NorthCarolinaBelle

Looking for ship's excursions on Celebrity Summit in St. Thomas and St. Martin. I'm wanting to stay with ship's excursions since roads aren't completely reliable yet, and I'm afraid of being delayed in getting back to the ship. Has anyone done the St. John Half Day Champagne Cat Sail Beach and Snorkel?

What other sailing or beach excursions has anybody done?

Thank you so much for any feedback about any of the excursions!

We are a party of four. Some of us may have motion sickness when using smaller boats. Trying to avoid the water taxi in getting to downtown front street from the ship. What is the cost of using the taxi or public bus for a party of 4 people? Thank you

When we went several years ago, we walked from the ship to downtown. It wasn't a bad walk for reasonably fit people.

Is Celebrity still offering the St. John's on your own excursion? It was basically a ferry ride(from St Thomas) over and back, and you were on your own while over there. It isn't listed in the cruise planner anymore. Can anyone recently on the Equinox confirm whether or not it is still offered? Thanks in advance!!

If they don't still offer this, ( we took it, too!) does anyone have experience with the ship's excursion Champagne Catamaran?

We usually book Aqua or CC but trying to save some money next year.

What do you think is the best veranda cabin on Summit? Deck 6 or higher. And why do you like it?

 

Laura

The "Sweet 16" are the best and largest, in my opinion. Of course, if you can get a Family Verandah, those are even bigger and better.

Check out Chankanaub park. Great snorkeling they have dolphins, manatee, sealion show parrot show. Massages on the beach. Tequila tasting. Fresh water pool with a swim up bar. They do have an all you can drink with buffet lunch. I believe it was $20. Entrance is $19. The best part is that it is a state park and no big corporation is profitting. Check out their web site for details and coupons.

 

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I'm another fan of Chankanaab. Quiet and nice. You have a palapa with chairs under it, and a waiter will come to you. GREAT snorkeling, but no beach. You have to go down some stairs to get into the water. I did the dolphin swim with a friend 2 years ago, and it was fun. It is extra... we did a ship's excursion.

Found one! Fantastic no-fly itinerary! Fantastic price....BUT the dates don't fit us by just two immovable weeks :mad::loudcry:

 

A co.uk travel agent is offering in April Southampton to New York on the QM2, train to Miami for a four night stay, then board Navigator of the Seas for 7 night cruise, back to Miami for another night in a hotel before boarding (the repo ship) Independence of the Seas for a 14 nights cruise back to the UK.

 

Ah well, guess you can't win them all :D

Don't feel too bad... the train ride from NY to Miami would be miserably long, unless you booked a sleeper car.:)

If you like history, St. Georges is very interesting!

Just finished up a WAY tl;dr post on Miami below, so, if you don't mind, I'm just going to share this here for this one : )

 

https://www.frommers.com/destinations/new-providence/walking-tours

 

Maybe visit Watling's Distillery, as well, along this route?

This tour is great, especially if you like history! We haven't been to the distillery yet, but it sounds like fun, too.

Non smoking casino in all Celebrity ships

 

 

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This is the reason we decided to try Celebrity, in addition to no smoking on balconies (has Royal banned this now, too?)

After several years on Celebrity, I took a Royal cruise in 2016, and saw lots of differences, mainly in the ambience. Celebrity seemed to be more calm, less activity and children running amok. I love children, but I was a teacher, so I like to vacation with adults.

One of my elevator peeves is when people crowd into an already-full elevator. One person may be okay, but taking it upon yourself to decide it's ok to shoe-horn yourself and your three friends into my space is rude!

Sounds great! Thanks for taking the time to post!

FYI, tobacco smoke is not an allergen, its an irritant. No doubt there are people who have high sensitivity to smoke but they're not allergic to it.

With all due respect, what difference does that make? You obviously don't suffer from a high sensitivity to cigarette smoke to make such a snarky comment.:(

I suffer from insomnia, and on our cruise on the Summit 2-years ago it was really bad. I found myself waking up around 4:30 every morning. I would get up and quietly slip out of the cabin, so not to wake my sleeping (Like a log) husband, and walk around the decks. The first morning I go up to the Solarium and sure enough, there were several loungers in prime locations with towels on them. I was so sure they must have been left from the evening before, who would get up that early to try to reserve a lounger? Anyway, I removed all the towels (No personal items) and put them in the towel bin, and selected one of the double loungers and read until my husband joined me around 9:00. Later that morning we heard a woman complaining that she had come up at 4 am to put towels on 2 loungers to save them, and someone (That would be me) had removed them. This was at 11 am, and by that time the Solarium was fairly full.

Good for you!! I'm so ornery, it's almost worth getting up really early just to remove the towels and get those hogs!!:p

I have had excellent results with ginger capsules, but I know they don't work for everyone. The only side effects I have noticed was heartburn when I took more than 2 a day, and also that they seem to thin my blood. I nicked my leg shaving, and it wouldn't stop bleeding! So ask your doctor before you take them. Good luck!

Very true. I would recommend this for any new medication, especially for those who are smaller than average and/or take other medications that may cause drowsiness. That’s why I think it’s a good idea to check with one’s physician or a pharmacist before taking any OTC medication for motion sickness. I can report that 1/2 of a 50 mg Dramamine knocked me out for 10 hours, but a 25 mg Bonine did not make me drowsy. For reference, I’m a 120 lb woman. Everyone is different, so as you say, it’s best to be cautious when trying a new drug for the first time.

Adding my two cents: Don't forget that alcohol can have an effect on the non-drowsy Bonine! I was one of those zombies until I figured out what was happening.

We were on in June 2016, and they had put out the smoking lamp back there. From what I understand, there's still no smoking back there. I'm sure many in those Deck 11 A1 cabins gave them an ear full.

This news makes my day!!!!:D

This sounds exactly like what my husband and I are looking for! Could I be so bold to ask for a ballpark figure on the price? Thanks!

To the OP

FWIW, my DH and I are lifetime Weight Watchers,making goal several years ago with a combination of WW practices and a nutrioist’s guidance.

I recall a WW meeting where a woman returned to the weekly WW meeting after a week’s cruise,

She had gained 24 pounds and was devastated!

Lesson learned for all in the group.

I agree with what others have posted here.

Wise food choices, portion control, limiting high calorie drinks - substituting low calorie drinks, and activity will help keep weight gain in check.

Also, redirecting focus on food on the cruise to focusing on experiences and activities may prove helpful.

Good luck and bon voyage !

24 pounds?? As in TWENTY-FOUR?? Just making sure this isn't a misprint. I gained five pounds on our last cruise because I drank chocolate martinis every night for 14 nights, and indulged in way too much gelato. I thought that was bad!

There's no smoking at the Sunset Bar on any of the M-Class ships, at least Summit and Constellation, so don't worry about it. Go for the big balcony 1141.

Has this changed? We were on Summit three years ago and there was not only cigarette, but cigar smoking on one side of the Sunset Bar!

Ginger capsules, one taken in the morning and one in the evening, work for me. I have found that if I take Dramamine and have anything alcoholic during the day, I'm a zombie! I have taken Dramamine when we were going on an excursion that involved driving over bumpy or curvy roads, because I get carsick very easily!

Personally, we love staying at the 17th century, El Convento near the harbor gate. It's like stepping back in time, but with all the amenities, including wine tasting every evening.:)

We haven't stayed at El Convento (yet) but agree that there is a certain charm to staying at the older places. We have stayed at Villa Herencia and Casablanca in Old San Juan, and loved both of them. The whole area of Old San Juan is walkable and very interesting. There are lots of authentic restaurants to visit, too. Just ask at your hotel.

I'm curious which sailings you have been able to get a FV for 2?? I'm trying to book some cabins for a family cruise. I've got a couple with 2 good sized teenagers and tried to get a FV for them. Celebrity will only reserve if there are 5 in the cabin. It's been rather annoying.

Our cruise is in October. When we sailed with our three teenagers, we got them an inside room and we got a balcony. The FVs that are not corners don't have the extra bedroom, so I wouldn't think it would be comfortable with four adult sized people.

Plus, there's only one bathroom!

We have stayed in a FV, corner AFT(deck 8), Infinity, 15 night Panama Canal. It GREATLY enhanced our cruised. It was just the two of us.

Thank you, Florence! I see you're from Simpsonville, SC... I went to Hillcrest and graduated in 1977.

With just the 2 of you in the room you will absolutely love it! These are my all time favourite rooms on any ship we have sailed on, for our last cruise on the Summit I checked the Celebrity website daily to see if any were being released closer to our sail date and was able to grab one on deck 9. The one we had on deck 7 is our favourite so far. The corner family verandahs have a little larger balconies than the ones beside them but they are all huge compared to regular verandahs. I am sure you will love it. Congratulations have a wonderful time

I am hovering like a vulture to grab the corner if it opens up! Thanks again!

Have stayed in family verandahs on the Summit twice, once on deck 7 and once on deck 9. Loved them, 2 separate rooms with sliding door for privacy, 2 tvs, tons of closet space. Balcony was huge, deck 7 was great I found deck 9 family verandah was noisy as it was under the outside bar area and we could hear chairs being moved around late night and early morning.

The only con to the family verandahs I feel is that the bathroom is very small considering the room is able to accommodate up to 5 people. Would not hesitate to book these rooms they are the best on the ship in my opinion. Hope you love it and have a great cruise!

Thank you so much for the feedback! It's just my husband and I, so the bathroom won't be a problem. I've sailed in aft balconies before on another ship and loved it!