RizMerch

Thanks, that was great.

I'm still looking for an answer for the last part of my question.

I'm not sure exactly what to take with me when I go for excursions.

Couple questions I just thought of days before the cruise.

Wifi - What's the status of WiFi on the ship. I might have to work, so it would help to have WiFi to work during downtimes or at night.

Iron - Are we able to iron clothes?Some one told me that there is no place to iron your clothes on the ship.

Safe - Is there any place I can put my passport and what not in a safe?

What to take with me - Where do I keep essentials with me when I go on excursions. Let's say I'm going snorkeling, where would I put my money...actually, I guess follow up question would be, what do I take other than money. Do I take my passport? License? Any sort of paperwork?

Some have said they wore a small pouch around their waste, but I don't see that working when you go to swim..

Thanks,

Thanks for the great answers.

What about getting on the ship? What can I expect? Is there something I should be aware of? Things to avoid?

Also, when we go on excursions, what are some things you'd recommend to take? And what we take, where do we keep it when we go snorkeling and what not?

I know these questions are probably extremely basic, but I'm just confused since it's my first time :)

Hey everyone!

With my wife and me going on our first cruise, I had a few questions that I thought I should ask.

Any help is appreciated.

- Food - How does food normally work? Are we given timings within which food is served (breakfast lunch dinner)? Is it normally buffet or do we have to order? Is it free? Do we ever have to pay for food?

- Sports - I read somewhere that there is an area to play basketball, tennis etc. What are these areas like? Should I take some clothes in hopes of playing some basketball and tennis?

- On Sea days and/or at night after out port of calls what's there to do on the ship?

To be honest, I just don't know what to expect.

I couldn't edit my post. I quickly checked online and it seems that our cabin all the way at the back of the ship. Is this good or bad?

Correction to the above post it should say Days 2 and 3 have a nW to SE track , not days 1 and 2

 

NB:- there will be more sun in the afternoon on the starboard side on days 2 and 3

 

This might make a difference to your choice if you enjoy lies-in on sea days

 

Also, do you want the sun on the last sea day on the run home? if so Starboard it is

 

 

Pete

Hey Pete..

I just got my cabin number (departing November 30th).

It is 11293. I asked if it could be changed if I found it to be inconvenient and they said that they're all sold out for that category.

Is the balcony size good on this? What's your thoughts on the cabin?

Thanks for your help, this is my first cruise.

Oh ok. Thanks for the info. I had no idea but figured it was another cruise ship. I remember some talk (I thought) about RCL renting out their island to someone or something like that, but didn't realize NCL was doing the same thing. Good to know.

 

 

 

There's really nothing to book. You will tender to the island from your ship and you can just hang out at the beach, play games (if they do that like NCL does), snorkel right from the beach (I think I heard someone mention they might have a stingray place there now, but can't comment on it since they did not have it when we were there) and then they have a giant water slide.

 

You could probably check with your cruise line the excursions they offer while they are there (like if you wanted to do the stingray swim, jet ski, para-sailing, cabana rental). Otherwise, it's just a beautiful day at the beach in the beautiful blue water. :D They do also have floatie mats that you can rent there too.

Thanks for the information.

Is snorkeling equipment available for rent there?

COZUMEL, MEXICO

DOLPHIN SWIM AT CHANKANAAB

 

 

 

We booked our dolphin encounter (had to do the encounter because of our little one and at her age, that’s all she was allowed to do) months in advance. They require full payment at the time of booking. If you book more than 30 days (I think), then you are offered a discount. Woo hoo. I’m all for saving money.

 

When we first arrived here, we checked in. They told us to enjoy our day and come back at 1:20 for our 1:30pm swim. So off we went to Chankanaab for activities (as reported above).

 

When we returned (1:15pm) and went to sign in, they informed us that our excursion had actually started at 1pm and we were late. Um, they told me to be there at 1:20. ??? But it was ok, they just told us to catch up to them standing there on the dock being briefed on what was about to happen.

 

They provide free lockers; just insert stuff, key is already in them and you lock it and take the key with you.

 

WARNING…the wooden deck IS VERY VERY HOT! It was burning our feet (those of us that did not wear water shoes…which happen to be me and my daughter). They fitted us for our life vest and then took family by family to have their pictures taken on a chair nearby. I was busy running back and forth to any spot of shade I could stand on. Did I mention just how burning hot the deck was??? Ugh.

 

Finally they briefed us on the particular dolphin we would be working with. Her name was Foxy. She has had 5 babies since she has been with them, 1 that was in the tank with her at the time. He was not trained yet so we were instructed to try to resist touching him (even though he was trying like crazy to get our attention and swimming right up to us and setting there hoping for a little loving lol).

 

The trainer had the Foxy do several things on her own, swimming by us so that we could touch her back and then her belly. So neat and rubbery. Hehe Then they went back and forth letting everyone take turns getting to “kiss” her, then she would in turn “kiss” us. Then we would shake hands/flippers, then hold our left hand (to my husband “no, your other left hand” LOL) and she would come up out of the water and touch it with her nose. My daughter squealed with laugher the entire time and couldn’t stop smiling. What a treat. I knew she was going to love this and worth every penny we spent!

 

 

Then Foxy did several tricks, waving to us and she went by, zoomed by us so fast splashing us, then a few jumps high in the air. She “talked” to us by her little blow hole squealing. Smiled at us showing us her teeth. A lot of neat little things.

 

 

We spent about an hour in there with her and then they informed us that our “tour” was not over yet. Um what? They paraded us around all the tanks of dolphins and over to the manatee tank. Wow, really? They were letting us do the manatee as well? GREAT! I was kicking myself at this point because half way through the dolphin encounter, my battery died. GACK! So, when I found out there was more, I RAN to the lockers to get my other battery. By the time I got back, they were already in the water and I had missed it, but did manage to get some pictures of my husband and daughter in there with them, but just none of her feeding the manatee.

 

 

We went back to see the pictures on their computer screen. The people that are at the desk doing the pictures and putting together the disc are not the photographers. The photographers are out there just snapping pictures and then it is brought to the desk for you to view. ALL OF THE PHOTOS the photographer took are on the computer of the entire group. They are not using just one disk for each family or anything.

 

So, when you go up to the desk, they are looking at all of the pictures and check marking which ones you are in (even if others are in the pictures)...anything that has you in it to offer it to you. They took around 89, I think, of us, some were just us, others were us in a group of people around us...but they offer all. For a group on 3 people (like us) it was $139 for the cd of ALL pictures.

 

Just thought I'd give a little info on it after our return. I do photography on the side here and there, and I didn't think the quality of the shots were worth $139, so we decided not to purchase them. :)

 

So, I’ve decided that my husband not only sucks at taking pictures, but also at videos as well. The pictures he got of me on the video did not turn out too well with water spots on it and sun glare. LOL But, we still have the videos and a few pictures I took from the video along with our memories of the dolphin swim. That’s good enough for us.

 

Definitely had a blast.

 

Additional pictures:

 

Hey,

Thanks for the great review.

My wife and I are going to be in Cozumel and I just had a couple quick questions regarding Chank.

Would you recommend the dolphin swim for my wife and I? If so, where do I book this?

Also, I know you mentioned to just snorkle on your own since it serves the same purpose. If I do, where do I put my stuff while we're snorkling?

Thanks for your help - this is my first cruise.

I'm confused. What is the MSC Divina? Is that a cruise ship? If so, you can't book this as an excursion. This is NCL's private island that they take their passengers too. It's not an excursion. :)

As the last poster mentioned, NCL is renting out GSC to MSC.

This is the ship I will be on:

http://www.msccruisesusa.com/us_en/Cruise-Departures/Cruise-Details-MSC-Divina-Rates.aspx?cruise_id=DI20131130MIAMIA&ship_code=DI

My main question is, should I even bother booking an excursion through NCL for GSC? Or is it best to not book anything just explore/relax on the island?

Thanks,

GREAT STIRRUP CAY:

 

 

I loved the look of GSC and the tendering area they have made is beautiful. The entrance is very nice and tendering was easy as can be.

We found a spot to the right at the beach area after walking in and pretty much stayed there most of the day (other than a little shopping and over to the food area for lunch). I couldn’t wait to get into the water and start snorkeling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The water was cold that day, but the weather was sunny and very nice out. So, I wasn’t about to let a little cold water keep me away. After getting in, you got use to it.

 

 

Before we did venture into the water we were kind of walking up and down the beach area and we saw several sting rays swimming around. They were exploring everyone around them. I ran back to our beach chairs to grab my camera and of course, my luck, they were gone and we didn’t see them the rest of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

I have to say I was very amazed at the amount of fish and snorkeling to be done here. I wasn’t expecting much and figured it was mostly a sandy bottom type area. There seem to be a little of everything there from just sandy areas in the water to sea grass, to rocks with plenty of fish. You could swim really far out (going toward the huge rocks that stick up out of the water) and it was still fairly shallow (where you could still touch the bottom in most places). Most of the fish were out that way (or at least more of a variety of them). You will find coral here, anemones, sea urchins, sea worms and tons of fish. Just make sure you are looking under some of the huge rocks out there and in the nooks and crannies and you’ll find things most people don’t see. I didn’t swim all the way to the huge rocks but spoke with another couple on the ship that did and said they ran into a 4 foot barracuda out there.

 

 

 

At one point I went out toward the rocks and then decided to swim diagonal across toward the other side to see if there was anything different in that area. I found several different “things” (not sure what they were remains of) but they were like bars/metal and to my surprise, I seen my first Lion Fish under one of them. It was the first time that I’ve ever encountered one and I was completely thrilled!!!

 

 

 

 

 

We did see people parasailing there as well. It looked like fun.

 

 

We went over for the lunch buffet and the lines were long. We stood in line for probably about 20 minutes before making it to the food…which was VERY good. Then when I made it to the end of the line, I THEN noticed that the food started over. Geesh, I stood in this long line, like others, when they had several different places to get the same food and it repeated. (Putting hand up to forehead and banging it about that time). So hint…don’t just get in the line at the beginning of the tables.

They have a huge covered area that you can sit at or you can opt to sit at the tables out in the sun. There was a lot of room.

 

 

 

 

 

My little one had decided that she wanted to try the hippo slide and had been begging all day long to go. So we went over to investigate. We ask the rep there if it was ok for her to go down or if there was an age or height regulation. He told us anyone could go down. He ask if we wanted to do just 1 slide for $4.99 or if we wanted to buy the all-day pass for $20. The thing is huge. We talked him into letting my husband go down with her (free of charge) just to make sure she would be ok. Then we talked him into holding off on the charge and if she liked it and could do it by herself then we would pay the $20. If not, then we would pay the on time rate. He agreed and let them go. She was able to climb it by herself and they slid down together. At a certain point almost toward the curve at the bottom they went a little sideways and it seemed as though they hit an area that brought them up a little. Not air borne but you could tell it was different. You could also tell by BOTH of their faces that it kinda freaked them out. So, that pretty much made up my mind that it would be her only time of trying it out. I don’t think I would trust her going alone on it.

 

 

 

 

 

The beach does have a lot of rocks/pebbles in the sand, so it’s a good idea to wear sandals or water shoes if you want to go easy on the feet. I’ve always ran around bare-footed since I was a kid, so it didn’t bother me but it did my husband. You could see the staff working hard at raking up the rocks and hauling them away during the day.

 

 

 

We did a little shopping at the stores before getting back on the tender and was able to barter with one of them on a dress for my daughter and a tee for me so I was happy.

 

 

I really didn’t explore around like I thought I would. I seem to get wrapped up in something exciting and then forgot to wonder off and look around. I didn’t even see where the lazy river was going to be and we didn’t go over past the adult beach either. I’ve seen many reviews about people walking to the lighthouse and I saw the arrow pointing which way it was, but when you are on the ship and you look at the tender area, and then look over to the lighthouse…holy crap it looks really far away. I felt like we’d spend a lot of time just walking there and back. So, we decided not to go.

 

 

 

 

 

The only complaint I would have is they have the chairs so packed that you are basically sitting on top of each other. We were the only ship there that day and it wasn’t too crowded that you had to sit within hand-holding distance with someone in the chair next to you, but still…wow. The beach is huge and they need to spread things out some more or make the beach bigger. I like people, but not so much that they can hear me whisper. LOL

 

 

We had a wonderful day and I hope to make it back again someday. We really enjoyed it and thought it was just beautiful there.

 

 

Link to my other pictures: http://kimbakersphotography.smugmug.com/Other/Great-Stirrup-Cay-Bahamas/22274414_n4mcj7#!i=1779715263&k=bRvb8nx

Hi,

Thanks for the great review.

Would you suggest to book an excursion for Great Stirrup Cay? I'm going on the MSC Divina. If so, where should I book through? NCL directly?

Or is there stuff to do at the island regardless of an excursion?

Thanks,

Pete, my bad. I totally missed post#7.

Thanks for the great info.

GOLDENBONNY - I think you're right. This would be much easier if I had a cabin#.

My original thought was that I would call MSC before they gave the assigned cabin# to Jaunt.ca and see if they can help me out with a good cabin and send it off to Jaunt.ca.

I'm starting to think it might be better to just wait till they give me a cabin# and then call and see what can be done based on what's given.

Would you guys suggest otherwise?

Thanks,

I would be inclined to book a specific cabin number and to that end you need to have the deck plan available when you book , for reference. I would look carefully at the itinerary and see which side the sun would be on when there are sea days.

 

if the ship is sailing west to east on a sea day i'd ask for a starboard cabin, east to west a port cabin, so as to get the sun on the balcony

 

if it is sailing north south or south north then you decide if you want sun in the evening or morning and choose as you prefer.

N to S gets sun on the port side morning and starboard evening, and vis versa. This info is for cruises in the northern hemsphere.

 

Have a look at the deck plan and ask the TA to find out cabins available as you book , you can then look for the proximity of lifts, they can be the source of noise, but equally you may not want to walk to far to get to one.

 

beware of cabins that are next to , or opposite "white " areas on the deck plan as they could also be the source of noise.

 

If you are worried about the motion then lower decks have less and the centre of the ship has less, so on your choices the middle of deck 10 would have the least problems of motion and shadow from the deck 14 overhang.

 

But if it were me I'd try to get on the forward or sternmost hump and get the best field of view, or if there was a stern cabin on deck 10 or 11 available I get one of those , but you might find the noise of the wash disturbing and they are prone to more motion than other cabins

 

The other choice to be made is 1st or 2nd sitting dinner,.

 

Some find the first sitting too early and others find the 2nd sitting a bit late, 1st sitting starts usally between 18:00 and 18:30 and second sitting between 20:00 and 20:30.

 

Hope this is the sort of info you were expecting

 

Have a great cruise

 

 

Pete

That's some great info Pete!

I'm going to give them a call today.

With regards to balcony size, do I have anything to worry about considering I have a category 10/11/12 booked and all the concerns you mentioned previously were for Category 5/6. If I should be concerned, then it'd be great if you could let me know what to ask for when calling MSC/Jaunt. If all 10/11/12 category have the same balcony sizes and there's no concerns then that's great!

Thanks for all your help.

*Just copy pasting my last post in case you missed it* If theres anything I need to request based on my category, I'm looking to call MSC/Jaunt today to get it settled.

Thanks for the great information bud!

Forgive me for my ignorance, but the smaller balconies that you mentioned (deck 13 category 5, category 6 cabins on the middle hump) seem to be outside of the category I booked. I booked Category 10/11/12.

As I mentioned, I'm extremely new to cruises, so please let me know if I have the wrong train of thought. Based on the fact that I have a completely different Category than the smaller balconies you mentioned, I should have nothing to worry about right? Or do I? The purpose of asking these questions is to ensure that if there is a special request that needs to be made, I can make it to the company booking the cruise for us (Jaunt.ca). I don't want to be stuck with a mini balcony when I've paid quite a bit of money for a regular balcony (the first picture you posted).

Please let me know..

Thanks!

Thanks for the great information bud!:D

Forgive me for my ignorance, but the smaller balconies that you mentioned (deck 13 category 5, category 6 cabins on the middle hump) seem to be outside of the category I booked. I booked Category 10/11/12.

As I mentioned, I'm extremely new to cruises, so please let me know if I have the wrong train of thought. Based on the fact that I have a completely different Category than the smaller balconies you mentioned, I should have nothing to worry about right? Or do I? The purpose of asking these questions is to ensure that if there is a special request that needs to be made, I can make it to the company booking the cruise for us (Jaunt.ca). I don't want to be stuck with a mini balcony when I've paid quite a bit of money for a regular balcony (the first picture you posted).

Please let me know..

Thanks!

Hi Everyone,

I'm finally going on my first cruise on November 30th (MSC Divina - Western Carribean - Departing Miami)! I will be creating a post in the coming days with all my questions as I'm extremely confused/concerned about certain things. Before I get to that, I wanted to just quickly ask a question regarding balcony sizes.

I googled this and came up with a bunch of different posts all over this site, which only made me even more confused.

I booked my cruise at http://jaunt.ca/?_page=cruises&w=6268

I chose: Balcony Category (10/11/12):

Now, when booking there was a section asking if I had any requests. I didn't really put much in. After doing a bit of reading, I read that Balcony sizes vary quite heavily and could be a bit of an issue. I've seen pictures with no room to even sit :00.

I'd appreciate if you guys could help me out here. Do I have anything to worry about with the room category I've chosen (Cabin# will be giving much later). Is it necessary for me to make a specific request? Is there anything else other than Balcony sizes that would be concerning with the category i've chosen?

Thanks in advance. Like I mentioned, I will be posting something else in the coming days, for the time being I just wanted to get this concern out of the way.