imjoyful2

Only $6! That's the price to go to Dawn which is before Le Galion. Was your van completely full?

I thought it was $6 but possibly $7 a person now that I asked hubby (he too said it was either $6 or 7). And yes our van was full with just me, husband & our kids! lol :D

Thanks for the feedback. Helpful that you've done both.

Great that you did a private tour so you could cater to what you wanted to see (it's a little too pricey for us). The only thing I would change on the regular tour would be Orient for Le Gallion. Everything else sounds great. And I do like that it's a mix of different things to do and see . Our other two ports will be beach days so it may be a good variety.

Was the water rough at Orient? Or was it ok?

Yeah I think his price has gone up since we went.

Orient definitely had waves to it, can't say I remember any undertow but definite waves for sure. Our kids just stayed in the shallow area or went out with one of us. Also, when he takes you to Maho, that beach isn't recommended to swim in because it is really rough there.

I've done Bernard's twice and Le Galion 3 times. First time with Bernard's we did his regular tour that grouped us with other people. (this included our kids who enjoyed it btw). We only saw the occasional topless person on the short time we were on Orient, not a big deal. You can actually see this anywhere on that area of the island including Le Galion.

Second time we did Bernard's, we did a private tour with friends of ours so we customized it slightly. It was a lot like our first tour with a few different stops and we chose to go to Le Galion this time due to the calm water. I was never worried about using Bernard's tours instead of a ship tour (I've actually never used a ship tour and instead book private tours I've read about here. ;) )

Several of our trips to St Maarten we've just taxied to Le Galion on our own. Last year it was $6 a person one way and there are always taxis stopping by the beach to go back to port, never had an issue with that. I can't tell you if your kids would be bored or not. We love laid back beach days, my kids play in the sand & water, older ones sometimes read while laying in the sun, etc. I also pack small inner tubes we can easily blow up to play with in the water as well as some small sand toys.

Good luck deciding! :)

I've been to LeGalion many times, sand is perfectly soft. Also, we've never walked anywhere to get a taxi back to port. We've seen many drive in to the beach. When we were there last year, it was $6 a person one way to LeGalion. :)

I've been on the Explorer 4 times with our kiddos. We love the ship!

-diapered children are not allowed in the kiddie pool

-bring a small bottle of dish detergent to wash sippy cups & spoons

-high chairs are available, just have to ask

-wait staff is more than willing to bring whatever food you would like for your little one, just ask :) (you'll find they LOVE kids and really go out of their way for them!)

A few other pieces of advices, in regards to breastfeeding, I found it helpful being able to nurse my littles while on the cruise. ;) They are in a new environment and something familiar (nursing) made it easy to calm them down, help them sleep, etc. Just some food for thought. :) Also I have a compact stroller that reclines that I brought with us to use on the ship. Was nice to go for a walk on the track to get them to nap then I could just go park somewhere to sit and read. I also have a sling I brought as well. On our last trip, I brought a small blow up pool for my littlest one to use both on the ship and in port (we were in the Caribbean so it was nice for her to have somewhere to play in water on the beach).

That would be terrible! Did you get to go on your honeymoon?

 

He has the state issued one with the seal that says commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Yes we still got to go but we lost a day as he had to get it notarized. :( This was back in 1998 so fortunately he was still able to fly.

Be sure the birth certificate has a RAISED SEAL of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Yes THIS!!!! Many moons ago when hubby & I went to head out on our honeymoon, I had a passport and he had his "supposed" birth certificate. Long story short, his evil mom intentionally did NOT give him his state issued BC but only hospital one. The whole process was awful. (it was her fault too:mad: )

Anyway, all that to say, make SURE their BC are PA issued with the raised seal and not hospital issued.

LOL Tequila always makes for good proof-reading! ;) While I haven't commented since the very beginning, I am checking in several times a day to catch up! :D

Our favorite bartender (Zai Ma) told us that he had suddenly been moved from a cruise that goes out of Florida

They moved a lot of crew unexpectedly due to the dining issues. Our favorite head waiter from the Explorer got moved to Quantum with 1 days notice (because he is amazing at what he does! Say hi to Dario from Croatia for me, Jenn, if you see him!) I feel bad they didn't get more notice to prepare.

Watching your sailaway on the port cam. Bon Voyage! :)

Have a great trip! And if you see our favorite head waiter, Dario from Croatia, tell him his buddies Olivia & Jenn say HI! :D

[/url]

Olivia with Dario

My daughter is GF and our last cruise was the first time we dealt with her new diet. They were wonderful in accommodating her for all the main meals (even had GF bread on hand) but she felt there was lack of GF desserts & snacks. It didn't hamper her experience, she just ate more fruit & sherbet but did wish the dessert & snack options were bigger.

Even with our kids along, we've only ever stayed in an interior room. ;) We didn't find ourselves in the room that often, even with little ones. Our most recent cruise, we had 2 connecting interior rooms for 8 of us (6 kids). We also had a pack'n'play (that yes the ship will provide for you). During the day, we put the pack'n'play on the bed to allow more floor space. For naps, we took a walk on deck with our small stroller that reclined. Once they were asleep, we'd find a shady place to sit & read. I would also use my sling to put my little ones in to nap while I walked around as well. As far as space goes, it's probably a personal preference. We were fine with all of us in the small space of an interior room. :)

I did bring along my own sheet as they just use a flat sheet to wrap around the pack'n'play pad. For bathing, I just took my little ones in with me. The shower head is removable so for my 3 yr old, I could just stand her on her own & remove the shower head to bathe her.

Those were the same selections they had on the Explorer in November. ;)

We've had Leigh & Erky twice (and they remembered us!) They are the best of the best!

I'd be thrilled if my husband went to the Windjammer before I got up and came back with breakfast and coffee. Wouldn't cost anything. (Not thrilled with room service breakfast the time we tried it.)

HA! I hear ya! I can't even get that to happen :rolleyes: so those of you whose hubbies either do something like this or buy the package, know how blessed & lucky you are!!!

On Explorer's repo cruise in November, we thought the MDR's food was great. We had dinner there each night and ate most of our breakfasts there as well as we found the food hotter there than in the Windjammer (plus we didn't have to try to find seating for all of us).

Hi, guys, it's Merion Mom, chiming in while we are still docked in San Juan and I have free internet on my phone. ;)

 

1. I had the filet mignon (part of the surf 'n' turf) in American Icon last night, and it was every bit as good as a Chops filet!!!!!! :eek:

 

2. Ken Rush has been fine so far.

 

3. Yes, the Activities Manager's name is Katie Turner, and she is one of the two best in the RC fleet,IMO. (The other is Darryl Dyball)

 

4. You CAN get internet for about $15 a day with the right package.

 

5. Jeff Tracta is not really a comedian. He is an impersonator/impressionist and a singer, and he is a FANTASTIC one.

 

6. Troy Thirdgill is one of the funniest comedians I have ever heard on a cruise. His late night show was even funnier.

 

7. Ollie, call me. We'll have a drink. Cabin 6648.

 

No, gentle readers, I am not afraid of bad people. :rolleyes:

 

:)

Glad to hear all is going well! Were you able to find Dario by chance? Hope you have great weather today in St Thomas! :)

We've been able to have our kiddos switched around but it's because we sail on long cruises when there are hardly any kids on board. (we homeschool so that's how we do that ;) ) Our last cruise was a 15 day repo cruise with only 30 kids out of 3,000 people. And 6 of those children were mine! :P They combined ages 3-11 which was only my 3 yr & 11 yr old so we asked if he could get moved up to the teen program with his 3 sisters and they allowed him to as long as he behaved (which he did). I am thankful they allowed this as he would've been bored out of his mind otherwise. The entire group of teens were awesome and they didn't mind the variety of ages in the group. In fact, the whole group would sometimes take my 2 little ones with them on group activities or to just play with them. As homeschoolers, our kids have friends of many ages, not just their same age so it worked out great.

All that to say, it doesn't hurt to ask. ;) It really just varies on the time of year & amount of kids they have on board.

Military, Police, Fire and EMS - First Responders

 

Hospital staff - First Recievers

 

 

The "powers - that - be" (corporate boards) elected to market to the ones who go into harm's way.

 

Plus, by and large, the First Responders are compensated way below the First Recievers ...

Amen!!!!

And in many areas of the country, some of us first responders are only volunteers and never earn a dime for what we gladly do!

We've only ever done longer cruises for several reasons. We can't imagine sailing less than 10 days to fully enjoy it and honestly, we prefer to sail when there are less kids on board (says the mom with 7 kids! lol). The time of year and length of cruise does determine the average age of the passengers. Our last cruise that was a 15 day repo cruise, there were only 30 kids out of 3,100 passengers and guess who had 1/5 of the kids on board? Me! LOL And yes, the average age was 60 + on that cruise but we didn't mind it as there were so many wonderful people on board to talk to & interact with! Age is just a number! ;) You'd be surprised at how "young" some of the more "seasoned" cruisers act! LOL

We don't care about the age of our fellow cruisers. We are used to interacting with people of all ages, my kids included. We homeschool so my kids are used to befriending people of all ages. (and homeschooling allows us to vacation whenever but I know we are in the minority). I admit though our repo cruise wasn't our norm. Prior cruises average age was about 50 with around 70 kids on board.

Even if it's an older age on board, RCI still does SO many activities on board to make the cruise enjoyable! ;)

Like others stated, the difference is first responders (police, fire, EMT's) are the first out there in an emergency and putting their lives at risk which is why you see don't the discount offered to hospital personnel.

I've been a volunteer EMT for 13 years and I have see the occasional EMT discount pop up for my state when I am playing around with ghost bookings. Again, these discounts are hit & miss and sometimes only offered to certain states. Who knows the rhyme or reasoning behind when they are offered but I do appreciate that they recognize the risky job that first responders do (and yes, even as an EMT, I've been in several high risk calls over the years.)

It JUST stopped snowing.

I was watching the port cam and FINALLY I can see! I'm wanting to catch sailaway. ;)

Looking forward to following along as I have several friends on this sailing with you!

Thank you both for your recommendations of beaches. I will definitely look into them. Do you have any idea what a taxi costs to them? Having little ones with you, were you worried that they weren't in car seats?

Thanks,

Cheryl

If I remember correctly, it was $6 per person but for our 2 littlest ones they didn't charge us as they were on our laps. I know the whole car seat thing can be tricky. Most of the cabs don't even have seat belts to attach a carseat to so that's why I haven't brought ours. Usually my little ones are attached to me via a sling and because of the heavy traffic on the roads, you don't travel at high speeds. Most times you are just crawling along.

Which beach will be better for a 3 and 5 year old? Little Beach at the town pier, Maho or Sun Beach Club?

Is Sun Beach Club on Orient Beach?

Thanks,

Cheryl

We've been to St Maarten 4 times and 3 of those time we went to Le Galion Beach. Very calm & perfect for kids as there is a coral reef off shore that breaks the waves so you barely have rippling water on the beach. It's right past the butterfly farm. Very laid back & not crowded like the popular beaches are. There is 1 restaurant there with bathrooms.

(pics of it in my blog below).