ABQmom

My favorite ports for beaches are Half Moon Cay and the Boartyard in Barbados. My favorite just for pure beauty is St Kitts. My favorite snorkeling is Roatan. :)

Jaberjaw...

Where was your favorite place to snorkel in Roatan? We are headed there for the first time in March and with a family that loves to snorkel we are looking for the best place. I am considering Little French Key, West Bay, and Fantasy Island. Not trying to hijack the thread, but I would love to hear your experience.

BTW...so far I believe Grand Cayman is my favorite port, but I have had a great time at every port we have ever been to :)

We recently changed our selected OV deluxe cabins to two balcony guarantee cabins on the Dream (sailing Nov 30), traveling with another adult couple and our reservations were linked. A couple of weeks ago when we received our cabin assignments we were amazed to find out that we can not only side by side cabins, but CONNECTING balcony cabins on the upper deck!

During the Halloween sale we booked two inside guarantee cabins for a cruise with the kids (also on the Dream, sailing March 1), putting one adult in each cabin and linked the reservations. We are hopeful for cabins that are close to one another, but understand that is not a given. From what Carnival has told me and what my TA told me, they do their best to place cabins that are linked as close as they can. It all depends on what cabins they have available at the time. We are not expecting connecting cabins, hopeful that we will be somewhat close, but not going to be mad if we are separated front to back and up and down. For $204 we felt it was worth the gamble and we will be happy no matter what :)

We are looking at a day pass to Fantasy Island. Can anyone tell me how much we could expect to pay for a family of 5 from Mahogany Bay to Fantasy Island?

I know that we can book the day pass with transportation, but it bumps up the price $20 per person and I wondered if we could save some money by just getting a taxi ourselves. This is our first time in Roatan, so I have no idea how much taxis cost, or even if they are a good idea. Any advice would be great!

Thanks

Thanks for all of the feedback y'all! Our reservations are linked and we do realize that we could be opposite ends of the ship and on different decks, but more often than not it seems like they try to keep the rooms somewhat close. We are sailing with family later this month on the Dream and during the 12 hour sale upgraded ourselves from a OV deluxe to a balcony guarantee and they did as well, when we received our cabin assignments we were given connecting cabins on deck 6. Not planning on that happening again, but hopeful that we end up close.

Meowsmurphy I am trying to not even let myself dream about an upgrade, but it sure would be nice if it happened! For the price we paid I couldn't complain with any set of cabins they give us...just let us on the ship and feed us for a week and we will be happy :)

We booked inside two guarantee cabins on the Dream for March. This is our first time booking guarantees and would love to hear from others where they ended up once the rooms were assigned.

We got a great price during the Halloween sail and will be happy no matter where we actually end up and I am not expecting anything other than an inside, but would love to know the results others have gotten.

Thanks :)

I would love to know if anyone has been recently. We just returned for a day at the Sunset Grande in Ocho Rios and LOVED our day there. Looking to book a day pass at Sunset Resort in Montego Bay for our cruise in November. Would love some input.

Yes, you can get a can if soda. I did, but had to wait five minutes because I also was getting a beer. There wouldn't have been a wait if I took the soda in a glass, but I needed a can to replace the one my fiancé took from the fridge.

Thanks for the info Laurie S...that is exactly what I needed to know!

I know that you can get unlimited sodas with the Cheers program, but wanted to know if you can get them in unopened cans? I have read about people getting unopened cans of beer, so it stands to reason that you could get an unopened soda. I would like to have a couple to take off the ship. Anyone know?

With Bottomless Bubbles do the sodas come in cans or from a fountain? I would think the would be served the same way with Cheers.

Thanks!

Whoever said it's only a mile is full of hooey. It might be a mile from the edge of town, but it is a heck of a lot farther if your ship is parked at the end of the pier. We walked it last weekend with our three kids. There were zero taxis at our ship in the 30 minutes we waited. We finally started walking. It was a long walk. We first walked to the bus depot, and the bus driver told us to walk, that it was only a five to ten-minute walk. Maybe I'm just seriously out of shape, but it took us 30 minutes to walk it. lol

 

BUT once we got there, it was a great day. The rentals were reasonable and their food and drinks were good and fair prices. We rented two of the large circle couches and an umbrella for $20. The water is shallow a long way out, which was great for our kids. We took a taxi back to town that dropped us off at the outdoor market.

Tampir...

Was Nikki Beach/Reflections family friendly? We will be in Aruba from 1pm-10pm and I saw some pics online that looked like it had more of a nightclub vibe. Looks like a perfect place to spend the day. How were food prices?

Thanks for your help.

We got the call for an upgrade from our oceanview to a grand suite on the Elation. For the deal they were offering it was totally worth it, but as much as we enjoyed it, I don't think that I would ever pay full price for it.

For those of you have been...how hard is it to get out of the water? I don't see steps and would not expect a ladder, so just wondering if it is difficult to get out.

We are considering spending some time at Margaritaville in Ocho Rios and letting the kids enjoy the pool and beach, but I can't find prices anywhere. We are looking at this as a low cost alternative to Sunset Grande AI, but since I don't have any ideas what the prices are like I don't know if it will be a good deal or not.

If anyone has been there lately and can tell me how much a cheeseburger in paradise costs, soft drinks, and your typical mixed drink that would be very helpful.

As well as prices I would love to know if you enjoyed it, were hassled on the beach, and if you would go back?

Thanks :)

1) Ship and length of cruise - Elation 5 Day (2nd leg of B2B)

2) How many days before the cruise were you called? 7 days

3) number of people sailing - 2

4) Cabin type you were booked in and deck - 6A - Oceanview on deck 1

5) upsell offer cabin type and price - Grand Suite $420 total

Even though it was a bit of a hassle to move inbetween B2B sailings it was worth it and we enjoyed our suite.

We did the Dzibilchaltun ruins and cenote tour with Auto Progreso and it was great! With 3 active boys they were way more impressed with swimming in the centoe than the ruins, but that was fine. We looked at a private tour with more cenotes, but that was not in our budget. For $20 the tour with Auto Progreso was great. It also still left time to explore Progreso.

Enjoy

We just returned from a B2B cruise on the Elation with 2 stops in Progreso. We were traveling with a family member who has mobility issues. I think that if you mom can walk enough to get up the steps to the bus and into a seat then you will be fine. They have large compartments under the bus they can store the wheelchair for you (they put our large rolling duffle bag under there). These are large tour buses, not small vans. Once in town you will have about a 5 minute walk through the market area to the beach. There is a boardwalk once you are there that will be great for the wheelchair.

The vendors are plentiful, and I do mean plentiful, but they take a "no thank you" easily and move on. There are several open air restaurants on the way to the beach and across from the beach where you can find good food and cheap beer.

Also, don't miss the $10 massages all along the beach! We did that and it was wonderful.

Again, as long as your mom can handle the steps getting on and off the bus (there is a rail to hold) then she will do fine. If someone was totally confined to a wheelchair, it would be another story.

We just returned from a B2B cruise on the Elation with 2 stops in Progreso. We were traveling with a family member who has mobility issues. I think that if you mom can walk enough to get up the steps to the bus and into a seat then you will be fine. They have large compartments under the bus they can store the wheelchair for you (they put our large rolling duffle bag under there). These are large tour buses, not small vans. Once in town you will have about a 5 minute walk through the market area to the beach. There is a boardwalk once you are there that will be great for the wheelchair.

The vendors are plentiful, and I do mean plentiful, but they take a "no thank you" easily and move on. There are several open air restaurants on the way to the beach and across from the beach where you can find good food and cheap beer.

Also, don't miss the $10 massages all along the beach! We did that and it was wonderful.

Again, as long as your mom can handle the steps getting on and off the bus (there is a rail to hold) then she will do fine. If someone was totally confined to a wheelchair, it would be another story.

We did this excursion a few weeks ago and loved it! Swimming in the cenote was the highlight of the trip for our family. Even in January the water was plenty warm enough to swim in.

We did not book the tour ahead of time, but knew that is what we wanted to do in Progreso, weather was a little iffy, so we decided to wait and make the call on the day of once we were in port. We got off the ship and took the short walk down the pier and into the port shopping area. We talked with an Auto Progreso agent at a shot and purchased the tour. We paid him right there and were given orange wristbands. We were told to take the shuttle into town and then to be back at the bus station at 10:45 for the tour.

We had plenty of time to take the shuttle into town (10 minute ride) and then shop, walk to the beach, and enjoy some cheap beers ($1 each with a free shot of tequila). Around 10:30 we walked back to the bus station and they had us line up and board the bus.

Diego was our tour guide and he was great. On the ride there he gave us lots of background info on the Mayans, their culture, and the ruins. Once you arrive at the site he advised any of us that would be swimming to bring our suits and towels with us then because we would need to change before at the facilities at the front of the park. You are not allowed to carry backpacks or large bags into the park.

After everyone changed that needed to, we proceeded into the park and he guided us through the ruins and eventually to the cenote. The ruins were interesting, but if I went again I would head straight to the cenote!

At the cenote he informed everyone what time to be back on the bus and we were free to swim or explore the ruins more on your own. Once back on the bus they took us directly back to the port, unless you wanted to be dropped back in Progreso for shopping.

It was a great day! We were doing a B2B cruise and on our second stop through Progreso we enjoyed the city and did a beach day. Very relaxing and cheap.

A few years ago we rented a private boat. Took a taxi to the marina, met the captain, and he took us to stingray city, then to starfish beach, and finally for lunch at Rum Point followed by time to enjoy the beach. With his timing we practically had every place we went to ourselves (we were the only ones at starfish beach).

We communicated in advance with Captain Neal and decided on our stops with his advice. It was a great day, but a bit pricey. We have been again with the whole family plus friends and went with Soto's Cruises and had a great time, booked with them again for our upcoming cruise. If money was no issue I would do a private charter again...enjoy :)

The last time we were in GC we booked with Soto's Cruises after much research. I selected them due to great reviews, low price, and low number of guests they take (20 or less). They provide transportation to and from the port area, snorkel gear, stingray interaction, snorkel stop, nice boat with shade, and water or fruit punch for just $35 per adult.

We are booked again with them when we go back in November. Our very first time we booked a private tour with just the 4 of us plus the captain and that was a great experience, but for the price difference Soto's was just as great and we ended up only with 9 on our tour.

We have done Stingray City twice, once on a private Zodiac Eco tour with Captain Neal (great experience, but really pricey) and last time we booked with Soto's Cruises and loved it! For only $35 per adult they picked us up at the port, provided snorkel equipment, took us to Stingray City sandbar, a snorkel stop on the way back, and transportation back to the port. The boat was great, with both shade and a potty, and they limit the number they will take to around 20, so the experience was personal. We ended up with only 9 on our tour.

We have a trip planned to GC in November and I have already booked again with Soto's.

On our previous cruise out of NOLA we parked at Fulton St Garage (rooftop at $8 a day) and took the shuttle to the port. This time we are considering parking at the port itself, just for the convenience factor (pulling in and having porters take our luggage and not having to take a shuttle), but I am not excited about the price because we are doing a B2B sailing on the Elation so that is 11 days of parking to pay for.

I would love to hear how early you can park at the port. Does anyone know how early they will let you park? I would not want to wait until 11 or 12 to park, so if that is the case we will park at Fulton St and take the shuttle. Also, any big backups waiting to get into the garage?

Thanks

This sounds perfect for our family! I must have missed it, but what ruins do you visit? The tour was through Autoprogresso?

When we last sailed out of NOLA we stayed at the Springhill Suites near the port and found a great rate. For our cruise this month the SS was more than double so we booked the park and cruise rate at the Ramada Inn Metaire for $109. They include airport pickups, breakfast, and a shuttle to the port for that rate.

We are sailing on the September 9th cruise.

 

 

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We are sailing on Sept 9th too...can't wait! We have never sailed on Conquest, but our first cruise was on her sister ship the Glory, so hopefully we can find our way around - we loved the Glory :)

Michelle

I just called to book the park and cruise rate but ran into a problem. We are a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 children) and while the rate is nice, it only includes transportation for 2 people per room. We would need to pay $20 each for transportation for our kids. Not such a good deal for us, but if you are a couple it would be a great deal. I called the hotel directly to make sure the info the reservation line gave me was correct. Not sure if this is a new policy or not.