Which AoS itinerary should I choose? HELP!!!

[alba216]

I am really at a crossroads here. Besides picking a cruise for my family (DW, DD2, DD7), I also have to pick a cruise my in-laws will like as well. I’ve narrowed my possible cruises down to two. AoS out of San Juan in September, the Aruba or Barbados route. I tried getting the information from ckrobyn's thread on the AoS, but I'm only on page 8 of an 88 page thread after two days of research while at work:eek:. So I'm starting up my own thread to get specific answers. I really like the ports on the Barbados itinerary, but I don't like the lack of sea days. So my alternative is the Aruba route, which has a great mix of sea days and ports. What Im looking for is any information from cruisers of either route.

 

If you took the Barbados route, were you tired from all the ports at the end of the cruise?

 

If you took the Aruba route, did you think the sea days make it worth it over the Barbados route?

 

If you have already cruised both, what did you like about either?

 

Any other info would help a lot. I got cabins on both cruises reserved, and I have until January 21 to make the deposit to lock up the cabins.

[alba216]

PS I also noticed there is another thread on southern itinerary, but it was hijacked, and is now offtopic

[tuliplvr]

I was wondering the same thing before booking my AOS cruise.. People loved both itineraries, but I think the Barbados route won by a little. I went with the Barbados route just because I can see 5 different islands that I haven't seen before.

[alba216]

Yup, I agree, I just wish the seaday was on day 3 or 4, instead of the first day

[tuliplvr]

Yup, I agree, I just wish the seaday was on day 3 or 4, instead of the first day

Me too, but I think that the sea day that early will help us explore the ship

[AZ ParrotHead]

We've done both.

 

We liked the Barbados route a little better. Antigua and Barbados are wonderful islands with great beaches. Aruba and Curacao are also beautiful but we liked having the fifth island--St Lucia.

 

If you do do the Aruba route, I highly recommend the Silver Moon catamaran in Barbados. We had an amazing experience swimming and snorkeling with Sea Turtles there. Also, if you go to St Lucia, keep in mind it is a volcanic, lush island best explored with an organized tour.

[love2cruiseseattle]

We have done both and we liked the Barbados route because it makes more stops. The other route is nice also, but we like more stops.

[alba216]

We've done both.

 

We liked the Barbados route a little better. Antigua and Barbados are wonderful islands with great beaches. Aruba and Curacao are also beautiful but we liked having the fifth island--St Lucia.

 

If you do do the Aruba route, I highly recommend the Silver Moon catamaran in Barbados. We had an amazing experience swimming and snorkeling with Sea Turtles there. Also, if you go to St Lucia, keep in mind it is a volcanic, lush island best explored with an organized tour.

 

Yup, Ive been researching all the islands, & the Silvermoon Catamaran tour seems the most popular. So far thats the only tour we will book for sure, and one reason I am leaning to the Barbados route. I have more research on St Lucia to do still. Im certain my DD2 will not be patient enough for an allday tour. We might need to do something private

[mcarnett]

We enjoyed the Barbados itinary the most because we really loved Barbados!! The only bad thing about this itinary is the only sea day is on the first day. By the time the cruise is over, you are exhausted due to the fact that his itinary is port heavy. Need another week just to rest up! The sea days are very relaxing and restful. It allows you to move and do things at your own pace. If there is only one sea day, we would prefer it to be the last day, not the first day.

 

Mike

[polodad]

May, 2007 we did the Aruba route on AOS & enjoyed it tremendously. The snorkeling excursion in Aruba on Jolly Pirates was one of our best excursions ever.

On the other hand, I'd like to try the other route some time as well.

[soontobewed]

We are going the Barbados route in May. It is a port heavy itineray, but we are not into all day excursions and some islands we are just going to take our time and do some walking and if we want to head back to the ship, we will not feel guilty about it! :-) So this was a great choice for us, because we get to see 5 islands, but we can do it at our pace.

 

Good luck with your choice, either way you will have a fabulous cruise!

[Cruisin08]

I am really at a crossroads here. Besides picking a cruise for my family (DW, DD2, DD7), I also have to pick a cruise my in-laws will like as well. I’ve narrowed my possible cruises down to two. AoS out of San Juan in September, the Aruba or Barbados route. I tried getting the information from ckrobyn's thread on the AoS, but I'm only on page 8 of an 88 page thread after two days of research while at work:eek:. So I'm starting up my own thread to get specific answers. I really like the ports on the Barbados itinerary, but I don't like the lack of sea days. So my alternative is the Aruba route, which has a great mix of sea days and ports. What Im looking for is any information from cruisers of either route.

 

If you took the Barbados route, were you tired from all the ports at the end of the cruise?

 

If you took the Aruba route, did you think the sea days make it worth it over the Barbados route?

 

If you have already cruised both, what did you like about either?

 

Any other info would help a lot. I got cabins on both cruises reserved, and I have until January 21 to make the deposit to lock up the cabins.

 

 

 

I was on the AOS last year (Aruba route), and it was fantastic. All the ports were great. We chose this cruise/itinerary, as it was our first cruise, and we wanted a couple of sea days to experience the ship. It worked out great for us, as we had ample time to explore the ship, while providing some great ports for our exploring.

 

We are going to sail on the Serenade in March, and am now looking forward to the different ports - with the last day being a sea day, so that we can just relax at the end of our journey.

 

Either way, I dont think that you can go wrong. You are on vacation, so you make your own rules.

[mag0737]

My bf and I are going on the Barbados route in July. At first we weren't sure on which route to go, but we decided to go w/ the Barbados route. Mostly due to the fact that we get to go to 5 ports. Our cruising theory is that if there is a port we fall in love w/, we can always go back for an extended stay. :) We're planning to do an excursion on each port day with the exception of St. Croix. This is the last port on the itinerary and none of the excursions jumped out at us (we know that cruise lines have recently started going back here). So our thoughts were to relax and do a beach day. Kind of like a day at sea.

 

Good luck and whichever you choose, I'm sure it'll be fantastic!!!:D