marys350

We paid in US currency. We always bring plenty of dollar bills and fives with us when we travel so that we can convert as close as possible and not end up with foreign currency for change. So far we've never had problems using US cAsh on Caribbean cruises.

Thanks so much for the replies! I figured Le Galion would be better and worth a few more $ to get to.

 

Is the food place there called Chez Pat/Tropical Wave? I found a website with a menu. Are the restrooms free? How much are umbrellas and chairs?

 

Does Le Galion have a swimming area roped off? I saw a picture of this, but they said it was for school children. Is there also a platform out in the water? What rentals are there as far as water toys? Kayaks?

 

Sorry for so many questions and thanks for the help!

Chairs and umbrellas were $5 Euro each ($1 Euro= $1.37 US). We rented chairs and sat under a tree. See coupon on Chez Pat's website. They rented kayaks and we also saw people windsurfing. There was a platform in the water,but I can't remember if a swimming area was roped off.

Which beach would be best for kids (2-10 years old) as well as adults up to 64 years old? We need restrooms and some sort of food and drink available as well as some shade. I know a taxi to Little Bay is slightly less expensive than Le Galion. I read it could be hard to get a taxi back from Le Galion.

 

Also, I am confused about what Divi Little Bay offers and how you get to the beach. I know it is a hotel and they only charge for the chairs, umbrellas and optional watersports, right? Can you just walk through the lobby and go out to the beach? Does anyone have a menu for the food and drink there?

 

Thanks!

I highly recommend Le Galion beach. We were just there two weeks ago and enjoyed it very much. It has all the amenities that you listed and it is perfect for children. It was a laid back day away from the crowded beaches. We had no problems with taxis. We asked our cab driver to pick us up at an agreed upon time and he was right on time.

I'm in the process of planning a tour with Helen for next year. Can you tell me a little more about what you saw and did? Thanks! :)

 

Just realized I responded to you on the other thread, sorry... But I'd still like to hear anything you want to share about your day with Helen! Did you go to Mero Beach or the Emerald Pool?

This was our second time visiting Dominica and our goal was to go to Trafalgar Falls and Screws Spa. We like to do excursions that last no more than 4-5 hours so that we can still have time to relax on the ship in the afternoon. When I corresponded with Helen to plan our tour, she suggested a tour which included: city highlights, Soufriere Scotts Head view, Morne Bruce, and Botanical Gardens, in addition to our request to go to Screws Spa and Trafalgar Falls. We toured from 9:00-2:00, and enjoyed everything that we did. Screws Spa was a unique and relaxing experience soaking in the sulfur baths that were different temperatures. The drive south to Soufriere Scotts Head view was very scenic. We did not request to go to Mero Beach since we had three beach days planned on other islands and did not want to spend additional time driving to Emerald Pool. There are some reviews of My Sister Tours on Trip Advisor which describe people's experiences visiting many different places including Mero Beach, Emerald Pool, Screws Spa, Trafalgar Falls, etc.

Is this your first visit to Dominica? I'm sure that Helen will help you plan a fun tour based on the types of activities that you may be interested in. Feel free to ask additional questions.

Hi,

Just returned from our cruise. I ended up with a party of 4 and booked a customized private tour with My Sister Tours, which is operated by Helen Alcendor. We had a wonderful day with Helen and visited Trafalgar Falls, Screws Spa, Botanical Gardens, and other sights, too. Her website is http://www.mysistertours.com

Mary

Thanks so much for the recommendation Mary. I've sent her an email. :)

You're welcome. You won't be disappointed if you decide to tour with her. I've booked many private tours before and she was great!!

Mary

I highly recommend booking a tour with "My Sister Tours" operated by Helen Alcendor. We just returned from our cruise and our party of four had a wonderful customized private tour with her which included: historic city highlights, Soufriere Scotts Head view (beyond Champagne snorkel site), Morne Bruce viewpoint, Botanical Garden, Screws Spa, and Trafalgar Falls. We toured from 9:00- approximately 2:00 and Helen arranged the order of our itinerary so that we avoided all of the traffic congestion of the cruise ship tours and other private tours.

Helen is very friendly and an excellent safe driver. Her van is air conditioned, very clean, and only a few years old. She provided a cooler filled with complimentary water, beer, and shandy.

Helen responds to her e-mails very quickly and will work with you to design a customized tour to meet your needs. She has a website http://www.mysistertours.com and her e-mail address is mysistertours@hotmail.com

Mary

We have purchased 12 packs of water there. I never noticed whether they sold full cases.

Just returned from Jewel of the Seas cruise. They sold 6 packs of water and cases of water in the wine/liquor store at Pan Am Pier. I'm pretty sure that we paid $5.99 for a 6 pack of Evian water (same size as the small bottles of water that were sold onboard for $2.50 each). We had no problem bringing the water onboard.

Mary

We visited Hunte's Garden and St. Nicholas Abbey on a tour in Barbados in 2012 and really enjoyed both places. They are highly rated on TripAdvisor reviews.

We have purchased 12 packs of water there. I never noticed whether they sold full cases.

Switched cruises around to take advantage of promo, now back to square one on booking a hotel the night beforehand.

 

want to book a Hilton property, flight info not out yet but should get in late afternoon, I don't feel need for OF accommodations.

 

Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn appear to be least expensive options. trip advisor gives nod to the Hampton.

 

any recommendations?

We enjoyed our one night post-cruise stay at the Hampton Inn and would stay there again.

We were on the 1/11/14 and 1/18/14 sailing and would agree. We arrived at the port a little after 11am on the 11th and were on board in 15minutes from luggage drop off to walking on the ship.

We left the ship on the 25th and were at the taxi stand in about 15 minutes from the final "ding". We used a porter, they get you through faster.

We will be arriving at the port by taxi. Were porters available to take your luggage both at embarkation and debarkation? In the past, we've always taken RCCL transfers where we've never had to deal with our luggage on embarkation day since it was transported to the ship by truck. I've used porters after getting off the ship, but never noticed (or looked for) any before boarding the ship.

Thanks,

Mary

Yes, we loved the Jewel. Great layout and the service was also wonderful.

 

We were considering the itinerary with St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

We have done this itinerary and it was wonderful. Our next cruise is on the Jewel of the Seas with stops in Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Dominica, and Barbados. Can't wait.

Southern Caribbean itineraries are our favorite, but everybody has different preferences depending upon itinerary, whether it's just adults or a family with children, number of days at sea, size of ship, etc.

I saw that you've been on the Jewel of the Seas before. Did you enjoy the ship? Which Southern Caribbean itinerary were you considering?

Not sure, but I think that it may vary somewhat with different ships. I was able to make online MTD reservations a couple of months ago for my cruise on April 5, 2014.

Anyone know where to get more information on the Tiki Hut? The only thing I can find is the bar that's open at night.

The Tiki Bar is located at Accra/Rockley and the Tiki Hut is listed as being in Holetown. If you check out TripAdvisor-Barbados under Restaurants (The Tiki Bar, Rockley) there are pictures, information, and many reviews.

We are planning to go there in April. I hope that this helps.

Mary

Even for 6 people?

Yes, the airport is in Zone 1 and the Pan Am Pier and pier in Old San Juan are in Zone 4.

The cost of a taxi for up to 5 passengers is $19.00 plus $1.00 per piece of luggage. There is a $2.00 charge for each additional passenger, and I've read that there is a $2.00 fuel surcharge. When our party of 5 took a taxi it was a large van with room for additional passengers, so you should be able to get a taxi for a party of 6. There are several websites with detailed information about the taxi rates in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

We've taken several Royal Caribbean cruises leaving from the Pan Am Pier in the past and have always paid for Royal Caribbean's roundtrip transfers to the ship and airport. With the transfer to the ship, it has been nice that once they load your luggage onto the trucks, you don't see your suitcases until they arrive in your cabin and you only have to deal with your carry-on luggage at the cruise terminal. In the past, I have noticed people standing in lines outside the terminal with their luggage.

A question for those who regularly use taxis:

We are considering using taxis instead this time. When we arrive at the cruise terminal will we have to stand in line outside with all of our luggage waiting to check-in or will we have the option to turn our luggage over to an RCCL porter and proceed straight into the terminal with our carry-ons for check-in?

Thanks,

Mary

If I arrive on RCL which port do we use?

 

Is it walkable to Old San Juan and is there public transportation available?

Royal Caribbean ships whose itineraries begin and end in San Juan dock at the Pan Am Pier. I'm not sure what pier is used for Royal Caribbean ships that just make a 1 day port stop in San Juan.

We were part of a tour. We were supposed to go river tubing also but it got canceled due to dangerous conditions. I don't know the cost of a taxi. It was nice to do something different than a beach or shopping on an island. We are not sight seeing type of people.

Thanks for the information!

Screw spa is nice. It has 6 hot sulphate pools in the rain forest. They have Caribbean music piped in to the trees. Was $10 pp to enter. We had a great time.

Did you visit Screw's Spa as part of an organized tour or did you take a taxi there on your own? Wondering about the cost of a taxi to Trafalgar Falls and Screw's Spa.

Dining between 6:00-6:30 should be perfect for you to attend a show after dinner.

We have had My Time Dining reservations for 6:30 several times on Royal Caribbean ships in the Caribbean and New England/Canada and it was perfect timing for the 9:00 show. We will be on the Jewel of the Seas (Southern Caribbean) in April and have already made an online reservation for 6:30 MTD every night, knowing that we can make changes to our reservation once we are onboard if any of our daily plans change.

Enjoy your cruise.

Hi: I'm so glad to have found this website - I'm fascinated by cruising now! DH and I are scheduled for a July cruise to Bermuda on the Summit from Port Liberty. It's his first cruise and my second (First on NCL's Norway 20 years ago!).

We are already booked into aqua class cabin 9108 through TA. I am confused based on my (our needs) and wondering if we should switch.

 

1. Must have a mostly quiet room (I'm a light sleeper)

2. Prone to motion sickness

3. I'm a a sun worshipper (but am trying to cut back on that for obvious reasons)

4. DH likes shade

5. Don't want to pay higher price for Aqua room on deck 11.

 

I keep reading about the overhang on 9 and notice there are rooms like 9038 and 9043 that have larger balconies, and 9125 that has less of an overhang. I am afraid to tempt the fates and switch rooms.

Since there are still a lot of rooms available, I am constantly thinking about whether we should switch or not.

 

Anyone willing to assure me that we will be "happy" in our room?

 

Thanks!!

If you are prone to motion sickness, I would not recommend changing to rooms 9038 or 9043 because they are close to the front of the ship and you will feel more motion. Your current cabin is located more mid-ship and close to the midship elevators.

Thanks! The hubbs and I don't have kids yet...we're still newlyweds and we were on freedom for our honeymoon. This time we are planning on enjoying the ship more since we caught all of the shows and did almost every activity during our previous cruise. This time we will have more sea days so I was hoping that spring break would be mainly over and done with and not have to worry too much about billions of little ones or crazy college kids. :-)

The week of April 20, 2014 is spring vacation week for public schools in Massachusetts and some other states in the Northeast, so you may see more families with young kids on cruises that week. Not sure about school vacation week in other parts of the country.

We are on the Summit Feb 1-8. I am now scheduled on a 4:00pm flight home but rethinking of changing to the 1:00pm flight. The ship is scheduled to arrive at 6:00am but who knows when we would get off the ship.

 

Thoughts would be appreciated if I should change - we are the kind of people who do not want to be stressed after a nice cruise. Both flights are non-stop so that is not a factor.

 

Thanx

If it were me, I'd switch to the 1:00 p.m. flight home instead of sticking with the 4:00 p.m. flight. We've done a number of cruises on RCCL and the Celebrity Summit out of San Juan and have had no problems making flights home at 12:30. We are cruising in April and have already booked a 12:35 flight home. One year, our flight home was delayed until around 4:00 p.m. and it made for a long day at the airport and traveling. When they issue you a group number for disembarking the ship, you can always go to Guest Service and request changing to a lower number, if you are concerned about getting off the ship in time. Good luck with your decision.