misshfitz

We are just back from HMC on the Ecstasy. The bartenders don't stop at each cabana but they do go up and down the beach. The cabanas are at the back of the beach so it might not be easy to flag one down. Honestly, it takes a while for them to go back to the bar and bring your drink. We just went and got our own, it was faster and that way it wasn't all melted when we got it. I don't like paying $10 for melted drinks ;) and they melt fast in that blazing sun! If you tip heavy at the beginning of the day, you might get someone who will stop by and check on you frequently.

Just back from HMC. Not a lot of shade. The cabanas take up most of it, and the rest is full of tree roots. You can rent a clam shell for shade but they are snatched up FAST! Be off the ship ASAP in the morning or you will miss out. We did the stingray excursion first thing and by the time we made it to the beach at 1030-ish all the clam shells were gone :( Chairs are free, you bring your blue beach towels from the ship. The beach closest to the entrance has the spray park for kids, in the middle has the big pirate bar. There is also a couple smaller bars throughout. You can go down to the end of the beach and still be not far from the bar or lunch.

Carnival offers a walking tour, horseback riding or stingrays. We did the stingrays, it is only $30 per person. 99% of people go to HMC for the beach. It is the most beautiful beach most of us will ever see.

The walk is very doable even with kids. It is safe as well, you will see lots of tourists walking the same way. The beach is very calm and no vendors allowed.

We were just at the Melia 2 weeks ago. Didn't enjoy it. We paid 130 for the four of us. 3 adults and 1 child. The lunch was a buffet in a open air restaurant. It had hot dogs, salads, chicken, fruit and a couple desserts. We had lunch 15 minutes after it opened and all the food was crawling with flies already. Didn't feel like it was safe to eat much. Tried some salad and it tasted off. The beach was littered with cigarette butts, my 6 year old couldn't play in the sand except down by the water. She was digging up too many "treasures" in the soft sand. :( I thought for a large resort, they would rake the beach but I guess not. I also assumed that there would be no beach vendors. WRONG. All day long we were bothered every 3-5 minutes for coconuts, scarves, cigars and hair braiding. They weren't aggressive but kept coming back over and over again. Melia is also way down at the tip of the city, about 20 minutes by Taxi which was $20 each way. It was very, very windy there we left early because of it. When we boarded the ship, we could see the beach at British Colonial Hilton. There was no wind there and the water was calm. We will go there next time for sure.

Thanks for this review! We wanted to go to the Tiki but was worried about the glass on the beach that other cruisers mentioned. We went to Melia instead and spent 130 for the four of us. The beach at Melia was littered with trash and lots of cigarette butts :( Next time we will walk to Tiki!

Our cabbie 2 weeks ago said it was going to be a new property owned by the same corporation. It doesn't affect the BCH beach or property during construction but is kind of an eyesore if walking by.

We just got off the Ecstasy April 25. Camp Ocean was open the first night until 830pm for registration only. From 830-10pm they had activities. After 10pm was night owls. We didn't use night owls that night because my 6 year old wanted to come to the show with us. Night Owls was 6.75 per hour per child with 20% tip automatically added.

We just got off the Ecstasy on Monday. I am surprised your kids didn't like Camp Ocean. My 6 year old loved it and my 15 year old made a lot of friends in Club o2. Given your past vacations and what resorts you have been to, I would have not chosen the Ecstasy. The magic or breeze or Royal Caribbean would have been a better fit most likely.

Thanks for the info! We did look at the schedules. That is good to know about the cab line, we may just cab it if we won't have to wait as long as we thought.

We are leaving in a week on the Ecstasy. We are considering taking the NASH express bus from the airport to downtown Charleston and then taking the DASH trolley to the cruise port. I can not find any info ANYWHERE if it is possible to WALK up to the port. On maps I don't see a walk in entrance anywhere.

Does anyone who has been through this port know where we could enter the port on foot to drop off our luggage and take the shuttle to the terminal?

P.S. We are considering this option of transport because we won't have a rental and shuttle quoted us $200 roundtrip. Worried that if we taxi we will run into extra charges for waiting in line.

August is the warmest month of the year for Seattle. That being said, it could be anywhere from 60 to 95 degrees. Today it is 60 and raining and last week we were at 97.

I would pack at least some lighter pants/shorts if you are planning to be in Seattle pre/post cruise. Rain is always a possibility so pack some type of light hooded jacket and shoes other than sandals. Packing a mix of heavier and lighter pieces will ensure you won't be freezing or miserably hot the entire time.