Ron_L

I just received the following e-mail from Best Western...

Please be advised that the BEST WESTERN Bay Harbor Hotel in Tampa, Florida where you have a reservation(s) is no longer a “Best Western” hotel.

 

As the agreement for your reservation(s) is between you and the hotel, and not Best Western International, your reservation(s) should still be honored at the hotel. Please contact the hotel directly if you have any specific questions regarding your reservation.

 

If you have any questions regarding this email, please contact 1-800-528-1238 or email custserv@cs.bestwestern.com.

 

Thank you,

 

Best Western International Customer Care

Is anyone booked to stay there in the next couple of weeks? I'm curious what this really means and what changes will occur at the hotel. We are booked there after our NCL cruise on Nov. 22

Any comments/reviews from folks staying there soon would be appreciated.

The Star is approaching Tampa now so hopefully NCL will update the status once they have a chance to look into the issue.

Just got off the phone with NCL. They said at this time the Sailing is a go for Monday. However, I "think" thats what they are working toward but will not know in the near future. The rep said they are good about contacting passengers if there is a problem they will notify asap. So..we will have to cross our fingers and wait :-)

I hope that they can get it fixed in time! We're on the Star on Nov. 15 so we should be fine (I hope :D)

This was posted on Facebook about an hour ago...

I haven't seen anything else about it and how it might affect the next cruise.

Hi Ron : I still consider myself somewhat new to cruising, the info and help I get from these threads have saved me a boat load :D of $$$ and made our experience that much more enjoyable! The restaurant that was recommended......any good? Always looking for a MUST go to restaurant.

 

Thanks Dennis

Glad to help, Dennis!

It was the Blue Moon Fish Company, and it was excellent. Not cheap, but excellent :D

http://bluemoonfishco.com/

Enjoy your trip!

Not to steal the thunder of the Made in Roatan Shop, but a little further into Coxen's Hole on the right/ocean side of the street is Yaba Ding Ding, a shop that sells native crafts produced by local women to financially support the women who use the traditional methods to make the native artforms.

Fabric, Lenca pottery, and wooden artifacts may be purchased there; we picked up a Jaguar pot to take home with us.

Check out both places, and support the local industry and arts.:cool:

How far is it from the pier? If I ask, will someone be able to give us directions?

Thanks Captain and AAREP for your responses. Leaning towards Bahia Mar....also like the idea of the water taxis!

 

Thanks again!

You're welcome!

The Water Taxi ticket is good for unlimited rides in a day, so we planned a day around that. We left the hotel and went to the Las Olas Blvd area to look the shops and lunch, then rode the water taxi around to see the sights and then back to the hotel. Then we cleaned up for dinner (It was our wedding anniversary) and then rode it to the farthest north stop and took a taxi from there to the restaurant that friends had recommended. then we took a taxi back to the Water Taxi stop and rode around for a while at night.

We stayed at the Bahia Mar for a couple of days after a cruise in April 2014 and enjoyed it. It's a nice location with an elevated walkway to the beach and a nice pool area and pool bar. They have two buildings, the Tower and the Marina Building. The Marina Building is a three story building that looks like it may have been a separate hotel at one time. The Tower rooms are nicer so if you go there try to get a tower room.

It is also a short walk to the water taxi stop. We used the water taxi several times. Besides being convenient it was a nice ride and a good way to see the area.

Thanks to those who answered my question!

We rarely eat at the buffet, but it seems that every ship has something on there that folks really enjoy. It seems like crepes are popular :D

The cheese and crackers, for pre dinner nibbles on the balcony with a glass of wine.

No balcony this time. We just couldn't justify $300/person extra even though we enjoy the balcony. :(

What are your favorite items on the buffet on the Star?

We're doing the same itinerary on the Star in November. We are doing an NCL excursion in Roatan, but only because that is the only way to get there. We're going to Maya Key, a small island near the port that has great snorkeling, but they only book through the cruise lines.

In the other ports we're doing it on our own.

Costa Maya - Maya Chan Beach Resort

Belize - Goff Caye through Island Marketing

Cozumel - What ever hits us that day :D Probably taxi to Chankanaab Park.

We went to Goff Caye in 2009 on an excursion through Carnival and loved it! They have 50-60 people but we were able to get away from the crowd and it felt like we were on a private island. We are going back in November with island Marketing. I'll try to remember to come back to this thread once we return.

Thanks for the post! We'll try to get there when we are in port in November!

Marcia has just told me she is onboard until 31st January so she will be around. Tell her I sent you!

It depends on each individual's contract as to when they take a break and visit home or go to another ship.

Thanks!

We were on the Carnival Breeze for the first cruise after a TA and they swapped out 25% of the crew so I wasn't sure if NCL did the same.

I've been checking it all day. It looks weird with no ships!

They posted this picture earlier this afternoon. they are just on the edge of the storm now.

Will these folks still be on board after the Star comes back to the Caribbean? Do they change crews after the TA at all?

I was able to purchase them in advance on myNCL.com for the Star. I'm not sure if they do that for the bigger ships.

We print them and put them in these holders...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/store/product.cfm?ID=46

They have lasted for 4 cruises so far and are still in great shape.

I love having a balcony, especially for coffee in the morning or a glass of wine in the evening, but not for $300/person. I'd rather spend that money on some nice dinners or special shore excursions. How much time do you spend in the cabin, anyway?

Have you looked into Bahia Mar? That's the hotel I'm leaning towards because my kids love the beach and I thought it would be great to be in walking distance

We stayed at the Bahia Mar for two nights after a cruise last spring. Make sure that you are in the main tower, not the marina building. The Marina building is a separate 2 or 3 story building that looks like it was a separate hotel at one point. It was clean and comfortable, but we were only able to use cash or credit card at the pool bar because their room charge system wouldn't handle the room numbers from the marina building for some reason. Not a big deal, but we felt like we were staying at a different hotel.

The property overalls nice and they have a nice pool and an elevated walkway to the beach. There are several restaurants and bars within a short walk and the water taxi stop is a short walk away.

Just to give you another option, we used John's car service last spring to go from FLL to the Hampton at Brickell Village. It was $80 for two of us, but I don't think the cost goes up as long as everyone will fit. We were picked up in a full sized SUV, so 5 people plus luggage shouldn't be a problem.

http://www.johnscarservice.com

The Hampton is nice and as mentioned, there are a lot of options for food nearby. We didn't shop, so I can't comment on that.

We took a taxi to the POM the next morning. I asked the valet to call one for us and the taxi was there in under 5 minutes. I don't remember the cost, but it was pretty cheap.

There is a separate FB page to "bring back the animals to Little French Key". You should be able to find it by searching.

Well, this just changed the entire dynamic of my Christmas cruise on the Escape.....

87 days on the Star!

That's a good little tip to know! Not that I will be sampling all of the vodkas or anything.....

Party pooper :D :D :D