I want to start by saying that if you cannot stand to hear anything that even slightly criticizes RCI or cruising then stop here and read no further. This is not a bad review, but it is an honest one. I had a wonderful vacation cruising on the AOS that leaves from San Juan and either travels to Aruba or Barbados. We traveled the Barbados route that includes St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas. A little bit about my cruising background; I have cruised with Carnival twice and DCL once. I enjoyed cruising with both lines and occasionally I will compare RCI with the previous cruises. I hope this review will be helpful especially for those planning to cruise for the first time.

Embarkation: This was truly the worst part of the trip. We arrived at a very busy time which was around 2:30 PM. We had to wait around 20 minutes outside in the hot sun to check our luggage then get in another line (for another 20 minutes) to actually check in. I would suggest getting there either before 1 PM or after 4 PM. Both Carnival and RCI port buildings are very ugly and give no indication of how nice the ship is that you are getting ready to board. Disney though, has a very beautiful building in Port Canaveral that makes you feel like you are getting ready to board something very special.

The ship: Yeah we finally boarded and went straight to our rooms. I was traveling with my sister and two sons. My oldest DS (16) was sharing an interior room with my DS. I myself with my DS (14) was sharing a balcony room. I was so excited when I opened my stateroom door then; Oh no, it really stinks! Literally, the room smelled really bad. I can't even really describe the odor, only that it wasn't a sewage smell, but more like an old sock smell. I hated to make a compliant within the first couple of minutes on the cruise, but the smell was overwhelming. Fortunately, the stateroom attendant was close by and I told him about the smell. He was so nice about it and said that he would deodorize it. He did and the smell was much better, but it really never went away the entire trip. My DS room did not smell at all. I was in room 7518. For first time cruisers, believe it when you are told the staterooms are really small. We could not open the bathroom and closet doors and still be able to walk out of the room. The bathroom is so small that if it wasn't for the plastic door on the shower you could sit on the commode and take a shower at the same time. Carnival's rooms are actually just a little bit roomier and DCL seem much roomier (although they are all small). The beds were actually very comfy and the new bedding is nice. Other than the beds though there is really nothing special about the rooms at all. If you would check in a land based hotel with rooms like the ones on cruise lines, you would promptly check out. We all know though it is not for the rooms that we like to cruise. It is for the cruise ship, the ocean and the beautiful Islands in the Caribbean. The public areas are very nice on AOS. I liked the Royal Promenade, but I really don't think that it would make or break a choice of choosing a cruise line. Other cruise lines have the shops just not with 3 floors of cabins overhead. Only one of my DS used the rock-climbing wall and then only once. So, when planning a next cruise, the itinerary will probably be the most important issue. The adult pool area (the Solarium) was very quiet and peaceful. In previous posts people have complained about children using this area. I however, never saw any children using the pool. There was only one sea day so maybe this just isn't an issue with this ship. My DS really enjoyed the arcade. One night they had a "you play we pay" activity. Both sons took advantage of this and thought it was a really cool thing for RCI to do. The basketball area though is where they spent most of their time while on the ship. They would play with other kids at least a couple of hours every day. Neither one of my children (with the exception of the arcade) participated in any of the organized activities. I was disturbed though when they told me one night that a couple of the kids were really drunk one night. They were 16 and 17 year old boys. Some girls were laughing at them and their antics, saying their breath stank like rum. The pool area became very crowded and loud on the sea day, but my sis and I used the adult pool which still had some available chairs and was much quieter. There were chair hogs everywhere and if you wanted to sit by the main pool then you would have had to save a chair very early. As far as beauty, I think DCL wins hands down for the beauty of the decks and public areas. I just love all the teakwood and brass on the Disney ships. Next I think RCI wins over Carnival for aesthetics. I really liked the fact though that on AOS you could walk entirely around the ship on deck 4. My sister and I walked every night after dinner and loved to go to the bow of the ship and just look out over the ocean and up into the sky at the beautiful stars. We found that it was easier to walk on this deck then to try and walk around the jogging track. The joggers will knock you down if you get in the way! Tips on navigating the ship: The elevators are forward and aft. Decks 4, 5 and 11 are good for walking from the forward to the aft side. On deck four you can walk through the Casino, on deck 5 through the promenade and on deck 11 the pool areas. All dining is on the Aft, this includes the Windjammer and Portofinos on deck 11 and the formal dining rooms on deck 3, 4 and 5. The main lounges are forward to include the Lyric Theater (decks 3 and 4) where all the main shows are held and the Imperial lounge (deck 5). Studio B the Ice skating rink is located on deck 3 aft close to the photo gallery. Most disembarkation took place on deck 1 aft when visiting the Islands. Once we disembarked on deck 1 forward. It was a little confusing on where you were suppose to go to get off the ship, but I either followed where all the people seemed to be going or I think starting on deck 4 there were signs telling you where to go. Read more