bubblegummermom

Looking to find port parking near Tampa in January 2020 and a reasonable hotel nearby as well.  Thanks for any input.

8 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Try magnets. 

I installed one of the cabinet magnets but I think it’s not enough!!  🙈

30 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

A surge protector will have a rating in Joules of energy, as well as the maximum voltage it can take from a power spike.  If you find those numbers either on the box it came it or on the strip itself, then it is a surge protector.

 

Unrelated note, the "lock" on the wardrobe doesn't look very effective. 

 

 

Yes the lock is definitely not effective but does the job of keeping that darn door closed! 😂😂🤪

Thank you everyone.  This is the response I needed to know, so I’m not bringing it.  A regular extension cord it is then.  Nancy 😎

Is this type of extension allowed in the cabins?  Thanks.

12 minutes ago, LrgPizza said:

Just arrive. You  might have to wait a few minutes if it's a prime time, but no big deal.  If you do, they'd give you a buzzer.

Thank you.  This is our first time so wasn't really sure what the protocol is!  😉  I did make just a few nights reservations and the rest we'll just wing it then.  Have a great day.   Nancy

Is it required to make nightly dinner reservations online at any of the main dining room, savor and taste?  Or can we just arrive without a reservation and still be seated.   Thanks.  Nancy

7 hours ago, bob brown said:

Check the Freestyle Daily...It will be listed there.   It will usually start at around 5:30 PM, last about a half hour to an hour, after which all who don't have other plans, are invited to join the group for dinner in one of the main dining rooms, where they have one or two large tables reserved....very nicely done.

Thanks for the response...we will be on the lookout !

2 minutes ago, arlodog said:

I think we gave him $10pp we may have given him $40.   Our friends may have tipped more.  We really had a great time.

  Enjoy your day!

Thanks.

2 minutes ago, arlodog said:

We just got back from our 4th tour with Victor Bodden tours.  We had a blast and would highly recommend the private tour.  We were a group of 5 and William was our driver.  He made sure that we were able to do everything we wanted and got us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare.  We were able to go and see the monkeys--our granddaughters favorite thing to do and all she had talked about for the past year!  We also got to hold sloths, zipline, spend a few hours at the beach and stop by the cameo factory. 

William had made arrangements for us to go snorkeling while we were at the beach, but the wind came up unexpectedly. He alerted us to the changing wind conditions and even walked down the beach and got our money back so we could enjoy our lunch.  Exceptional customer service as always from this company.  Highly recommend!  

We are using victor Bodden this January.  Looking forward to our tour.  Can I ask how much tip u gave.

24 minutes ago, Stmar said:

Our ship gets in at noon, we will have 8 hours in port so should have plenty of time to enjoy the beach break. Post your experiences like Bubblegummermom is going to do. You can't have too much info.

Our ship gets in at 8am and departs at 5 so definitely enough time for me to spend there.

On 9/16/2018 at 9:00 PM, c-leg5 said:

 

There is always some seagrass.

 

There may/may not be a lot of sargassum.

Jaime responded to my question about sea grass and he said absolutely none in January.  January is a beautiful time to visit he said as well.

Just booked Blue Reef for my husband and I in January. We'll be sailing on MSC Seaside. My only concern is that the ship gets in at noon and leaves at 6pm. Looks close enough to the port though. We're always up for an adventure.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

One caveat: are you flying to Tampa? If so, you now will need the newer "real i.d." driver's license (or a passport/passport card for domestic air travel.

 

And, of course, not having a passport in any international location, where some personal emergency may require flying home to the U.S., is a "pennywise/pound foolish" risk.

As a result of the REAL ID Act, new airline travel restrictions will take effect in 2018 for U.S. citizens traveling by air domestically. The REAL ID Act establishes minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards and prohibits federal agencies, like TSA, from accepting licenses and identification cards for official purposes from states that do not meet these standards. Beginning January 22, 2018, guests with driver’s licenses or state IDs issued by states that are not in compliance with the REAL ID Act and have not been granted an extension by DHS may not use these forms of identification to fly within the US. If the state is in compliance, guests may continue to use state-issued driver’s license or ID for domestic air travel only if your state has been granted an extension to the compliance deadline by DHS.

Guests should take this into consideration when planning travels for their cruise.

To find out if your state is in compliance, please*click here.

https://www.dhs.gov/real-id

For more information, including other acceptable forms of identification, please*click here.

https://www.dhs.gov/real-id

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

We always do private excursions

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

I am so amazed to see people are still using Peat Taylor as a guide. We've used him twice in the past once on a cruise stop and once while staying at an All Inclusive. We love Jamaica. Could the person who used him post his current contact information for me? We may use him again when we go on our anniversary cruise.

Peat Taylor info

We're making our second visit to Jamaica this winter. We did Dunn's River Falls and Raggae Hill first time. It was a blast! Looking forward to river tubing and Bamboo Beach this time around. Beautiful island and delicious food. Go and enjoy!

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

We r staying at the Whitney hotel on poydras street this coming January and rates were reasonable...first time in new Orleans.

http://www.whitneyhotel.com

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

Sorry I thought I was on the roll call for my cruise so we won't be sharing a cab, lol. We will be there in February.

 

Tipping? Of course depends on the experience but figure 15 or 20 percent which would be 10 bucks at Blue Reef. I carried around a pocket full of $1's for tipping in the past but now those are replaced with $5's, a sign of the times.

Make sure you post your experience. Since you will be there just before us it would be interesting/helpful.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

I've used Peat Taylor twice and loved him but lost his contact information.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

We came off the carnival Miracle... it was our very first self booked excursion. We were a little nervous about the meeting site when we got the initial email on instructions of where to meet. But it was actually very easy to get to, and exactly how it was described. We were then given a private guide “Jorge” and he brought us to the ziplining and the farm in an air conditioned car. As we drove to the site, Jorge would talk about the different places we would pass by, such as schools, groceries, and sights. The ziplining site was extraordinary. We were given different guides at the ziplining, who guided us from one zip line to the next. They showed us a great time! Roatan is beautiful, especially when seen from above. The farm which is in the same property as the ziplining had the monkey, parrots, and my children’s favorite-the sloths! A different guide showed us around the farm and gave us the opportunity to be close to the animals there... if a particular animal was not safe, we were not allowed to enter that cage. Got some great pictures! After, we were taken to the beach which was beautiful. Jorge gave us a couple of hours to enjoy at the beach and he returned to take us back to the ship. We arrived with 1 hr to spare, enough to do a little window shopping and take more pictures at the cruise plaza. This excursion was packed with so many new experiences that we are grateful to Jorge for taking us around. One thing we were not expecting were the multiple guides. The unexpected amount of tips required to cover each and every guide left us with less money left for shopping and hungry for food at the beach. FYI- you will be assigned a main driver guide (1), ziplining guides (3), and farm guide (1) , plus photographs that their photographer takes for you ($20/optional). But was still a wonderful excursion!

Nancy

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

Just to ask....we r visiting blue reef in january wanted to find out tipping policy? What is the norm?

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

Which did you book; Maya Chan or Blue Reef?

Now all I have to do is figure out where the short cut to the taxis is located, lol. Supposedly there is an exit before you get to the shops but it is hard to find.

Should be a link to the cruise port in Costa maya...if not I have attached a pic. Hope its helpful.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

Which did you book; Maya Chan or Blue Reef?

Now all I have to do is figure out where the short cut to the taxis is located, lol. Supposedly there is an exit before you get to the shops but it is hard to find.

If U decide Jamie’s, do u want to share a cab? It’s just me and daughter.

Which did you book; Maya Chan or Blue Reef?

Now all I have to do is figure out where the short cut to the taxis is located, lol. Supposedly there is an exit before you get to the shops but it is hard to find.

Blue reef 😎

Directions from Jaime...

When you get to the port go pass all the port facilities and proceed to go outside the port to get a yellow cab. The taxis have recently changed the pricing policy. The taxi ride to town is now $8 per taxi. Most taxis can take up to 4 people, some can take more. There are many other guests from the cruise ship coming into the town of Mahahual. Everyone queues up to wait for the taxis at the same place. We suggest you find others from the ship to share a taxi with you if you are a party less than four people. We will refund $1 per person due to this additional expense. Tell the driver to take you to the blue reef hotel and beach club, there are a few cab drivers that are new so they might not know how to get here but it is easy, just tell them to take you to EL HOTEL EL FUERTE, we are just about 70 feet from the HOTEL EL FUERTE , when you get here at your drop off we are about 60 feet from the drop off towards the beach, you will see all the signs that say Blue Reef beach club, we are the only beach club with yellow beach lounge chairs you can’t miss it, we are about 9 min from the port,however we will be waiting for you at the drop off with a staff member with a T- Shirt with our logo, Jaime’s at the Blue Reef. Please let us know if you have any other questions. We are happy to help.