mary_228

12 hours ago, reedprincess said:

It's a bit expensive, but it's a lovely view from the restaurant, food is good (sumptuous is definitely overstating the food - but it's very good) and the boat ride back is amazing.. nothing bad to say about the tour. And yes, you'll definitely be joining another group or two aboard the catamaran for the return trip.. it's likely aboard either Carnival Sailing or Endless Summer's cats, they have the largest cats on island. 

Thanks for the feedback. I figured this is the only way I am ever to see such a high end resort property!

Princess is offering a full day excursion that visits this resort for a sumptuous lunch overlooking the Pitons. Following that you take a 3 hr catamaran back to the ship.  $180 pp. Wondering if anyone has taken this and what was the verdict? It appears that we will likely join another tour for the catamaran/swim portion since the capacity of that is 60, whereas the capacity of the minibus is 22.

On 7/29/2019 at 11:07 PM, reedprincess said:

Reduit Beach in Rodney Bay, 30 minutes fron port, is the closest place. 

Long stretch of beach, restaurants and bars, etc. 

Wondering the cost of jet ski rental. If you don't know it, is there any chance a recent visitor who rented them can comment?

17 hours ago, TTEllis said:

It was my understanding Spencer hasn't offered this tour for quite some time. When I tried booking it 3-4 years ago, he did everything he could to talk me out of it, he didn't want to do the tour anymore. I had no problem with doing his Beach Break at Jalousie again. 

 

Mt. Liamiuga on St. Kitts we had several from our CC roll call who did this hike back in 2010. If it will tell you anything most of us were at the St. Kitts Marriott all day, they showed up and met us at the pool bar after they got finished, they all said the same thing they were ready for a beer😀, and the hike other than a few different areas wasn't that difficult. 

 

For what's it's worth here's my 2-cents when it come's to hike's climb's or anything associated with either one on a cruise vacation. If you can do either on a cruise vacation it's not going to be that difficult because there's not enough time for it to be difficult, that's the whole idea. 

 

The tour offered involves transport by land to do the hike. My son is one who will hike it in 55 min. My concern is others on the trip causing delays. He and his sister did the Mt. Liamiuga hike on St Kitts a few years ago and he really enjoyed it. Many other passengers had to turn back, and my kids were certain their father would not have been able to complete it. My assumption is that Gros Piton is similar in difficulty. He would prefer Petit Piton if it were in his means. He has hiked Angel's Landing in Zion, for example, and adding ocean views to a peak like that would be even more spectacular. 

I found the name of the resort! It is Ti Kaye. You can do a day pass through Serentytvl. 

https://*****/tour/ti-kaye-resort-day-pass-shore-excursion/

Shore Excursions Group has one on its site for $185pp with pickup at the cruise port, and entrance fees included, guaranteed to not miss the ship. It claims to be a 6 hour excursion and departs at 8:30 am. Our ship is in port from 8-6 so we have the ten hours Jean87510 recommends. I am nervous to send my 21 yr old son alone on this regardless although he is an incredibly advanced hiker/climber. The rest of the family is not interested!

Thanks for the suggestions and comments. Looks like we might have to take the ships' tour. 

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

we tip in cash , both at the bar and for waiter service ... yes, in addition to the 15% auto grat ...

 

we always take $50-100 in $1 bills for a 7 day cruise

Wow! I have never seen anyone do this. I have often wanted to leave extra on the tab, esp when enjoying the buy one get one for $1 deals, but in recent cruises I have noticed no line for additional tip. Guess I'd better get some small bills!

2 minutes ago, voljeep said:

whichever bar ... I've found that a couple of $ goes a long way to getting faster service in a crowded bar , along with a stronger pour, or  fuller glass of wine ...

So you add additional tip to the check (wouldn't the waiter would get this?) or you bring cash and wait at the bar for service so you can give directly to them? So clueless, sorry. 

Trying to decide between ship's tour with airport drop off vs. taking an Uber to the park and getting a ride back to the airport. Is it easy to find an Uber driver at the port? Any other considerations I should weigh?

16 hours ago, rdsqrl said:

Part of the fun is trying out all of the bars until you find your perfect match. 

HAHA! I'm only on for a week!

I appreciate your comments and will give the Wheelhouse bar a try.

Sailing in a week and looking forward to finding my spot for pre-dinner cocktails. We don't buy a drink package. Any recommendations?

16 minutes ago, camijo said:

 

 

Not sure of the vendors name who we rented through.  Since we were at Calico Jack's, on both sides of their facility jet ski rentals were set up. We put our name on the list for a time slot.  They provided life jackets and off we went for 30 minutes.  We did sign a waiver.  I could see these vendors from my lounge chair, so they are not far at all.

Thanks for the reply.

On 11/9/2018 at 2:12 PM, camijo said:

Rented one while we were at Calico Jack's, self guided.  $50 for 30 minutes, my husband drove and I rode.

This price is considerably less than the RedSail prices of $85. I am travelling with my kids and will need to rent two, so I am eager to know how recently you rented them, and from what concession.

Sailing on Dec 16. Just got an email stating that the fixed dining times are 5 and 7:15.

12 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

You should check your rollcall for your particular cruise. Pub crawls are usually organized by someone (yourself) in the rollcall.

Very few passengers are signed up for the roll call, unfortunately. On HAL, this event was a $22 activity that included drinks at five bars, competitions and prizes. It was led by the most fun bartender I've ever met! The bar staff knew we were coming and how many drinks we needed at each bar and had it all at the ready. They even did this on the Maasdam. Pretty soon HAL will have the reputation of the Fun Ships!

I participated in my first pub/bar crawl on HAL's Noordam this summer and had so much fun. I am hoping something like this exists on the Regal. Also fun were 6pm martini samplings and occasional mixology classes. Maybe there will be these too on the Regal? I have my fingers crossed!

I've been on two HAL ships in Alaska. I think one way northbound is the absolute best itinerary. That way your viewing excitement will build and become amazing by the end. Those who need to return to work can do so but you can continue to explore via land. Had a blast on HAL doing the pub crawl with a whole lot of fun people. If your ship offers something like this the young people will love it. As for HAL prices being higher, you will find many fluctuations in price between now and the sailing. If you are restricting yourselves to balcony cabins then you will pay a lot on any line. To get all five cabins next to one another, and close to the Lido, I think you will be very pleased. FWIW, we greatly prefer the food on Princess to HAL.

In the process of booking our hotel for our pre-cruise one night stay and can't find an easy way to identify hotels that offer free shuttles to the ship. We are a family of four, so paying a per person fee adds up quickly. Most offer free shuttles from the airport, but none to the cruise port that I can find. Thank you for the recommendations.

We have two sets (yes, they were purchased). They are nice and comfortable.

My wife reports that the sheets do not have to be ironed and she is pretty particular.

She does iron the pillow cases however.

I agree with one of the earlier posts pointing out that you can buy the same sheets from places other than HAL for less money.

Thank you for this feedback. Just what I was looking for.

You mentioned that the sheets are available elsewhere. Care to provide that information?

(Love your CC name, BTW!)

I wonder how nicely they wash and dry in terms of wrinkling. They are 100% cotton, and onboard they might possibly press them to make them so nice. Just looking for a review from those who have purchased for their home. Thank you.

That was hilarious. They are all busy watching the far off whale when this happens!

Delta prices were great for our recent one way ORD-ANC. It had a stop in Seattle which was fine. Seatback entertainment, too! I bet you will find even better flights from ATL. Once I found a good fare, I redeemed points on my Chase Rewards card to purchase the tickets. I purchased only three weeks ahead of our travel dates. With this much time ahead of your cruise you might consider opening a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve which gives gigantic sign-up bonuses and discounted point redemptions.

Just to follow up on my experience, I purchased a ticket to Anne of Green Gables-The Musical. The box office worker could not assure me of the end time for the show so I informed the people sitting around me that I would be exiting the row (only three people to climb over, side aisle) to catch my ship at 4:00. I missed a few numbers but preferred a bit of safety net as to getting back onboard.

As to the production, I enjoyed the live orchestra, set design, costumes and performances, but wished I had attended the other production. Perhaps due to my familiarity with Anne's early years, I fell asleep multiple times during the show! To each his own!

Overall I'd do YWCA in heartbeat - we did when we came to visit before moving here, it's hands-down the best value option in the entire region. Unless you only want to focus on Stanley park, it's an extremely easy decision - YWCA for the win!

My husband and I spent two nights in Vancouver post-cruise with the intention of evaluating the city for a possible move now that my husband has retired. I am interested in learning more about why you moved here, pros and cons etc. We loved our visit! If you are so inclined, perhaps we can chat offline.