joyandjerry

7 hours ago, jsglow said:

 

Alaska ~ Princess or HAL, they 'own' the market, have incredible lodges for the land tour portion and have grandfathered access to Glacier Bay NP.

 

Europe ~ at a minimum, I would certainly either Embark/Disembark in Europe, only using the TA leg as an end-cap on a B2B. 

Ooh, doing a TA as part of a B2B is a really inspired idea! And, yeah, I already narrowed the Alaska thing to Princess or HAL. Princess seems to have better access to their trains and lodges, with less travel time. But I realize that is another thread, and your help here is greatly appreciated.

1 hour ago, jsglow said:

#1137 is under the Piazza Cafe, simply a seating area where they often do trivia in the daytime. At night it's dead silent. Never heard a peep. I hope you find a cabin you are happy with.

Yes, thank you! I noted that on the plans. Being across the hall can make a difference. The stateroom that we had noise problems from inebriated pax at the bars singing into the wee hours was only a few doors down from a cabin in which we stayed the year before that was silent.

Cruisers are the greatest - always so happy to help! OT, but my next big trip questions will be dealing with Alaska (would like a long land/sea tour) and additionally if it is more efficient to cruise Europe from a European port or embark in the US. One would have to get to the European city a few days ahead (to be well rested) to deal with a port intensive itinerary. Lots more research!

11 hours ago, jsglow said:

No, 45 days. 😆

And I've personally been in 1137 directly across the hall. No problem.

Thanks, I misread that. It looks like1137 is under some bar areas. I have bionic hearing and am concerned that would bother me. Should have booked when cabins were available under MDR. Others will likely be available in the coming months.

1 hour ago, jsglow said:

We're huge Deck #1 fans having been there for all of our 45 days aboard Pride in Europe and on Journeys. They are fantastic for port intensive itineraries. No, you don't know what's directly below you but that's never been a problem for us in an Oceanview.  We do pay attention to what's adjacent and above and make sure we're not under the casino. Typically we've been starboard forward and it's been great. Enjoy. 

Wow, 45 sailings on her! I did a courtesy hold on 1135, but likely will not go through with that as it is across from (not under) the Red Frog Pub and Sports Bar. My pref is cabins on all sides. Although once on RCCL, we were right next to the MDR (same deck) and never heard a peep.

Jerry and I are sailing on the Pride to Bermuda in October and are thinking of doing B2B cruises to do the 14 day Journeys Southern Caribbean itinerary also. We did it last year and loved it. The TAs in my small town don't seem to know much more than I do, with many cruises under my belt. The only rooms left now (although I check daily) are on deck 1, Riviera. I have read the dry dock replaced the dance lounge with more rooms. We are fine with an inside cabin: our only concern would be noise, as I cannot see what is directly under each cabin.  We always get cabins above and below, as once we had (even after telling the TA we wanted quiet) a cabin under a bar. It actually was on the Pride, and the cabin they wanted to move us to upon complaint had clunky engine noises (to me) and so we stayed put. There must be a reason that so many cabins are left on 1, but we are fine with being as low as possible. Not once have we taken an elevator, and walk the steps (1 to 10) daily 4-5 times for exercise, plus run, left weights, etc., so our only concern is sleeping.

I am going to call CCL and see if any other rooms are available. Letting the cruise line pick our rooms is out of the question. Any experience or input is greatly appreciated!

5 hours ago, jean87510 said:

you will have no issues then.

 

We have 1 checked suitcase devoted to our snorkeling stuff including a weight belt, tent, free diving fins...  It really is not that much extra room if just mask, pipe and fins.  We use dish detergent in a small bottle to defog.  It is so much nicer to have your own.  I gave up nice shoes and nice clothes years ago to make room.

 

Yes, age thing is started to affect some bookings so we just lie now.

Be nice to meet someone from our "tribe" on a cruise someday! I swam quite a bit many years ago, so it is no problem. We never pack dressy clotin, as we are there for the ports not to eat in the dining room, which is generally very slow service. The cruise lines have your age on record with your booking, so one cannot lie about it to them.

16 hours ago, jean87510 said:

We were at the beach club next to the Boatyard.  Someone at the beach club told us where to swim out to.  We have our own equipment.  

 

We just swam 3/4 mile in Bora Bora against a strong current to snorkel in the Aquarium and Husband is 60 while I'm 59.  The Barbados swim is nothing compared to that.  Really easy.  Just have a buoy!  And make sure if you are not in shape or not a strong swimmer to wear a snorkeling vest or maybe not do it.  Husband is a free diver and a triathlete.  I am a long distance swimmer and run every day and hike.  

Thanks for the info. We never got our own equipment, as it is rather bulky to pack. Apparently the four of us are atypical cruise ship pax. Jerry and I both exercise daily. I run and lift weights, plus stair walk. Jerry is exceptionally fit at 70 and rides an exercise bike at a high intensity daily, plus lifts weights.  (We have a gym a True bike and treadmill.) I am 64 and many of the cruise ship excursions cap age participation. We did the Mt Pimard  hike in St Lucia several weeks ago, and others much younger than us in another group had to drop out halfway. Booking was through SEG. RCCL capped the age limit at 63, and the hike actually fell on my 64th birthday! On the ships we use the gym regularly and never the elevators. Daily we start at deck one and got to the top deck continuously four or five times. Use it or lose it!

8 hours ago, jean87510 said:

I know you have gone already but husband and I did this on our own in dec 2021.  We were in our late 50s and are both strong swimmers.  Had zero issues doing this.  We also snorkel with buoys.

Could you please tell me how you did this, if you remember? Where did you go and was there equipment available for rent? TY.

Jerry and I were very disappointed with the snorkeling on Silver Moon. Here is a copy of the review I posted on Trip Advisor:

1 hour ago, craigtompkins said:

Did you find a non RCCL tour to do?

No, we did the one through RCCL and it was great! Nearly 30 minutes from port, place was See Thru kayaks. Much easier with RCCL supplying transportation. Guide was wonderful and we had plenty of time. 

A few years ago, we were at Coco Cay March 29. It was sunny and high seventies, so that was fine for us. Chilly when you were wet, but we live in the mountains of Western PA so it's subjective.

4 hours ago, DISFANS3 said:

Silver Moon, fun times. We are booked again for the Summit cruise in Oct..

We booked Silver Moon also.

1 hour ago, whee-sailing said:

 

The fact that I answered someone's question on how to get to an excursion snorkeling spot on their own doesn't mean that I was suggesting they don't spend money locally. There is a big middle ground between the luxury experiences you prefer and what you derogatorily call terds.

Apologies for not understanding this reply, as everyone is just so friendly and helpful here. I must have missed the "derogatory" post. The only "terd" I could find was an acronym for a computer system.

2 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

ew = each way.

Don’t forget “Towels” 

Always learning! That is very reasonable. Yeah, we bring the ship's towels. Thanks again!

1 hour ago, whee-sailing said:

It's easy and inexpensive to take a taxi to Brownes Beach and snorkel with the turtles and around the shipwreck on your own.

That is incerdibly helpful - cruisers are the best! Just the info that I needed.

17 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

If not wishing to pay a $5 ew shared cab fee and rent beds, then do it for free.  Walk 35/40 minutes there, don’t rent beds, use “Towels” and bring food/drink browsed from ship’s buffet, all wrapped in a napkin. Walk back.  Many do this.

Thanks for the reply - not sure what the "ew' meant. We do try to do things on our own to be on our own schedule. Jerry and I always pack some protein bars for a meal. It saves money and time. One is not to bring unsealed food from the ship, as other countries are concerned with possible contamination (bugs, etc.) from food. If it is found or in areas with dogssniffing the pax, you will be forced to discard it. I have seen it happen.

Joy

Following - Jerry and I will be there at the end of March for the first time. I noticed that SEG and Shore Excursioneer do not have any tours listed. So perhaps they all have to go through the cruise line when in port? We were interested in the kayaking tour by RCCL if we cannot get anything on our own.

Jerry and I will be there March 28. We did Captain Bob's Speedboat tour several weeks ago and was wondering about doing the Flying Dutchman,etc. on our own. It is only about 5 km from the port, and I was wondering if anyone has done this. RCCL does not have an excursion there. I don't know how crowded it will be, as we are on Vision of the Seas, and there is only one other ship in port then, Viking Sea. Other private tours do not pick up at the port, and I don't want to have to worry about getting transportation there by a certain time. So we thought we could do it on our own schedule, if one does not need advance reservations. Any experiences/thoughts/suggestions greatly appreciated. TIA.

Joy

Jerry and I are going March 28, and have done a tour of the island on a previous visit. Does anyone have experience with snorkeling on your own, ship's excursion (RCCL), or other private tours for this? We are interested in the turtles and the shipwreck. TIA.

37 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

It would have never occured to me that there were any cabins without a fridge.   

Another example of where I got lucky when I booked.  

Yeah, all the other cabins on CCL, RCI and Princess had them in various room types.

This was on Enchantment. 

We have cruised on different lines, and enjoy several. Even though we loved all that RCI had to offer, our interior room seemed much smaller than CCL, which I know has slightly bigger rooms. (We like the dark and quiet on an interior.) On RCI, the bed was butt up against the wall on one side, and I had to slide to the foot to get out of bed. Not having the cooler/fridge (not a real cold unit, I know) in an interior was a PITA. They have them on CCL on interior rooms. On RCI, what is the lowest category of room that comes standard with mini bar fridge? Anything below balcony? TIA.

I was there twice and traffic was awful. That was in late September. 

De Palm tours has emailed me that due to their contract with the cruise line, only tours through them will be offered to cruise pax.

1 hour ago, Get outta town said:

We went in February 2023. It was fantastic. 

Which tour company did you use?

Following