buddyjones

I’d love to know if anyone has gone to this place. It just popped up as an option recently on Resort for a Day to purchase a day pass. 

@Mullwi thank you for the feedback!

Bump! Would love to hear anyone’s experiences, thanks. 

We had a stopover on our cruise in late April 2023 with Royal Caribbean. If you really enjoy bourbon, whiskey, or really any other kind of liquor, it is a MUST stop at Gulmohar’s to purchase liquor and then right across the street to Luxbar to try bourbons,etc at a very reasonable price.

Here was our itinerary…

1. Beach time at Orient Beach (or of course you can pick any excursion). We bought the excursion through Royal Caribbean and it worked out perfectly. To me, this is the best most beautiful beach on the entire island, but that’s just my opinion. We did have some challenges with the seaweed that was well advertised, but that was obviously unavoidable. It did not damper the day! 

2. Gulmohar's Whisky Paradise (schedule 30 minutes)  to buy great hard to find bourbons (varied I'm sure during the year), and they have other fine selections as well. We picked up several bottles of Blanton's Gold, Blanton’s straight from the barrel, Elijah Craig barrel proof, and a dark Cuban rum that I bought for a friend of mine. You can ask them questions ahead of time via email. (check out their Facebook page) and confirm time for sending purchases back to ship.

3. LUXBAR (schedule at least one hour): We hung out here for about 1 1/2 hours and just had the best time. Kat Adams (Mixologist) was so friendly and helpful answering our questions. Enjoy some excellent pours for very reasonable prices. See the attached photo.

A quick note about US customs and paying for items in excess of the duty free limit: I clearly bought more than the allocated duty free liquor. I had all of my receipts, and was prepared to pay the extremely minor amount of excise tax upon reentry to Miami. They did not stop us, nor did I have the opportunity to voluntarily pay for the excise taxes. 

9 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

$72.99/day (US dollars) seems to be the most common "low" price, but you'll see some lower prices on some sailings. My 12-day Spectrum cruise has had a couple sales where the price is $54.99/day....but that's still a lot of money when you multiply it by 12.

I can attest to that completely. Sailed on Explorer of the Seas last September and going on Harmony this month.

It’s interesting there are some prices even lower (in the $50’s) for the deluxe beverage package (DBP). I don’t know for sure, but it would seem logical those particular cruises are not during higher demand times of the year.

$72.99 per person per day, Going on Harmony in a week and a half and this price was available as of last week. Now it’s gone up to about $77. We got it at $72 several months ago and that’s the cheapest we’ve seen it. I believe that’s about 30% off of the onboard price.
 

On 4/7/2023 at 12:04 PM, ajtaylor29 said:

We always do either private tours or DIY days in port....20 cruises in and never missed a ship! The tour operators do NOT want you to miss your ship, it's bad for their business....so they'll make sure to get you back in time. When you read horror stories about people missing their ship, it's either a rare, unpreventable delay (due to traffic accidents, etc.) or an alcohol related "i forgot to get back on the ship" event!!!

Anyway - as for St Marten, we've done several private excursions and had a great time exploring the island. We've also just grabbed a cab at port and gone to Orient Beach for the day.

@ajtaylor29 thanks for your post. Which beach bars or specific locations do you recommend at Orient Beach? I appreciate your help! 

Is the Deluxe Beverage Package worth it? Where do you start to evaluate this option?  I see all manner of Cruise Critic forum and Facebook posts on the subject. I finally decided to build this basic decision tree, meant to be fun and practical, and really should help most people I’ve read asking questions about this package.

 

I can confirm…We cruise with another couple that the husband buys the drink package and the wife does not want it. They call the cruise line and explain his wife does not drink alcohol, which is absolutely true, and they have no problem. Hope your wife is doing well! 

I pulled this info from Harmony of the Seas 3/11 to 3/18 itinerary. This may not match your cruise, but the schedules tend to stay fairly consistent. 

Attire Nights:
Formal - 2 and 6
Caribbean - 3
Casual - 1,4,5,7

Dance/Party Theme Nights:
1. None

2. 50/60’s at Dazzles

3. 90’s Party, Royal Promenade, around 9:15 to 10:30pm

4. Caribbean - Dazzles 9:45pm and Dance Party Deck 15 10:00pm

5. Country dance party and hoe down, Royal Promenade around 9:15 to 10:30pm

6. 70’s disco inferno, Royal Promenade, around 9:15 to 10:45pm

7. None

Paid $72 per day last Nov 2022 for Harmony of Seas trip scheduled April 22, 2023. That is the price before tip.
 

I don’t know that anyone will ever make the “math“ work. Trust me, I spreadsheet the heck out of it. Lol. The package pricing was low enough and the added convenience made sense. Plus I assumed single drink prices were going to escalate, and I think that’s exactly what has occurred.

I'm always amazed when people complain about the ships wifi. Your on a ship in the middle of the ocean and there are no wires plugged into it to provide an internet connection. It's totally reliant on the availability of satellites. Do people just expect them to be able to wave a magic wand and provide super fast always on Broadband ?

Ha ha, well said!!!

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We used VOOM to communicate between myself and wife with kids onboard (also needed it for some work reasons, ugh). iMessage and FaceTime worked quite well on the boat, as well as communicating with anyone on the US mainland.

I would, however, strongly suggest you DO NOT get VOOM package unless absolutely necessary. My wife and I have cruised three times previously without only an Internet package. I AM TELLING YOU BEING DISCONNECTED IS JUST FREAKIN AWESOME!!!

Just to emphasize a particularly important point. Make sure that you put your phone in AIRPLANE mode. If you don’t your cell phone service will likely automatically connect to the “Cellular at Sea” service. That mistake would be very expensive.

Also see if your cell your phone company has a international plan or international day pass. We have AT&T and we did that just in case we (1) we needed it and (2) in case we screwed up and accidentally turned on the phones lol.

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We were just there this week. There is plenty of shade, and I am a guy that does not need any sun (I reflect light lol).

I would suggest you get off the boat and reserve your favorite spot as soon as possible.

We rented two “clamshells“, each clamshell rental has two chairs (it’s a little confusing when you rent them in advance online in the cruise planner). We had four people in our party if that makes any sense. If you want to guarantee a spot on the beach and a chance for pretty good shade then consider this option.

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The hair dryers are pretty weak. The ladies will definitely want to bring their own. I was fine using the cruise provided dryer when I needed it (I’m a dude with thick hair lol).

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I finally found pics of the beach cabanas behind the yellow wall. The seem to be back in the shade under the trees. We are from MI and are going in December. We want to soak up as much Vitamin D as possible! Are they really all in the shade or is that just from the few pictures I can find?

There are some in the shade (in the hilltop I think), but I believe most of spots are on the water or overlooking the water. When I’ve seen them up close there are sections of the cabana that will get sun.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?ProductCode=ZL88&DestinationCode=

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSiteletSub.do?pagename=sub_labadee_barefoot_beach&pagenameMain=labadee&discriminators=3

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We are on Oasis of the Seas now, going into port tomorrow. We’ve done my time dining (MTD) twice now and prefer it. We basically walk up with no reservations. The longest we’ve had to wait anytime this week has been 15 minutes.

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The folks at the markets were particularly aggressive this year. My 17-year-old son, you could say, got accosted and surrounded while walking past them. He got a little nervous, haggled with them, and bought a few things. He spent $50 of his own money, but it was a good lesson for him to be sure.

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We’re on Oasis of the Sead now. For the most part the Voom Internet service has been fine. Mainly used it to text with a couple family members instead of trying to use walkie-talkies

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Here are the latest photo package costs on the Oasis of the Seas (May 20-27, 2018. On the cruise now).

I would consider buying a package in advance. By the way, we decided to buy all of the printed photos this time around. We bought the all digital last year and some of the borders would not print properly.

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We’re kind of in the same situation. We have kids with us (teens) this time and can’t go to Orient Beach (tooo much skin lol). On Oasis, leaving in a couple of hours and Maarten is first stop in a couple of days.

If it’s just you and husband, consider Orient Beach, one THE most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen. I read there are limitations, though, due to hurricane last year. Check forums for updates.

We’re thinking about going to Kim Sha Beach and rent chairs/umbrellas. Read about it on forum and trip advisor, but don’t have details figured out yet.

Good luck!!!

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Just wanted to clarify...They didn't offer the 10 drink for $79 until Day 6?

Yes, that's right. It was day 6. We're definitely light drinkers, but had no problem using in 2 days. Basically 2.5 drinks per person (me and wife).

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I'm one of those OCD people who just asked about this a few days ago thanks for the pics. The beach def looks rocky. Did you enjoy that area of the beach

 

 

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Yes,we did enjoy it. We got in the water for awhile, enjoyed lounging around, watching the ocean and all the nuts fly down on the zip line [emoji23].

The rocks really are difficult though. We're mid 40s, in good shape, good attitude about things, etc. All that to say is I was not a big fan of the rocks and bruises on my ankles lol (will bring better shoes!).

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Same cruise here as well. We didn't see it until after turn down service on day 6. We were on the lookout for it and were disappointed it appeared so late. Yes, it was $79 for 10 drinks. We felt it was offered too late to purchase.

We purchased the drink card on Allure that just ended (April 30 to May 7). It was available on day 6. My wife and I split it and had no trouble using the 10 drinks over 2 days (we're definitely "light" drinkers, used card to primarily buy frozen drinks). Basically 2.5 drinks per person per day.

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Got back last night from an incredible week on the Allure. I've still go some things to scan. I'm also working on a review.

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