Podie

When I learned we were one of five ships in Grand Cayman earlier this month, I sent an e-mail to Sunset House, a scuba diver hotel, and asked if we could hang out there for several hours to avoid the crowds. The general manager replied and said sure!

So we got off the tender, turned right, and walked about half a mile past Eden Rock to Sunset House. We parked ourselves in the shade of the outdoor restaurant and bar, jumped in the water and snorkeled (there are two staircases to get up the rock wall), had a few drinks and lunch (which totaled about $30 per person), jumped in the pool for awhile, and eventually walked back to the dock.

Best "excursion" I ever took!

Because it is a tender port and I wanted our group to leave right from the ship, I booked a ship's snorkeling tour (Barrier Reef and Beach) for the four of us. It was not good at all. It promised a catamaran ride to the reef, including rum punch. We were picked up at the ship 30 minutes late and crowded onto a powerboat that was packed with passengers. The crew was friendly, nice and helpful, but the boat was jammed (they broke us into two groups to return), there was never a catamaran or rum punch, and the reef was super beat up with few fish. The one hour beach break afterward was better but did not keep the tour from being a waste of time and money ($79). Next time I'll book my own tour, or get on a ferry to Caye Caulker and bring my own gear. I have scuba dived in Belize and the reef has always been gorgeous.

We went on Dora's city tour a couple of weeks ago and it cost $60 per person. It would have been $75 if we'd stayed at 4 people, but because we went above 10, the price dropped to $60. She was a great guide and we had plenty of time to wander a little in case we wanted to shop. She was open to suggestions but all of us wanted to see the places listed in her regular tour. The people I spoke with who had taken Celebrity's tour were not as pleased - they were crowded and uncomfortable. My ship's tour in Belize was that way, too.

I bought emerald earrings from Lee Miles at his Mr. Emerald store in Cartagena two weeks ago. I had done plenty of research and had priced what I was looking for at my local jeweler; the stud-type emerald earrings at the local store went for $350. When I got to Mr. Emerald, a similar pair was $155 so I also bought a second pair, set in a silver teardrop shape, for $160. That included the 20% discount they automatically gave Celebrity passengers.

My jeweler appraised these two pairs of earrings at $250 for the first pair and $260 for the second. I am extremely pleased with the quality and price of the emeralds at this store.

As far as safety goes, there are LOTS of street hawkers but they are polite and leave when you say no. The Old City is lovely and our private tour guide (Dora) bought us fruit from a vendor she knew and it was delicious. I would feel safe at both places without a guide.

We just returned from Colombia on the Equinox. I will tell you that we used Dora (the Explorer) and she was fantastic, and the people I spoke to who used the ship's tours were not pleased with them. I personally used the ship's tour in Belize and it was not at all as promised. Cartagena was a very nice port; the Old City is beautiful.

Currently you have to purchase the Persian Garden pass to use a steam room. The sauna is free.

I gave it a great review for my Feb. 15th cruise. The balcony cabins are smaller than those on the S-class ships but the service was stellar.

Just returned from an 8-day cruise and used anytime dining for the first time. I didn't like it at all. Even though we had made reservations for the same time - 6:30 - each night, they were disorganized and once even tried to seat us at a table where the people were already eating. I prefer knowing the waiter and going right to the same table each night.

Belize has spectacular diving, but none of it is very close to the port. You really need to stay on land and spend more time there to appreciate it.

After reading through all the posts, I just wanted to comment that I, too, had a wonderful cruise 2/15-23. My concierge cabin was very nice and the attendants were wonderful. We did not have fresh flowers every day (just one rose for the length of the cruise) and personally I would never again spend the extra money for this "special" cabin, but it was fine.

My only complaint was the Persian Garden. The "aromatherapy" steam room had no smell at all no matter how many times we told the staff, and the regular steam room had about an inch of water on the floor at all times. It was a waste of money for me.

I will be going on Equinox for the second time next week, and it will be much nicer in many ways, but I will miss Century because she is a class act even with her little imperfections.

My sister lives in San Juan so I'm there often, but for the life of me, I just don;t understand the appeal of Mofongo! There is a little place called Punto de Vista which is inexpensive and good, two blocks to the right (standing on the pier) of the Sheraton Casino.

I spent a week in Belize a couple of months ago and saw many iguanas, as I have every time I've been in Puerto Rico. They were obviously more afraid of me than I was of them because they didn't come close.

I've driven by it, don't think that tour will take very long! (Loved the beer, though!)

My daughter and son-in-law renewed their vows on the Equinox in 2010 (because they eloped a few months earlier and both sets of parents wished they'd been there) and chose the cheaper of the 2 packages - $450 for the cruise director to MC, $600 for the Captain. It was held in Michael's Club with five of us watching and was very quick (daughter's choice) but very nice. The photos ended up costing more than $800 but at least we have some now!

My friends and I have decided we don't want to do any tours in Panama. Because we will be docked in March for 10 hours, I was wondering if there's anything right outside the port to visit? I think the Equinox will dock at Colon 2000 pier?

I had a good experience with Turbe.

Two of my credit cards now have the embedded chips. Chase sent me one a year ago and I just received a special Bank of America "travel" Visa with one. They can be used anywhere with no problem, and in the case of B of A, no 1% foreign transaction fee is charged.

I scuba dived off SWC on Oct 31st of this year. It was very pretty. Not sure how the snorkeling is - it would have to be in a shallower area. There's an area called The Aquarium that may be where the snorkelers go. I did not see much of anything on the island itself - picnic tables, outhouses, and if you climb a long steep staircase you can see the red footed boobys nesting in the tops of trees.

Has anyone done this? I've been to Belize and hoped by booking this ship's excursion, we would leave right from the ship and not have to tender. Does anyone know anything about this tour?

Also, there was nothing commercial on the island, just a nesting area for red footed booby birds!

If its the same South Water Caye in Belize that I was sitting on last month - the one right near the famous Blue Hole - it's quite a ways from the Belize City area.

Back Woods Off covered with baby oil takes care of the worst sand flea colonies you can possibly encounter. I just spent a week in Belize and had no problem at all but that was the recommended precaution.

I recently spent a week in Belize (and would dispute a few Belize "facts" in the linked review from 2011) and did a day of cave tubing through Caves Branch Resort outside of Belize City. It was the end of rainy season and the water was very high so we walked and climbed everywhere and only had about 5 minutes actually in tubes. It was quite strenuous and I don't know how a child would have done it. That said, I would check with the tour operator to see what conditions are like.

I will add that I loved Belize and its people who were outside Belize City. The people are so poor in Belize City that making a buck seems to be their main concern. In the rest of the country, the people were aboslutely wonderful.

I asked them if my three non-diving friends could hang out at their pool and bar area while I dived and they said sure. I thought that was pretty nice.

I just spent one week in Belize for scuba diving. We were about two hours south of Belize City. All of the locals at our resort told us to stay out of Belize City. When we arrived at the Belize City airport, we were warned to stay out of Belize City. I'm sure going across the street to the market is no big deal, but personally I wouldn't venture very far into the city. Go over to Ambergris Caye or Caye Caulker instead.

Sunset House's website says they no longer allow rental gear to be taken off the property. That includes tanks. So I guess this means you can't shore dive with their stuff.