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It's very easy to get to beaches in Cozumel and Roatan. Not so much in Belize. You can book a ship excursion in Belize to a beach and they will pick you up from the ship and return you to the ship. You can do the same with an outside excursion company but you will have to tender into shore first, and then tender back to the ship.

thanks for the tip. This was my first trip out of the country so i am very appreciative of any suggestions from a genius such as yourself:rolleyes:

lol!

Hi - cruise newbie over here! I am sailing on the NCL Jewel next month and was exploring activities I can pre-book through the NCL site. I was surprised to see I'm able to pre-book dinner times for the complimentary dining areas (i.e. not the specialty restaurants that cost additional $). Is this necessary? I was under the impression that reservations and time commitments weren't required with the 'free-styling' concept. Or are reservations simply a recommendation? Could I be waiting awhile to be seated without a reserved time? Appreciate any and all insight! Thank you!

We cruised on the Jewel over Christmas and didn't make any reservations for the main dining rooms. We never had to wait either, and we always requested a table for 2.

Hi, we have been looking at booking an excursion on one of the sail and snorkel catamarans in Cozumel. I want to do a little snorkeling for the first time, son wants to sail and hubby wants to enjoy beverages, so we're thinking this could satisfy us all...however, in the pictures, there aren't very many of the sail up and the catamaran actually sailing. Has anyone gone on one of these outings that can say whether the boat actually does sail? Any opinions on which operator is better... Fury or Fe catamaran? Thanks for any insights you can share!

 

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Not usually. Maybe there are some beach resorts that have the little sailboats that he could take out? Might be worth checking on.

Hey thanks. Which cruise line do you like the best?

 

 

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My favorite is Norwegian.

Ok. I've never taken a cruise, so be gentle. Lol

 

My parents 50th wedding anniversary is coming this June. They asked me to plan a cruise. They have no particular destination in mind. We live in Houston, so obviously a cruise out of Texas will not require a flight. Neither would a cruise out of New Orleans.

 

However, they are looking at a "wow" factor. Things they like are eating and relaxing. I told them that maybe if we fly somewhere, we may get more of a wow bang.

 

Anyway, we are looking at something around 5 days, all inclusive (if it included all alcohol, would probably be better). Will fly anywhere in US. Too end budget is around $10,000/person, including air fare.

 

I would guess the best place to start would be to pick a top notch cruise line? I've heard of Carnaval and Royal Carribean. Any others that may be a bit nicer?

 

Any other ideas on where/what would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

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You could also try Norwegian, Holland America, Celebrity, or Princess.

Cruise lines now offer beverage packages that you can purchase in addition to your cruise fare.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'wow factor'. I gladly cruise out of Houston, Galveston, and New Orleans.

You may also want to consider a little bit longer cruise, at least 7 days. I've done several shorter cruises and they usually are not as nice.

Going on epic in march. Paid final payment this week, and now price dropped. Will they give me on board credit or upgrade?

My price went up, but others on my roll call are reporting that they are getting upgrades.

Do you know if it is one of the choices for the bucket of beers?

I do not. Didn't pay that close of attention. Just noticed that they sold Angry Orchard and Fireball, so I could get an AngryBall if wanted. :D

It is on the Jewel!

On our last cruise, my DH went diving, I went to Spa Baan Suerte.

Maybe he would enjoy the 12 Meter America's Cup race excursion.

I have done it several times in St Martin, and just noticed it listed on my upcoming EX cruise in Cozumel.

 

It's not cheap, but a lot of fun, and he will help sail during the actual race.

I second this. Loads of fun!

Can't find information in any threads here about these two activities. More importantly I need to have input from a cruiser who has been on the Norwegian Star for the Panama Canal cruise who can tell me what time I can get off the ship. The Whale watch tour I can go to is only offered at 8:15 as we leave at 2:00. Also I don't have any info about where we really dock.

 

Comments about Whale Watch Cabo and Cabo Skytours also appreciated.

 

Thanks for your help and Happy Cruising in 2015

You don't dock in Cabo. It's a tender port.

Princess list the meetings in their daily schedule. It is delivered to your cabin each evening

Most lines do this.

We were in 9170 on this cruise, and we did notice soot on one day. There wasn't a lot though. Just brushed it off.

So I have been reading that the alcohol served while in port in Texas is very limited. I have noticed over the last couple of months the Jeweel has been returning to port the night before debarkation to prevent weather delays. We will be on the Jewel in February and the last night on board is my birthday so I am wondering what is typically available while in port? Are we going to be able to have cocktails to celebrate if we are sitting at Houston port on our last night? What exactly does "limited" mean?

Hopefully someone that paid more attention that I did will also answer this.

The mini bars in your cabin are locked. There are some bars open, but they lock up a great deal of their stock. Small menus are put out that detail what you can get.

I don't think it's good. But I do think that the MDR is good so I don't really want to eat in specialties all the time.

Who can eat in the MDR on embarkment day? Are suites guests included?

 

Thanks

Past guests.

On the tier benefits it list a "Complimentary Dinner for Two at Le Bistro with a Bottle of Wine" as well as a free bag of laundry. My question is since two of the three of us traveling are at the platinum level, does that mean we would have 2 dinners and two bags of laundry? Thanks

Yes! :D

Oh, that really sucks. If this is the same place and it has changed hands, it sounds like the service isn't one of the improvements they've made. Sorry you had a bad time. Hopefully next time you go to Belize you'll find a better place. Happy cruising.

Belize needs a place like Maya Chan in Costa Maya!

We've enjoyed our previous excursions in Belize. Just wouldn't do this one again.

So is this the old Bannister Island? Anyone have updated pics of this place? When it was Bannister Island and we were there, there wasn't any "waiter service". You walked up and got your drinks and food. :confused: Just trying to figure out if it's the same place or not.

I don't know. I never went to Bannister Island.

When we didn't get waiter service, we went to the bar and sat at the bar. Waited about 15 minutes there and didn't get service so we headed back to our loungers. DH complained to a security guy there about the lack of service and got someone to come over about 15 minutes later. Then she disappeared until about 5 minutes before we were to leave.

I paid the deposit (half the cost of the excursion). As soon I went outside the gate of the port area I saw the driver. He was waiting right there.

The grounds are lovely. Jungle, with small cabins where they do the treatments. There is a swimming pool which I did not go in. I did go to the beach after the treatment. Lovely beach, private, quiet, and nearly empty! With a private covered dock.

I would have stayed for a while. Was told to let them know when I was ready to leave and they would call the driver. The driver showed up for me before I was ready. I suspect that the boy they sent down to the beach to be there while I was there called him. He didn't seem to keen on having to be down there. Everyone else (the massage therapist and the office staff) were really nice. I would go again. But, I would set a time with the driver for pick up.

We weren't impressed with Starfish Island. Water was very murky. There were jelly fish in the swimming area.

Waiter service was terrible! The service was so bad that we would not go back again.

I've been to Belize 4 times on NCL and it really isn't my favorite shore stop so we are looking for an excursion to see something other than Belize City. If you've been on this excursion and can answer some questions, I'd really appreciate it.

 

1. My husband is a good swimmer but has never snorkeled. Is this an easy excursion for a beginner?

 

2. How do you get on and off the boat? Is it a ladder or does it have the "stairway to the seas" I've seen on other catamarans?

 

3. How was the Beach part of the trip? Was the beach nice? I've heard that the water is murky and the bottom mucky. Was that your experience? Also, is there anyplace to get out of the sun. My husband is a pasty white boy and sunburns really easily so someplace to get out of the sun would be good!

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

We just returned. We did this excursion.

They separated out beginners from the experienced snorkelers to give some instruction. We are experienced so I don't know what they did.

Some type of ladder? I didn't really pay much attention.

The beach part really kind of sucked. They took us to Starfish Island. Lots of potential, but the service was horrible.. We waited for a while for waiter beach service, didn't get it so we went and sat at the bar. Sat there for about 15-20 minutes, no service, so we went back to our beach loungers. My DH complained to a security guy in the area about the lack of service. He got someone to come over about 15 minutes later. They didn't come back until about 5 minutes before we were supposed to leave.

The beach was very murky, and there were jelly fish.

Even though it was nice to head out on an excursion right from the ship without having to tender into shore, we would not book this excursion again.

Hey everyone, this is my first cruise ever and I'm interested in getting Posh tickets. I have a question though, how do you know what "Group" you are in? I don't see it on my boarding pass, as I already checked in online. Thanks in advance!

You get assigned to a boarding group at the port once you physically check in.

Be aware that on some ships like the Nieuw Amsterdam the electricity will not work unless you put one of your key cards in the slot by the door. To recharge when you are not in the room, one of you (if there are two of you in the room) will need to leave your card behind which is something you can't do if you are leaving the ship on excursions.

You should be able to get an extra key card from guest services.