Giffer

We a lways use taxis in San Juan with no problem at all and have done so for at least 30+ years.

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Does anyone know if there are cabs waiting at Mambo Beach to return people to the cruise ships? Cheers.

I did see a couple taxis waiting in the parking lot when we were heading back to our bus. If there are no taxis, you might be able to ask the person at the front gate to call one for you.

One more time...Will equipment vendors near the water taxis rent snorkel vests, or should I buy them and bring them with me? We have kids who really need them for the drift.

I did not sees any vendors renting items between the ship and the water taxi pier. Not sure what might be further out. The water taxi pier is literally just at the bow of the ship, so a very short walk. Once I got hooked on Snorkeling,I just bought an inexpensive vest off Amazon. You are correct that they will need them around Klein Bonaire as it can get fairly choppy.

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You will see people have left their bags or belongings in little piles up against shrubs while snorkeling.

We just tired ours up in a bush. The island is a nature preserve, so the only people on it are people snorkeling. I would suggest taking the bare essentials but things seen to be safe. We had no issues.

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Absolutely not, it's a national monument. There are no facilities or structures of any kind on Buck Island.

Thank you for the response.

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Drake,

Are there any facilities at Turtle Beach on Buck Island? My wife loves the beach and I love snorkeling and Turtle beach looks like great snorkeling, but I cannot find out if the beach has any facilities. We will be in St. Croix next March on the Jewel of the Seas. Thanks in advance.

We are on the Harmony in Sept and I ended up calling to book MTD, yesterday. My cruise planner said it was open to book, but the link would not work. Rep I talked with said that they had been having some issues with online MTD bookings.

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When we were there last week ost people just find a tree or bush to put there stuff under. We took our money and IDs in a waterproof bag and left everything else on shore. Due to limited options for getting too and from the island, not the best place for those who wish to commit larceny.

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No day pass required. Just grab a cab at the pier. $3 to get in and you can as long as you want. Mambo beach turns into night club/bar/restaurant at night.

Does the $3 get you a lounger and/or umbrella or are they extra once you get to waters edge? And is Mambo the same or next to the beach that is called the Sea Aquarium beach?

Thanks in advance.

We did the East side tour in 2015 and really enjoyed it. Wish we would have had a just a bit more time at the beach, but that was a minor thing. (We had just at an hour - About two hours would have been nice). We did run long on the tour so it lasted just at 4 hours. The guide was especially friendly and answered all questions. The bus was clean and in good running order (i.e. - no warning lights on dashboard, no god awful sounds when driving or breaking, no black billowing smoke. We have been there done that on other tours.) I would recommend the tour to someone in port for the day. If we would have had a longer port call, I would of considered the 8 hour tour. But that would have left us little to no time to explore the shopping area on our own.

They're probably pissed there's no Solarium pool. ;)

 

Maybe they'll move to Allure or Oasis when the three meet up. :o

No Solarium pool? Now I'm kind of pissed! :mad: I had not noticed that the Harmony did not have a Solarium pool. The wife and I usually enjoy the Solarium pools since they are usually less crowded and quiet. Oh well, guess we will use our Solarium time to read and listening to Enya.

According to The horticulturist, the birds came on in Palma. One joined us for breakfast in chops this morning

Maybe the birds spent too much time at The Daiquiri Palace in Palma and got disoriented on their flight back to their nest. :D

Hopefull they will still be around next September to sing for us when we are enjoying our Central Park balcony on the Harmony.

Took a taxi and it was right at 15 minutes, airport to hotel door.

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Thank you!

This is taken from our October 2016 sailing.

 

Zipline----Dragon's Breath Flight----$95.75

 

Alpine coaster (single and full day)

Dragon's Tail Coaster All Day Access----$35.75

Dragon's Tail Coaster---------Single Ride-----$25.75

 

Float mats------------$15.75

 

Aquapark------Arawak Aqua Park $19.75

Arawak Aqua Park and Dragaon's Tail Coaster Single Ride Combo----$35.75

 

Waterslide (if separate from Aquapark)

Dragon's Splash----$23.75

 

Snorkel gear (if available) ?????

 

Parasail---------------$85.75

 

Wave Jet Tour Driver-----------$99.75

Wave Jet Tour Passenger------$29.75

 

And anything else that might be an extra charge while ashore. Nothing else I can think of. We do bring some cash with us for any purchases at the Town Square, tips for beach chairs, the tram and for the entertainers.

Do you know if they rent paddle boards at Labadee?

Thank you very much.

Flying in to FLL and staying the night at Courtyard Plantation in September for our Cruise. Hotel shuttle only runs until 7 PM and we land at 7:15 PM. Looking for options to get to hotel. It will be four adults with luggage. I have looked at GO shuttle and South Florida shuttle services and they both want over $80 for the ten minute ride to the hotel. The limo service the hotel suggested is $95. Any suggestions?

We stayed in November (2015) and it was very nice. It was the third time we had stayed at that particular hotel. My only issue is that the only food in close walking distance is fast food. To get a nice restaurant you need to take a taxi about a mile down the shopping mall.

We also stay at the Marriott Courtyard in Plantation. There is lots more shopping and food choices in close walking distance. They also have a free shuttle from airport (7 AM to 7 PM) and to Port Everglade.

I am looking for current prices (Summer of 16) for things that cost extra at Labadee. Some of the prices I am looking for are:

-Zipline

-Alpine coaster (single and full day)

-Float mats

-Aquapark

-Waterslide (if separate from Aquapark)

-Snorkel gear (if available)

And anything else that might be an extra charge while ashore.

Thanks in advance.

Let's see if I can resurrect this thread rather than starting a new one!

We will be in Bonaire on both our September 16 cruise and our March 17 cruise. Looking to go to Bonaire at least once.

Does anyone have current pricing for the water taxis and are they fairly close to the cruise ship pier. We can do an excursion to Klein on both cruises, but would prefer to do it on our own. Wifes would like to stay on the beach while the guys do some snorkeling.

Thanks in advance.

Goes with being concerned about the lack of tablecloths I'd imagine.

Nope totally wrong there. The tableclothes are about the mess that condensation from the ice tea and water glasses make. The tablecloths absorb some of the moisture from the bottom of the glass, thus keeping it from dripping on to the person as they are drinking. It also keeps the glasses from floating around the table when the ship is rocking. But yes, we do have a tablecloth on our table at home every night unless we are dining on the back veranda.

I think the point Giffer was trying to make isn't about "status level" but about how some passengers act. Everyone likes to let loose and have a blast on board. But when you're in the nightclub and a fist fight breaks out or you wake up to find puke in the hallway and a passed out passenger, it really is a turn-off.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner. While we like to relax, we also like to be around people who have some standards in life.

Having sailed twice with Royal in the past two years, we have not seen the lack of staff issues. I'm not saying that there aren't issues, they just aren't as important to us. And honestly I find the clientele on Royal a few grades above carnival. Yes, there are still some who I would not care to associate with, but I find them fewer in numbers. No line is going to be perfect, and I realize that.

We are moving away from Carnival for several reasons, not just one. We despise the American Table. The limited menu along with no table clothes just irritates us. The change in the VIFP program (lack of return cruiser party for Gold status). The now limited wait staff in the comedy club and in the main show auditorium. In January they had two bar waiters working the Punchliner. One show we never did have one come near our table. The next night we had a server come by our table, but her attitude was poor. We ended up with two warm cans of soda with no glasses, no ice and no straws on our table. Finally the socioeconomics status of the Carnival clientele is going down hill. While I understand it is the "affordable" cruise line, it is also becoming the WalMart cruise line. It appears to us that more of the cruisers are just uneducated, ill mannered and uncouth. We have one more cruise in September on Carnival and then it is Royal Caribbean and Norwegian only.

A nice review of Nachi Cocum. http://www.******************.com/2015/11/04/excursion-focus-nachi-cocom-beach-break-cozumel-mexico#.VnsXchh_eMF.mailto

Try putting "royalcaribbean" in where the astrics (*******)are... sheesh I am getting real tired of cruise critic. May be time to move on to one of the many other cruise sites...