dawnbt

On 11/29/2018 at 1:10 PM, ssawjo said:

Agree, and so we decided to do the ship's tour to St. Barths.  Thanks.

How did you like St.Barts? What did you do there? Was everything right at the pier or did you have to travel to your destination once there? St. Maarten is a port stop in our Carnival cruise in August and plan on taking the excursion to St. Barts, but not sure what to expect.

On 8/26/2019 at 3:20 PM, CruisinCrow said:

For a non-excursion, we enjoyed eating lunch at the Fish Fry and getting drinks at John Watling's distillery.

Is that walking distance from the pier?

We leave the 29th on the Sky. I bet it's sold out.

6 minutes ago, jdvmd said:

And this.

https://www.ncl.com/travel-blog/swim-with-pigs-on-cruise-to-great-stirrup-cay

Hmmmmm... Maybe it's sold out for my cruise 

15 minutes ago, jdvmd said:

There was an excursion offered when we were there last November but thought it was very expensive for what it was - something like $129 or $139 a person. I never could find anyone who had done the excursion so we passed.

 

No charge for food at the island buffet. Drinks from the bar will cost you unless you are on an all-inclusive ship.

Thanks! I didn't see an excursion through Norwegian and yes we are on an all-inclusive ship.

Also, is there a charge for drinks and food on the island?

Is it possible to swim with the pigs when visiting Great Stirrup Cay?

1 hour ago, LaCal said:

No it’s only $130 CUC TOTAL for up to 4 people.  Not per person. 

 

GREAT DEAL and Company 

Wow that's amazing! I looked at Shoretrips, Shore Excursion Group, and NCL and the best deal I could find was $70 per person for a three hour walking tour. Thank you all!

7 minutes ago, LaCal said:

We’re using Blexie both days we are in Cuba.  You can reserve with him and there’s no upfront cost....you pay at the end of the excursion 

 

Blexie has a set type of excursion which I’ve included a photo of 

 

But you can customize it and do or stop anywhere you’d like 

This is great!  Thanks.  The $130 on the website, is that per person?

8 minutes ago, newcruiser1956 said:

Just tell him which ship you are coming in on and the date,  He has lots of guides,  they all speak English.  They will meet you across the street from the port.  You come off the ship, go through immigration,  exchange your cash and out the building.  Walk across the street and all the tour guys are standing in the court yard holding up signs with your names.    If you have time,  once you go into the courtyard, go to the big church to the left and look at the cool art work in the garden area.  There is a plaque there to Princess Diana also on the wall there.

 

Oy NCL is being a pain.. No I did not do any of that... I did not go on any NCL excursions. I toured with Blexie and went back out for the evening by getting a cab.   Blexie actually has a thing you can download for your proof of where you went.  Although he will take you where ever you want to go. I had a list :)  I have a new list this time.    The tour with Blexie is 10 am to 4 pm    Immigration does take your visa, they stamp your passport and they don't care if you come back and forth.  They do not ask you if you have excursions or not,  they do not care.  They just want you to spend money on their very poor island :)    Everyone in Cuba was very very friendly.  I walked around for several hours alone (I am a 60+ female) and never felt unsafe.  Don't over think it :)

 

On NCL they have a link to go through to get your Visa,  it cost $75.  Just mark in support of the Cuban people.  It will be fine :)

 

Alana

You're a huge blessing!  Thank you!  I was concerned because I'm traveling with my 15 year old daughter and want to make sure we're doing everything on the up and up.  I sent Blexie and email.  What did you do at night?  Are cabs right near the port?  How much are they?  Did you bring us currency to exchange?  I read you get better exchange rate if you use Euros and that some places take Visa.

Thanks

10 minutes ago, newcruiser1956 said:

Here is his website   https://havanatours.wixsite.com/blexie

You can roam around

and yes you are allowed to get off again.  If you are going in on NCL you are there over night aren't you?  (I was on Sky and we were there over night.)  Went out all day,  came back in to eat etc... and then went back out to a show that evening.  You just have to go through immigration each time,  only takes a few minutes usually.  Truly not a big deal

 

Make sure to carry a few kleenex,  some bathrooms do not have TP.

 

It is an amazing place to see.  :)

 

Thanks!  I found the site, but thought it was the wrong one since there isn't much too it and it says it will pick you up at a resort.  Is that correct?  Do they only offer one excursion?  Yes, I'm on the Sky.  The rep I talked to at NCL said that you have to spend the bulk of your time on land as part of an excursion, that you have to document everything you do, they take your visa, and you could be audited so you need to hold everything for 5 years.  Did you do all that?  How much time did you roam on your own compared to an excursion?  Did immigration give you a hard time coming back off without an excursion lined up?

My daughter and I will be visiting Cuba next month on NCL.  I'm in the process of looking for an excursion and was wondering A) if you could provide me with Blexie's information.  B) Did you have to return to the ship afterwards or could you roam around?  If you went back to the ship after your excursion, were you allowed to get off again?

Flying in a day early before RC cruise out of Galveston. I see it's over an hour drive so I assume a rental car would be cheaper than Uber. Is there somewhere to drop off at the port the morning of? Or would we have to return it near the hotel in Galveston an take an uber from there?

We're staying at the Hilton Riverside the night before our cruise in February. When we get off the cruise ship Hilton will hold our luggage free of charge until we return to catch our transfer at the hotel to the airport.

The airport is about 12 miles from downtown. A lot of cruisers stay at hotels outside of downtown that offer shuttles and allow you to park there during your cruise. You can read about some of those here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2149088

 

My personal opinion is I want to stay downtown/French quarter when I'm in New Orleans. I book on hotwire and get great deals but it's prepaid and non-refundable. I usually stay in a 4* hotel and pay about $100 plus $25-35 for parking. I would move my vehicle to fulton parking garage during the cruise where you can park for as little as $8/day on the roof.

 

http://neworleansparking.com/default.asp

 

If you go the hotwire route and need help figuring out what your hotel is going to be or need advice on a downtown French/Quarter hotel, let me know. I've stayed in probably 30 of them. I stayed at Hyatt Regency 8 times last year. It was the 4* downtown/superdome option on hotwire.

I'm looking for a room for February 18, 2017 and the prices are nowhere near what you quoted in this post. Is it because of the time of the year I'm going? I'm flying there, so free parking isn't a big deal to me. Any suggestions?

We have been in Falmouth several times and have taken excursions and also once, just stayed in port. We enjoyed both type of days, although they were very different. Here are a few photos of the port area including Margaritaville, which has some beautiful grounds, entertainers and a swimming pool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THANK YOU!! This is very helpful!

Such great advice! Thanks so much.

All great points. How about sea sickness. I heard the best place to avoid it is mid ship mid deck. How is lower mid?

Great. Thanks all!

Breeze!

Hi! We're planning an inexpensive, last minute cruist in January for our birthdays. Can someone please tell me their experience in lower (2nd and 3rd deck) cabins with an ocean view?

We were on the Carnival Breeze last year and had a midship, 8th deck balcony and it was perfect.

Not sure if the ship matters, but we will be on the Carnival Ecstasy.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks!

I guess. I was just thinking it would be easier than a cab with 4 people and all our luggage.

I'm looking for hotels around Miami near shopping/restaurants, safe, that have free shuttle from airport to hotel and hotel to Port of Miami. Does this gem exist?

My husband and I are foodies and it's, hands down, the best steakhouse we've ever dined. Well worth the price.