HippieChick02

I've been looking up the Do's and Don'ts of Cartagena and almost everyone said to DO Getsemani. In ALL of the excursions being offered, only ONE on my cruise is going to Getsemani but it concerns me that the details mention "time at site" to only be 15 mins. The other excursion option I have narrowed down to is only one that makes a stop at Casa Rafael Nunez that includes a folkloric show in the garden. I LOVE dance but I also don't want to miss Getsemani. I know I could just take a cab there on my own but... I'm traveling solo and think I'd feel safer by myself doing a tour with a guide. Both tours are only $50 so neither are that bad. I am leaning towards the Getsemani but wanted to know if even worth booking that one if not much time at site and if I'm better off doing one where at least there's more time to enjoy a cultural dance show?

Names of Tours are Tour of Getsemani & the 'Old City' OR Scenic Drive of Cartagena & San Pedro Claver Church (Princess Cruises) if you happen to have been on either specific tour and can offer insight/review.

What about COVID vaccine/negative testing requirements? When I search this cruise it says check closer to date. Cruise is 19 days out!

https://www.princess.com/protocol/

However, I did see this was required for the Colombia stop on this exact cruise exactly one year ago but no others listed just this one last May and assumably, this cruise has been made multiple times since then.

https://www.princess.com/protocol/?voyage=enhanced

On 3/26/2024 at 4:18 PM, Paula_MacFan said:

The Wheelhouse on Island is full-sized, has a dedicated musician/band space with a small dance area, ample seating, and multiple entrances.

 

Every night on Island we enjoyed music events in the Wheelhouse. 

 

The Island has a nice Crooner's which had music every night of our cruise.  It was well attended and fun.  

 

 

I highlighted just the parts of your message that mentioned music every night in Crooners and Wheelhouse. The cruise I'm taking in less than 20 days doesn't have this event information listed in app only the music in the Piazza. Is it posted closer to date? Or just unannounced and you just show up to see who's playing?

On 3/24/2024 at 10:05 PM, LACruiser88 said:

IMHO, the cabin additions and moving the Fitness Center to Deck 5 was a major mistake which Princess acknowledged by canceling the same modifications to the Coral.

I just saw that the island has the fitness on deck 5 and I'm actually looking forward to that. In most other cruises, I always found the fitness centers far away and hard to get to, like certain elevators only in certain parts of ship, etc. The idea that I'll finally be able to find it and get to it easily sounds great!

On 5/28/2023 at 2:08 PM, ninka26 said:

I'll be on the Ruby for a 10 day inside passage RT from San Francisco in early July. I  will try to post Patters and MDR menus during my cruise.  😄

Hey! Did you happen to get pics of your Patters and MDR menus for this trip??

I'll be on the Ruby Princess in September (10 Day R/T from San Francisco), first time in Alaska, but not first time cruising in general.

After some research, I booked the Whale Watching and Salmon Bake for Juneau, the Totem Bight State Park and Lumberjack show from Ketchikan and just the White Pass Scenic Railway for Skagway.

Nothing looks interesting in Price Rupert, so wondering what I should do there or if there is an excursion I overlooked that is really good.

Did I make good choices for the other stops or would anything else have been preferable? For Skagway, in particular, I debated a long time on adding the Railway plus Yukon, but found almost 5 of the 8 hours was on a bus and that didn't seem fun. I opted for just the train, but that leaves a lot of time in port. Should I leave that time to explore on my own around the pier? Or maybe book another excursion? I booked a late afternoon train as there is a Skagway in Focus Photography tour that morning that I could still do but reviews are mixed. Some say its awesome, others say its boring. Has anyone done it? Is it worth it?

On 5/25/2023 at 5:23 PM, that said:

Does your cruise include Glacier Bay?

It doesn't unfortunately. It's the one that includes Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier instead. The trip is almost identical to the other with stops on the same days at Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Prince Rupert. But with the days of the week it was going, the one I picked takes me only 7 days off work, where the Glacier Bay one would have been 9 days off despite both trips being the same 10 day cruise.

On 5/28/2023 at 2:08 PM, ninka26 said:

I'll be on the Ruby for a 10 day inside passage RT from San Francisco in early July. I  will try to post Patters and MDR menus during my cruise.  😄

Thanks so much! That would be awesome!

Hi! I just booked my first cruise to Alaska on the Ruby Princess, it's a 10 Day roundtrip out of San Francisco. It's not until September but was hoping someone who's been on this ship and this itinerary recently can post the MDR Menus and the Daily Princess Patters so I can plan and know what to expect. I've gone on 5-6 other cruises before (2 of which were with Princess), but never been on Ruby and never been to Alaska. 

So... my Royal Caribbean cruise sent an email to say they were no longer stopping in St. Thomas, but in Puerto Rico. I haven't been to either but was really looking forward to St. Thomas. I had 2 excursions that they had to cancel... looking at options for Puerto Rico and I think I have it narrowed down the the San Juan Food & Culture Tour or the El Yunque Rainforest Drive, about a $50 difference between the two, but curious if anyone has done both and recommend one over the other?

I booked last Tuesday at the Hyatt thru ValueTrips for my pre-cruise night in Sept. I still haven't head anything back from them regarding confirmation. I think the only way to see if it was booked is to call the hotel and ask for a confirmation.

I actually just got my confirmation email from them yesterday so if you haven't gotten yours yet, it might still be coming.

Also now when I look at Hyatt on line I can book direct for even cheaper then valuetrips for next April. And this way I am booking direct . Just a thought.

Just checked and booking direct is more for my date, but I still haven't heard back from ValueTrips... how long does it usually take to know if your request went through? Is there someone I can contact to check the status? I'd like to know if my date is available thru them, because if not, I need to book one of my backups before they fill up.

Thanks everyone! I'm cancelling my reservation there despite it being non-refundable. I've requested Hyatt Place through ValueTrips but I haven't heard back yet. But I have several other choices on or near 17th Street as backups now: Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza.

So based on other threads I've read and tons of reviews and research, I'm thinking my best route of post-cruise activity would be to rent a car and take it to Hollywood Beach to chill before my evening flight, but I have some follow-up questions...

• What car rental services would be available either directly at the Ft Lauderdale Cruise Port (or offer a pick-up/shuttle from there) AND allow me to drop my car back off at the FLL airport?
  
• Where is there parking at Hollywood Beach?
  
• I've only found 2 seafood bars on the beach, Oceans 13 and Ocean Alley. Has anyone been to either and can recommend one over the other? Or did I miss anymore that are worth checking out?
  

Bonus Question: If I find that I'm craving Mexican rather than seafood after a week-long Caribbean cruise, which Mexican restaurants on Hollywood Beach would you recommend?

Eeek... that was my fear. Stinks that it was non-refundable, but I think I'd rather lose money than not feel safe. Several other threads mention Hyatt Place booked through ValueTrips.com which is still more than I want to pay but it appears to be closer to the airport and port, still offers shuttle and looks nicer.

I booked a one night room at Days Inn as I had a special online deal and this hotel claims to have shuttles from the airport as well as to the cruise port. I just needed one night before my cruise. Flying in super late arriving 11 p.m. I read a lot of reviews and there was one that mentioned their flight got in at midnight and they were still able to use the hotel's shuttle service. However, since then, I've read other reviews that say the shuttle is hit or miss, that it's hard to find or that they call the hotel repeatedly and sometimes it doesn't even show. So now I'm worried. Unfortunately, because it was a special, it's non-refundable, so I'm wondering if I made a mistake. Has anyone stayed here? Is it clean and safe? How was the shuttle service? Or is it so bad I need to bite the bullet, cut my losses on my non-refundable fee and book somewhere else? (Note that I'm not looking for a nice, on the beach hotel with lots of amenities... literally just need/want somewhere I can sleep for the night, preferably with shuttles so I don't have to pay extra for transportation on top of the hotel stay.)

11 now, not 12.

Well it was 12... but that was my entire Butterfly Farm/Marigot/Phillispburg was scheduled until 12, but someone suggested leaving the tour at Marigot instead of going with them to Phillispburg since I'd have to backtrack to get back to Maho, so my assumption then is that I would be leaving the tour group closer to 11 than 12 and even that is just guesstimating...

The Margaritaville Resort seems like the easiest/most relaxing... last chance to just sit at a beach with a drink before heading back home... but the cost is $80. Seems taking a taxi would be better for something like that... wondering if the hotel has luggage storage if you're not a guest...

I had 2 options for my departing flight back home after my cruise, at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.... I doubt our ship would dock early enough for 8 a.m. and I don't want to spend all day at the airport... any suggestions on post-cruise excursions? I'm thinking of booking through the ship so I don't have to deal with finding transportation and places to store luggage, etc. Options my cruiseline is offering include: an Everglades Airboat Ride, Flamingo Gardens Wildlife Rescue or Margaritaville Resort. So pickings are pretty slim... anyone done any of these and can recommend one over another... ?

What other islands are you visiting and how many ships are visiting on your days there? If you have one insanely busy island it's one thing but if you have 3 that may be a big red flag!

I looked up on cruisetimetables.com, not sure how accurate it is, but from that St. Maarten is 10, then I am visiting 2 other island... Nassau (and there will be 2 other ships there for 3 total that day) and St. Thomas (also another busy day... 8 ships)... is that bad??

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/visitingnassaubahamas-11dec2017.html

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/visitingstthomasusvirginislands-13dec2017.html

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/visitingphilipsburgstmaarten-14dec2017.html

I only see eight: It will be busy, but should be berable.

Haven't seen that site before. I found this link from another thread: http://www.cruisetimetables.com/visitingphilipsburgstmaarten-14dec2017.html - as to how accurate it is, I don't know...

10 ships?? When will you be there?

 

I'd still head out there. You'll never know how crowded it is and if it's worth it until you get there. And remember that not everybody cares for it.

 

December 14

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/visitingphilipsburgstmaarten-14dec2017.html

If there really are 10 ships in port then no I certainly wouldn't cram Maho into a visit to the Butterfly Farm and Marigot.

 

You would need to be out of Maho by 2 for an all aboard time at 4:30. That's at the latest IMO and getting a taxi could prove to be a big problem in the afternoon.

 

I

That still might be more than enough time. I'd be leaving Marigot around 11 or so and I really only want like an hour at Maho, but just not sure if I'd be able to see it all with 10 ships there...

Most ships leave before the sun sets so that might be why there aren't many reviews or posts.

Yeah, I was worried maybe there aren't any posts because it's lame. Even without the sunset though, did you enjoy it?

I ran a search and the last post about this was from 2007... has anyone done this is the last 10 years? Has it changed? Would you recommend it? It seems to be getting back to my ship when the ship is about to leave (6:15, ship departing at 7!) but since it's booked through the cruiseline, I'm assuming they know that and won't leave you. But wondering if it's worth the "stress" of knowing you will be one of the last to get back on board. Surprised there's not more posts about this... wondering if that means it's not very popular...