Daisyloo

Thankyou Daisyloo. I see your getting off the Emerald when we are getting on. Will you be posting during your trip?

I probably won't be posting while on board. I find the internet too slow. (used to hi-speed cable at home) But I will post a review when I get home. We will try to keep the ship in good shape for you!

I always wear a wide brimmed straw hat to keep the sun off my head. I also believe in light weight natural fabrics. Carry a bottle of water with you.

When it is really hot it is heavenly to return to the ship and have a HAL crew member pass you a cold damp wash cloth to wipe down your sweaty face and hands. Gotta love Hal.

We have sailed both Princess and HAL, both with our children (grown) and just DH and I. Both lines offer a great product and I would not hesitate to cruise on either line. Itinerary would be the deciding factor as well as the price.

That said, we give a slight edge to HAL. Even my kids, 22, 25 and 28 say that they prefer HAL.

Food is very similar on both lines. I think the Pinnacle on HAL is slightly superior to Crown Grill on Princess. I like the MDR better on HAL. Princess has the International Cafe which is great. I think the hours of the buffet are a bit longer on Princess.

Beds on HAL are superior to Princess. Cabins tend to be a bit larger on HAL.

I think the service on HAL is slightly better.

I like how Princess does their muster better than HAL. On Princess you go to your muster station inside the ship and are scanned in. HAL's are at your lifeboat in the hot sun, standing for long period. Attendance is taken verbally - less accurate. On Princess you take your lifejacket and actually try it on - I think that is a good idea.

I think Princess has slightly more activites going on throughout the day.

If your cruise includes a stop at their private islands, HAL's is much nicer.

All in all, we like both lines and would happily sail on either.

Yes we are staying at the Hampton Inn Airport North Cruise port. Thank you for the info about the plaza across the street. We stayed there last year and I didn't remember seeing the Winn Dixie. Is it in the same plaza as the dollar store?

Yes. Keep walking down the plaza. The Winn Dixie is about 3/4 of the way down the plaza. You'll pass a few different stores, a Thai restaurant, laundromat, a bar etc. We always go to the Winn Dixie for any snacks we want for the ship and often buy our wine there too.

The safes are numerical. You enter a 4 digit code to lock and unlock it. You pick the code. Very easy.

Liked Aruba and Curacao quite a bit. Dominica and Grenada were nice. Not a snorkeller so Bonaire wasn't that interesting to us. Liked Barbados. Really liked St Vincent and the Grenadines. Wasn't impressed with Martinique. Liked St Lucia. St. Bart's too expensive to do anything on. Not impressed with St Croix.

Rosethorn40 I would love to hear all about the Crab Shack after you go there. It wasn't on the Emerald when we sailed her before. Being seafood lovers we are very interested.

Enjoy your cruise.

Many thanks. We are doing anytime dining, any idea which restaurant that will be in, or, is it in all restaurants?

Anytime dining will be in the Davinci and Michaelangelo dining rooms.

I don't know if diabetics need anything special, but I have water shoes from Land's End that I really like.

If it is the Hampton Inn Airport North Cruiseport, there is a plaza across the road that has a Big Daddy's liquor store and also a Winn Dixie grocery store that sells wine.

i can see it now... Folks who have taken a bunch of 3 and 4 day booze-cruise trips on carnival will suddenly be elite on princess and want to give it a try. Masses of "young adults" boozing it up and taking over the ship.

 

I'll pass. I like princess the way it is.

like

What about trying one of the BB creams out there. They won't cover completely but will tend to even out the tones. They are light weight and very natural looking.

We bought a few decks of cards from the casino on the Emerald. I think they were one dollar a deck.

Each port area will have a taxi line. If it is a busy port day with lots of ships in port there might be a wait for a cab. Longest we have wited was about 20 minutes, but usually only a few minutes.

Try googling "how to pack a suit". There are several youtube videos that show good ways to pack a suit. We followed the instructions and it worked really well.

The info about taxi fares being meter only and not a flat rate is good info for anyone travelling between FLL and PE. On our first cruise we didn't know this and we fell victim to the "flat rate". He charged us $25 from port to FLL. We now know better thanks to people on CC. We have never had an issue again- we've always make sure the meter is on and that is what we pay.

My good friend really wanted to go on a cruise so finally her husband agreed. But a week before they left he said that they were going to have a really bad time because he didn't want to go. They had a really bad time. My friend knew that it was because of him but he has decided that they will never cruise again. And even though he goes away for 4 weeks (all his vacation time) by himself hunting and fishing she isn't "allowed" to go with me on a cruise. She is retired and they have money so that isn't the issue, just he decides what and when they can do things.

When they went he decided that he was going to stay in the room except to get off the ship at a port, look around and decide that it was a horrible place and that they needed to get back on the ship. He didn't want to go to the MDR for meals and complained that all they had to eat all week was at a buffet. At one point she managed to go and play bingo by herself. I am amazed that he allowed her to do that.

tigercat

OMG. Your poor friend. Her husband sounds awful. She should leave him at home and go cruising. Why should he dictate what she does. Awful, just awful.

It is going to be hot and very possibly humid in all the ports you mentioned. Dark colours are fine around the ship but for excursions I would want the lightest weight most breathable fabric I could get, and lighter colours will be cooler out in the sun.

Sounds like a great itinerary. Enjoy.

I have to say that we have been to Magen's Bay 3 or 4 times and it is beautiful. It has never been very crowded and we have been in port with several ships including the Oasis or Allure. It is beautiful calm clear water and white sand. There are public washrooms, showers and change rooms. Some shady areas. A snack bar for food and drinks (not gourmet but okay). And if you walk down the beach to the left as you face the water, it will be very un crowded.

Agree, $15.00 would be average. Could be a bit more if traffic is bad.

Just do your own air. That way you have complete control over it. You should be able to find a decent price on your own.

There is a great dice game called Ten Thousand. All you need is 5 or 6 dice and a pen and paper to keep score. You can google it to find instructions. It is lots of fun, easy to learn and very portable.

We have travelled with friends and played it in different resorts. Several times people have stopped to watch us and we've ended up teaching it to them.

I always print out a paper with our pre-cruise hotel address and phone number with the date we are there, and the ship we will be on and sail date. I put our cell number on it as well. I put this paper in the outer unlocked zippered compartment on each of our cases. I figure if anyone finds them they would go through the pockets and find it.

In the shopping plaza across the street is a Thai restaurant that is always recommended as being good.

Across the road from the far end of the plaza is a German restaurant named Old Heidelberg. We have eaten there 3 times and it has always been good. There is a barbeque place named Lil' Reds down the street in the opposite direction, about 3 blocks. Cheap and decent food. Also a short drive away ( the hotel shuttle will take you there) is a place called Rendezvous restaurant. We haven't eaten there yet but it is recommended by the hotel. We're going to try it in March prior to our next cruise.

What about Dame Judi Dench?