Mango Mike

Her right eye was struck by a cork from a champagne bottle she had brought on board, cruise line spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said in an email.

"The guest was initially treated in our medical facility, but required additional and urgent medical attention that could only be provided in a hospital," Martinez said. "We wish our guest a speedy recovery."

I'm going to take a guess that it was self inflicted.

I agree with everything the others have said.

Also, you won't even feel or notice the motion. Don't worry about it.

Good to hear.

As I think back, I don't remember filling out the online form. I always just emailed her.

Have fun.

Thank you! Were you taken to an area with loads of other snorkelers? A friend from our roll call (we don't sail for a year) just went with Calabaza and said they were in the water with so many other people, and that her previous experience with Silver Moon was much better because they were taken to an area with very few other people. She also said the snorkel/fins were of better quality, as was the food with Silver Moon. We have decided if we'll be bringing our own snorkel/fins.

 

This is why I'm looking for some additional feedback. I realize the experiences are going to be all over the board, so I'm glad to hear you feel like I really can't go wrong with my current reservation, but wondering if anyone else has some comparisons as that feedback could have just been a fluke.

Typically, they go to a couple spots that have little or no other people in the area, but some storms caused murky waters in those areas so we to unfortunately go where the other excursions go so it was a little crowded but still not too bad. I would say 90% of the time, Calabaza goes where there aren't any others.

I know you're asking for answers from someone that's been with both companies and I hope they'll respond but until then, I thought I would reassure you that you didn't make any mistakes by choosing Calabaza.

We just did a cruise that included an excursion with Calabaza and all I can say is it was the best catamaran tour we've ever done. Gina and her crew provide a fantastic experience.

Hey Mango Mike, I am going to book Calabaza and what would you suggest to do "new the pier" when we get back?

That will be hard for me to answer but I will provide a public service announcement.

The last time we were in Barbados, my wife and I did a similar catamaran tour (not Calabaza) and didn't heed to the precautionary words of others to wear plenty of sunscreen and a hat. Long story short, a nasty sunburn on that catamaran ended up causing skin cancer on the top of my head that I had to have surgically removed last November. Wore plenty of sunscreen on this tour but unfortunately, my hat blew off and sure enough, sunburn on the scalp again. Looks like surgery is in my future one more time. PLEASE WEAR SUNSCREEN AND A HAT!

Back to your question. Since I had "sun issues" again, we thought it was best that we go back to the ship and nurse my war wounds. There is a building right next to the pier that has a number of shops if you want to do some shopping (typical souvenir stuff) and I think there are a couple of bars if you want to continue your rhum consumption. Other than that, I really can't help you, sorry.

I will guarantee you'll have a great time with Gina and her crew.

Somewhat confused. From your "mini review", most of your comments were in favor of Royal yet you say Carnival wins - ???

Somewhat confused. From your "mini review", most of your comments were in favor of Royal yet you say Carnival wins - ???

That's unusual, she usually responds the same day. I know she's out on one of the catamarans during the day but tends to answer her emails and set up reservations and schedules afterwards. Keep trying.

It's simple. "You were a baby and too little to go (or too little to enjoy it) so you had a fun week with grandma and grandpa." And most likely there will be another cruise in this family's future with pictures of an older little brother who got to cruise too.

That's easy for adults to understand' date=' but for an adolescent, I'm not so sure. We cannot say for sure that they'll be alright with it and we do not know how they'll feel. You might [b']think[/b] you do, but you don't know.

I'm not saying what's right and what's wrong and whether or not to take the youngest one, I'm just trying to look at all issues.

Okay, I'll be the devils advocate here.

Fast forward 10 years from now, sitting around in the family room looking at home videos or pictures of your past vacations when this one comes up. How do you tell the youngest "The 4 of us went on a fantastic cruise and had a great time but we left you home".

I'm glad I'm not in your shoes and I'm not saying you should or shouldn't - tough decision. Listen to what others have to say, not me. I've never been in that situation (and at my age, never will be in).

On our 2006 Alaska cruise on the Radiance of the Seas, I ran into Doris Roberts (Marie on "Everybody Loves Raymond). I mean physically ran into her, damn near set her on her butt (wasn't paying attention to where I was going). We saw her numerous times during the cruise, very nice lady.

They pick you up right outside the pier area. Short 5 minute ride to the dock where the catamaran is tied up.

Once you make a reservation with Gina, she will email you with the details.

DO IT!!! Just went on one of her catamarans about 3 weeks ago - had fantastic time.

I'm sold. Been to Coz more time than I can count but never did the bar hop thing.

Taking another couple on their 1st cruise this December (short 5 day to see if cruising might be "their thing"). Will try to talk them into it as well as talk the missus out of shopping so we can "partake".

It is a bit more than that.

 

First, if you were to hire your own taxi/driver to take you to the other side of the island to go bar hopping it would cost between $80-$140 based on reports here. That would not include any welcome shots or guidance.

 

The "welcome shots" are actually what I would call shooters and even though I put the name in quotes like you did, they are very good and not just some gimmick.

 

How good the bus part is will depend upon your group. However, the guide(s) will be entertaining and tell you a lot of good stuff on the way over and will be your best buddy by the time you head back.

 

You can be on your own at the bars if you want or you can hang with people you meet on the bus. The guide(s) will come around and check on you as well and make sure to keep you on schedule.

 

I say guide(s) because if there is more than a certain number of people then there will be 2 guides. Smaller groups just have 1. I do not remember the number.

 

It is worth the $57 in my opinion and everyone should try it at least once.

Thanks - how long do they stay at each place?

Looked very unsanitary to me with everyone's feet bleeding.

?????

Did you even research and read about the process.

Study up before you comment!

This looks like fun but after perusing at their website, it appears they're not much more than a designated driver.

It says they stop at 4 bars where you get a free "welcome shot". Are you sort of "on your own" after that until it's time to head to the next bar?

Would love to give this a "shot" (yes, pun intended) but would like to know what all is included for the $57.

Just another thought:

https://www.furycozumel.com/

We've never done this one but have done some others (smaller size catamaran/only 12-14 in the group) in Barbados and had a blast.

If the reason they doubled the prices is for profits only and their costs has remained unchanged, it's pretty simple math.

Celebrity can double the price of the food in the Gastrobar and loose half the sales and still break even. If they double the price of the food but only loose 25% of the people purchasing food because of the increase, Celebrity comes out ahead.

Obviously, if their costs have increased or other variables come into play, results would be different.

I agree, I've never noticed that before either (but then I intended on cancelling so didn't pay attention).

I wonder how much the "nominal charge" is if you cancel before final payment is due?

For what it's worth - we just got back from a 10 day on the Equinox. Fantastic cruise, my wife and I will now primarily sail on Celebrity.

That being said, on our cruise, there were only 4 youngsters that I would say were under 12 - 14 years old. The remaining majority of passengers were 50ish and up. So on our cruise, there wouldn't have been any others for the two in your group to interact with. Although we've never been on DCL (probably will if we ever get grandkids), using our Celebrity cruise as reference, I would suggest going on Disney.

Carved meat loaf.

I'm jealous (with Au jus I hope).

Wow, that was a wild guess, because I thought NV and LB were also based there, but maybe they were still in the Med at that point.

Wow, the grand prize winner ---> what are you and the missus going to have for dinner :D?

Getting "the most" you can in one day probably won't be easy.

Regarding ship sponsored excursions - we generally stay away from them. I think we've always found much better (and cheaper) excursions by researching and booking on our own via internet. IMO, ship sponsored excursions tend to be quite organized most of the time and you won't have to worry about missing the ship if the excursion runs late, but, some of them tend to be crowded, don't allow enough time at each stop, don't take you to some of the more "out of the way" places and sometimes cater to places that give the cruise line a kickback (again, IMO)

My suggestion - to see/swim with the turtles, book a catamaran tour with Calabaza tours (book early, sells out fast), or any of the other catamaran tours that only take a limited number of guests (12-18). You'll usually leave at 9:00 - 9:30 in the morning for a 4-5 hour sail that lets you snorkel/swim with turtles, then have lunch on the catamaran. Once back on shore, you might still have time to explore a few things close to the pier.

This wouldn't get you into the "interior" of Barbados to see monkeys or allow you to do a beach day, but it would satisfy your sons turtle fascination plus give mom and dad some relaxation time (Calabaza --> class act operation).

OP

after reading your follow up post, I think Celeb may not be for you. You sound a bit bored with Royal but resistant to X...which is a diff experience. You should not need to be convinced!

 

We got restless with X and tried Oasis and counted the days to the end of the cruise,...

maybe try a newer Royal ship ..like Quantum or a more exciting itinerary,,,

Bingo. Best answer yet.