Virginiacruiser126

Hi Port Royal - Took your suggestion and emailed Le P. Got a reply back "ok" after I sent my number of pax and date of our visit! What time do you suggest we plan to arrive at Le P? Thanks again for your always helpful info!

JO close at the finish of their season, being around the end of April. Then re-opens in October.

 

When JO closes Cecelia's usually stays open for the benefit of the last trickle of Antigua visitors.

 

Lance and Jacqui are professional, and if they were closing JO, first they would give notice on their Facebook Page, then they would have advertised it before now as being for sale.

 

No Fbook and no Sale, so draw your own conclusions.

 

If any reader had a concern then why not ask Lance direct, rather than post.

Thanks for the info Port Royal. Wasn't sure when the seasonal close time frame was so appreciate your insight since I'm a first time visitor to Jacqui O's and Antigua. No concern here - just curiosity! As mentioned, Lance confirmed with me this AM so while I knew I wasn't personally impacted was curious for some friends who are traveling later in the season and are working on lining up their activities.

Just got a response back from Jaqui O's that they are closing for good on May 7th:(

Wow! I'm curious about this as well. I just reconfirmed with Lance this morning for us to visit on April 28th. I hope it's just closing for the season and not forever!

Great! What's the best way to let them know we are coming? Email, Facebook? The website I found was in French only - Looks like they open at 10. How far from the pier is it?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Hi Port Royal. Do you recommend a reservation for Le Petibonum?

hi! Lance replied to my FB message that sun beds are $9 per bed (2 people per bed) if you're dining at their restaurant. Hope that helps!

hi! I suspected we might be on the same cruise with your mention of late April. Not sure how to PM you...do you know how that works on here?? Would love to hear about your other plans for our ports of call. I can post my email address if that's easier!

Maybe wait another two weeks or so and then try reaching out to him again? You may have just caught him on a particularly busy day when he told you to try back in March and perhaps in another two weeks he'll be less busy and would be able to offer you a more firm confirmation.

Good Morning

I sent Lance an email and a FB message on Thursday (1/5) and received confirmation back both via FB message and email the next morning that we're confirmed for a party of 8 on April 28th. He told us we have chairs available on the beach beginning at 1030 and lunch reservation at 1230.

Just wanted to pass along since the times differ a bit from what was mentioned as the two seating times. I knew it would be difficult to secure space for 8 so that may be why he went ahead and confirmed our larger group.

I plan to get to Jacqui O's at 1000 that morning to make sure that we get a good spot! I replied to Lance via email and FB message that we're looking forward to it and I plan to confirm a week prior to our cruise.

Hi there! I'm curious as well! From what I've read on Trip Advisor and here, it does sound like a reservation is highly recommended. I'm guessing maybe with the holidays that's the reason for the slow response time. Let me know what you hear! My husband and I want to go for sure and have shared the info with the rest of our family who are traveling with us but we definitely want to go there for the day.

Thank you!!! We leave tomorrow on our cruise!!!

Do you know the passenger had been drinking or purchased the UDP or is this speculation?

You're correct. I never noticed the passenger prior to the scuffle near the elevator and crashing into the table. No idea if he was drinking or was on the package. I was merely saying that because of the package that I was surprised that security didn't seem better prepared to deal with unruly passengers alcohol fueled or not.

The sad part is a few people ruin it for everyone. Most of my group had the package and enjoyed it responsibly. I'm not saying the blame is only on security because clearly the passenger was in the wrong and I have no idea if he was drinking or not. Seems like on the short, weekend cruises you'd especially want your staff to be able to respond efficiently when these situations arise.

It definitely was a knock down drag out. With lots of people rolling around on the floor and a lot of other passengers dragged into it! Definitely didn't ruin our cruise and we had a great time regardless but just was something I've never seen before and definitely didn't seem to be handled well in my opinion.

I've been in other situations where things have gone south and seems like they were handled much more quickly and efficiently. Granted in the chaos there's always a lot of "coulda, shoulda, woulda" but the lack of response from other NCL employees in the area and the way security couldn't seem to get a handle on the situation and other passengers had to step in to try to calm other guests was a big eyebrow raiser for me....

Yes! Totally agree that this can happen anywhere and certainly isn't unique to NCL. Just seemed like the "security" they had on board weren't able to handle a passenger who really wasn't even that big. Also the lack of response from other NCL employees assigned to the area was a surprise. And after the whole episode wrapped up, NCL should have had someone going around to those of us who were seated in the area and clearly saw the whole thing go down to reassure us that things were being handled and to apologize for the disruption at the minimum. A few words from a manager or someone showing some bit of concern would have gone a long way.

Just back from a quick getaway on the Sky. I've cruised NCL before but have done most of my cruises on Carnival and RCL. A group of 11 decided to do a last minute family break on the Sky.

Our welcome aboard was that on Friday night after dinner, we set up shop at the Atrium Bar to enjoy some of the live music. At about 10 PM things got interesting when a fist fight broke out near the elevators. A security guard was pushed into a table set up with jewelry and a huge spotlight came crashing to the ground. It was complete chaos. The passenger was handcuffed to the railing but another man was trying to pull him away from ship security and a woman was yelling loudly for them to get off of the man. Other passengers quickly gathered and were adding their two cents in. One man was taping the incident and then ship's security was more concerned about getting him to delete the video/photos than containing the incident. When security tried to move the man from the banister, he started fighting them again and ripped a security guard's shirt. It definitely showed the NCL's security is ill prepared if a real incident takes place on board because the unruly passenger wasn't particularly tall or large and he kept the whole thing going for quite a while. Other ship employees were just standing there doing nothing. Seemed like in a crisis situation they should have been trying to clear the area, calling for someone, or doing something more than just standing around in shock. They finally handcuffed the man and lead him right past where our group was huddled against the window trying to stay away from the fight. A large group followed along after the man. I have cruised over a dozen times, including cruises during Spring Break and I have NEVER seen an episode like this on a cruise. NCL's security has a big problem and I certainly didn't feel particularly safe in the situation and the unlimted booze flowing around thanks to the comped UBP certainly didn't help matters as other men tried to get involved in the mix with the help of some liquid courage.

NCL needs to have security on board who can handle an emergency situation even if it only happens once in a while. With drinks flowing and the UBP being a comp for many cruisers they should be better prepared to handle unruly passengers especially when things break out in a highly traveled common area filled with families and guests of all ages. We had two very frightened children that we had to keep swearing to them that we'd never seen behavior like this on a cruise and we're veteran cruisers.

I'm not sure what started the event but it certainly did draw a crowd since it was in the atrium. The crew members were saying he was likely going to be put off the ship in Nassau the next morning. Not sure what happened to the one or two men who tried to insert themselves into the mix and to the guy who was video taping/taking pictures that security became more concerned with. Needless to say it was a rocky way to start a cruise!

Yes I was quite surprised to find the social package! I just happened to stop by the kiosk our first evening on board and saw $18 for the whole cruise. It worked extremely well.

For Faster to the Fun they seemed to be running behind the day we boarded. We checked in by 11. But sat in the holding area until after 12. I don't think we boarded until almost 12:30.

We found people were fairly dressed down. My husband just wore dress slacks and a dress shirt formal night but no tie. Saw some people in the dining room in polos with khakis as well!

Hope you have a great time!!

We just connected on one device and the kids could log in to their various social media accounts. We could only have one device connected at a time.

Do you happen to have copies of the FunTimes available? We are sailing on the Paradise on the 27th.

Sorry we don't! I didn't even think to grab them and bring them with me to scan in.

Given that Friday night my kid was sleeping on a trundle in Cabin M111 on the Paradise, I know this can't be true.

I'd keep calling until you get someone who seems to actually know what they're talking about.

In fact I called a week prior to my sail date and they confirmed that trundle was noted on my booking and answered questions about if the trundle bed would be comfortable for my 6 foot tall 15 year old.

Just off the Paradise. While I did miss some of the bells and whistles we still had a great time. We saw several of the 18+ comedy shows and loved those!! Crew is fantastic. Tampa is one of the easier ports we've sailed from. Easy ship to navigate.

I would not hesitate to recommend Paradise!

Our 3 kids were in a cabin configured for 2 and they brought in the trundle bed for the 3rd. If there is still space on the ship, I would think they can add a 3rd person using the trundle bed option.

I was concerned about the trundle as I've always stayed in cabins configured for 3 with a pullman bed or couch option but the trundle worked fine even for our 15 year old who is over 6 feet tall.

Hi!!

I'm a long time lurker of cruise critic first logging on to my mother's account and finally created my own for my most recent cruise with husband and stepchildren (23, 15, 15).

My last cruise prior to this trip was in 2010 on a Greek Isles cruise and a lot had changed since then!

Won't post a blow by blow review but did want to include some of my thoughts/observations:

-Faster to the Fun: WORTH EVERY PENNY. We had two cabins (kids in an interior cabin across the hall from our ocean view) but even having to purchase for both cabins is was $100 well spent. Boarding seemed to be delayed in Tampa but was glad we were able to make it on earlier than most and go straight to our cabin. Also loved getting our bags before we even left the port. The priority tendering was extremely helpful as we had a tour of stingray city booked with a private vendor. There was some confusion about where to go for the tendering. The written paper in our room said the America Bar but Guest Services said Leonardo Lounge. Another paper delivered to our room later did say Leonardo and had set departure times (8:00, 8:20, 8:40, 9:00, 9:20, and 9:40). When we arrived at Leonardo no one was there at 10 minutes til 8 so I asked one of the cruise director's staff team members and he thought it was America Bar but radioed and confirmed it was the Leonardo Lounge. They took us down and straight onto the first tender off of the ship. I also used the priority line at guest services a few times. I loved being able to get helped immediately but got shot dirty looks every time I was helped because there wasn't a dedicated staff member at that position. Instead they left the main line to come over to help me. Debarkation was also a breeze. We waited in the Queen Mary lounge until a staff member came and escorted us down a side hallway and right to the line to leave the ship. I will ALWAYS purchase this option if it's available.

Cheers Program - My husband, stepdaughter, and I all purchased. We definitely came out ahead on Day 1, Day 2, and Day 5 of the package. We had to work a little harder on the two days we were in port but we all enjoyed being able to order what we wanted. It also allowed my stepdaugther and I to try new drinks (martinis mainly) because we weren't worried we'd waste money if we didn't like something. I think the most drinks we had in a day were 11 or 12. We never hit our 15 drink max although we did encounter passengers who had hit their max and were cut off and weren't very happy. I will admit by Day 5 we were having to work to break even as we were all sort of tired of drinking at that point! Also, they did run out of some drink options early on. My stepdaughter and I are Angry Orchard drinkers and that seemd to go quickly. Not a big deal as we just switched to Bud Lite Lime but did notice a few other brands not being available as the week went on.

The Ship - Paradise was definitely showing her age a bit. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the ship and the excellent staff. I did miss some of the bells and whistles of some of the larger/newer ships I've sailed on in the past but this was the kids' first cruise so the smaller ship made it easier for us to keep track of each other. The staff were all extremely friendly. Our wait staff team (Sergio, Diana, and Ivan) were excellent and our room stewards (Marvin for my husband and I, Riggoberto for the kids) were also great!! The bartenders and other staff we encountered were always friendly and seemed to take a lot of pride in their work and the ship.

Social Internet Package - Paradise did have the social internet package. What a steal! $18 for the entire 5 day cruise. Wifi was strong and I loved being able to post things in real time on Facebook, keep up with news on Twitter, and was also able to iMessage my best friend/dog sitter and my mom through the cruise. I wasn't able to FaceTime or FaceTime audio but could keep up very easily with iMessage. I was extremely happy with this level of connectivity and the price couldn't be beat!

Club 02 - Our 15 year old twins LOVED the activities. I had never had any experience with the kids activities but was very impressed. The boys made friends quickly and it felt like we hardly saw them because they were busy with so many activities and all of their new friends. I felt perfectly comfortable giving the boys check in times and curfews and they talked about dodgeball games, dance parties, and scavenger hunts as just a few of the activities they enjoyed.

Cruising over Spring Break - We knew what we were getting into crusing at Spring Break as we were obviously there with kids ourselves. We did notice that some other cruisers didn't seem to control their children as well as we would have hoped. We talked with our boys a lot about not talking in the hallways after certain hours, not running from place to place, etc but other people seemed to have skipped that convo. We heard small children running down the halls at all hours of the night and parents yelling after them or at times I'd open the door to see packs of very young children (younger than my kids) running up and down corridors with no parent in site. I also observed a lot of people in the Lido Deck buffet area in swim suits with no cover up. I observed one staff member tell a mom in a very tiny bikini she couldn't be in the area without a cover up and she said "yeah ok I'll remember next time" and he asked her again to please go put a cover up on now and she just ignored him and kept serving herself. I was a little grossed out seeing so many barefooted people in the buffet "letting it all hang out" while serving themselves food......I'd like to see Carnival enforce this policy more strictly.

Grand Cayman - I had been to Stingray City before with Nativeway and tried to book with them but they were already booked. We took Capt. Marvin this time and were just has happy as we were with Nativeway. It was very easy to walk to the office from the cruise terminal. The Capt. Marvin's team was great. Super friendly. It was a bit of a cluster trying to get our photos with the stingrays. The photos came out great and we did purchase the $50 CD with the images.

Cozumel - On past visits I had always shopped and wandered around near the port. This time the kids wanted to go to the beach. We selected Paradise Beach and were very happy with our choice. $21 each way in a van. We were met by a staff member and bought our $3 wristbands for chairs and umbrellas. We also purchased the $15 acquatic park bands for the two boys. They had a blast playing on all of the inflatables. We easily spent the $10 per person minimum on food and drink. Thomas helped our family and I saw he and many staff members literally RUNNING after delivering food or drinks. Those guys were hustling. My stepdaughter and I chose to sit in loungers in the pool while my husband stayed with the boys on the beach. Thomas kept track of our family in both locations. Wouldn't hesitate to chose Paradise Beach again. We enjoyed talking to cruisers from several other ships as well.

Please let me know if you have any other questions!! Happy to provide any other info that I can. Also, thanks to this board from the tip on the Kiss on the Lips. I had never tried it before and was hooked!!!!