butterfly55

11 hours ago, adonisr said:

https://royalcarrentalbonaire.com/en/rent-a-car/

Thank you very much adonisr. I will look at that website right now.

On 4/21/2023 at 9:41 PM, adonisr said:

We have a subaru reserved with Royal Car Rental in June.

 

Isn't Royal in Aruba? Is there one in Bonaire also?

Hi everyone. I rented a car from Hertz and just read online today that Bonaire doesn't allow car rentals to anyone over 65 years of age. Does anyone know about this?

Hi Everyone. We are only going to be in Aruba from 7 to 3 which of course means we have to be back on ship around 2pm. Do you think it is worth it to rent a vehicle for that short of a time? Thanks for your responses.

On 12/28/2023 at 11:20 AM, khm1 said:

I have rented a car in Aruba both on cruises and for land vacations. It is extremely easy. It is difficult to get lost since the island is so small.  You can download offline map app called maps.me. I don’t understand how it works, but it does. You don’t need cell service to be able to see where you are and how to get around. You just need to download the appropriate map while you have WiFi. However, I usually buy an eSIM for my international travel which gives me reliable service wherever I go. 
 

Parking has never been an issue either. All the major beaches have plenty of public parking. Palm beach we park either in the Jolly Roger parking lot or in the parking lot across from the Hyatt. See map screenshot both areas circled in red. 
 

We never have gotten a parking ticket or had any problems whatsoever. In the center of Oranjestad, it is a little more tricky, but you can visit on foot there before you pick up or after you drop off. All of the companies have the same pickup and drop off spot. It is an easy walk from the pier. I have marked it in red. 
 

We have used Royal car rental in Aruba when we cruise. They have always worked well for us. For land vacations, we use Wheels2Go.  I don’t think that they deliver to the cruise port though. Roads are well marked. There are a lot of roundabouts. Make sure you are familiar with how to navigate them. Drivers are generally courteous and gas is easy to get. 
 

i have a jeep rented through Royal for my upcoming cruise in March of ‘24. We are looking forward to a great day in Aruba!

 

 

Great information khm 1. Thanks for your post.

Thanks again.

On 8/15/2023 at 5:32 AM, tring said:

 

DH uses Google maps downloaded to his phone.  On some cruises we have printed out maps we have got on the What's in Port website, or part of them, if they look useful.  You can search for maps as well online, some are better than others.

 

Thanks Tring.

On 6/20/2023 at 11:50 AM, itsanita said:

Success!  We have a car booked with Enterprise.  Now to decide our route. 

 

It looks like high tide for us everywhere we go.  So a little disappointed that we will miss the low tides.  Low tides are around 5am and 5 pm.   The ship leaves at 6pm.   

How did you look up the tides? Thank you.

On 8/9/2023 at 3:52 PM, JessyCruises said:

You are welcome!

 

Hi JessyCruises, change of plans. We are having trouble renting a car for six people. Now we are trying to use the bus. I think I have found the closest place to pick up the bus which is City Hall but I am having trouble planning a route. Do you know anything about bus routes? Some of the places we want to see and visit are: Carleton Tower, Fort Howe Lookout, Imperial Theatre, Cathedral of Immaculate Conception and Rockwood Park. I think many of these are withing walking distance of the port. My biggest concern is Rockwood Park. Is it on any bus route or do we have to take a taxi? That would not be a problem. Thanks for your help.

I am in a group of six that is arriving on Amtrak in September. We are staying at a place in Weehawkan, NJ. What is the best way to get there, over to the cruise port a couple days later and then back to Amtrak after the cruise? I have been reading horror stories about transportation to NJ and then to the train station from the terminal. Anyone done this and what is your suggestion? Thanks everyone.

On 8/13/2023 at 11:33 AM, tring said:

 

I did not even think of the town of Tring when I chose my online name, though I am aware it exists down there in the south.  So many of my ideas were rejected as already taken that I was largely putting all sort of gobbledygook in and that one was accepted.  I have done a lot of searching around and What's in Port is one of the places I look, being very good at locating the docking location(s) for the ports and other things.  It is travel agents that cannot be named on here as CC act as an agent, so do not want anywhere else to be advertised, which is understandable.  The ban on mention of social media groups is also something that could be a competition to the existence of these boards, though must admit I fond CC far better than social media as a tool to get reliable information.

 

 

Thanks a lot for your reply, yes, just what I wanted to know.  DH has downloaded the maps for each of the ports, which are good and very useful, especially if you are not entirely sure of where you are 🙂

 

I do like a hard copy of a map though to get an overview and saves wandering around with a phone in hand.  So if they are usually available we will not bother with print outs, which we have often done previously, though I have taken directions and rough notes/sketches to get to places we have a particular interest to see.

 

 

Thanks a lot for the help everyone,

 

Barbara

 

Hi Barbara, Could you please tell me how to print up maps for the cruise ports of Sydney, and Saint John?

On 6/23/2023 at 8:47 PM, lissie said:

It's a very good resource - I've gone through and downloaded all the relevant ports that we are going to! 

I have not been able to open that site. Every time I try I get the 404 error code. Why?

On 8/6/2023 at 7:14 PM, JessyCruises said:

 

There is a Avis/Budget on Water Street just down the street from the Marco Polo/Diamond Jubilee Terminals - maybe a 2 minute walk.  There is also an Enterprise Rental Car that is not very far either - about 25 or 30 minutes.  If you are docking at Long Wharf, they would just be a bit longer of a walk

Thank you very much JerseyCruises. That is a perfect map and will be very helpful. I will look up all those places.

Hi JessyCruises. I have just started looking on CC for information on Saint John for our cruise next month. I have been researching online more recently. Do you know what it the closest place to rent a car? There will be six of us and we are thinking that will be the most fun as we have done that in the past. We like being able to stop where we want and for as long as we want. What do you think?

Thanks for you reply.

21 hours ago, jdavid said:

There are a few places on the Harbourwalk north of the ship.  Dave's comes to mind.

Thanks jdavid. I will look for it.

OMG. As I keep reading of places that others are visiting while in Halifax, I keep thinking I might have to visit again. With everything I have on my list, I can't fit anything else in and Lunenburg sounds wonderful, especially the lobster rolls. Is there anywhere else you would recommend a lobster roll.jdavid? We will not be going to Peggy's Cove, we have already been there.

On 4/25/2023 at 6:45 PM, jdavid said:

Send me an email and we can chat about local

options 

jdavid, would you mind giving me information about Halifax also? We will be there Sept. 19th. Thanks a bunch. djludwig.1@netzero.com

On 11/28/2022 at 8:58 AM, Travel Bear said:

We rented a car and drove to Peggy's cove. It was a great day. It has amazing views.

Would you please share information about renting a vehicle? Thanks a lot.

44 minutes ago, lin14534 said:

Hi - we are three sisters from Rochester also taking this 9/16 cruise.  Debating about driving or taking the train.  I’m definitely interested in finding out about your decision to stay in NJ before the cruise.  How did you find the apartment and how are you getting to the cruise terminal?  Thanks!!!

OMG, that is amazing that there is another poster from Rochester. Do you want my email address? We can discuss topics for the cruise without going through CC. That way I can give you more information. that others might not be interested in.

On 4/30/2023 at 12:13 PM, RoadTravelled said:

 

@butterfly55 this is really great information!  We are arriving 3 days prior as well before the cruise and have been searching for places to stay.  We were in NYC in February and stayed a block from Times Square near Bryant Park.  It was a great location, wonderful room with views, and reasonably priced.  We never felt unsafe in the neighborhood although very crowded area of course. 

 

We tried booking for this upcoming trip and the price is almost 3 times what we paid.  Looking around it seems all of the hotels are that way.  It must be "high season" with the fall leaf tours, conventions, etc.

 

Anyway, this idea of Weehawken, NJ looks like a great possibility.  Looking at short-term rental apartments, the prices are much more reasonable and the access to Manhattan is very easy it seems.  And, it seems like a great place to explore.

 

Thanks for the tip!

You are very welcome.

I don't know if anyone wants this information but I thought you might like to know that I just booked an apartment across the river in Weehawken, NY for three nights before the cruise. Some of us have been concerned about staying in NYC from some of the things we have been reading. My daughter stayed in this area when she went to NYC a couple years ago and said she really liked it. If anyone wants any information, please let me know.

Hi Everyone, I am in a group of three couples going on this cruise. We live in Rochester. The group want to take the train over instead of flying. Any thoughts? Is anyone staying overnight in NYC and if so any recommendations? 

We are very excited to see this new ship. I have seen some UTube videos about the boat including the link you posted RoadTraveled with Christine Duffy. I am hoping to see more updated ones once the boat is in use.

On 9/28/2022 at 9:25 AM, TopoChico said:

Brandon’s doesn’t have snorkel rentals that we saw, we had our own that we brought. Not much to see when snorkeling anyway..
There are reasonable chair rentals and a small bar. It’s walkable but a cab for two was cheap enough to make it worth not having to walk back in the heat.  There were very few people, it’s quiet and laid-back and the beach is stunning. No towel herds.

Thanks for your help and also to Port Royal for your information.

1 hour ago, terry&mike said:

I would not worry about the hurricane season issue, ships are great at altering itineraries to avoid major storms when they are a factor. 

There was shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion. I requested bath soap and was given some from the room steward. I also have sensitive skin and none of the products irritated me. They had a very light scent that was not cloying. 

We found mask wearing to be "some did, some did not". And we found crew members with hand sanitizer at the entrance to the dining venues. 

I'm very excited for your cruise. We enjoyed QM2 enough that when we returned we booked again for 2023. We booked a 9 night transatlantic crossing for late September, in an interior cabin that has a small window that looks over the lobby; and then we will stay on the ship and move to a balcony cabin for a 14 night Canada and New England sailing. 

Thank you terry&Mike. My husband is afraid we will like it that much also and only want to go on QM2 or the other Cunard ships.😂

10 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

During our recent sailing I will assist you with our experiences.....

Our location was Deck 10 Mid Ship Princess Grill.....

We actually were sailing from NYC in the hind portion of the Hurr Fiona....

 

We had Body Lotion, Body Wash, Shampoo, Conditioner, Hand Soap. They also on request gave my DW bar soap that she liked very much. It was not perfumed that I detected.

 

Hand Sanitizing containers all over. Every Restaurant had a Crew Member with a Bottle offering you to Dab on the hand. But in all other Public Areas there were plenty of stand with HS's available.

 

Masks were very noticeable and worn by many and of course also not worn by those. We personally took enough for the 14 days 2x to change each day and extra. The ship will supply you masks but the grade Hospital/Drug Store Grade. They worn KN95 like we took with us.  

Thanks for your reply.