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cruisenfromjersey

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    Beaches and or Day Passes in Aruba?

    in Aruba

    Posted

    On 1/9/2024 at 2:46 PM, TTEllis said:

    I can help you out with that. 

    When your group of 9(how nice!!) gets off your ship, your going to bottleneck out of port security to your left then go to the right into town. 

    Your not solo like myself. If I were you I would find a minivan taxi never a problem and pay them to take you and pick you up at an agreed upon time to and from Eagle Beach. They'll be a ZILLION taxi drivers as you walk outside of security.

    With a group that size your own taxi van with just your family is the way to go. You can work out a very reasonable fee and time to be picked up. 

    I'm solo for me it's very easy to take city transportation but in your case you can all go together in the same van for a very reasonable price. 

     

    Nice palapas for rent at Eagle Beach. 

    It's nice. Your group if you get there early you can rent a couple of them right beside each other. With 2 loungers, I'm not sure what they cost a palapa and 2 chairs is around $25 a day. Great deal great beach. 

    Passions at the Beach as you go down the ramp to the beach will be on your right, I recommend you getting palapas close to Passions. Get your palapas BETWEEN Passions and the Beach not on the side, go up front get you a couple of palapas where you can see everything plus if you get thirsty or hungry Passions is right there. GREAT food I found their menu for a beach bar, incredible. Best seat on the beach.

     

    I don't know if you can rent palapas ahead of time. I've never done that I just get to the beach EARLY find me the nicest palapa, drop my backpack pay the man, and get the party started.  

    I guess you could email Amsterdam Manor and check OR get your group together early and get to Eagle Beach.

    Unless there's a large number of ships in port there really shouldn't be too much of a problem renting a couple of palapas. Have a nice vacation and when you get back please don't forget to give us a review. Take care 

     

    Thank you for this information! I have a group of 8 so this has been very helpful!

    • Like 1

    Day Pass, Where?

    in Curacao

    Posted

    37 minutes ago, Blue12 said:

    It was $20 total for the taxi ride and there were 2 of us. .  I just asked the reception desk to call us a taxi and it was there in no time. 

    Thank you 

    Day Pass, Where?

    in Curacao

    Posted

    On 12/22/2023 at 2:48 PM, Blue12 said:

    We went to the Avila Beach Hotel - walked there from the port (about a 35 minute walk) and took a taxi back to the ship ($20).  It was $15 each for the day which included wifi as well as lounges/umbrellas around the pool and on the beach. You could buy food and drinks if needed. Nice small resort with a refreshing pool and two small beaches as well as wifi to catch up at home - just what we were looking for!  🏝️ 

    Quick question….you said taxi was $20 …..was that per person or per couple? 

    Taxi availability

    in Cayman Islands

    Posted

    Does anyone know if taxis or vans are available when you get off the ship? Looking for a taxi to take us to Hell and the distillery and maybe the turtles ! I know NCL has an excursion just thought about doing it on our own.

    St Thomas AGAIN...running out of new things

    in St. Thomas/St. John

    Posted

    On 11/2/2023 at 12:43 PM, mitsugirly said:

    We have been to St Thomas several times by cruise ship AND have stayed in St Thomas on land vacations a few times. 

     

    We are coming back to this beautiful island (by cruise ship) again and looking to see if anyone has any suggestions on something we might have not done before or missed while there in the past. We loved anything that involves water (snorkeling, scuba, beach) or activity (4-wheelers or buggy tours, nature). 

     

    Here's our list of things/places we've been to while there:

     

    Sapphire Beach

    Coki Beach

    Lindquist

    Brewers Bay

    Lindberg Beach

    Secret Harbour

    Magens Bay

    Cowpet Bay

     

    Coral World

    Parasailing

    Drakes Seat

    Sea Trek

    Ocean Surfari Boating

    BOSS Sea Scooters

    Scuba Diving at Coki and Secret Harbour

    Kayaking at Cas Cay Mangroves

     

    Anyone have places or anything different to suggest we would enjoy? I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

     

    **edit to say we will be there from 11-7pm**

    I used to follow your trips all the time…..always looked at your pics…..but then Covid happened…good to read your stuff again! 
    have you ever hired your own boat captain? We did that a few ….probably longer than a few years ago… there were 10 of us and he sent a taxi to pick us up took us to Red Hook…..we boarded his catamaran! It was private and he took us snorkeling…..and made us lunch and drinks when we were done! Took us anywhere we wanted! I think it was the best excursion ever! I know there are some smaller boats that do the same thing! 
     

    Eagle Beach

    in Aruba

    Posted

    We will be in Aruba in February. There are 8 of us and we are considering taking a taxi to eagle beach ….renting chairs for the day! Has anyone been there recently and can give me an approximate cost? Taxi chairs etc…..thank you

    Parking at Miami Cruise Terminal

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    We used Premier Cruise Parking. Great experience! half the cost of the port. the address is 1415 Northeast 2nd Ave. Miami. If a 10 min trip to port. It is at the top of the parking garage. They park you then shuttle you to port. Promptly pick you up when you disembark.

    You just have to make sure that you contact the correct Premier. There seems to be a couple of lots with the same name.

    Western Caribbean All-Inclusive Options......Please Help

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Hi all,

    We are doing our first NCL cruise(after being a true Carnival Cruiser), in May 2018 to the following 4 Western Caribbean Ports. I can't do an A;;-Inclusive at all of them. Help! We are already booked in Roatan for VIctor Bodden. Plan on doing a pool day at Harvest Cay. But the DW and I are torn between going to Maya Chan Beach All-Inclusive in Costa Maya OR Mr. Sanchos All-Inclusive in Cozumel Looking to consider transportation costs, food quality, drink options, and beach snorkeling activiites as considerations for our final decision. Any information is greatly appreciated clear.png?emoji-smile-1742

    Kevin

    Roatan, BayIslands, Honduras

    Harvest Caye,Belize

    Costa Maya,Mexico

    Cozumel,Mexico

     

     

    Thanks!

     

    Maya Chan Hands down! They provide transportation and the food and drink are excellent!

    Pearl RT Panama Canal (12/10-21) - My brief review

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Let me start by saying this was a wonderful cruise. The itinerary was good, although different than when we first booked, but the star was the Panama Canal. We also visited Costa Rico for the first time. We booked an OV guarantee and got an obstructed view on 8. Great location and the promotion at the time made it very affordable for us.

     

    This was the first cruise after a couple more charters for the Pearl. The charter season had not been without it challenges. The reggae cruise immediately preceded this one and a couple of cruise before a young woman jumped off the ship.

     

    The Pearl has a fantastic crew. We were on her long enough that quite a few remembered us each time they saw us. Many of them were new to the ship because it has just come off the charters, but I don't think I have ever seen a crew with more smiles than on this ship. Perhaps they were happy also to have a non-charter cruise.

     

    One thing a bit unusual about this cruise was how gray it was. I don't think I have ever been on such a gray NCL cruise. There were a few younger PAX, but I think I saw maybe 8 children, including infants in strollers. I am not sure if it was the time of the cruise (although we always cruise the same time of year) or how expensive it was that resulted in so few younger people. Maybe that was why the crew was always smiling. Except that we had to speed back to Miami the last sea day in somewhat bad weather, because of a medical emergency, it seemed to be a pretty calm cruise.

     

    The entertainment was very good, as usual. We had a couple of comedians (Tim Kaminski was one), a surprisingly good violinist, a magician, production company shows, and that Jersey boys pretty good imitation. The evening game shows were not well attended, however. If you went, you got to play. :) There was music in Magnums and the Atrium as well as the dance band and DJ in Spinnaker.

     

    We ate in Indigo, Summer Palace, Moderno (see below), La Cucina, OSheehans, and the buffet and Great Outdoors. All served good food (eventually, see below!).

     

    We stayed on the ship for the Panama Canal. We considered an excursion and we knew folks who took the one that takes you through the whole canal and thought it was a terrific excursion, however we were invited to view the return portion of the transit from one of the forward suite balconies. It was a great view and a lovely afternoon.

     

    We booked the Costa Rico tour by Bus, Train and Boat. We like that sort of excursion to get a good introduction to a new country. We enjoyed the excursion quite a bit. It was hot but the bus was air conditioned (the train and boat were not), and you returned to the bus between the other parts of the tour. We had a great tour guide. She was very knowledgeable about her country's history, government, people and wildlife. And we saw a lot of wildlife, including a caiman, lizards, howler monkeys, two kinds of sloths, iguana, birds, and other animals.

     

    At the meet and greet the Hotel Director, Tony Rosa, asked us to please call him if there was a problem. He wanted to fix it while we were on board and he did not want to read about it on Cruise Critic. Well, the first sea day we ate a Moderno's and it was not good for a variety of reasons. Another couple who were also members of the roll call were there the same evening and had an equally disappointing experience, although we did not see them until we were leaving. The next day I called Tony. He answers his phone btw! He then had Rumi, the food and beverage director, call me. He listened to me carefully, apologized and invited us (and the other couple) back for a do over. Long story short, because of an unexpected event we had to cancel that do-over reservation at the last minute. Rumi very graciously did so and we had a dinner a few nights later. It was simply perfect, with one exception that was out of their control. Evidently, corporate decided to change the recipe for the cheese rolls....why did they mess with perfection? Anyway, other members of our roll call who ate later in the week after my complaint reported the food and service were good. So, takeaway here is to let them know when something isn't right and they will try to make it right. They did in this case and we were completely satisfied with the outcome. So, Tony and Rumi, if you are reading this, thanks for the great experience!!!

     

    Finally, I can't say enough about what a great roll call we had. We planned several events over the course of the cruise including a first sea day breakfast at OSheehan's, the meet and greet, a roll call member organized excursion in Cartagena that many participated in, a mid cruise get together that was very well attended and for which Rumi supplied a fantastic cake, and we were all invited to a final recap and feedback meeting on the last sea day with the Tony Rosa and his senior staff. I was very impressed at how each staff member took notes. Bobby, the cruise director, even caught up with me at the end of the meeting to clarify some comments/recommendations I had made. I know other staff members were also talking to other various roll call members after the meeting as well. It really seemed they valued the feedback, but honestly, there were not any actual complaints, at least of the kind that ruined vacations. It was a wonderful cruise.

     

    I know I keep asking you alot of questions but inquiring minds need to know!

     

    What did you think of the Costa Rica excursion? We are looking at that and i'm not sure about the train part. Was it worth it? What was the best part? Can you help with some of the details like which part comes first?

    Thank You!

    Safe, Reliable, Cheap Parking in Miami

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    We have used it four times already. It has never been a problem other than last December when we had to wait a bit for the van to pick us up (I want to say about 30 minutes longer than usual), but that was the Epic and we were somewhat used to waiting. :( We were on the phone with them. I will try to remember to post..... There is another similar sounding one, yes, that has an open parking lot rather than the garage. Once we booked with that by mistake, but cancelled and rebooked with this because we like the garage.

     

    Thanks again for your help!

     

    I see we are doing the same cruise at different times. Please let us know how it was.

    Safe, Reliable, Cheap Parking in Miami

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    It's a garage, not a lot. and it is at 14th street and 2nd avenue. . It should be the only one that shows up for cruise parking. Make sure you are doing POM parking and not airport parking. When you "search for parking" make sure you select seaports and not airports.

     

    Thank You, we used your first link and found it. Please report back to us with your experience. It does say premier on its page. I hope its not the unreliable one as has been reported.

    Brunswick/Kingsland Hotels

    in Florida Departures

    Posted

    If you stop at the Georgia welcome center or rest areas, there is a box with hotel coupons. We stayed at the Comfort Inn in Kingsland and used a coupon. I don't remember the cost but it was not expensive. The comfort Inn was very clean and I would stay there again. I'm pretty sure it was near the very last exit before Florida.

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