We're a family of four from Florida. Our daughter, a May college grad, has studied abroad in Europe twice. The rest of us were Europe rookies. We've cruised many times, but always in the Caribbean. We travel a few times per year as a family and at least once per year as a couple. We had sailed RCCL once before and were not impressed. We chose AOS for the itinerary, not the ship, and set sail with low expectations for our time on board.

We flew from Florida to Malaga, Spain two days before embarkation. We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel near the historic city centre, the Vincci. The ride was 20 euro. The hotel was new, bright and modern and well situated for exploring Malaga on foot.

We spent a day exploring Malaga, enjoying some of its many cafe's, touring its lovely Cathedral, the Picasso Museum (birthplace of Picasso), dipping our toes in the clear and cool Mediterranean, and hiking the foothills to tour the Alcazaba. Beautifully clean town and a very enjoyable day. Read more