Mrs.C05

This is a great review! Can't wait for the rest! Moreso looking toward our cruise now in March!

I have gone in the gym and mimicked my beachbody workouts unless I did it in my stateroom instead with my resistance band. I've never paid for any other stuff. Hope this helps! 

One thing I'd probably say is to not get plastered drunk! I will just leave it at that. This was in 2005 when I was barely 21 with my family and then-fiance (now husband). Nowadays I see security guards outside peoples rooms when people get too drunk and just shake my head. Oh to be young and dumb!

1 hour ago, hennaLisa said:

I am hoping someone here has some experience cruising with kids with numerous dietary restrictions and can give me some advice. Please, if you just want to be rude, don't comment. If you haven't lived with these issues, you just can't understand what it is like.

 

My kids have numerous major food allergies and eat a restricted diet as a result. I make most everything for them from scratch, including things like gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free baked goods. They can eat normal meat, vegetables, nuts, and fruit, but won't be able to eat any of the grains or desserts that the cruise provides. When we've gone to resorts, I could just use the microwave to cook them their special things so they don't feel left out. But on the cruise, I realize we won't have access to cook anything. 

 

Having children with special needs and dietary restrictions can easily consume all my and my husband's time and energy. I need some suggestions about how we can make the dietary stuff go as smoothly and easily as possible. I've spent hours with the cruise line and talked with the access department and I've gotten such varied responses. "All food must be prepackaged and non-perishable." "Bring your baking mix and the chefs will prepare the children's baked goods." "Prepared food must be pre-cooked and frozen so we just warm it up for you." "There are microwaves located at the buffet." "There are no microwaves on the ship, even in the kitchens." The answers I get are all over the place.

 

In my ideal world, I could bring some of my kids' special foods already cooked, such as papadam crackers and chocolate muffins. I'd have them in a small cooler and just give them to my kids as needed. Secondly, I would bring some ingredients to make simple things. For instance, they can drink Bai drinks, which come in 18 fl. oz. bottles. I would bring a few flavors to let them split a drink once in a while and I would bring little zipcicle bags to make icepop-type frozen treats. I'd fill the bags with Bai drinks and put them in the freezer or maybe I could put them in a small cooler with a lot of ice overnight to freeze into a slushy texture? I could bring So Delicious dairy free sugar free ice cream if the cruise would let us keep it frozen. I could also bring my baking mix if I could give the cooks instructions (1 cup mix, 4 eggs, 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 cup coconut milk, can be made into pancakes, waffles, etc.). Would this work?

 

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

 

Hi there! My nephew has severe food allergies so I know exactly what you're talking about in needing to feel most comfortable in taking a cruise while still being able to feed your child. My sister is also what we thought had Gluten allergy, but come to find out has Celiac Disease (she is very careful of what she orders and speaks to the chef as well and she also brings her own snacks).

In your post above, the only thing that is true is "All food must be prepackaged and non-perishable." My sister was able to bring on frozen foods, snacks, drinks (mainly pre-packaged and non-perishable foods) for my nephews foods." There are no microwaves except in the galley/kitchen. When my son was smaller and was a very picky eater, I had taken black beans with me, but they could not hold the can, so I had to take it back with me to the room to keep in the mini-fridge.

If you want to PM/DM me, feel free. I had to climb the ladder with Carnival on what could be brought on the ship and the cooler size. I cannot PM/DM you for some reason so I don't know if it's me or CruiseCritic. If you cannot, you can just email icare at carnival dot com to get specifics. A very nice lady names Sonia Iglesias was helping me back then.

Here is my review regarding a food allergy friendly review:

We found that no straws have been provided on NCL in August when we went, nor did Carnival last week. My husband bought reusable straws he can throw in his pocket (has a case, cleaning brush and is collapsible). He  has sensitive teeth so drinking a frozen drink is not so fun for him without a straw. He tried asking for one on NCL in August but they said they don't have them anymore. I personally wouldn't like paper straws.

28 minutes ago, davekathy said:

If ya got it, flaunt it. 😜

Oh I plan too😊 hehe!

I like all the pineapple clothing that has come out but now I can't help but wonder what people are thinking if I wear it!

We've gone to Blue Lagoon before and it was ok. It was nice to do something different than just walk around Nassau, however I felt like they nickle and dime'd you. You paid to go there, then you could choose from either "free chairs" or clam shell chairs which cost money, or their VIP area, which was more money, and the "free" beverage you get with your wrist band (if you choose a clam chair) is 1 of 2 frozen drinks. I saw a lot of people just helping themselves to clam chairs and no one was walking around to check. I said something to the staff about it, who then said they'd go walk around to check. I just felt like it could have been managed better. I completely understand we didn't have to pay for the clam shell, but it was nice having the shade.

20 hours ago, jeff92k7 said:

 

Once onboard, you will find a document in your cabin confirming the social media internet purchase.  It should list your folio number on it (or you can find your folio number on your Sail and Sign card)
 
To log on, put your phone in airplane mode (this turns off all wireless radios).  Then turn JUST the wifi on.The phone will still be in airplane mode so cell service (and expensive travel rates) will be disabled.  Once wifi is on, then browse to Facebook (or any social media website).  Your browser will automatically redirect you to a portal page for carnival where it offers to sell you an internet package.  There should be a link there to log in (already purchased, or something like that).  Follow that link and it will ask you for your folio number.  Once entered, it will register your device on their system so you can stay connected for the rest of the cruise.  

Yep, this is what I was going to say. Just make sure you have the apps you want to use already installed.

Hi everyone! We've sailed out of San Juan a few times now, but this time we're flying in a day ahead of time and getting a room at ESJ, mainly to see a friend that moved for work.

Price was reasonable and we booked the flights we wanted with Southwest (which includes a carry-on and checked bag per person, unlike JetBlue). So excited! 

Just make sure you do your research! 

Hi everyone, just looking for recommendations, and with the CruiseCritic app no longer working it's somewhat hard to utilize the mobile version on my phone.

Anyways, I am tempted to book through AirBnB as well. I hope to find something decent as we only need it one night before the cruise. Looks like bundling our flight and hotel may be a better buy.

I've bought/tasted rum from Jamaica (Appleton), Barbados (Mount Gay), Bermuda (Black Seal), Puerto Rico (Bacardi) and from several other islands. Hands down the best rum I ever had was from Cayman Islands--Seven Fathoms Rum. I can't find here in the states but we toured the distillery in Grand Cayman and bought a bottle. So smooth...

Agreed!

My husband is a rum fanatic and would tell you hands down that Seven Fathom's rum is THE best. We took a tour of their factory twice now; Once before they moved to their larger location, and the the last time we were there he bought several bottles and they personally signed them and numbered them while we were there. When we go again next year, we'll be buying more. Too bad they don't sell it in the states.

He does buy rum from different ports we've been to, just to say he bought it there. We now have a "rum bar" room because of this.:rolleyes:

I live in so cal. Not sure I’d walk with my valuables at midnight from the airport into westchester.

 

There are hotels south of LAX in El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, etc.

 

Another thought, do any terminals have those places you can rent for a quick nap? The 24 hour lounge, recommended earlier, is a good idea too.

 

 

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I was just going to suggest this. More and more airports are getting the sleep lounges. Some are called Minute Suites, some are called Napcabs, SleepPods, etc. Just google to see if your airport has one or not.

Thanks so much for your review! We are heading to these islands in October. For St. Maarten, could you be more specific about the location of the restaurants offering beech chairs and drinks? We're debating on a beach day vs. Bernard Tours for St. Maarten.

 

Also, how was driving in Aruba?

 

I appreciate your help!

In St. Maarten the beaches that I was talking about with the restaurants offering beach chairs and drinks for a certain price is Great Bay Beach. A bit of a walk outside the port but doable without a taxi IMO (unless you end up having one too many in the sun.:cool:

Driving in Aruba was easy in my opinion, you just have to really know where you're going. My Dad has been there a few times and seemed to know his way around pretty good. If it were just me and my husband, I doubt we'd have done that type of thing on our own. Getting gas there though was a task, lol! You have to fill up the car before returning it, and it was hard to understand the "full service" guy. Oh well, we got it done, and returned the car safely.

We received the email to upgrade around August 22nd, and we bid on it on the 23rd. We sail on the 31st and still haven't heard if we were accepted or not. It still shows pending when you review your offer. We are in an Oceanview room, and upgraded to a mini suite. I hope we get it since it'd be a nice perk but if not we'll still be on a cruise.

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We received the email to upgrade around August 22nd, and we bid on it on the 23rd. We sail on the 31st and still haven't heard if we were accepted or not. It still shows pending when you review your offer. We are in an Oceanview room, and upgraded to a mini suite. I hope we get it since it'd be a nice perk but if not we'll still be on a cruise.

Great! Following this review. I have the same itinerary coming up on Freedom in January. Freedom has taken Adventure’s place in SJ.

Awesome! I loved this itinerary!

We were in San Juan, St Thomas and St Maarten this past March. St Maarten stood out by how hard the locals were working to recover. Everywhere in Philipsburg were scaffolds and the sound of hammers and saws.

Yes I completely agree. Everywhere I looked people were working on repairing things.

Sorry to throw all of this at you in one night, but we have a cruise coming up this weekend and didn't want anyone hanging. If you have any questions, just ask! I'll try to answer!

Our room steward Norma was a very sweet lady and was attentive to what we needed. She always had our ice bucket filled and would step out of the room if we came back while she was in it. We really enjoyed her company too. I wish her well and hope she gets to go home for Christmas with her kids.

Day 8, Fly home

A sad view to see.....back in port to head home, however I was very eager to get home to Ethan.

Since we were self-debarking, we had to meet in the Conference Room at 6:45am, to get off at 7am. Our taxi driver Giovanni (the one who dropped us off) said he’d be there at 7:15am to take us to the airport. Getting off the boat took a bit of time, but once off, customs was fast and easy (as long as you had your documents ready).

Once off the ship Giovanni found us, we hopped in the taxi and headed to the airport. Thankfully the airport wasn’t bad between checking in, security, and walking around to find food.

Not much was open at 8am but we did sit down at Air Margaritaville and had “Cracked Eggs”. It was a lot of food, probably 3-4 scrambled eggs, 3 slices of bacon, hash rounds, and 1 slice of toast cut in 2. We ate and then headed to our gate after paying the bill.

We video called with Ethan real quick, who was going to Target to get a toy, lol. The flight was good, not as bumpy as the first go-around. Can’t wait to get home to Ethan.

So long Puerto Rico, it's been fun!!!!

St. Maarten continued:

Dad, Maria, Betsy and Jack all gotthere around 12:30pm. They hopped in the water around 1:15pm and swam for aboutan hour before getting out to dry off.

We all headed back to the ship after that. Traffic was kinda bad, as it took us a good hour to get back to the ship.Tommy grabbed some liquor before getting on board.

As we were leaving we went through a rain cloud, which was pretty cool, yet scary, lol!

We packed a little bit before going to dinner, which was in the MDR. I had the coconut shrimp, Cabonera and cheesecake. Dinner was very good each night.

A beautiful beach we passed in walking! We'd recommend this area which is not far from the port (within walking distance) because a lot of the restaurants were offering 2 or 3 drinks, plus a beach chair for $20.

We headed over toMaho Beach and we got there just in time.

Pictures along the way:

We snagged a table along the water and ordered drinks and food.

Our view from the table - what used to be Sonesta Maho Resort:

More pictures of the island:

This looks pretty new but I don't know if it with-stood the hurricane or was a newly replaced restaurant after the hurricane. Looks pretty sturdy to me though!!!

Day 7, St. Marteen ----- My favorite island!!!

Our original plan was to rent dune buggies butwe got off and shopped around first.

Then everyone went back to the ship,except Tommy and I. The island got hit hard with the hurricane's but they were doing the best they could to get back on their feet:

Day 6, Sea Day

Today is a sea day……we slept in,grabbed breakfast, chilled in the room, made a laundry bag for our room Steward Norma to take, and grabbed a Johnny Rockets milkshake that was BOGO (bc we’re platinum). Now we’re back in the room waiting on room service. It’s a late“lunch” but dinner is at 6:30pm tonight, which is also formal night. We ordered a quesadilla for me, and burger for Tommy. Dinner tonight was shrimp cocktail, ____________ and warm chocolate cookie with ice cream.

I think these are the only two pictures from sea day: