Coloradodude

Mattpro

Any word on faster internet?

I also confirmed Chops was coming on AOS, as I talked to a waitress that was moving from Freedom of the Seas to AOS to run the Chops Resturant.

Quick review

This was a good not great excursion. It beat driving to Dunns Falls.

The snorkeling was quite good. The key was to get with Courtney and ask him to show you the sights on a snorkel tour. We saw an eel and 2 lobsters and quite a bit of fish. Courtney knows all the hidden holes etc. The snorkeling was better than the snorkeling we did in Grand Cayman out by Sting Ray city.

My wife and I our certified divers and have dove/snorkeled Jamaica in the past. Jamaica has improved in the last 20 years. They our really cracking down on the illegal spear fishing.

We had a Great day. Weather was good , the jerk chicken at the beach was really good along with the drinks. We thought the free punch was good on the return trip. No real complaints. When got back to Margaritaville we just skipped that part and returned to the ship to drop off snorkel gear etc. We had plenty of time to walk around and shop and revisit Margaritaville etc

I would recommend this trip if the weather looks good. Beats spending the day in a Van.

It really isn't my time dining. I just got off Freedom of the Seas. We went to dining hall desk at 1PM right after we got on-board. I was unable to book anything online ahead of time for around 6-7pm. So I thought when I got the ship I could get a 6-6:30 time etc.

I was wrong.. 5:30 or 7:30 was available. Otherwise you had to just show up and hope the dining hall was not filled up. They really pushed 5:30 or 7:30 or later. That was our choice for My time dining.

Hope that helps

Thank you so much everyone for your help. I think we will take our chances and go with the 10:22 flight.

Appreciate all the tips.

Hi guys

I am looking at purchasing flight tickets for return flight after an Adventure of the Seas cruise out of San Juan. Best flight is leaving at 10:22 AM. We plan on self-disembarking right at 7:00 AM. I realize there is an Ag station at the airport to go through. My wife and I our TSA pre-check. Just wanted experts thoughts if they would book it. Next best time is around 2:45 PM

Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions.

Anyone know if VOOM is up and running yet? We set sail this weekend Feb 28. Hoping it is up and running

Is there any place to get a nice clean couples massage near the port in Falmouth?

Did you book the party tour or the snorkel tour? Please post review on RCCL so they can fix it the excursion or remove it. We go on the snorkel tour in a couple of weeks. Hope it is better. Thanks for the info. Anyone else been on this excursion?

Anyone been on this new excursion?

Any info would be appreciated.

Anyone know what days and times the ice show is? Really appreciate a copy of the cruise compass if someone has them.

Thanks wayne

Anyone been on this new excursion?

Do they make the boat ride fun, Music, drinks etc or is this tour kinda boring.

Is snorkeling any good? The last time I snorkeled and scuba dived in Jamaica, there was very little coral and just small fish. Visibility was about 50'

Can you snorkel from the Beach?

I Just don't want to do the long drive to Ocho Rios, so hoping to try this new excursion.

Thanks in advance

Wayne

We personally use a Chase or Capital 1 rewards credit card with a no foreign transaction fees for most purchases over $20. Got to get the points of miles. All others we just use cash.

We have had no problems using a credit card. Just Google no foreign transaction fee credit cards and get one if you do not have one. A regular CC card will charge a transaction fee.

Cash works great everywhere don't sweat trying to get pesos. Not worth the effort for a cruise. If you spent the winter or a month down in Mexico it would be different. Just my opinion.

We just got off the Miracle. We were on the 8th floor on the aft. Loved it. Only 1 floor up to the Serenity deck and the buffet.

Cabo - try taking a water taxi from the marina to Medano beach, about $10. Go to the Office Restaurant. You might be able to get a massage in this area. Google the office on Medano beach. You can walk to Medano beach but it is about 2 miles from where tender drops you off. May want to ride water Taxi over, then walk back through the marina to get your massage.. Just a thought.

We got our couples massage at a place on the street by Cabo WABO. They had signs advertising 70 Minute Massage for $20. There is all kinds of places around the Marina or 1 block from the Marina offering massages for around the same price. We did give a $20 tip..

PV - We just took a TAXI to the Melacon, walked around asked a few locals and found a spa 1 block off the beach.. Great couples massage for $20 each and I gave a $20 tip.

There was massages available also right outside the ship for $40.

Costa Maya is our favorite spot to get beach massage and has plenty of beach bars, but that is a different cruise

Background - My wife and I sailed Feb 28th out of Long Beach, doing the 3 stop Mexican Riviera. We are both in our mid 50's. We called this our massage Cruise.

Embarkation - Really bad.. worst we have had in 11 cruises. We got to the port at 11:30. Ship came in at 8 AM. We had Faster to the fun.. best $50 I ever spent, but still did not get on the boat until 1:30 as passengers were still coming off at 1:15.

Disembarkation - Best we ever had. Faster to the Fun was Awesome. We were off the boat at 8:30 and at the airport at 9:00.

Cabo - We have spent a week here before. Due to Faster to the Fun, we were able to walk right down when we wanted to and take the tender into the Marina. We walked into town and each of us got a 70 Minute Massage for $20. A Great Day.

Mazatlan - Took a Taxi to Athina Spa and we each got a 20 Finger massage for $40. Best massage we both have ever had. Then we took a taxi to the Golden zone, shopped for a few hours and then to the cliff divers. Another Great day

Puerto Vallarta - Did the Extreme Canopy Adventure. We both have ziplined 4 different times. This is the best zipline excursion we have ever been on. This is probably the best excursion we have ever been on.

We not only did a bunch of ziplines, but rappeled off waterfalls, rope courses, 250M water slide that you put on elbow pads and helmets. We rode mules up a canyon, 4X4 Unimogs, Speedboat ride across the bay. We seen Dolphins and whales breaching up close. You can read reviews all over the internet about this.. All our 5 Star..

Then back to the ship, took a TAXI to the Melicon Boardwalk, Shopped a little and then we each got another 1 HR massage for $20 each.

Sure beat just shopping for the day.. Best day of the Cruise

Weather.. - 1st day leaving Long Beach was cloudy and cold.. The rest of the days were GREAT

Comedy Club - We went almost every night.. 4 Great comedians. good job Carnival

Food - Awesome - no Complaints - 2 prime rib nights

Cabin - We had an AFT Cabin on the rear- loved it.

Serenity Deck- loved it

GYM - Worst one of any cruise ship we have been on, but worked

Overall - Great Cruise, no complaints. I have a saying. Only good cruises and Great cruises, you can make it what you want.

For all the Carnival Bashers I had a GREAT time and will cruise Carnival again My favorite cruise line is still RCCL, as their ships our a lot nicer.

But Carnival does a nice job.

Recommendations -

Internet - Would love to see real Hi speed Internet. I tried internet cafe twice, it was really bad. It took 5 minutes and $4 to load 2 web pages.

Newest RCCL ships - internet is 20 times faster than this ship was.

TV - It would be nice to have a few more channels like ESPN or Fox news or a Real CNN channel. Not a International CNN that plays the same story every hour. TV local Channels were out of FL. Normally watch very little TV , but we had one rainy cold day.

Pool band.. Missed the pool band, what more can i say

Final thoughts - Loved the Miracle and will probably sail this itinerary again some time. Sorry for all the grammar and spelling mistakes.. need to run. If anyone has any questions I will try to answer best I can.

Imouer

You are right on ... I would pay $25 more per passenger to have a steel drum band play everyday at the pool. But the cost of a band for the week divided by the number of passengers can not be that much. $5 sounds more like it.

That's what makes it a Cruise.. The DJs can be in the Disco at night.

We love to get an ice cream cone when the ship is setting sail form ports and watch the dock runners while listening to steel drum music. You get the music, ice cream and the dock runners for entertainment. Life is good.

I heard none are available yet for 2015. Anyone had any luck booking FTTF in 2015? Also, anyone know if you have to do the pre-check-in before you can book shore excursions with Carnival?

Kelley

I always book around 12-14 Months in advance. Just book it, and you can always cancel up to 90 days before if you need to change dates.

Thank You Smart Arsenal fan.

Our cruise is booked for February 2015 and right now no shore excursions are showing up. Now I know why.

Maybe this will help clear up some questions. I just went to BOA online and logged in. Click on LOGO on bottom left corner.

It will take you to an NCL website and answer most questions. I have

printed these.

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=Compassrewards

What about my NCL MasterCard is changing?

NCL is replacing the current Compass Rewards program with the brand new NCL WorldPoints program to offer you more benefits than ever. This new reward program will bring you the flexibility of Freestyle Cruising®, with more redemption options for NCL items. Plus, you'll have the option to redeem your points for other travel awards, merchandise, cash-back and retail gift certificates.

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Will my account number change?

No, your card will remain exactly the same and you can continue to use your NCL MasterCard as usual. On January 1, 2009, you will just begin earning NCL WorldPoints rather than Compass Rewards.

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When my reward program changes will my interest rate or other credit card terms change?

No, the changes will be made to the reward program only. Any changes to your credit card terms and conditions would be communicated to you in writing by Bank of America.

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When will I receive more information about the NCL WorldPoints rewards program?

Information on the new program will be available on this website, on your on-line statement and on your mailed NCL credit card statements in December. Stay tuned for more exciting details to come.

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What happens to my Compass Rewards?

NCL is ending the Compass Reward program and as stated in the program terms and conditions, you will be issued a Compass Reward certificate(s) based on your December 31, 2008 point balance. Your final certificate(s) will arrive by mail on or before January 31, 2009. You will have one year from date of issue to apply the certificates to a booking, but you will be able to use them towards any NCL cruise open for sale. Compass Rewards points will not be transferred to the WorldPoints program.

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How many certificates will I receive?

Based on your points balance as of December 31, 2008, you will receive certificates in usual increments of 100 and 500 points toward a stateroom upgrade and/or a discount on your cruise.

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What do I need to do to get my certificates?

No action is required by you. Certificates will be automatically sent to you after termination of the Compass Rewards program and you will receive them in the mail by January 31, 2009. Certificates will have one-year expiration and cannot be extended further. However, they can be used toward any NCL cruise that is open for sale.

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What if my billing cycle ends mid-month?

You will continue accruing Compass Rewards points through December 31, 2008, regardless of when your December billing cycle ends.

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What is the new NCL WorldPoints card?

With the new NCL WorldPoints card you will earn double points for every dollar spent on NCL and one point for all other purchases. You will also have exclusive opportunities to redeem points on special NCL offers such as cruises, on-board credits, upgrades and much more.

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Will my card change?

No. You can continue to use your NCL credit card as usual. The only change will be that you will begin earning WorldPoints rather than Compass Rewards points as of January 1, 2009.

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Hope this helps Wayne

Do you have to be a latitude member to apply for the NCL MasterCard? I see it asks for the latitude number on the application. I was hoping my parents, who have never cruised with NCL could apply and get the NCL MasterCard. Does anyone know?

Thanks Wayne