Tigergenesis

My hubby loves the aft extended balcony cabins (balcony on the back end of the ship - not just the back area of the ship; see image), and he insists on those anytime that we cruise.  We love the privacy (cabins above, below, next to can not really see our balcony).  I love that there is a lounger in addition to chairs. 

We have not cruised on the following classes:  Vista (Horizon, Panorama, Vista) Excel (Mardi Gras, Celebration, Jubilee) or Venice (Venezia, Firenze).

Regarding those classes/ships, can anyone tell me:

1. Do they have the same privacy?  So far it seems that Havana aft-extended balconies are not private (you can see into balconies), but I'm not clear which ships/classes have Havanas.

2. Do they have loungers (not just regular seats)?

Anyone planning on, been to or able to answer questions about Pinel Island (St. Maarten)? I'm looking at booking the kayaking excursion to Pinel Island through Caribbean Paddling. I thought that would be a different and fun way to get to the island. You can either ferry, kayak or paddleboard. However, I'd like to have the option to ferry back if we are too tired. Anyone know if you can book the ferry that day/last minute while on Pinel? Anyone done this kayaking adventure? I'm also curious about how long the trip takes via kayak, any tips on where to go on the island, food recommendations, etc. TIA 🙂 https://www.caribbeanpaddling.com/shore-excursions 

We were looking at visiting the Bacardi distillery, but stumbled on San Juan Artisan Distillers....and this has peaked our interests.  Has anyone visited or heard any reviews (or know best how to get there)?  https://sanjuanartisandistillers.com/

We used it in July when cruising out of Seattle for our Alaska cruise.  It was great!

I'm looking for recommendations for parasailing in St Maarten and St Thomas. Talking to other people who have gone parasailing in other places, I was also told to look for an excursion that is done from the a boat and not from the beach. Any suggestions? TIA

I'm looking for recommendations for parasailing in St Maarten and St Thomas. Talking to other people who have gone parasailing in other places, I was also told to look for an excursion that is done from the a boat and not from the beach. Any suggestions? TIA

Hi! 

The Cruise Center map for Grand Turk shows a Beach Massage area.  Does anyone have information on this (cost, how to book, etc)?

I'm also trying to find out if there are any parasailing opportunities in Grand Turk, but am not having luck so far.  Anyone heard of any?

TIA

I’m looking for some excursion suggestions for our upcoming cruise (April).  We typically avoid ship excursions (unless something we really want to do is only offered by the ship) and prefer to book with local tour operators. We’d love some suggestions on what to do on our cruise. 

Our ports are:
St Maarten
St Thomas
San Juan

We are not too big on tours or shopping.  We love nature, food, drinking/distillery tours, adventure.

We usually like to do a boat side snorkeling at one port.  Which port would be best?  Any tour operator suggestions?

We also like to do something with a unique animal experience (other port examples:  swim w/ sea lions, swim w/sharks, visit monkey farm).  Any suggestions at these ports?

We also like adventure tours (other port examples: ziplinging, waterfall jumping, river tubing, etc).  Any suggestions?

Any place to get massages on the beach?

What are the “must do” excursions at these ports?

Thank you in advance!

We would also love to know of any ports with good beach massage options.  🙂

I’m looking for some excursion suggestions for our upcoming cruise (April).  We typically avoid ship excursions (unless something we really want to do is only offered by the ship) and prefer to book with local tour operators. We’d love some suggestions on what to do on our cruise. 

Our ports are:
St Maarten
St Thomas
San Juan

We are not too big on tours or shopping.  We love nature, food, drinking/distillery tours, adventure.

We usually like to do a boat side snorkeling at one port.  Which port would be best?  Any tour operator suggestions?

We also like to do something with a unique animal experience (other port examples:  swim w/ sea lions, swim w/sharks, visit monkey farm).  Any suggestions at these ports?

We also like adventure tours (other port examples: ziplinging, waterfall jumping, river tubing, etc).  Any suggestions?

What are the “must do” excursions at these ports?

Thank you in advance!

Thank you so much @Ferry_Watcher and @Glaciers!  Much appreciated!

31 minutes ago, Meander Ingwa said:

I am not sure about the legal aspect of walking out.  Someone else may have some guidance The pier is also home to other businesses and I cannot see how they can restrict how people get to work.  There is a bus stop on the Magnolia Bridge.  If you zoom in on Google Maps and switch to the photo image ( real) view and zoom in, you will see that the suggested route along Elliot actually crosses the entrance to the trail.  TAKE THE TRAIL it is why you are there.  Elliot is simply an industry lined road.  The trail is for enjoyment. Expect bikes The route on the pier appears to take in marked walking paths and a sidewalk pavement.  With all the parking there needs to be built in safe passage.  Back in the day this pier is where the ships from Japan unloaded cars from Honda et al and loaded them on to rail cars

Thank you so much!!!

24 minutes ago, techteach said:

@Tigergenesis I think my answer would depend upon your luggage. There is a very nice park along the waterfront, but getting to it can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing. Consider walking across the parking lot and up a set of stairs on the Magnolia Bridge where bus #33 stops. It will take you through the hard to navigate portion, there are active train tracks and fences to keep you from crossing from the street to the park. There are two pedestrian bridges that cross the tracks. Use a mapping app to see where to get off the bus and access the bridges. Is it safe? Yes, we take our grandchildren on this walk and there are tons of bikers. It can get congested. Enjoy.

Hello and thank you! If we do this, we won't have any luggage with us. I took a look at Google Maps. It has us taking Alaskan Way West for a bit before getting on Elliot Bay Trail. However, the map makes it appear that we can get on Elliott Bay Trail sooner. Is this advisable or would sticking with Alaskan Way West be best? We've never walked out of a port.  Is that"allowed"?

Hubby and I love to walk and sightsee.  I understand the walk is mapped at about an hour per online maps, and appears to go right along the waterfront.  I previously came across a video someone made of the walk and it looked like something we would enjoy and could do (we won't have luggage).  Anyone have any thoughts on this?  Is it doable?  Any issues with walking out of the pier?  Is it safe, worth it, etc?  

Thank you.  I definitely checked their website.  Their website lists Carnival cruise ships as an option. I was even able to select my ship while doing a mock booking. I'm looking for anyone who can personally attest to using this service recently

Has anyone sailing on Carnival used the Port Valet service in Seattle? Hubby and I don't fly back home until 11p, so we are intrigued by this service. We would like to get off the ship and spend some time in Seattle before our flight later that evening. This sounds like a great option so that we don't have to worry about our luggage - once collected outside our door we wouldn't have to worry about it until we arrive out our home airport.  I've read old posts stating it wasn't available for Carnival passengers (even though the online system allowed booking), but I have not found any recent information.  https://maketraveleasier.com/PortValet

In my research I have heard that some restaurants only take cash.  So we plan to be prepared and have both.

Each time we go to Nassau we make sure to do something different.  I am an "always get off the ship" person.  This time I am thinking about visiting the Fish Fry area.  

It sounds possible to walk there from what I can tell.  Anyone done the walk?  Any tips?  We prefer walking places

I know there are a lot of restaurants to choose from.  Anyone tried multiple restaurants that can offer some suggestions?  

TIA

On 10/17/2021 at 9:22 AM, Tigergenesis said:

After much research, we ended up going with cavetubing.bz

 

We were very happy we did, and we highly recommend them. We did the cave tubing, zip line with lunch tour.

Their tour is longer than the ship your.  When everyone else was getting out at the end of the cave, we kept tubing out of the cave and through the rainforest.  They also carry your tubes for you

On 10/17/2021 at 10:09 PM, vwrestler171 said:

Was that since the restart or prior too?

We went prior to COVID, but friends just used them this October and lived it

After much research, we ended up going with cavetubing.bz

We were very happy we did, and we highly recommend them. We did the cave tubing, zip line with lunch tour.

I am having a hard time choosing and would love some input between these itineraries.  I am not too picky on the ship, but more so the ports.  I usually like an itinerary that allows for 1 nice beach day (not too crowded), 1 port for good snorkeling and 1 port with some type of adventure excursion.  We are not too big on shopping.  We do enjoy trying local cuisine and booking excursions with local companies.  We are looking at something for April 2021 as this would be an anniversary cruise.  

BREEZE or RADIANCE

St Maarten

St Kitts

San Juan

Grand Turk

RADIANCE

Aruba

Grand Turk 

Curacao

BREEZE

Half Moon Cay

Grand Turk

Bonaire

Aruba

We have been to Half Moon Cay (always happy to revisit) and Grand Turk (wouldn't mind visiting again), but all the others would be new to us.  

What would you choose?

Yes!  I recommend them....we booked a 2 stop snorkeling excursion with them this past April.  We had a great time and as always we were glad to be with a smaller group (compared to the ship excursion).  They were wonderful to work with and made the tour a lot of fun

I always avoid booking through the ship as much as possible. You can find better deals, more personalized service, and usually better excursions through private operators. Plus I like supporting the locals. We did an excursion of with Exclusive Escapes this past April. They were great! They have a few different packages to choose from. We chose one of the smaller packages that only took 2 hours. Afterwards we then walked to Jack's shack for lunch, hung out on the beach, then did a little shopping at the port.   I highly recommend them! 🙂