Hedgeclipperz

I am super curious about this, too! I just got an email myself. 

Good morning, cruise community! 

I am looking into either checking out Pinel Island or Orient Bay Beach

To get to Pinel Island I will either need to take the ferry or do the kayak "excursion" thing with Caribbean Paddling, vs Orient Bay we could take a cab. 

I've never been to St Martin before, and I'd love to hear y'alls thoughts- which is the better experience? Quieter beach/fewer crowds, better water, etc?

Thanks! 

(PS if it makes a difference, it would just be my husband and myself; no kiddos, so not worried about the physical exertion of kayaking.)

Can anyone tell me what they think of the adults only pool area on Reflection? (asking the same question over on Princess boards). 

Is it calm and enjoyable, can you grab a seat easily? 

(I LOVED the adults pool on Disney, but felt like it was totally insane on RCCL!). 

PS:sorry if this gets double posted- I pushed submit then it disappeared, not sure if its my computer glitching or what, LOL!

5 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

since you list food as a consideration - Check out the always available menus in the main dining rooms.  The new york strip and escargots on Celebrity are reliable options for us.  Princess seemed to do mostly roast type red meats.  Ate alot of seafood on Princess which was good.  Specialty restaurant is more affordable on Princess.  Buffet better on Celebrity.  Room service on Celebrity includes delivery from Main Dining Room.

Thank you! Yesterday I DID try to fall down some rabbit holes and look at MDR menus. I am having a harder time finding new (like, post 2017) menus for Princess MDR, for whatever reason. At least what i'm seeing, it looks like Celebrity dinner food might be more adventurous?  Maybe?

Whoops, thank you! I took a quick glance but apparently it was TOO quick, LOL! I'll check those links you posted. 🙂

47 minutes ago, CruisinFinsUp said:

Sky and Caribbean are two different ships - Caribbean is the older "Grand Class" style, Sky is the new "Regal Class" style.   Big difference is the balcony sizes - on Caribbean the decks are tiered outwards (think cake layers bigger on bottom smaller on top) and some balconies are much bigger than others, but all are nice sized, some are covered, some are uncovered and can be viewed from above.   On Sky, most of the balconies are pretty darned narrow, but all are stacked straight up and down, no tiering.   There are some forward and aft that are bigger, but all the ones on the sides are small.    If you choose Sky, and if you care about balcony size, do your research.  

 

Caribbean Princess has more separate pool areas = the main pools are in two separate sections one with the movie screen, one without, plus the other pool areas (Spa pool, aft terrace pool, then the upper deck plunge pool and kiddie play area unique to Caribbean Princess).   

Sky has one main pool area with the movie screen, then the retreat pool which is quieter, but more windy due to location.   Sky has a very small aft pool. 

Okay this is actually REALLY helpful. Pools are important to me- i didn't even think to put this in my original post, so thank you for bringing it up!!! 

So just to clarify, there are two adults only pools on Caribbean (the Terrace Pool and Sanctuary?). Vs Sky has the one (the retreat pool?). SOOO pool wise, the Caribeean sounds like the winner between those two boats, yeah? 

And balcony wise, it sounds like Carribean wins there, too...bigger balcony. Right?

6 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

BTW, did you post the same question on the Princess Board?  Did they say Celebrity was better?)

Yes, I copied and pasted the question on both boards. It's been kinda interesting watching the answers- because (I guess not totally surprisingly) the Celebrity board is voting Celebrity, and the Princess board is voting Princess, LOL! Princess board is particularly of the opinion that Celebrity has an older crowd, and that Princess has more a "relaxed" vibe. 

Here is the link if you want to read along: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2817243-celebrity-vs-princess-for-30-somethings/#comment-62252240

I have a feeling I will just need to try out both at some point! 😁

19 hours ago, Prost Seattle said:

Check out Tips for Travellers website where he has some videos comparing Celebrity and Princess, you may find it helpful. 

oooo thank you! googling that now

22 hours ago, mackjack9139 said:

The gym is great and has yoga and Peloton

Hold the phone...Celebrity has peloton bikes?! 🤩

16 hours ago, bigeagle12 said:

We sail most major cruise lines.  We have cruised Royal Caribbean the most however Princess is our favorite.  We are mid sixties and active and enjoy Princess and Celebrity because there are a lot fewer children.  Princess has more activities geared toward a broader age range.  Celebrity is geared toward an older crowd.  Celebrity is a little more upscale and food quality a little better.  There really are more similarities than differences between all the cruise lines.  Let me know if you have specific questions. 

This is helpful! Thank you! It sounds like maybe I need to poke around activity lists a bit! and maybe menus, too. 

51 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

1. What type of cabin do you plan on sailing in: Inside, Oceanview, Balcony or higher? It makes a difference, especially if you're looking at an Aqua or higher on Celebrity or a Club Class mini-suite or higher on Princess.

 

2. How many cruise days are you looking at, 7-10 days or two weeks or longer? Princess has some very cool longer 3-5 week itineraries whereas on Celebrity they're more into 7-11 day cruises which you can link together. 

I think we will likely be doing a balcony, but not one of the fancy suite classes- out of our budget, TBH. Looking at just a 1-week cruise this time around (traveling with friends). 

What are your thoughts on Celebrity vs Princess for young adults w/o children? (30 year olds)

I've done RCCL and Disney, and would like to try a new cruise line for my next trip. 

GOOD FOOD and SERVICE being my biggest elements on a good cruise! I am not a late night partier (in bed by 10:30 LOL), and I'm not a fan of belly-flop contests by the pool....but also don't want to be the youngest cruiser by 20 years and feel out of place. 

Looking at cruises on the Celebrity Reflection, the Celebrity Sunset, and the Sky Princess and the Caribbean Princess, if that makes a difference. (out of Fort Lauderdale)

Any thoughts would be great! Thanks!  

What are your thoughts on Celebrity vs Princess for young adults w/o children? (30 year olds)

I've done RCCL and Disney, and would like to try a new cruise line for my next trip. 

GOOD FOOD and SERVICE being my biggest elements on a good cruise! I am not a late night partier (in bed by 10:30 LOL), and I'm not a fan of belly-flop contests by the pool....but also don't want to be the youngest cruiser by 20 years and feel out of place. 

Looking at cruises on the Celebrity Reflection, the Celebrity Sunset, and the Sky Princess and the Caribbean Princess, if that makes a difference. (out of Fort Lauderdale)

Any thoughts would be great! Thanks! 

Ditto to using Native Choice! 

Are there any great food tours or cooking classes in the Southern Caribbean? (Barbados, Antigua, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Thomas).

Thanks! 

ACK- Trying to figure out what time to book for a shuttle pickup from Galveston port to IAH. Options for shuttle pickup are either 9am or 1pm. We would rather take the earlier one, IF we can get off the ship on time. Our flight leaves at 5:30pm, and we would feel better getting to the airport earlier rather than later.

SO.... basically, can we get off Liberty in time for a 9am shuttle? Or are we better off with the 1pm?

Please respond ASAP- our cruise leaves next week. Thanks!!!

PS: Shuttle service is Galveston Express

Yes, Connoisseur Club, deck 5, forward, starboard side.

Awesome!!! Thanks so much for your quick reply. :)

Is there still a cigar bar on Liberty? I can't seem to find the info since dry dock. (My husband is an occasional pipe/cigar smoker).

Thanks!

I agree, so many decorated doors look tacky and college-dormish to me. I was hoping to have something to identify our room with, just to make things easier.

Does Royal Caribbean allow tape on their doors? Maybe I will just identify using some old wet-on-wet painting (watercolor) paper....

Don't really want to rain on your parade, but the only magnets we've had stolen were not Disney and had our names/room number/cruise dates on them.

 

I find it's best to put magnets on the outside of the door that I don't mind losing. I can always reprint the picture once home, if I want to include it in my scrapbook.

Really?! That's terrible! :( What a bummer!

Looking for magnets for our cruise door that are NOT Disney themed.

Maybe something which I can personalize with our names? (Less likely to get stolen...theoretically) :)

Thanks!!

ACK! My husband and I cannot decide between Native Choice Tours "Extreme Tour" (Chacchoben + lagoon stop) or their "Mayan Experience Tour" (Chacchoben + Mayan cultural experience).

ANY thoughts would be so fabulous! (Has anyone done both??)

They both look like a blast, and we just can't seem to make up our minds! :)

Went ahead and booked at the Hampton inn. Doesn't look like they have a shuttle to the strand, but they have great reviews on tripadvisor. (And do not require a 2 night minimum in June).

Thanks, all!

Most hotels on the island have shuttles that run you to the port and to the Strand area of town.

Any ideas on which hotels might have a shuttle to the Strand? (If not, no worries! Thought it was worth asking.) :)