indie

Third, was at Maya Chan 11/26. Best service and food ever for an all inclusive beach day and water was fine, just murky. No seaweed issues. Beautiful day and place.

Couple more pics

I was at Maya Chan for the first time this past Wednesday. Seaweed was not an issue. The water at short distance wasn't clear and blue, but perfectly fine and got clearer as you went out. Lots of people in the water that day but we were the last ones there. 

On 11/20/2019 at 4:56 PM, APDMOM said:

Hideaway Heist:

 

The weather cleared up very nicely and they announced that Hideaway Heist was back on.  Unfortunately, we were still on the Rising Tide Bar and knew that we would not get good seating as we would arrive late.  So, off to deck 7 we went to sit by the rock climbing wall.  We had a good view and no crowds to wrestle with.

 

TIP:  You can watch the diving shows from deck 7.  There are chairs overlooking the water that can be moved to face the Aqua theater.  After the show, just enter the glass door next to the rock climbing wall, and you can even avoid the crowds dismissing by walking past the cabins on deck 7, as opposed to walking on the Boardwalk.

 

 

 

 

 

The High Dive:

 

Hitting the Water from the High Dive:

 

Definitely a fun show!

Awesome tip. Thank you that looks like a great spot! 

23 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

Fun!  Enjoy the Thanksgiving cruise!  Second formal night was day 5 (Roatan). So, it will be perfect for you if you like dressing up, as it will be Thanksgiving day. 🙂

Thank you for this info!

Thanks for this review. Doing this same itinerary Thanksgiving week. When is 2nd formal night?

I am booked in OV Balcony rooms on Harmony for my next two cruises, so I'm losing nothing, but seeing how Royal is treating it's customers here is making me want to spend my money elsewhere.

This is totally unacceptable. What next, will they start yanking obc? Bumping people from their booked cabin if they can sell them at a higher price?

9 hours ago, jagsfan said:

Where do you get the promo code?

i don’t see it anywhere, and without it it’s $10.95

Try this one: gr8rate

Water Taxi is great! Hop on hop off while getting a tour of the mansions on the waterway.

Especially during the holiday season.

I have used Park-N-Cruise 2 times and ParkPortCanaveral 2 times.

My 2nd experience with both wasn't as smooth but it had everything to do with delayed disembarkation at the Port and not the parking company.

Both I would not hesitate to use again. For me, ParkPortCanaveral is having more sales/promotions and ends up having the better rate so we are using them a 3rd time this November, and possibly a 4th next year once I decide between Harmony again out of Port Canaveral or Oasis again out of Ft Lauderdale.

There's a great coupon code that still works for 7.99 a day. Gr8Rate

8 hours ago, LeesaB said:

We did Chankanaab and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  There's a lot going on there so lots of places to hang out.  Kids got to play in the water and snorkel, DH and I explored the grounds, lounged on the beach, and snorkeled.  We did it in combination with a swim with dolphins but if you just pay the admission fee to Chankanaab I think it's worth it.  Just know what it is so you don't get disappointed if it's not "like something else."  I think of it like a park with a lot of extra stuff.  There's plenty of fun free stuff to do, but if you want to do some other things, you need to pay extra.

I second this.

Did dolphins last time in Cozumel through the cruiseline at Chankanaab. We loved Chankanaab and didn't feel like we had enough time there after the dolphins. We are going back just for a day at Chankanaab in November. Beautiful place with lots to do and see.

Beach clubs are a dime a dozen and will offer a similar experience. Chankanaab is a different experience.

Awesome free beach days. I'd love that if doing a short 5 day getaway.

I just took a taxi a few weeks back to Del Moro and back to a restaurant a couple of blocks from the ship. Was $10 to fort, and $8 back to restaurant. We were being lazy after a previous adventurous day. Trollies were running but longer waits than usual and we just missed the one from the Fort . Glad we took the taxi as it was a hot day.

On 11/8/2018 at 7:52 AM, crewsweeper said:

For a view and interesting atmosphere, look into Punto de Vista on the top of the Hotel Milano.  It's on Calle Fortaleza near the corner of Calle Tanica, just a short walk from the cruise piers.  If it's a hot day, though, Barrchinas, "home of the pina colada", or El Jarbaritos will satisfy your local atmosphere urges. 

I was in Old San Juan recently and I must second Punta de Vista. We ate indoors but it was excellent, and had the most amazing  and huge mofongo. Im a big guy and I can eat. My wife and I shared a mofongo and empanada appetizer and were stuffed and couldnt finish.  The Drink specials during lunch hours dont hurt either BOGO flavored but strong mojitos. Rooftop view, near the cruise port. 

I will definitely be back next time im in OSJ. Craving this mofongo now!

I was also on this sailing, and yes my worst debarkation experience ever. I think the debarkation self-assist and tag checked luggage process was extremely convoluted. They also kept blaming all of the people needing wheelchair assistance. Never had that impact debarkation before.

This was my first time back on Carnival since 2007 after several cruises on Royal and I thought this debarkation process of going to get your tags would be a problem. We forgot to do it until late and ended up with 21.

From what I heard, there were only two working customs officers working the terminal at first.

Overall, I enjoyed my cruise. The only thing I didn't like was the debarkation, the location of the smoky casino dumping smoke across all inside areas on deck 5, and setup of the buffet serving area. I didnt feel the ship was as well laid out as Freedom and Oasis Class ships from royal, and the entertainment wasn't nearly on the same level.

I enjoyed the food and choices, I enjoyed the cove  balcony cabin, i enjoyed the ports and the fun crew/cruise director, comedy shows and poolside movies.

I will come back to Carnival again but probably wouldn't do a ship smaller than the Breeze. It would be hard to choose  to go on the breeze vs an Oasis class ship from Royal though for comparable pricing out of my favorite port, Port Canaveral. I am looking forward to seeing what the new upcoming larger ships have to offer from Carnival. 

I didn't know Kyndall Fire was new, and she did a great job and was probably my 2nd favorite cruise director.

Just off the breeze, while we had tables for two, the only time we had to wait more than a couple of minutes was the first formal night (lobster night)

I was at Magens Bay on Tuesday for the first time and it will be where I return for a St. Thomas beach day. Beautiful and everything you want. Pelicans diving and fishing all around you. Saw schools small of fish. Calm water. Expansive beach There were 5 ships(over 19,000 cruisers) in Port and we were able to easily find a shaded quiet spot down the beach right next to a picnic table and shaded picnic area. Easy transportation there and back. Awesome and worth it

Amazing day. Was skeptical but it won us over. I have been to Emerald Beach and Coki also in recent years. Emerald was nice and had facilities and beach bar but small. Coki also small and more locals. Some might see it as a little sketchy but it was beautiful scenery. Lots of small beach bars and vendors.

If I had to rank

1. Magens Bay - had everything we could want in a beach day.

2. Emerald Beach (gets points for being close to port and cheap cab fare and facilities/palapas) beach bar has good food but a little pricier.

3. Coki - nothing wrong with coki, just not quite as much of a relaxation spot if that's what you want. Great if snorkeling and food is your priority

I know your question has been answered, but at Sapphire, no need for umbrellas. There are plenty of trees that offer shade and when we've rented loungers, they asked where we wanted them and we chose under one of the trees. No official excursion needed, we just took a taxi there both times.

 

Here's a pic for a visual. I loved this view (reason I took pic) but "our" tree was to the right of this one, so no umbrella needed.

Thank you, when was this taken? Since the hurricane?

I've done Brenda n Frankos twice. My wife and I love them. We probably spend another day with them when When go back in later this year.

My wife and I have not sailed Norwegian, but we were strongly considering it as we have found cruising to be our style of vacation, and look forward to having a bit of variety through different lines.

I was looking at the Breakaway when it comes to Port Canaveral, but after reading about how this was handled, my wife has already put her foot down and said "I am never cruising Norwegian".

The fact that they put revenue before passengers safety and experience was bad enough, but the response with the 25% future cruise credit was a slap in the face.

It had us hot just reading the foxnews.com article. I cant imagine how the passengers must have felt.

I still feel the "Future cruise" credit offer to be insulting (considering hat the majority of the passengers who experienced this never want to cruise with Norwegian again, or for some people, might not ever want to cruise again).

They deserve a full refund. That was not the experience they bought. Norwegian should be taking the loss on this for the experience they provided, not the customers.

I ended up choosing the Breeze. It came down to ship, sail date (2 days after Thanksgiving instead of the next day, so we can enjoy Thanksgiving with family) and two inexpensive port days in Grand Turk and San Juan. Would like to ATV from Amber Cove and spend a day for the 3rd time with our favorite tour guides Brenda and Franko in St Thomas.

Thanks everyone!

Been to both twice and really enjoy both, but to me Labadee is just much more beautiful. You can do activities or have a lazy day in paradise. I also love the local culture, bands and dancing and trams/ferry at Labadee. Columbus cove beach is awesome for wading in the water and swimming.

I am looking at booking future cruises that include Labadee as my perfect free beach day.

Oasis had one on the pool deck in the arcade when we sailed on Oasis, we used that machine many times. Have they removed it?

It is still in the arcade. Used that one frequently in early December

Wow, thank you all for the great feedback so far. I don't know if this made the decision easier because I was leaning towards the breeze. My last 4 cruises were very large ships. I was leaning towards the larger/ newer higher rated ship and trying a cove balcony, but Aruba and Curacao itineraries and the extra day does sound very appealing also.

But 4 ports vs 3 ports. I really enjoy excursions!

Still torn!

I am currently booked on a 5 day Sunshine cruise for my first cruise on Carnival since my first ever cruise in 2007. It was supposed to be a family cruise for my wifes family who has never been before that I organized but no one booked yet, so I'm thinking about cancelling and just booking a longer cruise for my wife and I since no one seems willing to commit.

If I cancel, I am considering the following two cruises:

Sunshine is 8 night going to Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao from Port Canaveral

Breeze is 7 days going to Amber Cove, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk

I have never been to Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao or the Dominican Republic (Amber Cove)

I have been to San Juan once (post Irma in December)

I have been to St. Thomas Twice.

Any opinions to help me choose on the ships and itineraries?

Thans!