We are just off AOS sailing 3/26-4/2. First, let me say that some of the reviews that discussed the large influx of cruisers from Puerto Rico and mentioned rudeness and pushing, shoving, etc. were only partially correct. Yes, a large number of Puerto Rican cruisers. They were anything but rude...very polite. Yes, there were a large number of children on board, yes we did hear a lot running in the halls, but during the day hardly saw them and most were very well behaved when we did see them. We are 53 and 47 and cruising with 18 other acquaintances from Minnesota (we are from Oklahoma).

Embarkation - We flew in the day of the cruise arriving at 4:30 pm to an absolute MAD HOUSE at the airport. Very crowded. They will check your luggage claim checks so have them ready. Cab to the ship took 10 minutes and was $23.50 for 2 of us. Fare is base cost, plus a charge for each bag you have. We arrived at the terminal, dropped off our luggage (staff very accommodating), checked in with Royal and it took 3 minutes. Then we made a purchase in the liquor store in the terminal and were allowed to take that aboard in our carry on. Liquor prices are VERY low. It is a long walk up the gangway to get on the ship. All in all this process was very easy.

The Ship - The ship is absolutely stunning when you see it ...very huge. And it is very clean and well kept inside. Very elegant...exactly what you see in the pictures. The downside was the continual motion and rocking and rolling of this large ship...the entire cruise. As one of my cruise mates said who I have cruised with 3 other times, we had more motion on this ship in the first hour than all of the other 3 cruises we took. There were 3500 passengers and 1100 crew members. Read more