Ginger Princess

23 minutes ago, beanie315 said:

 

I stand corrected. But I still think Neil Diamond when I hear Sweet Caroline

This is a quick review with some random thoughts on our recent Escape cruise. We went 12/14 - 12/21. It was my husband’s and my second cruise (first was Jade in 2016 same ports) and the first cruise for my son.

Embarkation was pretty smooth. We ate lunch in Taste or Savor (I can’t remember which one). The old lunch menu was still there. I had the Cajun fish sandwich even though I kinda wanted to try the Cajun chicken pasta on the new menu. 

I dragged my my husband to a cooking demo from Food Republic on the first full day. It was more of a sushi demo so that got his attention. My husband loves sushi and was quite glad when he realized he could get it on the ship. So guess what we had for lunch on both sea days, Food Republic. The first one my son tagged along with the understanding that if he didn’t like it, the buffet was available. My favorite was the crispy salmon roll. My son (usually not adventurous) tried pork dumplings and teriyaki chicken and liked both. My husband talked about this meal the rest of the week and was disappointed it wasn’t open on the port day we stayed onboard.

We only saw one show. We tended to hang out in the atrium and listen to whatever music was playing between game shows. I liked the ABBA tribute music. The Elvis impersonator was entertaining, but Elvis didn’t sing Sweet Caroline. The only show we saw was the magician at the supper club on the last night. He had everyone laughing and I even got to participate by shuffling an imaginary deck of cards and pulling one out. He of course had the actual card I picked somehow. The set menu wasn’t great but that’s how they feed everyone in a short amount of time.

In Roatan, we did a semi-submarine excursion through the cruise ship. That part was cool. The “forced peddling” as my husband called it was not cool. Yes I understand supporting the locals, so we bought lunch ashore, but we didn’t realize we had to sit through a presentation at a cameo factory. I just wanted to go back to the ship.

Harvest Caye was a beach day.  My son did the Superman zip line which was $49 for those who are interested. So the excursion credit wiped it out. We ate at the Laughing Bird Bar and Grill. Expensive burgers and nachos but saved us a long walk back and forth. I had some drink there that reminded me of a Mango Meltdown but it had a piece of pineapple sticking out the top. My husband said the drinks in the coconut were not worth it because the coconut was heavy (compared to a glass) and just awkward to hold. 

Maya Chan in Costa Maya was great. There was some seaweed but they were super nice. The food was great and the drinks were plentiful. My son learned to paddle board and was impressed by his strawberry smoothie.

The weather started to turn very windy as we left Costa Maya for Cozumel. My sea bands were not keeping up with the ship’s motion so I had to take some Bonine that night. We woke up to windy, overcast day in Cozumel. It was a little cool and we were “beached out” so we stayed on board. It rained on our sea day back so it was a little crowded indoors.

Disembarkation was fine. We had some trouble locating one of our bags that somehow was hidden by a pole and another bag.

Overall it was a great cruise and we got 2 cruise next certificates. My only complaint was the photographers. I wanted a nice family photo so we waited in line during the dinner hour for one in the atrium on the second night. I told them I only wanted a family photo but they had to do individuals of everyone and then couple photos. It took longer that I wanted and I only got the one family photo. I know they’re supposed to take that many shots, but if a person just wants a family photo, can’t they just take family shots? Other than that, no complaints and everyone was friendly and helpful. 

We’re on the Escape soon and just had a few quick questions. I’m going to get my son a lanyard. Does the Escape have the key cards that can have a hole punched in them or do I need to get a lanyard with a plastic sleeve?

Also at Cozumel, we’re doing our own excursion. I’m pretty sure the address for the port agent is listed in the Freestyle Daily. Is this what I show to the taxi driver to make sure we get back to the correct pier?

Thanks!

Thanks, guys. I will definitely keep the 75 to 10 to 95 route in mind. I might still get a Peach Pass just in case. Only 149 days to go.

Ok, I guess I should probably get a Peach Pass. I can always try the Express or HOT lanes if I happen to be near Atlanta or maybe I can convince my husband to cruise a bit more frequently so I can use it up on a return trip to Miami.

Thanks for all the help.

I guess I’m mostly leery of leaving money on my Peach Pass account that I won’t use. My understanding is you put a set amount of money on your account and the tolls pull from that. If your balance gets low, you have to put more money on it. I don’t know if you can just put a few dollars or it has to be like $20. 

Most of the threads showing in search talk about using a rental car with a rented Sun Pass. I am driving from middle Georgia to Miami in December. I’m just starting to look at the route, and Google Maps is showing the fastest way is going straight down the Florida Turnpike or a slightly longer route by staying on I-75. Both of these options say they include tolls. I know I can get a Georgia Peach Pass, and it will work on the Sun Pass system. However, I will have no need of it in the immediate future because I hardly ever go into Atlanta and can avoid those lanes anyway. In researching, the Sun Pass website says for those areas where I can’t pay cash that I can do a toll payment by car license plate. I can get a bill at the end of the month for whatever tolls I didn’t pay plus a $2.50 administrative fee. I know I’m looking at $20-$30 in tolls one way depending on where exactly I exit and how I’m paying. Any thoughts on getting the Peach Pass versus doing a combo of paying cash and toll by plate?

We used the valet parking in Tampa in December 2016 for the Jade. We did not prepay because we weren’t originally planning on using the valet. We pulled in, gave the porters our bags, and we went to a little stand on the side to pay. It was very easy.

My husband and I went to the Seven Color Lagoon at the Costa Maya stop if that's what you're referring to. We did an excursion through Native Choice, and it was wonderful. They got us back to the ship in plenty of time. I've got a review of the excursion if you search my past posts.

Guest services will punch a hole in your card for you.

I think it was maybe an hour each way. The guide talked about different things or answered our questions so we were never bored. We also stopped and bought a bag of some really good pineapple along the way.

The driver was able to keep a decent speed on the roads until we got to the road that led toward the lagoon. The last road was quite bumpy so we couldn't go very fast.

For us at least, the kayak portion could have been shorter because the guide kept asking us if we were ok, do we need to turn back. We had told her that it was our first time so she was trying to make sure we weren't in over our heads.

I think we were there somewhere between 2 and 3 hours. Kayaking was 1 to 1 1/2 hours, 30 minutes or so to eat, and 30 to 45 minutes "free" time afterward. We just laid under the huts since we didn't want to be wet on the way back.

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You pay the gratuity along with final payment if you got it as a free at sea perk (assuming you're booking in the US) or you pay it whenever you buy the package outright. The $0.81 might have been the tax on the drink if your niece was still in port on the first day.

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My husband and I did the Blue Lagoon tour in December. We were the only ones who booked it so we essentially got a private tour. Yes, your hubby can relax/ nap under one of the little huts while you and your son kayak or swim. Our guide took us out for about an hour in the kayaks which was nice. Neither one of us had been in a kayak before and she was very patient as we learned how to make it move. There is a current in the lagoon which surprised me. Lunch was included which was chicken, some veggies, and tortillas with an open bar. The only beer they had at the time was Corona which is great if you like it. After one, my husband went to margaritas. I had pina coladas.

I'm guessing that my TA checked the box or whatever because I got a cupcake in my room with a coupon/ card to take to dinner that night for some of the wait staff to sing and bring a cake. (Not being one who likes being sung to at restaurants, I skipped that part but witnessed other people having "Happy Birthday" sung to them.

In December, the wildlife center was free. It only had a butterfly enclosure (which was nice) and a few birds, toucans I think. There was another empty enclosure or two for future animals.

In December on the Jade, my husband got free regular coffee with dessert at dinner in the MDR, at Cagney's, and at Le Bistro (which was French pressed). Only the specialty coffees cost extra.

The Extreme tour was actually showing up as we were leaving. Our guide told us that that would probably only have 30 minutes after they eat to kayak or be in the water. The kayaks were stored right next to the water, but we were gone for over an hour to get to the other side and back. However, my husband and I both had never kayaked before, and sometimes the guide would slow down and wait for us. I guess it would depend on how long you had and how confident you were in your kayaking skill.

I didn't get any pictures of the food, but these are from the kayaking. (Hopefully this will work. I had to resize them.)

The company is Native Choice, and they mostly do Mayan ruins tours. I saw the Blue Lagoon tour when I googled them and found the website. It was a $15 deposit per person to reserve and $40 a person when we showed up.

I will attempt some pictures. I've seen where others had trouble posting them.

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Before my cruise, I didn't see many reviews for this tour so I thought I would write one in case someone else was interested in it.

My husband has been interested in kayaking, and Mayan ruins were offered on 2 other port stops so we tried this excursion in Costa Maya. It was a little weird walking to their office because there wasn't a lot between the port and their office. Their map was helpful getting to their office. We were offered free bottles of water as we checked in. This isn't one of their more popular tours, so we basically got a private tour. Elena, our guide, and Abner, our driver, took us in an air conditioned van to the Bacalar Lagoon. Along the way, we stopped off in "Pineapple Town" and bought a bag of fresh pineapple for $1. It was some of the best pineapple I've ever eaten. My husband tried it dipped in some chili powder.

The lagoon was very peaceful and beautiful. There were bathrooms and separate changing rooms. I left my towel on a lounge chair under a tiki hut and we set off in our kayaks. As a beginner, I didn't think it was too difficult to figure out how to move the kayak. There was a slight current in the middle of the lagoon but we made it to the other side where there was this somewhat hidden area inside the mangroves where there were lots of lily pads.

After making it back to the resort we had lunch. The open bar was nice. I had 2 pina coladas. My husband had a beer and a margarita. There was chicken and peppers with warm corn tortillas, black beans, rice, carrots, and a green salsa. We got to relax for about an hour under the tiki hut on a lounger before they took us back to the port. This was my husband's favorite part of our cruise.

Thanks! I'm trying to narrow down what exactly I'm taking.

Are there clothes hangers in the rooms or do I need to pack some? I'm sailing on the Jade in a balcony if that matters.

My husband and I are cruising out of Tampa this December. We're driving down and staying at the Embassy Suites downtown. We're meeting friends for dinner at Columbia the night before we cruise. We've been told there is a trolley that runs through downtown (right in front of our hotel) that runs into Ybor with a stop about 2 blocks from Columbia. We're thinking about doing that instead of driving there.