mayinindy

Has anyone stayed at this hotel recently?  Looking at reviews on another site it doesn't look great recently, but I also understand that most people that post reviews do it when they are not happy.  Now that cruising is coming back, I'm curious if anyone has stayed here.

13 hours ago, JustUs275 said:

Hello, fellow Hoosier! 🙂

I've been looking for the same info as we are planning to stay at the Caribe in October either pre or post-cruise. I've read about El Mercado very near by...it's a "high end food court". Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mediterranean, Mexican, ice cream, etc. Sounds interesting to me. 

Terri

Hello fellow Hoosier!  I found things about El Mercado after I posted this question. It looks very interesting!  Any other tips people may have on restaurants around the hotel would be appreciated.  

What are food options around this hotel?  I have seen mixed reviews on the hotel restaurants.

Not even remotely difficult. Cabs line up at the station whenever Amtrak comes in. They even check the schedule - since trains are VERY infrequent, there's no point being there when trains are not arriving! - so even if the train is early or late there will always be a line of them.

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We are planning to take the evening train from Seattle to Vancouver. My question is, with such a late arrival in Vancouver, how difficult will it be to get a cab at that hour (scheduled arrival of 11:00 PM with no delays)? Our hotel is the Hampton Inn on Robson St so I'm not sure of any other way to get there other than cab.

We are planning to stay in Anchorage for a couple of days and due to hotel points I'm looking at staying at Hilton properties. There is a Hilton in what appears to be downtown, but the Hilton Garden Inn I would prefer to stay at does not appear to be downtown. If we aren't renting a car, how difficult is it to get downtown? It doesn't appear the Hilton Garden Inn is that close to a public train stop. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks for the review! Where did you lean that the ship is scheduled for dry dock? I have seen some people on here speculate based on the sailings, but just wondering if you had actually seen something official or heard from someone official. I am on it in Aug. of next year and would love for it to go through dry dock before then.

I hope and think NCL Jewel is going to get another refurbishment in spring 2018 between her Far East and Alaska season.

As part of the current renovation program, I think she needs to get rid off the over colored decor and needs some new design as Pearl and Jade have gotten recently.

Further I think she needs the stateroom upgrades with the USB ports, etc.

 

 

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Did you see information about this somewhere or just based on when she was last refurbished?

I have a reservation for Aug. 2018 that was on Sun and has been moved to Jewel. I got an updated confirmation that showed the change, but I had to figure out what those changes were on my own. When I log into my NCL account it now, finally, shows the changes to Jewel and the new cabin. It appears they are getting things moved over.

Thanks for the great review! While we will be on a different cruise line, I think this was all very helpful! My questions are on customs. How does it work when you take the Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver? How were the lines at the port?

We booked the Sun for Aug 2018 and last week we got an updated confirmation which showed a room change. It took us a while before we figured out why... the ship changed to the Jewel. I looked online and booking today still shows Sun but when I called to change our rooms I was told the reservation system shows it is Jewel now.

If you are looking for some interesting things to do, we can definately recommend the Martini Mixology and Tasting class with Melvin at the R Bar on the Royal Promenade, and the Pasta Class and lunch at GiovaniS Table! Both excellent experiences!

 

If you don't mind me asking, how much was the Martini Mixology class?

I have seen on some Compasses and have seen people mention mixology/martini classes in the R Bar/ Champaign Bar. The Compass I have seen only shows the $ so you know that is has a cost. Does anyone know how much it costs? Also, is there a way to find the cost prior to arriving at any of the activity?

If I were to purchase one of the drink packages and we are leaving out of Galveston, does this cover the TX tax that I have seen is added to drinks while you are in port and however long that lasts?

How did embarkation and debarkation go? I have seen some horror stories from FLL lately, other than the power outage.

Thanks in advance!

I see with the Royal Replenish and Ultimate Packages you can get sparkling water. What type of sparkling water is this? I will be on Navigator of the Seas and know there is no Freestyle Machine that might have some carbinated water.

Also, where can you get the sparkling water from?

Thanks in advance for the help!

I have seen a lot of information on timing and pricing of luggage valet, my question would be, if you are on Southwest Airlines, does this result in the earlybird check in where you get boarding group "A" or will you end up in something like group "C"? I'm looking at possibly getting the early bird check in, but I don't want to purchase it if the luggage valet will end up doing the same thing.

Thank you so much for all of the advice. It is really appreciated!

I'm looking at buying insurance for my cruise for the first time. I have read other posts/boards about this as well as have gone to a couple of sites to compare plans. I'm still overwhelmed buy all of the different options and what is covered. What do you experienced cruisers typically look for in travel insurance? Those traveling with me are in our 30's with no health issues and are flying to the port. Any tips would be helpful!