lovecaribbean6179

This sounds very simple to do.  This will be the first time we are off on our own vs. doing cruise ship excursions.  I guess I was a little nervous and wasn't sure how to proceed.   Thank you so much for answering my question.  Have a super week.

Thank you for your response rjrpar.  Would love to spend more time at VCB, but husband has a medical condition that prevents that.  As first time to Antigua, just need to know how to get from cruise ship to Valley Church beach.  Did you just hail a taxi?

Hello fellow cruisers!  We are arriving into Antigua on Symphony of the Seas on 2 Jan 2024.  RCCL offers no shore excursions of interest.  My husband and I just want to spend 3-4 hours at Valley Church Beach that day.  I don't know whether to grab a taxi when we get off ship or arrange a private tour to stop at several beaches.  

Appreciate any suggestions....Thank you and have a blessed day.

Cindi from Missouri

Happy 4th Fellow Cruisers!  

Stay Safe and Well.

Hate to hear this Carolyn.  Our Phase I has been extended until Jun 15th.  

6 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Do your research and if interested,  you need to reserve ahead of time because of very limited capacity.

Copy that.

8 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Short report from Michigan... cases have gone steadily down, % positives also down in most areas.  We're likely to get some more freedom to move around soon.  Some aren't waiting... like two big Native American casinos.  Both the Soaring Eagle and Firekeepers are opening up on Monday.  They're on Native land, so strictly speaking they don't have to abide by the state's rules and regulations.  Most of the announced restrictions aren't too surprising for either - half of slots turned off, limited capacity at table games, temperature scans on entry, lots of hand sanitizer stations, no poker, no valet, no shuttle buses, buffet and some other restaurants closed, masks required.  A couple of things that caught my eye are no indoor smoking either place and a split in bingo policy - Firekeepers is keeping it closed, while the Eagle plans to run it.

 

You can read the details at soaringeaglecasino.com and https://firekeeperscasino.com/about/slotocc/

Yay Michigan.  Glad to hear your cases are going down.  

Just listened to the news last night for the St. Louis/St. Louis County area cases, they are going down also. St. Louis Task Force advised us to not get complacent.  Just keep doing what we have been doing (i.e. social distancing, masks, etc.).  It is encouraging news.

14 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Aruba suggestion.  Trikes Aruba. 3 wheeled automatic  chopper style motorcycle tour.  Fantastic

Appreciate it.  Will make a note of it.  Have a great day.

1 hour ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Half the people in our group did that Aruba by Land & Sea excursion while we did the submarine. Theirs was the one where you climb down into the hull of the boat and look out windows, but don't actually submerge. They said it was terrible. They didn't see anything good. We were going to do that one, but then I saw the submarine tour, so we picked that instead. The submarine was definitely the right choice. Every time I thought it was over, it kept going. We spent about 50 minutes underwater. They'd skim along one reef, then turn around and go the other way so the other side of the sub could see. We went right alongside a sunken ship and a different part of the reef. He also took us to the sea floor...141 ft. at our deepest point. We're definitely gonna do it again, even if it's Aruba again.

 

If you've never been to Amber Cove, I recommend the cable car (Teleferico) to the top of Mt. Isabel de Torres. It's only about a 15 minute taxi ride from the port. The taxi was only $60 round trip for four of us and the cable car was $10/ea. The view is amazing and there's some nice level hiking trails through the jungle up there (with a handful of steps). If you go, go early because cloud cover moves in by late morning and it blocks the view, but still a great time. We went as soon as we got to port and were back by lunchtime.

Wow.  Thank you so much for another wonderful suggestion.  I will make a note of both your ideas and make sure not to do the Aruba by Land & Sea one.  Have a great evening.

Cindi

11 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

We just did a similar itinerary on the Horizon in March, except no Amber Cove. Grand Turk was supposed to be our first stop, but we got Nassau instead because GT had strengthened their COVID regulations. If you're not claustrophobic, I highly recommend the Atlantis Submarine excursion in Aruba. It's outstanding! And as a bonus, you get a 15 minute boat ride (each way) before & after the submarine tour.

 

Thank you so much for the suggestion.  Husband and I had booked the Atlantis Submarine tour in Cozumel two years ago but it was cancelled due to water conditions.  Hopefully we can try again in Aruba.

14 hours ago, KeithsKelly said:

lovecaribbean6197 we saw this as well.  Hubs and I live in St. Louis, but are fortunate enough to have a place on Lake of the Ozarks.  We were down there most of last week, but came home on Wednesday evening.  For us, being at the lake house is still social distancing, just a change of scenery.  We stay home, cook at home, eat at home, etc.  We're also fortunate that our cove only has 7 homes.  We can "socialize with the neighbors" by talking loudly from deck to deck or dock to dock while still being 20-30 feet apart.

 

We saw other footage last night of a bar called Backwater Jack's, that was incredibly packed.  It's an establishment that we haven't been to for a couple years as we've always had rude service there.  While I was surprised by the amount of people, I was not surprised by the bar they were at.

 

 

Hello to you from across the river.  Yep, Backwater Jack's footage is what made the news.  Husband and I like the Lake of the Ozarks and usually rent a condo for four days.  Glad you have a place there to get away and recharge and that your cove only has 7 homes.  

Stay safe.

Booked on Horizon next May 2021 to Aruba, Curacao, La Romana and Amber Cove.

Saw on local news that the Party Cove at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri jam packed with boats, no social distancing and no masks.  Guess they think it's back to normal.  

My heart goes out to RWolver672 in Michigan.  Please know that I will be in prayer for those who were evacuated. 

I share ladylan915's concern that as quarantine orders get lifted, social distancing is going to go out the window.  Here in Missouri the majority of the people are wearing masks and doing social distancing; however, there are always those who feel laws don't apply to them and that they are immune to the virus.  Our governor has not mandated wearing masks because he feels it is not the government's place to enforce that; he leaves it up to the individual to decide.  

This social distancing is hard because I am a people person, love giving hugs, shaking hands, etc.  But, I am doing my part to keep my family safe believing this too shall pass.  

Stay safe everyone.

Cindi    

Our Missouri governor opened up some of the state on May 4th.  I live in St. Charles County where some businesses opened at 25% capacity.  A lot of restaurants continue to offer curbside pickup and delivery.  One popular restaurant in St. Charles was bombarded by customers on May 5th.  People were not doing social distancing and gathering at the bar with way more than 10 people to a group.  They all told the owner "Hey it is good to get back to normal".  What they don't realize is that we have a new normal now.

I'm pretty much staying at home, venturing out for groceries, etc.  Enjoying gardening and catching up on reading.   I read cruise industry news daily.  The class action and wrongful death law suits keep piling up against the cruise lines.  It is my hope that by this fall the cruise lines will have gotten all their ducks-in-a-row and cruise experiences will be the best ever.  We have Mexican Riveria booked Oct of this year and hopefully, this one will happen.  

Stay safe everyone.

Greetings fellow cruisers from Missouri.

Only essential businesses open here (i.e. grocery store, pharmacy, etc.).  Last count, Missouri had 6,800 positive corona cases and about 280 deaths.  Wearing a mask and gloves into grocery and pharmacy has now become routine.  Nursing homes hit very hard here.  Some counties hardly have any cases and the governor will announce next week which counties might open up on May 4th.  I am thankful to all healthcare workers, first responders, truck drivers, grocery employees and many more.  

Was so looking forward to our cruise Apr 17th on Carnival to Mexican Riveria and have postponed that to Oct 31, 2020.  Have gotten very disgruntled with Carnival Corp and how they have handled everything since knowing about the virus.  I don't see how the cruise lines can expect to restart end of June.  They have to train all crew on new sanitation procedures, how to interact with guests (any hand shaking or hugs allowed, etc), stricter health screenings for guests and the list goes on.  That is a lot to accomplish in two short months.  Then, there is the question of whether the ports will allow the cruise lines to visit.  The CoronaVirus has certainly been a wake up call to many industries.

Bottom line, I love cruising and I pray and hope that all cruise lines get their act together and put their guests safety first before profit.  Looking forward to once again traveling the wide open seas.

Stay safe and healthy, 

We ended up doing the Island Tour & Beach Break in St. Maarten.  It was fab.  

Hello cruisers.  Doing Eastern Caribbean in May of 2019.  First time to this area.  Have been perusing excursions offered by Carnival.   Can't decide whether to do Old Town Philipsburg by Trolley Train and beach or Island tour & Beach Break with Lunch.  Both were recommended 100% by cruisers.

Appreciate any feedback.

Thanks for the info. Will do.

Our ship's first port is Grand Cayman in January of 2018. Have read a lot of threads regarding whether to go to Royal Palms Beach Club or Calico Jacks. In viewing pics of Calico Jacks, I see they have ample picnic tables with umbrellas to eat at but do they have chairs and umbrellas to rent and would you know the cost?? Royal Palms is another option and from what I've read the entry fee is $2 pp with chairs going for $10-12 pp plus umbrellas at $17 pp. Tiki Beach would be our third choice and the latest review on Trip Advisor said that the bar/restaurant was closed. Can anyone verify that?

I greatly appreciate any feedback.

We have done the Twister boat ride to Isla Pasion several times and booked it for our upcoming November cruise on Independence. It was removed from our excursions list by Royal Caribbean. I went to see why and it is no longer an option on the cruise planner. I also exited from my cruise and just looked at the excursions by port (unrelated to my sailing) and I don't see it as an option for Cozumel on any sailing. Did something happen to this company?

It is quite possible that it was removed from Royal Caribbean due to it being sold out. You might call Royal Caribbean and inquire.

We stayed In 9718 twice and had no issues whatsoever

This is great to hear. Thanks for taking the time to give your feedback.

Central Park isn't nearly as busy as the Boardwalk area...you'll be fine!

Thanks very much for your response. I feel more comfortable with the cabin I chose.

Fellow Cruisers.

I just put on hold Allure of the Seas Room 9198.

I have not been on a cruise since 2004. My in-laws planned that one. This is my first time planning one for my husband and I.

By looking at the deck plans I see Central Park is on the deck below and there are just rooms on the deck above.

I am a very light sleeper and am always concerned about noise.

Has anyone stayed in this room or had any issues with noise on Deck 9?

I greatly appreciate any feedback.

CAT:)