New2cruise1483

I am looking at a possible Panama Canal cruise in spring of 2018 on either Princess or NCL. Can anybody tell the me some similarities and differences between them as far as service, food, crowding and passenger demographic? We've been on three NCL cruises so far and one RCI. Also, which do you think does a better job with the Panama Canal itinerary? Thanks in advance for any input.

I am starting to research a Panama Canal cruise for spring of 2018 with either princess or NCL. We've had 3 cruises with NCL and one with RCI so far. I'm wondering what are the differences between Princess and NCL as far as service, food, crowding and passenger demographic. Our last two cruises on NCL have been very crowded and has affected our enjoyment, so I'm wondering it it would be different on Princess. Also, who do you think does better with the Panama Canal cruise? I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future, so please be patient with me. Thanks for and input.

Loving your review so far! I was in Tortola on the 19 of this month, and really enjoyed it there. We went to a different spot than the baths though because BF isnt one to be traipsing through water, so I found us a spot where he could drink beer while I got my beach and water fix lol:D. As far as crowding, I've noticed this on our last two NCL cruises. We just had a B2B on the Gem out of San Juan, and man was that ship CROWDED! I try to plan cruises for the off season to try to enjoy a less crowded ship and fewer children, however, my system has failed me this last cruise. It was very difficult for me to relax and enjoy myself with the crowding that was present. A lot of people were contributing it to the 3rd and 4th person sail free promotion, making it cheaper for families to sail and therefore, more crowded ships. I also have to comment on O'Sheehans. The first week service was good, in the second week however, it was AWFUL! The worst we ever experienced in any venue in any ship. It was so weird that it varied so much one week to the next. Anyway, enough from me, I can't wait to see more of your awesome review!:D

So I was looking at the website this morning to price out a cruise in a suite cabin on Harmony for the week of April 28, 2018 and it's already showing them as sold out. On other weeks it doesn't matter be show pricing for the star class cabins at all. Could they really be sold out already or could it just be a website glitch?

Thank you for your helpful replies:)

We are going to be boarding an American Airlines flight tomorrow to begin our journey to Puerto Rico. I'm trying to figure out how to pack our things, and I was wondering if we would be allowed to bring my BF's electric razor onboard in our carry on or personal item? Thanks in advance.

Check into Spencer Ambrose tours. We did and Jalousie beach break with him last year and it was FABULOUS! Very attentive crew, and a smaller group than with a ship excursion.

Thank you, I was wanted to make sure they weren't required

Thanks for the responses. I'm sure I can make something work :)

We are going to be on a B2B on the Gem in a couple weeks, and I was wondering if anybody could tell me what kind of equipment they have available in the gym? I really would like to somewhat keep up with my exercise routine, and was curious as to what would be available to me.

We are going to the in San Juan in a couple of weeks for a B2B cruise on the NCL Gem, and have decided that we would like to make it to Barrachinas while we are there. I was just wondering if we needed to make reservations of if we would be able to just show up. Thanks in advance :)

I was figuring in doing the tram tour, if no reservations are necessary that's perfect! We will be in port from 8-5 I believe. My BF isn't much of a beach and water person, so I figured this way we could do something we both would enjoy. Thank you for your helpful reply :)

We will be in Barbados on the 8th of next month and I was wanting to go to Harrison caves and then to the Boatyard for the rest of the day. So I was wondering if reservations were required for the caves or if we can just show up and pay admission there?

We have the UDP for our up one cruise in the Gem out if PR in November, and I was wondering if we could pre book our specialty dining and have it just go towards our UDP or do we have to wait till be board?

I will be posting in the port section also but for those of you familiar with the Gem out of Puerto Rico it is very port intensive. A different port each day and we have the $50/port promo so will be limited to NCL excursions.

 

Since we may never return to these ports (you never know) if you had to pick ONE must do, what would it be? Port times are listed as 8:00 to 5:00. We are open to all types of excursions, wanting to make sure we don't miss what is most memorable for each destination. In other words, although I love to snorkel I would not want to waste time snorkelling at a destination where that is poor, etc.

 

Bridgetown, Barbados (never been)

 

Fort-de-France, Martinique (never been)

 

Basseterre, St. Kitts (never been)

 

Philipsburg, St. Maarten (spent 2 weeks here but what would you do?)

 

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (have done Trunk Bay and Buck Island, loved the turtles at Buck Island)

Hi I'm on this cruise and also in the roll call :D. For Barbados I HIGHLY recommend snorkeling with the sea turtles. We did this last September and loved it! Lots of vendors on the beach at Carlisle bay, but I suggest finding Neville. As for Martinique, I've had a hard time finding any info here, so I think we'll just mosey around and enjoy the area around the port. In St. Kitts, I've booked us on the rain forest Eco tour with Thenford Grey. He had come highly recommended on here and on trip advisor as well. This will also be our first time here. In St. Maarten we just plan on going to Maho and sitting at the Sunset bar waving the planes. As for St. Thomas, we're heading to Sapphire bay for the day. It will be our first time here as well, and I've read a lot of good things about Sapphire. I hope this helps :D

Well, since I have never been here before (and don't know what the big thing to do here is), I didn't really know about swimming with the turtles until now. It sounds like this is THE thing to do here...and it sounds AWESOME to me! I'm sure my little one would absolutely LOVE that. The only time we have ever seen sea turtles is our trip last year to Bermuda and we seen them from our whaler boat we rented. They would not let you get anywhere close to them to even take a picture let alone swim with them. They must have these turtles trained. :p

 

I will look up this Nevelle. It sounds like an awesome tour. Can you pre-book this or is the only way to find him by going to Harbour Lights and hunting him down?

 

What did you not like about Harbour Lights that made you want to go over to the Boatyard instead?

You will just have to hunt him down. There are a lot of vendors on the beach to take you out though. We actually asked to be dropped off at the boatyard because we thought that's where Neville would be lol. Ended up in front of a place ( i don't recall the name of) that I really didn't like. We just got a bad vibe from it. Plus I liked the package that the Boatyard offers. The turtles are wild, but they're just use to being fed, so when they see the boats, they come swimming! It truly was one of the highlights of our trip :D. I know you guys will love it!

I would HIGHLY recommend going to one of the beach clubs along Carlisle bay. The Boatyard is $15 per person, and that includes one free drink (they have a certain menu for these, and I must say, the Shark Bite is quite tasty :D), a lounge chair and transportation back to the cruise terminal. It only takes about 5-10 minutes to get there from the ship. They have pretty decent food available and restrooms as well.I've also hear a lot of good things about harbor lights. I have to admit it I was hoping that you would make it to Barbados for one reason.... SEA TURTLES! We ended up tracking down Neville ( you will see him mentioned a lot in the board), he has a glass bottom boat that he takes you out in, and charges $20 per person. All you have to do is ask around, and somebody will point in him out or flag him down for you. Neither of us had ever snorkled before, so he was great about instructing us in what to do in the way out. Once we were in the water with the turtles, it was such an AMAZING experience. We always had two green sea turtles around us and at one point a hawksbill even came to say hello! Neville always stayed close by in case we had any trouble, and told us all about the turtles. With my Mom's health issues, she couldn't get into the water, so he brought the turtles over to the boat so she could see and enjoy them as well. After the turtles, he took us to a few sunken ships in the bay. We were pooped after swimming with the turtles, so we just stayed in the boat and looked at everything through the bottom of the boat as he pointed out different types of coral and fish. On our way back he served us rum punch and chatted some more about the island. We didn't like the area of the beach where he picked us up at, so we asked if he could drop us off at the Boatyard, and he was happy to accommodate us. Even if you don't go out with Neville, there are plenty of vendors around to take you out. Sorry for the long winded post, I just wanted to share our great experience with you and help with your decision :D.

P.S. I almost forgot to mention, when you go to find a taxi, ask if they are leaving right away. Some of the van type taxis will try to wait and get their van as full as possible, so you may end up waiting awhile (we ended up waiting around 20-30 minutes). So I would recommend walking down the line until you find somebody leaving soon.

I'm going to have to toss in another vote for Spencer Ambrose lol. My mom, sister and I went in a tour with him to Jalousie beach back in September, and it was FANTASTIC! His crew always makes sure you are well taken care of, and are very friendly. Jalousie beach is truly stunning nestled in between the pitons. Granted, the "free" section of chairs is tiny, you can plop a towel down elsewhere ( the resort chairs run from $20 -$50 each). The lunch they provide is tasty, and they also have various beverages included, their rum punch is delicious btw lol. Have fun in St. Lucia, it's a gorgeous island :D

San Juan is RIDICULOUS for airfare. We live in Idaho and have to fly out of Spokane,WA, it can EASILY run $2300 to fly to San Juan out of there. I felt like I got a deal flying business class for $2000 for our cruise in November.

Thank you so much for the review! I'm absolutely loving the pics! I was on the Adventure in September with my Mom and Sister ( once in a lifetime for us due to the fact that my Mom has terminal ovarian cancer) and this review brings back so many fond memories. It is by far my favorite ship and cruise to date. If you find yourself in St. Croix again, I highly recommend Sandcastle Resort, $25 gets you two loungers, an umbrella and two rum punches, and a beautiful beach :). Also, thank you for the review of Grande Anse beach, as that's my plan for our day in Grenade in November. I can't wait to read more a see more of your awesome pictures! :D

My Mom, Sister and I stayed there precruise back in September, and we really liked this hotel. It was about a five minute ride from the airport, and if I remember correctly, about a 20 minute ride to the Pam Am pier (sorry I don't remember how much the cabs were). Everything about the hotel was nice a clean and the hot breakfast is really nice, with a good variety of things to choose from. There are always cabs waiting outside, so it's very easy to get transportation. I walked to a super market that was a few blocks away and never felt uncomfortable.

RCI will embark at the Pan American pier. There is a Sheraton next to the convention center (be careful not to confuse it with the Sheraton in Old San Juan) which is the closest to that pier, but you will still need to take a cab to your ship. There really isn't much in that area to see, you would have to catch a cab to OSJ to do much sight seeing. Please let me know if you have anymore questions :)

Roatan SHOULD be a pier and Belize is a tender port because of the large reef off of the coast

I think I read on here awhile back that they aren't doing cruises out of San Juan next year. I'm not really sure why, because from what at understand, there was a decent demand for it. However, if you have your heart set on a cruise out of San Juan next year, I would highly recommend looking into RCI's Adventure of the Seas. My Mom, Sister and I went on this cruise in September and we LOVED it! It's my favorite ship and cruise to date :). I hope this helps a little bit.

Thank you so much for such an awesome review! Every time I have a cruise booked, and I read a review of the Oasis sisters, I always think " I wish I would've booked a cruise on one of them" lol:D. I've decided that next time, I won't allow myself anything but one of the Oasis ships lol! We are embarking on the NCL Gem out of San Juan for our first B2B in November, so I'm especially excited for this portion of the review (we are staying at the hotel in your pics before our cruise). It will be my second time cruising out of PR, my Mom and Sis and I cruised out of there on RCI's Adventure of the Seas, and it's such a special feeling sailing out of there. I love all of your reviews, and am looking forward to more!

P.S. I also think it's great how you spend time making memories with your Mom. My Mom has cancer, and I wish I would've have done like you're doing a long time ago. :)