lindseylu8

On 12/30/2018 at 9:15 AM, Luckyroot said:

I see on their website they open at 11am.  We’re you able to get on the beach earlier?

 If you book the all inclusive they know youre coming & are expecting you. We got there before 10am. Just go into the restaurant area & someone should be in there to assist. We didnt know if they were open so we just sat on a lounger & someone came out to greet us within a few minutes. 

It was $60 or $65 pp

15 hours ago, Ashland said:

We did the Cosol tour this past September and it was just amazing but I wouldn't call the speedboat portion to Sugar Beach a water taxi  

honestly even without that-still a great tour. but yes actually it was a SPEED boat! We were going fast & bumping around

9 hours ago, Ba' Datz said:

Sounds great.  How much did it cost?

It was $75 per person. so worth it 🙂

We had a great time with Brenda on our tour. Everything went great, we visited all the sights & were provided with tons of great info. Brenda was so friendly & knowledgeable. They even gave us a few shots of their local rum. Lots of great photo opp stops. Wifi was included on their bus.We saw 99 Steps, Blackbeard’s Castle and the Three Queens’ Fountain, Skyline Drive overlook, Sir Francis Drake’s Seat and the world’s famous Mountain Top and beach. Water included. We booked the sightseeing tour & swimming but we also got some shopping time added as a bonus. They let us pick which beach we wanted to swim at and got us settled in there. We chose Coki beach and it was in the top 2 or 3 beautiful beaches we have ever been to.

 

value for money, this was one of the best tours we have ever done. We had such a great tour. This tour is such a great bargain for what was included. I would HIGHLY recommend if you are in St. Lucia. The food was amazing & plentiful, service was top notch. Our guide was "fat man" and he was super knowledgeable & funny. We got to see & do EVERYTHING on the island. Tons of great photo opp stops. Rum punch was so yummy and flowing. Bottled water & soda was included! We learned a lot and had a perfect day. Breakfast, lunch, snacks, drinks, all the sights, volcano, mud bath, waterfall, water taxi, snorkeling and entrance fees included

Everything was top notch on our 12/18/18 tour. Amazing service, food, fun, snorkeling. Perfect day. Drinks were flowing, food was non-stop and delicious and service was impeccable. I would highly recommend this tour, even if you have done a lot of catamaran tours- this was one of the best we have ever done. We will definitely do this again if we visit again!  

We were at Beach Limerz on 12/20/18. We had the beach almost entirely to ourselves. Plenty of loungers and umbrellas. Lovely beach and great water conditions. Stand up paddle boarding & kayaks included. Lunch was AMAZING and huge. The rum punch was and excellent and plentiful. Service was top notch. I highly recommend the all inclusive option- what a great bargain for everything that was included. The taxi was only $6 from the port. Wifi included.

On 11/28/2018 at 9:51 AM, jazzydiver said:

I'd never paid too much attention to the cruise director prior to my last cruise - yes, sometimes I'd notice if someone was extra-friendly, but didn't ever remember their name.  But on my October cruise on the Jade, I thought Richard Matic did an outstanding job.  He was really funny and personable, seemed to be everywhere, and I really enjoyed his demeanor.

agreed! He is the best we have had on any of our cruises

all of our CAS offers have different varieties. We see European itineraries and Mexican Rivera in addition to the usual Caribbean. We did the ABC islands on our last CAS and our upcoming one is Eastern Caribbean. 

We book through CAS & the paperwork/ cruise voucher says the person who is comped the cruise must be on the cruise.

We were on the Jade last month & the Grand Pacific main dining room also requires long pants for men.

The only lobster anywhere is the lobster roll in the sushi restaurant. 

Curacao:

After much research & back and forth we decided on just doing an all-inclusive here. I really wanted to do the blue room but the reviews were sketchy and limited. Our friends that went with us actually tried to do the Blue Room but after taking a $40 taxi there, they were told they were the only 2 doing the tour & so it would be cancelled. I saw this on reviews and was one of the reasons I didn’t do it. I also wanted to do Irie tours beach & sightseeing but when I emailed them they had to have a minimum number of attendees or it would be cancelled so I didn’t book that.

We booked through resorts for a day and went with Santa Barbara Beach Resort. It included transportation. It was about 35 min from the port. It was $119 per person and included drinks, food, beach, pools. It was a lovely day but I would not go back again. Nothing was open until like 11 so no drinks or snacks until then. The pools were all together and were packed with (bad) kids. Screaming, yelling, and literally jumping and running over our heads. They had shallow area in the pool with loungers in it and they kids were leapfrogging over the people in the chairs. The beach was nice but it was a small space. We enjoyed ourselves and had a lovely day regardless but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back. We ate in the Mediterranean restaurant and it the food & service were both excellent.

We headed back to the ship and looked at the shops near the port. Went to DI and got my charm. We didnt buy anything though.

Aruba:

We rented a UTV from Arubiana. We took a taxi there & they reimbursed us and they provided transportation back to the pier. The total was $229 for 9-5 rental. They also had wifi in their office so we used that before & after real quick. We really enjoyed this. You can buy goggles ($10) and dust mask ($5) from them. I almost brought my goggles but didn’t- wish I had so we had to buy theirs. I did bring a dust mask which I didn’t really need since it rained on & off. Was glad we bought the goggles.

They provide a map app that worked pretty well. I also used the map me app that I had downloaded for Bonaire and that helped to cross reference. We also got paper maps from either them or at Arikok National Park (or both?, cant recall). We navigated throughout the island easily and didn’t have any issues. Their app gives you sample itineraries but I had made up my own based on what I wanted to do.

We first headed to Arikok National Park, there is an $11 pp entry fee. We went to the natural pool first. It was “closed” to swimming due to crazy high waves but there were people that has swam out there. We got in the shallow part but didn’t go to the pool – sad L it was still beautiful.

Then we went to Dos Playas and looked at the beach and to Quadiriki caves. Then headed to the natural bridge. We wanted to hit the gold smelter but we were really hot and had been 4X4ing for hours so we headed to Eagle beach to do some swimming.

We turned our UTV in and they took us back to the cruise terminal. We got back on the ship, showered (we were FILTHY from driving around on the UTV all day) and changed. We went back out and looked around the stores near the port but ended up just heading back on board much earlier than our midnight departure. I found a cute tie dye shirt for my niece in the port area for a good price and of course went to DI for my free charm.

Bonaire:

We rented golf carts from Bonaire cruisers & drove around the island. We got some rain & it got cold towards the end so we didnt end up getting in the water (sadly) but otherwise we had a great time. We did the South tour and saw a lighthouse & ruins, the salt pans, flamingos, slave huts, and ended at jibe city beach resort before heading back. When we got to Jibe City a downpour hit us so we stepped under the bar area & had a super strong & super fresh mai tai that was made with a LOT of rum & fresh squeezed fruit juice. Only $10 each- yum. The water looked lovely but I was just too cold to get in. The golf cart was only $95 so ended up being a cheap day. They have wifi at the Bonaire Cruisers rental spot so we sat there for a few when we returned our carts to check on the internet.

They recommend a map app & provide a paper map. They go over the routes with you before you go & circle points of interest on the map as well. It was really easy to navigate with just the paper map.

We went back to the boat, dried off & changed and went back to the port area to get a snack, buy some local hot sauce, & get a pic under the Bonaire sign. We got rice & beans with chicken from a local vendor I port- she was in the back corner. It was only $5 and it was AMAZING. The Caribbean hot sauce vendor gave samples & so we bought 2 bottles of that as well. 

About Us: 

Married couple in our late 30's. This was our 6th cruise, 3rd with NCL. We did the drink package as our perk. Stayed in an inside cabin this time. Came in to Miami a day early and stayed at the Leamington Hotel - it was HORRIBLE. The worst hotel Ive ever stayed at. Door barely locked, saw a hooker and a cockroach, smelled weed in the halls, no towels, no light in the bathroom, you get the jest. Booked through expedia because it came with a shuttle to the port, but it was so close to the port we easily could have ubered. The shuttle was so small they had to do like 4 trips. Some people had to wait in the "lobby" for over an hour Oh well, didnt get murdered and made it to the ship on time so all is well. 

Itinerary: 

Depart Miami Sunday 10/14, Mon- Wed sea days. Thurs Bonaire 9-5. Friday Aruba 8-midnight. Sat Curacao 8-5. Sun-Mon sea days. Disembark Tuesday at 7am.

Ship:

Basic ship with not a lot of amenities. Adult pool near the main pool but I actually didnt see any kids in the adult pool. Not as crowded as Ive seen on other ships- which was surprising since we had so many sea days. We only ate in the buffet & main dining room so cant comment on those. Buffet & dining room were fine. The Grand Pacific actually requires long pants for men but the Alizar (is that the other one?) doesnt. Same menu. The casino is SUPER smoky. We go to Las Vegas a lot and that is nothing compared to the smoke level in the ship casino. DH gambles so he did some craps, roulette & poker tournaments but I couldnt handle the smoke so I didnt spend too much time there. The Mojito Bar up on the very top of the ship is SUPER yummy & was basically empty the whole time- I think because of the location. I would recommend checking it out! 

Shows: 

The acrobat show was actually the same couple we saw on the Gem last year. Still an amazing show. They are super talented! The Elements show was also good. Enjoyed the magician. The comedian, Alvin Williams did 2 shows and both were really funny. He got off the ship as we did so not sure if/ where he is going next. We enjoyed both acts. Blazing Boots was one we didnt go to- we arent too into country music so we passed on that one. The secondary shows are the same you will see on all cruises- Newlywed Not So Newlywed, Ladies vs Gents, etc. All are entertaining even if you have seen them before on other cruises. We didnt play bingo and we only watched the Deal or No Deal once. Its always entertaining to watch. Did origami a few times and trivia few times. 

Staff:

All the staff was nice & friendly. Enjoyed the cruise director, Richard. Asst director Fabi was kind of annoying but only saw her on the daily show- I think Richard didnt like her either lol. Just based off his reactions to her on the daily shows. haha. Our steward left us plenty of towel animals- always a plus. 

Will post separate posts below for each port below & am happy to answer any questions. 

We've been there twice and brought out own snorkel gear both times. No vests and no one said anything. We experienced great snorkeling. In fact, BOTH times we saw a sea turtle and the usual fish, etc. We bring our own floats too and dont spend anything all day. Great cheap beach day. 

Is all it does is make it so everyone has to hang on to the edge of the pool. On the Gem - the entire perimeter of the pool was shoulder to shoulder people because no-one could stand in the center. Its a horrible design.

Im sure this has been asked & answered but I have tried searching the thread & cant find it in this huge thread. I would greatly appreciate if anyone knows, I have a few questions :)

1. We are cruising with Total Rewards program- can I use the points for room upgrades? I see that you cannot with the Casino At Sea program, so I am guessing I cannot but I figured I would ask
   
2. Assuming I cannot use the points for room upgrades, I will use them for on board credit. I see that we cannot use for prepaid activities- does this mean I can book an excursion on board and then my points will be applied to that excursion?
   
3. If we book a specialty restaurant on board, could we use our on board credit for that?
   

We have the drink package and dont purchase much else besides maybe internet and then casino charges (which I have to assume you couldnt use the on board credit for lol) so Im trying to see if it is even worth using this card.

Thank you in advance!

Regardless of how much of it goes directly to the employees -bottom line is it is less money the company is getting so the more people that start doing this - we will all pay more for our cruises. Its like shoplifters- they cause higher prices for everyone. I am certain this factors in to our pricing & when cruise prices start going up, we can all thank the non-tippers (at least in part. I am not saying this is the only reason prices increase)

It probably will be 7:00 (it will be in your eDocs -- when I get home I'll see if I can find mine from last year), but if you wait until then, you will miss muster and have to make it up the next day.

Thank you for the info!! I will look at the edocs when they are available. Thank you again :D

We are on a December out of PR on the Dawn. Does anyone know when we will get the info stating what time we have to be on board? We leave at 9pm and the website shows you must be on board 2 hours in advance- which would be 7pm. But by the sounds of comments on this thread we have to be on board earlier. We were planning on staying in PR and not getting on board until that evening.

THeres an "adults only" pool right next to the regular pool. It was filled with teenagers when we want last year. A few times an NCL employee would ask really young kids to get out but for the most part it was not adults only. and it is not in its own area.

we used them in Nassau & would definitely use them again. Easy to reserve, no issues checking in.

Were going to do this beach break the day we board the ship

https://puertoricocruiseexcursions.com/excursions/san-juan-beach-break-resort-day-pass/