kastke

We also used Thenford Grey and did the Grand Tour. Wonderful day, great tour, and he is very personable and professional.

On a subsequent trip, we took RC “A Day at Nevis” tour. Lunch was included and it was good. The waves were really cranking at the beach that day! You could not venture out too far in the water without getting jostled by the waves cresting, but it was still fun.

Either excursion is good, but if it’s your first visit to St Kitts, I would definitely recommend Thenford Grey Tours.

We took a 10 day cruise starting in Quebec and ending in Cape Liberty, NJ on RC in Sept 2013. We loved it! The weather was unseasonably warm that year so the colors were late and not as vibrant but we were able to wear shorts the majority of the trip. Ship overnited in Quebec which was wonderful. The only port that did not impress me was Cornerbrook, Newfoundland. Loved visiting Halifax and Prince Edward Island.

I would like to take another Canadian cruise at some point. We did not get to Sydney, Nova Scotia or St John, New Brunswick so those would be my next choices.

We did the 11 Night Mountain Valley Explorer Cruise tour. Really liked doing the land portion and then the cruise.

We are doing the same cruisetour in June. Did you have enough time in Denali to do the Wilderness Tundra Tour? Any helpful hints about that cruisetour that we should be aware of? I have looked, but not ever found a review of that particular land portion.

Thanks!

A balcony is never a necessity, it’s a “nice to have”.

 

If you have the disposable income to get the balcony AND do the excursions you want, do it. How many times are you going to Alaska in your life?

 

Don’t miss out a chance to helicopter to a glacier, or dog sled just so you can sit on a balcony. I’ve been on the Radiance multiple times and there are plenty of places to enjoy the scenery and not be crowded. I’ve never regretted getting a balcony but I’d much rather be up on deck getting a full 360 degree view.

 

 

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So agree. My preference is a balcony cabin, but Alaska cruises with the land tour are expensive to start with! We are booked in a forward ocean view on Radiance for next June. We decided we would spend our dollars on the excursions rather than the balcony. We do plan on a helicopter tour landing on a glacier, and also hope to do a flightseeing plane tour as one of the optional excursions on the land tour.

I am anxiously waiting for the Bermuda itineraries to be released. I am hoping Serenade docks for 2 nights on her Bermuda itineraries! Second choice would be that Anthem does more itineraries with one overnight and 2 full days. I don't care for the Grandeur itinerary schedules, so that is not an option I would consider.

We've been thinking we may have to go back to NCL to get the Bermuda trip we want. Not something I am anxious to do.

We took Thenford Grey's 'The Grand Tour' in 2013 when we were last in St Kitts. Thenford runs a good tour, we were very impressed. I think the cost back then was either $45 or $50 per person.

Brimstone Hill Fortress is the biggest stand out in my memory - great place, although I also liked the Batik Factory. To me, those were the highlights of the tour.

I don't remember which beach we went to, but there was an outdoor beach/bar that we ate lunch at. The beach was crowded when we arrived, but we were still able to find space.

I don't think you will be disappointed in a Thenford Grey tour.

the Vidalia Onion Tart is alive and well on Anthem.

Well, that in itself is another reason for me to want to sail Anthem! :)

Good question !

 

I fly Chicago/Montreal on UA or AC pretty regularly, but have never had a following connection to Quebec City.

 

EDITED for CORRECT INFORMATION !

 

You do need to clear customs in Montreal. It will be very tight.

 

See below link to the Montreal Airport info page:

 

http://www.admtl.com/Passengers/Formalities/ConnectingFlight.aspx

 

 

 

:)

Thank you.

We spent quite a bit of time on the phone this morning with United to get the connection flight switched. The next two connecting flights are completely booked which makes me even more uncomfortable with such a small window of time to clear Montreal customs. Lots of time spent on hold while conferring with supervisors.

In the end, they moved us to a non stop direct flight to Quebec City the night before at no cost to us. My husband's ticket is non-rev so this flight was not originally available to us. We told them we are okay with covering hotel expense as long as they get us to our final destination in a time frame that works for us!

I feel much better about this plan!

P Mori7,

Since you are from Montreal, maybe you can answer this.

We are scheduled to fly from Chicago to Montreal (United) in Sept and then have a connection on Air Canada to Quebec City. The airline has considerably changed our first flight time, so now we will only have 1 hour 15 minutes for the connection. *Assuming* our flight is on time, is this enough time to go through customs in Montreal and make the connection? It is a Thursday flight, if that matters. Do you know if we would also have to pick up our luggage for customs since this is the first stop out of US? The airline rep said our bags would be checked thru to Quebec City, but I'm not sure I believe them. I have never been to Montreal airport before, so have no idea of the logistics.

We have time to work on a Plan B in the event our first flight gets delayed and we miss the connection - presuming train would be the best option? I just wonder if we should insist they change our Air Canada flight time also, since we had originally planned for 2+ hours leeway for the connection.

Thanks for any helpful advice!

So happy to have found this review! We have been thinking about doing a Canada/NE itinerary in 2014. Bookings recently opened and I am intrigued by the route from Quebec City. Thank you!

HAHAHAHHAH!!!!

Belly flop contest is tomorrow.......not sure if Nick will enter....LOL :eek: doubt it....although he DID participate in the Quest last night....but I will not tell you WHICH quest!!!!! LOL LOL LOL!!!!!

Oops, my bad. I was referring to Carole's Nick for the belly flop contest. He's the belly flop king. :p However, interesting news about the participants in Quest! :D:D I"ll just have to imagine which Quest he participated in!!! LOL LOL

Enjoy your last couple of days on board and safe travels Sunday!

Dorothy

I finally have had a chance to catch up on all the postings of this week. Robyn, sounds like you are having as good a second week as last week was. It was a wonderful vacation! Your daughter is a darling, lovely young lady! Not to exclude your hubby, he is very nice as well.

I was initially disappointed they didn't have strawberry mix for daiquiri's last week. I quickly became attached to the various lava flow drinks which made me forget about the daiquiri's. :) I discovered frozen mojitos are also very good!!

I also learned i really like Caribe beer!! Oh and Purple Rain - a great drink I discovered in Aruba. It was a very educational trip. :rolleyes: :D

I still think Aruba is my favorite island to date. Love Palm Beach, but also love the cacti and the ruggedness of the area by the natural bridges. The Rock Formation Park is splendid. Of course, I am also the type person that would probably like the caves that Ocean Boy keeps referring to. :) I'm not so much for shopping (much to my husband's delight).

My only question about Week 2 - did Nick win the Belly Flop contest this week ???

Dorothy

First off, let me say that I don't doubt what Boavfan said about her return trip at all. However, in the past when we have left San Juan we did not encounter such problems as a 3 hr. wait to check our luggage. Since we will be on the next sailing of the Adventure I would appreciate it very much if anyone could let me know, is this now the norm in San Juan?

I was on the same cruise as Boavfan and for us, checking in at SJ airport was simple and easy. We arrived at the airport about 1:30 for 4:00 flight and got thru the agriculture inspection in about 2 minutes and checked our bags right away. no lines to speak of for us. As someone else said, San Juan airport won't usually let you check your bags until 3 hrs before flight time.

The biggest issue last Sunday with the airport was traffic and security, with increased police presence. There was a marathon going on which closed some roads, protesters about the airport privatization, and a bad accident which messed up traffic for a while.

Robyn,

Glad you made it safe and sound. I will be thinking of you starting your tan in beautiful San Juan:) We will be getting on our flight Saturday at 3:15, can't wait:D That is so funny that Dorothy found you in the airport:p

 

Elizabeth

It helped that Robyn has a picture in her avatar!!! The luggage for both of our flights was coming out at the same time on the same carousel. While waiting, I started people watching - looked for a person with a resemblance to the picture with a teen with her! (I think both our DH were looking for luggage at the time) lol.

The sea air smells wonderful and the sight and sounds of the ocean waves - my piece of heaven.

Safe travels tomorrow!

Dorothy

 

Our travel plans are:

 

.......

Departing Miami with AA on Friday February 15th at 11:40AM, arriving in San Juan at 3:15PM.

 

 

Seriously, Robyn, our AA flight from Chicago arrives in San Juan on Friday ten minutes before yours! If you hear someone calling your name by the luggage carousels, it'll be me!!!

Otherwise, see you Sunday! We owe you a drink, or a Caribe Beer, for helping us get the corner aft cabin!

Dorothy

I just redeemed 25,000 points for OBC sailing February 1st. The online site is easy to use but not very fulfilling. The whole process ends with a thud. I got this confirmation email, but nothing else to show for my online time. Left wondering, did this work?, did I submit in time?, how can I verify the OBC will be applied to the correct cruise?

 

Why can't RCCL email an invoice like you get when you book on-board? You can see your OBC and C&A discount, plus the cabin costs. I would like to carry that invoice on-board instead of this confirmation email with no confirmation #.

 

Is RCCL listening?

I redeemed 35,000 points for OBC and Grand Romance Pkg for a Feb cruise early this month. I couldn't remember the website asking for the reservation number and i didnt think I entered it in the comments section, so i called. The Rewards agent could see the request had been made, she entered my reservation # in, then gave me the transaction ID# to write on my confirmation email. She then called me back the next day to let me know they were in the queue and just had not been applied yet.

I feel much better having the transaction ID #, but I will probably call again before my cruise to confirm they have been applied.

I've seen a video of the shuttle boat that takes you out to the island. How stable is that thing getting in and out of it?

It's been a few years since I was there, but we stayed for a week at the Renaissance. I took the shuttle boat just about every day out to the private island - it was very stable.

The island is a great relaxing day. We saw some very large iguanas as well as the flamingos.

Thank you for posting. I am thrilled the Grand Marnier Souffle is back! I did not see the Vidalia Onion Tart. I am suprised it is off the menu. Hope you enjoyed your cruise!

I also am surprised the Vidalia Onion Tart is no longer. Also, I didn't see the Scallop Rissoto on the list anymore. :( We enjoyed both of those.

I don't understand the different themes of the day though. Everything on the menu that day is cooked with the themed ingredient?? :confused:

I could've literally eaten the scallop risotto from the MDR every day for the rest of my life and never grown tired of it. Mmmmmm!! That stuff is heavenly!! I last said RC in '09....hoping they still serve it!

They do... or at least they did in February on Serenade. Was very good!