aimee0715

That is really sad that it's been cancelled.  My friend and I went in January of 2022.  We absolutely loved it and thought it worth every penny.  

4 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

 

Thanks, that was one of the places on my to do list. Food and drinks  were OK? It has a pier?

Yes, food and drinks were good.  There was a pier. The pier had a couple of hammocks.

18 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Which beach club? Which end of town?

 We rode our bikes through Majahual, past Krazy Lobster, Tropicante, etc. and this place appeared to be at the end of the pedestrian/bicycle drag.  I looked on Google maps and figured out that it is Macho Restaurant/Beach Club/Hotel Macho.  Aside from the time kayaking, we spent 45 minutes or less there.  

My husband and I did this excursion through Celebrity on our November cruise on Beyond.  We really enjoyed it.  The bike ride is a bit bumpy in places but it's a nice flat ride from Costa Maya through Mahajual.  You stop at a beach club at the end of Majahual for the kayaking portion.  If you want to order food and drinks, you can.  They have restrooms there.  There are not other people there, just your excursion and the employees.  The kayaking part was fun.  We saw some fish.  I thought it was very enjoyable. 

We went to Little French Key last January before all of the craziness started.  I was a little skeptical of it because I had read about the owner (Kevah) and the mistreatment of the animals.  I was nervous about booking ahead of time because things were still uncertain with Covid and I was afraid the ship would not stop.  I had read many reports here on CC about people having trouble getting their money back when the port of call was cancelled.  My friend and I actually just reached out to AJ's Sloth Rescue when we got to Roatan.  They sent someone to pick us up and bring us to the rescue and then he took us to LFK and came to get us when we were ready to leave.  It cost more doing it that way but everything was wonderful at both places and our driver, Tex, was just great.  We are going back next month.  Again, I was nervous about pre-booking LFK.  I came to CC to see if there were any recent posts and saw all this craziness.  Wow!  I'm glad that there is new ownership because the old owner did seem shady from the articles I read last year.  I'm happy to see that we can now just book online and pay when we get there.  We will definitely do that.  LFK and AJ's are both just wonderful places.  I will say that the people who worked at LFK really seemed to care for the animals.  The young man that we spoke to had been accepted to college but said that he felt a responsibility to stay and look after the animals. I am glad to hear that the new owner is trying to find more suitable placement for the animals though. 

16 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

I’m the contrarian here, I bought all three major cruise stocks today.

I think too many people are viewing the cruise market with Depression era thought processes.

Undoubtably there will be a percentage of people near the bottom of the economic spectrum who had been hoping to take a vacation or cruise and now are unable to do so due to other out of control expenses.

However for many others cruising is now thought of as a right or entitlement almost, other discretionary spending will be cut out far sooner than vacations.

Read surveys and opinion polls on this topic,

not just stock analysts and the bots that are programmed to bail and drive shares down.

Besides buying stock, I’m still cruising, aren’t you?

I own CCL stock and considering buying the other two.  We normally sail Princess but we're booked on Celebrity in November, NCL in February, and a b2b on Virgin in May.  Still cruising for sure!

10 hours ago, julia said:

Ok, before this goes off the rails, please let me preface my question.  We are experienced cruisers. We are generous spenders, and treat all crew (and service staff in general) with respect and monetary thanks for a job well done.  SO.....

 

When pre-booking the Sea Thermal Suite on Beyond (aka Persian Gardens on S and M class), and not in an Aqua category cabin, there is an 18% "service charge" included on my one week pass.  Why, I ask??

I'm confused, as there are NO "services" being provided to me by the spa staff...  I'm not having a mani, or pedi, or massage, or facial, or anything.  I'm paying to use the loungers, steam rooms, etc, which require a simple check in.  So, why the "service charge?"

I saw someone else mention a gratuity charge on a spa pass earlier this week and I was really surprised by it.  I have purchased spa passes on Princess, NCL, and Disney and never paid a gratuity on that.  We will be on Beyond in November but we're in Aquaclass so I didn't know Celebrity charges a gratuity for the thermal suite.

8 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

We were also booked on this sailing and it was cancelled yesterday.  We are hoping to book Regal, which is now going to do Emerald’s British Isles itinerary in September 2023.   I’m actually happy about the switch.

Your  notice  of cancellation also states you are entitled to a 10% discount on any cruise up to Dec. 2023 of less than 15 days.  A campaign code is also provided to get the discount when you rebook.

 Yes, I just noticed that 10% discount.  I was going to look and see what Regal will be doing instead.  I'm actually pondering trying Hawaii again.  We did the round trip to Hawaii from San Francisco on Grand a few years ago.  But, we only got to stop in Honolulu because of a fire on the ship.   

I just received an email from Princess that the Baltic program out of Denmark on Regal for 2023 is canceled due to the war in Ukraine.  My husband and I were booked for the transatlantic leaving Denamark in September of 2023.  😔

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/plan/impacted-and-cancelled-cruises/cancelled-cruises-regal-europe-apr-through-sept-2023.pdf

Interesting.  I'm platinum on Princess.  I just went on NCL Breakaway at the end of January and thought it was great.  We sailed on NCL Jewel several years ago and I said "never again." But, my friend really likes NCL so we went on Breakaway.  I don't like the pricing structure and how all of the "free" things are baked into the price but overall, it was a nice cruise.  We were not in Haven. We each got a spa pass and spent a lot of time in the thermal suite.  I thought the thermal suite was better than what I have seen on Princess.  The spa services are basically identical--the spa is operated by Steiner on both lines. 

I'm looking forward to our cruise on Saturday but I'm dreading the dinner situation.  We booked this cruise in July of 2020 shortly after our South American solar eclipse cruise on Coral Princess was cancelled.  At that time, we were just put down for early seating.  I didn't know about DMW until recently.  There were no reservations available prior to 830 so we don't have any reservations.  I don't understand why they messed up traditional dining. 

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

No, Pam and I plan on enjoying ourselves.

Rust stains have no effect on our vacation.

I remember from the other thread.  I'm just being a smart aleck. 😊 I don't notice the rust either.  I'm just happy to be going on a ship.  Looking forward to getting on board Ruby next Saturday.

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

Breakfast in the main dining room was good. We found a table and waiter that we like and spoke to the host afterwards, and he told us that we could have it every morning at 7:30, just walk-in, say hello, and go straight to the table. 👍

 

Room service specialty coffee at 6:30am took a long time to arrive and was tepid by the time it arrived. The app showed it as being delivered within minutes, but in actuality it took half an hour.

 

Last night we ate in the Crown Grill. Service and food were both good. The venue was very almost empty at 8pm.

 

Tonight it’s Sabatini’s!

 

CineGraphic,   I trust you went to breakfast at zero dark thirty so that you could get an early start cataloging all of the rust spots on this "rust bucket".  😀😉

57 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

When you do see times offered, how many different DR's?  They most likely have not loaded all DR's to the App.  But to get what you want, looks like you have to book on board or just show up as a walk up and you get taken care of.  I imagine it will be clearer after boarding where you should go as a walk-up.

I can pick from Boticelli or Da Vinci on most nights.  Some nights only Boticelli is given as an option. 

I'm VERY late to this DMW thread, unfortunately.  It was only this morning that I realized that Dine My Way is on all the ships now.  When I booked our September cruise on Enchanted Princess, my TA told me that traditional dining is out the window on that ship.  I didn't realize that was the case on the older ships as well. We are on Ruby Princess in 3 weeks. Needless to say, I am unable to make a reservation for dinner on this trip earlier than 8PM.  Most nights the only time available is 8:40.  Is it still possible to just show up and wait to be seated like people used to do for Anytime dining? Is there an assigned dining room for that like there used to be?  Also, I read here that Elite and Platinum can make reservations early--even before final payment.  If that is the case, do you make them on the godforsaken Medallion app? I am unable to see information about any cruise other than the one coming up on the app.  

Hello,

I'm looking at booking a  cruise on Atlas World Navigator.  We're trying to decide between the Horizon cabin with a french balcony and a veranda cabin.  The Horizon is significantly more expensive than a veranda.  I have not ever sailed in a cabin with a french balcony.  I really thought a french balcony would be the less expensive option.  Now I'm wondering if there is something that makes it more desirable.  I would appreciate any feedback that anyone who has been on the ship has on these two options.  We saw the ship in Ushuaia last year and it looked beautiful.  

1 minute ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

If you knew how close we came to booking that cruise a couple of weeks in advance…. It was only because I’m having some knee issues that we didn’t but DH was already rounding up his waterproof pants and gloves. I’m sorry you missed out on the view of the eclipse that you (and everyone else) wanted, but have to admit that your report has softened the blow in our house. 

I can soften the blow even more for you:  The solar eclipse was at 5:04 AM!!  The wind was whipping around from all directions and there was a fine mist/sometimes actual rain falling. I think that was the only day of our trip that the temperature was below zero. I was wearing 4 layers of clothing, 3 hats, and 3 layers of gloves and absolutely freezing my buns off.  My husband wanted to go out and stake our prime viewing spot, so we sat out there for an hour and a half waiting on the eclipse.  I just sat down on the deck using the glass railing as a wind shield and covered my face with my mittened hands (lord, those giant expedition grade mittens made my hands feel like walrus flippers.  This was the only day I wore them).  I was already impressed with Ernest Shackleton and his men before that but absolutely amazed by them now.  

We were supposed to be on the Coral Princess South American solar eclipse cruise as well.  When it cancelled, I was looking around for cruises for the next solar eclipse and found that there was going to be an eclipse in Antarctica in December of 2021.  We took an expedition cruise to see that.  I can confirm that a ship cannot always find clear sky.  We did not see the eclipse at all.  The weather was just really bad that day.  We just knew that it was happening because it got super dark for a few minutes. The trip was wonderful though and we have no regrets.  A lecturer on board gave a presentation on the upcoming solar eclipses. I thought the one off the coast of Mexico seemed perfect for a cruise.  I really hope that Princess will do that. 

8 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

That sounds odd, unless of course you were walking around outside in the middle of a crowd of people. I'm one of those nuts who wear a mask anytime I'm around people, but outside, with few people and those 20 feet away or so, I never bother. What you described has probably changed anyway starting 1 March with NCL's updated COVID policies.

 

Doug

Even the lifeguards sitting up in those tall chairs were wearing masks.  I felt sorry for them because it was so hot.  The people who told us to put on masks were wearing uniforms and did not appear to work for NCL.  They were standing at the entrance to Harvest Caye. I thought maybe the masks were something the government of Belize required.  

I was on this cruise as well.  There were specials in the spa.  They had a deal where there was progressive savings the more treatments you had.  For example, I had a hot stone massage, then the lime and ginger salt scrub with a massage, and then the seaweed wrap with a massage.  I got 10% off the first service, 20% off the second, and 30% off the third.  

With regard to the internet, I upgraded to the unlimited premium.  I was amazed that I was able to stream The Book of Boba Fett on my Disney+ app with no issues whatsoever.  It streamed as well as it does on my Roku at home.  

I was told by an employee that there were 1200 passengers on board.

The covid testing site is at the Marriott across the street from the port, it's in the red brick building that is attached to the hotel tower.  It's pretty well marked.

The security staff at Harvest Caye told us that we had to wear our masks while walking around outside.  I think they said wear your mask unless you are in the water.  We only walked around a bit and went back to the ship to enjoy the thermal suite in the spa.

We went to Playa Mia in Cozumel and Little French Key in Roatan both places were well below capacity--like probably at 25% capacity.  It was really nice. 

We were on Breakaway which sailed out of New Orleans on January 30.  We had 1200 passengers on board.  In Roatan, we were docked next to Allure of the Seas, I asked a passenger how many they had on board.  She told me 2600.  Judging by how deserted Playa Mia and Little French Key were compared to pre-covid times, I'm guessing all of the ships are sailing at 25%-33% capacity.  

19 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

Going from Carnival to Norwegian is like shopping at a flea market for a wallet then going to Saks Fifth Avenue.  CCL food is HORRID (especially the half done greasy crap they call pizza), the casino is far better on NCL, the cabins are much nicer, and the crew members are a lot more friendly and outgoing.  If you liked CCL you will fall in love with NCL.

 

Disagree with this comment.  I mainly cruise Princess but have sailed Celebrity, Royal, Disney, Carnival, NCL, and Azamara.  I find all of the mainline companies more alike than different.  Carnival offers a great product.  I just got off NCL Breakaway yesterday.  It was my first time cruising NCL since going on Jewel 10+ years ago.  After the Jewel, I never even considered NCL but my friend prefers it. It was a great cruise.  I have no complaints.   They have greatly improved since I last sailed with them but they're not better than Carnival.  If I had to pick between the two, I would probably pick Carnival just for the chocolate melting cake.   

I had no idea that Genting had any relation to NCL.  I was surprised to see how similar the Dream Cruise ships looked to NCL's ships.  This explains it.  I only knew about Crystal.  We went on an expedition cruise out of Ushuaia in November and saw the Crystal Endeavor in port.   Crystal Endeavor is still out on it's last cruise right now and is scheduled to return to Ushuaia on February 4.  I imagine the mood on board is quite somber. Endeavor is a brand new expedition ship that was just finished in July.  It will be interesting to see what happens with the Crystal ships and that expedition ship in particular.  There seems to be a big expansion into expedition cruises but at the same time the hit from Covid in that industry has been pretty severe since most of the operators are small.  

17 hours ago, NCLGirl2013 said:

It is at a Marriott right around the corner from Fulton Garage which I highly recommended parking at as it was a really quick and simple walk from the garage to the COVID testing facility and then back to the garage to grab luggage and ride the shuttle to the port 

 Thank you for this info!  I'm so happy that you had a great cruise!  About the covid test, did you guys have to book a time with Eurofins or you just showed up at the testing site and got in line?  Our check in time with NCL is 9-930 (I was surprised they offered a time this early but happy to take it).  We were going to get our test first and then head to check in.  

26 minutes ago, bstel said:

woah, we sail the 30th.  fingers crossed.

We're on the 30th as well.  I really want to go!