FFBlondi

Has anyone taking this tour with RCCL? "El Yunque Rainforest Drive - SJA7"

 

Good? Bad?

 

Any local companies that offer the same tour that you can recommend? We like that this tour is mostly driving without a large hike.

 

 

Thanks!

Brad

We did it a few years ago and had a great time. There is no way you would have time to hike the entire place without taking the drive. They will drive you up after stopping at the 'base camp' for lack of a better term. You can look at maps and interactive exhibits about the rainforest. Then you will load back up and head up the mountain. You will stop at multiple points and photo opportunities. You even go to the top of a tower (if you want to climb all the steps) for a beautiful panoramic view. You will stop in front of the waterfall as well for pictures. We also took a short hike on a trail to see some of the wildlife. It was well worth it!

Does anyone know if they work for altitude sickness, too?

Yes, they work for any type of motion sickness. It is actually a pressure point that they activate for any nausea:)

That makes two of us! We've never been on a cruise before and I've got soooo much help from these posts.:)

How's the signatures of some people with the loooong list of cruises they've been on! Lucky devils! Hope DH doesn't get seasick (we'll try the ginger and green apples tip if he does) so we can maybe do one more!

The bands worked for my sea sickness, and I have sworn for YEARS that they wouldn't, that it was all in someone's head, yadda-yadda-yadda...but seriously, within 5 mins of putting them on, I was fine! I take them on every cruise now and when I'm below deck they go on! (Don't forget to take them with you if you are doing an excursion on a smaller boat ;) )

And I always thought that the D prefix meant dumb! I wondered why everyone was being so uncivil to each other. LOL Now you know how my mind works. :eek:

That's ok, being a Navy brat, I thought the 'D' was dependent! LOL! :D

We are heading to the airport now!!!! We will be in Puerto Rico today and get on the ship on Saturday:D Here we go! :D:D:D:D:D

Only 14 days!!!! :D:D:D:D

Thanks guys.

We leave Sydney Australia - Airlie Beach - Port Douglas - Brisbane - Sydney - Bay of Island NZ - Auckland (home) 14 nights on Sun Princess

Wonderful!:D

Thanks for that tip.

Our first cruise is two weeks today!

Starting to get VERY excited!

Have my lists of great tips - thanks everyone that has bothered to write your wonderful tips.

I will report back on my return!:)

Not sure if I missed it, but where are you going? What cruise line? Have a blast!!!

I've seen a couple people mention to bring wine and sodas on board but check your cruise line. Ours did NOT allow those to be brought on board and held them for you until you left the ship to go home.

Royal Caribbean didn't used to allow you to bring them aboard, but now you can bring two bottles of wine on with you:)

21D, 11H, 54min and 7 secs....but who's counting;)

Asking if the water in the toilet is salt or fresh.

(As far as what to do with your card...hubby keeps his in the pocket of his swim trunks...I usually get his to get drinks;) )

Not for years, on any ship I've been on.

Yes, up until just a few years ago, you had to still put them on on the ships that we have vacationed with. Probably varies slightly. Also, those of you that try to 'hide' from the muster drills make it completely frustrating for those of us stuck together, pressed in our rows, waiting so the crew can account for EVERYONE. Don't be a jerk to the rest of us; these drills are for safety and accountability. It will be important for a real emergency. Don't think you are the only one that wants to be off doing other things. Get where you are supposed to be quickly and safely so we can all go back to our vacation!

Our most memorable one was in St. Lucia around lunch time. We were getting ready to head back out to shop when it felt like the ship that had pulled in behind us at the dock rammed us at full speed. It was crazy. It was even more wild when we found out that what we actually felt was the impact of an earthquake that had began many, many, many miles away from us!

You can't take a cruise the last week of Oct and expect a ton of teenagers. Many of them are between school breaks, the cruises with lots of teenagers will be during school breaks, i.e. Thanksgiving/Xmas, Spring break, etc. Just food for thought.

Has anyone taking this tour with RCCL? "El Yunque Rainforest Drive - SJA7"

 

Good? Bad?

 

Any local companies that offer the same tour that you can recommend? We like that this tour is mostly driving without a large hike.

 

 

Thanks!

Brad

We did it on one of our cruises, it was where the ship docked and we did that before heading to the hotel for the night. We had a great time. It was awesome. The picture opportunities are plentiful. There are parts you can walk if you want to, but you don't have to. They drive you to all of the most picturesque places. You can climb A LOT of stairs up to an observation point at one of the stops, I made the climb and got some good pictures, the hubby stayed at the bottom. Keep in mind that it is a rainforest, so if you are picky, you might want a light rain jacket. We just sucked it up, it was part of the experience, and plenty warm;) Well worth it imo:)

Yikes ! Hubs and I are 2 of the bikers on the 11-3 RC High seas rally. We are in our 60's, ride motorcycles but are very tame folks. We are a retired stock broker and retired Marine/ Cop. We do not have any tats, do not drink at all and simply enjoy raising money for worthy charities. We will be enjoying the outdoors and exploring the islands just like any other cruisers would. I think you will find most bikers do not fit your conception of Hells Angels or Sons of Anarchy types. We're mostly just normal folks with a passion for riding motorcycles. Whatever you do decide to do I hope you and your family really enjoy bonding during your vacation time.

I think some of the 'neatest' parts so to speak were all the door decorations and seeing everyone's leather vests with all of their patches on them. You guys are a great group and I was honored to be able to share time with you:)

Our children "begged" us to go on a cruise and because of many factors the only time we can go is this Nov 3 - we are going on Royal Caribbean Freedom of the seas, Eastern Caribbean. I just found out today by accident that this is a High Seas Rally cruise. I don't have any issues with bikers in general, have many friends that are bikers, but just concerned that this will not be the cruising experience we were looking forward to. Last time we were on a cruise there was some kind of scrap-booking company there which had a lot less than 2000 participants and they were everywhere.

This is the most expensive family vacation we have ever taken and now we are less than 3 weeks away and we were so looking forward to it and now I'm not sure anymore. I can see how the cruise can be a lot more "entertaining", but that is not what I was looking forward to. I am actually thinking of calling RC and try to cancel the cruise. We still would loose the airfare (and it was a lot since we booked late).

Is anyone out there that can chime in on their experience if they were "regular civilians" on a HSR cruise, especially if you were with children (we have teenage girls) how was your experience. Were there children/teenagers and how that worked out?

 

Thank you for any input.

This happened to us on our Halloween cruise awhile back. We were 'civilians' so to speak. We had a BLAST with this group! They are awesome people, respectful and polite. Better than any other 'normal' cruisers. Their events are private and what they do at those I cannot speak to, but in public, we would take them over just about any other people. Yes, they have tattoos and wear leather and have beards and some have ponytails; but they really are an awesome group. They cruise for a WONDERFUL cause as well. Go check out their webpage, just search 'Highseas Rally.' You will be fine and really enjoy it. They also go all out for Halloween and dress to the 9s. They were the vast majority on the ship, their group was more than 50% of the passengers, but I promise, you will love it!

We can't wait to get on another cruise with this group!

Less than 4 weeks now!!!

Frankman27,

There is a lot of information on these boards about tips to help you for your first cruise. The biggest thing I can say is make sure you take your bathing suit on in a carry-on bag or wear it when you board. This way as soon as you get on you can head to the pool or hot tub and relax with a drink while you watch all the people who didn't know this tip walk around and wait for their bags to get to their rooms;)

The husband and I are loyal cruisers with Royal. We are Emerald now, and will be one night shy of Diamond as of this next cruise in November. We have always been pleased with the ships and the staff. Compared to some of the experiences we have heard about on other cruise lines they are well above average across the board. We love Jewel of the Seas. We went through the Panama Canal on her. We got married in St. Thomas on our first cruise and had a great time.

I am a Firefighter/Paramedic in Virginia. Hubby has been in fire and rescue since he was about 14.

Mask, fins and snorkel are good investments for sure. Make sure you get help fitting your mask so it works, they don't have to be expensive, in fact one of my favorite ones was $29.99 I don't suggest buying your own snorkel vest, the only time I wear the snorkel vest is when it is required. I have been swimming since before I could walk and am at home in the ocean...the vest just gets in the way imho. As far as things to know...be respectful of others in the water, small flutter kicks work wonders...don't hit people in the head...and above all else, respect the reef and don't take anything and don't leave anything;)

Have a blast!