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

[birdylady]

We left the ship later in the morning. The lines weren't too bad but would have gone faster had they had more than one customs agent. The customs agents now work for a third party vendor. You can tell this by the patch on their uniforms.

 

Embarkation for priority boarding line went like this on the 21st with a 1:30 arrival:

- 15 min. wait outside

- 5 min. total time through screening, once inside

- 10 min. total time in line and processing for Sea Pass Cards

 

I wonder if the vendor-run operation is affecting the overall boarding process.

From what you describe, it sounds like they are finally getting their act in order. Here's hoping they don't backslide.

 

Erika

[JKHawaii]

For our 15-22 Jan cruise, formal nights WERE Monday (St Croix) and Thursday (St Lucia), and fisherman's platter (aka, lobster night) was Friday (Barbados). On debarkation day, we left the ship at 8:30 AM and were standing outside the terminal at 9:06 AM, even after having to search for one misplaced bag. As to embarkation, we arrived at the terminal at 2:30 PM and were on the ship by 3PM.

 

Additionally, the weather was fabulous, the ship was in great condition, and the fellow passengers were well-behaved. And, Richard Spacey was ................ Richard Spacey!

[Mach1]

On the "secrets and tips" thread it was mentioned about the buy one - get one on the drink of the day ... but have also heard it is just a myth :confused:

 

Does anyone know for sure? And is that on the Adventure? I didn't see/hear this at the shopping show on that ship. Any info would be great!

 

Thanks!

[SailingDeanna]

Can someone explain to me how to get tickets for the ice show? And is their a certain night that there isn't a show in the main theater?

[JKHawaii]

Can someone explain to me how to get tickets for the ice show? And is their a certain night that there isn't a show in the main theater?

 

For my cruise, the ice show took place twice on Wednesday when there was no show in the theater, and twice again on Thursday. Tickets were in my stateroom when I embarked, presumably due to my Diamond status; otherwise, I believe you have to go down to Studio B at a designated time when they are distributed.

 

Someone took the time to post all the daily Cruise Compasses from my cruise (15-22 Jan) on this board .............. so, with a little research, you can find answers to your questions.

[SailingDeanna]

Thanks JKHawaii.

 

Also is Crown and Anchor currently giving a gift onboard for Platinum members and Adventure? Last time I packed a tote for the islands, but I didn't need to because that was the gift.

[watertraveler]

I apologize if I'm repeating previous questions but we are on the AOS with the St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba and Curacao itinerary. I've read that formal nights are on Monday and Thursday. Does anyone know if this holds true for this itinerary or is it different? We are in Aruba on Thursday and don't leave until 8:00. It seems to me that this would be an odd night to do a formal night.

 

Anyone out there know if it is different for this itinerary?

Thanks:D

[Shekim]

I apologize if I'm repeating previous questions but we are on the AOS with the St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba and Curacao itinerary. I've read that formal nights are on Monday and Thursday. Does anyone know if this holds true for this itinerary or is it different? We are in Aruba on Thursday and don't leave until 8:00. It seems to me that this would be an odd night to do a formal night.

 

Anyone out there know if it is different for this itinerary?

Thanks:D

I am with you watertraveler; we have the same itinerary as you and I can't find that specific info. I would love to hear about that...Friday sounds more logical. Curacao is from 7-6.

[kaydekng]

they're talking about this on the other cruise blog as well - the one for roll calls 2/5.

[paylady]

I apologize if I'm repeating previous questions but we are on the AOS with the St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba and Curacao itinerary. I've read that formal nights are on Monday and Thursday. Does anyone know if this holds true for this itinerary or is it different? We are in Aruba on Thursday and don't leave until 8:00. It seems to me that this would be an odd night to do a formal night.

 

Anyone out there know if it is different for this itinerary?

Thanks:D

 

Gosh, I just got off the ship so you'd think I would remember. I'm pretty sure the second formal night was Friday.

[NH Cruiser]

We were on Adventure earlier this month on the Eastern itinerary. Formal nights were Day 2 (Monday - St Thomas) and Day 6 (Friday - Curacao).

[Shekim]

We were on Adventure earlier this month on the Eastern itinerary. Formal nights were Day 2 (Monday - St Thomas) and Day 6 (Friday - Curacao).

That would make more sense! Thanks for letting us know.

[watertraveler]

Thanks, NH cruiser. We were sent into a tailspin thinking how we were going to get all 'dolled up' for formal night when we weren't going to get back from our sunset cruise until 7:45 and was it evern worth it.

 

How did you enjoy your cruise? This will be our 2nd time on the Adventure and we're counting down the days!

[NH Cruiser]

We enjoyed the ship and the ports. Adventure is in really good shape and her staff were very friendly (with a few exceptions). We had issues with the prolonged boarding process that have been documented on several threads. Our cruise was a holiday weekend so the Adventure was jam-packed with lots of first-time cruisers and lots of kids. Had we known it was a school holiday we would have booked a cruise later in the month. I understand the cruise after our's was much better and less crowded.

[Mach1]

I did a search and didn't come up with much...

 

Can anyone tell me how My Time Dining works on the AOS...we've always had late seating so this will be different for us.

 

I've heard sometimes you just show up at the MDR and get seated others have said you need to make reservations.

 

Is there a different "entrance" for MTD? Do we need to check in at the begining of the cruise?

 

Please share youe experiances...pros & cons and any helpful tips for us...

 

Thank you!

~Anna

[kaydekng]

which rainforest is better? san juan or st kitt.s? im thinking abt horseback riding through the the rainforest in st kitts($55-$65, depending w/ who) , but then i dont think it makes sense to go in s.j. we've been to san juan before so thats really the only thing we didn do and heard it was amazing. our flight out leaves at 640 pm.

 

then there's also horseback ridign thru ranchodiamari and it's 78... http://www.arubaranchodaimari.com/in...d=49&Itemid=56 so cool, but so expensive. any thoughts?

[cot427]

For our 15-22 Jan cruise, formal nights WERE Monday (St Croix) and Thursday (St Lucia), and fisherman's platter (aka, lobster night) was Friday (Barbados). On debarkation day, we left the ship at 8:30 AM and were standing outside the terminal at 9:06 AM, even after having to search for one misplaced bag. As to embarkation, we arrived at the terminal at 2:30 PM and were on the ship by 3PM.

 

Additionally, the weather was fabulous, the ship was in great condition, and the fellow passengers were well-behaved. And, Richard Spacey was ................ Richard Spacey!

 

Awesome thanks for the info! I was trying to plan a Portofino night around those days, but I don't think its going to work. Don't like to do the first or last nights or the two formal nights, or the fisherman's plate night, so the only days left are Tuesday and Wednesday...of course both of which are Portofino's special nights so they aren't open for normal reservations according to the website. Not sure if it is different onboard or not.

 

As for embarkation, glad to see you arrived late afternoon and got on in a half hour. We will probably arrive around 3 so boarding should, knock on wood, be smooth.

 

And I really hope Richard Spacey is still on for the Feb 26th sailing...would be a definite treat.

[ckrobyn]

This thread is almost at 300,000 views :eek: Wowza!

 

So glad it is still going strong and helping so many people make the right decision to sail on the AOS out of lovely Puerto Rico :)

 

Happy sailing and long live this thread!!!! :p

[rupertfrog]

This thread is almost at 300,000 views :eek: Wowza!

 

So glad it is still going strong and helping so many people make the right decision to sail on the AOS out of lovely Puerto Rico :)

 

Happy sailing and long live this thread!!!! :p

 

Robyn ... Still not sure why RCCL is creating bigger ships??? The numbers of people who love the AOS & this class of ships should be telling RCCL a WHOLE LOT!!!! KEEP giving us the AOS or duplicates of the AOS!!!

We love our ship & are loyal to our ship!!!!

[Ocean Boy]

Robyn ... Still not sure why RCCL is creating bigger ships??? The numbers of people who love the AOS & this class of ships should be telling RCCL a WHOLE LOT!!!! KEEP giving us the AOS or duplicates of the AOS!!!

We love our ship & are loyal to our ship!!!!

 

I suspect that the bookings for Oasis/Allure are telling RCI plenty also.

[redwings1958]

Love the AOS; This will be our 5th time sailing out of SJ (all but one in December)

[Fluffy Terry]

Hello fellow Canuk. I agree the airfare from Winnipeg MB is going to kill us, that is why were are also doing B2B in March 2012. We have been on Navigator, Explorer and now the Adventure and am looking forward to it (that is why we booked this B2B in Aug 2011. I agree on the obnoxious etc. It is not just Puerto Ricans. It just seems like that, as this is their home port and there will be many more of them, but we have sailed out of many US ports and there are rude, etc people of every nationality and country. You need to just go with the flow and if you dont like the behavior steer clear, but dont let it spoil your cruise. Some people just behave differently, whether due to nationality differences, or it is just them. We have been on cruises with 85%+ seniors, walkers, wheelchairs everywhere and just laughed it off and used the stairs more than the elevators. Pushing in line at dinner, pick a different time to go rather than at rush hour. Loud and obnoxious in the elevators, take the stairs if you can. No manners at all, show them you are better and constantly use them, it wont make a difference to the person, but will make you feel better.

 

Stop complaining about the little things (to me they are little things) and enjoy the cruise - after all you are on vacation. I have met people on cruises where everything little thing bothered them and they had a miserable time. DH and I sluff it off and look for the goods things instead. As my dad used to say, dont sweat the small stuff life is too short

 

I wish they did too!

The airfare from Toronto to San Juan kills me every year!!! :D Oh well...the AOS is worth it!

[Aviator of the Seas]

This thread is almost at 300,000 views :eek: Wowza!

 

So glad it is still going strong and helping so many people make the right decision to sail on the AOS out of lovely Puerto Rico :)

 

Happy sailing and long live this thread!!!! :p

 

Hear, hear!

[harry614]

We have sailed out of San Juan 3 times Serenade 2009 2011 and Adventurer 2007 we were seated at dinner with a familly from Carolina, Puerto Rico They were the nicest and friendliest people we have ever met on a cruise. After the cruise they invited us to go sightseeing around San Juan while we waited for our flight and they entertained us on subsequent trips to San Juan P. R. We still keep in contact to this day. San Juan is a great place to start a cruise because it gets to the southern points quicky and it is warm

[rupertfrog]

We have sailed out of San Juan 3 times Serenade 2009 2011 and Adventurer 2007 we were seated at dinner with a familly from Carolina, Puerto Rico They were the nicest and friendliest people we have ever met on a cruise. After the cruise they invited us to go sightseeing around San Juan while we waited for our flight and they entertained us on subsequent trips to San Juan P. R. We still keep in contact to this day. San Juan is a great place to start a cruise because it gets to the southern points quicky and it is warm

 

Harry ... I must agree we've met very pleasant people in San Juan and LOVE getting to the warmth immediately!