robin16ak

We are on this cruise, too and are not sure what to do either.  We know we want to go to a beach but I am worried about just showing up at one and everything being closed due to the holiday. I emailed a tour operator that was recommended on here but they were booked.  I emailed another one (Curacao Dreams) that was recommended on TripAdvisor and am waiting to hear back.  The Carnival excursions are all expensive without much beach time.  My kids are 13, 11, and 6 and all love the beach.  

Awesome, thank you for the recommendations.  I didn't even think about traffic, and with the cruise leaving on a Sunday, I imagine we'd hit lots of weekend traffic coming from the Keys while we are trying to get to the ship.  I will look for something in FLL.  I appreciate it!  

We are flying in the evening of July 26th for the CCL Magic cruise on the 28th.  We are getting a rental car and would like to spend the day of the 27th at Pennekamp park on Key Largo.  We spent time there after another cruise a few years ago and loved it.  We don't mind a bit of a drive, we live in Alaska and regularly drive 2 hours each way for Wal-Mart and medical care 🙂  

 

I can't decide between a hotel near the FLL airport and the port, or possibly splitting the distance between FLL and Key Largo.  I'm not sure where to look for other hotels outside of FLL- I checked some in Dania Beach, but they were just as expensive as the ones near the port.  Florida City seems cheaper and is much closer to Key Largo.  Any suggestions or recommendations for places in between, or do you think it's best to just stay near the port for the convenience on embarkation day?  

 

Thanks in advance!  Bonus points if the hotel is near a Target, as we don't have one near us and I want to raid the Dollar Spot for stuff for my classrooom.  

 

 

On 2/2/2019 at 11:52 AM, Taters said:

Most of our cruises have been over 10 days because we have to travel from Fairbanks, Alaska to embark.

 

 

 

I can't add to the discussion on (we have only been cruising for 4 years) decline in service, but wanted to say hi to a fellow Alaskan.  We are just down the road in Delta.  No 10 day cruises for us yet because we have three small kids and it is too much, but we always book for 7 days to make that airfare worth it.  On our one six day cruise, we tacked a couple days on in the Keys because that is too far to fly for only six days! 

 

Thanks for the info. Was there any option to be dropped off at the pier instead of the ship after the tour? What time did you end up back at the ship? I'm wondering if there would be time to jump on a tender to the pier for maybe 30-60 minutes after the tour.

 

We went on the tour that started at 11:15. On the way back, you go straight to the ship, and we arrived as the last few tenders were dropping people off. Maybe you could go over on one of the first tenders over in the morning and go to the port area for a short time and tender back in time for the excursion? This was my first time in Belize, so I don't really know the logistics and if that would be feasible.

Are there shower facilities to wash off?

I didn't notice any, but we also didn't explore much and spent 90% of our time in the water. As we walked the pier to board the tender, one of the guides was hosing off snorkel gear and hosed the sand off feet and legs for people as they went by :p

Hello,

 

We went to Rendezvous Caye on the Carnival Snorkeling Wonders of the Barrier Reef excursion last week. It was wonderful! The water was clear and there was a shallow pool on the left end of the island that my 5 year old daughter played in. They divide the snorkelers into three groups (beginning, intermediate, and advanced). My husband is advanced but took our two boys (10 and 11) in the beginners group and they went slowly and made sure everyone was safe. I stayed on the beach with my 5 year old daughter. We saw plenty of birds and fish while we just hung out in the water and they saw lobsters, sea cucumber, and all kinds of fish in the guided snorkeling portion. The guides were all friendly and knowledgeable. My only complaint was that it is a 40 min ride there and 40 min back, and you really only get 2.5 hours at the island. We could have spent all day there! The beginner snorkeling portion was about 45 minutes and then people just relaxed and swam. I also liked how easy this excursion was- no worrying about tendering or anything. We met up in one of the dining rooms, then got on the tender boat and went straight to the island, easy peasy. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

Thank you everyone for the quick replies! I found with our last cruises that even though we don't get super dressy for the elegant nights, we still end up bringing more to have dressier sandals, closed toe shoes for my husband and my boys, etc. It just seems to add up with five people cruising. Plus it seems wait time in the MDR on elegant nights is a bit longer, and my kids don't eat lobster and my husband makes better prime rib ;) We'll do Cucina one night and the MDR a night or two, but honestly we prefer the convenience of the Lido buffet when we cruise with the kids. I just had read a few reviews with pictures of the Cucina menus and it all sounds so good, I thought we could try that this time!

 

surfjock, thanks for the tip about the meatballs, we will definitely try them. We are looking forward to the Breeze for sure!

Hello,

 

We have a cruise on the Breeze coming up in March. Our three kids are coming this time and we are skipping formal nights to save room in our luggage. We think we'd still like to go to the Italian restaurant one evening. The Carnival website FAQ doesn't list a dress code for this place (just Steakhouse and MDR from what I could find). Would dark jeans and a button down or polo be appropriate for my husband at the Cucina restaurant? Khaki shorts and a button down ok for my 10 and 11 year old boys? The only speciality dining we've done is the Steakhouse and we obviously dressed up for that. Thanks for any help!

We went to Amber Cove in June 2017, and did the 12 Waterfalls tour with Iguana Mama. We loved it, but I've since read reports that it can be more dangerous during a rainy season. Iguana Mama was awesome, the van there was crowded but the guides were fun and friendly. You hike a bit in the jungle, and the river water is just cool enough to be refreshing.

bradsnana, thank you so much for the heads up about road construction. I just talked to my husband about it and we are going to give ourselves about 3 hours to drive from IAH to Galveston on Sunday morning for the cruise. If we get there early, we can just drive around and check out what there is to see. Thank you again for passing that info on.

I know I will miss guys burgers and blue iguana for lunch. Do they have a barritto bar similar to blue iguana?

 

 

When we went last June, there was a burrito station at the buffet where they build a burrito for you like the Blue Iguana.

We were on the Splendor in June 2017 and had a wonderful cruise. We had great service in our room and at the buffet. We really enjoyed the Indian food station by the aft pool. My only (really minor) complaints were that the sea day brunch was kind of meh, and the bars didn't always open up early enough for me to grab a Diet Coke in the morning before excursions. We didn't do the brunch until the last day so we didn't get to try it again to see if it was just an off day. I thought we might miss the Guy's burgers or other features of the newer ships, but we didn't.

kellerfam, I ended doing the same thing and renting a car for the entire week. The rental car and parking for the week come up to a little less than $400, cheaper than a shuttle both ways, and we have the flexibility to stop and see other sights on our way back. Our flight doesn't leave till Sunday evening so we were hoping to hit up the Children's Museum or something like that on Sunday after we get off the ship.

 

MOCowBell, thanks for the information. We changed our plans to just get the car for the week and pay parking at the port. It comes out to cheaper than paying for the one-way charge each way and just a bit cheaper than a shuttle both ways. I am hoping to eliminate some of the headache that you explained doing it this way. We can fly in, get our rental car, grab dinner on the way to the hotel. Then in the morning we can take off when we want, stop if we need to, and just park the car at the port, eliminating the rental car drop off at the port and potential taxi to the port issues.

Mitsugirly, thanks for your detailed review of Rendezvous Caye. I switched us from the Sharks and Rays excursion to this one after I read your last review. It looks like a much better fit for our family.

Ohio to Texas, thank you for the insight on time and traffic. I will give us a little extra time than that to accommodate being from out of town and a cushion for traffic. Hotels in League City are running $60-70 more than the Hyatt I found by IAH. I didn't think about the Hurricane affecting things in that area, that is a good point. I'd feel more comfortable having a shorter drive in the morning, but to save that much, we might just stay at the Hyatt. Plus we fly all night the night before, so it may be better easier on our kids to just go to the hotel near the airport and rest and start fresh in the morning.

Hello! We are flying into IAH at 6 PM on 3/17 and are on the 3/18 Breeze sailing out of Galveston. We decided to get a rental car and drive ourselves, since there are 5 people in our family and even with the drop off fee, it was cheaper than paying per person for a shuttle. I booked the Hyatt near IAH and we planned to drive down in the morning. How much time should we give ourselves? Google Maps says it is 75 miles and about about 70 minutes. Accurate? Will traffic be an issue on a Sunday morning? We have an 11:30 check in time.

 

I'm wondering if maybe we should split the distance and drive down part way the night before. I've seen League City recommended as an in-between, but it doesn't seem to have many options available on Hotwire. I don't really want to drive after flying all night, but might feel safer being closer to the port in the morning. Any feedback on this idea?

Great, thanks John! We don't mind getting up early and getting off the ship quickly, as we like to maximize our time in port.

Hello! We are on the Carnival Breeze on the March 17 cruise. We'll be in Cozumel on March 20, with five other ships (2 Norwegian, the Vista, Disney something, and a RC). We arrive at 8 AM, but several of the other cruises get in at 7 and 7:30. We are really interested in Paradise Beach, but are concerned about not being able to reserve ahead of time. Is it likely they will fill up and and we won't be able to get in? Should we try to go somewhere else that we can make a reservation? We are two adults and three kids (11, 10, and 5). Thanks for any insight! We liked Paradise Beach for the price and a la carte options. Don't want to pay full AI admission to the other places if the five year old isn't interested in the inflatables.

Thank you for posting. We are taking our three dorks on the Breeze in March and your review was helpful!

We were there in June and did the waterfall tour with Iguana Mama Tours. We did the 12 falls tour and loved it. My favorite cruise excursion ever.

We are going in March with a 5 year old, 10 year old and 11 year old, and booked the Sharks Rays and Island Getaway excursion through Carnival. I had a hard time finding an excursion that allowed five year olds, but this one does. My older kids love to snorkel and my 5 year old is fearless in the water. They are really looking forward to it and frankly, I am, too! Also, depending on your kids, they might enjoy the ruins. We went to El Morro in San Juan when my older kids were 6 and 8 and they loved it.

We are going on an 8 day cruise in January with 3 kids and also staying in a Family Harbor room. Thank you for sharing your review!!!

Hello,

 

We reserved the 12 Waterfalls option through Iguana Mama and are really excited! I'm not sure what to wear- shorts with a drawstring and a bathing suit top? I'm afraid my swim skirt, which just has an elastic waist, will slide right off. I wore a tshirt in a mud race and it was hanging off of me, so that doesn't seem like a good option. I'm bringing tennis shoes that I can toss afterward. Any advice on what to wear? Thanks!