mefinephotoman

Beautiful shots!!!! I love the ship coming in from and leaving into the mist. Is the sea fog common this time of year?

We used the valet luggage on Independence when we disembarked last year from Port Everglades to FLL and and it worked great. We then were able to catch a cab and go to the beach for a few hours knowing that our luggage was safe at the airport terminal. We didn't see our bags until we arrived back at our home airport. I don't know if international flight would impact using this option but it would be worth checking into. Also, definately FLL for an airport out over MIA.

Great to hear!!! We cruise on JotS in 3 weeks.:D Thanks for the good report.:)

Just 20 days till we board Jewel of the Seas....

Hey...us too!:P

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26 til San Juan, 29 days til Jewel of the Sea.

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Yeah I asked on this forum and was repeatedly told not to bring in non native foods to feed the fish.

 

I went to St John and it was gorgeous there, and we had a great day, but the visibility was not too good. I had to really strain my eyes to see under the water. Lots of sand kicked up that day I suppose. Also the waves were a bit harsh that day.

We went to Trunk Bay in 2009 and it was absolutely crystal clear!! In fact, I don't think I have ever seen such clear water. Here is a shot from that visit.

Snorkeling was really good on the left side of the small island. Lots of fish etc.

Were you in 9586? We are in that cabin in September. How was the balcony?

Our Verizon plan treats PR just like any state in the US for phone, text and data.

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How about 8 zipline tour with the finale being "La Beastia"

http://www.ziplinetourspr.com

I know that they have transport service as part of the package.

Speaking of kites... where do they sell kites in OSJ?

The forts are part of the US National Park system, so if you have (or purchase for $10) a Federal Lifetime Recreation Pass, bring it. The pass will cover admission for up to 4 adults.

If you don't have a lifetime pass 1 fort $3 both $5. I don't know how young your daughter is but el Morrow is also a great place to fly a kite and often you will see many out in the field flying them.

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The ship is located in the heart of Old San Juan which is a fantastic, historic and very visitor friendly safe area. Here is a link for phase one of a self guided tour of OSJ.

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/old-san-juan-walking-tour-1/

You can walk in a few blocks and there are many shoppes or go to one of the two forts (or both). Old San Juan very quickly became one of my favorite places. There are lots of little plaza (parks) that have their own individual personalities very scenic walkways and the blue cobblestone streets. You would need to travel via taxi to any beaches worth seeing, but I would save the beach for another port and stay in OSJ.

Grand Cayman would be the best diving for a new diver. It has been many years since I was there. I do recall going to Stingray City and diving with the stringrays while my wife snorkeled above us. The dive master even took a stingray up for her to pet. That might be one suggestion. I don't know who you could book that through. We had a private charter captain take us out and again it was many years ago.

Thanks for the great review. We are on the same itinerary in 55 days.:D It is good to hear a little bit about what to look forward to.:)

Thanks for posting this question! I've grown a (gorgeous) beard and mustache over the last year and I certainly don't want to shave it so that I can snorkel a few times on my upcoming cruise.

 

I am sort of horrified by the idea of trimming a little of my mustache (thinking it would look weird). But, I honestly haven't tried on my traditional mask to even see how it fits now that I've grown this bushy thing on my lip.

 

Because of another recommendation I bought an Aqua Sphere Seal 2.0 mask and a good nose clip just in case the mask doesn't fit. Though, now that I think about it...it will be impossible to equalize the mask pressure if I dive even just a few feet.

 

Well, I guess I'll just have to experiment.

I trim just a very small amount of area between nose and "stash" but I think that more have an issue with when they labor getting to the snorkel area or just from being in a strange environment they make faces that allow water in through the creases in their cheeks. The trick to it is to just relax and be aware of keeping your face relaxed. No:D No:( No:cool: No:eek:

You should be berthed in the Old San Juan piers which puts you right in the heart of Old San Juan. You will have 2 forts tons of history, shops and parks all within a very short distance. there is also a trolley that you can use. There are previous posts that describe it. You won't have to leave the area to have a great time. Check this site out it will get you started. http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/old-san-juan-walking-tour-1/

I think it might be a midnight damsel fish. Google it and check out images. I don't think I have seen one quite as large as a tang but close. Juvenile will have a yellow tail which turns more transparent with age.

I don't know if Dive St Kitts on St Kitts still does any cruise packages, but I would highly recommend them. I think they do snorkeling from the bigger dive boat when a ship are in port, but they may have a smaller boat for diving that day. If they do, jump on them. They are absolutely great for a 'first ocean dive.' If the dive instructor Anthony is still there request him. See my review of Dive St Kitts on Tripadvisor. You can email them directly and they are very accommodating.

 

Dennis

They do still have a cruise ship excursion. I just booked with them for September. They pick you up at the port at 8:30AM and bring you back when finished. Also, on St. Thomas Coki Dive Center offers escorted beach dives. They are shallower depths and perfect for new divers or if you haven't been for a while.

I have always purchased it both for some protection before the cruise as well as for the benefits if I were to have an incident while on the cruise. I scuba dive so I also have a DAN membership to help with Med evac or decompression chamber access if ever needed. Not a big expense for the piece of mind.

Yes, although dive operators will be reluctant to let you dive or give you tanks with out some sort of evidence that you have been in the water within 12 months which makes sense.

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This has probably been asked and answered many times but I didn't see it when I searched. We used to dive a lot but it has been years so we will need a refresher course first and we are not interested in very deep (90) dives.

 

(I would be happy with a nice 30 foot easy dive.). We will dive twice at the most. Any suggestions of what would be best for us?

Funny:p I just did my refresher in the pool last weekend and will hit the lake this weekend after a 12 year break from diving. I have also been looking at dives for the September version of your Southern Caribbean cruise. So far here is what I have discovered. Coki Dive Center on St Thomas has easy guided shore dives. This might be a good way to start off. If you need, I'm sure that they could incorporate a refresher course in with that. I am looking at St Kitts and Curacao also but have not gotten much favorable about the diving in Aruba compared to the other locations we will be at. I think I would be pushing it if I tried to dive 4 of the mornings away. DW used to but doesn't want to dive anymore. You should try to do a refresher at Lake Jocassee before you leave!

So far your images have been great! Thanks for the review!

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Also subscribing! We are staying at El Convento for 3 nights then doing the deep southern route in September. I am looking forward to seeing your review.:D

DW and I don't drink enough alcohol to justify those packages but on our last cruise ww purchased the soda package and ala cart for what little alcohol we had. When getting the breakdown of expenses specialty coffees topped the chart. Now they have the $20 per day plan that should work for us well.

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+1 on Pride of America. We have booked 3 days pre-cruise on Oahu and 7 days on POA seeing Maui, Hawaii, Kauai. I compared the cost of sailing from Vancouver to Hawaii, a 10 day land based on three islands and flying into Oahu, getting a hotel for a couple of days and getting on the ship. They all were within a couple of hundred dollars of each other depending on the state room, but the latter offered the most time to see Hawaii and eliminated several re-locations and dealing the luggage.(one of my least favorite things):eek: I am sure that as port intensive as this trip will be the ship will be come more of a moving hotel with a restaurant for breakfast and dinner. I did go with an aft balcony for better views and more time to photograph the highlights of the trip.