AOS 10-14 Review (Short)

[Aquahound]

Just returned from AOS. I wrote a short review. The ship is in excellent condition and the service was top notch. But..........

 

WARNING - I tell it like it is. So, if you are the do-gooder type who gets offended easily by cultural truthfullness, don't read this review. Truthfully, I don't care if you disagree with me. I write about MY experience and what I observed. In fact, I actually held back a little. It was far worse than I wrote in the review. If anyone wants more detailed examples, just ask.

 

I love the AOS and I love RCI. But, this was my last cruise out of PR.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=33779

 

The ports were wonderful. I am in the process of uploading pictures. There are a few in webshots so far, but it will be a few days until all 300+ are uploaded.

[OHCruisin]

Paul,

 

I read your review. As I'm set to sail AOS in February, I'm hoping I don't run into the sames issues. I've been lucky on RCI for PR departures, though Carnvial was another story:eek:. Thanks for the review.

[FinallyConvincedDH2Cruise]

My parents boarded the AOS last night (probably their 4th or 5th time on the AOS) and Mom was in a really foul mood when I talked to her last night, I hope things get better! This should be a good cruise for them since they are making diamond but so far off to a rough start.

 

In a d2 on 9th deck, I guess their balcony has a smaller opening than usual (I didn't get the whole story), but she picked the cabin so oh well Mom!

 

She said employees were clueless, was trying to book Portifino and wanted to know the formal nights and when the ice shows were so not to double book. Took several people to get the correct times for the ice show.

 

Didn't get requested spot in dining room, was put in area where dirty plates are stacked. When complained, was moved to another floor... where they stack dirty plates!

 

Sports bar didn't have rights to the Sox/Indians game, wouldn't show. Luckilly Dad still had cell reception and I was calling the bar with updates until 11:45pm.

 

GOOD NEWS- the bottles of wine they brought made it! LOL!

 

I am also hoping they are not running into as many problems with the other passengers. When I was looking at last minute deals, there were a lot for your week and not a lot for this week, actually was almost sold out.

[Aquahound]

Sports bar didn't have rights to the Sox/Indians game, wouldn't show. Luckilly Dad still had cell reception and I was calling the bar with updates until 11:45pm.

 

 

Yea, we tried too. They wouldn't show the games.

 

Just to be clear, I cruised the AOS in 2004. That cruise was wonderful in every aspect. This one was different.

 

I also want to say that I have no problem with language barriers and different cultures. In fact, I love the diversity. But when people start injuring others, committing thefts, etc, that's when my attitude changes.

[Cruising89143]

Welcome home Paul. Seems like this is becoming the norm out of San Juan. I hope that you take the time to write a letter to RCI about this. Not sure if it will do any good but they need to hear from the guests on board.

[Aquahound]

Welcome home Paul. Seems like this is becoming the norm out of San Juan. I hope that you take the time to write a letter to RCI about this. Not sure if it will do any good but they need to hear from the guests on board.

 

Thanks Gator. I do plan on it. RCI is partly to blame. Not once did I see a Pool Attendant. Adults could not swim due to all the kids doing cannonballs all day long during the sea days. I asked the towel girl to say something, but nothing happened.

[Tranquil Waters]

Welcome home Paul. Seems like this is becoming the norm out of San Juan. I hope that you take the time to write a letter to RCI about this. Not sure if it will do any good but they need to hear from the guests on board.

 

I think this may come under the same heading as writing letters for other issues. Won't matter. If RCI can book enough cabins with passengers from SJ, and fill in the rest with uninformed passengers from other areas, then RCI is making money on the cruises and has accomplished their goal.

 

The company cannot be unaware of situation. They have officers all over the ship who are not blind, deaf, and dumb. They read CC and other cruising sites. But as long as these cruises are profit makers........

[derrick22]

Here's hoping that the higher prices in April will keep the "class" of passengers up.

My DH will not tolerate this type of behavior. He's not happy that we are leaving from PR to begin so this will only add insult to injury.

 

Denise

[MCLuv2Cruise]

I have read quite a few reviews like this lately. It has me worried for our cruise next October. I don't remember AOS being like this. I hope it improves soon!

 

~Christina

[Nothin' But Sun]

We realy want to to the southern caribbean and that is why we booked the AOS. I am getting a little worried everytime I read posts about an abundance of bad behavior by a large group of cruisers. I truly hope this will not be the case when we go. It is easy enough to ignore the odd incident but when it is in your face all the time around every corner, wow I would be bummed and VERY angry that this is how we spent our family vacation, on a wonderful ship with crappy people! Sorry you had such a bad experience, thanks for the review anyhow!

[Aquahound]

It is easy enough to ignore the odd incident but when it is in your face all the time around every corner' date=' wow I would be bummed and VERY angry that this is how we spent our family vacation, on a wonderful ship with crappy people! [/quote']

 

Very true.

 

After waiting to clear Immigrations in St Thomas, in a line that stretched out of the dining room and clear through the Promenade, seeing a whole family cut the line really boiled my blood. Ordinarily, not a big deal since I see it on every cruise. But after a week of horrible behavior, I saw it a little different.

[thepeacha]

What a mess- you hate to see this stuff. I live 90 miles from San Juan, it is the easiest port for me- but DH and and I have seen so much bad behavior from our Puerto Rican neighbors on the ships that we fly 1100 miles to Miami and sail from there. (20% of my island population is Puerto Ricans and they seem very polite, as a group... we really don't see the bawdy behavior anywhere but on the cruise ships.) We are burnt out on disrespectful Puerto Ricans on SJU sailings. We have a lovely couple from PR we have sailed with twice (on European and TA cruises) and they are twice as disappointed with the behavior of their countrymen!

 

They DO firesale the cruises in PR, same as they offer last minute specials from every port city. I have seen the ads, they offer dirt cheap last minute cabins and folks snap them up. Heck with the cost of importing goods in the islands, a week in acheapo firesale inside cabin is cheaper than life at home!

 

Don't tell me about different cultures... this is about basic human decency and dignity. No matter where you were raised, you are on a public conveyance, surrounded by other people... show basic manners, such as polite behavior in the elevators, compassion for the elderly or mobility impaired, and moderate your tone to match the setting. NONE of these things will stop you from having a wonderful time, I promise. "My" PR couple behave with all gracious courtesy, as do their children. There are no small few PRans who turn in disgust from the screaming, dreadful dress, and outright rudeness of their neighbors. They aren't all waving the flag... just the bad apples sure show up, just like any drunk in a crowd can make a scene and ruin a moment.

 

I don't know what the cruise lines will do to solve this problem- their goal is to make a profit, and as long as the Puerto Ricans are running up bar/spa/ casino tabs, they are a profit center like every other passenger. It's not a problem to RCI in that sense! There are millions of Ricanos and if the ship fills... well RCI will keep ships there.

 

So pray for the wonderful folks like my friends to be onboard... or else vote with your wallet and cruise from another port. $$$ talks way more than your end of cruise questionnaire.

[dddewitt77]

Did anyone say anything to line cutters or was that useless? I am leaving for this cruise next Sunday and any advise on how to deal with rude people would be appreciated. I am not one to keep my mouth shut, but I don't want some assulting me either.

[FL_Cruiser64]

We realy want to to the southern caribbean and that is why we booked the AOS. I am getting a little worried everytime I read posts about an abundance of bad behavior by a large group of cruisers. I truly hope this will not be the case when we go. It is easy enough to ignore the odd incident but when it is in your face all the time around every corner' date=' wow I would be bummed and VERY angry that this is how we spent our family vacation, on a wonderful ship with crappy people! Sorry you had such a bad experience, thanks for the review anyhow![/quote']

 

I wanted to do the southern caribbean as well and stick by my booking. Reading all those reviews at least I am prepared.

 

I think you have the same problem with any cruise you cater to main stream people. With the increase of sizes in cruise ship you will see a lot of times dump prices just to fill ships. With that you get all kinds of people on a ship who usually do not travel and don't know how to behave. You get that with any race or culture - puerto ricans, americans. I will be taking a shot with my cruise. I know what the worst case scenario could be and prepare for it and hope for the best.

 

This is BTW a reason I stay away from Carnival who offers dump prices all year around. Been twice with Carnival (before I discovered RCI) and will never do it again.

[FL_Cruiser64]

Did anyone say anything to line cutters or was that useless? I am leaving for this cruise next Sunday and any advise on how to deal with rude people would be appreciated. I am not one to keep my mouth shut, but I don't want some assulting me either.

 

I don't either. On my last cruise I was on the sun deck and went one floor down to get me one of those delicious drinks. The bar was right in view of my chair which had a towel and a book on. So some lady had the guts to take my towel and book down and started to move the chair. I screemed across the pool deck at her "hey you better not take that chair." She looked around where it was coming from but couldn't see me. So she kept on going moving the chair. Some guy who was laying next to me obviously told her that this chair was taking (I could make that out based on his hand motions) and she kept on moving. So I went upstairs and told her to move that chair back asap. She said that the chair didn't look it was taken and when I told her that I saw her taking stuff down and that I screamed at her she said: "oh tthat was you" I said yes and that she was lucky I didn't call her the B word (in respect to kids on the pool deck). So her hubby said "ok let him have his chair" and started walking away. I said "oh no. You move that chair back where it belongs."

 

Always defend yourself. If you don't do that people think they are doing the right thing. Some people must still be taught the difference between right and wrong.

 

:D

[Ektor]

Hello guys, new to the boards, not so to the website (which I find to be great, btw).

 

I just came back from a 7-day cruise through the Eastern Caribbean aboard the AOS (10/7 thru 10/14, the week before yours) and it was a terrific cruise. The ship is in great shape, as you say; food was amazing (dining at Portofino was a religious experience), the staff very attentive and the entertainment, top notch, specially "El Gaucho" and "Cool Art, Hot Ice", both incredible acts and unmissable (the two production shows, "Can't Stop the Rock" and "Jackpot", lacked "pizzaz" and energy, though, due to the singers' lack of charisma and/or stage presence). All in all, it was great.

 

No "troublesome" puertorricans in the boat that week, except for one family that insisted in forcing their favorite salsa tunes inside the throat of everyone in the pool deck one day (with an iPod portable speaker at full volume, no less). And I love salsa, afterall...it runs thru my veins (being a puertorrican myself) but the action of enforcing something you like to others that may be looking for quiet and relaxation, well...

 

My humble suggestion for those who are hopping aboard the AOS soon, is this: do NOT be frightened by stories of this kind. People like this exist from every nationality and culture, and it's a little unfair to call the entire puertorrican contingent "bad-behaved". Yes, there are a lot of puertorricans that cause trouble, but there are a lot of puertorricans that believe in the values of respect, dignity and courtesy, too. Be open, evade trouble and remain cool...and don't let anyone ruin your vacation.

[janep]

thanks Ektor; I'm leaving on Sunday and I'm getting nervous!

[Tranquil Waters]

I don't either. On my last cruise I was on the sun deck and went one floor down to get me one of those delicious drinks. The bar was right in view of my chair which had a towel and a book on. So some lady had the guts to take my towel and book down and started to move the chair. I screemed across the pool deck at her "hey you better not take that chair." She looked around where it was coming from but couldn't see me. So she kept on going moving the chair. Some guy who was laying next to me obviously told her that this chair was taking (I could make that out based on his hand motions) and she kept on moving. So I went upstairs and told her to move that chair back asap. She said that the chair didn't look it was taken and when I told her that I saw her taking stuff down and that I screamed at her she said: "oh tthat was you" I said yes and that she was lucky I didn't call her the B word (in respect to kids on the pool deck). So her hubby said "ok let him have his chair" and started walking away. I said "oh no. You move that chair back where it belongs."

 

Always defend yourself. If you don't do that people think they are doing the right thing. Some people must still be taught the difference between right and wrong.

 

:D

 

Wow. I do have one question. How was the poor lady suppose to know that your chair was not one of the dozens that are "occupied" by a lone towel and book for hours on end?? And how was the lady suppose to know that it was her you were yelling at from a deck away???

 

I do understand your wanting to keep your chair but your response does seem a bit of overkill. And as to telling her to move the chair back where it belongs, I am afraid I would have laughed at you - given the situation as you describe.

 

Now had you come back up to the sun deck. Said in a normal tone of voice, "Excuse me, this is my chair. I left it just a moment ago to get a drink down below". Then I would have appologized for my mistake and gladly put your chair back to your location of choice......:)

[Ektor]

That's great, janep! What route did you chose?

 

The ship is beautiful and filled to the brim with things to do, and the staff is great (Mike Szwajkowski is the best cruise director I've had the pleasure to cruise with yet). I've no doubts you'll enjoy it inmensely from start to finish. :)

[bubbadog]

i keep hearing the same story about this,and this is why i am not ever going to take a cruise on the adventure out of san juan,i wish there was a way to inform more people about this particular cruise, i just dont understand why rci has done nothing about this, makes me think the crew have alot to do with this issue,since they never do anything to correct it, seems dumb to let sales drop for this cruise, oh well:)):rolleyes:

[Cruising89143]

I think this may come under the same heading as writing letters for other issues. Won't matter. If RCI can book enough cabins with passengers from SJ, and fill in the rest with uninformed passengers from other areas, then RCI is making money on the cruises and has accomplished their goal.

 

The company cannot be unaware of situation. They have officers all over the ship who are not blind, deaf, and dumb. They read CC and other cruising sites. But as long as these cruises are profit makers........

 

You may be correct in your comments but as a customer of Royal Caribbean it is my duty to let the company know of my likes and dislikes. The folks that are filling up the ships with the low prices are NOT RCI customers. They are there simply because it was cheap. If Carnival had been dumping prices that week then they would have been on Carnival. The comments that I continue to read on this board is enough to make me think twice before taking a cruise on any ship out of SJ. Rude people are everywhere but it seems that this is a more common problem with ships that sail year round out of this port. Why not place a smaller ship that holds less passengers in this market? A Vision class ship comes to mind.

[roe2ship]

Sorry to read about your experience. It is truly a shame how some behave. I cannot wait to do the Southern Caribbean but this almost makes me think twice about leaving from San Juan. What I don't understand is why are these complaints only on AOS and not the Serenade?? I know the Serenade sails half the year but you would think once in a while you would read the same stories about that ship. Besides the Carnival Destiny, I rarely read any similiar experiences on other ships that sail from San Juan. Has anybody else? Why does it seem like the AOS is the most common ship for such large groups?:confused:

[Retired LEO]

Based on all that I've read these are not isolated incidents but rather the norm. Sailing out of San Juan will never be an option for me.

[BEVGOO]

I told this same story last week on another thread. DH & I sailed out of SJ as follows:

 

2001 RCCL Granduer - don't remember any problems & loved the cruise & ship

 

2002 Celebrity Galaxy - don't remember any problems & loved the cruise even though the ship had a vibration problem in the back where the dining room is.

 

2003 Celebrity Constellation - Nice ship noticed more locals. Had late dinner seating as usual and it went from 8:30 to 11 because our waiter spent most of his time at a large table of locals. We barely got service. We meet a wonderful couple on this cruise and had dinner at their table (1 station over from ours) the last night and the waiter was wonderful.

 

2004 RCCL AOS - Cruised with couple mentioned above. Loved the ship but that was all. The locals took over and were rude and sat on the steps in the hallways, etc. I could go on and on but that just made us turn to Miami or Ft. Lauderdate for our next 3 cruises.

 

2005 & 2006 RCCL Radiance with the same couple. Loved the ship and the people and the crew and the complete experience.

 

2007 skipped and spent a week in Aruba with above couple.

 

2008 rccl Jewel - Can't wait.

 

I'm not an expert but I think I have enough experiences to know this is an ongoing problem. We did write letters to RCCL and our review reflected the problem. That was 2004 and it seems to have gotten worse not better in 3 years??????????

[Bakincakes]

To the OP..so sorry you had a dismal trip.:(

 

Writing to RCI may not get anything done but at least you are on record about the problems you encountered.

 

It is too bad for pax who don't frequent these boards. They have no clue what they might be getting into when they book the AOS out of SJ. It is only AFTER their cruise and AFTER RCI has their money that they find out there could be these kinds of issues on this ship.

 

I've never seen so many posts that describe the same problems and on different sailings. It is pretty obvious that this kind of stuff happens more often than not. Whoever said that the crew cannot all be dumb,deaf and blind is correct.

 

Write letters and speak with your $$$. Don't book out of SJ and tell RCI why. If they can't fill ships from SJ they will eventually "get it" if no one spends the money on more expensive cabins and if they have to start deeply discounting all cabins out of SJ they might just be able to buy a clue as to why.

 

If I were sailing on the AOS out of SJ I would be prepared to raise hell if I encountered any of the behavior described here. And if they tell you that your issues are "isolated" let them know that you know from previous pax that this kind of thing is the "norm".