minniemouse427

Booked our 6/30 Eclipse cruise back in January and there hasn't been a single "sale" for our sailing since then ...including the Memorial Day sale. ☹️

I am envisioning a loop where we take the earliest ferry from the Royal Naval Dockyard to St. George's, check out St. George's for a bit and then take the bus towards Hamilton getting off at the Swizzle Inn. Do Tom Moore's Jungle and the Swizzle Inn, then hop on the bus and head to Hamilton and eventually ferry back to the Dockyard. Off to put together a presentation for the family (me, dh, 22yo dd, and 18yo ds) about all the things we can do in three days while docked in Bermuda ...and the things I am recommending. 🤣 I am thinking one day we do the above, another is BUEI & Aquarium Zoo, and a third for beach time. Will throw in miniature golf at the Dockyard as well. I have one beach kid and one that wants nothing to do with it so I have to balance out beach time!

Thank you so much for this information. I was contemplating doing the same thing when we are there in July. We are looking at this as well as a trip to see BUEI and the Aquarium/Zoo. We have three days to explore! 🙂 Wondering if it is easier/quicker to take an early ferry to St. George's and the bus vs Hamilton. I know that the ferries run more often to Hamilton but if we do an early one to St. George's would that be better? ...and maybe return from Hamilton?

I have been looking for more information on this vs. renting a bike and doing it independently. My husband is a cyclist (ie there are multiple bikes, bike shorts, shoes, pedal clips, etc) that routinely rides dozens of miles per ride and trains for longer group rides. There is definitely a concern that the excursion would be far too slow for him to enjoy the ride. Thoughts on renting and logistics of getting to and from the trail w/ the bike, vs the excursion? Thanks!

I plan on decorating with magnets on both of our doors (we are next door to our two young adult children). The kids will probably roll their eyes a bit, but we are paying for it all so they can deal! Don't care if we are the only ones, it makes me happy!

We have visited Luray Caverns in VA and Crystal Caves in PA as well as a few other random ones. Thank you, this is good information and I will bring it back to the family. I am guessing they will vote to not visit it in lieu of other more interesting places, but who knows!

Can someone that has visited the caves elaborate on the experience? We have visited a few different caves in the Eastern US and wondering if this is a similar or different experience? Trying to figure out if we should spend time underground when we could be taking advantage of Bermuda above ground!

We are planning our three days in Bermuda this summer and have one non-swimmer. Things I have on my possible list, we won't do all of them! Mini golf at dockyard Aquarium & Zoo Crystal Cave Bike ride on Rail Trail Storytelling Walking Tour in St. George Explore Hamilton Explore St. George History tour/fort Blue Hole Park Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) Catamaran Cruise (non swimmer hang on boat for swimming portion)

I can redeem award points for Celebrity gift cards at work, but it says we can only redeem them for online bookings. Not sure if the wording is just outdated w/ the older policy and we would be able to use them for on board purchases on our upcoming cruise. May not be worth the risk of trying and losing the funds if it isn't valid.

Our first cruise was on the Century in 2000. Have done 7 cruises on three other lines since then... and we will sailing on our second Celebrity cruise in July on the Eclipse. 😎

Will add that we sailed in a Junior Suite on the Century (a wedding splurge) and balcony cabins on the remainder of the cruises. Our upcoming sailing will be in a Concierge Balcony.

Interesting comments. Our first cruise ever was on the Century back in 2000, pre-kids. It set a very high bar and I know that there are no longer members of the wait staff eager to carry my tray from the buffet to my table for me! Subsequently we have cruised on Carnival (4), Disney (1), and RCCL (3) ...in pretty much that order. All but the last two on RCCL were pre-COVID. We (both mid-50's with 22yo and 18yo) are scheduled to sail on the Eclipse the week of July 4th. As of right now, my ranking is Disney, Celebrity, RCCL, and Carnival. Loved our Disney experience but the cost is prohibitive. We definitely enjoyed our RCCL cruises. The first on a smaller ship (Majesty) with our then teens and the last two on the Anthem, post-COVID and left the kids at home. 🙃 We are eager to cruise Celebrity again and are looking forward to the cruise. Will definitely report back after we return in July!

... but the laws of physics still apply, even on vacation.

We cruised when our now 22yo was 2 and 3yo, we brought our car seat with us (used on plane and airport/hotel/port transportation). Once on board the seat went in the bottom of the closet and we didn't use it again until the end of the cruise. At ports, we stuck to walking to places close by or excursions on buses (no car seat used on buses) instead of lugging a car seat around.

I saw that the original post was from 2022, but a subsequent post was from this past summer that said they had a similar experience so we decided to switch.

Change of plans. Read some scathing reviews about the RCL excursion to Secret Sands/Smith Bay Eco Park so we switched to an excursion to Trunk Bay. A bit more $, but should be relaxing.

Not uncomfortable about the taxi per se, more uncomfortable about exploring on our own further than just steps from the ship. It is our first Southern Caribbean cruise so all the ports are new to us. This is the first of four excursions. Our only RCL one, but the rest are all first thing in the morning with lots of time after before the ship is scheduled to leave!

Ended up with an RCL excursion to Secret Sands/Smith Bay Eco Park. It is only 4hrs and the transportation is taken care of which is less stressful for my better half. It includes a drink and a lounger so we will be fine for a few hours. 🙂

A question... The link above shows that the beer trail must be redeemed by 12/21/2023 (last week). Should we expect that this will be updated for 2024? We are cruising next month and I think my husband may be interested in participating in the beer trail. 🙂

Anthem 4,180 Summit 1,950 Getaway 3.962 Only there from 8am - 6pm so I don't expect that traveling to St. John would be overly relaxing which is my husband's goal for this cruise! Secret Harbor is now at the top of my list!

We are on RCCL so I believe we will be at Crown Bay. Hopefully it will be just as easy from there. 🙂

If it helps any, there are three ships scheduled in port they day we visit. The Anthem, Summit, and Getaway. Total # of passengers is just over 10K.

What is the recommended way to get there? Cost? According to their site they don't have day passes, chairs, umbrellas, and the pool are for hotel guests, but they invite non hotel guests to visit their restaurant and rent chairs from the dive shop on the beach.

Stopping in January (RCCL) and looking for dh and I to relax on a beach. Looking here I keep thinking I found one and then find how it is crowded, unsafe, or the food/amenities have changed/disappeared. Considering: Emerald Water Island/Honeymoon Beach Sapphire Magen's ??? Just looking for a chair or a hammock, some nearby food and a good view without paying hundreds of dollars or hiking for miles. We are doing a catamaran trip in Sint Maarten the next day so a lazy beach day is preferred. Any recommendations?

We had a family member who worked for a cruise line when my now 21yo was a toddler and she cruised 4x before she was 4yo. While it was challenging at times, she had an amazing experience and under the same circumstances (family cruising discount and ability to spend time w/ family member) I would do it over again. Three of the cruises included my dad (not much help when it comes to child care) and one was just myself, dh, and dd. Our family member was motivated to spend time w/ dd so one trip she took her on excursions to swim w/ dolphins while dh and I were able to do an excursion by ourselves! In general, dd was (and still is) a night owl. She took schedule changes in stride, did amazing at meals in the MDR, and enjoyed participating in the children's club. One trip I had her completely convinced that they didn't serve french fries in the MDR..and our server was in on it! 🤣 FWIW, we had more issues with other adult passengers assuming she would "act up" at meals than any instances of her doing so. A few tips... Bring a lot more diapers and wipes than you think you may need. You don't want to be stuck at sea and run out. It doesn't take much to amuse little ones. I would figure out a plan for easily accessed basic beach time at ports and bring some sand toys. One of my favorite memories is my dd "watering the beach" for two hours in Cozumel one trip! Pack favorite snacks, small toys, stuffed friends, blankets, etc. Whatever makes them happy and content! Use a car seat when traveling on the airplane there (if flying) it made traveling w/ littles SO much easier! ..and when not on transportation, a great infant/toddler carrier to "babywear." Especially convenient when walking around the ship during naptime!