cruiseequalsfun

Thank you!!!  Appreciate it!

@JJK2008  Thank you for your review!!  I appreciate your review and glad you enjoyed it.  We too have a private tour with Victor Boden!  Glad to hear the boarding and getting off in Tampa was smooth!  Thank you again!

@JJK2008 - Hello.  If you didn't mind posting an overview of your cruise on the main Royal Caribbean board that would be great.  There is little to no information / reviews of Enchantment.  We will be sailing her in June and yes I know it is an older ship without all the amenities, but wanted to know in general your review of it, especially recent trips out of Tampa - the ship, what you did in ports, the food, and how the tender situation was in Belize!  Thanks in advance if you can do a short review!

Thank you for this review!!  If you happen to have any of the cruise compasses (daily schedules) that you can upload, that would be great.  

Cave Tubing it is!  Now I just need to finalize on a tour company.  Appreciate it!!

Thanks for the feedback.  I'm going to look more at those suggestions.  I may just go for the Olympus.  Time will tell!  Thank you !!

16 hours ago, RW_MI said:

We just got back. Ended up going out on our own and had an absolutely awesome time.  I did see one or two guys taking people out with lifebuoy rings but not sure if they were associated with a specific resort.  West Bay Beach is amazing!!!!

 

Thanks, medcruzer, for your update too.

Which resort/club did you go to?  Was there an entry fee, if so how much?  Did they offer snorkel rental gear?  And if so, do you recall how much?  Thanks!

We are booking mid-June on a cruise that goes to Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, and Costa Maya (in this order).  It is 3 of us - myself, husband, and 11 year old daughter.  I feel like we have good plans (none booked yet) for Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya, but I'm struggling with what to do in Belize.

In Cozumel I'm thinking of booking Tour Plaza for city highlights/sightseeing, maybe see the lighthouse, doing a snorkel boat excursion, and beach time.

In Roatan I'm thinking of booking with Victor Boden for sightseeing, sloths, beach/resort with snorkeling from the shore.

In Costa Maya I'm thinking of booking with Native Choice for the Chachoben Ruins tour.

In Belize, some ideas I've seen on the boards would be a trip to the zoo (but we have a really nice zoo an hour from us at home), maybe cave tubing?  perhaps cave tubing and zip line?  I see Coral Breeze Tours does cave tubing and zip lines, but it is an hour drive each way.  I don't want this to be just a "beach/snorkel" stop since we are doing a lot of that in Cozumel and Roatan.  Does anyone have any other thoughts of a good excursion to take in Belize or ideas for me!?

Thanks in advance.

Hi.  Does anyone have a good recommendation for an inexpensive but good underwater camera?  It would only be used a handful of times a year at most snorkeling, in the ocean, or at the pool.  For many years I had the waterproof Canon (like D30) and prior versions and they were great and I used it also for my everyday camera but it doesn't appear they make them anymore.  Plus I now either use my iPhone or a more expensive non-waterproof camera for "above water" photos.  I do NOT want a case for the iPhone or a housing case for a regular camera to be used underwater. 

I'd like to stay under $200, mainly as this camera won't get a lot of use.  I see Amazon has a lot in the $60-$100 range, but some of the bad reviews scare me off!

So looking to see if anyone here has recently purchased one that they recommend.  Thanks in advance.

This may not be for everyone, and it really depends on what you are buying and how big/heavy it is in it's totality.  But sometimes I'll bring old tennis shoes or an old jacket that I planned to discard after the trip and discard them before getting to the airport to travel home.  If it is truly worn out toss them or if they are in good shape but just not your cup of tea you could see if your last port of the city you travel home at has a goodwill store, etc. you could donate it at.

I was mentioning this to someone recently, and they recommended not to leave it in the trash bin on the ship though or in like a Caribbean port that has to export all it's trash, etc. 

With that said going to a post office in a port or even a place to donate the items takes valuable port time away from you, so I'd just ensure I don't fill my bag fully for the trip out or bring an extra bag and pay the bag fee the one way back if needed!

Thanks everyone!  I actually forgot I posted this several months ago!! I don't think I'll do it and looks like a 1-2pm departure is in my cards.  Appreciate all the responses.

To the person that asked, the 11:01 was Vancouver to Chicago O'Hare on United then connection onward.  Now I'll probably do AA, also through O'Hare.  The flight is more expensive but I have lifetime million miler gold status so bags would be free, etc, so in the end it really won't be any more expensive than United and a little status always helps if there are delays, etc.

Hi.  Would an 11:01 flight out of Vancouver back to the US after getting of Radiance of the Seas in June on a FRIDAY be doable?  I read about the skytrain taking 30 min.  We can haul our own bags and also can do self disembark.  But is that still making it too close?  The airline we would fly I don't have any status on either.  Thanks!

Thanks!  Do you recall what he charged?

Thanks everyone!  I am finding a 12:35pm on one airline and a 1pm on another.  It is not until next June so I'm not planning to book flights anytime soon yet.  And of course between now and then they may change the flight times.  I was not thinking about rush hour traffic.  It would be a Friday and I think the Friday before Father's Day.  Radiance is scheduled to arrive at 7am.  No issues rolling our bags off.  Do you think this is doable?

Thanks!

What would be the earliest flight time you would book out of Vancouver after an Alaskan cruise back to the East Coast?

Also does anyone know if you clear customs in Vancouver or once you land in a US city?

Struggling to find a flight that would get me back home on the same day and don't really want to do an overnight flight either.

Thanks in advance.

It depends.  I booked with Sonny for 2 people 6+ months before my cruise coming up.  We were the first two.  I posted on our roll call (that is not really very active at all) to see if anyone wanted to join.  No one even responded on the roll call to my post or for that matter even welcomed me to the roll call!  So we cancelled on him and now are doing a private tour (a lot more $$$) but we did not want to do a big bus tour.  I recommend that you post on your roll call and see if you can drum up others to contact Sonny to join!  Post now, and then post every month for the next few months so new folks see it too!  Also some cruises now have roll calls on other popular sites so if you know of any / participate ask there too (I don't know if my cruise did as I'm not on any other site).  I'd then say try to come up with a back up plan and cancel on Sonny if you don't get 10 people by 1-2 weeks before the cruise.  I was disappointed because so many good things said on this site and others about Sonny but I understand that 2 people in such a large van isn't worth it for him.  It seems like a great tour and a fabulous price and not a big group...if you can get enough!

Thank you!!

Thank you!!!  Appreciate the quick responses.

I'll be on Freedom of the Seas soon.  I have a tour that will pick us up mid day in front of the large blue Curacao sign mid day.  Does anyone know where that is located?  Street location or near what major landmark?  Prior to that we will be walking around downtown - I have a self guided walking tour (found online) of both the Punda and the Otrobanda side planned and then lunch prior to meeting at the Curacao sign for the guided tour.  Trying to decide which side to tour first based on where the Curacao sign is and also a lunch spot near the sign?  Or recommendations downtown!?  Thanks in advance.

We have a 4 hour tour planned and the taxi driver will drop us off at Eagle Beach at the end.  Of course they can give recommendations but I thought I'd ask here too.  We plan to be at Eagle beach for 2-3 hours (1-4pm) for lunch, swimming, etc.  Where is a good spot to be dropped off?  Tops are a place for food (chicken/burgers/etc) and bathroom.  Also prefer but not needed are umbrella/chair rentals (I hear they are 45-50 and not sure that is worth it for a couple of hours).  I hear that is Coco Loco (but it gets really bad reviews) and then Paradise Beach Villas.  Not sure if there are other or better options?

If anyone can help, that would be great!

Does anyone know what the current price is to purchase the thumb drive of pictures from the 4 hour snorkel?  I'm interested in purchasing it and want to know how much to bring!  For those that have purchased it, can you tell them ahead of time to ensure they take some photos of you under the water, etc?.

Sorry, I just realized that you don't get to port until after lunch time!!  That changes things for you dramatically!!  Sorry, my advice doesn't help you too much then!

Maybe see the downtown on your own (taking your swim stuff with you) and then when you are done take a taxi to a beach to swim or snorkel (before it gets dark) - again though, check the sunset time.

We are in Curacao 8am - 8pm.  We will get off the ship (hopefully by 8:30!) and walk around the downtown / shop on our own for 3-3.5 hours, then find a place to have a quick bite of lunch 12-1.  We then have a private excursion from 1-5 that will take us to Shete Boka Park, swimming with turtles at Playa Piskado, see the flamingos, view point at Santa Martha.  This way we get the best of both!  See the downtown on our own and see some of the key sights. 

Check what time the sunsets even if you are there until 10pm!  You won't see anything good in the dark!

Also I imagine some of the shops will close at 5pm but that is just a guess on my part.

Thank you!  We have Sonny booked in May but it is only 2 of us and he needs a certain # of people or it will be cancelled.  I'm hoping others take the tour.  Was your tour the 3.5 hour tour?  Afterwards I hear he will drop you off at a beach if you like - by chance did you do that?  I'm glad you enjoyed the tour!

Thanks Clubber! All good points! Last years return was a disaster and it was a later flight (1pm I think) -  (delayed flight, missed connection, no other flights with seats for 2 days, rented a car and drove rest the of the way home). So I was excited to see an 11am flight.  Now 10:18 worries me but I think we will go for it.  I've noted down your points to read again the night before debarking.  Appreciate it.