bookbabe

What time was it scheduled for? Or what time did it actually happen? From surveying the crowd, people had transfer times booked for 11am, 11:15am and 11:30am. The first bus finally arrived at 11:45am, the second at around 12:15pm (the one we managed to get on) and no idea if/when the third arrived. The poor gal doing the organizing really didn't seem to know what to do, and most people just boarded whatever bus they could get on, or gave up and took a taxi/uber.

We had the Intercontinental Miami pre-cruise Nov 24. Next time we will take the credit. Hotel was meh and the transfers were chaotic.

DH says 2.5-3.5 download last week on Mariner, slower with a VPN on. Speed didn't differ between the streaming and regular logins, just what website features (ie video) you could access.

We were on Mariner last week. DH upgraded, and had one streaming login. I had three regular logins. We had to each use our own birthdays to access our logins. I had the regular logins since I was guest one. Maybe check with the nice gal at the internet desk and see whose credentials match up with which logins.

Travel times very much depend on traffic volume. Assume 10-15 min in normal traffic? There will be taxis around, more commonly beach shuttles in the form of shared ride mini-vans. You can see all the relevant areas in google maps to get distances and timings.

Perfect, @crusin7 thanks Now to find a small can of bug spray…

no, the big wooden box

Quick question, hoping for a speedy answer since we board Mariner tomorrow. 🙂 What is in the amenities box I see in the various cabin videos online? Assuming it’s still there, of course. Specifically, is there bug spray in it? We have a few jungle-ish excursions, and just trying to figure out if I need to try to wedge some into the luggage or not… Thanks!

Hopefully this link to some FB pics works…the water conditions there vary greatly with the weather and wind direction. Last week, waves were splashing up around waist high onto the ironshore there. Not a day you’d want to be snorkelling in the area. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ILoveCaymanKind/permalink/7656458611050803/

DH feels the same way. He has been unwilling to even consider any world cruise, even on a favourite cruise line, if it doesn’t begin and end at the same port. He also feels it’s not a true World Cruise without that circumnavigation.

If you google “Stingray City Cayman” you will find hundreds of videos showing the spot and what it’s like, plus dozens of excursion operators. Easiest is to just book with your cruise line, they’ll definitely have an option, but you’ll get a more personal experience with most of the private operators. A quick look through this forum with turn up lots of reviews as well.

Paradise Restaurant has closed, I’m not sure if the stairs into the water are still there but I’d assume so. However, the little rental spot they used to have is gone so you’d have to have your own gear. The Eden Rock dive shop a little bit further along is probably a better option. https://edenrockdivingcenter.com/dive-eden-rock/snorkeling/ Be advised. Snorkelling around that area is NOT beginner snorkelling. Deep water and potentially strong currents.

I’ll just chime in to add that while you *can* use a mask and snorkel at Stingray City Sandbar where the excursions will stop, you won’t need it. You can easily see the stingrays and interact with them without putting your head or face in the water at all. The government’s marine rules for the area forbid the use of fins or water shoes of any kind. You could wear water shoes on the boat, but you’d have to take them off before getting in the water.

Yup, I watched them. Thus the confusion. What I saw on the videos doesn’t match my interpretation of the deck plans. I’m hoping for someone who has cruised in the Haven on Jade to comment about what spaces are where, and what the difference between the “haven sun deck” and the “courtyard sun deck” is.

Are you sure? The garden villa sun deck is listed separately. I’ve done a couple screenshots, with the areas I’m referring to circled in red.

Okay, so this is our first time on a jewel class ship, and I’m having a little trouble wrapping my head around what’s where in the Haven on the Jade. We have a Garden Villa and a Haven two bedroom booked for our large group cruise to Alaska, both on deck 14 mid. I know there is no Haven restaurant or bar. We’re okay with that, and none of the rest of the group has ever cruised in the haven before, so they won’t know what they’re missing. 😉 From the deck plans on NCL.com, it looks to me like the haven courtyard is on deck 14 mid and the haven sun deck is 15 fwd. But, the video walkthroughs I’ve watched look like the haven courtyard with the pool is below the haven sun deck, and that you reach the sun deck by stairs in the courtyard. That would match what I’ve seen in other havens, but it doesn’t match my interpretation of the deck plans online. Are there two haven sun decks? Am I misreading the deck plans or misunderstanding the videos? Can someone walk me through the Haven areas on Jade? Thanks!

Maybe contact them and ask? If it’s a weekday in January and not near a holiday of any sort either in the US or Cayman, my guess is you’d be fine, but the attraction itself would be the ones to answer if they’ve ever sold out or not.

The holiday is January 22, so I guess not. That’s weird that they’d cancel that far out unless there’s some lack of availability for some other reason. You can get there by rental car, but I’d want to confirm with the gardens first that they are definitely open that day.

Downtown is wall-to-wall jewelry stores, mostly of the Diamonds International ilk, but there’s a few independent nicer shops.

For what date? There is a holiday in January, maybe the park is closed?

Are you sure she was on Pride of America? Maybe she meant people needed to show photo ID, which is true, and that she showed her passport? This screenshot is from the NCL travel documentation page

Not sure about the dolphin encounter, but water shoes or fins of any kind are NOT permitted at Stingray City.

Cabanas and villas count as excursions, and you can use those tickets to get an early tender.

Since you do not leave the state of Hawaii at any point during the cruise, there is no need for customs or immigration. There is the usual cruise check in and security at the port, so you need whatever documents NCL says you need. However, if you don’t live in the US, you would do immigration checks on the way to Hawaii (or wherever your initial point of entry to the US is). You would need whatever documents are appropriate for your situation (depends on your nationality) to enter the US at that time. In other words, without more details, it’s tough to give you more than the above generic answer.

Depends on what you want out of a beach. If you need facilities/food, see my post above. If you just want to DIY and throw a towel on the sand, Governor’s Beach is probably the nicest, IMO. For the return trip, go back to where they dropped you off and wave at the bus as it approaches.