whataboutport

We usually do buffet for dinner bc we eat very small dinners and don't like to do the MDR thing (too long). On the formal nights, the buffet does have nicer fare. I have sailed on RCI, Princess and Celebrity and have found it the same; nicer offerings on the formal nights, but no lobster. I should point out though, it's spiny lobster and not Maine lobster. It's usually kind of dry. Most of the major lines have Maine lobster though any of the paid venues.

I googled and this was what I found:

Port Arrival Time Departure Time

Day 1 Galveston, TX 4:00 PM

Day 2 At Sea

Day 3 Cozumel, Mexico 7:00 AM 3:00 PM

Day 4 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 9:00 AM 5:00 PM

Day 5 Montego Bay, Jamaica 8:00 AM 4:00 PM

Day 6 At Sea

Day 7 At Sea

Day 8 Galveston, TX 8:00 AM

Depending on where in Jamaica you go, Dunn's Falls is closer to one than the other. We did it once and it was nice. Wouldn't do it again. Don't wander around all over by yourself there. There was a shopping center right outside the gates and it was fine there. But wouldn't go elsewhere walking around alone.

Forget who we used, but basically had a private tour take us around and then did the Dunn's Falls and back. You'll get most of your questions answered at the Ports of Call boards.

Welcome and I'm sure you'll have a great time!

Jamaica is not a place I would go walking around without a guide. The locals there are very aggressive, even more so than in Nassau (which I personally found the locals much more aggressive at Orient Beach on St Maartin than Nassau). Many people get offered drugs. My friend was offered drugs while she was out in the ocean swimming. Same friend was put up on a mule/donkey and held hostage until they paid for a photo. Also her brother was held up at knifepoint. When I went I didn't remember anything particularly scary but my sister reminded me there was a guy that followed us for quite a long time.

I highly recommend the river tubing in Jamaica on the White River - so clean - no critters in the water and there are natural chutes and rapids that make it fun and exciting but it is very safe.

 

Here is a dolphin program in Cozumel where your daughter can be the lone participant if she is over 8:

http://www. dolphin discovery .com/cozumel/chankanaab-national-park.asp

TAKE OUT THE SPACES AROUND THE WORDS "dolphin discovery"

If she is 8 or under, at least 1 parent must be a paid participant. Btw, Chankaanaab is really nice with many other things to do for the rest of the family. There is a coupon for Chankanaab you can print out from the Home page. Take a taxi from the port to Chankanaab.

 

Grand Caymen - it's all about the stingrays. Literally every tour there includes going to the stingrays. Stingrays CAN sting you and they CAN bite. Usually, they won't sting unless they feel threatened and they usually bite if they mistake you for food, as Richard Branson recently found out:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3440576/Richard-Branson-attacked-STINGRAY-Cayman-Islands-Entrepreneur-shows-injuries-says-cut-head-open-walking-glass-door.html

 

At any rate, I've been bitten by any number of fish while snorkeling but stingrays have bigger mouths and can inflict more damage than most reef fish. So, I'm not all that crazy about interacting with them when they are feeding which is what everyone does at Stingray City.

Yes it's true but I wouldn't worry too much about it. The guides will tell you how to interact with the rays. Shuffle your feet in the sand so you won't mistakenly step on one. That is what will make them sting you, you scaring them, and they trying to defend themselves. They won't go willy nilly stinging people. They are very gentle.

As for the biting. You feed them with pieces of squid. You hold the squid in your fist with your thumb tucked into your fist. Last time I didn't tuck in my thumb and one ray chomped down on my thumb, but it's like cartiledge and not actual sharp teeth. It did hurt a tad, but no broken skin and not blood. Just keep that thumb tucked in and you will be fine. They mostly suck up the squid anyway.

I really loved swimming with the stingrays in Grand Cayman. It's really not as scary as it sounds. The stingrays are used to people and are very gentle. You can book online in advance or just find a guide once you get off the ship. I prefer to know where I am going and with who beforehand though.

Dolphin excursions are pretty expensive.

In Cozumel if you guys are into Mayan ruins, I would recommend going to Tulum, but it is a very long day and that you must book through the ship in case your tour runs late, you wouldn't get left behind.

That's great news. I frequently fly in same day, but arriving at 5 or 6am, not 11am! That is cutting it way too close! If you miss the flight you are SOL, but if the plane has some kind of mechanical delay and your flight gets pushed back a few hours, you still have some time to spare.

I'm glad you were able to get the flight changed for not too much, as you said a nominal fee but I would be looking for a different TA for the next one.

Have a great flight and cruise.

Another vote here for Stingray City! It's a blast! Make sure if you do it to book through a private company and not the cruise line. Reason being, the cruise sponsored excursions pack in the people like sardines! At least 50 people in one boat. We booked a private company last time and we had 14 people on our same size boat.

I think that is bc Early seating is too early, and Late is kind of late. We usually get early, but most of the time end up eating at the buffet anyway, bc we eat tiny dinners and don't like to spend over an hour for it when we only snack at night.

Yeah, it really sucks for the people who really need to shop there. If you have kids to clothe, a few dollars here and there really add up! I get that some consignment shops price higher bc they curate their selection, plus they pay for their inventory, but thrift shops get their good donated to them for free, so they shouldn't price them so high.

Sometimes we get lucky though and find some designer or higher end brand names for cheap. Last summer I got a pair of Frankie B denim shorts (usually over $100 for shorts, almost $200 for jeans) for $5 and a pair of Willam Rast (I believe is/was Justin Timberlake's brand or he was affiliated with it) denim shorts for $0.50! Both were half off. I think the person doing the pricing just didn't know. The quality is very good.

Most of these online dress companies from China use the Asian sizing, so their xlarge is more like a xsmall in Contemporary/Misses. Their sizes are even smaller than juniors sizing. I remember when I went to China and my dad took me to a fancy shopping mall in Shanghai. The two shopgirls there were arguing what size to give me, medium or large. At the time I was 102 lbs.

Those are amazing deals! We have a local chain here called Savers that is pretty good. Although I have noticed their prices are slowly creeping up which sucks. Many items I saw the other day were $14.99, $25.99, etc. But they do have their half off days, actually every day, depending on what color tag it is. Bf just found his favorite hat at the thrift shop for $4. Same exact brand, style, color AND size! Can you believe it! His was starting to wear out bc he wears it so much, now he has a back up.

If it was only two couples, it is unlikely they were on a ship sponsored tour, but you never know. We were late twice on a ship tour, once for Tulum and once for Lamanai. Lamanai we were late over an hour, but there were a lot of us, and a couple of officers waiting for us to get back on the tender to get back to the ship.

Unless of course you have booked an excursion, then you must meet at the designated time. If you are late, they will go without you. It's happened to me.

Hi there -

 

This one puzzles me. As clarea said, yes you can leave the tour but it will cost you extra to get back to the ship, on top of what you've already paid (which includes transportation BACK to the pier). That's usually one of the reasons why people book excursions - so they know they have a ride back. BUT - yes, of course you can leave the tour but you have to tell your guide first. S/he is responsible for having as many people at the end as at the beginning, so do be sure to tell your guide.

 

The part that puzzles me, though, is why you feel you might want to leave the tour, frankly - what are you thinking will be not to your liking that you will want to leave early? Sincerely asking, not being mean. The excursions are described in detail on the cruise line's website, as well as the length of the tour. We tend to book early morning tours (private or ship) and seeing as that would be "x" number of hours, we know that we can shop in port when we get dropped off.

While not a ship sponsored tour, when we were on St Maartin, we were on Bernard's tour. We were not happy with the tour and really considered taking a taxi back to the ship. We stuck it out and it didn't get much better.

If you are doing Orient Beach on St Maartin, you can just go yourself, but like posted above, you have to pay for chair rentals, transport there and back, and food/drinks if you want. You cannot just go there and lay your towel down on the sand. The beach there is like resort style, with each bar/restaurant owning the part of beach in front of it. You must be a patron of their establishment (or rent their chairs) to use that part of the beach. You can however just walk up and down the beach if you'd like, but I don't know where you'd put your stuff if you wanted to go in the water.

St Thomas we went to St John, took the excursion from the cruiseline. It was a very nice day, but the water visibility was not too great for snorkeling. But if you stay on St Thomas, Magen's Bay is very popular.

Nassau I believe there is a beach within walking distance from the ship so you don't have to pay for an excursion there.

Hi Everyone!

 

Forgive me if I am hijacking a thread, here. I can't figure out how to start a new one. My family has decided on a cruise reunion (Allure of the Seas, in June), and it's already slim pickings for central rooms. The room I have on hold is 6666! Other than the Satanic component (!), I'm wondering if this room will be noisy. :) It's near the stairwell, and not too far from the champagne bar below. I wish I could just pick a room a bit forward or aft, but my 7 year old is prone to motion sickness, and we need a central room.

 

If anyone has been on recently, can you speak to the hallway situation? Looking at the map, it looks like this room is exposed to a main hallway thoroughfare and bathroom. Is it?? I'm a light sleeper, and don't want to be in the noisiest location on a ship. We could shell out another $700 to go to another category above (the D1 rooms with the extended balconies) which has more central rooms available. But I'd really rather not. This cruise is already almost double what we normally spend. 2 years ago we sailed on Princess, in a mini suite, for almost $2000 less...

 

Thanks everyone!!

When we were on Allure, our table in the MDR was table #666! We had great service though and the food was pretty good!

I can't remember our room number but it was near Boleros and the Latin music was heard very loudly in our room until about midnight.

Docking time doesn't mean the actual time you can debark the ship. I'd say about 7-7:30 would be more realistic, if you decide to do self debarkation, which means you have to take all your luggage off by yourself. You'd still have to get through customs, and if you're on a bus transfer through the cruiseline, they wait until the whole bus is filled before they take off.

I know Bayport to Houston is about an hour by bus. Hobby is a bit closer. Plus you should check in at least on hour prior, and hopefully there is not fog (there is that problem at Bayport, I realize you are in Galveston, it can happen there on occasion).

If there are no issues, you can make it, but I'd have a back up. It's usually recommended to have a flight noon or later.

We had some Rum Runners taken from on top of the desk and a oj that we were saving to mix with our drinks from the fridge go missing. Not a big deal but it was annoying.

On another cruise we found a pair of mens shoes under the bed, so that steward apparently doesn't check under the bed.

Perhaps not so. I don't sweat a lot. Even in the days when I used to exercise a lot, I never sweat much. So that isn't why mosquitos are more attracted to me.

Yeah they say that here too. I'm not really that sweet. LOL

Even when you wear long sleeves and pants, there's still enough space for these little pricks to bite you.

No matter what my mom does to cover herself, they always find a way to get her. So loading up on DEET instead of covering yourself up, has my preference.

I have been bitten frequently by mosquitos under my clothes. I somehow even got bit on my boob once, under a shirt AND bra. Explain that! :eek: My best guess is they are going through the clothes. I am always the only one in my party that gets bitten. I read that some people just give off an "aura" that is more attractive to mosquitos and unfortunately I am pretty allergic to them too. They swell up to bigger than a silver dollar.

I think the prices on the ship are pretty fair. Here at home, go to any casino on the Strip and you'll be paying $15-20 for a drink. Even in downtown, you'll be hard pressed to find anything in a bar for less than $12. Bottles of beer are less of course, but still not "reasonable" in my opinion. (Which is why we never buy on the Strip.) I think what gets you in the end on a cruise is you get the bill for all 7 days or however long you are on, and that really adds up.

Do what we do, buy the small 350ml bottles from room service. If you enjoy simple cocktails you can easily mix them in the room yourself. Have your room steward bring you ice daily (sometimes they do it several times daily) or if you are near the buffet or ice machine you can get ice yourself. Save on the tips at the bar, plus the amount of liquor you get is cheaper that way. And you make yourself get more exercise walking back to your room to refill.

Or just buy the alcohol package, or book when you get it as a free perk. Easy!

 

It sure sounds like you DO look down on those who don't dress in true formal wear. :rolleyes:

You messed up the quote. It makes it look like I said what Lakes said. I couldn't disagree more with her.

Check out Bernard's Tours In St. Martin. Excellent.

Bernard's tours in St Marten...highly recommend! Great island tour with a little beach time. Wonderful day!

They are the ones we had an issue with. Wasted half of our tour. I would not recommend. We went in Nov. We recently had a time change (daylight savings, ended or started I can never remember which is which). I emailed them asking what time zone they follow. Do they observe DST? Am I meeting them ship time or local time? When we met at the meeting point, the man said he was till waiting for others to show up. I realized later that he was waiting for any other possible "walk ins" to fill up his van. He took us to Orient Beach when the other part of the group (on a ship that arrived an hour earlier than ours) had already done other parts of the tour (iguana farm and sea urchin man, who I really wanted to see!). We should have gotten our whole tour with people from our ship that got to port an hour later than the other ship, instead we got put on with other people whose ship was leaving sooner than ours.

How do the rules work as far as donating the clothes? I have a few items that are too big for me now. Does the new owner pay for the shipping? Is it first come first served?