janabm81

You can absolutely board grab a bite to eat and then get back off for a couple hours. The only problem is that most of the activities you mention leave earlier in the morning and are quite a distance away from the Old San Juan/Cruise Ship area.

For us, the tour was a complete waste of time. Of course, we went thinking we were actually going to tour the factory. Instead, it's a short tour of the history of Bacardi with a video thrown in for good measure.

Luckily, we had a rental car when we went. I wouldn't pay to try and go there when there are so many other great things to do in San Juan.

The forts are great. My teens (3 boys) always enjoy spending time there.

This is the first group I've booked with Carnival (we usually take our group cruises on Royal) and it's been hell from day one even with later transferring to a TA.

Trying to book our group was hard because the "group specialist" I spoke with told me we could book at one price (the group price) but that the amenity points were gone for our cruise so we'd have to pay for points if we wanted them. The other option was to do each booking individually at the online discounted price and then roll it over into a group. Well since I had no intention on paying for points and thought it would be nice to save our clients some money I spent the extra time to book them one by one and then call back to roll it over to a group. When I called back I got a totally different person who told me, yes they can roll it into a group but that I shouldn't have needed to book each one individually..they could've done it all. :eek:

The second problem we had was that they never sent an email or anything about final payment. (Yes I looked over the initial paper work and it didn't say anything) Luckily, since I'm on CC all the time, I was able to learn of the final payment date through our role call. Carnival's is 75 days where since I'm used to using a different cruise line, I was used to paying at 50 days out.

The third issue was the dining room. Maybe it's because, once again, I'm used to the way other lines do it...but Carnival doesn't send anything out asking how you'd like to be sat at dinner. I had to call and tell them who should be at what table and what table sizes we would need. (We still haven't heard back on this yet though.)

After the 3rd issue we had I chose to switch the booking to a TA hoping that would alleviate some of the headaches. Nope! I was wrong! :eek:

Issue number 4: I went online to book us in the steakhouse for dinner and received an email back stating that only our TA could do that and that in order to book he would have to call the special events department and that we'd all have to pay in advance! Arg! Finally, after my TA was on the phone forever with them, he found a loop hole for us. We would have to split the group and book it under 4 different reservations. Of course when he tried to do that he was told that only We (the booking owners) can book it. :confused:

All in all, between calling multiple times and getting someone who has no idea what they're talking about to the hassle of just trying to get the details finalized, the whole experience has been a big disorganized mess.:(

I pray that the cruise goes better than this planning has.

I'm sure this has been asked before but I couldn't find it.

If the itinerary states we arrive in Grand Cayman at 8:30am and we have a private excursion to get to...what is the earliest time can we get tender tickets?

Also, for those of you who have sailed the Breeze, where do they usually hand the tickets out at?

Thanks!

I always take the travel sized Lysol spray for our cabin. It seems easier to just spray everything than to wipe it all down.

Awesome review Sinny! I love the way you write...the humor and wit can't be beat! Can't wait to read more! :)

Thank you so much for posting the compasses. Now I know what nights are formal so I don't miss out by booking a specialty restaurant or being to tired! Yay! Thanks again! :)

So sorry you had a rough time. :(

I agree that the reps need to be better trained as to what exactly each ship and each cabin has. We booked a cruise for our family a while back (when I was still new to the whole planning thing) and asked for connecting rooms. Later on closer to the cruise I went to look at where our rooms were on the deck plans... Not only did the rooms not connect, they were in opposite hallways! Luckily, we were able to correct the problem before we left though. :rolleyes:

As far as the amount of accessible suites...I've no clue about why they only have a certain # up to a certain level. I do know though that some ships have accessible "Amenties" that you can choose from ahead of time from the special needs department. Some of which include a small edge ramp for bathroom doorways, hand holds that attach to the toilet, and step stools.

We've run into him multiple times. You'd think that with as many people telling him that they know the spiel and that he's famous on the internet, that he'd change up his story just a little bit and try to throw us off track!:rolleyes:

More More More!!!!!:D

I'll admit...I like watching...I just pray that I never become a participant!:eek:

What an awesome review so far!!! I'm loving all the pics...it makes me feel as though I'm there!:)

Ohhhh All these pictures are great! Makes me miss OSJ soooo much!:)

OP: It all depends on what you are looking for...

to me the only difference in decor on RCCL vs. CCL is that CCL has a more Las Vegas look where RCCL had a more tamed "hotel" look.

If size matters go for Allure...if you think being on a ship with over 4000 other people will be a bit clausterphobic go with something else.

Food wise, you never know what you're going to get no matter what ship you choose...this last cruise we took we had fantastic food the first 2 days, then the escalator that the waiters use went out and from then on our food was a bit tepid by the time it got to us...it was still had good flavor and we ate it but it could've been better.

My real advise to you is to choose what ever seems to have the most Value to you and your girl. What other people think/say shouldn't matter because everyone is going to have a slightly different view.:)

After all the cruises we've been on I still found stuff on this thread that I thought, "Gee, that's a great idea!" Thank You OP for starting it off!

Now for my thoughts:

1. Planning is Key!!! : the better you plan before you leave the more relaxing you can do when you get there!

Example #1: on our first cruise I simply looked at the excursions and booked what I wanted not realizing that every single one left early in the morning...being a very port intensive cruise we never even had a chance to sleep in. Now we look at times and decide if we're willing to get up early one or two days or not.

Example #2: When packing, I now figure out what I'm going to wear every day and each day goes in it's own ziplock bag. That way I know I didn't over or under pack and when I'm done wearing it all goes back in it's ziplock bag and into the suitcase under the bed. By the end of the cruise I'm all packed back up except for the toiletries and what clothes I'm wearing for debarkation.

Example #3: I now put all my documents & notes in a 1/2 inch binder with a few plastic sheet holders for special stuff we get a long the way (ie. photos purchased). Now everything is nicely organized in one spot and our photos don't get all bent and yucky.

Granted we most likely do all these things because of my OCD but in the end it makes life and our vacation that much better!:)

One last tip for everyone:

If you are a coffee drinker (like me) and use splenda or any other low/no calorie sweetner, you might want to bring some with you. Especially if you only like one particular type. :)

Wow...He's been doing this for years now...this guy needs to start paying taxes on what he makes off of unsuspecting tourists! I run into him every time I'm in Old San Juan... he must be really drugged/messed up though because I've met him about 8 times now...you'd think he'd recognize me like I recognize him and not even bother. :rolleyes:

I understand what they did...I still think they could've thrown in 3 more points and made me emerald! :p Oh well, I'll just have to wait until my June cruise to get there. Or.........maybe I can convince my husband on another "winter weekend" 3 day cruise! :D

If you go up the hill through mid-town and over to the staircase you can start at the top and walk down and then straight back over to the main tourist area to get a cab.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's found this hidden gem. It's sooo nice to be able to get good quality food that's not buffet or extra charge. Not to mention that while I get an amazing soup and sandwich the kids can get their pizza right next door. :)

Majesty is an amazing ship and since the refurb I consider her one of the most up to date out there. She's got flat screen tv in the state rooms and doors instead of curtains in the shower. Because she's a smaller ship with less passengers I feel the staff really treats us well. Our favorite bar is the pool bar right out side the wind jammer...it's got pleanty of seating in the sun or the shade and the bartenders Rock!

Any one know how long the security line waits are at the Memphis airport?

I tried looking it up on line and everything is really varied anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes.

I know your thinking "Just get there in pleanty of time" but I'm not actually leaving from Memphis...I have a hour and a half layover there and my brother works there as one of those drive around security guys. I wanted to quickly meet up with him and he says I can meet him outside the terminals but it's a hassel for him to get inside to me.

Just wondering if there's anyone out there that flys out of there often enough to give me an idea.

I like the short cutesy skirt ones but the ones with longer skirts tend to look like it'd be hard to swim in.