robd216
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Posts posted by robd216
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Carnival may have in fact not overbooked the Saona Island Excursion. There are other excursion companies like Seavis who run the same excursion...but for less money. I think the Seavis price is $60 per person. That said, Carnival should guarantee that you get a beach chair if you pay for one... regardless of who got their first.We let our cabin at 9:45, which was the time stated in the fun times to leave the ship, and we're surprised there was no line as we walked off.When we arrived at our bus, 2 minutes before our 10:00am meet up time, the bus was full, waiting for us! That was a first for us, an excursion wanting to leave early!
We booked through Carnival the Sonia Island VIP excursion,,,,
my recommendation is 'DON'T TAKE THIS EXCURSION'!!!
I'm going to vent some here, so you may want to pass this part,,,
$95.pp, and it wasn't worth it!
We started with a 20-25 minute bus ride to Bahibe, where the 40 of us on the bus boarded a speed boat.
Our first stop after about 25 minutes was a sandbar they call a natural pool. There were about 15-18 other boats there as well. The water only came up to your knees, so you're standing in knee deep water for 30-40 minutes being offered rum drinks(I don't drink rum). Some never got off the boat.
Then we got back on the boat, for another 20 minute ride to Sonia Island.
Because our excursion boat arrived last to the island, no one on our boat could get a sun lounger, they were all taken by others who bought this excursion. Carnival had over booked this excursion!
So the 40 of us only could sit in these little white plastic chairs you see at kid's birthday parties. Needless to say most were very unhappy, and more then a few of us told our guide immediately, but what could he do. He did act funny, like amazed we would think a $95. VIP beach excursion 'should include beach loungers'!
Several other things noticed, the beach is mostly rocks as you past knee depth. I saw more then one woman fall and hurt herself on these rocks. There was just no way you could walk into swimming depth water, at least above your waist without passing through this rock area. We spent over an hour traveling by bus and boat, and the best they could do is bring us to a Rock Beach! -((
Another thing was they parked the approximately 18-20 boats that brought the excursions to the island in the area just past that rock area, so to swim around, you had to go between these boats!
The food was tasty, but the rice dish with chopped up lobster in it, also had chopped up lobster shell in it, so after pulling these little bits of shell out of my teeth 3-4 times, I decided not to finish it!
When we got back on the ship, I took a shower, and proceeded down to the excursion desk to complain, and attempt to get refunded.
The counter girl actually argued with me, that Carnival doesn't 'over book' their excursions, which I replied in a volume that could be heard across the atrium, 'what do you call a beach excursion without enough loungers for everyone, I call it over booking'! Shocked, she quietly said, we will get back to you tomorrow after we contact the vendor, which again I told her 'forget the vendor, it's Carnival who over booked, this is Carnival's fault'!
We'll see what happens, but this is one excursion, one port I won't be coming back to. And I will write about this on all my blog sites.
Sorry I went on about that. But it's good for my blood pressure to get it out! -))
We decide to try out the buffet tonight, we're tired from the heat, the frustration of the excursion, the long bus, and boarding rides, we just want a simple small, quiet meal,.
I end up trying 2 types of pizza, one with no cheese, one with no sauce, both were good, but likely better with sauce and cheese together!-)) I walked pass the Sea food shack with my pizza, and saw a guy there with his fish and chips, they looked really good, and I love good fish and chips, so we'll have to try out the Sea food shack during this 2 week b2b cruise.
No show tonight, we actually see some of the theater performers eating in the buffet, so we head back to our cabin after eating to play on our computers, and watch a little TV.
Tomorrow we arrive to Curacao, after noon, so we have plenty of time to get up, have breakfast, etc.
Happy cruising.
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That is awesome! Thank you for posting. We have this exact cabin booked for the 6/16/18 departure.More 9225.If you don't mind, can you send these and any other 9255 cabin shots to me at robd216@gmail.com.
Thanks again!
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Hi...The German tour company that I mentioned 2 posts earlier is Seavis, not Seaview. I really hate my phone's auto correct.
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I highly recommend the swim with the starfish tour by Seaview at La Romana. Truly outstanding and a great value.
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Thank you for the nice review. We are heading out on the Breeze tomorrow. It's going to be a great vacation!
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Awesome review! Looking forward to our 8 day cruise on the Breeze in 2 weeks.
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Been to both a couple of times. The Victor Bidden tour is outstanding and a great deal...highly recommended.
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May 19-June, 2 Weeks on 'VISTA', daily review
in Carnival Cruise Lines
Posted
Do you know if you can buy week-long passes for the thrill theater and IMAX theater? When we sailed on the Breeze, we were able to buy an unlimited pass for the thrill theater which made the cost a lot more reasonable.
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