Adventure of the Seas questions

[sherlynn]

Can I get some thoughts/opinions on the 2 Southern sailings for AOS? The Barbados route ends next Oct.12/08 but the Aruba route continues to sail thereafter. Is the 5 port Bermuda route too much for the 7 days? How about sailing in Oct? Too much of a hurricane threat? Those ports are sure tempting though. Also, how about a pre-cruise stay in San Juan; any hotel recommendations? We were on the Navigator last November....is the Adventure quite similar? We LOVED the Navigator!

[cb at sea]

Both ships are virtually the same, so if you liked one, you will like the other. As far as weather goes, well, even the weathermen can't predict what will happen at any given time! (The further south into the Caribbean you go, the less chance of a hurricane--they tend to cut through the northern portion of the Caribbean and southern Atlantic) The ship will always do it's best to avoid storms, so you won't be sailing into a hurricane!

[Ocean Boy]

I have done both routes. We did the Barbados route on Serenade and the Aruba route on Adventure. Both are excellent. The Barbados route only has one sea day but the islands are beatiful and I would not have wanted to miss any of them. The Aruba route has two sea days and all of the islands are beautiful also.

 

The Barbados route can be a bit tiring and I very much enjoyed the down time of the last sea day. However, sometimes Adventure does the sea day at the beginning of the trip and the first port call is Barbados. I would very much not want to do it in that order.

 

Which ever route you chose you can always to the other route the next time around. We just got back from the Aruba route this past March and I have booked it again for this coming March. We have done the Eastern and Western routes and I much prefer the two southern routes.

[toriwc]

Just of AOS yesterday, and we did the Aruba route this time. While we liked the Barbados route last year, we enjoyed the Aruba route so much more because we had a chance to relax with the second sea day. Normally, we cruise for the ports, but 5 in a row with Barbados just wiped us out. We booked the Aruba route again for next year, but may end up doing a B2B.

 

The ship is wonderful, and from what I hear, pretty much the same as Navigator. Have fun planning!

[uksimonusa]

We did the Barbados route in May and loved every minute of it, the AOS is very similar to the Navigator, the main differences being that AOS is a series 1 voyager class ship, and as such, only has Portofino, no Chops, and the balconies on AOS are set inside the ship with metal walls to the sides, instead of the plexiglass dividers found on Navigator and Mariner. Here is a link to a good website, that shows the differences between the 5 Voyager class ships www.voyager-class.com

[gnparend]

AOS is voyager class so the design is the same just the art and color change. We have been to all of the southern ports and there is not one we did npt enjoy they each are unique and different. Hurricane season is almost 6 months long so if you worry about hurricanes you limit your cruise window. We once sailed to Aruba abd the traled up to SJ with a hurricane behind us. Hurricanes move 5-7 MPH we moved 18-22 MPH so as soon as it was close we were off to a new port and it stayed behind us until he got home (Florida) then we worried. Trust me RCI will always rouet the ships out of harms way so as not to spill your drink or upset ypur dinner. Go & Enjoy. If a hurricane shows up at worst you'll just get some new ports of call

[Gonzo70]

You can always skip a port and stay on the ship for one or two of the days if you find 5 ports in 7 days too hectic. Often nice and quiet on board the ship those days, no need to worry about chair hogs, short (if any) line at Windjammer, and discounted spa treatments.

[robtulipe]

We did the Barbados route last Feb. on Serenade and the Aruba route on Adventure four weeks later. Both were great but the Aruba route with the extra sea day and several small island stops (Aruba and Curacao are basicly beach stops with not lots to see on tour) was more relaxing.

At end of Sept. and into Oct. you have the highest chance of having a hurricane affect your cruise. The Aruba route is less likely to be impacted by this since the further south and west you go in the Caribbean, the less likely you will run into a hurricane. The ABC islands never have hurricanes hit them so it is likely that the St. Martin and St. Thomas stops could be change due to this.

We stayed at the Mariott San Juan resort and Stellaris casino in Condado after our AOS cruise the 1st week of March of this year. It was really nice and since we rented a compact car (Dollar under $25/day inc. fees and tax) location was not a concern other than there was a $14 per day parking charge. We got this on Priceline for a resort hotel bid of $85 ($109 with taxes and fees).

The first week of Feb. before our Serenade Cruise we stayed one night at the Coqui Inn in Isla Verde and it was OK for a 1*. Hotel space was tight that weekend and we were flying in that evening so didn't want to spent $300 for a room just to sleep for the night. We got a lower than posted rate by calling direct rather than booking online. It was $69 plus tax for a total of just over $80. I would stay there again under similar circumstances. Go to coqui-inndotcom for more info..

In late Oct/06 we stayed at the Hotel Miramar on Ponce de Leon Ave near the Pan Am pier on Isla Grande . It wasn't as luxurious nor as large as the Mariott but quite nice with very large rooms and close to the pier. I dropped DW and another couple off at the ship before returning our rental car since we arrived two days early in order to have time to visit before embarkation. Go to miramarhotelpr dot com for more info.