AOS Review 4-21 -4-27

[RhondaPerr]

We just returned from the Adventure last night and I am going to write my review before real life swallows my time. This was my 20th cruise...

 

First Impressions: HUGE SHIP! Oh My Gosh huge ship...Holy Cow what a huge ship :)

 

Embarkation: We got to the port a little after 11am and were on the ship within minutes. We were wisked through the line to the Suites Line, and were the first ones on the ship. Checked our dining table to discover that we did not get the large table that we requested so we changed it...

 

Our Suite was not ready so I checked on some appointments the Concierge had made for us, and then by 12pm the Wind Jammer was open for lunch, The food was fine, but I really prefer the stations they had on the Serenade.

 

Owners Suite 1320 on the 10 deck... It was a surprise for my husband, who was rendered speechless(That doesn't happen often) First Impressions: We may never leave our cabin. The cabin had more storage space than we needed, and probably could fit 15 people(sitting down) There was a huge couch a plasma tv..stereo, dvd player, another couch a chair, 4 chairs on the deck, and a nice sized bed. A bar area, a dining table...The bathroom was huge with a shower, bidet, and huge Jacuzzi tub. The cabin is spotless and our cabin steward is hysterical!

 

Our own pre- M&M...Many of us met the night before for dinner, and today we met in the Solarium. What a nice group of people, from all over the country.

 

 

Mustering...Oh how I love to stand life jacket to life jacket, and how do I always manage to have someone who is already drunk and can't stop bumping into people behind me?? The kicker was this woman on a cell phone, despite many announcements about no cell phone use during mustering...and then of course you have the "Let me see how my whistle works" in your ear person...Dinner followed Mustering.

 

1st Dinner okay plug your ears if you don't want to know... Sorry but our prime rib was so tough we could barely cut it. We are the ONLY English speaking people at our table, but 2 couples did not show up so we are hoping that they come tomorrow night and we will have someone to talk to. We mimed the best we could but things were definitely lost in translation.

 

Welcome Aboard show: Better than most, especially the comedian... We like Mike S the CD... He is one of the best we have experienced in a long time.

 

Day 2: Yahoo we are at sea... can't wait to see the brawls over the pool chairs....my balcony is looking mighty good! Awakened to an unwelcomed surprise when there was problems with the plumbing, but please let me tell you that they really took care of us... The customer service was incredible.

 

Breakfast in the Wind Jammer...Hello would you mind if I sat on your lap?? I am really hungry!! In other words it was crowded, and we ate in the diningroom whenever possible. The breakfast in the WindJammer was good though.

 

Shopping talk took a long time. DH had a massage, and then the hard sell to buy products....HE DID! ugh.... We will put this expensive bottle of oils ina frequented place in our house to remind my DH of his Faux Pas! I had my hair put up in a fancy up do. and was happy with the results. The official Meet and Mingle was scheduled at 5pm...a silly time for early seating people. so we started our own at 4pm....

 

Dinner was 100 percent better tonight. We are moving our table tomorrow because the other couples have not shown up, and we really enjoy conversations we can understand!

 

Show: Abba music Excellent...Late night comedy very good. I really like the announcements about watching your children, behavior etc... RCCL has really shown a lot less tolerance for kids running wild.

 

Aruba: Liked Aruba, although we did not do the beach thing...we looked in the shops, and just enjoyed walking around... Note** I used my credit card in 2 places...Once in Aruba and once in Cuarco...in one of those places someone stole the number and gave it to their friends in New Jersey...thankfully we had told the company that we would be on a cruise and the dates, so when charges showed up in Jersey, it was a red flag...

 

Dinner: We got our table switched and now have tablemates that we can converse with. Our waiter is Primo and assistant waiter Diego..

 

Ice Show: The rink is so small that it is amazing that they can put on a show that was so incredible. I was glad that it was not that cold in the rink, and there is not a bad seat in the house.

 

Dancing under the Stars...some slow dancing but almost all line dances.

 

 

Cuaraco: Breakfast in diningroom excellent... nice not to fight the crowds. Went to the oldest synagogue and museum, it was interesting. Town is walking distance if the moving bridge is across and you can walk over it, otherwise you have to take a very short Ferry ride..

 

Dinner: Good tonight and head waiter has really worked with me as far as severe spice and herb allergies..

 

Production Show: It was good but not the best I have ever seen. Quest tonight but I can't keep my eyes open.

Sea Day

Spent the day sitting on my balcony, looking in some of the shops, and kust relaxing, expecting many people at 4pm for a cabin crawl...

 

Dinner:Not great tonight and service was way off.

Diamond Platnium reception: beautiful classical music...

 

The Drifters show was great!

 

St Maartin: Went to Orient Beach with many of the people we had met from the boards...It was raining, but stopped after a half hour...Nice walk on the beach..some people went para sailing, some went jet skiing....

 

Dinner: Lobster night.....Its called the Fisherman's platter and it is not emphasized at all....you have to look at the menu carefully to find it.

 

Show: Excellent production show followed by late night comedy.

 

St Thomas: Stores closed downtown because of Carnival... Went to Havensight, and then it poured down rain! This is the first cruise we have ever had rain in the Islands.

 

Dinner: Good..so hard to believe we go back home tomorrow.

 

Side notes: We had use of the concierge since we had a suite... We are also Diamond. Carmen is great! The lounge was nice, and we went up a few times for pre-dinner drinks and canapes...

 

Eric our cabin steward was terrific!

 

Juliana in Guest relations is the best I have ever dealt with.

 

Overall impressions: Crew Friendly but not as friendly as on the Serenade.

 

Owners Suite: a definite WOW!

 

Food: No wows but it was fine most of the time. Wind Jammer was not that great for lunch.

 

Breakfast in diningroom very good.

 

Shows: Well done and entertaining.

 

CD: fantastic..

 

The ship is showing wear in some places but it was well maintained.

 

There were NO hand sanitizers to use before eating. (We brought our own.)

 

Any questions please feel free to ask!

 

On a scale of 1-10 I would give this cruise an 8 :)

[marshabear]

nice review, Rhonda!! thanks for sharing...

 

we cruised last October and had rain everyday ...that was a first for us too!!

 

our first experience with RCCL was not the greatest, so hoping for a much better time this time around...

 

looking forward to sailing on this ship!! :)

 

 

Marsha

[mdcruzer]

Thanks for the review

Now, I can't wait to go.....

[sickmonkey26]

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I'm so jealous of the ABBA music thing. I went on AOS April 6-13 and we had no ABBA music!!! I demand a refund.

[brooklintee]

HI Rhonda...thanks for the review.

Which nights were deemed as Formal nights? Was there lobster served at either of them, or was it the Fisherman's platter? What exactly is on the Fisherman's platter?

Was there a Murder Mystery night?

 

Thanks for your input!

[RhondaPerr]

HI Rhonda...thanks for the review.

Which nights were deemed as Formal nights? Was there lobster served at either of them, or was it the Fisherman's platter? What exactly is on the Fisherman's platter?

Was there a Murder Mystery night?

 

Thanks for your input!

 

Hi,

 

Sea days were formal nights.... The Lobster was served on Friday night I believe.... There was a murder mystery night in Portofinos on Monday night...I believe the cost was $49.95 a person...

[mchin]

Rhonda -- Great review. I'm still working on mine. Trying to upload the 520-something pics Steve took to post with the review.

 

Definitely had a great time -- especially with the Mixed Nutz!

[dshebert]

Thanks Rhonda:) We leave this Saturday!!!!!!!

 

Dale and Karen

[RhondaPerr]

Thanks Rhonda:) We leave this Saturday!!!!!!!

 

Dale and Karen

 

Have a wonderful time!! Safe trip...

[RhondaPerr]

Rhonda -- Great review. I'm still working on mine. Trying to upload the 520-something pics Steve took to post with the review.

 

Definitely had a great time -- especially with the Mixed Nutz!

 

I wish I would have been able to do more with the Nutz... I have been struggling with some health issues that became worse just before our cruise....barely had energy to do most of the things I wanted to...Did not want to burden anyone with that info :) How lovely it was to meet everyone...can't wait to see your pictures...

[RhondaPerr]

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I'm so jealous of the ABBA music thing. I went on AOS April 6-13 and we had no ABBA music!!! I demand a refund.

 

LOL nananabooboo :)

[RhondaPerr]

BTW your daughter is absolutely adorable!

[jshli]

Does anyone know if all of the owners suites have a jacuzzi bathtub? We have suite 1608 reserved for a future cruise. Any information on this suite would be appreciated.

[RhondaPerr]

Does anyone know if all of the owners suites have a jacuzzi bathtub? We have suite 1608 reserved for a future cruise. Any information on this suite would be appreciated.

 

It did on the Adventure!

[39august]

Was there a satellite CL opened on deck 14 or was only the regular CL open for both suites and Diamond members? The last several cruises, we have experienced having the CL and a satellite lounge on Voyager and Radiance class ships, but on Voyager last month, in the evening, there were drinks served only in the satellite CL, making it far too crowded.

[RhondaPerr]

Was there a satellite CL opened on deck 14 or was only the regular CL open for both suites and Diamond members? The last several cruises, we have experienced having the CL and a satellite lounge on Voyager and Radiance class ships, but on Voyager last month, in the evening, there were drinks served only in the satellite CL, making it far too crowded.

 

As far as I know there was only the one CL lounge...and it wasn't too crowded before dinner..I never went up there at breakfast time. The lounge is on the 9th deck.

[Tex_Jen]

Rhonda, you shouldn't have missed Quest! It was a total blast. We were able to initiate the newbie cruisers in the group which made it that much more fun. I'm still working on my review. Work has been a little crazy since I've been back and today is the first day that I'm not swaying as I walk down the hall. :D

 

Jen

[mslaabs]

Rhonda,

Did you get a chance to check out any of the lounge entertainment (pub guy, piano player, etc.)?

[RhondaPerr]

Rhonda, you shouldn't have missed Quest! It was a total blast. We were able to initiate the newbie cruisers in the group which made it that much more fun. I'm still working on my review. Work has been a little crazy since I've been back and today is the first day that I'm not swaying as I walk down the hall. :D

 

Jen

 

Jen,

 

Circumstances prevented me from joining in, but I was there in spirit! Try writing on a white board while the floor feels it is moving underneath ya LOL.. Thanks for putting together the beach jaunt!

[RhondaPerr]

Rhonda,

Did you get a chance to check out any of the lounge entertainment (pub guy, piano player, etc.)?

 

I went to the Duck and Dog Pub...or Dog and Duck I am exhausted right now and my brain isn't working...They had sing alongs there that were quite fun!

I never found any of the live music unpleasant :) Dancing under the Stars Aruba night was a lot of fun! The rumor about piped in music was not found to be true on this ship...you could find live music in many places.. Since we had the concierge this cruise, we would go the the Concierge Lounge instead of the other lounges for pre-dinner drinks.

 

Whoops I hit the sad face by mistake :)

[lamin]

Hi Rhonda,

Thanks for the review. We are booked in the 1320 for our upcoming summer cruise on the AOS. Looking at the deck plan the balcony looks really small. How big is the balcony? How was your cabin attendant? Do they have a separate lounge for Diamond member? We are Diamond also but my DD (diamond) is not in the suite so I am just wondering?

Thanks

[pmfan]

Thanks for the review. I enjoyed reading it. :) I take it you was impressed with the ship. That's great.

[jerraeb]

RHONDA, GREAT REVIEW! HAVE YOU FOUND JOHN'S NEW BOARD?

"MIXED NUTZ FUTURE CRUISES" I CAN'T SEEM TO FIND IT...BUT I'LL KEEP LOOKING.

HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER SOON.:)

AFTER WE SAW YOU IN THE AIRPORT, OUR FLIGHT WAS CHANGED TO 5P. WE GOT HOME AT 130AM MONDAY. OUR TWO MISSING BAGS ARRIVED AT OUR HOUSE AT 3PM.

[RhondaPerr]

Hi Rhonda,

Thanks for the review. We are booked in the 1320 for our upcoming summer cruise on the AOS. Looking at the deck plan the balcony looks really small. How big is the balcony? How was your cabin attendant? Do they have a separate lounge for Diamond member? We are Diamond also but my DD (diamond) is not in the suite so I am just wondering?

Thanks

 

The balcony had 2 small tables and 4 chairs and we found it quite nice...Shade in the morning and sun in the afternoon....1320 is a great cabin with a wonderful location... Our cabin attendant was one of the best we have ever had. I am not sure about the lounge, I didn't ask if its because we are Diamond or because we had the suite...

[RhondaPerr]

RHONDA, GREAT REVIEW! HAVE YOU FOUND JOHN'S NEW BOARD?

"MIXED NUTZ FUTURE CRUISES" I CAN'T SEEM TO FIND IT...BUT I'LL KEEP LOOKING.

HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER SOON.:)

AFTER WE SAW YOU IN THE AIRPORT, OUR FLIGHT WAS CHANGED TO 5P. WE GOT HOME AT 130AM MONDAY. OUR TWO MISSING BAGS ARRIVED AT OUR HOUSE AT 3PM.

 

LOL poor thing....you said your trips are never uneventful... John's post was moved...I don't know where it went....Our plane was on time and our luggage was there....Geez you had a LOOONG day at the airport!