bmckim

I love the 2.0 Upgrades. Don't think I will cruise on any non 2.0 ship. Except for maybe the Breeze.

Easy there killer, it was less than a half hour after your first post.

There will be 1 table generally. Most likely $5 min. Never a royal flush. Best I think I ever have done was a straight or flush.

Good Luck!

Should be, JetBlue is in one Terminal (5) at JFK. If you get delayed, that is a hub for them, so they can get you on another flight pretty easy.

I am really looking forward to the Cruising with a Toddler portion of your review! :)

Absolutely go to the K-Mart. About a 5 minute walk from the port, and they will box up your liquor in the boxes with handles. Last trip I bought 2 cases of liquor. Cruzan is I believe $12 a handle, where it is usually $35+ up here in NY. You also get a larger allowance if you buy liquor made in USVI.

Here is the pic of me carrying the liquor back from K-mart. As you can see it is quite close to the ships.

I really hope so. Funship Freddy really freaks me out.

Doubtful the only channels showing Preseason games in the states are NHL Network, and the local regional networks, neither I believe the ships get. If it makes you feel better, you can play NHL 13 (Maybe 14 by now) in the EA Sports Bar.

Unfortunately, you will be waiting in the staircases like everyone else.

I am sure I will think of some others. First thing I can think of is make sure you get a breakfast burrito. They are delicious. Say hi to Ioana and Alex for me at Alchemy! They are great bartenders.

We ended up getting Aft on 6. And we took it. Booked!

So I just checked the placement again, and all the regular balcony rooms are under the public areas of lido. Debating now with paying a bit more for a spa balcony. (At least my wife will be happy).

I am leaning towards the higher deck. As long as I can get a room with rooms above us...

So we are about to book on the Sunshine next year, I am looking for some advice/opinions. We can either book a Balcony on Deck 8 below the Lido, or and Aft Balcony on Deck 5. What would you choose?

Great review! Heading out on this same ship/itinerary next week. Question for you - can you recall exactly when you arrived in St. Thomas, and how long it was between arrival and when you could debark? Doing an "on our own" excursion and trying to plan ahead. Thanks very much!

I don't know. I feel like we pulled in right at 10:00 and did not get off until probably closer to 10:15-10:30 but I'm not completely sure. Also because you dock later in the morning, there was definitely more of a line to get off then the 7am port stops. Hope this helps!

Great review! We will be on the Glory at the end of March. Couple questions:

1) Were you able to get your passport stamped at every port? (Cool idea! Never would have thought of that!) If so, could you list where to get the stamps?

2) Did you watch any of the Dive-In movies? If so, what movies did they show?

Thanks!

We only get them (We only sought out) in Nassau and in Grand Turk. In Nassau when you get off the ship as you walk towards the mall they make you walk through go left and you need to go into the port office. It's the bright yellow building with the tower you will certainly see. We had a military guy stop us to try to get us to go through the mall. We told him we wanted our passports stamped and he said OK. Go in the office and ask them and they will direct you down the hall.

In grand turk, immigration is not in the port. If you are renting a golf cart or get a taxi, it is really easy to get to. We went to the immigration office which is in a new building(I guess the local said it keeps moving) called "Three Degrees" which is a set of three buildings just passed the airport across from the Catholic Church. There is no immigration sign, but it does say three degrees outside. I think my wife took a picture and put it in the review if that helps. You can also ask a local, they are super friendly. Or you can go to the airport which some people said they stamped it there.

We did not watch any of the movies. As I recall, a couple days they had a concert on there (I think Michael Jackson one day). But we did not spend really any time on the sunloungers on the lido deck because we had an awesome big balcony with a sunlounger and would go out there if we wanted to hang outside.

Loved loved loved your review I'm going on this same exact cruise in may.. Here is my question besides karaoke with a live band do they offer it with regular music as well. My wife loves karaoke and don't want to be limited to just singing with a band

Yes, much more frequently. Maybe not once a day, but probably close to it. The Superstar Live was only once during the cruise.

So, am I correct in this - elegant nights were Nassau and Grand Turk, right? Want to make reservations for the steakhouse, but not on those nights!

Correct. Go Sabres!

can you describe where the Kmart was in St.Thomas--we may want to pick up some soda there. I know where the tram is, radio shack. Thanks.

Baically when you face tram area which way do you walk and how long? We have walked to downtown Charlotte Amalie but one way is enough for us!

I think it may be in the same plaza as the Radio Shack. If you walk up the same street from the tram going away from the port (Don't turn left to go towards downtown) It will be a couple tenths of the mile on the left. You can probably see the sign for the K-Mart from the Ship.

I think this link will work for google maps.

I walked back to the ship carrying 12 liters of liquor. Can't be that far if my arms didn't fall off. :)

When you had the golf carts in Grand Turk, were you able to just park it somewhere and walk around or go into a bar?

Yes. I would park it and take the key. Did that at Jack's Shack and left it there for a few hours. The place downtown we went just parked it on the side of the street.

I was so excited to see your review. We are going on the same cruise on March 10th. We are even doing the golf carts in Grand Turk. Did you go to other bars besides Jacks Shack? Did you go to the conch graveyard?

 

How much does "faster to the fun" cost. Never heard of it?

 

What time did you do your meet and greet on the first day? We are trying to decided what time to do it.

 

When you signed up for the cheers program, where you still in port? Did you have to pay local taxes on that?

 

Thanks for all the pictures. I am so excited!!

Hey there, We went to another bar right in Cockburn Town, and the "bar" at the light house where I had a Turks Head. Jack's Shack was the best. We did not go to the conch graveyard because I couldn't really remember where it was, and the bad map they give you is no help, but I am sure if I would have asked a local, they would have pointed me in the right direction

Faster to the Fun is the program where you essentially pay $50 per stateroom for the benefit of being platinum - You get on the boat first, you can get off first, you have a priority line at Guest Services, and if you tender you get priority tender (No tendering on this cruise). It was certainly worth it.

The informal meet and greet was I believe at 2:00 at the aft pool bar.

You don't pay taxes on the program itself. It comes to $691. You pay taxes on the drinks you get while in port. So you will see charges for 63 cents or so on your drinks on you Sign and Sail account. You will pay taxes in Miami and in San Juan. I don't believe we paid in St. Thomas.

Hope that helps. If you have any other questions, Ask away!

FYI. They will not send a bar waiter over during High Tea. If you would like a drink, bring it with you. I asked a few times for Scotch flavored tea.

Thanks for prompt reply. I appreciate it when the OP (original poster) responds back. Looking forward to March even more now.

Where did they have tasting station?

No problem. (Even though my wife is technically the OP :p)

The Taste Bar is on Deck 5 (Promenade) Starboard side toward aft between the Casino and Alchemy Bar.

Great review and photos! Just curious, did you have to pay tax on the 12 liters coming through customs?

No. Because it was coming from the USVI, the allowance is I believe 6 liters each.

Can you recall which side of the ship faced the shore at each stop?

Nassau -Port Side faced Shore (Dock on Starboard Side)

St. Thomas - Port Side faced Shore (Downtown Charlotte Amalie) (Dock on Starboard Side)

San Juan - You pull straight in I believe, so Forward was facing shore, but you could see it from both sides. (Dock on Port side)

Grand Turk - Port Side faced Shore (Dock on Starboard Side)

Did Yall go to paridase point own your own or throught the ship? Looks like a good time. If you did it own your own can you give some details. Thanks and also a great review .

Yes to both. We purchased the tickets through the ship, but there is no organized trip there. You go on your own. The place to catch the skyride is right outside Havensight (The mall that is outside the port you have to walk through). The tickets through the ship are $19.99 but if you buy them at the skyride, they are $21.50. So you save money by buying them to the ship. I also heard that the ship will buy them back from you if you do not use them.

It is super easy to get there, you can see it from anywhere once you get off the ship. Once you are there you just exchange the Excursion ticket for a wrist band and you are all set. You can ride the skyride all day with it.