jmwg49

? mexican food ? I thought you would want authentic Puerto Rican food?

We have sailed on the Liberty 4 times. Once on Riviera (Deck 1), Twice on Deck 2 and once on Lido....and other than the proximity to the 'life' of the ship on Lido...being "down there" is perfectly fine. When you are in your cabin, it makes ZERO difference if you are on deck 10 or deck 1...When you are moving around the ship, in our experience, we have had ZERO issue with waiting for an elevator. As someone else said, you are closer for debarkation at ports and closer to the dining areas as well. I say don't worry about it, and book it! :) Happy sailing!

Last October, we were in San Juan and a taxi driver approached us to take us on a tour....he had a van that would have held probably 6 people...He charged us $10 pp for a two hour tour. His English was excellent, he stopped at variious places so we could get out and take pictures and look around. He took us to a market, he took us into San Juan city, and dropped us at El Morro at the end. It was one of the best tours I have ever had! There are plenty of taxi drivers (not the tour operators) outside of the pier area. In fact, I saw this same taxi driver on our next visit to San Juan just this past February....he remembered me. He had his taxi parked just outside of the CVS. I would recommend this for sure!

When we disembark in SJ, our flight is not until 5 pm. Has anyone had any experience with Carnival airport transfer that includes a ride thru the rainforest? it is about $55 pp and wonder if it is worth it, or if it is just that, "a ride through". I would like to think we could actually experience a bit of the rainforest (i.e., get out of the van!). Any help or opinion is welcome!

we have Tyrone booked for August and he is charging us $40 pp and he says "he will keep us well hydrated"...we are doing island tour and then beach

Iam curious...when is your cruise? I am waiting cabin assignment on the Valor in August

Corina! I think she may have been our best, most efficient to date! She was great!

Thanks for your review! We go in August and we could not be more excited!!!

John Heald had posted a picture of gift starting in June

It is a blue cermamic mug that will come with coffee and tea samples he says.

It is already out there on the Splendor! My friend is currently onboard and got the mug/coffee combo. She says it is nice, but too much metal if you choose to re-heat coffee in the microwave!

When I was on the Sunshine last month they were Cordial glasses with the logo on them.

Thanks! That is what I am hoping for! :)

Any idea of recent platinum gift given on the Sunshine? Of course, we appreciate anything, but hoping NOT to get the beach bag!

Actually our next one is March 2015 a CCL relocation cruise of 14 days that we had our arms sort of twisted to go on.

 

Think we will do another one before that and hope to be able to do a European one on Princess.

?? Arms Twisted?? really???? Stu...you know you just wanted to hang with your old pal Jill! :)

I am so happy you tried Princess and had a great experience! I think change is a great thing and keeps you looking for more! Welcome home,....and see you in March ;)

I contacted him. It was $60 per hour....and the rainforest was 6 - 7 hours. So, unless you have a group to split the cost, it is very expensive. We are a group of 2, so alot of money for an excursion. He told me he does not do 'excursions per se'...so you have to find your own group. In other words, you pay for the whole van, whether you are 2 or 8 people.

it normally follows the food demonstration in the steakhouse....and yes $15

We will arrive back in SJ on August 24th at about 7 am. Our flight is not until 4:55 pm. Does anyone have any suggestions on an excursion or tour company for the day, with an airport drop off? I know we can store our luggage at various spots, and would really like to do something worthwhile with 5 or 6 hours before having to be at the airport by about 2 pm. We will be in SJ for two days pre-cruise, and will be seeing all of the sites in OSJ, so something different is what we are looking for! All opinions welcome! (***not too expensive!!!)

This is a great review! Your pictures of HMC makes me want to book another cruise to go there, right now! Thanks for sharing your family vacation with us!

This sounds awesome! I have sent an email to them. We have a full day after getting off our ship before a flight at 4:50 pm....I asked for suggestions and an airport drop off so I will see what he has to offer! This sounds perfect!

don't hold your breath on what they show! We were onboard during the Olympics and it was limited what they showed! I have yet to see a hockey game on the tv either! GO PENS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we were on this same cruise with you! He was humble, funny and a very hardworking man. His entire team exceeded our expectations! We were sad to leave him behind! :)

Great review so far! Reliving an amazing vacation! That dancing waiter is Michael, perhaps the best waiter we have ever had! So much fun and excellent service!

I will agree about Hennie....not the best CD we have had. A Jim Carrey wannabe and we were not impressed

We have met some lifelong friends through cruising, friendships that continue to grow. Memories...watching dolphins jump out of the water alongside the ship in Cabo San Lucas, whales, stingrays, turtles....oh my!!! And I have to agree, now that my husband and I are able to cruise without the kids, it does give you a great opportunity to just sit back, relax and enjoy the 'view from here'!

I can't wait! We are sailing on the Valor in August...and I'm soaking up all the info I can get! I am anxiously waiting to see what you did on each of the islands!!!

Hi jmwg49,

 

Sorry my response to you is so late. It's been a very busy but very fun weekend and I'm finally getting a few minutes for some computer time. I'm so glad that you enjoyed my review, thank you.

 

As for Spencer's Jalousie Beach break, before our cruise I'd seen so many great reviews on Spencer's tours then started seeing the negatives in late 2012/early 2013. Because there were a lot more positive than negative reviews, we didn't hesitate to book with Spencer. Like you, we also wanted more than just the typical quick beach stop at Jalousie Beach and Spencer's "Jalousie Beach Break" offered exactly what we wanted. We were the first ones at the beach and had first picks of the loungers and plenty of time for snorkeling, walking the beach for pictures and just kicking back and taking in the beauty around us. Our whole day went very smooth, was run like clockwork and we had the best time ever and got the great "Sea Tour" on the way back to the ship with plenty of time for browsing the cruise center shops.

 

As I mentioned in the review, Spencer told us all that he takes every review to heart, whether it's positive or negative. He will look at the negative for ways to improve & if changes are needed for improvement, he will make them. He brought that up when he apologized to every one of us for collecting the payment for the tour up front. It was a change that he said he had to make because of the negative reviews and none of us had a problem with that. I always expect to pay the amount due at the beginning of a tour and tip at the end. There was also a couple on the list who signed up for the Jalousie Beach Break who were late. Spencer said he would wait 10 minutes and if they didn't show, we were leaving without them and that is exactly what we did. Spencer said he hated to do it but he wasn't going to waste the time of the rest of us who showed up on time. There were detailed instructions before our cruise that he emailed and they were very good and simple.

 

Since your cruise on Valor will be in August, you will be the only ship in port for all of the ports of call, including St. Lucia. I just double checked the schedule on the other popular port of call schedule showing which ships will be in each port. Carnival Valor is the only ship that does the southern itinerary out of San Juan during the summer months, so that should keep things smoother for you this time as well.

 

We were over at some good friends' last night so we missed the Penguin game but recorded it on the DVR and to watch when we got home. At 2AM, I couldn't hang anymore so I looked up the score on the internet (we won!!!!) told DH I knew the outcome but wouldn't spoil it for him. When he came upstairs, he had a smile on his face. :) I just hope they can win the next one instead of it going to seven games. So glad to see another Penguin fan! GO PENS!!!!

Thanks for all your information. Back in 2012, when we visited St. Lucia last, I too had read many many reviews about Spencer and they were a mixed bag. I have a good friend who told me to ABSOLUTELY DO NOT BOOK WITH HIM, as he had a very bad experience whereby his wife was put on a different boat back to the port. For us, after our 30 minutes at the beach...we had to take the water taxi, then the van back to the port area...we got stuck in traffic, and the driver did not seem to be concerned...as time was quickly ticking away, he pulled over to the side of the road and told us to 'run down an alleyway and Spencer will be there in a boat'....we did, and there was Spencer, in a boat, laughing about the fact that we had literally minutes before they pulled the gangway up. It was very nerve wracking, to say the least. He did not offer an apology. I was very upset. Time has passed...and after reading your review, I have decided to give him a try again, because what you describe is EXACTLY what I want to do. In my email to Spencer, I ticked that we were returning guests, and he replied quickly with a 'welcome back'...and I took the opportunity to express my concern...His response was that 'he owes it to me to give us the tour we want'. I appreciate that and trust he is sincere!

That said...GO PENGUINS!!! I am sitting here in Toronto on pins and needles!!!

Thanks for the link! I will check it out! I had booked with Cosol, but have since cancelled...we have seen the island, and the idea of spending a day at the beach, between the Pitons is what I have always wanted for a visit to St. Lucia. We have 'bit the bullet" and booked with Spencer (yet again) and I have emailed him to let him know we are return customers, and our displeasure last time with 30 minutes at the beach. He "promises" more time this time around! Thanks!

2 weeks ago on the Dream, I received 2 'cordial glasses'...very nice, etched with "Carnival" on them.