golfer1966

What would they replace her with... Enchantment, Explorer..etc?? Id think these ships are too big for the 3 and 4 day cruises. Now, maybe the Rhapsody could do it and add a Radiance class ship to Alaska itin.. mmm now that seems doable... but no other ship. I hope they keep her there. I like doing that shorty every now and then.

I have wanted to try a sailing from SJ but have a few questions. What makes the port better than a Florida port? What is the normal age group? (Mid Sept) Also is the crowd a mix of people like we normally find out of Florida ports, or will it be more SJ locals? Any advice is appreciated.

I like cruising out of SJU because you go to better ports ( imo ) in only a 7 days cruise. I found that there is a good mix and also a mix of ages.

We have had several on a few different class ships and we love them. The super structure isnt as bad as some make it out to be.... at least in my opinion. I think the views are tough to beat. Sure there is some metal framing on that ship, but hey... having the 180 degree view is well work it.

We were in the trailing edge of Sandy last year on the Oasis. It was the last night, so we were all packed. I had to take all the hangers out of the closet so that we could get to sleep. I love rough seas though.

I met you at the MM party.... that was a crazy two days...!! That was the worst rocking I felt. I couldnt imagine being on a smaller ship in that storm. Then again, Im sure a smaller should wouldnt have ventured to be where we were either.

We basically followed Hurricane Sandy up the Florida coast line. I have been on a bunch of cruises and that sailing was by far the worst two nights ever. When we left St Maarten the captain told us about the hurricane and how we would swoop in behind Sandy and follow her up to port everglades so we could still dock back in Ft Lauderdale on time Sat morning. Thursday the winds were so high they closed the upper decks and even the Central park area. Friday was ok at sea, and he mentioned we are still not 100% sure we will make it too port on time, but Friday night was very rough, even for a ship that size. Normally a little rocking makes me sleep really good, well, this was rocking too much to sleep. The wind was gusting to 70+ mph and the winds were whistling through our balcony door. At about 2 am I peeked out the cabin door to the hallway thinking they may have brought or left our luggage there as we may not get off the ship, but it was gone. I never thought the captain would chance getting into the harbor let alone docking this huge ship with these winds, but when we entered the harbor the ship stopped rocking, but the winds were still howling. We were about 1hr behind schedule docking and then about 1/2hr later for customs, but all in all we docked safely and by about 9 am the winds calmed down and we were still able to stay on time for our flight home at 11am. Then we flew home to eastern Pa only to get whacked by Sandy again at home and had to deal with the winds, power outages and trees down...etc. We had it easy compared to cities to our east like New York and teh Jersey Coast.... they are still cleaning up and fixing stuff from Sandy.

Not only Ritas, but ceratain nights they show movies in the Aqua Theater.

Not quite as big as a show box... approx

I had also read a lot of complaints (still do actually) prior to our Oasis cruise last year. I was absolutely dreading eating in there, but we did on port mornings because we wanted to eat and get off the ship.

 

We did not have a problem at all....not once. Each time we walked in, there was an attendant right at the entrance asking us how many, we told him 2 and he took us right to an empty table. They asked what we wanted to drink and then we went to get our food. No problems at all.

 

Maybe we're some of the lucky ones.:)

To be honest, on both ships we never even went into the Windjammer as there are sooo many other venues to eat at.

I will be on Oasis on 10/20 baby !!!!:D

Yes, they are a bit larger, but as for the noise, I dont think so. We had a CP balcony on the Allure and I didnt think it was that noisy. Sure there is more noise then a ocean view but Boardwalk is the most noisy.

Love the picture of the Johnny Rockets my 2 cabins are right over there entrance door. 3 more weeks and counting!!!

The smell of those hamburgers and fries would drive me nuts... Id be down there eating every hour...lol

Love the picture of the Johnny Rockets my 2 cabins are right over there entrance door. 3 more weeks and counting!!!

The smell of those hamburgers and fries would drive me nuts... Id be down there eating every hour...lol

Great review!! If you ever go back on the Allure, the trash can is hooked on the door under the sink.

Glad I read this before i went on Allure.... otherwise I would not have known. Thanks again !

I saw a few of the dinghys as we took the ferry to St John from St Thomas and I have found websites that I can rent one, and I swore the next time we went to St Thomas, I would rent one and explore as much as I could given the time allowed. My question is, has anyone done this and did you feel you had enough time. I know it takes about an hour to and from via taxi and ferry. That leaves about 6 hrs. Given travel time and signing the rental agreements and all the BS I wonder if I will have enough time to do this. Even if I have a solid 3 hrs, I am happy. Did you do this and what did you think...any pix???

We will be there in Oct on Allure and I am leaning towards doing this. :rolleyes:

Sorry to hear this. I have also noticed some VERY VERY rude older people on ALL of my cruises so far. I don't let it ruin my holiday. Keep your chin up you have nothing to prove to any of these people. As for the woman who told your wife to "Shut Up Girl" I would have told her where to go.

I agree, if someone would say that to my wife or I , they will have thier hands full. I havet had the pleasure of any of this yet. I have had the pleasure of people ready to rush onto the elevator before people get off and I had to get snippy with some people, but thats about it. I could see someone snapping at you if your sitting by the pool with a boom box cranked, but just talking...I woul dhave told him or her to mind there own buisniness. :cool: Like somone else said...99% of the people are happy and friendly ona cruise...so dont let them bother you. HAVE FUN !!

Most folks are able to get their non-alcoholic drinks aboard....don't bring cases....but a "reasonable" amount should get thru! If not...they'll hold it for you until you depart.

I took a case of water and had no issues...

Hmmmm. Chops it is!

 

Tell me, do men wear jacket and tie in this venue? Thanks!

I wear dockers and a golf shirt or a button down. Some do wear ties.

I never did scuba ( not yet ) but Ive snorkeled there a few times. There is some nice reef a little to the left of the one beach and there are also two other things... a sunken plane and and some old cannons. I myself love Coco Cay, especially the snorkeling. We were there different times and it seemed the cooler the water the more fish we saw. We also saw a few spotted rays, baracuda and many different kinds of fish. I made the mistake to take a small roll ( bread ) in the water with me. All it took was one piece and I was surronded and I mean surrounded. I was actually kinda scared, so I threw the roll and when it hit the water they all took off like a rocket. Since then I dont feed the fish anywhere, plus I hear its not good for them. Have fun.....:D

Ive had 8186, 9256 abd recently 8670.....I would switch to 8186. Its only about 2ft shallower than 9256.

We just returned from the NCL Dawn cruise to St. Kitts. Even though we've heard about the monkey scam that locals pull, we were surprised to learn of how organized they've become at the game...

 

It starts usually with the eye contact and watching you look at the little monkeys. One local with a diapered monkey approaches you and then another local with a monkey will have the monkey jump on your shoulder. While they talk very fast and intentionally non-understandably, one will tell you that they'll use your camera to take a picture, then if they get their hands on your camera they'll snap off three or four pictures. While you might refuse, they will continue and then demand $20 (or more). Typically, they will not negotiate a price and you never knew how much they were going to 'charge' until after they've taken the pictures. You won't get your camera back until they see the cash. AND in one case the monkey even gets involved with distracting you while the local takes a look in your pockets.

 

This scam took place with more than 15 cruisers on our ship and every case was inside the shopping area right at the port. A couple of folks even said that the security guard was in on the scam because they approached them and told them that they had a 'verbal contract' and that they were obligated to pay up or face arrest. The cruise lines didn't seem to have a comment on this scam and most people were not aware that they did this in St. Kitts.

 

SO, BEWARE OF THE DIAPERED MONKEYS!!!

We did this at Cockleshell. The guy brought the monkey to us to get photos with us and he asked for a tip is all, he never demanded 20 bux from us. I gave him 5 bux after my wife and I both had him on our shoulder and we layed with him for a little. It was worth 5 bux to us.

The last two times we went to St JOhn we go by so many nice spots where I just want to jump off the ferry with my snorkel gear and explore the reefs. This would be a great way to do this and our time slot for St Thomas is from 8 - 6 so I think we may try and do it. Thanks again !!

There are a few ways....... cruise ship excursion, private excursion, car rental, or diy with a taxi and then ferry.......which has been discussed many many times on this forum. It all depends on how comfortable you feel striking out on your own. We took a taxi to Red Hook Bay, then a ferry over to St. John, then another taxi to Trunk Bay. Did all in reverse to get back. Not hard but scares some people. Fairly cheap too.

 

Trunk Bay is a gorgeous palm lined white sand blue water beach. St. John is 2/3 Natl. Park so pristine and fairly undeveloped. There is a small charge for Trunk, but showers, bathrooms, snorkle eqp. rental and snack bar with basics. It is a truly beautiful beach but there are others here too.

 

We prefer St. John over St. Thomas and plan to ferry over again next month but this time we will rent zodiacs (small boats) and explore/snorkle by water. Can't wait.

When I was last on St John, I saw a few of those small boats your refering too. When did you rent them. Any info you have would be helpful as we are thinking about doing this in December too.... Thanks !

The original inhabitant of the shell (a conch) was eaten at a restaurant, and no longer needs his or her shell.

 

You can feel secure that your conch shell purchase will not cause the eviction of any living creature. The conch has long been eaten as a savory chowder or cracked-conch, or fritter.

I meant other shell creatures.....;)

Went to Bahamas, St. Thomas, and Tortola in April. I brought back shells from the beach in my luggage. I had no problems and they made wonderful souvenirs.

 

I also brought back sand from each beach we visited and filled little bottles with them, then tagged the bottle with the name of the beach. Love them!!

Sorry, but I have to ask...What if every tourist did this, sooner or later there will be no shells for the critters and sand for people to enjoy. IMO, this stuff is for our visual pleasure, not to take home and put on our desk. It belongs in the Sea. I think more Islands are asking people to not take shells. I read an interesting article recently. We ( humans ) are eating more fish and shellfish...etc and they cannot reproduce fast enough ( supply vs demand ) and many of them will soon be on the endangered list. Conch is just a start. Do you know that Cats in America eat more Tuna than any of its natural predators? This is all done by commercial fishermen, let alone all the illegal poaching of Sharks for Shark Fin Soup and Japan slaughtering hundreds of whales. WOW , I got way off topic there....sorry, but you get my drift. Let the shells for the critters !! :)

Some of them have very nice paintings on them of whatever the local attractions are. For example, Ive seen some in Grand Cayman that said Grand Cayman on them and had a Stingray painted on it too....