kaprin02

The diversion has delayed our arrival into St. Maarten. We are now scheduled to arrive there at 6pm tomorrow - originally was 9am. The ship is supposed to embark something like 3000 people (passengers/crew) in St Maarten, so we are scheduled to depart there at 2am. They have not said how that will affect our arrival to the following port (St. John’s, Antigua). 

The Seaside has been diverted toward Nassau for a guest needing urgent medical evacuation. A US Coast Guard helicopter met the ship and performed the evacuation. There is no information yet on how this will affect the remainder of the itinerary. 
 

We are supposed to be on our way to port at Philipsburg, St Maarten on Thursday (sea day today and tomorrow). 

On 1/21/2023 at 5:01 PM, Maverick! said:

We were in Guadeloupe in early January (off the Enchanted Princess) and I'm surprised not more cruisers or non-Europeans have enjoyed this stop.  It is a beautiful island with many areas to explore. People here were friendly and  always helpful.

Maybe it's the language or currency issues that seem to discourage many visitors off the ship but we had a fantastic day there. We took a speedboat tour with Patou Excursions (Patou is so amazing providing as much information as you need !), we chose to go to the Grand Cul de Sac Marine Reserve (northwest part of Basse Terre) with Captain Fabien along with a few couples from our Roll Call.  We met the boat right next to the Cruise Port, sailed up through the mangroves of the Salt River (Riviere Salée) saw some large iguanas in their natural habitat, and made stops at the most beautiful sandbar and crystal waters (Ilet Caret), snorkeled over this extensive coral reef seeing lobster, sea urchins, shoals of fish, and having this huge and most delicious lunch (lobster too if chosen) at a private island (Ilet de Sable i think) cooked on a grill by our Captain himself.   Could not have been easier or more convenient to get right back to the ship with time to spare.

 

We had enough folks to do a private tour but Patou also offers a group tour/rates.

 

If anyone interested to know more, message me I can provide more info but to overlook the beauty of this Port stop based on limited reviews from others who just walked around port area and gave up would really be a shame.  I personally appreciated the port area actually, not at all shady, and some unique and interesting artwork and garden flora around to appreciate.

 

Sorry to resurrect a dead thread...I found the Patou Excursions website, and found the group tour/rates.  I think we want to do something like this (our cruise line, MSC, seems to offer a shorter, more expensive, version of this). Can you tell me how many people you had for your private tour with them, and what the cost was? And can you tell me the approximate length/timing of your tour? Thanks!

4 hours ago, julig22 said:

Based on statements made by the OP, they probably bought the Essentials plan, since they said it was added later - when they tried to add excursions.  The booksafe plan that covers cancellation and gives FCC is only available up until final payment - so doubtful it was the plan they purchased.

There is no provision for refunds so of course their insurance claim was denied.

 

This is it exactly.  This is why OP's trip is not covered - they simply did not have trip cancellation coverage.  The Essentials coverage very clearly says nothing about trip cancellation (or interruption).

And if you're only using this on land anyway (since it doesn't work on a cruise ship, as Bird noted), you can usually get a local esim for data coverage on your phone for much cheaper than that.  I use a low cost cell carrier, that doesn't really have much international coverage, and doesn't have a daily international plan.  When I travel internationally, I get a local esim for data (some sims will include calls/texts too, but that's usually not necessary for me).  Last time I was in Europe, I paid $20 for like 15 Gigs of data, good for 2 weeks.  I can get a Caribbean regional one that cost $15 with I think 1Gig of data, that would cover me for 3 ports on my upcoming cruise.  I'll probably just skip that though, because I don't really need to be super connected this trip, and I've got my free wifi minutes on the ship, and can usually find some free wifi in ports for a few extra minutes.

This just seems like an expensive way to get data coverage internationally, with the added hassle of another piece of tech to haul around, keep safe, and keep charged.

On 1/14/2023 at 8:49 AM, DaCruiseBug said:

Are you sure? I just talked to a friend that just got off the Escape today and they were just given a $50 OBC. No port fees refund.

Yes - they got the $50 Non-refundable OBC, as well as something like $60 in port fees refunded.

16 hours ago, sun~ said:

I am looking at the schedule for Taino Bay, Virgin Valiant Lady and NCL Escape are supposed to dock there 1/30.

 

In Amber Cove on the actual website, it is Carnival Spirit and Carnival Magic are there Jan 30th.

 

I have been to Amber Cove a whole bunch of times. I have only seen two ships there at the same time. 

 

It is best to look at the actual websites, and not one that is a general one for DR. 

This.  Cruisemapper combines both port schedules for Puerto Plata, but still calls it Amber Cove, which confuses lots of people.  People are much better served looking at the actual port websites, rather than cruisemapper for Puerto Plata.

My mom and sister are on Escape, which missed GSC yesterday, and they were also refunded port fees.

Escape also cancelled her call at GSC today. Captain stated they would have been able to get everyone to the island, but that they wouldn’t have been able to get everyone back to the ship, due to the wind picking up around noon today. 

FYI, this week's Escape sailing has officially switched from Puerto Plata, DR on the 9th to Nassau on the 8th, as was suspected.  My mom and sister are onboard now.

On 1/6/2023 at 11:04 AM, fethiyeden said:

Not saying you're wrong, but this specifically refers to specialty dining packages for purchase.  The FAS terms and conditions don't list these restrictions (only the "one main course at Cagney's and Le Bistro" one that's been there for a long time).  It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.  I'm on the Dawn soon, and have a FAS meal, a purchase specialty dining upgrade package, and Latitudes Platinum dinners, so I'll see if anything is different between them! 

8 minutes ago, ShadowRegent said:

We found that iMessage worked even when "logged out" on our cruise a few weeks back (connected to Wifi but not using minutes).  I was surprised to see that and suspect it wasn't supposed to be working, but it did throughout our entire cruise.

This is a fairly well known "glitch" or loophole.  It's been like that since at least the post-covid restart.  Works only for text based iMessages, not pictures.

I watch the video during online check-in only.  Any reminders by email I ignore, because I've already watched the video.  Never been an issue.

I was on Escape in April, and now that you mention it, I think our cabin door did open outwards.  I just checked to see if I had any pictures that showed it, but couldn't find anything.  My mom is getting on Escape this weekend - I'll ask her to let me know once she's onboard.

Interesting.  There doesn't seem to be the same restriction written in the FAS Terms & Conditions.  I wonder if these restrictions only apply to additional purchased specialty dining meals, not the "included" FAS meals.  I'll be on board Dawn at the end of January, with an "included" FAS meal, the 2-meal specialty dining upgrade, and 2 Platinum dinners, so I guess I'll see what the difference is!  

Thanks for the heads up, Bird!

I've gotten mimosas at breakfast in the MDR, OSheehans/Local, and at the buffet bar.  Included in the regular drink package.  Can't answer your question for sure about chocolate martinis.  I haven't been on Prima, but I know they were available for a small extra charge ($1-2), on the Escape in April.

52 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

Thanks for the heads up. There was no charge for the room service? I thought there was a $10 fee for room service. I feel like I’m going to learn something in a minute …

There is no charge for the "continental breakfast" offerings from room service - however, this is limited, and only "cold" options available (fruit, cereals, pastries, yogurt), along with coffee/tea and milk/juice.

If you want something hot (like eggs), you will be charged the ~$10 room service charge.  I don't have a picture of any room service menus, but they are floating around here, and other places on the internet, which could give you an idea of what all is included in the "continental" offerings.

2 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Yikes!!!  So somebody on the Escape who craved Bailey's actually did have to fork over $1.20 per shot?  That could literally run into the tens of dollars. 🤑

I didn't say I had any...and don't know if anyone else did.  Lol.  I never paid for anything - even stuff that was over the $15 limit. 🤷‍♀️ I absolutely get your point - I ordered stuff that was over $15, and would have paid for it without complaint (because yes, it would have only added up to a few dollars), but was just never charged.  My only point was that the quoted $13 price was incorrect, at least as of when I was on the Escape 4/16.

4 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

 

$13.  Listed under Cordials.  So, no charge for anybody with the drink package! 😎

 

Unfortunately, that list is already outdated, at least on some ships.  Was on Escape 4/16, and Bailey's was definitely $16. 

Amber Cove is NOT a private island.  It is simply a different pier at Puerto Plata (yes, it was built by Carnival Corp, but it is not exclusive to them - they just get priority).  We were told Taino Bay is being dredged to better accommodate the larger ships (after what happened with the Escape).  We were scheduled for Taino Bay on the 4/16 sailing of the Escape, but it was changed to Amber Cove.  Our NCL excursion was switched for us, and most independent tour operators can do either pier, so if you have an independent excursion, just make sure they're aware of the change.  They should be able to switch.

I was on the Escape 4/16 sailing, and the menu in all three MDRs was the same each day.  When I had looked at the MDR descriptions prior to our cruise, they were the same as what your screenshot shows.  

4 minutes ago, F27TW said:

Actually, I think i'd be a little afraid to get on it for the first couple of sailings ..after all, these repairs to damaged/breached hull were only patched in the DR and then whatever repairs they did were conducted at the dock in PC.   I think I'd feel better if they'd drydocked it.    At the very least, I'd wanna a few trips go uneventfully on it before getting on! 😳

Do you really think they would take on the liability of sailing with passengers if the ship wasn’t 100% safe? Since Norwegian hasn’t actually detailed the damage, we really have no idea what happened. It’s completely possible that the majority of the repair was on the interior of the ship - why would that need a dry dock? 
 

I’m on the 4/16, which seems like it might be a go (has not been cancelled as of now, and is still bookable). I have no hesitation about getting on the ship!

The funny thing is - about half the rumors say the 4/16 sailing will be cancelled, and half say it'll go. All the rumors originate from "my PCC" or "a trusted crew member" or something like that.  The latest posts on the thread here on CC about the 4/16 sailing are literally saying that they've been told it's cancelled.  Since nothing official one way or the other has come out, no one really knows anything.

1 hour ago, styles27 said:

Is your TA on Escape by any chance?

The Escape TA is scheduled for 4/25, so probably not the one OP is on.

That is not a picture of the Escape, and is not a picture of the damage.  The person who posted that photo was using it as an example of what damage can be repaired. 

Edit: After doing a quick reverse image search, that photo is of the Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas from when it hit the dock in Costa Maya, in 2005.