ILoveScotland

Very true. We are staying at Hotel Villa Convento in the French Quarter for 2 nights in October, then parking the car for the cruise at Fulton Garage. Roof top parking is $8 per day, inside covered parking is $10 per day. The shuttle they offer is for cruise parking (they are 2-3 blocks away) and is only to and from the port.

 

If you do get a hotel in the French Quarter and then use either Fulton Garage or port parking for the cruise, be aware, almost all hotels in the Quarter DO NOT offer free parking during your stay. Most will charge anywhere from $20-$35 per night to park. There are public lots that charge a bit less.

How was the Villa Convento? Location, convenience for French Quarter, cafes for breakfast nearby, rooms. Anything else that would be helpful. We are booked for 2 nights in January. We won't have a car so will take taxi to cruise port.

Thanks.

Husband and I will be in New Orleans for a day and a half in January pre-cruise. We'd like to spend some time at the World War II Museum. Has anyone here on CC been? If so, how long should we plan to stay.

Thanks.

We were on the Dawn for three weeks in October/November. The best thing by far was "Elements" which combined pieces from most of the entertainers on board (magician, acrobats, Dawn singers and dancers, etc.) Really amazing show.

 

A popular singing duo was Jose and Patti, who sang often in the Grand Atrium and once in the theater. They did different themed-shows, such as Neil Diamond, Best Songs from the past 70 years (I think), and such. Really wonderful singers.

 

I hope you enjoy the Dawn as much as we did.

Thanks. That's exactly what I wanted to know.

Will be on the Dawn in January with husband who's never cruised. I'm gathering as much information as possible now to help him know what to expect. That leads me to ask what the entertainment is these days.

Thanks for responses.

Thanks for all the responses. First, we are in a balcony, not a suite, so no butler. Second, I live in NC with state owned and operated liquor stores although wine and beer are sold in many places.

Third, knowing we'd have to retrieve the liquor rather than having it delivered to the cabin might make a difference. I thought it was all delivered to the cabin the night before departure.

Fourth, I'd already considered pricing tequila and possibly rum on the ship before arriving in Cozumel. Now I'll make sure I do. Not sure we'll buy any liquor at all, but my husband has some specific brands (not sure which) he'd like to buy if he can find them. Guess we'll find out in a couple of months.

Are you planning on drinking them on the ship or taking them back home?

Take them home.

I haven't cruised in a couple of years and haven't cruised on NCL since 2006 but am booked on the Dawn in a couple of months. I don't usually buy liquor on a cruise except by the drink in one of the bars, but I'm thinking of buying a couple of bottles either on the ship or perhaps in one of the ports.

Which is the better option? Are ship's prices less than those I'll find in Cozumel or perhaps Costa Maya? Or are they more?

Thanks for answers.

We also have a later flight out of NOLA and have been wondering what to do with our time. The only excursion listed on the website is a bus tour of the city that doesn't look very interesting. We're going to be in New Orleans for a couple of nights pre-cruise so don't know that we'd want to find a hotel to store our luggage for a few hours.

The other option would be to get off the ship as late as possible and go on to the airport. I've never been to the NOLA airport so am wondering if there are enough restaurants, bars, shops, etc. to keep us from being terribly bored while we wait for our flight.

Ideas, suggestions appreciated.

What cruise will you be on in January? I'm sailing out on the 24th out of New Orleans. I also have the UBP and like to cut loose while on vacay. My cruise is pretty port intensive so I'll probably be too tired cut loose too much. LOL Can't wait, so excited. It's so refreshing to hear the teens were well behaved and helpful...Kudos to them!

I'm on the January 10th cruise, but I think it's the same itinerary as yours: Sea Day, Cozumel, Roatan, Belize City, Costa Maya, Sea Day.

Thanks for all the suggestions about the Star Bar. We will go to other bars as well and before the 7 nights are over we will probably try them all. But sometimes we like to relax in a quiet place. Of course, there's always our balcony, but there's no piano there!

My husband and I are mid 70s. I've cruised several times, but he never has so this will be a time of find things on the ship we both like to do. We like to sit in a quiet bar in the evening drinking and enjoying good conversation. I know we can do this on our balcony and that there are scads of bars, but I'm wondering if there is anything like a piano bar where we won't get caught up in the hub bub of activities on the ship.

Any suggestions for such a place on the Dawn?

A friend and I went on the Polarlys in mid March 2013. She'd already booked, and I tagged along. Yes, the days are a bit short, but it was still daylight until 5:30 or 6 p.m. The snow covered hills and mountains were beautiful plus we were able to go dog sledding and to the snow hotel outside Kirkennes. It was bitterly cold and windy at North Cape, but it was also grand. And, yes, we saw the Northern Lights.

I just booked the Dawn for January and thought I'd check out various threads and found this one. My only comment has to do with the behavior of children. I was on the Dawn in August 2006 and vowed never to cruise again during the summer as a result. There were a gazillion children. I love children, so the numbers weren't the problem. The problem was that they ran rampant in groups of 6-10 with no supervision of parents or crew. My husband was in his early 80s and used a walker. The day a couple of the kids ran into his walker and kept going was the day I almost lost it. I didn't, but I did stop the children and have a few instructional words so to speak.

I'll quickly add that these were the 8-12 year olds or thereabouts. The teenagers were wonderful. They were courteous to my husband holding doors of elevators when need be and were well behaved and mannered.

My current husband and I enjoy our drinks and will have the UBP. I expect to see people drinking more than usual. Falling down drunken behavior is another matter.

Haven't cruised in 2 years so excited about being at sea again.

There's an older thread on pharmaceutical drugs in Belize, but I thought I'd start a new one since I'll be in Belize in a couple of months.

Questions based on what is in the older thread:

1. Is there still a pharmacy at the Belize pier, and is it operated by an American pharmacist?

2. How much cheaper are the medications than in the US?

3. Can most medications be purchased without a prescription?

5. What experiences - good and bad - have people had?

6. Anything else I should know that I haven't thought to ask?

Thanks in advance for responses.

It's now some 2 1/2 years since I was on the Polarlys. It was truly the voyage of a lifetime, and I would love to go again. My friend and I went in late winter (i.e. March), and it was bitterly cold but worth it because of the snow covered beauty along the coast.

As has been said liquor and wine are very expensive, so I took gin and tonic onboard with me. I would get a glass of ice at the cafeteria and take it back to the cabin and have my drink. I admit to taking it up to the panoramic lounge as well with no problem.

I enjoyed the food. Dinners were set menu with local fish or meat (reindeer one night), more root vegetables than green or leafy ones, and always good desserts.

I will continue to go on traditional cruises from time to time, but I much prefer the ambiance and style of Hurtigruten.

Thanks for good advice about where to do research. I'll get busy looking at all the options, etc.

Thanks. Yes, I will do research on websites. I always do. But I often get better information on CC.

I have taken several ocean cruises and loved them, but my new husband is not interested in an ocean cruise at all although to humor me he'd probably do one Caribbean cruise. However, yesterday he said he'd consider a river cruise, that he thought he would like that.

I've never particularly been interested in river cruising and know little although I've seen ads, etc. I'm particularly interested in European river cruises and have looked at itineraries and know what would appeal to us, so that's not a concern. Right now we plan to go to Normandy sometime in the summer of 2016, but I think we'll do that on our own. A river cruise would be pre or post Normandy.

So... questions: 1) number of passengers, 2) dress code, 3) time in each port, 4) cabins - windows, small balconies, size, etc., 5) food, 6) lounges and 7) entertainment.

I haven't been on CC in a while but think I remember that I can't ask for recommendations for specific cruise companies. But, I can ask what experiences you've had that were good and which ones were not so good with reasons why.

I should add that my husband and I are in our early 70s and active to some extent - no running of marathons, but no couch potatoes, either.

Well, that's a lot. Pick and choose among my questions, because I'll welcome any tidbits and information.

Haven't been here for a while and just saw all these posts. I'm not a big water drinker anytime and never buy bottled water even at home. I did find tap water on the Polarlys to be just fine if I got thirsty, and I enjoyed tea and/or coffee at meals.

Yes, the policy is that you can take alcohol onboard to consume in your cabin. However, since I'm a gin drinker I discovered that I could get a glass of ice at the small cafeteria, take it to my room and add gin and tonic and go about the ship with no problems. It looked like I was drinking sparking water. I was very careful first couple of times and then realized no one was paying attention to what I had in my plastic cup.

Hurtigruten offers several excursions when the ships are in a port for a few hours. I did a dog sledding excursion, an excursion to North Cape and another one on the way south when we got off in one port and reboarded in another.

The ships stops 32 times going north and 32 going south. Many are at night, and I rarely woke up for those. As has been said you can usually get off and just walk around the port when the stops are short.

I went on the Polarlys 12 nights RT Bergen to Kirkennes last to March leaving Bergen on March 6 (I think). Yes, it was cold. Yes, we all to had wear extra clothing and boots, etc. But, I loved the small ship and the people I met.

And I have never seen such spectacular scenery. Add to that we saw the Northern Lights a couple of times. I'd go again in a heart beat.

In April 2011, we took a tour with A & E Tours. We took the BEST OF NATURE tour. We reallly really enjoyed it.

http://www.grenadaguide.com/aetours/halfday.htm

 

We visited at a spice place, the waterfalls and a rum tasting stop. We fed monkeys at one of the stops. They are so cute. Our friend had a monkey on his back at one point and I was able to take a picture. My husband and buddy really enjoyed one of the rums, one of the best tastings we had on that cruise! It was quite fun.

 

One of the stops had ladies with fruit baskets on their heads. They want tips to take a picture with them. They were cute. At the falls, the guys want money to jump off the cliff.

 

We asked to end the tour at the beach because we wanted to stay there longer than 30 minutes. We found our own way back to the ship. The beach was beautiful. The whole tour was pretty cool. It was one of our favorite days on that cruise.

 

I hope this helps.

Yes, it does. I know we're almost 12 months away from the cruise, but I'm gathering ideas and will keep them until it's time to settle on a specific tour.

Thanks.

For me it's a matter of balance, not pain. I am now an older woman, but I couldn't even wear 3 in. heels when I was a teenager, because I had and still have poor balance. I have found many options for 2 inch heels that are dressy and comfortable. I also have a pair of silver metallic thongs that have about a 1/2 - 3/4 inch wedge heel that I wear sometimes.

dz63 - Loved the video!

I did know about the Pitons but not anything else. So, all the info is helping a lot.

You definitely want to take a tour here rather than drive yourself. Allow at least 4-6 hours for a tour. We have used Spencer Ambrose and was put with a small group (saw volcano, waterfall, island, has time on beach, etc) and another time booked Serenity tours for a private tour (Cathedral, Cassava bread factory, rum factory, artisans). Both were excellent. It depends if you want time at the beach, shopping, sightseeing, etc.

Thanks. I'll look up those two tour companies. Sightseeing is my preference. Not much of a shopper, and I can go to the beach near where I live in North Carolina - even in the winter although then it's only to look out to sea!