juanotero79

Hello,

I tried to do research on this subject in old threads, but they are more than a year old, so I would like to know a more current version of prices for Gouda cheese in any of the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, or Curacao. I am traveling on the HAL Koningsdam in three weeks and I am planning on buying a wheel of Gouda cheese to bring back home. The last time I bought one there was more than 5 years ago and they ran about $25. Does anyone have an idea how much they are now and where to buy the wheel of cheese? I am also wondering in which of the three ports it will be cheaper. Thanks! ;p

I do watch TV while my family gets ready for dinner. Just came back from the Eurodam and their movie streaming service on their TV is great. They had a lot of recent movies and even a documentary section. Got to watch a new movie every night before sleeping. Their streaming is better than Netflix! A year ago it was not the same and I did not watch any TV because they repeated the same 2 or 3 movies all week, but now with the streaming you have something different to watch every night! New bigger tvs are fine too!

I do watch TV while my family gets ready for dinner. Just came back from the Eurodam and their movie streaming service on their TV is great. They had a lot of recent movies and even a documentary section. Got to watch a new movie every night before sleeping. Their streaming is better than Netflix! A year ago it was not the same and I did not watch any TV because they repeated the same 2 or 3 movies all week, but now with the streaming you have something different to watch every night!

Cozumel is one of my favorite ports of call. I've been there several times and every time I find ways to save money and I would like to share what I have found. If this is your first time going there and you like history and going to the beach, I would go to the Tulum Mayan Ruins tour. This is a beautiful place and it's a must seen place to go to, after the tour of the ruins you usually get some time to lay at the beach there and it is amazing!

However, if you have been there several times and don't know what else to do since most western Caribbean cruises go there I will share with you what I do! I usually rent a car in the island, which it's cheaper than going on a taxi if you are planning to go to the beach and do some shopping afterwards. I have found that renting a car online via any of the American car rental companies is way cheaper than renting at the port the day of arrival. The day of arrival the cheapest cars there go for $50.00 approximately. When I rent online before I go there I have rented cars for less than $20.00 a day!!! If you consider that you can rent a van online for $65.00 if you have a big family you save plenty of money for shopping and fun! Driving there is safe and hard to get lost since the island is so small. :rolleyes:

If you like going to the beach and drinking Mexican beer, I have found by going to the big Mexican retail stores there that you can buy a box of 24 beers for less than $10.00. If you think about it, you can actually buy a disposable ice chest and ice there and still save a lot of money!!! Of course you can't take these to the private beaches, but if you go to a public beach and drink you could have lots of fun and sped little money. Of course you should always have a designated driver!!! You don't want to end up in a Mexican prison!!! ;)

I went to Cozumel during the Thanksgiving break and found out that video game consoles in those big retailers there are cheaper than in the US. You can save some money if you are thinking about buying things like these... Other stuff that I usually buy when I go there are personal hygiene products and medicine.

The other items I find cheap to buy there are silver jewelry. My niece always travels with me and she always buys the nicest silver charms and earrings there for great prices! We usually go to the stores in the cruise terminal. I believe these kind of items you should buy in stores that are larger and more reputable like the ones at the terminal.

I am not a big drinker or a party animal, so I enjoy going there to shop and have some fun!

I know most of you aren't into shopping for stuff like me, but some of you might actually enjoy it and save some money with these tips!

Have fun in Cozumel and enjoy it there! I will be there in less than a month and I am so excited that I found a car online for $22.00 dollars I thought I could share some of the stuff that I do there to save some $$$. I am a teacher and every dollar I save is important so that I could use what I save to enjoy it in the cruise!! :)

I think I will do it. I am not that interested in going to the Canaletto, but if I pay for the grill and Tamarind I might as well try Canaletto for $1 since going to the other two as separate will cost me $49 anyway!

First I want to say that I am really excited about my first HAL cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam!!! Can't wait for Spring Break!

I was looking at the different packages you can buy for the cruise on the cruise line booking page and they have a specialty dining package for all three restaurants (Pinnacle Grill, Tamarind and Canaletto) for $50.00 per person. Is it worth it? Do I save money by buying this package? or, Is the food at the Main Dinning Room so good you don't really need to pay extra for this type of venue?

I have been on specialty dining venues on Carnival Cruises before and it was great! However, the food from the main dining room in HAL looks fantastic already... what do you HAL cruisers think???

:rolleyes:

One more thing is that I've noticed how teenagers late at night go into the glass elevators in the atrium and hang out in them. They go up and down, sit in the floor and just claim that elevator for themselves as their "club house". I guess because of their age, there is nowhere to go at that time... I think cruise ships should enforce the curfew hours. Employees see them and don't do anything about it! The good thing is that at those times there are plenty more elevators to go to. However it will not be until something happens to a teenager in a cruise ship elevator that anybody will care about it!