frugalKansan

I didn't do a tour when I was there. I just got off the boat and walked around. Don't do that by yourself unless you are sure you can handle business. All the while I was walking around town, I didn't see anyone that looked like a tourist on a bike. There were a couple of old broken bikes laying down in the river I walked by.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

Señor Frogs is just to the right when you get off the boat after you walk through the tourism building. There's a free beach nearby, but when I was there, it smelled bad. I didn't even go to Señor Frogs for that reason.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

Check out the Bahamas tourism website. They have something called people to people. They'll ask you your interests and pair you with someone that will take you around to the types of things you want to see.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

Last time I was in Nassau I walked it. My sister is a smoker and not in good condition so getting around was a trick. I lured her up the queens staircase a few steps at a time. I told her I was just going to go up a little ways and look around. Of course every time I stopped I found something fabulous that she just had to see.

This time I've signed up for a people to people tour. The Bahamian tour industry assigns you a tour guide. They will take you around to the things that interest you. It's free and the reviews I've seen have been excellent. Just go to the Bahamas tourism site. It's got a link for the people to people project. It will ask you for information about you and what you want to do.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

Bumping! Now that my cruise is just days away, I'm trying to finalize my plans. Carnival is offering a shop/beach break excursion near the Port Lucaya market. The beach is public. They also have the Taino beach excursion which includes lunch but is pricey. . .I think I'm going to brave the cab to Grand Lucayan. My ONLY concern is coming back. I'll potentially be in a cab by myself. Thoughts??

Check if there's a roll call on here for your cruise or failing that, a group on F. B group for your cruise. Chance s are you can find someone that wants to go do the same thing. On Grand Cayamn one of my table mates wanted to go out and do the same thing I did.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

When you get off the boat, there is a shopping area right there. There are a few tour kiosks right there. You can decide which one you want. The fans that serve them are right there. The drivers are all licensed. There's nothing cheesy about it. If you join the roll call of your cruise you may find a couple of people from the cruise to go in a group. They wait to run the bus until they have a full bus. There's a big tent there to wait to stay out of the sun.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

You'll have a blast.

Grand Turk- I went out to the little kiosk out at the plaza area as soon as you saunter off the boat. There I got a $20 tour of the island on a bus. Used my sail and sign card to pay. They squish everyone on a bus and drive you around the very small island. You see the salt mines, the light house, the horses/donkeys/goats, the public and historical buildings, the little town just north (?) of the pier, they stop at Governor's Beach. This is where I got off. I spent the bulk of the day there floating in the pristine clear water with the sandy bottom. If you go closer to the boat, the beach can be very rocky in spots.

San Juan- immediately when you get off the boat, there will be a whole host busses to the left. Don't follow the first guy you see. Watch to see who is getting the most customers. They won't take off until they get a full bus. ( not as full as Grand Turk) they took us to all the major sites and it was a very informative tour with stops at the big tourist stops. I got off at the fort and walked around myself. You can jump on the trolley that runs around town just about anyplace. I'd recommend loading the map on your phone so you can find the stops. The stops are nearly all within easy walking distance of one another. I a walked down the hill from the fort through Old Town checking out some other tourist sites. Then caught the trolley at stop #1 by the Sheraton and rode around to see what else there was to see. Got off at the Sheraton where I met a family member who took me to her condo in a nearby town and we went to lunch at a cool seaside open air pub.

St. Thomas- My cousin talked me into taking the Carnival excursion to Megens Bay. I thought it was great at the time because it wAs the first stop on our cruise. The driver was great and we stopped overlooking the bay. He also stopped on the way back in a parking lot where some vendors were set up and we got good buys on some gifts. I was disappointed with the water at Megens Bay after Grand Turk. If its the first place you stop, you'll be impressed. If you stop at Grand Turk first, you'll be disappointed. If I were to return to St. Thomas I'd research my own excursion instead of doing a Carnival excursions. When you get off the boat, there are a lot of busses and vans there, so I'm sure you could get the same type of $20 island tour that you can get other placed. St. Thomas is a fairly big island so you won't be able to see it all in one day. A little time management will help you see a lot though.

Sorry I haven't been to St. Maarten. It's on the agenda for my November cruise though.

Happy Cruising

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

Post more. I sail it in November. The San Juan to Miami relocation cruise.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

I've been on both. There was never an issue with overcrowding on the Liberty. It was an awesome boat with a great crew and great passengers. I sailed the Sunshine when it was the Destiny. The shortage of deck chairs was extremely annoying. Not nearly as annoying as the vibrating and snail pace, but hopefully that is no longer a problem (Though I've read they have had continued propulsion issues) I escaped the crowding by spending my time on the balconies outside the main deck. You won't get sun there, but the closeness to the water is relaxing. The Sunshine does have an eastern Caribbean itinerary though.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

Vodka. The most relaxing alcohol I've found. Rum isn't too bad either. Seems to throw a reckless aspect into the relaxation. I'm kind of a purist though and don't like sugary drinks. Ice is the best mixer in my opinion.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

On the Liberty last fall, there were a bunch of people that paid for wifi and it didn't work most of the time.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

Really enjoyed our trip on the Liberty. The service was great and the other guests were on board to have a good time.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Sensation 3/16/14

Carnival Splendor 11/1/14

Priorities are the biggie. For me vacations are my priority. I don't have any payments except house payment. I even wash my clothes inside out to save wear and tear. When possible I buy used clothes and shoes through eBay. I drink only water or occasional wine. Only home cooked food, do everything myself. I shop best airfare prices on Kayak, rental cars through Hotwire and hotels through Priceline.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Sensation 3/16/14

Check car rental prices on Hotwire. That's usually where I find the best prices.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Sensation 3/16/14

I've only cruised carnival, but have never had to show wine. I carry it in my soft side cooler.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/13/14

Carnival Sensation 3/16/14

I use a prepaid card too. I once had an issue after renting a car. I didn't know the rule about not letting your card out of your sight.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/14/14

Last fall we were on the Liberty for 7 days and didn't see that many formally dressed. I never saw anyone in jeans or shorts in the dining room. The next week we spent 5 days on the Victory. It seemed like half the ladies had on formal gowns and the guys were decked out to match. We saw one young man show up in the dining room with shorts on. Everyone stared at him. We didn't see him in the dining room again. I dress every night for dinner. On formal nights, I usually wear a cocktail dress, but felt a little under dressed on the victory. In March I'll take a long formal with me for pictures.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/14/14

The people out there spending the extra money for gluten free, are not part of some fad. We're people who have found a need to limit or eliminate gluten. As wheat producers continue to produce wheat with ever higher gluten content, there will continue to be higher demand for GF foods. Today's wheat has very little in common with your grandmother's wheat.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/14/14

I've also found CC to be very accommodating. I am not super sensitive, so I tried to just avoid what I knew to contain gluten. Then one night I got tired of watching everyone else eat bread so I asked. Every night after that gluten free bread showed up in front of me without asking.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/14/14

I went to st Thomas in September. Very beautiful island. We went to Megens bay. The water wasn't as clear as that on some other islands, but the scenery was beautiful.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/14/14

I have a universal phrase I use in instances where I think something needs to be said. "Nice!!" said in an approving manner followed by, "That's the most uncouth thing I've seen on this cruise.".

It confuses the heck out of people.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/14/14

Bummer. I never experienced micromanagement, but then I've only been on Carnival. I guess only having pizza available on deck at 3 am could be construed as micro managed, but then I've never had room service. I guess if I was real hard up I could do that. Maybe a eurail pass would be better.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/14/14

When I was planning to go out of CC, I decided to rent a car through Hotwire and get a 4 star hotel in Orlando or a 3 star at coco beach by bidding on Priceline. Check out betterbidding.com. They can give you a lot of good insight on bidding. There are usually awesome 4 star prices in Orlando.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/14/14

Our tour wasn't alone. There was 20 or so on the bus. There are several such buses, but Michael was absolutely awesome. We got into watch the dolphins for free but it costs to swim with them (don't remember price, but it was less than ship excursion). Turtles were $12 I think just to get in. We didn't go in. Michael told us that he could get us into the turtles for less than regular price, which I think was $16. The lady came over to ask him how many he had. Turtles and dolphins are across the street from one another.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/14/14

You can email him at elechmw@hotmail.com

I found him by going to the booth there when you get off the boat. There was a little booth next to a big open sided tent. I think they have several independent tour guides that work for them.

He does the $20 tour that goes all over the island. It goes to the rum factory outlet, the governor's house, Hell, the dolphin swim, turtle farm historic homes and the beach. So if that email doesn't work, you can still find the tour. He just bent over backward to make sure we had a good time.

Carnival Destiny jan 2010

Carnival Liberty 9/28/13

Carnival Victory 10/5/13

Carnival Sensation 3/9/14

Carnival Sensation 3/14/14