dctravel

Following along! We do these ports (although on the Carnival Firenze) in December!

I'm in for following along. It will give me a cruise fix until my next one this summer! On a side note, I got banned from a FB group for sharing a link to your website with the Jubilee menus. Apparently, I missed the part where you aren't allowed to share links to outside sites. Too bad too. Those confused folks could use your website and all of the great information you provide!

We went to Pez Quadro at the 40 Cannons Hotel when we were in Costa Maya on the Carnival Jubilee. Saw van taxis, but with only 4 of us, didn't worry about that too much. Pez Quadro was AI for drinks, but for food was one free order per person off the lunch menu. Food was good, beach was clean (any hawkers went away with a polite "no thank you"). We had a good time.

We just did this itinerary on the Carnival Jubilee. In Mahogany Bay (Roatan) we did a Maya Key excursion with snorkeling and lunch through the ship. Snorkeling was great, lunch good. Only complaint was how close some of the coral is to the surface. Just need to be careful as you swim. In Costa Maya, we took a cab ($4pp each way) to a beach club in Mahahual. Beach club was great (Pez Quadro at 40 Canons Hotel) and was AI for drinks, with lunch (one order per person). There were hawkers on the beach, but a simple "no thank you" and they moved on. Port area, when we returned, looked to crowded for us. In Cozumel, we did a food tour through Cozumel Chefs (all the stops were family run restaurants and they were able to accommodate our allergies).

Following! We sail in December 🙂

Love the read so far!

Coral is definitely shallow. I nicked my hand, but not seriously. Pool looked nice, but we didn’t go in.

We did Maya Key on our Carnival Cruise recently. The snorkeling was excellent. You go off the end of a pier off the beach. They have guides for you. The beach itself is calm and clear. The animals are all rescues, many confiscated from travelers at the local airport. The food was good. You get a single pass through the food line. Bar has all kinds of drinks, but you pay as you go. We had a good time!

You sign up at the bar at the Pig & Anchor (8 aft). Just ask a bartender, if you want to sign up in advance, or show up at the scheduled time. It was offered at 11 am and 3 pm on sea days.

We paid Galveston Limo directly for a spot on their shared shuttle. It was not a private transfer.

You are very welcome! Always happy to contribute, since I learn so much from others on CruiseCritic!

This! The card is coded in their system exactly like sparks1093 noted. I would also point out that if you are gold or higher, your free drink coupon for the last night is coded the same way. Just go to a bar and tell them you want to use your free drink coupon (after 5 pm). It works on nearly any drink (I think the stated limit is $12.50, but my wife got a slightly more expensive drink and the whole thing came off).

We just used Galveston Limo roundtrip from Hobby to Galveston for four of us. We flew in the night before and stayed at an airport hotel with a free shuttle. We then used the free shuttle to get back to the airport in the morning to meet our shuttle. On the way to Galveston, we arrived back at the airport and saw a Galveston Limo bus sitting in the pickup area, but with no driver. We went to sit near the bus, expecting a driver to show up. As it got closer to our pickup time, still no driver, so I called the Galveston Limo office. As I was connecting with them, our driver called us to see if we were there. He turned out to be a van behind the bus! Once we connected with him, we were on our way without any further issues. Oddly, we were the only cruise passengers on the shuttle, but we were dropped off first, so no issues there. On the way back, we booked an 11:05 shuttle return, since our flight was at 3:40 pm. We got outside the terminal at about 10:30 and hung out in the shade waiting. About 10:45, I saw a Galveston Limo driver with one of their big charter busses. I went to make sure he wasn't our driver, and he looked up our shuttle and told me to look for a mini-bus at spot 5. No Galveston Limo vehicle ever showed up at spot 5. I called the office again and was told the driver was stuck in traffic (it was truly awful getting into the port area). At about 11:10 (so after our shuttle time), we got a call from our driver about 11:10 asking if we were still going back to the airport. It turns out that the shuttle was a different big bus parked at a different location. Not a really big deal, but made me a bit nervous.

Both Grand Turk and Amber Cove offer area in the port area that you can use. In Grand Turk, there is a pool and a beach and in Amber Cove there is a pool. Both ports have restaurants where you can buy food and the ships general offer the ability to rent a cabana at extra expense. When my kids were about the age of your kids (6 and 9), we visited both ports and opted not to do an excursion at either. In Amber Cove, we swam, played giant chess, and ate in the restaurant for a few hours before getting back on the ship to play in the water park without the crowds. In Grand Turk, we did the same thing, but spent more time on the beach (which is literally next to the pier). In Nassau, you will probably want to book an excursion. The port area has recently been redone, but I haven't been there is a while, so cannot give any guidance on that. Check on the Caribbean forms for Nassau specific information and recommendations.

Not only is there water in the juice/lemonade/ice tea machines, but there is also water in the fountain self-service soda machines (you can get the water for free, you have to pay for the soda by the ounce) and in several ice/water machines located all over the ship. We thought it tasted fine too. We brought our own reusable water bottles, and just used the cups provided to fill up our bigger bottles (they don't want you putting your bigger bottle under the dispenser). One note about the free 1.5L bottles for repeat cruisers. Our experience on the Jubilee recently was that you have to go to a bar to get it (1 per person). We didn't realize that until nearly the end of the cruise, so we ended up only getting 1 of the 4 bottles that we could have gotten. Oh well!