This was my second cruise and I sailed both with RCCL to the Caribbean. Last year was Mariner, this time was AOS. Ports included San Juan, Aruba, Curacao, Dominica, and St. Thomas. I arrived the day before to SJU. No major problems but I did not like San Juan's airport. It is old and they aren't doing much to make the process easier to navigate. My advice is to make sure you give yourself adequate time to depart from this airport (I'll give details in the end of my review). We (my co-workers and I) stayed at Hampton Inn. Embarkation was disorderly. We arrived by private transportation to the pier at 1130 am. A very long line was already formed outside the building. There are NO signs directing people where to go. The driver said to tip a porter well and we would be taken care of. ..so we did. One of the members of our group was diamond so that ended helping a lot. The porter immediately took our luggage, and then directed us to a RCCL staff member. We basically cut the line (sorry, but that is where RCCL lead us). We were directed to another line (short for diamond and up members) inside the building and that is where we received our sail passes. We were instructed to take a seat (a bunch of white chairs were lined up inside this building). Hint-sit at the seats to the right because they will be let in first. At 12:15 they opened the big door and let people in. Two members of the group had manicure scissors in their checked bags so we received a call about 2:30 to go back outside so they could remove them (security won't remove them without your presence). There was still a long line outside. I'm sure embarkation was terrible for all those who had to stand in those long lines. Our group of four (two rooms) received all luggage between 4 and 9 pm. Muster drill was ok for us (we were in the dining room and were able to sit down). The captain spoke in length of the rules and regulations, and the policy and procedures...including pool rules, smoking rules, and drinking rules. A frequent cruiser said she had never had this done before. It was like they were expecting disorderly conduct. The staff member actually shushed us for whispering during this lengthy speech on why not to give alcohol to minors. They then repeated this information in several languages. First thing we did on board was look at the dinner table. It was a table of four but we wanted a larger table so we talked to the maitre d. He said he could not accommodate us the first night but that it would not be a problem for night two. We had early dinner seating. First night service was terrible. It took 25 minutes and asking three people for iced tea and service did not get better that first night. Thankfully we were moved for the rest of the days. Day 2-6 was better though not as good as it was on Mariner last year. It was not as personable and was slower. Last year the waiters knew our names, and always had the drinks ready. This year no one asked our name, and we always had to ask and wait for the same iced tea (except for night seven). The Head waiter was very nice and a lot more helpful this cruise. Last cruise we never saw the guy past introduction. Dinner should not take 2 and ½ hours though. Food was not as good either. It was easier to find a seat in Windjammer than before...they now have signs that say don't linger. THE WORSE PART OF THE FOOD SERVICE DEPT WAS THAT THEY STOPPED SERVING OJ for three days during breakfast. RED KOOL AID (YUCK) was the substitution. Only thing worse for kool aid for breakfast is watered down kool aid. Staff acted like this was no big deal. I think this irritated me the most. I can get over a lot of things but this is pathetic and inexcusable. Windjammer is same o same o. Cafe promenade was always acceptable, and room service was fast. Johnny Rockets was a waste of 5 dollars. We did not eat at the specialty restaurants. Cabin was the same as always. You pretty much know what you are getting before you get on the ship. Our room must have been last on the list because it was serviced around 1p and then again around 8p. The "make my room" sign meant nothing to the cabin attendant. I didn't care but it bugged one member of the group. I always left a note if I needed something different, and never had a problem. Other than that we never saw the guy. I'm not going to go over the ports except to say that Dominica was my favorite. I think excursions and past visits way to heavily on how a port rates so I won't go into much detail. Aruba and Curacao was more desert like while Dominica was lush and colorful. I also found the people to be friendliest on this island. St. Thomas was nice too. Entertainment was better on this cruise than the past. I enjoyed all the shows of this cruise. Last year's cruise shows were boring. I don't remember the names of the entertainers though. Casey was the cruise director. He was ok. My biggest complaint is that they seemed to force advertisement for RCCL every extra second. Love and Marriage even had a "commercial break" where they showed a spa commercial on the screens. We went to the crown and anchor get -together and it was nothing but advertisement. The captain spoke for several minutes and his whole speech was on all the different ports of the world RCCL ships sailed too. The second speaker was the on board travel agent. She gave her phone number, and working hours then spoke for 15 minutes on Oasis's amenities. That's it-gathering was over. I was suckered into a 25 minute RCCL commercial. This cruise was approx 70% Puerto Ricans. It was never quiet. There was always groups yelling in Spanish, and banging and jumping around the hallways and cabins at all hours. This is not a cruise for light sleepers. Drinks were about eight dollars per drink after gratuity. Bingo was 67.00 for win a cruise bingo. That was for 30 cards and 4 games. A massage was 100.00 when it was on special not including tip. I brought my own water bottles, and coke product on board. Internet was 55 cents per minute. I HAD to use the internet for work so I ended up spending about 80.00 after buying packages. I haven't received my cell phone bill but is is 2.50/min for using the cell on the ship. Disembarkation was easy. I chose to keep my luggage with me. My co-workers had their luggage out by 11 pm. It was all brought off the ship at the same time and organized by color. We just left the ship when we were done with breakfast (about 0845). No one checked the color.. I didn't even have a color. At no time was my passport checked. We left the port and went to the airport by private transportation. We arrived about 10am. Here are the helpful hints for SJU (I fly AA so it may be different for different terminals). There are porters available but I didn't feel I needed them (and I didn't). They would not give information unless you paid them. First thing is to get in line for agriculture check (it is outside) and have all luggage (including carry-ons) scanned and stickered. Then go to the kiosk and print boarding passes and pay for checked bags, BEFORE getting in the long line of dropping off the checked bags. I guess if you have already paid for checked bags, and printed boarding passes before arriving to the airport you can automatically get into the bag drop off line. A lot of people didn't realize this was the process so they had to get into the lines multiple times. There is a second line for people who want to change flights (it is off to the right). If you don't have checked bags (good for you! ? ) you can go directly to security with boarding passes after going through the agriculture check. Security line was long and slow. I'm a stickler for staying with my carry-ons, so I was adamant (but very nice) about not having my stuff sent through the scanner while there were still 5 people in front of me waiting to go through the metal detector. The security person was compliant but rolled her eyes. Stateside this is never a problem and I have never gotten attitude. I have no desire for my valuables to be out of my sight and unsecured while I'm stuck behind someone. It took just over an hour for me to get from the curb to the gate. My flight was at 1:40.