NYMac4

Not yet .. I know other cruise lines have canceled by now. We are scheduled on April 12 out of NYC which I’m sure will not happen. 

Was there a Mardi gras party?

Hmm ... I don’t think so. There was an 80’s Glow Party and a few other sail away parties but I don’t remember a Mardi Gras party

Thursday - Nassau

So not going to Princess Cay was kind of disappointing as we had never been and were looking forward to a free, relaxing beach day but we are still on vacation and it’s not snowing so life is good :)

We had a later arrival to Nassau because of the change of plans so I think It was 2:30-8:30 time in port. We had a relaxing morning - looked at photos, read for a little while, the other two went to the gym ...had lunch and then watched us come into Nassau. We were the only ship in port and I think It was a day off for everyone so not many of the little shops near the pier ever opened.

It was overcast most of the day and sprinkled a few times but It was warm. We took the beach excursion to Balmoral Island. We had been here once before and had done the dolphin encounter. They also had a sting ray encounter but we did one in Cozumel so we were content to swim and hang out at the beach. They also had a nice pool and the water was warm. We ended up going back around 5 and thought we would shop but decided not to. Not much was open in the gated area near the ship and we weren’t overly excited about shopping in town and since we had just come from the beach we decided to head back to shower and change and go to dinner.

We went to the upper decks before dinner and the sunset was absolutely amazing. We took lots of pictures. After dinner we went to the 80’s Pop to the Max show. Perfect songs for us - we were in high school in the 80’s. Lol

Grand Turk - Wednesday

We had booked an early excursion so we were up as the ship was pulling into Grand Turk. Beautiful blue skies and sunshine greeted us - exactly what we all couldn’t wait for given the crappy winter and spring we had. The Carnival Conquest was pulling in right next to us so that was fun to watch.

We had very little wait time getting off the ship and we found where to wait for our excursion. After a few minutes the guides took us across the parking lot to the ATVs and gave us some information about them. They were great - I wasn’t sure when we booked this excursion but I was so glad we did. We had a blast! We went on some trails and some roads and at one point stopped for a break and they offered us water and gave us some information about the island and it’s history. It was a two hour excursion and i would recommend It. We had a great time. It was $94 per person and we felt well worth It. I also would suggest the early tour. By the time we finished at 9:30 It was getting hot so we found chairs and hit the beach. I did see people trying to “ sell “ chairs and i had read about that before we left. Plenty of beach chairs and umbrellas that are free.

We spent the day at the beach, walked around and did some shopping, then finished the day in the pool at Margaritaville watching people on the flow rider. Word of advice : tie your shorts tight. Ha ha!!

We went back on the ship around 1 and took showers and grabbed lunch then watched the ship leave Grand Turk. We relaxed in the cabin ( took a nap. Lol) then heard the disappointing news we weren’t going to Princess Cay tomorrow but to Nassau instead. Apparently they were doing maintenance on the tender boats.

My daughter and I went to karoke and checked out shore excursions for Nassau and booked a beach day. I totally understand these things happen but the tough part is we went from a free beach day to a $150 beach day. Oh well ... might as well make the best of It right?

Dinner was great as always - I had chilled asparagus soup, penne with seafood and cheesecake. We went to the Love and Marriage show which is always fun then called It a night.

Next up : Princess Cay turned Nassau

Yes, the main dining room was open ... maybe because the Pride leaves fairly early from port?

We are taking the Pride in July. Sounds like you had the same itinerary we will be on. Grand Turk - Half Moon Cay- Freeport?

Any chance you kept your Fun Times and could post a picture of them?

 

 

I did :) I will try to figure out how to post pictures ...

Tuesday -another sea day

The Carnival Hub app said the day would be partly cloudy and warm but It was windy and rainy when we got up. We decided to try the sea day brunch and It was nice and relaxing instead of having breakfast at the buffet. The wind was strong and you couldn’t go to the upper decks but It was starting to feel warmer. We found some seats by the pool and watched the lip sync battle auditions.

After lunch ( fish tacos ) we sat outside for a little while then the other two went to the gym. Later my daughter and I went to karoke at the Red Frog Pub. One hint - karoke and comedy fill up fast! If you want a seat go early. The karoke was fun and some of the performers were very good.

We relaxed for a while then went to the 7:30 show which was 88 Keys. This was fun. My husband who isn’t usually a big fan of the shows on a ship ( and sometimes falls asleep during them) actually enjoyed the shows on this cruise. There was audience participation, they were upbeat and fun and not too long. Perfect. Lol.

After dinner we went to the party on the Lido deck. Lots of dancing and fun. We then caught the late night comedy show with Vince Morris and we thought he was better than before. We did not buy the cheers package - since this cruise was just us with no extra family or friends - we didn’t think It would be worth It. The comedy club had drink specials - you could get a pitcher which was equal to 4 drinks for the price of two.

Early day in Grand Turk coming up ...

Monday : Sea Day

We decided this sea day would be one for enjoying things around the ship. It was not warm enough to sit outside which we expected coming from Baltimore. We booked shore excursions, played ping pong, walked around the shops, watched the drink mixing contest and the hairy chest contest ...had breakfast burritos and lunch at the deli. We also did some reading ( me for pleasure, my daughter because she had homework. lol) and watched tv and took a nap. Our life is always so busy at home we enjoyed a little down time.

We went to the 7:30 Heart and Soul show which we all enjoyed. It was elegant night so we went to dinner right after that. Here’s my side note about late dining - we loved It! We could go to the 7:30 show then dinner right after or go to dinner first and the 9:30 show. It worked out great.

Had the prime rib for dinner and It was delicious. The waiters danced which was fun and our wait staff was excellent all week.

After dinner we went to the late night comedy with Vince Morris and the others name was Sebastian. We went to the comedy all week .. when they say adult the theme really is adult so be warned but it’s akso pretty funny. These two seemed more to play off the crowd than the other two later in the week but we enjoyed It still ...

One more side note - the internet was quite slow all week. There were times It would be fine and others where we couldn’t get It to do much of anything. For whatever reason the thing that worked the best all week was Facebook messenger so if you have that It might be your best bet to keep in touch with people back home

I always love reading reviews so I took notes on our recent cruise so I could attempt a review when I got back.

Background information: this is my 8 th Cruise - our first 4 were on Carnival with two previous cruises on the Pride - then we did three Norwegian cruises ( two to Bermuda ). This cruise was just my husband, my 17 year old daughter and I. We took this cruise for our spring break and had originally planned to take a road trip to the Carolinas but with the terrible spring weather we have had and seen all over we booked this cruise 30 days before the sailing date.

We drove from our home in northern N.Y. to Wilkes Barre PA on Saturday. Our oldest daughter is in college there so we spent Saturday with her then drove the rest of the way to Baltimore Sunday morning.

We saw the Pride and were in the traffic line at 11 am. That was where our longest wait was. We moved through the traffic line and dropped off our luggage then parked the car and went into the terminal. Check in was smooth and easy and we had a boarding time of 2-2:30 but no one checked that and we were on board by 1pm.

We all had lunch at the Blue Iguana (definitely a great upgrade - we ate here a lot!!) I had a delicious shrimp burrito :) It said that our rooms would be ready by 2 and most were - the door to ours was open so we weren’t sure if It was ready so we amused ourselves by watching people try to figure out which side of the boat their room was on :)

The muster drill was in the theatre ... It was kind of a mess as we seemed to walk around outside then back inside. I guess It was too cold for It to be outside.

We then went to the sail away party which was fun. We watched the ship sail under the first bridge then went to our room and our luggage was there so we unpacked. We had late dining which originally i wasn’t thrilled about but we ended up really liking.

Our cruise director was Leigh the Australian and he was fun. We went to the welcome aboard show. He announced a pub crawl but It was almost 11 by then and late enough for us so we called It a night .... up next : A Day at Sea

Okay totally stupid question I’m sure ... what if you check the price and it’s less than you paid? Does Carnival honor the lowest price?

What was the largest Internet package being offered? The 250 minute plan?

 

We did the unlimited internet plan which was if I remember right a little over $200. It was worth it to me - I have two teenagers that also wanted to get online... and sometimes it seemed like when we thought we had logged off we actually hadn't. I would have hated to use time when we thought it was off!

Going to Bermuda on August 6. We have been there once before ... reading about the Hidden Gems excursion but not the whole family would be interested. Is there a way to get to or see Turtle Cove on your own? Would it be worth seeing? Thanks :)

Yes they do ....or at least they did on the Getaway when we were on a few months ago ....

Because of the glow party everyone was up late and slept in - I enjoyed some more quiet time on the balcony and most of the ship must have been doing the same thing and sleeping in because the internet was the fastest it had been so I answered emails and loaded some pictures on facebook. it was sunny but windy so we got some deck chairs, grabbed breakfast at the Flamingo Grill and set up to soak in as much sun as we could before going back to NY!

At 1pm there was family dodgeball which everyone thought was fun. Two of the teenagers spent the afternoon at Entourage and with friends they had met on the ship. They had Man Hunt and things like that planned which they enjoyed.

For dinner we had reservations at the Japanese Steak House and this was my second favorite place to eat of the trip - Cagney's was the first. Our chef was Jackson and he rocked! He sang and was funny and let the kids try some of his "tricks" ...we all really enjoyed him and the food was delicious too - my scallops were amazing!

After dinner we went to buy pictures - if you buy 10 it's $150 and for $20 you can get a disk with them on to print yourself so my suggestion would be wait until the last day to see which you like the best if you get a bunch taken and go with this deal. I love the way this ship had them organized in binders so you didn't have to walk around searching for yours. Great idea! The only catch is they're not by room numbers so check on your sign and sail card.

We got a drink at the atrium bar and a seat for the Perfect Couple show. This was okay - not my favorite. If you were there you probably understand why. Not judging...just saying .... Once it got going it was all right and some of the things they had to do were pretty funny. All three couples got into it and had a good time.

The older girls and I went to see the Farewell Show and enjoyed it. It was nice at the end to have so many of the staff on the stage and on the way out of the theater ...

The week went by soooooo fasTT

Can't wait to see your photos.

Wish I could figure that out - I have TONS :) LOL!! We came back to Senior Night for my daughter's lacrosse team and prom this weekend so it's been crazier than normal ...I will have to try to figure it out - it can't be that hard right??

Do you remember which dock you at in Roatan? Coxen Hole or Mahogany Bay?

I'm sorry - I don't! I remember them mentioning it and I didn't realize there were two but I'm not sure which we were. We didn't tender - we docked if that helps. There were other ships in port that day but I never saw them ..

That seemed like it was getting long -guess I had a lot to say about Friday :)

Anyway, we decided to try the Noodle Bar for dinner and it was a great choice. It's not a big restaurant so sometimes when we walked by there was a wait but we didn't have to wait tonight. They have paper menus and pens on the high top tables and you can write down what you want. It's not a huge menu but the food was excellent. Our family loved the spring rolls and the fried rice especially.

After dinner we walked around, had a drink at the Waterfront, and found the little two lane bowling alley we had seen once before. It does cost $5 to play but it was fun.

Tonight was the Glow Party so we headed to the Spice H2O for that around 10:20pm and found a place near the railing to stand. It was fun and the kids loved it. Scott the cruise director and staff really brought a lot of energy to the party and they had great glow sticks to pass out.

My husband and I left around 11:40pm and went to the Mojito bar for one last drink of the night The guy playing piano was great and the crowd was really getting into it especially when he sang songs like "Sweet Caroline" Bum, bum, bum - you know you just sang that in your head!

We had to turn the clocks ahead an hour tonight ....I can't believe how fast the week was going by. We had picture perfect weather and smooth sailing. It was an awesome vacation!!

One more sea day .....

When I woke up and went out on the balcony around 7:30 am we were docking in Cozumel. This was the only place that we were on the wrong side of the ship :)I could already see at least two other ships docked or coming in so I knew it would be a busy day. We had booked the stingray excursion and it didn't meet until 11:25am so we weren't in a big hurry to get off the ship.

We left the ship a little after 10 and did some shopping. Here's a tip - if you're buying little gifts for family, friends, etc save it for this port -things were so much cheaper!! T shirts were $4 and $5, cute tote bags were $4 or less, all kinds of little things. I wish I had known that!!

We met at the pier for our stingray excursion and we had to sign a waiver then got into the vans/taxis in groups. The sting ray place was just maybe a 5-10 minute drive. We got out and of course they took everyone's picture that you could purchase later :) You could rent a locker for $3 but with a $10 deposit you got back when you turned in the key. The next part was a little chaotic - you got water shoes, snorkeling gear, etc and then waited in this area where they eventually gave a little presentation on how the day would work. The guide was great but then they were dividing people into who would snorkel first and who would do the stingray encounter and it seemed like quite a bit of time was wasted waiting around. We were in the group for the encounter first. I thought the time was good - 30 minutes for that and 30- minutes to snorkel. The sting rays and some pretty blue fish were swimming around us. We could touch them as they went by then were able to feed them a piece of fish. The guides later held them so individually you could pet them and later kiss them and they also gave you a lot of information about them. The snorkeling seemed good - my husband and younger daughter did that. My oldest got her hair braided and we just relaxed in the sun. They said "beach area" but there's nowhere to just swim on your own. They did give you a ticket for a free soda and there was a bar available. Before we left they brought out a bucket of crabs and you could pick one and they had the crabs race and the winners got prized - my youngest won 3rd and chose a bag of Doritos :) Guess older winners can get a shot at the bar - LOL! The CD for four people was $60 so we passed and just bought one picture for $20.

We did a little more shopping and at the pier getting back on the boat Norwegian staff were not only passing out cool towels and drinks like they had at every port but ice pops too :) We grabbed a bite to eat at the buffet then back to the room to shower and change

We just were there last week - we intended to take a taxi to the beach and just relax but we talked to a guy from a company that rents golf carts. There were 7 of us and it was more expensive than a taxi - $100 for four hours but divided up that wasn't bad :) We had a great day! As part of the deal you were told to look for "Jimmy with a red flag" and he directed us into the Maya Bar where we spent the day at the beach. We were able to drive around the fishing village and explore on our own which was neat ...

We've booked Maya Key for our Getaway cruise next month, so it was great to hear that it was fun. I think my girls (9, 10, and 12) will love seeing the monkeys!

We enjoyed it :) The beach area wasn't huge but it was enough for us. Walk around and find the pool - beautiful scenery! there are also sea lion encounters but our group kept busy and didn't ask so we didn't either - figured if they were super interested someone would have said something. They don't charge for the monkey encounter but they do accept tips and they're great about taking pictures on your camera so the tip was well deserved in my opinion

We hadn't booked an excursion for this port - my oldest daughter is a huge history fan and is actually majoring in History/Secondary Ed next year in college so she wanted to go to the Mayan ruins and this port worked the best for us. My husband said he would go with her so they booked the 4 hour excursion and the 7 of us were undecided but leaning toward a beach day. The lady at shore excursions said she would feel comfortable taking a taxi to the beach so that was our plan.

After breakfast at the buffet - again with some wait staff singing and playing guitar as you came in by the elevators which was a cute touch - we left the ship around 9:30am. We walked around a little and took some pictures then headed out to find a taxi but instead a guy started talking to us about renting a golf cart for the day. He had one large one left that would fit all 7 of us and it cost $100 for 4 hours so we signed up. It was a great decision. We were able to drive all around on our own then he told us to find "Jimmy with the red flag" at the beach club and we could spend the day there. They set us up with lounge chairs and a covered little hut and we could order drinks and food all day. People kept coming around trying to sell stuff but a polite no thank you sent them on their way. We did buy a few things. They had amazing drinks in pineapples and "yards" and we had a great day - kayaks were available too. We drove around after leaving the beach again and then headed back to do a little shopping before getting back on the ship. The beach club was called The Maya Bar - definitely not the nicest I'd ever been to but it fit the bill and we had a lot of fun just kind of doing our own thing.

We had dinner reservations at 7 at La Cucina and dinner was good - not my favorite of the week and to be completely honest if I had to pay for it all I probably wouldn't do that one again. We watched the Celebrity Dance Off which was really funny but our seats weren't great - still not sure why they do those shows in the atrium.... we walked around outside, looked at some photographs the kids had taken and then called it a night.

Up next - the last off the boat day of the trip already :(

This was a tender port and we had booked cave tubing through NCL so we didn't have to select a tender time. They did have those on the screens around the ship and I'm guessing in your room as well so if you don't have an NCL excursion you may want to look into that.

We again ate at the buffet and on our excursion tickets it said to meet in the Tropicana room at 7:50am. We sat there for a few minutes and then they called excursions one at a time and ours was first so we were on the tender and it all was fairly smooth. We found our excursion, loaded into a bus and we were off. We had two guides on the bus and they were good - they pointed out a lot of things along the way and told us some history of Belize. It was a fairly long bus ride - close to an hour I think but it was nice to see some of Belize on the way.

When we got to the park we rented a large locker for $8 for all of our stuff and they also had changing rooms available. You could rent water shoes if you needed them but I had read about this before and we all had our own. Since we had 9 in our party and they usually go in groups of 8 they made us a group of 16 with two guides for the cave. we got our gear - life vest, helmet with light, etc. then went through a short walk through the rain forest then picked up our tubes and went down quite a few steps to the cave entrance. It was not a hard walk as there were railings to hold on to but it is quite a few stairs both up and down. The water wasn't as cold as I had expected and actually felt good as it was a hot and humid day. You basically floated along holding on to other tubes in your group. At one point we got out and walked through the cave then back in the tubes. At the end you could swim in the lagoon part to the exit which was neat. They called the water "shockingly refreshing" and I'm a wimp when it comes to cold water but it wasn't bad at all.

Lunch was provided and it was the chicken, rice and beans like we had in Roatan Bay. They did have a bar and other food like nachos and tacos that you could purchase. We bought two pictures for $25 which I guess wasn't horrible. On the bus ride back a lot of people took a nap :)

Back on the ship we showered and changed then bought more sunscreen (which if you're looking which we were is in the liquor store - not sure why) then we went to shore excursions looking for something to do in Costa Maya the next day. Some of the more popular ones had sold out so just a heads up if you have your heart set on something special.

We had a late reservation at Cagney's - 9:15pm. It was worth the wait. With the free dining you could choose a starter than a soup or salad, then a meal and a dessert. You could get more than one starter or appetizer but just one meal which I can't imagine wanting more than one meal - we couldn't eat all of what we did order! I had the chilled shrimp, the lobster bisque then the surf and turf. It was all AMAZING! The service was great and moved right along at a nice pace. People at our table had steak and the pork chop and everyone loved everything. For dessert my daughter had the 7 layer cake and her dad shared it with her. I had the raspberry creme brulee and it was awesome! that was probably from start to finish one of the best meals I've ever had!

Everyone was tired so we called it a night after dinner - we had to push our clocks ahead one hour as tomorrow we'll be in Costa Maya ... the week was going by way too fast!!

By any chance did you happen to take any pictures of the MDR menu's?

I didn't ....sorry! I found the food in the Main Dining Room to be very good ...they had the "classic" choices I think they called them every night then other dishes that were only for that night. Out of the 9 of us everyone found something to eat that they were truly happy with both nights we ate there. On our last NCL Cruise we ate at just one specialty restaurant - the Brazilian Steakhouse. This time with the package we were able to try more and I thought that Cagney's was by far the best. Everything was just absolutely wonderful there from start to finish. If I had to pick one - Cagney's would be it!

I woke up early and again went out to the balcony. I remember wondering if I was getting up earlier than normal or later - the time change thing was a bit odd when you seemed to be doing it so often. It was definitely a lot more humid feeling but again - NOT complaining! we spend so much time being cold in NY that I was enjoying it all! We again went to the buffet for breakfast and then got ready to get off the ship for the day. We had booked the excursion to Maya Key and our time was 10:20am. It took less time than we thought to get off the ship - being on such a big ship I was worried that it would take forever to get on and off but we never found it to be that way. I guess people are all on such different schedules that it just works out. Anyway, we walked around the shops for a bit then got in line for our excursion which was just a short boat ride over to Maya Key. When we got there a lady came out to explain all of the options we had for the day and what time our boat could do the animal encounters and other things. There were lockers available and a gift shop but we never even went into the building. We set up on beach chairs and got ready to enjoy the day. This excursion really worked for us - the scenery was beautiful and it was enough to keep everyone happy. The beach wasn't huge but enough to get wet and swim and there was also a pool. Lunch was included and it was a traditional chicken, fish, rice and beans meals. The kids weren't crazy about it but the adults liked it. Part of Maya Key is an animal sanctuary and this was the highlight for the kids - at a certain time you followed a guide (ours was 1pm) and he took us to the monkey cages. They went in small groups into the cage and they would take your camera to take pictures - you held a bowl of food and literally the monkeys were all over you! They didn't charge extra but of course you could leave a tip :) It was worth it - they took great pictures on my camera! They had replicas of Mayan ruins you could walk around and climb on and you could also do a sea lion encounter but we didn't get any information about that. We honestly were having too much fun just enjoying the animals, beach, and pool. The people came around to let you know they offered snorkeling and paddle boards for an extra cost but they weren't pushy.It looked like the snorkeling was good there as there was a reef and they had guides to help. They also sold buckets of beer and other drinks. The boats back left on the hour and half hour so you could leave whenever you wanted. We took the 3pm boat back. I think the latest was 4 ....

We wanted to do some shopping at the pier so we had time for that. I think the all aboard time was 5. Honduras and Belize had beautiful wooden gifts so if you like those they are good places to shop...

We didn't have dinner reservations so we checked Taste and Savor after everyone showered and got ready to eat. There were waits at both of those so we went to Tropicana and got seated again with no wait. I had a ceasar salad and the tilapia and it was really good. We left before dessert because we had a 7:30pm seating for Burn the Floor. The show was excellent! The kids found a spot at the buffet where they made crepes in the evening so they frequented that for dessert :)

After the show we went to look at pictures then ended up at the pool bar for some evening mud slides and other beverages. The two girls went to the Teen Pool Party for a while then we called it a night ....

On to Belize ....

I just wondered if you had any trouble with your dining reservations? We do not have a dining package.

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We did ...we had 9 people and three rooms since one was a family of 5 so all of our dining reservations were for 4 people, 3 people, and 2 people. When we got on the ship we went to ask and got them all linked together and had no problems after that.