micahd

thanks for the feedback everyone

What are everyones thoughts on making an 1115am flight out of LGA?

This. Is. INCREDIBLE.

Do you have a tip jar or Venmo or something? Because I would like to buy you a drink good sir!

THIS IS AMAZING

I'm seeing a bug; when I attempt to filter by speciality restaurants there are no results. Complimentary restaurants and other categories work as expected. Tried on Safari and Firefox in Mac OS

Just wanted to close the loop on this.

We booked a private all-day tour with Sunita and had a wonderful time. She took us all around the island, Dutch and French sides to all the best spots. We also stopped at the local "iguana farm" and chocolate shop. Sunita's Gucci van was comfortable, modern and in excellent condition. She had a cooler of water, soft drinks and beer stocked and ready for us. There was plenty of space for our stroller and backpacks. Our car seat unfortunately did not fit in the van but the our toddler was safe the entire time.

Sunita is professional and an expert in all things St. Maarten. I would highly recommend for anyone looking for land-based tours of the island.

Ah. Cool. Thanks all

What's the cut-off for app check-in? 24hrs prior to sailing? 48?

We sail next Friday and are holding out hope that a passport ships before we have to check-in with a birth certificate.

Has anyone used them for a private or group tour around the island?

On 2/21/2023 at 10:42 AM, Woody14 said:

In St. Martin I have done Capt. Bob's speed boat  and snorkeling tour.  My kids still think it is one of the best excursions they have ever done. https://www.soualigadestinations.com/.  it is a short walk from the pier to the dock where they leave from.   

Can confirm. We took a Capt. Bob boat tour in February 2020 and even though it rained quite a bit it was super fun.

We cruised with our son when he was about 9 months old. The pack and play provided by RC was nice but the smallest I've ever seen, he just fit in. He will be nearly 2 on our next cruise and he would not fit in the same size pack and play. Are all RC provided cribs this small? or was this just a wise cabin steward giving us the size we needed at the time? (it was nice that it didn't take up too much space in the room)

Mostly asking because if they are this small we will need to bring our own, which I'd like to avoid if possible.

Thanks @Matt this is good context and it's made clear I'm looking for the "short caribbean" cruises. 

55 minutes ago, Maggie M said:

I WISH we could plan that far in advance. If I get a year planned out - I'm doing good! We're still trying to figure out the rest of 2023 LOL

I'm trying to plan a big birthday cruise with as many friends and family as will come. My tentative plan is to book a 3/4 b2b for myself and immediate family then friends can chose both or the individual that works best for their time and budget. The earlier I can get those details communicated the more likely it feels I'll have a good crowd for the toga party.

I am sitting on my hands here waiting for the 3-4 day cruises over Jan/Feb 25. Anyone have any idea when we might see that?

I'm within 60 days now and still waiting for anything beyond cabanas to show up at Labadee.

9 hours ago, twangster said:

They offer excursion transfers with luggage service for the day of departure.  With a later flight they are totally worth it.  

Oh... I had totally forgotten about that. I'll check it out. Thanks @twangster

13 minutes ago, twangster said:

Hertz shut down in PCN.  Now an Exotic Car Rental outfit.  

Yep. that makes sense.

@Christopher

I had a similar experience at the Budget rental in February of 2020 (yeah, missed it by THAT much). They will continue to take reservations without any real awareness of the vehicles available. So they are waiting on departing passengers to return their cars before quickly cleaning them and renting them back out. The worst-case option they offered was using their shuttle to take people all the way to MCO. I think Enterprise has a better idea of their demand/inventory that's why their website will actually tell you "sold out".

We're trying Budget again in March, but pushing the pick-up as late as practical for us and just staying flexible. We'll see how it goes

On 10/31/2022 at 3:39 PM, WAYNO said:

We have only used Hertz to and from Port Canaveral.  The car, picked up at Orlando Airport, returned to the local Hertz facility in Cocoa Beach, the shuttle from there to the ship, and the process reversed when the cruises were over...Smooth as silk.

Where is the Hertz location in Cocoa Beach? Google is only showing a Hertz in Cocoa, FL a full 15 minutes from the cruise terminal. The hertz website is also not showing any locations in Cocoa Beach

Realistically, without being rude to the crew. If we were out of our staterooms and in a public area. How late can we wait to depart the ship on turn-around day? We have an 8pm flight departing Orlando so we don't need to hurry at all.

I guess I’ll be checking cruise planner on the regular.

When are people seeing these in cruise planner. We have an early March sailing on Jewel and the only things showing are cabanas (and they’re already sold out).

The giant zip line is on my bucket list so I really want get that before we sail.

Are there any splash pads or other “pool” areas on Jewel accessible to kids in swim diapers?

10 minutes ago, twangster said:

MEI Travel who sponsors this blog has a lot of groups experience.  They coordinate the blog group cruises for example.  

Oh yeah that's a good place to start. Is there a specific person that would be good to start with?

I have a milestone birthday approaching and I'd like to make it a cruise and invite everyone in my life that I'm close to.

I'll be paying personally for some family but I'd like to be able to invite friends and give them basic price. I'd also like to pay for a dinner at Chops or another restaurant on whatever ship we end up on.

I'd like to find an agent that has done these kind of things before and is used to handling groups with some traveling from different areas. What questions should I ask a TA? Does anyone have recommendations of a TA that has helped you with this sort of thing before?

I certainly see both sides. Personally I’d like the vax only areas to go away. Not having my time dining feels a bit frustrating. But, I understand why they want to keep in vax’d kids separate.

I guess we’ll see. Either way I’m just excited to be getting away on a ship for a week!

We’ll rock and roll. I’ll report back