mlshum

I've been following this review since you started on Day 1.  This is my first "Sid" review and I love it!  I am looking forward to being on Horizon in January.  I went back and read your Vista review as well.  I had to take my break from work  to check up on what you were doing today!  I'll check back in this evening...….

I am LOVING the beginnng of your review!

I always photograph any jewelry Iam taking with my phone before packing.  I was questioned once but it was resolved very quickly.

I know that you can now use the Hub app and have pizza delivered to your location for an additional charge.  Has anyone done this?  Did they bring the whole pizza?  What was the charge?  Thanks!

Yay!  I’m headed there now!

Thanks so much for the review!  We’ll be on the Paradise in January.  It seems like such a looonnnnggggg time to wait!  Reviews like yours help pass the time.  Thank you!

Some of my favorite excursions have been in Cozumel.  I think my two favorites were The Amazing Cozumel Race and the 12 Meter sailboat race. 

The Amazing Cozumel Race is very similar to the TV show.  Your team, which can be a group, races against other teams.  We saw parts of the island that we would have never seen otherwise.

I can’t remember the exact name of the 12 meter sailboat race but basically, they ha e two retired America’s Cup sailboats.... Stars and Stripes and True North.  You literally become a crew member and learn to do a job in sailing the boat.  After some practice, you run a 12 meter race.  

Both of these were SO MUCH FUN!

The last time I flew into San Juan, we were in the taxi line from the airport for 45 minutes.  That was AFTER landing and waiting for our luggage.

Thanks for the review!  I haven’t sailed RC in many years.  Maybe it’s time to try again.....

15 hours ago, willdra said:

Wonderful review! I felt like I was right there with you! 😊

Thanks so much!  I have read so many wonderful reviews on this site that it makes me very happy that you enjoyed mine.  Thanks again!

20 hours ago, KAP84 said:

I loved your review so much! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

(and for the record, you rocked that pony tail!)

I'll be on the lookout for your next review...

Thank you so much for the kind comments...especially about my pony tail!  LOL  The long hair just doesn't work very well when we're on the go!  This was my first review and I really enjoyed writing it.  It sort of made the experience last just a little longer.  I am now waiting until next year....and waiting.....and waiting.....  LOL

On 4/4/2019 at 12:41 PM, CruzerDeb said:

Thanks for the great review!  My husband and I are booked on this itinerary for April 2020 and we're really looking forward to it. 

I hope you have a wonderful trip!  I would love to do this itinerary again sometime.  Do you have plans at any of the ports yet?

We did Maho Beach and Flying Dutchman in January.  It was awesome!  I was VERY glad we booked through Carnival because it was very slow getting on the Flying Durchman.  (I wrote a little more in depth and put photos on my Fascination review 01/27/2019).  Flying Dutchman carries four people at a time.  We were supposed to be finished by 2:30 ish and it was more like 4:30 when we took our turn.  There were people on our cruise still behind us so none of us were going to be left behind.  You’ll love the Flying Dutchman!

Following along!  I did this cruise in January and I’m enjoying reliving it!  Thanks very much for your review!

We did this a couple of years ago on Conquest.  Well worth the cost of about 100.  We went to the bridge, galley, engine control room, storage areas, theatre department, crew areas, etc.  On the bridge you meet the captain and a photo is taken.  It was so interesting and so worth the price!

Michelle

We LOVE Cozumel and it is our favorite port because we’ve done some awesome shore excursions there.  I think our two favorites were running the Amazing Cozumel Race and sailing the Americas Cup Yacht.  Loved them both!

Michelle

I just got off this same ship a week before you got on.  Like you, I finished my review fairly quickly.  Such a great cruise!  I wish I had found the sea lion excursion in St Thomas because it sounds amazing!  Thanks for doing this review.  I’m enjoying following along!

Michelle

Has anyone recently visited Clifton Heritage Park to see Ocean Atlas underwater statue?  How did you travel....taxi, rent a car or formal excursion?  Is it doable if the ship is leaving at 5pm?  Thanks so much!

Michelle

3 hours ago, pghsteelerfan said:

Awww, thank you!  I can't believe you remembered my reviews!  I do remember you and will never forget your kind comments when I had just started my Liberty review in 2015 about the journey (trip to and from) being part of the vacation as much as the destination.  I tried quoting to thank you but for some reason when I was doing my review, the "quoting" feature had a mind of it's own, would quote sometimes and not others.  That was our last cruise, so I'm going through some serious cruise withdrawal and am so happy to see mlshum's review of my favorite itinerary.  The picture of your cat in your profile picture looks exactly like one of our cats.  🙂 

 

Holly

Thanks for reading and for your kind words.  I had NO idea that Skull Island was called Little Saba.  I’ll have to Google that.  Thanks again!

3 hours ago, LittleYiaYia said:

We have really enjoyed your review.  We did this cruise last February and are repeating on the 24th of this month.  Only 12 days from today (but who's counting).  It sounds as if you had a great time and enjoyed the Fascination.  I see many people on these boards that want Carnival to get rid of the Fantasy ships.  They are too old, too small, not enough amenities, etc.  We enjoy an itinerary filled with port days, so we really don't miss the bells and whistles of the mega ships. As long as the ship is clean, the service good and the food acceptable, we are happy cruisers.  And of course NO waiting in lines.  We are looking forward to boarding the Fascination again.

 

I have a few questions for you.  Do you remember the name of the piano player?  Was there a good Latin band aboard?  Were the S&S cards given to you at check in or were they waiting outside your room?

 

Your "our cruise is over and we are pouting picture" made me laugh out loud.  My husband and I take a similar picture every year when our airplane lands at STL. 

 

 

Thanks so much for your kind comments.  I very much enjoyed writing it and was hoping it made people smile, just like other review have made me smile.  I LOVE that you do the “pouting” picture, too!  My husband is over here cracking up learning that we are not the only people who do that!

The name of the piano player in the piano bar was Andy.  I’m afraid I don’t remember his last name...I think it begins with an “H”.  He was hysterical!  There was a Latin band.  They played in the Passage to India lounge several evenings.  Unfortunately I only heard them briefly but what I heard was excellent.  We got our S&S cards at check in.  We probably got on board around 1:00, went immediately through check in and security and straight to our room.  It was probably the fastest check in we’ve ever had.

Thanks again!

14 minutes ago, Upinthehills said:

We're doing this cruise in a couple of weeks.  I've really enjoyed reading your review and appreciate the time it takes to put together.  Thank you.

Thanks for reading it and I hope you gave a great cruise!  If you do a review I’ll definitely be following along!

3 hours ago, helensobol said:

Thanks so much for this review.   It was nicely written and informative. 

 

 

11 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

Enjoyed your review and your pictures.  

Thank you both so much!

29 minutes ago, audcc77 said:

Excellent review !!   We've done this itinerary for the 3rd time and were actually on the same sailing with you.  We've basically followed the poster pgsteelerfan and did the Valor and the Liberty at about the same times.  

 

We also did the Flying Dutchman through Carnival but did the less expensive one for about $100 pp.   The difference is we went at 8:30 a.m., rode the sky lift, did the Flying D and that's all, and were back down by 9:30 or 10:00 with nothing else to do but wait for the shuttle until 12:30, so we had to pay our own taxi back to the port.  We thought the Flying Dutchman was fun also.  Never did zip-lining in my life.   Was it worth $100 pp? Maybe, just b/c now I can say I've done it.  I didn't realize they had photos in the gift shop.  Sitting across the room from me, my husband remarks "Oh, yeah.  I knew that."   SMH. 

 

We found out about the airline not wanting to take the bags any sooner than 4 hours.   This is what what did.  Through Island Marketing for $58 for 2 people, we got a couple loungers on the beach, umbrella, and lunch included.  We got there at 9:00 and left at 1:00-1:30.  It cost $20 taxi from port to the resort (7 min drive), but only $5 Uber to get to the airport (5 min drive.).  

 

Loved your review.  Thanks for writing it.  Also, the photos were great !   

 

That is so interesting that we were on the same sailing!  We loved the itinerary and hope to do it again sometime.  I loved the Flying Dutchman.  Like you said, now we can say we’ve done it!  I’ll remember your advice for alternatives to going straight to the airport the next time we’re there.  To be honest, we were tired so sitting and reading wasn’t all bad.  Thanks for reading my first attempt at a review!

I was there two weeks ago.  There is some hurricane damage but it wasn’t too bad overall.  There are some pictures of St Maarten that I took on Feb 2nd....both hurricane damage and otherwise, in my Carnival Fascination review if you’re interested.

Saturday, February 2^nd – St. Maarten

Is it possible that this is our last port?!?!?!  Where did the time go!?!?

On this day, we had decided to do two things, both unique to St. Maarten.  The first was a visit to Maho Beach to watch planes land and the second was to ride the new Flying Dutchman zipline.  This was the only port during the cruise where other ships were docked.  Disney Wonder, Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas and Seabourn Odyssey were also in port that day so it was the most crowded port so far. 

We boarded our bus and set out for Maho Beach around 9am.  As we drove through St. Maarten, the driver pointed out interesting places.  You could still see hurricane damage from Hurricane Irma which devastated the island in 2017.  They are doing a good job of rebuilding but they still have a lot of work ahead of them.  The driver also pointed out Skull Island.  This is supposedly the island from the movie “King Kong”.  I couldn’t find any evidence on the internet to support that but I took a picture anyway!  It was out in the ocean….all foggy, mysterious and creepy looking!  After about a 30 minute ride, we arrived at Maho Beach.  Here are some photos of the St. Maarten countryside:

...and the hurricane damage....

..and finally, the creepy and mysterious Skull Island!

Maho Beach itself isn’t very large.  We entered at the Sunset Bar and Grill.  Almost as soon as we walked into the covered dining area, we could see a plane coming in from the distance.  We ran outside to watch it land and take some pictures.  I was really glad we had gotten to see a plane because I had been concerned that there wouldn’t be that many to see.  I had no idea that we would be able to see about six land during the short time we were there!  We didn’t go swimming, although there were quite a few people swimming and even more sunbathing, but we did walk on the beach and take pictures every time a plane would land.  We got some great pictures!  The first pictures is the end of the runway, the rest and planes and beach.

Our driver had told us to be ready to go at noon and it was about 11:00am by that time.  Ron suggested that we order an early lunch.  At first I said I thought we should wait because I didn’t think it would take that long at the Flying Dutchman but then agreed because… who knows?  I guess you take the opportunities available to you!.  I was really, really glad he had suggested ordering lunch.  We ordered a pizza and our normal Diet Cokes.  It took about 20 minutes before our lunch was ready.  It was a beautiful day and the temperature was perfect so we really enjoying sitting on the deck, eating our pizza and running out to take pictures of the planes every time they would come in for a landing.  A few minutes before noon, we walked out to meet our shuttle.

We climbed back on the shuttle and settled in for another 30 minute ride to the Flying Dutchman.  Let me stop here to describe the Flying Dutchman.  This is the steepest zipline in the world.  It begins at the top of the mountain where the elevation is more than 2800 ft and drops 1050 feet in about 45 seconds.  The ride accommodates four riders at a time.  You are strapped into a seat harness for the ride down the hill.  If you are afraid of heights, you would definitely NOT enjoy this activity!   Ron and I had ziplined several times before in Tennessee and in Belize and really enjoyed the experience, so we were looking forward to riding.

We arrived at Rainforest Adventures and were told by our driver that the shuttle would return at 2:30 to take us back to the ship.  We put our belongings in a locker and started up the hill.  You are taken to the top of the hill on a ski lift.  It’s a pretty ride and we watched multiple people going down the mountain on the Flying Dutchman.  The ride itself takes about 20 minutes to the first drop off point.   We exited the ski lift and walked over to a small deck area where they were suiting people for a traditional zipline.  We got the harness, helmet and rollers and headed up a short path.  At the top of the path there were four zip lines.  None of them were particularly impressive as far as ziplines go.  I think those first ziplines served to accomplish two tasks…..to sort of prepare you to zipline and to control the number of people waiting at the top of the mountain.  The ziplines were fun but rather tame considering what was to come.  When we finished with the four ziplines, we walked back down to the deck, removed our gear and boarded another, much shorter ski lift to take us up the mountain to the Flying Dutchman boarding area.  Here are a couple of pretty bad photos of the mountain from which we would be jumping.  Sorry, I don't have any better pictures!

When we arrived at the top of the mountain, we were greeted by a nice lady who gave us a number.  Our number was 52.  The riders of the zipline were called by number.  Four people would have the same number since four people rode at a time.  There was extensive decking where you could take in the views from the top of the mountain and watch the people in front of you who were riding the Flying Dutchman.  There were benches and a small bar where you could order drinks.  It was a very nice waiting area.  We arrived at the top of the hill around 2pm.  When we got to the top of the mountain, number 42 was boarding the Flying Dutchman.

My initial thought was that this would go pretty quickly because it’s a very fast ride to the bottom.  I soon learned that it took about 10 minutes for the entire process of loading passengers, running them down the hill and bringing the chairs back to the top, if they continue the process without interruption.  There were frequent safety checks including one time when they loaded the chairs with weights and sent them down the mountain.  I’m not sure what they were testing but I was very glad that they were being so safety conscious!  It was past 2:30 at that time so we had already missed the 2:30 shuttle back to the ship.  There were several people from our group both behind and ahead of us, so I wasn’t worried about being left.   One of the tour operators made an announcement that the Carnival Fascination visitors would have another 3:30 shuttle. 

The process of loading passengers continued very slowly.  We finally got into the late 40’s and there were still a number of people waiting in line behind us.  One couple from our ship told us that they had number 60.  Group number 50 was called and there were only two guys in line.  After waiting a few minutes, they called group 51.  Again, no one showed up.  We were more than happy to step up and join their group!  Apparently, there were no other people with the number 52 either, so it worked out very well.  Finally, we were officially in line to ride and there were only three groups ahead of us!  While we were waiting in line, 3:30 came and went.  Another announcement was made that Carnival Fascination shuttle would be there at 4pm to pick up passengers.  We could hear them shuffling people who were still waiting and moving those who had a Carnival shore excursion to the front of the line so the ship could leave on time.  This is the point where I was really REALLY glad we had booked through Carnival!  I knew that they would not leave us even if we were late.  We had absolutely no control over the amount of time it took to complete the activity and I would have been panicking if we had booked ourselves!

Finally, around 3:45, it was our turn!  The harnesses were ready.   There was a gate in front of the harness that kept you from dropping several hundred feet off the platform.  We had to climb up on the gate to get into the chair harness.   There was a little hole for your feet.  You grasped the top of the gate, put your feet in that hole and stepped up.  The attendant then slipped the chair under you and you could sit back.  That was a little scary.  It appeared to be a simple chain link gate and the view from the gate, while spectacular, was scary.  This gate was the only thing between me and a very long fall! 

We were strapped into the chairs, the gates opened, and we were off!  It was an amazing ride!  I forgot to hold up my arms for the photo but fortunately, Ron remembered.  We were unstrapped at the bottom and we ran to the gift shop to grab our photos and get our belongings from the locker.  It was around 4pm.  We quickly bought our pictures, got our magnet, grabbed our things and headed outside.  We could see the shuttle waiting at the bottom of the steps so we ran down and boarded the shuttle.  We had only been on board a few minutes when they left for the port.  As soon as they dropped us off at the port, I suppose they headed back to Rainforest Adventures for the last few people who were behind us on the hill.  Here are pictures of the pictures we bought of our flight down the hill:

We arrived at the port a little after 4pm.  Since we knew that there were still people coming behind us, we took time to get a magnet and an ornament from one of the local vendors at the port.  It was VERY crowded!  We had hoped to get a t-shirt, too, but there just wasn’t time with the crush of people there.  We had no idea how long it would take for the shuttle to return so we got our items and headed back to the ship.  We boarded just a few minutes before 4:30.  The ship didn’t leave St. Maarten right at 4:30 as advertised but they weren’t too much beyond that time.  Again, I was sincerely glad we had booked that activity through Carnival because we certainly would have been left behind.  I was also really glad Ron had suggested an early lunch at Maho Beach.  It was a jam packed day and, I think, it was probably my favorite stop on this cruise. 

We stopped by the Atrium bar to grab a couple of Diet Coke’s before heading to our room to shower and change for dinner. 

Like I mentioned earlier in this story, we always like to tip more than what is expected.  We always use prepaid gratuities and then give the room steward and wait staff an additional tip at the end of the cruise.  These people work really hard and it’s just a tangible way for us to say “thank you”.  While Ron was showering, I filled out thank you cards for Punta and Septia, the room stewards, and Luckson, Chamroy and Patricia, the wait staff.  I put our extra tips in the card with a note telling them how much we appreciated them.   I really do appreciate how hard they work to make our vacation a pleasant experience. (I forgot to mention Punta and Septia earlier.  When we arrived on board, we met Septia.  She was covering for Punta who, at that time, was sick.  We met him later in the week.  Both were very friendly but we didn’t have an opportunity to talk to either of them very much.) 

We headed up to dinner for the last time.   I had lasagna with Chocolate Melting Cake for dessert.  Ron had the flat iron steak with pie a la mode for dessert.  We chatted with our table mates and said goodbye to everyone.  It’s hard to believe how quickly time passes once you step on board!  After dinner we went to the comedy show one last time and watched both comedians.  After that, it was time to head back to the room to pack. 

We had a relatively late flight so we took a late debarkation.  Our bags had to be outside the room by 10:15.  We began sorting and packing, trying to decide what we would need for the next morning and what to go ahead and put in the luggage.  We finally got it finished and the bags were set outside.  We talked a little about going back up on deck to see what else we could find to do but we were both tired so we decided just to hang out in our cabin and rest.  We would be traveling all day the next day and would get home quite late.  I really don’t know why traveling makes me so tired, but it always does.

Sunday, February 3^rd – Puerto Rico

Well, it happened….our cruise was over.  As much as I love our yearly cruises and look forward to them SO MUCH, I am usually ready to get back home and back to normal when it is over.  This was no exception.  We woke up at our normal time, were easily out of the cabin by 8:30 and headed to the Lido deck for one last breakfast.  Since it was such a nice day and the dining area was crowded, we opted to take a table on deck to wait.  I was really glad we did!  It was in the 70’s in Puerto Rico and I knew we were heading north in just a few hours to where it would be winter again.  I wanted to enjoy the perfect temperatures as long as possible!  We had a leisurely breakfast and just chatted and read as we waited for our zone number to be called.  Our trivia friend, Nancy, had boarded in Barbados and stopped by to say goodbye as she was headed out to explore Old San Juan.  It was nice to chat with her for a minute before we left.

Our zone number was called and we went downstairs to find our luggage and go through customs.  I think this was the fastest this part of the process had ever gone.  We found our luggage almost immediately, got in a relatively short line and were outside the terminal in about 10 – 15 minutes.  Our airport transfer was waiting.  We dropped our luggage and boarded to the short trip to the airport.  Here is our traditional "our cruise is over and now we're pouting" picture:

The first thing we learned upon arriving at the airport is that you cannot check your luggage earlier than four hours before your flight.  Our flight did not leave until 5:46 so we had a long wait ahead of us.  At this point, we were both tired and ready to stay put, so we decided to just find an out of the way place to park for a couple of hours.   I got us a couple of Diet Coke’s and we settled in for a long wait.  Again….our Kindles were much appreciated!

While there are a few places to get something to eat there at the airport entrance, we wanted to have lunch later since our flight was late and we wouldn’t be able to find any dinner until we were back in Charlotte.  We usually eat dinner around 5:30 to 6pm.  Around 1:45, we were finally able to check our luggage and go through security.  One of the things that surprised me about the Puerto Rico airport is the number of fried chicken places to get something to eat.  Also, there really isn’t a place to sit while you are eating unless you go to one of the restaurants that has its own dining room.  We really didn’t want that much to eat so we got some chicken and found a gate area that wasn’t in use at that time and wasn’t crowded.  We got up and wandered around several times and finally headed to our own gate to wait for our flight.

 Our flight was right on time.  We boarded without incident.  Ron took the window seat and I sat in the middle seat.  He was napping shortly after take off.  I played a game on my iPad and read a little.  I wasn’t able to take a nap but I did manage to pass the time.  The flight was 3 ½ hours and we were back in Charlotte around 9pm.  We found our luggage and caught the shuttle to long term parking.  We were ready to just go home.   We drove through a fast food restaurant and hit the road.  We made it home in the early morning hours and went immediately to bed.  We were back up in about six hours and back in the office for a normal work day.

Soo…….that is our story.  It was a wonderful cruise and I enjoyed it tremendously.  I now have a year long wait ahead of me before the next one.  Thanks so much for reading my first review and I hope you enjoyed it!  Until next year….I will be lurking here on Cruise Critic!