Loving My Life

I have had inside, OV, and balcony cabins. I hated the inside cabin - too small and dark. I liked having a balcony but didn't feel I used it enough to justify the cost. I have found that the OV cabins are the best for me. They provide more space, natural light, and a good value (my OVs have been $10-20 more than an inside, but $300+ less than balcony cabins). If I had an itinerary with a lot of sea days, I would be more likely to book a balcony.

I fly Jet Blue out of Boston whenever possible for the same reasons worldspan listed. I prefer Jet Blue to AA, United, Delta, US Airways, Airtran, and Southwest.

Ok, you've convinced me to take the train. Now to convince dh...

Oops, wrong thread.

that sounds like a good option also, from what I read it seems like a lot of people say that the train is a huge part of the trip and the "thing" to do.

 

Very true...for most people. Dh and I commuted from our suburban town to Boston via train - 1.25 hours each way - every day for several years. These days, the thought of 4+ hours on a train makes me twitchy... :)

It depends on when you go. My husband and I went in January, right after the new year, out of San Juan. Apparently children in Puerto Rico are still out on break that week because there were children everywhere...but most of them were well behaved and busy in the kids program.

 

We are in our mid to late thirties and fit right in. Lots of multigenerational families, definitely not just an older vibe. Because we sailed from San Juan, about half the cruisers were Puerto Rican, so all announcements and the muster drill were in both English and Spanish. Other than that, it was like any other Carnival cruise we have taken. I would absolutely recommend this cruise, although during another week (if you want to avoid 500 young kids). The ports were great!

I was debating between these two and Dyea Dave as well. In the end, I decided to rent a car, download Murray's guide (which is fabulous!), and go on our own. We have over 12 hours in port and I want the freedom to stop, hike, and eat when and where I want. We will visit all the scenic places, Carcross, Emerald Lake, and Bennett Lake, plus we'd like to get in a hike or 2...maybe see the puppies...

Princess and HAL have been doing cruises to Alaska for a very long time so I would pick either of those cruise lines.

On Princess my choice of ships would be Coral Princess.

 

LuLu

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Sorry to hijack this thread, but I'd love to know why the Coral would be your preferred ship? I have never sailed with Princess but we are planning an Alaskan cruise next June. We chose the Crown, but the Coral is cheaper...

You could end up in any balcony cabin anywhere on the ship. If you are before final payment, it is likely other balcony cabins will open up after final payment. Carnival also tries to upsell by calling people booked in balcony cabins (and others) and offering them suites, sometimes at a discount, so other balcony cabins can open up that way. Of course, you could also end up in a cabin you want, but it's a gamble.

Thanks for your review. I can't wait to read the rest. I am in the planning stages of an Alaska cruise next summer, and while we won't be sailing on Carnival or sailing out of Seattle, I'm interested in what you did at each port and how the weather was that late in the season.

We used Kayaking Puerto Rico in 2008 and we were happy with them. We could choose between 1 or 2 person kayaks and we had maybe 10-12 kayaks in the group. I don't remember the cost but it was well worth whatever we paid. It was one of the best excursions we've ever done.

How did you get there and how long did you stay? (still trying to plan)

 

We went as part of an excursion with Herrod. We were there for about 1.5 hours. I managed to find one lounger, but there wasn't one available for dh. He snorkeled for a bit but didn't see much. The Pitons are pretty though!

I love getting others' perspectives! We just went to Jalousie Beach and it was my least favorite Caribbean beach. I found it to be small, crowded, and rocky, with poor snorkeling. The only nice thing was seeing the Pitons. I have been to Magen's, Sapphire, and Coki on St. Thomas, Trunk Bay on St. John, Maho on St. Maarten, 7 Mile in GC, West End in Roatan, and all of them were better than Jalousie IMHO.

My husband and I just spent a wonderful day with Royston in St. Kitts. There were supposed to be 4 other people from our roll call on this tour, but they never showed up. Royston was kind enough to continue the tour for just the 2 of us so we were able to go where we wanted to go and stay for as long as we wanted. Yes, his van is old and has a cracked windshield. He gave us the option of leaving the windows in or taking them out. Even though it rained off and on all day, we opted to take them out for easy picture-taking access. Royston is a friendly, funny, and informative guide. We circled the entire island, visiting Brimstone Hill Fortress, Romney Manor (batik), fishing villages, the beach, and beautiful scenic stops. I highly recommend Royston if you are looking for a fun, laid-back day in St. Kitts! :D

Thanks to all of helpful information in this thread, we thoroughly enjoyed our time on St. John! We took the 9am ferry over, enjoyed a short tour of the island, then spent 2 hours at Trunk Bay--one of the most amazing beaches we have been to. It was very way o do this on our own.

I'm enjoying your review. We will be sailing on the Victory this Sunday!

My experience with Royston was not favorable. His van was old, rusty, had a wood block for a brake, cracked windshield and took out the windows to get air. Further, he drove his suspect tour van "off road" into fields, barely a path to be found. I thought his knowledge of the island was excellent and we did indeed circle the island and went from top to bottom, however, his driving methods were very daredevilish. When I expressed dismay with his risk taking driving, he further exacerbated the situation by doing even more stunts thinking he was funny, i.e. driving to the unfenced ledge of a cliff. I was so embarrassed and frightened, I thought I was going to be ill. The excursion was to be 4-4-1/2 hours - It ended up being a 7 hour long, uncomfortable experience.

 

I would not recommend him, his "van" or his risk-taking driving (especially given the shape of his van)!!

 

You just sold me on Royston. That sounds like a blast! :D

[quote name='Kubanita'][SIZE="3"]
[FONT="Century Gothic"]I am trying the best I can to finish up this review for you guys, Im sorry If im taking a litle longer, I just have a lottt of work this week. But I will definitly continue to bring you ALL pictures and hope you stayyyy with meeee.....:D

Bea. [/FONT][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

Pesky work! It always gets in the way of more important things...like reliving cruises through reviews and pictures. ;)

So, several people on our roll call emailed Silver Moon a month ago about making reservations for their excursion. SM told them they only book 6 months out and to contact them again in a couple of months.

After reading about SM and Calabaza here yesterday, I email both companies (7 months out). SM informed me that their 12 person cat was already sold out, but there was still availability for the 24 person cat. Calabaza still had a few slots available (they only have 1 12 person cat) so I booked with them immediately. We had excellent prompt and professional communication and Gina answered all of my questions. I am really looking forward to our day in Barbados!

I am frustrated with SM, however, for not following their own rules. If they don't book more than 6 months out, they shouldn't be sold out 7 months out! I have a feeling several people on our roll call, especially those who contacted SM a month ago, will be frustrated too.

Thank you both for your reviews and pictures. Such a hard decision, but I don't think we could go wrong with either company.

You guys look like you had a great time! We really enjoyed Calabaza and seems like they are very similar. We had a much smaller boat with only 12 people on it. They also treated us like royalty and had a ton of homemade local food. You got some amazing pics! I was really tired and decided not to snorkel at the second stop but after seeing the pics, I know I really missed out :( I did a review that hasn't posted yet in the member review section of the boat but I have lots of pics. Maybe I will post on your review to compare!

 

Please do! I am torn between the two. I have looked at both of them on trip advisor and here on cc, and they sound so similar. I emailed Calabaza today and received an email back. They said that the area where they swim with the turtles is often crowded with other groups so not to expect it to just be our group. Were there a ton of other people there when you went? How about on Silver Moon? I realize they can't guarantee we would be the only ones there, but I also don't want to be surrounded by 300 people--I could take the carnival excursion if that's what I was looking for. :)

 

Is there anything that differentiates Calabaza from Silver Moon?

 

BTW, I'm loving the review!

Nope. No tenders. :) You have plenty of time to research the excursions ... you will be a pro by the time the cruise sails my friend.. :D I hope that I can help you in any way through my own experiences. Thank you very much for reading :):)

 

Bea.

 

 

 

Thanks, good to know!

I have a question when you get a minute. Did any of these ports require tenders? Thanks!

Great pics so far. I can't wait for the rest of it. We are doing this cruise in January and I'm starting to research excursions. Keep it coming. :)