PastorD2

Ace Rent a Car on South Andrews Avenue provides shuttle service both to the airport and to Port Everglades. It is a small operation but I have used them twice and would do so again if I cruise out of Port Everglades.

We are renting a car and doing a self directed tour on Feb. 27th. We are interested in seeing the California Lighthouse and snorkeling at Baby Beach which I believe are on opposite ends of the island. Can anyone help with the travel time it will take to get from the port to the lighthouse, then from the lighthouse to Baby Beach, and then back to the port.

We have also heard that Alto Vista Chapel, Baby Natural Bridge and the Casibari Rock Formation might be good sights to check out. If we are going from one end of the island to the other is this possible?

Thanks in advance!

I recently booked cabin # 11713 on the Harmony for June. It is one cabin closer to the back of the ship than the # 11311 you had on the opposite side. I saw where a cabin was open on deck 10 that was the third one from the back of the ship. Is that a better cabin? I wondered about being so close to the Aqua Theater. I also saw that you had a connecting cabin. Was there any problem with noise from the other cabin. Thanks, Ronnie

 

 

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In my opinion the biggest consideration would be your sound sensitivity. Any cabins overlooking the boardwalk will have some sound issues but they were not enough to bother my DW or I.

The closer to the back will have more sound heard from the Aqua Theater. The only times that this seemed loud to us were nights that they were showing football games on the big screens in the Aqua Theater (which will not be a factor in June).

As to the connecting cabin - the only time I heard anything from the other cabin was when they entered or left I could hear the cabin door close.

If it were me, I would take the cabin closer to the back of the boat.

thank you for this update, we are sailing in February in a boardwalk balcony and it's good to know these tips. May I ask what stateroom/deck you were on and your thoughts?

Our cabin was 11311. We were on the Oasis in January, 2015 and were also in a Boardwalk balcony - 12329.

I believe these balconies to be a good value. I understand the concerns that some express about the "neighbors" being just across the boardwalk and the additional noise from the broadwalk area and the aqua theater but neither were an issue for my DW or myself.

Our last cabin was exactly halfway of the boardwalk balconies. The first time we had the very end balcony. The closer to the back you can get the better your view will be. If we sail on another oasis class ship we would only get a balcony that was on the back half of the boardwalk and avoid the top or bottom decks overlooking the boardwalk (the top b/c of the Sports Deck immediately above and bottom b/c of being so close to the boardwalk and also losing more of the already limited ocean view.

These are just my opinions for what they are worth.

DW and I were on the Oasis the week of November 27th in a Boardwalk balcony and decided to share the Good, Bad and Indifferent from our experience with this new perk from RCI.

Good - Enjoyed our meal at Johnny Rockets. It included dessert (excluding milkshakes). We just presented the letter that was in the stateroom when we arrived and gave the server our SeaPass. The bill came back as $0 but with the opportunity to leave an additional tip.

Indifferent - At our age we passed on the rock climbing experience so we can't share any details about this part of the perk.

Bad - RCI needs to work on the soft drink part of the perk. The souvenir cups were waiting for us in the room (though the number of soda dispenser machines are few and far between). I only found three machines: deck 5 at the pizza restaurant, deck 15 in the arcade room and deck 16 in the Windjammer restaurant.

The real problem was getting drinks with the SeaPass. The sheet from RCI says, "Beverage packages have already been applied to your SeaPass so that you may being enjoying immediately." We thought that meant electronically applied because there was not a soda sticker on our SeaPass (we have purchased the soft drink package before and gotten a sticker put on). When we ordered a soft drink the server informed us that we didn't have the package b/c we didn't have a sticker on the SeaPass. I told him to run the SeaPass through his machine and see. He came back with a print-out showing that we did not have the soft drink package.

So I had to make a trip to the Hospitality Desk to get two stickers for our two SeaPasses. I got them with no questions asked, no apologies given and no reasonable explanation as to why they were not on the SeaPasses when we received them.

So, my word to the wise - make sure that your SeaPass has a soda sticker on it when you receive it at check-in.

Seems that there are still some glitches in the implementation of this perk.

FYI - Just received an email from John at Cozumel Cruise Excursions and all is well with our excursion on March 4. Whatever was going on with communication, seems to be resolved.

 

Debr

Just checking to see how your excursion went?

I am still waiting to get resolution of my deposit refund through Paypal. The company has 7 more days to respond to my dispute.

Doug

After 3 days and no reply to my email about the deposit refund and with the past history of lack of communication, I have filed a dispute with Paypal in order to get the deposit back. In case you aren't familiar with Paypal's process - once you file a dispute they send notification of the dispute to the other party and they have 30 days to resolve that matter. If it is not resolved then it becomes a claim and paypal investigates and decides if a refund is appropriate.

So this may take a while. At this point, I don't want to believe that the company is dishonest. My instinct tells me that they are a small, unprofessional company. That being said, I would not recommend them to others.

Can you tell me how long of a walk it was to the Sporting Goods Store .. We dock at the Puerto Maya pier.

Debr

My best guess is that it is between about 1/4 to 1/2 mile. The store is almost straight across the street from the International Pier and you can see the Puerto Maya pier from the International Pier. The day we were in Cozumel there were 3 Carnival ships docked at Puerto Maya and from our ship we could see people walking back and forth on that pier. You will just take a left when you come out of the terminal area and walk straight down the street.

My wife and I booked through Way To Go Tours and had a super day with Delroy traveling out to the Belize Zoo and then touring the city before returning to the port for our tender back to our cruise ship. Communication was excellent before our tour and Delroy gave us a great overview of his homeland which he loves deeply and serves as a wonderful ambassador for. The tour lasted about 3 1/2 hours and was very enjoyable.

It is takes about 45 minutes to drive to the zoo each way, probably a little more than an hour at the zoo and then a little less than an hour touring around the city itself.

Here is my experience to date:

After two phone calls with Carla I got an email with the e-receipt for my deposit one week before my scheduled tour (which was two days before my cruise departure). The email also included a photo with Carla identified in it. The email sender was John Adams and also included the following: "We sincerely apologize for the delay. My wife normally handles our communication, but was in the hospital because of a rare blood disease. We are very sorry for the inconvenience."

The day of our scheduled tour was very, very windy and very cool. We really didn't want to snorkel in this weather but went to our meeting point, Marti Sporting Goods Store. Carla did meet us there and after a brief discussion we all decided that it was not a good day for a snorkel tour. We were given the option of upgrading to a jeep or dune buggy tour or receiving a refund. We chose the refund option and Carla said that we would receive it via PayPal.

Upon my return home yesterday, I emailed John and asked when I should expect the refund to be processed. I have not received the refund yet but it has only been 3 days. I will post again with further details as they develop.

My wife got to have this wonderful opportunity to visit the Chacchoben Ruins and then eat a meal in a home of a Chacchoben village. It was an experience that we hope to never forget. The tour guides were excellent and the vehicle was comfortable.

The tour was about 5.5 hours and well worth the price. There is some climbing at the ruins so be aware of that but my wife has had back fusion surgery and was able to get up the steps with my assistance.

We were on a RC cruise ship and the walk to the meeting place is only 5-10 minutes, the directions we were given were easy to follow and then the van dropped us off right at the port on our return.

Our group consisted of two couples in their early sixties. We had a wonderful day touring the island with Tex, who was an excellent guide and wonderful driver.

Along with seeing highlights of the island we made a stop at Victor's monkey establishment which was a blast. We enjoyed our interaction with the monkeys and birds.

We also did the glass bottom boat tour and enjoyed seeing the reef and fish around it.

This is a tour that we would highly recommend and the price, we felt, was very reasonable.

My wife and I had a super day with Delroy traveling out to the Belize Zoo and then touring the city before returning to the port for our tender back to our cruise ship. Communication was excellent before our tour and Delroy gave us a great overview of his homeland which he loves deeply and serves as a wonderful ambassador for. The tour lasted about 3 1/2 hours and was very enjoyable.

It is takes about 45 minutes to drive to the zoo each way, probably a little more than an hour at the zoo and then a little less than an hour touring around the city itself.

Sounds like we may have booked through the same company. When I booked and paid my deposit through paypal I got an email fairly quickly (within a day I think) that stated, "Thank you so much (my name was here) for booking our family owned and operated Snorkel Excursion. We have you booked for (date and time was here). We will send you a personalized reservation email and E-Receipt that will include your balance, but here is the general meeting point locations and directions when arriving at different Cozumel Piers."

At the top of the email it has Carla listed as the snorkel tour coordinator and a phone number. After a few weeks and not getting the follow-up email I called Carla and did talk to her. She said that she didn't know anything about another email that I would be receiving but that she did have our party on the calendar for the tour. Our cruise is next week so I will not know for sure until then if it all works out or not.

I will post about my experience upon my return home. Of the four excursions that I have booked, this is the only one that I am really concerned about.

Thanks for sharing your review! It is getting me excited, a group of four of us are scheduled for this same tour in early February.

The OP is sailing July 3. It appears they will fly in July 1 and spend July 2 sightseeing in Boston.

This is correct. Our flight arrives around 11 am on July 1 so I hope we have most of Wednesday afternoon for touring the city and/or harbor as well as all day Thursday before we get on the ship around noon on Friday.

We would appreciate ideas and suggestions for our day and a half of sightseeing. Thanks in advance! It has been helpful so far.

OP

Probably will plan to take the SL1 bus from airport to Seaport Hotel (unless I just can't manage the luggage).

And since bus fare would be just over $5 for two people and taxi is only about $10 or so, I will probably grab a taxi to the cruise terminal.

Thanks again for all the help!

Just booked through Hotwire for $167 per night (2 nights) and got the Seaport Hotel.

Guess I have 3 options on how to get from Logan to the hotel.

1) Taxi - most expensive, guessing about $25, but needed if luggage is an issue.

2) Water Taxi - not sure of costs or how much of an issue luggage is.

3) SL1 to World Trade Center Station and walk 2 blocks to hotel at no costs if I can handle the luggage.

Sounds like I can catch one of the "on and off" trolley tours near the hotel to see the tourist sites.

Then can I catch public transportation to cruise terminal or should I get a taxi?

I believe the Old Town Trolley has a connector route that picks up on Northern Ave two blocks from the Seaport.

Good to know, I will check on that b/c it would be almost perfect for us.

138 has done the best again with hotel and transportation recommendations in Boston. There is way too much to see in Boston to waste it trying to see lighthouses. Hopefully, you're calling Portland, because this is the best place to see lighthouses in New England (slightly biased, of course). You'll see more lighthouses in a shorter period than you could in Boston. I love Boston, and love that nearly everything is within walking distance (I'm 60ish as well).

A few years ago we did a New England Lighthouse Trip (self directed) by flying in and out of Boston. We went both south and north (as far as Bath) and saw 57 lighthouses in one week (mostly boat tours). We just ran out of time and missed the 4 or 5 in the Boston harbor area and wanted to get them on our "seen it" list. But I am having a hard time finding a boat tour mid-week so we may have to see what we see sailing out on the cruise ship.

And b/c we want to see Boston I am opting for lodging closer in town to cut down on "wasted time" with public transportation.

Thanks again for the advice and guidance.

This is for anyone but especially Carol,

After more thought and reading I am considering using hotwire to get a hotel near the cruise terminal. Based on the "free internet" listed on the hotwire offering and looking at the three hotels in the waterfront area, it should be the Seaport hotel since that is the only one of the three that mentions "free internet" on the website.

Question: What is the ranking that you would give between the three hotels? What is the good and bad with the Seaport?

Thanks again!

DW and I are planning a July 3rd cruise for 40th anniversary and we would like to fly in and spend day and half sightseeing in Boston before sailing.

Currently thinking to arrive by noon or 1 pm and do a harbor cruise that afternoon (#1 goal = lighthouse views). Then on our full day do a trolley tour where we can get on and off to check out the sights.

I have the Hyatt Boston Harbor at the top of the lodging list b/c of it being near the airport and easy access to water ferry across to the sights.

Background: We are in our early 60's and from North Carolina. Though we hope to get back to Boston in the future, we realize that may not happen so we want to see and do all we can in a short amount of time.

Questions: Does this sound reasonable? What am I missing? Are there other hotels that I should consider? What would you add to the "to do" list?

Thanks to earlier postings I have seen our various transportation options to the cruise port. And thanks in advance for feedback and thoughts, I value them all.

On a cruise on RCI Oasis in January and have been debating with myself between two excursions for our day in Falmouth.

1) Bamboo Rafting on the Martha Brae or

2) 1700's Great House & Plantation Tour with Lunch

Anyone done either of these previously that would like to share an opinion?

On a cruise on RCI Oasis in January and have been debating with myself between two excursions for our day in Falmouth.

1) Bamboo Rafting on the Martha Brae or

2) 1700's Great House & Plantation Tour with Lunch

Anyone done either of these previously that would like to share an opinion?

Anyone also considering either of these two excursions?

We would like to take a tour with mystic, whale watching, has great ratings. We are just 2 so we need company, anyone interested:)

DW and I are seriously considering this excursion. I will post again if we decide to do so!:)