rhinomike

I just read thru most of this thread. After reading I just booked with Travel Plaza. Our driver will be Gerry. We leave the day after Christmas for New Orleans. After a few days in NO we depart on the Carnival Sunshine. Our first stop is Cozumel.

Has anyone done the caverns with children? We are looking at doing this excursion with an 11 and 9 year old. Wondering how deep the water is and how much swimming is involved. Thanks in advance!

They have life vest. You float the whole time. We did with 4 boys a long time ago. I think they were about that age.

Since you are on Carnival have you looked at the ship excursion to La Casa en la Playa? There is a thread on this page http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1877530. Not much info here but more reviews on Carnival website. I believe it was a private house with a chef which Carnival has opened up to a limited number (?) of guests.

 

Alternatively you could look at the thread "hire a driver for the day" and pick things of interest to you or ask for suggestions from the driver. If you want "rustic" isolated I would suggest perhaps looking into Punta Sur the lighthouse area on the southern tip where you have isolated beaches and snorkeling I believe although I haven't tried it and currents may be strong. Other isolated beach areas on east coast. Limited food and drink service although you could perhaps arrange something through Cozumel Chef.

 

Another rustic location could be the Pearl Farm excursion - google for details, but it would depend on how long your ship is in port as it is a distance from the pier.

 

A beach bar which is usually quieter because it is further from the piers, (therefore higher taxi fare) but has facilities is Playa Palancar http://www.buceopalancar.com/index_en.html - may offer more activities for the boys.

Thank you. It looks as if I waited too long. La Casa is sold out.

I am now looking into the Pearl Farm.

Not sure how old your kids are - Playa Mia would be a good option if they are younger, or Mr. Sanchos (AI side - limited to 200 guests per day) if they are a little older. Good luck! :)

We have 4 boys. 13, 16, 17 and 18.

I even thought about renting a private home for the day with a chef.

I will look into your suggestions too. Thank you.

Oh yeah.... I read about Nachi Cochum but it is already sold out..... Guess I shouldn't of waited.

We will be in Cozumel in 2 weeks. We have been there once while visiting Cancun. Didn't seem like there was much to do. We go to Cancun twice a year so we have done everything on the mainland. We have decided to stay on he island. We were thinking about going to a resort or beach area. We like to avoid the crowds. We don't mind paying a premium for that. Money is not an issue. Is there somewhere we can go where the crowds will be small or nonexistent. Maybe somewhere the kids cn play in the water while me and my wife lay around and eat chips and salsa......

We have about a dozen Tokens left from a previous cruise. Took them back on our last trip and the arcade on the Liberty doesn't use tokens. Do any ship still have the token games?

I don't think so. Now you just swipe your card.

My wife has our PVP's cell number. He answers right away. Even on his day off.

Mini refrigerators were added in 2011.

Ok so maybe I wasn't clear do they have unlimited internet on the sunshine? Thank You

No.

Not much to do in Cozumel unless you like the bar scene. The beaches are nice.

Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman

We like this tour in Jamaica. It's called Courtny Taylor Tours.

http://courtneytaylortours.com/photos.htm

Like I said earlier in the tread. Sorry but NOT on INSPRIRATION.

No. Sorry.

It think the whole drill is a waste of time. If you can't figure out how to put a life vest on then you shouldn't be cruising.

I can't believe you even noticed that they didn't do the life vest demo. Relax. Let it go. Enjoy life.

Guys Burger

Deli Sandwiches

BBQ ribs in the MDR

I'm simple. :)

One thing about the current menu (& by the looks of the new menus) that DH & I noted on our recent Breeze cruise is THE LACK OF vegetables.

Unless you order a salad, the Vegies do not really exist.

If they are listed as a side with an entree, the amount served is so miniscule.

6-7 Green Beans? 3 tablespoons of cooked spinach...yuk.

It seems Vegies are an after thought....merely garnish.

It would be smart of Carnival to catch up on the trend towards more healthful eating for those who enjoy it.

We, personally, are not health nuts, but do have Vegies as about 1/3 of our dinner plates at home.

How about some more carrots, peas, green beans, Cali mixed, etc.....

They could at least offer a few as side dishes....the sides seem pretty much starch choices only.

I am guessing vegetables and fruits are the highest wasted item on the ship. Can't freeze them like meat. They probably go bad. Maybe it is a huge savings to eliminate vegetables, salads and fruits.

I think there is more to this story than we understand. Can the OP post a copy or pic of their original cruise documents showing the lower price, deposit etc....

I think if some of the experts here take a look at it maybe we can all make sense of it.

Yes it would be. I can't find NCL dry dock information anywhere.

I was lead to believe that the 4 berth family " ocean view ' cabins on deck 4 have one Pullman and one trundle . . The trundle goes in between the two lower singles . Wondering if the two lower can be put together to make a queen and the trundle goes on the other side ? Can anybody confirm ???

 

Also does anybody know how much the arcade is ( 14 year old is interested lol )

Thanks guys :-))

If I remember correctly most arcade games were $1.00 and some more. My kids can burn through $20 each in about 3 minutes.

Is there a website or maybe a thread here on CC with dry dock info? I know over on the Carnival forum they always have a thread with dry dock info. The Spirit is going into dry dock in January. I am wondering how long and what they will do to her. Thank you.

Rhino mike . We are actually on the cruise before you . We hop off at Barcelona when you hop on :-).

Well keep her nice for us and don't drink all the booze. Lol. :)

Does anyone know how long she will be in dry dock?

Really enjoyed American table. Lots of food. Had our pick of dessert plus a whole apple pie alamode to share. America Feast night only had a chocolate moose dessert or Icream to choose from. The moose was excellent. I will try to upload pictures

So on American Feast night (dress up night). There were only 2 desserts to choose from?

No more MCMC on those 2 nights?

We are on the Spirit in June too. June 11th is our sail date.

You are correct. The Spirits cabins are not very family friendly. We ended up with 2 connecting balcony cabins. We have 4 teenage boys so there is 6 of us total. I wish they had Pullman beds. But I don't think that is going to happen in dry dock. At least not according to the NCL rep.

We just planned a month in Europe visiting 12 different countries. 6 of us total. We have 4 teenage boys. 2 weeks of that will be on the Spirit. We did it all on our own. It wasnt hard. My wife did the hotels which was the hardest because we wanted 4 or 5 star hotels and we wanted a family suite or 2 connecting rooms. I did the 5 flights, cruise, one way car rentals and the train.

We talked to 3 different TA's. we weren't happy with what they offered. They are limited on their hotels that they work with. We did a much better job on our own.

You can do it yourself. It will be better. You know exactly what you want. Expedia is your best friend. I will be glad to answer any questions you have.