CTGirl74

Anyone have an opinion on Vai-Nium vanilla? I just got back from a cruise and got this from the port in Cozumel, but haven't opened it yet. I'd wanted to get vanilla, but forgot to add it to my cruise must-do/buy list; therefore, it was a last second thing before I got back on the ship. The ingredients are:  water, vanilla pods, and "spirit at 32% vol." No coumarin.

I realize you're looking to drive yourselves; however, I thought I'd mention the tour we just did last week. We booked a Jeep excursion with a company that does tours around the island. It was 5.5 hours for something like 69.00 per person, which includes the tour guide. There were five of us so we took two Jeeps. No change in price and one of us drove the second Jeep. We went to Punta Sur (entrance fee included in price), Sky Reef beach club for snorkeling, and then drove the easy side and stopped for lunch (includes choice of fajitas, which were very good). There's a spot where they have an outside restaurant, along with some shops. One sells black coral, another with souveniers and such, massages, and another has pharmacy items. Yes, they absolutely want to sell you something, but you can say no. We had to cut our tour short to get back to port, but you can customize the tour to do whatever you want. There's also a tequila tasting at a couple places along the way. And we got a cooler of water and soft drinks (you can sub beer). We used https://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net/cozumel-jeep-tour.html. 

1 hour ago, reedprincess said:

It's likely OBC from your travel agent or a booking promo of some kind.

 

Yes, now that I think of it, both my sister and I had a casino offer. It's a free cruise through the casino in our state and we each got one, which is why we have two cabins. Thanks! 

7 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Yes, they seat at a table for 4 and add a chair at one end.  Np.

 

If you’re talking about OBC’s, you can just tell them you are paying for the guest and they will charge your account.  IF you’re talking about SD credits from a premier beverage package, that I have not tried to do.

 

I would call the dineline from your room, once OB and reserve the table for 5.  Or, you can also stop by the venue on embarkation day to book it.  Tell them if you wish to pay for one of the guests.

On my booking, it shows 200.00 as Miscellaneous for myself and my friend. There's also 50.00 OBC for each of us. I'm guessing the 200.00 is from the Premier package? I'm not sure.

Hi. I apologize if these questions have been answered numberous times; however, my search is turning up nothing.

Our cruise is two weeks away. We'll be on the Caribbean Princess and there are five of us. Two cabins, one with two people and one with three people. Four people have the Premier package and each has $200.00 in credits, one has the Standard package (our third person in the second cabin) with no credits. 

1. If we go to a specialty restaurant, can one of us use our credits to pay for the person who has no credits?
2. Can anyone tell me if Crown Grill has tables for more than four people? We have five in our group and I can't seem to make a reservation for five, only four. 

Thanks!

8 hours ago, Drdarkknight said:

The 80’s party was fun! They had decorations up at the pool deck and the staff was all decked out. Did they sometimes play songs that were very much not from the 80’s? Yes.

I'm taking a cruise on the Caribbean Princess with my sisters, friend, and niece at the end of the month. I checked the schedule and I see we have an 80s party scheduled. You mentioned the staff being decked out. Did passengers dress in 80s clothing? Curious, because that could be a lot of fun for me and my friend. 🙂

Is this at Dolphin Discovery inside Chankanaab Beach Adventure Park? I'd be interested in hearing about this, too. I would LOVE to do the sea lion experience! 

27 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

There is another option that hasn't been mentioned yet and that is the  special breakfast for suite guests. On Sky it is in Sabatini's but on other ships it may be somewhere else.

 

When in a suite we always use it. We can get almost anything we want there and it is always quiet.The crew get to know you there too and that is a nice touch.

Does the breakfast for suite guests include mini suites, or only full suites? I'll be cruising Princess for the first time in January with four other women and we booked two mini suites side by side. We'll be on the Caribbean Princess if that matters.

28 minutes ago, Manderius said:

How's the Caribbean Princess overall for you as she's an older one

I'm interested in hearing about the ship, too. I'll be on her in January.

1 hour ago, Soron9002 said:

Was there any noise issues from the deck above? 

I was in 12003 last week and there was no noise because the bridge is directly above the bedroom. No passenger cabins or anything esle. Loved it.

I'm on the MSC Meraviglia and we were dropped at Perrotti Park last Thursday.

5 minutes ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Can you tell me what junior butler means? Is this your cabin butler? When we were on in July there was a man with a vest that was always around the concierge desk. Never quite figured out who he was. Do you know? thanks. Enjoy your cruise !!! Meraviglia YC is great.

Cabin butler. He's not wearing a vest. My guess is that he's the equivalent of a cabin steward if we were in a standard cabin. He cleans our room and takes any requests, although I noticed that the head butler is the one delivering the room service in the morning and he asked us for our preferences when we boarded. He wears the fancy uniform. 🙂

3 hours ago, dexddd said:

February we were in a 12 duplex then next leg 15.  Liked the space in duplex.  Have you exited the Batcave on 13?

No, the door is locked. I just tried it. 

We're really enjoying the amount of space and especially the storage. 

I'm on the Meraviglia right now sailing from Brooklyn NY (Canada and New England cruise). The Destination Guide given to us on the first day (October 4) mentioned the Behind the Scenes tour; however, there was no information offered other than saying it will happen on a port day, it's a three-hour tour, and the cost is $80 per adult and $46 per child. Today's daily planner lists it under the Portland, Maine excursions with no other information on the timing. I asked the concierge (we're in the Yacht Club) and he said it will happen at our Portland, Maine stop (October 13) and it will be at 4 pm. So now I have to decide if I want to cancel the excursion we already booked for this port, which means losing my money since it's a private excursion with a 7-day cancellation policy; go on the excurison and don't book the ship tour; or go to the excursion and just hope it doesn't run late so we can do both the excursion and the ship tour. I'm inclined to do the third option since the pier is only a 15 minute walk and our excursion should be done by 3 pm if there are no issues. 

On 10/5/2023 at 2:58 PM, MisterBill99 said:

Do you get the same level of service if you're in an inside YC cabin vs. a duplex suite?

I'm in a duplex on the MSC Meraviglia right now. This is our very first time in YC so I have nothing to compare to, but the service has been great. I don't feel anything is lacking at all based on all the info I gathered on YouTube and here over the past year or so. The junior butler is great, as is the head butler. They very much work as a team to make sure they fulfill any requests, like stocking the fridge with my husband's favorite beer, my preference for Poland Spring water over the "fancier" water, and a one liter container of milk every couple days for coffee and my iced mocha latte I make every night for the following morning. I, too, was wondering if the level of service would be different since the butlers would need to travel four decks down to us for everything. Seems great, though.

Yes. We're on MSC Meraviglia right now. Halifax and Saint John were cancelled. We got three extra hours in Boston, which was nice, and we're going to Corner Brook, Newfoundland instead. We ended up with an extra sea day.

Well, this port was cancelled due to the tropical storm headed towards Halifax (cancelled, too), but hopefully others get some good information. Thanks to those that answered me. 🙂 I'm on the MSC Meraviglia right now and we're pulling into Boston.

9 hours ago, declansdad said:

There are no Ubers in New Brunswick. You can easily walk to the City Market as well as a number of brew pubs from the Marco Polo cruise terminal

Good to know about the lack of Uber--thank you!

After checking out the map I linked to and doing lots of research on some of those places, as well as some we saw on Google Maps, I think we have a plan for the day. Or at least a few places in mind to visit. Unfortunately, the Loyalist House and a few other historic places are closed, either because it's the end of the season or because they're closed on Saturdays. But we found Woodchuck's Ax Throwing, which we plan to try; the city market and Market Square; and a restaurant that looks good--Churchill's Pub & Steakhouse.  🙂 

18 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

@CTGirl74 I assume you are sailing  from a US port and returning to a US port.  That being the case you and your husband are allowed one liter each of alcohol duty free.  If you exceed this limit you will need to make a customs decloration on excess alcohol and possibly pay import taxes. 

 

 That being said, I am not aware of any restrictions imposed by the cruise lines.  We brought four liters of alcohol back on one Caribbean cruise.  Gave the customs declaration from to the customs agent and he just waved us through.  This was pre-COVID and on a different cruisel ine. 

 

Yes, it's from and back to the US. Thanks!

Does anyone know if there's a limit as to how much liquor one can buy in port for the purpose of bringing it home? We're taking a Canada/New England cruise in about 10 days and my husband wants to buy various beers and liquors for himself, as well as friends and coworkers.  I know we can't bring it to our cabin for consumption, and that they'll hold it until the end of the cruise. Given it will be for multiple people, that could amount to several liquor bottles and probably a few 6-packs of beer or mutliple single cans.

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

How far is the old city market from where the cruise ship docks and how to get there?

I found this online:  https://www.sjport.com/visiting-passengers. Scroll to the bottom and there's a map. The ship docks ar Marco Polo Cruise Terminal and the city market is #13 on the map. Looks to be about a 15 minute walk according to Google Maps.

20 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

We were booked on the HOHO for this past week, but our cruise was re-routed to the Bahamas.  I wonder if the bus closed early when many ships had to cancel their stops there recently, due to the storms?

Oh, maybe. I didn't think of that.

9 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I did not think they would finish  before the cruise season was done

 Maybe check out

https://saintjohn.ca/en/transit/city-bus-tours

Thanks! I'll check this out. I hadn't thought of the city bus.

Yes, I was surprised the HOHO is already closed for the season. I'm finding that's the case with several attractions, too. 

11 hours ago, LHT28 said:

have a look at "trip advisor" to see what is in the area that may be of interest to you

might be too late to book tours

 

There is  a HOHO bus

 

There is the Container village right  at the port

https://www.area506.ca/container-village

I checked on the bus and it's closed for the season. Unless there's another? It was the Big Pink Bus, I believe.

We're going on a Canada & NE cruise on MSC in a couple weeks and our Saint John excursion was just cancelled. Given it's so close to departure, there isn't much left for the ship's excursions. One is three hours:  one hours' drive each way with only and hour to explore at $65/pp; and the other is a one-hour trolley ride at $45/pp. The first one doesn't interest us given the price for what is basically a narrated bus ride 2/3 of the time and the second is expensive for the same type of ride for just one hour. I've checked the private tour operators and all the tours are either sold out or conflict with our port times in some way. I finally found a map of the port area here:   https://www.sjport.com/visiting-passengers. I asked my husband, "Take a look and let me know what you'd like to see/do." His answer was, "I guess we'll follow the dotted line" (on the map). LOL

Anyway, for those that have been there, any recommendations for what to see/do? I'm not particularly interested in renting a car, so we'd likely grab an Uber (if available) or just walk around. We're in port on a Saturday from about 10 am to 4 pm. I see there are a few museums, so that's an option (husband loves history; I like it). He loves beer. I like anything food-related, though artisan-type/specialty food is something I really prefer when I'm travelling (in other words, stuff I don't normally find or get at home). We like nature. Art isn't our thing.

Any suggestions are appreciated, as I'm coming up empty. Even though there's a map right in front of me, I find myself kind of stumped without a planned excursion.