leighuf

I agree with the others, do a little research. HOWEVER, I can let you know what I'm doing for our upcoming Venice trip.

Based on my research/wants/desires, I picked Locanda al Corte based on the following:

• Location (near sites but not in high traffic area)
  
• Smallish/personalized hotel
  
• Private dock
  
• Had triple rooms
  
• Free breakfast/wifi
  
• Had courtyard for outdoor breakfast/wine drinking
  
• Affordable (less than 500 E for 3 nights for 3 of us)- booked directly with hotel for best rate!
  

I have arranged a private water taxi from the airport and it'll take us directly to the hotel's dock! For us 3 plus my in laws (who are elderly), it'll cost 100 Euros. Will arrange transport to the cruise ship as well most likely.

Hi, rocks vs sand isn't a big deal. I grew up in FL and have had plenty of that. The beach is of interest simply because we won't have another opportunity on this trip. I have done research fyi. Do you have a specific recommendation based on my specific previous post?

I do have a private guide/driver on the back burner willing to give us a typical highlights tour.... but again, interested in doing something DIFFERENT, to avoid extensive walking for my MIL at this specific port. Again, I'm leaning toward a water-focused tour (like via Dubrovnik Shore Tours if the ship tour doesn't get good reviews) but incorporating the city in a small capacity is of interest, too. Hence my interest in the specific ship tour mentioned above. :)

Thx

I am not a fan of ship tours... but I am *considering* one for Dubrovnik. Why? Well, the other ports of call will be tour heavy (especially with ancient ruins tours). It'll be August, too. Sooo, I was looking for a laid back, beach day that would be kid friendly (one 8 year old with us) and not too walking intensive (my MIL will have enough walking with Olympia and Ephesus). Yet, we do want to see the walled city.

Cruise Dubrovnik Riviera & Time At Beach - DU90 is the ship tour I am considering. Total for 5 of us would be $300 so it would offer some savings as opposed to a private tour.

Explore Dubrovnik by sea and land and relax on a nearby beach. Take a scenic boat ride past the city's famous walls before enjoying approximately 1 hour of free time in Old Town to stroll the cobblestone streets, gaze at landmarks including Onofriou's Fountain and Sponza Palace, and shop for souvenirs. Then head to Sveti Jakov Beach, where you will have approximately 2 hours at your leisure to swim, sunbathe and visit the beach bar.

Highlights:

• Dubrovnik Boat Ride: Cruise along the Adriatic shore and approach the city walls of Old Town from the sea.

• Old Town: Enjoy approximately 1 hour of free time to shop and explore Dubrovnik's historical landmarks at your leisure.

• Sveti Jakov Beach: Spend approximately 2 hours swimming, sunbathing and visiting the beach bar at your leisure.

Has anyone been on this tour? Or this beach?

Try this foodie tour! We loved everything we sampled! :D

http://www.sanjuanfoodtours.com/

My 6 year old enjoyed walking around El Morro, but had even MORE fun flying a kite on its lawns! I packed one in our suitcase. We also had some shaved ice from a local vendor, followed by a snack at a local restaurant. No special tour needed. :D

I actually don't like the short cruises. If I lived in Florida again, then maybe I would... but since I've relocated to the northeast, I definitely wouldn't make the effort for a 3 day Bahamas cruise. In general, I get a different "vibe" on those 3-4 day cruises. Maybe it's in my head, but I the longer 5-7 day cruises have a better vibe. Plus, 3 days is over before it begins. I also def prefer experiencing new ports. Granted, I've been to Cozumel quite a few times and it never gets old. :)

We will be in San Juan for a full day on Saturday and part of a day on Sunday before our cruise departs. We are staying at the Radisson Ambassador hotel. We want to spend the day in old San Juan walking and perhaps useing the trolley see the area. If we take a cab where would you suggest we be dropped off to start our tour?

Perhaps start with a fort, like El Morro, and then walk toward the "downtown" area to shop and have lunch (perhaps at Rosa di Triana)! Later end with a stop at Barrichina for a legendary Pina Colada. Take a cab to the hotel from that restaurant (nearby taxi stand).

*I LOVE to do foodie tours when I travel ( I actually own my own tour company here in Charlotte NC) would love to do one in OSJ. Do you have a link or recommendation for one there?

YES! The food was delicious in SJU, much better than the ship's food.

We were with Victor of Flavors of San Juan. The private tour, in short, was a walking tour of the area with an emphasis on architecture and history and an introduction to locals dishes. We stopped at three local restaurants (not touristy stops) so we could sample things like fried plantains and mofongo. Our fav was Rosa de Triana (we went back a second time after our cruise).

It's an easy walk... I don't recall the time because we stopped a few times to shop and get ice cream. Most likely 15 mins if you don't stop?

Of course, if you're taking a water taxi from the airport, the person may be able to let you off quite near, or at, your hotel - but the water taxis are expensive, and your savings from booking a reasonable hotel could be eaten up!

Yes, our hotel has a private dock, so I see it differently... savings from the reasonable hotel go toward a private taxi! :D:D Pus, we have 5 people to transport, so it's def worth it.

I thoroughly enjoyed your review- esp the pictures! Is your next cruise booked? :rolleyes:

Just in case it helps you or anyone to find a reasonably affordable, yet decent hotel, here are some I looked at:

 

Hotel Al Codega - reputed to have great breakfast, not right on the water but good location

Best Western Hotel Cavaletto - right on Grand Canal, where gondolas park for the night

Locanda La Corte

Hotel Alla Fava

Hotel Violino D Oro (main building, annex has too many steps up!!)

Casa Cosmos

Hotel Al Duca Di Venezia

Hotel Rio, easy to walk to from vaporetto stop near San Marco;

 

Thanks for the suggestions! Ended up going with Locanda al corte because of their courtyard, free breakfast, and availability/price for a triple room in August. We ended up with a 494 € total for 3 nights. Not too shabby. :cool::cool:

This is my type of review! I appreciate all the time it took to write out all the details, especially the cost.... our upcoming cruise stops in a few of the same ports and I've already used your info to book our tour guide in Turkey. :)

Take a foodie walking tour in Old San Juan!

We had no problem getting a cab. Though we had him drop us off downtown so we could walk across the bridge, get ice cream, and then stroll directly to the cruise ship.

Does anyone know if it is easy to get a taxi back to the port from the sea aquarium beach?

It was hot, but not too bad in the evenings as the sea breeze cooled things down nicely. It rained only once during the entire 10 days. And that happened in the early morning hours in San Juan precruise.

I would imagine you had a fair amount of kids onboard that time of year.....were they pretty well under control?

I encountered more adults than kids that needed to be better controlled/ more well-mannered. :eek: For example, the ship had a lot of people on-board, so often times we noticed pushy adults who would literally push past us to get on a packed elevator. Or, adults being extremely loud in the hallways after midnight.

Sometimes we found it very annoying, but tried not to let it get to us.

I finally finished writing about our July 13th cruise on-board the Jewel of the Seas. In short, it was a 5 star vacation that will be forever remembered as a vacation of a lifetime. :) The final trip report that I posted on my blog is nearly 6400 words long, so here is a 'Cliff Notes' version.

Room review: We stayed in room 1056, a superior balcony on the hump. Hump balconies are much larger which is why I like to snag them when they are available. Our balcony had two chairs, one table, and two loungers and was nearly the same size as our room. We used the balcony constantly. We did hear noise from the Windjammer upstairs and the running of children by the pool. Additionally, since it is the first room of the hallway, we could hear the music and parties from the Centrum every night. This usually ended by midnight and didn’t bother us, but it would not be ideal for light sleepers who tend to turn in early.

Ports of call: We stopped in St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Aruba, and Curacao. In the Virgin Islands we hired Alex of SunSeaAVI and boated to St. John and the BVIs (amazing day!). In St. Kitts we went on a ship 4x4 tour to the Rainforest and a local beach (don't recommend). In Aruba we hired Bully to drive us around the island to various local sightseeing sites (highly recommended). Lastly, in Curacao we went to the Dolphin Academy for a Dolphin Encounter (expensive, but gotta try it once!). Later, we went to the downtown area to check out the bridge and local market (a very nice day).

Ship review: I love the Radiance class ships. They aren’t too big, yet don’t seem small because they offer many dining options and amenities. The Schooner bar and Champagne bar are excellent places to get a drink, the patio outside of the Windjammer offers comfy cushioned wicker patio furniture for you to eat your meal, and the kiddie pool has a long slide to keep the kids smiling. The Jewel shows signs of age, as do all ships eventually.

We were pleased with the service and the food on this cruise. Some dishes definitely disappointed, but there was enough good things to keep us happy and full!

Below is my review of the Marriott that I wrote for TripAdvisor. In short, we loved the hotel; it suited our needs/wants perfectly! :):)

_____________________

I hesitated about staying at the San Juan Stellaris because of some of the negative reviews and the ridiculously high price. All the beachfront resorts are quite pricey, so I even considered using Hotwire or Priceline. But ultimately, I really wanted to stay at this hotel. I knew the pool slide and the amazing location to local restaurants and Walgreens would be perfect for my family. In the end, I booked a city view room for 2 nights in July.

PRICE: When I booked, I locked in at $249 (via Marriott.com). I kept an eye on the rate and noticed it drop TWO times! Each time I called Marriott and they adjusted my rate without issue. By the end, I locked in at $159 per night. With the resort fees/taxes added in, my grande total came out to $460!! MUCH BETTER.

CHECKIN: From the airport, we took a cab and were quoted $17 plus $1 per suitcase to take us to the Marriott. Within 10 or so minutes we arrived at the hotel and were welcomed by the bell hop. He helped us out of the cab, looked in the cab to be sure we didn't leave anything, told us where to go, and told us he'd keep our luggage safe if our room wasn't ready. That's service! The line to check in was a little bit long and took about 20 minutes, but we were served free rum drinks. We were checked in and were told that they would call us when our room was ready. We got a call at exactly 4pm. I have VERIZON, and my cell phone worked as it does in the USA. No roaming.

ROOM: We were upgraded for free and had a spectacular room! It was a handicapped room, so it was huge and the bathroom had a separate shower and tub. The balcony faced the ocean and pool, not the city! The beds were comfy and the frig was used often.

LOCATION: PERFECT! You are only 1-2 blocks away from amazing restaurants and the Walgreens (to buy snacks/alcohol). Starbucks, Hagen Dazs and BUNS (hamburger joint) are directly across the street. We ate at Tijuanas (Mexican) and YERBABUENA (Puerto Rican) for dinner; both were yummy! And we tried Orozco's for breakfast- fast and delicious. We did see a couple homeless people near the Walgreens, but they didn't bother us. There's an abandoned building nearby, but again, it didn't bother us.

POOL: The pool area isn't terribly large, and it's quite shaded. Sometimes I felt a little bit cold in the pool, but the shade was perfect for my kids. My son loved the slide, but be aware that it's only open from 11-4. There's a swim up bar, but be aware you will pay a lot for a drink. For two drinks with tip, the price was $34!! We brought our own cocktails (thanks Walgreens) to the pool after that.

OVERALL: A wonderful experience and I'm SO GLAD we decided to book this hotel. If you're hesitating... don't! Just say YES to the Marriott!

Thanks for the info! This seems like an idea option for us.... As we want to see specific things prior to a sunset cruise. The hassle of a rental car isn't worth it!

Riu Palace Las Americas, the nicest of the 3 Riu's in Cancun. Each room is a Jr. Suite plus you're allowed access to the amenities at the other Riu's. But they can't come to the Palace! Read my review: here