so_excited_to_cruise

I used a credit card last month there and was not charged any extra. I reserved ahead of time (small deposit)through Beach Tours Mexico to save $5/each. It was easy and I didn't have any problems. We did not have any problem getting a cabana to use while there without paying extra. Out of the 13 cabanas only 2 were "reserved".

Thank you. I did make reservations. Looking forward to it! Did you do anything extra that was not included in the all inclusive?

I have been to Nachi Cocom and Mr Sanchos. We are doing PASSION ISLAND (not Paradise...you might have these 2 mixed up since you take the catamaran to Passion and not to Paradise) in November.

 

I have reviews on both Nachi and Sanchos listed in my signature line with TONS of pictures you are welcome to read and be able to see the place. If you have a 12 year old, they would probably prefer Mr Sanchos since they have a huge pool (and a smaller pool) and inflatable water toys if they are in to that. :) I also hear that Passion Island has water toys as well.

We are sailing next Sunday. Working on our budget and how much cash to take. Mr Sanchos says they accept Visa.. So thought about using Credit Card there. In Roatan we are going to Little French Key. Noticed they charged a 15% fee to use a credit card. Do you know if Mr Sanchos charges extra to use a credit card. I hate to carry that much cash.

BTW: Thanks for all of your input.

I know it's on this forum somewhre. lol But, does anyone know the cost of a taxi or bus to Royal Palms for a family of 4?

We sail in 13 days. Trying to get my budget together.

Sea Voyages, Grand Cayman is located within walking distance from the port. This is a great excursion for the whole family, definitely worth checking out.

Thank you. I have been looking everywhere for this info. My daughter loved it in Cozumel but we wanted to do something different there.

What beach do you suggest in Grand Cayman?

Carnival has a snuba excursion in Grand Caymen. Does anyone know where this is located at? My kids want to do it. Husband and I do not. We leave in 2 weeks. Still trying to decide on excursions.

Only you know how much you may eat / drink. I suggest looking at their lunch menu which is online. We've been before and for us, it's not worth spending $75 per adult, but for others it may work! By the way, we return in May and it's just a beautiful beach!

We were in Grand Cayman last summer and we went to RP. I felt the food was very expensive. But, I've heard most things are in Grand Caymen. Not so sure it was the resort. The food was good. (not worth the money. lol) But, when you are hungry you eat. Sodas was watered down. Other than that, the beach was beautiful. Powder soft sand. They had a volleyball net set up. My husband and kids played until time to leave. Great spot.

I have been to Nachi Cocom and Mr Sanchos. We are doing PASSION ISLAND (not Paradise...you might have these 2 mixed up since you take the catamaran to Passion and not to Paradise) in November.

 

I have reviews on both Nachi and Sanchos listed in my signature line with TONS of pictures you are welcome to read and be able to see the place. If you have a 12 year old, they would probably prefer Mr Sanchos since they have a huge pool (and a smaller pool) and inflatable water toys if they are in to that. :) I also hear that Passion Island has water toys as well.

I'm trying to decide between Mr. Sanchos, Paradise Beach and Passion Island. thank you for always sharing your info. Helps to make the decisions a little easier. :) I've read the info on Mr. Sanchos and it seems like you can't go wrong. Paradise Beach looks a little less expensive. Have you been to Passion Island? We have 4 ships in port the day we will be in Coz. Not sure if they makes a difference or not.

We did the zip and dip with Bodden about a year and a half ago. There's a review for it in my signature line. There's the zip portion and then the dip portion at West Bay.

 

You can also hold the monkeys at Maya Key <---one of my favorites so far, there's also a link in my signature for that.

 

Then there's Little French Key (which I'm about to get to that review here soon) that have monkeys to hold and also baby jaguars to hold.

 

You can decided. :)

I have a question concerning the packages at Little French Key. I noticed that one package includes a personal tour guide to take you snorkeling on a reef. Another package is $10 less and does not include that. Is it worth it or are there good places to snorkel without the $10 upgrade.

Hey $10 here and there add up over a week. lol

With teens I would definitely look into one of the other places... My son and I have always gone to Paradise Beach along with his best friend, and the older they both got the more they loved PB. He is 18 now and we were there again in February -- there is so much to do at PB, they had a ball.

 

I'm looking forward to Nachi Cocom so much for that very reason -- there isn't near as much for kids and teens to do, and a nice quiet day on a gorgeous beach appeals to the bf and I very much at this point! :D

Thanks for the info. I will look into Paradise Beach also. Did you book that online and was it all inclusive? Do any of the all inclusive include the ride from the port or do you need to take a taxi?

Thanks for all the replies! My bf is going to be VERY excited about the guacamole - so many reviews I've read have mentioned how good it is. We're so excited about our day at Nachi Cocom! Only 215 more days 'til we sail!! :D

 

 

 

-gina-

We are sailing on the Carnival legend in a few weeks and I feel so unprepared. I always have everything planned out and this time not so. How did you book Nachi Cocom? I have two kids 19 and 16 and they love food and fun.

I noticed a excursion with CCL for Snuba in Grand Cayman. Does anyone know which beach or where this is offered? My kids did it in Cozumel and loved it. Would love to book on our own.

Thanks to everyone for your input. yes, my kids know the difference between a great cut of beef. lol As much as I love the MDR, mainly because we are together as a family, we got sick of the same stuff every night. My kids are older and I thought they would appreciate something different. Sounds like it is a great choice. Thanks everyone.

We are scheduled for sail on the Legend in 20 days. :) This will be our 3rd cruise and we have not eaten at the Steak House. My guys are STEAK LOVERS! Is it really as good as they say for the extra money?

I have never done the snuba "yet". :D I haven't felt like my little one is quite ready for it, but hopefully we'll try it in Bermuda next year. So I can't comment on where you can actually do the snuba at in Cozumel. Hopefully someone else can give you that answer.

 

As for the places (and ages of the kids)...Mr Sanchos has the water toys out in the ocean and a big pool. It's ok there. We enjoyed ourselves, but liked Playa Mia better.

 

The day we were at Playa Mia, they didn't have the water toys out in the ocean, so I can't comment on it first hand. However, they did upgrade them and it looks like a lot of fun from the pictures I have found online. They might be interested in that. They also have a huge pool and 2 water slides as well. They have canoes and water bikes as well. I think they would enjoy it. :)

 

Thank you for the info. Did you book Playa Mia on line? What was the cost of the taxi one way?

Carlos greeted us when we arrived and said he would be our waiter. I remember A LOT of comments on people saying if you go here, make sure you get Carlos because he is WONDERFUL…and he was. He took us out to the beach area to show us where we were going to sit. Hmm, I didn’t realize that we had “assigned seats” and no one had ever mentioned that. I mean I’m sure we could have moved if we wanted (and we eventually did).

 

So we step down off of the pool area and in to the sand…sink, step, pull, sink, step, pull….Um ok. This was some hard sand to walk in. It’s the kind you really struggle to walk in and you sink with each step. We went on the other side around the pool (in front of the pool area) where the papalas where located facing the ocean and we put our things down. Carlos asks us what type of drinks we would like to get started. The hubby ordered a beer and I ordered a strawberry daiquiri to get me going and prepared for the world to end.

 

This would be our campsite for the day...or would it?

 

 

 

What do you think my daughter did as soon as we arrived at the “camp site” ?

 

 

 

I walked down after her to check out the water:

 

 

Once I got to the water, I noticed first that the waves were a little rough (I assumed because it was also windy out too) and then, as you can see in the picture) the sand in the water quickly went down right as soon as you get in. Hmmm, this was going to create a bit of a problem. Even though our daughter can swim, I do not trust her in the ocean unless it is calm (without her floaties). The water was rough. I looked at my husband and told him I really didn’t feel too safe letting her play here by the water because of the drop off. I guess that was one thing I had not asked about prior to going was if there was a gentle decline in the water or a quick drop in the sandy bottom. DARN. This now deemed the beach as pretty unusable to us. Remember me saying we do not go to the ocean to go to a pool? Well, this would be the exception for the day. We really didn’t have much choice. I knew that I wouldn’t feel that she was safe and I also knew that the sand was next to impossible to walk in and I wasn’t going to pull a muscle chasing after her in that stuff.

 

 

 

This picture was taken later in the day when I attempted once more to walk down the beach and try to snorkel from one end to the other. I turned around to take a shot of the sand to show just how difficult it was to walk in because I knew this would be included in my review:

 

 

Can you tell how deep the foot prints are everywhere here? This is right beside the water. My legs were aching by the time that I made it to the end of Nachi and it's NOT a big place at all if that tells you anything.

I love everyone one of your reviews. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your adventures. . I have a question. I just recently booked a cruise on the Carnival Legend. WE will be leaving in 20 days and I have no idea where to begin with excursions. Then I remembered the amazing reviews I have read. I have a few questions concerning our ports. We have been to Cozumel once and went to Chankanaab Park... LOVED the Royal Dolphin swim and the Snuba. My daughter would love to snumba again, but we would also like to try a different beach area. Any suggestions? I saw your beautiful pics of Playa Mia, Nachi Cocom and Mr Sanchos. Our kids are 19 and 16. Love the water. We love beautiful beaches, lounge chairs, decent food, clean restrooms, water toys. lol

Has anyone done Snuba in Roatan? My kids loved it in Cozumel. Carnival has an excursion. But, I'd rather branch out and do it on our own. Any info?

Also, on this cruise we are going to Mahogany Bay. I did see where they offer Snuba as an excursion.

Has anyone done Snuba at a location in Cozumel other than Chankanaab Park? We went there last year and did the Royal Dolphin Swim. (most amazing thing ever.) Our kids also did the snuba there and loved it. They would like to Snuba again but I would like to go to try out a different beach. Any suggestions? We just booked our cruise and we sail in 25 days.

Good Morning all !! Just booked a last minute, end of summer cruise and have NEVER been out of Tampa before. In urgent need of info about either a great, not overpriced place to stay and park, or a safe affordable parking option for this port. Any and all info, big or small will be greatly appreciated. I know if we elect to spent the night before, I need to book a place NOW, just don't even know where to begin to look! Fellow cruisers here have been great in the past with sharing information and I know y'all won't let me down!

thanks so much......and Paradise here we come !!!

We just booked a spur of the moment cruise. Also, we have never sailed out of Tampa. We are flying in the day before. My AAA agent suggested the Courtyard close to the port. Which has free shuttle service to the port. She did say they offer a Park and sail option. Not sure what that is.

I've looked several places but I can't seem to find the answer. Does Carnival have any cruises that spend the night in a Port? As much as I love cruising, my husband wants to spend longer on the island. No matter where you go, it seems like as soon as you get there, it is time to turn around and head back to the ship.

Oh my gosh, so sorry to hear of your loss and all at this time when you have a family vacation planned. But I agree, they (and you) will need this vacation more than ever now. My condolences to you.

 

I do know that sometimes LFK has internet issues and their server is down. I did have a question once and didn't hear from them for a few days and when they responded, they let me know that they were without internet for a few days. Otherwise, I have always heard back from them right away. Now do remember that they do actually LIVE on this island. They do not have service on the island. They do have internet at Frenchy 44's (which is their restaurant on the land and it's also where you catch your ride to go over to the island by boat).

 

Please do not fret about ship time vs island time. As long as you keep YOUR watch on ship time you are safe. ;) They have their boat going back and forth all during the day bringing people and then taking people back. So just watch your watch and leave on the boat when you are ready. :) Also, don't forget...these people know when the ships are there. They are very aware of what times the ship is in port and leaving. They know the ship time as well. When we checked in at Frenchys, they did ask us what time we might be interested in leaving and they told us what time it was there compared to our ship time. But, as I said, the boat is coming and going during the day. No worries. Plus I think they might have also ask about what time we wanted to go back to the ship because they had a private driver that dropped us off and he would be coming back to pick us up as well and needed to know when to return for us.

 

As for the food...smart idea. As shown in my pictures, there's plenty of food for sure. My little one barely touched her plate and had I liked the food, her and I could have just shared a plate with not having to get 2 plates.

 

I just looked at their facebook page and they haven't posted anything since Sunday...when they were having a wedding on the island...how cool would that be???? :D But then again, they don't post every day either.

 

My suggestion to you would be to email them again...and again, until you hopefully hear from them before you leave for your cruise.

Thank you very much. :):)

Ok, I'm beat and it's now 3am...geesh, my nights just keep getting later and later. I vow to sleep in tomorrow. I don't have anywhere to go and only studying to do. I will sleep in!!! (Trying to convince myself at this point since it has not turned out that way for the last 2 weeks since returning from my cruise).

 

Good night to all and I will see you tomorrow and hopefully (probably) will get started on our Nohoch Kay Costa Maya day. :)

 

Enjoy.

Oh How I need your help????? lol

I have enjoyed reading your posts. We are getting ready to leave on a cruise Saturday that our family did not think we were going to get to go on. Actually, we had thought of cancelling. We had 11 people going. My friends father, just passed away from cancer. So, now we have 9. After, much thought and prayer.... we feel our kids deserve this vacation. So, we are very late at planning our excursions. Because of your post, we are very interested in LFK. I sent them an email today. I have not heard back. We are sailing on Carnival Liberty. I'm so concerned about island time verses ship time and so on. A couple of us will be getting the base package that does include transportation. We can share the food? There is no way my daughter could eat all of that!!! Loved the idea on the drink tickets.

Please any advise would be greatly appreciated. I hope to hear back from them soon. My head is spinning. The funeral was this past Monday and we decided to go ahead with our cruise on Tuesday. I wish you were my private agent. LOL

I see a lot of questions about Early Saver fares here on the forum and I think sometimes people may be confusing Early Saver with Easy Saver. They are different. Plus this also explains the other Super Saver, Instant Saver, Fun Select and Fun Select Plus. You consider the pros & cons before you book. The only fare that offers price protection is the Early Saver.

 

Early Saver -

Available up to 3 months on short cruises, 5 months on long cruises

Price Protection up to 2 business days prior to departure

Lowest price option with cabin assignment

Cancel before final? Deposit will be given in a FCC plus a $50pp service fee. To use the FCC, you must sail within 24 months from the cancellation date.

Cancel after final? Same terms as the standard cancellation policies.

Change ship or sail date before final? $50pp service fee/per change.

Change ship or sail date after final? Same terms as the standard cancellation policies.

Early Saver is not eligible for any Super Saver or Instant Saver or any other fares that does not allow cabin selection at the time of booking.

 

Super Saver -

No price protection.

Select your category, CCL selects your cabin.

Non-refundable deposit

Change ship or sail date before final? Penalty is at least the deposit amount per person.

Change ship or sail date after final? Same terms as the standard cancellation policies.

Change names before final? Treated as a cancellation. CCL will assess the per person deposit as the penalty fee.

 

Instant Saver -

Available closer to sailing.

No price protection.

Select your category, CCL selects your cabin. You will receive your cabin assignment when you check-in.

Full payment required at the time of booking.

Any changes to ship or sail date are subject to at least the the full per person fare cancellation penalty fee.

Change names? Treated as a cancellation. CCL will assess the full fare per person as the penalty fee.

 

Easy Saver -

Available after Early Saver closes.

No price protection.

Same deposit and payment terms as Early Saver.

All other changes, cancellations are the same as Early Saver

 

There is also Fun Select and Fun Select Plus Fares which are usually higher, but give more flexibility, free upgrades and no restrictions on changes before final payment. Can cancel without penalty before final payment. Fun Select – 2 cat upgrade, Fun Select Plus – free best available upgrade. Upgrades are within the same class (inside to inside, oceanview to oceanview, balcony to balcony, etc.)

This is great info. Think I will print and file in my cruise folder. We are going on our second cruise in June. Not sure what we booked. I know it was not Early Saver. We did did many price adjustments until paid in full.

Looks like you have cruised a lot. Would you always go Early Saver?

Here are just a few more shots of Bannister Island. The sand was not very deep, so I wouldn’t recommend walking around in bare feet. We also didn’t check out the bar or restaurant, but the gift shop wasn’t really anything to write home about.

 

 

 

It was then a short trip back to the ship – she's quite a looker:

 

 

When we got back on the ship, it was pretty early – around 12:30, and we were both ravenous. We had already decided to try a burrito from the Blue Iguana cantina – so we headed up to the lido deck, and since the ship was still mostly deserted, there was no line at all. I got a shrimp burrito with rice, black beans, lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo, guac, and sour cream. Chris had a beef burrito with cheese, rice, refried beans and sour cream. We decided to take them back up to our room and eat out on the balcony. MAN were these things tasty. I definitely recommend trying one at least once if you’re going on the Liberty!

 

 

The Burritos are on the right side and the tacos on the left. They do them up right in front of you so you can pick and choose what you want in it. Then you can choose to add to it from other salsas from the bar on the side.

 

My super-yummy shrimp burrito! (With a bite taken to show how awesome it looks)

I have LOVED reading your review. We are doing this same itinerary in June. Like you, I feel more comfortable booking thru Carnival. After your snorkeling you went to Banister Island. I noticed you said you were back on the ship by 12:30. Can you stay on Banister Island longer? Or do you have to go back that early?

We were there last week. First cruise, first time to St. Thomas. It was my favorite stop--out of St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk. I think because we had more time there, and I LOVED Sapphire Beach. The snorkelling is right off the beach; in fact, there is a sign warning people to watch the reef as it is protected and very close to shore (ie within feet of water line) To answer your question about stuff--generally, we always left someone behind to watch stuff. We were a group of four, however. With two of you, you want to snorkel together (I get a little freaked out by myself out there, but that's neither here nor there.) There were plenty of people in lounge chairs around us that I would have had no problem saying, "We're going in the water for a minute, mind if I leave my bag under your chair?" We did that on other islands, and everyone was very accommodating. There may be lockers on Sapphire somewhere, but if not, just ask some nice couple. Also, we went to Coki Beach earlier in the day, which was nice, but Sapphire was nicer in that the habitat of the fish and coral was more natural. At Coki, the aquarium next door feeds the fish, so you'll see more, but they are all of about 2 species and it feels forced. Also! The $2 bus!! have you looked into that? I'm about to find that thread and post, but basically, we took the local bus to/from downtown for $2 person each way out to beaches and then back to Crown Point, where our ship was docked. So much better than the $10-11 each way/pp fare charged by taxis. And fun, too! We talked to lots of local people, who were more than helpful when we needed advice and directions. I thought St. Thomas to be the friendliest place we visited, but really, everyone we met throughout the cruise was lovely. So, long answer! Have a great time! Oh, and take the walk out to Pettykill Point (I know I'm butchering the spelling--it is something like that. Off to the right of Sapphire.) Take your camera. The views are amazing and beautiful.

Thanks for all of the info..... so excited! We are down to 23 days. So Pettykill Point is close to Sapphire Beach?