RnbwSktles

$US are widely accepted throughout St Maarten, including the taxis and the buses. Just make sure you have smaller bills. If they do need to give you change, it will likely not be in $US, but in local currency (Guilder?)

Thanks!

I hope this gives you what you need Have a great trip. I would for sure adventure out to Mullet Bay - solo or with the group.

Stupid question perhaps, but do the buses (and taxis for that matter) all take American $ or did you have to exchange for local currency?

I think most of us respond to travel questions based on our own travel style. Ideally it would be wonderful to have a week or 2 to spend in Alaska for further exploration, but if you only have 2 days and your priority is to visit Denali, go for it! Just keep in mind the pitfalls and hazards.....road construction, slow tourist traffic, accidents, slick roads from heavy rain or snow showers, limited gas stops, road weary, etc.

 

And be sure to review the DOT web site to learn about road work locations and impacts. http://511.alaska.gov/alaska511/mappingcomponent/index

 

Several years ago I remember someone on tripadvisor who wanted to drive Anc to Denali, take the shuttle to Wonder Lake, then drive back to Anchorage, all in one day! He was bashed for his plan, but he did it. Upon return he said it was an exhausting day but he and his wife were so happy the hadn't missed the opportunity. Certainly not something I would attempt or enjoy, but they were so happy with their decision to go ahead with it.

 

Denali to Fairbanks will be about 2 hrs.

 

Under perfect circumstances it's a 3 hr drive from Seward to Anchorage. And from Anchorage to Denali, 5-6 hrs. For many reasons this 8 or 9 hr drive could become 15hrs. Be mindful of gas station locations. I'm not the only one who hoped they would make it to Cantwell on fumes !

 

As for the shuttle at Denali, even if the weather is rainy and cloudy, go as far as you can go! Don't limit yourself to Mile 15. The scenery and wildlife viewing is there regardless of the weather. I've never had anything but rain at Denali and I loved every minute of the bus trip.

 

Enjoy and be careful! Be sure to post a trip report when you get home!

 

p.s. IMHO Whttier wouldn't be worth the detour, esp with the amount of time it would take.

As for Talkeetna, it's not a place I would visit unless I was flightseeing but some folks love it. Maybe on a sunny day it's picturesque but I've only seen it in rain and gloom. Be aware that it's not a quick exit off the hwy; more like a 30 minute detour.

Thank you for acknowledging that there are different travel styles and that mine is not the norm!

Not for me but if you like that sort of thing, go ahead and do it. An alternative suggestion then would be to rent a car and drive from New Jersey to AK. It is only 4256 miles and according to Google you can make it in 70 hours. LOL!! Just pack a lot of food and bottles to urinate into. I would love to see the look on the car rental place when you turned the car in at Fairbanks.

 

You can do it. Here is a link to a guy who drove 2800 miles across the US in 28 hours and 50 minutes. Go ahead and beat his record from New Jersey to Fairbanks and you too will be famous.

 

DON

Ignoring your sarcasm, I would actually love to do that, but in my own car :)

Thank you for the responses, everyone. They honestly made me laugh! :D

I know the plan was crazy, but that's kind of how we travel. We sight-see out of the car and stop for 5 minutes here and there to look at things. I realize that's not how most people choose to travel, but that's just us. We are "Okay, we saw that, now on to the next thing" kind of people. Driving 12+ hours in a day is nothing to us.

I will take some time to look at things to do in Seward and Anchorage and possibly switch our focus.

I will be on a 9-night Vancouver to Seward next May and am already driving myself nuts with planning. It's too early to book a lot of things, but airfare prices seem pretty good right now so I might be booking that very soon. That means I need to nail down at least a pretty good idea of what I want to do and when so that the flight schedule makes sense. I'm just worried I'm trying to do too much in a short span of time.

So, with that said, what I want to do is this:

-Arrive Friday AM in Seward. Transfer to Anchorage via 3 options:

1. Rental car. Expensive, but SO gets sick in every moving object, so train and buses would be less comfortable. This also gives us an opportunity to quickly see Whittier since we likely won't have time to go back that way.

2. Take train. The pros are obvious as I hear the scenery cannot be beat. However, will the extra travel time cut into our plans for the rest of the day? I'm not sure what time the cruise train leaves. I've heard different times. Also big con is that SO may feel ill.

3. Take bus. Shorter trip than train. Less expensive than rental car.

-Arrive in Anchorage

Pick up rental car. If car rented in Seward, then just continue on

-Stay near Denali entrance for the night

On the way there we will sight-see around Talkeetna and other places on the way up to park. I would love to detour back to Whittier if we weren't able to earlier, but that will add at least 3 hours to the trip

-Visit Denali Saturday

How much we do will likely depend on the weather. If it's clear, we will probably take shuttle out to furthest point open in that season (Mile 53 I believe). If the weather is bad, we may decide to just driver in as far as allowed and then go back. The best part of the park will be closed no matter what, so I'm not sure how much better the views will be between Miles 19 & 53. This could either be an all day excursion, or just closer to half a day.

-Depart from Fairbanks after midnight

It makes more sense to me to leave from Fairbanks rather than go all the way back to Anchorage at this point. The flight I am looking at leaves at 1:30AM on Sunday morning so plenty of time to get there. How much we do on the way to and in Fairbanks will depend on how much time we spend in Denali

I don't mind a lot of driving, but is this too much? We want to be home on Sunday, so the schedule is not very flexible. We won't see much of Anchorage, but I'd rather see the smaller towns and sights outside of the city anyway.

Denali seems to be the biggest factor in what we do. I'd hate to skip it altogether, but will the views be worth it that time of year? If not, then I'd rather spend more time south and leave out of Anchorage, but I need to decide that before booking flights obviously.

I have done a round-trip out of Seattle, but this will be my first time in Anchorage. I would love to go back and do more of Alaska some day, but I am going to assume this is my last time, which is why I'd like to pack in what I can. I know Whittier isn't exciting, but I'd at least like say I've been there and the tunnel interests me.

Thoughts?

They were super strict with stuff when I did the zip line. They made me take my watch off which clearly wouldn't have fallen off. The zip line on Labadee had less rules!

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I'm ashamed to say it was one sip and in the garbage. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]. At least I tried it.

 

 

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You have to stir them up. They pour the rum in first and then just dump a bunch of the pre-made slushie on top. If your straw is all the way at the bottom, you just get all rum! It's more obvious in the clear plastic cups.

Just got off the Allure on Sunday. I don't remember anything X rated, but lots of language and quite a few racist jokes. I doubt it would be anything your daughter hasn't heard before. Of course, as mentioned already, their acts do change.

If she's shy, I don't recommend sitting near the front. They liked to pick on people and tease the younger adults.

Ship - Allure of the Seas

Deck - 12

Stateroom # - 12727

Stateroom Category – B1

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard side, but boardwalk view

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Most of the time. Sounds/music from events in Aqua Theater could be heard through closed door. End of hallway, so little foot traffic.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Boardwalk view. Second-to-last balcony on back of ship. Almost on top of Aqua Theater. Could easily see movies on screen (can barely hear though) and shows/rehearsals in theater. Start of zip line was almost directly above. No balcony overhead, but last balcony on deck 14 could see in. Partially shielded from rain/sun

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal

Was wind a problem? - No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - No

Any specific problems with this cabin? - No

Any other comments? - Great cabin, but long walk from elevators/stairs.

It will show on your cruise history as 1 credit bit if you actually add up all the points you should find that you are actually being given credit for 7 or 8 points.

It's funny that you say that, because my total is 7 points higher than it should be, but I just assumed it was already counting my cruise from last week. I hope you're right!

Mine are there, but I do have a somewhat related question. I recently had them add a 4 night cruise I took back in 2008 under my maiden name. They only gave me 1 credit for it. I don't care enough to call them and complain, just curious why! Of course, if I find myself 3 points away from the next C&A level, I'm going to wish I had complained :rolleyes:

Thanks so much!!! How do you get there? :)

Walk off the ship ;)

Yes, Bob but we also have I-95 in Florida. I got so confused when I moved here as we have I-95 (and others) along with "Florida's Turnpike", also going north / south. No tolls on the former, but tolls on the latter. Sun Pass!

 

Coming from New Jersey; I-95 is the "Turnpike". Here we have two. Of course Jersey also has the Garden State Parkway. All have tolls (it's Jersey after all). However, no commercial vehicles on the Parkway.

 

Used to it now.:D

Ah, gotta love NJ. I live and work in the area where 95N coming out of PA makes a big U turn and suddenly turns into 295S. Confuses the heck out of people! I'm sure in the days before GPS people were just told to "follow 95N up the East Coast" and ended up in a big circle.

Fireball mixed with angry orchard (angry balls) is pretty awesome!

Never heard it called that! :D

That's the only way I really like Fireball (or any whiskey, really). I did try Fireball in cream soda because someone told me it would taste like a cinnamon bun. It did not.

Once you've claimed your luggage, call the hotel directly and press 0 for the shuttle service.

When we used the shuttle last month, we were told to go to the right once we exited the arrivals area but the hotel staff will tell you where to wait when you call them.

Lastly, I'd suggest you confirm your hotel name & address with the driver to ensure you're getting on the right shuttle.

Thanks! It's weird that there seems to be very little information about this.

I will be staying here before my cruise in 3 weeks. How do you catch a shuttle from the airport to the hotel? Is there a number to call to schedule this? The hotel's website doesn't say anything.

FYI - The 2 device internet package has been fixed. It looks like they are at least addressing some of the issues.

There are a number of nice ones in the area. However, avoid the Fort Lauderdale Airport / Cruise Port Inn at all costs. You can read my review of them on TripAdviser under the heading "Craptastic Experience". Needless to say, I was NOT impressed

 

A nice one very near the port is the Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale 17th Street Convention Center. It gets some very nice reviews here on Cruise Critic.

 

Don't know what time you arrive in Ft Lauderdale the day prior. There are a number of Everglades tours to choose from depending on whether you will have a car at your disposal or not. Google is probably going to be your best friend for this... you can search for tours that meet your schedule and transportation needs.

 

~Brian

I couldn't find your review, but I am curious as why you thought it was so bad? The reviews seem pretty good for what it is.

I have this hotel booked on May 28 to find out for myself!

They definitely have math issues on the site.

 

When it comes to internet (30% off), they have the price right for 1, 3, and 4 devices, but the 2 devices is way off. With the way they have it set up, it's cheaper to do 2x 1 device than 1x 2 devices. The 3 devices is only $9 more than 2 devices for a 7 day cruise (with the incorrect math).

Yes, this is really frustrating. I have the 2x 1 device package currently booked, but I check every day to see if the price on the 2 device package is fixed so I can switch. I don't really care enough to get on the phone and try to get the correct price that way.

The good news is I did manage to the drink package at 20% off before the "price increase" so at least that worked out!

I can't speak from experience, but I have this excursion booked for June 3 at the recommendation of my dad. He is a diver, and was in Cozumel for a diving trip, but wanted to show some non-divers what it was like. He said this was really the only thing that came close. You get to see the ocean floor at 100+ feet. He actually saw divers from his group outside of the submarine haha.

By now we had about an hour before we had to get back to the meeting point. We walked passed a 'Medieval Torture Museum" on our way to the main square.....We decided to have a look on our way back. Let's just say, I'm glad I don't live in the middle ages!!

The photos of the exhibits brings back memories of a very similar museum I visited outside of Medieval times in Orlando!

I feel like this is at least the 5th thread about this...

There are definitely issues with the site as the VOOM packages are also calculating incorrectly. I overpaid for my 2 device package (since canceled) and it seems like the other configurations are actually coming to less than they should. RCCL would never do that on purpose!

Whether or not they actually raised the drink prices since Friday is another question. I also bought the 7 day package for $310 before the change.

Do you happen to know how they calculated the $63.63? When I added it to my cart for an upcoming Allure cruise (didn't actually purchase yet), it also said $63.63, but I wasn't sure how they calculated that when it is $9.99 per day.

This is where I'm confused....it says "From $12.99 per day" but $88.13 comes out to $12.59/day??? Is my math that bad??? lol!!! I know there has been a ton of "glitches" recently with the beverage packages, but I'm thinking I should just jump on it while I think the price is reasonable.

 

Although, there is nothing quite like just disconnecting for a week....oh, the trials and tribulations that one must deal with when going on vacation :p

There's a definite glitch. I had ordered the 2 device surf package on Friday and it came out to ~$145, which was way too much. I didn't realize it at the time until someone else pointed it out. I've canceled it and am waiting for them to hopefully fix the glitch. All of the other packages seem to be coming out to less than they should!

We won't know that until we start getting reports back from ships with the two-tiered Voom package.

I could be totally wrong here, but if memory serves me right, Gambee mentioned the 2 tier system in his recent Oasis review. He kept mentioning that he had the cheaper package, which he loved, but thought you needed the more expensive one to watch movies, etc. I had no idea what he was talking about until I saw the new packages in the my cruise planner.