coconut telegraph

Good morning, we will be aboard the Reflection in a few short weeks and Easter Sunday falls on a sea day.  I know there are services scheduled aboard regularly, but wanted to ask if anyone had an idea of what would be different (different venue etc) for Easter Sunday services?

Good evening, we are celebrating our parents 50th on an upcoming Alaska cruise in a couple of weeks and I wanted to ask for suggestions to make it extra special either through on board items or creative celebration items you have seen or brought on board.  It is our first Princess cruise so I am at a loss for what might be available on board or what to ask the wait staff for.  Thanks in advance for your suggestions and tips!

I had messaged them thru FB a few weeks ago and never heard back.  We were at Carambola last week and it was marvelous.  I didn't see any umbrellas setup down at Discovery that day, but that doesn't mean they don't have them.  I wish they would have replied and I could have given them a try.

It seems my vast research has stumped me on a clear cut winner for our group of 9.  Eagle beach looks amazing, but the two things that keep coming up are the distance between the chairs and the water line and few options for a beach bar experience.  Would palm beach be a better option with more options for chairs/umbrellas and beach bars and any personal recommendations for a group of 9 (6 adults and 3 teens)?  

On 2/4/2023 at 12:07 PM, ED49404 said:

Did Mystic Man several years ago, we all enjoyed it very much, in fact we still talk about it today.  9 people would be about the minimum they would take.  I believe at the time it was a little cheaper 10 or more.

What did the charter cost ballpark?  I didn't want to make the inquiry with the company if it wasn't in the budget.  Thanks for the recommendation!

Greetings.  We took a tour bus to the Pitons and took a catamaran back to port one time while in St Lucia and I was wanting to find an option that might be catamaran both ways that would fit a group of 9.  The NCL excursion listed as cruise between the Pitons doesn't pull up as an option for our sailing.  

45 minutes ago, wallysdtr said:

You are lucky!  We too use an online US cruise agency.  I checked with our agent this evening and asked if we could transfer the booking from our March 23 Reflection cruise to the same one on the Reflection next year March 29.  She said we would have to pay the difference in the cruise fare which is more than double.  not so cool.

 

This is my biggest issue.  Not sure how the inflated rates are calculated.  What good is a FCC if you simply cannot pay the upgrade on inflated rates?  I guess you could play the game of calling to rebook when it drops, but that is a task within itself.  

Greetings, I have been searching the board for updated a la carte pricing and perhaps an updated menu as well as if there are any other purchase offers other than a la carte?  

28 minutes ago, cbfb said:

Anyone board yesterday or today with the new prescreening? Was it a lot longer to get on?

If its any help, I saw a FB live with John Heald and he showed their extra screening process of using laser thermometers (I thought they were infared, but could be something different) and folks were only held up boarding by a few seconds.  

Maybe it is Kobe inspired sliders?  This thread made me chuckle.  

We travel with children, so we are out.  I'm all for new lines and more competition to keep the cruise industry fresh and on their toes.  Happy sailing!

Sunset Beach bar has a small pool after their reno as well.

Sorry, that's what I meant.  I guess I looked at my notes wrong.  I'll be partaking a few in April as well.  I enjoy a good maduro stogie with a good glass of bourbon or scotch.

The only place that allows cigar smoking on that ship is the sunset bar on deck ten aft.

16 hours ago, Najuliseer said:

how far is the walk from Mullet to Maho? 

We made the walk last time we were there.  Maybe 15-20 minutes (its a little tricky following the Google map that someone created, but there is a golf course between the beaches.  I'm really glad we went to Mullet that day instead of Maho for beach time because there wasn't much beach left at the time between the road and the sea.  It was really crowded compared to Mullet.  We rented chairs, umbrella and enjoyed beverages while at the beach.  The snorkeling area is the size closer to Maho and there were a lot of folks taking advantage of it.  It also gives you a unique perspective on the planes landing in SXM from Mullet.

This tour looks great (visits Jost, Norman Island and Peter Island) and was wondering if anyone has been on this charter previously?

21 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Are you doing TD or SD? 

TD.

Good evening, we requested a table for our party of three and now I am curious how they seat a party of 3 and if we will be fighting the dreaded 2-seat tables on the Summit?

It depends on the Cat.  Some of them pull right up to the sand line, others about in 4-5 foot deep water.  The Soggy Dollar bar got its name from folks swimming up to the beach.  I'd contact the tour operator directly to see what they typically do.  A cat can go into more shallow waters than a typical hulled boat so that is a positive.  Sometimes the crew will bring items ashore for guests as well.

Quick question:  Looks like we would like to do the following in BVI:  looks like we would take a taxi from Road Town to West End and take a ferry to Jost Van Dyke.  We are interested in going to Soggy Dollar, so we would take another taxi to Soggy Dollar?  How much time should we leave so we can make sure we would make all those connections back to Road Town?  Are there any other more direct ways to Jost from Road Town?  It's just three of us, so a private charter is way too pricy.  Are there any other options you would recommend?  

I'm having a little trouble viewing the manage reservation as none of the options show our beverage and ppd gratuities under any option I click on.  Any tips so I can make sure that my reservation shows what we paid for?  

In my experience a superior balcony stateroom would be on more desirable decks or close to the elevators.  Some ships I've seen superior staterooms listed as aft balconies as well.  Room sizes typically are exactly the same in these two categories.

Good Afternoon to you Jason!  Thanks so much for your interest in Beachlimerz!  We'd love to have you spend your Antigua Beach day with us. 

I'm not sure how much information you have about us so here goes. We are a rather small facility and yet we are not interested in expanding as so many persons want us to-  we rather enjoy being thought of as a hidden gem; tucked away and semi-secluded. With respect to the packages we offer, I'm attaching an information sheet and an FAQ sheet which together answer almost any questions you may have - but please feel free to get back to me if you need additional info.  It's a fair amount of detail but we want you to make an informed decision. Reading this information will help with that.  

We can arrange for a taxi to meet you at the port.  Currently the fare is US$5 per person each way for a minimum of 4 persons. Less than 4 persons then the price is $6 per person. The fares are recommended by the Antigua Taxi Association. We have no interest in the taxi business but are happy to make the arrangements for you if you wish; this works well for us since we know the drivers we recommend and can vouch for them. The fare is the same whether we make the arrangements for you or you grab a taxi yourself. Fortunately we are pretty close to the dock and it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to get to us. 

We offer Day Passes as well as Pay As You Go Options (Paygos).  The Day Pass is an all inclusive 'ticket' so to speak which includes beach loungers, umbrellas and watersports equipment and of course food and drink.  If you love fabulous food or enjoy kayaking or trying out some Stand up paddle boarding or just floating on a cabana then these are all included in the Day Pass.  Of course if you'd like to try some absolutely fabulous cocktails or nibbles from our regular menus -  you can certainly do so; prices are specially discounted for holders of Day Passes. The price per Day Pass is USD65 per person and a deposit of USD30 per person is required to confirm a reservation... see attached for additional Day Pass information

The Pay As You Go option also requires a reservation and the deposit is US$25 per person which would go towards the rental of beach furniture or watersports equipment or Food & Drink. Our only expectation is that our Paygo guests use up their Paygo deposit in its entirety  as this is a non-refundable deposit unless of course your ship doesn't make it to port or there is a thunderstorm preventing use of the beach etc  As an example, a couple would rent 2 beach chairs (USD10), an umbrella(USD10)  and spend at least USD15 per person in drinks or food or whatever.  There is no obligation to spend more than USD25 per person. To clarify further, with the PAYGO option you'd pay separately for everything - Chairs (USD5 ea), Umbrellas (USD10 ea), Kayaks (USD20), Stand Up paddle board USD20;  Rum Punch US10 ea etc.

Our regular menu, which you may choose from, includes an array of seafood such as Lobster, Mussels, Salmon, Mahi and even Shark (yep our conch fritters and shark bites are  to die for) and of course we do great  'landfood' such as Rib Eye, Striploin,  Pork Chops,  and so much more!  And yes, just for all you over-21s - libations galore!!!!!!!!!  Margaritas, Mojitos and Pina Coladas abound but we encourage everyone to also try our Tropicocomocoloco, Scorpion Sting, 'Limerz Passion and ...  well there are just so very many!!  

Our most popular drink currently is the Lie Detector - be careful though; be sure you want to try it and be even more careful who you ask to try it! The Bob Marley is the 2nd most popular drink - guaranteed to make you the best reggae dancer ever  -you absolutely must slurp on one!!   Let me know what else you're looking for and we'll make it happen for you!   

Thanks again Jason!  I hope you will opt to spend your beach day here at Beachlimerz.  We'd love to host you!! Please see attached - and please note that should you decide to do Day Passes your group of 9  will pay the discounted price a group of 10 (USD60pp)  would pay due to the Conch Fritters Guy's recommendation!!  Please see attached!

Best Regards

Gail

DAY PASS 2019 INFO.docx

DAY PASS PAYG FAQS JAN 2019 (4) (1).docx

On 1/20/2019 at 12:37 AM, Danitroline said:

No duty free shop on board.

Also agree with Clarea- we did the med last summer and we were off the ship the entire day. 

there were no comedian as the jokes dont always translate.

VAT tax if you leave from Barceloa and a few other ports

The entire feel of the crowds was different but still quite enjoyable . We had a marvelous time

 

We were with NCLfor that cruise, however.

If a cruise visits an non-EU country, then there isn't a VAT to pay.  We visited Malta on a 14 nt cruise a couple of years ago which saved a huge amount of money not having to pay the VAT on everything on board.

We have a group of nine with 3 being 12 or younger in our group heading to Antigua in April.  I have scoured the posts, reached out to certain bar/grills for info and pricing and I am having a terrible time deciding on which beach/bar we should choose.  We have been to Dickenson before on our own, but we are looking for a great spot that has a wide-range of food offerings reasonably priced (the overbearing comments on food prices have been numerous) and one that has reasonably priced beer/cocktails.  I think the all-inclusive spots are out with the kids so I'm asking the most educated board on the net for some advice and possibly some menu/drink pricing for beach options.  Fins up!