theflake

We were booked on Trikes St Maarten in Feb, but they canceled. The email said "Due to the slow recovery of the island our company decide to close this office until further notice. We will open in Punta Cana Dominican Republic soon. We will be posting news on social media. Sorry about inconvenience."

Keep watching their Facebook page. The roads were not destroyed, and they don't really need much else. Once there is sufficient hotel and cruise ship traffic I'm sure they will quickly reopen.

We did the Trikes tour with them in Aruba, and it was awesome! So definitely do it if you can!

 

Never was able to get them to print nor did ordering them online work. So I just called and had them in less than a week.

I ordered them online weeks before my cruise and never saw them, so I simply printed my own. Much to my surprise, the ones from Celebrity arrived in the mail yesterday!

 

Unfortunately, we got OFF the ship a week ago!

 

Another reminder of their excellent website...

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

We are thinking of renting a jeep for the day in July. I checked coastal and for rental noon-8pm was $115 due to the fees. Are their other places near port to rent from? If we do rent a car are there specific beaches we should plan to see? Mullet? Simpson? Is there plenty of parking? Would we have to pay to park? Is traffic terrible? We arrive in port at noon and leave at 8pm. Does anyone have a driving trip sketched out that you care to share?

I would strongly suggest you take a taxi instead. We were in St Martin yesterday, and even though we were the only ship in port traffic was crazy. Roads are very narrow, and traffic regulations are treated as suggestions and seldom heeded! The taxi system is well regulated with standard rates. We went all the way to Mullet Bay (about a 30 minute drive) for $10 per person each way plus tip. Most beaches are closer and cheaper. We asked our driver to come back at 2 pm for us and he was there15 minutes early waiting.

 

 

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

I was thinking the same thing.

Sorry,I meant boat of course!

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

Was the kayak tour a ship or private tour? Do you know the name of the company and the cost? Thank you.

It was a private tour with St Thomas Adventure Tours. I think it was about $120? They picked us up at the cruise port, drove us about 5 minutes to their office, then we kayaked across to the bay for snorkeling. Water was a bit cloudy yesterday, but we saw a bunch of turtles and a good sized nurse shark. Lunch was provided-excellent fish tacos!

 

Our guide was Sven and he was a fountain of knowledge. Learned about the history of the island in the way to and from the Bay. Really enjoyed the tour and highly recommend it!

 

If you don't want to kayak in the ocean, you can also take their van. It was just my wife and u with Sven yesterday, while Michelle had a group of 6 that drove. They Max out at 6 people per guide, so never a crowd.

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

Taxi should be $6 per person each way. Time depends on traffic so allow 30 minutes.

We were there today. Water island is fine. We kayaked over as part of a snorkeling tour and had a blast. There are some remnants of damage left over, but the trees are green again and you will have a great time!

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

What ship was this one? I'll keep a look out for it as I think we can be OK with the 250 minutes just to check in with family and friends and house sitter, pet sitter, etc. I hope it is offered on the Eclipse.

It was on Infinity, on a 10 day cruise. Constantly signing in and out was kind of a pain, but it served it's purpose.

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

The $99 package for 250 mins was offered on The third or fourth day of our 10 day cruise last November. It is not mentioned until The daily on day 3, no signs anywhere...

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

Are you sure that they still offer a package of minutes during a cruise?

 

This year they eliminated all minute packages pre-cruise and when you board. Instead, only unlimited use packages (at about $32/day for a 7-day cruise if purchased for the entire cruise pre-cruise and $35.57/day if purchased on board) are offered.

The $99 plan was not mentioned on the web site. I read about it here and asked onboard. I think it was day 3 when it became available. It was mentioned in the daily the night before too.

 

Maybe someone onboard currently can weigh in?

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

Thank you so MUCH!

Another thing to consider is that they usually offer a deal a few days into the cruise. I paid $99 for 150 minutes a few days into my 10 day cruise last fall.

 

Be aware that it can be slow, and the sign in and out process can take a few minutes. But may be enough if you are just checking in on the kids once a day!

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

Damn auto correct! That should be most "bad-ass" looking!!!

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

I had a stick when we did the trike tour in November. The left foot pedal is the clutch, the right is the brakes, and the throttle is the right hand grip as usual. So you shift with your left hand. It took a few minutes to get used to, but after that it was fine. The other two couples with us had automatics. But I thought the red one we had was the most same-sex looking!

 

It was a blast, by the way!

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

Yes, we were trying to exchange our Canadian pesos and there was some computer glitch. Butler and steward were the only staff specifically listed.

 

I actually went WAY over my OBC limit but I'm pretty sure the option is there regardless. It is a charge you are putting on your account, not cash you are withdrawing.

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

The butler and cabin steward can be tipped from your OBC. Not sure why only them, but we did it on our ABC islands cruise last month.

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

Post cruise update: After 3 days, they reduced the price for unlimited access from $299 USD to $199, and also offered a package of 250 minutes for $99, which I signed up for. You spend a lot of time logging in and out, but I was able to check in on the spawn.

 

The connection speed was not great, but fine for email. Do not plan to send big files or stream movies though!

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

OK, 5 minutes may be a slight exaggeration, but it is certainly a lot longer process than on land. I had everything bookmarked as well. It made logging in to check on the kids a tedious process, but not the end of the world. Just don't expect to pick up your device and check your mail in 10 seconds like at home.

 

And the minutes start counting as soon as you hit connect. You will be surprised how fast they go. I was using at least 20 per day checking emails 2-3 times with a few short responses. Don't plan on streaming a movie or doing any work. But you are on vacation, so hopefully that's not a big deal!

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

The price on my recent Dutch Antilles 10 nighter was $299 USD, which I thought was ridiculous. I went to the iLounge on the 3rd day, and they told me a special would come out soon. Sure enough, the next day it was $199 unlimited for the balance of the cruise, or $99 for a package of 250 mins, which is what I chose.

 

Be warned, it takes about 5 minutes to sign on each time. Can be a little frustrating!

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

Thank you all for the input. I am hoping we see the takeover that Luvcrusn had. I can get a good deal from my cell provider while in the islands, but there is a lot of time at sea where I will not be able to connect. Thanks again!

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

We are heading your for 10 days on Infinity next week, leaving our two kids at home. I'd like to be able to check in on them periodically, but I cannot get my head around $375 (Canadian) for a few emails! On NCL there were packages of minutes available for sale, but I only see the unlimited with Celebrity. Are there really no other options?

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

I could not find an answer to this anywhere, so apologies if I missed it! I am trying to save myself a trip to the bank to exchange a bunch of my Canadian pesos into USD, and also to avoid carrying a lot of cash around. (I have several shore excursions booked that require cash payment). Can I pre-buy onboard credit on my credit card, and draw US cash against it from guest services? Is there a limit perhaps?

 

Being able to have the credit return to my credit card is an added bonus! Thanks in advance for your help.

Pardon my ignorance, first Celebrity cruise coming up in a Sky suite. We have a beverage package (currently Classic, likely to upgrade). Can we order bar drinks in Luminae with meals? Or is it just wine with dinner? I understand room service beverages are not included...

 

 

Sent from my K010 using Tapatalk

I am booked on the Infinity for a 10 day Dutch Antilles cruise on Oct 27 2016. There is now a 13 day Dutch Antilles cruise and Ft. Lauderdale stay leaving on Oct 24! I'm assuming it is the same cruise departing on the 27th with a couple of night in FT Lauderdale first (I hope!) but some people are in for a surprise!

We were on a the Dawn in February, and none of the Olympics were broadcast (that we could find). However, we DID spend a fabulous day at Maya Chan, watching Canada beat Norway. It was certainly the first time I ever spent intermission drinking a Pina Colada while floating in the Caribbean! :cool:

We were on the Feb 9 sailing on the Dawn, in a 2 bedroom family suite (SC). We absolutely loved it! Embarking took about 10 minutes, and we were escorted to Cagney's for lunch. We had been in the same suite the year before, so we passed on the offer of an introductory tour after lunch. Patrick was great, much better than the concierge we had the year before. We saw him every day at breakfast in Cagney's, and he always came by to chat. After breakfast, we would meet him in his office and he would escort us straight to the gangway off the ship-no waiting with the great unwashed! ;) He also escorted us right off the ship on the last day, bypassing the line completely. Always with a smile. I think most employees try to gauge just how much interaction the passengers want, and react accordingly. We were recognized by most of the waiters, especially in Cagney's (possibly because my teenage son ate two breakfasts there some days!)

 

We got the UDP this time, and as a result never ate at any of the "free" restaurants. Honestly, we felt almost like royalty! One night there was a line outside the theater for the comedian Tim Kaminski, and we strolled right up to the front where a butler stood behind a velvet rope beside a sign that said "Private Function". I pulled out the purple keycard, and the rope was pulled back in about 2 seconds! It's good to be king, if only for a week!

 

You will have a great time. If you want anything, just ask. Chances are good you will get it! Have fun!

Before our first cruise last year, we changed our credit card to a VISA Preferred with all the travel insurance included; coming from Canada in the winter, we have to worry about getting to the cruise pier

 

The card costs about $125/year, but we collect points that more than cover the cost. A great deal, especially when you consider it covers the flight as well as the cruise.