trouble1964

Bump----anyone?

I've heard that you can do an excursion from Nassau that takes you to a couple of snorkeling spots, and finishes with a snorkeling with sharks stop. I've already swam with the pigs, and that is all that I am finding. We will be there sometime after Nov 10--not sure of the date. Has anyone ever done this? I know DH won't be getting in the water, so does the boat have a comfortable, shaded place to sit? An onboard bathroom? The person that told me about this did it years ago but they dove with the sharks. He said that some people snorkeled. I'd like to try to find a small excursion, as there will be 5-6 ships in port that day. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

This!! It's so much easier to just guide it, rather than pull it. On a straight floor, you can give it a shove and it will roll a good piece too! Carry on bags with 4 wheels are so easy to get down the aisles of a plane when you can turn them sideways. I usually push mine in front of me, or pull it beside me instead of having to pull behind. It will wear your arm out if you have to go a long way pulling one. The very first time I used a 2 wheel suitcase (about 30 years ago), the airline broke one of the wheels off. I ended up having to carry it or try to balance it and pull it on one wheel, which was exhausting.

I like the 4 wheels on the Swissgear because I can just push it instead of pulling it behind me. It just takes a gentle hand on the handle and rolls smoothly. As far as making them easy to find, we always put neon duct tape on the sides. I think I am going to stick with soft sides since so many of you have mentioned scuffing on the hard shell ones. I would really like a lighter color one (I've seen some champagne colored soft sides) but I know that would have black marks on it after the first time it was handled. The suitcases we have now are still in good shape, they just look so "dingy" and marked up from being handled. If I knew a way to get all the marks and stains off of them, I would likely clean them up and keep using them. Thanks for all the suggestions!

It's time for new luggage. We have the soft side Swiss Gear set and it has been great. I see a lot of people with the hard side luggage now. Has anyone switched from soft to hard and liked it better? What are the pros and cons? We have had a suitcase damaged both by an airline and a cruiseline before, so we don't want that to happen again. Thanks in advance for advice.

That is incredibly sad that so many were unable to be rescued. We usually don't know when bad things happen on a cruise. I have a co-worker whose mother died their first day at sea. The staff did all they could, but she had a massive heart attack in the cabin and couldn't be saved. Due to paperwork and laws, it was suggested they keep her in the morgue until they made it back to the home port, in the US, so they did. My co-worker said the staff was very caring and went to extremes to help them with phone calls, bringing food to their cabin, etc. Meanwhile, everyone else on board was having a great time and didn't know that 7 other people were grieving. One cruise I was on didn't actually do a diversion, per se, but we did come across a big sailboat that had engine trouble. It was at night and an elderly couple was on board. Our port the next day was Martinique. The water was extremely choppy, but the ship sent out a lifeboat/dingy type boat to the sailboat with an engineer and some other crew to try to help them. The ship wasn't able to tow them, and they refused to leave their boat, so we had to leave a crew member with them, and someone from Martinique came and towed the sailboat. Of course we were late to Martinique, but that was ok. We had to wait a little while past our departure time for the crew member to make it back as well. The Captain said that according to maritime law (I think) that we couldn't leave them without help, so that's why the crew member stayed with them. The water was so rough, it was tossing that little boat from the ship around like a toy, and the crew had a hard time boarding the sailboat, but they got it done!

No, the boarding was just the start. When we got to the desk, they gave us revised port times. They cut Costa Maya down to about 5 hours or so, cancelled almost all the excursions there, and the other 3 were cut a few hours as well. The only one that didn't lose any time was Harvest Caye. How convenient that it is their private island, where you have to pay for food and drinks there, and no excursions such as visiting ruins. We weren't able to see any of the comedy or the magician show. We tried to make reservations thru the TV, as suggested, but it was full. One night we went to see if maybe there were some cancelations, but there were people holding seats for others (which they had been told they couldn't do). The game shows that we did see were in the atrium where there weren't any seats. There was a big screen that they were projecting them onto, but you couldn't even see it for the people standing up. There's a lot more, but it wasn't all bad. The staff was amazing, as always, and the food was good. I wrote a review, but apparently it has to be approved before publishing. No, Carnival is not happening again. The majority of their guests are just a little too loud for us. Between the adults that don't hold back, and the children that run wild, it just wasn't a good fit for us. On our last Carnival cruise, there were some older kids running through the halls at nearly midnight. They didn't just run by the door, they ran by it multiple times. Some of the best sleep I get is on a ship (I guess it is the movement) and I'm usually out by 11 pm. At home, I stay up much later. The mattress isn't as comfortable as mine at home, but I can sleep like a baby on a ship---as long as it's not noisy.

This is the first time I have been back to the site since prior to our cruise. We had bought the priority boarding package, and it was a waste of money. We were in line for over an hour. We had an assigned boarding time between 1 and 1:30, and I guess everyone else did too. That was just the beginning of the issues we had. I can honestly say this was the worst cruise experience I have ever had, and Norwegian has lost our business.

I have a friend that did this itinerary in December. It was her first cruise. She said that it took about 3 hours from the time they arrived at the terminal until they were on the ship. I have NEVER had to wait that long on any line. Maybe it being her first cruise, she hadn't done the online registry?? I don't know because I didn't think to ask her. Our boarding time is around 1:30 I think. We did a cruise out of Port Canaveral in September and arrived at our appointment time (different line) and were on board within 30 minutes of being dropped of at the terminal.

I'm really sort of apprehensive about taking a ferry from Harvest Caye. I've never had an issue on a private tour, but I've also never left a private island for an excursion. I have a fear of something going wrong and being late. My cousin has quite a story of what happened to their group of 4 in Mexico a few years ago. They got dangerously and expensively scammed, and they say they won't do private excursions again.

The last time we were in Roatan, we did a Bodden tour and spent time at a beach (I can't remember where exactly). There were some guys with a boat and for $10 would take you out snorkeling. I did that alone while DH relaxed in the shade with a few beers.

I'm not a fan of private islands either. The best thing about them is that there usually isn't 3-4 ships ported at the same time, to me. I thought I was going to be in the "REAL" Belize port :(

They sure are taking their time getting the building reopened. Part of the experience is standing in the line and inhaling all the smells! Looks like Sidney's or Rouse's will be the best place for us to try to get one. DH wants to disembark early and eat breakfast in NOLA. I have to go to the Tiffany store and pick up a repair (not trusting mail service when I can walk in and get it) and they don't open until 11. Do you know of a good breakfast place close by any of those businesses that we could stop at? We would wait until lunch, but would like to be home before dark, if possible.

I just figured out that this is a private island instead of Belize City. What is the snorkeling like from there? Would it be better to snorkel in Roatan or Cozumel? Thanks for any suggestions.

We had TDB last week, and I do love the pineapple. Never thought to try it with ice cream though. I see you are from NOLA......and speaking of food, where can we pick up a Central Grocery muffaletta to take back home the morning of the 15th? We are driving (live about 6 hours away).

I have never cruised in January before, so can anyone advise what the temps will be like, as far as what type of clothes to pack? Will it be warm enough to snorkel? Are the pools heated on board? We were on a different cruise line in September, and they didn't leave printed dailies in the cabin. You had to ask for them, and then you might get it, or you might not. Does NCL still print them, or is it only on a phone app now? I prefer the printed ones so I can write on them. Do you have to request printed? Is there a laundry special during a 7 day cruise? It's been a few years since we cruised with NCL, and got used to having it on the other lines we've been on the past few times. Lastly, does anyone happen to have a photo of the salad bar at Moderno? The site said it has a lot of items on it. Is it like Texas de Brazil's salad bar? The last time we ate at a churrascaria on a ship, it wasn't that good to us, but we enjoy the experience of Brazilian food, and I love a good salad bar. Thanks in advance!

There are 4 of us, and I am probably the only one that will get in the water. I want to do the manatee swim, and also snorkel. So if we rent a cabana, the only extra cost would be for me to do the manatee swim, and our food, drink, transportation right?

I just saw Reed Timmer trying to do a live feed from Pine Island, and it was not going well. There were some people commenting that it is not far from a cat 5, and was hitting Punta Gorda hard. Of course that is just regular people commenting on what they are seeing, and not Weather Channel reporters. My aunt and uncle live there, and they left Monday to stay with family in MS.

DH and I have both been, once each. He is claustrophobic and fainted at the lifeboat drill (no option on going that time----they whisked him into a wheelchair and practically ran him to medical, and myself for an anaphylactic reaction to who knows what). DH got the full cardiac checkout, and I got pumped full of all kinds of meds. The doctor in my situation actually called my regular MD and they discussed if a new medication could have caused the reaction. In both cases, our health insurance reimbursed the majority, and travel insurance picked up the rest of the cost----each was around $500. Much cheaper than an ER visit!

Same for us last week. As we were walking around with a bewildered look on our faces, a young lady came up and said that they were just using a set of lounge chairs to "hold their stuff" and that we could use them, that they would just put their stuff on a single chair, instead of two beside each other.