jaga04

To me, it would depend on whether the ship's excursion allowed you to do/see what you want to in St. John. If so, it would likely be more relaxing. As was already said, doing it by taxi and ferry is fairly easy, but it is a bit more of an adventure and you do have to time things to ensure that you'll get back to the ship on time. Either way, St. John is beautiful!

I've been on all of those trips, not through Princess, but I'm assuming the trips I took were similar, though probably with different companies. I think the "big" trip was the best one for sure. You get to see the stingrays, and also snorkel in an area that will be decent enough to good, depending on exactly where they take you. Rum Point is a very pretty beach to hang out at for a while. On our trip, while on the boat, we ordered our food from the beach's restaurant, and it was ready when we got there. If you do the snorkel and reef, it will be basically the same trip, without the beach/lunch part. For the reef and wreck, I thought the reef part was very good, shipwreck not too exciting. Have a great time, whichever you choose.

Here are a few suggestions for more specific areas of 7 Mile Beach, to increase the chances of seeing more than just your feet when you look in the water :).

These are areas that I think are good for very beginning snorkelers.

Governor's Beach (just past the Westin): there is a small area of coral not too far from the shore.

Royal Palms: if you walk about 5 minutes to the left (looking at the water) to the Marriott, they placed reef balls in the water, fairly close to the shore. Fish tend to swim around the reef balls.

Public Beach: I am pretty sure that I did some minor snorkeling there years ago, but can't really remember.

It's our first visit to Key West. We (husband and myself) dock at 8:00 am and depart at 5:00 pm (like to be back on the ship by 4:00). We would like to attend Mass at St. Mary Star of the Sea - assume 9:00 or 9:30 service but it's too soon to know.

Given your comment about limits to walking, I wanted to make sure that you know that St. Mary is roughly a mile from the dock, on Truman Avenue and Windsor Lane.

If you want to go to a beach in KW, I recommend changing the order of your plan and going to Ft. Zachary Taylor first. It's small, in a park (so you have to pay to get in, $2-2.50/pp if you walk), but very pretty, with picnic tables and pine trees behind the beach, you can watch boats coming and going from the harbor..... If you read reviews, people have very mixed views of it, but I'm someone who really likes it. Main issue is that sand is small rocky coral, not fine sand, so it's hard to walk to the water. If you go early, it will probably be empty and peaceful. It's roughly a 1/2 hour walk from the dock if you walk through Truman Annex. Then, you can loop back by going via Petronia, which has some nice shops, to Duval.

There is no beach right near the dock. There is a very small beach area at the end of Simonton Street.

The stores won't open until 9 or 10.

If you want to hang out at a pool, you can go to Dante's restaurant. Food is adequate, but pool is very large and nice. I don't think it's open for breakfast, so you would need to check when it opens.

Fort Zachary Taylor is my favorite beach in KW. It's pretty with pine trees and picnic tables behind the beach, you get to watch the boats leaving/going into the harbor, but the downside is the rocky coral sand. There are outdoor showers. It costs $2.50/pp to walk in. If you go, I recommend walking through Truman Annex in one direction since it's shorter, and through the town in the other.

That brings me to: although I do like Kermits, my current favorite key lime pie is from Blue Heaven, mainly because I also like meringue. Slices are huge, but not cheap, and two can easily share. Blue Heaven is on Petronia, and there are several cute shops on the street nearby. You can walk on Duval to/from the ship for other shopping.

It's funny because a year or so ago when I posted the times, someone suggested I was underestimating. Given my somewhat obsessive nature, I therefore timed it a few times, and after I pay, it takes me 9-10 minutes to be on the beach, and I walk pretty fast.

The entrance is about a 10-15 minute walk from Pier B if you take the short cut through Truman Annex.

Yes, but it's about another 10-15 minutes in the park to get to the actual beach.

Caroline's should work well for lunch with kids. Casual, outdoors, very good food, reasonably priced for KW. Not sure if there's an actual children's menu, but if not, portions are large, so 1 may be enough for 2 to share. It's on Duval, south of Caroline St.

We usually go with Sebago. Spacious catamaran, helpful crew.

We were there 4 times and were able to snorkel only once. Water was too murky the other times. Really enjoyed snorkeling the one time. Saw a local couple get married another time. We were there in Dec, Jan, and March (in various years). You never know with snorkeling.....

One day there will be 12K cruisers there. Any suggestions for THAT day?!? Thanks so much

The pool at Sunshine Suites? Really, I think you will be fine as long as you don't go into Georgetown or the beach club places along SMB, like Royal Palms.

Yes, Governor's Beach is just north of the Westin, across from Sunshine Suites.

Some snorkeling things: Governor's Beach has some snorkeling---at the level of, since you're there, you should try snorkeling there, but it wouldn't be worth going there mainly to snorkel.

You can take the bus north to Cemetery Beach, which has pretty good snorkeling.

Also, Eden Rock right in Georgetown. You can go into the water either from Eden Rock Dive Shop or Paradise Restaurant.

Another option for snorkeling by boat is to go to the barrier reef, but it's hard to get a trip that doesn't also go to Stingray City.

If I remember correctly, there is a small area at Governor's Beach, near the parking lot, with a few trees where you can get some shade if the spots aren't taken. Haven't been there in a few years, but we're going back in 11 days and counting, given that it is a lovely 0 degrees right now in western NY.

The website for the Marriott shows people on stand up paddle boards, so my guess is that you can rent them there. They are not actually listed under beach activities though. The Marriott is about a 5 minute walk down the beach from Royal Palms, to the left if you are facing the water.

I believe that our friends got on the shuttle near Front and Whitehead, which is a short block from Duval Street.

Jana

I went on the same or similar excursion several years ago from a different cruise line, and don't remember all of the details, but since nobody else has responded, I will tell you what I remember. Also, since it was several years ago, things may be done differently now.

The kayaking part was pleasant, but not exciting. We went from one part of Seven Mile Beach to another, kayaking not too far from the shore. The beach and water are beautiful.

The snorkeling part was very disappointing. This is the part where some details are murky and I'm trying to put together where they took us (when I didn't know much about the area) with what I now know. My assumption is that we didn't go quite as far as Governor's Beach and they definitely didn't take or direct us to the area which has decent enough snorkeling, though they could have, since we had to be very close (that area was probably a little further west and a little further from shore than where they took us). If they showed us that area, it would have made the excursion much better for us.

Also, their description of the excursion doesn't quite make sense, though I also don't remember how it all worked exactly. You have to bring your kayak to shore (or somewhere) before you snorkel, or else, what are you going to do with it when you snorkel? We definitely brought it to shore and then snorkeled, but I can't remember if we got in it again to go back to the starting point.

As an aside, if you're interested in snorkeling, the best area at Governor's Beach isn't as good as Eden Rock or Cemetery Beach.

I hope this helps.

Not as such. Each of the ships is equipped with limited medical facilities and are staffed by international medical personnel.

Customary Emergency Room fees and charges apply and payment is required at the time of service.

You will receive an invoice for any medical services provided on the ship, which may, if applicable, be submitted to your Insurance Provider for reimbursement[

This didn't happen on O, but it's more about insurance than the ship. My husband used the medical facilities, and while the charges were typical of an ER (i.e., very high), our BCBS policy did not treat it as an ER visit. I can't remember the details, but we submitted the bill and they paid about $100 of the about $1000 charge. We had travel insurance which reimbursed us for the balance, so we didn't really pursue why BCBS handled it that way.

Jana

We were also on the cruise that recently ended in Venice. We were told that the People Mover was just outside the port, which is technically correct, but left out the long walk to leave the port. We didn't see a port shuttle bus as we were walking in either direction, though I believe I saw one the next day after disembarking.

If someone's main interest is getting from the ship to St. Marks Square, then the Alilaguna boat seems to be a quick and easy way to go. Several people we met did that. It leaves from within the port. They had the schedule on the Riviera.

I'm pretty sure that Jack Flats has a fried grouper sandwich. Caroline's has a different fried fish sandwich (can't remember what it is) and a grilled mahi-mahi sandwich. BO's has a fish sandwich that is often mahi, but was grouper at least one time I was there (probably not good odds for that though). I love the tuna sandwich at Blackfin. I'd recommend any of these.

At El Siboney you must try the Ropa Vieja or the ultimate. . . Paella to die for.

 

Mike:)

Be sure to order the yellow rice and bean sides at El Siboney, instead of the more American options. That's my favorite part of the meal. I sometimes just order those and take a few bites of my DH's main dish---portions are large. Dishes also come with yummy fried plaintains.

We're actually going to stay at Key Lime Inn for a few days next week. Never stayed there before as we usually go for longer and stay in a condo, but several people recommended it. Will tell you what I think when we're back.

I just thought I would share a quick review of my experience with this garage. I could not find any reviews of this facility when I was shopping around so I thought I would share my experience. I booked through www.unitedairportparking.com and got a rate of $76.16 ($89.38 after taxes and fees) for a 7-day cruise.

 

Location: The garage is pretty easy to find. It's located about a mile north of the port. The operators of the garage put out a sign near the entrance that says "cruise parking" so there's no confusion as to where you should park (there are other garages nearby).

 

Facility: The garage is built like a tank. One way in/out and it is locked with an iron gate after 7:00 PM every night. I had NO reservations about leaving my car there. It is a standard multi-floor parking garage with overflow on the roof.

 

Service: Who cares about service? It's a garage, right? Well, here was my experience. There is a man standing right inside the entrance who checks your paperwork, pulls the ticket from the machine and tells you which floor to park on. Once you drive up to the cruise parking levels (I think the lower levels are used for hourly parking during the day) the shuttle driver is standing by to direct you into a spot. It's important to point out that this is NOT a valet lot so you don't have to worry about the staff having a bit of a "Ferris Bueller" with your car! The shuttle driver pulled the shuttle van right up behind our car so we just pulled the luggage out of our trunk and he loaded it up in the van.

 

Shuttle: The main advantage of this lot is that the free shuttle is round trip. All of the other long-term lots I could find in the area are over by the airport. Most don't provide a free shuttle at all, and many only provide shuttle service to the port, leaving you to take a cab back from the port to get your car. The shuttle dropped us off right in front of the terminal for our ship and handed our luggage off to the porters.

 

The return trip was painless as well. As we walked out of the cruise terminal we spotted the shuttle loading up some passengers and leaving. We only had to wait about 10-15 min before another shuttle from our garage came by and we flagged him down. The bags were loaded up and we picked up a few extra passengers from other terminals and we were on our way back to the garage. Overall a VERY painless procedure. Since I pre-paid for the parking I simply showed the man at the entrance/exit (same one from a week before, probably the owner/manager) my paperwork and was on my way.

 

In summary I can strongly recommend this garage as an excellent alternative to the $20/day garage at the port. Almost half the price and just as convenient IMO. Of course, this was just my experience... the lot was pretty full so maybe we'll get some more reviews.

 

Sorry for the long-winded review but I hope it is helpful for others as alternative parking for the Port of Miami seems to be a fairly regular topic posted here :)

 

Edit: I forgot one big disclaimer. The vans used for the shuttles said "CBM" on the side. Now, the lot was in no way identified as a CBM lot and is NOT the infamous CBM lot over by the airport that so many people have complained about. I read the reviews on that site and most of the problems were related to damage done to the cars or something similar. I attribute that to the the lot being valet while the lot I used was self-park. I don't know if this lot has anything to do with the "other" CBM lot, but my experience was quite positive.

Our experience was pretty much the same as Armstrom's. Everything went smoothly, no problems, car was fine, and we saved about $100 for a 12-day cruise. We probably waited almost 20 minutes for the van on the way back.

It seems that this company rents out space where they park the cars. The driver told us they've been at this location, which is an enclosed building, for about 6 months. No guarantee that they'll be there forever.