AOS 10-14 Review (Short)

[tinaparrotthead]

Maybe they need to hire more security and make them more present instead of waiting for the reports. Fund the extra cost by not discounting the last minute sales quite so much. It's great that staff are so customer oriented but they need to learn to stand up to a passenger at times and deviate from the "customer is always right". Even if some pax aren't use to queueing up, I'm sure they can learn this is how its done on a ship with a friendly but firm reminder from a crew member dressed in a security uniform.

 

Agree COMPLETELY!!!!!! Hope they read your comments!

[Cruising89143]

I believe that it is a known fact that the cruise lines do a very poor job in enforcing their own set policies. I believe that the crew members are afraid to say anything to the guests on board. How much backing do those crew members get from the officers on board and the home office in Miami when one of those guests goes off on a crew member trying to do their job?

 

The bottom line here is that RCI needs to do a better job of enforcing the Guest Conduct Policy.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/pdf/Guest_Conduct_Policy.pdf

 

If the cruise lines would make some examples out of the guests that abuse the policy by placing them off the ship then word would get out and this kind of crap would stop. Until then it will continue. With the ships becoming larger and larger carrying more passengers, something is going to have to be put into place to keep folks in line. Can you imagine what it will be like on the Genesis with up to 6400 passengers?

[jmraggs]

We love cruising with RCCL (12 to date), but I agree that RCCL tends NOT to do anything about "out of control people" from my observations as it seems that they don't want to make anyone upset and risk that they won't cruise with them again. As a side note and nothing to do with AOS, but on Liberty this past September, there were several kids (not Puerto Ricans and in full view of the parents) picking up large chunks of ice after the ice sculpture carving on the pool deck and throwing them at each other in the pool (each piece was about 3-4 inches). I flagged down an officer walking by and mentioned it to him because I didn't want to get injured or someone else from a mis-throw. I could really see that happening as they threw the ice around at each other in the pool with the pool being packed with people. An accident like that is very easy in a crowded pool and this is something that I thought was way out of control.

 

The officer looked at the kids and kept walking to the other side of the pool deck. I originally thought he was going to call the pool attendant and have the kids spoken to, but that never happened. He left the pool deck and never reappeared. We then left as I didn't want a chuck of ice hitting us in the face, and yes, I probably should have escalated it to another officer but I was so disgusted at that point we left the area.

 

I am sure the same thing would happen on AOS and the crew wouldn't do anything about it. I agree with past posters as not all Puerto Ricans are bad, just like not all americans are bad, but a few unfortunately give a bad rap for everyone else. We have been to PR twice and have also met very friendly people, especially in Don Q (who was the nicest guy I have ever talked to) Never have we felt threatened or thought the people were rude to us. Yes I have seen on past cruises people cutting in line to be with their friends and family and I believe this happens on every cruise, but people might notice it more on AOS since large groups from PR travel together. At times I have been embarassed to be around some Americans acting stupid and rude. There is no guarantee for anything you do and sometimes things go good and sometimes they don't go as we like. I just hope I don't have a bad experience on AOS next year. I don't condone bad behavior and can only hope I don't run into it too much.

[Aquahound]

Hey Aqua..

I was afraid this would be your response.....so I'm once again not very encouraged about our cruise in November......Were you the one who wrote a letter as well?

 

Tina, it's very possible that you are going to have a fabulous cruise. In fact, I think it's more likely than not. I wish you the best.

 

Yes, I did write a letter.

 

Maybe they need to hire more security and make them more present instead of waiting for the reports.

 

This is an excellent point. When the complaints on this ship having been going on for years now, there's no way they can't be aware of the problem. Sometimes enforcement has to be just a little more aggressive. Cruise ships are no exception.

 

I really have a hard time with anyone singling out a group of people.

 

Why? If it's that one group of people causing the problems, why should they not be singled out? On my cruise, the problems were being caused by Puerto Ricans. That's not an insult to all Puerto Ricans, just the ones on board. And I have to call them Puerto Ricans because I do not know what their names were. How else do I refer to them?

[Aquahound]

Double Post

[lvssushi]

I just wanted to say I have found this thread very helpful. I especially appreciate the variety of opinions and the decorum that has remained throughout this discussion. Thanks to all who have contributed their viewpoints as they have been very helpful in addressing my concerns.

 

TINAPARROTTHEAD-Thank you so much for posting about your email and the subsequent response from RCI. I will be very interested to read your review when you return. I wish you the best cruise!!! :)

 

Final payment for me is not due until January so I have some time. I will continue to monitor the reviews and check to find deals on other RCI cruises. Should these types of reviews continue and if I can't find a deal on another RCI cruise, I'll just have to cruise on another cruise line this spring. :(

[lovetocruise99]

hey is anyone cruising on AOS the week of February 17th? It is President's week...school vacation week here in MA...have checked out the meet and mingle..but unfortuately it is a very quiet group as for posting...not much in the way of talkers...please let me know if anyone is coming this week...thanks, Nancy

 

GO RED SOX!!!!

 

We'll be there! This will be our third cruise on AOS out of San Juan. We cruised in June 2007 and September 2007. Though there were 1700 Puerto Ricans on the September cruise we did not experience any problems. I do not anticipate any problems President's Week because the cruise rates are high now. Lucikly we booked when they were lower.

 

Don't worry-everything will be fine!!! The stops are fantastic and the crew is nice too.

[tinaparrotthead]

I just wanted to say I have found this thread very helpful. I especially appreciate the variety of opinions and the decorum that has remained throughout this discussion. Thanks to all who have contributed their viewpoints as they have been very helpful in addressing my concerns.

 

TINAPARROTTHEAD-Thank you so much for posting about your email and the subsequent response from RCI. I will be very interested to read your review when you return. I wish you the best cruise!!! :)

 

Final payment for me is not due until January so I have some time. I will continue to monitor the reviews and check to find deals on other RCI cruises. Should these types of reviews continue and if I can't find a deal on another RCI cruise, I'll just have to cruise on another cruise line this spring. :(

 

I will definately post a review on the RC boards along with the review section and also, I believe Trip Advisor is allowing cruise reviews now (since they own CC now)?? I'll keep you posted and will give you and others time to cancel and decide what other cruise/cruise line you might want to do instead RC and the AOS. Thanks for the best wishes!!!:)

[Snoozeman]

Aquahound, good job with this thread. tina, thanks for sharing.

 

Those still investigating don't forget to read the roll calls for comments after AoS pax return. Ours, 9/30, has interesting comments.

 

Security was trying on our cruise. They were trying to catch the 'elevator boys' and may have eventually. The pool attendants really were no help, they need dedicated security for the pool area.

 

I cruised one 'spring break' with Princess and they had a special team trained to deal with teens and young adults. They wore special security T-shirts and made a very visible presence on Lido deck and other areas. Their job was to monitor and control certain behavior. I happened to talk to a supervisor of this team (they were from Canada) one day and it was very interesting. They did a great job and kudos to Princess for recognizing the need. It sounds to me as though RCCL needs something similar on the Adventure until this situation is corrected. It is good to hear that RCCL is aware of the problem and looking into it.

 

It is a beautiful ship and someday hopefully I will sail from her again.

[Aquahound]

Those still investigating don't forget to read the roll calls for comments after AoS pax return. Ours, 9/30, has interesting comments.

 

Snoozeman, post #274 was spot on in your roll call thread.

 

I like the idea of having people more dedicated to actually enforcing not only the ship's rules, but also rude behavior in general. Security walks around, but they are mosty reactive, not proactive.

 

If you go to anytown USA and watch the Police in action during events, you'll see them making contact with people, not because they are doing things illegal, but because their actions may lead to bigger altercations. It's just a way of maintaining status quo so everyone has a good time, and it can be done very respectfully. Cruise ships are small cities. There's no reason this wouldn't work.

[Snoozeman]

Snoozeman, post #274 was spot on in your roll call thread.

 

I like the idea of having people more dedicated to actually enforcing not only the ship's rules, but also rude behavior in general. Security walks around, but they are mosty reactive, not proactive.

 

If you go to anytown USA and watch the Police in action during events, you'll see them making contact with people, not because they are doing things illegal, but because their actions may lead to bigger altercations. It's just a way of maintaining status quo so everyone has a good time, and it can be done very respectfully. Cruise ships are small cities. There's no reason this wouldn't work.

 

I agree.

 

Here's the thread that was on the big board following our cruise (same as #274 in roll call). The post about the ball being thrown off the ship really concerned me. The thread was closed so some may not have seen it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=642150

[Fritz265]

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.

 

Ektor, I second your comments. I was on the same cruise as you and did NOT notice any notable rudeness from any particular ethnic group. It was a great cruise and a great itinerary. If you want to find rudeness, you will. I cruise to have fun and did. Seemed to be more Europeans on our cruise than people from PR to be honest. Everybody was terrific. I'd sail AOS again and will.

[txskier]

Aqua> thanks for the response a page or two earlier.

 

For the time being, I think we will stay the course with AOS.....Hey, the only problems we have had on our 8 cruises so far are the occasional line cutter.....dinnermates you can't get away from fast enough.

 

I know on our previous cruises that our table, cabin and bar service are always excellent. We are the over-tippers on the last night.

 

We have enjoyed Princess, Carnival and RCCL equally....we tend to lean more towards RCCL. If this cruise turns bad, maybe this will pull us away from RCCL for awhile.

 

Cruisinggator/Joset and others, thanks for your input as well