Slopoke15

I have not been on NCL so cannot comment on the ship. I have not been on Harmony, but have sailed on Oasis and Allure several times. Those ships are the same class as Harmony, with Harmony being the newer version with a few differences. Your kids will love Harmony. There is tons for kids to do on board, and RCCL does have a very good kids program, with supervised kids only areas.

With respect to sailing from/to New York ... I have sailed out of Bayonne on board Anthem of the Seas (granted it was a January) and the seas were indeed very rough leaving the port, and returning. Sometimes that can just be luck of the draw based on weather though.

If it was up to me, I would go with Harmony

yes, thank you ... I was asking about St. Nicholas on my roll call just a few days ago ... will be in Barbados Nov 25th

36 minutes ago, eurodl said:

Since this is a TA cruise we will have several sea days and I'm sure the network will be used heavily.  As long as my DH can check emails for business we can download movies.  Sounds like it might be slow but possible.  Can you purchase once on the ship or do you have to purchase ahead of time?

as others have said ... internet connection can vary from ship to ship ... and certainly based on traffic ... in your case, there is one other thing ... since it is a TA, you will be out in the middle of nowhere for a while ... so sometimes the satellite internet connections can be even more unpredictable than when sailing along a coastline ... I would also say the internet cafe might not be the most pleasant option .... you have to buy minutes, and often you just watch the minutes burn away while your computer "thinks" about connecting .... at least with an unlimited package you don't have to worry about running out of minutes

I have done one TA with 8 sea days, and had an unlimited internet package ... service was inconsistent, but adequate ... would have been unhappy if I had to pay by the minute though

sorry can't help you with a direct comparison. However, I have sailed both Coral and Star. In fact, sailed Star to Hawaii in January, 2018 out of LA. I did not have much issue with crowding, except if you were trying the buffet at peak times, which is usually an issue no matter what ship you are on. The Star has a Skywalkers Nightclub on deck 17. It is quite nice. Located in an out of the way spot, so you need to find it as you are unlikely to just "bump" into it by accident. On our sailing, the Skywalker is where they had 2 for 1 drink specials before dinner ... go early as that gets crowded. I went to the Nightclub in the evening too, but not many others did. I was not impressed with their selection of music by the DJ, as the demographic on the ship was more "mature" and the music they were blasting was new stuff that simply didn't fit the audience ... so the dance floor was empty

Yes...

thanks ... good to know :)

There is a sauna in the men´s / women´s locker rooms which is free of charge.

 

The steam room and aroma bath in Persian Garden are fre for guests booked in AQ and can be used for a charge by others.

so ... does this mean the steam room and aroma bath in the persian gardens area are co-ed?

We first visited Tijon Perfumery while on a ship excursion. We liked the people that ran the place, so we scheduled "Make Your Own Perfume" class the next time we cruises to St Martin. The "Make Your Own Perfume" class was not a ship excursion, but all the taxis know where the perfumery is. We didn't have any trouble. Just be sure to schedule the class before hand.

Thanks very much

Best thing we ever did on St Maarten was make our own perfume at Tijon Perfumery. Great folks and very fun excursion !

 

The perfume shop/factory didn't suffer much damage from hurricane Irma (other than some looting), but the owner's home was completely destroyed. So ... if you want to do the perfumery tour or make you own perfumes, contact John at Tijon first ! They may or may not be able to accommodate your group.

 

-- Don

I would be interested to know if that was a ship excursion or did you arrange it privately?

nice ... think I gained a pound or two just looking at the photos ... :)

Thanks for your post. Happy to hear it. I will be joining you on board on the 19th

Do you need to buy a spa package to use them?

No, at least not the two times I have been on board. For the guys, the sauna is in the men's change room in the fitness centre. Can't speak to the ladies since I haven't been in there. :)

... I may go with Native Choice to the ruins in Costa Maya this time.

Native Choice was the independent tour I took in CM as well. Really well done.

We will be on the Magic next year. We have 4 excursions, but will only get off the ship for 3 of them.

 

We (3 families with 2 kids) want to do the Mayan Ruins.

 

Which port would you get off the ship? Belize or Costa Maya for the ruins? And why? We won't do any beach.

 

Thank you for your help!

C

not sure how old the two kids are, but my first suggestion is to check further into the available excursions to see how long the travel time is (each way) to each of the ruins. For example, does one excursion involve a one hour bus ride, versus another that is 2+ hours each way? From that, you can determine whether or not the youngsters will enjoy being stuck on a bus that long. :) Just a starting point. I did an independent tour of the Mayan ruins (Chacchoben) near Costa Maya and really enjoyed it. Have not done the ruins near Belize, so cannot comment for comparison.

I am on a Celebrity cruise where arrival at one port is 2 PM.

 

Shore excursions for this port say they depart at 1:30 Pm and 1:45 PM, before the ship arrives.

 

All other ports have the shore excursions departing after the ship arrives.

 

Anyone else ever encountered this type problem?

 

When I called Celebrity to ask about the discrepancy in timing I was told to book it now and ask on board about it 11 months from now.

I have yet to encounter that issue, however, sounds to me like a disconnect between reality, and the web site offering the excursions. If it was me, I would not book it now, since they will want you to pay for it now. I'd prefer to get a proper answer about the discrepancy before booking. Might just be me though :)

We will be in Aruba in March and all I'd like to do is hike around Arikok National Park for the day. I am trying to figure out the best way to get there and especially back! If we take a taxi, can we get a cab back? I am worried about being stuck in the park with no way to get back to the ship. I emailed the park to find out if they would be able to get a taxi for us but I got a "form response" back that didn't really help!

 

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Would love to hear how you handled the transportation to Arikok and back, as well as comments on your hiking in the park. I am planning to do the same thing in February. On our cruise, Aruba is an overnight stop, so on the first day there I will have lots of time. I'm not overly interested in booking one of the other tours as I want to take my time hiking in Arikok and seeing the things I want to see. What did you like at the park, and what did you not like?

Costa Maya is way too far south, though there maybe other ruins to visit there.

I believe the OP has port stops in both Cozumel and Costa Maya, and they are considering one tour to some Mayan ruins between the two stops. I realize that the ruins available from Cozumel might be more extensive, but I suggested checking out the Chacchoben ruins out of Costa Maya because the ruins are only about 45 minutes to an hour from the port, and there is no ferry ride to get to port. I also suggested The Native Choice because their web reviews are very good, and the tour I went on was very well done. Price of the private tour was about half the cost of the ship tour, and we were back to the port area in plenty of time. In fact, when our tour was done, and we were about to board our air conditioned bus back to port (around noon), the RCI tour was just arriving in the parking lot.

I also note the OP mentioned this being a family excursion ... so depending on the number of people, and the ages, the long travel times, and lengthy tours might be a bit much. Not to mention that infamous ferry ride from/to Cozumel :)

So.. our family is trying to choose ONE excursion only between the ports of Cozumel, Mexico and Costa Maya, Mexico.

 

Our main goal is to explore and visit the Mayan ruins!

 

After lots of searching, we found three major spots that could be visited: Tulum Ruins, Coba Ruins, and Chichen Itza. We really have never been to any of these places before so we were wondering if anyone that has been there could tell us a bit about each place and the differences and Pros/Cons?

 

Which ruin is the best experience? Most suitable for a family of four? Most worth your money (very important because they are very expensive!!) ?

 

If anyone wants to go even further, it would be a big help if anyone would recommend a Royal Caribbean excursion to these places that they enjoyed!

 

Thanks guys!

if you haven't already, research the Chacchoben ruins from your Costa Maya stop. The ruins may not be as spectacular as some of the ones you mention, but the tour was impressive, informative and might not take as long to get to, and back ... I did the Chacchoben tour using The Native Choice tours and it was very well done ... reasonably priced as well

I have stayed in promenade cabin and had no issues with noise or light.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

same for us ... stayed in a promenade cabin on Liberty and had no issues with light or noise

Hey all! Do I need to make advance reservations with my time dining? Sailing this Saturday (the 3rd) on Independence. Just 2 people dining! I always thought you didn't have to.. but I'm reading reviews that the wait times are very long.

the answer to your question is that you do not need to make reservations for MTD. If you don't, you to to the dining room at the time you want. Depending on the time of evening, that might mean standing in line. If you want to minimize wait time, then I suggest you reserve dining times, but again, if you reserve times during the peak, then you may have to wait in line for a bit.

I have not had to wait for MTD since I always book early times (like 5:45, or 6) because I usually travel with a diabetic, and they prefer to eat sooner rather than later

wow .... an excellent, comprehensive review ... I enjoyed reading it ... very well done

My feelings are the old locks are a more entertaining trip with the narrow passage and the use of the mules.

agreed, along with the history of the canal

Hello..This will be our first Cruise on Princess and we are trying to decide if we should do anytime dining. There will be a total of 10 of us. What is the likelihood of us getting a table for 10 without a long wait? I realize that different times will be busier than others, but wonder if we should just take the late dinner seating instead. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. We will be on the Caribbean Princess.

I think your best bet would be to go with the late seating for a group that large ... if you try the anytime dining for 10, and your dining times change every day I can imagine you will have to stand in line for a while some days waiting for tables to open

Do any of the bars on Oasis of the Seas have food that is included in the cruise price? No big deal but since I've never been on a cruise before was wondering. Not a meal as such, just like an appetizer or snack to go with drinks (probably on drink package). Just looking into different options.

keep in mind that you can grab some food like pizza, sandwiches, burger, hot dog etc from other places and take them to the bar/lounge with you ... just don't make a huge mess :)

My husband is leaning towards Panama Canal at the moment, because he's fascinated with the history in that region and the engineering of the canal, but we both want to make it to the Mediterranean at some point too. It's a hard choice!

I completely understand the attraction of the Panama Canal, as the history and engineering of the original canal were of interest to me as well. However, in my opinion, a cruise of the canal will be easier, and possible after "the little one's" arrive, whereas, a trip to the Mediterranean with kids would be much more difficult :);)

My wife and i have a Promenade View room on Liberty of the Seas sailing over New years. We are very excited, but would love to hear both good and bad from folks who have stayed in these rooms.

 

Thanks in advance!

We stayed in one of those rooms on Liberty out of Galveston. No issue with the room. Wouldn't hesitate to book one again. I agree with the previous response too