uprivermama

I am trying to look for hotel for the night before a cruise. Is the cruise port in Puerto Rico in San Juan or Old San Juan?

The cruise port is in Old San Juan. You can't get much closer than the Sheraton Old San Juan. We walked over the morning of embarkation!

This was taken yesterday (Saturday), and unfortunately neither the weather nor the eagles were very cooperative with my photographic efforts

Same three eagles in a wide shot... See them?

We loved the Chewbacca tree too (although we decided it was called the gecko tree due to the abundance of those little guys climbing all over it!) Here's my youngest getting caught off guard in front of "Chewie"

I'm enjoying your review! I, too, am going on the Breeze for my 40th birthday :eek:--mine's in July!

We got approved as well. 2 Cabins on the Breeze in July--no fare reduction but $50 per cabin OBC.It took about 3 hours for the first cabin and 6 hours for the second cabin from the time I submitted the form. Thanks Carnival! :D

Hi! I'm a new poster to the photo board, but I have been inspired and educated by you folks for awhile now! I'd like to try to participate in the picture of the week starting right now...

We spent the week of New Year's at a cabin we rented near Leavenworth, Washington. It was beautiful, but COLD!!! I spent a good half an hour trying to capture the icicles to my satisfaction, and this one is my favorite of the bunch.

While I was messing around with the icicles, this little squirrel scampered up the tree right behind me. I couldn't resist taking his picture too.

Thank you for your review! You have some beautiful pictures, and I'll bet your "Pinterest Project" is going to turn out great.

We did this cruise last February--really great itinerary! Your mileage may vary, but...

St Thomas: No input here. We did a very short Eagle Boat ride right at the port last time, and Sapphire Beach the time before that. Wouldn't especially recommend either, but we had fun. I would love to see St John next time, and I think the "on-your-own" option is the way to go if the time constraints allow.

Barbados: We went to The Boatyard, and had one of the best days ever! It was $15 per person and includes your return to the port and a drink at the bar. Lovely beach with all kinds of fun (trampoline, rope swing, swimming, etc), food/bar right there, water sports rentals (we rented jet skis--sorry, can't remember cost, but lots of guys will approach you on the beach and you can attempt to haggle a little) and swimming with turtles ($20 and shout out to Neville--GAPearl recommended and we strongly second the recommendation! Other "vendors" were not nearly as professional and respectful as he was. It gets kind of busy with boats and snorkelers out at the snorkel sites, and Neville was a classy and professional guide).

St Lucia: Sadly, we cannot recommend Spencer Ambrose's tour (Jalousie Beach Break). It was a cluster from the moment we got to the meeting place outside the port building. Not enough boats, took forever to actually begin, seating was very squished. Loved the view from the boat along the way, and being right at the base of the Pitons was so neat. The beach was pretty "meh", and since we were very late in arriving, we were relegated to sitting on our towels, rather than on of the few, sad loungers that were available. Not a big deal. We experienced a downpour on the boat ride there (OUCH--no cover where we were sitting; still, kind of fun) so I think that may have contributed to the not great snorkeling at the beach. The approach is very rocky and a little tricky in the snorkeling area, so that was kind of a challenge too. Overall, just not our favorite excursion.

St Kitts: We did the catamaran to Nevis through Carnival, and we loved this trip. Great snorkeling at a couple sites on the way. The beach at Nevis--aahhh, I still feel that silky smooth sand in my toes! No amenities or anything, but we brought a little football and played catch in the waves, did some pseudo-body surfing, and I collected a few seashells. Drinks and dancing on the way back. Really a fun day.

St Maarten: We took a taxi on our own to Maho to watch planes. The beach was small and very crowded. When we were there, the waves were too strong to enjoy. We stood along the rock wall and watched planes for awhile (which is very cool to see) and then taxi'd back to port. Shopped a little and re-boarded. I would like to see more of the island next time, but being the last port, hubby was "done" by that time.

As for your flight to San Juan, that's just cutting it too close for my personal comfort, but if all goes well you <should> be fine. Not much time to explore San Juan, though :(

Enjoy your cruise!

Which airport do you fly into? I was getting prices for plane tickets and they have 3 airports in Seattle

You definitely want Sea-Tac (abbreviation is SEA). A downtown hotel will provide the best opportunity for easy sightseeing either before or after the cruise. The airport area hotels are in a real cruddy area and quite a ways away from the major tourist sites (Space Needle, waterfront, Seattle Center, etc).

Thanks for your review. As a fellow Washintonian, I have considered a Mexican Riviera trip myself to save on the airfare (we usually drive to Cali--nothing like a 16 hour road trip :rolleyes:) Keep it up! I'm curious whether you made it to Cabo...

Oh, and GO HAWKS!!!

Yes I am the DH Ha! We both have our strong suits. I am good at or rather like to plan the family trips, vehicle repairs, etc. which is pretty easy compared to the daily / hourly planning DW does. That's why I like to ensure when she (we) have vacation she can just enjoy it without having to do more planning.

This is a very sweet sentiment! I am the DW in our scenario, but I tend to do the "extreme planning". DH made a statement about wanting to surprise me someday, and doing all the planning for a cruise himself without any input from me. I told him not to. :D I love him, and his thoughtfulness, but the process of planning the cruise is actually part of the fun for me, plus it makes me feel more "secure" knowing I have all the details ironed out. Different strokes for different folks!

early saver gives you price protection up til final payment but you can not make changes.. nor can youcancel without it costing you 50.bucks,

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I don't think this is correct. Early saver will give you price protection up to final payment in the form of a price adjustment (i.e. your total amount due at final payment will decrease to the lowest price you've found and requested adjustment for). AFTER final payment, you can still send in price adjustment requests, and the amount will show up as OBC. This has been our experience for two different cruises.

Your chances of seeing price drops will depend on the type of cabin you choose--if you choose a standard balcony room, you are more likely to see price drops than if you choose a less common room, like an aft wrap balcony.

Thanks for posting your planning process. It seems like a lot of details to take care of, but I enjoy the process! We are super experienced cruisers either (our 3rd cruise will be the Breeze this summer) but we are getting pretty comfortable with knowing what works for us and understanding our own personal priorities for an enjoyable trip.

Airfare is our biggest hangup, as well. Living in Washington state pretty much equals an expensive, long flight to Florida for the itineraries we want when we can cruise.

I hope you'll consider posting a review of your trip when you return! Have fun!

You only need to purchase one per stateroom, and it will cover everyone staying in that stateroom. The website isn't very clear, but your PVP is correct.

There was no charge for the iron, but there was a charge of $ 1.50 for the washer and dryer and $ 1.50 for the soap dispenser. There is a place to swipe your S&S card to buy the soap and to activate the washer & dryer, you did not need any coins.

 

Later in the week I had to do a load of wash and I bought the soap with my S&S card but when I put my stuff into the washer and set the cycle, the machine just started to fill before I even had a chance to swipe my card and pay. Same thing happened when I went to use the dryer. I wasn’t sure if this was a fluke or if someone else had activated the machine but then didn’t use them ?? On the last night I went to throw some stuff in a dryer that I’d rinsed out and hung to dry that was still damp, and same thing – no charge for dryer.

Thanks for this info--we fly from the west coast, and to save on baggage fees, always try to pack light. With two boys, we inevitably do a load or two of laundry mid week! It will be nice to avoid the trudge down to the customer service desk for $12 worth of quarters this time! Having it go straight to the S&S card makes so much more sense! Keep up the good work--really enjoying your review!

Try this website: ports dot cruisett dot com (with no spaces and . instead of dots) Choose the Valor from the "Ships" menu and select your month, and you'll get a listing of each of the ports and what other ships will be there with you.

And leave her clean...we'll be boarding the 16th!;)

Got mine approved for St Kitts Fan-ta-sea Catamaran and Nevis beach break for a little over $30/pp. I'll take the $120 OBC! I submitted today around 3 pm and received the email this evening.

We did this on our own after Freedom cruise out of FLL this past summer. Taxi to airport, rental car from airport, then drove to the "Gator Boys" park (pictured above). I loved the boat tour itself; so much beauty in the swamp! But we were pretty turned off by the constant reminders that tipping was expected. We wouldn't return to this particular park. But, it can be done on your own for sure!

We cruise as a family, I'm the only girl :rolleyes:, and the guys are just not into the formality of the dining room. I'm not talking about the attire; I'm referring to the limited menu, the length of the meal, etc. We don't eat that way at home, and it's uncomfortable and unappealing to our crew to eat that way on vacation. That's not to say that Mom and Dad might not try eating on our own in the MDR this next cruise; I enjoy that sort of thing myself. But I'm not going to drag everyone else there kicking and screaming! I tried that last cruise, and it made for a very miserable meal. The buffet has more than enough choices (especially when you factor in deli and pizza choices) and just really suits our style more.

We've used Ajax and MPark offsite. Both were very affordable and had no problems whatsoever. The Ajax lot was a little bit sketchier IMO, but was secure and we had no complaints. I wouldn't think you would need to pay more than 9.00/day with internet coupons and/or everyday prices for decent offsite parking.

They take the magnetic strip cards.

Thanks for sharing your video! It was amazing--I got tears in my eyes when your daughter blew out the candle on the cake. Her smile was precious! I really appreciate you sharing your talent with us!

Unfortunately my friends and I travel on a strict budget when we travel without our family's. we can't do excursions in 4 ports. We've scheduled two and Tortola is not one of them. I'm sure we'll enjoy ourselves.

We're on the same sailing (I've "seen" you on the roll call too) and due mostly to the short day we have in port, we too are planning a pretty low key day for Tortola. We're planning on going to Brewer's Bay beach for the day. We're a family of four; I don't know how many people can fit in one taxi, but you're welcome to share if it works out!

Thanks for the time you took to write this review! You provided some great info and insight on the Freedom that I haven't seen anywhere else. I've absorbed it all like a sponge, and feel so much more prepared for our June sailing! Definitely write a review after your January cruise--you've got knack for it my dear!

I'm loving your review! I have two boys, 15 and 12, so it's great to hear your perspective!

Thanks for taking the time to write this review. We're sailing on the Freedom in June, and I'm soaking up all the information I can! I loved your sunset pics! Keep it coming!