Tabbymom

Thanks so much riff, I’m sure you’re right! Identical description and of course Carnival owns HAL. It sounds delightful - I love swim up bars!

Edit - although come to think of it, looks like the Hyatt is south of the pier, not north, and doesn't have slides. Hmmm...I may have to call HAL again. Or look at Princess excursions to see if it's there too. Yup, there it is but no reviews.

Thanks, I’ll have to hope HAL gets back to me. I really don’t want to go somewhere that unclear. I understand some of those resorts are time share and although I doubt HAL would set up an excursion thst includes a sales pitch, one never knows.

OK knowledgeable PV experts - HAL has added a new excursion in Puerto Vallarta. It's called "Exclusive Beach Resort Getaway". Not much real detail - it's 25 minutes north of the pier ("travel in air conditioned comfort" so I guess a bus) on miles of soft, sandy beach. Two huge swimming pools, Jacuzzis, waterslides, etc. One pool for adults only (not clear if this is a third pool). Lunch, drinks, kayaks, and boogie boards included (no snorkeling). There are no reviews yet so I think it's brand new. I called the HAL excursion desk and the rep said she'd email me if she got any more details.

So Name That Resort! (I don't know the area so no idea how many might fit the description.)

Has anyone used this company? It sounds like what we're looking for to snorkel but not sure which tour or if it would be smart to book in advance. We'll be the only cruise ship in port, arrive at 8:00, and the tours are at 10. I see their order form includes cruiseship as an location so wonder if they actually pick up there. It will be early November so I'm guessing snowbirds won't be around yet?

My friend added that the mystery waterfall/cave restaurant was somewhat of a drive out of town up into hills. I hadn’t really thought it was on the waterfront LOL.

She wants to buy Voltaren Gel, which is over the counter as well as prescription.

How reliable are the tours at the port when your ship arrives? My friend and I know we want to do snorkeling and swimming without vendors bothering us. She isn't sure about the HAL Las Caletas excursion although that's my top choice. Would we find anything similar being offered upon arrival? We'd like to get back mid-afternoon then go into town to stroll and have a drink - she has been before long ago and wants to see how it's changed. My friend also remembers going to a restaurant decades ago in a cave with a waterfall - we tried googling pictures but nothing looked familiar to her. Not to much to go on but any guesses?

She also wants to pick up a couple of products in a drug store hoping less expensive than the US - I said WalMart!

I went with my mother on her last cruise and she was a 4 star Mariner in a wheelchair. We were literally the first passengers on the ship.

I love foie gras and was curious about the asterisk next to it on the menu in post 32. Does that mean no seconds?! Also how likely it is to be on the Eurodam in Mexico in November.

Re the chaplain - my parents started cruising when my dad retired in the 1970’s. He was a Rabbi and through a connection got hooked up for an occasional chaplain gig. They continued cruising throughout their lives (Mom went on for 20 years after Dad passed and ended her life as a 4 star Mariner).

I splurged for two portraits on my March cruise because I had lost almost 50 pounds since my previous cruise and wanted it documented. :p On two of the three formal nights, I ran around to every possible station getting my picture taken and bought one picture from each night after I saw them all. I did wince when I paid the $80 but it was worth it; I worked so hard to look the way I did on those nights! (Not just the weight but the dress, hair, makeup, jewelry, etc.) A "sheet" of formal pictures includes one 8x10, one 5x7, and two wallet size.

But it was disappointing that all you could get was a "sheet" of each picture ($39 formal, $19 casual) or packages ($199 for six formal, $99 for six informal) or everything for $349. The packages include a DVD of the photos in the package. On RCI you could buy a variety of packages of both formal and informal in various sizes. So you could get five different pictures (a couple of 8x10's of your formals and maybe three 4x6 of informal) for the same $80. I didn't really need four copies of each of my portraits!

Did you wear it on your toes too?

Just wanted to say thanks for the encouragement to wear my new Revlon Ocean nail polish; here's proof that it's the exact color of the water in Aruba:

I call this one Candy Corn Sunset - taken in San Diego last winter.

I know Publix has a decent wine selection, but how about Winn-Dixie? Depending on when we arrive and how my mom feels, I may end up there (or Walgreen's) because I can walk there from the Hampton. Of course I'd rather go to Total Wine but that might not be an option. I don't need anything fancy, just a couple of adequate bottles for the cabin.

From the Enchantment leaving Fort Lauderdale:

I found this turquoise sun hat with UV protection last year in Mission Beach San Diego for about $7 and love it, but do have to jam it on pretty hard in wind.

But here's what I really need to know - would I be crazy to wear Revlon Ocean polish on a HAL cruise? It's a lovely deep shiny blue green. I love the color and it goes well with my clothes. I'm not quite retirement age but no kid. Will everyone look at me askance? :eek:

A quick way to post an occasional picture is via tinypic dot com. You can upload an individual photo and specify it's for a message board. After you upload, just copy and paste the img code it gives you into the message text box here on cc. They also give you codes for websites and emails etc so be sure to use the img code for forums and message boards.

I learned about this several years ago right here on the photo board.

Here's a couple from St. Thomas and St. Martin that I just uploaded:

I printed off a PDF map of a self-guided walking tour from this site: http://www.curacao.com/Plan-Your-Trip/Cruisers#.

I've been a long time lurker on the photo boards but figured it was finally time to jump in. I spent a lot of time in my earlier years on vacations with my trusty Pentax K-1000, learning all about composition, F-stops, shutter speeds, lighting, etc. Then there were the years shooting the now 22-year-old child. We started the move to digital with an old Kodak, then a few years ago chose the Olympus S-550 for the zoom and comfortable feel.

However, I never really made the mental switch to digital and relied on the auto function. I picked up a book last year and discovered there were tons of other functions to learn but never really took the time. Now I find myself with time on my hands - my job was just eliminated due to a reorganization (not unexpected; it was tied to my boss who took a new job). It's actually not all that bad - nice good-bye package, kid is through college with a job offer next month, and the house is essentially paid for, and I'm even eligible for early retirement, such as it is.

So I figured it was time to return to my old love of photography and see what I can learn. (Doesn't look like we'll be going on another cruise in the foreseeable future). I'm planning on getting the Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 software instead of relying on the free software that came with printers and scanners and computers. I'm going to take the time to study the book, the camera, and the excellent lessons and advice on this board.

In the meantime, I did grab the camera last weekend just to play around a little. We went to a balloon festival, which was somewhat disappointing since it was too breezy to ascend, and they were mainly advertising balloons. And the local parade - we've always had Civil War reenactors from the North, but for the first time we had the Confederacy too - they had a little battle right in front of us. I liked the juxtaposition of the soldier and the kids - sort of like the time travel romance novels I like!

Anyway, I will surely be back on various boards from time-to-time to get advice and critiques. Wish me luck!

-Marilyn

Thanks - guess I'll just have to see how generous they are on the Enchantment! But I will miss the free coffee.

I know they charge for the specialty coffees at Latte-Tudes, but is it like Cafe Promenade where the pastries are free? Also, do they have the cannisters of regular coffee for no fee? Cafe Promnade had the best free coffee on the ship!

Not behind closed doors but this is the crew loading up the supplies for Coco Cay from the Mariner:

Marigot hillside on St. Martin:

Mariner in St. Thomas 2008: