willcruiseanythyme

We swam in the most beautiful, nonpolluted water of Great Bay when we were there! Rented chairs and an umbrella and had the chairs for the day! Even when we left to go shopping right behind us! Doing it again in March!

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We tried to look through resort for a day site and they were completely booked for the day we'll be at Great Bay. We did rent 2 chairs, an umbrella, and 2-3 drinks for $35 pp through shore excursion group online. Great Bay Beach is my favorite. Beautiful water, nice sand, and shopping right behind me! What could be better?

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We spent 4 hours at this beach and it was stunning! Clear blue water! Nice guy to rent chairs from! Going again in March. Never saw any sewage overflow but guess that would be a great way to keep everyone else away!

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We were at Carambola last Friday, January 13 and absolutely loved it. My husband, my adult daughter, 9 year old granddaughter and I. It's a bit pricey for the beach chairs and umbrellas, but if you want, you can just put a towel on the sand. NOTE to Carambola Beach Club: It would be GREAT if you could make the towel people go a little ways down the beach, instead of just dropping their stuff right in front of the lounge chairs! We arrived early in the day so we had front row lounge chairs. The only thing I would recommend with young children is to bring snacks. We had lunch their and the food was really good, but a little pricey. We got a cab for the 4 of us, just us 4, so we didn't have to wait for other people. The driver's name is Nigel and he was awesome. We stopped at the top of the hill to take pictures. He asked us what time we wanted to go back to ship. We told him 1, but if we had known how beautiful and relaxing it was there we would have given him a later time. But it was ok, it gave us time to shop before we got back on ship. All in all, one of our best days and one of my favorite beaches.

 

A side note: we walked down to the Shipwreck, but it was about 11:45 and they don't serve lunch until noon and since we had an early pick up time we went back for lunch at Carambola. Shipwreck seemed to be much more of a bar than a restaurant and since we don't drink, unless I was going to be on the beach until 3 or so, I don't think I'd walk down there again.

 

And a further note: The people on St. Kitts are very friendly and accommodating. After we got settled on the beach a woman asked if anyone wanted their hair braided or a massage. We had been wanting to get my granddaughters hair done all week and this seemed to be the day. Her name is Laverne and she quoted me a very reasonable price and did a beautiful job. When she was done with my granddaughter's hair I saw her giving quite a few massages.

Did she look like she knew what she was doing for the massage? I always wonder about this when I read about locals giving massages on the beach. Did she have the whole setup? Like a massage table, equipment, etc? Thanks for the info!

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They will put out large mats that are tied together and you can lay on them.

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Has anyone been to Great Bay beach recently and if so, can you rent chairs/umbrellas once I get there? Years ago I could do this but haven't been back in many years. Thank you!

I'm with you....far too much negativity on these boards. I too hadn't seen these items listed on cruise critic before our departure. Would it have changed my mind as to whether to sail RCL Navigator - No. For some, though, it may make a difference. You were merely listing factual items and others can then use those FACTS to determine whether these are deal breakers for them or not.

 

Don't leave cc. As Taylor Swift says.....haters gone hate, hate, hat....shake it off, shake it off..... :)

Thanks! I appreciate your comments.

I am seeing more and more negetivity directed at posters OPINIONS and what THEY experienced during THEIR cruises. Some of us try to post things that might be helpful or interesting to others who have never cruised or never cruised on a certain line. If you don't agree then why the need to be rude? It's sad really because you ruin it for others. I pointed out what I noticed on my cruise. I never said I would never cruise with Royal again. I pointed out what I missed and assumed would be available to me in my balcony stateroom. No, I don't spend every waking moment on this site so, gosh, I must have missed all those other posts that supposedly would have clued me in to knowing that I wouldn't be getting the things I mentioned. Shame on me. And before you say maybe I'd be happier not even being part of cruise critic, I'm way ahead of you. But maybe in the future you might consider thinking before you post.

100% agree with all these comparisons. We have cruised 19 times. Took a 2 yr "hiatus" from cruising and did other types of travels. Retd to cruising Feb 2015 on Navigator and all the above listed items were changes we definitely missed! We've sailed RCL before as well and had previously experienced these I at least thought on ALL the different lines. None in and of themself that will make/break the cruise, but combine them together and they make a difference.

Thank you for your response. I appreciate that you read my review as first hand opinion and nothing more unlike other posters.

Thank you for clarifying. All of the things you have mentioned, with a little research, you could have been aware of. Examples - robes provided as a perk in suites and for certain levels of C&A society, same thing with toiletries. So much food available all over the place that specific locations would not worry me.

 

Most of the things you mentioned are frequently discussed on CC. Sounds like you would be happier elsewhere. None of the things you mentioned would be deal breakers for me. Thanks for responding.

Geez. When did I say anything was a deal breaker for cruising. I just put the difference that I noticed. Ya know, I knew when you asked the question that I would have to deal with such a response. You have way too much time on your hands if you enjoy criticizing people's posts.

We have always been given robes in every stateroom we've stayed in on other cruiselines. None for us on RCCL. we have always been given different toiletries like shampoo/shower gel/conditioner/lotion etc. Nothing but shampoo in a dispenser and individual soap in packages on RCCL. We have had options for different kinds of pillows on other lines, not on RCCL. No more chocolate extravaganzas at night. No more burgers/pizza offered all day long near or on pool decks. We have had high tea on 3 other lines every day. Not on RCCL. We have always had other options for food right on the pool deck that is changed up each sea day like Mexican, Italian, etc. Didn't see any on this cruise. These are the things coming to mind immediately.

If it was your first time on RC wonder how you recognized cutbacks. Realizing you said from other ships you had sailed on, but maybe those were just differences between lines, not cutbacks.

Because I asked about specific things we experienced on other lines and was told by crew members that they don't offer/do those things anymore. Does that answer your question?

We will be traveling on NOS towards the end of May. I would like to keep our inside cabin very cold. Are there any tips? I think I may have read somewhere to keep the bathroom door shut because of the vent or something about keeping your room card near the door? Can someone who's traveled on the NOS give me some insight. This is our first trip on Royal Caribbean and any tips on this line would be great! :-)

 

thanks!

We sailed on May 3-10 and our room was frigid some of the time. But, to me that is better than too hot. We had a balcony room though and never left the door open to the balcony as we've heard that can mess with the temps. Hopefully you won't have any issues. Have fun!

It was our first time with RCCL. We enjoyed it but noticed some of the cutbacks from other ships/cruise lines. Favorite stop was Falmouth. No one told me how nice the port area was going to be! Why leave it was my motto! Found great free WiFi there as well as fun t-shirts! Got back on the ship only to find that sharing the pool with 5 other people is AWESOME!!!!

Not a huge fan of Galveston, only because it's hard to get to and time consuming to get to it. And, if you hit an accident on the way....LONG wait in traffic! Never had to experience that in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, or Puerto Rico, or even Los Angeles.

Mom & I did the Navigator of the Seas May 3 - 10, she is 82. I chose this ship because it is not the booze cruise some of the others are known for. I chose right. This was the PERFECT ship for both mom & me!

 

My 1st suggestion is, if you need to travel far, get there a night earlier. We did not. We traveled 1 hour to the airport then 3 hours to Houston then supposedly it was 90 minutes to the pier but with a 4 car pile up, that turned into 3 hours. By the time we were to finally get on board we were rather tired & had a 2 hour time difference.

 

We had a balcony room on the 8th floor and actually keep the door opened all the nights we were on the ship. You just can't open the inside door at the same time or you think your in a time tunnel. Things fly everywhere.

 

Yes, I took wine on board. I was worried about it on the airline but with 2 layers of bubble wrap, 2 plastic bags - they arrived safe. After the shuttle took us to the pier, I opened our larger suitcases and moved them into our carry on. That way we could declare them and not go to the naughty room. I also had stored a 6 pack of water, I wish I had taken more water but I couldn't because of the weight flying with the airlines.

 

Check in was pretty fast. As was the checking of our bottles of wine (they did not ask anything about the water) and I saw many with cases of water carrying in.

 

Away we went to our room to check it out and got introduced to our stateroom attendant, Florian Pinzon Mitchell. If you happen to get this guy, you are in LUCK. (tell him Joan & Cindy said hello) What a asset to this ship! He made mom and I & felt cared for, taken care of and like a valued guest ! (yes I put that in Royals comment survey after we got home)

 

The 1st night was low key for us as we were pretty tired from all the other travels.

 

The 2nd day we did the meet & greet and it was fun to catch up with *friends* I met here and those who helped with our questions. (Mom won a bottle of wine so now we're at 3 bottles). There was also a bottle of champagne on our room when we got there but we thought it was one of the pay as you use items. Found out on the 5th night that it was ours to drink or take home. Not sure how we deserved it but it was a nice surprise. Speaking of room items, the frig isn't a frig at all, it's a place they store items you can purchase. Cokes, candies and waters. I asked why it wasn't cold because I wanted to put the bottle mom won in there to chill it and we were told it does not get cold. The stateroom attendant will chill anything and return it when we wanted it.

 

The 3rd day was Cozumel, I didn't book any excursions because mom does not really want to do water things and we have traveled to Mexico a lot in the past. We just got off the ship and shopped a little.

 

Our 4th day I booked the helicopter ride, which was $189 per person. We got notice placed in our room after dinner that the excursion was cancelled and the money will be placed on our ship board credit. I was rather upset because the other tour I wanted was now sold out (the trolley). The next morning I was glad. It was pouring rain in Grand Cayman & we just waited on ship for a hour or two and it stopped. I found our later the helicopter was a 15 minute ride !! I had done a similar ride / price in Alaska and it was a couple hours long and landed on a glacier. I would of felt ripped off if I had gone for just 15 minutes.

 

The 5th day was Jamaica and we did the 1700'S GREAT HOUSE & PLANTATION TOUR WITH LUNCH. Let's just say I wouldn't do this again. 100's of people going there to start their tour & stop at this plantation and it is PACKED !! The River Tubing, the zipline, the Good Hope Great House, Amazing race, to name a few. I would of preferred a tour of the town or some real culture.

 

 

More to come later, if there is a interest ~ getting tired of typing

 

I can't seen to be able to attach pictures? Can anyone help me ?

Hi Joan and Cindy!!

We were the "other" mom and daughter duo from the meet and mingle! We should have won that game - the one we were paired up for!

So, just got off our cruise ship yesterday. We spent last Tuesday at the Occidental Grand for an all inclusive day. First of all, the taxi trip was $17.00 each way from the International pier to the resort.

Once at the resort we checked in right away and paid our balance owed for our day...we paid in cash as to use a credit card would cost more because of the exchange rate. We were then escorted out to the pool and beach area where we were given towels and bracelets to wear for our included amenities....drinks and buffet. The bar was still being set up so it wasn't open when we first got there. The buffet didn't open until 12:00. The chips, salsa and guacamole were the best items on the buffet in my opinion.

****NOTE****The walk to the amenities is VERY far! They said their golf cart was broken but I wondered if they actually even have one. My mom, who is dealing with bad neuropathy from chemotherapy almost couldn't make this walk and had I known it would be so far, I never would have booked this resort.

The pool was nice but there is no swim up bar and it is not an infinity pool. The beach seemed nice but we stayed at the pool the whole day. There were no floating mats but we did find a couple of noodles to use.

The bathroom/changing room has no hooks to hang clothes from and is next to the restaurant.

All in all, the day was ok but I think we will try a different place next time.

Do you have a cell phone? That ought to work and should be cheaper than calling from ship. I always call home from each port. Call your cell phone provider before leaving home and ask for specific directions and roaming capabilities.

Sure will, but I'm going to venture a guess no. I have not, in all of my stays at all inclusives in this area (a lot, but not this particular one), seen any place that has float mats. We take our own when we do the resort stays.

Our trip to an all inclusive at Dreams in Puerto Morelos just south of Cancun did have them, that's why I'm curious. I'll try and bring my own but most likely will be a one time good deal as I don't want to cart around town and have to blow up each day.

Can anyone expound on what is actually available to do right in the port area of Falmouth? My mom and I will be there in 3 weeks and she is fighting cancer right now and tires easily but wants to shop a little. Is there a lot of walking with a lot to see and do or is it pretty small. She is doing remarkably well and we don't want to necessarily stay on the ship the entire day. Thank you for your help!!!

If you decide not to do a beach day and are concerned about safely, you could stay within the secured port complex and use the pool (no cost) at Margaritaville. :)

LuLu

Can you elaborate on what there is offered/to do right at the port complex? Is it a big area with lots of walking/shopping, etc? My mom and I will be there in about 3 weeks and she is fighting cancer right now and is doing remarkably well but tires easily and can't walk long distances. We'd like to shop a little as we don't have anything else planned for this day but don't necessarily want to stay onboard the entire time. Thank you!

I have friends staying there on a week's vacation right now! When they get back, I'll let you know what they thought.

Thank you! I would love to hear their thoughts! Can you ask them if they have floats to lay on in the pool that are complimentary?

Hope you come back and report - not many reviews for this resort.

I definitely will! Everything I've read has been positive from the beach to the service to the food!

We booked this all inclusive through http://www.shoreexcursioneer.com which had several resorts to choose from with reviews! Going in 3 weeks! Expecting great things!

We went to http://www.shoreexcursioneer.com to find an all inclusive beach day at a local resort. They have quite a few options with reviews.

Anybody get a day pass there? How was the experience? How was the snorkeling off the beach?

Go to http://www.shoreexcursioneer.com and they have El Cid as one of their day passes and also have reviews listed.