audcc77

I looked for a recent thread and photos about Emerald Beach before we left but could not find one so I thought I'd post one upon my return.

We just returned from our trip aboard Carnival Liberty (Aug 1-9, 2014). We wanted to go to a beach with food, lounges, restrooms, and Best Western at Emerald Beach seemed to fit.

We started out trying to find the taxi dispatch area, which is located quite a walk from the ship. It was only 10-15 minutes but since I’m recently recovered from a broken foot & wrist, it seemed a long distance to me but probably wasn't. We just followed the people walking off the ship. Once arriving at the taxi dispatch area, it was pandemonium and it seemed that everyone wanted to go everywhere but Emerald Beach so it was difficult for the dispatcher to find one to carry 4 people. Lots of open air taxis for 10-16 people. The taxis are kind of in a hurry so my 14-y/o son almost was run over by one as it was backing out, so watch out.

Finally we were assigned a taxi and the cost was $7 pp plus tip. It was about a 20-minute drive if I remember. The taxi driver was really nice and pointed us in the direction to walk once we arrived at the Best Western. The grounds were very pretty with lots of flowers. We walked out to the beach and it was lovely and picturesque. Lounge chairs ($7 each) were just nylon stretched over plastic, but it was okay. We sat on them under a tree for a good hour before the guy showed up asking for money.

The beach itself was very pretty, with nice sand and very small waves. There were not very many people here, which is another reason why we chose it. The food is okay for pub fare, and cost was $12 for a chicken sandwich & fries or $14 for a cheeseburger (huge) & fries. They had fish tacos which is what I should have bought. The food is piping hot & is easy to get “to go” to bring it to your chair. There is a bar right on the beach. No servers walking the beach area though. They had very good free wi-fi and a code is needed. Restrooms were dark and kind of dingy for a hotel, IMO.

We relaxed and swam for a bit, and then just walked out to the front of the hotel where there was a taxi waiting. All in all, it was a nice and relaxing day. Here are photos of the beach area.

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I saw a picture of a power boat pulling a round tube with several people in the tube (kind like a round banana boat :))....but I can't seem to find any information on it. Can anyone tell me about it?? We will be on Grand Turk in April.

We just returned yesterday from our cruise on the Carnival Liberty. I sent Sailorman Tours an email & they responded pretty quickly.

http://www.sailormantours.com/

I waited until we arrived that day, as I wasn't sure what we were doing in Grand Turk.

At the end of the pier go left, and walk through the pathway along side the beach, and you will find a sign right on the beach that says Sailorman Tours. Our cost was $25 pp for 2 adults, our 14 y/o for $20, and then I just rode along for free. Initially via email, they said there would be a small fee for me riding along, but they did not charge me. Everyone wears life jackets. Ride is approx 20 min long. They don't go really far out, which I was glad about. My sons and husband had a lot of fun & I took video/photos. :D

I have been checking with Insuremytrip.com. Just having a hard time deciding which one I would want to use. Also when we booked through AAA the past 2 times they go through Allianz. Also checking the BBB report on each of them. Anyone had any bad experiences with and travel insurances just curious?

I had a good experience with Travel Guard. Cost for 4 people x 2 cabins for an 8-day cruise was around $150 or so. I included 2 days of travel before & 2 days after the cruise.

Unfortunately, I had to make a claim. Travel Guard reimbursed me for everything within a week of submitting it. No problems.

Thanks for the information about Fernando. My husband has made a note in his trusty notebook!

Hopefully he is still there. If you get him, be sure you tell him that you found his name on the internet. He loves that.

Have a great time. I love the Fantasy.

We sailed on the liberty in feb. Julius Caesar on any time dining is great. Had him one night and then requested him another night

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks Bronxgirl. We will try asking for Julius Caesar.

Has anyone recently sailed on Liberty who ended up with a good ATD waiter/waitress?

I'm looking for someone who is fun, maybe does jokes, tricks, interacts with people...

Any recommendations?

Thanks. :)

We've had ATD on the Fantasy twice and it was great.

We asked for Fernando thanks to someone on CC. He was fast, does tricks, was very funny, and the food was piping hot and he made the whole dining experience really fun. We were in and out in no time.

After trying ATD a few years ago, we've never gone back to early/late seating. We see the waiters singing & dancing even though we do ATD. Usually we show up at 6:00 or so.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1489481

See post #10 by Mach

... and here's the testing page.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=225

today there is a price drop. I called pvp over 3 hours ago...sent an email, no return responses. This happened before also with same pvp when I had a question.

Do I fill out the price drop form myself then?

Can I drop her?

This is my first PVP .. was so much easier when I just called Carnival.

I have used my PVP for 4 yrs or so and she does a pretty good job. I have her cell phone number even.

When I see a price-drop, the first thing I do before anything is do a screen shot and save it. Then I call my PVP and if she is not answering if it is late at night, then I call Carnival's 800 # while I'm filling out the price protection form. If someone gets on the line and we come to an agreement as to what I'm due, then I do not submit the form.

I'm pretty sure that if you are not before final payment date, then a phone call is the only thing you need to do.

I think having a PVP is great b/c they can go to bat for you. That has been my experience, at least. PVPs are trying to sell more cruises and I try not to bother her with stuff that I can do.

OP, sorry you had troubles with your PVP. There are plenty of good ones out there if you are not happy with yours.

If you can tell me how to post pictures on here I will try.

 

Carnyman, thanks for taking time to post. We leave in a few weeks for the Liberty.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1489481

See post #10 by Mach

... and here's the testing page to see if it works the way you want (to check size):

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=225

Hijack time:

 

How would I be able to tell what I booked under?

I do not believe it shows this info on your paperwork or even on your confirmation email. I did not know what rate I booked a few months ago but knew I booked under some goofy sale they had. I had to call & ask them to pull up my reservation to see what rate I booked under and what the rules were.

When I book under ES normally, it doesn't show that either. I just know it b/c I book so far in advance.

I had a quick question I am new to the cruise scene I will be going on Carnival Imagination and I already paid in full. If the price of the cruise drop am I entitled to get OBC for the amount difference?

That would depend under what rate you booked and when your sail date is.

We are booked on the Valor in December using the past guest rate. I wanted to switch to early saver so we can get any discounts that happen after final payment. However, the early saver is and has been more money than I paid. Right now the early saver is a little over $60 more for the 2 of us.

 

Have you ever paid more to get the early saver?

Gobux - I had a different experience with the Valor. We went in March. I usually get Past Guest but it was not available when I booked. In fact, it never became available, probably b/c I booked so late. We ultimately upgraded ourselves to an aft balcony, but initially we had a balcony for 2 people on Upper or Empress for about 700-ish each. I was trying to get my friend & her husband to come along b/c right before we sailed, balconies were going for $439 pp. This was March 16 which is spring break pricing.

I'm not sure what December pricing is like, especially if it is around the holidays. In my situation, I would have saved a ton of money had I been able to get ES b/c prices were falling.

I like my PVP too. I've used her for years. She answers all my questions and is always accessible.

I saw a photo in a review and I was curious if anyone has ever done before:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=43142248#post43142248

Go to post #36 with photo of the speed boat. That looks like fun. Has anyone ever done this excursion?

If so, please explain. Thanks.

Did that promotion only require a $50pp deposit, and final not due until 30 days prior to sailing?

If so, I am almost positive it has the same rules as Early Saver, in which case you are eligible for price drops up until 2 days before you sail.

Good Luck!:D:D

LuvtoEat, I do not believe you are eligible for price protection up until 2 days before you sail. I am in the same situation as you, with some kind of promo (Fun, Sail, Sea Promo?) where I don't have to make final payment until 30 days prior to sailing.

Once you make final payment, you are not eligible for any price protection (price drops).

No free cruise for me :(- now I need to figure out why I continue to torture myself by opening these free cruise posts !! :confused:

Jane

I'm with ya, sista.

How far is the CVS from the cruise terminal. Sailing in Aug and looking to bring some sodas on board. Thanks.

I was dragging around my carry-on and didn't think it was too far to walk. Google maps has it as a 5-min walk from the pier. Walk down the pier & turn left. it is on the right side, very easy to see.

Hi Stacey – We were on the Valor a few months ago, in mid-March. About mid-January, a couple of aft balconies opened up on upper deck #6 for only an additional $77 total. I jumped on it because we were traveling without kids and I figured now or never. Even though it was a port intensive itinerary, I thought it was worth it.

Here is my review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2017154

See post #7 for photos from our aft.

Now that I’ve had an aft balcony, I really like them. I just bought an aft cabin on Liberty for an August sailing because the price has gone down. If you wait a little, you may be able to get it less expensive than $180.

Our room was above the lounge but it was only used for comedy night and it wasn't bad at all. I only heard music one night.

My family is traveling on a cruise with six people my sister-in-law is seriously ill and unable to go She wants me to replace her on the cruise we still have 10 days. While we certainly expect to pay a change fee, travel agent says Carnival is saying we have to pay an extra $800 in order to switch. There are children involved and it would be very reassuring if their aunt could go on this trip since their mother cannot. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any help is much appreciated.

If you have documentation from a doctor that your SIL is unable to travel and you are wishing to substitute a person in her place, there is a good possibility that Carnival will let you do that even if you do not have insurance. Especially since your SIL's children are still going. I agree with above poster about getting a supervisor in a 3-way call w/ your TA. I dealt with a great supervisor previously.

I sure hope you get it. In that instance, since it was late at night, I'd have called Carnival direct & spoken with an actual person. I always take a screen shot too. If you get a reject letter, call & ask to speak to a supervisor. I've had 3 price drops to which I was entitled and each one was rejected so I had to call each time. By the third time, I was ready to jump through the phone.

Good luck.

No - It was not Carnival's insurance.

It was Travel Guard.

Perhaps someone else will run into this issue, so I thought I’d come back and answer my own question, which was “What happens to my $260 in OBC if I cancel?” I ended up with $260 in OBC because of price drops, so essentially I was just getting back money that I paid out due to price-matching.

I contacted Carnival & spoke w/ a supervisor. She basically redid my reservation and took away the OBC and put it back on to show what I paid. I then submitted the paperwork to the insurance company.

I bought “standard gold” insurance, such as death/injury/trip interruption. This was $159 for 4 people for an 8-day cruise for 2 cabins. My orthopedist had no problems signing the insurance paper b/c he did not think I should go, despite my grumbling. There were some unhappy people at my house.

I had concerns about canceling because I was afraid if the insurance company did not give me money back, then I would not know this until after my sail date had gone by. I talked with the insurance company and said “I am reluctant to cancel because I don’t want you guys saying that I could have gone on vacation in a wheelchair, and then deny my claim.” The guy said “No – that’s not what trip insurance is about. If you are not able to walk around due to an injury and have fun on your trip, then that’s whole point.” So I cancelled.

At any rate, I did get the appropriate amount of money back from the insurance company (it only took a few days to receive it, even though they said 30 days), and since I was in the 75% penalty phase, I did receive the other 25 % back from Carnival. There are some take-aways that I thought I would share in case anyone else runs into this:

* Be careful as to the exact date on which your doctor tells you that you should not travel, and the date on which you actually do cancel. This is important because … had I waited until the 100% penalty phase (a few days before the cruise), there would have been a possibility the insurance company would have only reimbursed me 75% because the doctor told me not to go during the 75% penalty phase. The insurance form actually asks “the date on which your doctor told you not to travel: ____”.

* Be sure to save all credit card statements. I had to submit all credit card statements which showed deposits/payments submitted to Carnival. This was a pain because I made several payments over several months on several credit cards taking advantage of these credit card rebates. Thank goodness those credit cards were still active because I don’t save the statements.

* If you book a “non-refundable” hotel room, and you just move it to another date (we rescheduled our cruise), then there may be only a $25 admin fee, rather than losing the whole amount. We used Hampton Inn. The insurance company reimbursed me the $25 admin fee.

* Seek the assistance of a supervisor at Carnival. It is to Carnival’s advantage to help supply you with paperwork, etc., and they are more than glad to do it.

I’ve purchased trip insurance many times over the years, to the tune of probably $1K. Had I lost the amount of this trip, it would have been $3K since I was in the 75% penalty phase, so I’m sure glad I had it. The insurance company only had my paperwork for two days before sending my check, so I’m pleased with how it all turned out.

Hopefully our August cruise will happen. I’ve been feeling pretty guilty these days.

Did you originally book it with one of the recent sales that moved the final payment to 30 days prior to sailing? If so, you were given the right information - you would be switching to the Triple Play rate, which means normal final payment due date (60/75 days prior to sailing) would apply.

Yes, Bigman, I did book under another sale which did make final payment 30 days out from sail date.

What you said totally makes sense. I hope I am doing the right thing by sitting tight, waiting for a bigger price drop.

Thanks for your input.

I have an interior 4D cabin for which final payment is due July 1.

The "Triple Play Sale" shows that it just went down $20 so I called Carnival to see about getting them to lower my final payment by $20.

The guy said he'd do that but then the final payment date moves up to TODAY.

Say what ?

If I pay it all today, then I get no more price drops. Since I have until July 1st to wait for more price drops, and there are several cabins empty, I told him to leave it the way it was. I guess I'm betting that higher cabin prices will fall more than $20.

Does this all sound correct? Is anyone else taking advantage of this Triple Play Sale?

Did I do the right thing?

Thanks for any advice.