am2350

Wife and I will be participating in the catamaran snorkel tour in two weeks or so. Once back in Texas I'll be more glad to answer any questions

Curious if you did end up doing this tour and how you liked it? Do you recall who the local tour operator/company is for this one? I've been burned by Island Marketing once (and it really ruined our day in St. Thomas) but have had other tours through them (several before and one since) go just fine but still makes me nervous . . .

When I compare pricing on Insure my Trip (for Travel Safe) versus directly through Travel Safe's website, it is cheaper through IMT? Anyone know why? Is there a difference? Does anyone know if it's easier dealing with one versus the other? TIA.

Just off the Liberty. I believe the nursery was open all day on port days. We did use it but were not really happy with it. Our 14 month old is very used to daycare and never a problem. First morning of the cruise we used them and when we picked him up they said he was sick (he was not but he was sleepy and had coughed a few times). They said we would have to go to the ship doctor, pay $150 and get a clearance. I went to guest services and they said it would not cost during the medical center open hours so we went down, they took his temp and called the nursery to say he was fine. First evening we used them they called us and said we needed to pick him up because he was crying. There are several nursery workers but one in particular was not at all warm and friendly. We felt like we were dropping him off for jail as her manor was so cold. It was nicely outfitted however. There is also a room near Johnny Rockets (on the door it says FUEL) they have placed mats and toys down. It was always empty when we went and it was a great place to let the little man run around and go crazy.

Thanks for the info! Although a little disappointing to hear that negative feedback. :( We are traveling with several family members so hopefully will not have to utilize it too often but the one day in port we would definitely need it as everyone will be going on the excursion. I suppose we will do some 'test' stays on those first few sea days and if we think it will be an issue we will adjust accordingly. My daughter will only be 7 months so there will definitely be some crying while in there if she needs to be changed or fed so I guess we'll see how that goes. Thanks again!

And a side note - you should definitely give that feedback if/when you get the survery from the cruise line...especially if you recall the staff member's name.

This may have changed, but previously on RC, you cannot sign up for nursery hours prior to the cruise. Since these slots are limited, I don't know that you will know prior to sailing what times your child can remain in the nursery. If this policy has changed, I'd love to know about it since I'm also thinking of RC and need to use the nursery.

 

In Roatan, Bodden Adventures could arrange for all day private transportation for your family, so if the nursery hours vary, you could just tell them ahead of time to please wait for you (they have one person at the dock who coordinates everyone's pickups).

 

If things don't work out with the nursery, my 3 year old loved visiting the monkeys and other wildlife at Victor Bodden's house, and visiting the iguana farm.

I know we cannot book prior to the cruise but I guess just hoping to know the hours so I can book an excursion accordingly (and hopefully get her a spot for those hours that port). We plan to go to the open house and registration as soon as it opens once we board. :) I figured the times the nursery is open would be pretty similar if on the same ship/itinerary. Being closer to the sailing date, was hoping someone would know...which would at least tell me if the hours match up with the pick up time for the excursion we are wanting to do. I read somewhere if you are on a cruise sponsored tour and the nursery is not open yet, they will open early for you....but not if booked outside the cruise line (which I understand). And getting conflicting info that they are closed for a few hours around lunch time? So was just trying to get clarification....if possible.

Worst case scenario, I'll stay onboard with her and my hubs will go with the rest of our family on the excursion (snorkeling).

There will be a handful of kids onboard on port days. I wouldn't worry about it. They do activities similar to sea days, but it's important that the staff knows you are going on an excursion. They will take the children to lunch and so forth. If your excursion starts before the youth program opens at 9AM- you have to make arrangements with them the beforehand- make sure they know ahead of time. Also- if it's not a ship sponsored excursion- they won't open early.

Do you (or anyone) happen to know the hours for the nursery on Liberty of the Seas? I have a flyer from one of their February sailings but it was a different itinerary than what we are doing in August so didn't know if the hours vary? We plan to take our daughter with us in port in Cozumel and Costa Maya but do not wish to do so in Roatan and need to know the hours open so hopefully can book an excursion (would not be through the cruise line). . . .

I have been to both St. Thomas and St. John on land vacations. This August I will be on the Royal Caribbean's Oasis. We will be docked in St Thomas for a day. There will be a group of six of us ranging in ages from 50 to 60. We are interested in Island Marketing Ltd., VIP half day sail and snorkel to St. John.

 

Has anyone used this company before for this particular excursion? What are your thoughts about it?

https://www.stthomascruiseexcursions.com/VIPSailingYacht.htm

 

Thanks!

We had a terrible experience with that exact tour and we are not sure if the boat/operator they put us with is not the usual operator but the tour we received was NOTHING at all what is advertised. I will no long book with Island Marketing b/c of this tour and the way they handled my complaints when we returned.

There was a miscommunication from the beginning. The confirmation said a driver would be holding a sign that said 'Island Marketing' but turns out he was holding a sign for his own company (Aaron's Tours) so we stood around (in the rain) for 45 minutes looking and waiting for our driver only to find him right there all along. I even asked several people around him if they were with Island Marketing. He never seemed to catch on. So we left 45 minutes late for our tour. The drive to Red Hook took another 45 minutes b/c of a wreck. We get to the marina to this '40-foot yacht' to find a boat barely big enough for the 6 of us. I tried keeping an open mind up to this point. Then they ask us what we want to do for the day. Ummm, well I want to go to St. John like the tour describes. We are quickly informed how that's not really possible with a half day tour b/c of the way the sailboat requires tacking with the wind to get all the way to St. John and we would need a full day tour to go all the way to St. John. Uh...the tour description is for a HALF day tour?? So why advertise something you cannot do??? I was really getting annoyed and mentioned the specifics of what the tour promised. That didn't seem to matter. Again, tried to make the best of it. We sailed to a place called Christmas Cove. We got out to do some snorkeling and there was nothing, I mean nothing there to see. I had communicated with someone before the trip and asked about the ability for one of us to be taken to the beach as she doesn't swim. They assured me she could be taken on a dingy to the beach. We were informed that particular beach was covered in sea urchins and they didn't recommend it. So she paid all that money to sit on a boat. After about 30 minutes of looking for something worthwhile, we called it quits and headed to the boat. It was time to go back to the marina. I was utterly disappointed. I wrote a long letter to the manager at Island Marketing who got the tour operator's side of the story and she seemed to think she did a bang up job for us and we seemed fine with the tour. I told the Manager the tour operator was confusing my being polite with satisfaction. They offered to give me a discount on another tour but of course I never got that discount. Therefore, I will never book with them again. I used them numerous times in the past and was always happy but they are blatantly (STILL) advertising a tour that they simply do not deliver. But perhaps someone else had a different experience. . . I am thankful we get to return to St. Thomas again this year and perhaps will have a better experience. I promise - it cannot be worse than last time. :(