jean87510

who is best person to rent bikes from? We were interested in doing this

We did the grand Lucayan in 2013. You buy a round trip ticket from taxi people. They either go to Junkaroo or grand lucayan. It is about 20 minutes. They will drop you off at lucayan and you get your day pass. Credit cards only. They give you a band. We used the pools and the beach. Very clean and nice. It was $15/person. When you are done, walk down to where you were dropped off. There are a lot of cabs/vans. Give your round trip ticket to them and you can go back. There are little stores and restaurants there. We got there at 8am and left at 1130, had lunch at a restaurant there and left for ship at 1pm. Back to ship at 130p. Our ship was there until 3pm. You will not be stranded re taxis. There are so many of them. I know people who went to Junkaroo or whatever it is called and hated it. Also, tip. When you get to grand lucayan, go to the left and sit by pools. There was hardly anyone there in November. They tend to stack the cruise people in one spot but you can sit elsewhere.

Hi, was unable to post a question to the main carnival sunshine thread so I thought I would place it here since it is internet related. We will be on Sunshine 10/31 for an 8 day cruise. I have 2 questions. 1. Where do I find various internet packages for the ship? I have been to the carnival website but have been reading some conflicting stories from various people on different forums. Is there unlimited internet that you can buy for the whole cruise? I need this for work as does my husband. 2. Does the carnival sunshine have the NFL package or is it just the thurs, sunday and Monday night games and one game at 1p and 4p? This may not seem important to some but that sunday is a sea day and I am traveling with rabid football fans. Any feedback would be helpful.

we did end up booking with ellis tours. I think because we were a family of 6 we were more attractive. I said we wanted to experience El Yunque but wanted to mainly see waterfalls and avoid the crowds. Meeting him at 730am off of ship. Ship excursion leaves at 8am. I think we should be ok. If not...oh well.

Jean,

I think we were on the Explorer in November with you. In fact we did the speedboat ride to the Pitons in St Lucia which you arranged. Just wondering which ports you are visiting this time and what you have found. We are sailing out of San Juan in November on Adventure of the Seas. thanks! Sue

Yes I do remember! We had a good time that day in St. Lucia. One of my favorite excursions. We are leaving out of Port Canaveral 10/31 and going to St. Martin, St Kitts, San Juan, and Grand Turk. Just having such difficulty in planning San Juan with 4 kids (23, 21, 15, and 13) when we are in port 7a to 2p. We are doing Carnival Sunshine this time.

Another thing to consider is the day of the week and/or how many ships are in port that day. I have been to El Yunque on a Wednesday, for example with 4 ships in port and just getting past the first roadside falls was a feat. Buses are everywhere, traffic is at snail's pace and the main falls (La Mina) are full of people. It's an hour drive each way and a 45 minute hike (each way) the La Mina falls. This will give you a little time at the falls but just getting there and back will consume almost 4 hours of your time and cut it real close to get back on board.

Yep, that's exactly what I was thinking. Plus my husband not listening to nor following directions even with a gps. The forts look great and good exercise. We have 4 stops so not worried about missing beach at this port. Thanks for feedback.

You can certainly drive yourself. The drive is about an hour out of San Juan. Easy to find. There is one road in and out. That being said, you also have to allow time to pick up and drop off your rental car.

 

We used Ellis twice. The first time we did this tour and it was great. He will go out of your way to give you a good tour. Not sure if you will have time for this but wanted to give you an example.

http://puertorico.en.craigslist.org/trv/4937359423.html

 

You can email him at fleisherellis@aol.com

thanks. I have seen that name quite a bit in the thread and have emailed him. Actually I emailed a lot of tour operators and a couple got back to me today. Neither one encouraged driving or taking a tour because they said the time constraints were too close and we would be rushed at El Yunque. I am going to keep researching but may have to stick with forts this day.

Hi my family of 6 will be in San Juan in November and want to visit El Yunque. We will be in port 7a to 2p. Obviously time is limited there as I want to be back at port at 1230pm. I have some questions:

1. Has anyone done this with a guide and who did you use? We are looking at 4 hour tour.

2. Would it be better to just drive there? With getting the rental and figuring it out where it is, can this be done in 4 hours, maybe 5?

Hi, I was in Grand Turk 2 weeks ago and used White Sands. They were excellent! There was 10 on our trip which included 2 children. We had 2 snorkel stops and then on to a deserted island where the sting rays come in. I think they said there's 14 rays that live in the area. Before we got to the island one of the crew dived down for conch which they use to entice the rays in. They use the conch to make a salad as well. There are drinks on board - soft drinks, water and rum punch!

Do you remember how long it was and when it started? Did you have transportation from ship?

We learned the hard way not to bring anything other than sea/sail cards. RCCL told us to bring id plus sea/sail cards at our first stop which was st maarten and husband lost our drivers licenses in the ocean (didn't zip fanny pack). Luckily it wasn't passports but it was annoying because we couldn't rent car in 2 other islands plus almost missed ship from st Maarten. Let alone picking up rental car in port Canaveral. Husband is preferred avis member so we were allowed to get car :D Anyway, in the future, I strongly suggest making copies to take OFF of ship to rent or for id or whatever. If renting a car at port and car company giving you a problem, rent car with actual driver's license and go back to ship and put card back in your room safe, but keep paper copy with you.

Hi

 

Ive tried this e mail address it keeps coming back to me if this correct for Herod?

 

wolf7

sorry, had to jump in to answer. Try this

herod tours @ gmail . com

Of course, delete all of the spaces and voila - the email address

Has anybody had tried this tour? I contacted Herod's about the Land/Sea tour on 1/22 and was told that they didn't have anybody signed up for it yet. In order to book that tour, I would need to find 10 people.

 

The offered the Piton Adventure Speed boat Coastal Cruise as an alternative. It looks like it might work for me, but I haven't been able to locate any reviews.

I did this in November with my family and loved it. We got to Jalousie at 9ish. This is the beach at the Pitons and it is incredible. If you are a snorkeler you will love it. There are other touring companies that will come here BUT once they are gone (about 30 minutes), you and one other tour group will be there (about 15 people total). The lunch is really good. Endless and I mean endless strong drinks of rum punch, beer, soda, water. If you don't want to snorkel, just loll in the water. Around 12ish, maybe closer to 1, they took us to Anse Chastenet for more snorkeling. The entire time travel you are in a speed boat. It is so much fun. There are showers at both beaches to rinse off and bathrooms. All are free. We got back to port at around 2 or 230p. We did tip our guides because they deserved it. Really nice and not just for the tips. As an addon, once you get to Jalousie, they will transport you via van to either the mud baths, or the drive through volcano. If you need people to sign up, just post in your roll call and check to see if any other ships are coming in that day and post in their roll calls. I did that for our trip and was able to get enough people. But do it now so you can enjoy a great time. FYI, Herod does take a while to respond as he is really busy and internet is slow. Keep trying and use the g mail address he has. Look through prior posts on this thread. The correct address is posted somewhere

A while back someone posted how easy it was to walk to the boatyard from the cruise ship. It isn't easy. It took us 45 minutes to do it and others that did it with us had apparently read the same post and were as annoyed as we were. If you are going to any of the beaches on Carlisle just take a cab. $5 a person. The boatyard was fine. Had plenty of chairs, bathrooms,...etc... Took a walk down the beach and was not impressed with any of the other beaches (lobster, harbor lights...etc..) I don't understand why anyone wouldn't choose boatyard over these other beaches especially with the free taxi ride back. The chairs at the other beaches looked ratty and seedy plus the vendors were over there also bothering people. Just as an aside, I would NEVER walk by myself as a female in any area that I was unfamiliar with especially a foreign country. I did negotiate for a trip out to see boatwrecks and turtles and that was wonderful. $15 a person and worth it for 2 hours (supposed to be one hour). Also, do not try to swim out to see turtles. Unless you are aquaman, you can't do it without a lifejacket. I don't know why someone posted you could.

Thank you so much for the reply. I actually was planning on going to the boatyard for the day and was hoping to hop over to Cuz's fish shack for lunch, which I am told is right outside the Hilton. So I was trying to figure out the easiest way to do so.

Cuz's is right next to Radisson. It is walkable but you do have to at one point exit to main road then cut over to Cuz. We cut through at a country club (cannot remember what it was called.) You can't get to it from beach from boatyard unless you walk under the pier in the water which is pretty deep. Just cut through to the road the closer you get to the Radisson. If you are facing the beach, Cuz is to the left of the Radisson in a parking lot. Make sure you have address if you are unsure but it is pretty easy to find and also, any of the locals know right where it is. They were surprised we knew about it. From the boatyard it is about a 15 to 20minute walk and worth it. Much cheaper and better than the boatyard food.

Like a previous poster, I am trying to decide between Spencer Ambrose and Cosol tours. I cannot seem to figure out for the Land/Sea tour whether Spencer does ride through the mountains one way and then speedboat back or does the speedboat both ways. I would like to ride through the mountains at least one way. Does his tour save alot of time using the speedboats returning earlier than Cosol or do you see additional sites?

I was getting quotes and info from him a couple of months ago and did go with Herod because of price. He (spencer) does the land first then back by sea. It is your preference. Soufriere is 1 1/2 hours from cruise port and they do stop. If you don't mind being in a car both ways, then fine. If you'd like to get back quickly, the boat is much quicker and fun. You do see a different view of island this way that you would not see in a car. I honestly would recommend this way rather than a bus up and a bus back. Spencer does answer emails quickly so ask him any questions you may have re trip. I did meet him at Jalousie beach with his daughter when we were there with Herod and he is a great guy.

glad I work 50 hours a week as a nurse and can only take vacation once a year rather than deal with this nonsense. I am so happy to be able to get away from work and stress at home, I honestly could care less what people are wearing in the MDR. Maybe it is because I am only a gold card member and don't cruise 60 times a year that this stuff really does not affect me. The conversation at the table with my husband and children are more important to me than some person at another table wearing shorts. I was on that repositioning cruise and I really could have cared less what people were wearing. I only noticed "the couple" because I loved their outfits. My 14y old son didn't want to get dressed for formal night because I told him he had to wear a long sleeved shirt, pants... and he opted out and went to windjammer. The waiter actually had something sent to the room and told us that it was more important for him to come with us to enjoy himself rather than worry about a dress code for one night. That to me is what a cruise is about. Enjoying yourself in places you may never see again and being with friends and family. NOT looking around to see if rules are enforced. I am sure that a lot of the complainers had no problems with the hogging of chairs in the solarium. Now that did annoy me but did I complain? Nope. Just went to sit elsewhere.

Have seen the ice show five times and this time was the first time they did not have any kids to ride the sleds in the show. Guess there were not enough on the cruise to draw from.

We went to 2 ice shows and both times they didn't ask my daughter who is 12. She was a little disappointed but I think they may have been looking for younger ones. I did see kids in the audience at one show. Don't know why they didn't ask. We made use of that ice skating rink when it was open to the public though. The skaters told me that they noticed some kids in audience but it was RC job to ask them as they came in. No biggie. Overall, ice show was #3 on my list of entertainment. First was anything with erky and leigh, 2nd was Led Zeppelin, and ice show was #3 as well as all non singing venues. Had a great time and still telling stories from all of our crazy adventures on the islands. :)

We went to boatyard and walked down the beach where we arranged for a boat to take us out. Lisa Boom Boom :rolleyes: $15 a person to see turtles and shipwrecks for an hour which turned into 2 hours. Guys were great who took us out. We had our own snorkel stuff. I would invest in them before you cruise. For the amount you spend to rent them, you may as well buy them. We saw so many turtles and it was amazing. The guide told us to just be still as they fed them and they came right over to us. Also, don't even attempt to swim out there to see them. It's 200 yards out there then you are in 30 feet of water swimming around trying to see them and then you have go back. It sounds easy on paper but you'll see once you get there. We were going to do it but I said no way when I saw how difficult it was and I am a strong swimmer. Maybe if you had a lifejacket on you could do it but I seriously wouldn't. One of the guys we took the tour with was telling me horror stories of people almost drowning and the week before we got to Barbados, a woman actually drowned trying to swim out there. For the amount of money you spend on a cruise, $15 a person or even $20 is not that big of a deal.

Don't be deceived by the pictures on the website. You will not be using Sorobon's resort beach. You will be placed in a small area with other cruise people stacked like sardines with cigarette smoke, dirty sand for $5 a chair. No breeze unless you go into the water. Also, Jibe city is there and the windsurfing is all over the place. We walked over to Jibe city where they charged my husband $5 for chairs and later we discovered the chairs are free as long as you buy something. They have a bar and drinks. If you decide to go there, print out a copy of all prices and show it to them if they try to overcharge you if you decide to rent kayaks or SUP. To snorkel, you have to walk 1/2 mile out. They will tell you you can walk to the waves but the coral is really bad and the waves are rough once you get out of the bay to the ocean. Bonaire is not known for it's beaches just the snorkeling. Get a ferry out to Klein Bonaire for awesome snorkeling. Or arrange a tour. We left Jibe city/sorobon and went over to Donkey Sanctuary which was great for my teenagers. Very difficult to get a taxi to take you to the Donkey Sanctuary and take you back. We luckily got a ride to ship from the owner or else we would have been walking. Sanctuary is 10 minutes from cruise port. We were supposed to rent a car but circumstances prevented us from doing so. That is another option that I would really consider. Avis is right at the port. Also, I don't believe there is a Lac Bay resort. I know Divi will let you rent chairs and it is near the cruise port.

Is the snorkeling equip't included in the $20 fee for these turtle tours I keep reading about? Is it just a snorkel and goggles? What about vest? Just wondering what I'd need to bring for the kids...

 

Thanks

We were just there yesterday. I did post about it on t.a. on boatyard site. Boatyard is $15 a person which gives you a free drink and ride back. It was worth it because it was pouring yesterday. I laughed when I saw your question and here's why: We walk it and it says on a sign, "see us about the turtles". Then this guy shows you a palm tree down the beach and tells you to swim out 200 yards to the turtles. The turtles are very shy and with all of the boats and people around, they are not going to just swim up to you unless no one is around and unless you have food. Now mind you you have to swim out, then paddle around THEN swim back. Take my advice. Do not try it. People have drowned and I can't believe the boatyard tells people to swim out. On the beach, there are various locals asking you to go with them. We went with a woman called Lisa Boom Boom. She charged us to go to the shipwrecks and see the turtles $15/hour. She started at $20 but I got her down. It actually ended up longer. I forgot to bring money to tip the guys and I felt terrible because they were so nice and helpful. If you just want to hang on a beach, drink, and eat, and go see turtles, the boatyard is really well run. All of the other places looked seedy. Also, it is quite a distance from cruise port. NOT 20 minutes. Get a taxi. We walked down for lunch to Cuz fish shack. $23 for the 5 of us which was 5 sodas and 5 sandwiches. Right next to the radisson. Bring your own snorkeling stuff though. Hope all of this helped. BTW - we saw a LOT of turtles with Lisa Boom Boom's guys. Wonderful experience even though it was pouring rain.

I am looking at either Cosol Tours or Herod's tours for our St Lucia stop in January. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

 

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We just did Herod's Island splendor tour on 11/7 and it was great. I did write about it on t.a. I will say this: If you want to avoid a long car ride or any car ride, do this tour. It was completely by boat. I do know that he did raise the price on this tour to $75 or $80 a person. You need to have at least 9-12 people confirmed. There is no deposit. He is very difficult to reach but keep trying at his gmail address on his website. He does have a land and sea tour. If you like snorkeling and not being at one place for 15 minutes then the next place for 15 minutes...etc... do this. Hope this helps. We have a seven port cruise and so far this was the best excursion

some elevators out. Not bad.

Only thing that is annoying was the elevators were out on the one end of ship. And of course no Eagles game live :mad:

Carol, did you make it to portofinos and how was the food? Was reading some complaints from passengers from prior cruise Bermuda/Canada and they said food was not good and wait time was 1 1/2 hours. Thanks for all of your feedback. Getting excited for Saturday!

Well I guess I will find out Saturday.

Hey Terryinal: how many ppl did you have with you. If it's a small group, did you have to share w/ other ppl? I did a St Martin trip with a similar tour but they booked us with another group so the van was full. It would have been fine but last minute my other friends decided to join me.. + 3 more adults & 2 babies. heh!

 

Let me know. I'm looking to book him for my Nov trip.

 

Thx.

Cynthia.

I was the original poster here so I can tell you whatever you want, he will do. I think his car seats five. He was so nice to deal with. Very quick responses.