since we tend to use room service a lot. On Day 3 you said "We did hit the WJ a couple times when room service failed us in the morning". Were they just not showing up or was the food just bad? Thank you in advance for the info.

[wolfcathorse]

I liked hearing your opinions of your ports, its always tough to figure out what to do. Who was your captain on this voyage? Was it Capt Ron Holmes or Capt Ole Johan Gronhaug? If you don't remember, look at your compasses for formal night. It'll mention his name for the Captains Welcome Aboard Reception.

[christian19]

1. I should have elaborated- on one morning we put our tag outside our door but room service did not receive it. They blamed it on kids who sometimes go and pick the tags off the doors for fun.

 

2. I believe our captain was Ron Holmes. He had a very distinct way of speaking. I never saw him, just heard him at the announcements.

[wolfcathorse]

TY OP, Capt Ron should be getting ready to go on vacation if he didn't leave the ship when you did