robinlbe

I only went once, but it wasn't all that crowded. There was a big crowd of families and high school graduates on their senior trips - so maybe that accounted for the lower population up on top. ;)

Our table mates were blue level....and they got a partial refund....so the level apparently doesn't matter....it was the squeaky wheel :)

Pscik (oops, I know I didn't remember your name right...sorry) - you're right about the names...

we met two brothers who worked in the MDR - one was Putu and the other was Iputu...both worked there....Their sister was Neputu.

Iputu and Putu both came to our table (from the bar) and we had fun with them. They were great sports about their names and we all enjoyed their personalities.

Hey, you weren't the only cabin to be warm.....there were some at our table who also had very warm cabins, were told that the room was 76, and ended up with some kind of credit.

Our cabin (7224) was ok - a bit on the warmer side, and certainly not as cool as what I would have expected by being turned clear to the end of the cool side.

I, too, was surprised that the room steward asked about when we wanted our room serviced. Even though we told him to do what worked best for him, he definitely came in twice. I noticed that the stewards were working alone - they no longer have their helper. Apparently, there is one helper that is shared by two or three stewards. So, basically, the room steward is working along. That's quite the chore.

Another thing was that you now have to ask for the robes. I was disappointed when there were no robes hanging in the closet, but when we talked to our steward, we had them the next day. Same thing for ice - asked for it the first day, had it 2x a day after that :)

No chocolates....

granted it's been two years since our last cruise (and this is only my 7th cruise total since 2008), but I missed those chocolate pieces each night.

I DID like the idea that each passenger was given a large water bottle. Since you can no longer take your own water bottles on, this was nice (just wish it fit in the refrigerator better...ha!)

The food in the MDR seemed to be much better than the last couple of cruises we were on (June, 2014-Glory and October, 2013-Breeze). The newer selections were noticeable and good.

I, too, love the live musicians!!! I had heard that they all were becoming a thing of the past a couple of years ago, so this was a nice surprise to hear the band. Live music is ALWAYS better!!!

Since we cruised last, you now select your check in time (we selected 1-1:30). It went like clockwork...no standing around, no waiting....disembarking was fine, too....although one thing stood out to me.

The entire crew looked exhausted. No one was smiling toward the end of the cruise. Certainly, there were no smiles as we were leaving the ship. All the other times (all six others, yeah, I know...), everyone was smiling, chipper, etc....

I could tell that the crew member numbers seemed to be less, so I'm kind of wondering if they are all overworked.....like the rest of us, I'm sure....but it's hard to be all smiley-faced when you're run down.

I liked JASE, the CD - not the very best we have had, but one of the better ones, for sure.

All of that being said - it was a wonderful cruise....we loved it, enjoyed it.

We really loved getting to have a "river cruise" as part of this....going down the Mississippi River for at least six hours was really cool and an excellent bonus!!

(I'm thrilled to say I won a "Ship on a Stick" - normally my husband wins trivia and wins the Ship, but I won the Dr. Seuss trivia...and got the Ship! I was very excited for this....)

For those getting ready to go, enjoy!!! ;)

We, too, hired our driver through toursplaza.com

We had Gerry - who had actually been our driver back in 2008, when last we were on Cozumel.

He had given us such an excellent tour back then, it was hard to know what we had missed. He gave us suggestions, and we gave him our suggestions.

All in all, we had a great time....

Am writing a separate review....:)

We'll be on the Dream in 25 days!!!!!!!!!!!!

But - I am a bit concerned about this propulsion issue.....getting to Cozumel an hour late and leaving an hour early.....

I hope that doesn't happen and I hope that doesn't happen at every port. We have all our excursions booked (privately) based upon the scheduled times....

Sure hope this doesn't get messed with.

I didn't realize this until just now, but the past 24 hours have been rough on Belize (between them and Guatemala.)

Wonder how/if this will affect the port?

When we were in Cozumel in 2008, Gerry was an independent operator. We used him for the day and he was WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't say enough great things about him. In fact, he showed us SO much of Cozumel that we really don't know what we want to see this time that we're there.

I just hate the thought of "only" spending the day on the beach when I'm in another place to discover...I can do a beach day here in the USA.

We don't plan to eat there (we'll take our own food with us :) )

So, looking for places to eat isn't necessary. Our almost 19 y.o. son will be with us, so shopping needs to be eliminated.

We've been to Mayan ruins in Belize and will be catching a different set this cruise.

I have looked and looked through all of the forum sections, have scouted the internet until I think I've seen everything there is to see....just can't figure out what to do.... baah.

But, back to Gerry - if you have a chance to use him, DO!

not looking promising :(

Jswerve - which tour company for jeep tour?

Elsie (sorry, can't remember exact name - please forgive) - is that the tour company that Gerry is with now?

Any recent updates?

This group offers what we want, but I'm so hesitant to book....:confused:

DavenJo67 (sorry I didn't remember all of it in my reply to you)

Thanks, Daven???

I actually had already read that review on TA.

Didn't know that was you :)

thanks for all the details in your review....I think you've persuaded me to "keep looking."

Blessings..

Just Google "Cozumel private jeep tours" & you'll get numerous options. We're planning to book direct with one of the private providers rather than thru the ship or one of the excursion providers. That way your dealing direct without middle man & getting best price. Look at Cozumeljeepandsnorkeltour.com for example.

DavenJo67- did you all use this group?

Review?

Advice?

thanks.

I have contacted Daniel several times via F.....b..k

he got back with me quickly.

I do know that his internet is sporadic, but I have had no complaints at all.

We have him booked for our day there in June.:)

Thanks for this information. This will be my 3rd time to Belize (and my husband's/son's 2nd time). We have "done" Altun Ha a an island tour. Ready for something different....Daniel's place sounds great!! I've sent him a PM through that "one" site ;)

The Rony tour, where he can take you to his neighborhood, orphanage, etc sounds great, too...

we just really want to get immersed as much as possible (as much as you can do in a few hours) into the culture...

I can do the beach in the US....we want to see new.

Was just there last week - was there on MOnday, June 16th....with Carnival.

I kept a water bottle with me at all times, and refilled it with the water from the BBQ area. There are hamburgers, and all kinds of fixings - desserts, etc.

There are probably 15+ covered picnic table areas.

We, too, cruise "on the cheap" so that we can afford to go again :)

So, the only thing we spent was $14.99 to rent a float.

If I had brought my own, I wouldn't have had to do that.

We brought our own beach umbrella , too.

(we drove to the port, so we could easily bring the umbrella)

I had never been to a private island either, and I really enjoyed it.

My husband and son went back before I did (it's a tender port) -

it was really hot, and while I was waiting in line to board the tender, Carnival staff was passing around rolled up, watered-down, iced washcloths!!!!

Anyway, it was nice to just relax with a beach day. I don't like to do beach days at other islands because I want to SEE the island, get to know the history, etc. I figure I can always get to a beach here (even though I am at least 18 hours from an ocean shore) - but I am not paying all that money to go onto a new island and stay at the beach :)

Anyway, if you have any more questions, just ask.

We toured with them this past Wednesday (6/18) - we paid our $5 deposit via paypal. We wanted to pay the rest via our credit card, but for some reason it wouldn't go through. I even called our credit card company to make sure everything was okay since we were out of the country, and everything was fine on the credit card end. After 4 tries on their little "remote" credit card machine, we gave up and paid cash (American $).

They had booked too many people for tour #1 and #2 - and they were putting us together , or at least tried to (on a small bus). They had us moving back and forth.

They waited until they drummed up a little more business, and then put us and two other groups on a van.

He had a cooler full of water bottles, cokes, sprites, rum punch, and beer.

Everyone drank freely, and fortunately for us, as non-drinkers, he had plenty of cokes and water.

After the very odd start (which I didn't care for), everything went very well!!! Johnny was our guide and he did a great job.

Our tour ended up being close to 6 hours -

ended up being very pleased!!

Having been to Grand Turk (in the past two years) now, we have rented a car every single time. The past three times we rented through Grace Bay - they have been wonderful to work with!

We originally thought we'd like to try the golf cart, but the first time we went, there were five of us - and we coudlnt' have fit. However, having rented a car - I would never do anything differently.

First off, there's A/C!! It is HOT on GT, and the a/c is most wonderful!

There's more room because of the trunk to have the car.

It's less $ to rent a car (with taxes, etc, it was $64.00 for the day).

We could take our car off the main road, and we have explored the entire island, I think.

Because we've had a car and have gone all over, I now have friends who are locals. What a blessing and neat experience!!

Anyway, consider renting a car - you can still find beaches, shops, history, and more.

Grace Bay was wonderful!!

Well, we decided to not rent a car in PR this time.

We used Albert (he's been mentioned on this board many times).

Turned out it was a great decision!

We got to go into the rainforest, stopped at the visitor's center there (WELL worth it), stopped at several places for pictures, hiked a bit around some falls, and saw enough. It was good.

We left there and drove around (and it was nice for my husband to just look around and enjoy the views since he hadn't seen that part of PR before).

Albert was very knowledgeable about the whole area, so we learned a LOT!

He took us through some of the very most narrow streets of Old SJ, and we wouldn't have seen those streets otherwise.

It was about $55 for each of us, but worth it for this trip.

(I did find out that the Sheraton, across from the port, does rent cars....so maybe next time - IF there is a next time.)

ok. so far, no replies.

We really want to get to the rainforest....

anyone know of a tour company that will wait until we get to port at 1pm to take us to the rain forest? I have searched and searched and I keep coming up empty-handed :(

I have read pages and pages on this forum, and have also done the "search forum" thing. Can't find anything recent.....

We will be in port from 1-10pm.

We would like to get in a couple of hours at the rainforest. I know it wouldn't be a complete tour, but would like to go.

1) I think I've read it's about a 45 minute drive from the port. yes? no?

2) The rainforest closes at 6pm. If we were able to get there by 3pm, have a couple of hours to look around, and leave before 6pm (I understand it gets dark early there), would we/should we be ok?

3) I saw where someone compared San Juan (in town) driving to "driving in Boston on steroids." Well, my husband has driven in downtown Chicago, NYC, DC, Boston, and probably more than that. He also has driven in Grand Turk (opposite driving as here in US) 3x. Do you think this would be recommended to try renting a car and driving ourselves?

4) Any one rental car place better/more reliable than another?

Thanks for taking time to read this....:D

robin

Insidercruiser -

how did it go renting your vehicle?

Where did you all drive?

We've always rented a car in Grand Turk, and we're seriously considering renting in San Juan - so we can go to the rainforest....

any advice?

thanks.

Welcome home...glad you had a nice time!

We've cruised Carnival several times before, but the Getaway will be our first NCL cruise.

Did you have robes provided in your cabin?

If so, do you know if all cabins had them?

If not, did any cabin have them?

(we'll be in a balcony room, 9th deck.)

thanks..

We've only cruised Carnival before...so this is our first NCL cruise.

Are there robes provided in every cabin? (did you have one?)

We'll be in a balcony, 9th deck.

thanks