NeedToVacation

3 hours ago, CruisinCrow said:

Thank you, NeedToVacation!  How did you book your day pass?

I booked mine through shoreexcursioneer, and that is just for the resort day pass. 

The all-inclusive one with food and drinks (alcohol too) is through resortforaday. I think it's about $80 - $90 per person.

  ** Just make sure to print out your receipt and bring it to show at the resort. **  Some girls were trying to bring theirs up on their phones, and they were having problems for about 35 - 40 minutes to get checked in.

5 hours ago, CruisinCrow said:

 

Thanks so much for the update!  Is the Lucayan Marketplace open?  I keep reading mixed answers.  Thinking about just taking the shuttle there and having a Bahamian lunch but I don't want to get there and find it closed.

I'm not sure which parts are still open. Where the shuttle ($6 pp each way) dropped us off was just a straw market, with local ladies selling souvenirs and t-shirts. I didn't look around too much, so not sure if there are restaurants open nearby. 

What I did is walked down the block to get to Lighthouse Pointe where I had booked the resort day pass for $25. Others had paid more for the all-inclusive package which includes lunch and drinks at their poolside restaurant. I just ended up ordering ala carte off the menu and paid an extra $15 for my lunch & a soda. That might be an option for you, just to get out and walk the beach and have lunch. (?)

My other suggestion / recommendation for a great local lunch is Cleveland's Beach Club. There is a recent review on trip advisor, says they visited in Dec 2019. My Mom & I ate here about 4 years ago. The local couple that owns it are wonderful! He goes fishing early every morning for the seafood they will cook at the restaurant. Beautiful beach right in front. Just bring cash as I don't think they can take credit cards.

I included pictures of the beach, and infinity pool / restaurant area at Lighthouse Pointe. As you can see, there are NO people around anywhere! 

I was just there Jan 29th, but I booked it through shoreexcursioneer. 

There is a really nice infinity pool, but it was not heated. That didn't stop a few people from wading in and taking pictures!

There is a hot tub / jacuzzi. And there were activities like bean bag toss, giant checkers, music playing (not too loud), a restaurant & bar. Really nice workers. The beach was groomed very nicely. It was a windy day, so lots of waves. But nice for a walk in the sand.

And you'll probably have the place to yourselves. I think there were about 10 - 12 cruise passengers there the whole day, that I saw. I don't think the actual hotel part is operating yet, so no resort guests.

          ** I would recommend this place! **

I was just on the MSC Divina Jan. 28th sailing too. Lucayan National Park is still closed. It looks like MSC is making a substitution on those tours without admitting it in advance - that's my guess.

I saw a group of kayakers just touring around in the channel from where I was at the Lighthouse Point Beach Resort, after taking a shuttle to the Lucayan Marketplace. I'm wondering if this is where the excursion is taking them for now (?).

The same thing just happened to us in Cozumel in Nov. ** A private tour company took our money w/a promise to take us to 3 reefs that they knew were closed to the public. No choices or alternatives once we were there. It was a bummer.

Hi 

For excursions on your own, I would highly recommend:

in Roatan:  Manawakie Eco Park.  They have different packages to choose from on their website. The owner will answer any questions through email very quickly.  We visited them in Nov and had a blast! The driver was reliable and van was comfortable. 

  (My second choice would be to look at Gumbalimba Park, then walk out to beach, as it is on the West end)

  ** These are both if you want to experience the animals - birds, monkeys, sloths, etc.

in Costa Maya:  We spent the day at Hayhu Beach Club. The food was delicious and the service was terrific! The beach is beautiful - and they provide stand-up paddle boards, kayaks, there was a lady doing massages for $30. And NO vendors.

in Belize:  We have done the Cave Tubing once, but it wasn't my favorite thing to do. I prefer sun and warm water!! I would suggest a snorkel tour since the huge, awesome reef is right there. We've always gotten rained out or it's been too windy to get to go, but I've read good reviews about Goff's Caye. And I agree that you should get preference for an early tender boat to shore if you already have an excursion booked for Belize, which is nice. Just show someone a printed copy of your confirmation for any private excursion you may have booked, and they should still give you earlier tenders than people w/out excursions.

Ocean Cay was great! I was just there last week. Water will still be chilly - but worth it to dip in and swim to the floating platforms. I grabbed a burger & fries for lunch (included in your cruise price) at one of the many food trucks. Delicious! (The line at the lunch pavilion was too long for me.)

Have fun!! We are looking at cruising on the Meraviglia out of NYC in late Oct.   

22 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

post it on trip advisor also with a “terrible” rating!! That will reach more people than these boards!

Yes - I did.  *Thank You!!*

Please   ** DO NOT Book **  online with a company called "El Cielo Cozumel". 

We were unaware of the reef closure for our November cruise, and this company did not email us or inform us of any changes that would be happening to our excursion. They were happy to take our money (I booked a party of 12!), then they pawned us off on another boat, without giving us any alternatives or options. Not a good way to do business. 

The company will not answer the phone now, or reply to any emails, or even chat online with me on their website.

We just got back from Costa Maya and had a GREAT time at Hayhu Beach Club! It's away from the crowds - no vendors. Beach was a blast. We used their stand-up paddle boards, and there were kayaks available too. Snorkeling was OK. Their food was DELICIOUS, and service was great!! Would highly recommend. ** Bring mosquito repellant wherever you end up **

Years ago, from the port at Montego Bay, we ended up at Mayfield Falls. I guess there are organized tours there, but we just went in a taxi. (Weren't sure where we were going at the time!?!) It's definitely off the beaten path - and less crowded than the other "Falls" tours. Look it up online and see if it's something you might like. We had a wonderful time.

Grand Cayman is known for the Stingray Tours, but there will be LOTS of people. It's still fun to do once. Look for a smaller company, like a sailboat maybe (?).      OR...last time, we took a taxi to Smith Cove for peace & quiet at a small local beach area. Brought our own snorkel gear and swam around. An ice cream truck pulled up in the afternoon. No facilities though.

I'm looking at doing the snorkel boat tour from MSC on the new private island, Ocean Cay, in January. I can let you know how that goes if you'd like. The rest of the day will be for exploring all the beaches! Can't wait!!

Good luck and have FUN!!

Thank you. I did find another company that said he would come pick us up in his boat at either Bay.

Awesome. Thanks again for the info!

Do the tenders back to the ship run pretty late on a night that the ship is in port overnight?

We are scheduled to arrive in Bora Bora at 8am Wed. morning and depart at 5pm Thurs. afternoon. 

So there's no need to hurry back to catch the 4:30 tender on that Wed. afternoon, right? ...Just wondering

On 8/23/2019 at 12:32 PM, DavidTheWonderer said:

Dr. Michael Poole is a practicing marine biologist working in Moorea. When his schedule permits, he runs tours and his boat is docked at the Opunohu Bay dock. If there are whales, he will know and take you to see them. Otherwise there are dolphins.  And your tour fee supports his great work.  I've taken his tour many times.  Even if there are no whales or dolphins, which occasionally happens, you will get a great view of Moorea from the water and Michael is a great source of information on not only the marine life but also the culture and history of Moorea. Here's his web site:

http://www.drmichaelpoole.com/tours.htm

Thank you. I will check out his website.

Thanks for the information. I did find another company who will accommodate us at either bay. 

** We're going to try to find the humpback whales and maybe get in the water and swim with them (!?)... if the whales and sea conditions will allow it.

Has anyone done that before? 

Does anyone know how often the Paul Gauguin ship will change the schedule and pull into Cook's Bay instead of Opunohu Bay for the Moorea stop?

Just wondering...because I want to meet up with a boat captain at Opunohu Bay where the tender drops us off. He says if we end up at Cook's Bay, we won't make it off the ship in time to be picked up by his driver for the excursion. 

Is it a very long drive from the Cook's Bay dock to the Opunohu Bay dock? Maybe we could grab a taxi and get there in time (?).

Thanks for any advice or information.         ( * I'll put this same post on the Paul Gauguin Cruises Board also. )

Does anyone know how often the ship will change the schedule and pull into Cook's Bay instead of Opunohu Bay for the Moorea stop?

Just wondering...because I want to meet up with a boat captain at Opunohu Bay where the tender drops us off. He says if we end up at Cook's Bay, we won't make it off the ship in time to be picked up by his driver for the excursion. 

Is it a very long drive from the Cook's Bay dock to the Opunohu Bay dock? Maybe we could grab a taxi and get there in time (?).

Thanks for any advice or information.         ( * I'll put this same post on the French Polynesia Ports Board also. )

I agree with the other posts: Rony's!! We used his a couple years ago and loved it! Good people.

Also, for our trip back to Nassau in May this year, we're looking at using either island time charters or barefoot sailing to do a private / small group snorkel trip, they also include beach time at Rose Island. The pictures look amazing.

Hi again,

We did actually do this a couple years ago. We hired Bay West Adventures -- had our own private boat and captain. They'll work with you and take you where you want to go. The guys were great! I would recommend this company.

I just emailed Cheryl's Taxi and Tours about the same thing. She responded very quickly. I would try emailing her for a quote.

Look up her website - it looks pretty good.   (** We've never used this company before though, so not sure. **)

We're cruising in November, and I'm looking at going to Deer Island through Aqua Sports Center. I guess we'll take a taxi to their shop at the beach. Then they charge $13.50 per person for the roundtrip boat to the island and back. If you need snorkel equipment, beach chair, & umbrella it's $40. per person (that includes the R/T boat ride). Look them up if you want.

When you get back to their beach area, you get a free hour use of a kayak. * And lots of reviewers said to walk just down the beach to have lunch at "Carlos & Lucia's". *

We're just planning on using US dollars everywhere.

I too need some advice. I have never done private tours. I am chicken that something might go wrong and I would get stranded. On my October Bliss trip to the Mexican Riviera I am going to try going private. Any tips and advice is welcomed.

We've only done the ship-sponsored excursions on our very first Carnival cruise. Since then, I've always done private tours, and never had problems getting back to the ship or feeling unsafe in any way.

I've used shoreexcursioneer a few times, Viator once, and you can get good ideas from trip advisor. Also, if you just wander off the ship with the crowds, there will be taxi drivers who will make a deal with you to be your driver for the day (first, settle on a price though), or local tour companies trying to get more passengers for their tours.

For wine - you are allowed to bring 2x 750 ML per stateroom (not per guest). If you have adjoining, that would be 4 bottles. There is officially a corkage fee if you take the bottle into a public space to be opened (MDR, specialty restaurants, bars), but does not count if you open in your room and take a glass with you. Your room steward will bring some wine glasses. The corkage fee is intermittent whether it will be charged or not.

 

Soda/Bottled water - officially not allowed. Most find that you are able to get bottled water on, haven't heard many talking about getting soda on.

** We just packed two 12-packs of soda into a duffle bag and put a luggage tag on it. Handed it to porter in Galveston with our roll-along luggage. All of it arrived at our room - no problems. This was just two weeks ago.

In Nassau, there is the Pirate Museum, Ardastra Gardens & Zoo, and Cable Beach (you can take a cab or the #10 jitney bus). Plus, we've used BayWest Adventures for a great snorkel/boat tour there. The water is beautiful!!!

In Freeport, I would look at Pat & Diane's snorkel/boat tours. They were great when we used them with our boys years ago.

You could look on trip advisor or shoreexcursioneer for ideas. Plus it's much less expensive when you book something through private companies rather than through the cruise lines.

Good luck! Have fun!

When you walk through the information building after debarking the ship, you'll see a fence with a guard (to the left). Just tell the guard that you want a passport stamp; they'll check your ID and ship card and let you through the gate. Enter that building and head down the hall to the right. A man is in the last office with a stamp. They've all been very nice whenever my Mom & I have done it in the past. Have fun!

Hi.

I've just been to Saunders Beach in May and it was great! We actually took the #10 jitney (local bus) from McDonalds for $1.25 per person. Super easy and the driver will tell you when you get to Saunders Beach. It's not very far - maybe a 5 or 6 minute ride on bus. I can't imagine taxi fare would be much more than $15 - 20 each way (?!), but I'm not sure.

I'll attach some pictures of the beach area. There is a Shell gas station across the street from the beach if you want to grab chips or drinks. Also a Pizza Hut and KFC. There is a big public restroom facility right on the beach. You probably won't see any other cruise passengers there - it will be very quiet. We brought a ball to toss and a flexible frisbee to throw. There are three "cove" areas along the beach. Beautiful, warm, calm water and SOFT sand.

It's close enough if you guys wanted to go to the zoo (Ardastra Gardens) before or after, you'd have plenty of time. They have a cool flamingo show. I think it costs $18. per adults and maybe $9. per child. We've taken the bus to get there also. You get off at the "Fish Fry" / Arawak Cay. From that McDonalds stop in the cruise port area, it's only about 4 or 5 short stops. Then Saunders Beach is maybe another 2 or 3 stops from there.

Hope that helps a little. I've never been to Montagu Beach, as far as I know.

pdf Saunders Beach Nassau.pdf