Hstack99

Ive been on the Grandeur 4 times (just got back 2 weeks ago) and Ive done the pride 2x. We are thinking of booking on the Pride again next year just due to timing/itinerary options. If you have any specific questions Id be happy to help. Overall I would probably pick Grandeur over Pride, the service is top notch and everyone is SUUUUUPER friendly. My first cruise on the Pride I had some major problems wtih but I think it was a fluke because the second time it was fine. 

On 5/15/2019 at 9:59 AM, MaryBCruisin said:

Are you allowed to use the floating loungers in the pool?  If not, I'm going to cancel it because we will be hanging by the pool.

Im not sure what the actual rules are, but I can tell you that we didnt see any one using a floating mat in the pool. They have loungers built in you can lay in on the edge of the pool so your butt would be sitting in a couple inches of water but the rest of you would be out. 

I just got back from Coco cay and I can't speak for any other cabanas but Im not sure why anyone would book an Oasis Lagoon cabana in my personal opinion. There are TONS of chairs and umbrellas providing shade around the pool, the cabanas there are set back so they are not right on the water and just a heads up they have a DJ playing music (kind of loudly) from the bar area so its not super quiet. 

I thought Coco Cay was amazing! The beach cabanas may be worth it but I wouldnt recommend the pool ones 

I was on the Grandeur (docked at Coco cay that day) and we were all freaking out when we watched Harmony pull in because we had been told we were going to be the only ship there and no one mentioned any test docking! haha Glad it all worked well and (selfishly) glad harmony didnt actually dock for the day 🙂 

12 hours ago, shuconn said:

Are there plenty of umbrellas. I read they are complimentary.  I am hoping to be able to find some shade without paying extra.   

We went last week and there were TONS of umbrellas around the pool. To be honest we walked over to the beach for a quick swim but the pool was so amazing we went back and I can't remember if there were umbrellas on the beach or not. But there were tons and tons of chairs and umbrellas surrounding Oasis Lagoon and they are free 

I just did the balloon ride on May 8th. I debated for a long time if I wanted to book it when it was showing 31.99 in my cruise planner. When I finally went to book it right before my cruise the price went to 39.99. I decided not to do it then but my father booked it for us when we got on board the ship (39.99 price). 

Personally, I think it was worth the $40 and it was amazing views, but its something you will probably only do once and never do again. Flight time is a solid 10 min. The balloon can hold up to 30 people but there were only 8 of us on our turn. You are pretty much locked into a circle once inside and you are able to move as long as everyone else moves too ( to keep the balloon balanced). It was pretty breezy when we went up though so  the balloon was turning slowly so that we didnt need to move around ourselves. 

We were told that the price would probably double for everything once the island is 100% finished (december) and if it was $80 a person I dont think its worth it. 

@zooma Our original plan was to take a taxi to horseshoe bay on Sunday but that was before we realized our tour was going to stop at the beach on Saturday and the water was a little too chilly still to go all the way in. So the tour guide suggested we take the ferry so we did. The ferry was very nice, quick 20 min ride. We chose to go to Hamilton because the ferry doesnt run to St George's on Sundays and Hamilton was beautiful but everything was shut down since it was a Sunday (we did know that ahead of time but decided to go anyway) 

The shops there seem to be more "high end"/ boutique shops. We walked around front street, watched a bicycle race they were having, grabbed a cup of fish chowder at Hog Penny Pub (the original inspiration for Cheers in Boston) and a drink then headed back on the ferry to the naval dockyard. It was $5 a person to go over and $4.50 to come back. The water and the large homes built there are beautiful so we thought it was worth just the ferry ride over and back and I would love to go again during a week day when everything is open over there. 

Also, even if just a few of you are interested in booking with Heidi, you can email her and let her know how many people you have and what options she has available. If she has another small group she may pair you together to fill the van but then the costs would be low for everyone. Just a thought 🙂 

On 4/10/2019 at 7:27 AM, zooma said:

@Hstack99 -- would love a brief review of your experience with Bermuda Byways after you return. Looking for something similar when we are there in June. TIA

@zooma I highly highly recommend this tour! She offers longer  tours (approx 6 hours) but due to our time restrictions there and wanting to be back on before dinner, we booked just a 2 hour tour with her. She picked us up at 530 just outside the dockyard. She is the granddaughter of the last lighthouse keeper before it went electric so she was born and raised on the island and EXTREMELY knowledgeable. She is very passionate about Bermuda and knows extensive info about the history. She drove around as much of the island as possible and made several stops along the way for us to get out. We stopped at the smallest drawbridge and fed the fish (they act like piranhas!) , Gibbs lighthouse (my husband and I climbed to the top - the rest of the group walked around the grounds), a beach to walk along the pink sand and explore the coves (Warwick Long bay, Jobson's cove) and then she asked us if we were ok with her stopping at a fort to see the sunset which ultimately extended our tour by 30 min. The views were breathtaking! We had some older people in our group and she was very patient and helpful with getting them in/out of the van. Her 10 passenger van is very roomy and clean. If I ever make it back to Bermuda I will definitely book another tour with her for even longer so we can explore the island more. I also thought her prices were very competitive (cheaper than booking through the cruise line and a much more personable experience) 

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask! 

21 minutes ago, zooma said:

@Hstack99 -- would love a brief review of your experience with Bermuda Byways after you return. Looking for something similar when we are there in June. TIA

I will definitely let you know. They are HIGHLY rated on Tripadvisor so I am thinking its going to be a GREAT tour 

12 hours ago, nanowerx said:

The Drink Package is available to use the minute you get on the ship until the time you disembark from the ship (assuming a bar is open to serve, which there most likely will be.).

 

Even on port days, if you stay on the ship you can enjoy your package. Another note, if your sailing goes to Labadee or Coco Cay, you can actually use your drink package on those islands too since RC owns them.

Several years ago Royal offered a single day drink package also  just to use on the private island (coco cay or labadee) do you know if they still offer that option? I think it was $50 to drink all day on the island 

I agree with those who already mentioned - head back to the ship by dark. During the day time just use common sense (not flashing around expensive jewelry or money and not wandering alone away from the ship). We always do our own thing in Nassau during the day but I wouldn't be out walking around after dark, unless you book an excursion from the ship and are in a group. 🙂 

On 3/28/2019 at 4:07 PM, Charles4515 said:

There are minibus tour operators who can take eight. It would be best to  prearranged that although it can probably be done without pre arranging as I have seen minibus operators soliciting off the dock to give tours. A couple of them are Bermuda Byways and Rickys Tours.

 

http://www.bermudabyways.com/tours/

 

https://www.rickysminibus.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We just booked with bermuda byways. Thank you for the suggestion!!! 

Oh I will definitely check them out. Thank you!! 

Hmm well that would suck if it was 3 hours shorter. We plan on doing Horseshoe and walking around the dockyard Sunday. 

Sorry we leave on May 2nd, you are correct that it is the 4th and 5th. 

I saw the Blue Flag taxis but there are 8 of us going, so 2 taxis for several hours would get pricey.

Also, all my cruise docs say we depart at 6 pm on Sunday. Where do you see 3?

Looking for suggestions.

My family and I (ages 28-83) will be docking at Kings Wharf on Saturday May 2 at 2 pm and leaving at 6 pm Sunday. The only thing we *know* we want to do is take a mini bus to Horseshoe beach one of the days. Unfortunately i am realizing now that our time limit there is going to make things tricky for anything else.

After researching things to do, we were  considering taking a ferry from kings wharf to hamilton. However the ferry schedule is slower on weekends and I don't think we will catch the 2:30 ferry Saturday and the next one isn't until 4:00. After a 20 min ride over there, I read most shops close at 5 and the last ferry back is around 6:15. Do you think it is still worth doing for such a short time? We originally were going to do that on Sunday since we have most of the day but I read almost all the stores will be closed. 

What are things to do in Hamilton either Saturday between 4 and 6 or that will be open Sunday? Since we are going with older folks, I was trying to find neat things to walk around and see without having to walk miles and miles. 

It seems most of the stores on front street are higher end or specialty stores that we won't have much interest in anyway. We don't plan on going to any restaurants since we will be eating on the ship. 

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!  If time doesn't allow for Hamilton, is there anything else we should definitely see/do? 

Our cruise in september docked early and we were OFF around 9 am.

I am part of a group of 7 that will be on the Carnival Pride in March. We are docking in PC for the day and have been trying to research things to do that aren't too strenuous since we have elderly people in our group, and we've already been here before and did the Kennedy space center and a day trip to Disney. I found the shuttle to cocoa beach and I think that will be our cheapest rate for transportation for 7 since Uber would require 2 cars, but now I am reading that we can not simply walk off the ship and get to the first shuttle stop because we will be docked on the opposite side of the port (terminal 6). Has anyone docked in this particular spot before or have any recommendations? I know Uber would come right to us, but as I said it will get pretty costly with having 2 cars and having to keep calling them if/when we want to change locations. I have seen people suggest renting a car but again with 7 people total (all adults) I feel like we wouldn't find one that would be cost effective either. Thank you!! :)

I am interested in taking the shuttle but I recently read that if your ship docks on the far side (Carnival pride is showing docking at T6) then they will not let you walk off because you would have to cross a drawbridge, plus it is a lengthy trip to the other side of the port to catch the shuttle. Is anyone familiar with this?