katjoe

OK thanks! 

I was wondering whether it would be possible to combine taking a ferry to Hamilton, walk around there for a bit and then head to the beach...might be a bit much for one day, though  -esp since ship is leaving again at 4pm  

Wish we had more time there!!!

I know everyone raves about Horseshoe, but I have now read repeatedly how crowded that one gets..

What alternatives are there? Don't need a super lot of amenities but some stuff would be nice...

My first time in Bermuda - wish we had one of those overnighters there!!!!

We were in Cococay last year, plenty of free loungers available - tons, actually! But that was on Grandeur, so a small ship.

I personally don't think you need to spend that money, but that's your call. We LOVED it there!!!

Why not use the road? 

14 hours ago, KathyC said:

I don't know how to do a screen shot, but I can copy & paste.  LOL  Here is what the excursion says:

Florida Mall Shopping Transfer

Overview

This dynamic shopping destination offers 1.7 million square feet of retail, dining and entertainment options. Prominent department and anchor stores include Macy's, Dillard's and JC Penney. Transfer via air conditioned comfortable coach for a shopping trip to one of Florida's largest indoor malls. Accompany your day by choosing from an expansive array of dining choices and health-conscious eateries. With more than 250 retailers including American Girl, Crayola Experience, M&M's World store, The Disney Store, A/X Armani Exchange, The Apple Store and Zara. Reusable shopping bag and Savings Passport to over 100 stores are included in your transportation. PC81

$54  per adult and child. 

Why would you pay $54 to go to stores that you have everywhere in the US? I don't get it. 

7 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said:

Oh, ok. ? The shopaholic in me was hopeful lol

To me, it was just typical Florida ugliness and run-downness. But maybe by the time you get there, they'll have restored the beaches? I'm sure they used to be nice. Just don't pay for the ship's shuttle - they wanted $19 (!!!) per person, just to take you to Cocoa Beach on a bus! The local public one (aptly named Cocoa Beach Loop) was 1.50 per person :-0

For Antigua, I recommend Turners Beach - quite possible the best beach we've ever been to. Just stunning!!

And for St Kitts I HIGHLY recommend Thenford Grey Island Tour. Again, def. one of the best tours we've ever done, quite possibly THE best!!

Enjoy this itinerary - we just got back from a much less thrilling one that took us to FLorida and the Bahamas. 

I completely second that!!! You don't need any excursion in San Juan, it is a lovely, lovely city (at least it was before the hurricanes?) and more beautiful than any other place in the US. it's old, like REAL old, and totally reminded me of Europe! We actually stayed there for three nights after our cruise last year. It's gorgeous, friendly, has tons of good food and drink and you can easily uber to the beaches. I'd recommend doing that to anyone!!

19 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said:

What?!  What shuttle?  and what shopping area?  Is it a RC excursion?  Please share details Kathy....or anyone else.  I never realized there was good shopping near Port Canaveral...

There isn't. It's an armpit. We just got back from there. Took a public bus to Cocoa Beach (left very close to the cruise terminal) but there wasn't much of a beach left (I guess bc of hurricanes) and it was very windy, so went to the Sandbar and had some drinks. Walked back to bus stop, took bus back and had him drop us off as close as possible to Jetty Park; went there but beach even worse and nothing to do there, so walked back to the ship - bit of a walk so only for those who are comfortable walking. 

I really don't need to go back to Port Canaveral. If we do, we'll go to the Space Center next time. Other than that, avoid this port if you can!

7 hours ago, RestingBirds said:

You COULD walk to Jetty Park...probably about a 30min walk...depending on which terminal you end up at.  If 1, then walkable (though boring and no real walk path as it's more of an industrial area).  Any of the others I'd get a ride of sme kind.

Apparently, there will be two other ships there that day (!!) so no idea if that increases or decreases our chances of being nearer to the beach...

On 10/23/2017 at 9:46 AM, Matt said:

http://ports.cruisett.com/

Thanks for that, but that doesn't really show me where the ships will be docked, only what ship will be in which port on a specific day? 

On 10/25/2017 at 11:35 AM, FManke said:

I really understand the feeling about try to get every dollars worth, but in the hustle and bustle to do and see everything, you might miss the pleasure of just being. As someone who has come home from many a vacation, exhausted by the race to do and see everything, take this small piece of advice. Spend at least an hour everyday, doing nothing. Lay by the pool. Take a nap. Read a book. You will be more relaxed and enjoy your trip more. 

You are in control of your activities and pace, not the other way around. Have a great time!

Totally second this!!! Don't overdo it and don't put this expectation on you to always do something. Port days are busy enough on cruises, I'd try to kick back on sea days. Oh and the only thing we do as far as entertainment (we do'nt really like any of those shows) is Trivia - hubby is a big fan and it's very amusing - and it's not super late, which is good for us since we're usually pooped out after dinner :-)

We are thinking Paradise Cove for Freeport; from the descriptions I've read, Freeport is not in the least attractive and I do'nt think we'll bother trying to visit the town...I forget what I wanted to do about Paradise Cove, will go back and try to find a good way to get there or if anyone has any advice, I'll gladly read it!

We will definitely want to explore the town - which makes a closer beach more attractive also since it'll be easier to do both. And maybe go back to the ship after sightseeing to pick up beach gear etc. It's also not a super long day there so I feel like spending 90 bucks to go to the beach is prob not worth it for us. Maybe we'll do a private beach trip next time, if we go back to Nassau, which seems likely since it's a very common stop on Caribbean cruises!

Yeah maybe I'll try again at some point - I have a feeing it's not gonna happen but I suppose I'll keep trying ;-)

So I looked into Sandy Toes some more and I think I've decided against it - it just seems very overpriced for what it includes, considering it doesn't even include all drinks...but thanks for the tip and have lots of fun :-)

So it's been pointed out in an email we just received that as C&A members, we'll get "priority boarding" and "priority lounge" benefits (even though we only have gold status, having only cruised with RC once before). 

So what exactly does that mean? Are there really any differences? Isn't pretty much everyone a C&A member??

And something about special offers on board...

Perks are always nice ;-)

I paid in full when I booked.This was only about a week ago! 

It's ok, I just thought I'd try...currently I'm not seeing any more OV cabins available on the RC website anyway...it'll be fine, I'll get some motion sickness stuff for hubby and we probably won't spend too much time in the cabin anyway so will get over not having a picture window....you get what you pay for and we got an extremely good deal, so not complaining! At least we'll have some natural light; I wouldn't want to be in an inside cabin with none at all!!

Departing on Nov. 9...

So I've tried getting my assigned cabin changed, since it's a) only got portholes instead of picture window and b) it's all the way in the front, which I've been told can make it very rocky and i'm afraid my husband will get seasick if that's the case. I called RC first and asked about this but was told I had to go through my TA,so I emailed them about this and they just emailed back, saying that a change isn't possible....I can see that there are still some oceanview cabins available on the RC website, and they're the same category (guarantee). Why won't they let me change to a different cabin, surely the remaining ones are all porthole cabins in the front?? Any advice?

I think I'll play it by ear - if the weather is not nice, I might go with hubby (even though the thought of spending that much money raises my hair...). if it's gorgeous, I think I'll go to the beach, esp. if it's walkable from the ship. Will try to find that website that shows you were exactly the cruise ships dock - anyone know off-hand??

18 hours ago, DocLC said:

No, not unless you have the drink package already. 

If I have the Refresh (or replenish or whatever it's called LOL) package, can I get waters and juices etc. ?

Hm yum, you make my mouth water!! I do love a good steak, but I think I'm not as discerning as I never go to expensive steak houses (I have no company paying for me and I'm too stingy for that kind of thing - I have hubby cooking them on the grill :-) 

So I have to admit I don't fully understand how this dining in the specialty restaurants works; for example, if I got the BOGO dining deal, we'd eat in restaurants other than the MDR for the first two nights, if I understand correctly? Would that extra charge (which would be $30 per person for the BOGO deal) cover the entire meal, or only part of it? And are the wine prices the same as in the MDR (they are already so overpriced there, I certainly wouldn't want to pay any more!!). And would we be able to eat at Chops both nights? I read that they assign restaurants for you but you can change that??

On 5/4/2017 at 1:50 PM, godukes_2017 said:

Get a bungalow at Coco Cay. He can snorkel, watersports, explore, etc. a mere 25-30 feet while you're taking a major catnap inside the comfort of the bungalow. It was a great value as far as we were concerned, we also just took our first cruise on the same route. You get 2 floating mats, cooler full of water, lunch delivered and bar right behind the line of bungalows.

Alcoholic drinks are not included, though, are they?

I agree!! We did it last year and loved it. he's the best tour guide I've ever had!!