xo101

This is great information! Thank you Charles! I am going to email them and ask about transportation in the evening! 

Do you know if the minibusses that come into the port have a website or hours posted somewhere? I think the one I found is for private tours. 

First time to go to Bermuda! Our ship doesn't arrive at Kings Wharf until 4pm. I can't seem to find any information about going to Horseshoe bay beach in the evenings. Has anyone gone after 4pm? Does it close? Are the mini-busses still available (especially for a return trip)?  Can you catch the mini buss right outside the ship terminal? I really want to go to horseshoe bay beach to see the pink sand and take beautiful photos, but my boyfriend wants to do a snorkel excursion the next morning that lasts until 12:30pm, so I am afraid that we won't have time to go to the beach since our ship leaves at 4pm. Is it close enough to do a quick trip there after our snorkel excursion? Any tips or recommendations would be appreciated.  Thank you!! 

We were on the Vista last year Dec 2 cruise. They had nightly activities including tree lighting, snowing in the atrium, Christmas caroling and an ugly sweater contest! It was very festive and a lot of fun. I was surprised at how many brought their ugly sweaters! Leaving on another cruise Dec 2 and my Christmas sweater is packed! 

Are the tours at the port less expensive than the prices online? I thought I saw a post where someone said they found a full island tour for $20 pp with Calypso tours but I am not sure how current that was (& I can't seem to locate the post again!) When I look at the Calypso tour website it says $55 a person. Anyone booked at the port recently that could give me a price range? Want to do full island with Beach but not sure how tired we will be at this point since we have a full day booked at St Lucia the day before. We would prefer booking upon arrival at the port, unless it's more expensive. Thanks in advance! 

K

I assume you want to go to Altos de Chavon? We just did this... when you get off the ship, head to the main gates and look for yellow signs that say "shuttle bus" and you can buy a roundtrip ticket for $8 per person to Altos de Chavon. There's not a ton to do there, but interesting enough to kill an hour or two. When we got back to the port, we did the "chu chu train" tour, which was only $16.99 a person and was about a 45-minute ride around La Romana. Combine those two and you've got a nice cheap day at port.

I know this is an old post, but I can't find anything about this chu chu train tour that you mentioned. Is it still there? Sounds like a fun thing to do to see La Romana. Does anyone have any info on this? Where do you go to find it? Does it still run?

following this thread, as we sail on the Dream April 17. I'll try to catch it on John's FB page, but hope someone posts it here in case I miss it!

Do they have kayaks and other water toys or Hobie cats available for rent at Doctors Cave Beach? If so, how much/how long?

I've been reading threads for the longest time, and can't seem to find anything about this. We went to this same beach a couple years ago, and I can't remember.

Thanks for your help!!

I booked the Magic back in Feb, we are doing the 12-day from Barcelona! Booked a Deluxe Oceanview with the 2 bathrooms. I am very excited about being on the new ship before it comes to my home state :)

I am the one who originally posted this thread back in 2008 and it turned out very well for us (the Spirit Incentives cruise). I believe I started calling them about 60 days out (every few days) just to check in. I found out by phone about a week before I ever got anything in the mail. They will try to upsell you upon your booking, but we didn't... and ended up getting an upgrade. We actually had breakfast the final morning of the cruise with another couple who won the same package, and had paid to upgrade and were only a few doors down from us. So unless you are really particular about getting a window I would just hold off and cross your fingers and more than likely you will get a free upgrade.

I believe the date that they approved was my LAST of my 3 dates. I'm thinking the May would be less people than the August date, (unless its after the 23rd) so you have a good chance at getting May.

Have fun, and I have stayed on various levels of the ship and I have never had a bad experience. I'm just happy to be on a cruise! :)

Enjoy it!

K

I just wanted to post a follow-up to my previous posting for any other cruisers who might be seeking the same answer I was.

I kept the 1A bunkbed room, declined any upgrades. This was my 3rd carnival cruise. We ended up getting bumped to E208. Empress Deck (I was on this deck my first cruise) still no window, but I am glad that we didn't pay the extra $$ they were wanting to upgrade, I am very pleased with our room assignment. We also didn't find out the room until about 25 days prior, it suddenly showed up on carnival website! (I was looking every day). So all in all.... the Spirit Incentives cruise worked for me!

Hope this helps someone in their future planning!! :)

I got this 4 day cruise from attending a timeshare presentation. Says for Royal Caribbean, but since RC doesn't port from Galveston, we are booked on the Ecstasy for Dec. 4.

I have read all of the negative comments on all the five billion sites out there about Spirit Incentives. So I am hoping that I can find the one or two people out there who have actually taken this cruise and can answer a couple questions for me??

Ive already taken one spirit incentives Hawaii vacation, was great, no problems. Of course its alot of hoopla, and the first 2 dates were not accepted on either Hawaii or this cruise.

My cruise is booked, paid for, I have the documents from Carnival, everything is showing up online (except room). I elected to keep the 1A guarantee room because on my last 2 cruises I got excellent upgrades. Its 33 days out and showing to be TBA on the website and my travel docs.

Is there anyone out there who won this cruise , went on carnival and took a 1A guarantee room, and did you get upgraded??

If not, how cramped is this room with 2 people in it??

Ultimately it doesn't matter if we are stuck in the bunk bed room because we are singles and don't want to share a bed! But it would be nice to hear of someone else getting a good upgrade! Especially one with a window :)

Thanks in advance!!

zydecocruiser- Thanks for posting all of your photos! We are going to Nassau first time in 40 days! I was considering doing this walk before we got our Dolphin Encounter booked, and now don't know if we have time. How long did it take you to walk the tour, and how long do you think it would be to walk from the ship to the Straw Market only? Seems like that is a main tourist attraction and since this is our first time there, we are all about the touristy stuff. :D

Thanks!!