theverro

Thank you for the responses!!

Or do I have to pick one?

Thanks!

Carnival also anchored on the other side of the island, on the ship I was on last month. They were also late by at least an hour with tendering. Cabs were required to get to Georgetown. So, Carnival is having some issues in Grand Cayman.

 

I would suggest you have, in writing- what the tour vendor's policy is? Will they refund you if you can't get there on time? No refunds? etc?

I think the weather in GC has been sup-par for a while. This tour company we are going with keep posting some "please sun come out today" posts on Facebook.

Their cancelation policy is easy, no deposit has been taken and all they ask is that you try to let them know if you cannot make it to the tour. I will have the Internet package on the ship, so will email them the morning of if ever the weather does not cooperate.

Thank you for posting your response from carnival. We are in Northern Ireland and it was Sunday evening here when I received the email from Aquarius and carnival uk were closed for the day.

 

Yes we are also on the 8.45 tour and particularly purchased FTTF to ensure priority tendering so we would not be late for this tour. I will contact Aquarius and tell them it's business as usual.

 

Hopefully it should be a fun day. The tour gets good reviews. It will be nice to say hello and meet you on the 7 January.

Excellent!! Yes, should be a great day, this place get phenomenal reviews. Also love the fact that they take a bunch of pictures (including under water) and send them to you for free!

We also got FTTF, but had booked that before I booked this tour, so now I am doubly glad I got it.

See you there!

Richard

according to the site you are in grand cayman until 4-- and will have to be on the tender by 3-:15 at the latest

 

If the ship is leaving early-- how early are they leaving

 

 

and what tour is this that it can not be done by the time the ship leaves

This issue, as far as I understand it from the email I got from Acquarius, is that they are worried that the ship will get into port later than anticipated and that we therefore won't be able to make the start time.

We are also on this tour for January 7 and have received this email. Intended contacting carnival first thing Monday to clarify situation. Really looking forward to this tour so hopefully there has been a mix up as suggested by previous poster.

I called Carnival today on this subject today, and from what they see, everything is "normal" and our arrival time in GC is still schedualed as 8am. I'm assuming your start time for the tour is 8:45 like me?

Hello all!

Will be on the AI side of Mr. Sanchos on January 8th. From what I have read, best is to stay with one waiter and tip him/her at the end of the day. But having never done an all inclusive resort, I'm kind of at a loss of what I should be tipping. If it's not too indiscrete, would someone be able to tell me what they have tipped in the past.

Thank you!!

Richard

Hello all!

Getting on the Carnival Freedom Jan 4th sailing. On Jan 7th, we are in GC and have booked a tour with Acquarius Sea Tours. I just got the following email from them:

"We have reserved places for you and our tour on 7 January 2015 and note that you are arriving via Carnival Freedom.

During the last few weeks, Carnival Freedom has cut short it's visit to Grand Cayman due to "speed restrictions" of the cruise ship. This change by Carnival has meant that their clients have had to miss our tours completely.

It may be advised that you contact Carnival Cruises to find out if this situation will continue, so that you will be able to make alternative arrangements for a tour. It would also be greatly appreciated if you could inform us of the same."

I have not seen anything here on the boards regarding the Freedom being slowed up. Can anyone provide more insight??

Thank you!

Richard

I guess that it all depends on how you want to raise your kids.

I just checked the calendar, I believe we are in 2014, not 1953..

Hello! thanks for the review, we are on the Freedom Jan 4th sailing!

I am liking the $60 for the cruise value internet package. Cheaper than what it was before, right? How was the service, pretty quick? For me, it would mostly be for email, the facebook and maybe.. a semi live report..

Thank you!

Hello,

I'm excited about this new port! Some of the itineraries they have added it to are quite nice, and in many cases, it appears to be replacing Nassau.

My one question, I'm looking at some of the info and artist renderings, but can tell if there will be an actual beach there, a la Mahogany Bay. Anyone know?

Thanks,

Richard

For this past summer, there was a lot of chatter on this site that the summer prices were the lowest that anyone had ever seen. So there was most certainly some sales. But was that a one off, who knows. One thing to keep in mind is that oil prices are dropping fast so.. I assume that means the cost of one of Carnival higher operations items (gas) will also diminish.. which in a dream world would mean lower cruises prices..

Will there be a beach right at the new port?

Hello! There are tons of posts/reviews on Mr. Sanchos/Nachi Cocum/Paradise Beach ect. on this site, but I see some pretty limited info/interest on Parc Royal in Coz. We have decided on Mr. Sanchos for our upcoming cruise, but Parc Royal has peaked my interest. Seems like a good deal at $40 AI, especially since it walkable from both ports. Any reason why there is not as much buzz about this place? Not exotic enough?

Hello!

I'm a Marriott Rewards member and Marriott recently took over the Atlantis property (sold as their Autograph collection). So my questions is, has anyone booked Atlantis using points just when in Nassau for the day just so that they could use the facilities? And, if someone was to pay for an overnight at Atlantis, it be like booking the Comfort Suites next door where you could show up early and pick up your waterpark wrist bands?

Thank you!

Can I bring bottled water and soda back on board on a port day? We are stopping in Key West and I will need to grab some for our Grand Cayman day. I will have already brought my allowed amount on during embarkation.

Like other have said, yes you can. There is a CVS pharmacy at the corner of Duval and Wall street right close to the port. That's probably your best bet for purchasing your stuff. That where we will be heading.

Hello!!

We will be sailing on the Carnival Freedom Jan 4-10. We Dad will be dropping us off and picking us up as well. (thank you Papa!!) I therefore have a few questions for you:

- I would assume the drop off is fairly simple and that there are indications as to what ship is leaving from what pier once you drive in? Is there a particular port area entrance that works better than the other?

- For the post cruise pick up, what is the best plan? The Port Everglades website suggest that people park at 1850 Eller in the cell phone lot. Would I therefore ask my dad to park there and wait for us to call him to say we are off the ship, and he could then drive to the debarking pier to pick us up?

Any info would be muchly appreciated!

Thanks :)

Excellent, thank you!! And I promise they won't be in there to goof around.. :)

Hello all!

Is there a minimum age to workout at the ship gyms? My kids are 12 and 14, both dance competitively and spend quite a bit of time at the gym next to our dance studio.

Let me know.

So what happens if the excursion offered by Carnival has two components, like in GC where they have stingray encounter and turtle farm? Can you add up the price for both of the non Carnival excursion and submit that?

And, what about in situation where Carnival offered transportation but the non Carnival does not offer transportation (GC turtle farm as an example again), does that eliminate the opportunity at a refund?

Thanks!!

Hello, currently booked in a 4B interior on the Carnival Freedom (midship Riviera/3 passengers) but could save an additional $100 between the 3 of us if I go with the “Carnival will choose for you” special that is on now. I confirmed that they would allow a “one time change” to that rate category, but that I would be locked in and would obviously lose my price protection. I am really not attached the room we have currently, my question therefore is, has have things worked out for you when picking the “Carnival will choose for you” rate? What type of room did you end up with? Did it complicate thing at “check in” time? Any feedback would be great!

Thanks!

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this has been discontinued.

Oh dear!! Can someone confirm 100% if Superstar live has been dumped? Thanks!

Hello! Trying to locate the latest Superstar Live song list. The one I was able to find is from when the program was first launched, so I am guessing that it may have changed. Hopefully someone has it, only have 4 more months to practice.. :D

My DH and I do not particularly like to spend the days at the beach. Does anyone have any excursion ideas for those of us who don't want to do a beach day while in port at Georgetown?

Also, some of my researdh has turned up a company that does a walking food and cultural tour - Cayman Food Tours. Has anyone had experience with them? If so, what was your experience?

Thanks for your help.

Not sure if, when saying "do not particularly like to spend the days at the beach", if you mean that you are not water people or if you simply don't like hanging out on the beach but.. if you are water people, have a look at acquarius tours. (acquarius dot kj). They also have a great rep on trip advisor and seem to offer a lot for the price, even free photos!! We are going to give them on try on Jan 7th.

We just used Acquarius last Friday. No complaints at all with them, they were fabulous! We arrived in Grand Cayman about 2 hours early due to Roatan port being cancelled due to high winds ( couldn't get into the channel safely they told us). We walked around a bit and did some shopping before the tour meeting time. I noticed that they were there at least 45 mins prior to the tour starting. They took us by shuttle to the marina where the boat was and waited on a group from a hotel. There were about 15-20 people on boat and never felt crowded at all. We stopped at 3 areas. One to snorkel, one stop at starfish point/cove, and of course one stop to see the stingrays! Capt. Mario and Daryl ( first mate) were great with my kids. They take photos in and out of the water during the stops and these are free for you to download. We also got free pizza and drinks on the boat ( water and punch). I'd be happy to answer any questions on our experience if anyone has any.

Hello!! Thanks for the reviews. We've booked Acquarius for our January 7th GC visit! How much time did you spend at Starfish point? And were you satisfied with the photos they provided?

Let me know when you get a chance. Thanks!

Richard