Upshaw

Our time June in Santorini is also 2–10pm with 3 other ships in port (lucky for us their times are 8-6pm) 9700 total passengers

Looking for the best option at 2:00 for transportation to get to & tour both towns.

I haven’t found very many posts for any of our stops

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks

Excited!!! I will be on the Greek Isle cruise June 10th :)

Has anyone recently used one of the "off site" parking areas in Miami?

Cruising in November and was hoping to save a little on parking.

Any info would be appreciated, live in Fl so would be driving to Miami that morning.

Thanks

TeaBag

Thank you for the info... Much appreciated :)

I was hoping to see a daily posted somewhere for this ship but so far no luck :(

Tours? Classes?

 

Things to avoid?

 

We've never been on Celebrity and have a 7 day coming up so want to have some ideas of things to do or avoid!

Great question and thanks to everyone for the information. I have never been on Celebrity either and with 3 days at sea I was wondering the same thing.

Helpful hints are much appreciated!

Is there a cost for any of the classes (dance?)

Cab fare $6.00 US per person, approx. 30 minutes (a little less on the way there as we went fairly early, a bit longer on the way back as we had to drop someone else off downtown which was quite congested) $7.00 per chair or umbrella rental, $5.00 per Corona. Sorry we didn't eat at Gizmo's the beach bar/restaurant, but I'm sure if you do a little searching you can probably find some more info. There is another café (The Gingerbread) at the further end of the beach past the Belair beach resort, but we didn't eat there either. When doing my research I learned that you can walk from the resort to a nearby fort and even into town if you are so inclined; we did neither as we were too busy enjoying the fabulous beach and beautiful clear water. Happy planning, I hope you have a great time in St. Martin.

Thank you for the info... much appreciated. Glad you had a great time! :)

:) What are your plans for San Juan? Such a short stay, on our cruise...open to suggestions!

Ditto here...

Fox - this is great to hear... Thank you and enjoy your trip!

I'm travelling Silhouette in Feb... would love to hear more about your trip and what activities there are on the sea days.

The last time that I was there we took the water taxi across the bay to the beach area near downtown. The chairs were reasonably priced plus there were servers with drinks etc. The beach wasn't very good though...lots of big rocks in the water. The advantage is being so close to downtown shopping. We are trying a different beach this trip ( 3 weeks from now!).

 

Happy cruising!

 

Deb

Thanks Deb... Enjoy your cruise!:)

Swann5, glad you had a great day, we're still trying to decide which beach to go to since there will be 7 ships in port.

How long was the cab ride and the price to and from? Also how were the prices at the resort for rentals, food and drinks?

Thanks for any info.

There are 7 ships in port the day we will be there... Please give opinions on choosing either Great Bay or Little Bay for chair/umbrella rental (and cheap beer for the ones in my party) - Thanks

Is there a beach within walking distance from the dock at this port?

I want to say we rented beach chairs near this cruise port and could still walk to all the shops in town? But my memory could be wrong...

Also looking for some kind of beach day - all-inclusive chairs, drinks, umbrella - pay one price type that anyone can help with?? Thanks

Thank you for the information on where to park... much appreciated.

Happy Cruising...

We booked with Eduardo for a 4 hour tour with 6 other cruise critic members on Feb 16th. He certainly exceeded our expectations! Very knowledgeable, good English and extremely polite. As we were travelling in a large 9 passenger van one of the ladies at the rear was having difficulty hearing him due to the Air Conditioning noise. Eduardo quickly made a detour and arranged to pick up a mic which attached to his stereo! What service and it really allowed all of us to enjoy his interpretation along the route. At the end of our tour Eduardo dropped us off at a traditional Mexican restaurant where we enjoyed a terrific lunch! I would HIGHLY recommend Eduardo for an Island grand tour :)

 

If you see this note Eduardo, a BIG THANK YOU for your great service!

 

Atlantic Side of Cozumel was a highlight of our tour!

 

 

 

 

 

Dave & Brenda

Calgary, Alberta

Has anyone been to the Tequila Factory ? I haven't seen anyone mention it in their island tours?

Wondering where it is, the cost and if its worth having the driver take us there?

Any info is appreciated.... thanks

How long does it take for OBC to be on your account, and how do you actually use it on your next cruise?

 

I applied for NCL Mastercard to receive free 15,000 points - or $150 OBC - which I have already made my 1st purchase -how do I "get it" to use on my cruise leaving 2/26/12?

I would also like to know the easiest way to make sure the obc is available for me to use when I get on the ship in 7 days. I keep getting the run around.

Thanks for any advice.

We were a party of 11 and paid $150 bucks for a van for 6 hours. And the dude took us everywhere. He took us shopping, to a beach, to a stadium, a church, a hospital, ruins, a new housing development, the projects, snorkling, and to a remote part of the island that is protected because of turtle breeding. There was a soccer game at a park between the Carnival staff and the RCI staff that was kinda cool. In the remote part of the island we took pics that looked like they were from a Corona commercial. Everytime we asked the guy to stop he did. We even went to a school and jumped out the van to check it out.

 

It was our first cruise, we went to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. The first 2 places we booked excursions with Carnival, the last one I decided I was going to do a DIY tour. The family followed along and we had the best time ever!

 

Never booking an excursion again. The excursions were overpriced dissapointments.

Did you just get a taxi at the port when you arrived? Did you remember which company you toured with? This is what we want to do.

Just off the ship! We used this company for our tour of Coz. LOVED IT! Cantaro was our driver and he did a wonderful job! We had some ideas of where we wanted to go and Cantaro made it happen! He took us to all the most beautiful places on the island BEFORE many other excursions got there. At several places we were leaving a place where it was only us and a few others just as several buses unloaded.

 

Gracias, Cantaro for a wonderful day!

 

Pam

Did you book a 3 hr tour or longer? Do they pick up up right at the port?

Thank you

I can also strongly recommend Eduardo. He took care of our group and took us to interesting places we had not seen before. Great private tour!

How long was your tour? Did you have to book in advance or can you book a tour when arriving?

Hi Upshaw! I just booked through this website for our cruise in March. I received a confirmation response very quickly. Looking forward to our tour! :)

Thank you for the info. Did you pick what you wanted to see so they could let you know time wise how long it would take?

Back from a cruise 8-15 january, we had a tour of Cozumel with Cantaro... It was really great. I know I have a bad english, but the tour was so wonderful that I want to let you know that, and book your journey in Cozumel with him!

I would like to confirm something in advance since there is going to be 8 or 9 ships in port the day we are there.

Is there a web site or email address to reserve an island tour?

Cantaro is the man. We didn't make up our minds until days before the trip. On the strength of his many years of glowing CruiseCritic reviews, we requested Gerry. Whatever Gerry does, he canNOT be better than Cantaro. By the time our ship docked our party of 4 had turned into a party of 14. I called Eduardo from my cell, on the ship, and he said that Cantaro could secure a second van for us. Cantaro was the first person in line, with a big welcome sign for me. He was not the least bit flustered by needing to find a second van for 10 more people! He took us to the ruins, and then, upon our request, to Coconuts. He had ideas in mind as to where to take us, but was totally flexible and willing to bend to the will of the group. At the end of the day we wanted one shot of tequila, so he took us to the place where he had his first job! Great fun. And when one in our party was a little tipsy, he was ever the gentleman, helping her across the street and into the van. Gerry may be good, but I guarantee you he is not better than Cantaro. Cantaro would not join us for a tequila 'cause he was headed to church later that night. He's a sweet man, and I appreciate the good care he took of us. The rest of the party of 14 think I'm a hero for having found Eduardo, Cantaro, and the east side of the island.

A couple of questions...

I see different drivers names, do they work for the same company?

How do you book them and when do you pay?

Also what is the price of the 3 hr vs the 5 hr tour?

Any info is appreciated since I have never booked privately.

Thanks

There is a light on in the hallway all the time. This will come into your room under the door. I kept a book light in the bathroom so I didn't have to turn on the glaring bathroom light at night. Worked out great.

Thanks to all for the light suggestions.

Happy Cruising !

Oh, and another essential I could not do without that I was happy I brought with me. A Brita Filter Bottle that I filled up with tap water the entire Cruise. It really saved me money from purchasing their spring water, as I drink a lot of water(not soda)

I am considering a Brita Bottle, I too drink a lot of water.

Also does anyone have any helpful hints on staying in an inside room? Do I need a night light for in the washroom? - No I'm not afraid of the dark ha ha just thinking it must be dark all the time!

Again, thanks for the great info ... I am on the same itinerary and haven't been to any of the islands. Hoping we can get at least one bottle on board to enjoy drinks on the balcony...

I just returned from my first cruise last weekend, and I overpacked in a HUGE way. Lesson learned: never bring more than you can carry! We had too many bags and it ended up being a source of stress for both my husband and I. Next time, I will underpack.

 

Here are some of the things I brought, and did not need

 

Waaay too many clothes. Next time - i will bring only my swimsuits, two outfits per day (one casual, one for dinner/drinks, my formal outfit, a sweater/hoody and that is IT!!!)

clothespins (the clothesline in the bathroom was just fine - we only had our suits and my coverup to hang dry)

wrinkle releaser (there are irons in the launderettes)

14 pairs of shoes (yes, that's right, including 6 pairs of flip flops)

slippers (i just wore my flip flops in the cabin anyway)

2 bottles hand sanitizer (you don't need it on the ship, there are dispensers everywhere. Just keep one in your purse for the ports)

febreze (the room smelled fine!)

tweezers (duh - i had my eyebrows done before i left, why did i bring tweezers??)

nail clippers (double duh, see above)

Nighlight (there are reading lamps attached to the beds)

multi-plug/extension cord (there were more than enough outlets)

cell phone

calculator

highlighter

waaay too many cosmetics. )I didn't use half of what I brought. I hardly wore makeup the whole time)

first aid kit (maybe we were just lucky not to need this time, i still might bring next time)

book (see below, i just read magazines)

 

 

Here are some of the things I did bring, and was glad to have

 

yoga pants, hoodie and running shoes for travel days (the best!!!)

lots of jewellery to accessorize (I even wore with my suit and coverup)

two cameras (this was great - not having to ask my husband to hand me the camera all the time)

extra camera batteries

ziploc bags (used them the whole time - all sizes. Especially good for keeping my jewellery organized)

coffee travellers

extra sunglasses

magazines/reading glasses (i bought a book and didnt' crack it once)

gravol (i did get a bit seasick at first but it was fine)

advil

big beach bag (actually i had two)

small knapsack for my husband (VERY important or else you might end up carrying everything in your purse)

small wallet (just big enough for my s&s card and some cash)

plastic pouch that contained a couple of pens, our cruise documents, photocopies of our passports and drivers licence (they do ask for this in some ports)

corkscrew (we brought more than two bottles of wine and it was fine!)

After sun spray

Self-tanner (great for blending in those blotchy areas I always seem to get where i missed the sunscreen. I use Neutrogena Build-a_tan and it's the best)

Thanks for this list, I have read all the "extras" to bring and wondered how many suitcases people were packing.... I do have a question about clothing for dinner - I know on formal nights it is shirt/tie/jacket, but on the non-formal nights in the MDR what were the men and women wearing? We are sailing on Royal in 2 weeks and we have the "formal attire", now what to pack for the rest of the nights? Thank you and hope you had a great cruise....

I shall answer the two questions to my post in this one reply. Please forgive spelling errors, since I am doing this on my phone.

 

We LOVE AOS! This was our third time on AOS in about 4 years. While the ship is great, we actually book it for the Itin. It used to have one island every day. It now has one sea day (RCL needs the money we spend when we are a captive audience.) San Juan is a great place - we have now been there almost a dozen times. Our favorite island is St. Martin (French side of St. Maarten.) We enjoy our day on Orient Beach (far right side when you are facing the water - which will mean something to those who have been there before.)

 

The ship is well taken care of. The service is great. The food was great - for what you are paying for. Carnival has better desserts, but I never passed on desserts on AOS either! The gym could use a bit of an upgrade, but it gets the job done (we hit the gym every day for 90 minutes in hope of putting a dent in the liquor calories :D )

 

I have no idea what the name of the pier was. It is the pier that the Adventure of the Seas docs at - I believe it always docs at the same pier. Princess was at that pier, too. When facing the pier area from the "Sizzler" sign (if you have been to SJU before,) it is the closest pier on the left side. I believe the small airport is adjacent to this pier - the planes were taking off parallel to our ship.

 

I brought with me two flasks - a traditional looking one made of metal and one that is a thin cylinder designed to fit into one of my cigar cases (yes, I am an EVIL cigar smoker as well.) I would fill one with Tequila and the other with Rum. We kept the Vodka in a water bottle. The Champaign was consumed the first night / day. I would put the flasks into our Beach Bag - we like to "fortify" our drinks with an extra bit of kick (many bars tend to have a soft touch when pouring - except for the bar off the beach that we frequent on Orient Beach. The bartendress has a VERY heavy hand.) When returning to the ship, the flasks are at the bottom of the bag. We put the bag in the scanner and amble on through. We had no problems except on St. Croix. For some reason they thought the Tube Flask may have been a weapon. They looked at it and asked me what it was. Since it was the last island before returning to SJU, I smiled and said it was a flask for holding my alcohol. The security guy asked his supervisor if it was OK. Supervisor said, "OK."

 

Had they wished to confiscate, I merely would have poured out any liquid that was left. I did not hide any of our alcohol or flasks in the room. They were on a shelf with all the rest of our stuff. No issues with the valet, but we tipped him extra every day (along with the customary tip at the end.)

 

I will say that two years ago, we had no problems with Carnival either. However, last year when we cruised Carnival out of SJU, they were a bit less forgiving. They took our two bottles away (gave them back at the end.) We merely purchased alcohol on St. Thomas (first stop.) Carried our "Water Bottles" back on board without a problem (having transferred the contents of the bottle into the water bottles. Carnival sells a "Carnival" Water Bottle Holder and water bottle. We purchased a couple one of those thinking that it not only hid the contents of the water bottle, but would also be less likely to attract attention - why would Carnival wish to hassle people who purchased and used their stuff.

 

I hope my long winded reply helped......

 

Enjoy your cruise. We wish we were still out there..............

Thanks for the helpful hints ... I will be on AOS in 2 weeks, it is my first cruise also - and I am really looking forward to this itinerary. If you have any other information (ports, onboard activities, food choices) you would like to share it would be greatly appreciated ...

Stay warm up there in Chicago ...