Teibban

1 hour ago, blue_water said:

Are you looking at a cruise line excursion to Jost? Or to the Baths on Virgin Gorda? Just seems a little confusing...

We are stopping there on a Carnival ship.

Looking at:

1- Planning the excursion by myself

or

2- Taking a Carnival shore excursion

15 minutes ago, jserio2001 said:

Are you also factoring the cost for taxi's to and from the port to the ferry and from the ferry to Jost? Its cheaper but takes more effort to take the ferry.  Its easier and costs more to take the excursion. 

Maybe I do not have the right information but the ferry is not like 10-15min walk from the cruise port (as per google maps) and the beach at Jost the same thing? I had the impression it was easy walkable distance.

Just now, keywest1 said:

LOL  Bring em on!!  I'm one of those folks who is immune to kids on cruise ships (except for the older ones who push all the elevator buttons and run through the halls).

good mine usually well behave as long as they do not have to sit through a 2hr long dinner... will be 8 and 11 at time of cruise so no wandering alone for them yet.

Hi everyone,

What is your favorite way to get to this place? Take the Carnival excursion or just get the ferry back and forth? The ferry cost approx. 100$ for the whole family while the Carnival excursion (having a hot-dog/hamburger lunch) is 110$ per person. 

FYI our time in Tortola is from 8h to 17h. Was mostly thinking of taking ferry at 9 AM and coming back at 14h.

17 minutes ago, keywest1 said:

We're also on the 2-29-20 Magic sailing.  I booked the cruise specifically for Antigua, since it's a port we haven't visited yet.  But I also booked knowing that ports can change for any number of reasons.

We've never been to Tortola, either, so no big disappointment for us.  Magic is a great ship and the current itinerary is guaranteed to beat being at work in  Kentucky the first week in March 

Does not beat missing the Montreal, Canada winter 🙂 On top it is spring break for us so we will swarm you all with kids lol

48 minutes ago, TNMIMI6 said:

We just returned March 1 from a Journeys cruise that included Antigua and Tortola. In Antigua, we went to Turners Beach. It was a nice beach but the surf was very strong. My husband is a strong swimmer but he even struggled there. In Tortola, we went to Cane Garden Bay and loved it! It is a great beach for families with lots of diving pelicans, a gentle surf, and beautiful views both at the beach and on the way there and back. We have been all over the Caribbean and it is in our top 5 beaches.

 

Our current favorite beach is Meghan's Bay in US Virgin Island. Water was so calm and clear. Some people even saw a turtle once.

1 hour ago, dmet0225 said:

We have been to both Antigua and Tortola.  While Antigua had the nicest beach (Valley Church Beach), Tortola had, by far, the best snorkeling off the shore that I've ever seen (Brewer's Bay).

Nice to know. Thanks

31 minutes ago, K&RCurt said:

I would also recommend a trip to "The Baths" on Virgin Gorda.  There are 2 nice beaches connected by a path through and under several huge boulders with pools in their midst.  We had a great time there!

 

 

Thanks for the idea. Will look at it. 

45 minutes ago, Aplmac said:

More?

.

Thanks a lot for all the pictures. Looks really nice.

Just now, imridingdolphins said:

JVD is ok for snorkeling right of the beach.  It is more of an adult playground though.  People go there to party right off their sailboats. 

Thanks for the hint. Have you ever been to Smuggler's cove? Seems really nice but no facilities... would need to bring a small lunch box. otherwise as you proposed, Cane Garden Bay might be the best choice.

2 minutes ago, schazzy said:

I saw somewhere in an article not long ago that the port in Antigua was going to be updated to handle Oasis-class ships in the near future, so that may have something to do with it.

Possible. anyway cannot do anything to change it 🙂 Will make the most of it in Tortola and will probably enjoy it as much as we would in Antigua.

1 minute ago, shof515 said:

Most likely a schedule conflict caused Antigua  to be overbooked and unfortunately carnival had the short straw and was forced to cancel the port of call. 

Originally, the ship was scheduled to call on Antigua on March 4. On various port schedule websites, they are 5 ships in port on that day. 

Looking at Google Maps, Antigua only 2 piers that can berth 4 ships. 

Thanks for the information. Does not really matter for me. Would just not want to switch from a beautiful (looks like it) place such as Antigua to be relocated to something like Nassau (which we do not really like). Tortola looks really nice though and never went there.

17 minutes ago, mdsgu said:

You are so lucky!  Tortola is beautiful.  Find an excursion to Jost van Dyke and just chill out on the beach enjoying a Painkiller (or 5).

Thanks. Actually this is a cruise with our 2 kids (8 and 11 at that time) and we mostly want to do beach days with visit to forts in San Juan. Is Jost van Dyke also a good place with kids to relax and enjoy beach and easy snorkeling near the shore for the kids?

Hi everyone,

Received a letter from Carnival this morning saying that the stop at Antigua is now being replaced by Tortola on our cruise on the Carnival Magic starting February 29, 2020. 

Anyone knows the reason why? Antigua was one of the reason we selected this itinerary (never been) and please tell me the beaches in Tortola are as nice (never been too) :)

Thanks

Jonathan

Hi everyone,

Not a first time cruiser here but first time looking at Carnival. We are looking at a cruise out of FLL on the MAGIC in 2020 and I have a few questions:

1- If for any reason, we cannot take this cruise before the end payment, can the deposit be transferred to another cruise later?

2- If there is a huge special (better than the 50$ deposit per person) happening by the final payment date, is it possible to apply it?

Been able to do both on NCL in the past but wondering if it is the same for Carnival.

Thank all.

My first choice would be Royal Carribean and second Norwegian. I have done both and entertainment is better imo on Royal but with older crowd. Norwegian is younger and food is better imo. If you take Norwegian outside of spring break or school break, usually kid crowd is very low. Just came back (Dec. 16 to 23) on a Norwegian cruise and there was for sure less than 100 kids onboard but the crowd was also younger (lots of 20-30)

Hi everyone,

Not a first time cruiser (3 cruises done) but I did not know where to post this. I see a lot of people getting OBC with travel agents and the 2 cruises I booked with a TA I got nothing more than what was offered directly from the cruise company. I live in Montreal, Canada. Anyone have a TA in that region that offers good deals or online TA? There is costco but anything else?

Thanks all

Jonathan

WOW everyone thank you for the great suggestions. I finally went and reserved the Intercontinental New Orleans which I got at 157 CAD including breakfast for 2 people. Cancelled the Hilton which I had reserved. Will Uber from the hotel to the cruise port.

Thank you all again for your great feedback. Love this community.

Jonathan

Hi everyone,

We are taking a cruise on December 16 on the Breakaway from New Orleans. We will be me, my girlfriend and our 2 kids (7 and 10). We will arrive on the 14 in NO and want to visit NO on the 15th before the cruise. We were thinking about taking the bus hop-on hop-off.

I have reserved to the Hilton Riverside due to a good price but some reviews say it is outdated. Anyone been there? If not really good, which hotel do you recommend. Only restriction would be to be in the same area and to be able to walk to the terminal (less than 20 min walk if possible).

Thanks all

Jonathan

Hi everyone,

We will be cruising on the Breakaway in December and will do so with 2 kids (7 and 10). We are looking at doing paddle board in Harvest Caye and glass bottom boat and snorkeling in Costa Maya. We are wondering if for both there is lifejackets available for the kids. Anybody knows?

Thanks

Jonathan

Thanks for your input! I am looking forward to our Royal Caribbean cruise and seeing how they compare with Princess. We booked them because they had a great deal on the 4 day Bahamas cruise and we have never been to the Bahamas (except for the Private Island owned by Princess).

We cruised with NCL and RCL.

What we liked better on RCL:

- Shows (aquashow and ice show)

- Pools (more and bigger so less crowded)

- Excursions

What we liked better on NCL:

- Friendliness of staff

- Waterwalk (we can sit at a bar and be very close to the ocean)

- Buffet (went once on RCL and was well enough) and sitting outside to eat

There is on each cruise line everything for everyone. My parents prefer HAL over Norwegian... depends on the mood.

I do not have a huge experience having sailed NCL Getaway (will sail Breakaway in December) and Oasis of the Sea. These are our observations and why we are coming back to NCL and will probably stick to them if we find the right itinerary with them:

1- You do not really see the ocean on the Oasis. Waterfront on NCL is a huge plus for us being able to sit there with the kids, eat at one of the restaurant that has direct view with the sea and outside.

2- Rooms are similar, finding NCL bathroom a little bit smaller. However, find the steward much nicer in NCL. Called the RCL steward 2 times later in the night (around 8-9PM) and never got an answer (just 1 of each so RCL might just be one off).

3- Entertainment is more ''grandiose'' on RCL. However, there is so much that we found out that we rarely had any nights off to relax wanting to do everything.

4- Food: We feel that the MDR food is similar in both but the buffet food much better on NCL. Also, service in NCL was faster and more personal than being on RCL. Had dinner on RCL MDR that lasted 2hrs... which is not the best with young kids. Also, eating outside in the buffet is a plus for us.

5- Pools, slides and activities: Close call but our kids preferred NCL (waterslides). However, pools on NCL are really small compared to RCL.

6- Crowd control: similar with both. However, more kids on NCL than RCL. Passengers were as friendly with kids on both.

7- Perks: Like a lot the perks for NCL. For example, we have the Breakaway in December out of NOLA with drinks, specialty dining, 250min internet and 50$ credit for excursion per stops for 3,800 CAD. Had Oasis out of Port Canaveral for 3,600 CAD without anything else... similar but having the drinks included is a nice one.

Overall both are goods, but we found out that being able to walk on the waterfront, dining on the waterfront and seeing more ocean is better for us. We do not hate RCL, but prefer RCL for the moment.

What is usually the latest they let the people disembark? Does it get crowded and jammed if you leave at the end of the disembarkation process? I would prefer to spend my morning on the boat than waiting for a flight to Newark in the airport :)

Hi Everyone,

We will be on the cruise out of New Orleans from December 16 to 23 and have a flight booked to leave at 14h00. From the people that are cruising from New Orleans, how is usually disembarkation? I know this will be the first time NCL have a big ship in New Orleans but just wondering if we should just take the walk off very early or if we take it casual and disembark around 9-10AM.

Thanks

Jonathan

For the people that wishes to bring straws on-board, please take biodegradable ones. Amazon sell pack of 100 for 10-14 CAD and it will be good for the environment. This is what I will do so my kids can have straws for their drinks.