snedecor

When traveling to an excursion site via bus, be aware that there are stops along the way manned by military looking police with automatic rifles. Don't be afraid, Belize is trying to intradict the drug trade. The Belizian police are not rogue and will not attack tourist buses, where the country makes a ton of money.

 

 

I don't have a great deal of knowledge of westbank hotels. But I do know that some have gotten the Holiday Inn Westbank Tower as a 3* on hotwire.

Greg,

Thank you so much for all the information, I'll check it out. Reading further, I've seen that you've stayed in Metairie before. Any good options out there for our 11/10--11/12 two night stay? We'll be driving in from Texas so that would be convenient.

Saint Greg,

I must say you are indeed a saint, and a Hotwire maven, and I'm wondering if I could ask you for help for our pre-cruise Hotel stay.

November 10-12, (Thursday and Friday nights) leaving November 12 on Triumph.

On regular sites, most hotels near to the parking garages are $200-$400/night! Saints don't play until Sunday, don't know why rates are so high.

We're looking for more like $100 a night if we can get on the same side of the river, and less than that if on the Westbank area...

Can you help me navigate Hotwire? Do I need to post the results here?

Another kicker that I just found out about is parking. Most downtown hotels seem to charge $40/night parking and more, which adds heartburn to a cheap hotel price. Any way to tell on Hotwire or any other site what parking rates are for the hotels?

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Gayle Snedecor

The problem with tables without tablecloths is due to the condensation on the outside of the glasses of water and iced tea. Most of the tables have a slick surface (typically glass). When the condensation falls and gets on the slick table and there's no tablecloth to soak it up, the water forms a sliding surface. It's not too bad if you're on land. But on a ship that pitches and rolls, both the glasses and the pitchers (that have to be there, because they've given the waiters so many tables that they can't refill your glasses any more) are free to slide to and fro, to and fro with the motion of the ship!

On one ship we were on (the Magic out of Galveston, I believe) we were catching ours and sopping up the water with napkins, but on a table about 20 feet away, on a starboard roll, two glasses slid off the table, one breaking the other as they hit the floor. The waiters came running up, and the man said, they just ran away on their own!

Another cutback by Carnival. Say goodbye to the tablecloths on smart casual nights, wave bye-bye to free lobster on shorter cruises, sayonara to the chocolates on the pillow, adios to the free teabags, see ya later to free cappuccino after dinner, etc. Might as well get your twice daily cabin service ready to meet it's maker, it's not long for this world, mark my words. Free room service will be next in line.

Cutback Cruise Line, the Walmart of Sailing

Agreed they need to bring back the Future Cruise Certificates. We would always buy one or two of these every cruise. It's difficult to always know all the details of a future cruise by the time we board the current one.

Unfortunately, the rocky relationship between Carnival and Cruise Critic, primarily fueled by the animosity between CC'ers and John Heald, probably means that our pleas on here will never be heard by the people at Carnival who need to hear it.

Sad, really.

We stayed at the Prytania Park last time and have booked them again for this year. You can leave your car at the hotel if you book a room for 2 nights. The hotel is in the garden district and is half a block from the St. Charles streetcar line so it's easy to get to the FQ.

 

http://www.prytaniaparkhotel.com/packages.html

I'm guessing we would need to take a taxi from the hotel to the terminal, and back?

St. Charles streetcar line doesn't go close enough for luggage-toting people like us...

I would like to know also how early the shuttle starts running!

I'm Platinum and like to get there early so there are no hitches in the getalong!

Anybody with experience know how early the shuttles start?

Thanks!

Thanks for the tip! We haven't cruised from N.O. in quite a while, and this will be very helpful!

There are some "fun" type excursions in Cozumel.

There is a Yacht Race, where you are the crew and sail an "America's Cup" type yacht.

There is an "Amazing Race" excursion, where you divide up in teams and race to various points, trying to find check-points and hidden treasures, etc.

There is a cooking excursion, where they teach you to cook, and you eat what you cook.

Chankanaab Ecological Park has swim with the dolphins, snorkeling, swimming, etc.

You can also hire a driver for a day, and go explore the far side of the island, with less people.

There is an excursion to the mainland to visit the ruins at Tuluum, which are very well excavated and open, but it takes most of the day.

Many would advise against renting your own car, or renting mopeds, due to risk of accidents and draconian Mexican rules against foreigners involved in accidents.

27 cabiins? Maybe they're not as poor as we think...

The tip distribution is $3.90 per person per day for stateroom services. Some cabins have 2 persons, some have 4 or more. If the average is 3, and the stewards are assigned 27 cabins to do, that means:

$3.90 x 3 person x 270 days (9 month contract) x 27 cabins / 2 attendants = $43,000 in tips alone! Add that to their (admittedly small) salary and free room and board, and they don't seem to me to be "poor".

I know that some pull their tips (shame on them) BUT some (as we do) tip extra for good service.

For all you Americans used to Left hand Drive (driving on right side of road):

How hard is it to get used to driving on the left side of the road? Am I going to crash into someone at the first intersection, or will I get used to it after a bit?

I'd love to do this. (Keep left, keep left)

Thanks.

The inexperienced/marginal stewards have to work somewhere...

When we pick our cabins, we pick on the floors where the suites are located, and if possible, right next to the suites. We know that suites get the best stewards because their guests pay the most for their cabins. If those super-good stewards also have to service a peon's balcony cabin (ours) then so be it!

Every thing's so over-priced,

However, we make it a point to get Hard Rock location T-shirts for our boys, so we payed about double for them.

Some souvenirs are somewhat reasonable, but the main shops are pretty pricey.

I just read on another thread that J. Heald provided freebies for a CC meet and greet. Does anyone know if this is standard or how to make that happen?

Go to the Book of Face, and subscribe to John Heald's page. A few days before sailing post a message on his page with your ship, departure date, cabin number, and some details about your group and how many are attending.

When we did that, he gave us personally a bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries, and 2 bottles of champagne and 2 ships on a stick to give away during the meet and greet.

You'll have to organize the meeting, run it, and request (formal written request to each officer works better than asking John) that staff members attend. Carnival will not provide food, drinks, etc.

Cheers!

Gayle

1. No regular steaks on the menu, replaced with "flat iron"
   
2. Nothing prepared at your table any more
   
3. Lobster gone from anything less than 6 days
   
4. They've tried to wow us with some weird stuff (alligator, frog legs, etc.)
   
5. Shrimp cocktail was gone for a while (it's back)
   
6. Nothing flambe' any more (fire concerns)
   
7. Portion size is *way* down
   
8. Bacon police on the Lido breakfast buffet
   
9. # waiters per table gone way down, makes service long and frustrates waiters
   

As the previous posters have so eloquently put, it's banquet food, so it will never be like the best restaurant you've ever eaten in.

However, you can still order as many entrees as you wish, if you don't like something, they'll bring you something else, they still dance and sing during dinner service, waiters still work hard to please you.

Oh, and I forgot, the beloved fruit punch that many drink mixers loved is gone (despite John Heald claiming it was only removed temporarily).

This was our experience on January 4, 2015.

The terminal parking lot and drop off opens at 10:00AM The doors to the waiting area to the security scanners open at that time. You queue up and start filling out the medical questionnaire while you wait. They told us they would start the security scanners at 11:00, but they were going by 10:45. The check-in lines were open and we checked in and were seated in the waiting area by 11:00.

Boarding started with wedding parties, the Bon-Voyage groups and Elites at about 11:30, and us Platinums were allowed on about 11:40. The timing depends on when the last pax from the previous cruise clear the ship.

You can book the Best Western Plus Seabrooke online for about $109/night (plus taxes fees, etc.)

When I called and asked about their cruise package (parking, shuttle) she said you must call us and it costs $139/night.

I wonder if the people who book over the internet at $109/night can get the shuttle and parking for the cruise, and if so, what is the cost?

Just don't want to overpay!

I'd love to have some programming guru trudge through all the cruise critic posts to pull out all the posts that have the word "fog" in them along with the date, and chart the number of posts per day.

That would be an interesting exercise, and could give prospective cruisers some information about when problems arise, although we pretty much know it's winter and early spring.

Steeling ourselves for the upcoming onslaught (I'm sure I will contribute, as I sail 1/4/15 on the Emerald Princess, LOL!)

Here are a few differences, that I can remember:

1) Pools on Princess are fresh water, on Carnival they are salt water.

2) Princess buffet is open 24 hours a day, with a minimalist layout after about 10:00 PM. Carnival buffet closes at 9:00 pm.

3) Carnival has pizza and ice cream 24 hours a day, Princess typically does not.

4) Carnival's bathrooms (shower, especially) are bigger than Princess. Also, Carnival shower has hand-held shower head, Princess is fixed.

5) On Princess (Grand class), you can get balconies that are either partially or completely uncovered, also, Caribe deck balconies are twice as big.

6) Seems like there are art auctions on Princess, never seen one on Carnival.

7) Princess has a contact that you can e-mail to set up meet and greets. Carnival doesn't have anything official (John Heald can sometimes arrange some trinkets).

8) Carnival Conquest has a useful on-screen application where you can see your S&S bill, see the menus for the day, and sign up for excursion all from the comfort of your room. Grand Princess didn't have that, as I recall.

9) Princess has more closet hanging storage and many more hangers. Also, the hangers can be removed from the rod to take your clothes to iron, etc. Carnival only lets the bottom to be removed, while the top part stays on the rod. Hard to hang up in the ironing room.

10) Carnival Serenity deck is Free. Princess Serenity area (a few more perks) cost money.

11) Had a Sunday service, led by the Cruise director, on Princess. Nothing like that on Carnival.

12) More "homey" type activities on Princess: glee club with concert one evening, educational talks, etc. Princess is mostly trivia, karaoke, etc.

13) Carnival moving to make "guests" the talent in shows: Talent shows, Hasbro game shows, Newlywed shows, etc. Seemed like I saw more jugglers, magicians, singers, etc. on Princess.

14) Platinum on Carnival gets free laundry. Platinum on Princess gets some free internet.

In reality, there are more similarities than differences.

Regular steak is gone from the MDR menu, replaced by "flat iron" steak.

Fruit punch is gone. (Long live fruit punch)

Midnight buffet is mostly gone, there are a few still left.

Anytime shrimp cocktail was "almost" gone (was gone but was reinstated on the hue and cry from loyal fans!)

"Make at your table" salads are gone, though that may have been before 5 years ago...

Leisurely wait staff who have time to chat with you are gone; team waiters are now in force, and most are stretched to the max with no extra time.

Free access to bacon at the breakfast buffet is gone, replaced by "bacon police" (friendly servers who will give you 2 pieces, and give you 1 more if you ask again, and give you 1 more if you ask again, etc.)

Trays in the buffet are gone, replaced by one huge oval plate. Good luck trying to get a salad bowl, a desert bowl or plate, a drink, sweetner, silverware, straw , napkins, food, etc. on that oval plate,( ESPECIALLY if you are getting for two)

All the 2.0 stuff is NEW. Guys Burgers is FANTASTIC. Burrito stuff is not as great, certainly not real Mexican or Tex-Mex. Waterworks is lots of fun on some ships. Serenity decks are a welcome relief for adults. Spa deck cabins are new from 5 yrs ago, I believe...

More and more, the traditional "Vegas-style" shows with large movable sets, show bands, 10 or more dancers, lots of costume changes, and typically 2 marquee singers is going away, replaced by a much more subdued, smaller production in front of a video wall, no or smaller band, smaller amount of dancers, but more of them actually sing and dance. Cheaper, easier to produce, send one Powerpoint presentation which has the video and audio out to multiple ships, and you're done. Sad, when directly compared, but OK if you've never seen one of the older ones to compare it to.

More and more, Carnival is moving toward "let the customer be the entertainment" with things like "newlywed show", Hasbro game show, "Legends" (Karaoke gone wild). Certainly a lot cheaper than bringing in real talent..., but I miss the real magicians, jugglers, guitar players, singers, etc.

Those are some off the top of my head...

What port in Jamica? We too wanted to do Mayfield Falls to avoid the crowds but am worried about time since we will be at Falmouth.

We were out of Montego Bay.

Also, when we left Montego Bay, we went South, away from Falmouth and Ocho Rios, probably about 45-50 minutes drive from Montego Bay, so it would be that plus the travel time from your port to Montego Bay area.

Google maps shows about 1 1/2 hour drive from Falmouth, FYI...

Counting the seconds until some New Englander makes some snide comment about the stupidity of Texas men and their demeaning of a true independent Womyn by forcing them to be served by the heternormative patriarchal culture!

Those who are not platinum:

"It's no big deal! The lemonade is weak and lukewarm! We get on really fast anyway! I really don't want to be in that 'special' room. You guys are just elitists! You're nothing special. I can pay $50 and get just about everything you get!"

Those who are platinum:

"It's really special! You're not there! I'm really special. I get on before you do! I smile at you as I walk past you, growling with your number 37 card. My room is ready when I get on. My luggage is there and is already unpacked and in the closet. I even have a special line to go past you when you're in line at the service desk, and even at the tenders. I'm special!

We found their website and used it to request information about their tours. Belinda emailed us using the same email address she used last time and updated the tour information. We reserved our spots for Mayfield Falls and Bird Sanctuary for $85/person and were sent an invoice. Our driver would be Mark, same as in 2008.

We arrived and told the handlers outside we were looking for A-Z and they called them on their cell phone. Mark's father came in with the van and picked us up. We were the only ones on the tour in a 9 passenger van. It seems like they are not doing a good job of advertising and getting their name out there.

We went up the terrible, windy, potholed, narrow, mountain road to Mayfield falls. It was as wonderful as we remembered it from last time, but the hills we had to climb to get to it seemed to be higher than I remember them (lol). The guide offered to take our 35mm camera and take pictures of us with it! He was a competent guide and cameraman, and for that earned a tip larger than the price of admission to the park.

One diappointment was that the price of the excursion was said to include the entrance fees of the parks, but when we got there, Mark said that since we hadn't paid him yet, we had to pay our own entrance fees. Not a problem, since we brought cash to pay him, but a little disconcerting. A-Z pre-paid the entrance fees last time we went with them.

After the falls, we went back down the terrible, etc. mountain roads to town, and back up some not so terrible mountain roads to the hummingbird sanctuary. It was a wonderful experience to take a small bottle of sugar water, hold it above your waist, and have beautiful long-tailed hummingbirds come, perch on your outstretched finger, feed on the bottle of sugar water, then look over at you, blink, and fly away! This happened over and over again, and we were able to get many pictures, some pretty closeup.

The entry fee was $20, a little steep, but not too many places have hummingbirds that will come up to you and demand to be fed. They also had lots of other birds, but they were only interested in the feeding stations, not in interaction with humans. The grounds were lush and full of tropical plants.

After this we went to a local hangout for some jerk chicken and pork. I don't think it was as good as the Pork Pit, which we went to last time, but for some reason, Mark did not want to go there... The food was good and plentiful, though.

We did not choose to go shopping afterwards, but decided to go back to the cruise terminal, where we were dropped off, and paid the balance of our excursion fee and tipped Mark.

Overall, a good private excursion. Mark guided us well, and kept us safe, told us about Jamaican culture, customs, his Christian faith, we even sang a few hymns together!

We loved our trip to Mayfield Falls and Dr.s Cave Beach with A-Z Jamaica Planners from Montego Bay in 2009.

We want to go again, but we haven't heard much from people who have used them.

Are they still in business? Are they still good? Anyone used them recently and what was your experience?

Thanks!