legalgirl

Sailing to St Maartens, St. Croix and Barbados in February.  Any suggestions on the best beaches on those islands?  Would appreciate comments on vendors, services and facilities.  Should we take a ship's tour or venture out on our own.

Booked on a February 2019 Azamara cruise to Cuba. We spend 3 days in Havana. Researching ship sponsored shore excursions. Wondering if we can do an off ship tour with a reputable tour guide and how to arrange this? Lastly, is it possible to spend a day at a nice Havana beach?

OK, we're going on the same cruise, just earlier in the month.

Have a question about Bar Harbor. Itinerary says we are in Bar Harbor from 8-6. What time can we reasonably expect to actually be on shore? Need to know since we will probably be hooking up with Oli's Trolly for one, maybe even two tours, one for the park and one for the mountain.

2nd question, what time will the last tender be leaving shore for the ship. Obviously, we don't to be on a tour bus when the last tender leaves.

Did this cruise last September and enjoyed it so much we are repeating this September because we want to do different tours. Last year in Bar Harbor we took the lobster boat trip. Very enjoyable. This year we booked a tour off the ship that takes in Acadia. I don't recall what time we departed the ship. We were not in a hurry since our tour was scheduled for 11 am. We had enough time prior to work the area and enough time after to have a lobster roll at The Lobster Company. A little walk up the hill but so worth it. Recommended by our waiter. Dinner was not necessary on the ship that night. We also had the clam chowder and could not resist the blueberry pie which we shared. Excellent. Again, I don't recall the last tender but we were probably back on the ship by 5.

Booked on the Azamara for the Feb. 20, 2019. Can anyone tell me how far the cruise terminal is from the airport? Also, any recommendations on hotels that are close would be appreciated. Thank you.

Will be on the Grandeur in September and in Boston on Saturday, September 29. Want to visit Salem. Has anyone gone on their own or is it best to do the ship tour? Not much time in Salem with the ship tour.

Will be visiting Puerto Limon end of February 2018. Any suggestions on shore excurtions - either ship or private? Was there 10 years ago so I am sure there has been many changes. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Considering round trip New Orleans. Any comments from anyone who has done this cruise such as the hotel the cruise line the uses for the one night, things to do in the ports, food, etc.?

We did the Panama Canal partial transit on Holland America several years ago. Since it was not a full transit we booked a tour that took us through the remaining locks to Panama City. We then were taken back to the ship via bus. The book that took us through was small, four decks and included lunch. We were in each lock with other small boats. We could touch the wall of the lock. It was wonderful. It was the best of two worlds - going through one lock on our cruise ship and the remaining locks on a smaller vessel. We sent through the original canal and the new canal was under construction. Not sure which canal ships go through now or even if this tour is available. We really liked this cruise and are considering going again in February. Hope this helps.

Cruising the Panama Canal on Holland. Flying to Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise. Can anyone suggest a good hotel to stay? Also, how far is the Holland America cruise terminal from the airport. Thank you.

Sailing on the Grandeur to Bermuda on May 8. We have selected the My Time Dining. Having sailed on Royal Caribbean ships before including the Grandeur I am aware I could make dinner reservations for every night of the cruise on Royal's web page. I have been trying to do this for more than a month without success. I have called customer service several times. Each time I was told they are having IT issues and this option is not available at this time. Has anyone else encountered this problem the Grandeur or any other Royal ship?

Thank you to all who responded. Some wonderful suggestions. Looking forward to our trip. For anyone who would like to not cruise but fly I highly recommend Beaches in Turks & Caicos. Been there 4 times and it is very nice. Like the all inclusives and Sandals/Beaches is good. Been to many Sandals/Beaches and have not been disappointed.

Making a stop at Grand Turk. Have not been to this port before. Any suggestions for how to spend the day?