cruisegal415

I was thinking of Costa Maya.  So, are there any nice beaches when we get to Belize?

We will be docking at Belize next month, from a Celebrity ship, so not going to a private island.  I think last time we were in Belize, there was a huge pool and a beach area near the port?, but I may be thinking of a different port.  We are "lay on the beach" people, and I have already booked a resort for a day place at the two other stops we are making.  Anyone who has gone there recently, can you tell me if I am remembering correctly?

On 1/25/2023 at 8:20 PM, Lois R said:

To the OP, you mentioned never sailing to the Caribbean in the winter? That is really the only time I sail there🙂.....I don't want to be in the Caribbean in the middle of summer......waaaayyyy too hot for me.

I just returned home from a Caribbean cruise (earlier this month). It was warm every day, except when we arrived back in Ft. Lauderdale LOL.............it was on the cooler side at that point. 

 

As for clothing, I was in a bathing suit and cover up at least 95% of the time during the day.

The weather here in south Florida is so nice, we hate to leave home in the winter.  Summer is hot here but when we cruise to a beach area, it is lovely to sit on the beach and enjoy the ocean breezes. Same for sea days we sit in a shady spot on the ship and enjoy the sea breeze.

Thanks all! It’s 45 this am down here in sunny South Florida with a high (a HIGH!) of 60. I’m gonna wear a long sleeve top and a pair of Sketcher pants and a couple of layers on top. Tomorrow for Key West, I’m just gonna wear my winter clothes. 

play the noise down theSo, I’m from south Florida where anything under 80 degrees is considered “cool” and anything under 70 is “cold.”  Our cruise is leaving this Saturday. It’s supposed to be a high of 60 in Miami. If we were here, running errands or whatnot, you’d see people wearing fashion or warm boots, definitely bundled up, warm long pants, etc. 

I am aware that when tourists come, you can see them on the beach or even in the ocean at those temps, but for us natives, we are cold. 
 

So, for embarkation day I can’t wear the cute sleeveless top and shorts I originally planned but what I would usually wear for that temperature would look stupid on a cruise ship? 
 

I’ve never taken a Caribbean cruise in the winter so do people dress differently (warmer)? Even in our Cancun stop it’s only supposed to be 80, which is lovely but not hot. 

Thanks for all the input.  I think we'll stick with the basic.  We also have that plan from AT&T where for $10 per day you can use cellular data (it's an extra $5 for the second person) so if we need to use that we will. 

53 minutes ago, Married90 said:

So if past experience is true, you pretty much can get any “regular “ drink with the classic package but it will all be made with “well” brand alcohol.  If you want your margarita made with patron then it won’t be covered and there will be an up charge.   The drinks off the martini bar are all an up charge as they are larger but if you order a regular martini not on the menu it is under classic package.   That gin martini won’t be made with Bombay sapphire though….  Honestly if you are not brand picky classic works great.

True, I am a rum drinker and the rums I like are included in the classic package. DH likes Guinness but can certainly handle a different brand for 5 days. I think we'll stick with the classic.

We are sailing this Saturday.  Our price included basic wi fi, which, according to the website today, is worth $16.99 per guest, per day.  We have a 5 day cruise, so by my calculations, that comes to 84.95 for one guest for one device for the 5 day cruise. When I looked at my invoice, it said we got a credit of $100 per person, total, for wii fi. Which sounds like we come out ahead, since we got $100 credit for something that only costs $84.95, right? 

Premium wi-fi is showing it costs 29.99 per guest per day, so for a 5 day cruise, that would be $149.95 per guest for one device for the five day cruise.  The difference between the price of the basic versus premium is $65, or $13 per guest per day difference,

HOWEVER, they are also offering a "Premium Wi-Fi Upgrade Voucher" "from $15 per device per day.  I guess that means it could be more than $15 per device per day? But why would I purchase a "Premium Wi-Fi Upgrade Voucher" for $15 per device per day, when it would only cost $14 per device per day to upgrade my plan without the voucher?

Also, the description of the difference between the plans implies that we cannot access social media if we only get the basic plan.  However, I have been on other ships where we only got the basic and we were able to access Facebook, Instagram, etc. by going through their URLs versus the app.  

I guess the question is, if we are going to check email, maybe post to Facebook, on a 5 day cruise, where two of the days we will be in ports where it won't cost extra to access the internet (Key West and Mexico, is it worth it to upgrade (we would use our OBC) and why would I get the voucher that costs $2 more than to just upgrade it directly?

Please, no comments about how we are on vacation and should leave the electronics behind, etc.  My vacation, how I choose to spend it, if on email or Facebook is my choice.  Thanks!

There are very few drinks listed on the menus on the app, but I can still take a guess that the drinks that I like are probably similarly priced.  For example, the menu lists a Frozen Daiquiri for $8, but does not show what a Pina Colada would cost. I'm going to assume it's a similar price.  I usually get a Miami Vice (pina colada and strawberry daiquiri combined), so I assume it will be within the $10 limit of our Classic Package.  I was trying to see if it was worth it to upgrade to the Premium package, but I was told that if we have the Classic package, we just pay the difference over $10 if we order a more expensive drink.  The difference between the Classic and Premium, if purchased before boarding is about $18 pp per day, so I'd have to drink more drinks than I would usually drink per day to make it worth that while.

58 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

Oh wow, that sounds wonderful.  My mother always used to order a "Toasted Almond" which was Kahlua, Amaretto and cream.  I like the inclusion of Baileys and ice cream! I will have to order that next week.

On 1/5/2023 at 12:04 PM, Luvcrusn said:

I am a chronic over-packer, so the lack of bathroom amenities really didn't matter. Although oatmeal raisin cookies are our X favorite, they aren't a deal breaker. The lunch offerings in OVC, although fewer didn't affect us too much except for requiring us to walk around a bit more to find what we wanted. That walking was a bonus since we didn't make it to the gym. The tea offerings we did miss, but perhaps their absence contributed to a lower weight gain during the cruise. Once I told them how to make a Frozen Toasted Almond they managed to get it right. If they hadn't that might be another story.😜

How do you make a Frozen Toasted Almond? That sounds divine!

We just came off the British Isles cruise on the Emerald Princess and got Christmas ornaments every where we went. The gift shops in the various attractions all had them, most of the gift stores in all the places we went had them, there’s a Christmas store in Edinburgh on Victoria Street, pretty much any place you go you will find some. I was looking for a “hairy coo” ornament which proved the hardest to find. I think I found it in the gift store in the port. We got ornaments from the various castles we saw, from the Guinness Storehouse, and from each port. Love seeing them when we put up the tree each year! 

On 8/29/2022 at 7:42 PM, Cotswold Eagle said:

Genuinely curious to know what you thought you would be seeing at Giants Causeway when you booked? 

The photos I had seen before booking it looked much more beautiful than it did to me, in person. Maybe it's our age, maybe more youthful people would have enjoyed walking over the rocks.  Maybe it was because we were rushed, and our guide had told us that if we walked there and back, we'd only have about 15 minutes to actually look at everything.  It just seemed that we spent more time getting there than actually being there and to me, it wasn't worth it. I'd rather just look at the pretty pictures other people posted.  

On 8/29/2022 at 12:38 PM, MeHeartCruising said:

I, for one, enjoy looking at a bunch of rocks.  Geology is fascinating.  I also have thoroughly researched the timing and costs involved for the trek to see them on my cruise starting next week.

 

I also chose to not try and cram the Titanic Experience into this as a combined excursion.  I knew the timing would be too tight.  So I will just have to come back another time to see that.  I will enjoy a more leisurely tour focused on one major site.

 

 I'm sorry that the OP was disappointed.

To each their own! I'm sure some people enjoyed it.  I would have rather just taken a ride into Belfast and done the Titanic on our own, or, taken an historic tour of Belfast and learned more about the troubles. We are more into history than geology.

On the Emerald Princess’s British Isles tour. Had wonderful tours and excursions in Guernsey, Cobh and Dublin. Felt that Giants Causeway from Belfast was a waste of time. If you’re a member of the National Trust, you can get the $13 Causeway Experience for free but if not they won’t even let you into the cafe to grab a takeaway or an ice cream cone.  Be sure to bring cash (4 pounds total for two people round trip) for the shuttle that takes you up and back from the top. Otherwise it is a very long walk. 
 

Maybe it’s just me but I didn’t think spending almost 2 hours to get there and about 90 minutes to get back was worth it to look at a bunch of rocks. 
 

Our ship was supposed to dock at 8 am but due to some issues with the tide or something we didn’t dock till 9 and weren’t able to leave the ship until about 9:45. Our excursion which was supposed to start at 8:30 didn’t leave until maybe 10:15.  Since our tour guide had booked tickets for the Titanic Experience for 3, we ended up having to skip our lunch stop. So I was glad I had taken along some protein bars and crackers at the last minute. 

The ride to Giant’s Causeway from Belfast was almost two hours including a 10-15 minute stop to see the rope bridge. Honestly we could have gone to the Titanic Museum on our own rather than being on a bus for most of the day.

We are doing a walking tour in the morning and then will have a few hours. We were going to go to Castle Coronet but now I’m thinking maybe Victor Hugo House or German Occupation Museum. If you had to choose between those three, which would you choose and which would be easiest to get there? We’re coming next week. 

17 hours ago, John Bull said:

There are three ho-ho operators....

 

Tootbus.

Previous visitors will know it as "The Original" London hop-on bus. First started operating in 1951, now like so many small well-established & successful companies it's part of a conglomerate.

The buses are red - like a London bus should be.

https://www.tootbus.com/en/london/home

 

Big Bus

Worldwide hop-on operation, operating in dozens (hundreds?) of cities. 

Their buses are a muddy maroon.

https://www.bigbustours.com/en/london/london-bus-tours

 

Golden Tours

Well-established & reputable coach tour operator, but the new kid on the block for hop-ons, started 2 or 3 years before the pandemic. Got off to a rocky start because of poor frequency, I don't know whether that's improved. They also offer day and evening tours which start & finish near the London Eye, not a hop-on service but might suit some folks.

https://www.goldentours.com/london-hop-on-hop-off-bus-tours

 

For hop-on I'd recommend Tootbus or Big Bus because of the frequency.

The main route is broadly the same for all three, they all include a short river trip, some include walking tours & perhaps other attractions, the prices are broadly the same tho they do tend to complicate their offers.

Tootbus and Big Bus have some buses with live guides, most are multi-language audio by earpiece.

Golden only have live guides on their tour buses, not their ho-hos. Live commentary is fun - full of strange facts (some might even be true 😉), but audio-guide is better if you're seriously interested in facts.

Perhaps the biggest difference is in the feeder routes, so check their feeder routes against your hotel location.

 

None of the ho-hos (or other buses) pass the front of Buckingham Palace. You have to get off the bus, walk round the corner to the front of Buck House, then back to the bus-stop & catch the next one. Since you're booked to visit Buck House, stay on the bus - lots of folk get off there, so keep your eyes open for folk vacating better seats.

 

Hop-on buses are a great way to orientate yourself and get an outside view of almost all the important sights.

But because of their route, their stops, and slow traffic they are only rarely useful for getting from A to B. So despite the big discounts for multi-day tickets, probably a 24-hour ticket  is your best value.

For getting around from place to place you need the "tube", London's extensive, quick & frequent underground system.

https://tfl.gov.uk/tfl/syndication/widgets/tubemap/default-search.html

(tube maps are everywhere, including with regular tourist maps. Looks complicated, but places of interest mention nearest tube stations & you use the map only to figure your route underground)

 

Here's a very useful visitor's website

https://www.londontoolkit.com/

But their private tours & transfers tend to be very pricey. Well, someone's got to pay for the website 😉

 

JB 🙂

 

 

 

 

Someone mentioned Megabus? I checked and their website said they are no longer doing it but referred us to their partner, City Sightseeing.  They also have red buses. I'll check their routes as suggested.

17 hours ago, John Bull said:

There are three ho-ho operators....

 

Tootbus.

Previous visitors will know it as "The Original" London hop-on bus. First started operating in 1951, now like so many small well-established & successful companies it's part of a conglomerate.

The buses are red - like a London bus should be.

https://www.tootbus.com/en/london/home

 

Big Bus

Worldwide hop-on operation, operating in dozens (hundreds?) of cities. 

Their buses are a muddy maroon.

https://www.bigbustours.com/en/london/london-bus-tours

 

Golden Tours

Well-established & reputable coach tour operator, but the new kid on the block for hop-ons, started 2 or 3 years before the pandemic. Got off to a rocky start because of poor frequency, I don't know whether that's improved. They also offer day and evening tours which start & finish near the London Eye, not a hop-on service but might suit some folks.

https://www.goldentours.com/london-hop-on-hop-off-bus-tours

 

For hop-on I'd recommend Tootbus or Big Bus because of the frequency.

The main route is broadly the same for all three, they all include a short river trip, some include walking tours & perhaps other attractions, the prices are broadly the same tho they do tend to complicate their offers.

Tootbus and Big Bus have some buses with live guides, most are multi-language audio by earpiece.

Golden only have live guides on their tour buses, not their ho-hos. Live commentary is fun - full of strange facts (some might even be true 😉), but audio-guide is better if you're seriously interested in facts.

Perhaps the biggest difference is in the feeder routes, so check their feeder routes against your hotel location.

 

None of the ho-hos (or other buses) pass the front of Buckingham Palace. You have to get off the bus, walk round the corner to the front of Buck House, then back to the bus-stop & catch the next one. Since you're booked to visit Buck House, stay on the bus - lots of folk get off there, so keep your eyes open for folk vacating better seats.

 

Hop-on buses are a great way to orientate yourself and get an outside view of almost all the important sights.

But because of their route, their stops, and slow traffic they are only rarely useful for getting from A to B. So despite the big discounts for multi-day tickets, probably a 24-hour ticket  is your best value.

For getting around from place to place you need the "tube", London's extensive, quick & frequent underground system.

https://tfl.gov.uk/tfl/syndication/widgets/tubemap/default-search.html

(tube maps are everywhere, including with regular tourist maps. Looks complicated, but places of interest mention nearest tube stations & you use the map only to figure your route underground)

 

Here's a very useful visitor's website

https://www.londontoolkit.com/

But their private tours & transfers tend to be very pricey. Well, someone's got to pay for the website 😉

 

JB 🙂

 

 

 

 

Exactly the information I was looking for!! Thanks John!

Our overnight flight arrives at 10:30 am London time, so we figured we'd drop our bags at the hotel (our room probably won't be ready yet) and take a sightseeing bus through London to start getting acclimated.  Should we take a HOHO bus or a sightseeing bus or are they one and the same? Looking for something that would take us around to all the sights and give us some commentary, so we can get an overview before we have a few days to explore.  Already booked Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Tower of London, which we will visit on subsequent days before our British Isles cruise.

8 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Yes. If you want to take a hit on the primary exchange into pounds or euros, then a hit again selling them back.

 

Or just use plastic...

Some of the excursions we are taking require paying the balance in cash (pounds sterling or euros) at the end of the excursions.  Would that we could use our plastic for everything!

24 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

It depends on what your priorities are.

 

A proper taxi (a "black cab") will be driven by someone who almost certainly has better qualifications, and who knows his way around London better. The vehicle will probably be larger, and the journey may be faster because of the driver's superior navigation skills and his entitlement to use bus lanes. It's likely to be easier to get your journey started, because you just go to the official taxi rank outside the terminal, whereas a car service must park in one of the airport car parks.

 

But a taxi will be more expensive.

Very good point.  I'm guessing we'll be tired/exhausted after making the trip from Miami FL, and as we are mid sixties, the idea of just finding the official taxi rank outside the terminal vs looking for or having to navigate our way to one of the airport car parks seems easier.  On the other hand, wouldn't there be someone with a sign in the terminal or don't they do that any more?

Can we trade in our pounds and euros at the end of the trip to US dollars at the airport?

So would pre-booking a car service be preferable to taking a taxi from Heathrow?

I see that the tours provided by the usual groups to Edinburgh Castle are only on the outside, as no tour guides are permitted inside.  The tours I have seen are about 1.5 hours and cover the outside of the castle.  I'm not sure if we should do this or not. I find it interesting to hear the history, etc., and wonder if we would be missing it if we didn't.  But the tours I'm looking at start at the base of the hill, climb up the hill, go around the outside of the castle, and take 1.5 hours. I wonder if it would make more sense to take a cab to the top, get out at the castle, and wander around ourselves. I think there's an audio guide.  Pro's and con's? We go next month.

On some of the excursions I booked, it says that tipping is expected.  Not sure if that means the driver, the tour guide, or both.  They suggest £5 per person.  Is this not a thing?