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Just returned from our cruise and was a little disappointed with the beach chairs at Grand Turk. I thought I'd red a post that chairs are somewhat free at this port. That may be so but I never found one. Got off the ship, it was crowded! Went to find chairs but first vendor stated $25 per day for two chairs. Same with 2nd guy. In fact there were many vendors available right off the ship. Wound up getting a front row chair with a close up view of the cruise ships. Granted beach and water were great but would rather have open water. Interestingly another vendor came by and asked if we had paid and was somewhat intimidating. Decided to go for a walk down the beach toward the coast guard pier. As I walked, price went from $25 to $15 to $10 with less crowds and better view. We soon realized the view of open water was much better than that of the ship. Decided to write off the $25 in favor of nicer chairs at Reef Shark Bay and Grill. View of open water, beach service and free wifi. Chairs were only $15 and were nice. I highly recommend you try the local beer.

 

Lesson Learned: In Grand Turk if you want to sit on the beach in a nice chair walk further down the beach just off the pier. Don't fall for the tourist trap!

Why pay for these chairs that are stolen from Carnival.. All the chairs that are with the Green Umbellas and back to the pool are free. The locals want you to rent their chairs, most of the chairs are stolen from the Carnival.

We have an Alaskan cruise booked for Aug 2018 out of Seattle on the Emerald Princess. We live in Seattle so we are thinking about parking at the cruise port for the week. I see 2 different parking lots near Pier 91 (which we are leaving from). I was curious if anyone preferred one over the other or if they are the same? I did notice it was about $40 difference for the week. The two I see are Republic Parking off W. Garfield and Seattle Cruise Park on W. Armory Way. Also, any other suggestions are definitely welcome :)

Uber and Taxi would be much cheaper. High Seattle taxes will also be added to the quoted price.

Thinking of staying here one night pre cruise in July. We like that it is downtown....close to Pikes Market. We are cruising out of Pier 66.

Seems prices a little more reasonable than other nearby hotels. Looking for opinions if you've stayed here?? How is the surrounding area? How is the walk back/forth to the market place?

I would also appreciate other recommendations for a good downtown hotel??

Thanks!!

It is in North downtown Seattle and is much more safer, cleaner and fewer homeless bothering you than the southern part of downtown Seattle. Easy walk to Pick Place Market.

We sailed 10/21 on Caribbean Princess to the Panama Canal. Princess claims to have put $8 Million into renovations, however, none of this money ever touched any of the cabins. They updated the buffet area on Deck 15, put in all new video boards, painted the sea witch on the bow, new carpeting in public areas and added Steamers and Planks (upcharge)

 

Our room was filthy. Before we could unpack I had to wipe out all of the drawers and we never took our clothing out of the packing cubes; the bathroom was the worst....yes there was a horrible smell; the tiles were coming up from the floor and the grout was moldy. The furniture on the balcony was falling apart and had white paint speckles all over it.

 

We liked the itinerary; the Panama Canal was wonderful. The entertainment was top notch.

I would of called the Room Steward Supervisor. It sound like the room was never cleaned on the turnover. I have never had your experience with any of my Princess Cruises.

Cheaper to get an Uber. Last week I took a taxi from the port to the W in FL. $30. An Uber back to the airport $18.

I just got off the Allure at 8AM, 3 weeks ago. Taxi cost was $13.50

We are only in Town until 1pm so we are looking for a beach to take a quick swim within walking distance of where the NCL GEM docks?

 

thanks

You can take the ferry across the bay to Anse Mitan Beach.

Ferry cost $8 R/T Ferry runs every 20 to 30 minutes.

I was on HAL 3 weeks ago and the ferry dock was right to the right of where we were docked. Nice beach and good snorkeling. Didn't see any lounge chairs.

We have just returned from an 8 day cruise on Carnival Vista. We have only been on Carnival once before. There were NO non-smoking areas in the casino so after two days we quit going in as we couldn't handle the smoke. I would like to know if this is the same on the Carnival Conquest and Carnival Magic as I have those booked with friends.

I was on the Magic last year. The casino was filled with passengers using the Casino as a smoking lounge. One night, I counted 80 smokers standing around in groups.

Carnival doesn't enforce their policy that you can only smoke when playing a slot machine. It was so bad that we didn't gamble, but had to go through the Casino after the show in the Theater . All the non smokers had the same experience and avoided the Casino. You would think that Carnival would correct the problem as smokers on the ship is down to 5% and going down as the smoker population are dying from their smoking habit.

For sight seeing, go with Bodden, everyone raves about him. Gumbalimba Park is also a popular nature park. Little French Key has a small zoo and some decent food. Maya Key is another nice spot to enjoy some water views with lunch. West Bay town has some quaint restaurants and shops. You can do any of these in a 1/2 day tour. I would recommend getting out and about in the morning, and stopping for lunch by noon or 1PM. You may not want to be out in the afternoon sun.

 

Almost anything is better than staying in Carnival's shopping corral right at the port, including staying on the ship. If you were beach people or snorkelers, I'd have other suggestions, but for sightseeing go with Bodden.

Carnival, Princess and Holland America dock at Mahogany Bay. Carnival owns the beach in Mahogany Bay which is a 10 minute walk from the dock. You also can get a all day chairlift pass for $9.00 that goes to the beach. It is just like a private Island, 1000's of free lounges and the best beach in the Caribbean. Outstanding snorkeling on the left side of the Beach.

Thank you for your replies about Mahogany Bay, as I was a little concerned. I thought it had something to do with Carnival, but "wondered" if we just stay in that area, or if there are other areas that we can check out as well, and hopefully they are not too far away.

Carnival, Princess and Holland America dock here. Once you get off the dock, turn right and it is a 10 minute walk or you can take the chair lift (all day pass $9.00). I have been on some cruises where they do not tell you about the beach. It just like a private Island, has 1000's of lounge chairs. It is my favorite port to go to, the best beach in the Caribbean and good snorkeling on the left side of beach.

I realize that Guadalupe has a history of crime which took itself off the cruise itineraries in the past. The Pacific Princess is scheduled to stop there Dec. 26th and we are wondering if we decided to take a tour of the island would we be safe with one of the taxi drivers at the dock or should we use the ship's tour?

I was in Guadalupe 2 weeks ago on a HAL cruise. I cannot understand why any Cruise would go Guadalupe. It was the most filthiest port we have ever been to. Uneven sidewalks, rebar sticking out of the sidewalks and garbage on the streets everywhere. No-one speaks English, even the Tourist center people speak little English-they cannot understand the questions and give wrong answers. The booths around the cruise docks were empty.

Is the Sky View Observatory at the Columbia Center the same way? I mean, go to purchase admission only to have to return later?

The Sky view Observatory is 180 ft higher than the Space needle and a 360 Degree view. The price is less than 1/2 the price of the space needle and usually no wait. The viewing area is 3 times larger than the 55 year old Space needle. You can get your hand stamped and come back anytime during the day.

The Lenin Statute was bought to Seattle in the Freemont district, just north of downtown after Czechoslovakia became a non communist country. The statute was put up so the people of Seattle can celebrate Lenin for the killing of over 2 million opposition people in Czechoslovakia. This is the thinking of the Seattle government. They want the confederate memorial in a private cemetery removed. The Seattle Government use selective hate.

All southbound one-way HAL cruises start out of Seward, visit Glacier Bay and stop in Juneau. What about those do not interest you?

Aslo , all northbound HAL cruises go to Seward, stop at Juneau, anda all day cruise through Glacier Bay

Our flight departs from CLT at 6pm and is a non-stop that arrives at SEA at 8:38pm - but it'll feel like 11:38pm for us - at least we got that right when we booked flights some time back.....

A couple days before your flight to Seattle, phase in your sleep time. Going to Bed later and getting up later. By the time you get to Seattle and on your cruise, you will be adjusted to the West Coast time.

A picture attached and also the history of rooming houses in Seattle,

 

 

http://www.sightline.org/2012/11/14/rooming-houses-historys-affordable-quarters/

The State Hotel shown in the Picture for $ .75/ night will be opening next summer for $275+/night. The block that the State Hotel is on is by far has the most crime than any other block in Downtown Seattle.

http://statehotel.com/

There is a old, old neon sign on the east side of 1st Avenue down toward the south end of downtown that reads "Rooms-$.75 per night" that I laugh about every time I see it. I've got to stop and take a picture of it some day. I often wonder how old that sign is!

 

Tom

A picture attached and also the history of rooming houses in Seattle,

http://www.sightline.org/2012/11/14/rooming-houses-historys-affordable-quarters/

No bridge involved. Seattle routes have a mandatory foreign port stop at Victoria (on Vancouver Is.) and in order to get there in time they go west of the island where they can go full speed. Usually the afternoon/night after Ketchikan and then most of the following day. Just did that a couple weeks ago. The round-trip cruises out of Vancouver use the "inside passage" but visit different ports and often no Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier stops due to distance. Seymour Narrows is often transited at night depending on tide.

 

Only bridges I can think of anywhere involving Alaska bound ships might be Deception Pass at Whidbey Is. (and cruise ships don't go there) and ships out of Vancouver under the Lions Gate Bridge which is plenty tall for any ships.

The bridge is high enough. If a cruise ship went through Deception Pass, there is a good possibility that the $600 million cruise ship would be destroyed.

I would appreciate any tips for Mt Ranier visit on a Wed in late Sept. We are staying south of Seattle the night before (and after). Our own car of course.

The snow will be gone, probably by Late August this year and the wildflowers will be in full bloom. Search Mt Rainier wildflowers to see what it will look like.

It's totally walkable. Like, excruciatingly pleasant. It would also barely exceed the minimum UberX fare. It's precisely one mile of a pleasant utterly flat walk and you're actually pretty isolated from car traffic.

 

I would not use the city bus for this route. The luggage space on those buses is minimal.

 

Getting to the airport, I recommend UberX or Lyft. I don't wait for other people to get their crap together or fill a shuttle - when I'm ready to roll, I'm ready to roll.

It is a easy walk along the waterfront, probably a 20 minute walk. Your hotel is 1 block east of the waterfront.

Hello!

I read on another website that if you take a taxi to the Pier you will get to the Pier drop off area faster than if you take a shuttle/uber/private car service. The lady mentioned taking Uber and having to wait for an hour in a que before actually getting to be dropped off. It almost doubled her Uber fare.

 

Has anyone else experienced this? Unfortunately for us I have been warned by multiple cruisers that Embarkation is a Zoo and expect to wait.

 

Now this is for Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Sea cruise. Maybe other lines have different policies? Drop off procedures? Just wanted to check ahead of time.

 

Thanks!

A

Two weeks ago I went to pick my son and family up at Pier 91 at 10 AM. I had to wait 40 minutes in the lane for pickups before I got to the pickup area. The pickup and dropoff area holds 15 cars in a single lane. The other lane is for leaving the area. The pickup area is strictly enforced and once a car leaves the area another car is allowed to enter the area. What caused the delay and congestion was 6 limousines ( all without a visible driver), as they were in the terminal with their signs for cruise passenger pick ups. My son said that some of the Limos were at the pickup/dropoff area when you got there, 1 hour before. Pier 91 has 3 lanes that are strictly enforced 1. Taxi 2. Shuttles 3. Private vehicles

We used cavetubing.bz in March and also 4 years ago. They have always had headrests and arm rests. The tubes have been always tied together and the 2 guilds are in the water making sure you don't hit the walls or other groups. You do not have to carry your tubes, always available when you enter the river. The tour 4 years ago included 3 Caves which was an extra 1/2 mile walk, The tour in March only included the main cave that all tour companies go through. cavetubing. bz said the trail going to the 2 other caves was washed out by floods they had in Oct 16. cavetubbing.bz is the largest of the cavetubing companies and there is no set time to meet. Once their van is filled by 10 people, they head to the caves. You have a small group of 10 people Max. Another van is waiting for the next group. I have seen the cruise tours with 80 people ties together, taking up 80% of the cave.

I might add that the cost is $45PP and includes lunch. go to cavetubing.bz for reviews and more information.

A word of caution while booking the cave tubing excursions. Make sure that you book with a company that has head rests and that will tie you together with your party with ropes!

 

We went on this tour back in 2012 with cavetubing.bz and they had us hold onto each other by holding onto other people's feet! They put people's feet underneath our arms and you had to hold onto them (even people that were strangers to us after we hiked a mile to get to the tubing area and had super dirty feet uck!). It got uncomfortable VERY quickly!! We saw other groups that had head rests and were tied together with ropes and wished that we had gone with that company (don't know who they were). We were so uncomfortable during our tour that we didn't really get to enjoy it that much. And then towards the end of the tour my arms were so sore from holding onto my husband's feet the whole time, that I tried to adjusted them and I lost him! Without being attached to the group he started floating away from us all and a guide from a different company went after him and pulled him back! It was honestly a terrible experience for us, BUT I think that if you go with the right company it might be very enjoyable. Just make sure that you look for pictures of the tours before you book.

We used cavetubing.bz in March and also 4 years ago. They have always had headrests and arm rests. The tubes have been always tied together and the 2 guilds are in the water making sure you don't hit the walls or other groups. You do not have to carry your tubes, always available when you enter the river. The tour 4 years ago included 3 Caves which was an extra 1/2 mile walk, The tour in March only included the main cave that all tour companies go through. cavetubing. bz said the trail going to the 2 other caves was washed out by floods they had in Oct 16. cavetubbing.bz is the largest of the cavetubing companies and there is no set time to meet. Once their van is filled by 10 people, they head to the caves. You have a small group of 10 people Max. Another van is waiting for the next group. I have seen the cruise tours with 80 people ties together, taking up 80% of the cave.

The new state museum is within walking distance of the docks or a short cab ride for the mobility challenged. The hours: http://museums.alaska.gov/documents/press_releases/20170427_summerHours.pdf

The museum opened last year. The museum is about a 15 -20 minute walk from the cruise dock. It was one of best museums I have been to. I was at the museum for 3 hours, but easily could of been there for 5 hours as there is so much to see. The museum gives a complete history of Alaska up to last year.

After an unusually cold and record setting wet Winter really pretty mornings like today are special. The Space Needle webcam has great views of Mt. Rainier, the Olympics and even Mt. Baker and Glacier Peak. All with all their winter snow pack and fresh snow from yesterday. A little chilly out but at least sunny. :cool: Enjoy while it lasts because it won't be long.

 

https://www.spaceneedle.com/webcam/

It was the warmest day since Oct 15th-56Degrees. Rained returned that night and has been raining since with cool temperatures in the 40's. The 10 day outlook calls for rain and below normal temperatures. Hopefully by the start of the cruise season, it will warm up and the rains will ease.

We (wife, 9yo and 2yo) will be doing the inside passage cruise from Seattle on the Explorer in early June. We are Floridians so the chance to touch ice/snow does not happen. We went to Colorado a couple of summers ago and we loved being able to walk on the old snow on the mountains...

 

 

Trying to figure out if that is possible for us on any excursions. The only one I can find are the helicopter glacier tours and that is over our budget. Is there any excursion on our trip in which we could walk on the ice/snow, preferably under $500 for the 4 of us???

You can go to Paradise on Mt Rainier- about a 1 1/2 hour from Seattle. There should be 24 feet of snow on the ground in early June. Complete snow melt is usually Mid August-Mid Sept. At that time, the slopes are completely covered with flowers.