leaveitallbehind

There often is sales tax charged on purchased beverages while in some original departure ports.

Appreciate the clarity regarding airport v ship. Never tried to check luggage at SJU airport (or any other for that matter) earlier than that time - typically around two hours prior as we arrive for our flights. SJU can be a pain and slow with security and bag check and we have had 90+ minutes check in more than once.

Just as comparison, our first time there was in 1992. Had to tender to get to it and once there it very much was a deserted island. No water park, only a few "developed" beaches, snack bar, couple of souvenir tents, and basically a lot of nothing. It was quite nice and I miss those days! Also don't know if you noticed the island adjacent to it less than a mile away. That is NCL's private destination. Frequently you can see one of their ships tendered there.

Designed to hold two Oasis class ships at once - 12,000+ people. In our experience it has been limited to two ships. For you it was a zero cost day, but for those interested in the water park, Coco Beach Club, or cabana's, etc., it can be a very costly day! We, too, avoid those costs when we are there. Which is another thing a travel agent could help sort out for the OP.

To add, RCCL has also announced plans for a private development in Cozumel, but who knows when that will be open. But to the OP's question, they are looking at Eastern Caribbean itineraries which would exclude both of these. I could add Labadee as a possibility for the OP, which is a docking private destination for RCCL / Celebrity on the northern coast of Haiti. But due to the unrest there that destination has been suspended, to date into 2025

Private islands - docks v tender (no dock): Half Moon Cay - tender Ocean Cay - dock CocoCay - dock Great Stirrup Cay - tender Princess Cay - tender Castaway Cay - dock Tendering is dependent on weather and sea conditions and the port of call can be missed due to adverse conditions. Tendering is also more time consuming and more physically demanding. Mobility issues could be a concern with this. Most destinations are mobility issue friendly, but I would check with the cruise line in question. Each island is different form the others in terms of atmosphere and activities. As examples, RCCL's CocoCay is a large waterpark with beaches and other activities while MSC is far more laid back. As each line caters to somewhat different demographics, that would be research well worth doing IMO. To your last question, given all you mention, I would definitely use a travel agent as they would be in the best position to help you align with the best cruise line fit for your expectations and budget, and would also have access to the best available fares often not published by the cruise lines.

We tend to get them on a hit or miss basis as well. When we do we usually have it within 24 hours or so of the end of the cruise. I think the reason for the time limit is they try to attached the reviews with the ship's folio for that itinerary, which gets closed relatively quickly after each cruise. I think they care about them, especially if there is a less than perfect response, but with the number of ships and sailings this may be the way they are able to keep track. At least that mirrors information from GS on one of our cruises.

...that is definitely a plus! And as I'm sure you would likely agree those days with the DL are probably numbered. Probably will become a restaurant.

Agree. But IMO, aside from the slides, Allure needs updating with a number of its venues.

Not like they used to prior to the pandemic. It has been a slow ramp up since then as the local government passed a referendum in 2020 limiting the number of passengers that could visit there by cruise ships to 1,500 on a daily basis. For a while after the restart very few, if any, ships visited there. This has eased somewhat over the years but remains controversial as the local residents want to keep the limitations in place.

....for now. Once Allure is amplified that will change. As you mention, the views from the farthest aft have dozen or so staterooms, in particular on the higher decks (such as 11-14), will provide a peak at the ocean over and to the sides of the Aqua Theater. The further forward you are the less this view is.

The late sailing is also due to the proximity of the Virgin (and other) islands which typically are the first ports of call. Even with a late departure from San Juan the ships are at a slow pace to get there for an AM port of call. St. Thomas, for example, is less than 70 miles from San Juan. Are you referring to the ship or the airport with your comment about the luggage check in time? We have cruised out of San Juan several times and with the ship, in our experience, we have always been able to check bags by late morning with an 8:00 PM departure. The timing for the return flights at the airport can be slow with baggage check in due to the agricultural check as you indicate, but it has always been manned by several employees and, although it is the required first step, moves relatively well. Inside luggage check can be a different story, however. We have encountered 90 minute + drop off to gate check in times there.

Just to second that, we usually find the online planner on our tablet or PC more user friendly than the phone app and use it as our default. We typically only use the app on board.

As you indicate, your departure time is 8:00 PM. That is consistent with our experience as most of our San Juan departure cruises left in the evening, typically around 8:00 PM, as with yours. Arriving the night before at midnight or even day of by noon or so should not be an issue. Flying as you are from Orlando should also mitigate any weather related flight concerns. Typically we also check in with first available check in then leave the ship for the day to spend time in Old San Juan, returning usually by dinner time. Uber makes that transportation easy.

One other thing to add, even if you are able to secure a late booking the price will usually be at the last sale date prevailing fare with most cruise lines. They don't typically discount last minute bookings.

LOL. To each their own. Agree completely that Quantum class Solariums are the best! See - we have some cruising tastes in common. As to the rest.....

For the most part, with IMO a big exception as pointed out previously, with the lack of pool in Harmony's Solarium. That and we also like Hooked which is not on Harmony, and don't like Jamie's, which is on Harmony. Probably nit picking to many, but to us sometimes the small things make all the difference.

Ship to ship, I actually agree with you and never understood what I consider to be a design flaw with Harmony with the respect to the lack of pool in the Solarium. Strange as it may sound to others, I agree with you and avoid booking Harmony as a result. Symphony also is one of our favorite Oasis class ships anyway and would win that discussion just for that.

I am also in a position to be familiar with cruise line schedules. And that is common with most transatlantic sailings with most lines as October is the end of the peak season in the Mediterranean and the start of the peak season in the Caribbean. Just makes my point on asset allocation with those lines moving ships seasonally for market demand and not hurricane avoidance. And in the spring it is typically April for the same reasons. Similar Pacific schedules for the same reasons with say Australia and Alaska. Has nothing to do with avoiding hurricane season timing with all of these repositioning cruises. If hurricane season was a key factor in scheduling ships, then most of the cruise lines would do it. But there are dozens of ships on a number of lines that are permanently based in the region to sail the Caribbean all year round. We've both said a lot on this and there is no disrespect intended. I respect your viewpoint. But I can add nothing further. As mentioned before, enjoy your cruising!

Not from direct experience and a lot of this may be speculation, but you may have some issues with it at security at embarkation when checking the ship, and if not, at security reboarding at ports of call. Hopefully others with direct experience can help. My question out of curiosity is why would you want to have these with you, especially at a port of call?

Not arguing with you and that may be true in your experience. But IMO it is more coincidence than intent driven by seasonal demand as there is no way to predict when or if a storm will develop with certainty in any given month. And they can and do occur in October and November as well. Seasonal positioning by fleet size and market demand is the bigger reason for this as with only 11 ships they cannot be everywhere at once. As mentioned, this is a common cruise line business decision. Other smaller cruise lines adopt this strategy as well. Conversely, as example, RCCL, Carnival, Celebrity, and others who have larger fleets all have ships based 12 months in Florida for Caribbean cruises through the full hurricane season. Apparently that isn't a factor for them. Target demographics also play a part in this as families with children, as example, primarily cruise in the summer months (and Holidays) when their kids can be out of school. And hot as it may be, those ships in the Caribbean itineraries sail full all summer. HAL's target demographics would, for many of the reasons mentioned in this thread, prefer to avoid those months and typically have the most seasonal cruising flexibility. HAL will adapt to this demand. Either way, your preferred line has seasonal scheduling that fits your preferences, so that really is all that matters - regardless of the reasoning behind it. Enjoy your cruising!

Generally those days are long past. In our experience, manifests have to be submitted 90 minutes prior to departure. (DHS may require 60 minutes minimum, but generally the cruise lines require 90 minutes) But the processing of a booking also takes time and involves some degree of vetting in advance. As suggested by others there is a cut off time for bookings. RCCL, for example, closes final bookings at 72 hours prior to departure. This may vary to some degree with other lines, but this is typical with most and "walk up" bookings don't occur. Also as mentioned, the other factor is that most ships sail full and there would be limited availability of staterooms close in to the sailing date. All TA's would have access to availability on any given itinerary and there would be no advantage by one over another in securing a late booking as they all have to comply with the cruise lines and Government agencies late booking guidelines.

As @Essiesmom indicates, it is more a matter of ship allocation and not so much weather avoidance, if at all. HAL primarily focuses their Caribbean on the late fall and winter months as that is peak season in the Caribbean. Alaska's peak season runs through August into September. After that certain ships are repositioned to other regions for the different seasons, such as Alaska to the Caribbean. With only 11 ships in the fleet serving a global market, positioning is typically seasonal for best allocation to capitalize on the best market timing and cruising demand. This is common among many cruise lines, in particular those with a limited fleet size. This is not as much of a concern with larger fleet cruise lines who, in the Caribbean in particular, will have ships postioned there year round. Keep in mind as well that hurricane season runs through November 30, which would still have HAL ships in the Caribbean exposed to a good portion of that.

You should. But there aren't always group or other cruise line TA promo fares for every cruise so don't be discouraged if it doesn't immediately or always happen with your chosen itinerary. But when there are such fares they will have access to them. Often it may be a group fare that they or their agency are sponsoring.

Actually the refundable deposit option and the non-refundable deposit option both are available with Always to include wifi and beverage package, or Standard which is cruise only. You are correct that a TA will have access to lower non-published group rates, but depending on the fare structure they can be with or without packages included. They typically would be refundable deposits, however, but not necessarily exclusively.