SOOO glad to hear Marvin's not only survived the shutdowns but is still thriving! Will be visiting Cayman again in November and can't wait for my third trip with them. Thankful I got to meet Marvin and thank him in person before he passed. 

From 2010:

Hello! We are sailing on the Allure the week of 6/11. 4 adults and our sons who are both 11. We have decided we want to do Manawakie for sloths/monkeys and then spend the rest of the day at a beach club.

1. Is it worth hiring a guide if this is all we want to do?

2. Are cabs easily navigable if we just want to DIY? I've cruised many times and done cabs in other ports but this will be my first time to Honduras.

3. What beach would you recommend? We will want to have lunch and fruity drinks while the boys play on the beach/maybe snorkel?

Thanks in advance!

On 1/18/2023 at 8:27 PM, Texas Tillie said:

The Houston area is HUGE and there is very little public transportation. Spending several days and not having a car will make getting around very expensive. The only real alternative will be Lyft/Uber. Not sure how far out 290 the Cypress Outlet Mall is located, but I'm sure it's at least 25 miles from downtown and probably more. You will not have buses and trains like the UK.

I agree, you'll spend a fortune in rides. I would rent a car. If your cruise ends on a Saturday, you can pick up from the Galveston location. If it ends on a Sunday, you'll have to Uber to the nearest location with Sunday hours. Maybe look in the Clear Lake area up by NASA (which should be on your list if not already!)

Buc-ee's fan here too. I've been on many occasions where there is a line for the ladies room, but with so many facilities available the line pretty much moves constantly.

My favorite thing about it is the amount of variety, which serves my family well. I adore the fudge, my kid leans towards the dippin dots or the icees, my husband usually goes for something healthy like a veggie cup. But we also eat meals there - bbq, grilled cheese, hot dogs, etc. And the cinnamon roasted pecans are like crack! I've never found the gas to be exorbitant but I'm also not fretting over a few pennies difference.

3 hours ago, Ellaleah said:

I left it up to Arnold, Rony’s.  

 

I posted this review on trip advisor yesterday.  We were there 12/31/22

 

Arnold’s Private Sightseeing Tour

Review of Rony's Tours - Private Guide

Reviewed yesterday 

Our favorite part of the tour was Arnold. My grandchildren wanted to take him home. Arnold showed us a fabulous day. Our second favorite highlight was Manawakie Park. I had told Arnold that the most important thing to my grandchildren, ages 20, 20, and 13 was visiting with animals. We were all able to hold monkeys , sloths, and a parrot. Arnold made their dream come true as our main goal was achieved. We then visited Mayak Chocolate Factory and then ended our day with snokwling at West Bay beach (Bananarama)
The snorkeling was fantastic there. I highly recommend Rony’s Tours and Arnold.

Date of experience: December 2022

I had told Arnold that our number 1 point of interest was the animals.

Thank you SO much for this! Manawakie was where I was leaning too, but then realized I was basing that on an almost 4 year old review. Glad to hear it's still a wonderful experience and can't wait to bring my kiddo there too.

Bumping this up. Anyone been to any of these recently that would or would not recommend? Thinking of booking with Rony - will he know which is best to go to or should we tell him which one we want?

Yes, it's a very small dock. The ferry and bus are included in the tour. I think it was 263 a person. At first the price bothered me but it was worth it to us after.

 

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Ah ok, I was thinking this was something you did on your own. According to their website, admission to the wildlife center is only $32/adult. So I am guessing I could book the ferry and bus on my own and come in well under $263

These times are insignificant, fog can and does occur any time.

 

I'd suggest booking the time that you prefer. The train, with getting on in Fraser, has a lot if not most people getting off there. So seating should not be any problem. Just know what side to sit on. :)

Which is what side? :o

Here is how you book Glacier Point Wilderness Safari (excellent choice):

 

https://www.alaskaexcursions.com/glacier-safari-2/

 

Juneau:

Whale watching and Mendenhall used to be easily combined but due to changes with entrance to Mendenhall, I am not sure who they are using. You can easily book whale watching of your choice and then take a taxi to Mendenhall Glacier from the pier and spend as much time as you want there as opposed to be confined to the time frame of the tour. This depends on entirely how much time you want to spend hiking at Mendenhall glacier.

I found a combo whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour based on another thread here: http://alaska-shoreexcursions.com/juneau/whale-watching-mendenhall-glacier-tour

We will be sailing on NCL Pearl in July. This gives us time in Juneau 2pm to 10pm. The 2 options I'm torn between

 

**Whale watching with Harv and Marv's (5hr tour)

**Tracy Arm Fiord--ship sponsored tour lasting 8 hours.

 

I have read Tracy Arm Fiord is beautiful....this is our only option to see it as Adventure Bound only has morning tours not fitting into our schedule. Not quite sure who NCL contracts for this...if any one knows?? A little leary with the 8 hr time commitment??

 

Any input or experience would be much appreciated in helping me decide...Thanks in advance!!

Which week are you going? We're 90% sure we're doing the 7/22 sailing.

While I loved the White Pass Railway we had an extremely clear day. Our guide made a comment that you can never see all of the glaciers at the same time but we could. We thought that was the best thing we could do there until this year when we went to the kroschel wildlife sanctuary in Haines. you take a ferry to Haines which has incredibly beautiful views on the way there and back. And then you take a small bus ride to this wildlife sanctuary. The owner, Steve kroschel is absolutely hysterical and we learned so much and enjoyed it so immensely. You even get to be Hands-On with a few of the animals. It's not a zoo. It's a whole different animal experience and he is so interesting you don't want the tour to end. We did this through the ship, I don't know how to do it otherwise but I can't say enough amazing things about the tour. Although it was very expensive, afterwards I felt like it was worth every penny.

 

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Sounds like a very neat experience that would be good for our family ranging from 6-63. Couple questions if you don't mind: is ferry terminal within walking distance from cruise port? Do you recall price of ferry and bus fares? What was the cost of the tour itself? Total time from departure of cruise terminal to return?

I will be on this sailing and we are a group of about 40 coming from DFW (we're the crazy dog group, promise you'll know us by the end of the week lol.)

Most of our group is flying into Ft. Lauderdale the night before, taking a shuttle to Miami and then getting a hotel room. I'm doing almost the same but staying in FLL overnight and then shuttling the next day. We are all planning to fly home the same day once we get off the ship.

I would just find a nearby lot with a shuttle. Park the Uhaul in the lot, and then every person is responsible for getting their own luggage onto the shuttle and then onto the ship. Then as they get off the ship at the end of the week, they collect their own luggage, shuttle back to the lot, and meet back at the Uhaul location.

Is there any advantage to prepaying versus being billed at the end?? Seems like an extra trip to stand on line during vacation unless I am not understanding a reason for this.

The advantage to prepaying is so my entire vacation is paid in full before I ever set foot on the ship. No surprises at the end and no more money to pay. Of course, I have to monitor my spending on board to make sure I stay within the limit I set myself, but for me that's another benefit - setting myself an allowance of sorts, so that I don't get too crazy!

Thanks for the reply! Would you choose one over the other if given the choice? Price and other factors appear to be equal.

Sorry if this has been posted, I could not locate a search feature on this board.

Looking at tours for our stop in Cayman. Have always done Captain Marvin's and was wanting to book them again (if it ain't broke, don't fix it :))

But a friend just sent me this link that includes a "star fish snorkel" and I am wondering if that's really the same thing as the "barrier reef" that's listed on Captain Marvin's three-stop tour.

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/tour_details.htm#Stingray%20City%20Sandbar

In other words, are these the same excursions with different names, or is the "star fish snorkel" a unique/different experience from the "barrier reef?"

Thanks for any input!

Question on the "next cruise" certificates - on Carnival you would put $100 down to reserve, then when it came to booking you would get $100 off the price PLUS the $100 on board credit, thus effectively turning your $100 down payment into $200 of benefits. Is that how it works on Royal too? The way I read the certificate posted here, it looks like the $100 booking discount isn't there, so I would essentially break even on a 6-9 night cruise by paying $100 for the certificate and then getting it back in obc?

My favorites are:

Bitter and blanc

Roasted pumpkin soup (look for this on the Lido lunch buffet the next day for another helping!)

Prime rib

BBQ ribs

Cheese plate (blue cheese... drool...)

I would like to try (these have been added since my last cruise or I've never seen them):

Spinach and portobello salad

Potato cream soup

Pumpkin cheese pot pie

Corn chowder

Sweet potato soup

Bacon mac and cheese

Brownie melting tart

I probably won't eat again:

Lobster (wasn't my thing though I tried it)

Melting cake

Baked Alaska

Any diet dessert

Safe choices:

Any of the fried shrimp

Roasted chicken

Flat iron

Sherbet/ice cream

Bagel from the deli :)

Early Saver is the only rate that does price drops after final payment, and they come in the form of OBC.

Other rates you might find someone willing to give you an upgrade to a better cabin but no, you will get no $$$.

I made door signs for everyone in my group of 25 on our last cruise, and then snuck around putting them up as a surprise.

It's nice especially if you are cruising to celebrate something specific. For my most recent cruise, our Boxer rescue group cruised together so I put "Legacy Boxer Rescue" and the names of the people that were in each cabin. It makes for good conversation if someone sees you go in or out of your room.

For my honeymoon cruise I put a picture of us with our names in a little foam heart and wrote "newlyweds" and people recognized us from our photo and wished us a happy honeymoon!

Do be careful about names though. Some people may be cautious to advertise too much info, especially those in cabins by themselves, or young women.