seashinesunshine

We will be on the Freedom in about 20 days and we were wondering what to expect in the way of souvenirs that our children (3 and 6) might want?

 

We've learned through other travels to pre-purchase some trinket type toys here at home and just take em with us to save $$ and time.....

 

Suggestions/thoughts?

Girls? Boys? Girls would probably love some of the jewlery that they sell, magnetic layer bracelets are popular. We found a handmade doll for our daughter, but that was 15 years ago and real handmade dolls are hard to find. There are lots of carved things that boys might like, cars, animals etc. And of course there are always cheap tshirts everywhere. There are also shells star fish etc everywhere.

Do you really buy things at home then bring them along as if you bought them on vacation? Never heard of doing that. :)

Next month I, DW, DS and his girlfriend on the Dream. Yesterday he bought a DJI Phantom 3 Drone and is thinking about taking it on the trip. Of course he would not use it while on board but would like to use it while in ports. Not knowing the rules of these ports I am concerned that they might confiscate it and that is even IF Carnival would allow it on board. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge about this?

According to John Heald, they are not allowed on the ship, doesn't matter if you use it or not. I don't blame you guys for wanting to take it, I have seen some really cool footage of the beaches and ocean taken with a drone. :)

Having the same issue. Do you how much the rain forest is? we wanted to do that but worried about the time frame.

I would guess you will find a ship tour for between 40 and 60$ a person, I say this because we paid 40, but that was in 2007. Might find something cheaper off ship, but that's just such a tight time frame, if you are on a ship tour, they will wait. Worth the extra money. Twice we have been on excursions that have gotten back late, both times, luckily, with ship tours. :D Yes we were those people everyone was watching running for the gangway.

We have been to San Juan before, we did the forts, capital building, and walked around. Open for suggestions for things to do 7am to 2pm in San Juan.

If you don't want to walk the city and forts again, I would suggest the rain forest. It's a fun tour and the bus ride there is a nice way to see the island. With that time frame, I would recommend taking a ship tour, traffic can be bad and I wouldn't chance missing the ship.

I second Folkestone

We are looking at pricing and comparing rooms.

We have a Carnival room with balcony- but have to drive to port and have a hotel stay.

Or for about the same cost- Royal Caribbean for an interior room - at local port?????

 

We have cruised once - and loved the balcony- on Disney!! But we have never been on Carnival or R. C.

Any suggestions from those big cruisers out there!

We want to save money..

Is the balcony better than a little luxury on the RC experience?

Is the food better on R.C.?

 

What to do??

 

Thanks!

I had to laugh when I saw your title, I'm sure you have gotten lots of suggestions and I dont have time to read them all, but..... We are booked interior on RCCL, then the next week are hopping on a Carnival Balcony. :) Sort of a B2B. Best of both worlds.

Has anyone done a back to back out of Miami. How does it go? What do you need to do?I have the same cabin.

We did a B2B on the Glory last year. We got the letter and all that the others said, but since we were putting our kids in a taxi to go home while we stayed on, we got off the ship before the meet up. We got off, took our laptops with since there is WIFI in the terminal. We went back thru security and had to wait until the first group was sent back on the ship. I did notice that other B2Bers that had met up with the group were waiting too, so it wasnt just a matter or walking on and walking off like I have always heard it is. Not too much of a wait though.

We had a different cabin, went balcony the second week, all of our luggage was waiting for us, even some stuff I had left as garbage. :D Nice way to travel.

No, sadly, it does not:(

Oh well. The last cruise we were on had it and it is the ONLY cruise i have ever gained weight on, so I guess it's good for my waistline. :D

Can anyone tell me if the ship has Guys Burgers? It doesnt look like it from Carnivals web site, but my husband read on line that it was supposed to get it in 2013.

Thanks for the info and the review link. Sounds like we will enjoy our room

The answer above is only true if you have FTTF or are Platinum or Diamond. otherwise, you are breaking the rules as you are not allowed to drop off luggage in your cabin until the cabin is ready.

Our cabin has been ready by 1 or 130 every time.

Hi All

We just booked the Fascination for next January out of San Juan. We booked a balcony on the Empress Deck in the middle. I am worried it may be too loud being right around the corner from the bar and guest service area. Has anyone had experience in this room area? Was it noisy? I don't normal noise, people walking by and soft music. We had a bad experience with bring above the drum set of a lounge on a ship, so I want to avoid really loud booming music late at night.

Any other thoughts on the ship? We are worried since it is older and smaller. It's the only one out San Juan next winter. AND even an older smaller ship in the Caribbean is warmer and sunnier than home in January. :)

Thanks in advance for any advice info and thoughts.

I do not think we can embark until 2:30. We will be landing in PR at 11. Can we drop off luggage somewhere and explore the city or do we need to wait?

Yes, you can drop off your luggage. Actually, you will probably be able to check in, drop off your carry ons in your room, each lunch, then go explore the city. We have done this many time. Usually in our room by 1 to 130 :)

I was on the 7th deck balcony back in May and there was no concern for privacy. you can look over if you lean and look over I am sure just like any other balcony

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95533408@N07/18250302711/in/dateposted-public/

That link shows the picture of the balcony. I don't know how to actually post a picture on here :|

Thank you! That is a great picture to help me visualize. I like that the bottom half of the balcony rail is metal. Our last balcony was on the Glory and the glass of the balcony rail reflected perfectly what was on your neighbors balcony, I assume they could see mine. :D

Hi All We are thinking of going on the Adventure for our next cruise. I am trying to figure out if the balconies are private. It seems from looking at the pics that two balconies share each one of the kind of circle openings that you can see on the side of the ship. From what I have read, there is just kind of an opaque glass divider that is not quite see thru, but kind of is. Is this glass divider on each side of the balcony, or just the side that you would share with the cabin that you would share the opening with? It also seems that right at the front the circle openings for the from balcony on deck 6 and 7 is smaller so maybe just one cabin has this balcony? Is that right? and is the divider to the next one glass or metal?

Any information is appreciated and I'm sorry if my post is confusing to read, I'm not sure how else to articulate what I am trying to ask. I am uncomfortable that someone standing at the railing can see into my cabin. It also is uncomfortable to me that people can maybe see thru the glass dividers.

Oh and does the cabin get sunshine if the sun is on that side of the ship, seems like the rooms are set back a little bit.

We were on the Adventure a few cruises ago, but had an inside cabin.

The video says it is not available

I just tried the link and it worked for me, here it is again, incase something was wrong.

:)

Anyone have menus for the Glory?

John Heald just spent the week on the glory posting the menus and pics of food every night on his Face Book page.

We were on her in January and took pics of the food etc (new menus) and made a delicious video, we don't have the menus though. Here is our video

Just a new menu, I didn't notice family style serving, unless I am wrong, I think of family style serving as for example, a big bowl of mashed potatoes being passed around, each person gets their own dishes.

Here is a link to our cruise food video, with the new American Table menu.

Hello, I am new to cruising :confused: and trying to get the hang of things. I will be going on a cruise soon and I am looking to find a reasonably priced good time. From what I have read there are not many beaches directly close to port. Does anyone recommend anywhere easy. How much are taxis? Also are they readily available when I am ready to leave and head back to the ship?

Thanks:)

We have enjoyed Fort James Beach, fairly close to the port, not crowded at all, but there are a few places there, you can rent chairs and get a drink etc. It has the ruins of fort James at one end, very nice sandy beach. Here are a few links to some short videos of that beach. I think the taxi ride was about 6$ pp each way.

One of our stops in July is Antigua. Are there any items that Antigua is known for that are great deals (particular jewelry or gemstones) or just unique to Antigua? Or any stores that are a must visit when you go? Thanks!

Not specifically that I know of but there is an open air market that is pretty cool. Its in and near the building with the big green roof. Go straight out from their pier about 4 blocks then turn right, walk about 6 blocks and you should find it. More for locals than for tourists which makes it more fun. There is also a fish market near there behind the bus station, that is very unique. Here is a link to a very short video I have of it.

If the above suggestion about calling ahead doesn't work, and it might, it will still be a fun day. You can walk around the shopping area and there is a walk that goes along the shore. Near some really fancy shops by the marina with the fancy boats, look down at the rocks, we have seen some big iguanas there. :)

The kids really want to try snuba in St. Thomas. Does anyone have any recommendations? In looking at the snuba tour offered through Royal Caribbean it doesn't have good reviews. Saying the groups are too big, a lot of waiting around, not much snuba time, staff not so good. Thinking of looking into doing it on our own. Wanted to see if anyone has done this, what their experience was like (whether through ship or on their own) and if they could recommend a company, and any thing else we should know. We are a group of 9 (4 adults and 5 kids)

Thanks!

Coral World has a great snuba experience. We just went there and did it. No excursion, prebooking, or anything. Took a taxi there, did the Coral World thing, then snuba and spent the rest of the day snorkeling on Coki. The snuba was a gift to my son from grandma, and it was just my son, age 13 and grandmas cousin age 60 something. It was so nice to have just the two of them in the group. I can't guarantee it would always be like that, but contact Coral World and see what they say. It was the highlight of the trip for my son and one of the best experiences he has ever had.

We are taking a Carnival Cruise and will be in San Juan June 20 from 3pm-11pm.

My mother is with us and isn't able to do a lot of walking. Is there much we can do in Puerto Rico in this time frame with restriction?

Any ideas/ recommendations are welcome. The only thing I can find is a day pass to Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino. Maybe it would be best to sit this one out?

I wouldn't sit this one out. Old San Juan is a very walkable city, but seeing as how your mom isn't able to do a lot of walking, you might be better off staying close to the ship. Can you get a wheelchair from the ship to just give her a ride for the day?

The area right off the ship is flat, for a block or so. There are some nice shops and things to see that would make it fun, with your back to the ship, walk to the left, you can see some of the old city wall, and there are some food trucks selling snacks, and of course tables of local sellers. There is a nice flat sidewalk that goes along the bottom of the old city wall, I can't remember if you have to go uphill a bit to get to it or not, but I think you don't have to. Really nice to be there at sunset.

With your back to the ship if you go off to the right there is just a nice area to sit and enjoy the view. Right near the Sea Horse statue. It's all flat and level, and there are benches to rest on. Here is a quick video I posted of the song of the coqui frogs in that area, really fun to sit and listen to them after dark. It's also a very safe area.

That's really odd, I work in a hospital lab, went there in Jan 2015 and donated last month. I was very open as to my travels and they didn't say anything. Did they say why your were deferred?

I will be visiting Barbados in 2016 with 4 of my daughters. We all love the looks of Bathsheba but I'm wondering if there is enough to do there to stay the whole day. Do you know of any snorkeling tours or catamarans that visit Bathsheba? Is this an area I will feel safe in with all females? We are beach lovers and I know we can't swim at Bathsheba so any other suggestions on how we can spend our day and still see Bathsheba would be appreciated. Thanks!

We took the bus to Bathsheba, I believe they wanted 80$ for a taxi there and back, staying for only about 20 minutes. We have been there several times and are very comfortable taking the bus. Make sure you go to the right bus station, they will drop you off at the beach then the bus will swing by in an hour. Be waiting, we missed the first bus because he didn't stop he only paused. When we took the bus back we went to Carlisle for swimming with the turtles and beach time. The bus ride in itself is a fun adventure. Just give yourself a lot of time to get back.

We felt safe, and you will in too, esp in a group. The only time if felt harassed or stressed is when we were walking out of the port and the taxi drivers were harassing us pretty badly. Following us, yelling etc.