For all those who have booked or are going to book the AOS - read this!

[ckrobyn]

:( :o :eek:

ok...Let me get some questions ready...

How does the ship look?

Where did you stay precruise?

What did you do in St. Martin?

Was there really a shortage of beer?

 

I think that's all for now. Thanks!

 

The ship looks amazing! I believe all of the cabins have received new carpets within the last 3 months.

 

I stayed at the Marriott Stellaris pre-cruise and loved it. The hotel is wonderful and has been completely renovated. We had a cabana room overlooking the pool and ocean :)

 

We always rent our own jeep in St. Maarten and head straight to Mullet Bay Beach - we spent a day each week enjoying the fabulous sun and sand.

 

I don't drink beer, so I can't really say for sure. What I CAN say, is that there were buckets of beer flying around all over the pool deck so I am sure there was plenty of beer available!!! Not sure if they may have experienced a shortage of a particular brand or not? I do know there were plenty of Coronas!

[maxs mom]

Yea.....we got on about 11:30 the last time we went.

 

My main question concerns the Concierge Lounge. I think I read somewhere that Dee Dee was on with you. Did she have the CL open on Sunday nights? If not .....what was her reasoning for not having it open? Did you have a discussion about it with her?

 

Glad you had fun and booked two more.....Woo Hoo!! When are you going next?

[ckrobyn]

Can you please tell me what day and times the C&A Welcome back party was and also what and when was the Platinum&Diamond Welcome back event. Thanks for your help!!

 

eeeeeeeeeeeeeek! :eek: I got invites to both and I need to remember.....

 

I know the Platinum/Diamond Party was on the 2nd formal night (Thursday) and I believe it was at 8:00pm.

 

The welcome back party.....hmmmmm :rolleyes: I have the invite at home, so I will get back to you on that, unless someone else pops in and answers it for you!

[ckrobyn]

Yea.....we got on about 11:30 the last time we went.

 

My main question concerns the Concierge Lounge. I think I read somewhere that Dee Dee was on with you. Did she have the CL open on Sunday nights? If not .....what was her reasoning for not having it open? Did you have a discussion about it with her?

 

Glad you had fun and booked two more.....Woo Hoo!! When are you going next?

 

Yes, Dee Dee was our Concierge and a FABULOUS one at that! The CL was not open on Sunday night. I didn't ask her why it wasn't open, so I don't have an answer for you. She and I became buddies during the week and exchanged email addresses, so I will email her and ask on your behalf.

 

This is Dee Dee's last week onboard before she takes her vacation and will not return to the ship until the last week of May. Carmen from Guest Relations will take over for her while she is away. Carmen is wonderful for those of you sailing on the AOS within the next 2 months :D

[maxs mom]

Yes.....I really would like for you to ask. We've had Dee Dee before and liked her fine, but this is the only CL that is not open on on the first night (she needs to know that!). We'll be on in late June as we were last year. The CL was not open on Sunday night and we were really miffed. I'd like to use a stronger word there! Tell her she's really got some upset customers on her hands! :confused: :eek:

[jamscckmc]

Join our AOS 8-3-08 rollcall. We are a small but friendly group! Also sign up on the RC website for the M&M (or M&G) forget what RC calls it. We need more people to make it happen.

[txskier]

Robyn

was early dinner at 6 and late at 830 both weeks?

 

and which dinner did you have?

[txskier]

Robyn, what kind of cabin did you have both weeks on AOS?

[ckrobyn]

Robyn

was early dinner at 6 and late at 830 both weeks?

 

and which dinner did you have?

 

Yes, early seating is at 6pm (with the exception of emabarkation day when it is at 6:30pm because of the muster drill)

 

We always have early seating - gives us more time to do stuff in the evenings, and also have some late night snacks as we are usually hungry again by around 10pm! :)

[Tex_Jen]

Yes.....I really would like for you to ask. We've had Dee Dee before and liked her fine' date=' but this is the only CL that is not open on on the first night (she needs to know that!). We'll be on in late June as we were last year. The CL was not open on Sunday night and we were really miffed. I'd like to use a stronger word there! Tell her she's really got some upset customers on her hands! :confused: :eek:[/quote']

 

Actually, I've been hearing that CL is not open on the Voyager first night either. Might be better to complain to C&A.

 

Jen

[ckrobyn]

Robyn, what kind of cabin did you have both weeks on AOS?

 

 

We had the same cabin for both weeks JS 9306. My folks were next door in JS 9308.

 

On turnaround day I snuck into the Royal Suite and took lots of pictures!!!

 

I will be posting my new AOS album on Webshots within the next few days, so watch for the link! :D

[ckrobyn]

Yes.....I really would like for you to ask. We've had Dee Dee before and liked her fine' date=' but this is the only CL that is not open on on the first night (she needs to know that!). We'll be on in late June as we were last year. The CL was not open on Sunday night and we were really miffed. I'd like to use a stronger word there! Tell her she's really got some upset customers on her hands! :confused: :eek:[/quote']

 

I can certainly ask her for you, and I will post her answer on here when she replies. Like I said earlier, she is off on vacation to see her family in Europe within the next week - so I'm not sure she can reply to me before she leaves - but I will try.

[ckrobyn]

Robyn

was early dinner at 6 and late at 830 both weeks?

 

and which dinner did you have?

 

I forgot to answer you about late seating. It was at 8:30pm both weeks.

[txskier]

Robyn

what did you do in Aruba and Curacao?

.....I only confirm on the dining times because the Voyager out of Galveston times are 530 and 800.....

[GrayeeB]

I love San Juan. My first visit was two yrs ago when my son married there. His wife is from Puerto Rico. We had such fun and it was my first meeting with her family. My next cruise I plan on going from P.R. gonna go a week early and spend time with my new family. :) I esp enjoyed Old San Juan walking through the streets and visiting the forts.

[ckrobyn]

Robyn

what did you do in Aruba and Curacao?

 

.....I only confirm on the dining times because the Voyager out of Galveston times are 530 and 800.....

 

In Aruba we hopped in a cab for $10 and went to Palm Beach for the day. beautiful beach with lots of amenities (bars and restaurants).

 

In Curacao we walked over the pontoon bridge into the shopping area and spent the morning touring around the area - stopping to see the floating market from Venezuela. Back to the ship around 1:00pm for lunch and an afternoon on a lounger by the pool :)

[crazy 4 cruising]

Robyn, thanks for starting this thread. We have to change our Feb 09 cruise & are looking at going out of SJ on either the AOS or Serenade & was not sure because of the negative reviews posted. Might I ask why you have not gone on the Serenade since the itinerary is different?

 

 

Very well stated! AOS is a wonderful ship and San Juan is a great port to sail out of. We enjoy spending time in San Juan pre-cruise too. The people there are very friendly and fun. We're leaving San Juan on the Serenade this Saturday. I still love the AOS, but we wanted to try a Radiance Class ship this time.

 

How was it?????? We are going back & forth between these 2 cruises and can not decide as we have not been to any of the places

 

I think that's a good idea. There is nothing worse than spending your last day of vacation fretting. Last year our flight did not leave SJU until 3:30. That was a bit long to wait in the airport though. 1:30 would have been perfect. We stayed on the ship until the last minute and then headed out. The lines at the airport were kind of long but nothing too crazy. One tip is to leave your debarkation tags on your luggage. We had taken ours off and without those tags you have to go through another line to have your luggage checked. Luckily, I did not throw our tags away so we were looking like crazy people trying to get those tied back on. It worked though and avoided that extra line.;)

 

thanks for that info. will keep the tags on, I usually take them off on the way to the airport so they are not confused with the airline stuff.

 

 

QUESTION to those of youwho have gone out of SJ so much. Do you ever fly in the day of? What are the costs for transportation between airport and port? I would search for this info, but the search part has been down.

 

Thanks in advance

[sealegs9]

Hi Robyn-

By chance- did you order any bottles of wine and if so, was the wine available (in stock)?

Read there was a shortage of beer and cigarettes -but you already stated you don't drink beer (neither do I).

 

Did they use the "new" wine list just out this month or the former one- or couldn't you tell? They're rolling it out ship by ship.

 

We're also staying at the Marriott Stellaris in San Juan. Glad to hear it's in great shape. Where did you eat dinner, pre-cruise?

Our roll call is going to Ajili Mojili -any feedback?

[Tex_Jen]

 

How was it?????? We are going back & forth between these 2 cruises and can not decide as we have not been to any of the places

 

QUESTION to those of youwho have gone out of SJ so much. Do you ever fly in the day of? What are the costs for transportation between airport and port? I would search for this info, but the search part has been down.

 

 

I have been on both ships and love them both. I've actually done the Serenade itinerary on the Adventure as well. My sis prefers the Serenade itinerary and I enjoy the sea days of the Aruba itinerary.

 

I flew in day of when I was on the Serenade and vowed I would never do that again. If at all possible, I would suggest flying in at least a day before. There can be bad weather that delays planes and the trip is long enough that you are sooo tired as you begin your cruise. Always nice to get that out of your system before you get on the ship.

 

Don't remember costs between the airport and the ship. I was in San Juan a few days prior cruise last year and stayed an extra day at the end.

 

Jen

[ckrobyn]

Hi Robyn-

By chance- did you order any bottles of wine and if so, was the wine available (in stock)?

Read there was a shortage of beer and cigarettes -but you already stated you don't drink beer (neither do I).

 

Did they use the "new" wine list just out this month or the former one- or couldn't you tell? They're rolling it out ship by ship.

 

We're also staying at the Marriott Stellaris in San Juan. Glad to hear it's in great shape. Where did you eat dinner, pre-cruise?

Our roll call is going to Ajili Mojili -any feedback?

 

I didn't order a bottle of wine - although one was sent to me by Dee Dee and I was able to bring it to the dining room and enjoy it with dinner. I do know that they ran out of White Zinfandel and restocked in St.Thomas. Not sure if they ran out of any other wines? I believe the wine list has not yet changed on the AOS - the list looked the same.

 

While at the Stellaris, we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant connected to the hotel - I believe it was called "Blossom" and it was excellent. The chefs prepare you dinner at cooking tables right in front of you. Choice of steak, shrimp, chicken etc. Amazing food, but not cheap.

 

I have never heard of Ajili Mojili??? :confused:

[ckrobyn]

Robyn, thanks for starting this thread. We have to change our Feb 09 cruise & are looking at going out of SJ on either the AOS or Serenade & was not sure because of the negative reviews posted. Might I ask why you have not gone on the Serenade since the itinerary is different?

 

 

 

 

How was it?????? We are going back & forth between these 2 cruises and can not decide as we have not been to any of the places

 

 

 

thanks for that info. will keep the tags on, I usually take them off on the way to the airport so they are not confused with the airline stuff.

 

 

QUESTION to those of youwho have gone out of SJ so much. Do you ever fly in the day of? What are the costs for transportation between airport and port? I would search for this info, but the search part has been down.

 

Thanks in advance

 

I have not gone on the Serenade because my DH won't go on a smaller ship! He is not a cruising fanatic like I am, so in order for him to agree to a B2B cruise every year, it has to be on a Voyager class ship like the AOS. I won't argue with him because we both love the AOS and the itinerary is perfect for us :)

 

We never fly in the day of, because we are from Canada and the weather is always an issue in the winter when we cruise. I do know that a cab from SJU to the port is about $23 - this is not per person, it is per cab. My folks took a cab to the port from the airport and this is what they paid 2 weeks ago.

 

Hope this helps??

[shonandsuzie]

While at the Stellaris, we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant connected to the hotel - I believe it was called "Blossom" and it was excellent. The chefs prepare you dinner at cooking tables right in front of you. Choice of steak, shrimp, chicken etc. Amazing food, but not cheap.

What was the price range? We are staying there this fall and that sound slike a fun place to try.

[crazy 4 cruising]

I have been on both ships and love them both. I've actually done the Serenade itinerary on the Adventure as well. My sis prefers the Serenade itinerary and I enjoy the sea days of the Aruba itinerary.

 

I flew in day of when I was on the Serenade and vowed I would never do that again. If at all possible, I would suggest flying in at least a day before. There can be bad weather that delays planes and the trip is long enough that you are sooo tired as you begin your cruise. Always nice to get that out of your system before you get on the ship.

 

Don't remember costs between the airport and the ship. I was in San Juan a few days prior cruise last year and stayed an extra day at the end.

 

Jen

 

thanks Jen. I think we are leaning towards the AOS because we can get a GS for the price of a JS on the Serenade. We can always go back & do the Serenade??:D ;)

 

Thanks also for the advice on flying in. I know the first time we went out

of LA we vowed never again too. PLUS, for the cheapest flight, we have to leave San Antonio at 6 am:eek: so as I am typing this I am realizing that why did I ever ask you guys. Going in the day before for sure!!!

 

OK, next ? Which piers do they go out of? Do either go out of Old San Juan, or do both go out of the other one. I was so disappointed when we wnet to SJ last on the Voyager & docked at the one waaaaaaaaay out there with nothing around. Our cab driver $ucked too. But the cab ride back was ok.

 

Thanks again everyone for your help. I want to be a San Juan supporter, too!!!

[toonjie]

Welcome back CK Robyn!! Glad you had a great cruise! We are only 2 months out and starting to get really excited!!! :) Glad to hear about the new carpet in the cabins. We are in 1688 and looking forward to that huge aft balcony.

[maxs mom]

Robyn....Thanks for trying to get in touch with Dee Dee. It probably won't do any good, but at least she should be aware that many people don't like that policy and it is not followed throughout the whole fleet.

 

Where did you go on Palm Beach? And can you elaborate on that a bit? In December we went to De Palm Pier and it was fine.....just very crowded.....lots of water toy activity where we were sitting, so therefore not as relaxing as I would like. It was convenient to food and drink, though. Two chairs and umbrella.....$35. That's a little pricey.

 

We love the Sea Aquarium Beach in Curacao.....lots of nice areas there....Kon Tiki for one. We sat at the far end near the aquarium last time and it was very nice. Might like to try Playa Porta Mari this summer.