We just returned from sailing on the AOS Southern Caribbean Route departing from San Juan. We did a similar cruise last year on the Grand Princess so a comparison was pretty easy to do. We are a newly empty nester couple in our late 40s. This was our 5th cruise--our first on Royal Caribbean.

My first impression of this ship is that it is huge and very beautiful. There were so many bars and snack bars that it is really hard to see everything. The promenade is really breathtaking. Let me just say that this is a perfect ship for folks with kids or folks who are traveling with multi-generations as there is a lot of variety. It is probably also a great cruise for singles or young couples in their 20s. It is NOT a great cruise for people in their 30s and on who are sailing as couples and are trying to get away from it all. There was a lot on this ship that I am sure we paid for that we could have cared less about--ie the rock climbing wall, the ice skating rink, Johnny Rockets etc. The food was okay--nothing to compare with Princess the year before though--Princess was much better. The service was okay--they kept trying to ask you to make sure if you liked the service to be sure and fill out the evaluation--he told us that every night. Portofino's was amazing---why couldn't every night be like that? We noticed on Princess that the premium dining room was vacant most of the time--on AOS--it was packed--so we weren't the only ones who agreed--on Princess you hardly thought about it because the food was so amazingly better. Entertainment was far superior on AOS--the shows were incredible--but we didn't dislike anything on Princess---it is just that it was obvious that they had gone the extra mile to have incredible entertainers. I did miss the great Island Band who played everyday on Princess by the pool. On AOS--most of the time it is piped in music that our teenagers would have loved--but not us. I also missed the great Adult pool in the aft area of Princess--it was so peaceful there--AOS has an adult pool too--and it is nice and folks generally respected the adults only rule---but just not as scenic. The worst part of the ship was going through immigration in St, Thomas--we stood in line 2 and 1/2 hours--missed much of the island. There has to be a better way. Our cabin was nice--the balcony was smaller than Princess where we had lounge chairs instead and a large balcony. Our cabin attendant on AOS was actually a cut above our experience on Princess. We saw her everyday and she knew our names etc. The exercise facilities are better on AOS and we used them everyday--but the spa is no where close to being as good as Princess. I also missed the Lotus Spa shampoos and soaps that were so nice on Princess--on AOS you get soap in a container stapled to the wall

Our biggest aggravation on AOS was the feeling that you were constantly being "upsold" on the ship---hounded constantly by bar waiters--encouraged to buy the wine package, the pictures, wherever we turned there was an additional charge and PLEASE all cruiselines get it together and just tack an additional charge onto our bill for soda service---$42 for a week of soda is ridiculous and a real pain to flash your card. Part of the joy of a cruise is having it all-inclusive. Our excursions were fine--but we were upsold even there--encouraged to buy the extra cup for drinks etc. We didn't experience this on Princess--the opportunity was there--but we weren't hounded.