AOS Aruba route 11/18 Quince Cruise NO PROBLEMS!

[Happy Mom]

Just wanted to let all future AOS cruisers know that we had a great time on our cruise 11/18-11/25. There were over 1500 Puerto Ricans on board. We did not have any issues. I didn't see anyone laying on the steps or any rough stuff. The Quince girls were not a problem. On the last formal night, they had a little parade of them walking down the steps escorted by their dads. They all were dressed beautifully and as far as I could tell, behaved appropriately. We weren't seated near the steps and didn't really pay any attention to the parade. There was no Spanish music played at the pool...just the usual island music that we've always experienced. We only attended the Love and Marriage Show, Quest, and the comedian's shows and there wasn't anyone talking over the performance. In fact, there wasn't really a big turnout for these shows so maybe many Spanish speaking cruisers didn't attend. Another thing I noticed was that we had no problem finding pool chairs on sea days. I think that a lot of the Puerto Rican cruisers didn't rush to the pool and maybe slept a little later because they are used to the beautiful weather. No one attempted to butt in line in front of me at any time. One time there was a young girl about 10 or 11 blocking my path and I said, "Excuse me". She turned around and with a thick Spanish accent said to me, "I'm so sorry" and she quickly stepped aside. My husband was sitting in the Windjammer alone one morning and he said a young Spanish boy came over and asked if he could share the table. He sat down and then a few of his friends came over and sat as well. He said they were very polite to him. My husband also made some Spanish friends in the gym...one of them happened to be the swim coach for the Puerto Rico Olympic team or something like that. All of the people we met were very nice..Puerto Rican or otherwise. There were some young men wearing sunglasses day and night even in the gym... but that didn't effect our trip in any way. You did hear a lot of Spanish being spoken everywhere....if that would bother you, then cruise from a different port. It didn't bother me.

I'd be happy to answer any questions. We had a wonderful week, beautiful weather every day and magnificent ports. Based on my experience only, I would sail again tomorrow.

[Coochuck]

We are leaving out of Philly on Dec 9th. What airline did you fly, and were you on time with baggage?

 

Thanks

[Apoggi]

Thanks for the report. I am glad to hear something positive about AOS. We never had a problem when we went on her and was disturbed to read all the negative posts. I am happy to hear that it isn't like the others say. I am glad you had a good time.

[Happy Mom]

We are leaving out of Philly on Dec 9th. What airline did you fly, and were you on time with baggage?

 

Thanks

 

We left out of Philly as well, flying American Airlines. I won't fly USair on holidays anymore. We had a 7:55 am flight that actually left a few minutes early and got us there about 20 minutes early. We had our baggage and got to the ship about 1:00

[titomalu]

AMEN....i was there too and I am from PR....did not have any problem. You might have seen me at the quest show, I was the male captain of the group that won and was the biker that did the Miss Adventure of the Seas (I was the one blowing kisses to the audience).

 

My daughter was also on the TV doing the hula hoop on the Adventure Ocean show that was televised from the Blue Moon Lounge.

 

Thanks for your positive comments. I thought the same TOO !!!

[Mydnite]

Probably a daft question, but please humor me... what are quince girls?

[MelissaLOVES2Cruise]

It is soooo good to hear that you had such a wonderful time...My family and I will be sailing on the AOS this coming Sunday...With all of the negative posts I have been reading lately, it is very nice to hear that you had a positive experience...We cruise to have a good time and we CHOOSE not to let what others are or are not doing bother us...Hopefully, our vacation will be just as wonderful as yours was...Thanks again for your post!!! :)

[Happy Mom]

AMEN....i was there too and I am from PR....did not have any problem. You might have seen me at the quest show, I was the male captain of the group that won and was the biker that did the Miss Adventure of the Seas (I was the one blowing kisses to the audience).

 

My daughter was also on the TV doing the hula hoop on the Adventure Ocean show that was televised from the Blue Moon Lounge.

 

Thanks for your positive comments. I thought the same TOO !!!

 

 

You were a beautiful Miss Adventure! We enjoyed your performance. You may want to get a little more practice with those high heels though! HAH!

[Debde]

Thank you Happy mom for your positive comments on this cruise. I just joined today and have been reading the threads for weeks prior and really could not understand some things being said.

Many years ago I spent a few weeks in a town called Rio Piedras [sp?] and the people there were absolutly wonderful.

Now I'm really counting down the weeks to my cruise.

Thanks to the folks who answered my questions on the other thread about AOS.

[Travelgrrl]

Some Hispanic cultures celebrate 'quincenera' which I think is on a young lady's 15th birthday; it's a rite of passage into womanhood, I believe.

 

Other posters have nattered on about rude crowds accompanying them; it's so nice to hear Happy Mom's perspective. I bet it was quite a sight to see all the beautiful young ladies dressed up with their fathers!

[titomalu]

Probably a daft question, but please humor me... what are quince girls?

 

These are young women who turn 15. It is a latin tradition to have a coming out to society event when girls turn 15. usually a big coming out ball is held and the girls parade with their parents and friends. its like an introduction to society. Quince is fifteen in spanish. Quinceanera is a fifteen yr old girl.

 

RCI has specific cruises where they cater to these families by providing quincieaneras a party one night where they and their families have an event (somewhat like a ball).

 

I guess its quite lucrative for RCI.

 

Some folks on these boards complain about these cruises because they tend to have more teenagers running around on the ships. They claim they are rowdy and other things, which i believe is a bunch of BS.

 

On our cruise last week they paraded on thursday night with their dresses in the Royal Promenade along with their fathers. I guess they had their event on the first formal night.

 

hope this answers your inquiry.

[Gonzo70]

Glad you had a positive cruise experience. I really enjoyed AOS last November.

 

I Wish I was going on a crusie this winter; first time in five years not taking a winter vacation. :mad:

[Aquahound]

They claim they are rowdy and other things, which i believe is a bunch of BS.

 

This statement is uncalled for. :rolleyes:

[Happy Mom]

For all those interested...lobster was on the menu!

[bluecruisin]

Please share what you did in port in Aruba and Curacao. i appreciate any suggestions!

[Happy Mom]

Please share what you did in port in Aruba and Curacao. i appreciate any suggestions!

 

We're beach people so......

In Aruba we took a taxi to The Raddison Hotel. We walked through the lobby straight to the beach, made a left at the beach and walked to the other side of the pier....closer to the Riu where there was a chair rental stand. It was quieter than right in front of the Raddison. A great day.

 

In Curacao, we took a taxi to Sea Aquarium Beach. It didn't look that nice when we first pulled up...construction in the parking lot...but the beach was beautiful with rock jetty islands to swim out to. The water is calm there, unlike other beaches so said our taxi driver. Another great day.

[titomalu]

In Aruba we took a taxi tour around the island. Went to the lighthouse, sand dunes, hotel area, and all over.

 

Curacao - took my baby to the Dolphin Swin at the Seaquarium. What a blast !! Its somewhat expensive but we got to spend 45 minutes with two dolpins doing all kind of things with them in the water. Awesome....afterwards we spent time in the other areas of the seaquarium all included for the price of the swim. The tour company sends a cab to the port, they drive you out to the seaquarium and pick you up 2 - 3 hours later. My daughter and I loved it !!

[Bakincakes]

This statement is uncalled for. :rolleyes:

 

 

I agree...but then I'm sure PR residents have a special interest in making sure that the AOS remains a profitable ship for RCI.;)

 

You aren't the only person who reported running into unsavory characters on the AOS...so me thinks the bs might just be of the home grown variety.:)

[PhoenixCruiser]

Since it was a holiday sailing, I wonder if they offered resident discounts :confused:

 

###

[joelmarj]

 

Some folks on these boards complain about these cruises because they tend to have more teenagers running around on the ships. They claim they are rowdy and other things, which i believe is a bunch of BS.

 

 

I'm very glad you had a good experience. However I think its quite rude of you to make such a nasty comment when you indeed were NOT there to experience what many of us have. I could just as easily say your version is BS, but I'm not in the position to say so. I was not on your cruise and have ONLY spoken of my own personal experience.

[Happy Mom]

so me thinks the bs might just be of the home grown variety.:)

 

Are you suggesting that I'm Puerto Rican because I had a favorable review? I can assure you that I'm not. Thanks for the laugh though.

[Bakincakes]

Are you suggesting that I'm Puerto Rican because I had a favorable review? I can assure you that I'm not. Thanks for the laugh though.

 

 

Not at all. If you read my post again you will see I referenced a quote made by Aquahound that he made in response to a post by a PR resident.

 

I don't care what nationality you are.:)

 

I'm glad you had a wonderful time on your cruise and didn't experience any of the problems many others have. Perhaps RCI has taken measures to prevent such things.:confused:

 

PhoenixCruiserSince it was a holiday sailing, I wonder if they offered resident discounts :confused:

 

 

The only sailings that seemed to have so many problems were ones that offered "fire sales" for cabins or were Quince cruises. The Happy OP reports hers was a Quince cruise and she had no issues.

[Debde]

Although I am new to this board but have been 'lurking' for a while this thread has sparked my attention because I have been trying to read anything about AOS for my January cruise.

So-I'll jump right into the frying pan. This subject seems it will have people passionate about there feeings on both sides. The native PR's will defend themselves, and rightly so and the folks who had an unpleasent experience will also , in turn, defend themselves.

My feelings are, being on 3 cruises and a few resort type vacations, you will always find those who will try to ruin your vacation if you let them. Many can be rude, demanding and just plain inconsiderate to those around them. No nationality is exempt from this.

Many of us vsit PR because we say what a beautiful place and it truly is magnificent! Any of us would defend our 'hometown' with a passion if need be. Maybe if we all see, 'bad apples' are on every cruise/vacation. To single out the native PR's is just looking for 'hot threads' as we all have seen on many message boards.

Being from NY I have gone on many a vacation and heard all the 'New Yawker' stories from good to bad. I take the good ones and smile and the bad ones, forget about it an relax on my vacation!

 

So- on that note-Happy cruising all and are hoping to brush up on my Spanish while on vacation!!

[Happy Mom]

Although I am new to this board but have been 'lurking' for a while this thread has sparked my attention because I have been trying to read anything about AOS for my January cruise.

So-I'll jump right into the frying pan. This subject seems it will have people passionate about there feeings on both sides. The native PR's will defend themselves, and rightly so and the folks who had an unpleasent experience will also , in turn, defend themselves.

My feelings are, being on 3 cruises and a few resort type vacations, you will always find those who will try to ruin your vacation if you let them. Many can be rude, demanding and just plain inconsiderate to those around them. No nationality is exempt from this.

Many of us vsit PR because we say what a beautiful place and it truly is magnificent! Any of us would defend our 'hometown' with a passion if need be. Maybe if we all see, 'bad apples' are on every cruise/vacation. To single out the native PR's is just looking for 'hot threads' as we all have seen on many message boards.

Being from NY I have gone on many a vacation and heard all the 'New Yawker' stories from good to bad. I take the good ones and smile and the bad ones, forget about it an relax on my vacation!

 

So- on that note-Happy cruising all and are hoping to brush up on my Spanish while on vacation!!

 

 

My opinion is unbiased as I am not Puerto Rican, native or otherwise. Just a happily married suburban mom, three daughters, 16, 18, and 20. We cruise every year on Thanksgiving week. I too am usually a lurker....you can tell by the number of posts I've made compared to how many years I've been a member. I don't believe I've ever felt the need to write any review but was compelled to do so to ease the fears of future cruisers. I had been fearful as well and thankfully my fears were unfounded. I don't think that I wasn't "letting" people ruin my vacation, rather for me, none of those things occurred. The most upsetting thing to me about this cruise (aside from it coming to an end) was that there were no hand sanitizers outside of the windjammer. Every other cruise we've gone on has had them. Returning onto the ship from our third of four ports, someone was standing there handing out Purell wipes. I asked why there were no hand sanitizers elsewhere on the ship and they said...maybe on your next cruise. Then I asked why they were handing these out here and not the other ports and they replied...because of the other ship in port. Who knows.

 

Also, an announcement was made that there were 3280 Americans on board, of which 1500 were Puerto Rican and 800 children.

[CruiseParty]

I'm very glad you had a good experience. However I think its quite rude of you to make such a nasty comment when you indeed were NOT there to experience what many of us have. I could just as easily say your version is BS, but I'm not in the position to say so. I was not on your cruise and have ONLY spoken of my own personal experience.

 

 

The bottom line is this....... Once anyone says they don't like the cruise because it was over-run by one particular group- its perceived as discriminatory. No matter where you are or how you get there, there will be rude people that have no regard for others-that is true for all races creeds and colors. If someone posts that they did not like a cruise that is their right to do and their opinion can be accepted or rejected.

 

I have to tell you that if the boat was filled with 2000 Hasidic Jews practicing their religion all over the ship (I am Jewish so don't go crazy on me), the locals in Puerto Rico as well as I would post their experience and advise people that if your looking for a boat filled with diversity this would not be the cruise to go on.

 

Hey people say they love the hairy chest contests or excessive beer drinking on Carnival-Thanks for letting me know-thats not for me.

 

I look at this site as one that offers advise and OPINIONS-If you don't agree-post your opinion and let people decide on their own. No need for name calling.

 

Can't we just all get along.