tja273

We did the Carnival excursion including these two stops in January. We had about two hours at the turtle farm. That was long enough for the quick (15 min) tour, some wandering around the site, lunch/snack at the bar/restaurant and some shopping before waiting for the return bus. If we wanted to swim in the lagoon with the turtles, we could have skipped the meal, but it had been a long time since breakfast. You may want to carry along some snack if you do both.

Obviously you could do this on your own, but I would expect trying to coordinate bus or texi rides may cut into your time. Also, keep in mind that Carnival excursions get priority getting off the ship, so you may have a wait longer for the tender if you book your own.

On 3/9/2019 at 11:06 AM, tja273 said:

In January on the Dream, they put a sticker on our S&S card the first time. Then, any time we went to use spa services, we traded our S&S for a spa access card. No wristbands. I wonder if those are only for people who buy a day pass. We were in a spa balcony. It was wonderful being so close to the spa and having full access. It never seemed very crowded.

Photo of sticker used in January on the Dream. Unless they have changged the process on the Dream in the last two months, you will get this on your S&S card, then trade your card in for a spa access card each time you visit.

In January on the Dream, they put a sticker on our S&S card the first time. Then, any time we went to use spa services, we traded our S&S for a spa access card. No wristbands. I wonder if those are only for people who buy a day pass. We were in a spa balcony. It was wonderful being so close to the spa and having full access. It never seemed very crowded.

I have only stayed in the upper balcony rooms. We haven't tried the cove. I enjoy being higher up on the ship. The view is better when near land or in port. We were last in a Spa Balcony which had us close to the spa and only one deck above the Lido deck for quick and easy access (no need for elevators!).

I keep my phone with me at all times, so I bought a phone case that also hold three cards. Usually, these are my ID, debit card and credit card. I swapped the debit card out for the S&S card during the cruise.

21 hours ago, crzndeb said:

I heard the internet on the Splendor is horrible.

Your best bet is to do whatever you need to do early in the morning. It seems the WiFi is much slower in the late afternoon and evening.

I was able to play Clash of Clans on our cruise with the premium WiFi, though it works better early in the day, as more people are on line in the evening.

When there in January, there was a line of buses at the port. They gave a choice of $7 one way or $20 for basically a hop-on/hop-off experience. They took us to a VERY touristy shop while they dropped another group at the beach (giving them a pickup time). We went to another more upscale shopping area, then we were dropped off on the hip strip while they went back for the beach goers. My wife and I went to Margaritaville for lunch. They said they would come by again at 2PM to pick up. They didn't. We called (they give you their card and most local shops will call them for you). Since they could not get back quickly due to traffic, they had another bus from their company pick us up and take us back to port.

So, it isn't really a hop on/hop off bus where there are many of them running a fixed loop. For $20, you get the one bus for the day (everyone gets a # sticker with that bus #). You can have some input where you go as long as it is local. If you have a fixed plan (i.e. I want to go to Doctor's Cave Beach or I want to spend the day on the Hip Strip), just take a bus or cab one way to your destination. Grab another for the same $7 to get back. If you are sure exactly where you want to go and want to try a few different places, the $20 is not a bad deal.

On 1/26/2019 at 11:03 AM, Oklahoma Cruiser 2012 said:

My question about this: if when you put it in your cart, it charges for both people, why can't both people be connected at the same time? If it's only one device at a time, should it not be a single charge, not x2?  Or am I seeing this wrong? 

When you put it in your cart, it is connected to one person. Look at your purchases for your trip. You'll see excursions under both names, but the wifi is only under one name. You CAN absolutely buy a second wifi package for the other person and it is assigned to them.

13 minutes ago, coevan said:

probably not if they dropped the Turner package

Beats me. We watched Friends some nights, so it was one of the cable channels. Maybe it was Nickleodeon, since that is the one we see it on at home.

I believe there was also the Cartoon Network.

They also have a movie channel showing a different group of 4-5 movies each day. If you catch the channel between movies, they have a schedule on the screen. I took a picture of these, since I otherwise would have no idea what movie was on if we switches to that channel.

The trick is that the log in is the ID # and birthdate for the person who ordered it. If she logs in and you are still connected, it will give her the option to disconnect you (convenient if you did didn't bother to log out; annoying if you are using it at the time.)

Though I didn't try it, I am told that if you both have iPhones, the iMessages work over wifi, BUT you could only send it when logged in, and she could only receive it when you are logged in. Okay if you both have a package. Otherwise, it is probably worth the $5 each for the Hub App messaging if you plan to be apart a lot and need to text.

25 minutes ago, BigCruze said:

That changed beginning of the year. 

On the Dream from 1/6 to 1/13 they had these channels. They also had TBS, I think.

You can see everything at the turtle farm in an hour if you don't plan to swim with them. 

FYI - Your GF really missed out on that steak. I had the Wagyu and it was incredible. My wife ordered the filet, but she kept stealing bites of my steak during dinner. We almost went back later in the week, but we enjoyed our dinners in the MDR (great waiters for us and a table for two tucked down in a semi-secluded area with only two other tables).

On 1/15/2019 at 5:37 PM, kctraveling said:

We stayed in room 7222...We had a few problems with our neighbors (smoking marijuana and cigarettes on the balcony)...

Ugh. We were a few floors up (11222) and could smell the smoke on our balcony, too. My wife is extremely sensitive to smoke, so there were several times she had to go inside instead of enjoy the balcony. We were never exactly sure where it was coming from.

On 1/19/2019 at 3:56 AM, bbtbear said:

I think the Pig & Anchor is only open on sea days

 

 

Correct. Pig & Anchor on the Dream is only open on sea days.

Pasta Bella, Burgers, Burrito Place, Pizza and the buffet (basically, everything on the Lido deck) would be open.