Ontario cruise duo

Well hello there!  
Glad to hear that you’ve still been travelling since CoVid started.

Was hoping you might have some recent posting on cruises you’ve taken.

Your cruise follow-ups with pictures and the great stories always made for some good reading material.  Always the best!!

We’ve cruised to St. Thomas and Aruba and would do land vacations either of them.  Have also cruised to Cozumel and did a land vacation there back in 2000 with our two kids.

I’ve also been to Vegas with some female co-workers and my DH still holds it over my head that he has not been there.  It’s on our bucket list to someday head back there together.   Disney we’ve also done twice back in the mid to late 90’s and now that we’ve got a grandson (3 months old) that will also be a destination for a few years down the road.

Being Canadian has really put a damper on our travelling and I thought maybe I could visit your sites to see what you’ve been up to?

Thanks for connecting with me and I look forward to reading your reviews when you head out next!  🇨🇦 

I haven’t cruised in over 2.5 years due to Covid and as such have been pretty much absent from the Cruise Critic website.

I am looking for a prior female cruise reviewer who mostly sailed on NCL giving her different reviews on cruise ships, itineraries and excursions.

she was from Ohio, worked in a hospital,  her husband had his own business, had a younger daughter who was excellent at sketching and had older children with grandchildren.  In addition, She, her husband and their daughter loved to dive.

have been wondering if she has posted any recent cruise reviews as I would love to follow along and see where she has travelled to, if any, during these past few crazy years. 
any help in guiding me to any of her recent posts would be appreciated.  Thanks!! 

We were on the Freedom of the Seas sailing on December 1.  Just noticed the new tube slides at the rear of the ship.  Do you know if they took out the Flow Rider and put the slides in, in its place?  Just curious.  Enjoyed the ship and ABC itinerary immensely!  Would do it again in a heart beat!

5 hours ago, trey420 said:

Took your advice.   I found a nice romantic private villa about 1 hour away in the mountains.  Should be an excellent trip.  Will stay there for 3 days prior to cruise.  Thanks for having me double check.  I know most stay very close to port or shore at least, but I figured we would get enough seeing the sea on the ship.  So "welcome to the jungle baby!" that's what I will tell the woman when she finds out.

Great!  Hope you enjoy your time in San Juan and all it has to offer.

I would visit there again any day, and again would chose an Airbnb over a hotel!

15 hours ago, trey420 said:

I plan to be there in November.  Was looking at ab&b but didn't see many options.  Last trip we did the big satellite dish, and forts.  This trip I want to visit the pork highway, maybe do the rain forest or the bioluminescent bay.  We are not beach people.  We will do city tours maybe zipline.  Or something else, we haven't seen excursion options yet.  But I expect fun times.  I'm in a hump cabin seemed like something to try this is our first RC cruise and first in a long while too.  

Oh my, I don't think you are looking in the right spot if you can't find an ab&b now for sometime in November.  I booked my ab&b at this time last year for November, 2019.  They were plentiful and I have a neighbour who has just booked an ab& for this upcoming March, and she had sooo many to chose from.  I suggest you look again!

I booked our cruise with a RC cruise consultant with a refundable rate, 10 months in advance.  I would keep checking periodically for rate reductions or OBC.  I initially got a lower price with an OBC and then still kept looking.  Got a further reduction but had to give up our OBC which was a no brainer and the reduction was worth it to give up the small OBC and get a better overall price.  Then PRIOR to paying our cruise in full a day or so before payment was due, when I knew we would NOT be cancelling this cruise, I switched our booking to a non-refundable fare and saved the difference in price between the "refundable  rate" and the "non-refundable rate".  With that reduction I paid our daily service charge in full.  My RC cruise consultant was wonderful and pleasant to deal with each time.   Just keep checking your cruise fare prices and don't be afraid to get your cruise re-priced if you see a lower rate.

In December we stayed at an Airbnb across the street from the Mariott hotel.  It was beautiful.  Spent most days at the beach (we are beach people) as had previously been to the Rain Forest, Forts and Old San Juan.  At night enjoyed the local restaurants and an outdoor marketplace with music in the streets.  

You can put cash directly into the machines.

You have to also take into consideration how many port days and whether you will be off the ship on those days.

On our cruise in December we were off the ship for 4 port days, so in my opinion, not worth getting the drink package for us unless you can drink at least 6 - 7  drinks (other than beer, which is the cheapest drink) in say 6 hours.  We were sure to have a drink or 2 off of the ship while in port at a much reduced price than they would have otherwise cost us onboard.

On our cruise in December (Freedom of the Seas), my husband wanted to wear shorts one night in the dining room, so unsure if he was able to do so, I called the front desk and they responded "oh yes, all men are required to wear pants" in the main dining rooms.  So off to dinner we go with DH in his pants.  I would bet that half of the men in that room had shorts on.  So really, if it is a requirement to wear pants it certainly was not enforced on our cruise, and I would bet that it is not enforced of most of the ships either! What I really CAN'T stand in the main dining room is men who wear baseball hats during dinner or are wearing jeans that are torn and look like you would wear to a park or bar-b-que.

If they can swim, yes I think it would be good.  The water was somewhat rough the day we did it.  They have vests available for adults, not sure if they fit kids.  They also have swim noodles available which I used just for extra support.  There was 1 guide in the water at all times with an average group of 10 people.  Have your kids snorkelled before?

Definitely a great snorkelling trip.  Well worth the money!  I think if you don’t go snorkelling, they would give you as many drinks as you wish, as long as you don’t go overboard 🤔!  

Also forgot to mention, that a fellow cruiser whom we met on the ship, said that he purchased the drink package for just himself on the first day, not his wife.  I said I thought that each adult travelling in the same state room had to purchase it, to which he said, I just told them that my wife doesn’t drink 😉 and so they let him purchase it just for himself.  He said it was also like only $49 a day plus gratituties.  Do you think they shared it 🤔!  I know for a fact they did, as he even admitted to it.  Definitely not right, just saying! 😡 

• On our Dec 1 sailing of Freedom of the Seas, definitely no buckets of beer available for purchase, I know because we asked.  I believe on day 5 we could purchase a drink card good for 10 drinks for around $89.00 plus 18% gratituties, which if you are just going to purchase beer, definitely NOT worth the price.

I have a question, do you know if I can purchase onboard credit before leaving for my cruise, so that specifically once I am on the ship I can withdraw "cash" to use while in port.  I live in Ontario and will be cruising out of San Juan and don't want to travel ahead with too much money on me personally.  One person said that I could set up an onboard CASH account and that that would work.  She suggested I call the 1-800 number, which I did, and they told me "No".  However, she said she does this all the time, and has done this as recent as this past July.  Please help, if you can!

11 hours ago, uksimonusa said:

Yes, all the time, the last being July this year, just have to make sure your on board account is set up as a cash account

 

I've emailed my PCC and she suggested I call the 1-800 number, the same one that you gave me.  

The gentleman I spoke to said "NO" I could not do this, but I do appreciate your assistance in this matter.  

Sometimes I do wonder if I try calling in a couple of days and get a different person if I will get a different answer, as it seems to be a call centre, who are all learning and do not have the answers at the ready.  Can I put you on a quick hold while I ask someone...?  Sure!🥴

11 hours ago, matj2000 said:

Why do people do their best to make simple things more difficult?

 

Pre purchased credit, traveler checks, ATM's.

 

Just bring the cash you need and stop complicating everything.

 

Nothing will happen.

 

Do you really think you are going to get rolled, or lose it?

Thank you Mr. Texas,

for your response, you've been a wealth of knowledge and very helpful (UGH)!

2 hours ago, uksimonusa said:

And then have a cash account onboard and you can withdraw money from the casino with no charge

 

Have you actually done this yourself and withdrew money at the casino with no charge. If so, may I ask when you last did so.  I want to have money available for our use off the ship without having to carry too much on us personally while starting our trip.  Not sure if banks still use travellers cheques (checks), but I will also look into this as well.

We are travelling from Ontario, Canada three days before our cruise departs in  San Juan, Puerto Rico and I was wondering rather than travelling with cash in pocket, could I purchase onboard credit prior to leaving and cash some out for private shore excursions, or just to have some extra money for spending while in port.  We have sailed another cruise line (not RCL) and I was able to do this by cashing out some money at the Casino but I had to pay a 3% servicing fee.  Would like to know what others have done in a similar situation.  Thanks!

Hi Kim,

Another thank you for writing this review.  Thoroughly enjoyed reading it as well as other reviews you have posted in the past.  That family of yours cracks me up!  Always an adventure.  We have a cruise booked leaving San Juan on December 1st doing the ABC islands on the Freedom of the Seas.  Have never been to Bonaire, but have been to the other two islands.  It was great seeing your pictures and now we know what to expect.  We also are planning on leaving here (well Detroit, MI) on your US Thanksgiving, however, airfares are currently crazy for that day.  So as of right now no flights booked.   We have an Air BNB booked for 3 nights pre-cruise, staying near the Marriott Stellars Casino (actually our studio apt. overlooks the ocean with a glimpse of that Marriott) in view.  We have cruised previously out of San Juan and stayed at the Marriott, but prices for Thanksgiving are just crazy.  

Wishing you all the best with your health issues and saying some words to the "man upstairs" on your behalf.   Stay positive, get second opinions and never give up!  That family of yours I'm sure is doing their part to keep you smiling, laughing and going strong.

We did an Alaskan cruise five years ago to celebrate my DH's retirement.  It was absolutely stunning.  If you get a chance, do it.

We did a return cruise via Seattle (with a few days before in Seattle and a day after) and absolutely loved it.  As a matter of fact, we were on the ship 5 years ago today!!  Great memories.

My 2 cents about SunWing.

Booked a land based vacation with them approx. 6 years ago.

Flying from Windsor, Ont. (1/2 hr. drive from home to airport) to Cuba.

Could have booked from Toronto, Ont. (3 1/2 hr. drive from home to airport) at a savings of about $400.

Flight down - great no problems. Flight home - delayed hours at airport in Cuba, problems with plane, only to be flown to Toronto instead of Windsor, arriving 9 hours later, being promised to then board a flight from Toronto to Windsor, then told we would be put up at a hotel to catch a flight home next day, and then FINALLY being bussed to Windsor, arriving at 4:30 in the a.m. next morning) Having to miss extra day at work (had to use an unscheduled vacation day). Since family were to pick us up after original flight - 6 people sharing a taxi home at a cost of $20.00 per couple (no big deal - thinking SunWing would reimburse us this cost). NOT.

Several emails from me directly to SunWing as well as travel agent looking for reimbursement of taxi and extra vacation day off work - - - we got a Certificate entitling us to a future travel credit of $100.00 per person for a trip we could book with them within a year. SURE give them approximately $3,000.00 MORE $$'s of OUR money and we get a $200.00 credit. NO THANK YOU!! Have NOT booked SunWing since and have told everyone our story of our trip.

Feeling the pain of the 40 who missed their first day. Since after our first couple of cruises, we ALWAYS fly in a day or 2 early and have started to fly out a day or 2 later rather than sit at an airport. Great way to extend the vacation and rest further before heading home!!!

I am not sure - certainly didn't pay any with Celebrity or Costa ex Barcelona - only NCL

 

And never ever ex Miami or Fort Lauderdale -

 

NCL Sky - we did on Nov 15 directly after coming off Celebrity and didn't pay TAX then -

 

Just saying that NCL seem to be squeezing in the extras - I think other lines are sucking this tax up and paying it??

 

As I say - wont stop me cruising with them - just never experienced this before and I know many on board were kicking off about the taxes. It also seemed to put pressure on the staff who were the "messengers" :(

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You have to remember that NCL really stands for "Not Cleaned Lately"

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Before we changed our bids we did a mock booking to see what rooms were available. There were still a few left so we decided to increase our bid at the chance of getting one.

 

Both times we upgraded to the Haven it was within a few days of departure. I think they will hold out as long as they can before accepting bids to get the most money possible for the room.

 

 

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The night or in the wee hours of the AM before your cruise ends you should have an invoice slipped under your

 

cabin door or placed in a mailbox outside of it.

 

 

 

The invoice should note that you can stop by the Guest Registration desk for a cash refund if less than $50

 

and if for more get a check. If you do not claim your refund at that time it will be mailed to the address on file.

 

 

 

Cavet - just make sure the OBC is the REFUNDABLE type - if not - you are not getting a loonie shilling farthing

 

fraction of euro or whatever was the negotiable tender form of payment !

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