JMCruiser111

forgot to mention- we paid for everything after the dives with credit card, no issues. We had 2 dives, 1030 am then 1 PM. Dives took about 1-1.5 hrs overall from suiting up to taking gear off. We had 2 others join our group who were staying on the island.

Just an update after our cruise:

Overall great experience with Blue Bay. Excellent communication pre-trip, I even emailed 1 night prior to finalize requests and they replied even though it was close to midnight!

We arranged transportation through them- 50% cheaper than taxi. Paid 30$ for round trip pick up for 4. However, they used seemingly a private pick up truck so if more than 4 may not be possible. They met us outside pier, at 10 am then left the resort at 3 PM.

Dive shop was good, equipment fair, and dive masters very good and friendly. They worked around 2 of us being certified and one missing just the checkout dives, so technically discover, but able to come on same dive (with his own dm).

beach/resort was great too for nondivers. nice beach but coral- need aqua shoes really. There is $8 fee for lounger for non divers. the only hitch to this trip was the annoying woman collecting said fee- per dive shop, no need for divers to pay this (we were not spending any time lounging anyway)- but they argued with the woman for a while because she would not back off and compromised to pay $12 for all 4 of us (3 divers, 1 nondiver). did not make sense to me but wanted it to be settled. Did not end up buying anything but there was restaurant on site. cannot comment on pricing. Get there early, all the loungers under palm trees are taken quickly. very few umbrellas, so hard to find shade if coming late.

Lastly, we dove in 2 sites- coral garden and the wall. Coming from Bonaire, this was a slight let down both in the abundance of fish and coral - a lot more dead coral here. But still found a lot of interesting things, including a large moray eel as you begin the descent to coral garden. Few lion fish, some bigger fish deeper but could not make out - tarpon? Overall still enjoyed a lot.

Let me know if any questions.

Same for us. They could only get the lobster delivered in St. Marteen

Thanks for the info. Will have to ask early on then- less incentive to dress up for a second time!

Do they still serve (free) lobster on 2nd formal night?

thank you very very much!

I will be on Aug 19 sailing. will report back. we arranged for transportation through blue bay too, they quoted 7.5 per person roundtrip, which is cheaper than taxi for 4 and no worry about them coming back to pick us up.

thanks for the compasses! glad you had a great time! enjoyed your review

Thanks for this review!

This is our exact itinerary coming up soon. Do you remember what days were formal night? Also do you happen to have the cruise compasses by any chance?

Thanks everyone I will look into roll call posts! Thanks for the email add too Bob.

@BillOH - I inquired with VIP diving too- however, the scuba excursion went on sale during this last cruise planner sale and was only $134 for 2-tank dive with rental- seemed too good to pass up!

Interestingly, I inquired with several operators, and Buddy Dive replied to me that they are "working together with the ship" and to inquire with the activity desk. Does that mean they are contracted with Royal? I tried to ask specifically but they would not give more info except to ask the activity desk. Hopeful it means they are the operators as I have read good things about them.

Hello,

I apologize in advance if this has been asked, but I did not see an answer on my search.

I am looking into ship excursions, but the detail available on the cruise planner is limited. On other posts here I see they are able to identify in advance the contractors that the ship uses- how do you find this information? For example, I booked a ship scuba excursion for Bonaire but I would like to know who they use for this so I can ask more questions.

Thanks!

Great review! following

Hi,

Will be in Curacao in Aug 2017 - group of 4 with 2 divers, 2 non divers. Trying to find a beach for both to do- and Blue bay came up in my research. Does anyone have any experiences, tips, comments regarding Blue bay? How hard is it to get a taxi going back? Is it a good beach for nondivers? Also if anyone has actually done a shore dive your input would be great!

We are planning to stay at beach from 9 am - 1 or 2 pm then back to ship, then tour Curacao in PM, will be in port from 8AM-8PM.

Thanks in advance! posted this on scuba boards too but no response yet.

Has anyone here tried scuba diving at Blue Bay in Curacao? Trying to find a beach where we can shore dive, that will still be good for our non-diver companions. I hear the snorkeling here is decent but what about scuba?

Thanks in advance!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2506497

 

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Following this thread, but I dont think itinerary is the same, it has St Maarten/Aruba/Curacao/St Kitts.

Mainly interested in flowrider times.

thanks in advance for posting compasses, i will be on the lookout!

Looking for same itinerary. siriuscruiser, do you mind posting your compass after your trip in case no one else does?

Thanks!

another quick question- which side of the ship are the smoking areas, port or starboard? thanks!

thanks so much for this review!! going on your leg#2 cruise in August- would really appreciate it if you can post compasses from those also, or at least the flowrider schedule for your next leg!

thanks again and enjoy your cruise

Were you going to do the scuba in Cozumel? My dad and brother were also going to, but that got cancelled.

 

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Yes, Cozumel. Too windy for small scuba boats to leave out of Caleta Marina. Thought about moving to a beach but decided to enjoy a quiet ship with all the kids off the boat. Turned out to be great- saw the hot tubs empty for the first time. Only downside- this was day 4, and the bars had run out of everything by then.

Next time try stand up- I find it actually hurts less than boogie boarding when you wipe out!

I love to surf on the flowrider. I was wondering if you could tell me if the lines were long for stand up surfing on it. I assume they would be in the afternoon sessions since the college kids would be out on it, but the mornings would have not been bad since many of them sleep in late since they were out late the night before. Is this accurate in your observations?

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, opinions, and photos.

I was on this same sailing and we pretty much planned the whole cruise around the flowrider times, especially as our scuba excursion got canceled. You are correct, in the morning, no lines at all. My DH and I were practically the only ones present for advanced surfing- and this is only our 2nd flowrider cruise (know enough to push ourselves off and stand on board for 1-2 minutes). No best of the best on schedule at all. The last day was cut short a few minutes by an accident on stand up too. This was the only upside we could see to cruising at spring break - all the college students were off getting their first mimosas/tequila shots as early as 8 AM!

Hi everyone,

I know this is going to be subjective but I am torn between these 2 cruise options, and would like to hear input from those who have been to these ports. We only have 1 available week to cruise in August (19-27) due to work. My priority is to have at least one, hopefully 2 good ports for scuba diving (we are PADI open water certified). Was looking at Adventure OTS on 8/19 which goes to St Maarten and ABC islands - great itinerary! However, with the sale on Oasis (Nassau, St Thomas, St Maarten) just last night, the price for an interior on adventure will be $200 more expensive than the neighborhood balcony guarantee on Oasis! We have already sailed on Oasis once, and liked it, and Navigator which we like a little less, but as long as there is a flowrider we have no strong preferences about the ship.

So the questions are:

1) Is the scuba diving decent on St Thomas? Not comparable to Bonaire probably, but would you scuba there?

2) Do you think the itinerary on Adventure is worth the price difference?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts on the matter!

JM

Finally got through after a little over two hours!

 

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did you get oceanview balcony guarantee or neighborhood?

where did you see the oceanview balcony? on the website and on phone with rep, only neighborhood balcony guarantee is available :(

Tried to get central park window on 9th floor for random SOS sailing in Feb and March-- sold out per my TA and also online!! is this true or do they hold back certain cabins to be released later?

Thanks! I recall reading about that cruise, yikes! Definitely give her another try! We sailed last on Navigator out of Galveston and had a great cruise

 

 

 

 

Have a great cruise! Are you doing the 5 night sailing? I'll post the compasses when I get home if anyone is interested in seeing them

 

 

 

Yes, they were!

 

 

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I am interested in the compasses if you have them! Thanks!

Also, did you get a chance to see if lobster was served in MDR on last night? Trying to plan when to do specialty dining.

Two lines, about 8-10 deep for boogie boarding...but I would imagine it would be safe to double that if you are on a spring break cruise. We were on a 5 day Nav cruise over spring break once, and there were 1200 passengers under the age of 25. The demographic is pretty different on this sailing

 

 

 

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Thanks for this! hoping the stand-up line is not too bad as it will not be divided into two. Excellent pictures, loving the review!