AOS - Departed 04/06/08 - Review

[sickmonkey26]

Just my thoughts about my first cruise ever. I figure if I keep talking about it then it is still going on despite the fact I'm at work.

 

Departure: No concerns, won't bore anyone with details. Got there on Sunday, made it to the ship, got right through and into the boat. Very easy and quick process.

 

Sunday: Unfortuantely too tired to go to the show and the parade that night but hear they were fun. If I were to cruise again I'd get into port the day prior to avoid being that tired and missing stuff. Did the lunch thing and the dinner thing and straight to bed.

 

Monday: Day at Sea - lot of fun for my wife and myself. We availed ourselves of many of the activities. I played dodge ball which was fun and we did trivia and all that good stuff. Took a soak and enjoyed the fitness center. At night went to the show which was El Gouro or something like that. It wasn't spectacular but enjoyed it. Then went to the comedian. He was mediocre but I got a few good laughs in.

 

Tuesday: Aruba- not a big fan of this island as it turned out. It wasn't what one would think of when thinking tropical island, it was very desert like and not very picteresque in a lot of spots. We went to the butterfly farm in the AM and then took a walk down De Palm beach. It seemed like a nice spot. Then in the PM took a private tour through arubaoffroad.com on a thing called an Tomcar. This was a lot of fun, they bring you to a few different places including baby beach, some cave, the highest point in Aruba where you can see Venezeula as it turns out and just driving the Tomcar is a blast. I recommend it. They are a relatively new company and not Johnny on the Spot with confirming reservations but they have that island laid back thing going. They said they are not going to hook up with the cruise ships if they can help it due to the commission the cruise ships get. Anyway, good times.

 

Tuesday PM: Went to dinner and then the ice show. The ice show was pretty cool in my opinion considering how difficult it must be with the rocking and the size of the rink. I give those skaters a ton of credit. Then went to Love and Marriage which my wife and I were lucky enough to get picked for. Had a lot of fun with that. I'd advise others to try and do it it really was fun.

 

Wednesday: Curacao: We did the dolphin swim, this was a lot of fun. Expensive but an experience that was worth it. However, with the early departure time it made it difficult for us to see much of the island by the time the excurcsion was done. Maybe someday we'll get to go back.

 

Wendesday Evening: RC singers and dancers show, movie themes. It was nice, not great but enjoyable. I thought the talent was decent but not great. Of course, I can't sing or dance so I shouldn't judge but I certainly didn't feel like it was time wasted. Then we went to Quest, very fun and energetic, I highly recommend it. Just go to it no matter how tired you may be.

 

Thursday: At sea, relaxed, played dodge ball against the crew. They are a fine tuned dodge ball team but they did get beat (not by my team). So if they try to claim they are undefeated like they were prior to this they are telling untruths. To give them credit though they played somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-15 games.

 

Thursday PM: Portofino's for dinner, great food but not worth it if you are a vegeterian. We went with friends and it was one friends birthday but I probably could have saved the $$$. However, if not a vegeterian I hear it is very much worth it. You decide.

 

Friday: St. Maarten: We did the kayak and snorkel trip. I'd say if you are a fan if kayaking don't do it here. The guides were nice enough but you just kayak for the sake of kayaking. In other words, I like kayaking in places where you can't get to a snorkeling location unless you take a small non-motorized boat and that was not the case. We kayaked to a beach that we could have either walked or driven to. The snorkeling was fun though, I had never snorkled before so I have no basis of comparison but I really enjoyed it. We then shopped for a bit but it rained. Try the guavaberry liquor drink if you are out and about in the shops, it was very tasty.

 

Friday PM: RC singers and dancers doing a Vegas tribute, again enjoyable but nothing to knock your socks off. Following that was a comedian who they claim was an unexpected addition, he was pretty funny. I had a few good laughs. Some jokes were predictable but he had good stage presence.

 

Saturday St. Thomas: Another kayaking adventure and for every reason why I wasn't thrilled with St. Maarten I really enjoyed St. Thomas kayaking because we went to an area that was off the beaten path. The snorkeling here was fun as well. There was even a small shark in the water. The guide, Troy, was informative and entertaining. I would recommend this excurcsion. It is the kayak,hike, snorkel excursion.

 

Saturday PM: Farewell show, it was fun. The juggler tried hard to be funny and got a few laughs, he did juggle big knives on a rocky ship so for that he gets big credit. Then the comedian from the prior night came back out and did some more material, again some funny stuff some not so much but worth it.

 

Sunday: San Juan: Did the rainforest excursion, this was cool because it got you off the ship in priority for certain. The excursion itself was interesting but I was so tired that I missed a lot of the explanations of what was what. However the forest was beautiful and had a fantastic feeling breeze. It wasn't too much money and it filled the day a little bit. I'd recommend it if you have an evening flight.

 

Food: The food was good, no complaints but I rarely complain about food so I may not be the best source of information. The wait staff for us was top notch. We had Jerrich as waiter and Deckster as assistant and they were both from the Phillipines and they had their game down. They both had a cuteness about them that made them easily likable.

 

Stateroom: No worries, good stateroom attendant (Teodore from Hondorus). Everything was very much to my satsification.

 

Overall: Worth the money, I've decided you get a lot of bang for your buck on a cruise. Again no basis of comparison but I get the impression the bar was set pretty high.

 

Hope you enjoyed my review and please feel free to post responses as I'd like to keep the experience going a while longer.

[michigan tim]

So are you the one married to evil eyes? the one with the prostitute in the missionary position (if so you are a very funny dude!) or the geezer lighting the Fourth of July Fireworks?

[sickmonkey26]

We were the middle couple, the prostitute in the missionary position. Thanks for the compliment. I had a blast doing that. I thought the game was fun because each couple had their thing. The old couple was fun for who they were and the young couple fit the mold and the wife was perfect.

[maxs mom]

Great review! Glad you enjoyed your first cruise. Did you book another while you were on board? If not......you've got to learn how to do that! It is refreshing when the couples picked for the Love and Marriage Show are first time cruisers. A lot of repeat cruisers already know what the questions are most likely to be. I'll bet y'all were great!

 

You're right. Cruising is the best bang for your buck. We've been at it for 23 years. Hope you'll try it again. We'll be back on the AOS in a couple of months. I'm ready right now!

[kc320]

Glad to hear you had a great 1st cruise!! I will be on AOS in just 19 days doing the same route!

[KrysyGT]

We were the middle couple, the prostitute in the missionary position. Thanks for the compliment. I had a blast doing that. I thought the game was fun because each couple had their thing. The old couple was fun for who they were and the young couple fit the mold and the wife was perfect.

 

You guys were hilarious! My husband was absolutely thrilled by your sense of humor, and you gave him some new material hah!

 

Great review! And great cruise! :)

[pscan5150]

We were the middle couple, the prostitute in the missionary position. Thanks for the compliment. I had a blast doing that. I thought the game was fun because each couple had their thing. The old couple was fun for who they were and the young couple fit the mold and the wife was perfect.

 

You guys were a hoot! (and even made Mike the CD double over in laughter a couple of times)

 

I also liked the bra size question:

 

First Couple - Wife (aka Evil Eyes) - 34B

First Couple - Guy - 36C?

 

(Mike the CD starts singing "Dreamin' - Dream - Dream - Dream - Dream")

 

Your Wife - 36C (Mike looks at first couple and says "hey, a match!")

You - 34B - just kidding (Mike goes off stage laughing - comes back and says "Dude, that was funny")

 

HILARIOUS!

 

"Excuse me... Ladies and Gentlemen... I have one more annoucement before you all leave the theater... To the gentleman who lost the diamond-encrusted Rolex while boarding... the time is 11:23"

[Mrs. pscan5150]

ROFLMAO! Oh yes, I remember that!!! :D

[rosejazz]

We saw you all too...great show. Then we got to see you on the TV for the next few nights!

 

I thought I'd tag on and add a few of our thoughts too. We are a family of 4, 2 boys ages 14 and 16/ DH and I have cruised 12x with RCCL...this was our second time on AOS.

 

We stayed at La Concha Friday night. Lovely hotel bar and lobby. Very modern and a beautiful pool/tapas bar area. It was great until the band started playing at 9PM. We were on the 9th floor and as far from the band area as possible (this is a motel situation where all room doors are centrally located and open to the outside). The music was intolerably loud and finally at 1am it stopped. We had called the front Desk around 11PM to inquire when it would stop and they said "shortly". The next morning, after not much sleep, we moved form la Concha to the Marriott Stellaris (both are Marriott Hotels) and the Stellaris is down the street. Slept great on saturday night!

 

Next time we will stay at the Stellaris and have drinks in the beautiful tapas bar in La Concha.

 

We are diamond and were on the ship at 11:30. No wait, easy embarkation and always a pleasure. The cruise was full capacity.

 

We thought the food in the DR was OK. It felt it best on Sunday and Monday nights and then it went down hill from there. Our waiter was pretty aloof, but the Asst waiter was excellent. We ate in Portofinos Wed and Sat night and loved the quality of the food and the service. Windjammer was fine...always a good selection. Note they have changed to regular sized dinner plates versus the larger plates previoulsy used in the WJ. No trays any longer either. This was fine for us and I'll bet saved some on food waste overall. Nver ate at Johnny Rockets (just not our kind of fare), but it was always packed. The promenade always has good sandwiches, pizza and dessert. I loved going there after dinner and getting tea and watching everyone walking by.

 

Last time we cruised the AOS (Last June) we had at least a dozen quincerineras going on....I only saw one on this cruise.

 

We got to meet the ships doctor and medical staff on Tuesday morning as my son woke up with a fever and earache. Turns out he had an ear infection. Doctor was kind and efficient. Antibiotics were dispensed and for a fee we were on our way (Haha!). Thankfully DS was feeling better on Wed. Needless to say he and I stayed on the ship in Aruba. DH and DS 16yo did the ship's Kayak Adventure in Aruba and were not impressed and felt it was lackluster and boring.

 

We've been to all of these islands several times, so planned this vacation as R&R....so in Curacao we walked to town, shopped a little and retunred to the ship by 12pm. St. Maarteen we did Rhino Riders which was really fun. We got back on board right before the rain started. We stayed on board the ship in St. Thomas and enjoyed the peace and quiet in the pool area.

 

I agree with the OP...felt that the shows were okay. Both El Gaucho and the comedian we had seen on other ships. The RCCL singers and dancers are fine. I will give a thumbs up to Mike the cruise director...he's a fun person. DH and I danced a few nights in the Vortex disco and music was good. We were pretty much in bed by 12pm though! The Duck and the Dog Bar is a good place to hang out at night...listen to some good music, have a drink and people watch.

 

The conceirge is Carmen and she was very nice. She helped me get refunds on the Kayak excursion that my son and I missed and made the process easy. We enjoyed the lounge before dinner each night for a cocktail and I stopped in there several mornings for coffee. We did attend the Diamond/Platinum party in the Viking and enjoyed it. Caremen did send us a bottle of Champagne in our cabin one evening and the Loyalty Ambassador sent choco covered starwberries. Nice touch.

 

We didn't buy a wine package as most of the wines included were not ones we would have chosen. Instead we purchased wine each night for dinner. Several cruisers in the CL complained that they had brought wine and liquor in their suitcases and it was confiscated prior to boarding. We didn't try to smuggle and liquor or wine, but still had 3 suitcases inspected. I just wouldn't do it...not worth it.

 

DS (13) spent the entire week in the teen area and made many friends. He had a curfew of 11:30 every night. He wanted to stay later, but our rules supercede the ships 1am curfew (as far as I'm concerned only trouble can happen when a bunch of 14 year olds are out that late with nothing to do).

DS (16) hung out with us alot and kept to himself. He is very extroverted at home, but wasn't into trying to find a group to hang out with. He loved finding a quiet spot in the Solarium and reading his book.

 

All in all, this was a good cruise. Not the best we've ever had, but certainly good. DH and I will be back on the Serenade in November (sans kids!). While I sail the Voyager class when we have kids with us...the radiance is class is our favorite. I don't know that I'll do the Aruba/Curacao route again since those 2 islands were our least favorite.

 

Enjoy!

[2CBEDDY]

We just returned from the same cruise and saw your hilarious performance as well! I was also on one of the dodgeball teams, what a great time!! This was the best family vacation ever for anyone considering this as a family vacation!

[pscan5150]

Here is a link for the "A day in the life of a Cruise Director" video they showed on the last night, posted by the CD himself:

 

[nanfromatlanta]

Very cute. I've never seen that one before... :D

[sickmonkey26]

Does anyone know how one gets into that kind of a job? Not that I'm looking believe me but I'm very curious. Do you think you have to have a track record in entertaining? For example a comedian or something of that sort?

[coltahonas]

You said the TomCar was fun... how much time were you driving? We're not much into being at the beach. WE JUST WANT TO RIDE. So how much of your tour was actually spent driving? Also, did you enjoy the lunch that went with it?