lab_love123

Ah ok. I doubt it’ll be more than a 1/2 hour then! It probably won’t even be that much time. 

It would depend on the port and excursion and where check in would be... but generally meeting about 15, 30 max, minutes early is a good window. If it's a tender port and the excursion meets off the ship, you'll want to give yourself more of a buffer just in case.

On the Dream earlier this month, I was pleasantly surprised with how well the internet worked for me. I only had the social media plan, and Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat worked really well. 

Just got home last night. Was in Cozumel on Monday 11/4, and went to Del Mar Latino. I had a nice time. It was a quiet day, and there were only a handful of people there that day. Service was great, food and drinks good. The beach is man-made, with steps leading into the water. I liked the pool. Easy to have shade or sun. It was an easy walk from Puerta Maya or the International Terminal. Directly next door to Atlantis Submarine  Well worth the price, and I would go here again!

16 hours ago, louisville fan said:

Mr Sanchos  is booked full for Oct 31 on all websites I have checked, Does anyone know if you can just show up and purchase the All Inclusive? I love that place.

You can try showing up the day of and buying the day pass, but I would have an alternate plan in case that does not work out. In the past, they have accepted walk-ins. BUT -- there was some chatter in the FB group for my cruise, which will be in Cozumel a few days after yours, that Mr. Sancho's is doing some renovations and is limiting availability for a couple of weeks.

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Look for ward to hearing from you if you are there first.

 

Will do! I will be there the first week of November.

I am going here in a few weeks. The price really just couldn't be beat. I will report back to you all! 

Breakfast is usually served until 10:30. I wouldn't expect too long of a wait if you have a reservation, so you should still be able to get breakfast.

I really can't comprehend how people could be that rude! I would like to say I would have been able to say something, but in the moment I'd probably just be so taken aback that I wouldn't be able to come up with a suitable retort. I had one uncomfortable brunch experience on a solo cruise where I was seated as the 5th at a table with 4 already seated. None of my table mates talked to me, in fact they barely acknowledged my presence and I did feel like I was intruding; but they weren't outright rude to me. It was certainly awkward, but I had brought a book and made the best of it. Thankfully, I had a very positive assigned dinner table experience on that cruise, so I was able to brush the brunch issue off easily. But I can certainly sympathize with what happened to you.

I'm glad you had an otherwise enjoyable cruise. I find that generally people on cruises are normally quite friendly and welcoming. There's always a few exceptions though!

Most of my cruises have been in October/November. I'm in my early 30s, I don't have children, and I can use my vacation time any time of the year (although I don't generally vacation in September for work-load reasons). In my opinion, if you have no reason preventing you from cruising in September or October, it's a great time of year to go. There's an inherent risk to Caribbean itineraries in those months, but that usually results in really good pricing. While I've never been on a cruise with ZERO kids, there are definitely fewer. Other passengers have been really mixed - senior, young adult, middle age, etc. JennyB1977 describes it accurately!

46 minutes ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

 

Thank, again everyone for all of the tips

Starting to work with an "authorized Disney vacation planner" from MickeyTravels

I guess we should plan on the transfer bus arriving at the Transportation Center at about 9:00 AM ?

And - can any confirm the departure time from the park - back to the ship ?

Just found out that it is recommended that restaurant reservations be made 6 months (!) out - hard to do when we don't have a better idea of the hours that we will actually be at the park

(guess we need to be FLEXABLE  !)

 

 

What time is your excursion scheduled to start/when does the transfer bus leave the port? I'd assume a Magic Kingdom arrival about 1.5-2 hrs after that time. As far as departure from the park, for planning purposes I would assume return transportation leaves at least 3 hours prior to ship departure. It might be later, but I always err on the side of caution.

Restaurant reservations open up 6 months out; whether they NEED to be made that early isn't necessarily true. Some restaurants book up quickly. Breakfast reservations are easier to get at some places than dinner reservations.

You can book your fast passes directly on the Disney website. Then you can use the in-park kiosks day of to book additional fast passes once you use your pre-booked ones.

Last October, it was located in the Adriatic lounge, 5 aft.

I’ve also never been on Easter Sunday. But I was there once in the week leading up to Easter. It was absolute madness. Lots of schools are on spring break. But with the planning tips already in this thread, you should be ok. Just pack your patience and expect longer than normal lines. 

emen822 -- not from Texas but have the same situation for my November cruise. Flying into and staying near IAH, and need a shuttle to Galveston the next morning for embarkation. I have not been able to find that any of the shuttles offer hotel pick up. This is only from my research online; I haven't actually called any of the shuttle companies, so maybe it's available and just not advertised on websites. I'm going to stay at the Marriott in the airport, so I can just walk back over to the airport in the morning to catch my shuttle. My flight lands after dinner, so I just need to worry about breakfast. I'm not a big breakfast eater, so I had planned to just suffer through hotel coffee for the morning and bring a granola bar or something from home.

As far as safety - crime-wise I think Humble is fine. I'm just not sure how pedestrian friendly the streets are - busy streets/highways, and not sure of the sidewalk situation. But I'm not super familiar with it. So hopefully, someone more local and/or familiar will be able to help with that aspect.

I like the ocean view cabins, and I don't mind being on deck 1; being near the Lido deck isn't really important to me. If it's a factor for you, then definitely choose the 4J. The deck outside the 4Js is a nice feature too.

3 hours ago, pinksavage22 said:

THe is thing is we leave from San Francisco so we don’t have a flight to catch so I am able to pack things I may not normally be able to

I also saw inflatable bumpers on Amazon that would fold up real small in your bag, and you don’t need a pump to blow it up. If you didn’t want to tote a pool noodle around 😂

I have seen portable/removable bed rail guards on Amazon for less than $25. My sister has an inflatable toddler bed that she brings on vacation for my nephew. It's great for vacation, but maybe a little impractical for a cruise because you would need to make sure to also bring an air pump. I've also seen a portable cot for toddlers that folds up like a camp chair. "Regalo My Cot Portable Child Travel Bed" ... I've seen this for about $25-30 on Amazon, Target, etc.

1 hour ago, BandBWCsmom said:

Last year, we did the sofa cushions on floor and pillows. Every morning we found him on the floor. I didn't like that so much.

The cushions on the ground is an option, but this ^^ would bother me too.

As CruiserBruce describes, Shore Excursions Group is a third party broker. I've used it a few times with success, and I give their pricing a check in my research. I wouldn't necessarily run scared, but if the language barrier is a concern and you specifically want totally private group excursions, then booking direct with local vendors may be your best bet.

Also, you'll hear shore trips and shore excursions to mean the same thing. It's entirely possible your TA said something like book group shore excursions, or something to that effect, so you searched shore excursions group and obviously, since there's a site with that exact name, that's what's going to come up. Don't beat yourself up about it! 🙂

Late December is still a long way away in terms of recovery efforts... The cruise lines will be working hard to be able to call on the port as soon as possible - it may be December, it may not. The damage is extensive. It's just too soon to know when it may be back open for business. The Pride sometimes calls on Grand Turk, so you may also see a re-routing there or HMC if there's space. Port Canaveral is a possibility also - my cruise on the Pride about five years ago had that as one of the scheduled stops.

1 hour ago, BNBR said:

 

There are residents on HMC. 

I wasn’t sure if they’re year round residents, but I looked it up and they are. There are ~45! 

On 7/4/2019 at 8:30 PM, DallasGuy75219 said:

Mid-August.  

 

Booking directly on their website, their current offer is $39 with $10 cash back upon arrival, through 12/31/19.

Did you go to Del Mar Latino? I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

I've done the Hilton and it is a very easy walk from the port - just head to the right after exiting. It's a nice enough place - beach is decent; not an ocean beach. The pool area and grounds are nice as well. I'm not sure what the going rate is for the day pass, but I heard it was close to $100pp?? and I'm not sure I think it's worth that much.

HMC is south-east ish of where the worst of Dorian has hit. HOWEVER, I think it's too soon to know whether it sustained any significant damage. I'd be surprised if anyone from Carnival Corp has been able to get out there yet to survey the island; I don't think it's inhabited regularly; the artisans/shop operators on the island ferry over when there is a ship scheduled. And I would be REALLY surprised if anyone has gone their yet; sea conditions are still not safe.

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

For anyone driving to a port during hurricane season, parking on a mid or upper level in a covered garage is probably the best option, rather than an off site, open ground level lot.  Avoids any possible flooding or maybe even damage from wind driven items.

And as interior on those levels as possible...try to avoid the perimeter spots!

Technically, cruises to nowhere are not allowed due to the Jones Act (I think that’s the one). **EDIT** it’s the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA), not Jones. There may be some exceptions for cruises in situations like natural disasters or “acts of god,” but I think the cruise line would have to demonstrate at the least they attempted to make their foreign port. That’s just assumption on my part though. 

The Horizon sails from Miami, right? Nassau might not be out of the question by late next week, because they’re outside the worst of it, so they may be able to accommodate the ship. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see maybe a shorter day in Grand Turk. You might also see that 3 day become 4, and she’ll head to one of the ports in Mexico with two sea days. Then the following 7-day would become a 6-day.

So many unknowns; I really feel for everyone affected by the storm. Not a fun situation.