pattycake08

Back in 2011, we went on an All Inclusive (AI) Day Pass to Jolly Beach Resort ($75.00 pp) & loved it. Honestly, it was a toss up between Jolly, & Grand Pineapple ($65.00 pp) & the only reason we went to Jolly was the taxi fare was cheaper than Pineapple.  With that said, we are coming back to Antigua in Aug 2024 and would like to replicate our past experience without paying a fortune.  AI Pineapple pass is now $145.00pp with taxi that close to $200.00 each.  I can't locate anything on Jolly Beach, does anyone know if they are still around? We were supposed to go back to Jolly, who had a name change to  Starfish Jolly Beach resort in 2020, but Covid derailed our plans.   I sent an email 2 weeks ago to Antigua Travel & Tourism but heard nothing. Looking to see if Jolly is still around or other AI options. Thanks in advance.

Will be going to the caves in July 2024, are there certain types of shoes one should wear, ex, sneakers or water shoes?

Been to St Maarten (Dutch side) 4- 5 times, always took water taxi  & then found a beach as others reported, lounge chairs/umbrella/5 beers for $30.00. I've never been to the French side of St. Martin, but would like to try., just looking for a beach day for a few hours. Have a hubby with mobility issues. Can anyone let me know is there a water taxi to get you to French Side or do you take a cab? and what is the Cost.  How far is St. Martin from Port?  Do they have the same type of deals as above, chairs/umbrella/ beer for a set price? or is possibly negotiated once you get there. Also I saw Port Royal mention CoCo beach, looking for the easiest to get to w/out a lot of walking once we land.  

In august 2023, We boarded a van as opposed to a traditional taxi. The van charged $5.00 per person each way. So for 2 people $20.00 total). 

We were at Rainbow Beach in August of 2023. The van was $5.00 per person each way. Umbrella & 2 lounge chairs were $40.00, no negotiation.  You must bring water shoes as the coral on the bottom of ocean was very sharp & will cut your feet. Beach was nice but not spectacular. We are visiting St. Croix again in Aug 2024, but will be looking to see if anyone posts a better beach other than Rainbow.

Hi, Back in 2011 we went on a day pass for $50.00 per person & at the time the resort was called "Rendezvous All Inclusive".  We were supposed to go back in 2020, then Covid hit. Here are the notes I took from 2011. The beach was split a little bit by a section of rocks, to the right no waves at all, and to the left minimal waves.  There were palapa trees for shade and lounge chairs. Very small walk to the pool. Dining area was beside pool area, best desert called, Chocolate pudding which is like Chocolate Lava Cake. All you can eat food and drink. Any time you wanted a drink while on the beach, you would raise the red flag in the sand. Pool had a swim up bar, lunch buffet was 12:30pm - 2:30pm. Taxi Ride was $10.00 for 2 each way, so total of $20.00. Tell the taxi person when you want to be picked up, and he will show up. I have not been back since 2011, but am visiting St. Lucia in August 2024 & was planning on going unless someone on this board has a better suggestion. Hope this helps.

Puckliny, When you return from your cruise, can you please post on what you decided to do, either get a new immediate passport or take the chance with the current passport expiring in less than 6 months.  This will help all of us who may come across this situation. Enjoy your cruise.

Many Thanks RT

Hi, 3 sisters going to Bermuda in July on Celebrity Eclipse. Never been on Celebrity before mostly RCCL.  Where does the 3rd person sleep on Couch or on Overhead Pullman Bunk Type bed?  Do we have a choice? I searched but could not locate answer. 

When the Safari Taxi lets you off at Cane Bay beach. You just stroll down to the chairs & Umbrellas already set up & someone comes by to ask if you want to rent.  As far as the drinks/restaurant. It's not the type of restaurant in the US where you sit down at a table & chairs with a server. Its broken up into 2 parts, I believe the locals run it. You literally walk up to a person at a stand and tell them what type of drink or bottle of beers you want, they pull it out of a cooler & put it into a bucket with ice, and you walk to to your chairs.  As far as the restaurant or food portion from what I could see.  There was a sign in the sand that said the specials they serve, BBQ ribs, curried goat, etc. I do not believe they had tables and chairs, I think you would order then bring it back to your umbrella/chairs & eat. I could be wrong, we didn't order any food as we had a lot on the ship.  We went to Cane Garden Based on all the CC reviews as I wanted someplace that had restrooms & chairs/umbrellas.  The other beaches mentioned did not appear to have restrooms & Chairs/Umbrellas which was a must for me. My only disappointment was that we should have left the ship a little earlier to spend more time there.  We were there for 2 hours, wish it would have been more like 3. You could have floated away in that bay without a care in the world, no waves, and the water so clear you can see your toes and color of polish you are wearing.

Perky:

Just got back yesterday from our trip on RCCL Adventure of the seas.  We visited Rainbow Beach in St Croix, Beach was just ok. We took a large van that was waiting for you at the port.  The cost was  $5.00 per person each way. The rental for an umbrella and 2 lounge chairs was $40.00. It was this person's stand no room for negotiation. 

Next Day headed off to Tortola and Cane Garden Bay, what a beautiful majestic site, the scenery to die for, we felt the nicest beach in all of carrbbean (tie with Eagle beach on Aruba), and we've been everywhere. We took a Safari Taxi the cost was $12.00 per person each way.  The rental for an Umbrella & 2 lounge Chairs was $20.00. Didn't try to negotiate since I thought $20.00 was a bargain. They also had a bucket of beer 6 for $20.00 as well as a restaurant. We did have the beer, but did not eat anything.  Any other ? let me know.

Hi we were on this excursion in 2018 at Rose Island (also called Sandy Toes).  We had seen a nice review on the TV and were so anxious to go,.  When we got there it was nothing like what we saw on TV.  The ocean was super rough and we could not go int (August).  The beach was terrible as well.  The following year in 2019 a young college student got eaten by a shark on this island and later died (you can google this).  Rose Island had no First Aid to assist her, not sure if they made modifications, and not sure if feeding the pigs contributed to luring in the sharks. I would never go back to Rose Island, just a heads up.

We will be visiting Tortola in August 2023 & going to Cane Garden Beach.  Does anyone know that cost for an Umbrella & 2 Chairs?

A big Shout out to all my CC friends,  I appreciate so much your fast responses, especially John. I did the steps noted and now have a Captains Club #, Status Elite with 0 points. Thanks again

I'm a Diamond Member in RCCL, so able to take advantage of the 4 free drinks that RCCL provides. I'm thinking of taking a cruise next Summer 2024 on Celebrity. I have never been on Celebrity before. I thought I heard that while I may have to start with "0" Loyalty Points on Celebrity, my Diamond Status from RCCL (meaning free drinks) should carry over to Celebrity, not sure if that is true, can someone confirm?  Also, if I book on Celebrity am I able to use my "Diamond" discount from RCCL, to get a discount on my cabin on Celebrity, not sure how that would work since I am not a member yet of Celebrity's Captain's Club Loyalty Program.

I typically cruise Royal, but was thinking of taking a Celebrity Cruise in 2024.  My friends that normally go on Celebrity do so because alcoholic drinks were included not because of a specific loyalty status. I noticed recently that drinks do not seem to be included anymore.  Anyone know when and why this happened?

Thanks all for your words of wisdom.  Thinking about it made me realize 4 ladies in 1 room would not be a good idea.  I did take cnkgirl's advice & try for the family veranda, there are only 4 on the Eclipse & of course all sold out. I will go with the 2 balcony cabins.  Thanks again

Hi all, I typically travel on Royal, have never gone on Celebrity.  There is a cruise next summer on the Celebrity Eclipse to Bermuda out of NJ (my home state). Thinking of going with my 3 sisters. (4 total).  Trying to determine if we should get 2 Balcony cabins (2 girls in each room) or 1 Balcony cabin with 4 girls in one room (Suites are way too expensive). Not sure if the Celebrity Balcony Cabins are any bigger than RCCL. While there is a cost savings with 1 room vs 2, not sure how doable it is with 4 girls. Would appreciate anyone's thoughts?

Sailing on the Anthem next week & we will stop in Miami on 11/3/2022. from 7:am to 5:00 pm  I have never been to Miami. What is there to do, any beaches & how to get there?  I have looked all over this website & have seen nothing for activities in Miami.  

Sailing on the Anthem next week & we will stop in Miami on 11/3/2022. from 7:am to 5:00 pm  I have never been to Miami. What is there to do, any beaches & how to get there?  I have looked all over this website & have seen nothing for activities in Miami.  

 Just became Diamond so looking forward to the 4 free drink vouchers per day. I understand they upped the price to $14.00 per drink, and the voucher will reflect the new amount. My question is am I expected to pay the 18% gratuity on any drink that is $14.00 or less, and if so, assuming I will have to cover that cost? 

Bren 61, I'm goin on the Anthem in 2 weeks, I will ask when I board and will let you know either way what they say.

First want to say, I looked through Forums & didn't see anything on this.  We are cruising on Anthem In October from NJ, and our first stop is Port Canaveral.  We have no interest in going to Kennedy Space Center, but may want to check out Cocoa Beach.  I saw something on line that said a taxi from the port to the beach is around $35.00.   Is that for 2 people or each person, and do you know if there are shuttles like when visiting the Caribbean that may be a little cheaper?  Has anyone gone to this beach that can weigh in are there umbrellas & chairs for rent?  How is the air/water temperature at end of October? If too cold, may not be worth going.

We are sailing in a month on RCCL Anthem of the Seas, we typically pick a Balcony & pick our room.  This cruise was a last minute deal & we wanted to go ultra cheap. We initially decided on an inside cabin, then an Oceanview Guarantee popped up at only $16.00 more per person, so we went with that.  Not that it matters, but we are Diamond members, so when they assign our Ocean View room, will that give any weight to the room (location) we are given or not?  

In July, my sisters & I stopped at Nassau. As we came off the pier there was a rather long gate in front of us.  If you went across the street to the right were some retail shops, but if you went a little to the left there were about 20-25 vendors set up on a street corner, and most of them left around 4:00 PM. We stopped by saw some items we liked, then went over to the retail shops to the right, by the time we got back some of the street vendors had already packed up & left. Of course the jewelry I wanted I could not get. I will be back in a month & wanted to ask if there is a name for that group of street vendors or a location.  I do not believe it was the so called Straw market, because I think a straw market would be much larger, and not sure even if Nassau has one or where tit is located?