workinmom3

Will be in Bermuda on Sept 1 on Explorer. We only have 1 day & have never been. We have 3 previous cruises under our belts & would feel comfortable navigating on our own from what I've read about Bermuda. Was thinking we would head to Horseshoe & then back to the Dockyard. Should we rethink our day & get a tour since we have never been to Bermuda before?

Chrystal:

 

I imagine things have changed a tad in MoBay now. This was spring break in the late 90's before 9/11.

 

It was a blast, flying air Jamaica when they had paper coupons for free drinks (lol). Doctors Cave Beach was free & spring break was in full effect!!! Beach parties w/music & wet t shirt contests. We'd wake up everyday & trot over to the beach...by the third day we'd hear cries of "Heeeeer cuuuum the Nuuuyaaaawkers Dem"! It was so cool, crazy & organic. My photo album is full of crazy JA "day in the life" shots. The beach party even continued on some nights. Some of those same people we met on that beach in MoBay I encountered again on my second trip...in of all places Ocho Rios :p.

 

Now If your into Jerk I'm sure sctch. should fit your bill, cause Jamaica by far has the best Jerk hands down (I'm vegan now, but I remember the hot sauce...pace yourselves please.... stuff is dangerous...& the festival bread that went along with it). Back then the place to be was the Pork Pit & I'm not even sure if the current location is the original, as I heard tales that an unfortunate fire had claimed it when I went down for my second visit, later on with my son (base camp was Ocho that time).

 

Thanks again for the your wonderful review & if my family books the Allure I'll be sure to let you know.

 

-Karen

OMG! The festivals were the best. My family still talks about them 5 yrs later! I have tried to make them at home but just not the same as eating them on beautiful Reggae Beach

Great review...I've just spent the last couple of hours reading the entire thing! We sailed on Liberty in 2010 & loved it. We did a 7 day Eastern out of Miami. Looking at all your beautiful pictures brought back lots of great memories. Of course, there was no screen by the pool or cupcake shop then.

I am originally from Cranbury so I know exactly where Plainsboro is. Still have family in Cranbury & Hightstown. My grandfather's farm was sold so they could put exit 8A in. Of course that was way before my time, but my mother points it out when we go by.

On another subject, we used Marva Shaw back in 2007 when we sailed to Ocho Rios on Enchantment. We had a wonderful day with her. No one else booked her so my family of 4 had a private day. After doing Dunns & tubing down a river, she took us to a "local" jerk shack where we got to go orders & then she drove us to Reggae beach. We were almost the only ones there & we sat at a picnic table & ate our lunch while drinking Red Stripes. I would hope Marva is still doing tours & I would think she would drive to Falmouth for you. You will have a great day.

Thanks again for posting your review....helps pass the time until our 10 night Explorer cruise Aug 30 to celebrate our 25th anniversary.

I was looking at some deck plans & had a question about the Island Grill. Is this just an extension of the Windjammer with the same food? Is there any difference in the offerings or advantages of sitting in 1 place or the other?

The Windjammer was always so crowded on our Liberty cruise, I think we only did lunch on embarkation day & 1 other breakfast. Found the breakfast in the MDR was great & much less crowded. Just wondering how the Windjammer will be on Explorer.

I'm excited that I've finally figured out how to post pictures and to celebrate this new skill, wanted to share my favorite picture of the Explorer in Labadee last month.

 

 

and here is one of our fine young captain.

Your picture of Explorer in Labadee is beautiful. I hope you don't mind but I saved it & now it's my phone's wallpaper. Counting down to my 1st cruise on her.

166 until 25th anniversary cruise on

Explorer!

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The balconies on Explorer are built into the megastructure as opposed to outside of it. I imagine the metal bottom on deck six has something to do with this. The metal bottom will make ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE to your enjoyment. Those clear bottoms are often times not all that clear anyway. We had a deck six hump cabin and LOVED it. I'm sure you will too.

Thanks for the info. I kept it the same. I've always heard "Hump" cabins are nice. I can upgrade to a D2 for only $60. Over the 10 nights, that's hardly anything. Good choices on both deck 7 & 8. Why I obsess about these things.....

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for 20 - yes - a little more space but makes a difference - stay away from deck 6 if you mind metal bottom on the balcony other decks are plexi glass

We just booked 6616 on the hump. This will be only our 2nd balcony. 1st was on deck 6 of Liberty so I assumed they would be the same. Since this is a little smaller ship is that why the metal bottoms? Does it really make that much of a difference?

Another vote for Trollbeads!

Another vote for Trollbeads!

We are sailing on 7/25 & chose 6616 & 6618. When we booked we had those cabins or 2 on deck 7 that were a little farther forward. We weren't sure about being 1 deck above the lifeboats & we thought about changing, but the great rate we got went up very quickly & we had to stick w/our original choice. It's our 1st balcony & we got a great price for a summer cruise, so I'm just excited to be cruising.

Sandals Regency is about 2 miles from the port in Castries. (it is the closest of the 3 Sandlas resorts in St Lucia) It is a great resort. There are also 7 restaurants on property. Highly recommend.

We just booked 7/25/10 - Eastern. So excited...it will be almost 3 yrs since our cruise on Enchantment. 1st time on Freedom class.

Any experience with E1 rooms on 6th deck??

We did the 5 day to Cayman & Ocho Rios in September and had a great time. Formal night was on Sunday. (The 1st day at sea). Hope you have a great time.

Just back from Enchantment on Thursday. We had a wonderful time.

We cruised to Cayman & Jamaica & we did push our clocks back on the ship 1 hour so we would be on "island time". The night we left Cayman, we pushed them back forward. It was nice to get the extra hour of sleep, but not so good to lose it again!!!

They did have water shoes & I think they were around $19.99!! I paid $4.84 for ours at Walmart. They may still have some lurking around in their clearance shoes.

We are a family of 4 & when we made our ressies no one at RCCL asked about our dining table size, only which seating we preferred. We would like to be with other people. Should I call them & request a large table, or since there are already 4 of us, do you think that they will just put us with some other people?

Great idea to start this thread. We will be cruising 9/15/07. Hate to ask another dress code/dining room question, but here goes. I have a 16 yr old daughter & I was wondering if denim capris (no rips/distressing) are appropriate for the dining room. I know it says no shorts, but what about nice bermudas? I figured they are not all that different from capris. All of our dinners are listed as casual w/the exception of the 1 formal night. Just trying to make sure she has enough "appropriate" stuff to wear.

Can't wait until September!!!