ana.liza.92

Thanks CMM, Sheraton is not available on our dates, bummer. I saw Dreams and it looked ok and price very reasonable $75 for 2 queen. There's 4 of us so that is perfect and we won't stay ling and just need a bed to sleep. Do you guys think that's a good deal?

We are leaning towards taking a taxi to Megan and coki beach in st. Thomas and same thing with Barbados and maybe do a little sightseeing. Still deciding on tour or taxi in st. Lucia and taking a tour with thenford grey or Royston in st. Kitts and still deciding on st.maarten. the ideas I got from this thread are very informative and really helps me a lot. Thanks y' all and keep it coming!!

Great tips pghsteelerfan, will check it out!

Cbmcruiser, thanks I did see miramar hotel and great reviews. Looks like we can check out from hotel and head to port to check in and go back to osj will be the plan. Great info appreciate it!

Hi thanks, hmg1215 and pghsteelerfan your suggestions are very good. I will definitey put them in my to do list. Casablanca is unfortunatly not available. What hotel suggestion do you have around isla Verde? Where thinking of doing the old downtown san Juan and the two fort. How long do you think it will take? We are arriving at 230 the day before can we do this on the day we arrive or the next day also day of embarkation? Suggestions pls. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I really appreciate all your comments to my inquiries. All your ideas was very helpful. I am again in need of your vast knowledge and interesting insights. Me and my girlfriends (4 of us) are going on a cruise (this is our third cruise with Carnival)in December coming from San Juan Puerto Rico via Carnival Valor for a 7 day cruise of the southern Caribbean with ports visiting St. Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados and St. Thomas. We are flying in to San Juan Puerto Rico 1 day before sailing. Can someone please recommend a good hotel around old downtown San Juan or near port. Also any suggestions that we can do around San Juan for short sightseeing, dinning, and shopping. We also like to visit an old catholic church near downtown if any.

We are checking out of our hotel at noon on embarkation day and would like to do some sightseeing before the cruise, any suggestions where we can leave our luggage? Also any suggestions of things to do in the different ports of call? We are not into snorkeling or swimming with the turtles, we *like to hang out in the beach and have a drink and do some sightseeing and cheap souvenir shopping. This is our first time going to these places. Please give suggestions which destination(s) has the best white sand beaches and which destination is best for exploring the land, vast history and great shopping. Any other suggestions will be very helpful and greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Ana Liza

Hi everyone,

I really appreciate all your comments to my inquiries. All your ideas was very helpful. I am again in need of your vast knowledge and interesting insights. Me and my girlfriends (4 of us) are going on a cruise (this is our third cruise with Carnival)in December coming from San Juan Puerto Rico via Carnival Valor for a 7 day cruise of the southern Caribbean with ports visiting St. Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados and St. Thomas. We are flying in to San Juan Puerto Rico 1 day before sailing. Can someone please recommend a good hotel around old downtown San Juan or near port. Also any suggestions that we can do around San Juan for short sightseeing, dinning, and shopping. We also like to visit an old catholic church near downtown if any.

We are checking out of our hotel at noon on embarkation day and would like to do some sightseeing before the cruise, any suggestions where we can leave our luggage? Also any suggestions of things to do in the different ports of call? We are not into snorkeling or swimming with the turtles, we *like to hang out in the beach and have a drink and do some sightseeing and cheap souvenir shopping. This is our first time going to these places. Please give suggestions which destination(s) has the best white sand beaches and which destination is best for exploring the land, vast history and great shopping. Any other suggestions will be very helpful and greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Ana Liza

Hi serena56, yes the kids had fun as well. The twin 2 yr olds loved the train ride and all the kids loved the beach, but they stayed longer in the swimming pool becausecthe little ones like the pool better. The waves on the beach was not very gentle for the little ones.

Hi everyone,

We had a great time in Key West and Cozumel. I prefer Key West from Cozumel but both places are beautiful. In Key West, we took the conch train. Train stopped twice, first for 15 minutes in a store where you can use the restroom and buy some souvenir, try their key lime pie on a stick! The second stop was about halfway of the trip people have the option to hop off the train and explore and wait for the next train. The train ride was about 1 1/2 hours, it was a great way to explore the island for first timers. You will pass by Hemingway's house, the light house, the southernmost part, etc. I would love to go back to Key West and rent one of those golf carts to explore the island on my own.

In Cozumel, we went to San Francisco beach. Charlie's, San Francisco, Paradise, etc. *are next to each other. There's plenty of umbrella and chairs and snorkeling for rent. The beach was beautiful but not as breathtaking as I imagined it to be. It's not white sand and the sand is course. The water is *green and nice waves for swimming. We did not try snorkeling, because water is not really clear. There are small boats that you can rent if you want to explore the island or snorkel in deep waters. It also has a decent swimming pool. Food and drinks are not so great, and a bit pricey and is not included in the Carnival package. We stayed in the beach for 4 hours and went back to the port.

From the port we took the taxi and explored the downtown area and had dinner in a nice Mexican restaurant called "La Hoza". Food was great and very authentic, we had whole fish grilled and it was sooo delicious. Their house margarita was the bum!

Thank You,

Ana Liza

Thanks so much for all your suggestions, I will keep them in mind. We did cancel our tulum trip coz we arrive in Cozumel in the afternoon therefore not enough time for tulum.

In key west we will definitely try the conch train and if we have time try one of the beach you suggested.

In Cozumel we plan to wing it depending on the time we arrive. For now the plan is to go to maybe paradise beach or an francisco for kids to play and swim and do some shopping before heading back to ship. How much is reasonable for renting a van for at least 6 hrs., is $250 reasonable or not? Where can we go if we rent a van around 2pm to 8 pm? I heard most of Cozumel close at 5.

Appreciate all the info.

Ana

Thanks so much for all your suggestions, I will keep them in mind. We did cancel our tulum trip coz we arrive in Cozumel in the afternoon therefore not enough time for tulum.

In key west we will definitely try the conch train and if we have time try one of the beach you suggested.

In Cozumel we plan to wing it depending on the time we arrive. For now the plan is to go to maybe paradise beach or an francisco for kids to play and swim and do some shopping before heading back to ship. How much is reasonable for renting a van for at least 6 hrs., is $250 reasonable or not? Where can we go if we rent a van around 2pm to 8 pm? I heard most of Cozumel close at 5.

Appreciate all the info.

Ana

Hi travelers,

Me and my girlfriends with our kids (ages 2-15) total 8 in our group are going on a carnival cruise to Key West and Cozumel. I need suggestions please as to excursions we can do with the age group that we have. In Key West (7:30- 4:00 PM) we are thinking of doing the conch tour, any suggestion of a cheap and reliable tour guide? We also want to just lay on the beach and let the kids play and swim, we don't like to party and we don't like crowded places. Any suggestions of a kid friendly beach(free) that we can have lunch by the beach in Key West? We are also up to any other suggestions you may have for activities (6-7 hrs.)

We also would like to explore Cozumel, our ship docks at 1:30 PM-10 PM. We like to try the Tulum mayan ruins and explore the beach below it. Are there any souvenir shops near the Tulum ruins? Are they expensive? We are thinking of renting a Van and a driver ($250 for 6 hrs. for a *party of 8) to take us to Tulum and any nearby beach to swim and have dinner, is that a reasonable price? My other concerns are that we will start in the afternoon and not sure how late Tulum is open and if we have enough time to get there and do some sightseeing and swimming and shopping. Is there any other activities we can do at night that is ideal for the kids? We also would like to try great authentic Mexican cuisine preferably seafood. We like the mom and pop restaurant vibe by the beach and do not care for 5 star treatment.

Also, I have heard that there are a lot of taxi or tour guides in the pier where Carnival docks or by the ferry terminal at Cozumel or Playa Del Carmen that will offer you their services at a much cheaper price than the ones advertised in the internet and we have someone in our party that speaks Spanish but I don't know if this is true and safe. Would anyone recommend that we try that instead?

I apologize for asking too much questions and any suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thank You,

Ana

Hi travelers,

Me and my girlfriends with our kids (ages 2-15) total 8 in our group are going on a carnival cruise to Key West and Cozumel for the first time. I need suggestions please as to excursions we can do with the age group that we have. In Key West (7:30- 4:00 PM) we are thinking of doing the conch tour, any suggestion of a cheap and reliable tour guide? We also want to just lay on the beach and let the kids play and swim, we don't like to party and we don't like crowded places. Any suggestions of a kid friendly beach(free) that we can have lunch by the beach in Key West? We are also up to any other suggestions you may have for activities (6-7 hrs.)

We also would like to explore Cozumel, our ship docks at 1:30 PM-10 PM. We like to try the Tulum mayan ruins and explore the beach below it. Are there any souvenir shops near the Tulum ruins? Are they expensive? We are thinking of renting a Van and a driver ($250 for 6 hrs. for a *party of 8) to take us to Tulum and any nearby beach to swim and have dinner, is that a reasonable price? My other concerns are that we will start in the afternoon and not sure how late Tulum is open and if we have enough time to get there and do some sightseeing and swimming and shopping. Is there any other activities we can do at night that is ideal for the kids? We also would like to try great authentic Mexican cuisine preferably seafood. We like the mom and pop restaurant vibe by the beach and do not care for 5 star treatment.

Also, I have heard that there are a lot of taxi or tour guides in the pier where Carnival docks or by the ferry terminal at Cozumel or Playa Del Carmen that will offer you their services at a much cheaper price than the ones advertised in the internet and we have someone in our party that speaks Spanish but I don't know if this is true and safe. Would anyone recommend that we try that instead?

I apologize for asking too much questions and any suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thank You,

Ana[emoji3]