clairebearinaus

If you love French food my recommendations are the two creperies in Lemon Bay - La Gavotte right up the end near the road that goes to the aquarium, 2nd HOHO stop and La Pastaga which is closer to the first HOHO stop.  

Both do beautiful savoury galettes and sweet crepes with lovely views of the beach.  Gavotte definitely has the option of menu in English, from memory Pastaga does too but if not their staff speak English well.

I had to take painkillers to get a full night's sleep on Quantum of the Seas beds, they were so hard, but just got off Splendor and the bed was delightfully squishy.  Hopefully that's the case across the Carnival fleet.

Great news, I hope Carnival updates their systems in time for my Thursday departure!  

Thank you so much, that makes sense.  'Back on board' time is according to the ship clock not local time.  And if we muck up somehow and our phones switch themselves to local time, we'll be an hour ahead so back to the ship early not late!

It's also interesting to know that most are back on board for dinner. 

Hope you're having a wonderful day @csm5986142

Hello,

I did ask this question on the Mexican Riviera board but apparently the answer depends on the cruise line.

We are doing a 7 day Mexico cruise and the itinerary has us in PV 9am-9pm.  I have heard that Panorama leaves its clock set an hour behind local time.

I'd like to confirm that if possible, and what last boarding time would be?  For example if the itinerary says 9pm departure I assume that's local time, which is 8pm if we set our watches to ship time, so boarding around 7pm according to our watches?

I find time changes quite difficult to get my head around so would like to be sure when organising tours and things for the day. Any advice most welcome!

The situation seems to have changed very recently - I was able to use OBC to book a Splendor shore excursion yesterday.  I suggest trying again.

23 hours ago, Cazno2 said:

Yes but you would have to have a fair few drinks per day.  if on a regular day you have a drink with each meal and maybe another 2 throughout the day, would it be worth it?  I guess it depends what they are charging for these sorts of drinks if you don't have the package. 

 

Does the ship offer any free drinks at all?  I know that Carnival have tea/coffee machines (basic) as well as water, some juices at breakfast and a lemon cordial at all times that are free.

Free water, tea, coffee, iced tea and lemonade from drink stations throughout.  A couple of fruit juices (the cheap sugary kind) at breakfast. 

I recently cruised with Royal Caribbean and my account at the end was $0 because nearly everything had been pre-purchased on their website in AUD.  Any extra spends during the cruise were covered by OBC.  If you plan well there's no need to worry about exchange rates.  Can confirm no gratuities charged, either - that is a separate issue to the currency onboard.

Thanks everyone, that's good to know.

Thanks @Charles4515 very helful!

Hello, as an Australian the tipping culture is foreign to me.  

Do US tipping practices apply in Mexican ports?  E.g. a tip for drivers, bartenders, restaurant servers.  What about street food vendors?  Tequila tasting?  Tour guide?  I don't want to offend anyone by getting this wrong.

Any advice, and guidance on rough amounts we should expect to pay, would be much appreciated!

I've found this thread so helpful, thanks everyone.  Aussie heading to the US later this year.

I have a few more questions:

- doorman - is this literally the (usually) guy who opens the hotel door for you?  Are they expecting a tip every time you come in and out, or is the tip just for when you check in and out and require help with your luggage to and from the car?

- housekeeping - are we expected to leave a cash amount out for hotel cleaning?  Every day or at the end of the stay?  Any advice on how much please? (Mid range hotels e.g. Hyatt)

- Uber - is it ok to tip drivers and food delivery workers via the app or is a cash tip expected?

Thanks!

Oh I should add, we are 50s with kids similar ages to yours (17-21).  Kids prefer RCI.

I'm not very loyal at all - have cruised with RCI, Carnival, P&O, Celebrity, Princess and Cunard.

They all have their pros and cons but I've never had a bad cruise. I choose who to cruise with based on itinerary, price/perks and the amenities/reviews of the individual ship.

Celebrity is probably my favourite by a small margin but that's after only 1 cruise with them.  They have some really interesting overseas itineraries, I'm sailing from Singapore to Mumbai with them next year.

I disembarked from Quantum on April 12 and am still having neck problems from the giant, rock hard pillows.  I had to take painkillers to sleep because the mattress hurt my hips so badly.  Never had this problem before!

Having sailed all three I would also agree that Princess is the most calm and relaxed.

I suggest checking and making sure you avoid school holidays.

I'm sure you're all right and I misquoted the amount of poo in the average bottom.  Apologies for that.

I'm really not comfortable with ANY amounts of poo being swirled around me in a hot tub, though!

Looks so inviting, what a shame you can't go in!

Next week's Quantum cruise has had the Pt Vila stop cancelled and replaced with a second day at Mystery Island. 

I can understand them feeling incredibly inconvenienced and annoyed.  

But it doesn't sound like she did very much to try to make the best of the situation.  As you say, there is clothing onboard and staying indoors because she couldn't find warm clothes in Christchurch is ridiculous - that's where Kathmandu headquarters is for starters, and every souvenir shop sells merino stuff.

I doubt there was any chance of ever finding a spot in a quiet hot tub on my fully booked Quantum sailing next week, but after reading this I'll be giving them a miss either way!  

4 hours ago, Mapleleafforever said:

I was scared away enough by the thought of stewing in people's urine, now I'm even more freaked out about the bum tea bag effect. 

I did some Google research on hot tub safety after reading this thread.  In one article, an 'expert' suggested the average person has around 100ml of poo smeared around their bum crack, ready to be loosened by lovely warm spa jets.

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

I find the shower beside the pool to be more refreshing than the hot tub and pool. As for the flowrider there’s no way someone can pee while riding so it’s all good. 😁

Using the showers is a brilliant idea that had never occurred to me.  I like to cool off occasionally but the pool is usually freezing and the hot tubs full of diving, splashing, unsupervised children.

Thank you, I'm sailing on Carnival so I probably got the time information from that board.

It sounds like this tour option is too risky.

Hello,

Having never been to Mexico (or the US!) before I'm seeking some advice to stop me from making a horrible mistake booking a tour.

According to my cruise itinerary we are due to arrive in PV at 9am.  I am considering a tour that starts at 10 or 10.30.  We don't have a suite or any other reason for priority disembarkation.

My first question is about ship time vs local time.  I have read somewhere that in PV, ship time is often one hour behind local time, so if the itinerary says 9am arrival is that ship time, in which case it's actually 10am in port?

Secondly, with no priority, how long should we realistically expect it to take to disembark the ship, find a taxi and arrive at the meeting point in the old town (River cafe)?

Many thanks for your advice!

I am going on Quantum next week and have been before.  There is little to do on Mystery Island, it's tiny.  It's a beach day, really, though you can buy organised tours to snorkel or kayak.  The locals have a deal with RC so nearly all activities will only be sold through the ship.  You may be able to rent a cabana or some snorkelling/kayaking equipment, this is limited and will book out early with a ship the size of Quantum.  Mystery Island Tours is the website to check.

In Vila there are lots of locals with vans who run tours of the islands, they have Facebook pages and/or will be waiting in the port area.  Popular tour stops normally include local lagoons and waterfalls, or out to Hideaway Island for another beach/snorkel day.  Nearly all will stop in town at the end for some duty free shopping, which is regarded as the cheapest in the region.  Many tours also go to a turtle sanctuary but the reviews suggest it's a rather miserable place and the animals are not treated well.