DandA

easy way is to find two connecting rooms near your room. standing in the hallway the connecting room on your right has the bed by the balcony and the one on the left is by the bathroom and they alternate like that.

I too am a relatively new cruiser and have only been to Nassau once, I read many of the negative reviews and how many stay on the ship. It all depends on your interest, seems most either go to Atlantis or to Junkanoo Beach or one of the other beaches/resorts near the port. We chartered a taxi thru Cheryl's Bahamas Taxi for a three hour tour; I wanted to see three forts ( Fort Montagu, Fort Fincastle and Fort Charlotte) and the Queen's Staircase. We only made it to Fort Montagu and the Queen's Staircase; was disappointed that we didn't get to the other two forts but all in all it was a good tour. He took us to "The Cloisters", Atlantis, a dock where they cleaned conch and sold conch salad, a rum cake bakery, chocolate factory; wine tasting place and John Wattling's Distillery. I could have done without the bakery, chocolate factory and wine tasting, he also offered to take us to a cigar place but i declined that one. After our 3 hours I had him drop us off at the Pirates Museum and we went there it was interesting and fun, from there we walked back to the ship. On the way there was an interesting church we did't linger there as it looked like they were having a service, stopped at the Pompey Slave Museum it was enlightening mostly stuff to read.and strolled back to the ship. It was pretty hot that day so went back to the ship and didn't go thru the straw market. I will say I didn't feel like I wasn't safe, just stay in the main tourist areas and be aware of your surrounding and travel using the buddy plan.

Thanks, because it would be for his collection, "made in China" wouldn't be of interest. Actually, I'd like to get a quality blade made from a local craftsman. I will have some time pre-cruise, i may find something there but will certainly check out Skagway. Any good place to check out in Skagway? And nice to know that they are allowed on ships. Don't have any experience with security confiscating items and returning at the end of a cruise.

Thanks, we are completely jumping ship and will be sailing on Princess after a land tour. Our sailing is stopping in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. I guess I'll talk to ship security so I don't have an issue bringing it back on the ship.

My grandson collects knives and this would be a great addition to his collection. Two questions, how did you get them back mail or carry back to ship? Any port better for this purchase and the price of a good one?

No problem in April but i have at&t and we were coming off Majesty , maybe too many people using the Verizon network and overwhelmed their system.

We did the Jaguar Cave Tubing and Jungle Trek this past April, we had the lunch before the tubing (this varies), it consisted of chicken and rice. Was pretty good for a picnic style lunch. We had about 1/4 mile trek through the jungle on mostly level hard pack path. There was a wooden stairs going down and up from the river that we had to cross, be careful climbing them after crossing the river as they were wet. Wear water shoes or old tennis shoes. The tubing thru the cave was like slow drifting and being pulled by the guide, all the tubes were lashed together to keep the group together. There is a place to purchase drinks before and after the tubing and a souvenir shop. Our tour guide was Peter and he was great. While the tubing was fun the best part was the commentary we got from our tour guide, he was funny and informative about all things Belize. Can't comment on the Crystal Cave one, I'd recommend booking thru the ship as we got back late and had to catch the next to last tender to the ship, the bus about 5 minutes behind ours was the last tender before we set sail.

I Think I got mine for $99 on the Harmony awhile back.

We purchased the 3 night dining package for our upcoming cruise on Harmony; and this will be our first time using specialty dining. I made reservations for the 2nd night at Chops and my other two choices are 150 Central Park and Wonderland. We will be dressing for formal nights so I am trying to decide whether to do MDR or Specialty Dining on Formal nights. So what would be the pros and cons on doing formal nights in specialty dining? I’ve read several negative reviews with service and quality at some of the specialty restaurants. What has been the average dining times at the three restaurants that I have chosen? When making reservations for the other two when we get on board, what are the busiest times for the restaurants?

Wouldn't say it's tearing passengers apart, but there are hardliners on both sides. We are two who dress for formal night (suit/tux and gown/cocktail dress) and even on the other nights dress smart casual (dress/casual slacks and collared shirt and dress/pants fancy top). I do it to please my other half and I really like seeing her dressed up, even after dinner you will see us wandering the ship or attending shows or the clubs dressed as we left the dining room, it's a date night for us. Now I could care a rats behind what anyone else wears, just as you shouldn't care how we are dressed. Twice we have had tablemates get a little upset with they way we were dressed, the first time we dressed for the Prohibition Party and one of the lady's told my wife "tonight's causal night why are you all dressed up?" (she wore a flapper dress and I had a white shirt and bow tie on) and on another cruise a guy got upset because I wore a suit and another wore a tie on formal night because he thought we were embarrassing him as he thought we agreed to not dress for formal night.

I did that on several I really liked and also used some of the scans to create our cruise photo book.

Was just on Majesty in April for a 7 day, several days into the cruise we decided to purchase the photo package. They had around 5-6 backdrops every evening, we took advantage of most of them each night and came away with over 100 photos. My only complaint is that you were only able to get print photos and they are all 8x10. And Majesty is a good ship, loved the Schooner Bar at night.

There will almost always be a place to lock your belongings up. I did the parasailing on Labadee, they have lockers to rent on the island. I actually did the zipline and parasailing. I rented the locker for the zipline and could have kept it for the remainder of the day but I just gathered my backpack after the zipline and carried it around with me. While on the parasailing tour, I and several others left our backpacks on the boat. There was 8-12 people on the boat and two at any time would get on the parasail. They had us move around the boat as two came back on two were getting ready to sail. I actually gave my camera to the tour operator to take photos of us while we were up there. The cruise compass will post what is required to get back on the ship (usually your sea pass and a photo ID). If a passport is required to reboard they will let you know in the cruise compass and will be posted as you leave the gangway. In most cases whether you have your passport or not when going ashore is a matter of personal choice and comfort level.

Thanks, last time we got a cab to Mega Plex and walked to Pancho's Backyard, so if they leave us off at the Mega Plex I can grab a cab to Panchos and then start walking/shopping back and grab a cab when were ready.

Yes it is, you can find them on facebook or the web.

Thanks for the great information. I understand that they pick you up at the port and take you to their shop. Where is their shop in relation to the downtown area? I want to look around downtown after the tour before heading back to the ship.

Has anyone done this excursion while in Cozumel? If so, did you enjoy it and did you have ample time to take photos? I've seen them on facebook and it appears that sometimes there is only 1 trike on the tour.

Great tour Chris. Oasis was my first ship and I had the same reaction as you when I first boarded. It was WOW, look at that, this is awesome!

There was food available at San Gervasio to purchase.

Guess I've done it dozen of times and survived. I think most of the "disappearances" could be chalked up to weather and mechanical issues. I guess you could tell him your going and hope you don't get abducted by aliens.

I use a local agent, I also prefer a face to face encounter but i do use email/phone to contact her mostly for an appointment. I research cruises, airfare, hotels and rental cars and really know what I want before I talk to her (she says I'm easy to book a cruise for, as I already know what I want). She will take what I want and check prices and availability at several sites and I pick the one I want. Before I cruise, I meet with her to pick up all my travel documents, yes I can print them out myself but she puts everything in envelopes and organized. That face to face also gives me the assurance that if I have a problem she will take care of it for me. She told us the first time we used her that if anything didn't go as planned call her (she can help with cancel flights, etc.) Some of the big box stores may offer more OBC but I don't have a lot of confidence in talking on the phone to someone I've never met. Anyway that's just my 2 cents.

Have a Caribbean cruise in February and and Alaska cruise for June and I have been making packing list needed for months, not actually selecting clothing but style/type. After a land trip to Florida next month I'll most likely pack shorts, swimsuits and summer wear in packing cubes for the February trip since there will be no need for those things in the Mid-Atlantic till summer.

I agree the included coffee is hit or miss mostly miss. It is tolerable if you add sugar and cream or bring your own flavored creamers. I usually get the beverage package and go out each morning to watch the sunrise from the top decks and enjoy my coffee.

Thanks for the conformation, we are planning on Chops, Wonderland and 150 Central Park for the Harmony. I saw one post that said someone made their reservations in the terminal prior to boarding. Is that something that's usually available or do we have to wait till we get on board? Also is it best to go to one of the restaurants or speak to one of the crew members hawking specialty dining?

The terminal is a bit chaotic in the early morning, this was our first cruise and really wasn't watching the clock closely. We dropped the luggage to the porters sometime between 8:30-9:00 and many were still getting off the ship. I made two passes thru only because I missed seeing the porters the first time. After dropping the rental off, we arrived back at the terminal and there were maybe 50-100 people in line waiting for them to open the terminal doors. Once they opened things went quickly and we had to wait for boarding to begin around 11:00. I understand there can be some congestion/confusion early but it doesn't make any sense to run empty shuttles back to the port. I'm doing Port Canaveral again in February and planning on dropping luggage off first and returning the rental at 9:30 and getting to the port shortly after.