Mango Mike

I'm certain this has been discussed quite often and if you can lead me to the appropriate thread, please do (i can't seem to find it via search option), so my question is:

"In the course of say 1 year, approximately how many times is a cruise delayed due to fog (both leaving and returning)"?

Many thanks

Due to mobility issues, a member of our group cannot walk the streets as easily as the rest of us.

I've always walked everywhere I needed to go so never paid any attention, are taxi's (or other modes of public transportation) available to get us from store to store/restaurant within Old San Juan?

You're most likely right. After looking at Costa's website, it appears the Favolosa should be in St. Kitts on the 8th. Maybe it's at the Captain's discretion.

What about 4 ships?

January 11, 2017 - Celebrity Reflection, Costa Favolosa, Norwegian Breakaway and Carnival Conquest (port load of 14,510 :eek:)

It might be a little more helpful if we knew what you were looking for (artwork, t-shirts, handmade souvenirs, etc).

Times they are a changing, in the 80's there was lots of smoking on cruise ships, I remember hearing cruise director telling everybody to smoke or flush what is left before going thru customs. Also on my 1 Celebrity cruise about 6 years ago, I was really surprised that someone left a half of a joint in the sky suite we were in.

:eek::eek: OMG - Been there, done that. mid 70's, teenager, first cruise to Ocho Rios (need I say more).

(I even remember the drug sniffing dogs name was Lulu)

Agree with the others, it's a great place.

Stayed there a couple/three years ago. They put us in a corner oceanview room on one of the upper floors - WOW!!

If you don't mind spending the money "for just a bed", I'd recommend it. (I have a hard time justifying spending hundreds of dollars a night just to sleep, but hey - that's the cost of truly enjoying your vacation)

Add me to the list of those that frequent The Parrot Club whenever I can.

For me, they make the best Mojito's (had 4 last time because my wife didn't want hers - and yes, I did find my way back to the ship). They also have a very good food menu. The missus always gets the Cubano and I get some sort of caribbean cheesesteak sandwich (can't remember the name).

Going back to San Juan in January and plan on spending some time at The Parrot Club again (WITHOUT FAIL!)

I just want to know where I can find a sport coat like the one in your pictures :eek::eek::eek:

Personally, I feel vacations are for families to be together - not reach their destination and go their separate ways. As hectic as things are these days with work, school, sports, etc., families should spend more time together, not apart.

When we took our daughter on cruise vacations, she would stay with mom and dad and we would find things to do together. Granted, we took cruises on the more "family friendly" lines, but we did things as a family and I believe our daughter enjoyed it much more than if she would have been dropped off with a bunch of others that she didn't know. With a "kids club", there's always the possibility of some kids not hitting it off, or the staff scheduling activities that might not appeal to everyone. This can make for a long week for the child.

My suggestion - DO YOUR RESEARCH - find a cruise line that will appeal to everyone in your family, then do things as a family.

Not disagreeing with Duanerice1 by any means since I haven't sailed in that cabin or anywhere near it (heck, I haven't even been on that ship yet), but looking at photos, I don't see any obstructions at all???

"][/url]

Work, oh the dastardly thing required to earn the funds to cruise! :D

 

Last yr was our 7th time to stop in St Thomas, the 1st was in 1992. Oh how it has changed in some spots but time has stood still in others.

 

The 6 of us chartered a sail boat, this was excellent! They took us to a beach we had never been to. NO ONE else was there! It was like our 1st time all over again.

Love the dog!!!

To somewhat prove the point in simple terms, I would bet that nearly everyone that reads/replies on these boards and has been to a number of the islands has a favorite or two. This would mean there must be differences.

Remember, you can't have a favorite place until you've seen them all (and I'm trying really hard - but work keeps getting in the way).

PaulieC - Let us (me) know what you find out. The missus and I are doing the same cruise (Celebrity Reflection) and having been to Sint Maarten enough times in the past, we're looking for something similar to what you're looking for. Have done a couple catamaran cruises in Barbados with a max. of 12-14 passengers (Heat Wave & Calabaza) - fantastic times.

(We were actually hoping to find some sort of round trip "water transportation" to Marigot so as to avoid buses/taxis, but sigh, no luck).

Helipad gets my vote.

Agree - Jimmy has lost his perspective of reality and forgot about those that made him who he is. Most everything he sells or provides (merchandise, hotels, vacations, etc.), is priced for the upper income folks. We would love to stay at one of his hotels, but cannot justify the cost for what's basically, a place to sleep. I still listen to his music and visit his restaurants when I can, but sorry I'll have to forego staying in his hotels or buying his apparel and/or accessories (okay, maybe a tee shirt or two if they're on sale).

Seriously what the heck does "Modern Luxury" mean anyway??

This was my thought exactly.

What IS the definition of "Modern Luxury"? In my opinion, each of us has our own idea of what that phrase means and if Celebrity doesn't reach your expectations, they've fallen short for everybody. Just because Passenger "A" isn't happy with what's being sold as Modern Luxury doesn't mean passenger "B" feels the same way.

2 questions:

1) Can a person book an alcove in advance (online) and then decide to cancel once they are on board?

2) I know I cannot request a specific alcove, but can I request a specific side? (Respiratory issues and would like to be on the starboard side away from the smoking side if at all possible).

Avoid the staterooms with connecting doors between cabins. On the Reflection (Unlike the other ships in her class) the connecting door is in the interior near the door to the corridor. Although we didn't have a problem with noise, if someone in the next stateroom is loud, you may hear it through the connecting door in your stateroom.

??? :confused:

The connecting staterooms on the Reflection are different from other S class ships? So they have a door inside the stateroom connecting the 2 rooms instead of creating a "vestibule" outside the usual stateroom door with a "new" single entrance door to access the 2 cabins?

I like the Avalon because it includes breakfast and you can also head over to the oceanfront South Seas hotel and use their oceanfront pool or have breakfast there.

 

The people watching on the front porch of the Avalon is excellent.

 

As for oceanview rooms, the hotels are set so far back from the water (even the oceanfront hotels) that the view is okay at best. I'd skip the oceanview room. You also have to be above the tree line (4th Floor?) to see anything.

I was in hopes you would reply - you seem to know your way around the area quite well.

I agree on the ocean view rooms. Our only concern is, we would rather see a glimpse of "something" rather than the side of another building. Whether or not it's worth the additional $$, we'll have to decide.

Our initial choice is the Avalon, but what do you know about the other 2?

Trying to decide on which hotel to stay at (1 night pre-cruise) in South Beach. We've researched over and over and have finally narrowed it down to 3, so we thought we might ask if anyone here has stayed (or knows about) any of these:

1) The Avalon (7th & Ocean Drive)

Standard queen room - $200/night

Ocean view - don't even ask

2) The Beacon (7th & Ocean Drive)

Superior king room - $293/night

Ocean view - $333/night

3) The Breakwater (10th & Ocean Drive)

Superior king room - $234/night

Ocean view - $273/night

Plus taxes and fees (and valet parking) on all 3 which will up the prices a bit.

Tripadvisor and other rating "sites" give all 3 of these places very good reviews (albeit, you'll always have those that are never happy no matter what).

Thanks

Another vote for being your own travel agent.

We used one for the first couple. Never had any issues (they were actually terrific). We just decided we like to be able to have control over our reservation. For example, if a much better cabin in your same category becomes available over the weekend and your travel agent is closed, if your doing it yourself, one phone call to Celebrity and the change is made. No need to worry if it'll still be there Monday morning.

If it were me, I'd forego the TA.

The wife and I have finally decided we're going to take a walk on the wild side and we're staying in a South Beach hotel the night before our upcoming cruise.

Here's my question - looking for a good place for breakfast. I'm not talking juice, coffee and a bagel, I'm talking REAL breakfast - 3 (maybe 4) eggs, bacon or sausage (or both), hash browns, toast, coffee (you get my point). I normally don't eat breakfast, but when I'm on vacation, watch out.

Any suggestions for a restaurant in the South Beach/Miami Beach area or maybe en route to MIA? We'll be doing some site seeing (ugh, again), so we're renting a car. The morning of the cruise, apparently we need to return the car to MIA and take a shuttle back to POM so we can venture out a little.

I will suggest Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor in St Kitts. The gardens are beautiful.

Might be a bit difficult finding a secluded spot here. Been here a number of times and while I do agree it is a beautiful area (lush and floral), we've always found it to be a little "busy" with other tourists. Although you'd probably receive applause from everyone after she says yes.

What other islands are you going to?

I would ask if they could place one bed next to the balcony door and the other bed on deck 10 :eek::eek:.