jerseygirlinAZ

Thank you for your review! We board two weeks from tomorrow and are so excited!

Loving your review! I am currently waiting to check in (nine minutes to go) to our cruise on Firenze in October.

Advance. Had zero issues. They met us at the port.

We did the swim with sea lions and Rhythm of the Nights excursions in Puerto Vallarta. Both were great, though there may be age limits and Rhythm is pricey. We're cruising in October and plan to do the Observatorio 1873 in Mazatlan, which has an aviary and other things for kids to do. And it's not too expensive. We're just going to Uber there and back. We did the pirate ship excursion in Cabo, which was fun. We have also just walked around town and did the beach, though be prepared for lots of vendors (which is fine except my nine-year odl daughter wants ALL the things, lol). There is a pretty good review on the Carnival board from a couple with a toddler. Might get some good ideas from that post. Her name is Deladane.

Pretty sure you're not allowed to stay in Cabo. Also, since it is a tender port, if you did stay, you would risk not getting back on board day two if for some reason the boats weren't able to tender.

We didn't get any food, but I believe it was available. My husband thinks it was $10 a chair and he thinks the palapa (like an umbrella only better) was included. I thought it was more like $40, but I didn't pay. 🙂

We did a pre-Christmas cruise two years ago. The kids did a show with the crew and sang songs, which was nice. They also had a Hannukah celebration in addition to Christmas. We really enjoyed all the decorations and fun.

I believe so. I know others from our previous cruise ubered from the port to the airport to rent cars.

Playa Grandi is the sea turtle beach. It's at the northern part of the island. We rented a car and that was our first stop (well, after a brief stop at the flamingo sanctuary). We saw about five turtles and arrived before any of the cruise ship excursions, so it wasn't crowded. From there, we went to Hato Caverns, which was a wonderful site. We also went to the aquarium, which was nice. We didn't go to any restaurants, but there are many that you could visit. We returned to the ship in plenty of time. I would definitely rent a car there again and highly recommend it!

We rented a car and drove to the flamingo area to see flamingoes in their natural habitat. From there, we went to Playa Grandi and swam with sea turtles in the wild. We made it there before the cruise ship groups, so it was very cool and not crowded. We brought our own snorkel gear (just masks and snorkels). Then we drove to the Hato Caves, which was a very neat place. Highly recommend it. After that, we went to the aquarium, which was nice. We made it back to the ship in plenty of time and had no issue with the car rental. It was much cheaper doing these things on our own rather than booking an excursion with the ship.

We went to Eagle Beach and it was beautiful. $5 per person taxi ride to and from the port. We were in port late and had dinner at Barefoot restaurant on the beach at sunset. Spectacular!!! Highly recommend it!

We took a taxi for $5 per person. (We attempted to take the bus, but I couldn't find the stop and my husband was willing to pay more to get us there.) Our driver told us that the rates are set by the government, so all taxis should be the same. We were dropped off at the Amsterdam Hotel area, where we were able to go to the beach, rent chairs, and have some drinks. There was also a place to rinse off after spending time at the beach. The beach was absolutely beautiful. I was concerned about crowds and rentals as we were the last of three ships to port that day. (We got in at 1 p.m.) We had no issues with crowds or rentals. We had a hard time tearing ourselves away from the beach at the end of the day.

We rented with Avis because they had a location just a short walk from the port. It was a little pricey, but we figured we'd pay for the convenience and the opportunity to get out and hit some of the popular sites quicker that the tour buses. Worked out fabulously and we plan to rent from them again.

We just booked another Alaskan for cruise in June 2025, so it's been nice to re-read this thread. We plan to rent a car again

I believe they are starting (or trying) to limit how many people can visit the glacier. If I were you, I'd book through the ship for this one.

We rented a car in Cork from Hertz and were able to get a car seat for an additional fee.

Yes they say they will get you back to the ship on time. They were very aware of the time throughout the entire trip. Never felt stressed. They had us back in plenty of time and there were many of our fellow cruisers that went with them ... three busloads in fact!

We just returned from a stop in Holyhead. I highly recommend the BusyBus tour. We had a great time and felt we saw a good deal.

Stuffed mushrooms every time. I'm a vegetarian so I either get the mac and cheese as my main or have the chef prepare some other sort of pasta. I also like the onion rings.

We're on that sailing as well! Love seeing all the pics!

Does this only apply for paying for the cruise? Can the gift cards be added to your sign and sail once on board?

I agree with the other posters. The kids club only has dinner a couple nights during the cruise (at least that's the way it's been for us). Plus, the options are limited to what they present in the reserved area (though the options are kid friendly). Enjoy your cruise!!!

We're in the same boat. Have two ships porting earlier than us when we go in June. We're just gonna back our sense of humor and hope for the best.

Awesome story! Glad you and your wife will be enjoying your honeymoon cruise! If you want to meet up with others on board, I'd suggest joining your roll call here on cruisecritic. You can also search social media sites where people start groups for their specific cruises. Best of luck!

Love the deck areas for the kids! Thanks for sharing!