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We reserved the BCH's day pass when we arrive in Nassau next month through Island Marketing.

We chose it because of it's proximity to the port, food and drinks, as well as sun beds, loungers, a pool, non motorized sports and beach toys e.g. kayaks, snorkel gear and free wifi. I heard that the view from the beach of the ship sitting in port makes a nice backdrop for pictures.

Here's a thread with pictures of the menu, etc.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1779197

They can put handrails up too? I also stated I need the handrails. I cannot stand up on my own without assistance from handrails to pull or push myself up with my arms. My right leg is almost dead and doesn't respond to that rubber hammer to the knee test you always take for granted in the doctors office.

It comes with handrails. It looks something like this:

Wait a minute there... that is absolutely not true. Just because I can walk a few steps does not mean that I can stand up from a bathroom toilet without handrails. It also does not mean that I can take a shower in antyhing that does not have rails for me to keep my balance or a seat in it. Walking a few steps has nothing to do with the fact that I cannot stand without the assistance of my arms pushing me up. I do in fact need a handicap accessable room for more reasons than just space.

You can request items such as a seat riser for the toilet and a seat in the shower area. Contact the Special Needs Department of your cruiseline. These items were free for my Dad last year from Carnival. There is no need to reserve a HC cabin for just these needs.

So those folks that require scooters for longer distances, but are not allowed to leave them out in the hall of a cruise ship, are not allowed to take a cruise?

They will either have to bring their scooter into their regular cabin or ask the steward if there is an area close by that they can park it.

It is unfair that some people think because they have a scooter for long distances that they have priority in booking an HC cabin over someone who is legitimately wheelchair bound and needs the HC cabin features.

We did the Carnival excursion to Tabyana Beach in Roatan. Tabyana Beach has the best snorkeling anywhere in the Caribbean, with Rum Point in Grand Cayman a close second. We've done the Southern Caribbean and Tabyana and Rum Point were so much better for snorkeling. I'd love to do this itinerary again!

What a fun review so far, really enjoying it. We sailed this route on the Victory last year and loved it! We also spent the weekend pre-cruise in Old San Juan - lucky you got to stay at the El Convento (we stayed around the block at the Hotel Plaza something) lol. I loved staying in Old San Juan, so much to see and do. We went to the Flamenco show at Barrachina that Saturday night and I took my Dad to Sunday Morning Mass at the Cathedral (in Spanish). What a treat!

Can't wait to read more about your trip!!

We did the all inclusive side of Mr. Sanchos too. Not only did we also received attention from waiters, but we were the only ones if their gorgeous new swim up bar, a great place to relax and cool off and have even more drinks before going back to the ship! We really enjoyed our time there, too.

joining in the fun and subscribing ... looking forward to your review! :)

LIBERTY! LIBERTY! LIBERTY!

We loved the Liberty, and the itinerary is awesome!

We were starboard on deck 6 from the first aft-facing cabin all the way around to the L shaped cabin (including the wrap). We did not hear any noise but my parent's neighbor next to them and all the way around port side to the L-shaped cabins heard music and noise from the lounge below every night.

If you are starboard you won't hear it, if you are port, you will hear it, so I suggest you move ASAP!

Have fun!

Did you get the cheers program. I've gotten it in the past, but was worried about how many port days there were and if I'd get my moneys worth.

 

Great review. I'll be cruising her over thanksgiving. Once I show DH the review we will be doing a few of the same things as you.

We did this same itinerary on the Victory for Thanksgiving 2012. The weather was BEAUTIFUL that week, no rain at all, clear skies and sunny and in the upper 80s every day. I hope you get the same weather! Enjoy the cruise, I would love to do it again!

 

Since this was an anniversary cruise I had booked the Fire & Ice Pedicure for DH in the Spa. I was disappointed to learn that it did not include actually clipping his toe nails, just buffing, as with his hip arthritis he has limited mobility to do that himself. Further, when he came back he had a VERY small container of some type of oil for $55! Talk about an upsell! It should not be allowed that children or husbands can be sold anything during a treatment. Needless to say, this DW marched it right back to the Spa for a refund. Not cool!

Hahahaha, sorry for laughing, awwwww, DH! :D

on our cruise:

San Juan - I agree, starboard side has the best view when leaving.

St. Thomas: we were docked starboard side.

Sea Day: Sunrise on port side, sunset on starboard side.

Barbados: We dock starboard side again. The only good thing is that at the end of the day when guests were coming back to the ship, there was a steel band playing which was nice. The view was of the industrial area though on starboard. Port side would have a view out to the Caribbean Sea.

St. Lucia: We had cabins in the aft/starboard side specifically because we too got up early to see the Pitons as we passed St. Lucia at about 5:30am - breathtaking! We docked port side but I think starboard side had the prettiest views of the water and the small airport.

St. Kitts: We didn't back in :( and we docked on the port side. This is a late day, ship sails at 6pm. We caught sunsets on the port side when leaving.

St. Maarten: We were ported starboard side.

Figure this, port side is sun setting on your sea day. Once you get to Barbados, the ship meanders up and at night you get beautiful views of the lights on the islands if you are on starboard side. We passed so many islands that I also suggest you bring a map if you are starboard that will tell you what islands you are passing in the night.

 

Not fixed yet, or am I wrong?

 

Nope! Manhattan still should be Jersey! :P

I gotta get my picture taken in front of this! :p

Thanks! We will most likely "wing it" for most of the port stops. The only port we have been to is St Thomas, and we're planning to stay on the ship that day and relax.

 

My knee should be fine by then, but we're getting off the ship at 9 different ports so don't want to over do it. :o

 

Dee

The one thing I would suggest is to book Carnival's snorkel tour to the Pitons. We did this and it was great! The reason why I booked it was because it wasn't an all day tour at the beach, I had my parents with me and knew they wouldn't sit at the beach all day (nor snorkel). :p but I wanted them to at least experience it with us. Not only that, but there are no private tours that will do a 1/2 day to the Pitons, you'll have to charter. It's about a 45 minute boat ride to the Pitons from the ship, so you also want to go with a qualified guide who has an excellent boat. At least with the ship tour, if the boat broke down, the ship would wait for us. That was my biggest fear because the Pitons are about 2 hours away or more on windy hilly roads in St. Lucia. Basically, I'd be afraid to "wing it" in St. Lucia, try to find a ship tour or a qualified guide. The other islands are smaller and easier to "wing it".

We are doing the exact same as you did, Jalousie Beach Break :) I know most of the times pictures are beautiful but being there seeing it for real, with all emotions going through and trying to take in how gorgeous scenery it is, the feelings won't be there unless you are there or have been there. I can't wait to see what you saw and feel totally taken away by the Pitons, for one. Very excited indeed :) I would like to see more of St Lucia but maybe by cruising to different ports we would want to book a land vacation and stay longer but for right now, we just discovered cruises and want more of it (bye bye Walt Disney World trips, hello cruises) :D

That's what's great about this Southern Caribbean cruise. You get a taste of practically each island in the Caribbean, they are all different and unique. While I'd love to go back to St. Kitts, my daughter has been beginning me to look into booking a land vacation in St. Maarten. I remember wanting to go to Barbados for our honeymoon many years ago (we went to Jamaica instead - cheaper), but I was not impressed with Barbados at all when we toured the island on this cruise.

How was the weather when you were there? I hope you had a nice day and were able to see everything. Even with the rain that day, from what I was able to see, it was very pretty. This is one island I'd love to get back to. I'd actually like to do the same cruise again another time.

The weather in St. Kitts was gorgeous! We went the week of Thanksgiving last year and every day in port it was beautiful, sunny - no rain at all, even our weekend pre-cruise in San Juan was hot and sunny. In fact, since it was late November and the ship left St. Kitts at 6pm it was getting dark by then.

which tour did you do- we are trying to plan for a few weeks time- thank you for any help.

We went with http://**********************/ Grey's Tours called "The Tour" (he has other tours to offer). We booked him because he had excellent reviews on TA and had air conditioned vans, a must since we were taking my parents. It's a good 4 hour tour. After the tour he dropped us off at the beach and drove my parents back to the ship, then came back to get us 2 hours later, for no additional fee - we even had time to shop at the port afterwards. What's great is that the ship is in port until 6pm so that's a plus. We only had about 2 hours at the beach, the tour is a good 4 hours, including a chance to walk around Caribelle Batik and Brimestone.

Wow, you certainly got around! I was impressed that you were able to see lower Manhattan, now you're on the roof of the Met! I've lived in Jersey all my life, been to Manhattan many times, I even work a day or two in the city during the week ... but I haven't done half of what you both accomplished!

___

The view from the Roof Garden at the Met--a must do!

I really liked St. Kitts. We did take an island tour, then got dropped off at the beach. We saw the Brimestone Fort, Caribelle Batik, Timothy Hill, we even drove past the vet college that a lot of American kids go to school - and we saw a lot of them at Shipwreck Beach (where we were dropped off at after the tour).

St. Kitts has a lot to offer, there are a number of other things you can do on the island too, even take a trip over to Nevis. We would love to go back.

Reliving our cruise from last year! We LOVED this itinerary!!

Great review, looking forward to the rest.

I love your writing style, I'm reading your other reviews. On the CC Fantasy cruise, you walked to Junkaroo Beach, saying it was a 10 minute walk. I'm traveling on the Breakaway to Nassau and my Dad is in a wheelchair (can't walk long distances) so I'll be pushing him. I want to take my parents for a day pass to the British Colonial Hilton. Everyone says it's walkable, and I see your daughter walked on a sprained ankle to Junkaroo, so is it an easy walk from the pier to the British Colonial Hilton??

Bravo! You really got around Downtown Manhattan! :)

Great review, looking forward to more!

great review, looking forward reading more. What a great idea and save money by booking a hotel in Queens rather than Manhattan!

We stayed at Hotel Plaza De Armas right in the heart of OSJ. It has an elevator and some rooms don't have windows. Either way, the price was excellent, the location was superb (trolly stop right outside the door), and the restaurant on the first floor had a really good breakfast. Walgreens/CVS is across the plaza, as well as a Wendy's and Marshall's. Around the corner, short walk, to Baracchina restaurant for dinner and the flamenco show, then on Sunday morning around the corner, short walk the other way, to the Cathedral for Sunday morning mass. Great stay! :)