luv2bcruzng

We just had a fantastic day in Curacao thanks to Celestino and Advance Car Rental.  Got off the ship by 8:30 and the only difficulty we experienced all day was finding the meeting point.  Everyone at the port was more than willing to give us directions to meet Celestino.

We had a Hyundai that was clean and in great shape.  The GPS had every point preprogrammed on it that we wanted to see.  We headed straight out to the Synagogue, then on to Hato Caves, then went to Playa Grandi and swam with the turtles (bring some money to tip the man feeding the turtles), then snorkeling at Grote Knip - absolutely beautiful beach.  We made it back to the pier at 4:10 - Celestino was there waiting for us.  Highly recommend this company.

Reba

12 minutes ago, paul58 said:

I would have booked through either Blue Water Safaris directly or through the ship. I would be careful of any third party vendor especially if they request a payment beforehand.

We have booked many tours through shoreexcursionsgroup.com in the past.  They have been a very reputable company.  We have spoken to them this morning and they will be refunding our money.  The problem was not with them but with Blue Water Safaris.  Shoreexcursionsgroup.com is trying to contact them on our behalf to find out what happened and now they are not even answering their phone!!!

I would never recommend Blue Water Safaris.  Through Shoreexcursionsgroup.com we booked a tour called Nevis Plantation and Beach - riding on a catamaran to Nevis, tour, lounch and beach and then return to St. Kitts.  We were scheduled for 9am.  Got to the port at 8:45, another couple showed up also with a confirmation for a 9am tour.  At 9am we called Blue Water and a lady informed us they had no such tour, only a 10:30 tour.  We are on a cruise with limited time and told the lady we expected a 9am tour.  We had confirmations from her company as to date and time.  She said she would refund our money and hung up on us.  My husband called back and she promptly hung up again!!!

I would never recommend this company!!!!

In St. Kitts right now.  Had a 9am tour with Blue Water Safari scheduled to Nevis.  Got there at 8:45.  Another couple showed up also for this tour.  At 9am we called the local representative. She said there was no 9am tour but another one scheduled for 10:30.  Clear as could be on our paperwork we had a 9am tour.  She ended up hanging up on my husband!  We booked this through Shoreexursionsgroup.com.  We called their number and only got voice messaging and no return call yet.  So disappointed in this company!!!

6 hours ago, dongordon said:

I did a chat on the Sandals website and they directed me to their FAQ link (www.sandals.com/faqs) which had a Day Passes category.  It indicated that the cost for a Day Pass in Antiqua was $105,

They (the chat person) also provided the following email address:

satmail@grp.sandals.com

 

I sent an email...no response yet.

I will send out another in several days.

Don 

Someone else we spoke with told us to call the day before if any day passes are available.  Not sure if anyone at Sandals Antigua knows what is going on!

On 12/20/2018 at 12:22 PM, Moonglo said:

 I had emailed yesterday inquiring about obtaining a day pass while I’m on my NCL Gem  cruise in February 2019 and was told that they are not booking any day passes at all by the person Bill  suggested to go through I wonder what has changed or why she said now ??  I will keep trying through other avenues and hopefully be lucky  

I finally got a response and they told me the same thing-no day passes given out!!

 I guess we will also be taking a cab to Sneaky Pete's beach, which is a questionable destination.  Last time we were there he was closed up and no one knew whether he was going to reopen or not.  Captain Tony's is next door and they also have chairs - so we will be somewhere on the beach.

3 hours ago, OCruisers said:

Interested as well.

We have been there five time but always took a tour by boat to get to a beach.  

Did you use a specific tour to the beach?

It has been many years since we were in Martinique and have a few questions for those who have been there recently.

1.  Are there any relatively nice beaches close to the Port?  We would prefer not having to take a ferry or traveling an hour by taxi.

2.  Are there any nice hotels that we could get a day pass for?  Or just pay for the cost of the chairs?

3.  Any nice restaurant that we could walk to - or short taxi ride to- for lunch?

Thanks for the information,

Reba

Just now, S.S.Oceanlover said:

 

I got my pass booked by using this email:

jcarryl@grp.sandals.com

 

Good luck

 

Bill

Thanks for the information.  I will send an e-mail off right away.  I also sent an email to:  www. sandals.com/grande-antigua  -  just an address I picked up off their website.  Hopefully someone will respond.

Reba

On 11/27/2018 at 12:45 AM, S.S.Oceanlover said:

 

I emailed them about a month ago asking about the day pass but they told me to email again about 2 weeks before our cruise so I did twice to the same email address that replied to me earlier but I haven't gotten any responses.

 

I am persistent but at some point I have to make a plan B.

 

Bill

I just did an online chat with someone concerning the day pass for Sandals Grande Antigua and she informed me to call the day before to book the day pass.  Since we are cruising this can be difficult.  I will try emailing the resort now and see what kind of response I get, if any!

Reba

Looking at the deck plans on the Epic - cabin 17002 looks so much smaller than the other cabins in this category. Cabins 17006, 08, 09, and 11 look bigger. Has anyone stayed in 17002? Curious how it compares to the other cabins.

Thanks for the information.

robtads2@hotmail.com

Does he have a website?

Thanks,

Reba

Question about vaccinations-- going on Celebrity Millenium Jan. 21, 2018 Singapore, Bangkok, Vietnam and Hong Kong and one doctor suggested typhoid shot and another gave me information on a Travel Clinic - I'm sure they will just shoot me up with all sorts of vaccinations. On one board I saw recommended hepatitis and tetanus. What do you recommend????

Thanks!

We will be overnighting in Bangkok. Can anyone recommend a tour company that will pick us up at the port, include overnight in Bangkok and return the following day?

Thanks!

Reba

We never found an all inclusive resort to go to. We booked Celebrity’s beach escape. The beach was absolutely beautiful but the advertised time was incorrect. The trip started on time but we were herded off the beach 90 min early. Would have loved the additional time on the beach.

Hope this helps.

We are in Punta Cana in August and were wondering if any all inclusive resorts in the area allow day passes. Has anyone done this?

Thanks!

Are there chairs for rent and also food available for purchase at Sapphire Beach?

Thanks for the information- very helpful!

Thanks for the information! I guess things have changed quite a bit on Norwegian.

Curious about pricing - love the fact that Breezes has sailboats, probably Sandals also. How would I go about contacting them for information? Thanks!

Can you give me some details about the Hilton day pass? Charges? What is included? Contact information.

Thanks!

It has been a while since we sailed on Norwegian and was wondering about the evening entertainment. Are there still shows every night? Browsing on NCL website it appears that there are charges for some of the entertainment. There is one Broadway style show but what about the other nights?

Thanks for the information.

Did you do any of the evening entertainment? Shows?

I keep seeing the name Joe mentioned. Which company does he work for or own?

We are very interested in a catamaran ride to the Baths but are only in port from 7 to 3pm. The trip that was described going to the Baths first and then another island with lunch sounds good. Which company offers this trip? Website?

Just beginning to plan our day in Tortola and this sounds like a good option!

From Frihamnen to Vasa.

There is a harbour ferry (called Sjövägen) however it won't get you to Vasa until well past 10 meaning that there will likely be long queues already.

 

So use bus #76 (it runs every 10 min) towards Norra Hammarbyhamnen and get off at Djurgårdsbron, from there go across the bridge and follow the signs to Vasa.

http://sl.se/#/Travel/SearchTravelById/Frihamnen%20%28Stockholm%29/Djurg%C3%A5rdsbron%20%28Stockholm%29/1170/1100/2016-05-31%252009_00/depart/sv/null/null/2,8,1,4,96,/null/null/null/null/null/false/null/0/0/null/false

 

Djugårdsfärjan departs from Allmänn gränd. http://kartor.eniro.se/m/tMhsw

It will drop you off at Skeppsbron, walk northwards (water on your right side) to get to the Royal Palace.

 

bus #76 will get you back from (east side of) Old Town to Frihamnen it will take 20-30 minutes or so depending on traffic and etc.

 

You can also walk to Nybroplan and ho with Sjövägen from there but this will take much longer time.

About 20 min walking from southern old town to Nybroplan and another 50 minutes with Sjövägen to Frihamnen.

 

Just be aware about the ticket system for the buses and Sjövägen (read first post).

Our plans for the day are pretty similar. We arrive on the Celebrity Silhouette at 9am at Frihamnen -638. We too would like to do Vasa first followed by Abba Museum. From what you have written I understand how to get to Vasa and then it seems that we can walk to the Abba Museum, is that correct? The next stop will be the Royal Palace - is there a changing of the guards ceremony everyday? what time? Should we plan on the Abba Museum later in the day in order to get to the palace in time for the ceremony? Or is the logistics too confusing to do that? We also want walking around time in the Old City. How would you get us organized?

Thanks for your advice!