Horizon2021

On 3/11/2024 at 12:24 PM, TenForward said:

How long will you be there?  El Yunque National Rain forest is less than an hour away.   Dorado (northern coast)  is also not far - perhaps the hotels offer a day pass to enjoy the beach?   DH and I spent many years vacationing on the west coast (Rincon) but unless you're there for at least an overnight it would be too far.  One of our favorite things to do was rent a car and drive through the mountain towns... stopping for food along the way.  Roads can be narrow and steep - not for the faint-of-heart.  Watch for goats & horses!

It's a 1 day stop at the port. 10am - 6pm.

I've been to San Juan on a few different cruises, so I've seen quite a bit of it. I've never been anywhere in PR outside of San Juan, though, and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations or ideas for interesting independent excursions that would get me out of San Juan and elsewhere. 

Can anyone confirm if Serafina's is open?

Heading out on this cruise in the near future and haven't left out of Port Miami since before Uber existed. As I'm Ubering to Port Miami myself, how do you know what letter cruise terminal to go to?

Do you negotiate and/or confirm the taxi fare before getting in the car, or do you just get in and see what it is when you arrive at your destination?

Anyone else with restaurant recommendations?

Can anyone confirm if Papiamento Rum is doing tastings near the cruise port?

If not, I guess I'll take any rum recommendations to attempt to sample or purchase while I'm there.

On 7/14/2022 at 10:04 PM, tw67 said:

I have read that the Wyndham Resort for a day (Viva Wynhdam) is about a 30 minute taxi ride from the port.  Are any of these options closer?  

They all look to be about 30 minutes or so away. Just hop on Google maps and plot a course from the cruise terminal to the resort.

12 hours ago, nycny said:

I am a big advocate of the hotel/resort day pass for a beach day.  We have booked the RIU in La Romana twice and loved it.  It is an all inclusive.  Great beach and full access to restaurants, bars, and drink service on the beach.  Hope this helps for other options. We booked in advance but paid when we got there.

All these resort options are making the choice difficult now. Did I read correctly that there is a casino at RIU? How did you book in advance?

On 3/7/2022 at 5:23 PM, Cruise, J.D. said:

I emailed the Hilton La Romana inquiring about day passes for cruise visitors and received the following response:

 

Please receive a very warm greeting from Hilton La Romana.

It will be my pleasure to assist you. In regard to your inquiry, we do have and will have day passes available . The cost is US$85.00 per adult and children between 3 to 13 is 50% off from 10:30AM to 05:00PM, ID is mandatory and payment could be done at the Reception via credit card or cash.

 

Note: This is all-Inclusive Package. however, Day Pass does not include room, Club Preferred Area nor Transportation.

 

 If you need any additional information or if I can be of any assistance please feel free to contact me.

 

Best regards,

 

Es un placer!

Carlos King

Concierge

carlos.king@playaresorts.com

Thanks for this. To confirm, you don't need to buy anything in advance? You can just take a taxi here and buy the pass when you arrive at the reception desk?

Seeking recommendations for anywhere to do a rum tasting or rum experience in Aruba.

The most well-known place for this, The Arubian Taste, permanently closed during the pandemic.

My ship will be in the port on a Tuesday from 9am - 10pm, which provides a lot of time to get stuff accomplished.

I've found one foodie tour...but it doesn't operate on Tuesdays. Anyone have any other ideas? 

Also looking for something to do in the evening? Any really nice restaurant recommendations if there's no foodie tour?

Thought I'd check in again: any deep sea fishing insights for DR?

So my cruise offers the following half-day tour for $70, which departs at 7:30am and lasts about 3.5 hours:

Fort Nassau
Curacao Museum
Hato Caves
Chobolobo Liqueur Factory
Willemstad: a scenic drive through Scharloo

I'm open to independent options, but so far this seems like the best one to see the most. Anyone have any independent guides that offer anything similar?

Has anyone gone deep sea fishing in Amber Cove or La Romana? If so, which tour and did you like it?

Yes, I'd like to do that...but my concern/question is what time do they start?

If port time is 7am, and cruise departure is 3pm, are those longer excursions even possible given they take 6+ hours? Are those longer excursions starting at 7 in the morning, because that's the only way this is possible?

3 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

There are quite a few tour operators in the port. They will be tailoring tours to the ship schedule and you only need ask the plan to confirm returning on time. There were many with tours lasting 2 or 3 hours.  We took one that was about 2 hours with a stop at the Blue Caracao factory, then dropped us at Mambo Beach for 2 hours, and picked us up.  Total 4ish hours.

Yeah, I saw that one and it was very intriguing, but I was thinking I might want to see more of the island than just the greater city area....

Right, but do those tours right there at the port START at 7am?

And do the tours from other pre-book operators start at that time? It seems a bit early...

Because anything starting at 9 or later means you wouldn't make the ship...

I've been on the original cruise you have planned. I'd recommend sticking with that plan - every port is fantastic, I strongly recommend visiting Mt. Gay rum distillery in Barbados.

My port time is 7am-3pm.

From what I can tell, a lot tours that cover the whole island are 6-7 hours? Which seems to consist of the entire port time...and I can't help but wonder if those tours actually leave around 7am?

What's the best way to see a lot of the island with a limited time window like this?


 

Hi, if you've been to Bonaire, especially more than once, what are your favorite excursions/tours you've embarked upon? 

Any really great tours of the entire island? Thank you!

Hi all,

Figuring out my next cruise itinerary. It's between 1 with Curacao, and 1 with Bonaire.

Please help me make the decision here! Why do you like either of these islands? Is there an excursion (independent or cruise line, I'm open to both types) that really made it awesome for you?

Thank you!