BeneClone

Ine, perhaps you can help with some local info. In the second d week of March, are whales in the area and is ocean water warm enough for swimming and snorkeling?

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Considering the Dawn out of San Juan. We could save $$ if we take what NCL gives us instead of picking our balcony staterooms. How bad could that be? My main concerns are seriously "obstructed view" and lie awake noise.

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Wow! Probably not as close as the picture suggests. Looks a little like the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay. Mega cruise ships are too tall.

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We went with Mystic. Palancar and Columbia reefs are grand, large fish, but deep and a long ride. This is ocean snorkeling. Does involve a short taxi from cruise pier to Marina. We went in the morning and asked to be dropped off at Mr. Sancho's for lunch and drinks. The a cab back to the ship. A good day, but ocean snorkeling is a challenge.

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If you haven't done it, the Pirate Ship offers a different experience. Snorkel the wreck, walk the plank, rope swing, loud music, decent meal, and lots of rum punch.

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We're hoping to take at least one specialty cruise which involves much smaller ships. The fathom ship Carnival will use for "social impact" tours at 716 is much larger than the Celebrity Xpedition which sails to Galapagos with 96. As the lines target TV smaller markets and Ports, they may use more of the smaller ships or abandon those markets to the smaller companies.

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We were very satisfied with MDR, but love Italian so we did GiovannI's one time on mystery dinner night. Limited, but good menu, bottle of

Wine and an interactive activity. Nice.

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The island is small. We took a ship's half day beach break in the afternoon. Included a narrated ride to cockleshell - plenty of time -

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As long as this topic is active, I'll report that we enjoyed our tour. The falls and hot springs, the gorge were fascinating. We did not get to snorkel the reef on account of a rough ocean. Driver was very interesting and spoke about the island geography and culture.

Early? People write to get there early to get a chair. What time is that? Do we need to disembark asap after ship arrives? Or, is before noon ok? What if we're not early? Sitting on towels ok?

In the middle of South Friars is Jamrock. Has anyone been there? I read the food is good, but don't know if they have beach chairs and service.

There are buildings between Carambola and Ship Wreck. Do they have food, drink, chairs, bathrooms?

I emailed on 1/13/15 and heard back in hours. Unfortunately the have no more chairs to reserve but have some for walk ins.

We just booked the Jewel Tour with Nature Isle - got a good price and includes the attractions we wanted, especially the reef and Trafalgar Falls. Two other frequently mentioned tour companies have not responded to our inquiries. NIE got right back within minutes and NIE is highly recommended. Sorry to hear about the missed connections. Hope they make that right. Donaldson reports they have room on our tour - Feb. 4.

Can you say if that will affect all of South Friars or only the Carambola facility?

I've never been to this island so I'll be watching for the same information. Meanwhile, I'm curious about the beach in Mexico that had all that.

Luv2 cruise, can you tell us more about Emerald and Sapphire? Getting there, snorkeling, facilities? Thanks.

Your recommendations for "beaches in stt where you can snorkel from without sailing and have a much longer opportunity?"

I haven't written a photo r Ed view, but I've successfully posted from Shutterfly. We like that site for calendars and cards.

How long does Bernard's give you at each beach?

Sorry, I see on their website they give a time table - that didn't come up on my phone. 90- 120 min at Orient and 45 min at Maho. Not a lot of time at the beaches, but likely a nice mix of sites and activities.

How long does Bernard's give you at each beach?

The deli looks great. Thanks for that info. We'll be in port on Sunday when it is closed. Another time perhaps.

Do USA travelers have to declare the itinerary? And, is that a problem?

Blue_Water, if you're still following - where is the french deli. A sandwich and a bottle of wine might make a great lunch at SC.

Something happened - our Jan JOS e3 jumped $100 in June and obc was cut in half.