bedfordmom

Just came back from a tour by Cosol. He did a great job and it was a fantastic value for the miney

Almond croissant there last week and it was delicious

Just came back from sailing with Gina on the Calabazza. it was an unbelievable experience and I am looking to book the next cruise just to go on her catamaran again.

Thanks

Which HIX is closest to the Port of Manhatten?

Any information on this location. Like to stay one night after our cruise.We have a early morning flight (9 am ) with Monday morning traffic how long to get to airport.

How about dining options. Rates are just to high in there city.

Looking at the Sheraton, but would like a lobster dinner so how far away from a nice lobster shack?

I also looked at the Best western Adams . Looks like its right on the water. Do the rooms have views? Any lobster close by?

 

HIX dining options are Olive Garden, Applebees and Panera (nothing too exciting). Shopping includes Target, Home Depot, Marshalls There is even a supermarket called Stop and Shop. Although close to the airport, Monday morning traffic is brutal, personally I would take the "T", Red line to the Silver line to the Airport to avoid traffic jams. The hotel could give you a better sense of your airport options and times.

 

Best Western Adams is not on water, perhaps near a marsh. The nearest beach is Wollaston, a couple of miles away. It isn't a great beach, almost like an inlet of Boston Harbor. In past years it was polluted but I believe they have cleaned it up Marina Bay, mainly a luxury condo complex on the water has a couple of bars and restaurants and it can be a lot of fun in the summer. It isn't that far from Best Western with a car but is difficult to get to without a car.

 

Lobster rolls are everywhere and are very subjective. I prefer my rolls from Maine or Cape Cod. You can even get a decent lobster roll at our local supermarkets. When ordering I make sure that it is fresh not frozen with a little mayo and no fillers except celery.

I have made a reservation at the Holiday Inn Express. I have also changed my means of getting to Boston since Amtrak's Lakeshore Limited is notorious for arriving into Boston about 3 AM, which is 6 hours late. We are now coming to Boston by Greyhound Bus. It is a 9 1/2 ride and arrives about 5:30 PM. This sounds much better than 3 AM. It will be daylight and we can take a taxi to our hotel. In checking the area around the hotel, I have found an Olive Garden, a Panera Bread, and an Applebee's. Sounds like supper is not too far away. Since the Holiday Inn Express package gives a free shuttle to the pier and breakfast, I think it is the best choice for us. We have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express on Long Island when we have sailed on the Explorer and were always very happy with their service.

 

Agree that HIX is in a fringe area but the pros outweigh the cons and just use safety common sense. My daughter used to live in the apartments at UMASS Boston and would often walk from Columbia Point to her job at Applebees even at night without incident. Just don't wear flashy jewelry; etc. That area has almost every store you would need before a cruise. If you are brave, you can always take the train from Andrew into town. Best Western is also not a bad area but there are fewer stores there. I do like the tacky Cathay Pacific nearbye. I grew up in Quincy and recommend the Adams NPS tour if in season which is a train ride in the opposite direction to Quincy Center.

We have cruised on both, and they are very similar. Freestyle dining and no formal nights are the biggest difference. Also, we have found RCI to be lacking a little in the bars and lounges. On NCL the music is available in different locations very early in the evening. RCL does not start until 9PM or later. One RCL cruise, one of the passengers brought his iPod and speakers to the Schooner Lounge until the scheduled music started. For those of us who enjoy a cocktail before dinner it is nice to have some music to listen to.

 

RCL Love the Royal Promenade and ice skating shows; better room service

NCL Better entertainment overall, freestyle dining,

I started doing 100% cruise-sponsored excursions and now do about 10-15%. Sometimes the cruiselines either take the choice times of a private excursion (case in point Coral World in St Thomas only has the afternoon times open for snuba-with private bookings) or in some cases contract for the entire day of an excursion. Sometimes there is a risk of missing the ship like when we did a ship sponsored Volcano Hike in St Kitts. BTW--a couple of weeks later, a lady broke her leg during the hike and she ended up missing the ship even though she was on a ship sponsored excursion. I noticed that NCL no longer offers that "dangerous" tour, lol. And then sometimes I just want to use up OBC.

The ship excursion includes transportation to Coral World so even if you find a lower price you have to add transportation costs. The ship might be the best value.

 

It looks like our ship's price for snuba is very similar to doing it on your own adding in your transportation. I also noticed that for our port day, the snuba spots were taken in the am. (by the ship) so if you want to snuba in the am, then you should do it from the ship. If you want to stay longer at Coral Beach or to view the exhbits longer, then you could always take your own taxi back

I have done Bernards and Robinson's speed boats (both fantastic) and looking to do something different like half a day in Marigot. Is there enough to do there. Our ship is the only one in port that day. I thought we would take the public bus there, go to Seraphinas, market the fort and some stores. Is there anything else to do there?

Me too-not a good sign! I will go elsewhere.

 

Tried for 1-2 weeks to contact both Spencer and Herod (preferred the latter). Both never replied despite two contacts. Meanwhile Cosol immediately contacted me; did a follow-up email and confirmation. Despite not liking the idea ride both ways to Jealousie Beach, I was so impressed with the upfront customer service, we are going to use his company.

For what it's worth, Specialty certainly has (relatively) recently changed his land/sea tour itinerary. It is now by sea both ways, with the many portion in Soufriere itself. This apparently gives more time in the village and on the beach. So, if you want a tour that is by land down and sea back, Spencer no longer offers this.

 

So it sounds like Spencer has speed boat both ways, Herod one way and Cosol only by land. I would like the combinationof sea/land as it would give us the opportunity to see this beautiful country both by land and sea plus saving a little time.

I was getting quotes and info from him a couple of months ago and did go with Herod because of price. He (spencer) does the land first then back by sea. It is your preference. Soufriere is 1 1/2 hours from cruise port and they do stop. If you don't mind being in a car both ways, then fine. If you'd like to get back quickly, the boat is much quicker and fun. You do see a different view of island this way that you would not see in a car. I honestly would recommend this way rather than a bus up and a bus back. Spencer does answer emails quickly so ask him any questions you may have re trip. I did meet him at Jalousie beach with his daughter when we were there with Herod and he is a great guy.

 

Thanks, great tips! I wrote to Cosol, Herod and Spencer and heard back immediately from Cosol. Looks like Herod may be the best for us based on price and speed boat back. A problem is that I understand he may not run the tour for less than 10 and we are a couple. First things first, would like both Herod and Spencer just to get back to me before I make the decision.

[quote name='blue_water']I see you're sailing in a couple days.
Paradise Point is a favorite spot to enjoy at the end of your day, you can taxi or team up and down.
STT is a great beach destination, butbsince you're not interested in beaches or snorkeling and are more interested in touring you can take one of the "cookie cutter" tours offered through the ship.
To do something a bit more interesting consider the Champagne Cat to STJ, also offered through the ship.
Ship excursions cost more but you don't have much time to plan independent excursions. There are several ships in port with you so most beaches and other areas will be crowded, and the Champagne cat would be a great choice if still available.[/quote]

How about coral world aquarium and then a quick stop at the beach next door. In pricing it out the ships excursion is only a couple of dollars more than going there independently with taxis. Coral World also has a bunch of extra $ activities such as snuba, helmet diving etc which you can also book through the ship. The good thing is if you change your mind the ship generally has more of liberal cancellation policy than individual vendors as well as guarenteeing you make the ship. This is not as much of an issue on St Thomas where there are plenty of taxis and generally fairly long port days.( unless you go over to St John and miss the ferry, lol)

I can also recommend Godfrey tours if you want a general overview of the island. We enjoyed his general tour (without the beach) last year. Last year he did not require deposit but has changed the tour around this year and not sure if he requires deposit now.

Like a previous poster, I am trying to decide between Spencer Ambrose and Cosol tours. I cannot seem to figure out for the Land/Sea tour whether Spencer does ride through the mountains one way and then speedboat back or does the speedboat both ways. I would like to ride through the mountains at least one way. Does his tour save alot of time using the speedboats returning earlier than Cosol or do you see additional sites?

has anyone taken the NCL Sr. John Eco Hike recently?

The cruise is less than 60 days away, so they cannot cancel without penalty. And if they have paid in full it is probably too late to have the booking transferred to a TA. But for people experiencing difficulties with a direct booking before final payment this would be an excellent suggestion: Guest Reservation Transfer FAQ

 

Success!! Received an amenity confirmation with the promised OBC. persistence paid off. Interested it does not show up in the NCL account but at least it is in writing so maybe not all NCL OBC shows up in the NCL account.

Cancel your cruise and re-book with a TA. This is why I book with TA's directly now. I send an email to my TA...and it is done. New confirmation within an hour.

 

Good idea but I am past the date, its 60 days before cruising, I am going to ask for written confirmation of the "perks".

When my PCC didn't live up to her promises I persisted with emails and messages on her NCL facebook page until she realised I wasn't going away. It took me about eight weeks but I finally got what I was promised. Sounds like they ignore you for a while in the hope that you will go away. She was quick enough to respond, however, when I wanted to upgrade!

 

 

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Talked again to the PCC who now claims I have $200 OBC and 2 bottles of wine. Sent me the same confirmation and then some invoice with 2 $25 OBC. Meanwhile my NCL account still shows $50. This guy is making me crazy.

How much OBC are you expecting? It is $100? Because the online system takes the cabin OBC and splits it across the number of passengers. So does the Amenity Form.

 

So it's possible your PCC sees the correct $100 OBC, but you see it listed as $50.

 

 

Good point; however it was promised to be $150 and shows as $50 on my NCL account and confirmation forms. Just got off the phone with PCC and said that he is going to add the wine/dinner (geez didn't the nice supervisor do this yesterday) and I will get a confirmation soon as well about OBC change. I thought he did this yesterday. Keeping calm, professional and cool and makes me continue to be tenacious as long as this gets resolved. Thank you CC community for your help and support and I will let you know what happens. I also hope NCL is reading this

That's the way I go, and there was a side walk and took me less then 20 minutes. I think if you do not cut through the Marina you may have to walk on the shoulder to reach downtown.

 

Very easy 20 minute walk, can't understand why more people don't walk it, and why they push the land/water taxis. By the time you buy the ticket or find a driver you could almost walk it. I believe they are sidewalks and if not, it still felt very safe on the shoulder. We actually saw goats across the street on a hill which was really cool as well as ships in the marina. Very pleasant way to walk off some of the calories from the week.

Find a really great TA and give up the PCC. Not only will THEY handle all problems/upsells/upgrades with NCL, but they will add in extra OBC/Tips/wine, etc. on top of what NCL is giving. You get complaints about both reservation methods, but if I am going to have a complaint at least I will get a little something extra for my trouble;)

 

I am sorry that I didn't use TA from my usual internet company. PCC caught me at a vulnerable momemt, he had been calling me for a couple of weeks and I caved in. I can kick myself. What frightens me is if the ship is run like the the customer service, it would be a disaster. I know better having this be my fifth NCL cruise and 10th overall

Update: I called the guest relations desk and that number is for completed cruises. They switched me to the help desk where I talked to a very helpful woman. She was able to get me the promised dinner and wine and help me pay for the insurance. I forgot to mention the PCC told me he was going to get me one free insurance and he was going to tell me on Monday; (which he never did); thus I was without the insurance.

 

I then talked with her supervisor, told her the whole story and she promised me she was going to help me get in touch with the head supervisor around the PCC's behavior (ie broken promise, no call backs) . I do not want anything further but to alert them to the unscrupulous sales practice of one of their employees.

 

Update II:

 

PCC called me apologizing for the misunderstanding telling me that he was going to make everything right that he promised. Sent me another confirmation with the exact same OBC and the fact that I just paid for the insurance. Boy does he think I am stupid. Checked ncl account and had the same obc. Called him back and he said he was going to look into it. Frustrating.

Thank you both--fantastic suggestions. BTW my NCL account says $50 OBC credit and then a ? I do want to go on the cruise but hate the idea that it was sold almost like a "bait and switch". I expected more honesty from the cruise company. I generally use one of the larger internet companies and have never had a problem.

 

Update: I called the guest relations desk and that number is for completed cruises. They switched me to the help desk where I talked to a very helpful woman. She was able to get me the promised dinner and wine and help me pay for the insurance. I forgot to mention the PCC told me he was going to get me one free insurance and he was going to tell me on Monday; (which he never did); thus I was without the insurance.

 

I then talked with her supervisor, told her the whole story and she promised me she was going to help me get in touch with the head supervisor around the PCC's behavior (ie broken promise, no call backs) . I do not want anything further but to alert them to the unscrupulous sales practice of one of their employees.