Jules7226

We cruise in 9 days and I cannot book a Beach Bungalow. It says Online reservations are not available, please check onboard. It has said the same thing for at least 4 or 5 months..... Does anyone know if this means they're sold out? Or can you just not book online period? I've searched quite a few threads and everyone seems to have booked online so I'm just curious if we missed the chance and need to re-evaluate what to do.

8 days from tomorrow Baaabyyy!! :D

Why are you staying there? A hotel closer to the airport or closer to downtown might suit you better. Personally, I wouldn't go walking around that neighborhood in broad daylight without an escort or security guard.

Just sayin'.....

My family and I get into Miami late and as John said, we are just looking for a place to sleep and also for a room that will handle 5 adults and this place fit the bill.

There is a Winn-Dixie about a mile away, across the 12th Ave bridge over the Miami River. As hinted above it is not a walk to make unless you are comfortable in tough urban neighborhoods. Inexplicably the City of Miami Trolleys that stop right in front of the hotel pass by that Winn-Dixie but do not have a stop close by it.

 

The area around the hotel will certainly be a ghost town on a Friday night but they will shuttle you to Bayside in the evening; failing all else you can pick up sundries at the CVS across from Bayside and lug them back to where the shuttle retrieves you. Or just cab it to the port Saturday morning with a shopping stop (won't run much more than the cost of the hotel's port shuttle, which unlike the airport or evening dinner shuttles are reported as not free).

Thank you so much for this! I was wondering if the cost would be similar to just take a cab.

Not sure about nearby (walkable), but I think the hotel shuttle is available to drop you off and give you a ride back from dining/shopping in the area. I would call the hotel front desk to confirm these reports.

Thanks John! I will definitely give them a call and check it out. :)

We are staying here pre-cruise and I'll need to stop by a store to get water, soda, creamer, etc. before hand? Does anyone happen to know if there are any stores nearby that I could get these things?

So enjoyed reading through all 6 pages of this thread. We sail in 2 weeks and my list of drinks to try has definitely grown by leaps and bounds! Looking for some more yummy drinks to try.....Anyone else want to chime in??

Love the Tiramisu Martini on Carnival and hoping that they have something similar on NCL. :)

Well isn't that just my luck. :( thanks for the response.

I read in a review about slot play coupons. I have never heard of these, but this is my first NCL cruise in quite awhile. Can someone please tell me how I would go about purchasing these? I have searched the ncl site, but can't seem to find anything..... Any input would be appreciated.:)

This taxi driver offers those stops as part of his island tours.

 

http://therealdealusvi.com

Thank you so much for the info!!

My family and I and our extended family (11 total) will be in St. Thomas during our cruise in June. We have been there before and I recall a ton of open air taxis waiting to take cruise passengers wherever their hearts desire. We would like to grab a taxi and have them take us up to Mountain Top for a drink and then head to Secret Harbor for some snorkeling and beach time, do you think that one of them would accommodate us and if so roughly what would the cost pp be? Any input would be greatly appreciated. :)

According to the list that was posted regarding the UBP, Strongbow Cider is the only gluten free option for "beer type" drinks....It is pretty tasty IMO.

I too remember reading a post about someone asking NCL to stock some G/F beer and they accommodated them.

I read on Carnival's page that you can request to bring some gluten free beer on board, so maybe you could check with NCL's special needs department?

We have been on both Eastern and Western and our favorite hands down is Eastern. Can't really nail it down to one reason, I just think that it's prettier. It also seems like the islands are closer so you can visit more without so many sea days. We also LOVE watching flying fish from our balcony.

That being said, I don't think that I would turn down a cruise to either of them. :p

Bay Shuttle is popular in the area.

http://www.tampabayshuttle.com/

 

 

.... or you can just call the Taxi company and request a van style taxi. That would probably be the most cost effective way to go.

813-777-7777

 

 

 

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Thank you Cari! :)

I've searched the boards and can't find the help that I'm looking for. We are staying at the Courtyard Marriott Westshore and need to figure out the best way to get to the port. I remember years ago when we stayed here the hotel arranged a shuttle for us, but apparently they don't do that anymore. There will be 7 of us and we'd prefer to take a shuttle since I'm doubtful that us and our luggage will fit in a cab. Does anyone have any current info about a shuttle service to the port? Thanks.

We just did the Spencer Ambrose Jalousie Beach Break tour last week. I have to say that this was one of the best snorkel spots that we had all week. Beautiful fish and very good visibility. As the others said, the water when you first get in is rocky but I just floated on my belly right away to avoid stepping on rocks lol. The beach in general is beautiful. You can rent the loungers in front of the resort for a fee, but we didn't think that there was any wrong with the free ones especially because we spent most of our time in the water snorkeling. We got free rum punch and lunch on our tour so I didn't experience the bar and food prices. All in all we had a great time and the snorkeling was definitely memorable. :)

Used biddingtraveler.com and got the Caribe Hilton thru Priceline for $74 + tax for a pre-cruise 1 night stay in September. Chose resort, zone 8, low ball of $68 and maximum of $80. I know that there is a resort fee to pay still, but I will more than likely still be under $100 for a resort so I'm excited. :)

Yep, brought tears to my eyes too. You are amazing for being to pull all of that together. Definitely a birthday that none of you will forget. So awesome!! Looking forward to the rest of the review and pictures. :)

Has anyone recently done the Chefs Table? If so, which menu was it?

 

 

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I'm interested in this too......anyone know?

One clarification:

 

You are allowed to bring back more than 1L per person, just depending on how many you bring, you may be asked to pay a duty/tax on it.

 

We usually bring back 4 bottles between the two of us, we always declare that on the form and tell the customs officer exactly what we have when asked about it. We have never been asked to pay any additional duty, I was told it was because they have bigger things to worry about than whether or not some yay-hoo has paid $0.75 tax on a bottle of rum.

Totally agree and I was gonna say the same thing. We brought like 6 bottles back and claimed them and weren't charged either.

The green flash is a wonderful thing... I've only seen it three times myself. As the sun sets on a perfectly clean flat horizon, like the sea, the last rays of the sun are refracted through the atmosphere... the last rays are green and a split second flash of emerald green appears and then vanishes. It's a miracle... really, a miracle.

 

:)

Wow, I've never heard of the green flash either. It sounds amazing though and I can't wait to watch for it next cruise. :)

Carnival's Tiramisu Martini is so amazing. Loved them after dinner. :p

Thank you so much for your g/f review. My first g/f cruise was on the Miracle and g/f was still fairly unheard of. They still did an amazing job and helped me feel very comfortable since I was scared out of my wits that I would be glutened. I have cruised on Carnival several times since then and every year it gets better. I LOVE that they take such good care of us. We went to the Steak House twice on the Conquest last year and I had the most amazing g/f Lobster Bisque and chocolate dessert. I can't wait to see what this year's cruise brings. Thanks again for your review and I'm so happy that you were all able to follow your diet and enjoy yourselves. :)

There is a lot of great information on this thread. Thanks to all who have posted. I'm very curious about the Margarita question though. I didn't find a clear answer about whether or not any of the restaurants serve them or not. I have Celiac Disease and can't drink beer, which stinks because I used to love Pacifico. Anyway, Margaritas won't hurt my belly near as much as beer. So if anyone has been to SI recently and can confirm for sure if they are available, I would appreciate it. :D Thanks!

Thanks for the input. I ended up booking the Crowne Plaza. I had mapquested the distance and it stated it was only 7 miles between the hotel and the pier. We are driving down (across?) from Phoenix so we are planning on parking at the pier. I got Crowne Plaza for $65 a night through Priceline.

Hey Azbaby, I recognized your name from the Roll Call. We're driving too, but from Reno. We are also staying at the Crowne and parking at the LB Parking Garage. Maybe we'll run into you before the cruise. :)