sjmbruce

Hi, We did the one that goes to Mambo Beach in December. It was ok; but it would not have been my choice. We cruised with friends, and one of them wanted to do that tour. I was trying to not be a control freak; so I went along. Even she said she was a disappointed after the tour. We are going back there in September, and I am just now trying to figure out what we will do. I'm not sure if this helps or not.

Were you disappointed in Mambo beach or the tour in general? Mambo beach is currently my Plan B for Curacao.

Back-tracking just a bit. I neglected to mention that on the Javin's My Island Tour in St. Kitts, Javin brought along a camera to take tons of photos - over 180 of our day! He posts all the photos he takes on Shutterfly, where you can download them for free! ALL of my St. Kitts photos were actually taken by Javin, so if you complemented those photos, I'm sorry to say I can accept no credit. (Although I did choose the tour, so maybe partial credit??)

 

Our next port of call was Curacao. We had booked the West End Tour with Irie Tours, in order to explore the more remote and natural side of the island. About a week prior, I received an email indicating that we were the only ones registered for that tour and it was therefore being cancelled. Disappointing, but at least they let us know far enough in advance to make other plans.

 

When we'd originally evaluated our options, our second choice had been the Tugboat and Reef Snorkel tour with Curacao Actief. The excursion included two snorkel stops, one at Tugboat Beach and one at another beach nearby. Both sites were an easy swim from shore and offered amazing coral and an abundance of aquatic creatures. My research had indicated that Curacao was likely the best snorkeling port on our itinerary, but we were still amazed at just how good it was. Our guide, Berenice, indicated Tugboat Beach was the most crowded she'd EVER seen it. Fins in the face can be a little frustrating, but it was still a GREAT experience. The second stop was at a white sand beach and the reef was an incredibly easy swim. It was perhaps even more amazing that the tugboat!

 

After the second snorkeling stop, we were supposed to go to Fort Beekenberg, which is located between the two beaches. We had some people with mobility issues on our tour, and the fort involves a lot of steps. The itinerary was changed on the fly and we visited the liquor factory where we could participate in a free tasting and/or tour. We did stop at another fort, but it had been converted to a mall or restaurant or some such, so we didn't go inside. Not sure that stop was really worthwhile. It was a half day excursion that returned us to the ship around 1:30. The cost was $65. We had about 20 participants that day so they took two vans. Each van included a driver and two tour guides. They were incredibly patient and helpful to those who needed assistance. It's a very professionally run excursion and we were pleased to have chosen it.

 

Photos to follow later. I don't have the time right now.

Was this the west end beach hopping tour or a different tour with Irie? The beach hopping tour is what we're booked on and I have no plan B at the moment.

During our cruise, my husband and I will be at the beach a few times without anyone else in our group. We'll have a credit card, ID's and cash. I'd also really like to have my cheaper point and shoot camera with me. Has anyone ever purchased a waterproof bag or chair safe that was successfully used?

My husband and I are staying in OSJ for a few days and are thinking about going to Condado beach on our last full day. My family will be flying in on this day and staying at the Marriott Stellaris. They won't be checking in until 4:30, so we were hoping to spend the day on a beach nearby and then meet them at their hotel for dinner.

We'll be taking a cab from OSJ to Condado beach. Is there a specific spot or place we should ask our driver to drop us off at? We'd prefer to be close to the Marriott so we can easily walk their for dinner, but its not absolutely necessary. We really just want to spend the afternoon on the beach and perhaps have somewhere nearby to eat.

Thanks!

In the past, I would purchase the cruise photo package from mycruisephotos.com and I could link my under 21 children to the package when I got on the ship. It would include pictures of me or my children....hubby only if he were with me or kids. Not an issue since my mother just like photos of the group or the kids. Any photo that had me or any of my children, regardless of who else was in photo was included in our package. You would get the prints and a cd or flash drive with all the prints as well.

 

However.....cruising in June on Adventure and went to buy photo package and it is not available through my cruise photos. You have to purchase it through Royal and the fine print does not say anything about linking your children 21 and under...... and seems like the group of nine may not be included even if I am in the photo. Now that Royal is handling the whole process not sure if it is the same as in previous cruises.

 

I am going to have to email or call so I can get clarification on this.

 

Fine Print Below...

Online Internet & More reservations for your sailing will be available up until 19-Jun-2018 11:59 PM EDT. If you are within the cut-off time, you will need to make reservations onboard.

* Prices are per person unless otherwise noted and shown in USD. All selections are subject to change. Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to verify eligibility upon arrival to the activity.

 

Digital and Print photo packages are sold on a per stateroom basis only and photos are linked to staterooms based on the guests travelling in that stateroom. Photos of other guests not travelling in your stateroom will be linked to their own stateroom. The following are not included in print and/or digital photo packages: Photos of others in your party not travelling in your stateroom; Group, Wedding, Quinces, Private Studio photography and other special occasion photography; Generic photos of the ship, characters, ports of call, etc.; Any special printing or retouching requests. Cancellation requests must be processed in the first 48 hours of the cruise, after this all photo packages are non-refundable. Prices are subject to change without notice. Percentage discount is off of onboard prices. Offer is non-transferable and not combinable with Crown & Anchor discounts or any other offer or promotion. Valid only for the voyage for which it was purchased and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotional programs. VAT has been included in the price where applicable. Offer applies to new pre-cruise purchases only and transactions must be completed no less than two days before the sailing. Offer is subject to availability and change without notice and may be withdrawn at any time. ©2017 Royal Caribbean International. Ships ‘registry: Bahamas.

Please let me know the answer you get from Royal. The language you quoted is what concerns me. I wonder if I can cancel the photo package onboard the ship (day one) if it doesn't work out how I was hoping it would?

I read in an old review that there was a decent amount of street food and food trucks along Paseo de la Preincesa right outside of OSJ. The review was before the hurricane. Does anyone know if this is still a viable option for dinner? We were hoping to spend one evening wandering around the area while eating cheap food from here and there. Thanks!

Sauna, steam room, and showers are still free.

How and where are these accessed - do I just walk into the man entrance of the spa and ask where the sauna and showers are?

We loved our balcony at night. We watched the sunset over the rock formations. Once it got dark and everything quieted down, we could hear the sea lions barking(?) in the distance. It was so nice to sit out there in the dark listening to the wildlife and the waves. We got up early, had a quick breakfast and got off the ship again. We didn't bring any cameras or valuables, as we were going to try and find the beach close to port. It was pretty easy to find and we only ran into locals on their way to work. With all of the boats coming in and out nearby, the water didn't seem 100% clean so we didn't get in, but enjoyed laying on the sand in the sun. Afterwards, we walked out of the port area into the bigger part of the touristy city and wandered around until we got hungry, returning to the ship for lunch.

The Patters are for the 5 day overnight in Cabo.

The Patters requested should all be sent. Please email me again or post here if I accidently left you out.

As a former Professional Photographer I want to complement you for your photos. I couldn’t have done any better myself.

Tom😀

Thanks for the compliment!

Great photographs...not to be picky.... but I will be, your photo is of a sea lion not seal, easy way to tell them apart...sea lions have ear flaps.

Also, seldom see seas out of the water in California or Mexico for that matter.

 

Enjoy...

Sea lions, got it! Thanks :)

Thanks for the info! So what im getting from this, is book an excursion to get off the ship at a decent time! My husband and I are divers so we were going to book our own trip but now I'm not going to. Princess offers a 2-tank dive trip, so I think we will go with that just to get off the ship quickly. Glad I read your review!

Maybe other sailings will be different, but our Princess tour waited beyond the tour time for a tender off the ship. There were groups still waiting after we were finally called. Diving in Cabo sounds amazing!

Thanks for all of the great ideas! I am not creative at all so I'm excited to share the ideas, colors and pictures with my sister. Thanks again!

I'm not sure what color of shirt should be purchased to be worn with my sister's skirt. (We're trying to coordinate three women, one preteen girl and two men). It's light pink with maybe a slight hint of peach. White is not an option as our mom is already wearing a white shirt with her lacy lavender skirt and my sister probably wouldn't wear a black shirt either. Thanks for any ideas!

Most of all the larger planes land in the afternoon! You can go to Joyceprince.com and look over the schedule of airplanes landing any particular day. I haven’t used Joyce’s tour service but like that she has the airplanes

 

 

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Thanks for the website! I might be missing something but I don't see a place to check on future days - just flights for the current day. I'll keep an eye on the trend or maybe try to find some WiFi when we pull into port. It looks like if we get there around 11:45 and stay until 2:30 or so, we should see our fair share of planes. Thanks again!

Tonight’s menu - note - new bread bowls are on tables . Made request for savory bites tonight.

You now order dessert with your meal.

Thank you so much for the menu! Keep them coming if you can :)

Will there be backdrops and photographers available even on nights that are not formal? Will they be open before first seating or should we plan on taking pictures after dinner?

Thank you both for your helpful replies! I'm a little less nervous now.

Not in my cabin.

 

 

 

 

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What kind of cabin are you in?

I know the Adventure has had a couple of dry docks within the last year or so.

Were all cabins refreshed with new carpet and furniture during the last couple dry docks?

I'm staying in a standard balcony room ("Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony", per my booking confirmation) and am just curious if this category will be old stuff or newly redone.

Thanks!

We are booked on an afternoon tour with Woodwind. The tour ends at 4:00. Our ship leaves port at 5:00, so I am assuming all aboard will be at 4:30. Does Woodwind's 4:00 end time mean we'll be at the pier, ready to get on the ship by then? I'm just a little worried about getting back on time. Thanks!

Thanks everyone! Is there anywhere in particular that we should have our guide drop us off at?

My group consists of me (30's) my husband (40's) my sister (20's) my niece (preteen) and my parents (60's). After a few hours of a private tour with Sonny Binns Tours, we're going to have our tour guide drop off us off at a beach. We'd like to rent chairs and umbrellas. An umbrella is a must - after a skin cancer scare last year, my mom will be covered up and slathered in sunscreen but won't go to the beach unless she can have some shade. It'd be nice to have restrooms or changing rooms nearby as well as somewhere to get snacks. Water activities (parasailing or jet skis) and shopping aren't necessary but would be great. My husband and I are really active, while my sister, niece and and dad will just want to lounge. Shopping would provide an escape from the sun if my mom needs it.

From what I have read, it seems like Palm Beach might fit our wants/needs. Is Palm Beach right for us?

Yes - and you will probably have some 'friends' with you as well. All the taxis I saw were the mini-van style with seating of between 10 and 15, depending on how creative the driver was.

Haha thanks, good to know.

I'm assuming that there is a set price, per person?

Does anyone have an idea of how much it is from the port to Maho?

Thanks for the advice! I only anticipate using it a couple of times to coordinate with family members who will also be in Puerto Rico pre-cruise, but flying in at different times and staying at another hotel. Hopefully we won't have too much trouble.