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

[ddy123]

Hi Robyn,

 

Thanks so much for creating this thread....it was what convinced me to go on AOS! I have a couple of questions I hope you don't mind answering. I was doing a search on our cabin GS1574 and I think I saw that you had stayed in that cabin at one point? Can you please tell me how you liked it? The one thing I am most concernd with is the noise from the pool deck above as I am a very light sleeper. Did you find it noisy?

 

Also, can you tell me what time the shows are for the late seating? We actually like going to the shows before dinner which is why we chose late seating but 8:30 is a little later than we really would like. I am thinking of switching to my time dining and am wondering whether that would allow us to eat a little earlier say at 8:00 if the shows are out by then?

 

Thanks!:)

[Lorey2007]

Which deck is MTD on?

[Alexis]

Which deck is MTD on?

 

My Time Dining is on Deck 5, the Mozart Dining Room. ;)

When we had it in Nov/December for two weeks, we always went to the left side when entering the dining room.

We also had a two top window seat and the same wait staff that we requested every night.

(I think I answered this on the main boards too) :D

[olemissreb]

Wanted to bump this up but also wanted to ask:

 

What are some DO NOT MISS things we should do on AOS? I've seen other threads with this for specific ships so I thought I would ask the experts here!

 

I know Quest is one, but DH and I participated in one on our second cruise (not an RCI ship but basically the same game) so I don't know that we'd be interested in seeing/participating again.

 

So fill up my notepad with do not miss items. We are leaving in 3 days! WOOHOO!!!

[Ocean Boy]

Wanted to bump this up but also wanted to ask:

 

What are some DO NOT MISS things we should do on AOS? I've seen other threads with this for specific ships so I thought I would ask the experts here!

 

I know Quest is one, but DH and I participated in one on our second cruise (not an RCI ship but basically the same game) so I don't know that we'd be interested in seeing/participating again.

 

So fill up my notepad with do not miss items. We are leaving in 3 days! WOOHOO!!!

 

The two parades on the Royal Promenade are cool. You won't see anything like it on any other ship except for those ships that have a Promenade.

 

Go out to the helecopter pad when it is dark out. The sky is amazing there as there is no deck lighting to interfer with seeing the stars.

 

Climb to the top of the rock wall. And don't forget to take the time to have a good look around from up there before you come back down.

 

Take the time to really see the ship. One day I started on the top deck and walked every deck of the ship. Don't be like some people who say they spend a whole week on the ship and never saw the whole thing.

 

Enjoy every minute aboard her. Adventure, and her Voyager class sisters, are amazing ships.

[Lorey2007]

Which nights are formal on the Aruba itinerary?

[kaybeeeeeee]

Wanted to bump this up but also wanted to ask:

 

What are some DO NOT MISS things we should do on AOS? I've seen other threads with this for specific ships so I thought I would ask the experts here!

 

I know Quest is one, but DH and I participated in one on our second cruise (not an RCI ship but basically the same game) so I don't know that we'd be interested in seeing/participating again.

 

So fill up my notepad with do not miss items. We are leaving in 3 days! WOOHOO!!!

 

Love & Marriage (basically a raunchy Newlywed Game) is always very funny. Ice show is amazing, especially considering the small ice surface. Skating indoors on a cruise ship is also a decent experience. They'll provide skates but you have to wear long pants.

[olemissreb]

Which nights are formal on the Aruba itinerary?

 

I think they are Monday night (first at sea day) and Thursday night (second at sea day).

[Alexis]

I think they are Monday night (first at sea day) and Thursday night (second at sea day).

 

You are correct. :D That is the formal nights. ;)

[Lorey2007]

Have they started the online dinner reservations for MTD yet?

When can I expect to be able to book excursions for our cruise January 30th?

[brickhousesm]

This is our first Royal cruise, can anyone tell me if there is a place to eat a late night snack? On Carnival you could get pizza, cookies, burgers and fries.

 

Also, is room service free?

[Tucker in Texas]

The Promenade Cafe is open 24 hours for snacks sandwiches, pizza, cookies, desserts coffee, tea, lemonade, hot chocolate. They may close for an hour or so in the early AM to clean but it has never been closed when I wanted to use it. It is free.

 

Room service is free except between (approximately) midnight and 5:00 a.m. where there is a service charge of $4 or so which, supposably includes tip. Royal does this because so many people were ordering it and then not eating it so it discourages that practice.

 

Tucker in Texas

[brickhousesm]

The Promenade Cafe is open 24 hours for snacks sandwiches, pizza, cookies, desserts coffee, tea, lemonade, hot chocolate. They may close for an hour or so in the early AM to clean but it has never been closed when I wanted to use it. It is free.

 

Room service is free except between (approximately) midnight and 5:00 a.m. where there is a service charge of $4 or so which, supposably includes tip. Royal does this because so many people were ordering it and then not eating it so it discourages that practice.

 

Tucker in Texas

 

Thanks, Tucker in Texas.

[Kitey]

Just recently back from my AOS cruise, and my entire party loved, loved, loved this experience. I've only previously sailed Princess (Emerald), and really enjoyed the trip but I have to say the AOS was something else.

 

The staff, that may be what it boiled down to for me, although there were a lot of great things, the staff was absolutely phenominal. We're planning a cruise to Alaska with RCI next, I hope their other ships live up to this experience! :D

[flynsail]

Hi all, I've been enjoying reading this thread a little too much as I have been neglecting other things I should be doing. We're about to book a cruise on AOS for next January 9th Barbados,St Lucia route, and would like to know if there is a preferred deck and why? Also I'd love some suggestions as to what to do in San Juan for a couple of days pre cruise and what excursions on the islands are good. We were on the Oasis and Liberty in February and fell in love with cruising so we look forward to the southern route next year.

[kaybeeeeeee]

Hi all, I've been enjoying reading this thread a little too much as I have been neglecting other things I should be doing. We're about to book a cruise on AOS for next January 9th Barbados,St Lucia route, and would like to know if there is a preferred deck and why? Also I'd love some suggestions as to what to do in San Juan for a couple of days pre cruise and what excursions on the islands are good. We were on the Oasis and Liberty in February and fell in love with cruising so we look forward to the southern route next year.

 

Sorry, can't comment on the balcony question, we're inside cabin folk. We just did the Barbados route last month and had a fantastic time. We did 2 excursions, one in St. Lucia and one in Barbados.

 

The St. Lucia excursion was the highlight of our cruise. I had emailed Herod Stanislas asking about his tour. His response was that he was available but we needed a minimum of 10. Fortunately I was able to post on our roll call and was able to get the numbers together. The tour itself was absolutely breathtaking. Herold did a fantastic job of bringing his homeland to life for us. The highlight of the tour was a wonderful homemade lunch prepared by his mother at their home in the shadow of the Pitons. Absolutely breathtaking! I cannot say enough about this experience. You can check out Herod's website at http://www.herodsislandtours.com/. The tour we took was Herod's Land & Sea Safari Tour.

 

Our Barbados excursion was a catamaran, swim with the sea turtles with Calabaza Sailing Cruises. Gina and her crew do a very nice job of making you feel comfortable. This was also a really nice excursion. You can check out her website at http://www.calabazasailingcruises.com/. One thing I'd recommend if you want a catamaran excursion is to stick with a company that limits the number of people on the cat to less than 20. We saw loads of cats on the water with what seemed like 50 or so people on board. It looked like a herd of cattle and when they went into the water I can't believe they got to see anything.

 

We spent a day in San Juan post and really just did some walking around in Old SJ so I can't really recommend anything. What I'd suggest for hotels there (if you're interested) would come via Priceline. We found hotels very expensive when paying retail but ended up with a 3 star Courtyard for our pre stay (we got in at midnight so didn't need anything special) for $50 and got the Caribe Hilton resort for our post for $90. You can learn more about Priceline/Hotwire bidding at betterbidding dot com.

 

If you have any other questions please fire away. Either I or one of the many other helpful folk on this thread will be happy to help you. Who knows, you might even wake the thread founder, ckrobyn, out of her slumber! lol

[flynsail]

kaybeeeeeee, Thanks for the many helpful suggestions. I will look into all of them

[toonjie]

Usually the higher the deck, the better, so of your options, I would pick deck 9 for a balcony cabin, but if you can give us particular cabin #'s that would be the most helpful, because the cabin itself would make a lot more difference than the deck. Center hump, aft, there's lots of secret cabins that are far better than others of the same type. You can use the search function to help find them as well.

For things to do in Puerto Rico, see http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com. Definitely book your hotel on Priceline, see the sticky on the San Juan board for help in bidding.

Definitely use Herod in St. Lucia, I'll be touring again with him in a few weeks, he's the best there is!

[flynsail]

toonjie, Thanks for the info. I don't have enough cruise experience to know which secret cabins are the best so if you have any suggestions, I'd like to hear them. On deck 9, some of the D2 cabins that are available are:9550,9560 and 9588. Which of these would be better or does it not really matter. I think I want to be on the port side as I think that may give the better views when in port. It's still too early to use priceline to bid on hotels for next January isn't it?

[toonjie]

toonjie, Thanks for the info. I don't have enough cruise experience to know which secret cabins are the best so if you have any suggestions, I'd like to hear them. On deck 9, some of the D2 cabins that are available are:9550,9560 and 9588. Which of these would be better or does it not really matter. I think I want to be on the port side as I think that may give the better views when in port. It's still too early to use priceline to bid on hotels for next January isn't it?

 

Off the cuff, I would say that 9550 would be my first choice since it's right near the elevators and you have no one across from you. You could search around and see if anyone has encountered noise from the Centrum area, but my experience is generally you don't. All those cabins are tucked in among the good suites so you should have a top-notch cabin steward.

It's never too early to bid on Priceline, you have the time to be patient and I have gotten great deals almost a year out getting the Marriott for $110 a night. Bid resort category only and keep to a maximum bid of say $120 and then just be patient if you don't get it. Try a couple of days later and just keep that up until your bid is accepted. Keep an eye on the San Juan board bidding thread to see what others are getting.

[flynsail]

Thanks again. I just looked at your slideshow and maps. They're awesome

[Alexis]

When bidding for a hotel, try and get the Marriott Stellaris.

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sjupr-san-juan-marriott-resort-and-stellaris-casino/

 

I don't know if you are aware that there are 4 different Marriott's in San Juan/Condado.

They are all not as nice as the Stellaris in Condado. It is a fabulous hotel located between the airport and the pier. ;)

 

Walgreen's is right across and down a half a block where you can buy the things no longer allowed on the planes..

There is a Starbucks directly across the street from the hotel also.

It is a beautiful hotel right on the beach.

There are many very nice restaurants around there to eat at, but if you want a really good reasonable one, try this place.

Go out the front door of the hotel and make a left on Ashford Avenue. Walk about two short blocks until you come to a small place on your left with a covered outside porch for dining outside. It also has an inside dining area.

It is called Danny's.

They have great food, fast service and very good prices.

The bellman told us about this place and we ate there 3 times each on our last two stays in Condado.

It is very safe there to walk around the shops in that area in the day and at night.

[kaybeeeeeee]

When bidding for a hotel, try and get the Marriott Stellaris.

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sjupr-san-juan-marriott-resort-and-stellaris-casino/

 

I don't know if you are aware that there are 4 different Marriott's in San Juan/Condado.

They are all not as nice as the Stellaris in Condado. It is a fabulous hotel located between the airport and the pier. ;)

 

Walgreen's is right across and down a half a block where you can buy the things no longer allowed on the planes..

There is a Starbucks directly across the street from the hotel also.

It is a beautiful hotel right on the beach.

There are many very nice restaurants around there to eat at, but if you want a really good reasonable one, try this place.

Go out the front door of the hotel and make a left on Ashford Avenue. Walk about two short blocks until you come to a small place on your left with a covered outside porch for dining outside. It also has an inside dining area.

It is called Danny's.

They have great food, fast service and very good prices.

The bellman told us about this place and we ate there 3 times each on our last two stays in Condado.

It is very safe there to walk around the shops in that area in the day and at night.

 

Great hotel review Alexis but how does one go about trying to get a particular hotel? I've only used Priceline a couple of times but from what I've seen all you can specify is region, star level and price?

[toonjie]

The Marriott Stellaris is the only one that is a "resort" on Priceline. There is no way to guarantee which resort you will get, but they are all nice. Go to the San Juan board sticky on bidding for hotels for all the tips and tricks, there are too any to mention here.

[kaybeeeeeee]

The Marriott Stellaris is the only one that is a "resort" on Priceline. There is no way to guarantee which resort you will get, but they are all nice. Go to the San Juan board sticky on bidding for hotels for all the tips and tricks, there are too any to mention here.

 

Toonjie, the reason I asked is that I'm sure we bid on a resort and got the Caribe Hilton. In fact I just checked better bidding dot com and the list of reported winning resorts in the San Juan area is as follows:

 

San Juan

Resort Caribe Hilton

Resort Condado Lagoon Villas at Caribe Hilton

Resort El San Juan

Resort Inter-Continental San Juan

Resort Marriott San Juan Resort

 

I'm sure all of these are well worth staying at.