Moondoggy51

Thanks everyone for recommending a phone call to my credit card provider (Discover Card). After speaking with one of their Dispute Representatives they immediately credited me the $168.00 and told me to consider the issue closed unless Premium Parking could establish a better, more fair reason why they denied my refund request. With that being said, my gut feel is that even though Discover credited me $168.00 not a dime will actually be reimbursed to them by Premium Parking. I did have to provide Discover with copies of emails and/or documents showing that I had made a good faith attempt to receive the refund from Premium Parking and their denial which was easy as I had emails covering what Discover needed.

Here's the problem from my perspective. After getting a number of recommendations from folks here on Cruise Critic, I went out to Trip Advisor and viewed some of the 768 photos of Krazy Lobster and the attached is a representative photo of the area that I assumed we would find. As you can see the water was crystal clear, plenty of beach area and lounge chairs with the dining tables in the background. What we found was a beach in the second photo with no sandy beach or lounge chairs and rickety set of stairs as your access to the water. The second picture was listed previously in this thread by 2021BoatCruiser (thank you) and we were seated even further away from the steps than what's pictured. If you look at the pictures on Trip Advisor I don't recall seeing any picture that 2021BoatCruiser provided so people trying to make decisions can get a false impression of reality and had I seen a picture of a rocky shoreline with sandbags I may have made a different decision to go there. Don't get me wrong, the food was very tasty and affordable and had the beach been as projected in the first photo I would have been very pleased.

Glad to help. I also received several recommendations for Maya Chans but they charge $79.00 per person in advance for free food and drink but they're 30 minutes from the terminal and I was afraid that if the weather was bad we wouldn't be able to cancel and get a refund. Note that had it not been for the erosion issue that blocked access to the gulf I think it might have been an good time but it certainly didn't meet my expectations.

I wanted to give fair warning to anyone who wants to make a reservation with Premium Parking at the Mobile, AL cruise terminal. I have used the garage before and never had a problem with making an advance reservation as it's much more convenient to not have to wait in line to pay on the day of embarkation but this time I got screwed over. I made my reservation back in January 2024 for a cruise on March 2, 2024 and paid $168.00 up front so after dropping off our luggage we proceeded to the garage entrance only to find it blocked. Note that it was not blocked because we were too late (we were way early) and it wasn't because it was already full, it was simply closed and not available. When we found the lot closed we were told that we needed to follow the guides at the exit to an open air overflow lot 2 blocks from the terminal and we walked back as they only had one shuttle van available. Upon my return from our cruise I sent Premium Parking a request for a refund and my request was denied. Premium Parking said that they only provide a refunds if the cruise is cancelled or if I had requested a refund at least 1 day prior to our embarkation date. It would have been nice if they had sent me an email notifying me that the garage was going to be close ahead of time and to seek parking elsewhere but they didn't and I have no recourse and I'm out $168.00. The next time I'll pay for parking after I get parked in the garage or I'll seek a park and cruise ride to and from a hotel.

I wanted to post an update regarding Krazy Lobster at Costa Maya. We went there as no ship excursion sounded interesting and I received numerous recommendations to go there here on Cruise Critic. Based on what I read here and on the internet I expected the area to have lounge chairs adjacent to the beach itself but was disappointed. When we arrived on March 4, 2024 we found the beach to be heavily eroded and the beach was lined with large rocks and sandbags. To get to the water you had to go 60 yards or more to gain access. When we arrived the servers were more than happy to take our drink and food orders and I hoped that they would be very attentive but that wasn't the case as many times we had to get their attention to get drink refills. Although the food was very tasty, I would say that the place was overrated and that a better time could have been had at the beach next to the port.

Missed the part at the top of the page. Thanks.

For anyone that has recommended Krazy Lobster can you tell me if they charge for lounge chairs and umbrellas? If so, do you recall what they charge?

c-legs5, I have a few follow-up questions for you. You indicated that Maya Chans was 20-30 minutes from the port. What about Malecon21? You mentioned that Maya Chan's didn't have baffles. Does Malecon21? How are the bathrooms at Malecon21? My wife and adult daughter are pretty particular. Do you have any information on food and drink pricing? The all inclusive with food and alcoholic drinks is $79 per person but the $40 per person package sounds better depending on the cost of food and drink. My wife and I drink but not like our daughter and her husband who can slug down the beer so if you have any info on food and drink costs let me know. The folks that recommend Maya Chan's reference the food and service being great but didn't mention anything about no baffles and being 20-30 minutes away as our preference would be to stay closer to the ship.

I need to go back and read these reviews but I'm going to post a question here anyway as our cruise is about 15 days away. There were several posts here that have suggested going to Maya Chans and many others that have said Krazy Lobster. I sent Maya Chans an reservation request and got it back today saying they have availability on the day we're there at $79 per person but they also sent back this Note: We are located in the jungle on a natural beach. Since we face East, we won’t have clear blue water. Please make everyone aware in your party. I also read some comments on TripAdvisor that said that the seaweed was a problem but everyone loved the service and food so I don't know if its worth $79 per person to make the reservation or just go to Krazy Lobster instead. Can anyone share their experience at both and of the two tell me which one you would pick? We want to have a great time with great food and drink and not have any hassles about being able to get lounge chairs and shade. Please help me make a quality decision for 4 adults.

Thanks everyone for the comments. I missed a bunch of excursions as I didn't navigate correctly (my bad). I was reading about the water park and wondered if anyone had gone there recently? The excursion costs $120 per person and I read several reviews that said that if you take a cab to the park a ticket is only $20 per person so I'm wondering that that extra $100 buys you? It seems like many of the excursions involve long bus or van rides and many complain about the bugs eating you alive.

We're going on an 8 day cruse from Mobile, AL in early March and our first stop is Costa Maya. I checked out the excursions and nothing sounded good as we've been snorkeling before and we're not interested in dune buggies or donut boats where you have to cook your own meals. Can someone who has been to the Costa Maya stop provide any insight into what else you can do there. Is there any shopping? Is there a beach where you can sit back and enjoy a boat drink or a beer or don something other than sit on the ship? Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks for the feedback. This is what I expected although the info on the trams not being crowded was a bit surprising. After Radio Beach was mentioned I looked it up and found similar suggestions on not taking the excursion. TripAdvisor comments said to take the tram to the first stop which is the cab stand and take a $5 per person taxi to Radio beach early in the day and go from there. We wasted soooooo much time at St Thomas riding the tram to all of these different stops before getting to Megan's beach that we felt cheated so that's why I asked about what to do at Bimini as we're not going to be cheated again. Thanks.

My wife and I are taking a Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas in November and when we reviewed some of the excursions at Bimini and from some of the reviews it appears that the excursions are a rip off. The review of the excursion to Resort World with drinks and lunch said that the drinks were what they wanted to serve not what you might ask for at a bar, the beach was crowded and lunch was a hot dog. The excursion to the beach didn't sound good either as again, the beach was overcrowded and almost sounded like it was the same beach as the World Resort. It was mentioned that there was a tram that you take but it's crowded as well and doesn't leave unless it's full. So my question is this...... Is the beach they mention in the excursion the only beach to go to or is there another beach that's safe? Also I had a bad experience in St Thomas with a tram taking forever to get to the beach and found out after the fact that had we taken a private cab we could have been at the beach in no time so is this the same sort of thing were you can take the tram but you're better off taking a cab? One person who reviewed the World Resort excursion led me to believe that instead of going when the excursion is set to start that you should get off the boat early and get there early. They said that' you'd have to pay for any drinks out of pocket before 11:30 but you're there and can claim your spot before everyone else gets there. What we really want is to go to the beach as fast as we can rent 2 chairs and an umbrella and be able to get food and drinks at the beach and enjoy the day. Can anyone who has been there give me some advice on whether to go with an excursion or do it yourself? What about the suggestion to go early. It seems to me that the tram is the thing that holds you up and keeps you from making the most of your time. Any help will be appreciated.

When I booked our cruise I asked about the booze package and was told that the cost was $$59.95 per person per day with a 15 drink limit per day. For a 6 day cruise that comes to $359.70 per person. They also have an unlimited soft drink package for $9.50 per person per day and for 6 days that package would cost $57.00. Is it cheaper in the long run just to charge drinks to your room and pay the charge at the end of the cruise or are either one of these packages worth the expense? In addition, can anyone tell me what the policy is on bringing your own soft drinks, beer and bottles of booze on the ship as part of your luggage and personal items? We're going on the Carnival Spirt from Mobile, AL to the Bahamas in November and we're trying to determine what best to do. If the per drink charge for soft drinks, beer and mixed drinks isn't too high my wife and I can probably skip the drink packages and just pay at the end but our companions on the cruise are heavy consumers of Miller Lite and Captain Morgan and Coke and if the per drink charge is high they might be better off either buying the package or bringing their own booze, soft drinks and a soft cooler. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks everyone. The Info was really helpful

Thanks for the photo. This really helps me out. Not sure what you meant by 4K but it will help ease my wife's concern about the Pullman. So.... if this is a photo of the Spirit on deck 8, do you have any insight into the concerns about the potential noise from the Lido desk and motion of the ship from the forward section of the ship?

Yesterday a Carnival Cruise Rep booked us into room 8120 on the Carnival Spirit. Afterwards, my wife noticed that there was a asterisk next to the room number that indicates that this room has either a sleeper sofa or Pullman beds in the room to accommodate more than 2 guests. My wife is concerned about what the room is going to look like with a Pullman as it will just be the 2 of us with the bed setup as a king. My wife is also concerned about the potential noise level from the Lido desk above and how much motion we will feel when the ship is underway. I called back this morning to try and switch rooms to something more midship but the cruise is nearly completely booked and there was nothing available midship on any desk. I was given a phone number to call back periodically to check for a change in availability but I'm wondering if this is "much ado about nothing".... If there's anyone out there that has stayed in room 8120 or a similar balcony room on the Spirit that has these extra Pullman beds that were unused during their cruise that can you please share any room photos of the room with me? Also any information about the noise on deck 8 and motion experience from a forward cabin I would appreciated that as well. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Any recommendation on size? I'm thinking 20 ounces.

Thanks. So if I understand you correctly I will use the printed bag tags that were available to me on the Princess website that Identify our cabin and if I have 3 suitcases I'll put one of those tags on each bag at the hotel. I will then put one of the Meet me Tonight labels on the TOUR bag and the Meet me at the ship tags on the other two bags correct?

I'm sure it's personal preference however I was looking for a recommendation on what to take from someone that has been there that could make a suggestion based on their recent visit

We're going on the Alaska Cruise/Tour with the Denali Tour first. The instructions indicate that you need to pack a separate suitcase for the Tour and another set of suitcases for the cruise and that upon arrival Princess with arrange for the cruise baggage to be stored and when you arrive for the cruise your suitcases will be in your room. That being said, when you arrive at the airport do you take all of your suitcases to the hotel and that's where the tour and cruse luggage is separated? If yes, does the hotel have your bag tags for the cruise luggage or do you print your bag tags ahead of time and attach them to the suitcases before you depart from your home airport or at the hotel? I've already printed by tags but since they are only printed on plain paper I'm wondering if I should have them laminated ahead of time so there will be less of a chance of them getting ripped off. Any info will be appreciated.

Can anyone who has been on the Denali tour provide us with some info on water containers. We've been told to take a container for water but exactly what to take has been a bit vague. How many ounces should they be? Should they be stainless or plastic? Insulated or not? Should they have a built in drinking spout or a flexible straw with a cap or just a screw on lid? When your away from the lodge sight seeing are there facilities to refill the container with safe drinking water or do you need to take what you plan on drinking? Any and all suggestions welcome.

Thanks for the reply. We've heard about the layering and the hooded weatherproof shell. We heard that it was up in the 70's and most recently in the 40's so I think we'll be good to go. Both of us actually went out and got insulated waterproof boots for the trip as that's an item not usually worn in sunny Florida . The only outstanding issue for us is the damn Covid test. The good news is that instead of requiring the test be taken within 3 days of the cruise portion they are requiring those taking the Denali first is the have the test within 3 days of the start of the tour. I also found that they will accept a rapid PCR test as long as it's a supervised test and since the results come back in 2 hours we can get the test performed here in Pensacola.

Thanks for the quick response. Much appreciated.

We're going on the Cruise Tour and my wife was wondering if she needs to pack a hair dryer or whether the lodges and the cabin on the Royal Princess has hair dryers for guests?