Flafun888

Hope someone chimes in on the horseback riding excursion! We're doing snorkeling in St John and live near the keys which has amazing snorkeling, so opting for something totally different in this port. Can't find many reviews on CC, although the ones on Trip Advisor seem good.

I definitely miss these...booked a couple of ship excursions since we have a decent amount of OBC on an upcoming sailing, but I can't find any info. Even tried the port forums and Trip Advisor...crickets. I'm just going to take my chances and hope they're decent.:confused::confused:

I never mind the wait...love grabbing a cocktail and just people-watching. Another chance to get my money's worth from the the drink package :)

I don't want to derail the thread topic, but I had to chime in on Jamaica. I heard so many horrible things that I was sure I wouldn't get off the ship when I visited last year.

Would have been the biggest mistake ever. We found a wonderful private tour company with hundreds of glowing reviews on CC and Trip advisor. We visited blue hole and scotchies....my DH considers it the best port stop experience of all the cruises we took. We have wonderful memories of that day.

For anyone in reasonably good health/fitness looking for something beyond shopping- specifically fun outdoor adventure in beautiful scenery, consider doing some prior research on CC or Trip Advisor, book a highly rated tour guide and take the plunge. We loved Jamaica. :cool::cool:

I would never venture out on my own in this port - there is a lot of crime, but with a trusted tour company, you'll be in great hands.

I think it's important that people hear the good things about this port stop too.

those little ones that sit on counter work great for us...but it's such a tiny space, my suggestion is to avoid the heavy fruity scented ones. It can get overwhelming. The fresher scents seem better - ocean breeze, fresh linen, etc.

Thank you for your review - looked forward to the updates each day. Really brightened up a long week.

definitely antarctica for us - but on one of those smaller expedition-type sailings vs large cruise ship like X. Yikes is that pricy! Pulling the trigger on a trip that expensive is tough for me. Maybe when we officially retire. :)

Also eagerly following along...we were just driving by the port this afternoon on the way back from the beach and gazing at the ships, talking about our April departure. :) Hoping some of the bumps Dec & Jan passengers experienced are ironed out a bit.

Thanks...didn't realize there was a thread on that. Will review it.

Forgive if this has been recently asked, but I couldn't find it via forum search bar.

When does Silo typically change its ship staff, shows or entertainment talent? Does it fall in the middle of the winter/spring Caribbean season or only before/after? Or is there no set time at all?

I thought I remember some things changing sometime around march/april, but wasn't sure.

So I guess this thread summed up in a nutshell is:

bragging rights don't come cheap! :cool:

I won't fork over the extra bucks to be first to new technology or experiences...but I sure do have fun living vicariously through those who do. So look fwd to those Edge trip reports! :D

Will be on Celebrity Silo in April: have extra OBC I need to spend, so shopping for ship excursions for 1st time vs booking independently:D.

Can anyone comment on the kayak/hike/snorkel vs St John's 1/2 day champagne cat snorkel - or any other RC/Celebrity snorkel-related excursion you liked or disliked. Looking for opinions re: quality of excursion and/or post-hurricane conditions.

Hoping to see sea life - versus an island land tour or beach relaxation. Thanks for any insights.:)

Sure is a nice ship. But with so many other cruise choices, I'm in no hurry to try Edge at the price it costs to be among the first. I'm very content to wait a couple more years. With many new ships coming soon and the inevitable recession hitting eventually, the bargains will be there in time.

I received the email and was about to purchase the half-day St John Cat Sail Beach and Snorkel - they advertised $89 as the discounted sale price avail till Monday. Just before purchasing, I saw this thread and decided to check their "sale" price by downloading the standard non-sale brochure from their website and the reg price was $89. Very annoying to be misled that way.

Hi! I have a caribe balcony booked, which is considered a premium balcony. In the description of the sale it excludes premium categories. Does that mean my caribe balcony won't be eligible for the sale?

Hi Navy wife: did you ever find out from someone here or at Princess? Same situation here. :)

There is another one on the south side of the island near Guanica. But, like Vieques, it's a long way away for the cruise passengers.

 

 

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Thanks to you both for your input. To me, it's starting to sound like more trouble than it's worth on a short port stop. I try to avoid excursions where you're traveling on bus or ferry as long or longer than you're actually at the attraction or site. So this one may be off the table for me. :(

We did this last year and although it gave us something to do at night, it wasn't very bright, like you see in the pics. We didn't see any blue coming from disturbing the water from engines, wiggling your hand in the water or anything like that. We had to actually put a tarp over the boat and use a stick to try to get them to illuminate and even then, it was barely. I was very disappointed.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. (Love your trip reports, by the way - read a couple, although I must have missed that one.) Doesn't sound too promising for such a long drive from the port.

I have done this - our experience was fantastic. It is a drive and the return back to San Juan is about only good for a nap (it's dark, not much to see). But the time spent kayaking out to the bay (through a canopy of trees overhead - you need headlights that are provided by tour operators to see your way through) is pretty fun leading up to the bio bay.

 

It is a wonderful excursion. I am glad I did it once in my lifetime and would go again. But I would not center an entire cruise around this alone.

 

I hope you find if the timing is right - it is a wonderful experience.

Scott: thanks so much for sharing your experience! :cool:What was the moon like the night you went? Ours looks to be a crescent moon - not a little sliver, but not quite half either. I can't find anyone who can tell me whether that's too much light to bother. I guess I need to call a couple of the tour companies in San Juan.

So I did my lunar research LOL - it's amazing how many details you have to worry about when booking a cruise! Seeing a crescent moon - halfway between sliver and half moon. Have no clue as to whether this is any good, but I was planning on taking the ship's excursion for this one, given the driving distance. Would they run the tour if it wasn't a good night?

If anyone has done this and can speak to whether it's something wonderful or just "meh", that would help. I can deal with the long drive if it's worth it.

This Bioluminescent Bay tour was one of the main reasons I'm still considering E Caribbean - otherwise that S Caribbean is still looking tempting.

Thanks again for the help!

The little bioluminescent bay is about a 2 hour drive from San Juan, up near Fajardo. It is only visitable in the evening/night. If you have your own kayak, I believe you can go on your own. Otherwise, you must go with a tour. Also, check the moon phase - a full moon and a day or two pre-post full, you can't see the flagellates because there is too much light. Don't rely on a vendor to say yes or no - some are legit and won't take tours then, some will take your money and let you just be in a bay with nothing happening.

Hi Slidergirl - thanks for your post. I looked up the moon phase for our trip next year and saw it was a waxing or waning crescent - between a sliver and half.

Would that be worth it or still too much light?

This would be a tour booked through the cruise line at our port stop (there from 3 to 11pm) Do most people feel the 2 hour drive is worth it? Is it something wonderful or just an "okay" experience?

This was one of the reasons I booked this itinerary, so if it doesn't seem worth it or will be rushed due to distance, may change cruises.

Thanks so much for any insights or references you can provide. :D

One thing to consider with the Bio-Bay in San Juan is what time it is in the moon cycle. Have you looked to see if it is around the full moon--when they will not do this trip? [too light]

 

We wanted to do this, too when we stayed in PR before a cruise a couple of years ago. It was not the correct time of the moon cycle for us so we could not do this. I was very disappointed.

 

Here is a link discussing this.

http://www.discoveringpuertorico.com/places-to-see/bio-bay-in-puerto-rico/

 

The calendar in the link is out of date, but, it shows you what I mean about checking out the moon cycle.

Thank you SO much for posting this. I had no idea and would have been equally disappointed - it's one of the reasons I'm considering this itinerary. Guess I have some lunar research to do. :eek:

Something in St Thomas we did last time there, and it was the best since our first time there in 1992!

http://simplicitycharters.com/index.html

6 person max, they take you to bays to snorkle where there are no other people!

Thanks for the tip - bookmarking this.:D

"I walked from one end to the other and nobody put me in a pot and ate me."

:'):'):') Lard Greystoke, you win for best quote on this thread!

Just returned from Falmouth - WONDERFUL time! I had read so many bad reviews and kept hearing how many people stay on the ship - I was really debating doing the same.

But I knew I couldn't possibly visit a port and not at least see it once for myself. And I'm so happy we ventured out despite all the negative reviews.

We booked a terrific independent excursion to Blue Hole and Scotchies. The port I was least enthused about visiting turned out to be our favorite one and best memory of the entire cruise. :cool:

We loved Jamaica and want to go back!

I'm so glad OP started this thread, as I was wondering the exact same thing. LOVED Coco Cay on our recent W Caribbean itinerary and couldn't find it in 2018 or 2019 when looking to book another cruise.

I really hope it's due to pier construction vs removing it due to low guest rankings. (We did see bulldozers and construction way off in the distance when we were there last week - although not sure if that was for a pier or something else.)