My boyfriend (30) and I (28) sailed on AOS on 3/29/09. We were on Deck 6 in a balcony room. Plenty of space for the two of us to unpack our giant suitcases and get everything put way in the closet or drawers. The balcony is really where we spent time when in the room. Never heard any noise from the decks above and below. We had a great stateroom attendant. Didn't see her much, but the room was always extremely clean, well taken care of.

We flew into San Juan on Saturday the 28th and stayed at the Embassy Suites, Isla Verde. The hotel is right next to the airport - so it's a short ride over via taxi. Also it is about 2 blocks from the beach. There are a couple restaurants/hotels with in walking distance, which is why we chose to stay there. Well, that and the free full breakfast (omelets, pancakes, waffles) and manager's receptions (open bar!) that are included with the price of the room. The hotel has a great pool and a small casino. We played blackjack and won some extra spending money for the cruise!! In the evening we took a taxi over to the Condado area of San Juan - about a 10min taxi ride. We had dinner at Ummo Argentinean Grill. I highly recommend it for dinner! They have great service and amazing food. If you go - get the empanadas. The price range is mid range - not overly pricey. They take reservations - which I made ahead of time. Good thing too - the restaurant was packed and people were lined up outside waiting.

On Sunday we got to the cruise terminal at around 11:45 - the lines for baggage were already pretty long. Took about 45 mins to get through the line. Once we dropped off our bags it took about 20 mins to get on the ship - not bad at all. We hunted around the ship - getting the lay of the land. The ship looked great - always clean. On the Promenade - We signed up for the Platinum Wine Package - 7 bottles. Cost us about $200 after tax/tip. I didn't think about it - but they have signs up saying "6.5% tax charge at port". Wait till the ship sails and then order the Wine Package or the Coke Package - you can avoid the tax charge. The package itself was well worth it - there was a good selection of wines - things we hadn't tried before. A bottle a night was just the right amount (although some nights we were tempted to order another bottle ;) If we didn't finish the bottle we could give it back to the server to keep till the next night or take it back to the room with us. The ship left around 8pm from San Juan but you had to be on board at 5:30 for the Muster Drill at 6. Read more