xraymagic

We recently booked a tour through Royal Caribbean and overall it was a good tour to get a general overview of Bonaire. Our biggest problem was that my husband, who is about 6' had marks on his knees for hours after the tour from pushing into the seat in front on the bus. He had absolutely no leg room. What I am looking for is the name of the tour company that Royal used in both Bonaire and Curacao. 

They might port at 0600 but they won't start disembarkation that early. I would suggest a later flight.

The things I am concerned about is what time the shuttle leaves the hotel to go to the pier, traffic into the city concerns me a lot being my departure is on a Friday. Then there is the weather. And is parking at the hotel secure?

We are on your cruise. It says well lit parking. Never had an issue leaving our car at a hotel. Sounds like you have enough concerns (time, traffic, weather, security) maybe paying to park at the pier would give you the most sense of security.

I agree, I may do the Hotel stay.

We are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn, Ridgefield Park, NJ. If you get the cruise and park package, shuttle to the pier is included.

Check out the Hilton Garden Inn, Ridgefield Park (New Jersey). Parking and shuttle to pier are included when you book the "Stay and Cruise" package.

What is the best way to keep an eye on prices? I look through the cruiseline website but my cruise for a year from now is sold out of the category that I'm booked on, so it's hard to get a price for that category now.

We are new to Celebrity and were wondering if they have the after dinner Special Shooters, like RCCL does. If they do, can you help me with the price. Trying to figure out if they would be covered by the Classic pkg or if we would need the Premium pkg.

Hi, loved the blog on both forums, thank you for sharing.

 

Okie dokie here is a silly question. I ride my own and see both men and women in shorts to Capris to jeans. I am an avid believer in jeans due to chin safety and pipe burn safety ... However I'm concerned about how hot it gets there. Could you tell me what the temps and humidity levels are on the islands whole riding? I know it varies and weather changes but curious about your experience.

 

Thanks,

Kathy

We never ride with anything but long pants and boots and shake our heads at the shorts and capris, but to each his own. Jeans definitely are hot but so are pipes, we wear a khaki colour (light) pant so that they don't absorb as much heat as a dark pant or jean. We do go for the cooler sleevless tops though after all you gotta let the heat out somewhere. :D We will be doing our 4th MC cruise in Feb/14 and will always continue to wear long pants.

Hi all ...

 

New to the boards and thought Id say hello.

 

Hubby and are oing on the 4/2014 motorcycle cruise and cant wait. This will be our first cruise of this type. Looking forward to it.

 

Originally from Long Island but now a North Eastern Pa resident. Not sure yet if we will riding up overnight or just head out early in thr morning. Was wondering if anyone knew what time we have to be at the ship in the morning??

We've done 2 on the Explorer and bikes and riders are to be at the pier between 1000 and 1030. Passengers go to the terminal because they are not supposed to be in the secure area where the bikes gather.

I had the very same problem with Internet Explorer and it lasted for quite a while. I used Goggle Chrome instead and it worked fine. Now Explorer is working again...... maybe they are just going through some changes. Don't panic use what works for now and then check back.

To those of you that have done this type of cruise before, I have questions, please...

 

1) How is this company?

2) How did your insurance handle riding outside USA?

3) How was your not having an international driver's license handled?

4) Anything else that is needed to know or that you learned after being on this cruise?

 

My hubby's MC is looking into the 04/24/14 out of NJ. Need to be able to take a trike. Need time to payoff cruise.

 

Thank you, everyone.

We are going on our 3rd Motorcycle cruise in 2013. We have had a great time and have made some wonderful, life-long friends. When you go on one of these cruises, you have to pay a lump sum of cash the first night onboard, this covers insurance for on the islands, any permits needed and some compensation for the escorts on the islands. There has only been one island that we have been on so far, that issues you a temporary licence and that is St Kitts. It is such a great way to see the islands and have fun riding you bike at the same time.

My husband and i have looked at these cruises for several years now.

 

I actually have so many questions.

 

We are not New to cruising, BUT new to any other cruise line except Disney for the mst part.

 

So these are my questions:

 

1. is the ship itself a good ship and is there Fun things to do with the group while on board?

 

2. How many stops does the ship make and do you take the bike off at each stop?

 

3.About how many bikes attend this cruise

 

4. can you talk to these people before hand, like is there a message board for this cruise other than here

 

Going over to the cruise site now to check things out.

 

thanks

1. They are great ships and lots to do. You would have to check out each one individually to see what each one has. Ships doing the motorcycle cruises at this time are: Royal Caribbean: Freedom of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Independence of the Seas Celebrity: Silouette, Equinox. Ships leave from New Jersey and Florida

2. The bike cruises are from 5 to 12 days long and this of course dictates how many ports you hit. They never ride in Nassau (do to insurance issues), Domenica (road conditions I think), private islands/ports. Other than those ports, you take your bike off at each port and either local police or riders meet the group and you have an escorted ride around the island with sight seeing stops and a lunch stop that is usually long enough to fit in a swim as well. Usually get back early enough to spend a little time at the port shopping or for a cold one. No one else touches your bike, you load and unload it yourself. They are parked below public decks and are put in wheel chocks with the wheel turned to the right and they don't move an inch.

3. We are on a smaller ship in April and they take 20 bikes whereas the Explorer will take up to 35 and also have a special gangway that will accomodate trikes.

4. If you call the company they will answer any questions. As far as talking with others in the motorcycle group, CC is the only way I have made contact with others in the past.

It really is alot of fun, and a great way to see the islands. Any other questions, just ask.

When I booked the cruise, the lady I talked to says that they use a Marriot hotel in the area, and that she can book the room for us, but not until this season's cruises are over. Once they are done, she'll be doing the paperwork for the next season's trips. That's a good idea, driving the route beforehand.

The Group does stay at the airport Marriott. It's a beautiful hotel and fun to be with the group. I believe they charge $10 per night for parking and it is about $50 to take a cab each way.

Our last cruise we stayed at the Hampton Inn on Staten Island and it is also about 20 minutes from the port. The bennefit is that parking is free and there is also a free shuttle. We were able to ride to the pier and put the luggage in the shuttle. You do need to book the shuttle as soon as the booking opens up because it fills up fast. Also need to book your return trip to the hotel. If the weather is poor you can trailer the bikes to the pier and drop off the luggage, return to hotel to park and shuttle it back. The big downfall is there is no toll to cross off of Staten Island but you pay a toll going on.

These are some pros and cons, and food for thought.

My husband and I are planning on doing this cruise next April. I am in the planning stages right now. I do have a few questions for anyone that can help me.

 

1. How do most people get to Bayonne? Ride their bike, trailer??? Any problems with leaving vehicle/trailer at host hotel, such as theft, damage???

 

2. How do you get to the port to embark? Hubby will have to ride the bike, of coarse:p. But how does the passenger get there with all the luggage? Taxi, shuttle, other option???? Do people ever get together to share a ride to the port?

 

3. Once at the port, where/how do you meet up with your partner? How is this handled?

 

 

This sounds like one REALLY awesome cruise!!!!!

Here's my 2 cents for what it's worth.

We have done this cruise out of Bayonne twice. The 1st time we dropped off our luggage and then drove to a storage facility close to the pier where we parked the truck and trailer and then rode the bikes back to the pier.(2 points here; the storage facility is now charging double and not a good choice and we could have also dropped off the bikes in the secure area then went and parked the bikes, but then there is the problem of getting back to the pier.)

2nd trip (just this past March), we stayed at the Hampton Inn on Staten Island. It included free parking and a free shuttle, operated by the Hilton next door. We booked the shuttle, but only put the luggage on it and rode the bikes behind. We unloaded the luggage and proceded to the staging area. This worked out excellent but you need to book the shuttle about 3 months in advance for both ways. May need to pester the hotel so that you get your name on the list as soon as they start taking reservations. One other downfall is $32 (truck & trailer, 4 axles) to get onto Staten Island but no charge to get off. On the return trip take the shuttle back with your luggage and then come back and pick up the bikes.

The Premier Parking is pretty much across from the storage facility and the price sounds great. Research it, but it sounds like a great option with the shuttle included.

** Passengers are not allowed to remain in the secure staging area and should be dropped off when you drop off the luggage. After the bikes go through the security check and are loaded onboard, the operators come back over to the terminal and join up with their passengers to go through check in and embarkation.

If you have other questions you can email me using my screen name at hotmail. I know my first time I was full of questions. You will have a great time it is a fantastic way to see the islands.

Karen

I am going on the one this Monday and as far as I know, you have to stay with the group.

 

To me that is better because if something happens to you and you don't make the ship you will have to find a way back home with your bike. Also, I don't think their insurance would cover and our own insurance does not cover you in the caribbean I think, I may be wrong.

You are totally right. You do everything on the islands as a group. They make a fuel stop to start with, make some scenery/attraction stops, a longer lunch stop (usually time for a swim) and then a stop back at the pier for some shopping, before going back on the ship. We just finished a cruise last week and on 3 of our islands we had police escort and the 4th was escorted by the Caribbean Eagles. They block traffic and take you on a ride that you won't forget. We have already booked our 3rd bike cruise for next year.

Just got back from the Freedom last night, great cruise, really good bunch of people. See you in Jersey.

Can't wait to see you guys again and get this cruise underway.:D

I will be bringing my bike on the back of a pickup. Do they have a ramp or something to get the bike off and put them back on when we get back or do I have to bring a ramp? Or is there something near by, a hill or something.

You will need to bring a ramp. The area where the bikes get set up is a parking lot beside the ship. Everything is flat, flat, flat. Unless you can find somewhere to unload them and ride over to the pier.

Steve is having a test of the new gangway. He arranges for several trikes to be there so I'll send some pics.

We looked at a trike in the HD showroom on Saturday.... I can't imagine one of those fitting on the gangway....

Looking forward to seeing your pictures. We've been working on Sue and Jon but they have told us that they are aiming for 2013. So of course I've started looking at that too. We are looking forward to seeing you and Kathy again. We were committed to spending some of our time with friends on our last cruise but this time we are dedicating ourselves to the cruise group. You'll be sick and tired of us by the end of the cruise. :D

Have you still been using Delta?

Well Tami is transferring our reservation from RCCL to ETA. So we will be with this group in a few more months. Our 2nd motorcycle cruise.