How are the passengers on the AOS in April?

[kiddo76]

We are thinking of going on a cruise this April. We went on AOS for our honeymoon October 2002 and while we loved the ship and had a great time, the only negative part of the ship was the passengers. We had some of the same negative experiences as some other cruisers have shared and I'm hesitant about booking another cruise out of San Juan. I have been on several other cruises out of Florida and Texas and have not experienced the same level of passenger rudeness that we did on AOS. We had friends who cruised AOS 2 weeks before us and they had a similar experience, but when they went again at another time of year (not sure, winter or spring), they said it was much better.

 

I have no problem with Puerto Rican music being played, or hearing Spanish being spoken, anything like that. I just don't know if I want to deal with all the rudeness again. From what I've read, it seems like time of year can affect the type crowd on the ship.

 

So I guess my question is if we go in April is there a better chance of having fewer rude people than in October?

[cruiseguy1016]

There will always be a lot of Puerto Ricans on AOS as long as it sails out of San Juan. If a Quinceaneras was the reason for your displeasure, I have heard that April is not a popular month for those events.

[kiddo76]

I have no problem cruising with Puerto Ricans. I have a problem with rude people. I don't think there was a Quinceaneras the week I cruised.

[luv2cruz64]

Sounds as if you already have your mind made up. Why risk all of that money based on someone elses advice and perspective when you seem to have such serious doubts about having a positive outcome.

[kiddo76]

I don't have my mind made up. That's why I posted here. Like I said, I really enjoyed our cruise, loved the ship, loved San Juan(we did a tour post cruise while waiting for our flight), and the new itinerary looks intriguing.

 

I guess I was just hoping April would be a better time of year to go.

[Sue L]

I don't have my mind made up. That's why I posted here. Like I said, I really enjoyed our cruise, loved the ship, loved San Juan(we did a tour post cruise while waiting for our flight), and the new itinerary looks intriguing.

 

I guess I was just hoping April would be a better time of year to go.

 

 

Unfortunately you can run into rude people any where, any time, land or sea. I think if you stay away from major vacation times like Easter, spring break etc you run encounter less group/large families.

[Suzanne74]

Offseasons like summer and hurricane season seem to be the time all the complaints come in. I believe locals get really good deals on cabins when there is a lot of availability. If you do a search on quinceaneras you will find the dates listed on some of those posts.

Maybe if you are aware of it upfront you won't be taken off quard and then have a good time anyway.

[Let'sGo!]

The rudest passengers we ever ran into were on a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. Frankly, it didn't affect our cruise one way or the other... in fact we made fun of them! (To ourselves of course!)

 

If you want to know what someone else's experience was during your time frame, check the reviews section of this site and find any reviews close to your dates. That certainly won't guarantee you'll have a good time, but at least you'll find out what others encountered.

 

We're going on AOS in late February. I expect to have a great time!

[kiddo76]

Offseasons like summer and hurricane season seem to be the time all the complaints come in. I believe locals get really good deals on cabins when there is a lot of availability. If you do a search on quinceaneras you will find the dates listed on some of those posts.

Maybe if you are aware of it upfront you won't be taken off quard and then have a good time anyway.

 

Thank you. Good point about being aware of it up front.

 

I know there will be rude people on any ship and it's kind of a crapshoot as to what type of passengers you will get, but I was hoping maybe I could work it to may favor by picking a better time of year.

[kiddo76]

TexasAnn, thank you, I will check out those reviews. I was having a hard time searching for them before and just thought maybe the board doesn't keep posts that old. I am sure you will have a good time on your cruise.

[sunlover12]

I really don't understand what all this talk about rude Puerto Ricans is about. I was on AOS in November and there were 700 (according to the captain's announcement) Puerto Ricans aboard. We didn't encounter any rude people and thought everyone, for the most part, was very well mannered. Nationalities or ethnicities don't have anything to do with rudeness.

[kiddo76]

I don't think it has to do with nationalities. I think it has more to do with the number of cheap fares and the type of crowd that attracts. It seems that the San Juan cruises discount more heavily for locals than other ports.

[Bakincakes]

I don't think it has to do with nationalities. I think it has more to do with the number of cheap fares and the type of crowd that attracts. It seems that the San Juan cruises discount more heavily for locals than other ports.

 

 

There have been many reviews of the AOS some negatives with pax having the same kinds of bad experiences as you did and others raving about how wonderful their time was.

 

Seems like when they have to have "fire sales" to fill the ships those are the sailings that have the most negative reviews.

[derrick22]

kiddo76

 

When in April? Spring break for many of us northerners is in the middle of the month so there will be more children on the cruise. At least the one I'm bringing, DS 17, will be there.

 

If you sail April 20th come join our lively roll call.

 

Denise

[kiddo76]

Right now we are looking at 4/6, but thank you for the invite.