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

[bruce-r]

I am wondering about Priceline and "naming your own price". How do you know what price to put in and how soon do you know if the resort accepted your bid? Not sure what to bid and do you add tax to your bid? There will be two possibly four adults. As you can tell this will be my first time possibly going this route. My parents are staying at El San Juan for our July cruise on AOS and I would like to try to stay there as well. Thanks in advance for any tips.

 

Robyn - Enjoy your B2B on your favorite ship. Can't wait for July!!

 

You want to do some research first before trying Priceline. http://www.betterbidding.com/ is a good place to start. Check what hotels/resorts are in the area you wish to stay. Puerto Rico for example.

 

Check the rates for the dates you want to stay at a couple of the places you might get if you bid, then start your bidding at about half of the hotel website rate. Once you make a bid, you will know within a minute if it is accepted. If your bid is accepted, your credit card will be charged and you will have bought your room, and it isn't refundable.

[KillaFee]

I am a Diamond C&A member and have just booked the AOS because I liked the itinerary. I have spent the time to read all these AOS postings and would like to offer the following:

 

1. I have no concern about a significant number of local resident Puerto Ricans who want to spend their hard earned money and join me on the AOS for a great vacation. However, I do have a concern if I spent double the amount of money for my cabin plus airfare and find that my neighbors from Puerto Rico paid no airfare and received a fire sale price on their cabin. I do not feel that there should be fire sales to fill up empty cabins that are made available only to local residents...I would prefer to see AOS sail with some empty cabins in case some folks have to request changes of cabins due to any number of reasons.

2. I commend the person who so correctly pointed out that the folks who live in Puerto Rico are US citizens just like us mainland US folks. However, I do not like the idea nor do I understand the idea of having announcements made in Spanish on AOS after all we are not sailing out of Spain we are sailing out of Puerto Rico USA. I have had many friends and co-workers in the NYC area who are Puerto Rican and they all speak English. I have been to San Juan several times and found that all the folks I dealt with spoke English so I do not understand the need to have announcements in Spanish when sailing out of an American Port...if anything, it implies that Puerto Ricans do not speak English which has not been my experience. If there are some poor farmers or fishermen in Puerto Rico who because of poverty do not speak English...well I doubt very much if you will find them sailing on AOS since they simpyl can't afford to!

 

I am looking forward to my sailing on AOS and am sure I will have a great time.

 

You initially stated that you have no problem cruising with the locals yet you went on the complain. Is is REALLY going to bother you that announcements are made in Spanish? C'mon.

 

Good thing you don't make the rules. Most of us who travel appreciate diversity and exposure to other languages and cultures. If you don't then take your vacay elsewhere (within the mainland USA of course...wouldn't want to run in to any foreigners!)

 

Laura

[Mark]

Laura

 

I appreciate your opinion as I am sure you do mine...however you are missing the point that we are not in a foreign country when we visit Puerto Rico. We are in the United States of America with fellow Americans and it is no different than if we were back on the mainland in California, Texas or New York. In case you forgot, I did mention that I never met a Puerto Rican who was not fluent in English so I do not understand the need to have announcements in Spanish on ships that sail with Americans out of an American City/Port.

 

It is important that people be able to unite and work together and not having a common language does not promote this. I have been on many cruises and have been on many cruise ship bridges...almost all of them have a sign posted in plain sight that reminds the crew that English is the working language of the ship...the are many languages spoken by the many crew members from many countries but they unite and work as a family and a team by using English...the one thing that can unite us as citizens of the world is if we could all talk to each other in one common language..English. Whether you know it or accept it English is the official language of International Airline Pilots as well as the International Language of Corporations.

 

I am sorry that you do not understand my logic or agree with me but it is the great thing about our country. We can agree to disagree.

 

Have a saft and happy trip

 

Mark:cool:

[joeyddog]

The last cruise on RCCL that we did was the British Isles. There was a huge group of spanish speaking passengers. Every announcement and some of the jokes and dialogues at the shows were translated into spanish. It became very tedious and definitely slowed down the pace of the shows. We felt at the time that the cruise director and his asst were just showing off that they were bi-lingual. Of course all key announcements should be spoken in the predominant languages of the passengers but the show bit was a little too much. There have always been references on any cruises we've taken to acknowledge majority groups (Canadians on the alaska cruise, Brits/Scots on the British Isles, New yorkers on the ships out of Bayonne-Port Liberty).

We're sailing in about 3 weeks and know we'll enjoy it even if the announcements get a bit tedious.

[Tex_Jen]

You know, I really don't care if they make announcements in more than one language. If it gets people where they need to be when they need to be there, let them do it. Maybe then, I won't have to hear the announcements incessantly regardless of the language.

 

Jen

[mckinna]

I am a Diamond C&A member and have just booked the AOS because I liked the itinerary. I have spent the time to read all these AOS postings and would like to offer the following:

 

1. I have no concern about a significant number of local resident Puerto Ricans who want to spend their hard earned money and join me on the AOS for a great vacation. However, I do have a concern if I spent double the amount of money for my cabin plus airfare and find that my neighbors from Puerto Rico paid no airfare and received a fire sale price on their cabin. I do not feel that there should be fire sales to fill up empty cabins that are made available only to local residents...I would prefer to see AOS sail with some empty cabins in case some folks have to request changes of cabins due to any number of reasons.

2. I commend the person who so correctly pointed out that the folks who live in Puerto Rico are US citizens just like us mainland US folks. However, I do not like the idea nor do I understand the idea of having announcements made in Spanish on AOS after all we are not sailing out of Spain we are sailing out of Puerto Rico USA. I have had many friends and co-workers in the NYC area who are Puerto Rican and they all speak English. I have been to San Juan several times and found that all the folks I dealt with spoke English so I do not understand the need to have announcements in Spanish when sailing out of an American Port...if anything, it implies that Puerto Ricans do not speak English which has not been my experience. If there are some poor farmers or fishermen in Puerto Rico who because of poverty do not speak English...well I doubt very much if you will find them sailing on AOS since they simpyl can't afford to!

 

I am looking forward to my sailing on AOS and am sure I will have a great time.

 

RCI is a business. While you might prefer to have "extra" rooms available for folks wanting to change cabins, this does not make for good, sound economics. There is nothing wrong with offering a "fire sale" to make sure all cabins are booked. They do the same thing in FL or Galveston, etc- they make more money with all cabins filled. Also, do you resent FL or TX folks who don't have to pay airfare?

 

Puerto Rico is NOT a state, and most residents speak Spanish as their FIRST language, even though most speak English quite well. I have no problem with hearing Spanish announcements, and on many of our cruises, French was spoken as well. Didn't bother me at all. I guess I just don't understand how someone could get offended by hearing announcements in a language other than English.

[nrdsb4]

Laura

 

I appreciate your opinion as I am sure you do mine...however you are missing the point that we are not in a foreign country when we visit Puerto Rico. We are in the United States of America with fellow Americans and it is no different than if we were back on the mainland in California, Texas or New York. In case you forgot, I did mention that I never met a Puerto Rican who was not fluent in English so I do not understand the need to have announcements in Spanish on ships that sail with Americans out of an American City/Port.

 

It is important that people be able to unite and work together and not having a common language does not promote this. I have been on many cruises and have been on many cruise ship bridges...almost all of them have a sign posted in plain sight that reminds the crew that English is the working language of the ship...the are many languages spoken by the many crew members from many countries but they unite and work as a family and a team by using English...the one thing that can unite us as citizens of the world is if we could all talk to each other in one common language..English. Whether you know it or accept it English is the official language of International Airline Pilots as well as the International Language of Corporations.

 

I am sorry that you do not understand my logic or agree with me but it is the great thing about our country. We can agree to disagree.

 

Have a saft and happy trip

 

Mark:cool:

 

Spanish and English are both the official languages of Puerto Rico. While most Puerto Ricans are taught English in school, for the majority it is their second language. Therefore, they speak Spanish much more proficiently than English. Just because they have become a United States territory doesn't mean they should turn their backs on their heritage, customs, and language. You state all of the Puerto Ricans you have met speak English fluently, but as they are living on the mainland, they would be far more likely to be very fluent in English than someone who actually lives in Puerto Rico and perhaps doesn't speak or hear English spoken on a regular basis. But when your cruise ship leaves from San Juan, where most residents speak Spanish as their first language, that is likely what they are going to be most comfortable with. There are many Puerto Ricans who don't speak fluent English, so the cruise line extends them the courtesy of making announcements in both English and Spanish.

 

I just don't see how having announcements in both languages hurts anyone or why you would feel the need to complain about it. I barely even noticed it, much less did I begrudge the fact that Spanish is spoken on the ship as well as English.

[ckrobyn]

I live in Toronto, Canada, which is amazingly multicultural. Most of my employees are from other countries and I'm sure there are at least 6-8 languages spoken in my workplace on a daily basis. Personally, I embrace these cultural differences and believe it is what makes Canada a wonderful place to live.

 

I don't really understand how announcements in Spanish would put anyone out? :confused:

[danyelle]

hi AOS vets,

 

our return flight is early afternoon. how long does debarkation take, how early do they start and do you know how long/far the pier is from the airport? I hope we won't have to rush...

 

Thanks in advance for easing my anxiety.

[lovetocruise99]

hi AOS vets,

 

our return flight is early afternoon. how long does debarkation take, how early do they start and do you know how long/far the pier is from the airport? I hope we won't have to rush...

 

Thanks in advance for easing my anxiety.

 

I've sailed on AOS three times in the last few months so I'll try to answer your question. We're always in group 1 and have always made it to the airport by 9:30 am. We do this by carrying all of our luggage off the ship ourselves (we don't put the luggage out the night before), we drag our suitcases down to the lyric theater at 7:00 am the morning of departure even though nobody gets off before 8:30. We always grab one of the first cabs so there isn't a line at security or airline checkin. The primary reason we rush all this is because my husband usually brings back about 8-10 bottles of specialty liquor which he "collects" in various ports. Last time he was carrying two suitcases each weighing 49 pounds plus a carryon.

 

There isn't a need to hurry like we do but I will caution you to get to the airport as soon as you can because the lines to check in and security can be two hours long in the afternoon if more than one ship is in port. Carnival usually docks the same day as Adventure.

[danyelle]

I've sailed on AOS three times in the last few months so I'll try to answer your question. We're always in group 1 and have always made it to the airport by 9:30 am. We do this by carrying all of our luggage off the ship ourselves (we don't put the luggage out the night before), we drag our suitcases down to the lyric theater at 7:00 am the morning of departure even though nobody gets off before 8:30. We always grab one of the first cabs so there isn't a line at security or airline checkin. The primary reason we rush all this is because my husband usually brings back about 8-10 bottles of specialty liquor which he "collects" in various ports. Last time he was carrying two suitcases each weighing 49 pounds plus a carryon.

 

There isn't a need to hurry like we do but I will caution you to get to the airport as soon as you can because the lines to check in and security can be two hours long in the afternoon if more than one ship is in port. Carnival usually docks the same day as Adventure.

 

I get so panicky so I just changed our flight from a 12:05 to a 1:40 departure to avoid an anxiety attack.

[shonandsuzie]

I get so panicky so I just changed our flight from a 12:05 to a 1:40 departure to avoid an anxiety attack.

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.;)

[beachchick]

Many, many excellent points and posts, but I'll tell you this: You could not pay me to go on an AOS cruise if it was a week that was essentially designated as "quinceañera celebrations." Not a chance! Not only is the behavior that's been described repeatedly by members unacceptable, I am somewhat repelled at the excesses described as well. If you search online, you can find cruise dates specfically for quinceañera week-long celebrations, which likely means hundreds of pax. Any type of large groups that basically "take over" any cruise where there are also pax who are not part of the group is probably going to negatively affect the non-group pax cruise (it would mine). Add all those 15-y/o "princesses" and there's simply no way that I can see it being enjoyable.

 

Other than that, I can't see why the AOS wouldn't be a perfectly delightful ship and cruise. (Well, except the cost of airfare...but that's a given these days anyway.)

 

beachchick

[mckinna]

How do you find out when the "quinceañera celebrations" are? How do you search for this?

[Tex_Jen]

I believe that she just "google's" it.

 

Jen

[dshebert]

I was sent to this thread from another. Can any recent AOS cruisers tell me how the new smoking policy worked for you? Did you find the public places any more smoky now that people can't smoke in their cabins? Do you remember what areas were smoke free? Which bars? Thanks for all your help:)

 

Dale

[beachchick]

I believe that she just "google's" it.

 

Jen

 

I haven't actually googled it because we're not looking at AOS this year. However, a few other members have googled it and posted lists of the cruise dates they found on various websites. Sorry, I don't remember how long ago that was. Maybe a couple of months?

 

beachchick

[love2vacation]

How do you find out when the "quinceañera celebrations" are? How do you search for this?

 

Here is the thread with the listings of the cruise ships and dates for these cruises.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=694967&highlight=quincea%F1era

[cruzinnh]

I was sent to this thread from another. Can any recent AOS cruisers tell me how the new smoking policy worked for you? Did you find the public places any more smoky now that people can't smoke in their cabins? Do you remember what areas were smoke free? Which bars? Thanks for all your help:)

 

Dale

 

Dale,

 

I did find that the some of the bars were VERY smoky. The Lobby Bar comes to mind, also the casino and I think the Champagne bar too. Blue Moon/19th Hole were much better. The shows are all no smoking. I will say that I am very sensitive to it, maybe even more than most. We were actually surprised, I was thinking that the bars were going to be smoke free. I guess it is just the cabins.

 

kathy J

[love2vacation]

lovetocruise99-

Since you have been on the AOS in recent months can you tell me what the entertainment line up was on the cruise? Our Roll Call thread was wondering.

Thanks in advance for the line up!!!:p

[danyelle]

We like to talk to and meet a lot of people when we cruise, what are the popular spots to lounge and hang out on this ship? It seems the promenade is a good spot for peoplewatching...are there spots to sit and have a drink and relax in that area also?

[roe2ship]

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.;)

Are you saying the cruise debarkation tags eliminates an extra line at the airport??:confused:

[flyerbrp]

roe2ship yes in San Juan your bags have to go through USDA screening for plants and fruits if you leave your ship luggage tags on you avoid this line because cruise line does this for you at port and your bag tags are proof that it was done if you remove the color coded luggage tag from the bag at the port you will need to go to the USDA screening post at the SJU airport before the airlines will accept your bag

[shonandsuzie]

Are you saying the cruise debarkation tags eliminates an extra line at the airport??:confused:

Yes. They screen it on the ship and your tag proves it. If you take the tags off they don't know that it was pre-screened.

I wish we had known ahead of time, last year. Would have saved some embarassment.:o

[Twaincruisers]

Sorry to disagree, strongly, with you Robyn, but our cruise last year on AOS was the absolute worst cruise of 34 so far. The food was bad...couldn't even cut the meat off the lambshank with a sharp knife; alcoholic drinks were poorly made; even the champagne at the Captain's party for repeat cruisers was undrinkable. We even ended up leaving the dining room (and filing a complaint) because our waiter was, for the lack of a better term, abusive and bullying!