cpayne

No discounts on anything showing for our 3/3 8 day on RCL to Cuba.  This sailing has been sold out for months so I guess they assume due to supply/demand they don’t need to offer us any discounts?  😥

We have regularly used wifi in ports.  It's our at sea days that I'm concerned with unfortunately.  I need about 5 min/day at sea only We have 3 at sea days that concern me.  If someone else in our group has purchased the unlimited wifi for one device can I log in to their package if they are logged off OR is the unlimited pkg devoted to 1 device only?  Not trying to cheat the system, but $80 for 15 min total usage seems a bit much. 

We do NOT need unlimited internet access on our cruise next Spring.  However, we would like to purchase some minutes to be able to use our phones and check email with the dog sitter and the office while we are away.  Does RCL offer a package where we can just purchase a set amount of minutes?  If so, how much?  I looked in our cruise planner and was unable to find anything.  Thanks. 

Just realized we will be on RCL Empress 8 day Cuba sailing for Fat Tuesday of Mardi Gras March 5, 2019.  This will be a sea day for us.  Has anyone ever sailed with RCL before on Fat Tuesday?  Do they do anything fun to incorporate this holiday?   Sure hope so!   

11 minutes ago, tweetylori said:

We decided to take our time getting going on this relaxing day at sea, so by the time we headed out to find food (yes, we managed to get hungry again...we are shameless!), our only option was the Starlight Dining Room for Brunch.  Breakfast had ended at 10:45 in the Windjammer, and wasn't starting up for lunch until 11:30. (It was around 11 at this point)  But having read about this amazing buffet brunch, we were looking forward to it.

 

So we headed down to Starlight, but managed to hit the wrong floor as they were only seating on one floor for it (the lower one). We were used to eating upstairs, so we were glad to get to try the other level of this dining room.

 

 There was a small line. We waited and waited while bunches of folks came out, but nobody was going in.  When we finally had the opportunity to be seated, we were led to a table with 6 other people.  I thought, cool!  We get to meet some new folks.  We had certainly met some nice fun people already on this friendly ship.  Unfortunately, it didn't take us long to realize these were not some of those nice friendly fun people.  These were folks who just wanted to complain about everything.  I mean, the salt shaker didn't have enough salt in it, the free bloody mary was awful...what only ONE free mimosa?!  Who would buy a deluxe drink package anyway?  That's stupid.  Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I said:  "uh, we did, and we love it.  as a matter of fact, I think I'll have another mimosa right now".

 

So, I don't know if it was just the unpleasant company or if it really was the food also, but we couldn't enjoy this meal.  Food was so-so, and fairly cold by the time we got it back to the table.  There was a nice variety of breakfast and lunch items.  Do make sure you put cold and room temperature foods on your plate first, so you have a better chance of a warm meal.  I wish I could say I loved this brunch, but we both couldn't wait to get out of there.  I did manage to get one quick pic of my plate.  This was the only time I saw a benedict on this trip.  The top item is a pizziola chicken.  (I think that's what they called it).

They were offering free bloody Mary's and mimosa's in the dining room for brunch OR did I misread your post? 

3 minutes ago, bup1224 said:

We just saw tons of Tuk Tuks in Punda on Saturday during the day.  The website for Tuk Tuk is www.CurTukTuk.com

 

WILD!  We stayed just outside of Punda for our 9 days.  Walked in to Punda and/or Otrabanda at least every day at different times of day and NEVER saw them.  Interesting!  Was disappointed bc we wanted to take a tour upon our arrival the 1st day to acclimate to the area and see what we were interested in exploring more on our own. 

Keep the good words coming!

Spent a wk in Curacao. The night before we left we discovered you can repel from the Julianne Bridge. $100 US/person. We called to see if by chance they were going out the next morning as we had a late Flt on our last day. No luck. Soooo disappointed we hadn’t known about this earlier in our trip to make it happen. Passing along in case anyone else may be interested.

Only saw this option advertised in 1 place....a book in our hotel.  Wish we would have read the book sooner!  Anyhow, here is the information for the person to contact:

Albert Schoop

5999-668-1118

He also has a youtube channel or LinkedIn page. You may try contacting him that way too?

If you do this OR even get more information Would LOVE to hear more details for a future visit!

Sounds like you found your option, but for others reading this post here is a link to our week long visit to Curacao that was busy!  We are not one for spending more than an hour or so sitting on the beach.  May give others some ideas.....

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147277-i583-k12079759-Our_active_itinerary_for_a_wk_in_Curacao-Curacao.html

Just returned from 9 nts in Curacao.  Never saw segways anywhere we went and we were all over the island!  Also never saw them advertised in any of my research.  

We just returned from 9 nts in Curacao.  We stayed near Punda and numerous times wandered down to the cruise ship area.  Different times of day.  Never once saw a single tuk tuk.  Weird!  Was hoping to take a quick tour via Tuk Tuk when we arrived just to familiarize ourselves with the area, but no luck locating them.  ????

Just returned from our 9 nts in Curacao.  Opted for Scuba Lodge and Suites.  Perfect for our needs!  Posted a very long review of our stay on their FB page and trip advisor if anyone is looking for more information. 

We spent approx. 3-4 hrs hiking in the Shete Boka area last week.  We never saw any ATV's go thru the area.  I wonder if they don't bc it's a National Park? 

We did a 6 hr west end island tour on ATV's with ATV Buggy Tours.  It goes all along this same side of the island and takes in everything you are describing.  Check out their website.  They offer a east tour that is only 3 hrs, but I don't think that route will give you what you are describing.  They spent more time with a stop at the aloe vera or ostrich farm. 

ATV Buggy Tour prices were less than Eric's ATV who seems to be the most popular ATV vendor on the island. 

Hope this helps!

We just returned from a week on the island.  Used ATV Buggy Tours for the 6 hr west end tour.  Chose this b/c it seemed to have more "adventure" than the east tour which included stops at the ostrich or aloe vera farm.  We wanted more riding, less stops.  The dirty and bumpier the better! 

Prices for ATV tours on the island are higher than we've paid other places.  $280 for 1 unit/2 people.  I think $5/pp if you need transport to their office.  This did NOT include lunch.  Typically a tour of this duration (especially at this price!) would include lunch. 

ATV Buggy was cheaper than Eric's ATV which seems to be the most popular ATV rental on the island. 

Hope this helps!

We just returned from a week in Curacao.  We hiked Christoffel one day.  Google maps says 39 min from cruise pier to Christoffel.  Is it preferable to hike the mountain early (7 - 8 a.m.)?  Yes.  Is it an absolute MUST?  No.  I think it may be 11:00 a.m. that they allow the last person up.  We went up around 7:15 and was surprised how relatively cool and almost shaded it was.  Coming back down the sun had risen directly over head and was definitely a great deal warmer.  There were still many many people going up when we were coming down. 

The real question is what time your ship arrives in port, how quickly you can get off, grab your rental car and to the park.  Here's a suggestion.....Give it a try and if you get there too late another 10 min or so up the road is Shete Boka National Park.  You could always go there instead if you find you didn't make it to Christoffel in time.  Or, there were quite a few other trails in Christoffel Park.  We didn't realize this prior to our arrival.  By the time we had climbed Christoffel and back, though, + the heat we were done hiking for the day.  We chose to then drive the blue route driving tour and then head to the beach.  If you arrive too late to hike up to Christoffel you could instead hike some of the other trails that are not as strenuous.  

Hope this gives you a bit more insight!

Just returned from a week on the island.  The round/indoor craft market has an abundance of them.  They mostly start at $12.  Everyone would negotiate down to $10.  Tried several vendors to go to $7-8 and no luck!  Finally found someone who sold us one for $8 bc it was broken at the top where the bolts adhere the plate to the car.  Plan on $9-10, but you will have no problem finding them at the round market! 

I think the tour is now $9.  We opted to not go.  Once you've seen a few caves, you've seen a "cave".  If someone has never seen a cave then yes it might be worth the experience.  However, sounds like you have seen quite a few and might be better to spend your limited time on the island exploring something more unique to Curacao.  Just my 2 cents worth..... 

We did the 6 hr west end tour with ATV Buggy last week and it does NOT hit Shete Boka.  We spent approx. 3-4 hrs hiking SB area last week and never saw any ATV's.  I wonder if bc it's a national park they are not allowed?  

For more turtles than this try Playa Grandi.  A bit further north, but this is the beach known as Turtle Beach.  Great experience.   Easy to rent a car and make a day of it on your own.  In fact, an even better day would be to visit BOTH with your own rental car!  I THINK there is a restaurant at Lagun so start their first, snorkel, lunch and then on to Grandi.  The turtles are most abundant at Grandi around 2'ish when the local fishermen begin returning for the day. 

Have fun!

We just returned from a week on the island and used ATV Buggy Tours.  We did the 6 hr tour.  Was a much more rugged/bumpty bump/4 wheelin' like tour if that makes sense?  We were wanting more adventure.  The East 3 hr tour spent too much time with stops at the ostrich farm or aloe vera farm (can't remember which?). 

The ATV tours on this island are more expensive than what we have paid on other islands.  1 unit for 2 people was $280.  That did not include lunch.  Lunch was extra.  If you need pick up from the cruise or hotel I think it's an extra $5/person.  

ATV Buggy's was cheaper than Eric's ATV which seems to be the most popular. 

We were very pleased with our experience.  We got lucky and were the only 2 on our tour!   

Many of the beaches have dive shops right at the beach.  Almost 100% of the diving in Curacao is shore diving and thus why you find dive shops located directly at the small beaches.  Easily could rent a car and visit one of the many beaches on your own.  The question is just which beaches have dive shops and which do not.  Try this link: 

https://www.curacao.com/en/directory/do/dive/dive-operators/

On ‎5‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 6:06 PM, calmpets said:

Having just done an island tour that included the distillery, I can tell you skipping it is a good call. It is basically a big walk-through area with pictures and vats and such. With the massive amount of people they bring through there, you can't hear anything the guides say anyway, and you can get samples of the liquor right near the pier.

Another vote for skipping!  Waste of time during our wk long visit to the island last week.  We did not pay for a tour thank goodness.  The tastings were some of the smallest we've ever received anywhere. 

We just returned from Curacao.  Many of the small beaches have dive shops located directly at the beach.  I THINK Playa Marie (pig beach) and Playa Lagun did.  Not 100% positive.  I know there were others that did, but can't recall.  Try this link for determining which dive shops are located directly on which beaches.  They would all be able to rent you snorkeling equipment. 

https://www.curacao.com/en/directory/do/dive/dive-operators/

We are in Curacao for a wk.  Discovered an option I never saw “advertised” during all my pre vacation planning.  Thought I would share.  

Wed and Sat at 2 pm the Maritime Museum offers an hr harbor tour on the local ferry for $10.  Requires advanced reservations, but think they would allow walk ups assuming there is space available? 

Shaded and a good breeze provide a much needed break from the mid afternoon intense sun.   Gives you a boat ride under the “famous” Julianne Bridge and opportunity to learn about their industry. 

Not sure what day you are in Curacao, but Wed and Sat there is a 1 hr harbor tour/boat ride for $10. Book thru the maritime museum.   Does not include entrance to museum if you want to see this.  Shaded and cool breeze providing a break from the intense mid day sun.  Boat ride under the Julianne Bridge and learn about their local industry.   5-10 min walk from the ship.