Our Excellent Adventure 3/23/08

[LDR]

We just returned yesterday from an EXCELLENT time on AOS! Traveling were

myself, husband and 2 children, 16 and 14 1/2.

 

Pre-cruise-We flew into SJU on Good Friday, 3/21. Our flight down went smoothly, and we actually landed early for our connection and in SJU.

One slight hitch-the bag with our formal wear did not show up at baggage

claim. We went to the airline office and found out that it was on it's way

and would be delivered to the hotel that evening.

We stayed at the Radisson Ambassador Hotel on Ashford Avenue in Condado.

This was in a good location. There was a Burger King next door, a Starbucks

and Walgreens down the street, and we were very close to the Marriott Stellaris, which we had to check out. Their pool was nicer:) The Radisson did

have a rooftop pool, a casino, and a pretty decent sports bar, since I traveled with 2 basketball enthusiasts.

We had a relatively early night and on Saturday we walked down Ashford,

grabbed lunch, then took a taxi to Old San Juan. This was our third time in San Juan, and this would be the time we would see the fort in person, after

seeing it from ships. We shopped a bit, walked around and went to Senor

Frogs to eat an early dinner and surprise, watch more basketball. My son loves the food at Senor Frogs, but I was afraid it would be wild like it was

last year. It was not crowded or wild at all, and we enjoyed a relaxing dinner.

Sunday we all woke up early in anticipation of going to the ship. We left

at 10am in a taxi and after a 20 minute drive we saw our gorgeous ship!

 

EMBARKATION-After dropping our bags off we got in line near the door

of the terminal and settled in to wait. Luckily, we were next to some of

the friends from Cruise Critic, who we recognized by the Crazy Easter Cruiser

t-shirts that we had all ordered. The time did go faster since we had people

to talk to, and after about 45 minutes the doors opened. Security was first,

then straight to check-in, which took us about 10 minutes. Then up the

escalator, onto the gangplank for a quick picture, then we stepped foot

on AOS!

We had lunch at the Windjammer, which we found to be excellent, then

explored the ship. Lots to see and do, since this was our first Voyager class ship! The cabins were ready at 1pm.

 

CABIN-We had our first aft balcony, JS #7392. The balcony is huge! There

were 4 chairs, a table and a lounge chair on that balcony. The steel structure on the back wasn't too much of eyesore. I got some nice pictures

throughout the week. The cabin itself was very roomy. Plenty of storage

and a walkin closet. The sofa bed was relatively comfortable, according to my kids. The bathroom had a tub, with a shower curtain, and plenty of space for all our "stuff". It was a challenge to get everyone ready in the evening with one bathroom, so we had to stagger shower times. There were was a vanity area with a mirror and a desk area with chair, so my DD and I each had our own space to do hair and makeup without killing one another.Our

steward was Roderick, and he did a nice job for us. He came in twice a day.

Nearly every evening he left us a towel animal.

 

More to follow.........

[mchin]

20 days and counting til our second turn on AOS! Can't wait to read more of your review..... :D

[Icruzthere4Iam]

Tell me more,tell me more!!:D I am very excited to be on AOS in a month and it is nice to hear good things. Jim

[LDR]

FOOD/SERVICE-Honestly, I don't think I ate anything bad the entire week!

Mornings found us at the Windjammer, which my DH prefers. There was

a nice selection of fruits, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, breads, waffles,

etc. Usually the same every morning. In the Island Grill area you could have

an omlet cooked to order. The staff in the Windjammer was excellent, quick

to bring you a glass of juice, coffee or anything else you might need. We ate

breakfast one morning in the dining room and it was also very good. I had the

Eggs Benedict and DH and DS had omlets. No complaints here for breakfast

or lunch. The kids liked the burgers and fries for lunches most days. I stuck

to salads and fresh pastas, mostly:)

 

The Cafe Promenade got me in a lot of trouble, because usually I am a strict

calorie counter! The pizza was really good! I only ate a couple of slices, because my downfall was the little sandwiches. They always have cookies,

cakes and pastries too. The Coffee Bar/Ben & Jerry's was right next to the

Cafe, and the staff here was some of the friendliest and most cheerful we saw. There are also coolers of cold water here too if you need a break from

all your other drinks:)

 

We had table 455 in the Strauss Dining Room on Deck 4. Valentin from Romania and Mark from Trinidad and Tobago were our waiters. They did

a great job all week, just outstanding service. Mark always had the kids'

drinks for them within minutes every single evening. I especially appreciated

their efforts with my picky eater DS! They actually got him to try some things he'd never eaten, and for once he ordered off the regular menu each

night. No pizza or fries for dinner the entire week!

Again, there was nothing bad all week for us. We enjoyed the shrimp cocktail, the soups, the tomato monzarella salad, Filet of Beef, Thai BBQ

Chicken, and the lobster. Wine service was excellent.

 

We ate at Portofino's on Wednesday because we heard on the boards that

Wed. was the weakest night in the Dining Room. The cover charge is

worth every penny! 5 couples from our Roll Call ate together and we had

a marvelous time talking and eating. It took us around 3 hours to get

done with our meal. I was very sleepy afterward! Save room for the

Tiramisu!

 

MEET & MINGLE- We had a very active roll call for this cruise, "The Crazy

Easter Cruisers". A lot of us ordered shirts with this title and the ports

visited. We held an informal gathering the first day at the Pool Bar at 4pm,

which was very well attended. It was easy to spot everyone because of the

shirts and we also had a website where some posted pictures of themselves/family.

The official M&M was held in the Blue Moon Lounge on the first sea day.

The time was first 4pm, then changed to 5pm. Since it was formal night

we met at 4pm anyway and waited for the RCI staff to show up at 5pm! They had some appetizers and raffled off some prizes. We had decided to do a gift exchange as well. Each person brought something that represented the state or area where they were from.

A lot of us had children the same age, and I know mine had an absolute blast

the entire week with everyone they met.

I thought this was a great group of people and DH and I really enjoyed the time we got to spend with them. It really made our cruise:)

 

More later.....No Valentin or Mark here to serve tonight! I have to do it!

[LDR]

PORTS

 

Aruba-This was our second time here. In 2004 we did the Jolly Pirates

swimming and snorkeling excursion. This time we rented a jeep and took

our own tour around the island. We drove through the middle part of the

island(my husband needed some time to get used to the stick shift) through Noord and went up to the California Lighthouse. Then we went "off road"

on the northern coast and down to the Alto Vista Chapel. We got some

amazing pictures! Then it was off to Palm Beach to hang out for a while

at Moomba's, which is by the Holiday Inn. Back in town we did a bit of shopping and then made a quick stop into Senor Frogs for a couple of Sols,

which we love and can't buy here in the States.

 

Curacao-A new island for us. We had planned to go to Kontiki Beach, based

upon all the info I had read here on the boards. Unfortunately, we had had

a little too much sun and were a little tired. We went into town, crossed

the floating bridge and shopped for some souveniers. After stopping in a

cafe for some cold drinks on the waterfront we went back to the ship and ate lunch at Johnny Rockets, which was fun. The kids actually took a nap afterward so DH and I went back off the ship to check out some of the shops by the port.

 

St. Martin-We were here last year and had done an island tour and went

to Maho Beach, so this time we grabbed a cab over to Orient Beach. We

set up camp by Baywatch and drank in the incredibly gorgeous views. Everyone voted to each lunch at Baywatch, and we talked for awhile with the

owners, Andy and Cheryl. The kids and DH took a Banana Boat ride and

managed to fall over a few times:) Of course that was the best part for them! DH and I walked a little bit. Had a beer at Pedro's and walked down

the other side. Regretfully, we took a cab back around 230pm and stopped

in Phillipsburg to look around. We were walking down the boardwalk back

to the ship when we heard someone yelling "Ohio!", "Canton, Ohio!". It was

my neighbor's mom and dad! They were on the Celebrity ship that was in

port that day, and had stopped for a drink at one of the places on the boardwalk. Small world! We talked for a few minutes and headed back to

get ready for dinner. We were late leaving here. A family had to make

"the run". Got a huge round of applause for it too:)

 

St. Thomas-This was our third time here so we wanted something different.

We decided to go on our own over to St. John. It was a little rainy this

morning, but it soon passed. A cab to Red Hook was $10 per person and

we had the slowest driver on the island:) She was a little nervous about

the hills, turns, etc. I was a little nervous about the large dump truck on

our rear bumper most of the ride. We took the 10am ferry over and then

grabbed a cab($6 pp) to Trunk Bay. Gorgeous! A little crowded, but we

definitely wanted to see it. We stayed for a couple of hours and had a blast

in the water and walking down the beach. We did a little souvenier shopping

back in Cruz Bay and took the ferry back then a cab back to Havensight.

The guys saw the Hooters and immediately decided on wings for lunch

instead of eating on the ship. We also had a little time to shop before

getting back on the ship. Going on our own was easier than we thought

and definitely less expensive than the ship's excursion.

 

I'll finish up tomorrow.....

[Tex_Jen]

LDR, I'm getting so excited for my cruise reading your review. Glad you had a good time!

 

Jen

[Martin and Lindsey]

Excellent review, full of useful information. Thank you :)

[LDR]

Thanks for all the comments! I have learned a lot here on CC over the

last few years, so I want to try and help out other cruisers too. Besides,

it's fun to write about your travels:)

Will write a review on activities and a few other things a little later today.

 

Lela

[pmfan]

Thanks for the detailed review. Loved reading it.

[LDR]

ACTIVITIES-There is so much to do on this ship. We didn't get to do a few

things, like trying the rockwall, because there was just so much going on!

The Compass had much to choose from daily. There was trivia, Bingo, the

shopping talks and the usual poolside games/contests. There was a wine-

tasting, but it conflicted with something else, so I didn't get to go.

 

The casino was not good to us. I only broke even on the slots, and I do

pretty good most of the time. DH played craps and blackjack through

the week and lost around $200. He was up then down!

 

The bars and lounges were great. Some had live music in the evenings.

We enjoyed sitting at the Duck and Dog, and of course Gravity to check

out the b-ball scores. Jesters was hopping late at night. I can't stay up

till 2 or 3 in the morning, so we only visited it once, on the last night.

 

Do not miss the ice show! Very nice. They do it on Tuesday and Thursday.

 

Quest was a riot. My DH participated once again and got himself on the

cruise video all "dressed up". Definitely go see it and participate. Silly

harmless fun, but I can't tell you anymore info:) No Quest secrets

revealed on here! The Love and Marriage show was fun too. Both of these

games are at 1130pm, so you might need a nap.

 

 

DISEMBARKING-We did the luggage valet program and it was money well spent. You fill out a form with your flight info and turn it in to Guest Relations

and they print out boarding passes and luggage tags. Your flight has to be

noon or later. Very easy process. Getting off the ship wasn't terrible, but

there was some confusion about group numbers. They gave everyone the

colored tags for your bags, but they also gave you a departure pass with a number. You were supposed to use this number. The luggage tags all had a

1 on them, so a lot of people thought that it was their turn and things got

jammed up a bit. Some of the crew asked some people to get out of the

line and go back to the Lyric to wait for their turn. All in all, it went pretty

well. We found our bags easily, handed over the customs form, dropped

off the luggage with the airline and away we went to the airport.

 

I'll be happy to answer any specific questions you might have about AOS.

Thanks for reading my review!

[marshabear]

great review!! we sail Oct 12th..the last sailing for the season on the barbados route....

 

can you tell me how smoky are the lounges??? the pub?? we are a group of nonsmokers and would love to be able to enjoy the lounges at night without the unpleasantness of smoke smell...(sorry if i offend anyone)...

 

BTW, I have relatives in Uniontown Ohio....we live about an hour from you....

 

 

 

Marsha

[kroozaholic]

LDR....thank you for the review. We're taking the same cruise this Sunday and can't wait.

One question....how was the entertainment in the main theatre? Anything we shouldn't miss?

Thanks.

[LDR]

Marshabear-I didn't think the smoke was too bad except the night I was in

Jesters. At the pub and sports bar you can sit inside or outside on the Promenade, and I think outside is definitely better. We enjoyed watching

the crowd walk by.

We live closer to North Canton, that's where our kids go to school, but we

have the Uniontown address. We're south of 619, close to State Rd.

 

kroozaholic-We didn't go to any of the shows except ice skating. My DH

doesn't really like to, but he did make a concession for the skating as did

my two teens:)

 

Have an awesome time-wish I was going again!

[txskier]

Thanks for the AOS review!!!!

 

forty-something days to go for us

 

these reviews are getting us excited

 

 

thanks again

[Melissa5920]

Thanks for the review!

[disneyfand]

Thanks for the great review.

 

Melissa 5920, nice MM head in your signature.

[FreewayFortune]

Thanks for the review. The little sandwiches were also my downfall on the Liberty a few weeks ago, along with the yummy cookies.

[lauriedun]

LDR-

 

Thanks for the review! We are considering this cruise the same week for 2009 (3/22/09). Quick question...did you feel over-run by spring breakers? (Kids/teens/college students...whatever) We are leaving our kids at home and really want a peaceful vacation! We are also considering Celebrity and Carnival.

 

Thanks, Laurie

[Sun Lover]

LDR,

 

Do you know which airlines participate in the luggage program or where I can get a list of the ones that do? We are flying United back home from San Juan at the end of the cruise.

[OHCruisinDad]

LDR-

 

Thanks for the review! We are considering this cruise the same week for 2009 (3/22/09). Quick question...did you feel over-run by spring breakers? (Kids/teens/college students...whatever) We are leaving our kids at home and really want a peaceful vacation! We are also considering Celebrity and Carnival.

 

Thanks, Laurie

 

Hi Laurie - We were also on the 3/23 AOS cruise with LDR and our family and were part of the Roll Call and M&M groups. There were about 1,000 kids on the ship since it was Easter spring break week and we never noticed any problems with them at all. I would say most of them were high school and below. I didn't see many collage age kids. Our group had about 26 or so kids ranging from 9 to 17. Our two kids, DS - 15 and DD - 12 made many friends and had a great time.

 

We chose the AOS for both the itinerary and the great prices they offered if you booked a year in advance. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Lela - great review. Glad you all got home OK. Take care. Mac & Jane

Oh, one more thing. We were late coming to the Quest and were stuck sitting way up at the top of the seating rows. What team number were you guys?

[LDR]

Mac, we were team #8, in the section next to #11, who won I think! It was

good to meet you and your family. Maybe we'll see each other at an Indians

game sometime:)

 

SunLover-the airlines that participate are United, Jet BLue, USAirways, and

I'm thinking Delta and Continental did too. I just looked through all the compasses to double check, but can't find the paper. It was SO convenient!

 

Laurie-I agree with Mac, it wasn't a problem at all with the kids. Everyone

seemed very behaved. Have fun on your cruise!

 

Lela

[Sun Lover]

LDR,

 

Thanks for the info about the airlines. Can you tell me more about it? I've never used it before. Does it have to be set up ahead of time? We have a late flight out to come home on Sunday so it would be great not to have to haul luggage around for several hours before we leave. We are flying home on United. Do they charge per bag and how much does it cost? Thanks so much for your help.