Karma_ Posted February 23, 2016 #26 Share Posted February 23, 2016 so to confirm if we arrive at port at 9ish we should have a good chance at first boarding group even if we reserved 1130 online>? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorp646 Posted February 24, 2016 #27 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Nice review so far! Thanks :) Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostongal965 Posted February 24, 2016 #28 Share Posted February 24, 2016 That's funny! It was advertised all over the ship... you know how they have tables set up when you first board so you can make your dinner reservations for the week... there were "framed photos" of prime rib advertising O'Sheehan's for night one so we were really surprised when we were told "nope, new menu, we don't do it on the first night now". Am curious what the "correct" answer is! Thanks for sharing a little insight :) We were on this cruise, too...so weird - my husband and I ATE the prime rib in O'Sheehans on the first night...no problems getting it at all. It was good, too (we felt that NCL really stepped up their game with the food - it was very good, in our opinion). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 24, 2016 Author #29 Share Posted February 24, 2016 so to confirm if we arrive at port at 9ish we should have a good chance at first boarding group even if we reserved 1130 online>? Yes. However, There is a mess of passengers getting off the ship at that time and when I was leaving the ship at 9:20 for disembarkation they were not checking the new passengers in yet. But 9ish should get you in boarding group one. When I asked other passengers with Group 1 they said they were there about 9:20. 10 minuets later got me Group 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 24, 2016 Author #30 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 24, 2016 Author #31 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Good news. I figured out how to get photos on CC and what could be better than a daily. They also have daily activities for families and kids in the afternoon and evenings. Ocho Rios (9-5). I've been there before and have gone to Dunns River Falls. I thought that I would hang out on the ship but checked out Trip Advisor and found Peat Taylor tours. We did the white river rafting and the Cool Blue Hole. $60/person. Peat picked us up at the pier and took us first to the tubing which was like a real lazy river for about an hour and then we went to the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is the new #1 attraction in Ocho Rios for good reason! The blue hole is not a ship excursion. You NEED water shoes here. We left the ship at 9:30 and were back by 1:30. Lunch at the buffet and then water slides and down time at vibe and the spa. We couldn't make dinner reservations because we booked the Burn the Floor show at 7:30 and any reservation came up with conflict error. So we went to O'Sheehans (no prime rib that night). I was able to get Bass Ale and Fish and Chips. Tried the wings. I thought I would like this place more than I did. "Burn the Floor" was great. We loved it, the kids loved it and Grandpa LOVED it! The live music in the show was great. DO NOT MISS. From previous reviews I thought they would have the "all you can stuff in one laundry bag for $19.95" on day 3. However, it was the morning of day 4 (Wednesday) and you get your laundry back by Friday the latest. I got mine back the next day. We basically hung out in swim suits most of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 24, 2016 Author #32 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 24, 2016 Author #33 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Grand Cayman (8 AM - 4 PM). Tender. You "need" tender tickets/reservations. You book them in the entertainment section. If you leave early enough there is no need to get the reservation...but you will anyway. Breakfast in Taste. 1 hour. Off the ship 9:30. 5 min tender ride. My wife wanted to shop for David Yurman jewelry and then saw the Bamboo clothes she heard so much about in the shopping talk. They really do a nice job selling you on the shopping. Now that the wife is happy we can go get some wave-runners. 7 mile beach....but where on Seven Mile Beach?! Thats what I needed to know. So I read that it is a $4 cab ride....$4/person and thats to the Private beach clubs where you pay $2 entrance. Very close to the ship and nice. My brother went there and rented a wave-runner for 2 people for half an hour for $100. I asked the cab driver to take us to the public beach. He told us that would be $5/person. 2 minutes more down the same road. Crowded beach where you can rent a chair, get food and do a little snorkeling. Wave-runner rental $50 for half hour.:) We got a ride back in a mini-bus with 22 people at $5/person. We were all going back to the NCL Getaway and a Carnival ship. Illusionarium 5:30. I got there at 5 PM. I had the floor seats and got the 3rd out of 5 rows. Grandpa did not like the bright lights or the steak and shrimp. I liked the magic. I saw the same magicians later that night at fat cats. I liked them better at fat cats. Most people seem to like this show so maybe it is worth a try but it was not sold out at this performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 24, 2016 Author #34 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 24, 2016 Author #35 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Cozumel (11 AM - 7 PM) Best Day EVER! We docked at Puinta Langusta with I think a Carnival ship. Further south at the International Dock there were 2 more Carnival ships and 2 RCCL ships including the Oasis. 6 cruise ships at once. Everyone wanted to get off the ship at the same time and again there were no problems. I've been to Cozumel several times and never thought much of it. Nice beaches, nothing special....until.... .....El Cielo.... I checked Trip Advisor and found El Cielo, the starfish. The photos showed crystal clear water in a pristine setting without crowds. The only way to get there is by boat. I found Deluxe boat rentals online and couldn't have been happier. It was the perfect day. We had a captain and first mate. Drinks, food and solitude. Basically it was the same cost per person as an excursion. Final boarding was at 6:30 PM. We got back at 6 PM. Missed out 5:30 dinner reservations but waited only 5 min to be seated at Tropicana and prime rib! Legally Blond at 10:15. It was a fun show but we were all tired. and now some pictures from El Cielo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 24, 2016 Author #36 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 24, 2016 Author #37 Share Posted February 24, 2016 There she is Pool deck 7:30 AM on the last sea day Vibe Great way to the end the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise-mom Posted February 24, 2016 #38 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Thanks for the dailies and great photos. Really enjoying your review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 25, 2016 Author #39 Share Posted February 25, 2016 [/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 25, 2016 Author #40 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Costa Maya (8 AM - 5 PM) The initial itinerary called for Great Stirrup Cay but due to the Gronk Party boat this was cancelled. We have been to Costa Maya on a Disney cruise and Disney has stopped going to Costa Maya since then. It is beautiful and has an untouched shore line. It was wiped out in a 2007 hurricane and is still being built up. From CC and trip advisor I found Maya Chan. A private beach club where you get your own palapa with chairs, a hammock and a lounge. Great mexican buffet and drinks included. They have kayaks and snorkeling gear and massage. The kids were most excited with the wifi. The NCL Dawn docks at Costa Maya but I don't think that the Getaway does so regularly. However, if you are going to Costa Maya check out Maya Chan. All Aboard was 4:30. Some downtime up on deck, slides and the spa. Dinner at Teppanyaki. We all had a good time and the chef was creative and entertaining. We got to see some new Habachi "tricks". This is a very LOUD restaurant. Good for large groups, you might want to go somewhere else if you would like a quiet dinner for 2. It was my daughters birthday so I ordered a Cake Boss cake before we left. That means that the cake was on board for almost a week.....and it tasted that way. We had the birthday package for her. The room was decorated nicely and it came with a very nice cake that I was unaware of. The ship cake was better than the cake boss cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 25, 2016 Author #41 Share Posted February 25, 2016 [/img] Sunrise Costa Maya [/img] Maya Chan Maya Chan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeymooner15 Posted February 25, 2016 #42 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Did you know great stirrup cay was cancelled before you cruised? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 25, 2016 Author #43 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Did you know great stirrup cay was cancelled before you cruised? Yes we knew back in July Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise-mom Posted February 25, 2016 #44 Share Posted February 25, 2016 It was my daughters birthday so I ordered a Cake Boss cake before we left. That means that the cake was on board for almost a week.....and it tasted that way. We had the birthday package for her. The room was decorated nicely and it came with a very nice cake that I was unaware of. The ship cake was better than the cake boss cake. Glad to hear the cake with the package was good, it's my daughter's birthday halfway through our cruise and I am going to order the birthday package before we sail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 26, 2016 Author #45 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Final sea day People were out getting chairs at 7:30 AM Sunny day but WINDY. Pool deck was packed. They had an ice carving demo on the pool deck. The ropes course was open but they closed the starboard half of the course so there was no zip line or walk the plank. After lunch the wind really kicked up and it became difficult to be outside. There is very little wind on the room balconies, even when the wind is strong up on the sundeck. Signed up for the "cruise next" discount and got a $250 deposit for $125. (Escape) You pick your disembarkation tag/time for the next day. I chose 9:35 and was off by 9:20. Again NO problems. Everything was very smooth. You have the choice of bringing you all of your luggage off with you or you can leave you bags outside of your room by 11 PM - Midnight. Very convenient. Breakfast for us was at the buffet. You can eat at taste or savor but they close by about 8:30-9. All passengers are expected to be out of their cabins by 9 AM on the final day. Very easy getting your luggage and getting a cab. We took a shared taxi to Miami Airport for $30 for 4 ppl. I hope that I was able to pay it forward. I really enjoyed reading others experiences before my cruise. The live music/entertainment was one of my highlights. I was impressed that they had a Friday night service. The worst part of the NCL cruise for me was the pre-cruise/reservation department. Different agents would give different answers to the same questions. When you look at the CC it appears that EVERYBODY is out for the Vibe passes. This is not so. Only a small percent of the guests actually read CC, it seems like a lot but it really isn't. Also not all of those that board early are interested in the vibe passes. Having said, that I couldn't really start my vacation until I knew one way or the other that I had the vibe pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drneal Posted February 29, 2016 Author #46 Share Posted February 29, 2016 check out Peat Taylor tours in Ocho Rios We did the tube/raft and the Blue Hole http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147312-d780599-r351596039-Peat_Taylor_Tours-Ocho_Rios_Saint_Ann_Parish_Jamaica.html#REVIEWS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser81!* Posted April 11, 2016 #47 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Can you tell me more about Maya Chan? Did you snorkel? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seminole1975 Posted April 13, 2016 #48 Share Posted April 13, 2016 We cruise in May. Really enjoyed your review. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suebbbhoney Posted April 14, 2016 #49 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Thanks for the review! We leave right after school gets out and are debating on Vibe passes. Did you think it was worth it or was it too windy? Good to know you enjoyed one of my favorite places, Maya Chan :D. I can't wait to go back! How did you post your pictures? (mine always fail) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicsoccer Posted April 14, 2016 #50 Share Posted April 14, 2016 What did you think of the Hilton Miami Airport? How was the pool? Food options nearby? THanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now